Mishmash Musings

I’m not all that big on New Year’s resolutions, but I usually do make at least a couple every year and try to keep them in mind past the first few weeks of January.

This year my resolutions are pretty standard. I want to continue my exercise program (which currently consists of jogging 3 miles three days a week and walking 4 miles the other four days), lose five pounds (which isn’t happening with the exercise alone, so I guess I have to diet), and I want to be more patient with my family and not get upset about the “small stuff” anymore.

If 2010 is anywhere near as good as 2009 was for us, I’ll be happy!

My birthday and my husband’s birthday are just a couple days apart, so we usually celebrate together. We weren’t planning on doing anything this year, though, because things are pretty tight around here what with no more overtime at work and having to pay for things like grad school and Christmas.

But as I was going through our budget, I noticed that we should have about $50 extra at the end of this month, thanks to the lower home insurance quote we took advantage of and the 0% balance transfer offer we got on our credit cards.

That’s enough to order a pizza, some wings, some Coke, and rent a couple of DVDs — in other words, a perfect birthday night for us. We’re simple folks at heart, so even something like this would be enjoyable. I can’t wait! (We celebrate on New Year’s Eve, btw.)

Wow, this is just stunning news. Urban Meyer, the wildly successful head coach of the University of Florida football team, announced that he will be stepping away from his duties because of health reasons! Yesterday the news out of Gainesville was that he was resigning his post. But today, the statement has been modified, and it looks like Meyer will take an indefinite leave of absence instead.

I’m not exactly a Gators fan, but I really like Urban Meyer as a coach. I love what he did to the Utes football program, and think he’s been a class act at Florida and every other stop during his career. Hopefully the man takes care of his health, and then comes back to the game. College football needs people like him.

I want to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas! I hope you’ve been able to spend some time with loved ones, share a good meal, and maybe exchange a few presents. That’s always been the perfect Christmas recipe for my family! At any rate, just celebrate as you see fit and have a great one!

The Heene family — the ones who orchestrated the “balloon boy hoax” in an attempt to get signed to a reality show — is in the news again today. The parents, Richard and Mayumi, have been sentenced to jail for their involvement in the scam from a couple months ago. Richard has to serve 90 days in jail, including 60 days of work release, while Mayumi has to serve 20 days. In addition, they won’t be allowed to profit from the incident (no books, movies, TV deals to line their pockets) and they have to pay full restitution for the rescue efforts, which could amount to somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000.

Want to relive the uncomfortable moment when son Falcon inadvertently revealed that this was a hoax? Take a look at the video clip below. Watch Richard Heene’s body language throughout this thing. The guy is a class A asshole if you ask me!!

…until Christmas!!! I love this season and can’t wait for Christmas to actually get here. There are few things better than watching my son unwrap his presents in the morning and seeing his face light up as he finds out that Santa brought him what he wanted! And, I’ll admit it: I love unwrapping my own presents too. I don’t know what my husband and son got for me this year, but as long as it’s not kitchen appliances or fuse holders, I’ll be fine.

We’re not going to have a big family dinner this year, so that’s going to make things a bit easier for us. Instead, we’ve got reservations at a hotel restaurant (a nice place) and will be having a seafood dinner featuring crab legs and lobster tails. Yum!!!

I just submitted my last term paper of the semester, so now I’ve got 9 graduate credits to my name! I need a total of 33 for my degree, so I’m about a quarter of the way through. I put in a lot of hard work this semester, and am looking forward to the upcoming winter break. It will be nice to have all that free time again. Wow, my life prior to grad school seems positively leisurely now!!!!

What the heck is going on between Courtney Love and 17-year-old daughter Frances Bean Cobain? Just a week or so ago, Love lost guardianship of Frances, with the role going to Kurt Cobain’s mom. And now today, I just read that Frances Bean took out a temporary restraining order against her mom.

I know Courtney Love has had a ton of problems in the past, but she has supposedly cleaned up her act by now. She went to drug rehab several years ago, and I can’t recall reading that she has slipped back into that lifestyle or anything. Then again, the thing about drug abuse is that the person is always in danger of relapse, especially if they persist in running in the same circles, living essentially the same lifestyle, etc. So who really knows what’s going on with Love.

Anyway, this whole saga is very strange right now. I hadn’t heard a single thing about Frances Bean Cobain for the last 15 years, but now she’s suddenly on all the gossip pages. Strange.