Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom by Condoleezza Rice
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rice explores the development of Democracy in several countries that have suffered historical turning points in the past 30 years - during her time working at the national level, first as a member of the National Security Council, and then as the Secretary of State. Rice takes a hard look at mistakes and missteps that were taken during her tenure, dissecting the actions that were taken and their long term impact on world politics. This isn't just a look at the newspaper headlines, it's a look at the diplomatic wrangling that went on behind the scenes.

Ultimately, this book is a very timely read in light of the current political climate. There are things that we all need to remember about this 200+ year experiment in Democracy, and Condoleza Rice reminds us all what is wonderful about our system of government.

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Shared from my Good Reads account. 

Kids Living At Home

CBS News recently reported that grown children are moving back home with their parents after graduation from college.  The report stated that kids are driving their parents into the poor house because they are bleeding their parents dry, financially.  Parents are hitting up their savings accounts to buy things for their kids.  And the kids who are living in their basements are not working.  You can see the full report HERE. 

Speaking not only as a kid who moved back home after graduation, but also as a parent who has had a kid move back in after graduation, I have some thoughts about this.  I do believe that if a recent graduate needs to move back in, while they save up some money, that is okay. 

 I was given a piece of advice before I graduated from college: the first job you got after graduation would influence the rest of your career.  When I graduated from college in the Eighties, jobs were plentiful.  I quickly found a job, and lived at home for two years while paying rent and saving money.  It was because I lived at home that I was able to save money to put down half on a car, to have the money to pay cash for our wedding, and save money for what was eventually a portion of the down payment on our house.

We sat down with Middle Child after his graduation and worked out his plan.  As my parents did with me, he has six months to live with us rent free and search for a job.  After six months, he will need to have a job and start paying something towards household expenses.  He will have to buy his own car, pay for the maintenance and upkeep on the car, as well as the insurance.  He will have to pay for his own clothes.  He will also have to help us out with the physical upkeep on the property.  Trust me when I tell you we've got a lot that is almost constant need of repair.  Short term, he's returning to his Lifeguard Gig.  He had language worked into his contract that if he is offered a professional job, he has only to finish out the week.  He doesn't have to give 2 weeks notice before he leaves. 

We aren't putting a timeline on him moving out because 1) He needs to save money and 2) He's living at home with his parents after living on his own for 4 years.  We don't think he's going to want to stay here for long!  Speaking as his parents, I'm glad that we get to spend some extra time with him before he moves on and starts his own life separate from ours.

He is fortunate in that he hasn’t accumulated student loan debt.  Husband and I saved money through the Maryland Pre-Paid College Savings Plan.  His in-state tuition was covered through those funds.  Husband and I were able to cover the difference between his tuition and Room and Board and other fees.  Middle Child himself paid for his textbooks and his living expenses.  His own frugality and thrift through college has made this mom very proud!  I’ve  enjoyed watching him use the strategies he passively learned from me to help keep his own expenses down over the last four years.

I’m a little confused by the CBS report.  I know a lot of Millennials are moving back home in order to save money and pay down student debt after graduation.  The kids I know who have moved back home are hard-working kids who are working more than one job.  They are moving out after two years.  Many of them have paid off their student loans, bought a car with a significant amount of money down, and pulled together a handsome down payment on a home.  I don’t personally know any Millennials who are sucking their parent’s savings down.  

Maybe I'm fortunate enough to know the exemplary Millennials? 

Luna's World

Hey there, this is Luna, writing from the confines of the Pillow of Shame.

I had a sore mouth recently.  It hurt a lot, but I'm a tough little cat, so I didn't make any fuss about it at all.

Until I went to the vet.  She found my sore teeth, and then she decided to make a big fuss.  "Luna needs to have those teeth pulled" she said.  "Abcess" she said.  "Clean her teeth" she said.

Hmph.

My idiot owners "Mom" and "That Girl" (I'm not using her name right now, I'm too angry at her.) They left me at the vets office a couple of days later to have my dental work done.

Do you know, they shave patches of my beautiful fur?
Or that they stuck needles into my delicate skin?
And that they prised my mouth open to pull my teeth?
They even used a scratchy thing to clean my gums.

Even worse, they told "Mom" and "That Girl" that I couldn't eat any kibble for 14 days.  Soft food is fine, but no kibble.

I don't like soft, wet food.  If I wanted soft, wet food, I'd kill one of those little mice that run around in the yard - and sometimes in our basement.

I have been on a hunger strike for 10 days now.  TEN DAYS!!!  DO YOU HEAR ME?????  I HAVEN'T EATEN IN TEN DAYS!!!!!!

Oh, they've given me food... turkey in gravy, chicken, salmon, liver, pumpkin bread...  You name it, they've put it down for me.

And I have repeatedly turned up my nose and tail at this nonsense.

I've slapped plates full of "food" across the room after they put it down.

I've come in and sat down with my back to the "food".

I have shaken my paws at this "food".

All to no avail.  They are not budging. They are standing firm.  They've even taken me back to the vet twice - TWICE I TELL YOU - to have her make sure that I am "doing okay".  I tried my hardest to look all weak and sickly, but when they stick a thermometer up your butt, it's hard not to be angry and indignant.

The vet even said that I had managed to gain weight.

Liar.

She doesn't know about my secret stash.  None of them do.  You see, I had been storing bits and pieces of food behind one of the back legs of the china cabinet.  I had even squirreled away a bag of treats and stored them back there.  When nobody is looking, I go and dig out a few pieces of kibble.  Last night, I pulled out one of the bags of treats that was hidden in a cabinet under the sink.

Don't worry.  I'm letting them know how upset I am.  I am waiting until I really, really have to pee.

The, I find something that belongs to them and let loose.

Very efficient was of winning the argument, hmmm?

Bathroom Remodel (FINALLY!!!)

I have pictures!  I have stories!  It is finally done!!!  HOORAY!  Years after the walls fell out of the
shower, we finally have a bathroom that not only can we use - but we can be proud of it!

As a reminder - THIS is what happened to our bathroom, pictures and all.

After more years than I want to count, we finally got ourselves together enough to pay for the remodel!  HOORAY! 

We went to one of the local home improvement stores, and had them do the big jobs - tub and tub surround, vanity, toilet and flooring.)

Husband re-enameled the wall tile.

We replaced the baseboard heater.  (C'mon, these things were installed in 1970.  You can't convince me that they're any kind of efficient.  I've got 6 more to replace in this house.)

We replaced the light fixture over the sinks.

And painted the trim and the doors.  I really didn't want to be painting anything over new flooring!

Now, here we are.  A fully functional 2 bathroom house.  I still can't believe that all 5 of us were sharing the master bathroom for as long as we have been.   What a long time this repair has been in the making!  Below, you'll see the pictures of the bathroom.  It's quite the change, isn't it?  And the best part of all of this?  We were able to pay for this renovation out of pocket.  Yes, it's taken years, but we paid cash.  Husband was able to do much of the work himself.  As a result, we saved a LOT of money on the overall cost.

If you'll excuse me, I'm off to go take my first bath in almost 10 years!

2017 Resolutions - May Update

What a month May has been!  Graduations, kids moving home, a wedding, the list goes on and on.  I've enjoyed every single minute of this past month.  These are Once in a Lifetime Moments, and I'm so glad I've been able to fully participate in each and every one of them!  Life is good!

1) Complete 12 Home Improvement Projects in 12 months:

Recover the kitchen chairs.
Add the knobs to the cabinet under the kitchen sink.
Fix the sewer line out of the house, through the basement wall.
Replace the baseboard heater in the hall bathroom.
Replace the lighting in the hall bathroom.
Re-enamel the hallway bathroom tile.
*If you're keeping count, that's 6 to date.  Only 6 more to go!

2) Lose a few more inches around my waist.
I'm not at my goal yet, but I am steadily working at it.  I really would like to lose more inches, but as long as my doctor is happy with my blood work, I am going to take my time losing the inches.  I have lost inches this year.  Just not as many as I want! 

3) Get Away With My Husband - TWICE - over the year.
We've gotten away once.
Second trip is planned!

4) Lenten Cleaning Challenge

My list from the challenge.

5) Post At Least 12 Reviews on my Books for Teens Blog


6) Finish the Hallway Bathroom
Look for posts on this later this week!

That's our new bathroom floor!

7) Participate in the NoSpenduary Challenge
The moratorium is over!  End of May, and we can spend money on unnecessary things again.  For now, that means I can pay for some plants for landscaping in the front.  Bigger picture, I am saving again in order to build our emergency savings fund back up to where I like to have it.

8) Learn Another Language.
I don't know if I'm going to get back to this one.

9) 100 Things Every Marylander Should Do
I was hoping to knock off a few of these this year.  Not all 100, but maybe five more of them?  I really need to get my act together!

10) Daughter's Quilt
I've taken a break from this over the past month.  I HAVE finished tying a quilt. The denim quilt my Mother in Law made when my husband when off to college years and years ago.  I'll post more about that adventure on another day.  Right now, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to bind the damn thing.

Ties - hundreds of them!

11) Clean Out Closet and Dresser Drawers
I really need to get back to this.  I've been trying to pack up oldest child's stuff and move it down into the basement so that middle child can move into the room - and LIVE in that room - until he saves enough money to move out on his own.

12) Clean Out the Little Room in the Basement and Make it Usable
I've made some progress on cleaning this out over the past month.  I don't know how much progress I'm going to make on the actual remodeling of it considering how much money

13) Work on Landscaping the Front Yard
Sadly, I got a head start on this when the plumber pulled out one of the big bushes in front of the house.  Now, I have only 4 overgrown bushes to take care of in the front yard.

14) Take at Least One Class through the ALA 
I finished the class!  I submitted two of the lessons that I wrote, and they have been approved as library programs for this summer!  Hooray!  It's going to be a great summer!  Even better?  I got a few more CEU's to add to the total number of hours I need to renew my teaching certificate.

How are you doing with your resolutions this year?