Tag Archives: it’s the economy

That’s my wrapping story, and I’m sticking to it.

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Several years ago I vowed to stop buying wrapping paper. I didn’t say I’d never use it or reuse it, just that I wouldn’t buy any more.

  • Very little wrapping paper is recyclable.
  • Commercial gift wrap can’t burn in a fireplace, either; it releases too many chemicals.
  • Most wrapping paper will wrap one gift and then end up in the garbage.
  • Gift wrap costs add up. The shiny patterned paper is expensive.

Amigo doesn’t like the philosophy. In fact, he’ll only help me wrap if we’re using real gift wrap. I compromised by using gift wrap I’d rescued from the wastebasket when the school PTA cleaned their closet. We wrapped with rescued and reused papers, and the gifts look great.

He doesn’t object to my green version of gift tags. Every year we take stock of the previous year’s holiday cards, cut them apart creatively, and with the help of a little ribbon and a hole punch, turn those cards into unique and lovely gift tags that cost nothing but a little time. We’ve done this since before he was born; maybe that’s why it feels natural to him.

We’re a little behind on the wrapping process this year. My limited mobility meant less shopping in town and more shopping online, and then facing the challenge of gathering all the trimmings and trappings in one place without overdoing the stairs. Luckily, Mother Nature provided me with a blizzard that cancelled school and gave me some quality time with Amigo to attack the wrapping task.

Thanks to my spreadsheet gift record and my online shopping prowess, the majority of the shopping is done. We need a few little things, and I might enlist Amigo in a short shopping trip Saturday to finish up. It’ll be a surgical strike, with a list we’ve made and checked twice, and we’ll come home and finish wrapping.

Maybe I can sneak some of my eco-friendly and frugal methods past my wrapping assistant that time. Or maybe not; after all, he reads my blog.

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Dear family; ’tis the season

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It’s gift giving season again, which means gift buying, which means spending. I’d like to suggest a few possibilities that save money and might even be practical.

Might even be practical? Oh, family and friends, you know practicality is my middle name. You know that anything related to canning is a good bet. As I see my net pay shrink and my right to a contract wind its way through the courts, putting up stores for the winter is an investment in both groceries and health. The corn I bought and froze in August was cheaper by the ounce than a bag of frozen corn in the stores, and it will taste oh, so much better. The same goes for the peas, the beans, the asparagus – hey, Amigo, we have asparagus in the freezer! Your favorite vegetable! But I’m going off topic.

Any tools related to food storage are a good investment. Keep an eye open for a mortar and pestle. We’ve learned from experience that the herbs that are so prolific on the deck in season do not do nearly as well in the house over winter. Drying these herbs and crushing them will make the kitchen smell great and fill the spice rack.

A kitchen scale would come in handy, too. Making tomato salsa and marinara sauce was interesting. I measured out one pound on my tiny little scale that measures in ounces up to one pound. Since the Roma tomatoes called for were fairly uniform in size, I then estimated enough one pound piles to make the full amount I needed. It worked, but a real scale would work better. Four to five Romas make a pound, in case you were wondering.

Last time I watched an Alton Brown recipe video, I noticed how he used the gravy separator. How is it I’ve gone this long without one? I’d use it for making soup stocks, too. I like the one with the removable strainer on top.

Don’t spend a bundle, though. If you spot jars in a thrift store or at a rummage sale, go for it. If you see a second hand mortar and pestle set somewhere at a ridiculously low price, grab it. A well known kitchen supply store asks $40 for a ceramic set. Ouch. That’s ridiculously high; don’t bother.

Chuck needs jeans. He wears them a lot, and he wears them out. Contact me for size and style. He pretends he knows, but…. you know the drill. Don’t tell him I said so, but second hand jeans are fine as long as they’re the right brand, style, and size.

Amigo? He needs independence. If only we could wrap it up and put it under the tree for Christmas. Until then, he’ll keep doing his own laundry and making his own lunch and setting the table for supper.

La Petite is working her way into the real world of, you guessed it, work. If anyone can deliver more work to her, in particular work with health care benefits, please tie it up in a bow and place it in her stocking.

Oh, did I get distracted again? The underlying message is this: our world is a scary place. The future is uncertain, and sometimes I feel like the odds are not in our favor. Save the cash for the important necessities in life. Holidays are important, but spending oodles of money isn’t necessary. 

Meanwhile, I plan to make a trip downtown on Small Business Saturday, the antidote for Black Friday at the malls. It’s so much calmer and so enjoyable that I might even time my trip to the small shops on the Friday itself. Join me, anyone?

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Freedom – is health part of the picture?

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I enjoy reading Chris Guillebeau’s Art of Non-Conformity blog and newsletters. His outlook on the world differs from mine only in its implementation. His writing resonates with me on many levels. A recent post titled “What is Freedom?” made me (as usual) think and analyze my situation and life.

Don’t worry, dear, I don’t plan to leave my job anytime soon. 

Freedom means different things to different people. For Chris, freedom means being self-employed and in control of his own destiny. For many in my circle of friends, freedom means security, health insurance, and the ability to pay our children’s college tuition. For my women peers, age-wise and academically similar to me, freedom means knowing we’re healthy and that we can get the treatment we need no matter what.

Regular readers know that women’s access to health care, appropriate health care, and the ability to make health care decisions based on medical needs rather than narrow-minded poorly-written legislation is — off soapbox, Daisy, this post is meant to go in another direction. It’s related, of course, but it’s not an election post (for the most part).

Regular readers also know that I’m a strong advocate of vaccines in general and influenza vaccines (flu shots). I’ve discussed the impact of a flu epidemic on local health, but let’s analyze a different angle this time: the impact of widespread illness on education.

It seems logical, and yet people forget. Anyone in a classroom full of students is vulnerable to catching the flu. Anyone, that is, including students, teachers, para-professionals, secretaries, and anyone else who breathes the same air and touches the same surfaces. And when the dominoes start to fall, each one knocks another into yet another. And then —

  • Students get behind in school.
  • Teachers adjust their instruction to accommodate multiple absences, usually slowing the pace significantly.
  • More students fall ill, falling behind, and dragging out instruction even more.
  • Teachers also become ill.
  • Substitute teachers teach in place of the regular teachers, changing the delivery of instruction and the quality of learning.
To counter this list, I offer another list. This one is from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
  •  CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against flu.
  • Vaccination of high-risk people is especially important to decrease their risk of severe flu illness.
  • People at high risk of serious flu complications include young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart and lung disease and people 65 years and older.
  • Symptoms of influenza can include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may also have vomiting and diarrhea.
  • In the United States, thousands of healthy adults and children have to visit the doctor or be hospitalized from flu complications each year. Flu vaccination can help protect you and your family from the flu and its complications.
Freedom means knowing I can get a flu shot without any hassle. My dear loving husband discussed the flu vaccine with our doctor and together they decided he didn’t need to get one. Amigo and I, however, along with La Petite, tend to be vulnerable to influenza and other respiratory illnesses. We make a habit of getting an annual flu shot. To me, with my medical history fraught with both physical and mental illnesses, good health is part of freedom.
For more information directly from the CDC,  visit www.cdc.gov/flu.

 

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Random Math – Prime examples of real life applications

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“Mom, stop being a teacher!” is one of Amigo’s favorite taunts. He uses it when I’m, well, trying to teach him something he can use in real life. Some of these skills might come in handy. I swear it.

Today’s topic: Math. Math skills in the big bad world outside of a classroom. I encountered three examples recently that were all money skills: adding up a total, making change, calculating a tip, and figuring out a unit rate. Oops, that’s four. Sorry.

At the farmers’ market, the young woman was a little frazzled from the busy sales on this nice warm day. I needed two pounds of sugar snap peas and two pounds of green beans. She weighed out the vegetables, and then she stopped. “How much? Um, wait a minute.” She reached for a pocket calculator. “2 times $2.75 for the peas, $5. 50. 2 times $3.50 for the beans, $7.” Then she needed a total. “$5.50 plus $7 is $12.50. Right?” She looked to me for confirmation. I nodded and handed her a $20 bill.

Now in a classroom, I’d have the students count up first. $12.50 plus 50 cents is $13. $13 plus two is $15, and five more make $20. They would then hand the customer a five, a one, and two quarters or some other variation of $7,50. But I made it harder – or easier – by handing her a $20 bill and two quarters. Oh, no! I changed the problem! The buzzing and busy young woman figured it out by using her calculator, and I smiled as I double checked my change.

Class, I mean readers, we’re at two skills now: total and change, involving multiplying, adding, and subtracting.  Be it farmers’ market, garage sale, or lemonade stand, these are necessary skills. Put them in your business plan.

Tips. Folks, I’ve been a waitress. I wasn’t a very good one. I appreciate a server’s hard work, and I tend to tip high rather than low. Here’s an easy way to figure out a standard 15% tip. When your calculations are done, I recommend you round up. Your server most likely earned it.

  • Step one: look at the bill’s total.
  • Step two: multiply by 10% by moving the decimal point one place to the left. For example, 10% of a $30 check is $3.
  • Step three: find half of the ten percent quantity. Using the above example, half of $3 is $1.50.
  • Step four: Add ten plus five percent to find fifteen percent. $3 + $1.50 = $4.50.
  • Step five; If you’re like me, and I hope you are, round up. A $5 is appropriate in this instance.

Did we have one more math application? Oh, unit rate. Unit rate is a ratio expressed as a comparison of two unlike quantities. Huh? Think miles per gallon, ounces per price, pounds per unit price. The goal is to find out how much relates to one, and then compare to find the better deal. Some grocery stores do this for you on the shelf tags. Read them. The bigger sign isn’t always the better deal.

The best deal is recognizing a deal when you see it. Whether it’s shoes (20% off the clearance price for my new black Mary Janes) or produce, math is a real-life skill. Now I’m going to go measure tomatoes for salsa. Oh – measurement and proportion! Here we go again!

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Fortunately – Unfortunately

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We’re home! We’re back in our routines, including meeting with friends and going to the farm markets. Fortunately, there is a mid-week market in the grocery store parking lot on Wednesdays.

I’m not growing zucchini this year. Can you tell?

Unfortunately, Chuck thought I went overboard.

Fortunately, I have good recipes for zucchini bread and zucchini cookies.

I met a friend for coffee. Unfortunately, I ran late. Fortunately, I found a great parking place and we had delicious coffee as we worked.

                                                            Lovely, tasty beverage!

Fortunately, I donated zucchini bread when I did a little volunteer work for the Obama campaign.

Unfortunately, I didn’t plug the meter with enough change.

                                                A $5 Ticket!$@#^!

I dropped off the Obama postcards at the post office and then went to City Hall to pay my dues. It’s a small price to pay to help re-elect the president. Fortunately, I had change for the meter that time. Unfortunately, I left the change in my pocket. Fortunately, the meter readers were still canvassing the blocks by the political offices. So… I made another investment in downtown and brought home smoothies for me and Amigo.

Oh, what a day. I think I’ll go hide in the tomato jungle. At least I don’t have to pay for parking there.

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Job Descriptions

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Folks, I’m updating my LinkedIn profile with descriptions of past positions. The challenge is this: I’m not seeking a teaching job. I want to stress different skills honed while teaching. I’d like to demonstrate a sense of humor, but that’s dangerous on a professional style web site. Here’s an example. Input, friends and colleagues?

Substitute Teacher:

  • Adjusted to new routines, schedules, & locations daily
  • Responded to last minute requests
  • Practiced communication skills with all ages
  • Found talent in thinking quickly, changing plans in progress as necessary
  • Demonstrated patience of a saint

Elementary teacher

  • Learned curriculum for multiple grade levels
  • Differentiated instruction to meet students’ needs
  • Integrated the arts into classroom instruction
  • Communicated and cooperated with colleagues
  • Evaluated student progress using a variety of assessments

Many of these are still too educational in nature. Other possibilities, terms and words that might fit: 

  • mastered knowledge base – content material
  • recognized different learning styles
  • continued training and coursework
  • initiated grant applications (this on is on my resume already)
  • provided leadership in technology
  • battled public perception and kept positive attitude oops, getting snarky there.
  • balanced increasing workload
  • did more with less every year   Okay, that one is getting a little sarcastic and negative.

In general, I prefer the Sub Teacher list. Ideas, readers? Please leave a comment or two. Or more. 

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Skyline Mystery

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We are on the road now, and so far the journey has been, um, well, rather eventful. I’ll share after I have a chance to sleep. And recover. And rehydrate. Not necessarily in that order, of course. But in the meantime —

I bought Chuck a polo shirt at a church rummage sale. Now the mystery: what’s the skyline? It’s not Seattle – no Space Needle. It’s not Milwaukee. I don’t think it’s Chicago, but I could be wrong.

No ID yet; readers, can you help? Please tell me which city this shirt illustrates, and include details. No five paragraph essays – just enough details to prove your answer, okay? Okay. 

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Hoover Wind Tunnel vs. the Rabbit

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My rationale was short and sweet: I told the Hoover and MomCentral Consulting representatives, “I have a pet rabbit. Need I say more?” The people in charge understood; they sent me a Hoover Wind Tunnel vacuum to test and review.

Putting the vacuum together was simple. The directions in the manual were readable, and everything was labeled correctly. I had to look up the procedure for tipping the handle back, but as soon as I knew where it was, the process was easy.

I decided to attack the den first. Bean bag chair, 20-year-old attached to Olympic soccer, and various bits of snack crumbs and tracked-in bunny litter had the room looking something like this.

BEFORE

I’ll let the results speak for themselves. In addition to picking up the visible dirt, my Hoover Wind Tunnel sucked up a lot of bunny fur. I hadn’t realized how much our lovely bunny leaves behind. Results? Oh, yeah. Here. Look! Even the 20-year-old has disappeared!

AFTER

Oh. Wait. Those are his feet in the corner. He’s still here, waiting to bring back his bean bag.

The real challenge awaited the Wind Tunnel: the bunny cage surroundings. Not only fur, but hay scraps were all over the bunny’s rug. I usually pick up the largest pieces of hay before I vacuum this rug, but I decided to put the new Hoover through its paces and see how it measured up to this challenge.

The Wind Tunnel did a nice job of picking up fur and hay and any other miscellaneous dirt. The bigger pieces of hay did clog the intake a little bit, but not so much as to stop the vacuum from working. With that in mind, I will continue my prep habits and pick up the largest pieces of hay in advance.

The Hoover Wind Tunnel came through its first tests with flying colors. It is lightweight and easy to use, and it picked up much more than I expected. Fur, dust, dirt, and even scraps of hay couldn’t stop the Wind Tunnel. I wonder if I can train it to handle laundry?

Never mind.

I received a sample of this product to facilitate my review, but my opinions are entirely my own. Thanks to MomCentral and Hoover for inviting me to test-drive this vacuum.

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Friends? – Facebook and the Affordable Care Act

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I’d posted, shared, a short graphic about the Affordable Care Act. It contained examples of people who benefit from the law. I usually post items like this on my blog page in Facebook, rather than my personal page, but this one needed to reach a wider audience –  or so I thought.

from DCCC by way of Facebook

An acquaintance from my undergraduate days – dare I call him a friend? – commented “Single Entry Accounting…”

Background: This acquaintance was someone I liked and respected. He was and I’m sure still is a very intelligent and multi-talented man. He fell into the category of people we called book smart, but not people smart. Thirty years ago on our small college campus, he was known as very, very intelligent, but not very wise.

So this slam, and yes it’s a slam, still hurt. It stung more than a little to hear this former friend, now a business owner in the financial field, thought I had posted something misleading. .

I have strong feelings about the Affordable Care Act. Biased? Absolutely, I am. I can go down the posted list and find family members and friends affected in each and every category.

Pre-existing conditions:

  • Congenital blindness
  • Autism
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Asthma
  • Tension headaches
  • Cardiac conditions
  • Let’s not consider being female a pre-existing condition, at least for now.

Retain coverage through parents’ plans:

  • My oldest is 25. She lives independently, and is starting a new job in her field even as you read this. She’s a college graduate and a young woman with a strong work ethic. None of her employers thus far have had health insurance available for her.
  • My youngest is 20. Blind since birth, on the autism spectrum, intelligent, creative, talented, outgoing and friendly. He might qualify for Medical Assistance or he might not. If he doesn’t, he’ll need to remain on my policy until he finds a full time position that offers benefits.

Seniors: I’m not there yet, but my day will come. In the meantime, this affects:

  • mother
  • stepfather
  • mother-in-law
  • father-in-law
  • many extended family, including several with “pre-existing” conditions that need ongoing treatment

Lifetime limits: what if you, your family, or your friends have —

  • cancer
  • pre-cancerous conditions
  • MS
  • heart disease
  • asthma
  • clinical depression
  • vision impairment
  • hearing impairment
  • high blood pressure
  • severe allergies
  • autoimmune diseases
  • Have I left anyone out? Family? Friends? Anyone?

Now that I’ve shared my reasoning and rationale for sharing the graphic in the first place, I’ll address the criticism.

Hey, old “friend,” I know you’re in a different position professionally than I am. I know you’re a successful business leader in the private sector, and you look at taxes from that angle. Since you’re in the financial field, I respect your knowledge of standard accounting practices. When I posted the chart, I made no secret of my bias. I did not claim to share both sides of the issue, including the overall cost of implementing the law. Your comment was an obvious put-down. In fact, you may have hoped that I didn’t know the meaning of the term “single entry accounting” and meant to imply my ignorance.

Old “friend,” I hope you always have the health coverage that your family needs and you never have to worry about being dropped or excluded. If you or your family need care, I hope you have no trouble finding medical specialists and paying their fees. I wish you and yours good health now and as you age. As for the Facebook bit, I don’t plan to unfriend you. The divisiveness in our nation is severe and widespread already, and I’d rather not add more. Indeed, you may have already taken me off your news feed or friends list. If you don’t want to read my updates any more, I’ll understand.

Sincerely, your old college pal, Daisy

In conclusion, a Note to Self: Attend the messaging workshop at the local OFA office. Learn the best ways to make a point. Thicken skin and prepare for more attacks. Don’t stop believing, though. Health care for all is far too important to lose. 

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I teach, and I pay taxes – a still-timely encore

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This was originally posted in February of 2011 when the wild rumpus in Madison had just begun. I was on medical leave recovering from a severe depression when Gov. Walker’s, er, proposal broke open. The post, unfortunately, is still relevant. The phrase “My Tax Dollars!” is so hurtful when it’s misused, and it’s getting misused daily. 

I teach, and I pay taxes. Or should I say “I pay taxes and I teach”?

Folks who’ve seen the Wisconsin budget drama on CNN or Fox News or CSNBC probably wonder. “Daisy, you’re a teacher! You live in Wisconsin! You’re a progressive thinker and you’re active in politics! Why have you said nothing about the demonstrations? Or the disappearance of the Senate Democrats? Or Governor Walker’s bad hair and desire for make-up any time a camera is near? Never mind that last one.
I haven’t posted yet because it’s so upsetting. Today I’m checking in periodically, but I’m minimizing my TV news time. My news junkie self is not compatible with the depressive self, and I’m in a pretty bad state right now – pun intended.
Instead, I’d like to share a few facts about union history. Consider it a history lesson featuring the American worker.
Early railroad worker unions were primarily insurance providers. The workers could not get standard insurance because their work was considered too hazardous, the workers too risky to insure. From Railroad Labor and its History
The first organization of working women to organize was the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association, a group of young women working in textile mills. For a descriptive piece on the Lowell Mills Girls, look to this piece, an overview of women’s labor rights at the time. From Women and Unions, early efforts
Unions helped outlaw child labor and protect worker safety. The horrible Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire spurred further movements to keep workers safe at work. Work also means outdoor work. Remember Cesar Chavez? The United Farm Workers are glad he took the lead to improve their treatment.
Unions are about people: working people. Unions help regulate working conditions, wages, and employee rights. Benefits in union contracts include paid sick days, working conditions, grievance procedures, opportunities for advancement or changing positions, length of workday, and more. My current contract has 182 pages, single spaced. It’s a complex, thoughtful agreement between the school board and the association that represents the district’s teachers.
Every paycheck I receive has taxes taken out. Yes, I teach. Yes, I pay taxes. Yes, I’m a union member. I’m proud of all three.

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