You Go Government!

Well Pooka family today I am somewhat of a happy camper! You know I was a “political expert” during the Obama campaign but I have to admit I’ve been following the healthcare trials and tribulations but have started getting a little turned off! Its easy to get turned off because so many of the changes we don’t see. But that all changed this week!! I got my credit card statement! Now usually this is never a good thing but because of the new bills passed credit card companies now have to reveal on the statement how long it will take you to pay off your card if you pay the minimum amount, the interest rate and overall make the bill easier to understand, well….I GOT IT!!! With my new information I realized that my credit balance (which I can tell you cause we’re family) of $1500. Would take me 30 YEARS to pay off if I paid the minimum!! ARE YOU CRAZY!!! That’s the length of time to pay a mortgage and for $1500!!!! Well when I kept reading my now easy to understand statement, I realized that my credit card interest rate had gone up and I didn’t even know it!! It was 30%, “WHAT!!!” Now I’m losing it so I quickly picked up the phone and called the bank and they said because I was late 2 times, 2 TIMES people that my rate jumped to 30%!!! Well now I’m furious, but, I opened my next credit card statement, yeah, yeah there was another one and I realized I could pay that balance off in 36 months and the rate was only 13%, so I quickly transferred my stupid credit card to my good credit card and have saved myself a mountain of cash. We’ve been fighting for so much in government and it feels good to actually see something that really helped me out! So I say kudos government, your political expert is back! Now…..I must tackle health care!


Ps I don’t like to name, names but….CHASE you stink and Bank of America Thanks! LOL!

Fences

Pooka Family, I cannot contain my excitement! Do you remember my very first blog? I was soooo excited about the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof appearing on Broadway with James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, and Terrence Howard & Anika Noni Rose. Well, if you think I was excited about that wait to you hear this! Denzel is back! He's back on Broadway appearing in my most favorite play of all..FENCES! I remember seeing Fences years ago at the Shubert Theater in Philly. It starred James Earl Jones (I'm obviously a fan) and Mary Alice. I must have only been about 15 or 16 yrs old when I saw it but it left a memorable impression on me. Well, I just purchased my tickets to go see it this spring in NYC. I got the best seats that we could {not} afford because you know I need to be up close and personal to see Denzel! J I am excited! I told my husband that this will be my Mother's Day present. If you are a fan of August Wilson's or Broadway or Denzel, make sure you go and get your tickets. It's a limited 13-week engagement! See you there!

Grandmas Suggestion....

Hey Pooka Family!
I had a feeling that one day one or both of my children would need glasses. Having worn glasses since fourth grade myself and having parents that both wear glasses pretty much guaranteed that the bad eye genes would pass on. So when William started sitting on top of the T.V. to see what was on, I pretty much knew who was next in line. We went to our friendly neighborhood eye doctor who confirmed that Will needed glasses and we picked out a nice pair that made him look even more handsome and studious.We had a long discussion about the glasses how to take care of them, the importance of them blah blah blah... Well if I had remembered what wearing glasses was like for me in elementary school I would have gotten two coke bottles and made him a pair! At first he did great,he wore them when he should reading, doing homework and everything was fine. Then of course the day came when he didn't bring them home. I didn't worry too much, I just reminded him that he needed to remember them and bring them home. Well he remembered the next day but next week they were MIA again. "Where are your glasses?" "Huh mom?"( Me trying not to lose my temper") Your glasses where are they?" " Oh I don't know." "You don't know?" (Me losing my temper)" I think their in my backpack."
"Well get them!" " Okay" " Mom, they aren't there." After another long discussion about responsibility, the glasses were brought home without incident. Then they broke. " What happened?" (Me again trying not to lose my temper) "I don't know I picked them up and they just fell apart."..............................."They just fell apart" (Me with my right arm holding tightly to my left so I don't just knock him over)" Yeah" "Okay another lecture on how he has to be careful with the glasses they are delicate. I was able to send the glasses back to the Drs. office and have the frame replaced because they were still under warranty. Great! Glasses come back and less that two weeks later Will comes home with an arm missing. " What happened to your glasses." (At this point I'm yelling all control gone.") "I was sitting on the bus and it hit a big bump and my glasses broke." " What!!!!" " I was sitting on the bus, I heard you!" I called my mom who is my go to person when something parenting wise goes wrong. I explained the story to her, and she said "Beat him".(Oh No Celie!)" What!!! " He has to understand that he can't just break his glasses and its okay, You got plenty of beatings. " I guess they beat me in my head because I don't remember ever losing my glasses. Well I couldn't I should have but I didn't. I told him, " You better find that arm and bring it home or I'm going to beat you." (IT WAS GRANDMA'S SUGGESTION).
Well the next day Will comes home and tells me that he found the arm to his glasses. I'm like "Great!! I can fix them myself and we haven't missed a beat! He looks through his backpack and then he says: " Its not in there." I then took my mothers suggestion. Needless to say on Monday Will brought the arm to his glasses home, I can't fix them because of the way they broke so I have to buy him a new pair. Morale of the story: Take Grandma's suggestion the first time!

Pooka Girl Workshop!

Okay Pooka Family, this is my first video with my new flip camera!

What Will They Say About You…

Greetings Pooka Family,

I come to you very quiet and humble today. Our family has suffered the loss of a dear sweet Uncle and that loss is still very fresh. The home going for my Uncle was one of the most beautiful I have witnessed. It was as beautiful as him. One of the things I was struck by was how intimately the pastor knew my Uncle and how it was so easy for him to speak his words because of the relationship he had with my Uncle. My Uncle had an easy spirit which touched everyone that came in contact with him. His final resting place was very far from where he was born. Yet, his new community embraced him. He touched them like old familiar friends as only my Uncle could. It just made me think about my relationships. My friends from kindergarten to new faces I met last week. What would the people that have been a part of my lifetime say about me? Would they remember me? Did I leave a lasting impression? Was I kind, was I funny? Did I give them a word of good advice when they really needed it? Did I appreciate them? Was I a good listener? Do those in my heart know that I love them? When they see my name on caller id do they want to pick up the phone?? We sometimes don’t see ourselves as others do which is both good and bad. We hopefully live our lives being the best person that we know how to be. When we get it right those relationships will be blessed. When we get it wrong we pray to live and learn so we can get it right the next time. Family we can’t go back. So hopefully through our life journey we did ok and people will smile when they hear your name. So I ask….what will they say about you?

Buy Stuff!!!

Well Pooka people in my quest for self improvement , I decided to focus on some things I could do “better”. I am always out of everything! I wake up to put my contacts in and realize that I’m out of contact solution, so I have to put on my glasses and run to the store. I get to the Laundromat , turn over the detergent bottle and cringe as that one last drop of detergent drops in and I have to drive to the store quickly and get some more with my clothes in the machine (you know I love my natural/organic laundry detergent which is never in the Laundromat vending machine!), every month I forget I’m a “girl” and I’m surprised when a certain “aunt” comes to visit, as I run to the closet I realize I have no more supplies that my aunt needs!! Why? Why? Why?! I’ve always been that way , very last minute! I’ve been to Donna’s house and I can ask for anything, “Hey, do you have a frog dissecting kit?” and she’ll say, “Yup, hall closet!", “How about a bottle of nitro glycerine?", I ask. “Uh huh, medicine cabinet!", “Might you have a pound of turkey necks?”, now i got her i think to myself. “In the freezer, Dawn!” I can never stump this girl! Who has an extra of everything?! I decided to work on this, no more buying what I need when I’m out of it, I’m going to stock up. On my next visit to the grocery store I made a list and purchased all of the items that I didn’t need right now but I knew I would need. I was so proud of myself ! I called Donna and told her about my new changes. She was very happy for me and told me, “Dawn, that’s being a wife. Having all the stuff you need before you need it”. HELLO!!!! Why didn’t she tell me this before! Is that all it took, well then I should be somebodies wife by this weekend! I knew I needed to share this information with other single women! Ladies just buy stuff and prince charming will show up!
I got up later that week and had to do laundry, I packed up my clothes and went to the Laundromat, when I got there I froze after I loaded my clothes and realized, NO DETERGENT! But wait, I bought some last time and it’s in the car! I was so happy. I loaded my clothes and poured in my all natural detergent. As I watched my clothes start washing I couldn’t figure out why there were no bubbles, so I added a little more detergent, I had never used the powder detergent before so I just figured I needed to add more. Okay now I’ve put in almost ¼ of the box, no bubbles, I turned the box over and realized that it was dishwasher detergent! So now all of my clothes are sparkling clean and they have a shine like you’ve never seen before! People change is good but it’s never EASY! Hopefully the bright light from my sparkly clothes will lead prince charming right to me!

ps Ladies all you need to do is buy stuff and he’ll show up, just by the right stuff! And If you forget to buy stuff, just call Donna, she’ll have it!

Back To Work!!!

Hey Pooka Family! Well, it's back to work for me on Monday. I have enjoyed my extended leave at home with Taiye and of course I wouldn't mind staying home a little while longer but you know as well as I that you need a 2-parent home income to live comfortably in these parts of New Jersey. Truth be told, I am sort of looking forward to going back to work. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being a mother but I also enjoy being a career woman. I've always had a strong work ethic (Thanks Grandpa) and I enjoy my job at IBM. As with any employer you have your ups and downs but by in large I am very proud to be an IBMer. I'm proud of our company's position with building a greener, smarter planet. I'm proud of our philanthropic endeavors and our humanitarian contributions. And I'm proud of our CEO. When I saw him at a round table panel discussion with President Obama, a feeling of pride came over me. He is an honest and direct leader who communicates with us frequently on our company goals. This in turn motivates me to work hard in helping to achieve those goals. So Pooka family, today I am excited and looking forward to my first day back at work! Stay tuned to next month to see if I'm still sprouting that optimism