BEING NEIGHBORLY

Once upon a time there lived a man in a quiet neighborhood. He was a child of the sixties, had a dog named "Layla" and he liked to sit outside in his backyard drinking beer and listening to CD's or the radio. He was very generous in his music, playing it loudly enough so that all his neighbors could hear it. The family next door to him didn't even have to open their windows to hear the Stones, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Clapton, etc. His music was available to everyone in the neighborhood at all times of the day and night. There were times when a certain neighbor would call him and explain that they weren't really in the mood to listen at 11:30 PM on a Wednesday or Monday night. To which he would reply, "You need to get a life!"

This neighbor had two black dogs, who would roam around outside in the front yard, and be on the look-out for vulnerable, smaller dogs. People had witnessed Layla and friend going after other dogs. Not a pretty sight.

Last night after 9:30 PM, he was heard using his blower in the street, clearing his curb. He had not mowed his yard or edged. His next door neighbor looked out the front window to see him blowing all the "stuff" from his curb into the neighbor's curb. This would not have been disturbing, except that he always did that. As she looked out her front window to witness this, he caught a glimpse of her watching him. He proceeded to walk up his drive as if he were finished. After a few minutes, neighbor lady could hear it again....went to the window and found he was at it again.

Perhaps she will buy him a broom and a dustpan for Christmas. Or maybe, she will reciprocate tonight and blow it all back to him.

It's Very Puzzling, Indeed!

I approached this past Friday with much anticipation and a little concern. I watched Callie while Ruth and Chad had an evening out. Their 3rd anniversary was earlier in the week and they went out to dinner in Fort Worth, exploring the Seventh Street re-vitalization.

After an earlier baby-sitting episode with Callie, I was prepared to work through her separation anxiety. (Callie and Ruth are BFFs and Callie's routine is that she's never without her Mommy.)

I started my Christmas shopping for Callie in September and had a set of 5 wooden puzzles for her. The puzzle pieces have little handles on them so a toddler can have more dexterity.

So--Callie was happy to see me when I arrived, taking note that I was carrying a package into the house. While I was briefed on Callie's eating, napping, and anticipated bedtime, Callie went over to her highchair and started pushing it to the dining table. A good sign, Ruth and Chad were preparing to leave and then Callie and I could settle down to cantaloupe, string cheese, and turkey.

On their way out, Callie looked at me with a little trepidation, then tuned up. I'm sure Ruth and Chad heard her in the garage. I swooped her up and we went to the backyard. The setting sun was warm in the cool breeze and we saw some birds fly over. She settled a little bit and we went inside to eat supper. This was a welcome distraction and I marveled that she fed herself and drank milk from her cup just like a big girl. She wanted to share her cantaloupe. When she was finished, we washed up and began to play with a myriad of stuff.

She kept looking at the package on the table. I put her back in the highchair and opened the package, freeing a puzzle from it's sturdy shrinkwrap and placed it on her tray. She looked it over and smiled up at me, recognizing one of the pieces as a puppy. I showed her how to remove the pieces. She had that down pat! She transferred every piece to the corner of her tray---then handed each one to me to put back in place. We talked about each animal--there were some she did not recognize...an octopus and a lion. Like a doting grandmother, I made the appropriate animal noise for them all. Callie thought the lion was a cat---but I told her no---it was a lion and proceeded to growl and roar (there's a side story to that). After we thoroughly explored that puzzle, she looked over and pointed to the stack of unwrapped puzzles and said "This!" I was obedient, and opened three more...each time we went through the same ritual. We had a great time!

She found her "Chicken Dance" musical birthday card and brought it to me so she could dance. We unloaded quite a few things from the toy basket, then settled in to read books. She brought me "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" (her first book from Aunt Brooke---and still a favorite). When we came to the page with the cat, I meowed and Callie looked up at me, smiled, and roared like a lion---oh dear, I had confused the sweet baby! (I hope she forgot all about the lion/cat on the puzzle.)

Callie began rubbing her nose and fidgeting---a look at the clock showed it was almost bedtime. All of a sudden, she looked up at me with a panicked, troubled look and said "Mommy!" Then the floodgates opened. While she had been successfully distracted and enjoyed whatever we were doing, she still knew that it was bedtime and Mommy wasn't there. I changed her into PJ's and we went to the table for her bedtime yogurt/cereal. After she ate, she wandered around clutching a small bunny by the ears, looking for Ruth and Chad. A little distressed, she was. I scooped her up, gave her a sweet kiss, held her tight and we made our way to the nursery. She went out like a light!

YOU BETCHA! Part Deux

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Powell Endorses Obama

After months of hints and speculation, former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama this morning, a huge vote of confidence in the Illinois Democrat with just 16 days left before the November election.

"He has both style and substance," Powell said of Obama on NBC's "Meet the Press". "I think he is a transformational figure."

As we wrote on Friday, the

Powell endorsement carries huge symbolic importance -- not only is he a former high-ranking member of President Bush's Cabinet but he also was the most visible face in making the case for the war against Iraq.
Powell's endorsement complicates any attempt by John McCain and others within the Republican Party to cast Obama as naive on world affairs and unready to lead in a dangerous time. Obama now has a ready retort: "Well, Colin Powell seems to trust my judgment; that's why he endorsed me."

In politics, timing is everything and Powell's endorsement comes at a sweet spot for Obama.

Yesterday in Missouri

he drew an estimated 100,000 people to a St. Louis rally, and then this morning his campaign announced that it had raised a stunning $150 million in September alone -- more than double his best previous month of cash collection. And now, an endorsement from a man who is -- arguably -- the most popular political figure in the country.
Did we mention the election is in 16 days?

YOU BETCHA!

"Where's the beef?" (Wendy's Hamburgers)

"Show me the money!" (Cuba Gooding, Jr. in Jerry Maguire)

"Weapons of mass destruction" (W)

"Wellll, golleeee!" (Gomer Pyle)

"I'm not a crook!" (Richard M. Nixon)

I am going to have to forego asking people I meet or people I am conversing with any polite, generalized affirmative question. For instance....(just today, mind you), I asked a co-worker if she was ready to leave work as we were the only ones left in the office after quitting time. Her answer? "YOU BETCHA!"

Earlier in the day, I asked a new co-worker if she was just about finished with her part of an extensive report we are working on together. Her answer? "YOU BETCHA!"

When I called "my spa" just the other day to see if my pedicurist had any openings this Saturday, the receptionist's reply was "YOU BETCHA!"

Even the barista at Starbucks this morning replied to my question with a REALLY exuberant "YOU BETCHA!"

People, I'm not making this up. Have I been secretly transported (God forbid) to Minnesota or North Dakota? Remember Frances McDormand's character in "Fargo?"

This is all the fault of some great Republican plan to totally infiltrate this country with some Prozac-sodden, happy, sappy, people. People (especially us Baby Boomers) who are already stunned and numb watching their mutual funds, investments, and home equity plummet out of control are the major targets of this infiltration.

If keeping a stiff, upper lip and a jolly-good attitude means I have to use THAT phrase or least be subjected to it, then I am all for burying my head in the sand at least until November 5th!

Who Are You?

A friend sent me this link---a quick self-test about your likes/dislikes/personality.

Try it if you are curious!

When you click on the link, a series of about 15 pictures will come up. Click on a photo in that category that appeals to you. Again 15 pictures will come up, click the one for you and move on. Just continue to keep picking. At the end it will give you a profile of yourself.... It's called a visual DNA.... Your choices dictate your profile

.Http://DNA.imagini.net/friends

Did You Feed The Fish?

There have been many health and beauty fads to come and go during the past few centuries. Bathing in mineral waters was thought to cure psychological problems. Currently, many women swear that colonics (enemas) purge the body of toxins and rejuvenate the digestive system.

During the 1800's (and maybe even before then) mothers shaped strips of linen or cotton cloth into thin, long cylindrical shapes, dipped them in melted beeswax, and inserted one end into the child's ear canal, lit the other end with a match. The resulting smoke drew out debris, earwax, and scaly skin from the ear canal. I have used this method and it WORKS.

Do you remember seeing pictures of flappers from the 1920's? They crimped their bobbed hair with heated metal rods (like our current curling irons today). Many young fashionable women scorched their hair, burned it, and generally abused it.

At a short time later, the permanent wave was in vogue. A chemical solution was used on the hair and the hair was put into crimping rods that were attached to electrical power. Some of us still get permanents....but they are tamer.

Girls tanned themselves (translation: fried) by using butter, cocoa butter, or baby oil on their skin while lying in the sun for hours at a time. This was actually VERY unhealthy, making many very susceptible to melanoma.

Let's don't even talk about bikini waxing, liposuction, botox injections, and permanent makeup!

Old medical treatments included "leeching" where leeches were actually put on the skin to draw impure blood from a sick person. Medical grade leeches and maggots are now sold as medical supplies to help debride (clean, remove dead tissues) from infected, non-healing wounds.

I learned of a new pedicure treatment the other day. As soon as I heard about it, I learned that the Texas licensing board has prohibited this treatment as being unhealthy. Imagine going in for a pedicure, soaking your feet, looking down and finding hundreds of small fish hungrily going at your toes, your heels, and the bottoms of your feet! Doctor fish...yes....they are called "doctor fish" feed on the dead, scaly calluses on your feet to make them smooth and soft. At one point, women were using a communal foot bath with hundred of doctor fish eating away at the women's "barnacles." It was said that a lady with particularly scaly feet would have a greater benefit than one with feet in pretty good shape. In a communal bath, those fish aren't stupid, they know who serves the best dinner!

Check the photo below, google "fish pedicure", read all about it. I wonder if a large bowl of goldfish at home would do the trick? Hey, in these hard economic times, a girl has to be frugal and smart about about her beauty treatments!

Sometimes--Just Getting Going In The Morning Is The Greatest Challenge Of The Day

People that I work with don't believe me when I say that this job is the least stressful job I've ever had. I count my blessings often when I think back to that one night I was just scanning the State website and filled out an on-line application just for grins. I thoroughly enjoy my work, my co-workers, and most of the people I encounter when verifying state/federal regulatory compliance for the > 1200 home health agencies in the Metroplex and surrounding counties.

But over the past three weeks, I've encountered polite but argumentative administrators, irate healthcare consumers, and very challenging agencies by virtue of their size and previous issues maintaining accreditation. In addition, there are many fuzzy issues with healthcare providers and payors.Over the course of 33 years in the healthcare workforce, one may leave the workplace after a full day of work, but the issues one faced during the day are still consuming thoughts. This is true for so many of us. That's been my mental load for the past 2 weeks. I also spend a lot of time driving and that allows me opportunities to muddle through various issues.

There is a nurse who transferred recently from another region and she has been working with me on this current survey. Each morning we meet at a coordination point and she rides with me to the agency. As she drove up alongside me one morning, I was frantically searching my purse for my state cell phone---couldn't find it to save my soul. About 2 miles down the road we could hear it ringing, but couldn't find it. My coworker checked everywhere within reach to no avail. The phone stopped ringing, so I prepared to call the office to tell them to reach me on my private cell for that day. All of a sudden, I remembered that I had put the phone in my right slacks pocket SO I WOULDN'T HAVE TO FISH FOR IT IN MY PURSE.

Friday was an all-day Staff Meeting at headquarters here in Arlington. On Fridays, we wear jeans if we plan to be in the office all day. I am chairman of the social committee and part of our responsibility is to plan the luncheons for staff meetings. It was tacos. I was rushing around yesterday morning preparing to load the car with the crockpot, a small cooler for taco meat and my rolling briefcase and rolling crate filled with documents from this survey. I turned off bedroom lights and ceiling fan while sliding my feet into my clogs. I was on my way! People came out to assist bringing everything into the office from my car. As I reached down to release the handles on the crate and briefcase, I noticed that I was wearing one brown shoe and one red shoe! Of course that was hilarious to everyone---and I was reminded of my fashion faux pas all day. Someone even asked if I was really sure that this is the least stressful job I have ever had.

....And it still is!