Opinion – Page 3 – Susie Strauss

November 21, 2013

Wedding Planning and Research is Relaxing

Jill has been totally amazed by how much stuff I’ve been doing for her wedding. They haven’t even set a date and I’ve been looking up all sorts of things from wedding favors, to unity ceremonies. She called me this morning to say thanks you when she was reading my blog while having her morning coffee.

I told her it was the least I could do. But really I might even be more excited to do this than I have been about anything in a very long time. That’s probably why I’ve jumped in head first and have been going a little research crazy about planning her wedding. Her only fear is that I will get burned out because I’m doing so much. She doesn’t want me to overwhelm myself.

I told her not to worry because doing all of this fun research is actually really relaxing. It makes me feel excited and I get a rush browsing wedding websites and Pinterest in search of new ideas and themes I had never even dreamed of when it came to a wedding and reception.

The way I see it by the time I’m done planning her wedding I’ll be an expert and can help other friends and family do it all over again. I’ll have all of the research done and we’ll just have to browse my stuff. Then again, I could be dreaming and completely delusional. I guess we wait and find out.

November 3, 2013

The Best Birthday Presents To Get and Give

What is the best birthday present you have ever received? Was it some elaborate and expensive gift or was it a service that some one provided for you?

I think the best gifts are those that tell me that the person giving me the gift really took the time to think about what I would like. I enjoy gifts that people give from the heart and of themselves. I love it when someone decided that they want spend time with me instead of just tossing a gift card in a car and calling it a day. Don’t get me wrong I love gift cards because I can pick out what ever I want to get for myself, but some times I would rather just spend an afternoon with some one and or maybe share a meal together.

I love date nights for gifts too! These usually involve a gift from more than one person too. My hubby of course and then who ever volunteers to watch our kids while we go out and enjoy ourselves. Babysitting is a fantastic gift, it gives me a chance to have some alone time to get out of the house to be an adult or run errands. I’ve also used baby sitting to just catch up on sleep.

You know when you have those really long weeks and you don’t get more than 5 hours a night for a few days in a row. Those are the times when I cash in those coupons that my friends make for me for a night of free baby sitting. My friends come pick up the kids and then I can go back to bed and I love it! If I’m smart I’ll try to plan ahead and see if the kids can do a sleep over so I can sleep in.

So I guess date nights and baby sitting are my top gifts. What is the best gift you could receive or have received?

October 22, 2013

Worried about Trisha

When Trisha told me that she had to stop at the store and pick up some kind of detox in a bottle I was not impressed. If something is illegal, you should not do it. Plain and simple. I read her the riot act – I thought that she had stopped doing all of that bad stuff years ago. I told her that if she does not enroll in a program like 48 hour detox by the end of the month I was going to call in her entire family and all of her friends to perform an intervention. She was not impressed with the riot act at all. I’m worried about her.

August 12, 2013

Where is the sax?

Saturday at the street dance and concert that my kids and I went to, the band was playing a song about how much they love the saxophone, and I could swear that I heard the saxophone playing, but darn if I could see anything that looked like a saxophone anywhere on the stage! This perturbed me greatly, as my uncle used to play a mean sax, and I was thinking about talking to him later about the concert and the song about the saxophone! It wasn’t until my brother was telling me about the cheap buy used yamaha wx5 sale at guitar center event that I realized that there are other instruments being used in this day and age that can mimic the sound of the saxophone, and the trumpet, and other wind instruments.

I felt amazed, and yet cheated, at the same time. Isn’t modern technology amazing? And how sad for the many talented musicians that are now out of jobs because machines can mimic what they took years and years to learn how to do! I think that I would prefer to see the genuine saxophone musician wailing on his sax – it provides a much better theatrical performance!

June 15, 2013

Things To Consider Before Accepting A Facebook Friend Request

I posted about Facebook earlier on in the week. I personally use it to stay in touch with friends and family. But a few of my readers e-mailed me with their thoughts and I thought I would share.

One reader asked me how I feel about friending in-laws. Do I do it and where does the line stop?

Yes, I have accepted my in-laws as my friends on my Facebook page. I currently have my mother and father-in-law and then my sister-in law. I also have a few of my husbands aunts. It might seems like a bit much to invite your extended family that you personally do not know to be your friend on Facebook.

Another reader asked about accepting the friend requests of people I barely knew in high school.

If I really didn’t know them then I probably am not going to accept their friend request now. I’m happy to let them send me messages and then maybe if I feel the need to accept the request I might do so later but I think it’s pretty stupid just to want to add me just because we went to the same school.

Finally, another reader asked about friending people from work.

Well, that’s a tricky subject. I suppose it depends on what you post on your wall. If you posts things you wouldn’t want your co-workers to see then don’t friend them. My wall does not have anything I would be ashamed of showing my grandmother on it so I’m pretty safe in that department.

What are you thoughts on what you consider before adding someone as a friend?

March 1, 2013

Try Out A Titanium Sports Necklace

Phil at work is always wearing his titanium sports necklace. He said something about it smoothing out the flow of electricity in his body. He said that he has been able to do things that he wasn’t before he started wearing the titanium infused sports necklace.

He loves his titanium sports necklace and got one for all of his golfing buddies too. I wonder how it would make me feel after a long hard day at work. Would I have to wear it all day long to feel something or is it something that I can just pop on at the end of the day. I wonder if they come in casual designs for women. Maybe I’ll pick one up for myself

January 3, 2013

Cell Phones at the Dinner Table

Do you jump the second you hear your phone buzz or beep? Do you freak out if you forget your phone somewhere? Do you never leave a room without your phone?

I was always afraid to get cell phone in the beginning because I thought of them as an electronic leash. I don’t think it’s necessary for people to be able to get a hold of you every second of of day. I think it’s actually turned people into open books almost. People share everything or text a friend about the most random things throughout the day. I don’t think they would have shared whatever happened if they didn’t have a cell phone.

I think the challenge above is a great one. To me it challenges everyone at the dinner table to actually be present and involved with the people that are partaking in the meal. Without this challenge you would probably see people checking and updating their Facebook status, playing some silly game, and or texting.

I know I have been guilty of using my cell phone when it wasn’t necessary and when I realize it I try to make a conscious effort to put the silly thing down. Whatever it is, it can probably wait until the meal is over, the television show is over, or you are done playing the board game.

Try this out with your family and friends and see what happens.

December 22, 2012

Mayan Calendar Ended But the World Did Not

Well it is December 22, 2012 and we are all still here. Woo hoo! I never doubted we would be but oh boy did many people think just the opposite. I feel horrible for the people that spent their life savings thinking the world was coming to an end only to wake up today to realize that they have nothing left. Talk about a rude awakening for people.

All of these people based the idea that the world was coming to an end simply by using the Mayan Calendar because it ended on December 21, 2012. I wonder what all of these people are going to say now that we are all still here. Are they going to take things back to the store for a refund so they have some money again? What will they do if they spent every penny on consumable items and they are all gone?

What would you do if you spent all of your money and burned every bridge you had because you thought it was all going to be over and gone today? Would you go beg, plead, borrow, and apologize for your actions? Or, would you suck it up and go out and start over and do what you have to in order to survive again?

August 30, 2012

Cell Phones for Children at What Age

It took me a very long time to get a cell phone. I was very anti-cell phone actually. I thought of them as electronic leashes and I didn’t want to have anything to do with them. That changed one year when I was a senior in college and my car broke down in the middle of an intersection. I was all alone and needed help. At that moment I realized that having a cell phone in case of emergency was probably a good idea.

Now, my kids are starting to ask when they will be able to have a cell phone of their own. They use mine all of the time to play games. They don’t use it to make calls because they aren’t old enough to want to hang on the phone for hours. Right now I think it’s more a fascination with all of the apps on the phone that serve as entertainment. But I’m starting to ask when will that age be gone and it be time to get them phones for emergencies.

I’m thinking when the kids are in middle school will be a good age. I will have strict rules about NOT using the phones during school to play or chat or text friends. I don’t want them to disrupt other students or break school rules. However, I do want them to be safe if they are walking home from school or are hanging out at the mall with friends. I guess I’ll take it one day at a time for now. I still have a few years to go before I really have to worry about it.