Jon & Kate Sad News (clickable link here)
Anybody wonder whatever happened to these two? I would say that after having six babies at the same time, with more-than-likely serious post-partum depression and an opposite personality from husband (A vs. B) plus TV cameras in your face 24 hours a day, there would be some strain on the family. It is sad that after the marriage went downhill, the media still got up in their grill trying to get the latest. (And now I’m talking about it but I’m not a real media outlet.) I think the media does more harm than good when it comes to relationships. What Jon and Kate really needed was (1) privacy, (2) [private] counseling, and (3) 24-hour help with all eight kids.
Universal Healthcare Sure Costs a Darn Lot (clickable link here also)
Once again, those defined as rich will carry the burden for this plan.
Something Work-Related
I learned today that if I get “stuck” and my brain doesn’t seem to be moving on a project even though it is a priority, I need to do something else for a while - like another thing that is the same priority as the first project (because everything these days at work is top priority. That’s what happens when your company is understaffed and underpaid.) whah whah whah whah
P.S. I go home with Alex to get my “bonus check” – lots of hugs, wrestles, boogers, and kisses.
6.23.2009
Tuesday Shorts & Snippets: This Week's "Well, Duh!" Moments
6.20.2009
Just What I Suspected...
My sister, Emily, is an accountant. She happens to do the taxes of the general manager of a very popular hotel/casino in Vegas which has to remain unnamed due to privacy laws. Accounting is kind of like working in HR - you learn a lot about people that you usually don't want to know.
Anyway, this came straight from her blog (click here) but I copied it so you could save a click. Also, I added a link, made a couple punctuational changes, and added [brackets] with my own words -- otherwise the content is the same. This is important info if you're a two-income household, or even if you're not a two-income household but you still think President Obama really cares about you and people in general. . .because what he says and promises isn't entirely accurate.
I'll give you a hint: "Tax Cuts" = "Tax Credit" (meaning, you have to pay them back.)
Here's Emily:
"I am not offering any advice here, I'm merely letting you know of a recent change I've made in anticipation of a potential problem in the future.
"Since Obama is so benevolent to all of us, we are all receiving a "Making Work Pay" credit on our next year's tax return. The credit is being disbursed as a decrease in withholding on paychecks in 2008. There's a little hitch in this giddy-up however. Big surprise, right?
"The credit maxes out at $800. So if I qualify for the entire credit, I have been seeing a slight decrease in my federal withholding on my paychecks this year [beginning around April or May]. The problem comes when both spouses work or if one wage earner has more than one job.
"Hang with me here. You see, the decrease in withholding over the course of the year should add up to about $600 since I file [as] married. Since we both work (or if one person works 2 jobs), the total decrease in withholding between the 2 of us will total $1,200 ($600 each). HOWEVER, the allowable credit is only $800. Conclusion: I will owe $400 back to the government at tax filing time next spring. If I normally anticipated a large refund, my refund will decrease by $400. I actually try to cut it close to owing $0 and getting no refund (if I get a big refund each year that only means I could have had that money throughout the year [but instead] I generously allowed Uncle Sam to hang onto it interest-free instead). Bottom line: I could end up OWING $400. Bad plan.
"Solution: While I can't offer advice on tax planning, I can tell you that I chose to submit a new 2009 Form W-4 to my employer to hopefully hedge against this potential issue. And I downloaded it straight from irs.gov and I made sure to complete the worksheet on the back for 2 earners/multiple jobs. Sorry if you're bored out of your wits - most people are. Thanks Obama - you're a gem."
6.18.2009
First Treatment
So I have to say my dermatologist's assistant wasn't the best photographer.
The pictures below are in chronological order of what happened to my tattoo. The first step (not shown) was getting anesthetic -- that hurt just like any shot would, plus I had several of them. It was worth it, though, because without anesthetic there would be no way I'd do this laser treatment and have the 'prison tat' removed. 
This last picture is a little creepy because the laser caused little pricks in my skin. This will eventually scab over . . . eeeeeew . . . but then after maybe another treatment it will be obvious the ink is fading. Dr. H. said it takes a different number of treatments depending on the person, but this color of ink is one of the easiest to annihilate.
6.16.2009
Tuesday Shorts & Snippets
When you put exercise, your family, and your faith as priorities, there is little time for blogging. Therefore, to make sure I at least record my smart alec thoughts throughout the week on news, entertainment, and the like, I have created “Tuesday Shorts & Snippets” (I’m still working on the title, but it may be cut down to just “Tuesday Shorts” because who has that kind of time to type out all of that?) And if it’s late, I’ll just call it “Wednesday Shorts.”
Alex: The Boy has learned new phrases and is putting them together, like this morning in the car he kept saying, “I’m sowwy…Bunny.” So my question is, who’s the bunny – and what did he do to it??
Why Some People Are Still Angry: I wasn't sure if I should even talk about this but why not. David Letterman made an apology to Sarah Palin and her family about his off-color joke and I hope the media can let it go. I kind of hope the Palins can let it go at least publicly. However, if your daughter was the butt of a joke of a sexual nature, would you let it go? Has it become so mainstream these days to talk about sexual acts that it’s OK to bring in young children and teenagers? It is interesting to see the differences in the way Fox News and CNN reported this. Fox News hoped for forgiveness but understood that you just don’t target someone’s children and you don’t joke about that, even if the people are famous. CNN kept focusing on “why can’t they just let this go?” (Again – if it were your daughter…) It reminds me of the bully in middle school who teased me incessantly and I never laughed, and he kept saying, “Can’t you take a joke?” and I thought, “But you’re not funny. Why should I pretend to laugh?”
Customer Service: In a down economy especially, you’ll get the nicest waiters/waitresses and usually the nicest technical service people. Everyone wants your business because consumers are hiding out right now. The Russell Stover Company makes very good sugar-free chocolates (I am not only a pro on self-tanning products but also on sugar-free consumables.) I bought a pack of chocolate-covered coconut candies one day last week and found one of the individually wrapped packages opened with a smooshed chocolate inside. The back of these packages always says there is a quality guarantee and I usually don’t worry about problems if there are any, but this time I thought I'd let them know. I sent an e-mail to their customer service department through the Russell Stover website, telling them I loved their sugar-free candies and usually did not have any problems with them; however, the one package I bought had a smooshed piece. A few days later I got a box in the mail with two new packages of sugar-free chocolate coconut candies. Yay! I love great customer service. And will I buy from Russell Stover again? Yes! (Hands across America…)
Obamanation: President Obama's universal healthcare plan will cost the country one trillion dollars. . . one t r i l l i o n. That's $1, 0 0 0, 0 0 0 , 0 0 0, 0 0 0. Where is this money going to come from? I thought we were in debt up to our eyeballs. If Obama pushes taxes for the rich and corporations the way he talked about, who will be the country's next Sugar Daddy? Who will be charities' Sugar Daddies? I'm just asking the questions. The government can't EARN money, in the business sense. It only takes it. It can MAKE it, but that increases the inflation rate. If you're interesting in my opinion further on the healthcare issue, read below. Otherwise, just skip the italicized words. I know. This is non-stop excitement here.
Low-cost government sponsored healthcare doesn't necessarily mean "good healthcare." I want my doctors to have incentives to stay competitive as medical professionals, who work to be the best at what they do so that I will pick them to be MY doctor - even if it's off a PPO provider listing. When it comes to my health, I don't want the government deciding how much it's going to cost, because doctors then have no incentive to work harder. My doctor could say, "Why should I learn new techniques or research new medication? The government decides what I can charge, and I will get patients no matter what I do. I can't market myself to be unique from any other practice." All children should have healthcare, because they are not responsible for their parents not having jobs with employee-subsidized coverage. I have no problem providing healthcare for children through my taxes, even though I know their parents are not always pulling their own weight. (It's not the child's fault.)
And for my final Tuesday Short, here is a recently posted Awkward Family Photo, which you can find here.
Uuuuuuuuuuh..... NO.
6.08.2009
The Last 10 Days or So...
(Sorry - no pictures of the vision in blue spandex. I am referring to me in a swimsuit.)Alex would not go to sleep one night until he sat on the potty. Nothing happened, just the sitting.
We attempted a garage sale, and made enough for dinner out at The Cheesecake Factory with the Jensens for their anniversary (and to pay the babysitter.) I went home with a HUGE GUT and I am not exaggerating. Even Kris noticed. 
The Cadillac was finally taken to a better home.
Alex was half-naked because he could be. I was jealous. It was HOT! 
This is me with a smirk:
"Yay! The "broke"-down car in my front yard is finally gone!"
Other than all that, there are many angry political rants I could write, I just haven't had the energy or the time. It's one of those things where you have to put your priorities in order.
Yes, I know Alex's seat harness is too loose. I just noticed that in the picture. I will be more careful...6.02.2009
The Twilight Saga: New Moon Trailer
5.24.2009
Practicing What I Would Say... (Just In Case)
Alex,
You know we will always love you no matter what, even if you make choices we don't agree with. I see that you've tried on Mom's dressy shoes...not that there is anything wrong with that. But we would prefer that you walk around in Daddy's shoes, you know, like at work and on outings. In fact, it would be better if you didn't have any Mommy-type dressy shoes in your closet at all...but it's your choice of course.
Just so you know. But we love you anyway.
Love,
Mom and Dad
5.23.2009
We Have a Climber
Late last night we woke up to Alex crying. This happens in phases. He's been a really good sleeper the last month or two. The last three days he has had "issues" -- too cold? too hot? bad dreams? I have no idea.
After several minutes when the crying escalated, I checked on him and tried to keep him comforted, but he screamed anytime I put him back in his crib. (He always says, "Lap? Lap?" and points to the chair in the corner of his room when he wants to be on my lap and fall asleep.)
Last night he would wake up the minute I stood up from the chair. Eventually, I was so exhausted and knew I couldn't handle his crying, so I brought him in our bed with me. That lasted a minute. He stretched out on the pillow and I had 2 inches before falling off the bed, so I went downstairs on the couch.
Wait. It gets better.
Alex dozed by Kris for a few minutes until he patted my side of the bed and said, "Where Mama?" He fussed until Kris brought him downstairs. Alex seemed to be wide awake and wanted the light on but we said it was time for "night-nights." Of course, he didn't like that. We put him in his crib and went back to bed.
It wasn't three seconds later we heard a thud and his crying got closer and closer until he walked into our bedroom.
What the crap?!!
Suddenly this little one had an escape plan and could follow through.
Kris patroled his bedroom doorway. Anytime Alex pulled his leg over the rail, Kris put him fully back into the crib. This lasted only 10 minutes or so and Alex gave up and went to sleep.
I realized I was terrified. I couldn't relax easily knowing he could jump out whenever he wanted. However, we all were able to stay asleep until about 7 AM.
This morning I had a brilliant idea that my mom gave me back when she helped me pick out the crib. Kris and I turned the front of the crib to face the wall.
Now, Alex has until about age 5, I'd say, before he can climb out!
(You realize that was a joke, right? Because we won't keep him in the crib until age 5. Maybe 4 1/2.)
HAHA! We've got you now, Little Al.
I Have To Share...
This Web site - Awkward Family Photos - made me laugh so hard I was crying, especially the captions under each picture.
Tip: On the right-hand side of the page, look through the Most Popular Posts.
5.21.2009
Ima Phan
I have become a fan of Christian Rock radio stations. I know, this is so conservative of me.
As a “Mormon” (or a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) I have listened to my share of church music. Mormons have their own brand of Christian pop which is. . . just. . .precious. Not always my taste.
We are a very reverent people, so if we want pop music and church music at the same time, the result is very. . . reverent. And corny. I’m not talking about our hymns, because I really do like our hymns and think they are very appropriate for church. (I realize I am not doing a very good job of explaining this here.)
Within the last year, all everybody's been hearing about in the news is how terrible the economy is, how high the unemployment rate is, how the Michigan state economy is tanking, etc. Then the last couple days I have turned to the Christian Rock radio station because it was something different and I needed a change. In between songs, the DJ asked people to call in and talk about how they had seen blessings come into their lives because of the current economic conditions.
After hearing a story or two, I suddenly stopped feeling so depressed about the economy. I realized that it’s not just 637,000 people who claimed unemployment in April, it’s 637,000 people that have an opportunity to test the Lord’s promises. Is that over-corny?
One lady who called into the radio show said she and her husband had been financially strapped and wondering how things would work out. She "immersed herself in 'The Word'"(which Mormons call “the scriptures”) and prayed about their situation. Soon afterwards, someone showed up at their doorstep with a $10,000 check and said they’d been praying about her family.
I know – that hardly happens to anyone else, but it still happened to THEM. I want to hear more stories like that. It doesn’t drain my emotional energy as much as watching regular news. Even though there are doctrinal differences between our church and other Christian churches, Christian Rock music still refers to God or Jesus and gives positive messages (real hope. Not the Obama hoopla.) I still understand there are dire circumstances out there – hunger, death, abuse – and as a human being, I just can't carry that mental burden. I think we have to understand the circumstances enough to contribute our resources to help, but we can’t allow it to overcome us because it’s too overwhelming (for me, anyway.) Just my thoughts for the day.
5.20.2009
E-mail From My Dearest Mother
March 5, 2009
Joanna -
I finally sat down and caught up on the blogs of the people I love. I will happily pay. I will gladly pay. I will quickly pay for the tattoo removal.
Just setting the record straight!!!
Love you - with or without the tattoo!!!
Mom
5.18.2009
Tattoo Removal: The Evaluation; a.k.a., “Goodbye to the Eye” (part IV)
I bet my three faithful blog readers thought I’d chickened out on getting my tattoo removed. Wrong! I had just been too “busy” to get my appointment scheduled.
I say “busy” to mean several things, including (1) making the appointment was not a priority; (2) I really had too many things going on and forgot about it; and (3) I did not want to take time off from work to go to an appointment and/or (4) I did not want to take Alex with me to an appointment on my day off.
So I finally had my Tattoo Removal Evaluation (hereafter referred to as “TRE”) with a dermatologist last Friday morning. This was also during the time I had a horrible back issue which I kind of glossed over in a previous post. I kept saying to myself last weekend, “Joanna, I really need to take care of myself.”
Anyway, in the TRE, I found out that my tattoo, because it is only one color (black) and because that color is black, should be “easy” to remove. The process usually takes 6-10 sessions, which are done at least 4 weeks apart.
I did not know this beforehand, but I learned from my doctor that the ink is bombarded with a laser so the ink particles can be broken down and metabolized by my system. That means that I will eventually be excreting my tattoo. Kind of a weird way to think about it, huh? I came up with that last part myself – the doctor didn’t say I’d be excreting it, per se.
Also, I asked my doctor to be really thorough and honest in explaining the entire process; i.e., I wanted to know exactly how much pain it would entail. He told me about some of the side effects of the treatment, and said the only real pain is during the anesthesia administration – which was actually a relief to hear. I thought the laser treatment was all done without local anesthetic. He said some people decide to go without it (why, I don’t know!) I know I can handle one shot in the fatty recesses of my back. After that, they will do follow-up anesthetic shots but only in the areas that are already numbed. The total time for one treatment is only 10 minutes. Overall, I started feeling very positive about this removal process.
