Happy Halloween

Get Your Books Here!

   Looking for a good book to read? May I suggest an online bookstore? My friend, Yvonne Weers, runs a successful online business called “TheBook-let.com.” Just click here:

http://www.thebook-let.com

Yvonne is a Nebraska writer who’s always an inspiration to me. Besides working on a Library Science degree, she’s also a computer wiz and designed TheBook-let.com web site. She regularly scours booksales to find the juiciest items. On the web site, she tells how TheBook-Let.com came to be:

“It all began quite innocently. My husband referred to it as an obsession.  That’s probably not a good thing for a marriage, but it turned out to be a great thing for starting a business.

I went to my first book sale in 1992 and, needless to say, I was hooked!  I quickly followed sales with auctions, and graduated to frequenting local used book stores.

Since then, I have collected thousands of titles and found that I was constantly in need of more shelf space.  That’s when I decided to sell a few gently used books in exchange for new ones, and Voila!  My obsession morphed into an online book business.

TheBook-Let.com was born on December 21, 2008, and I’ve never looked back.  I hope you enjoy my selections as much as I’ve enjoyed hunting them down. Happy Hunting!”
         

Good going, Yvonne! I wish you much continued success.

 

I Joined Facebook!

 I joined Facebook today! I’d been thinking about it, but kind of resisting. Don’t I spend enough time online already? And should I really be that “transparent”?

But everything I read says we need to “social network.” I was feeling like a Luddite, stodgy and behind the times.

I’ve only fooled around with Facebook for a few minutes today, and I already have four “friends.” One was a writing friend who moved to Kansas, so I’d lost touch with her. What fun to reconnect! So, I think I see how much fun Facebook is going to be.

Are you on Facebook?

Liberals and the Karpman Drama Triangle

  Liberal Democrats are now engaged in a massive power-grab in the United States. To listen to their rhetoric, their motives would seem entirely beneficent–”But I’m only trying to help you!” Why, then, do they get so condescending, enraged, and vituperative when people object to their “help”?

I believe they’re engaged in the Karpman Drama Triangle. This concept was the work of Stephen B. Karpman, and I first read about it  in Melodie Beattie’s book, Codependent No More. On a larger scale, I believe that Liberal Dems regularly scoot around the points of this triangle with alarming speed. I’ll quote some from Beattie here, with my own ideas added:

(1)  RESCUE:  Rescuers first try to “caretake” other people. From the bailouts, to the stimulus overspending, to the Czars, to ACORN, to Obama healthcare proposal, the following acts constitute a rescuing or caretaking move: doing something for someone although that person is capable of and should be doing it for him- or herself; meeting people’s needs without being asked; doing people’s thinking for them; and solving people’s problems for them.

Caretaking looks like a much friendlier act than it is. It requires incompetency on the part of the person being taken care of. They rescue “victims”–people who they believe are not capable of being responsible for themselves.

(2) PERSECUTE:  To complicate matters, the victims, these poor Americans they’ve rescued, are not grateful for their ”help.” Except for those who just want a free hand-out, most of the time, people resent being told or shown they are incompetent. The victims are not appreciative enough. The victims aren’t behaving the way they should–instead, they’re speaking out, saying “No, thank you!” and attending Tea Party rallies. How dare they?!? So the rescuer rips off his halo and pulls out his pitchfork. 

(3) VICTIM:  Then it’s time for the final move–the predictable and unavoidable result of a rescue. The rescuer feels hurt, shame, and self-pity. “Oh, it’s the same old story. All those people against us are racists. They don’t like Obama simply because he’s black. We’re being victimized once again.”

Rescuing is not an altruistic act of love. The Karpman Drama Triangle is a hate triangle, and I believe that’s why you see so much hate from the Left.

In the words of one of the Tea Party protestors, “Please. Don’t rescue us. Just leave us alone!”

Weight Watchers eTools

  I was going to add a second WordPress blog, “Living Weight Watchers,” but the WW eTools site has blogs over there. And that’s not all they have! I’m blown away by the upgrades to Weight Watchers since I last belonged. The eTools site is so awesome.

I’ve already joined two groups, “Arizona Hotties” and “Phoenix.”

I joined a challenge, “The GLOWW Challenge.”

I already had one member, “Pocoloco,” ask me to be her “friend.”

I started a second blog, “Living Weight Watchers,” at the site. 

All this provides motivation to help me stick with the plan.

If you’ve ever belonged to WW, I invite you to join again. It’s fun.

Liberal or Conservative?

  With all the high emotion, fighting, and downright hatred brewing in the country right now, it’s important to know where we stand individually. Then we can put what we hear into context. Here’s an interesting quiz to see where you stand on the “liberal vs. conservative” spectrum:

http://www.gotoquiz.com/conservative_or_liberal

When I took the quiz, I found out that I’m ”moderately conservative.” Here’s the description of a “moderate conservative”:

I believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, and traditional American values.

According to StudentNewsDaily.com, generally, “liberal policies emphasize the need for the government to solve peoples’ problems” and “conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems.”

Where do you stand?

Health Care Reform

  I’ve been slow to blog about health care reform because, honestly, I don’t know what’s in the 1,100-page bill that Obama is trying to ram down our throats. Do you? I think everybody (including Congress and Obama himself) needs to slow down, read the bill, and thoroughly understand it before passing it.

Here are some of the things I’d like to see in a healthcare bill. They come courtesy of a letter to the editor of the West Valley View by Robert D. Smith. I think he’s right on:

(1) To reduce healthcare costs, the first thing that needs to be done is tort reform. Lawsuit awards for malpractice against doctors, hospitals, or drug companies should be limited to a reasonable amount. The lawyers’ fee should be limited. If the plaintiff does not win the lawsuit, he should be liable for the costs of the defense.

This will decrease the cost of healthcare as there will be fewer lawsuits, and doctors won’t have to practice rear-covering medicine. The doctors will not have to prescribe extra (often unnecessary) tests and exams to protect themselves from lawsuits. The doctors’ and hospitals’ insurance costs will decrease, and that savings should be passed on to the patient.

(2) The drug companies should be prevented from advertising to the public. This will prevent the public from asking for frivolous drugs they never knew they needed.  Everytime I see ads for drugs that stop “restless” legs, produce more “natural” tears, and grow longer eyelashes, I cringe.

(3) Certain substances should be banned from use in both food and drinks. The chief substance to be banned is high fructose corn syrup, a chemical used for sweetening. This chemical compound has no redeeming features and may be the primary cause for obesity.

(4) I am definitely against any sort of rationing and accompanying “end-of-life counselling” for senior citizens. If that happens, there will be blood in the streets because Americans won’t stand for it.

(5) Whatever laws Congress passes, Congress should have to live within those laws, including healthcare, instead of the sweetheart healthcare they now receive.

(6) We need honest answers on how this health care bill will be paid for.

If these things are in the bill, then I say go ahead and pass it. Why can’t our questions be honestly answered?

Beer Summit

  Well, Obama said the recent debacle about race was a “teachable moment.” Yep, it teaches us something about Obama. The question is not so much whether Gates and Crowley can get along. Race is a volatile issue. The question is why the President of the U.S. admitted that he didn’t know the facts, and yet rushed to judgment, saying that the policeman had acted “stupidly.” Was that fair or statesmanlike?

And then he wasn’t man enough to apologize. ”I could have calibrated my remarks” doesn’t cut it.

And then he stages this dog-and-pony show of a “beer summit” to deflect attention off what he did and put it back onto Gates and Crowley.

People aren’t drinking his Kool-aid, and his approval numbers are down. Calibrate that, Mr. Obama.

The Road to Phoenix

 ”I hope you didn’t Lucy me,” DH teased.

Remember that funny old movie, The Long Long Trailer with Desi and Lucy? It was all about their adventures hauling a trailer across the U.S. Lucy collected rocks from each site they visited, and they had a heck of a time getting the heavy trailer over the mountains. That’s what we felt like recently, moving things from Nebraska. Now, I’ve been known to collect rocks in our trips to Colorado, but this time, the heavy load was books.

We borrowed a huge van from DH’s carpet store and attached a U-Haul to the back of that. With 50 boxes of books and other things, it was a heavy load, believe me. But we got over the mountains just fine.

Now, like Maureen O’Hara in another good old movie, The Quiet Man, I’m happy because “I have my things about me.” It didn’t really feel like home until I unpacked my boxes and set up my office. More things will be coming from Nebraska on future trips. For instance, we have to bring two cats on the two-day drive. But for now, I can settle in.

I figured I’d better change my blog title and look. Hope you like it.

Down-sizing

 I’ve been in Nebraska for the past month, getting rid of things I don’t want to move to Phoenix. What a chore! And what a trip down memory lane!

First came the garage sale. I had to chuckle about how important these items once were to my life. Here’s the doll dressed in mauve satin. She was acquired during my “Victorian phase,” and she brought a dollar. Here’s the baked potato that my mother made in ceramics class in 1963. Hey! You gotta have a special dish for the sour cream! How about the dated dessert set in green glass? I used it once a year for many years when it was my turn to host my writing group, Quill (or The Ladies From Queer, as DH used to call them). Put out the toaster oven that was used only once. It was GE brand, and I hate GE on principle. Many fond memories, and the garage sale netted me $300.

We also sold furniture on Craig’s List. When they took away my dining set with hutch, I nearly cried. I’ve loved it so. It held many family members, friends, and good meals throughout the years. But now, it’s dated and I’m tired of looking at it. We’re going contemporary now, and it just wouldn’t fit into our new house. I gave away my piano to a good home with kids who will (hopefully) cherish it as much as I did.

But one thing I’ll never give up–my library and bookshelves. So far, I’ve packed 50 boxes full of books. DH keeps asking if I can’t get rid of some books. I’ve warned him ominously, “No! And I’ll know if even one is missing!” I do re-read them, and some can’t be replaced, such as the 1939 hardback edition of Grapes of Wrath with my father’s name and Perryton, Texas, address on the bookplate.  

Yes, it’s definitely time to “let go” of things, keep my fond memories, and get ready for new good times in Phoenix.