American Politics

Am I the only person in this country who is feed up with politics? I really don’t believe that I am, though I must be in the minority. Frankly I am sick to death of having our so called “news” providers dictate to me how and what to think, who to vote for and what cause I should or should not support. CNN is firmly and unabashedly liberal and highly supportive of most things touted by the Democratic Party; while FOX News is unashamedly conservative and supports most issues dear to the Republican Party. Watching or reading the news has become an exercise in political science and I for one have no desire to know every television or print reporters personal views on the political game called American Politics. I believe it has become impossible to make an informed political decision based on information gleaned from the press and that is indeed unfortunate because even in this wondrous age of modern technology; this is still a very big country and there are those of us who find it difficult, if not impossible to attend political functions and rallies. Apparently the all powerful press has decided it is not obligated to report the facts and give us the opportunity to decide for ourselves where we stand on the issues.

Those of you who know me will, I am sure, be a little surprised that I even have a political view. For me it isn’t (at this stage) who I will vote for, it has more to do with what I will vote for when the time comes. March 4, (insert the appropriate date for your state) is a very important day in Ohio and I encourage everyone to vote. If you would go to the polls as an informed and responsible citizen your best source of information is, in my opinion, the internet; and even here you have got to exercise caution, as we Americans are a highly opinionated lot and never afraid to express our views. I suppose the bottom line on the subject is that those of us who are feed up with the press have our work cut out for us in the months ahead. Unfortunately to my knowledge, there is no single reliable source for news (political or otherwise) and if it is the truth we are seeking we shall have to find it for ourselves, Grasshopper.

Well, I feel better for having got that off my chest.

There is always hope.

Betty

Searching For A Resolution

What, I asked myself, will you make as your New Year’s resolution? It has been my rule in the last few years not to make resolutions, after all, I reasoned, why set a goal that is practically guaranteed to fail. It all seemed a little silly to me. I honestly cannot recall ever having made a New Year’s resolution that I actually kept and still, for some inexplicable reason I feel compelled to make them. This year I decided that making a resolution not to make a resolution was, well… a little too eccentric even for me. Choice; either make a resolution or ignore the impulse, decision; make one.

I have decided that 2008 is the year that I matter. What I think, feel, want and need are important and I have got to remember that. No wonder people treat me as a second thought and find it easy to disregard my opinion and feelings. If I don’t value myself no one else will value me; and all that other prattle you read about in the self-help books. Part of my resolution is that every day I will do at least one thing that is important to me or something that I want to do. I got off to a good start New Year’s Day, I watched Return of The King. I have wanted to watch that movie (well actually all of the Lord of the Rings movies) for ages. I also plan to continue with meditation; my hope is that I will somehow (in my drugged fog) find my center and then be able to view the world with more kindly eyes. I am convinced that if there were more compassion and kindness in the world many of our problems would cease to exist.

Today I hope (with Don’s help) to get the house set back to rights; Christmas decorations put away and the excess culled out and sent on to Good Will. This evening, I think I’ll watch one of my “Chick Flicks” while Don is out practicing with his kids. Ah, so many possibilities!

There is always hope.

Betty

Is There No Justice?

Just a quick post to bring you up to speed on how the holidays went here. Christmas was, dismal. Don came down with the stomach flu on Sunday afternoon and by by Christmas Eve I too had moved into the bathroom (upstairs, he had the downstairs) and was incapable of more than groaning. I admit that in this instance I have no sense of humor. There is no justice. It is unfair that I had only just begun to feel better from one bug and then was nailed by another.

At any rate; since I am posting this you must know that I am at last back on the mend

There is always hope.

Betty

It Really Is About Time

The time, the time! I’m running out of time! Goodness, talk about the long haul; I thought I would miss Christmas altogether this year. That was one wicked cold, or flu or whatever it was, and I sincerely would not wish it on an enemy. At any rate, here I am finally beginning to feel better with only three days until Christmas.

I will have to hit the floor at a run today if there is any chance to get everything done that I need to. Today, I need to clean the house and perhaps do a load or two of laundry. Tomorrow, I will need to get the gifts wrapped, and that is no small job. On Monday (Christmas Eve) comes the tricky part; I have no idea what we are doing. We may be going to Don’s parents, in which case we will spend the night; or we may be staying home and going there on Christmas Day and if that is the case, we may or may not spend the night. It all depends on two things, one – how Don is feeling (whether or not he is coming down with the bug) and two – what he decides he would like to do.

And so, my friends, I have a busy and confusing couple of days ahead of me (much, I am sure, as you do) and since, though I am feeling better, I am still sort of fuzzy headed and I have a slight headache; I had best get to it before it gets to me.

There is always hope.

Betty

Yucky Old Cold

It is, I believe, the height of stupidity to let something as common (no pun intended) as a cold ruin my favorite time of year. I have, of course been called worse things than stupid and in this instance I humbly consent wear the title because it is precisely what I am being. Albeit I cannot seem to help myself because everything that needs doing for the holidays remains undone.

As I type this post Brenda Lee is signing Rocking Around The Christmas Tree in a weird kind of quadraphonic, tin can voice that reverberates painfully against my poor, pressure stressed eardrums. I cannot stand it so I just turned off the music.

There is so much to do before Christmas! I need to bake the cookies, finish shopping, wrap the gifts, clean the house and make lasagna all before the magical day arrives; I’ll never get it all done unless I feel a little bit better. I will not stress about it though, the meaning of Christmas has nothing to do with all of those bits and pieces of the modern, commercial version of the day. Still, I do love the lights and music and it makes me just a little bit sad to have the enjoyment diminished by a yucky old cold.

I apologize if this all sounds rather fuzzy and stuffed up; personally I think I have done well in just making the attempt to post.

There is always hope.

Betty

There Are Wifely Duties and Then There Is Cookie Dough

One of my “wifely” duties at this time of year is baking sugar cookies, they are Don’s hands down favorite cookie and as far as he is concerned, there is no point in taking the time and bother to bake anything else. Sugar cookies are time consuming and I am about as artistic as dust but that is not the reason I resisted (vigorously) giving in to making the dratted cookies for years. The sad truth of the matter is that I tried every recipe for sugar cookies I could lay my hands on and no matter what I did; I just could not roll the silly dough out. Inevitably it was too soft or too firm or too thin or any of a hundred things that cookie dough can be too much of, it was not a good exercise in confidence building. And there you have it, another of my dirty little secrets; put a rolling pin in my hand and the best you can expect is for me to begin pounding my head with it. Fortunately for Don I found a recipe for sugar cookies that I can manipulate into something that resembles a cookie, and they don’t taste bad either. If you are interested in the recipe go to http://www.kraftfoods.com/ and look for their 4 – in 1 Cookie Dough recipe.

I suppose that is one of the most wonderful things about life, here I am, soon to be 49 years old and I still have no idea what I do best. I have learned a few lessons on things I do not do well, like rolling dough, but I am still searching for that one thing that I do really well. How much fun is that? I cannot imagine having all the answers and no more mysteries to solve.

One thing that is no mystery to me is where and when I got this yucky cold I am suffering with. I had to get it on the plane coming back from Las Vegas last week. It hit me exactly seven days after we returned home. I will spare us all another tirade on germs, suffice it to say, my feelings have not changed on that score. And now, I think it is off to bed for me. I hope I have enough energy to bake the cookies tomorrow; I needed a three hour nap after mixing them.

There is always hope.

Betty

No More Morose Neurontin

Morose; that would be the word I would use to describe the way I feel. And angry, as in it doesn’t take much these days to completely exasperate me. Should I go on and add in confused and frustrated and forgetful and determined to do something about it? Well, I am. Probably not (regrettably) until after the holidays and even then not without Don to help me; but I will do something about it. Namely, I am going to insist that my neurologist take me off of Neurontin and find something else to help with the migraines and trigeminal neuralgia.

Do you know the last time I was on Neurontin my neurologist sent me for counseling because I was depressed? At the time I suspected the Neurontin but there were other factors to consider as well; a history of depression, recently losing my job due to illness and a serious accident that left me with a broken shoulder among other things. All of those things were legitimate reasons to run not walk to a psychiatrist, and I did. But this time, this time I know darned well that all of these emotional problems (well, at least most of them) can be a direct cause of Neurontin. I just logged off http://www.rxlist.com/ where I researched that dread drug and confirmed my fears. Actually depression, though a certified side effect, as well as anger and countless other unpleasant things, has a fairly rare occurrence rate; or so they say. In my case, I am not depressed in a suicidal way but rather in a way that has more to do with perception. I may know I love Christmas but I am having a hard time feeling it. I am easily confused and forgetful and irritated with myself and everyone I come in contact with. I am not motivated to write or read or listen to music, I have no desire to do anything, that is the form my depression has taken.

One of the problems with Neurontin is that you cannot simply stop taking it. It has to be tapered down slowly and carefully to avoid dire complications. Don has got to go in with me when I see the neurologist next month and help me, should I falter, to convince the doctor to take me off of that terrible stuff. I want my happy, if sometimes lonely, life back. Life is for living and I refuse to sit back in a numb, lethargic haze and be a spectator!

I do hope to have something a little brighter to share with you next time. You know, winter is well and truly here in Ohio. We have had our first real snow, meaning it could or should have been shoveled (Don has a way of knowing just how long he can let it go before we are likely to get stuck in the drive). There has been sleet and cold wind, all the players are here and it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

There is always hope.

Betty