I Hate Commerce Bank

Yes.
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I just named names.
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I hate Commerce Bank.
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And maybe not for the reasons you might think.
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The rowing club has a corporate credit card with Commerce for when we travel. I have a generous limit and Jeff pays it off immediately.
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But often I cannot use it.
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You see, Commerce has a policy that I can only use my limit once in any 30 day billing period. So even if our balance is $0 if we've traveled once already in that billing cycle...I can't use the card.
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Tricky when we often have regattas two or three weeks apart.
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But that's not why I hate Commerce Bank.
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1000 Commerce business customers had cards that they suspected had been compromised. So at midnight on Friday they deactivated the cards. My card. And I was in Des Moines, IA with the team. A phone call would have been nice. An email. Something.
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But even that is not why I hate Commerce Bank.
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When I was younger I often cut the finances close paycheck to paycheck. Oh, who am I kidding...I always ran short. I wasn't making any money and I was a lousy manager of what I did have.
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Things are better now. I make a nice living. Not millions but enough that I don't have to stretch between checks like before. I don't worry about money. I have a plan and it works.
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But I remember what it felt like to have my ATM card denied. Or write a check and have the little check computer spit it back out.
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Embarrassment. Despair. Worry.
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That is why I hate Commerce Bank.
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Because that's how it feels when I use that card and it's declined.
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It's like being poor all over again.

Pink Fire Trucks

Today I wrote a message to my mother on a pink fire truck. These fire trucks are driving across the country to raise awareness for women's cancer...all of them, not just breast cancer. And they are being driven by men.

I cannot tell you how much I want a set of these hot pink bunkers...and look at the helmet! It's pink! With ribbons! Love it!

Mom couldn't make it over to sign herself so I made sure she was represented.

I'm sure there are ladies whose names I should have added. But always know...they are in our hearts.

A link for you...The Pink Heals Tour

Sisters

Happy Birthday Kimmy!
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Love you very much!
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She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child. ~Barbara Alpert
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Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there. ~Amy Li
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A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~Marion C. Garretty
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Is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister. ~Alice Walker
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If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child. ~Linda Sunshine
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You can kid the world. But not your sister. ~Charlotte Gray
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Sisters never quite forgive each other for what happened when they were five. ~Pam Brown
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A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves - a special kind of double. ~Toni Morrison
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Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply... ~Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814
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What's the good of news if you haven't a sister to share it? ~Jenny DeVries
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Sisters is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship. ~Margaret Mead
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If sisters were free to express how they really feel, parents would hear this: "Give me all the attention and all the toys and send Rebecca to live with Grandma." ~Linda Sunshine
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When sisters stand shoulder to shoulder, who stands a chance against us? ~Pam Brown
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The mildest, drowsiest sister has been known to turn tiger if her sibling is in trouble. ~Clara Ortega
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A sister is a forever friend. ~Author Unknown
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Sisters annoy, interfere, criticize. Indulge in monumental sulks, in huffs, in snide remarks. Borrow. Break. Monopolize the bathroom. Are always underfoot. But if catastrophe should strike, sisters are there. Defending you against all comers. ~Pam Brown
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We know one another's faults, virtues, catastrophes, mortifications, triumphs, rivalries, desires, and how long we can each hang by our hands to a bar. We have been banded together under pack codes and tribal laws. ~Rose Macaulay
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You are the best sister ever! (most of the time)

Me And My Scale

Hey there ho there!
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No, I didn't forget I have a blog...haven't we already been through this...I should be fired. But, alas, I AM the boss of this blog and I like me...so there.
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I'm on a diet.
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Don't even start. I DO need to lose a few pounds. Stop the slow creep upward on the scale. Nothing crazy. Just keeping the weight in a healthy range. Revamping the food that goes in. Making sure I'm doing my part to improve the calories burned.
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You know...healthy and all that.
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And I have a scale. There are really three schools of thought on the scale issue.

1. Weigh every day.
2. Weigh once a week/month.
3. Never go near the blasted thing.

I'm an every day weigher. Always have been. It will not be changed.

My scale is possessed.

I began at my heavy weight not to be mentioned. In the first week I lost 13 pounds. I'd get on the scale every morning and think "It just cannot be this easy".

Then I thought maybe the batteries were dying. So I got new batteries. Same unbelievable loss. So I started to think "Okay, so this is good".

Then Saturday I was bad. Not like I ate a whole cake and a carton of ice cream bad. But I had more than one beer and more than one chocolate martini and the guac...oh...the guac. And the stuffed dates. And food from the grill...okay, maybe I was that bad.

Sunday morning, against my better judgement, I got on the devil scale. All 13 pounds. Back.

A little panic. Put the scale on a different part of the floor. Took the battery out and put the old one back in. Stood a different way. Left and came back later.

13 pounds. Back.

Yesterday down 2 from there.

Today...back to 13 lost.

I think the damn thing is fucking with me.