Depression Bread Lines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.
Bob Dylan
I’m probably hot-flashing again, dear readers, as I’m getting into one of my moods where I feel I must speak up. I’m posting this on my Musings Blog, rather than my “fun” Mama Mentor Blog, because ~~ this is not a fun topic.
Part I
I belong to several social networking forums. One in particular, a Mom forum, has been heavily debating the State of the Union and the economy, and whether anyone thinks it’s affecting their WAHM business. As the posts are moderated ~ well, you can understand that many do not get through. Personally, I’m getting a little tired of that forum. Thank goodness I blog, so I can expound and get on my high horse.
Many of the Mom members are young. I have nothing against being young ~ I was there myself once long ago.
But I cannot agree with their comments that the economy is rosy, things are great, and that the media is just making things out to look badly. Forum comments reflect the position that the economy is only bad to those whom are personally affected by it. Yes, and no. There’s a maxim that the “personal becomes the political.” I can agree with that.
However, I just didn’t fall off the apple cart. I’m a Baby Boomer and I’ve been married for 34 years, and have obviously lived through the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Never have I seen things looking so bad for this country.
As many of you know, I live in New England. I filled up my car today. I’d been riding on fumes, and have an American made car. We don’t wear the US flag on our sleeves, but DH insists we do buy American when we can. It cost me $64 to fill up today. I’m saving that gas receipt, just for ha ha’s. I used to have a 2002 Malibu that we bought new. In 2002, it cost me $12 to fill, which I thought was great, since it replaced the 1995 Windstar mini-van that I had.
Methinks that the young moms are looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. Just because you’re perhaps not personally affected, doesn’t mean the rest of the country isn’t. We’re what I consider, or used to consider middle class. I’m a college grad. I have a DD who’s a college grad, and another who’ll graduate in May 2009. My DH spent time at Marquette University in Milwaukee, and now owns his own business.
I read over 20 national newspapers a day because of my cubicle job. One of my favorite columnists is Debbie Solomon from the Burlington Free Press in Vermont. Her recent post sums up my feelings better than I can express them. Read it here. I hope this link continues to work.
Kiddos, things are going to get much worse before they get better. Hold on to your hats, you’re in for a ride.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of my rantings and ravings on this subject. Comments appreciated.
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As you can see, I’ve been Musing quite a bit about vacationing lately. Around this time last year, our family spent some delightful day-tripping time in Newport, Rhode Island, which is home to The National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame and Tennis Museum. There’s a terrific little restaurant on the grounds, and it’s fun to walk around and check out the history of tennis ~ you might even catch some players out on the lawn and watch their game while you eat some great fresh seafood!
When I was 17, I spent several weeks in England. I didn’t get to see Wimbledon, which is the most prestigious championship tennis court in the world. I love how the Brits call it “Lawn Tennis,” as it’s played on grass courts. Did you know that women have been allowed to play since 1884? Can you imagine what they wore at that time, which was right during the Victorian Era? We’ve come a long way baby with those cute little outfits the gals wear now!
There’s still time to grab some Wimbledon tickets!
If I can’t make Wimbledon, maybe you can. Each year New Haven, Connecticut hosts one of the major tennis tournments in the United States. It’s usually a big-draw for tourism, and our state can really use all the tourists we can get! Unfortunately, it also almost always rains that week.
Keep your fingers crossed for clear skies!
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Got a Gas Guzzler Boat? Need to get out of boating? Don’t Do this to it!
~ Donate it to Charity! ~
I just celebrated my 34th wedding anniversary recently. Two weeks after we got married, my husband and I purchased our first boat, a 25-foot wooden Chris Craft. As we live in Connecticut, Long Island Sound was our usual stomping ground.
Over the years, we bought several more boats, kids came along, and our travels took us and our friends from the marina to wonderful places such as Greenport, Montauk & Sag Harbor, New York, Shinnecock Canal, Block Island and Newport, Rhode Island, among other places.
Generally speaking, our boat got about 11 miles to the gallon. You could see how easily the dollars added up going on even a short excursion, much less a longer one!
Times have changed. Some of our friends are long gone, and others aren’t able to make the long trips any more and are trying to sell their boats. Gas prices because of the economy are out of sight. I have given serious thought to donate my boat to charity.
The old saying goes ~ A boat is
a hole in the water in which to throw money. If you’re looking to get out of the boating scene and are unable to sell your gas guzzler, there are many organizations to which you can
donate boats.
A wonderful organization, boatangel.org and their parent, use boat donations to create children’s animations and anti-drug documentaries. Boat Angel has outreach centers all over the world. A few of their worthwhile contributions made available through
boat donations are helping teen boys in rehabilitation homes as well as uplifting books into prisons. Be an angel, donate your boat.
Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved
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Staycation
Looking for something interesting to do with the children or visiting guests this summer?
With the cost of gas continually rising every day in today’s economy, many families are watching their finances and looking to cut corners and save money. By doing some Day Tripping with the kiddos or grandchildren, there are still many ways to have quality family-time together, while soaking up a little culture or entertainment in the process!
Check out this easy money saving tip on how to day trip and vacation close to home!
Happy Trails to You!
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Copyright @ C. Matthews 2007
Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved
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May 9, 2008 by Moomette's Magnificents (Admin)
Filed under baby boomer, blog resources, e-commerce, family, internet marketing, meme, networking, parenting, wahm, work at home
I’ve been Tagged with a Meme by Kim, over at Accidental Mommies and What’s That Smell ! Kim is my new friend, and comments on my Mama Mentor Blog that she thinks she and I may be twins! I’ve often felt that way when I see other writers. I actually feel that way about Sue Reimer’s columns over at the Baltimore Sun. Sue is one of my all-time favorite columnists.
Tagging is a great way to network, meet new friends, and get acquainted with other bloggers!
So here goes on the tag:
Here are the rules:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.
1 ) What was I doing 10 years ago?
* I was working full-time; raising my family; going to college part-time to finish my degrees;
2 ) What are five things on your to-do list for today?
- Clean my house (sorta done)
- List items for my eBay Store & Shoppes Site (not done, too busy blogging)
- Organize my Bookmarks folder so I can find things on my computer (another day)
- Continue to research ways to try to retire
3 ) What snacks do I enjoy?
- A real weakness for white pistachios, and of course, anything divinely chocolate!
4 ) Things I would do if I were a billionaire?
- Quit my Full-Time cubicle job (in a heart-beat)
- Buy a vacation Condo down South where it’s warm! – a definite subject of a post to come!
- Buy a vacation Condo up North in Vermont – for ourselves, DD & fam
- Get my DH the motorcycle he always wanted but I never would ever let him get (maybe another boat, too)
- Hire a house-cleaning person
- Travel, for real, and not vicariously this time
- Donate to several charities I’m grateful to and fond of
5 ) Three Bad Habits
Only 3…. ( agree with you here Kim, only 3?)
- Slacker in my house cleaning (OK, so I don’t entertain as much as when I was younger)
- I still bite my nails and pay a fortune for gel tips
6 ) 5 places I have lived…
(this is a real joke)
- my home town in CT where I grew up & graduated high school
- Longmeadow, Massachusetts (when I was a Freshman in College, but then left to come home and continue college in CT
- my home town in CT where I grew up & graduated high school
- my home town in CT where I grew up & graduated high school
- my home town in CT where I grew up & graduated high school
7 ) 5 Jobs I have had
- Desk Clerk in a Dry-cleaners
- Farm Shop Ice Cream Fountain Waitress – scooped ice cream up to my elbows (armpits, I’m short)
- Lingerie Sales Clerk in a Major Department Store
- Paralegal in various Law Offices
- Chief pooper-scooper of the cat litter box (this one’s a freebie & thrown in for good measure)
And the lucky people I’m tagging next are:
* Vicki at Simply Vicki
* Shera at A Frog in My Soup
* Rox at Roxiticus Desperate Housewives
* Lynne at Sewing Mom
* First Time Dad
* Tina at Mummie Diaries
* Christine at From Dates to Diapers and Beyond
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Now that I’m a Baby Boomer, as I get older, I think spending quality family time together is important. This past Sunday was such an occasion. The fam arrived at 11:30 on the dot, all respectibly dressed. We headed South on the highway, straight towards the beach and Connecticut shoreline, my favorite spot!
Turned out my two DDs and Charming Son-in-Law treated DH and I to an early Mother’s Day holiday brunch at Water’s Edge, the Number 1 rated “Best Brunch in Connecticut”, and a belated Birthday celebration present for DH. We had a delightful time, and the Brunch was absolutely spectacular ~ no need for dinner that night! We had a waterside view table overlooking Long Island Sound, and the temps were in the 80’s for May! It was the kind of day we Connecticut folk like to say “you can see straight across” ~ meaning we could see the 12 miles across to Long Island.
I feel so fortunate to be living so close to my daughters and granddaughter (although DD #2, the college student is still at home – most of the time.)
If you aren’t able to be with your own Mom for mothers day, or would like to show your affection to your own daughter or daughter-in-law who may be a Mom herself, send a gift of Flowers!
I love receiving flowers and bouquets, and what makes it extra special is the fact that I can appreciate them now – while I’m still above ground!
Happy Mother’s Day to you all.
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I’d like to thank all my loyal readers of Moomettesgram’s Musings. Your emails and comments have inspired me to split off and create a whole separate new blog.
I’ve decided to split Moomettesgram’s Musings in half. While I’ve been covering a lot of base with work-at-home tips for WAHMs and WAHDs; parenting, grandparenting and ebiz & eBay tips, I’d also been adding in some musings.
My newly launched blog is Moomette’s Mama Mentor Blog where I feel I’ll be able to muse to my heart’s content on a different level.
My primary reason for establishing Mama Mentor is that I’ve grown to enjoy blogging. Having joined Entrecard and Mom Blogs has pointed me in the direction of many, many wonderful blogs that focus primarily on reflections and general family life!
Now that my family is grown, and growing again, there’s so much I’d like to reflect on personally, and Mama Mentor will be that vehicle!
You’ll find the link at the top of this site under “My Other Blog.” Please stop on by and leave some comments!
I hope you’ll join me on my journey.
Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved
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Earth Day is April 22, 2008 this year.
The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. That was the year I was a Senior in high school, the Vietnam War was raging, and it was a very tumultuous period. We all wanted to be Flower Children. My DH recalls Earth Day specifically as he flew out and back that same day from Connecticut to visit Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI where he ended up going to college.
The photo pictured above is one of my favorites that I took this past summer while on a camping trip to the Connecticut shoreline (come visit us!) I can’t imagine living anywhere that isn’t close to some type of water or anything nautical ~ specifically the ocean, but I’ll take a lake. Summer and Fall are my favorite seasons. I love the smell of the salt water, marshes, (my family disagrees with me here,) the scrub pine needles. I love the four seasons; scents of beach Rose Begosa; and sand between my toes. Nothing is more peaceful than falling asleep to the sound of lapping waves. Cape Cod, Massachusetts has got to be one of my favorite places on the planet. I prefer to think of it in the past tense ~ think “Summer of ‘42” ~ when it wasn’t so crowded, and “discovered”. You can’t beat Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard for tranquility. Ask Bill. I’m looking forward to perhaps some day camping there again with my family, charming Son-in-Law, ‘lil Moomette, and her soon-to-be born brother.
So much has changed since 1970. I’m a Boomer now, on the verge of retirement. Not only do I not look the same, but I know the earth isn’t the same as I remember, either. As an Analyst, my current FT profession is focused on Energy Conservation and heavily promotes Green Clean Products, Energy Efficiency, Fire Prevention, Environmental Protection, Recycling, Water Conservation and more. I am responsible for researching trends on a daily basis and keeping up with current events. What I’m seeing isn’t pretty.
Do something special this year in honor of the day. Save the Earth, for your children and grandchildren.
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Well, I have a new car. As far as I’m concerned, nothing was really wrong with my old car. It’s just that DH felt it was time to take on more debt (there goes my retirement options) & get a new one. It’s not quite the Audi TT I fancy myself driving, but hey, it’s got a spoiler! I’ll have to ramp up my eBay sales. And besides, DH’s brother is a Chevrolet car salesman where we get all our cars, so it helps out the fam. KWIM? Commissions, food on the table…
Every time I get a new car, it comes with more bells & whistles. Which is OK. BIL does his thing and spends an hour telling me how to work the wipers; cruise control; program the radio which now has XM; find out what time of day it is in Japan, the temp in Hawaii (I live in Connecticut) ~ GPS, OnStar, that type of thing. Of course, my mind is always elsewhere, and besides, I have a DH to tell me all that when I forget. That’s why I got married. So I think. After 34 years, I should know better now. DH tells me to “read the instruction manual.” I think NOT.
Anyway, I was tooling about the other day, and when I turned the left blinker on, it sounded like one of those cross-walk sirens, blaring away. You can only re-set the options when the car’s in park, so every time I came to a stop light, that’s what I tried to do. The other drivers behind me quickly brought me back to reality, that this was not a crisis in their minds.
When I got home, I explained to DH what happened. He checked it. Nothing. Sounded normal to him. Gremlins. I know they’re out to get me. Just like when I get in the car and all the XM satellite radio buttons have been changed. No, I’m not paranoid. I just have DDs who insist that it’s not them changing the stations when they get in my car. I think NOT.
So, I think this Baby Boomer Granny will just go back to my old ways, and bring all those Country music Cd’s by Keith Urban & Big and Rich that I used to listen to. At least I’ve upgraded from an 8-Track. If I want to know the temp, I’ll roll the window down. GPS? I know how to get to work. But if my blinker goes crazy on me again and I need to let everyone know what direction I’m going in next ….you know the bumper sticker that says “Horn broken, watch for…..” oh, I won’t go there.
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