rude children are a product of dumb parents........

At a Christmas party during the gift exchange a teenage girl opened her gift and said, "Ugh, this is an old person's gift."   It was an organizer/agenda.  Granted not something for a teenager, but it was a gift draw and no one's names were on any of the gifts.  I was there with my daughter, as soon as I heard this young lady make that rude statement I looked directly at my daughter.  She looked at me in shock like, "What did I do?"  I was looking at her as if to say, "I know YOU know better!"  When we talked about the incident later she told me how wrong she thought it was and why. So I was satisfied that I did the right job.
Later at the same party there was a teenage boy.  He was around 17. When I came in and spoke to him I asked why he had his hat on. Thinking that my question would jog something in him and he would remove it in the home of these people he was a guest of .  These people who are clearly reserved and believe in good manners.  But, it didn't. He just said he needed a haircut...so since he wasn't mine, I left it alone.  Later during the party one of the older ladies asked him, "Is it raining in here?"  He said (confused), "No."  She wasn't going to give up as easily as I did.  Then she said, "Well are you trying to make sure your head doesn't fly away?"  He still looked dumbfounded.  To help him out and relieve the tension between him and the lady I said, "She's trying nicely to tell you to take your hat off in the house."  He said, "Oh" BUT STILL DIDN'T TAKE IT OFF!!!....His sister snatched it off his head.  He still said that same thing about his hair not being done and then put his HOOD ON!!! (still inappropriate)...I just shook my head.
I shook my head at the fact that this young man doesn't know the simplest of manners. MEN TAKE YOUR HAT OFF IN THE HOUSE.  I shook my head at the fact that he didn't immediately correct himself when an adult told him he was wrong.  But, mostly I shook my head at the fact that his mother was RIGHT THERE, and did not correct her own child.  I mean she'll do everything else for him, teach him to drive, find low cost insurance for him as an at risk driver, let him drive to his prom, etc....But, she can't teach him how to be a gentleman???? I mean seriously?
It is a JOB as a parent to teach your children basic life skills.  Now why taking your hat off inside someone's home may not be as important as "please and thank you" where do you start if not at the simplest of things?  They are our future and if you aren't sharpening their basic then they'll become as "dull" as you obviously are.

I should get paid for watching infomercials.

I'm up early, or rather I wake up for a minute out of my sleep early because I am SO annoyed by this music and voice I hear on the TV.  It's my fault because I shouldn't have left the set on when I went to sleep.
I notice an exercise infomercial on that is hosted by Montel Williams.  I am IMMEDIATELY annoyed.  I don't like the demonstrations or the fact that in order to even find the price of some of these items you have to wait until the ENTIRE commercial is over.  It also bothers me that these are things I have no immediate use for, AB rollers, pasta cooker, food processors, steam machines, exercise videos......Tell me about something I need right away...LIKE LOW COST AUTO INSURANCE.  Have me call into your show for a quote over the phone and give me a countdown reducing the price like they do on those home shopping network channels.......
So now I decree, if you want to waste part of my life by bombarding my TV with these middle of the night shenanigans, then I expect a fair wage AND benefits!!!

Let's not waste anyone's time.  It's counterproductive.

people go into too much debt for the sake of giving.

Christmas is almost here.  I have not done ONE BIT of Christmas shopping.  I am really not in the mood due to other things going on in my life.  I do see people around me buying and asking me what I want for Christmas.  My answer is always "nothing" because I don't want to be obligated to give a gift in return. 
I wonder how different Christmas would be if there were to be a law that each person could only get one gift PERIOD.  Not one gift from a few different people, but just ONE GIFT.
Watch how fast people would start to dislike Christmas.  Since I've been starting my own home business and have other issues going on with me, my Christmas budget is limited.  I don't have the cash flow to go all out like I would've in the past.  Luckily my children are older and able to understand (understand not accept) that times are tight and Christmas isn't going to be a game show gift giving extravaganza this year.
Other parents are either not as lucky as I am or they are much less realistic.  They are going into debt to try to get their kids the next "IT" toy/outfit/electronic/video game....or their borrowing money to get whatever they THINK the gift recipients need/want.  On the promise of, "I'll pay it off when I get my taxes."
The way I see it, people need to focus on what is really important.  Set your priorities straight to better your outcome.
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" ~ <3