Not a bad afternoon...

About an hour ago I had lunch, the Rotina and Meatballs in Sauce. It actually wasn't that bad at all. Surprisingly good, I wasn't expecting it to be more flavorful then some of the other dinner entrees I've tried. Of course ,there are far better pasta dishes in like the Lean Cusine line, but honestly, I was expecting so much worse, as NS doesn't seem to do tomato sauce very well.

The following rant has nothing to do with NS, but I figure while I'm here, I might as well get on my soapbox.

This has to do with court tv cases and women. There seems to be a trend on these court tv shows to show women (mainly young, but it does touch on all age groups) accepting money loans from men and then getting to court and batting their eye lashes and saying 'oh your honor, I just assumed this man I met the week before was gifting me my past due rent money and gifting me by paying for my cell phone bill/credit card bill, etc". 

Women, please assume all transfers of money are LOANS. Just because a guy is nice and 'he's so generous' does not mean he expects to pay $3000 of your bills in a month. Obviously, he likes you, and if you have no intention of persuing the relationship, then you have no business accepting either loans OR gifts. At one time I too was a sweet young thing. If a gentleman offered to help me out in any way, I politely REFUSED. A simple 'no thank you' will suffice. If he purchased a gift that was far beyond what I felt was appropriate for that level in the relationship, I politely DECLINED!  Again, a simple, "I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but I don't know if right now is an appropriate time to accept a gift this generous". Guess what? The men were very understanding. They understood that I was not a gold digger and that I valued building a relationship at a pace that was comfortable for both of us, and if I had no intention of going forward in a relationship, I had no intention of using them and exploiting their feelings. 

I have told mY own children, that they are never to accept 'gifts' from people they have recently met, unless they can return the favor in kind. So, if an interested young man presents them with a tennis bracelet, unless they intend to purchase a like amount gift for the gentleman, they should politely decline. Also, they have been told, under no circumstances are they to 'borrow' money from men who they are not involved in a committed relationship with. And if they do, they need to get the terms in writing, and they need to PAY IT BACK!

The only gifts they may accept from men, would be flowers or candy at the early stages of the relationship. They are never to ask outright, or hint at gifts. They should never discuss money problems they may have to guys they are casually dating. These are the kind of values, all people. both men and women should learn from. In the olden days, there were strict rules for courting gifts, and the gold diggers were far fewer. Now, so many young women grab the shiny object, and then ask for the conditions of what is expected of them. 

And if you do find yourself backed into a corner, and you're asked to pay for those items, do the right thing and either return the gifts, or pay for them.