A Little Karmic Delight

Superstitions.

The idea of Karma reminds me a bit of superstitions, knock on wood, that sort of thing. Mind you it couldn't hurt. Most superstitions seem to be pretty harmless as far as I can tell, what does it hurt to throw a bit of salt over your shoulder? My husband has come to believe in my left hand after all these years. When my left palm itches, we're getting some money honey. The last time it itched, he called home and I told him it was itching, sure enough he called to tell me he was getting a bonus check. Sure it's just superstition, but I tell you my left hand rarely fails me.

Well, my friend, the one who does hair told me of a story the other day, and all I could say between giggles was, "Sounds like a little karmic payback if you ask me!" You see she had a client one day who was basically what someone would call a cranky old man, although he wasn't all that old, but he sure was grouchy. In fact, he was particularly critical of her work, and he basically threw a sort of hissy fit about how she had combed his comb over. Now I know people are rightly concerned about their comb overs, but she has lengthy experience in working with comb overs, and has even dealt with a toupee now and then. It is not that she is aloof of the comb over, she pays it all the attention it needs, and even tries to keep it at a nice length to do it's intended job without looking like a piece of tangled up kelp should the wearer decided to spend an afternoon at the beach.

This fellow was rather huffy with her, and eventually broke her down and she cried. Which I think was pretty mean of him. It was so bad, that she declared, "I will never work on him again!" This is a woman who has on occasion given homeless people who did not smell so good haircuts, and never so much as thought about refusing them service. For her to say that, I knew he was beyond merely disagreeing with her technique, he was just being mean.

He came into the shop the other day. He sat in the chair waiting for her co-worker to give him the signal to hop into her barber chair. Apparently he had a cold my friend has surmised. "You're not going to believe what happened," she told me, "he sneezed and a big old booger flew out of his nose and landed on the floor!" He just sat there looking rather embarrassed occasionally focusing on the thing that flew out of his nose when he sneezed. Everyone just sort of tippy toed around the thing, not wanting to acknowlege it's existence there on the floor, and wishing there was a way to make it go away without everyone being embarrassed about the whole thing.

After seeing him squirm a bit my friend offered him some tissue, and went to the back for a moment. "I would have been so embarrassed!" she told me, and I agreed, I would have died of embarrassment. "Well after the way he treated you, I guess that was just his karma coming back and biting him in the rear." I told her.

That wasn't enough, what happened next is so gross I hesitate in even bringing it up. Well shucks, I guess I must. People routinely bring their dogs to the shop, it's a friendly place, kind of like Cheers, where everyone knows your name, and your pet's name, and there was a dog in there that day. Apparently everyone sat in suspended horror as the dog did what dogs will do, it ran over there and slurped that nasty booger right up off the floor, and it's owner was not too happy about it. My friend gagged when she told me that part. My response was, "EWWW!"

The karmic lesson here, if there is such a thing, I guess would be, don't go around humiliating people and making them cry, or that stuff might just reverberate back on you making you sneeze a big hocking boogie right in front of the person you attempted to embarrass before and you might find yourself feeling quite gross and stupid at the same time. What's worse, she might tell her friend, who has a blog, about it and the story might be retold on the internet.

No Place Like Home

For the Holidays.

No truer words have been spoken. People, stay home for the holidays. I mean this sincerely. Make sure that you have everything done before Christmas Eve and Christmas because I'm telling you honestly, people don't want to serve you on Christmas. They want to be home with their own families, not taking care of YOU and making YOU feel special. The rest of the year it can be all about you, fine.

But let me tell you this, if you think that person serving you is happy about it, think again. They have to do it you see. Most likely their employer gave them no choice about the matter whatsoever. If they don't do it, they will not be in good standing with their employer. Perhaps they really like their job, and realize that they have to do it to keep their job the rest of the year. It is up to you to keep your behind at home on the holidays giving employers the only incentive they need to close down: there are no customers to serve.

Since I'm being frank here, saying, "Ohhhh, I'm sorry you have to work on Christmas!" to someone who is serving you will cause them to clench their teeth. You see, we have to work BECAUSE YOU are here, if YOU weren't here, we could go home, but since YOU are here, so must we be. Don't assume that everyone who is serving you is being paid double pay, or holiday pay, in fact, most probably aren't. Don't assume that all employers give each employee at least one of the holidays off, most probably don't. Which reminds me, avoid statements like, "I'm sorry you have to work Thanksgiving, at least you will get Christmas off right?" Umm, no. "Well at least you get extra pay right?" Umm, no. "oh."

I'm serious. Even people with no family around would rather be off on Christmas. No one likes working on Christmas. I realize there are people who are in positions that are quite needed everyday of the year. Emergency room staff, firefighters, police and so on, but a lot of people are working who are not in critical lifesaving professions, and it is for one reason and one reason alone, someone is making the big bucks off of you people who just won't stay home, and it is NOT the people who are serving you. I'm just saying what the people would say if they could.

You got that? Enough said?

What To Do During A Snowstorm

Take Over Dog's Bed.

I had to put the doggie bed next to mine so that I could convince the little girl dog that she really didn't belong on the people's bed. Now I say, "Down!" and I point to her doggie bed, which she ignores completely. So then I call her over and pet her until she falls asleep beside me on her little bed.

One night I was talking on the phone with my best friend from third grade, and she heard me arguing and complaining about the dog trying to sleep on the bed. So b.f. went into full Dog Whisperer mode and instructed me on how to get that dog out of my bed. She lectured me on how I must not treat the dog like a human, that the dog does not understand human stuff, and that the dog needs to know her place, immediately, like now! I did as instructed, and had a great night of sleep.

Ms. Thang likes to spoon, she does seem to think she is a people, and darn it all if she is not the funniest dog. In her desire to be as close to me as possible while I sleep, she has taken to completely hogging up the bed, which is a bad thing. I'm a deep sleeper who likes to sprawl out. I'm going on and on, suffice it to say, the dogs no longer sleep on the bed, and I'm glad about it.

But the cats, well, that's another story. I can tolerate a cat on my side while I sleep. It is actually comforting, I kick him off when I've had enough.

The cats like the dog bed. It's much better than what they usually sleep on. You see, one of them likes to drag my husband's socks and underwear under the bed and make a nice little nest to sleep right in the center of. At least the cat finally quit dragging hubby's underwear into the cat box. Probably because there are none close by since we moved things around. We don't know why the cat did that in the first place, but we used to really crack up about it.

Anyway, I've got a lovely camera phone picture of the cats taking it easy on the dog bed. Yes, my husband is a patient man, and he hasn't even threatened to divorce me for having brought home 3 orange cats, although I wouldn't dare bring another critter into this house. A man can only be pushed so far.

You see, unless one has had direct experience, most people do not realize that Orange Cats are particularly onery. They are the types to wander around the neighborhood brawling with any Tom they meet. Some orange cats have even been known to frequent such places as The El Presidente bar and pool hall in Garden City, Kansas, and are widely known for knocking heads and breaking balls. The El Presidente is not for your run of the mill Siamese, or Persians, no, only the toughest thugs of the cat world would hang out there.

Well our 3 boys are rather tame for Orange cats, we pretty much keep them indoors. Every once in a while, usually during a BBQ when the back door is unattended one of them will slip out and go on a two week jaunt to Liberal and come back with many a scar and a story to tell. It is as all Orange cats are prone to do given the opportunity. That said, here they are:

Cabin Fever

It Hath Struck.

Been pretty much stuck in the house, although I could have ventured out today, and I did for a brief trip to Walgreens to pick up some makeup. I love Walgreens. I shop there way more often then I do the other Wal store. It is quite convenient. Yes, I buy make up at Walgreens, this is just one of the endearing qualities that keeps my husband happy. I'm low maintenance and willing to go cheap on most items.

Once I accidentally paid $98.00 for a skin product from one of those fancy department stores. I was with my sister, now she is much more expensive to have, but well worth it I'm sure. I figured the thing the lady suggested was about $30/bucks or something. She put a dab of the stuff on the back of my hand, rubbed it in, and instructed me to feel how much softer my skin felt. Oh and it did.

Then she told me to imagine how soft it would make my face feel, and I did. I asked her to wrap it up for me with one of their fancy dancy cleansers, and when I went to check out I didn't even pay attention to the amount, I just signed the receipt and went on my merry way. My husband would probably not be happy to know that I was so lackadaisical about the whole thing. When I looked at the receipt later I called my sister saying, "You won't believe how much that stuff cost me!" She said, "I know it's kind of expensive, but it's worth it." She's always been more of a spender than me, but that's for another post.

Now, now, I do have to say this, since I started using the more expensive cleanser and the fancy thing that cost $98.00 I have got a lot of compliments on my skin. Really. And the stuff has lasted a long time since somedays I don't use the expensive lotion thing, and it only takes a dab or so, I'm blessed with oily skin, believe me oily skin is much better for aging purposes, I rarely get pimples or anything so it's pretty balanced. I ran out of the cleanser and thought I would just try a different type, and I haven't been as happy with my skin. I'm generally not all that fussy about my skin anyway, but I have noticed a difference. I think I will get some more of that brand of cleanser, and it wasn't that much at about $40.00, it was just a lot more then I usually spent on stuff from Wal...

Oh gosh, that's not what I planned to write about at all. It was the storm. That's what I was going to talk about. What a doozy, but really, it was the wind that was so bothersome. I've seen way more snow than what we were left with, although some people seemed to get a lot more. I feel sorry for the people stuck in airports. I cannot even imagine, although I have slept on the floor of the SeaTac Airport, that was not so fun, those people stuck with the storm are in a much worse situation altogether though.

I missed out on two whole days of worry free Christmas shopping, BUT I got to spend two days with hubby and daughter with very little distraction, so, I spent the whole two days pretty much cleaning house, and spot shampooing carpets, but we were together, home together, it is a beautiful thing. Today I chilled out a bit more, satisfied that the cleaning I did yesterday was sufficient. I made a big ole pot of stew today. We ravaged it.

I'm officially sick of comfort foods, I'm dying for a pizza, but I wouldn't dream of ordering one and making someone else come out in this weather. My brother came over yesterday during the blizzard and we baked cookies. A ton of cookies. I'm sick of cookies too now, that won't last long though, who could become permanently tired of cookies?

Usually I try to cherish snow days, I consider them one of the true days off from life, assuming that one is able to enjoy it that way. I realize that life can encroach on a day off at random, and it is not fun to be in need during a blizzard, but if possible one should enjoy it. Most of the time I don't want the snow days to end to quickly as they often do. I want the safe cozy feeling of being home with no where to go to last as long as possible.

This time it got a bit old quickly, probably because we just had a couple of snow days not that long ago. It doesn't help that I had so many things planned that will have to be rescheduled. I'm not complaining mind you, I wouldn't trade this time for anything, although it's not special if it happens all the time.

Tomorrow it is back to the grind. I better get rested. I should have gone to bed already, I've been entertaining a slightly sore throat for a couple days now, whatever this is seems to be progressing slowly, but I have no idea how I'll feel tomorrow, and I can't very well just call in sick after just ending my days off.

Yuck

How I Feel.

I think I'm getting sick. I don't know who gave me this crud, but if I find out I'm going to make them give me 24 hour care, and a pedicure too for that matter. Hubby got home this afternoon. He's pooped. He worked all night and drove all day. That man wanted to get home, and I'm glad he's home safe and sound.

I'm disappointed that I feel like dirt, but hopefully it will be a quick thing. I've been looking forward to spending time with him this week, and having some fun together.

So it is with fair warning that I offer the following: Christmas is right around the corner, hubby is home, I'm not even close to finished with my Christmas shopping, and there is supposed to be a snowstorm coming in, sooooo....I won't be offering up much on the ole bloggy unless of course we get snowed in and I have nothing else I can do.

With that said, have a blessed week, and a Merry Christmas. I'll be back when I can.

Meet Puddles

Zee Poodle.

I saw this dog at the pet store. I fell in love. I sent the picture to my friend. She said, and I quote, "that's the ugliest dog I've ever seen in my life!" Of course I totally disagreed declaring, "I think it is the cutest dog I've ever seen, if I didn't have two already I would have brought that baby home!" I would have named her Puddles because she looked like she might make many of them being such a young boisterous pup and all. I love her. Notice how she is hanging over the edge of the enclosure practically screaming, "LOVE ME!"

The Naysayers Are Wrong

We Are Right.

Now that is a very bold statement, but I think it is correct. Every so often I hear people complaining about the copious use of cell phones that our society has seemingly taken quite a liking to. I'm no different than the rest of society, although I try to be polite about it. I don't talk on the cell phone while in the presence of other people, for example at a full table in lunch room at work.

I keep my cell phone in my purse, and rarely go near it while at work unless I want to check and see if I have any messages, it takes two seconds to look at it. Usually this is to check on my child and make sure all is well. I never just sit and b.s. on the thing while at work, I'm there to work.

I don't talk on the phone while in line at the grocery store. I put the thing away, and say "Hello" to the person who is checking me out. I thank the person who is bagging my groceries, although sometimes I practically have to bag my own which is bad business on the part of the store.

The sin I am most guilty of concerning the ole cellular phone is talking while driving (T.W.D) I generally keep my chatting to straightways, and I will actually put the darn thing down if traffic is the least bit congested.

I can think of many ways the cell phone has made my life easier. It was the cell phone that my husband called me from that night he crashed his car on that lonely Wyoming highway. Luckily he was in an area where he had reception which in Wyoming isn't always the case. The hills are big enough to make those bars disappear in an instant.

Every single day that my husband is away I know I can send him a voicemail, or a text and let him know I'm thinking of him, missing him, loving him, even if I can't call him directly, I know he will get the message when he has time.

I can send text messages to my friend in Japan. I send them to her email, which she gets on her phone. How cool is that? Seriously. It is expensive to call Japan.

I don't have any of those fancy things on my home phone anymore. I got rid of the voicemail, call waiting, and long distance. I kept the caller i.d. because it is an invaluable function, and I like to know who is calling before I pick up the phone. If Ohio doesn't stop calling me and trying to do surveys for the love of, oh wait, with caller i.d., I don't even pick up the phone anymore when they call. I don't need voicemail at home, I can check my voicemail instantly on my cell phone anytime of the day, conveniently.

Although, I prefer a text, to voicemail, with text the message is just right there waiting to be read quickly, no need to dial up, enter pin numbers or anything. The beauty of the text is, it can be used very discreetly, checked immediately, and the form allows only short messages!

I love this stuff. It is amazing technology. The naysayers look down on the widespread use of the technology, they attempt to argue that there is something wrong with the desire of millions of people to enjoy an immediate connection to those they care about. I'm here to say it, the naysayers are wrong. It is natural to want to connect. Nature is being aided by technology. I think it is a wonderful thing.

Sure some people abuse it, are rude with it. I get annoyed with that too. I think of the Wild West days when people sent letters to their loved ones back east via pony express, that was about they only means they had. I guarantee if they had this technology they would have embraced it and used it as wildly as everyone else is today. I do realize this technology is a convenience, just as the old house phones of yesterday, but if I have access to it, I'm darn sure going to enjoy it. Why not? Tell me.

My Brane Win It Werks

You Are 40% Left Brained, 60% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

a la Juggler's Mistress

Things To Remember

It's Not The Thought That Counts.

Did I say that right? Oh no, it's not the thought that counts, it is the thought that counts. Remember that during the gift giving season, and a Merry Christmas to you. Truly, this is something any well raised person knows. It is really only the act of giving the gift, not what you give. I learned this lesson by the age of 10. Most people know this.

It was a difficult lesson to learn. I still feel shame over my actions to this day. It was my 10th Birthday party and one of my mom's good friends bought me a Halloween costume for my birthday which was in October that year. I actually move the date around a lot. Sometimes I skip it altogether. It just depends on when I feel the need to be honored and have people give me presents, but mostly I stick to October.

So there I was wearing a red velvet dress, one of my grandmother's broaches, knee high socks, and my mousey brown hair cut in the famous Dorothy Hamil style, when I came upon the box with the costume in it, much to my dismay the plastic mask was that of some sort of monster or ghoul, and not the princess that I would have usually chosen. I was very disappointed and all I could think of was having to graciously wear a boyish monster costume, when what I wanted to be was a pretty blonde haired princess.

Being the bratty child I was, I looked at my mother, held up the costume and made the most horrendous yuck face I could muster. Of course, I didn't realize that the person who gave me the costume was standing right next to her and could see I did not like it. She later told me I could return it and get something different if I wanted to. Since I was raised well, I knew the polite thing to do would be to lie and say, "No, I love it!" And that is what I did, but in the back of my mind, I knew my mom would take me to buy a different costume. And we did, but my mom let me know right then and there that the sort of behavior I displayed at my birthday party was rather rude, and that is when I heard it, "It's not the gift, but the thought that counts!"

Since I was feeling so guilty and embarrassed for my behavior, the lesson stuck with me. I never meant for the lady to know I didn't like the costume, I knew that was considered rude of me. I was embarrassed that she saw me make that face. I never forgot the lesson.

With that in mind, let me say this, it is really the thought that counts, sometimes the thought says a lot.

Today I received a Christmas gift from my employer, it was a gift card. I thought the gesture was nice, and was happy for it. I thanked my boss, and told her I appreciated the gift. It was not an enormous amount of money, but it is enough to buy something. They didn't have to give me anything.

Tonight I told my sister, "I got a Christmas gift card from work," and I told her how much it was. She said, "I got my Christmas present from work too, and it wasn't any gift card, it was a little bitty bottle of some off brand shower gel, a miniaturized bath poof, and a company pen, I think they got the gel and bath poof at the Dollartree Store, and the pen was broken when I took it out of the package." And I'm not kidding you, I laughed my butt off. I'm sorry, but it was so funny how she described how she thought the pen was nice until she took it out of the wrapper and the thing just fell apart. We were raised by the same mother, I knew she was probably trying to think of a way to say, well it's the thought that counts.

What is the thought that counts here? Am I being contradictory when I say that the $2.50 they spent on the Christmas gifts for each employee was not money well spent? Personally for my money I would have bought a beautifully decorated card and wrote a genuine message of kindness in there. I mean really, that gift says a lot. A whole lot. I honestly don't know what else to say. I'm conflicted I've been told my whole life it is the thought that counts, and it still does, sometimes the thought just doesn't say much that's all.

Flush Turd Flush

Curses.

Who the hells bells bright idea was it to invent a low flush toilet anyway? I often wonder why, usually about every other day or so, sometimes more if I eat Chinese food. Why oh why won't you go away Mr. Turd? What do you want? Why do you insist on being flushed no less than 3 times before accepting your fate? Why not do the respectable thing and go quietly as all proud turds are commanded to do? Why all the fuss?

I know, it is not really your fault. You want to go, but someone invented a toilet that doesn't actually work as it should, and here we are, I'm cursing you, and you just sit there looking dumb waiting to be whisked away to a better place.

That's it, Monday morning I'm calling a plumber, I can no longer tolerate your insolence Mr. Turd. Maybe he can make the toilets work better somehow. I don't know how, but I'm sick of wasting all this water flushing the toilets over and over. I think that defeats the point now doesn't it?

Small World

Indeed.

Tonight I saw one of the babies I used to care for when I worked at the daycare center. She was a precious little thing--oh heck they all were--and was one of my babies. Certain babies attached themselves to certain providers for whatever reason. She was one of mine.

I stared at her parents for a moment thinking, "I know those people". Then it dawned on me, and I chased them down an aisle at the store. I said "I know you!" It took a minute before they remembered me. The mother was saying to her husband just as I walked up, "I know her from somewhere." Surprise, we met on the other side of the world. Imagine meeting you here.

They've been here for 2 years. I was delighted to see the baby had grown into a cute little 4 year old. She still had the same sweet face, it was all I could do not to pick her up and give her a big ole hug, but I knew that probably would have scared her to death. I was satisfied with a little smile and a sheepish hello.

We chatted very briefly, and then I wished them well and moved on. What a small world it is really. I would love to see all the kids I cared for again, they were such precious little dears. I doubt that will happen, but I would be overjoyed if it did. You never know, stranger things have happened I guess.

I miss that place. Not the daycare center, no, not that. I miss the island. I miss the people, and my friends. I hope I get to see them again one day. Someday maybe. It's not such a big world.

Out of the Dumps

Into The Light.

All right. I feel much better than yesterday. Sometimes I have to let it out. I was alone with no one to talk to with a lot of serious stuff on my mind and the blog was the place I went to talk it out. Every once in a while her problems seem so big, too much for me to handle.

My brother came by yesterday afternoon and I was wrought with anguish and worry. He asked what matter was bringing me down, and I said, "I'm just worried about a lot of stuff right now." He asked, "Is it something that you can hand over to God and let Him take care of?" And I knew that is what I had to do. I said, "I've given it to God, but sometimes I still worry about it." He said, "You can't give it to God, then keep taking it back!" How right could he be?

I knew part of my worries were that I had been to the school that morning and had a less than friendly discussion with the Principal about having my daughter work with a speech pathologist after school. I was upset that she could not receive those services during school hours, but it is just not possible at this time. She is already going to tutoring after school 4 days a week, and the speech would make it 5 long days a week for her, and me as well. She doesn't even have speech problems, but the pathologist will work on other things dealing with language processing which would be very helpful to her.

I realized that I had taken some of my frustrations out on the Principal, and I felt like a jerk. I called him and apologized to his voicemail. It was the least I could do. I know a lot of people hate the public schools, and think they are crap, but there are a lot of people who do actually care about what they are doing in the schools. I too wish the schools were better, and I get frustrated with them as well. I have thought maybe I need to take her out and homeschool her, but being honest with myself, I know I don't have the fortitude to handle that. I don't think I could do it better than the school, I'm just not creatively inclined that way.

I can't afford the schools that have the staff that is able to work one on one with kids like her. She likes the school she is in now. She is feeling really good about the work she is doing. She tells me just about every day about the successes she is having. I think she is where she needs to be right now. The answers come little by little. I never know if we are making the right decisions. I know what we have the means to do, and what our options are, that's it. The rest I have to surrender to God.

I know this, that girl is strong. I believe she is going to be all right. People adore her. Everyone I know is pulling for her, and believes in her. She may not be the best reader, but she can read, and she can get better. She's just not going to get there as fast as everyone else. She's got a ton of talents, and I'm sure she has the smarts to make them work for her. She's got her grandparents, her dad, her aunts and uncles, cousins, friends and I all on her side, all there to help.

In A Dark Room

Today.

I don't want to do anything. I'm in a dark room, and all I want to do is find something to make me feel better. I know it's just one of those things, a lot of people feel down in the dumps sometimes. Sometimes this type of feeling lasts for a few days, usually not more than that.

I can't shake it today. I'm feeling bad and worrying about my daughter. Of all the things I imagined parenthood to bring, I never thought learning problems would be an issue. The thought never crossed my mind. I worried about all the normal things, would the baby be healthy, would we be good parents, and how we could avoid raising a total degenerate.

Never did I think of, or plan for learning problems. Who does really? Well, she has trouble with learning, she has a hard time in school. School has never been good for her, it's been dreadful to her most of the time. I remember last year she begged me to take her out of her school, she told me, "The other kids are getting smarter, but I'm not!" It truly broke my heart to hear her say such a thing. I said, "You are getting smarter, you are just not like everyone else, and learning is not as easy for you." It is true, it is not easy for her. I encouraged her to keep trying and working hard on it.

I have failed her. One of the expectations I held when I first cradled that little baby in my arm was that I could fix any problem she ever had. Sure it was unrealistic, but it doesn't mean we don't try. I've never been able to fix this for her. I've never been much help to her because I truly do not know what to do to help her. I don't have the answers to this problem. I don't know which way to turn.

Today I'm in a dark room.

I Have No Use For Most Group Activities

I Loathe Them.

When I was younger, I liked group things. As I've grown in adulthood I avoid group activities whenever at all possible. I can't stand group things. There is always a group of people at work who do things together after work, these things mostly involve alcohol and are often the topic of discussion the next day at work. Everyone laughs and tells inside jokes, it's all fun.

These same groupie people will often put up invites for anyone to come and join the fun. The same people always go. I never do. I must sound like I'm not that fun to be around. In truth, if getting drunk and kissing someone else's wife is what it takes for me to be considered fun, then I am decidedly not a fun person. I don't drink alcohol in large doses, I don't like being the butt of a prank or joke, and I would rather spend time with my family at home.

It is not just the gross alcohol consumption that keeps me away. There are barbeques, movie nights, and so on that I also decline as gracefully as possible. There is just one reason for this, I hate groups. I distrust groups. I've seen how a group can target people and ostracize them. I have been the recipient of such.

When I started my job I was part of a large group of people who were hired at the same time. I am the last woman standing from the group. All of them have left to other things. I miss not one of them. A couple of girls, I won't call them women they behaved too much like teen age girls, took a pretty instant dislike to me for whatever reason. One was particularly brutal, and hateful towards me insulting me whenever the opportunity presented itself.

It was a particularly difficult time for me. I had been away from my field for a while, and was struggling to perform at the best of my ability. I was feeling quite insecure, I was not confident in myself at all, and it showed. This vulture sensed my weakness and picked at my eyeballs every chance she got. As I grew tired of her treatment, I decided to take it to management, I figured I was not the only person feeling that way, and that she had no right to make the work environment so unpleasant.

They dealt with her after that. She knocked the crap off, and I got on with my work in peace. Of course her little friends had to make their comments here and there, but I found that if I looked them straight in the eye and said, "What did you just say?" They were reluctant to repeat themselves. Eventually it all passed, and they left. I was glad to see them go. They eventually turned on each other as it was, and the group split right in half. It turned out to be the boys against girls. None of it affected me, I wasn't part of the group anyway.

I carried on and forged relationships with people on my own. I much prefer to deal with people on an individual level. I have friendly relationships with many of the people I work with. I don't socialize with any of them outside of work. Every once in a while I talk to one of them on the phone, but for the most part I go to work, have a decent time, then go home. I prefer it this way.

Every year our boss has a BBQ at her house, I actually told her the truth, that I probably wouldn't come because I hate group activities. She was very understanding, and said that it was perfectly fine with her. There are plenty of people who will go, who love that stuff.

The last time I went to a group dinner with co-workers was when we were overseas. One of the women I worked with was going away, so there was a dinner at one of the restaurants off base for her. My co-worker/good friend talked me into going to this thing. I ended up walking out, and dragging her along with me. The husband of the woman who was going away and his friend were really drunk and sitting across from my friend and I. They said some very cruel things about the two of us, I guess they thought in their inebriated states that we could not hear them. I did hear them.

I told my friend, I'm leaving, are you coming? She wanted to know why, I said I will tell you later. She was Japanese and I knew it would take some time to explain to her what they were saying. She didn't ask anymore questions, I guess she trusted I would not rudely leave without a good reason. Before we left, I walked around the table and leaned over and said to the husbands of my co-workers, "You two are a couple of assholes!" I said it as loudly as I could possibly say it, hoping to embarrass them. Then we left.

Outside, I explained to her what these two knuckleheads were saying, believe me it was nasty, I'll just say it involved lesbianism, and it was most disrespectful. I think if my husband were there he would have smashed that guy's face with his boot. My friend's husband upon hearing the story was very glad that I did what I did. Marines know you just don't talk about people's wives like that. These guys were Air Force, maybe there are different standards. In any event, no man with any decent upbringing would talk like that at such an occasion.

The fall out at work on Monday was pretty dreadful, I had a hard time dealing with either of them after that. Both women came to apologize, I told them something akin to "your husband is a complete jerk, needs to grow up, and lacks proper home training, but I accept your apology. Let's just move on." That was as graceful as I could be about it. It wasn't their fault, but I wanted them to know so they could relay that message to their husbands.

Everyone moved on. I came away knowing that those sorts of events are just not for me. I still avoid group gatherings of other than family and/or friends if at all possible. Life is too short.

Back From The Salt Pits

It Is Not That Bad I Guess.

Busy week at work. I took on a few extra hours this week so I was all tied up. This looks like it is setting up to be another boring post about me, which means it's not worth plagiarizing at all, so my friend will be disappointed. I will try to come up with something eventually. She told me she doesn't like the stuff about me, it doesn't make sense when she posts it on her blog. Hey, I'm just glad she bothers to read this stuff. It is a good friend that will read one's blog regularly.

My sister doesn't even read my blog. She says she can't remember the address. I said, why don't you just bookmark it in your favorites, she said, "I already have a favorite, and that is QVC." I see. She did give me some lovely snowflake earrings she bought on QVC, so I couldn't really complain. She brought them out and I adored them, and being the sweet sister she is, she immediately gave them to me. Then she pulled out her laptop and ordered another pair for herself. I think she may be addicted to home shopping. She won't even know I said that about her because she doesn't read my blog.

I don't know if my husband reads my blog, he doesn't usually say so if he does. I think he might read it because every once in a while he will come to bed laughing about something on my blog. It doesn't happen all that often, but it makes me feel good when he does. I love his laugh. It is even better when he snuggles up to me and snickers in my ear. God he is wonderful. I don't want him to leave tomorrow, but he has to. I pray for his safety, and comfort in the rugged weather of Wyoming.

It is almost time for bed. I'm pooped. Who isn't after a long day in the salt pits? Actually, I shouldn't make such comparisons, my job is quite cushy in reality. Oh yes, I work, work hard, but the environment is nothing like a salt mine. Nothing at all.

Good Night.

Off To The Races

Or Something.

I'm tied up with all sorts of stuff right now. Nothing bad, just life in action. I probably won't be able to post for the next few days or so. Working some extra hours this week. The good news is, I finished my class on Tuesday night, and I'm getting an "A". Have a wonderful weekend.

Today

Monday, December 4th.

I can't shake this feeling that I am supposed to be doing something today, but I don't know what it is. I went to bed last night trying to remember if I had some sort of committment that I had forgotten, or if I had an appointment, or what? I just can't think of anything I had planned for today other than catching up on homework and studying for my last test.

What is it? Gosh, I hope I'm not forgetting something important. Woe is me.

Can You Believe

What A Sweet Baby.

It is difficult to believe that dogs of this breed are so reviled. People always ask me what breed my dogs are and I happily tell them, Pit Bull Mixes. We don't know what our little girl here is mixed with, but I don't think she is full Pit. I've wondered if she might be mixed with Boxer, or even Shar Pei because of her wrinkly skin, but we don't know, and I suppose we never will.

It doesn't matter. She has a very sweet temperament, and has been an all around angel since we got her. Only bad thing I could say is she is a total bedhog, and hasn't figured out her place at the bottom of the bed. It has been a bit tough on her, as you can see she's good at making puppy eyes, all right, it's really tough on me I admit it. She's just so darn cute though, and just such a gem.

Spoiled Rotten. The whole lot of them.

Keeping On

The Drought.

Major dry spell for me lately. It has actually been going on for quite some time, I just keep putting stuff up so that I can hopefully get over the hump and find the words to say things again. That is how we get to the point where all I post about is the minor details of my daily life which I don't think is all that interesting to anyone at all.

My class is almost over so I'll have a little break until school starts again next year. I'm planning on taking more classes next time. I'm debating whether to take 3 or 4 classes. I don't want to get in over my head, but I would like to be finished or near finished before the start of the next decade. The next decade people! Goodness. That seems so far away, yet just around the corner.

I feel pretty driven right now about school, and I don't want to lose that momentum. At the same time I realize I have other commitments and responsibilities I must take care of. My work seems quite cooperative with me about things which makes me feel extremely happy about my job. I've been really happy at work lately, we've been having a lot of good laughs, it has been good. Like most things it is what you make of it. I could easily dig up some junk to complain about, but I have decided that I am not going to focus on the negative.

The good things are, I love my co-workers, I'm treated nicely, and with respect by my bosses. I make decent amount of money for the hours I work, so all in all I have nothing to complain about. This job is going to help me get through school. I don't have to leave the place I'm working either, I could just transfer at some point. I'm just thankful for things the way they are.

My husband has been very supportive of me going to school. I just have to decide what classes to take next semester. I have those dark moments where I doubt myself, and wonder, am I wasting time and money going to school at this point in my life. Maybe I should just throw myself into my work and try to move up, but going back to college was something I've wanted to do for years now, and I'm going to do it without regard to what reward may or may not come with that effort. Besides the only promotion that I could get at my job now would be into management, and I don't think that's how I want to spend my days at work.

I just need to hang in there and not ask "why?" so much. The "why" will get you in trouble sometimes. I don't know why, I just want to. Is that good enough? I've laid my arguments out, I've reasoned through them. I've tried to make a decision based on that. I've tried not to predict the future, only the possibilities. There is a good possibility my body won't last another 10 years at the level of use I'm currently at, nor do I wish to continue on indefinetly using it in this manner.

Throwing my back out this summer was enough to jump start me into action. I don't want to keep relying on it this way. I've got brains too, it is time to use them more. That's my goal. Anyway, we will see what comes of it all.

Cheeseburgers, Chex Mix, And My Neat Freak Friend

Plagiarize This.

That plagiarize part is an inside joke between my friend and I. She's one of my loyal readers, and she likes to plagiarize my posts and put them on her myspace account. Oh my gosh, she's going to kill me for putting that. Actually, I gave her my full permission to put whatever she wants of mine on her space account. She will keel me for telling that she has myspace, trust me she has real reasons for it and she's not just hanging out on there for no reason at all. I'm in so much trouble at this point I might as well not bother to stop.

I went to get my friend and her two kids today and we had a good time. I'm happy to report that my house is sparkling clean, and that my friend, the one I just pissed off royally in the paragraph above, basically cleaned it from top to bottom. Yeah, yeah, I helped too, but she wizzed through what would have taken me all day, because she is much more organized and a better cleaner than I am. I was put to work in the kitchen making Chex Mix.

You see that's what happens when two hungry fat women go to the store to pick up something to make for dinner. We even laughed as we walked into the store, she asked if I've seen that show about two fat ladies cooking, I said, "Yes, I think it's called Two Fat Ladies Cooking." We got an idea as we walked through the store, "Hey, let's make Chex Mix!!" We were just going to get some hamburger, and buns to make cheeseburgers. I wanted to get some stuff and make cole slaw, or something to go with it, but she thought we could just eat Chex Mix with it.

There we stood in the chip aisle, and I looked her dead in the face and asked, "Are you serious? Chex Mix with Cheeseburgers?" She just shrugged. She really wanted that Chex Mix. I said, "Well, I at least want some chips with it, what kind of chips do you want?" She said she didn't really care, she thought we didn't need anything to go with it besides the Chex Mix, oh yeah, and she mentioned the jar of olives that I insisted we pick up.

"Umm, Cheeseburgers and just olives?" I asked. She thought that would be fine. Finally I said, "that's it, I'm getting some Doritos then." So I did.

When we got back from the store we ran around picking up the house for a while, and then I got to work on the Chex Mix, and she said, "The girls and I are going to go downstairs and clean up, it will only take a minute, you stay and work on the Chex Mix." I thought that a bit odd, so I said, "I'll come help, just give me a minute." She didn't want me to do that, she said, "no, we got it, just stay up here."

All right. I did as instructed. She was in pure Peppermint Patty mode, so I knew to obey. Sir get's really angry when she is not obeyed. Well, sneaky thing, I figured out why later. Those sneaky turds brought my daughter's toybox down into the family room, to it's new home. Basically, my friend thought since there were so many of her toys down there, putting a toy box down there was the next logical step.

She tried to comfort me by telling me, "Hey, it won't be much longer until she doesn't want to play with toys in the living room anymore." I reluctantly agreed. Besides, I didn't want to lug the thing back upstairs anyway. It is a family room afterall, and those are generally for the entire family, so we will leave it for now. Besides she is a total authority on cleaning, so maybe it will help the mess situation in my house, the only idea I have for keeping a spic and span house is for us to move out.

After the Chex Mix finished, I started making the cheeseburgers, we ate dinner in the very clean house, and then sat on the couch for an hour before I took them home. The roads were really nasty, but we made it all right. Thanks to my dear friend, my house is all perty again. It was a really nice day for us all.

What Does One Do?

Snowed In.

Why it takes a snowstorm, the schools closing down, and pretty much having no where particular to go as a result of it, to get me to clean the house is beyond me. I guess no one wants to really be trapped inside with their own messes including me!

Did I mention that I love snow? I most certainly do. Something about the quiet that comes with a snowstorm is so comforting. Ever notice how the snow seems to stifle all other noise? It's so deeply relaxing. I love how the heater sounds when it pops on.

Waking up to everything covered with snow is so wonderful. Snow is beautiful too. I love the crunch of snow under my shoes when I go out in it. I don't particularly like shovelling the stuff though. I'd rather not if given a choice.

Well, I'm not really trapped inside, I could venture out in the snow if I wanted to. I've been hearing reports of cars sliding in to curbs and ditches all morning. Curbs and ditches people! I think that's probably enough of an incentive to stay in if at all possible. I do realize that many people have 9-5 grinds they must get to, and no I don't feel particularly sorry for them. These are the same people I serve every weekend, and holiday. I don't feel sorry for myself either, I realize that those are the days I must work to have my job. I agreed to that. There's no sense in complaining about it now.

It has just been my good fortune today that the snow came on a day that I did not have to leave the house if I did not choose to. It could have easily came on Saturday, but it didn't. So I'm just going to enjoy the solitude, and home time. School was cancelled, so the kid is around making messes and doing her usual. Perhaps I will attempt to channel that energy of hers into a productive activity like sorting clothes for the laundry, or vaccuuming much neglected carpets.

Who am I kidding? I did get her to take the trash out, but that was just because she wanted to get out in the snow. Here she comes now. She wants me to warm up the car and take her somewhere. Something about picking up her friend. My mom has already called me asking if I was going out, if I would pick her up some milk, she's out of milk and has decided she needs milk today, now.

I think that's the end of that. Perhaps I will have to venture out, but if I do go get her friend, they're going to be cleaning house with me. I mean it.

Safe and Sound

Whew.

Hubby got to his destination safe and sound. He called me at 1:30a.m. to let me know. I was glad to hear it. I worry when he travels. Yesterday the weather was going to be quite nasty for him, and indeed it was he said. He drove slowly and made his way to the rig in one piece. Once there, he slept in his car until this morning when he officially started his week.

I could tell he didn't particularly want to leave yesterday afternoon. I think it was hard for both of us. We did a lot of bonding when we could, but I worked so much over the holiday weekend I think I was just too pooped to be very fun to be around.

Next week will be better for us. I'll be off more, and won't be so tired after work. It seems if we don't have enough time together we have a difficult time parting ways when the time comes. Some people ask, "isn't it hard being apart so much." Well, of course, but in truth, we actually spend much more time together when he is home than we did when he was here working his 9-5 grind.

How can that be? Well, before he always had weekends off, I never had weekends off, so unless one of us requested a certain day off, we never or rarely had even one whole day off together. We did that for well over a year before he changed jobs. Now, the first couple of days he is home, I'm on my days off, so we have more time alone, especially when our kiddo is at school. We can talk, go out to lunch, do shopping, whatever we want. I'm sure any married couple with kids can think of many things to do when the kids are at school.

That time means more to me than a whole week of hit or miss and spending a few hours together in the evening when we both are exhausted, and never having any time together for the most part. So, it works for us most of the time. Sometimes we'd like a little more time before he has to head out, but we know in just a week we'll be together again.

The biggest downside of the whole thing is I worry so much about him when he is gone. Is he warm? Is the weather all right? Is he doing all right? But then, I worry that I worry too much, I'm pretty much just a worry wart. Worry is a weird word isn't it?

Be back later.

Post Post Thanksgiving Post

Let It Go Already.

I am. Really, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. Horrible to admit that I'm sure. Well, hub left today. I hate when he leaves. I choked back tears when we said good bye this afternoon. Some weeks it is just harder to do. I pray he has a safe trip, and week. Always.

He got a new car while he was home. The thing is awful pretty. Very comfy, and cost about the same as mine. It's a Jeep, so I'm hoping it will carry him to and from safely despite the poor mileage the thing gets. One thing is for sure, it's got just about every gadget and gizmo under the sun in it. Did you know that some cars have built in things you can program your garage door opener into? My gosh, I had no idea that type of technology existed.

We never had anything fancy like that in the Corsica. Heck, the Corsica didn't even have all four hubcaps. Let alone power anything. Oh but she ran, and in the end that's all that really matters. This new car of his is much more complicated, and truthfully, I don't think I will ever figure out how the 4 wheel drive works, let alone the shifting thing it does. With a mere tap of the gear shift thing, it can go from D to 4, to 3, etc. I don't even know what those are for anyway. It's not a manual transmission, but it does that shifting thing with barely a flick of a wrist. Puzzling.

He loves it though. I tried like all get out to get him to take my car again and let me keep the perty new one. He decided against that idea. I'm taking my baby in on Wednesday to get the muck and grime that happened to her while he was off driving her out in the wilds of Wyoming. I knew my car would be dirty, there's no way to avoid it in that environment. Man, the outside of it was completely covered in mud. The inside was not much better, but it will clean up nice still I'm sure.

Anyway, that's what's going on here. I'm doing well in my class, holding out at an "A" so far. I think I'll be able to maintain that. It was a fun class. I'm going to take more which is totally exciting really.

More later.

We Came We Saw We Ate Stuffing

Lots of Stuffing.

And best of all cranberry relish, YUM! I love cranberry relish. It was a delightful meal. I starved myself all day at work so that I could pig out afterward at my mom's house. It was great. I'm just mad at myself for not packing a piece of homemade pumpkin pie in my purse for later tonight. Oh well. I don't need the extra poundage anyway.

The stuffing was fabulous darling. Along with the candied yams, mashed potatoes, green beans, turkey and ham. Yummy. It was a really nice dinner. We all were Thankful for it, and each other. My cats were not happy with me for not bringing home any turkey. Two of them are sitting here pouting on my desk trying to make me feel guilty. That sleepy look in my eyes was a dead giveaway, and they knew right away I'd been eating turkey, overeating turkey.

I'm so thankful for the many blessings we have in our lives. Which mostly means I'm darn glad I have such loving family and friends, and a dear husband who spoils me rotten, and tells me all the time he couldn't live without me. Little does he know it is me who really couldn't live without him, who else can I be so open and trusting with all of my flaws and have him still adore me in the morning.

So, I'm very thankful for my marriage. I'm so glad we have each other. We have a beautiful daughter together who is so incredibly sweet, funny, and energetic. We are thankful for her too. She's got her father's amazing looks, and my crazy sense of humor. Everything is funny to her. I love that she can make me laugh so hard that my ribs hurt.

We are thankful for our jobs which provide us with a home, and the means to earn money to eat, and buy clothes, and many other things.

We are thankful that we have our families and friends close by, and can spend time with them.

Life is good. Thank God.

Laziness

It Will Cost You.

After much deliberation, going back and forth, and being overly agreeable, my girlfriend and I finally decided where we were going to go out to eat tonight. The problem wasn't that we could not reach an agreement, it was rather that no one really wanted to make the decision at all. We just wanted dinner, not too expensive, and decent, and neither of us wanted to cook it.

We were ultimately being lazy. We would rather have driven 15 minutes away from home to eat in a restaurant than go to the store and get something to make for dinner. Believe me, we thoroughly discussed the idea of just cooking at home, and after we threw out several ideas we decided that we would just meet somewhere with the kids and eat dinner.

It took us about a half an hour or more to come to our decision. We discussed it as I drove home from work, we discussed it after I got home, and we finally decided about 15 minutes later. Yeah, we were being total chicks about the whole thing. Talking about it, changing our minds, then deciding again.

Okay so we got there. Sat down. Ordered. They all got cheeseburgers of some sort, I was adventurous and got some teriyaki rice bowl thing. Their burger and fries showed up along with my bowl thing, and man, did I feel like I had the diet plate. A whole bunch of veggies, squash, broccoli, carrots, rice, a few pieces of chicken in this bowl with some sauce on it. They sat there eating their fries dipped in ranch dressing, and I ate my diet bowl. The bowl was much like one of those frozen dinner entrees one can get at the grocery store, it had about as much flavor as the box it probably came in.

I ate a bit, then pretty much gave up, and munched on leftover fries. My friend ordered the mushroom burger, there was way more mushrooms than burger which really grossed me out because I truly in my heart despise mushrooms. There were so many mushrooms on it, that it made the bun soggy so she just ate the mushrooms and the patty. Her daughter's burger let out a loud moo when she bit into it, it was sent back for more heat treatment. My daughter ate half of her burger and was full.

We got the bills, we had seperate checks, but all told it was about $50.00. My friend said on the way out, "We just spent $50 on french fries! And that doesn't include the tips we gave." And she was right, they were the only good thing we got for the most part. I said, "Never again. We have got to stop eating out, it's just a huge waste of money!"

Seriously, the Stouffer's Salisbury steak dinner I ate the last 2 nights in a row was better, and those things only cost me about $3.00 each. Yeah. I should have done the math ahead of time. Anyway, I'd rather not eat out so much then go out to a nice place once in a while instead.

So yes, we spent a lot for our laziness tonight. I've got to remember not to be so lazy in the future. Note to self: Buy more Stouffer's dinners, fill freezer.

I Just Want To Say

I've Given This A Lot Of Thought.

If McCain ends up running against Hillary in 08, I will vote for neither. I hope the Republicans aren't stuck with 2 democrats as a "choice." I'm serious. I've heard McCain suggested too often lately, and I'm getting a little queasy about that idea. I don't care for his politics. Everytime I hear anything about him, I find myself in complete disagreement with him.

Just saying is all.

Tumblweeda

It Is Windy.

Very windy out. Tumble weeds are flying everywhere. Empty trash cans have rolled out into the street and are lying there on their sides until the next big gust comes along and pushes them further out into the street. Leaves are floating around with no apparent plan to land anywhere soon.

Some of the fences have become tumble weed catching nets. Am I alone in that I find tumbleweeds somewhat funny? I don't know, they just make me want to laugh.

My daughter and I were noticing all the many tumbleweeds making their yearly jaunt from one side of the road to the other, and we kept pointing them out to each other. The bigger the better as tumble weeds go.

I remember it was about this time last year that I got a frantic phone call from my friend telling me that an enormous tumbleweed, "the size of my car, hit me while I was sitting at a traffic light!" She was quite frustrated about it and felt very helpless that the other people at the traffic light did nothing but stare in awe at the gigantic tumble weed that rolled over her car.

I imagined her bracing herself when the monster tumbled right over. How funny that must have looked to the other people at the traffic light, they might have even heard her screams from inside the vehicle. Of course I died laughing when she retold the story in all seriousness.

Yup, it's plenty windy out, so I called her before she left work to warn her about the giant tumbleweeds and to proceed home with caution. One can never be too careful.

The Worst Job

Ever.

I've talked about this before, but I think it was on the old blog I deleted a few months ago. Anyway, it doesn't matter. This afternoon I found myself remembering how completely awful my experience was working at a daycare center.

It most certainly wasn't the children who made the job so horrible. They were the only good thing about the place. It was the boss. She was the most awful woman I've ever had the displeasure to work for. She offered no support whatsoever to us, she was hateful, deceiptful and downright mean. How someone who lacked such compassion towards her fellow human beings could become the director of a daycare center is beyond me.

Oh yes, she could be nice. I was amazed at how nice she could be when in the presence of outsiders, especially her own boss. Otherwise she ruled the center with an iron fist, and seemed to take great joy in causing dissent amongst her pee-ons. She would lie straight to our faces and dare us to question it.

She particularly liked to pick on certain people. I got to be one of them for about the first 6 months of the year that I worked there. There were others. Usually the younger white girls, and the Japanese girls. She found us easy targets as we generally did not talk back, and could be brought to tears quick enough to please her. She treated the Philipinas of which she shared the same descent much better, and the rumor was she was too afraid to cross the black women that worked there, so they may have faired better with her.

There just wasn't much choice as far as jobs went when we were overseas. I managed to make it a year at that place, and then, thankfully it was time to move. I don't think I could have lasted much longer anyway.

One thing is for sure, she made me so much more thankful that I never had to put my child in that environment when she was little. Nothing happened as far as the workers that made me feel that way, it's just I know how unhappy people were there, and the children had to have picked up on that on some level.

What an awful experience.

Road Rage And Near Assault

A Friend's Tale.

Unbelievable. My friend was threatened with assault the other day by a complete stranger. Apparently my friend was driving on one of the main drags in our town, and pulled up to a stop light and the people in the car next to her started flipping her off. She did what anyone else would do and flipped the bird right back at them.

The people then followed her to her destination, and the next thing she knows she is being lambasted with numerous dirty words, to include, "you stupid white bitch, you didn't use your turn signal back there, I have a baby in the car. I'm going to kick your stupid white ass!" This "woman" yelled at her from her car, which she had pulled in behind my friend blocking her into her parking space.

My friend taunted her a bit, smiling and acting like it was no big deal, and then went into the store. The "lady" stayed out there screaming more, and then drove off. My friend was actually quite shaken by the whole ordeal, but decided not to back down to the woman who was begging for a fight.

The whole thing was just insane. What the hell is wrong with people?

Manners Can Make Or Break You

Good Morning.

Manners, or lack of them can ruin a friendship. It happened to me. Now I don't claim to be any sort of authority on this subject, but I certainly know when I've been put off by bad manners, sure at some point my lack of manners has bothered someone else. This former co-worker of mine left for greener pastures, she moved to another town in our state. We kept in touch calling each other every so often. We were sort of friends. She called me one day very excited that she had just got married. I congratulated her, and told her to text me her address that I would send a gift card.

She never sent the address, but one day calls me and says, "you still haven't sent my wedding gift, and we don't want a gift card, we want money instead, here is my address, now get that in the mail to me." My thought, "umm, yeah, that will happen never." You see I was very put off by her demand of a gift, and not just any gift, she wanted money. I'm surprised that she did not demand a specified amount, and frankly I have no idea what the appropriate amount would be, we're not that good of friends, just former associates really.

It was at that point that I decided I don't need "friends" like that anyway, and decided to forget she existed at all. Life is short, when they say you can count the good friends of a lifetime on one hand, I believe that saying to be true. At this point in time in my life, I am much better at weeding the garden, and I don't have a lot of time for people who are of the weed category. Yet, she has called me several more times only to be conveniently redirected to voicemail. The first call she told me that I was sooooo rude because I had not sent her wedding gift. I laughed about that one, and let my family listen to it.

I kept ignoring her calls and she called to tell my voicemail that I was rude because I did not return her calls. When that approach did not work, she started being nicer and would call and say, "It's been a long time since we talked, you must be very busy, or you don't want to talk to me." Bingo! Someone has got a clue.

Now sure, I could just call her and say, "well, you are rude, and I have no desire for anymore interaction with you." But, she seems fairly confrontational about the fact that I did not send the money she required as a gift from me, so I don't think I want to go there. I have a feeling she is just hoping to get me on the phone so she can dump some junk on me, and feel better. I don't have to deal with that confrontation, and I choose not to. At most I will text her and tell her to have a nice life. As I said, we were never that close of friends. We never associated outside of work, or in any real social manner at all.

Anyway, I've discovered the art of not returning a phone call, and it feels good. At some point she was bordering on stalker, but in time, I guess she will realize I'm not going to be sucked in. I guess I am rude for not returning her calls. Two wrongs don't make a right, but in this case, I can live with my own bad manners. I generally don't treat people like this, but when red flags start popping up all over the place, I try not to ignore them.

This is just one example of how important good manners are in our interactions with other people. To demand a gift from someone was something I was taught was bad manners. To specify which gift unless otherwise asked was outside of the realm of politeness. With family and close friends, things can be a bit more relaxed, but in my experience it was never acceptable to demand a gift from anyone.

Sometimes we have to ask for things from others in life. It is a hard fact to face. It is not easy to do. I've never been comfortable in asking things of others. It goes back to not wanting to put people out. I hate to impose on people. Granted we are in this thing together, and sometimes we have to lean on others. There is definitely a line that can be crossed do you need it, or just want it. Perhaps she needed money, but we are not close enough for her to ask that of me.

I don't know if I will let her off the hook, or just let her think she dumped me. I haven't decided how to handle this situation other than ignore it up until now. She called last night and left a message while I was in class. I wouldn't have taken the call anyway, but maybe I should let her off the hook and tell her to bug off or something. She obviously does not get why I am put off by her, if she did then she wouldn't keep calling me and telling me how rude I am for this and that.

What Do You Know?

I Don't Know Either.

I don't think 10 minutes is long enough for me to write a post particularly when I don't even have anything planned to write about. I have no choice though, I've got to leave to go pick up the youngster at school and I can't be late. Then I've got class tonight so I might as well scrap the whole idea altogether.

Problem is, I've always got at least one problem to moan about it seems, for some reason I am more creative at 3:00a.m. Wouldn't you know, that's the time I'm usually dreaming wild and crazy dreams. And lately, the only thing I'm doing at that time of the day is snoring and fighting with 120 pounds of deadweight dogs trying to get at least one corner of the blanket to keep warm by, me trying to keep warm that is, they do just fine it seems.

That new one, she's a complete and total bedhog, she eats like food is going out of style soon, and has steadily put on I would guess at least 5 pounds since she moved in and took over the place. In other words, she's fitting right in with the rest of the beasts we call pets in this house.

I guess that's why she's so darn sweet towards us all, she's ever thankful we bailed her out of jail. Just like jail, I think they fed her the bare minimum, she was pretty skinny when we got 'er. She's definitely bulking up some, and probably going to be nice and fat for winter. Ah well, she's a total keeper so I can't complain. I think she will settle down on the eating thing once she realizes she is home for good, and I do keep the bowl full, no matter how difficult that has been to do lately with her.

Alas my time is up for now. I must go. Back later.

Something

As Good As Anything I Suppose.

I've got to post something so that French crap isn't the first post on the page. Actually I really enjoyed learning the French language, and studying the culture. I took 3 years of it in high school, but you wouldn't know it. I've retained very little of the language. This was way back in the late 80's when people didn't talk all that bad about France.

My teacher, the most delightful man, had gone to France on a teacher exchange program the year prior so he had many interesting stories to tell about living in France. This was back when teachers weren't all a bunch of commie socialists, so he was quite honest about the downfalls of Socialism.

He was even somewhat forgiving about how the French teacher left his house. See, they switched everything, including homes. It seems she had an aversion to taking out the trash, and went about piling it up in his garage for the entire year that she was here. I point blank asked him why she would do such a horrendous thing, and he was quite honest when he said, "She thought we had too much, she did it because she was mad about how much we Americans have." I'm not lying about this people. That was the answer he gave me.

Thankfully, while he had good things to say, he was quite honest when he relayed his experiences. This is how I learned that, at that time anyway maybe it has changed by now, French people only bath so often. It was the hot water, you see, it was expensive to heat the water. Probably still is, who knows. I had a similar experience in Japan. We had to actually warm up the water before we could use it, thanks to their ingenuity the water was warm within a matter of minutes with a simple flip of a switch. Although I bathed every day, we only used hot water for our showers, the rest of the time it was washing dishes in cold, washing clothes in cold, and although we had a dryer, the Japanese dryer is completely useless.

How useless? Well, it takes twice as long to dry half a load, and it is also too costly to operate. Pretty much everyone hangs their clothes on their balconey to dry, even in the humid climate of Okinawa they seemed to dry faster than in that little dryer. So, when in Rome. That's what we did too. And shocker of shockers we're still alive to talk about it. It was upon the advice of an American who had married an Okinawan that we met early on in our stay there, he knew how to get by financially living on the Japanese economy. We took the advice, it served us well.

Well the dog passing gas under the desk tells me it is time to bring this post to an end. Perhaps she is hinting around that I do something a little more productive like refill the food and water bowls, or a general clean up around the house which is nearly in shambles as I write this. Ha! Who am I kidding? I'm not cleaning tonight. Me too tired.

Monsieur Conner

Pardon My French.

Monsieur Conner he is so French.
He likes to eat escargot.
He likes to eat coq au vin.
He likes to sit in la cafe,
sipping tiny cups full of creme.
He likes to watch the people go by.
He like to wear his orange beret.

Monsieur Toby
He is not French.
He likes to have big giant gun
He likes to watch cowboys run
He is so American.
He does not like escargot.
He does not like orange cat.

But Monsieur Conner he is so French.
He likes to sit in la cafe.
He likes to eat escargot.
He likes to eat coq au vin.
He does not like American gun.
But he is so very French.

Election Woes

What Does It Mean?

At this point I don't know. I did what I could do, what is in my power to do. I voted. My friend smirked about the win, she's a Democrat. I've tried. It is her right to be a democrat. I will always disagree with Socialism, and therefore cannot align myself with that.

This morning as I contemplated the Republican defeat, I thought well, all we can do is ride the wave, and hope for the best. What more can I say?

My mother and I shared the same melancholy sadness about the results of the election. People are generally unhappy about our government, and I think there will be much more of that to come.

What do I know? My husband and I are "rich", we make more than we should be allowed, therefore we must give some of that away to lazy people who do not wish to work as hard, or who will not give up their drugs, drinking, or slovenly ways and stop reproducing long enough to achieve any progress on their own behalf. Why should they? Uncle Sam is more than willing to give them the fruits of our labor.

Who cares if we have a child that is developmentally disable? How dare we wish to accumulate wealth for her? How dare WE want to provide for her a future (if necessary), rather then throwing her to the wolves and making big daddy government take care of her.

You know why I bitch about high taxes all the time? Because in my heart I know it is taken away from my kid to support lazy people who want all the benefits without the effort. I see them, I know what is going on. I know how the system works and is abused by so many people.

I mean it, and I'm not apologizing for wanting to take care of my own family.

Quizzing Thing

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

a la Tinkerty Tonk

Dear Insurance Company

I Apologize.

Admittedly I lost faith, I spoke too soon, and now you've gone and fixed the problem, so I'm sorry for the hard feelings I had towards you. Even though it took a while to hear back from you, you were very nice when you called. I was also very glad to hear that you are going to honor our previous agreement and pay for the value of the lost vehicle. It really is a relief to know that our car troubles are lessening, and we may be back to normal soon enough.

I just wanted to say so since I talked all that trash about you a couple posts down.

A Breather

Whew! Deep Cleansing Breath.

It was super slow at work today so I took the opportunity to get the heck out of Dodge and come home and catch up on the stuff that has been overwhelming me this week. I'm finally caught up on my studies, I can't believe I let myself get so far behind. I even washed the dishes! I felt an immediate sense of relief when I closed that chapter knowing I was done for a little while.

Last night the daughter and I laughed our fannies off at those pictures I posted of the doggies. She put the shirt on the little girl, and as usual she got started on something and things went from there. I did get a good deep belly laugh out of the thing, my abs haven't seen that much action in too long. At one point I laid there on the floor laughing, and you know what? My kid was laughing right along with me, and it was good. With all the busy stuff we haven't has as much time to just goof off together.

The dogs are none the worse for wear, although it might seem like it, they were not traumatized in the least. They ran off like it was nothing when we finally freed them from the human clothing, and then the fun was over with only pictures left to tell the story. I had to get back to reality when she started looking for cats to dress up. It felt like I was being a spoil sport, but it was going too far. My cats are not underwear wearing types.

It may be surmised from our pictures that we have no living room furniture, and that would be accurate. We do have a big OLD and tattered sectional couch downstairs, but we never really needed more than that when we were just renting. It is not really that big of a deal, we'll get something eventually after things equalize more from buying the house and stuff. I know a lot of people go out and buy all new furniture and stuff when they buy a house, but we've got cats, dogs, and a rough and tumble kid who is still pretty hard on stuff, so it is not a high priority right now. That's the polite way of saying, it is not in the budget at this particular time.

The kitchen is pretty much the heart of our home anyway, maybe that's why we don't really miss it all that much. Whenever people visit we always gravitate towards the kitchen table anyway, of course that could be because we don't have a couch in there, and the downstairs seems to most people this mysterious place that my husband runs off to after a certain amount of time has passed. He's down here playing his game on the computer, he's more introverted than I am.

People used to think he was mad or being unfriendly, now they just holler down the stairs a quick hello and get on with the visit. It took some assurances that no, he's not avoiding them, he's just not a big sit around the table and chick chat type. Anyway, he only has a certain amount of time when he gets home for his week off, and I would rather he spend it how he likes. We do a lot of bonding the first few days. He has even started going to the grocery store with me once in a while and running errands, that's highly unusual, but he has been.

When we first got married I used to try to drag him out shopping with me, it was horrible for both of us. He hates shopping, I hate shopping with him. That much we do agree on. We usually got in fights because he was annoyed with my stop and look, and I was annoyed with his lack of enthusiasm at all the pretty things. The man does not get the window shopping concept all right? It is just a dumb thing to do in his eyes.

Anyway, it is going to be a long haul this time, he'll be gone for 3 weeks, home for Thanksgiving, which of course I will be working on, because no one gets holidays off where I work. Thems the breaks. I work the holidays so I can have my job the rest of the year. I've accepted it. I'm not going to complain about it. At least he will be home.

My brother has been staying every night because I'm a big ole wuss, and can't sleep when my man isn't home. It has actually been fun. My brother was only about 15 years old when I got married, so we've done a lot of catching up in the last couple of years. We're like great friends, and both have a wicked sense of humor.

My posts are too long, meandering, and dare I say, pointless? Forgive my rambling, but thanks for listening. I am not a woman of few words apparently. I envy those who can write short entertaining snippets.

Quiz Thingie

I Love These Things.

Your Dominant Intelligence is Interpersonal Intelligence

You shine in your ability to realate to and understand others. Good at seeing others' points of view, you get how people think and feel. You have an uncanny ability to sense true feelings, intentions, and motivations. A natural born leader, you are great at teaching and mediating conflict. You would make a good counselor, salesperson, politician, or business person.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Link found at Tinkerty Tonk

Pay Attention To Me

Um, Happy Halloween

Dogs In Underpants

"Will we be getting treats soon?"

"If my pants weren't so tight, I would runaway up the stairs...if only I could get away..."

Little Sweetie

We Put Clothes On Our Dogs

Baby Girl

Does Anybody Care?

My Continuing Angst.

I've had it up to my head. I despise insurance companies for the crooked beings they are. We haven't heard a single thing from our insurance company about our car, it's going on a month now since my husband had his accident.

My friend notifies me that a co-worker's daughter had an accident in Wy. about the same time, totalling her car, her car has already been replaced, the whole process took maybe 2 weeks at most. I have not yet received a return call from our so called adjuster about anything at all. We finally gave up and called the 1-800 number and had a customer service representative tell us what was going on. Good thing we did because we found out they were going to have the car towed the next day, gee, thanks for letting us know.

That was the last we heard about anything at all. We've received no other information from our insurance company, which is actually supposed to be a good company, but I'm getting a little worried. (Here I go with the worrying--gah!)

Not to bring up the past or anything, but some might recall that at this time last year I was in a car accident which was no fault of my own, I was rear ended by two people while sitting in traffic, and our big gigantic sturdy truck was bent all to heck. It sits dog legged on the side of our house waiting, waiting for the insurance companies to do something to rectify the situation. I mean really, contrary to popular belief, we don't just give them many hundreds a year to just do nothing. They made a bargain, but are not noble enough to hold up their end of it, it is truly shameful.

Don't get me started on health insurance, oh, what the heck. We pay $235/month for health insurance, we have a $1000/per family deductible per year. We've come just shy of the deductible thanks to an e.r. visit for stitches, and a couple of doctor office visits. We'll be paying for that ourselves I suppose. Not to mention we've forked out nearly $2000 to the insurance company for "coverage." That brings our whopping total to $3000 that we will pay this year, not to mention that brief period of time when we didn't have any health insurance, and accrued some bills. Given the $3000 dollar total, what has our insurance company actually paid? $10/month for my prescription, I pay $38 for it. That's it.

Okay, so tell me again why we have health insurance? I know I know, just in case we have a big, big cost. As my dad says, "they bet you won't, you bet you will." Sure, with a child with a blood disorder, it's worth the cost for us to pay for it to protect us in the case of a hospital stay, or something else. It just sort of burns my butt, and I'll tell you why, because I know people who don't pay squat for their own health care, we pay for it. These same people have birthed a child a year for the last 3 years, all on the taxpayer dime.

You know what else, my husband and I work hard. We work our asses off. He's freezing his balls off in Wyoming working on a rig to make enough money to put us in a better financial position in life, and the government sees fit to take the bounty of his blood, sweat and tears and give it to someone else. Someone undeserving. I'm running around here like a chicken with my head cut off trying to keep up with a house, a child with special needs, my own job which is physically demanding, I'm going to school, and paying with it with, GASP, our own money, and I'm tired of watching shiftless bums ride the system for all it is worth. I'm tired of it people.

My dad the optimist says, "be thankful you have health insurance, be thankful for what you have, be thankful you have the money to pay to taxes." I get the concept. I am thankful, I just can shake the resentment, and I know it is wrong to carry it. I sit here thinking what am I some kind of greedy penny pincher? Is it so wrong to want to leave an inheritance to our own child? What's left after we pay for the rest of society's freeloaders? What do we get to keep?

I'm going to keep going to spite the mooches of the world. I'll keep working, I'll keep improving so I can make more, I will reluctantly give through taxation, but I will never agree with it, and I will never think it is right. I will most certainly not vote for any party that wants to give more of my money to pay for the bad choices of other people.

There, that's my angst, I'm letting it out. I'm trying to move on from here. Some things we just can't control or help.

Ritualistic Barfing Ceremony

The Dogs Have Bonded. I Think.

Strange very strange. This morning my brother and I went outside to watch the dogs play in the yard, all right, I can't lie, we were smoking cigarettes. Big nasty dangerous cigarettes, but we were outside, and we were watching the dogs, we were just smoking while we did it.

We noticed that both of them were grazing on the grass that grows at the edge of the patio. This is normal, we thought. Toby often takes a bite of grass while out there, my sister's dogs come to visit, they nibble on the grass, it must be some tasty grass. The dogs were really scarfing it up, we noted how much of it they were eating.

Toby finally sat down, and within seconds hocked up a big steaming pile of grass. This is something I've never seen him do. "Oh great! Well I'm glad he did that out here and not inside!" I told my brother who found the thing pretty funny. We looked at the little girl dog and noticed that she was still steadily chomping away at the grass, and decided maybe we better keep them outside for a bit, and just as we said it, she sat down and hocked up two steaming piles of grass.

It was the strangest thing, why they both did this at practically the same time is beyond me. I've never seen Toby do it before, and to have them both do it was rather strange. I don't know, and I guess I never will. My brother found the whole thing amusing, especially the part where I gagged really bad each time one of them puked up the grass. I couldn't help it, it was gross to see. Yet, I couldn't look away. Weird.

I hope they aren't sick or anything. I guess we'll see, they both seem unbothered by the whole thing. I have appointments for both of them at the vet next week. Toby is getting a doggy pedicure, how freakin' decadent is that? Seriously. She will be getting her shots, and an overall examination, poor girl. I think Toby will need shots too, the vet will know that I'm sure.

And the saying goes, dogs will be dogs. I rushed them into the house after that so that neither got the notion to gobble up the steaming grass piles. Dude that is sick.

Please Let Me Introduce

Our Bouncing Baby Girl.

Weighing in at 50lbs. Little miss Carly has brought a ray of sunshine into our lives. We brought her home from the Humane Society just 2 nights ago, and she's been an absolute doll baby ever since. Our big boy Toby seems to adore her, and she's fitting in quite well. We couldn't be more pleased to have her, and I think she shares that emotion.

Look at that face, what an angel.

Halp Are Trupes

More.

First spotted this picture at DragonLady's World

I Better Study Harder

Or I'm Going To Iraq.

If someone had told me that the man said such a thing even I might have questioned the truth in it, but it is true, John Kerry did say to paraphrase, if you study hard, and are smart you can do well, if you don't well, you get stuck in Iraq. It's true. There are videos all over the web of him actually inserting his own foot into that humongous cavity below his nose. People, believe me when I say, I am so incredibly thankful that this man was not elected President.

Feast your eyes on this video I found over at the Purple Avenger's blog.