Christmas Week Storms

Am I the only one who takes a ton of pics and then completely forgets to blog about it?

Our Christmas week storms flooded the creek. We won't be rock hopping any time soon! This is the Haines Canyon Channel just above Dirty Creek. Check out the waves.

This is Dirty Creek... the water nearest me is where we usually stroll.

And this is the Big Tujunga River:

Fun at Their Expense

One of my favorite personal expressions has always been, "You can mess with me any way til Tuesday but you mess with my money, you've messed with the wrong damn thing." 

It's served me well - working freelance in the film industry sometimes for four different companies in a week. I sometimes feel like I fight hard for every dollar I get. And my money isn't just sitting there to be stolen by banks. 

So, I had a mishap this month - brain fart. I paid one bill and forgot to move money from savings to checking to cover it. What followed makes me nostalgic for the way banks used to be. Back in the dark ages, if you had money in one account but not another, the computers at the bank made a little transfer and all was well. This didn't cost the bank any money nor did it cost the customer. 

But now, all banks have gone money mad. And starting in February, every bank around these parts no longer offers free checking. Let me get this straight: you want to keep my money, require exorbitant minimum balances on money I cannot use, not pay me interest AND charge me for the pleasure. Uh NO! I will be analyzing the different banks on my Retail Rant blog  later in the month, so if you are shopping too... you might want to check in there.

But back to my fiasco. I was charged $10 bucks for them to move $300 from some credit card I didn't even know I had (when I had the funds available in THREE other accounts!) This kind of crap INFURIATES ME! I feel like we, as consumers are being 4.99'd to death. Every website you visit wants a subscription fee, our phones, cable, etc. keep going up up up UP!

So I decided there was little chance to see my ten bucks but I was going to cost Chase $15. I figured a that these phone folks - never Americans - probably make five bucks an hour and since I have more time than money, I would play a little game. I decided that while I did some computer work, I would call them up, put them on speaker and ask them to explain to me why they charged me and that if I kept someone online for two hours, I would have my "money's worth!" Bonus points for getting a supervisor and asking for / getting their supervisor because that ups their financial ante! 

I openly tell them what I'm doing! That's half the fun! "You cost me money, now you have to be nice to me for two hours while I cost you money." Whaddaya know? The 2nd person I talked to gave me my ten bucks back! HA! 

And since Chase is one of the banks that will be charging about 120 bucks a year PER account for my business, they won't be my bank much longer. 

I didn't even have to work that hard for my money and I'm laughing all the way to the bank hole in the backyard. Never mind. I'm going to lunch.

Resolute

I don't believe in resolutions. I resolved a few years back to never make another. It's been the only resolution I've EVER stuck to! Browsing the Internet tonight, peeking in on some of my friend's public lives, I've been astounded by some of their lists. And overwhelmed. My goodness, these people have small children at home and are attacking everything from reading a book a month, to beads shows, to a dozen magazine projects to marathons.

I feel like I'm doing O.K. if I get something anything done every day! I admit, looking for work is a HUGE time suck! ...but necessary. And the fact that both my girl and I require an hour of outdoor activity, rain or shine at the creek every day adds to the schedule. So does getting there and home and the mandatory towel drying afterward. Maintaining my business websites and the time I devote to the marketing and administration of the bead collective I belong to takes more time. 

But all that being said, this is the first time in years where I've felt strong enough to want to kick my own butt out of submission and make some changes. On the other hand, I hate the idea of sharing such personal stuff so publicly. (I spend most days feeling like a failure. The public humiliation would kill me!)

My weight - which ballooned during my wheelchair time and continues a steady climb - has finally started to bug me. Not for health reasons... I'm oddly healthy (thank you creek!).  No, what little vanity I posses has reared it's ugly head.  

Twenty three years ago, I fell hard for a little girl. She is my best friend's real life niece. When she was but a toddler, her mother disappeared from her life for the first time... a pattern that would be repeated often. As luck would have it, the girl's aunts loved her fiercely. As did her grandparents and I and another old family friend.  This young lady often tells people she has five moms. I am lucky enough to be one.

And now, she is getting married. We've got a wedding to plan! And as the BFF pointed out, she's the only girl in the family and certainly the only daughter either of us will ever get to plan a wedding for! While I'm so excited for our girl, I guess I don't want to be "the blob" in the wedding pictures. Strange motivation...but I will take it!

As I sit here knowing full well I never got my bookkeeping under control as I have vowed for years to do; knowing that in a matter of days I will be mired in months of computer hell, I still feel like I want / need to just make some room in my life for other things.

So, I'm putting some new things on my daily to do list.

• Ride my fancy schmancy exercise bike that is gathering dust in my office. 
• Eat two servings of veggies per day. Considering that's two more than usual, that's a huge improvement!
• Clean something in this huge messy house every day. Throw away the broken. Donate the unneeded. 

There... it's down in black and white to be judged.

RottRover is Blogging

My real life furriends at RottRover are finally blogging! Whooo Hoo!

I know many folks out there think we are the same person... but we're not! That all started with a weird glitch in blogger where this blog kept showing up as the only one the rotts were following. But those rottens are all over the place in dog blog land and having known their real life pack for several years, I'm so happy they made their introduction to the world!

I adore this rottweiler trio - mainly because all three know what a PITA, spoiled rotten drama queen Mabel can be and... they love her anyway! I just know you will love getting to know them too!

It's Here!

G' Mornin' Everybody! Mabel Lou here!

My mom and everyone else around here seems so thrilled about the New Year so I thought I should hijack Mom's bloggie and just wish all of our friends out there a happy one! I hope your new year brings you all the happiness you can handle. I hope you find your place in the sun and relish it!

I know obstacles will cross your path, but no matter what you find, I hope it makes you lick your lips with anticipation.

No matter what trail you find yourself on, I hope it puts the BIGGEST smile on your face!

Happy 2011 Everyone!

Gotta hike! Mabel Lou