CHANGE HAS COME!!!

God bless us, everyone.

I'm Embarrassed to Admit This

I've lately become OBSESSED with taking online store surveys. You know, the kind that when you eat at a place like Applebee's (it's OK for an after-the-movies-supper) and your waiter comes back with your check and says "Congratulations, you have been spontaneously and randomly chosen to take our online survey and you could win a gift certificate for . . . "

blah, blah, blah. I usually just say thanks, pay my bill and shred the receipt when I get home. Never was a "coupon clipper" either. Too much to keep organized.

But with the price of everything going up so much, I've started paying attention to the fine print at the bottom of my grocery receipt for example. It says, and I quote:

"Win $500 gift card! Take survey monthly at ....... to enter. Thank you for shopping at ......."

OK, so I was thinking: how many people REALLY take these surveys and figured the odds of winning were pretty good. Well, I was wrong about that cuz apparently MILLIONS of peeps have been doing this for years before I caught on to it.

BUT

The amazing thing is that now I'm getting emails from the grocery store (yeah, it's a pain sometimes but I just hit the delete key) and this past Wednesday they emailed me a $20 off coupon on a purchase of $100 -which is about what a weekly trip costs me- so I went today and used it. I bought all my usual stuff and some fresh wheat grass for the cats (spoiled rotten animals!) and got the promised $20 off. I'd call this a Good Thing.

BTW, never got anything spontaneous or random from Applebee's yet . . .

WTF?

My youngest brother just declined my Inauguration Party Evite. Claims he voted for Obama but is "Republican by nature, and attending would be akin to drinking the kool aid..."

My response back: "Couldn't you just not swallow?"

Ahhh, family. Gotta love um.

A Game For My Inauguration Party on the 24th

The President Barack Obama Quiz (I got 6 out of 10)

1. Where was Barack Obama born?
A. Honolulu, HI
B. Chicago, IL
C. Jakarta, Indonesia
D. Wichita, Kansas2.

2. From what university did Obama earn his law degree in 1991?
A. Yale University
B. Harvard University
C. Columbia University
D. University of Chicago

3. Obama was a lecturer of constitutional law at what law school from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004?
A. Yale University
B. Harvard University
C. Columbia University
D. University of Chicago

4. In what year was Obama first elected to the Illinois State Senate?
A. 1994
B. 1996
C. 1998
D. 2000

5. What republican candidate did Obama defeat in the 2004 United States Senate election in Illinois?
A. Blair Hull
B. Peter Fitzgerald
C. Jack Ryan
D. Alan Keyes

6. In 1992, Obama married whom?
A. Martha Robinson
B. Maria Robinson
C. Michelle Robinson
D. Mary Robinson

7. In 2005, Obama co-sponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" along with what Republican Senator?
A. Sen. John Warner (R-VA)
B. Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY)
C. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN)
D. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

8. What was the first electoral contest that Obama won in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary run?
A. Iowa
B. New Hampshire
C. South Carolina
D. Michigan

9. How many states did Barack Obama win on Super Tuesday in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary run?
A. 11
B. 12
C. 13
D. 14

10. Obama says that his alternate career choice would have been:
A. Architect
B. Pastor
C. Doctor
D. Psychologist

Yes, there will be a fabulous prize for the Winner. How'd you do?



ANSWERS:

A – Honolulu, Hawaii
B – Harvard University
D – University of Chicago
B – 1996
D – Alan Keyes
C – Michelle Robinson
D – Sen John McCain (R-AZ)
A – Iowa
C – 13
A – Architect

10 Best Movies of All Time

A lively lunchtime discussion sparked this post, here are my picks:

1. Gone with the Wind
2. Casablanca
3. Wizard of Oz
4. To Kill a Mockingbird
5. Saving Private Ryan
6. The Godfather
7. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
8. Fiddler on the Roof
9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
10. Sound of Music

I know, I Know, I’ve left off Citizen Kane, It’s a Wonderful Life, Rocky, Annie Hall, Midnight Cowboy, Raging Bull, Dr. Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, Mary Poppins, Ben Hur, Patton, The Graduate, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Shane, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn . . . and 3 million others!

Of course, lists like this tend to reveal more about the compiler than the merits of the movies, especially when you label them the Best of. What would your list of ten include?

P.S. Lemming, please upgrade to DSL so you can respond (LOL).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I think.

No resolutions here (can't keep them anyway).

More later.

Soup Days

When the weather turns cold, I get out my biggest soup pot and have a marathon soup making day. I got to take home the leftover smoked ham from Christmas dinner last night so I am making my famous split pea soup. Think I'll make some nice homemade bread to go with it.

I love slow soup days like this.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's raining and storming here in sunny California. The air is crisp and cold, well, cold by California standards - it's about 52 but got down to 43 last night. Family scattered around the country - Oregon & Nevada - have been calling this morning to say Merry Christmas. I'll miss not seeing everyone this year . . .

My niece and her husband in Oregon are having their first "white" Christmas as snow is still falling in Portland and Seattle. My sister in Las Vegas is also having snow, although it's just raining this morning. Heard from husband's family in Sacramento, rain and fog in our State Capitol and Santa was good to everyone too.

My pumpkin pies are ready to transport to my youngest brother's for dessert tonight. We'll spend the night there also.

Merry Christmas to all of my blogger friends and hoping you're enjoying time with family and friends too.

Teeth Whitening Strips

So, I tried those teeth whitening strips this morning. The last time I bought my gallon size bottle of Listerine, there were free samples attached, and I'm a sucker for anything that has free samples attached.

I read the instructions carefully 3 times as these are my only teeth I'm talking about here.
It starts off telling you to ask your Dentist before using if you have dental work as it will not whiten dental work. Well, my Dentist goes to Hawaii every year at this time to surf so that was out. I was on my own and I felt brave. And I have a mouthful of dental work.

I carefully opened the first little foil packet and immediately dropped it in the bathroom sink. It melted clean away in less than 3 seconds right before my eyes!

Swell. So I open packet number two (not over the sink this time) and successfully apply the clear strip to my lower teeth - it says to start with the lower teeth because of the saliva factor, I know, TMI.

Good so far. Next I apply a strip to my upper teeth, getting a bit on my gums. THEN I read "don't allow strip to adhere to gums," but I decide to live dangerously and chance it. No harm done, it's only hydrogen peroxide for crying out loud!

I stand there grinning at myself in the bathroom mirror as these strips start turning into gel. "Does Paris Hilton do this," I'm wondering? The instructions say the strips should melt away in about 10 minutes for most people. 30 minutes later I'm thinking, I'm not "most people."

I can't stand it anymore and decide to brush the gunky gel off my teeth, floss too. I don't see much of anything different but it does "take twice a day for two weeks" the instructions say and I don't need another gallon of Listerine at the moment.

I think I'll wait until my surfing Dentist comes back from Hawaii and ask how much a professional whitening job costs. Free whitening strips are not for me.

Have Rolling Pin, Will Travel

How I am spending my Christmas vacation: I am having a blast!

Sleeping til 7:30 (three hours more sleep than usual), making my own coffee and drinking it by the light of my two Christmas trees. Having whatever I want for breakfast, sometimes going to my fave cafe for lunch and eating at a table all by myself.

Monday I took my rolling pin to bake with family in Santa Clara as we have been doing for the past two years - I guess this qualifies as a tradition. Yesterday, I baked 78 gingerbread boys and decorated them with my niece, ex-sil, and nephew's girlfriend - a five year tradition. This Sunday, I'm taking my rolling pin to Milpitas to make gingerbread boys with another branch of the family.

I could get used to this.

What's better than spending time, quality time, with family, especially the younger generation and building a legacy? My legacy is baking memories with the ones I love the most. It just doesn't get any better than that. It just doesn't.

P.S. I said Merry Christmas to the Salvation Army bell ringer and they said Merry Christmas back, not that crappy Happy Holidays . . . there's hope afterall.

Doctors as Friends

I have the best Doctor on the planet! Had my check-up this morning:

Heart = still beating
Lungs = still breathing
Blood Pressure = been worse (140/90 when the nurse took it, 128/92 when Dr took it) will stay on current medication
Blood Oxygen = normal (whatever that is)
Temperature = 99.8
Pulse = still have one
Weight = up a little (but I have lost 67 pounds in the past year)
Cholesterol = 160
All the Other Stuff = fine and dandy except I am overdue for a colonoscopy (she told me about hers and it still doesn't convince me) so I told her I'd make it a goal for 2009 - NOT!

The reason I bring this up is because at all my appts we have the most amazing conversations and I leave feeling really good about myself and that everything is as it should be. I always get a big hug too. This morning she remembered this was the first Christmas without my Mom and the second without my brother (sure, it's written in my chart) but it's nice she even mentions it.

I also always leave feeling a little sad because she is someone I could really have as a personal friend. She's about two years younger than me and has been through many of the same things I have. I left wanting to invite her and her husband over for dinner or something. But I don't know "the rules" about befriending or getting too chummy with your Doctor. I'll have to ponder this in my Happiness Project.

Speaking of, I told her about it and she thinks it's great and admires that I enjoy writing. She says she doesn't write because she's "too lazy." OK, so this woman went how many years to medical school, sees how many patients a year, has her own family to tend, and she thinks she's lazy???

Now I'm blathering . . . hope you're having a nice day (I'm on vacation until January 5th).

Do You "Wordle" Yet?

Go here to make some "word clouds" (I'm beginnning work on My Happiness Project).

Tag, You're It!

I've never been tagged but I liked this from lemming's progress:

Where is your cell phone? Charging on my desk
Where is your significant other? At work
Your hair color? Blonde (natural too)
Your Mother? Did the best she could
Your Father? Did the best he could
Your favorite thing? The ocean
Your dream last night? Can't remember any
Your goal? To start my own Happiness Project (more later)
The room you're in? My office
Your hobby? Baking
Your fear? Too many to list here
Where do you to be in 6 years? Retired and travelling
Where were you last night? On the couch watching MSNBC
What you're not? An extrovert
One of your wish-list items? A closet organizer
Where you grew up? San Jose, CA (aka Silicon Valley)
The last thing you did? Checked my email
What are you wearing? My new Santa scarf (knitted by my SIL)
Your TV? Old
Your pet(s)? 3 cats: Phoebe G, Samantha, & Violet and 14 fish in a 100 gallon tank
Your computer? Dell
Your mood? Tomorrow is my first day of vacation until Jan 5th, so you tell me
Missing someone? Mom, Dad and Ed
Your car's name? Olive
Something you're not wearing? Earrings
Favorite store? Sur La Table
Your summer? I hate summer!
Love someone? I love lots of someones
Your favorite color? Green
When is the last time you laughed? On the drive into work this morning
Last time you cried? Last Sunday
Tagging? anyone

The Christmas Decorations are up . . .

OMG, I am exhausted!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It's a beautiful day here on the central coast of California, about 62 degrees, partly-cloudy - all the rain yesterday washed the sky blue again. GORGEOUS!

I've just pulled my homemade yeast rolls from the oven (my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner) and have the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the TV; I only watch because of the giant balloons and Santa's arrival. We're going to my Mother-in-Law's today and to my family's on Saturday, sorta Thanksgiving and my Brother's birthday celebrated together. I can't wait!

Thinking about my Mom a lot today. She passed away in January and this time of the year was her favorite, probably why it's my favorite time of the year too. I'm going to say Mom's prayer at dinner this afternoon: "Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Thanks for the Grub, Yay, God!"

Anyway, I wish you all a very happy day and hope it's spent with people you love . . . or at least who you really like. Take care.

My Baby Brother Turns 50

We are all going to his house for a big party on Saturday the 29th. And since he doesn't read my blog (even tho I gave him the address), I will post the poem I wrote for the occasion:


On My Baby Brother Turning 50

Distinguished friends and family gathered here today,
please listen to me briefly as I have some words to say.

On this notable occasion we are here to celebrate
the birthday of my brother, who is fifty on this date.

We know him as a man of honor, honest and foursquare.
He is well-traveled, well liked, even somewhat debonair.

He’s now a half century old but still he looks fine,
more wrinkles will come, it will just take some time.

Yes, my brother is turning 50 and his hair is turning grey
but some of us remember him before he got this way.

Always a handsome lad who had been known to flirt,
but once he was a little boy known to me as Johnny Burt.

He’s laughed a lot and cried a little too, and of the hard times,
I'm sure there were a few!

He’s fallen and stood right back up on his feet,
and many good people he’s had the pleasure to meet.

He’s worked very hard and played a lot too, but John,
there's not too many who can do what you do.

There are so many people around him here that care,
and hope at his one hundredth, they will be there.

Turning Fifty's not such a terrible thing,
but I can't wait to see what the next fifty brings!!!!

All my love, Cissy

Worth repeating (from last year)

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Did I mention that I love Fall?

Actually, I am addicted to Fall: crisp air, that “autumn blue” sky, raking leaves, freshly picked apples, dried corn stalks, and pumpkin patches. (Note: I could be genetically predisposed as my birthday falls on the first day of Autumn most years.) My house begins to fill with the scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin spice. Around the end of July, I begin scouring my old magazines for Fall arts & crafts and decorating projects, comfort food ideas, and new baking recipes. I am a woman obsessed! I go down to the basement to begin sorting through my Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations, all carefully packed in plastic storage boxes (I’ll spare you my obsession with Christmas and how I put up 3 Christmas trees each year).

This past Sunday, in honor of my birthday, my husband took me out to breakfast, my favorite meal to have out and also to cook. As we drove south on Hwy 1, along the coast to Moss Landing, overlooking Monterey Bay, I spied my first pumpkin patch of the season. My husband of 30 years knows well my reaction to seeing the pumpkins for the first time and pulled over just in time (he’s really as bad as me) to take in the gorgeous sea of orange and white. Pumpkins of every size imaginable, as far as the eye can see, rolling down to the water’s edge.

Did I mention that I love Fall?

Obama Cabinet Picks (just thinking ahead)

I won't try and guess the biggies like Chief of Staff (I have read Rahm Emanuel has the job if he wants it), Attorney General (a woman would be nice) or Secretary of State (?)
BUT
how about these names:

Treasury Secretary: Michael Bloomberg (he's a party swinger, kinda like Lieberman)

Secretary of Energy: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Repub who's actually done well here in CA)

Secretary of Education: Caroline Kennedy (a Kennedy in the White House again - Camelot!)

Secretary of Defense: Colin Powell (I know but he was a soldier and knows his stuff)

Press Secretary: Jon Stewart or Keith Olberman (Stephen Colbert is Canadian)

OK, I'll keep thinking . . .

Oh yeah, and I dreamed Michelle Obama asked me to come decorate the White House for Christmas - ME, not Martha Stewart - lol - it could happen!

Open Letter to Obama from Alice Walker

Nov. 5, 2008

Dear Brother Obama,
You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear.

And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done.

We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance.

A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on.

One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate.

One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise.

It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies.

And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker

AWESOME DAY FOR AMERICA!!!

Proud. Proud. Proud.
I am especially proud to be an American today.

The dark clouds over this nation are moving away;
Good bye to the old, make way for the new.

It's not going to be easy, let's roll up our sleeves
and get to work!

The page has been turned.

We've looked in the mirror and have finally become
the country we always knew we were.

(Party at my house January 24th, you're ALL invited!)