Tag: Humor

2012: The Year of Everything (at once)

~ JodiLea

2012-header

How many life-changing events did you have this year?
I’ll spare you the “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” sentimental summary of 2012.  I already bitched posted about the details, as they occurred.

  • Preparing home of 24 years to sell
  • Death of my only sibling
  • Retiring from my day job
  • Diagnosed with a “leaky valve“. (What am I – a car?)
  • Moved from a city in the SF Bay Area, to a remote town in the lower Sierra mountains.

If you’re new to Not Pretending, the links above should satisfy any curiosity you may have. And a very hearty welcome from me, BTW  😉

All 5 events occurred between April and July. I don’t remember much of August at all. September-November were a blur. When I began to settle down into my life – the  Holidays showed up. Whee!  The last of our kids left yesterday. Now I need to gear up to “organization level” energy, but a head-cold is sucking it out of me.

It’s snowing every few days now.  This is my fault, as most of you already know. I’ve dreamed of a white Christmas all year, and I definitely got one. I love watching the snow fall.  I can’t imagine anyone getting tired of watching it. I can imagine getting tired of shoveling and driving in it, and I’m happy I don’t have to!

I bought a 20.6 pound turkey and 10 pounds of potatoes (sweet and russet), so we can live on Christmas dinner if we get trapped up here a few days. In fact, it is supposed to snow later today. ..

2013 will arrive in 2.5 days, and soon 2012 will only be memories. It seems like I just said that about 2011. Time really does speed up the older you get.

A happy & prosperous New Year to everyone!

Next Year’s Christmas Present (to myself)

~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

XMAS_BAR

While I was creating the traditional Christmas Feast this week, I thought about many things, especially the following three:

Number one: This is a lot of  f*#$@!! work.

Number two: I am tired of doing all this  f*#$@!!  work.

Number three: Why do I keep doing this every  f*#$@!!  year?

The matriarch of the family is stuck with responsible for all that is Christmas. She is expected to feed everyone, on every major holiday. I loved cooking all day and watching my family play games and have fun with each other. I am so over that now.     

This matriarch wants to play, have fun, and relax for a change. Sit in a cushy chair knitting, while listening to the stories her children tell each other about their lives. Take a nap for an hour when the younger set does (i.e., while everything is quiet).

Two of our three children have not invited us over for holiday festivities. Ever. I imagine it never occurred to them to do so, since they have not invited us over – period.  Wait – I take that back.  They did host a family BBQ once in the summer of 2009.  They did a fabulous job too.  I know that they could out-do my Turkey Loco recipe, which, BTW,  uses a grill, where real men cook.

Don’t tell anyone, but I think I’m wearing out. I just can’t do it anymore.  I hate that I’m weaker physically now, and have “chronic conditions” requiring a plethora of prescriptions and doctor appointments. I’m way too young to be this OLD!

So, dear kids…  Consider this your advanced notice: I’m going to take the year 2013 off.

Feel free to use our kitchen/BBQ, but Thanksgiving and Christmas feasting (traditional or not) will have to be coordinated and prepared by anyone but me.

If a feast does not get coordinated, do not expect me, in the eleventh hour, to whip one together.

Just saying.  😉

 !SNOWMAN

For Santa’s Naughty List: Companies That Outsource

~ JodiLea

Santa

We (hubby and I) are so disgusted now with the company we retired from this summer.  I suspect that a lot of companies are doing the same thing. It still doesn’t make it right.

As a retiree, I no longer can use the company’s benefits office. Retiree benefits are outsourced to a large conglomerate somewhere in Illinois. They are the middle-man for your retiree medical plan. Retirees pay company, and they pay the bill to the carriers for you. Sounds great, doesn’t it?  Until you find out that the premiums they have taken out of your checking account are not going to your medical carrier.

In October hubby retired and signed up for his retiree benefits. November 1st, his first medical premium payment was paid and he signed up for auto-payment from our checking account. No problems with that. They were taking our money right on schedule. Because of his first payment crossing in the mail with the auto-payment set up, he was billed for Nov & Dec coverage at the same time, so now we had made 3 payments.

I contacted the outsource company about hubby’s over-payment. I also was going to complain about hubby not receiving his medical card with his patient number yet. Sigh.  I am told to contact the medical provider directly to ask about the card. I did so and found out that hubby did not have any coverage with them at all. WTF??

That was Monday. Now it’s Thursday and hubby is waiting for a phone call from the medical insurance and the outsourced folks. Someone seriously dropped the ball here, and neither side wants to admit it.  Meanwhile, hubby has not had any medical coverage for two and a half months!

I want to know what the Hell the outsource company did with the money?

This kind of crap makes me want to go pirate!  ARRRRR!!!

Thanks for listening, I feel better now. ♥