Jude Stringfellow's Blog, page 91

Account Hacked.

 It was determined that my account had been hacked and someone was writing as if they were me. I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused anyone. I have changed my passwords and have deleted a few blogs that were written after the more recent events.  Please excuse any crude, rude, or mischievous language. You know I would never want to be so mean.  Have a blessed day. 

Passing Tests

 Woot!  Over the past couple of days I've had time to do a bit more studying for the Series 7 test. I'm reviewing the SIE information as the 7 has 30 questions about SIE related materials and I want to be sure and pass all of the aspects of the 7, not just the financial aspects. The test is harder than the 6, so I want to be sure everything is clicking in my brain.   I've passed both recent tests, one with an 87% and the other (today) with a 91%, so I'm fairly sure I'll be OK going forward. It's good to know I have options.

    The 7 (and later the 66) will allow me to do more wealth management work, investments such as you find at a Price Waterhouse, Northern Mutual, or J.P. Morgan type company. The 6, 63 will allow me to purchase, sell and and work with Life Insurance products such as annuities and variable products that include and are influenced by the market.  I will get the 6/63 after I get the 7/66.  I may wait to get the 6/63 until after I complete the 3/65.  The 3/65 Series will allow me to trade in ADRs (American Depository Receipts) such as when someone here wants to buy stocks or bonds from a foreign country. I do love my foreign friends in the UK. It means I can travel back and forth and stay happily employed as well as being busy with something both meaningful and challenging. OPINIONS.

    Currently I'm in limbo - - but that's only a temporary thing. By January I'll be fully licensed and capable of making more choices regarding the trading, sales, and brokerage options. I may simply fly back to Scotland and practice my new trade with Monopoly money over and over again until I get it down. I wouldn't want to be set free into the wild without knowing what I'm doing -- I have far too many ETHICS for that, despite what others may think. In fact, screw what others may think. Jesus knows me, and He loves me. That's really all I care about.  He's merciful, He is forgiving, I'm more or less an average Joe when it comes to being able to not hold grudges. I'll blog with names, dates, specifics, and absolute detail in order to expose their every sin - - Jesus wouldn't do that. Keep praying to Jesus folks, He's the ticket.

    I'd say wish me luck on the actual exam this month, but there's nothing luck can do for me. Luck is for the Irish. I'm Scottish. We make things happen. Slainte'.

Photo Credit: Passperfect.com

Naked Bearded Man May Have to get Dressed

 Last night, just before retiring to bed, I spoke with my husband (Naked Bearded Man) about the new interest from all those curious and inquiring minds that seem to hover about.  Seems the blog I've written about him recently has had a spike in views.  He was a bit shy about having so many people know the extent (or lack thereof) of his current wardrobe.  He blushed a bit as the right side of his lip curled just so into that adorable little smile he does before we....kiss.   

Thank you again, to all those who are showing an interest in my man, he really is worth talking about, but please, don't expect him to show up for any "show and tell" session.  Besides being naked all of the time, the man only speaks in Scots Gaelic, so let me just close by saying  "Tapdh leibh agus deana gu mor". 

Carefree Dance (A Poem)

 Since I have your attention, perhaps a bit of culture will do you some good.  I write poetry too. I've been published since I was aged 11.  Have a brilliant day. Thanks for stopping by, tell your friends. I need the sales. www.justmy.com/judestringfellow 

A Carefree Dance

Entangled threads of weaving love

Refuse the hopes of freedom

Flaring lamps burn deeply down

Laughter pounds my heart’s drum

Never will I understand

The reasons I am smiling

Ever wishing for your kiss

Awaiting your returning

Reality? A Fantasy!

A play cast full of jesters

My heart a bliss—

My head soon spins

No answers to my questions

A carefree dance

Perhaps a chance

To tell you all I’m feeling

To know you care—enough to share

Is really all I’m needing

The world—a field

Where flowers float

Where blue eyes sing to mine

I see you love

I know my hopes

Will all come true in time

A carefree dance

Perhaps a chance

To tell you all I’m feeling

To hold you close—to love your heart

Is really all I’m needing

Photo Credit: Openclipart.org

UPDATE!

    Since everyone is so interested in my life now, now that I've been lied about, hung out to dry, and seemingly at the mercy of those who want me to write and use my writing process, yet when I do they have issues with my content. Let me share with you something I did share with students in the past.  When writing about the American Mustang, remember the Mustang is a wild horse.  Where a wild horse can be domesticated, it must first choose to be tamed. Not all choose to comply. Some choose to remain true to their own nature, true to their own spirit, even if it means forging their way without the assistance of a cushy stable and padlocked fence. Some animals are best seen and observed. A wild horse will either be beaten into submission or give up the fight to be fed and sheltered - - there is a third option, however; sometimes they fight back and win their freedom. The Bureau of Land Management protects these animals fiercely when they choose the third option. These animals are marked by our Government but sent back to the wild to be that which they were created to be. 

    UPDATE.  Today I rejoined the YMCA since I'll be home for a while to enjoy the daily workouts. I walked 12,000+ steps around the complex and decided that since I won't be going into work I'll mosey on back to the ranch where I have horses, a single cow, and enough cats and dogs to keep me busy.  I decided to pay off a few bills, and then I bought a new book.  I bought the Series 3 Exam Study Guide. Series 3 (FINRA) is the license I will need to do day trading, futures, and commodities.  I became interested in commodities in the 80s when I babysat a stone mansion in Beverly Hills (1980) of a man named Bernie Cornfeld. He was a HUGE international commodities dealer. He wasn't a nice man by any means, but I really liked his style when it came to letter writing. He would use my innate knowledge of proper Grammar to be sure he came across as precise and poignant as he intended.  The closest man I can think of to Bernie Cornfeld was another millionaire by the name of Roger Dolese. I worked as Dolese's attorney's paralegal for 16 years here in Oklahoma City for Hon. Edward H. Moler, after returning from Hollywood.  (Men and their money.)  

    The basic plan, for now, is to sleep in, walk the dogs, drink the coffee, study the Series 7 for now, take that test, take 63, and then hit the books for Series 3.  Busy, busy, busy.  I'll spare time to run into town to get in a quick workout, run to the feed store, pay bills online, and buy groceries before riding Norman. It rained quite a bit today so he was merely groomed, but he knows if I'm home he'll be taken to the trails of the adjoining property.  We have to do this of course before and after hunting season, neither of us would look good with a hole in our side from a wayward hunter's long gun.  (I need to watch what I say about owning guns I suppose, you never know who may be reading my blogs! They're already going after my First Amendment rights, what's to stop them from attacking my Second Amendment rights next?) 

    LET ME SAY THIS CLEARLY....I don't bring my guns or any other weapon with me to work, and I won't until I work from home, and then yeah, they are present. I am NOT and never have been someone who harms or would harm anyone. I protect. I do protect. I don't hunt, I don't eat food that's been hunted. I prefer buying my beef from Aldi. (Sidenote: Scotland has a lot of Aldi stores too, and I was so super happy when I found that to be true.)

    There you have it - - I won't cry if I am asked to stay home through Christmas. It's never been about the money. I have money in two countries now. My reason for going back to what I am doing was to help those I help. We don't have many people bending over backward to help these days. I still do. God has a plan for me, you can bet that much - - I don't need men or women to try and wrangle me. This pony has a bit of fight left in her and what I can't handle I'll source out LEGALLY. That's another good thing about being this old, I learned to save my funds a long time ago for a rainy day, and looks like today just may end up casting a few damp sprinkles their way.  I love the law, and I'm not afraid to ride it into the sunset. 

Photo Credit: Me and Karen Overy
(Norman is domesticated. I'm not)

Imagine!

 Just imagine the blog posts I will write when this is all over.  PUBLICALLY. I will spell your name(s) correctly. I promise. Seven times. Seven times I say fictional, or it wasn't real. You'd think an intelligent mind could figure that out rather quickly. SEVEN.

 

Securities Industry Essentials - - Here We Go!

 Many of you already know that I have my Securities Industry Essentials license but not my Series 7 or 66.  I have decided to take the 7, 66, 6, and 63 Series tests before January 2022, just to have it under my belt. Being securities licensed will give me another (more obvious) advantage for when it comes time to begin doing my own day-trading. Day trading seems a bit ominous and even scary to a degree, but only because I'm new at it, and I don't have a grip on all the lingo and terminology I need in order to look like one of the Cool Kids. You always want to be and/or appear to be one of the Cool Kids, right? LOL...(Hi Ana! Speaking of cool kids)

    I am forever running into people who ask me why I have a license to sell insurance if I'm teaching. The answer is simple; if I give up teaching I'll have the license and can get started faster than if I needed to get one. I've been licensed to sell Life, Health, and Accident insurance since 1983, and I have been licensed to sell Property & Casualty insurance since the mid-2000s, but I don't remember what year I started doing that. I owned my own business from 2008-2015, so it was somewhere in the middle of that, probably closer to the time I moved to Indianapolis, so 2010. We'll go with that, it seems and sounds like a good number. I'm way behind on my continued education (CE) so I need to do that relatively soon too - - Geez Louise, how did I get so far behind?  I can only blame myself. It wouldn't do me any good to try and blame a kid; not this time. It's me! (Raises her hand and lets it wave freely) I would point my two thumbs back at myself if you could see me. THIS ONE! I am to blame.

    So today I scheduled the Series 7 test for late October, and I will get it done, then start on the 66. I can actually do them back to back if I want, but I think I need to space them out a few weeks just to give my brain a bit of a rest. I'll have it done by my birthday, November 22, and then I'll celebrate with cake, ice cream, and a really great trade, hopefully making a bit of cash for the occasion. I won't be stupid enough to try and do the trade myself, nope, not until I am fully trained on how to do it, and make my way through the troubled first 100 trades; let me practice with Monopoly money first! Please, and thank you. Can you imagine getting a hold of a brand new baby trader and handing them all of your life's savings? I would just have to die. No...no, let me practice at least 100 times. If I come out on top with my fake money I'll do it for real for myself 10-15 times before venturing out to trade for someone else.

    After the 7/66 I'll get the 6/63 so I can drop a few variable products with my son's company. He owns a really sweet piece of the industry pie these days, and I can just hover over his computer(s) for a minute or so on weekends to earn enough to pay off my flat in Scotland. That's my goal for 2022; pay off the flat, maybe use it to buy a bigger place in Stirling, and then do that again, moving from one really cool city to the next so that I can have the full experience(s) of having lived in and around the Edinburgh burbs for the next few years. I don't think I really want to live in the actual city of Edinburgh as there just seems to be too many people, but people mean trades!! Trades mean money. Money means freedom, and you know I love feeling free.

    Scotland also has a really nifty neato new baby stock exchange too - - and that's fun. I'll be seeking way to retire soon from teaching and maybe just slide over into the remote world of day trading as well as commercial trading both private and corporate. I can do that from the comfort of my own home and if that home happens to be overlooking Dalgety Bay, so be it.  One can never get enough of the landscape in the Fife - - I'll miss Dunfermline when I head out to Stirling, but you know I know where the rail and buses pick up; no worries there. I'll make a point to hit Princes Street obviously, as the Exchange is there. I'm trying to find a way to finagle the Edinburgh Council to let me set up offices in the Castle, but they just look at me funny when I ask. Something about when Hell freezes over....not sure if that's even a reality.

    So yeah, that's me, studying again. I need to get the 7 out of the way, then hit the books for the 66, and then others.  I don't mind - - give me a book, a few hours and great, loud, head-banging Christian beats, and it's just me and the "puter" learning all we can before I have to prove myself on yet another expensive exam. I think this one was only $60, so not too bad. It's all the upkeep that will get you. I'm looking at another $200 just for the CEs I haven't maintained...but again, two thumbs squarely pointing right back at my own self...me!  I've got this.

Photo Credit: Robert Walker

Securities Information Exchange - - Here We Go!

 Many of you already know that I have my Securities Information Exchange license but not my Series 7 or 66.  I have decided to take the 7, 66, 6, and 63 Series tests before January 2022, just to have it under my belt. Being securities licensed will give me another (more obvious) advantage for when it comes time to begin doing my own day-trading. Day trading seems a bit ominous and even scary to a degree, but only because I'm new at it, and I don't have a grip on all the lingo and terminology I need in order to look like one of the Cool Kids. You always want to be and/or appear to be one of the Cool Kids, right? LOL...(Hi Ana! Speaking of cool kids)

    I am forever running into people who ask me why I have a license to sell insurance if I'm teaching. The answer is simple; if I give up teaching I'll have the license and can get started faster than if I needed to get one. I've been licensed to sell Life, Health, and Accident insurance since 1983, and I have been licensed to sell Property & Casualty insurance since the mid-2000s, but I don't remember what year I started doing that. I owned my own business from 2008-2015, so it was somewhere in the middle of that, probably closer to the time I moved to Indianapolis, so 2010. We'll go with that, it seems and sounds like a good number. I'm way behind on my continued education (CE) so I need to do that relatively soon too - - Geez Louise, how did I get so far behind?  I can only blame myself. It wouldn't do me any good to try and blame a kid; not this time. It's me! (Raises her hand and lets it wave freely) I would point my two thumbs back at myself if you could see me. THIS ONE! I am to blame.

    So today I scheduled the Series 7 test for late October, and I will get it done, then start on the 66. I can actually do them back to back if I want, but I think I need to space them out a few weeks just to give my brain a bit of a rest. I'll have it done by my birthday, November 22, and then I'll celebrate with cake, ice cream, and a really great trade, hopefully making a bit of cash for the occasion. I won't be stupid enough to try and do the trade myself, nope, not until I am fully trained on how to do it, and make my way through the troubled first 100 trades; let me practice with Monopoly money first! Please, and thank you. Can you imagine getting a hold of a brand new baby trader and handing them all of your life's savings? I would just have to die. No...no, let me practice at least 100 times. If I come out on top with my fake money I'll do it for real for myself 10-15 times before venturing out to trade for someone else.

    After the 7/66 I'll get the 6/63 so I can drop a few variable products with my son's company. He owns a really sweet piece of the industry pie these days, and I can just hover over his computer(s) for a minute or so on weekends to earn enough to pay off my flat in Scotland. That's my goal for 2022; pay off the flat, maybe use it to buy a bigger place in Stirling, and then do that again, moving from one really cool city to the next so that I can have the full experience(s) of having lived in and around the Edinburgh burbs for the next few years. I don't think I really want to live in the actual city of Edinburgh as there just seems to be too many people, but people mean trades!! Trades mean money. Money means freedom, and you know I love feeling free.

    Scotland also has a really nifty neato new baby stock exchange too - - and that's fun. I'll be seeking way to retire soon from teaching and maybe just slide over into the remote world of day trading as well as commercial trading both private and corporate. I can do that from the comfort of my own home and if that home happens to be overlooking Dalgety Bay, so be it.  One can never get enough of the landscape in the Fife - - I'll miss Dunfermline when I head out to Stirling, but you know I know where the rail and buses pick up; no worries there. I'll make a point to hit Princes Street obviously, as the Exchange is there. I'm trying to find a way to finagle the Edinburgh Council to let me set up offices in the Castle, but they just look at me funny when I ask. Something about when Hell freezes over....not sure if that's even a reality.

    So yeah, that's me, studying again. I need to get the 7 out of the way, then hit the books for the 66, and then others.  I don't mind - - give me a book, a few hours and great, loud, head-banging Christian beats, and it's just me and the "puter" learning all we can before I have to prove myself on yet another expensive exam. I think this one was only $60, so not too bad. It's all the upkeep that will get you. I'm looking at another $200 just for the CEs I haven't maintained...but again, two thumbs squarely pointing right back at my own self...me!  I've got this.

Photo Credit: Robert Walker

What is YOUR Spirit Animal?

 Living in the Great State of Oklahoma, where more native tribes are represented than in any other state (I believe this to be true, it was at one point when I learned it in elementary school) you hear a great deal about spirit animals. If you're like me, and you grow up with it being around you all the time, every day, with every school year passing with at least one research assignment dedicated to the Spirit Animal, you know pretty much at an early early age what your particular spirit animal is. You don't have to wonder about it, you don't have to put much thought into it, it is what it is, and when people ask you the question "What is your Spirit Animal?" You can have a ready answer!

    Now, to be perfectly honest with you, as a kid I never did any research or self-reflection. I liked dogs so I just said a dog.  My third-grade teacher, Mrs. Tipton, was not about to let me off the hook so easily. I had to pick a breed that best suited my personality, and you guessed it, because I had a Dachshund, (his name really was Rover) I chose the bigger-than-life-itself weenie dog from Germany!  Now, after a few more years of being aware of what it really means to associate your spirit and essence with that of an animal (most people prefer to think of something wild and free rather than a domesticated hound that lounges about the house and only comes to full attention if the mailman attacks the porch with his big blue bag), I began thinking more about it - - putting just a bit more thought and ponder into it; the truth is that I may be aggressively protective like my good friend Rover, and yes, I do have a tendency to think I'm better, bigger, badder, and more worthy than I am, but the more accurate answer to the question today, having had years to consider the actual truth about my being, the answer is the American Mustang.

    The American Mustang, though a horse, an equine, is nothing like the average or day-to-day American Quarter Horse, the Paint, the Thoroughbred, the Arabian, or the European cobs or ponies. An American Mustang is in fact wild. Domestication for the American Mustang is achievable, but it will take a while, and it will involve years of patiently working with, respecting, and befriending the animal. One does not merely lasso an American Mustang and expect to contain it. One does not expect (or dare attempt) to wrangle the Mustang in small spaces without a fight.  After thinking about it thoroughly and I do think about it thoroughly, the best way to describe myself as if I were an animal, is to acknowledge that I am first a bit wild, absolutely independent, and that my level of skepticism and untrust are markedly higher, much higher, than that of the average person. Someone has to earn my trust before obtaining it unless of course I freely offer it. I only do that in the rarest of occasions, but I do it. 

    I am not one to wait around. I make things happen. I am not one to wait on you. I make things happen for myself. I don't ever ask for permission. I may not even apologize for my actions. I am not one to ask for your help. I tend to find my own way. I will however allow you to be present, and I will give you the help you need if you require it, but I may not be the friendliest beast in the process. I may remain at a distance and patiently observe you. I intentionally observe anyone I am interested in, and I all but ignore anyone I am not interested in getting to know. This is again, a very deep seeded trait of the American Mustang.  Where a Quarter Horse may walk up to you because he or she is curious, the Mustang will hang back at a safe distance and follow your every move.  It can be unnerving to some, but it is essential to me. I won't give until I know I can trust; and if I consider the person to be worth my effort and time. If that sounds arrogant let it sound arrogant, we only have the time we have. Mine is precious to me.

    Today, I found myself standing, walking, and waiting behind someone who could only be described as the South American Sloth! I only say that because she was literally wearing a t-shirt proclaiming that her spirit animal was the Sloth.  Yeah, we get that. You're slower than molasses in January, your face is fixed in a permanent "whatever" and your nails are inappropriately long; useless. As I thought about her life choices for the split second of time that I allowed myself to think about her, I realized that the American Mustang in me wanted to throw my head, stomp my foot, and push her fluffy ass out of the way. She was hanging around in the same spot on the same aisle I had left to give her time to find whatever it was she was looking for. After a few minutes of shopping and circling back to the aisle, here she was still slothfully gazing, not really moving, just standing there gawking at her choices. MOVE ALREADY! MAKE YOUR DECISION!

    I did exactly what you know I did, except I think I did say "Excuse me".  I pushed past her, took the item from the shelf that I needed and left.  She took a full three seconds to respond to me. I was literally walking up the aisle and about to round the corner when I hear her dull droned voice call out "Hey, you don't have to be in such a hurry!"  I kept walking, never glancing back, just thinking to myself how I was actually not in a hurry, I had in fact given her about three minutes to make up her mind, and I utilized those same three minutes to pick up other items I needed, and took time to walk back to that particular aisle. 

    Well, you guessed it, when I arrived at the check-out stand she was taking her sweet time to also stand in line to check out. She was digging through her purse to get her money out, and she was talking to herself under her breath about whether or not she had brought enough cash. Hello, it's 2021. Most of us don't use cash, though I am not opposed to it, it is dirty, it does take more time, and it isn't really as efficient because you often forget (as she did) how much you have on your person. With debit and credit cards you have an idea at least, and if you don't know what your balance is you can use your banking app to figure it out.  You know I made my way just ahead of her before she could step into the queue before me. Nope. I was not going to waste more time with her. I was not about to go through the whole "Oh, I guess I don't have enough money with me. I may need to take something back" and then have her go through her lot to see what she couldn't live with. NOPE. I stepped up and zipped out, thus giving her the opportunity to stare at me one more time. She shook her head. I turned to her, faced her, and I did the same thing. 

    I pointed to her shirt. I (may have rudely) stated that "...the American Mustang is my spirit animal. I hope you'll understand now why it was that we had the experience we did back on Aisle 6. I hope you have a blessed day, and I hope you find your cash."  and with that, I nodded my head, took my bags and walked away - - but not out the door. No, I waited off to the side to see if in fact, she had brought enough cash. I thought for a minute that I may actually step in and help her if she had not. That was my thought process until she literally (probably by slothful means) dumped the contents of her very large and overtly unnecessarily heavy purse, onto the floor revealing that she had actually taken a few items from Aisle 6 that she had no intention of paying for. Wow.  Just....wow! I left the store. It is my belief that ANYONE who considers the sloth to be their spirit animal is both boring and uninteresting; prove me wrong.

    The experience made me think about what my children would say if I asked them what their spirit animals are. They're all adults now, they've had time to think about it more clearly and to come up with redeemable answers worthy of discussion.  Laura said her spirit animal is the Red Panda. She appreciates their awkwardness, they're adorable, and they are quirky at best.  Caity said the Grey Fox, and I can only imagine it's because they are quick on their feet, witty and clever enough to evade nearly everyone and everything every time.  Reuben hadn't really given it much thought, he said he would have to think about it. It could be the Honey Badger because as we all know "Honey Badger don't care!"  Honey Badger will F*ck you up without sweating and without backing down. I can see that. Well, at least I know I did my best at raising three amazing creatures - - I have to say that when it comes to being a mother my spirit animal would have to be something absolutely involved and protective to the point of nuclear destruction should someone try to harm a hair on any of my children. Yeah, over time things change; but I will and have always been independent, fierce, and formidable. 

Photo Credit:  Me!

THAT Mom

 Yes, yes, it is true, I am THAT Mom. I am the one who baked the cookies for the kids before they came home from school if I wasn't working. I am THAT Mom who baked them as soon as I walked in the door if I was working. My dad saw to it that the kids stayed supplied with ice cream, I was (and am) the cookie Mom. I am also THAT Mom who made sure everyone realized dinner was at 6:00 O'clock, and not five after. I am THAT Cook still.  If you're going to eat at my house, if you're going to eat what I cook, you'll eat dinner at 6:00 O'clock.  Lunch is generally around the noon hour, but it could be flexible considering we were mostly at work or school.  On the weekends we had horses and football, so yeah, lunch could be around noon and be makeshift or planned - - dinner is at six.

    Pinterest has made menu planning so easy, in fact, I have been doing a bit more digging and diving into other people's Pinterest ideas lately instead of just looking at the recipes. I've been making plans, menus, shopping for specific items, and even exploring new things - - God help us. If you live with me, if you come over to my house, if you are there when the hour strikes six, you will eat what is set before you. You aren't allowed to say no, and you're not allowed to complain either. It is what it is, deal with it, eat my food, and say thank you. It's really quite simple. I'm a simple girl you know. Never one for a fuss; not really, fuss just seems to follow me and beat me up now and again, but I hold my own pretty well.

    Today we have the ever-so-favorite Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies that I used to make when I was a kid and thought about entering something into the State Fair to see if I could win a prize. I never did it, but I always went to the Oklahoma State Fair Creative Arts Program which was held in the Kitchens and Living Center. In the center, they had dozens upon dozens of entries and you could look at them and see how they were created, how they were made, and all the fancy-schmancy decorative presentations. I was always enamored with the way kids my age would find ways to not only find a family recipe that was super-secret, but they were able to make it as good as their grandma made it, and they could present it on really nice platters with silver, red, green, or gold foils. I always wondered if secretly their actually granny had made the food and just let the kids get the credit? I don't know, I always thought it could happen. I might do something like that for my babies -- if I'm being honest.

    In the food category there were always these three or four women, who you knew must be really close friends or enemies, and they competed in 18-30 categories dealing with canning, baking, cooking, and such. These ladies were masters. I googled and stared at their food products. My family thought I was nuts for spending so much time in that one particular builidng just staring at the homemade canned goods, but I knew these women had years of baking experience and I wanted some of that for myself. My mom wasn't exactly Betty Crocker if you know what I'm saying. In our house, if we ate it was because my dad got around to making us something on the weekends when he was home. During the week we were lucky to scrape up whatever was leftover from the last leftover, and/or beg Mom to put on some Hamburger Helper. 

    I'm not complaining too badly -- she was a good baker, just not that consistent with "real food". I guess that's why all that really interesting food at the State Fair really caught my attention. I didn't get a Barbie for my 11th birthday, I asked for a Betty Crocker Cookbook like the one I saw at the Bethany Library. I knew they had them for sale. I saw one at the bookstore!  A cookbook for a girl isn't all that unusual in the 1970s, so that's not that big of a story, but I actually still have the damn thing. It's been mulled over a few thousand times, but its there in the cupboard. I don't look at it as much now, and I guess it's just because Pinterest makes things so easy. I can pop it up on my phone and be done.  I don't handle the phone while I cook so the phone, unlike the book, doesn't have shortening grease and flour all over it; not yet anyway. It's early.

    Well, the game is about to start, and if you think I'm THAT Mom in the kitchen, you should know I'm THAT Mom on the couch when Oklahoma plays anyone during the fall.  If I'm not watching the game I'm listening to it. If I'm not listening to it, or on the couch, I'm at the stadium! My son may be there tonight actually, I can't expect him for dinner or to gobble down the cookies I just stacked up on the little crimson and cream Boomer Sooner plate that I use when I'm watching the boys play. You gotta get in the mood you know, you can't watch the game without cookies or beer and I prefer cookies. I mean, don't get me wrong, I do reserve the right to have a beer or two each year with Baby Boy when we watch the game from his couches, but that's not tonight -- sadly. Maybe I can be THAT Mom for my dog! She loves me.  

Boomer Sooner!

Photo Credit: Me!