Flashback Friday

Just like every other kid, I loved getting a free prize in the cereal box.  To make sure that I didn't waste the cereal just to get the prize, I had to eat the cereal before I could get the prize.  After about a week of school morning breakfasts, they would give in and let me rummage in the box for the prize.  Sometimes they would be in a very charitable mood, and would let me open the cereal from the bottom and get the prize out first, but I knew I still had to eat the cereal before they'd buy ne another box with yet another prize.  Yeah, that was strict, but it was just an example of tough love.  I'd like to say that made me a patient person today, but that's not the case.  But I digress. 

Back in the day, you got very cool free prizes in cereal.  Now, they're very cheesy and most of the times, you don't actually get a tangible free prize - you get a coupon for something.  Not so with my beloved Cap'n Crunch.  My favorite cereal box prize ever was a little plastic coin holder that came in a box of Cap'n Crunch.  The outside was red, and you slid the lid off and inside were three slots that each held 3 quarters, nickels and dimes.  When I had that coin holder full, I thought I was rich.  Heck, that was $1.20 -- for a second-grader, that was rich.  I carried the plastic coin holder most of my elementary school years until it finally fell apart.  When Mom or Grandma would buy me a new purse, I'd be very picky and would make sure it had an inside pocket for my coin holder.  I wish I had that coin holder now, and I wish it was full.  That would be about $1.20 more than I have in my purse right now.

Mad Daycare Owner Update

I'm very very happy to report that the situation with the Mad Daycare Owner has finally been resolved.  After procrastinating for over a month because I'm just not a confrontational person, it's all over, and I have two co-workers, RP and JW to thank.  Every morning, when I would get to work, JW would ask if I had gotten my money from the Mad Daycare Owner, and each time I would tell him no, because deep down I was a wuss.  Yesterday, he and RP mentioned this a few times, and RP even offerred to go over and get the money for me.  Not wanting someone else to fight my battles, I told her I appreciated the offer.  She told me "It's time for you to just put on your big girl pants and go get your money."  Well, after a pep talk like that, how could I back down?

I called the Mad Daycare Owner from my cell as soon as I pulled out of the parking lot, and simply reminded her that she still owed me $69.  She said "Oh, I thought they paid you."  I said "They? Who is 'they'?" She then said she'd mail me a check.  I told her no, and that I would be by the daycare in about ten minutes to pick up the check.  I got there, and the check was waiting for me.  I wanted to go off on her, but I didn't want to stoop to her level.  I was calm, and before I turned to leave, I told her "My parents and I only tried to help you out. I'm sorry this turned into such a drama.  But I think we've all learned a valuable lesson from it."

I couldn't wait to see JW and RP this morning when I got to work, to tell them what I did and to thank them for hounding me about it.  We decided it might have been more effective if we'd dressed up like gangstas and went to the daycare and tossed a pair of tennis shoes over the utility wires to show they'd been marked as gang territory. 

The 2007 CPI

                                        

Item

Cost

Cost last year

Partridge	$15	Same
Pear Tree	$150	$130
Two Turtle Doves	$40	Same
Three French Hens	$45	Same
Four Calling Birds (canaries)	$600	$480
Five Gold Rings	$395	$325
Six Geese a-Laying	$360	$300
Seven Swans a-Swimming	$4,200	Same
Eight Maids a-Milking	$47	$41
Nine Ladies Dancing (per performance)	$4,759	Same
10 Lords a-Leaping (per performance)	$4,285	$4,160
11 Pipers Piping (per performance)	$2,213	$2,124
12 Drummers Drumming (per performance)	$2,398	$2,301

 

It's hard to believe that Christmas is a month away.  With the shopping season in full swing thanks to last week's Black Friday frenzy, it's time once again to look at the CPI - Christmas Price Index.  The good folks at PNC bank have been working hard as usual to bring us the 2007 CPI.   According to the 23rd annual survey, the cost of "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" is $19,507, a 3.1 percent increase over last year.  And once again, the rise in prices equaled the government's CPI - Consumer Price Index. 

 

If you want to buy your true love five gold rings this year, you're going to have to pay a bit more thanks to the increase in gold prices. The price of five gold rings now totals $395, a 21.5 percent increase over 2006prices, but nowhere close to 1989 prices, when five gold rings hit an all-time high of $750.  But the big bargains this year are on all of the birds; most of their prices stayed the same as last year. 

 

Another major increase this year was long overdue - the eight maids a-milking finally got a raise.  Thanks to the increase in the minimum wage this year, the maids got a 13.6 percent raise.  Which isn't anything to brag about when you consider the raise brought them up to the minimum wage of $5.85.  All I can say is it's about time those milk maids got a raise. 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday Joke Time

Several years ago, the Catholic Church required women to wear a head covering in order to enter the sanctuary. One Sunday a lady arrived without her head covering. The priest informs her that she cannot enter without it.

A few moments later, the lady reappears wearing her blouse tied to her head. The shocked priest says, "Madam, I cannot allow you to enter this holy place without your wearing a blouse."

"But Father, I have a divine right," she informs.

"Yes, I see that.... and your left one isn't bad either, but you still must wear a blouse to enter this church!"

File Under: WTF?

I was reading a magazine this holiday weekend - something that I normally don't take the time to do - and an advertisement caught my eye.  It was for deoderant.  But not just any deoderant - this was for "clinical strength" deoderant.  The ad said "For prescription strength wetness protection without a prescription."  I had no idea there was such a product on the market.  I did some research and visited the product's website and found some interesting info about this clinical strength deoderant. 

First of all, it said it was "clinically proven, prescription strength wetness protection."  Now, wouldn't you hate to have been in the lab working on the tests for this product? I'd like to know just how this has been clincally proven.  Did they put people in a room and crank up the heat to about 120 degrees with 100% humidity to make them sweat?  Then, the site said the product has "odor fighting capsules that absorb odor and release a scent all day to keep you smelling fresh and clean." That's some pretty powerful deoderant - if you sweat enough to need prescription strength wetness protection all day long.  Then the site said it had "skin soothing conditioners." So I guess besides giving you prescription strength wetness protection, it also smoothes and soothes your skin. 

This product raised a couple of issues.  Do people actually sweat so much that they need a doctor to prescribe a mega-strong underarm product? I've never actually seen (or smelled) a person like this.  I don't know about you, but personally, I don't want to be around a person who sweats so much that they need a doctor to prescribe a deoderant that strong.  Even if the prescription strength deoderant works, it would still be kinda gross to witness a person sweating that much.  And furthermore, with all of the talks about aluminum in deoderant being linked to cancer and Alzheimers, I think I'll pass on the prescription strength deoderant and just use my Secret. It seems to work fine. 

Link Of The Week

We've got one month and one week before the new year starts, and the end of the year brings us "best of" lists in the newspaper, magazines, TV shows and online.  Sometimes we agree with them, and sometimes we don't.  We all have our opinions of what we think is the best, and unless you have a blog or website, you have no place to tell others on the world wide web what you think is best.  Not any more.  I found a site this week where you can list any person, place or thing as being the best.  Visit http://www.bestfreez.com and get to listing.  You need to register first, but all you need to give them is your email address and you're good to go. 

I registered this morning and already posted.  I believe "Basic Instinct 2" was the best movie of 2007, regardless of what the critics, movie experts and movie viewers say, and now I have a place where I can share my opinion.  When you check the site out please look it up. 

I Shouldn't Have Strayed

Today's journal entry is brought to you courtesy of one of my favorite guest writers, Diva Stacy.  After she told me this tale earlier, I told her she had to put this in TWIT for all to read. 

I have this problem with stress and anxiety.  The slightest little thing can trigger an anxiety attack for me; going to the grocery without my list, a mom screaming at her kid at the MegaMart, even going to a "different" Kroger (I only like one).  For this reason I am extremely loyal to the stores where I shop.  I know where things are and for the most part I know what to expect.  I don't like surprises.  So yesterday when I drove to my favorite children's consignment shop, Kiddie Kloset, and discovered they were closed, I should have just gone on home.  Instead, I decided to drive a couple of miles down the road and go to the bigger, more commercial consignment shop.  Big mistake.
 
Now let me back up a second and tell you that before I went to this consignment shop I met Puddin' at our favorite neighborhood fish and beer joint (also on my list of familiar places). (Editor's note: this joint has the best fish in the 'Ville.  Maybe even in the state.  And I know Diva Stacy will back me up on this.)  Even though they are renowned for their fish, make no mistake, it's a beer joint.  We were there a good hour or so while we visited and enjoyed a refreshing beverage.  So I leave there and end up at the consignment shop.
 
The irony in this story is that I heard more yelling and foul language in the 15 minutes I was able to endure at the children's consignment shop than I heard in an hour at the beer joint.  I kid you not, I heard one white trash dad tell his daughter (who appeared to be about 6) that they were there to buy for her brother and she didn't need any more f-ing clothes (only he didn't say f-ing).  I lost track of how many times I heard someone tell their child they were going to bust their a$$.  And no one spoke softly, everyone was yelling their expletives.  It was amazing to me how no one seemed to care that they were cursing in front of their children, more importantly cursing AT their children.
 
And we wonder why 9 year olds curse at and assault teachers?!?