I think I'd be good at telling others how to spend their money. Some of you will be glad to tell me where I can cut back. As I see it, I've cut to the bare bones. Instead of telling me what to cut out first tell your designer friends to help me increase my income by purchasing stock photography and footage at. Pond5. I mean needed stock, look there first. I pray daily for inspiration for needed subjects to shoot. I also pray for willing and able buyers to see my work. My portfolio is increasing and sales are inconsistent.
Here are our cut backs. My house payment and utilities are much less than when we lived in the apartment. I have a cell phone that only talks, Andrea doesn't have one. Andrea does the yard work. We don't have satellite or cable, Netflix, or Hulu Plus. We don't smoke or drink. I drink Big K cola and buy whatever is on sale at the grocery store. The house is hot because I don't turn on the air conditioner until at least June first. We don't wear designer clothes and shoes. We don't get Mannies and Petties.
You may think these are splurges. I give Andrea and allowance so she can learn to manage money. She bought her prom dress out of her allowance by making payments. She says she'll wear it again next year. If she does, she will have learned a valuable lesson. I don't have the slowest internet because of online school, uploading to stock agencies and watching free stuff on Hulu and YouTube. I only buy Bounty paper towels and Scot Toilet paper. I've found those worth the extra cost. I have a monthly Smugmug account to safely share a few pictures and have off site storage. We have two dogs. Sparkles has been with us since 2004. Brody is our outdoor watch dog. We have woods behind out house and he provides peace of mind.
You may say, "Stop whining and get another job." I can't read the unfamiliar scripts for LiveOps anymore. I'll refer you to the quote in a previous post called Out of the Mouths of....Everybody under Man at Sheltered workshop. in Salt Lake City. To add to all that my eyes are much worse now and it shows. How many of you have heard back from applications you made online? To find anything now I either have to take para-transit of take Andrea with me; an extra expense either way. My right foot won't allow me to walk great distances on a daily basis or stand for long periods of time. I've applied for photography gigs on Craigslist. I always send a link to my Pond5 portfolio and the the first Blind as Eye Look blog post. I don't want them to get a surprise after I show up. So far nothing, not even a thanks but no thanks return email.
Andrea and I get survivor's benefits and I also get disability. Andrea gets reduced health insurance through the state and I get mine through Grady Memorial Hospital. We don't qualify for heating assistance, straight Medicaid or food stamps. Medicare premiums are too high. The income I made from LiveOps made me inelegible for Grady's prescriptions. I used a Canadian pharmacy all last year. LiveOPs working vs no prescription coverage, I'll choose LiveOps, if I could.
I have a lot of credit card debt from moving to Georgia expenses; appliances, lawn mower, and weed eater for this house, and failed ventures such as My Wife's Closet and Kalani's Kandles. Once I pay the bills, juggling some, and buy food we're broke again. Some months I don't even put twenty dollars into savings. I shutter to think how I'd manage if there was an emergency.
Andrea is looking for work too. I hope she finds something soon. When she goes to college in a couple years FASFA can forget about the parental contribution.
I have friends with full time jobs struggling the same way I am. I know people with no visible means of extra money taking vacations. Are the people with money to spend once the bills are paid making that much more or are they up to their eyeballs in debt?
Basic living expenses keep going up. For the last three months I have paid more each month for the same basket of basic food. The therm rate on natural gas went up when I renewed my contract. Para-transit fare went up a few months ago. Andrea's health insurance rates doubled this month. I'm turning into a bitter person. WalMart was collecting for some charity another to help orphans; I told them no thank you. First, I don't have any extra money to give. I don't know what percentage goes for good and what percentage goes toward administration. Too much on the new about people using contributions for personal use. Not to mention we qualify for very little while others are raking it in.
So, I beg you, please tell people you know who need stock photos and footage to visit my online portfolios. I should mention Shutterstock and Fotolia as well. Shutterstock and Fotolia pay when you reach their minumum threshold and request payment. Pond5 pays automatically on the fifteenth of the month after you've reached their minimum threshold.the previous month.
I'll keep you posted.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
HGTV
How many of you enjoy HGTV? When I had satelite TV most of the programs I watched were on HGTV. Now I watch a few on Hulu or YouTube. I've noticed a change in the miessage the programs I watch give. This change is slowly leaning toward being more practical and realistic.
When I first got satellite TV in 2007 I was amazed how the show participants found fault with kitchens I thought were just fine. They didn't like old cabinets. They didn't like white appliances. Stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops were all the rage. There were shows teaching how to make your house more appealing to prospective buyers. There were shows telling how much value people had added to their home buy putting in high end finishes. These programs also told how much homeowners had left on the table by not making one improvement or another. MY House is Worth What featured a house where the homeowners had did a lot of the work themselves. Granted their paint job was sloppy around the edges but the host really dinged them for it. "They didn't spend any money in here," or, "They must have run out of money," were common phrases uttered by the hosts. I too began to look down on white appliances and the lack of crown molding when I watched HGTV. the other day I heard a host say a kitchen had cheap granite.
The amount of money spent on some of these projects was staggering. I can't imagine spending thirty thousand dollars on my already existing dining room. A hundred and fifty thousand dollar outdoor space; you're kidding, that's over twice what I spent on my whole house on point six acre. Bang for Your Buck came out where the homeowners get to comment on the hosts commentary about the improvements the homeowners made. I like it when the homeowner says something like, "There was a budget you know."
Now the shows I get are starting to be more realistic. Buying And Selling is realistic because they always run into unexpected snags. Because of that part of the remodeling budget must be compromised to fix the snag. What frustrates me about this show is most of the snags could have been foreseen by paying attention to the structure and or condition in the first place.
Kitchen Cousins and I Hate My Kitchen take kitchens that look like Beazle's, built in 1971, and make them look like modern versions. Gone are the begillion dollar renovations seen in past years on HGTV. I think the redone kitchens look a little better than the original, sometimes. Personally I don't like the plastic looking cabinets in primary colors they like to use. The finished kitchens on these shows are what the average person can afford and expect to see after their kitchen has been redone. To me they do make for much less interesting TV.
I don't understand why open floorplans are so popular. I know they are because I saw lots of them while house hunting. I ended up with one as well. Sure you can all see each other but you'll have to talk loud to be heard from the other part of the space. It gets noisy when two or more groups want to do different things. Beazle said the ones playing Monopoly were making too much noise. My sister said the ones playing cards were making just as much noise. At my in-laws the game dominates. Nothing else can be heard while we prepare food because of the open plan. As I write this My daughter's video game and friends are competing with my talking book.
Because I lived through the ice storm of 2000 I think about how to heat all this open space. Back then we were able to close doors and keep the heat somewhat confined in out old house. Here, there's no way, we'd better plan on being cold if we lose power for a week. Our second choice would be to hold up in a bedroom and burn Kalani's Kandles. there is no way the fireplace downstairs can heat all that space. We could tack up plastic to make a smaller space but that space would still be huge.
Where do these house hunters get their money? HGTV will show young newlyweds plunking down four or five hundred thousand dollars for a house. Depending on their location, the house may be nice or the house may be crappy. They don't like the fixtures so they say, "that can be changed." Yeah, for a price. The most misleading thing I find on the house hunting shows is the budget to make these changes. The real estate agent or home buyer will say, "This one is under out budges so we'll have money to make upgrades." What, Where? If you buy a certified rehab house you can get a loan to make improvements. If you buy a regular house and want to install granite counters because you don't like the solid surface the price of the house has nothing to do with it. Your mortgage is based on your down payment and price of the house, not the changes you want to make. If you get approved for $250,000 and buy a house Costing $200,000, you don't get the extra for improvements.
I don't know how HGTV justifies some episodes of My First Sale with shows like My House is Worth What. I recently watch an episode where a couple had sunk a lot of money into their condo. They were trying to get way over market value because of all the improvements. Of course their condo didn't appraise for anything near what they were asking. The couple kept pointing out their property is nicer than the other units for sale in the building. The agent kept telling them it didn't appraise for more a nobody would meet their price when they could buy another unit for less. If your house is updated and priced near what other properties are selling for near you it will sell faster because it is more appealing. Buyer's aren't going to pay significently more for you hardwood floors and granite when the house next door is tens of thousands of dollars less. HGTV did many people a disservice by making them think nice upgrades lead to high appraisals.
Appraisals are based on mostly unchangeable aspects; square footage, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, size of lot, size of garage, existence of a stove or other appliances. If you live in a track house keep your improvements about the same as your neighbors. That way your houses will appraise for about the same and sell for about the same as your neighbors. Over improve and your house will still appraise about the same as the others around you. You've probably heard the sayings, "Don't buy the most expensive house in the neighborhood," and, "buy the ugliest house in the neighborhood and fix it up. You're overpaying for the upgrades in the expensive house. The ugly house has probably been on the market longer and it's price reduced.
I'm talking paint, carpet, and other cosmetic fixes on that ugly house. That sort of investment will bring that ugly house even with the others.
HGTV is improving and I still enjoy watching. Our summer project is painting the living room.
When I first got satellite TV in 2007 I was amazed how the show participants found fault with kitchens I thought were just fine. They didn't like old cabinets. They didn't like white appliances. Stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops were all the rage. There were shows teaching how to make your house more appealing to prospective buyers. There were shows telling how much value people had added to their home buy putting in high end finishes. These programs also told how much homeowners had left on the table by not making one improvement or another. MY House is Worth What featured a house where the homeowners had did a lot of the work themselves. Granted their paint job was sloppy around the edges but the host really dinged them for it. "They didn't spend any money in here," or, "They must have run out of money," were common phrases uttered by the hosts. I too began to look down on white appliances and the lack of crown molding when I watched HGTV. the other day I heard a host say a kitchen had cheap granite.
The amount of money spent on some of these projects was staggering. I can't imagine spending thirty thousand dollars on my already existing dining room. A hundred and fifty thousand dollar outdoor space; you're kidding, that's over twice what I spent on my whole house on point six acre. Bang for Your Buck came out where the homeowners get to comment on the hosts commentary about the improvements the homeowners made. I like it when the homeowner says something like, "There was a budget you know."
Now the shows I get are starting to be more realistic. Buying And Selling is realistic because they always run into unexpected snags. Because of that part of the remodeling budget must be compromised to fix the snag. What frustrates me about this show is most of the snags could have been foreseen by paying attention to the structure and or condition in the first place.
Kitchen Cousins and I Hate My Kitchen take kitchens that look like Beazle's, built in 1971, and make them look like modern versions. Gone are the begillion dollar renovations seen in past years on HGTV. I think the redone kitchens look a little better than the original, sometimes. Personally I don't like the plastic looking cabinets in primary colors they like to use. The finished kitchens on these shows are what the average person can afford and expect to see after their kitchen has been redone. To me they do make for much less interesting TV.
I don't understand why open floorplans are so popular. I know they are because I saw lots of them while house hunting. I ended up with one as well. Sure you can all see each other but you'll have to talk loud to be heard from the other part of the space. It gets noisy when two or more groups want to do different things. Beazle said the ones playing Monopoly were making too much noise. My sister said the ones playing cards were making just as much noise. At my in-laws the game dominates. Nothing else can be heard while we prepare food because of the open plan. As I write this My daughter's video game and friends are competing with my talking book.
Because I lived through the ice storm of 2000 I think about how to heat all this open space. Back then we were able to close doors and keep the heat somewhat confined in out old house. Here, there's no way, we'd better plan on being cold if we lose power for a week. Our second choice would be to hold up in a bedroom and burn Kalani's Kandles. there is no way the fireplace downstairs can heat all that space. We could tack up plastic to make a smaller space but that space would still be huge.
Where do these house hunters get their money? HGTV will show young newlyweds plunking down four or five hundred thousand dollars for a house. Depending on their location, the house may be nice or the house may be crappy. They don't like the fixtures so they say, "that can be changed." Yeah, for a price. The most misleading thing I find on the house hunting shows is the budget to make these changes. The real estate agent or home buyer will say, "This one is under out budges so we'll have money to make upgrades." What, Where? If you buy a certified rehab house you can get a loan to make improvements. If you buy a regular house and want to install granite counters because you don't like the solid surface the price of the house has nothing to do with it. Your mortgage is based on your down payment and price of the house, not the changes you want to make. If you get approved for $250,000 and buy a house Costing $200,000, you don't get the extra for improvements.
I don't know how HGTV justifies some episodes of My First Sale with shows like My House is Worth What. I recently watch an episode where a couple had sunk a lot of money into their condo. They were trying to get way over market value because of all the improvements. Of course their condo didn't appraise for anything near what they were asking. The couple kept pointing out their property is nicer than the other units for sale in the building. The agent kept telling them it didn't appraise for more a nobody would meet their price when they could buy another unit for less. If your house is updated and priced near what other properties are selling for near you it will sell faster because it is more appealing. Buyer's aren't going to pay significently more for you hardwood floors and granite when the house next door is tens of thousands of dollars less. HGTV did many people a disservice by making them think nice upgrades lead to high appraisals.
Appraisals are based on mostly unchangeable aspects; square footage, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, size of lot, size of garage, existence of a stove or other appliances. If you live in a track house keep your improvements about the same as your neighbors. That way your houses will appraise for about the same and sell for about the same as your neighbors. Over improve and your house will still appraise about the same as the others around you. You've probably heard the sayings, "Don't buy the most expensive house in the neighborhood," and, "buy the ugliest house in the neighborhood and fix it up. You're overpaying for the upgrades in the expensive house. The ugly house has probably been on the market longer and it's price reduced.
I'm talking paint, carpet, and other cosmetic fixes on that ugly house. That sort of investment will bring that ugly house even with the others.
HGTV is improving and I still enjoy watching. Our summer project is painting the living room.
I Still Eat Like a 2-year-old
If you call me a picky eater, that is an understatement. As a child, people told me I'd grow out of it as I grow older. I didn't. I was urged to, "try it". I tried it and as I knew, I didn't like it. My pickiness carried over into other aspects of food that most people never give a second thought.
I don't like mixed textures. The crispness of chips and the softness of cheese dip just drives me crazy. Soft tuna, boiled eggs, mayonnaise, and bread shouldn't be mixed with hunks of onion and pickles. Few people can chop these crunchy ingredients fine enough not to be annoying. Vanilla ice cream can have small chocolate chips but not big globs of cookie dough. Cookie dough should be eaten alone.
Tomatoes should only be eaten once they've been turned into smooth soup or smooth spaghetti sauce. Raw tomatoes and chunks of cooked tomato in soups are to be avoided.
Catfish should be fried in corn meal. Boney fish such as trout should never be served. Believe it or not I did enjoy ota, a raw fish dish in Samoa. Fresh tuna and wahoo should be grilled or broiled. Shellfish is for people who will eat anything, and that is not me. Canned mackerel makes better croquettes than salmon.
Green vegetables got a bad rap when I was little. I knew I never liked green vegetables of any kind. I simply avoided them at all costs. Beazle said it was because I ate some greens at my grandmother's house that made me sick. Beazle always thought Mammow's housekeeping wasn't up to par. Beazel said I was so sick she had to take me to the hospital. So, as a little kid I must have concluded all green vegetables, and to be safe fruits, will make me sick. I will eat green M&M's, SweetTarts, and popsicles, but not green ice cream.
Most foods shouldn't touch each other. I don't want my potatoes touching my meat. I don't want anything touching my bread. Put the corn in a separate dish so the juice won't run into the other foods. There are a few exceptions to this rule. Chicken fried steak can have white gravy on top of it. You can also put sauce on top of my spaghetti. But never pile my foods on the same plate and expect me to eat it. I'll never forget the horrific plate someone fixed for me at my grandparent's fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration. Someone had the bright idea to fix all the kids' plates. Instead of asking us what we wanted they piled some of everything on each child's plate; meat, veggies, potatoes, bread, relish, cake, pie, everything. Who ever heard of putting cake on top of food? Haven't we all been told to eat our meal before dessert? Beazle doesn't follow this rule at Thanksgiving. She says if she eats the meal first she won't have room for dessert. So she eats cake and pie along with her turkey and dressing.
There are two parts of a chicken worth eating, the breast and the liver. The rest is uneatable. How can you enjoy a leg with all that cartage? If I want to gnaw on bones give me ribs. Chicken thighs have got to be the worst part of the chicken there is. Beazle used to try to trick up into eating thighs. After all they look almost like breasts. When my sister or I remarked the chicken meat looked dark Beazle would say there's white chickens and black chickens just like there's white people and black people. She tried this ploy two or three times before she gave up.
I came by my pick eating habits honestly. Dad was picky too. "Aunt Less asked me if I wanted some goulash," Dad said, "I didn't know what goulash was but I didn't like the sound, goo-losh. I told her, no." Dad wouldn't eat canned spaghetti because he said it looks and smells like puke. He liked foods he could pick up and eat. He didn't like to cut meat before he ate it. Beazle wasn't an adventurous cook. She stuck with the tried and true. Maybe with people lime us she didn't dare try something new. After searching diligently for a cookie recipe that didn't call for brown sugar I broke down and asked Beazle to buy some.
"I think I'll make a pumpkin Pie," Aunt Maple said one day. I wanted to know if it was good. She said it was and she'd let me try a piece when it gets done. For reasons known only to a four-year-old I thought pumpkin pie would be crunchy. I was looking forward to pulling the pumpkins off the crust and crunching on them. Imagine my surprise when Aunt Maple brought me a piece of pie that looked a lot like sweet potato pie. But it tasted much, much better than sweet potato pie.
I encountered more strange foods when I went to school; pickled peaches, cottage cheese, tapioca pudding, tomato juice, cobbler, and watery beans. That was nothing until my house mother, Miss Broach, asked me if I wanted butter on my bread. I was dumbfounded. Cold butter, cold bread, together? At home we had toast or we melted butter and dipped raw biscuits or brown and serve rolls in it before we cooked them. We ate our light bread plain. Miss Broach must have gotten tired of waiting for me to answer; so she buttered a slice of bread and handed it to me. I tasted it and like all the other new foods, I didn't like it. I couldn't believe the other kids were eating such a thing and enjoying it.
Foods were eaten at different times a day at school too. Rice wasn't a breakfast cereal there, it was a side dish for lunch or supper. Salmon croquettes were served at supper instead of breakfast. I could have sworn we had beans for breakfast once. Beazle thinks I probably had a nap and then ate, thinking it was breakfast time. Because I have only one memory of beans for breakfast she is probably right.
A few new foods did turn out to be good. Around Thanksgiving of my kindergarten year all the stories were about turkeys. People were talking about eating turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. I just knew I would like it. I asked Beazle to buy a turkey instead of a hen for Thanksgiving. She did, it looked like an enormous chicken to me. Just so you know, we didn't have giblet gravy. Beazle knew nobody would eat it.
When I traveled I was willing to try more foods. In Hawaii I liked kalua pig, mango sherbet, mangoes, and guava juice, but not macadamia nuts or poi. In Samoa I liked their pancakes, fermented breadfruit bread called masi, and koko Samoa. Samoa is where I learned I liked yellow fin tuna. I didn't like taro. I tried squid and didn't like it. I couldn't bring myself to try octopus. I'd already tried and liked that raw fish ota so I was tasted out.
When I find myself in a Chinese restaurant I stick to the familiar as much as possible. A Chinese restaurant is no place to be adventuresome. With Beazle calling it rats and rice and the exotic smell, you just can't taste many dishes.
I vote Chinese if my only other choice is Mexican. I don't want to go out to eat just chips. We tried all kinds of Mexican food in Spanish class and I didn't like it. I don't like spicy, I won't eat green, and what are re-fried beans anyway? And again the smell.
People say try eating raw vegetables if you don't like them cooked. Raw vegetables taste the way leaves smell if you crush them in your hand. Raw carrots do not taste like raw sweet potatoes. Radishes are too hot. Cabbage tastes like, well, cabbage.
We like to watch Food Network for some reason another. The judges on Chopped and Master Chef are fond of saying a dish tastes good but needs texture or sauce. I'm thinking why ruin it that way. And why do they pile all the food on top of each other? They don't do that on Hell's Kitchen. When we watch these shows we wish the vegetarian or vegan cook off first; and they are usually the first to go. In my not so humble opinion veggies can't beat out meat when it comes to taste.
Being so picky is detrimental to social events. Barbecues pot lucks, and fish fries are safe, there is always something edible there. Going to someone's house is tricky. First you can't be hungry until you know what is on the menu. When I was on my Summer Mission I hated it when we were invited to dinner. there's no telling what the hosts may serve. For those who will eat anything in any condition, no problem. For the picky eater dread city.
To this day I haven't learned to like a food. If I liked it then I still like it. If I didn't like it then I didn't like it a year from then, a year ago, or now. We've always thought if we got hungry enough we'd eat anything. A while back I read how some older people will starve before they eat something they don't like. I hope I never have the chance to find out which is true.
I don't like mixed textures. The crispness of chips and the softness of cheese dip just drives me crazy. Soft tuna, boiled eggs, mayonnaise, and bread shouldn't be mixed with hunks of onion and pickles. Few people can chop these crunchy ingredients fine enough not to be annoying. Vanilla ice cream can have small chocolate chips but not big globs of cookie dough. Cookie dough should be eaten alone.
Tomatoes should only be eaten once they've been turned into smooth soup or smooth spaghetti sauce. Raw tomatoes and chunks of cooked tomato in soups are to be avoided.
Catfish should be fried in corn meal. Boney fish such as trout should never be served. Believe it or not I did enjoy ota, a raw fish dish in Samoa. Fresh tuna and wahoo should be grilled or broiled. Shellfish is for people who will eat anything, and that is not me. Canned mackerel makes better croquettes than salmon.
Green vegetables got a bad rap when I was little. I knew I never liked green vegetables of any kind. I simply avoided them at all costs. Beazle said it was because I ate some greens at my grandmother's house that made me sick. Beazle always thought Mammow's housekeeping wasn't up to par. Beazel said I was so sick she had to take me to the hospital. So, as a little kid I must have concluded all green vegetables, and to be safe fruits, will make me sick. I will eat green M&M's, SweetTarts, and popsicles, but not green ice cream.
Most foods shouldn't touch each other. I don't want my potatoes touching my meat. I don't want anything touching my bread. Put the corn in a separate dish so the juice won't run into the other foods. There are a few exceptions to this rule. Chicken fried steak can have white gravy on top of it. You can also put sauce on top of my spaghetti. But never pile my foods on the same plate and expect me to eat it. I'll never forget the horrific plate someone fixed for me at my grandparent's fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration. Someone had the bright idea to fix all the kids' plates. Instead of asking us what we wanted they piled some of everything on each child's plate; meat, veggies, potatoes, bread, relish, cake, pie, everything. Who ever heard of putting cake on top of food? Haven't we all been told to eat our meal before dessert? Beazle doesn't follow this rule at Thanksgiving. She says if she eats the meal first she won't have room for dessert. So she eats cake and pie along with her turkey and dressing.
There are two parts of a chicken worth eating, the breast and the liver. The rest is uneatable. How can you enjoy a leg with all that cartage? If I want to gnaw on bones give me ribs. Chicken thighs have got to be the worst part of the chicken there is. Beazle used to try to trick up into eating thighs. After all they look almost like breasts. When my sister or I remarked the chicken meat looked dark Beazle would say there's white chickens and black chickens just like there's white people and black people. She tried this ploy two or three times before she gave up.
I came by my pick eating habits honestly. Dad was picky too. "Aunt Less asked me if I wanted some goulash," Dad said, "I didn't know what goulash was but I didn't like the sound, goo-losh. I told her, no." Dad wouldn't eat canned spaghetti because he said it looks and smells like puke. He liked foods he could pick up and eat. He didn't like to cut meat before he ate it. Beazle wasn't an adventurous cook. She stuck with the tried and true. Maybe with people lime us she didn't dare try something new. After searching diligently for a cookie recipe that didn't call for brown sugar I broke down and asked Beazle to buy some.
"I think I'll make a pumpkin Pie," Aunt Maple said one day. I wanted to know if it was good. She said it was and she'd let me try a piece when it gets done. For reasons known only to a four-year-old I thought pumpkin pie would be crunchy. I was looking forward to pulling the pumpkins off the crust and crunching on them. Imagine my surprise when Aunt Maple brought me a piece of pie that looked a lot like sweet potato pie. But it tasted much, much better than sweet potato pie.
I encountered more strange foods when I went to school; pickled peaches, cottage cheese, tapioca pudding, tomato juice, cobbler, and watery beans. That was nothing until my house mother, Miss Broach, asked me if I wanted butter on my bread. I was dumbfounded. Cold butter, cold bread, together? At home we had toast or we melted butter and dipped raw biscuits or brown and serve rolls in it before we cooked them. We ate our light bread plain. Miss Broach must have gotten tired of waiting for me to answer; so she buttered a slice of bread and handed it to me. I tasted it and like all the other new foods, I didn't like it. I couldn't believe the other kids were eating such a thing and enjoying it.
Foods were eaten at different times a day at school too. Rice wasn't a breakfast cereal there, it was a side dish for lunch or supper. Salmon croquettes were served at supper instead of breakfast. I could have sworn we had beans for breakfast once. Beazle thinks I probably had a nap and then ate, thinking it was breakfast time. Because I have only one memory of beans for breakfast she is probably right.
A few new foods did turn out to be good. Around Thanksgiving of my kindergarten year all the stories were about turkeys. People were talking about eating turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. I just knew I would like it. I asked Beazle to buy a turkey instead of a hen for Thanksgiving. She did, it looked like an enormous chicken to me. Just so you know, we didn't have giblet gravy. Beazle knew nobody would eat it.
When I traveled I was willing to try more foods. In Hawaii I liked kalua pig, mango sherbet, mangoes, and guava juice, but not macadamia nuts or poi. In Samoa I liked their pancakes, fermented breadfruit bread called masi, and koko Samoa. Samoa is where I learned I liked yellow fin tuna. I didn't like taro. I tried squid and didn't like it. I couldn't bring myself to try octopus. I'd already tried and liked that raw fish ota so I was tasted out.
When I find myself in a Chinese restaurant I stick to the familiar as much as possible. A Chinese restaurant is no place to be adventuresome. With Beazle calling it rats and rice and the exotic smell, you just can't taste many dishes.
I vote Chinese if my only other choice is Mexican. I don't want to go out to eat just chips. We tried all kinds of Mexican food in Spanish class and I didn't like it. I don't like spicy, I won't eat green, and what are re-fried beans anyway? And again the smell.
People say try eating raw vegetables if you don't like them cooked. Raw vegetables taste the way leaves smell if you crush them in your hand. Raw carrots do not taste like raw sweet potatoes. Radishes are too hot. Cabbage tastes like, well, cabbage.
We like to watch Food Network for some reason another. The judges on Chopped and Master Chef are fond of saying a dish tastes good but needs texture or sauce. I'm thinking why ruin it that way. And why do they pile all the food on top of each other? They don't do that on Hell's Kitchen. When we watch these shows we wish the vegetarian or vegan cook off first; and they are usually the first to go. In my not so humble opinion veggies can't beat out meat when it comes to taste.
Being so picky is detrimental to social events. Barbecues pot lucks, and fish fries are safe, there is always something edible there. Going to someone's house is tricky. First you can't be hungry until you know what is on the menu. When I was on my Summer Mission I hated it when we were invited to dinner. there's no telling what the hosts may serve. For those who will eat anything in any condition, no problem. For the picky eater dread city.
To this day I haven't learned to like a food. If I liked it then I still like it. If I didn't like it then I didn't like it a year from then, a year ago, or now. We've always thought if we got hungry enough we'd eat anything. A while back I read how some older people will starve before they eat something they don't like. I hope I never have the chance to find out which is true.
Religion And Me
Sometimes I'm very religious, doing everything I should be doing. I'm excited to go to church on Sunday. I read my scriptures daily. I give up coffee, wear modest clothes, have family prayer, pay tithing, have family home evening, do missionary work, do genealogy, and attend the temple. I'm an all around good Mormon.
At other times I've let most of it go. Family home evening is the first activity to go while my morning coffee is the first to return. Eventually I'm down to attending church occasionally and wishing the time would go faster. It's hard to see the logic in some rules. Take modesty, a changing concept. Why should somebody somewhere decide what is modest for the entire LDS population? We don't wear the same styles as the first Latter-day Saints wore. At some point someone decided the definition of modesty changed. When will it happen again? Who knows, but I have no doubt it will.
I don't pay tithing because I can't afford it. Some can quote chapter and verse why I should. Others can tell personal accounts of blessings they received from paying their tithes. I don't have that much faith. Andrea and I are already living hand to mouth and sick of it. If I payed tithing I'd come up short. If I come up short that would put in motion a lot of unnecessary activity. First I'd have to see the clerk to make an appointment with the bishop. Now I've got the inconvience of getting to church for an appointment during the week or staying after church to see the bishop. Now I've got to tell the bishop I'm short and need help with whatever I'm short on. The bishop then authorizes the clerk to write checks to the companies I need to pay. I'm still living hand to mouth but with more appointments.
I have trouble believing Heavenly Father or Jesus is interested in hearing about every little thing we're thinking about. Some people pray about the simplest things; should I buy a car or truck, Should I take the job in town or out of town, Should I date this one or that one. If we're all God's children and he wants to hear from us, why yammer at him about such trivial matters. I've been know to zone out when Andrea asks me what I think of yet another outfit or hair style. Just imagine Heavenly Father listening to us going on and on about one small thing after another. How can her hear from and take care of the sick, injured, desperate, and others in true need when multitudes are whining because they got their feelings hurt by someone who probably didn't mean to but they're hurt anyway. They know they shouldn't feel this was but they can't help it. Will you please help me understand what was going on in that person's mind because I know they didn't mean to hurt my feelings but they did. Why do we try Heavenly Father's patience with our ramblings? That's what blogs are for.
"Please God, don't let that be my house on fire." What! Think about it. There's a fire. It either is or is not your house. Why are you not praying, "Please god help the fire fighters to put the fire out quickly. Please help anyone inside be able to get out." Maybe not the best example but listen to people around you and you'll hear other illogical prayers.
I was twenty-two years old before I joined a church. I can't imagine being a member of another denomination. I just have trouble keeping up with all the things they think important. We believe there are three degrees of glory in the afterlife. I truly believe I'd enjoy the middle degree better than the top. I like to use my school days as an analogy. If I attended classes, did my homework, and didn't study for tests, I'd get B's in everything except math. People would reason with me, if you study for the tests you would probably get A's. I'd rather had the free time over the A. Religion wise if I can do as I'm doing and get the Terrestrial Kingdom ( B) I'm satisfied.
At other times I've let most of it go. Family home evening is the first activity to go while my morning coffee is the first to return. Eventually I'm down to attending church occasionally and wishing the time would go faster. It's hard to see the logic in some rules. Take modesty, a changing concept. Why should somebody somewhere decide what is modest for the entire LDS population? We don't wear the same styles as the first Latter-day Saints wore. At some point someone decided the definition of modesty changed. When will it happen again? Who knows, but I have no doubt it will.
I don't pay tithing because I can't afford it. Some can quote chapter and verse why I should. Others can tell personal accounts of blessings they received from paying their tithes. I don't have that much faith. Andrea and I are already living hand to mouth and sick of it. If I payed tithing I'd come up short. If I come up short that would put in motion a lot of unnecessary activity. First I'd have to see the clerk to make an appointment with the bishop. Now I've got the inconvience of getting to church for an appointment during the week or staying after church to see the bishop. Now I've got to tell the bishop I'm short and need help with whatever I'm short on. The bishop then authorizes the clerk to write checks to the companies I need to pay. I'm still living hand to mouth but with more appointments.
I have trouble believing Heavenly Father or Jesus is interested in hearing about every little thing we're thinking about. Some people pray about the simplest things; should I buy a car or truck, Should I take the job in town or out of town, Should I date this one or that one. If we're all God's children and he wants to hear from us, why yammer at him about such trivial matters. I've been know to zone out when Andrea asks me what I think of yet another outfit or hair style. Just imagine Heavenly Father listening to us going on and on about one small thing after another. How can her hear from and take care of the sick, injured, desperate, and others in true need when multitudes are whining because they got their feelings hurt by someone who probably didn't mean to but they're hurt anyway. They know they shouldn't feel this was but they can't help it. Will you please help me understand what was going on in that person's mind because I know they didn't mean to hurt my feelings but they did. Why do we try Heavenly Father's patience with our ramblings? That's what blogs are for.
"Please God, don't let that be my house on fire." What! Think about it. There's a fire. It either is or is not your house. Why are you not praying, "Please god help the fire fighters to put the fire out quickly. Please help anyone inside be able to get out." Maybe not the best example but listen to people around you and you'll hear other illogical prayers.
I was twenty-two years old before I joined a church. I can't imagine being a member of another denomination. I just have trouble keeping up with all the things they think important. We believe there are three degrees of glory in the afterlife. I truly believe I'd enjoy the middle degree better than the top. I like to use my school days as an analogy. If I attended classes, did my homework, and didn't study for tests, I'd get B's in everything except math. People would reason with me, if you study for the tests you would probably get A's. I'd rather had the free time over the A. Religion wise if I can do as I'm doing and get the Terrestrial Kingdom ( B) I'm satisfied.
Strange Laws
These laws are still on the books strange as they my be. A few states were left blank because I couldn't find any laws strange enough to publish. Other states have more than one. Enjoy.
| Alabama | You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time. | |
| Alaska | No child may build a snowman taller than himself on school property. | |
| Arizona | It's unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water. | |
| Donkeys are not permitted to sleep in bathtubs. | ||
| Arkansas | A man can legally beat his wife, but not more than once a month. | |
| Little Rock, Arkansas | Dogs can't bark after 6pm. | |
| San Francisco,California | It is unlawful to use used underwear to wipe off cars in a car wash. | |
| It’s illegal to pile horse manure more than six feet high on a street corner. | ||
| Denver, Colorado | It is against the law to loan your next door neighbor your vacuum. | |
| Connecticut | Anyone riding a bicycle over 65 mph will be ticketed | |
| Delaware | Getting married on a dare is grounds for an annulment. | |
| Florida | It is against the law to dream about another man's wife or cow. | |
| Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon owner. | ||
| Georgia | It's illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole. | |
| Hawaii | Twins can't work for the same company. | |
| All residents may be fined for not owning a boat. | ||
| Tamarack, Idaho | It's illegal to purchase onions after dark except with a special permit from the sheriff. | |
| Chicago, Illinois | It is illegal for anyone to eat in a place that is on fire. | |
| Gurney, Illinois | It is illegal for a woman weighing more than 200 pounds to ride horses in shorts. | |
| Indiana | It's illegal to bathe in the winter time. | |
| Iowa | State law forbids any establishment from charging admission to see a one-armed piano player. | |
| Natoma, Kansas | It is illegal to throw a knife at anyone wearing a striped shirt. | |
| Kentucky | It is illegal to remarry the same man four times. | |
| It's the law that a person must take a bath once a year. | ||
| New Orleans, Louisianan | It is illegal for a woman to drive unless her husband is in front of the car waving a flag. | |
| Rumford, Maine | It is illegal for a tenant to bite his/her landlord. | |
| Baltimore, Maryland | It is illegal to wash or scrub sinks, no matter how dirty they get. | |
| Massachusetts | Snoring is illegal unless all bedroom windows are shut and securely locked | |
| Michigan | It is illegal to chain an alligator to a fire hydrant. | |
| Minnesota | Women may face up to 30 days in jail if they impersonate Santa Claus. | |
| Mississippi | ||
| St. Louis, Missouri | it is illegal for an on-duty firefighter to rescue a woman wearing a nightgown; in order to be rescued, a woman must be fully dressed. | |
| Whitehall, Montana | It is illegal to operate a vehicle with ice picks attached to the wheels. | |
| Omaha, Nebraska | If a child burps during a church service his or her parents may be arrested. | |
| Nebraska | It is illegal for bar owners to sell beer unless they are simultaneously brewing a kettle of soup | |
| Las Vegas, Nevada | It's illegal to pawn ones dentures. | |
| New Hampshire | It is illegal to sell the clothes one is wearing to pay off a gambling debt. | |
| Trenton, Jew Jersey | It is illegal to throw a bad pickle in the street. | |
| New Mexica | ||
| New York | It is against the law to throw a ball at someone's head for fun. | |
| Charlotte, North Carolina | women must have their bodies covered by at least 16 yards of cloth at all times. | |
| Fargo, North Dakota | One may be jailed for wearing a hat while dancing, or even for wearing a hat to a function where dancing is taking place | |
| Ohio | It is illegal to get a fish drunk. | |
| Oklahoma | ||
| Oregon | ||
| Pennsylvania | It is illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors. | |
| Rhode Island | It is illegal to throw pickle juice on a trolley. | |
| South Carolina | Every citizen is obliged to carry his gun to church. | |
| South Dakota | It's illegal to fall asleep in a cheese factory. | |
| Restaurants in Memphis, Tennessee | It is illegal to give any pie to fellow diners. It is also illegal to take unfinished pie home. All pie must be eaten on the premises. | |
| Texas | It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel. | |
| Devon, Texas | It is against the law to make furniture while you are nude. | |
| Tremonton, Utah | It is illegal for a woman to have sex with a man while riding in an ambulance. | |
| Vermont | Women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth. | |
| Norfolk, Virginia | Spitting on a seagull is not tolerated. | |
| Washington | It's illegal to buy any meat product on Sunday. | |
| West Virginia | Roadkill can be taken home for dinner. | |
| Wisconsin | Unless a person specifically orders margarine it's prohibited to serve it as a substitute for butter especially in state prisons. | |
| Wyoming | It is illegal for women to stand within five feet of a bar while drinking. | |
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