The Economy - Simplified

Here is how Suze Orman breaks down the economic issues & how they affect YOU.

Highlights:

• Financial expert Suze Orman says current situation was caused by greed
  
• Switching to a cash economy means buying only what you can afford now
  
• "Stop living the financial lies that you have been living," Orman says

What happened to the Stock Market:
"When you have stocks, you have individual companies that want to make money. And [CEOs] want to make more money because the more money they make, the more their compensation is, the more their stock price goes up." These companies made money by selling investments like mortgages to people who couldn't afford them, Suze says.

People & Debt:
"A lot of you have built your personal financial foundation on deceit and lies. You bought a home that you couldn't afford ... You spent money like it was going out of style and it wasn't your money to spend, because why? They were borrowing it"

What to do:
"If you don't have the money to pay for something, can you just not buy it? Can you wait? Can we start looking at keeping our cars for 10 years rather than getting a new one every three?" - NO MORE CREDIT CARDS OR LOANS

If you're 10 to 20 years away from retirement, Suze says there's no reason to panic. "As long as you are invested in good quality mutual funds, diversified across the board, as this all goes down, you're buying more shares," she says. "The more shares you buy, eventually, when it turns around ... the more money you'll make."

Evie has....

Giardia. It is a parasite. The vet said she probably got it from contaminated water. Contaminated water is in the mud in the park. She eats the grass that is contaminated from the mud and bingo, she gets Giardia. She has to take a pill twice a day and I get the task of making her chicken & rice until this is cleared up.

Vet

Well, Evie and I are taking another trip to the Vet tomorrow. She has had lovely diarrhea off & on for the past week. She is fine, then she's not. We found out 2 culprits are 1)eating crap in the park/parking lot 2)these beef treats she has. She was fine on Sunday and this AM and then Erik said she wasn't fine this afternoon. Will let you know the outcome!

I need a 2nd job just to support the dog, I swear!

Halloween Sign

I saw this craft in a magazine & made it.

Jack Falstaff

We have some people in from our Dallas office so we went to a great lunch at, Jack Falstaff. This restaurant is owned by Plumpjack Winery. I had sole and it was SO good. I would go back just for the sole.

Systems

I realize if I do not have a system or process for everything in my life, I screw it up. For instance, we have a schedule in the morning and if we deviate, I am late for work. ('Late' is sort of a joke b/c we can get there anytime before 9). I have a routine at the grocery store. I scheduled a car wash once a week & put it on the calendar. I write down how often I have to get my hair cut. I have to have auto bill pay & auto savings. Everything has to be put in place & on a schedule, or my life is messed up!

The Beach

Evie had so much fun running and going in the water. Erik got in the water with her, too. Normally, I am a nervous wreck when we go to the beach because I am afraid she will run up to someone and jump on them. We went around 6pm though and it was pretty empty.

Nice Shades

We went down to Ocean Beach around 6pm, yesterday. It was sunny & Erik didn't have any shades so he put these random ones that were in the car on.

Evie in Pearls

Randomly, I put this on Evie. Isn't she funny. She looks scared like, get this off me.

Halloween Cookies

Cristin & I made Halloween cookies on Friday night.



Evie begging for cookies

New Pots & Pans

Well, I asked Erik for pots & pans for Christmas (exciting, I know). The pans we currently have are a mixture of a pan from Ikea and some other pans that I bought from a co-worker when he got married. Basically, the bottoms started to flake INTO the food, which is gross. So, we went to get new pots & pans today. I think this is a good deal - 10 pans for $100 and it is Cusinart.

Haircut

How much do you pay for a haircut? A 'cheaper' haircut in SF is $60. My normal stylist is away so I went to a new stylist for a haircut. It was $70. My friend just paid $80 for a haircut at her place. I mean $80!?

So, just wondering how much you all pay in your different cities!

Amazing Dip

My friend Bailey makes this AMAZING dip. It is a hot chicken and cheese dip. It is made with cheddar, cream cheese, chicken, and Red Hot sauce. I am trying to recreate it tonight!

I'm pretty sure...

...I need to see this movie. I saw the trailers on line months ago and it does look funny.





We went to a place called 'The Little Chihuahua' for dinner and I have to say 'Cheeeehuahua' because it makes it so much more funnier

Neighborhood

Today I took Evie for a little walk in the park and then took her through the neighborhood. She likes to walk through the neighborhood for all of the different smells. When she is on her gentle leader, she is a dream. She doesn't bother anyone, she walks next to me. Today, we walked past the Baptist church while a woman was singing. She was loud & belting it out. Evie stopped, ears perked and walked up to the church door. I think she would have liked to to in and see what was happening.

We also walked past the doggie store a block away. Whenever we walk past, she pulls me in because she knows they give her a treat. Today, we went in, she went right over to the counter & pulled her paw up to get a treat. Too funny.

I found a bee costume at Old Navy for $20. I think this will be her costume instead of attempting to make it!

How Rude!

WWSTD?

How rude.....and offensive to say this"

Referring to Obama’s relationship with William Ayers, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin accused Obama of associating “with terrorists who targeted their own country.”

It's not something to say lightly & shouldn't be said at all. She should get her facts straight.

In fact, the very newspaper story Governor Palin cited in hurling her shameless attack made clear that Senator Obama is not close to Bill Ayers, much less ‘pals,’ and that he has strongly condemned the despicable acts Ayers committed 40 years ago, when Obama was eight. What’s clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy,” Sevugan added.

Foodie

Pet Peeve: People that call themselves 'Foodies' and think they are better than everyone else because they pay like $50 for an ounce of cheese and slave away over their stoves pretending they are on the Food Network.

Weekend

This week feels like it went by so fast. Tonight, my friend Cristin and I are going to have a 'fall dinner' and watch Hocus Pocus. We are making Halloween cookies, too.

This weekend, my friend Marc from college, will be in town. He is in LA for work and coming up to SF for a 49ers game with our other friend who lives in Palo Alto. We are going to check out this area, Cole Valley, that is near us. It is supposed to be a little street area with shops/restaurants.

ILK. I heard it might rain this weekend. We haven't seen rain in months. Since February, at least!

Anchor & Hope

It was my co-worker's birthday last week so we went out to a birthday lunch today. We went to this place called, Anchor & Hope. It felt like a rustic place. Cute. Specialized in seafood. I had the cod. It was good!

Hairspray

My favorite musical, Hairspray, is leaving Broadway. SAD. It is closing in January 2009.

Lying

Isn't it funny how you can tell when someone is lying, they talk too much. Oh and isn't it funny when they are smokers but don't want anyone to know and they say they don't smoke. Ridic.

Whip It

This morning, there was a Whippet in the park this morning. We were out early, around 7am and Evie and the Whippet were the only ones there. Whippets run, fast. I let her run. She couldn't catch the other dog. She was getting mad & started barking at the dog while running b/c she couldn't keep up. She tried cutting the dog off at the pass but that still didn't work. It was funny.

What SF doesn't have

I am finding that SF or the West in general does not have certain foods. Such as:

1. Ellio's Pizza
2. Boars Head lunch meat
3. Big jugs of powdered Lipton iced tea


Its weird and annoying!

Workout

Today, I am feeling like a fatso. I know I'm not fat but I could sure lose a few pounds. I have a gut and feel like my butt has a layer of fat on it. Nice, I know. I have a 24 hr Fitness membership but I hate going. I hate the gym. I want to swim and go to classes. I want to do a sprint Tri in the spring. I think the Y would be much better. I am going to go down and see if I can get a guest pass and try it out. It is more expensive but if I will actually go, then it is money well spent.

Famous

Evie's little Frenchie friend, Texas, see below - the blonde one, is almost famous. He is at a photoshoot today to be in the next Pottery Barn Kids catalog. How funny!

A taste of New England....

....in SF. Check out this new "crab shack" that just opened. A Little more expensive than a lobster roll stand in Maine.

Evie & The Frenchies

Luckily, the Frenchies owner had his iPhone out in the park the other morning. He got a picture of Evie with her friends Texas(blonde) and Ollie(black) tugging on a stick. They love to do this. Evie & Ollie will tug on a tennis ball, a 6" stick, anything. They all love each other.

Happy Birthday, Maria!

Look who is 73 today! The hills are still alive with the sound of music.

A new word i hate

....Finger Foods. ICK.

Add it to the list of:

• Moist
• Supple
• Finger Foods

What words do you hate!?

Hocus Pocus

Last night was very exciting. We had a yummy dinner of shrimp with leeks(even though I felt bad about eating the shrimp but they were from the US so maybe US fisherman are paid better). Anyway, around 930, we got the apple crisp ready, lit the candles, and put on HOCUS POCUS. Evie was a pain but I forced her to get on the couch & she immediately went to sleep.

In true Heather fashion, I saw maybe 20 mins of the movie and fell asleep. I saw up to the part where the witches came back. That's it! So, tonight, it will go on again and we'll see what happens.

I was very excited though. My co-worker asked me if I am going to be hyper all month & I said YES.

Blockbuster Online

So, I am thinking about ending my Blockbuster online account. I am on the 1 movie per month plan and still, I get a movie and wait 2 weeks to watch it. I have been spending $10 per month on the subscription for 2 movies. I could probably save a few cents by going to the store to get the movie rather than having it sit in the house. BB online is so easy though and exciting to get in the mail. I might switch to the absolute cheapest plan or just cancel it.

Salad

Am eating the best salad for lunch - Miso Chicken Salad from CPK. SO good.

Tonight

Well, tomorrow is October 1st. That means, it is time to officially start watching Hocus Pocus. Evie doesn't understand that every day we will put it on and watch it. I'm sure she won't sit nice and recite the lines with me. She will be a barking pain.

Tonight, I asked Erik to watch it with me. I said, we can turn off the lights and light candles and watch it! Plus, I made pumpkin bread last night to go along with the movie. He doesn't really love the movie like I do, but he has seen it so many times that I'm sure he is looking forward to it, too. haha.

Stabbed

Last night, I was trying to use a fork to get the stuck pieces of apple crisp out of the pan and yep, the fork slipped and I stabbed myself in the hand. Hard. There is a little hole in my hand. It is fine today though. Thoughts of the last time I had a tetanus shot did go through my head though.

My SATC thoughts

I watched SATC movie yesterday. I really do not understand Carrie & Big. I'm sure many people think that they are the 'great loves' of each others lives. But, they broke up like 100 times and they constantly hurt each other. Is that love? I disagree. Plus, she is NOT herself with him. Ever since they got together, she worries about how she looks, talks, etc around him. She doesn't stand up for herself - ever. The first time I really saw her stand up for herself was when she hit him with the flowers and said she knew he would do this to her. It's like, yeah finally!

Boots

Apparently, Posh Spice paid $6,000 for these boots. They have no heel. I'm sure podiatrists around the world are already envisioning her bunion surgery she will have to have.

Halloween Movies

In addition to Hocus Pocus, I also love this movie for Halloween. Does anyone else know any good halloween movies that are not scary. You know I can't handle that. I had to turn off Ghost Hunters last night because it was so scary.



Oh and I also had Harvest Moon beer yesterday...Blue Moon Seasonal. Now I just need to get my hands on Sam Oktober and the season is really in full swing!

Weekend Update

On Friday, I did go to Nick's tacos and The Cheeseballs. The Tacos gave me a major stomachache and the Cheeseballs played more 2000 covers than 70s/80s/90s. Saturday, Erik and I went to Harry's for a mid-afternoon lunch and beers. At night, we watched a few movies. Today, I FINALLY saw the Sex & The City movie. AND, watched the new Chris Rock stand up special, Kill The Messenger, with my friend Amy. The Chris Rock special was FUNNY.

Anyway, the weather here was nice this weekend - sunny & 70's and breezy!

New Collar?

Ohhhh I would LOVE to get this for Evie. How cute!!

Oh and look at this one. But how would I decide what she would wear during October - Political or Holiday!?

Fall is here!

Today, I put up our fall decorations! I can't wait to have a house with more rooms to fill with decorations and a front porch to put pumpkins on. But anyway, Fall is my favorite season and October is my favorite month! I also made apple crisp today. I also have plans to make banana bread and pumpkin bread in the next few weeks. And, OBVIOUSLY, I am watching Hocus Pocus on Tuesday 9/30!

Bathroom


Kitchen


Living Room

The Salem/Binx pillow. A must!

Notice the candle holders are spider webs at the top & bottom!



The Apple Crisp

Also, the pumpkin and apple handsoaps are up and will remain through Thanksgiving to when we will then switch to the evergreen/Christmas soaps.

VP Debate

The funniest show on TV will air on Thursday night. It is the VP debate: Biden vs. Palin
Don't forget to watch! She guarantees big laughs.

Tina Fey does Sarah Palin, Again

Sadness

Paul Newman died, at age 83. I hope his daughter keeps his food biz running because he gives MILLIONS of dollars per year to charities through his profits.

Did You Know....

...if you live in Alaska, you have foreign policy experience? It is because of the close proximity and when 'Pootin' flies into the US airspace, where does he go? It's Alaska.

The Office

This office is very different from our CT office. We had a full office staff, cleaning crew, etc. Here, we share the floor with 2 other agencies and we all have to swap off cleaning the kitchen. Not like scrubbing the floors, but managing the dishwasher. We also have this office manager who works for one of the other agencies and is very serious about keeping that kitchen clean. Today, I saw a sign on the microwave that said 'News Flash: Your Mother does not work here. If you spill in the microwave, clean it up'

If we dont empty the dishwasher like 2 seconds after we get in, she 'reminds' us to do it.

Oh and her nickname (that she knows about) is.........Nana b/c she is like the 'house mother'. Please!

Weekend

The weekend is upon us......

On Friday, I am going to see a band called......."The Cheeseballs". They do covers of 70s/80s/90s and it should be fun.

The Cal Academy of Science just re-opened is supposed to be awesome. Its actually FREE on Saturday so I think we are going to go. They also have 'free' days depending on what neighborhood you live in which is nice.

I am...

not going to watch Charlotte Simmons. I hated this book. Charlotte was SO naive, it was scary. I felt bad for her throughout the entire book and wanted her to smarten up, but she didn't. Now, they want to put it on HBO. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld was SO much better.

The Article
HBO is eyeing the Tom Wolfe novel "I Am Charlotte Simmons" as a series, with Tina Brown and Ostar Prods.’ Bill Haber set to produce.

Pay cabler has optioned the 2004 bestseller and is in the early stages of developing the project as an hourlong series. It’s the first project for Brown, author and former editor of Vanity Fair, the New Yorker and Talk magazine, under the development deal she struck earlier this year with HBO.

Drinks Needed

Today, work is sucking. I feel like from every angle, we are hearing bad news, or the clients aren't happy. Really, I am ready to be at happy hour RIGHT NOW.

Evie's possible costume

I am thinking of Evie's possible costume for Halloween. This one is a top contender. I want to make it though.

Shoes

I stopped into GAP yesterday. They are having a fall sale. I got these cute flats for $20! They were originally $45. Since my life is now high heel free and happy, these made me doubly happy!