So, Here's the Question...

why do some people believe helping animals to be less of a calling than helping humans? and, along that line of questionable reasoning, why does doing either one exclude doing the other? and, Lord help, why would you stand in front of me knowin' I know All About Your Expensive Designer Bag Problem Habit and that the only charitable donation you do anyway is some rinky dink paycheck United Way thing* (STOP AND READ THIS NOTE: everybody that is about to have a hissy fit over that previous sentence go on down and read the little * remark at the bottom of the post) you got pressed into doing so the Officially Shall Not Be Named Place of Business could make the Red on the Fake Thermometer Board go all the way to the top and say something stupid about how so many people need help that you didn't believe in giving money to Animal Charities?

okay, that was 3 questions, but did ya'll ever know a Southern Woman to actually stick to her 1 Question Quota? (a Southern Woman on a tear/soapbox/havin' a hissy fit has strange volcanic rhetorical rhythm alongside mad on-the-fly self-scanning skills that just, zuppppp, suck you right in...hypnotizes you against your will)

Whenever you can, wherever you can, please give generously to help others...It is Important...and becomes More Important when fewer people actually have money to contribute to charities because of Lost Jobs, Lost Bonuses and Actual Pay Cuts***...

I know I struggle with giving as much as I could/should...there are times when I have to wrestle My Inner Book Demon or Thrift Shop Demon or Want to Look Pretty Demon (I swear when Face Lifts get sold on QVC's easy payment plan, watch out!) to hold back that debit card...and lots of times My Inner Demonettes kick the livin' snot out of my Inner Goody Two Shoes...it ain't pretty, folks, but it is the truth****...

The easiest way to handle that struggle is to set yourself set up to just do automatic debits from your checking account or to a credit card, if you're Very Responsible with Your Credit Card and don't carry some big ol' balance , to your favourite CharitieS

painlessly thoughtless...

almost all of the charities we give to are set up for some type of automatic debit...and when you get comfortable with that $10, $20 or $30 wavin' Good-Bye to your checking account, then you gradually up the dollar amount...treat those charitable deductions as if they're just like your cable/satellite T.V. bill...when you get used to that little amount comin' out of the bank account each month, your introductory offer expires and your bill goes up*****


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*and before anybody freaks on me, let me say, if you contribute through paycheck deduction to United Way, that is lovely...Mr G does too...and I did when it was an employee option at my last job (I like to choose local options when that is available...like a county-wide plan for people who cannot afford their prescription drugs)...and if that is all your family can do right now, completely understandable...times are tough...very tough...and it is great that you're trying to help others when you're stretching and, or struggling, yourselves...BUT if your shoe closet makes my jaw drop and your bags really are somebody else's Nice Car Payment...at the very least...please please please don't start with me about your Philosophy on Charitable Giving when all you get up off of is a lousy $10 a paycheck...Because the conversation will go rapidly and, yes, irretrievable downhill...I promise you...**

**and before anybody else decides to take issue with this post and trot out that Tired Old Chestnut about this being a Free Country and One Being Entitled to What One Wishes With One's Money, let me just say...if that is the Truth of the Matter, please feel free to try that line with the IRS, your state's tax agency and the Tax Commissioner's Office of Wherein Your Primary Residence is Established...and then still don't start with me...because That Dog Don't Hunt...

***And if you really can't find the extra $ in your bottom of your purse right now, I get it...try to find Something to Do for a charity...I'm finally about to get off my Oh So Valuable Personal Time and start volunteering with a local charity 1 weekend a month...see? I'm doing like the actual $ thing...starting off slowly and then when I reach the level where I'm comfortable with the amount of time I'm committing to give to others, I'll see if I'm willing to up the ante...it Really Is all about tricking myself into not being such a Selfish Cow...again, not pretty, but the truth...

****And the Very Worst Inner Demonette for this time of year is about to rear her Ugly Head...the Spring is Here and It is Time to Buy Plants for the Garden Demon...this is a scary time for the ol' pocketbook...

*****That poor Customer Service Rep...it wasn't a good day for him...

2010 Georgia Literary Festival

2010 Georgia Literary Festival

I love that Statesboro is playing host to our state's literary festival...check out the link

Big Doings in Georgia

this week(end)!

Starting today, The Friends of the Library/Old Book Sale opens to the public in Macon, Georgia...I've been to this and let me tell ya'll it is a Book Lover's Dream...

Plan on getting there early (you should be on the road right this second) and waitin' in a Long Line to get the best selection...and bring some big bags...and maybe an extra body to sit somewhere so you can deposit books until you're ready to head to the check-out...

If I didn't have to head to work this morning, I'd already be half-way to Macon...

AND Georgia Organics is hosting the Georgia Organics Reclaiming Agriculture 13th Annual Conference & Expo this weekend...

Mr G and I are headin' up tomorrow for workshops and we'll be there Saturday for the educational sessions too...even tho' we're giving ourselves a cool 2 years to build up a fund to purchase a Little Farm of Our Own, there is no time like the present to start building a knowledge base for actually being able to handle some of the what-seems-likely issues of Farm Ownership*...

This is exciting stuff!

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*and I'm hopin' this conference will encourage me to be willing to toe the line on our About To Begin Budget Strict Savings Thing...

Delayed G-R-A-T-I-F-I-C-A-T-I-O-N

did I spell that right?

We had snow here in Statesboro this past weekend...that is a pretty big deal for our neck of the woods...and I planned to post at least my Very Favourite Snow Photograph...but I can't...

Mr G reformatted my laptop after it began doing Strange and Annoying Things...and the photo editing software I used to, er, use won't work now on my laptop...seems the new version is not working with my operating system...I dunno...as if telling me that is going to get me any closer to making them call a detente...

So, I've busted out the Photoshop Elements 8 Santa dropped off #17 this past Christmas...I've been dreading this...

See, for a person holdin' a degree in English, I have an awfully hard time understanding the written word when it comes to following directions...and makin' change, but since that is a Math Skill I'm not really expected to know how to do that, right?

and, even tho' Cheap is favourite word of mine, I wouldn't mind payin' an extra buck or two to have Actual Instructions on how to use the program in the box...instead of trying to click back and forth between an online video tutorial and my screen...or going out to track down a manual at the bookstore...where once I looked at the prices of these Necessary Manuals, I realized I wasn't going to pay that anyway! I'd order from home, get a deep discount, free shipping and the opinions of total strangers as to which book is best...does any one actually buy books in a bookstore any more?*

at the very least, a disclaimer on the box that reads something like "hey, just so you realize you will have to plunk down at least $25 extra to get a book so you Can Actually Use software you're about to buy...just so you realize, that's all we're saying" would be a helpful thing...then Santa could have stuffed the book in my stocking along with the program and the 20lbs of black licorice and I'd be all set...

So, long story short**, no snow photo until I learn how to operate Elements...I cannot figure out how to save the photos in a web friendly size without actually havin' to edit something...

If any one can point to me to a Free On-line Site with some brief tips about Elements 8, I'd be Very Happy and Very Appreciative...

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*I feel deeply disloyal to brick-and-mortar bookstores when I buy books on-line (almost always) but how on earth can I justify not buying books online when online bookstores undercut even their own B & M stores by $10 or more with the added incentive of no shipping charges? I don't understand the business model ...Signed, Call Me Confused in Georgia

**Is there such a thing as a Short Story in the South? I think not...

Some Times It is Easier to Dream

than to implement, isn't it?

I have used my Brand New-To-Me Chalkboard (3.99 plus tax at the Goodwill) to provide an illustration of my 2010 resolutions... #3 is part Mr. G's too...I think, God love him, he is mostly humouring me*...

See, it is not that I really want to be a Farmer...I mean some casual gardening is fine & dandy, but farming, so I've heard, is a hard hard way to earn your livin'... I do want to have enough organic produce to provide for our table year 'round and maybe some to sell at the local farmer's market...

some chickens (some=3)...maybe a little goat...possibly a pet cow...

Let's call it Farming Lite...

And, important footnote, Mr. G and I do have the bad habit of draggin' home dogs and cats that
seem to have found themselves homeless...

our latest find is Lady Bug Rosie...and her room is our master bath...of course, Lady Bug doesn't live in there, but when it is bed time or when Mr. G and I head off to our jobs, that is where she hangs out...Can I just say I look forward to the day when I can take a bath without somebody drinkin' my bathwater? Because it wouldn't be our house if Lady Bug didn't have some cute personality tic...She won't eat unless I'm in the bathroom with her (our dogs eat separately...food aggression drives me nuts)...

We need more room unless we stop this pickin' up every goofy dog that is runnin' in the middle of the road...and that is just a pipe dream anyway...at least until legions of people stop being such incredible sorry-assed creatures...that is an Even Bigger Pipe Dream...

ANYWAY, to achieve #3 on the list requires the sudden onset of intensive saving for the next 2 years...

We hashed out the budget in January, took it out for a test drive this month and decided to "start for real" in March...

seems we burned through our "discretionary" spending $ the first weekend of the February...

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger: Steep Freakin' Learning Curve Ahead...

We do very little credit card spending, have a little credit card debt and a decent savings account...

but we're used to spending, even in these strapped times, whatever is left over from the month's expenses...

magazine here, take-out there...plants for the garden, some thrift shopping...some more take-out...and massive vet bills...

Adds up appallingly fast, doesn't it?

Whether or not we can pull this off will be hanging wayyyy up in the air for some time, but I cannot help but believe that even if our farm never materializes, the next couple of years are not just going to be about learning to control our money (I won't even buy into my own delusion by adding "better" at the tail end of that sentence) but about refining other areas of our life together** and of our selves as separate beings***...

Any and all budget tips welcome...

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*possibly praying to God every night, on his knees in the garage, that it doesn't happen
**this will almost assuredly bring about some serious disagreements
***and possibly involve jail time for somebody

Happy New Year!!!!

Early on, I decided to start my New Years from 2010 forward on February 1st...it just takes the pressure off of January...

the last thing I need after approximately 6 weeks of Holiday-Holiday-Holiday is angst over what to come up with for a New Year's Resolution...

So, Happy New Year, Ya'll!

I'm about to make a few cosmetic changes here on #17's blog...I thought about deleting #17 all together and starting anew but one's blog becomes like a family member...or at least a great pair of old jeans or sneaks...the thought of separation is depressing...and guilt-ridden...

I just need to be more focused and diligent because I love my little corner of bloggy world...and to stop by other blogs for a read and a smile...

A Quick Question in order to further my redecorating plans:

Photo of the blogger on blog profiles: Yes, No or Doesn't Matter One Little Bit?

(I hate hate hate hate hate having my pix snapped...I always discover some new horror about myself when I end up in a photo...only recently did I discover a striking similarity between myself and Ringo Starr on my left side profile when a buddy snapped a candid photo...I could happily gone to my grave without that knowledge nugget...I did say thanks, right, Donna?...but I do love seeing a pix of the writers on the blogs I visit)