A Little South of Sanity

When I think about the fact that there is STILL oil pumping into the Gulf of Mexico and that BP STILL hasn’t done anything to correct this problem, I find my blood boiling. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way, but yet I wonder why BP is being allowed to drop the ball, or at least move forward at a snails pace with correcting this disaster. Every day the situation becomes more and more dire as dolphins wash on shore along with other wild life. Something has got to be done.

The thing that annoys me almost as much as the oil is the lawyers who have jumped on the bandwagon in hopes of gaining a few bucks here and there. One of which that even tried to pay me to write about it on my blog. Sorry folks, that isn’t happening. I’m more than happy to write about things I’m passionate about, or even things that I have an interest in, but I’m not about to help someone line their pockets at the expense of the people and the ecosystem.

Have you ever noticed that anytime there is a crisis- there are always some lawyers lurking in the shadows just waiting to make a quick buck off someone elses misfortune? In the midst of the Oil Crisis on the Gulf Coast, where help with the clean-up is needed, there are those lawyers who are rolling up their shirt sleeves not to help with the clean up, but instead to come up with a plan of action to see who can be the most creative in coming up with a way to line their pockets.

Of course, they do it under the guise of helping those who are the victims of this tragedy, but yet if that were really the case, do you think they’d be asking for at least 1/3 of any payments that a person may ultimately receive? This all reminds me of good ole’ boy D. Scruggs and his plethora of ‘class action’ lawsuits. Last I heard he was in prison, but who knows, maybe he’s out now and is the ring leader in this mess.

Regardless of who’s the ring leader in this class action circus- you should be ashamed of yourselves by preying on those who are already struggling enough, and hiding behind the guise of saying you just want to ‘help’.

For those who are really interested in helping with the clean up, check here for more information.

What a weekend we had! Since you haven’t seen much of me the past couple of days- you can guess it’s been because Marcel and I finished our terrace project and I’ve been spending every possible moment outside in the sunshine. I’ve eaten dinner out there for the past two nights, I’ve read out there, and I’ve even worked out there. It’s a little paradise and I love it.

We did have a small setback on Friday when we were working on things- I cleaned out the fountain and got everything set up only to find that when we turned it on that the pump didn’t work. I was disappointed, but we decided to run to the garden center that’s about a 1/4 mile from our home and see if they had one that was compatable. $30.00 later and we were walking home with a new pump and now the fountain works perfectly. I still need to add a drop or two of bleach to the water so that it doesn’t get slimey in there, but it’s SO peaceful.

So if you wonder where I am- chances are I’m there.

Several years before this blog came into existance we came home from a two month vacation to be met at the airport with a hug from Marcel’s mom and sister only to find out that his car had burned in a fire two nights before. It was in a group of six, who were parked beside each other, and at the time we thought that it was due to some sort of wiring shortage in a van that was part of that group. Months later, we found out that it was not a shortage in the wiring, but instead the first act of what would be many of pyromaniac in our small town.

These people burned many things and two guys were finally caught, but they couldn’t be tied to the burning of Marcel’s and the other cars. For a long time (almost two years now) there have been no more fires, but last night it looks as though they started again.

It was around 1 a.m. and I’d just fallen asleep on the couch watching Law and Order when I was jolted awake to the sound of a siren, too close for comfort. It scared me, and I ran to the window to see it stop at the end of our street. I ran to another window, and saw that garden center/ flower shop that is less than 1/4 mile from our home, up in flames. I ran to the bedroom and woke up Marcel. I was so upset, and all I could think about was ‘here we go again’. Our quiet, sleepy little town has a pyromaniac on the loose again.

Thankfully there was no wind last night, and the garden center is divided into two parts. The one side where there are large shrubs and trees is surrounded by tall cedars and that is what was blazing. The flames never touched the actual building itself; Thank the Lord for that.

The police and forensic guys had the street blocked off pretty quickly and I do hope they catch these people and put them away for a long, long time. Granted, it could have been someone who was careless with a cigarette, but something tells me that wasn’t the case.

Lately I’ve heard so much negativity about what is happening with the economy that I wanted to look around and see if there were any really great tax breaks that were out there for people to take advantage of this year. I’ll admit, that I’m not the most well versed person when it comes to tax breaks, which is why I have an accountant to take care of those things, but what I didn’t know is that there is a $6,500 tax credit for those people who have been in their current home for five consecutive years of the last 8 will possibly qualify for this credit, plus after watching a great video about the credit, I realized that this was a bill that was extended at the latter part of last year and will run through the end of April, so if you can’t get the credit for last years tax purposes, you can definitely get it for this year.

In addition, for those who haven’t owned a home within the last three years, there is also a new home buyer tax credit, which will allow up to as much as an $8,000 tax credit, but only as long as there is a contract by April 30, 2010 and the house closing is done by the end of June of 2010. I think this is a great way to help stimulate the economy and something positive that can ultimately help create jobs, and help the economy recover.

Probably one of the most stressful times in a person’s life can be finding out they need to uproot their home and move to somewhere else. Even if the possibilities are exciting the move itself can be stressful, especially for those who want to do it themselves. Many have rented from companies only to find out what they ‘thought’ they were going to pay, wasn’t actually what they ended up paying. There is a chance for needing a larger truck if you have more things than you thought, the fees that many companies charge per mile, and then let’s not forget having to put gas in the truck. All those are things that many of us don’t think about when it’s time to move, but with services like UPack, you actually pack the items yourself, and then rather than having to deal with the one way truck rental, the company actually has someone to drive the truck for you, which makes things much less stressful. In addition, there are no fees that you’ll find out after the fact. There’s a great amount of security in knowing what you are paying for up front and not have to worry about any addition fees popping up. It makes moving much easier and less stressful.

Earlier when I was out walking JJ, I was stopped by three neighborhood children who happen to love him. Then again, everyone loves JJ- even people who don’t like dogs. These boys are originally from Turkey and one of them struck up a conversation with me about traveling to different parts of the United States. They wanted to know if I thought Los Angeles or New York City was better.

That is one question I couldn’t answer. I know both places have their good and bad points, and since I’ve never been to the “Big Apple” I couldn’t really say. I think I’d probably choose NYC though. Truth is- aside from Beverly Hills, I really wasn’t that impressed with Los Angeles.

As we all know, now is the perfect time to buy a home if you want to buy, that is. Marcel and I have been talking for a while about moving, and a few days ago we started actually putting that plan into motion and started looking for a new home. We aren’t sure that it’s something that will happen right now, because that will also mean we’ll need to sell our place, and we all know it’s a buyers market right now and not a sellers. Even with that being said, I still find myself wanting to grab some shipping boxes and start packing little things, just in case.

The great thing is, we aren’t in a hurry to move, so we can take the process slow and if it’s meant for us to make that move, the perfect place will fall into our laps, I’m sure of it.

Several days ago I was out walking in the snow. I wanted to go to the store to pick up some milk, and Marcel was working so I walked. Unfortunately, the sidewalks weren’t cleared and I started daydreaming, which led to me falling flat on the ice. So much for my lovely Timberlands keeping my feet planted firmly on the ground.

I was fine, ended up with a few bruises, but nothing major. There was a lady walking by at the time, and rather than asking me if I was ok, she commented that rather than walking on the sidewalk (where I was supposed to be walking) that I should have been walking on the side of the street, because they were ‘clean’. I just looked at her, made a comment about it being slippery on the sidewalk, brushed myself off and continued on my way. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t break my leg.

Mr. Weatherman says that the temps are going to start climbing again this week- with two days in the high 70′s- low 80′s and then take another plunge. It actually surprises me, since I can smell Autumn in the air. Bring it on. It could actually stay like it is right now year round and I’d be happy, but I know plenty who wouldn’t be.

What’s your idea of ‘perfect’ weather?

Mine is upper 60′s to lower 70′s, lots of sun with nights in the 50′s.