Materialism

Where do I begin. Why is it that Humans in general think they need to have the biggest, the best and the most? I am still trying to figure that out.

If I had more money than I knew what to do with I would not flaunt it. I would not buy the biggest house on the block or have the biggest and best things available. I would much prefer to live a simple life. Sure I would buy a few wanted items, but mostly needed items.

If I had plenty of money, I would not want to make myself a target for criminals. I would still wear average clothes to the stores, I would not drive a fancy car or have an expensive purse. I would not carry bank cards with me and I would only have enough cash for what I needed during that shopping trip.

I just don't understand why people put so much value in a person by the amount of money they make or what "things" they have to show it off. I put value in a person for how they treat others, not for what they own, what job they do or how much money they have.

It's time for the good people to take back the world

I have become very, very frustrated with a few things the past few years. I have come to the conclusion that the good people of the world need to take it back from the sick, disgusting, perverted, filthy, evil people.

I am tired of being walked all over just because I follow the rules and try not to cause trouble.
I am tired of turning on the news to here about 5 year olds being prostituted out and killed by the people that are suppose to care for and love them.
I am tired of people getting in their cars and acting like they are the only thing that matters on that road.
I am tired of sex and violence being the only thing on TV anymore.
I am tired of being treated like shit because I am not a size two model.
I am tired of ignorant old people living longer and being a waist of oxygen and space.
I am tired of eBay customers always trying to rip me off and eBay for giving them the power to do it.
I am tired of working outside of the home making it hard for me to take care of the family and home.
I am tired of sharing a planet with such sleazy horrible people.

I am tired of LIFE!

If we do not stand up now and start defending ourselves, when will it end. The harder the "good" people try to keep value and morals on this planet, the harder the perverted evil people fight against us. It is time to bring back capitol punishment. An eye for an eye. If you kill, you too shall be killed.

No more slaps on the wrist. Make prisons exactly what they should be....PRISONS. Don't give prisoners more than 2 meals a day. Don't give them a work out room, games, TV, books, and warm showers. Make them suffer as they have made others suffer. Make them work hard to earn the money that supports them.

Wow how time escapes so quickly

Well, Halloween came and went. I worked at a Haunted Attraction during October, so I did not get as much Halloween stuff done as I had first planned. But, I had a great time working there, so I am not complaining. I was sick on Halloween day, so I was not able to fully enjoy it however, we did manage to have a great Halloween anyway.

I can not believe Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. I am not ready for the holidays to hit quite so quickly. I am happy to say that I do have most of my Christmas shopping done. I have a little more to go.

My eBay store has slowed way down. I was expecting about 8 times the orders that I am getting for this time of year. But, with this economy, I am happy to have any sales at all.

I have to get going. I have a dentist appointment today :O I just wanted to pop in for a moment and say hi.

Halloween Stuff

Halloween is quickly approaching and I am going to start making some really fun decorations. Oh and my costume as well. I will post picks of the fun and interesting things that I come up with. I am sure it will be disturbing :)

As Dave would say, Ta Ta for now my children.

Life is what we make of it

I have been bothered by some things lately. One of them being that I have become more depressed. This started after I started taking the DQ to school on a daily basis. I wondered how that has caused stress and depression. I figured out that it comes from the music that she listens to. I hate it, but I let her listen to it anyway. Yes I know I am the parent, we don't have time for that discussion right now.

After listening (actually listening) to the lyrics of the music, I now have a much better understanding of why teens are all messed up these days. Yes this music discussion has been a huge issue in all generations of life, but this CRAP that they put on the radio these days is so bad that, as my dad would say "you had to be 18 and pay good money to see or hear that stuff in special theaters in my day" It is true. One song talks about "Gangsta Rap made me do it" It talks about cannibalism because "Gangsta rap made him do it", doing bad things because "Gangsta Rap made him do it". Almost all of the songs (I use the word songs very lightly) talk about having sex. Sex this, sex that, how many people are involved in the sex and where, why and when they will be doing it. There is one song that is just some stupid kid whispering into the microphone while what sounds like a porn track plays into the background. Other songs talk about buying whatever you want just because you want it and if you are not famous, you are scum.

That is telling kids that if they are not rich, famous and or having sex constantly, then they are no good. Plus it is just very depressing to hear that kind of decay and crap in our everyday lives and society makes it seem ok. No wonder kids are confused. The media is saying things are ok and parents are trying to teach kids that it is not. That is all VERY DEPRESSING!

Another example. Someone that I am very close to really enjoys very heavy metal music. Very loud, very disturbing lyrics. He watches TV programs about crimes, murders, rapes, and so on every night before he goes to bed. His choice of movies are all very loud, violent and gory. Well, guess what is going on with his health. Anxiety attacks. I really don't wonder why. If I listened to metal music that just screams profanities and anger into my head all day and then watched shows about evil people doing evil acts to people that they claimed to have cared about or loved, old people, children and strangers, I would be having anxiety attacks too.

We need to take a step back and really look at what we allow to influence our moods, behaviors and lives. If we don't, none of us will survive this so called life.

Take This Job And Stick It Up Your @SS!

I like my job. I like what I do here. I like having a job that pays well and the fact that I have my own quiet office is great.

BUT......I can't stand the behavior of about 3 people that work here.

My boss is a great guy and a decent boss, but he has some serious issues with how he treats peoples concerns and he lets a certain person take off WAY more time in one week then I could ever take off in a year. I am VERY PISSED about it. This person takes off a min of 1 day per week (usually Friday). She also gets away with coming in late on Mondays after long holiday weekends. I would have been fired if I even thought about doing that. The thing that pisses me off the most about my "boss" is that if I take a concern to him, he turns it all around on me. He says to other co-workers that "Carla is feeling picked on". I am suppose to keep track of back ordered items, so I asked if the warehouse manager (the person who receives shipments) could let me know shipments come in so that I can update the page. My boss said to me "So you want someone else to do your job for you?" NO! I just want to be notified when stuff comes in so that I can update things in a timely manner! JERK!

A certain co-worker (mentioned above) has taken the last 4 Fridays off, plus came in late on the Monday after the long 4th weekend. She takes early and long lunches whenever she feels like and she is now taking off more time, the Thursday before a holiday and coming in late on the Monday after! I am so freaking pissed...there are no words that can describe my anger right now.

I wrote an e-mail to my boss (who is in China this week) to let him know that I can no longer deal with the stress that is being caused because of the co-worker taking off so much freaking time. I would not have a problem with it if I did not have to do her job for her, making it so that I get into trouble for not getting my own job done.

I am at the end of my rope. I might be looking for another job soon. If anyone knows of anything, I would love to hear about it.

A Prediction

I have a prediction that we are going to have a very dry winter in 2009.

Why you ask? Because it has been raining ever sense Memorial Day. If we get all of this rain now, it means that we are not going to get it later in the year when we are use to getting it and or need it.

I have learned in life that when something great happens, like getting extra money for whatever reason, not too long down the road, that money is going to be needed for an unexpected event.

So, whenever I get an abundance of something, I hang onto it knowing that I am receiving it as a blessing because I will need it in the near future.

My theory is that we are getting an abundance of rain now because we will need it later when we would normally be getting the moister, but won't be.

The "New" American Dream

The American Dream is not what it use to be.

The things that use to be important to Americans was how well you treated each other, helping each other achieve dreams and have a good, clean and fun life. Raising a family was a goal for most people. Being part of and helping create a great community was important. People were friends because they enjoyed each others company. We use to have values, respect things and people. Honesty was expected and respected.

Now the "American Dream" has become superficial. There is no substance left in it. It is just all about how you look, how much money you make and how many people recognize your "perfect" face.

People now don't care about family, helping others, or being honest. All that matters is that they get their greedy little hands on everything they want. They don't care who they walk over or harm to get it. They want what they want and will do what it takes to get it.

Some people want a "perfect" body, so they torture themselves by starving, exercising (too much), getting surgeries and so on. Other people just simply want money so they can do whatever they want whenever they want. Some people just want fame. They will do whatever it takes to get it, not caring about who or what they destroy on the path to getting there.

People now judge each other on what size of a house you live in, what kind of car you drive, what fancy clothes you wear, where you get your hair done and how much you spend on that 5oz salad at lunch.

Some people will ONLY be friends with other people who "have it all" just because they want to be around those things, not because they really care anything about the person that they are hanging out with.

The worst part of it all is that nobody wants to WORK HARD for anything that they need or want. They find ways to get money without earning or deserving it.

This is all SO STUPID! We need to get back to what this country was really built on and for. HARD WORKING, CARING PEOPLE!

I grew very poor. But, I am not any less of a person because of it. In fact, I am glad that I did because I can now appreciate things that I am sure many people can not appreciate because they have never gone without. They have always been spoiled.

We did not need money to have a good life. We were raised with values and taught to respect and not judge others. We were financially poor but spiritually rich. We were loved and cared about. We did not always have food to eat, but we always had love in our home.

When I say that I grew up poor, I do not mean that I grew up without getting everything that I wanted. Up until I was 14 years old, our family of 6 (Mom, Dad and 3 siblings) lived in a 2 bedroom single wide mobile home. My parents put a wall between the one bedroom to split it in two. I shared my 1/2 room with my two sisters while my brother had his own 1/2 room. I think my room was about 6 feet wide by 10 feet long. We had a bunk bed and a dresser in there. That was all there was room for. But, at least I had a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in and a dresser to put clothes in. We did not have everything we wanted, but we did have a good life and grew up to be good people.

My grandmother grew up "dirt poor"....literally. That term was used when people could not afford flooring in their homes. My grandmothers family was one of them. Her family had one large bed that they all slept in, 8 kids I think. The house was very small and had a dirt floor. But, my grandmother is one of the most honest and wonderful woman that I have ever met in my life. She is a true insperation.

As Americans, we need to stop putting the value of a person in the amount of money they have or what they look like and start putting the value in what type of person they are and how they treat others. We need to bring integrity and honesty back into our lives. We need to make family and each other our number one priority. Not money and selfishness.

We have become a very selfish country. It is not surprising that most other countries hate us at this point.

I was thinking of remodeling my bathroom

BUT NOT LIKE THIS!

I just want to give a big F___ U to the world!

All you jackass drivers out there need take your stupid ass cars and drive them off cliffs...I hope you die!

Anal jackasses need to take your stupid analness and shove it up your ass where it belongs.

Bosses can take their higher than mighty attitudes and drowned themselves in them.

Most "Mormons" need to crawl back under the rock that they dared pull themselves out from under.

And all you idiots that post rude comments on message boards just because that is all that you have left to do in life, can go choke on your own egos.

I don't know what I did in a past life to warrant me going to Hell (Earth) for however long my prison term here will be, but I sure will be happy when it is time for me to leave this lice (they call themselves humans) infested planet.

I can't wait for the day that I no longer have to "be nice" just to be shit upon by the lice of this world. I will wait out my time like everyone else, but I sure in the Hell ain't gonna like it!

If I ever get cancer....Please let me die, don't make me suffer so you can torture me more.
If I slit my throat....Sit there an listen to it gurgle while I take my last almost breaths.
If I take pills and go into a coma rather than dying.....Take me off any machines and watch me slip quietly or hopefuly not so quietly out of this body.
If I ever buy a gun...don't take it away from me, it might be my only way out of Hell.

If you read this and want to lock me up and or put me in a streight jacket...do it...I don't fucking care. There is nothing left in this world for me anymore.

Whats with the weather?

For as long as I can remember (sometimes that is not very far back) I can not recall a June that has been so gray,cold and wet.

I am happy that we are getting the much needed water, but I am use to June being a lot warmer than this one is being.

I finally have a yard of my own to enjoy, landscape and spend time in. But with this weather, I can't do much of anything out there.

I guess I have to just accept that I can not pick and choose the days that I want sun and the days that I don't mind the cold gray rain :)

I am learning......The hard way

So, I am learning things about myself. Somewhat because Dave has pointed some things out to me. Like I take on way to many things at one time.

I never realized how many projects I start and never have time to finish just because I take on too much at once.

The past 8 months have been very busy and full of stressful projects. Most of the stress I brought on myself.

Oct - Got married.
Oct - Started a 6 month Stamping Up class.
Nov - Got dogs. I SHOULD have waited until we KNEW for sure that we were going to be able to get the house that we were trying for before getting the dogs.
Nov/Dec - Bought a house. This by its self was enough adventure for a year.
Jan - Getting things moved and settled into the new house.
March - Began "landscaping" with no knowledge or tools for it.
April - Started garden from seeds (without having plans for the garden area of in the yard.)
May - Got a large above ground pool (without having the space in the yard ready for it.)
May - Decided to add a new branch to my business (that is taking up much time that I don't have).
June - Took on more debt to get a computer that I need to run my business. I have ran my Internet stores without a computer in my home for many years now, but I think I could do better if I could work on them from home instead of before, during lunch breaks and after work on my work computer.

All of this with the everyday adventures. Prom, B-Days, Holidays and so on.

I do take on way to much all at once. I am learning that I need to take a step back and deal with one project at a time. I need to learn to have patience and plan for things better. Like, money, yard space, time and other such things.

I guess I just see an opportunity and I want to jump on it without thinking about everything that is involved. I just want to do things. I don't want to wait. I don't want to let the opportunity pass me by because I feel like I won't get the opportunity again (that was not the reason for getting married).

As Dave says, I jump off the cliff without a parachute. I guess I just expect that I can either make one on my way down or hope that there is a rescue team at the bottom when I get there.

From now on, I will make sure I have a parachute and a backup parachute for the next adventure that I get myself into.

So Very Frustrated!

This may be a long and very negative rant, so READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I am so very frustrated with a bunch of different things right now.

I have been digging and digging rock and clay dirt for at least 2 hours a night (usually more) for two weeks now, just to accommodate this stupid pool (that the DQ JUST HAD TO HAVE). I wanted it too, but not this bad. I have finally given up. This project has caused much sanity loss, a pound of sweat, a bunch of bruises and sleepless nights because of aching muscles. It has beat me. I have NO MORE to give. But what frustrates me the most is that today, Dave told me that I was giving up. What the hell ever happened to knowing your limits and not pushing yourself over the edge to the point of death. I had given it all I had to give a week into it, but I just kept going. Now I don't even want to step one foot out in the yard (which is the place that I use to always want to be). I can not even so much as look at that stupid swimming pool project without wanting to jump off a bridge. DON'T tell me that I am giving up when I am just simply trying not to kill myself either by working to hard or on purpose because I just can not take anymore!

Onto my next stress.

The DQ wants a computer so she can get that stupid Sims 3 game. We have had many discussions about getting a new computer or getting the swimming pool (mentioned above) and we had decided on the pool because we did not have one of those, but we did have access to Dave's computer. Well, we got the pool (that is now just a thorn in my butt) and she is now complaining that she wants a computer. When does it ever end. I want, I want, I want! I can't take anymore. I work my ass off just to pay the bills and they are not ever paid on time. What the hell more can I do. I work a full time job, plus a couple of internet stores and I am working on starting up a home canning in home demonstration /sales business just to have grocery money. Again.....I can't take anymore of this!

There is more.

The DQ who is now 17 would like to get a job. She wants me to spend my free time (the 5 min a day that I have) to help her find one. I don't have a problem with her wanting a job. I don't have a problem with helping her find a job. But, has anyone seen the job market lately? It is not good. So, for a 17 year old special needs child, there is NOT MUCH out there, but she thinks that I should be able to pull off a miracle and somehow come up with a job for her. I have offered to have her help me with my job projects, but NO WAY will she do that, she thinks that is to un-cool. Well, welcome to the real world, you sometimes have to take a job that you don't want, to get experience and or because there is nothing else out there.

I know that these are just small trivial things compared to what most people are going through right now (job losses, home losses and so on). So, I am not having a pity party, I am just simply blogging about my frustrations at the moment.

Def Leppard Concert Here We Come

I did not think I would ever get the chance to see my fave 80's band Def Leppard in concert ever again. Partly because I am old and well, so are they.

I was lucky enough to see them in concert about 20 years ago and they were great. I have always wanted to see them again.

They are coming to Utah in August with Poison and Cheap Trick. I have seen all of theses bands before and I really enjoyed each of their shows.

I am beyond excited!

Long Holiday Weekend

I was so looking forward to a nice long holiday weekend of relaxing, setting up the pool, BBQing and planting the garden.

Things don't always go as planned.

My weekend started out with a letter from my bank informing me that my bank card number has been compromised because someone hacked into the credit card system that it was issued under and stole the numbers. Because it is a long weekend the only thing I could do was call the after hours number to have my card blocked. But, I had wait for the whole weekend to call the bank and get a new card issued. Plus I use my card almost every day, so it was hard to get use to not having it available. I am lucky that my card number was not used for any purchases and that no money was taken from my account. So, I am not complaining.

For the most part, the rest of the weekend went well. The weather did not cooperate so the pool did not get set up, but I did get the garden planted, we had a nice BBQ and went to my niece's B-Day party. She just turned 3. It was nice to see the family and have yummy cake and ice cream. And sleeping in for 3 days is always welcoming.

What's With This Amercian Idol Crap?

I am not a huge fan of American Idol, but I do like to see someone who works hard make their dream come true.

There were only 2 or 3 singers that I liked. One of which got booted long ago. The other two made it to the top 3. Actually I liked all 3 that made it to the top, but only one can win. I think that Adam had way toooo much confidence in himself and deserves to be put in his place by NOT winning.

The real problem I have with this whole thing is that these contestants went on this show in an attempt to make a dream come true. One of them got that and then suddenly it is being called an "Upset". Uhm, America voted, America created the winner and now they are all crying that he won? That does not make sense to me.

My theory is that it is just all the sore looser hard core Adam fans in the media that are crying and trying to take a great thing for Kris and turn it into some sort of controversy. Let Kris have his moment. Stop crying because your guy did not win. GET OVER IT and put out some good stories about Kris, who worked just as hard to be there and rightfully WON!

UHG!

I finally got the pool of my dreams. Well, at least the pool of my dreams that my budget and yard would allow for.

I am very excited about getting the pool, but leveling the ground to set the pool up has become a monster of a job. Our yard has a slope. I knew that I would need to level the ground to put up the pool. I don't have a problem with that, but I did not realize how much of a slope I was going to have to deal with. By the time I am done leveling the ground, I might just be in good swimsuit shape :)

All I can say is that this had better be worth my effort when it is all said and done......UHG!

Facebook is an interesting thing

I have to admit that I finally started using my Facebook account a few months ago. I signed up over a year ago, but I never really understood it.

I am still learning how things work, but I have noticed a few things that I think are interesting about it.

At first I had a friend or two and I never really looked anyone up. The first real friend request I got was so exciting. Someone actually remembered me and took the time to look me up. How special I felt. We chatted for a bit, sent a few e-mails, responded to each others posts and then as quick as it all started, it sort of ended. We are still "friends" but we do not chat, e-mail or respond to each others posts anymore. I think that is partly because after 20 years of not knowing someone, you don't really know them like you did. You can't just pick up where you left off. You don't know what offends them, or if they understand your personality. Because you can not see facial expressions and or here the tone of a voice, you don't know if what they are writing is meant the way that you take it.

On the other hand, I have 2 really good friends that it seems like we did pick up right where we left off. We seem to understand each others responses and it is like we were friends for all those years.

Then there is the family side of things. I love to be able to keep up on how my siblings are doing. The posts about what silly things their kids are doing always brightens my day. Then there is my husbands family. They all live out of state, so I have not met most of them and because of not spending time with them, I don't really know them. Through Facebook, I can get a pretty good idea of who they are and learn about them. It is a bridge into their world so we can get to know each other.

I think that overall, Facebook is a great thing. I like that I can hop in and see how old friends or family are doing without having to feel like I am interrupting their day with a phone call or a visit to their house when they are busy. I also like the goofy quizzes and the results.

So Very Tired

As I have blogged about a few blogs ago, the dogs have been keeping us from getting any sleep for two weeks.

I am so tired at this point that I don't feel anything. I don't feel tired, awake, alive or dead. I just exist.

As I found out today, I can not even tell the difference between a Pop-Tart and a Hot Pocket.
We don't have a vending machine at work, we just have treats that we can take and mark on a sheet so they will be paid for out of our paychecks.
On the sheet each item has a space that we mark when we take it. I found out today that a couple of times that I took a Pop-Tart, I marked the Hot Pocket space. I don't ever eat the Hot Pockets!
I am surprised I have not driven off the road from falling asleep yet.

I think I NEED SOME SLEEP

Angry Bee

I was attacked by an angry bee yesterday.

I was just out doing some yard work and along came a very angry bee. Lucky for me it was just one angry bee and not a whole colony of them.

I don't know what I did to upset or even attract the angry bee, but it came at me with full intentions of stinging me. I ran away screaming and throwing my arms all over the place (the neighbors probably think I am crazy). I got away from the bee thinking all would be fine. So, I went back to the yard work and it came at me again. This happened about 6 times.

I was going to give up and go into the house and just finish my yard work later. As I started toward the porch, that dang bee came at me again. I got away from it but then noticed my dog jumping all over the yard and spinning in circles. I was confused until I saw that the bee had landed on the top of Jimmy's ear. I don't know if the bee stung poor Jimmy or not. I guess the bee finally got a victim and I never saw it again.

Bees have never bothered me before, but now I am a little afraid of them.

I have been stung only one time and it was a Wasp, not a bee.

Cat Acne?

I have never heard of a cat getting zits before today.

Tigger (Dave's cat) has been having some scabbing and bleeding on her chin (poor cat). She also has a chronic sinus infection. So, Dave took her into the vet and found out that she has a severe case of Cat Acne on her chin. Hum, interesting. She is not even a teenager :)

She will be fine. She is going to get some injections for the sinus infection and that should also help with her zit problem. They also suggested that we get some acne cleansing pads to wash her chin with so it does not become infected. Fun, Fun Stuff!

What Kind Of Neighborhood Did We Move Into?

The dogs have decided that they are going to bark at every noise they hear at night. This would not be a problem if our lovely back yard neighbors were not out in their yard at ALL hours of the night. I am not exaggerating. They are out there all day during the day and at midnight, 1 am, 3 am, 4 am and so on. So as you can see, this is causing the dogs to bark at all hours of the night.

You ask why the neighbors are out in their yard all the time? Well, I will tell you my theory.

I think they are growing Pot in an old parked van. (This is just a theory, there is no real proof to go on)

Here are my reasons for why I think this:

• The van just sits there, it NEVER moves. It has dark windows and the front window has a sun shield in it. All of this to block the view of what is inside.
• They run an electricity cord to the van and have a light on in it ALL night long. Also, there is a black tube that looks like some sort of water supply going into the van as well.
• The neighbors are always "tending" to something in the van. I hear the van door open at least 15 times a night.
• They also have a shed by the van that they are always getting in and out of. And it is not for yard care stuff.
• Dave heard the neighbors talking to someone saying something about it being cheaper to grow your own crop than to buy it from someone else.

Remember, this is just a theory. I have not seen any plants nor have I smelled anything that would indicate they are smoking Pot.

I would do some research on growing Pot in a van if I was sure that I would not get in trouble because of people thinking that I was going to try it or something.

Anyway, back to the beginning of the story. If the vampires that live behind us would just stay quiet at night, the dogs would not bark and we could all get some sleep!

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!

I was just flipping through a clothing catalog and found out that you can purchase underwear with hip and butt implants in them. Really? Are you kidding me? I thought it was a joke at first, but it's not.

Here is my problem with that. Fashion designers make clothes to fit woman that have the shape of a 12 year old boy. So, woman starve themselves and exercises enough to work off any calories that they did eat, therefore causing them to have ZERO fat on their bodies. Well ladies, what do you think makes up your hips, butt and boobs. Some fat. You need some fat.

So, essentially what is going on is that our society says that woman must not have any fat on their bodies, but they must still have curves. You can't have it both ways! Oh wait, yes you can with clothes to change the appearance of what shape your body is.

That is false advertising. What if a man wants a woman with hips, boobs and or a butt. They marry a woman that they THINK has these things just to find out that the only hips, boobs and butt she has is padding in her underclothes.

Ok, uhm, fake anything is just plain STUPID!

Miss Hillbilly USA

Hey there all you pertty ladies. We are looking for contestants for the 2009 Miss Hillbilly USA.

Requirements to enter are as follows:

1) Must be able to belch loud enough that all 13 people attending the event will be able to hear you
2) Have very loud and smelly farts
3) Need to be able to bring your own overalls for the evening wear events (we are too poor to pay for props or outfits)
4) Your talent can not be twirling a baton or other long shafty things
5) You must be able to lift at least 40 pounds of potatos
6) Your body weight must be over 130 pounds
7) Need to know how to drive an old pick up truck. We do have some group entertainment events planned
8) Need to be able to spit at least 3 feet
9) Need to know how to make a fine batch of moonshine. There will be taste tests for all
10) Last but most important. NO FAKE ANYTHING ALLOWED! If you even had so much as a fake tooth put in, you are not gonna win.

Now, who wants to be our 2009 Miss Hillbilly USA?

Come on gals, put on yur best pair of overalls and work boots. Gather up yur moonshine and come on down for a great time. Ya never know, ya might just become Miss Hillbilly USA 2009!

Grand Prize: A great big double wide trailer on the corner lot and, yes there is more! A Fantastic, Beautiful, Amazing......Burger King Crown! Ya know ya want it!

Second Prize: A nice old pickup truck that doubles as a swimmin pool. Just fill up the back with water and have a great time. We might even add in a bonus flotation devise. Does anyone have a spare bum bum cushion that ya get after ya have a baby?

Third Prize: A new fancy wheel barrel to tote yur kids around the trailer-park in

Donations are being accepted for next years prizes.

Miss Fake Hoochie USA

I think it is silly that we have pageants the determine what girly girl deserves a crown just for being "pretty" and claiming that they want to create world piece.

Who decides what is the perfect look anyway? What makes a tall thin blond any better than a short petite brunette?

Besides, they are all fake anyway.

1) Fake attitudes. You can not tell me that they all really care about "The World"
2) Fake eyelashes. Nobody has eyelashes the length that ALL of these girls have.
3) Fake nails. I don't know anyone who can grow their nails that long and look so "perfect"
4) Fake hair. Can we say EXTENSIONS!
5) Fake tans. With skin cancer being such an issue, you would think that a fake tan would be protested by the cancer societies. Most people can not afford a good spray tan, so they try getting a tan the old fashioned way. And we should not be spraying ourselves with chemicals anyway.
6) Fake boobs. Miss CA is a perfect example. The Miss CA pageant admitted to paying for them so she would have a better shot at becoming Miss USA.
7) Fake reality of what a healthy body weight should be. They all have eating disorders.
8) Fake bodies. If they don't have fake boobs, they use a push-up bra. Some of them use padding to give them hips or a fuller booty.
9) Fake talent. Do you really think they can do what they are trying to do up there, I don't!

I am sure there are many more fake things that they do to create a look that they do not naturally have. Some of them probably have had lipo on their pinky toe, their knee caps re-adjusted or some other nips and tucks that are not as noticeable.

So, I propose that we change the name from Miss USA to Miss Fake Hoochie USA.

I think we should have an ALL NATURAL beauty pageant. No FAKES ALLOWED!

And no, I am not bitter because I am not a fake, 5 foot 9 inch tall toothpick with all fake parts.

My First Neg Feedback On eBay

No, I am not bragging that I have a neg feedback. I do have 1,191 positive feedback, 0 neutral, and now 1 neg. I think the 1,191 happy customers should say enough about my performance as an eBay member.

eBay has made the feedback playing field completely unfair. The buyer can leave neg feedback for no good reason, but the seller can NOT leave neg feedback, even if the buyer does not pay. So I expected this to happen sooner or later. I was hoping that it would never happen, but it does happen.

The thing that upsets me about it is that the customer was not unhappy with the transaction, they were unhappy with the product.

Did the customer contact me about this problem with the before leaving neg feedback.......NOPE!
Would I have given a refund or a replacement product.....ABSOLUTELY!

I have lost money to make my customers happy, but that is part of business and good customer service.

Stop the SPAM

No I am not talking about the mystery meat Spam. I am talking about the 150 spam e-mails that I get in my work e-mails every single day.

I do not need pills to make my "male" parts bigger (I am not a male). I am not interested in a fake Swiss watch. I don't want to meet a lonely, pretty Russian girl at some cafe somewhere. I do not belong to some bank that I need to "follow this link" before my account gets closed and I certainly am not going to be buying my prescriptions from some other country just to save a few bucks. Oh and I don't care about the latest diet plan on the market either. STOP SPAMMING ME!

Earth Day April 22, 2009

Did you plant a tree on Earth Day? I did. Wait, what is the difference between Earth Day and Arbor Day? Hum, I will have to look that up.

I planted my much awaited Black Cherry Tree and a Pear Tree. I have a Peach Tree that I am hoping is still alive (from the move) that still needs to be planted and I am hoping to get at least one more tree, probably an Apple Tree.

I just researched the difference between Earth Day (4-22-09) and Arbor Day (4-24-09). Earth Day is all about going green and Arbor Day is for planting trees.

I guess I can consider planting trees a "Green" thing to do for Earth Day and it covers Arbor Day as well. Sweet!

Yes I Am FAT! No I Am NOT Causing Global Warming Because Of It!

I was just reading a study that says that "fat" people cause more harm to the environment than thin people.

Someone has decided that a fat person eats more and is more likely to travel by car, therefor causing more carbon emissions than a "thin" person. They figure that if a fat person eats more food, then more food production is needed, which causes more fuels to be burned and so on.

I am FAT but I do not eat more than most other people. I know plenty of "thin" people that eat a whole lot more than I do. I do not drive my car to go 1 block down the street as the study suggests.

I am not fat because of eating too much or being lazy. I have a slow metabolism because my thyroid is not working properly. Yes this has been diagnosed by a DR.

I am not on medication because I could not afford the DR visits every few weeks to test my blood levels. The meds are not that much money. I can afford those, but I can't get them without a prescription and I can't get that without an $80 DR visit.

That is why I am fat.

So to all of you judgemental people out there. Get off your high horses and come back down to reality. Stop making assumptions that all fat people eat too much and are lazy!

I have figured out why old people are so mean.

For the longest time I could not understand why old people are so grumpy and mean. Now the older I get the more I understand.

Every day that goes by makes me a more angry and grumpy person. So I can now see why, by the time people get to be 70 years old, they have had enough of the stupid, idiot, jerk people of this world.

I have learned that if you are nice to people, they take advantage of and walk all over you. If you are not nice then you are considered to be a jerk. Where is the middle ground? I have not found it yet. So, I find it easier and better to just be a jerk. I am not sorry if that offends anyone.

A few cases in point for why I am so bitter toward the human race (these are just the ones that pissed me off the most, there are many others)

A few years ago my sister and I had just bought some food at a little local drive through. As we were going up the road we saw an older homeless man with a dog. The man was digging through the garbage picking out food items. Thinking we were being nice, we pulled over and offered him our food. He started yelling at us like I have never been yelled at before. I drove away in tears because I thought I was doing something nice, but I guess I was not. I have not and will not ever again offer food to anyone on the street. I won't even look at people that stand outside of Wal-Mart holding up signs that claim they are in need of help. I simply don't care.

One time I worked in a small craft store where we only ever had 2 people on a shift at any given time. We were only allowed 30 minutes from closing to get all of the money counted, get the store cleaned and get out. One night we had a customer come up to the door 10 minutes after closing, while we had all of the money out on the counter to be counted. Under NO circumstances are we to open the door when the money is out on the counter. But, this customer threw such a fit that my co-worker opened the door just enough to talk to her and let her know that we could not allow her into the store after closing and that we could not take any more sales because the register was already cashed out. The customer kept asking questions about a product. My co-worker went as far as to write down all of the sizes, prices and traced the items for sizing reference for this customer, she even went as far as to tell her where another craft store (close by) was that she could get that item at. Well, after 20 minutes of that the customer left. The next day my co-worker and I got in trouble because the customer called the home company and complained that we would not help her! I could not believe that someone would do that after we broke the rules to help her. We were not in trouble for opening the door, we were in trouble because we had an upset customer.

I have had friends who if you offer them one ride because their car is broken, they expect you to do whatever they want or need whenever they want or need something done. They don't care what my personal circumstances were. It was just all about them. If you give them 1 inch, they will expect 12 miles the next time around. I won't help anyone anymore.

Then yesterday the School Bus incident. Well, hat has pushed me over the edge. Never again will I give a crap about the convenience of another human being that I do not know or have any relation to.

I will just start by saying that Bridget goes to a school that is not in our boundaries or district, so I have to drop her off and pick her up every day. The school that is is attending is building a new school on the old parking lot.The parking lot they have now is not even big enough for the students to park in. So, I drop off an pick up Bridget next to the school doors, which I have been told by the principal is where I can do that.

A few weeks ago I was the ONLY car in along the side of the school. I parked where I did because I am suppose to park there and because that is where the buses DO NOT park. But, this one bus driver decided that she wanted to be a #*$&^ that day. She pulls up behind me and laid on the horn until I moved. She then parked right where I was. She has NEVER parked there before. She was just being a jerk. I let that one go. But I thought I was being nice by NOT parking where she normaly parks. I guess I was wrong on that one too.

But yesterday, this same driver pulled crap again. Here is how that went down.

I pulled in to the parking lot and parked where I HAD to because everything else is full.
A red car parked behind me. Then a full size bus goes by us just fine. Then Goat-Lover came along in her full size bus making a super wide turn to MAKE it so we were in her way.
She gets behind the red car, laid on the horn. He backs up, does some maneuvering and then starts to pull forward to move out of that spot and of her way, then she starts moving forward pining him between me and the bus. So, she finally stopped and let him get out. Then she moves even further to the right, coming so close to me that I had to back up and move further right (into the loose gravel). She then moves even closer to my car within about a half an inch (after I had already moved over) and stops right by my window (that was down) she laid on the horn and then started yelling at me. She then moves up to the next car and does the same thing to him and so on.

The thing that pisses me off the most is that it is a threat to hit my car and me when she purposely aims the bus at the car and comes within a half an inch of hitting it AFTER I have already moved out of her way AND I was not in her way in the first place. Plus we were not even near the corner that she had to turn on.

As I pointed out to the Principal, someone with that temperament SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING children around in a bus. I have demanded an apology and or more from the driver. To me it is assault when someone aims a vehicle at my car with the intention of "almost" hitting it and making me move just to come even closer after I have moved. Using her bus to show me that she is angry. That is a threat and as far as I am concerned that is assault.

The principal said that she would look over the surveillance video and see if she could find out what bus it was and who the driver is. I let them know that I will be calling the district every single day until something is done about this driver. And I intend to keep good on that!

I will no longer just sit here and let people shove crap down my throat just because they are having a bad hair day. NO MORE!

Nessie's News 4-16-09

Bad weather plus bad driving creates very slow driving times.

Last night we got a few inches of snow and it is still very cold outside. So, everyone SHOULD know that the road conditions are going to be slick. But people don't care.

Within my 30 mile drive to work, there was at least 3 serious car wrecks. Most people call them accidents, but if you had to drive in amongst the idiot drivers in Utah County, you would know that about 99.9% of the car wrecks could have been avoided if people did not drive the way they do.

As I was walking out my door to go to work I could hear sirens blaring down the highway, so I knew I was in for a very slow drive.

The stupidity began right at the highway entrance. While I was getting onto the highway on ramp I could see tire marks in the snow where a car had gone off the highway and plunged down the embankment into a puddle right next to the highway on ramp.

About 2 miles down the highway there was a Highway Patrol on the side of the road. A car had gone through the guard rail, off the side of the highway and into someone’s backyard.

Then about another 3 miles down the highway, a white Jeep lost control, spun out and got hit by a semi truck. There was also a small white car munched on the side of the road and a Pepsi truck between the South and North bound lanes.

If that is not bad enough, about 5 more miles down the road there was a truck that had somehow ended up flipping upside down. This one is pictured above. I took the pic with my cell phone while driving all of about 2 mph past it.

Could there be more, YUP! The worst part of all of this is that just after the third accident, there is construction zone where the speed limit goes down to 55 mph. Do you think people slowed down to that.....NOPE! They sped up to 75 or 80. Now remember the roads are wet and icy and we all just passed an accident that happened "probably" because of that type of driving.

Can we say STUPID! Yes Utah County drivers are the worst in the entire country!!!

A letter from the Sun

Yesterday I wrote the Sun a letter. Below is the letter that I wrote and then the response from the Sun

Dear Sun,

Where have you gone? Why did you go away? When will you be back? We need you dear Sun. Please come back to us. Warm our minds, hearts and homes. Please oh please Sun, please come back to us soon.

Sincerely,
A shriveled human

Dear Shriveled Human,

I am sorry that I have been away for so long. Mother earth will not allow me to shine upon a world that is not deserving of my rays of light.

She is very sad about the way she is being treated by humans. The weather is simply a reflection of how she feels. Cold, Gray, Cloudy and Crying.

Mother Earth feels this way because of the way that humans disrespect her. How much evil is brought upon her back every single day. She is tired of being used as a killing ground, a place for evil people to thrive in their sick and degenerate behaviors and her resources being used for selfish reasons.

When Mother Earth feels like she is being treated with even the tiniest bit of respect, she will allow me to once again shine upon her, allowing the deserving people to enjoy the warmth in which I can bring to them.

Well Wishes,
The Sun

Winter needs to go away!

This winter has been the LONGEST winter that I can ever remember. It has not been a very wild winter, but it has been about 8 or 9 months since we had more than one or two consecutive days of sun.

Sure we have had some "good" days in the past few weeks, but we have had mostly gray, dark, cold, windy, rainy and or snowy days.

I NEED some sun in my life. I am shriveling up into a pile of nothingness. I am loosing my ambition to plant a garden. I am becoming very depressed and I don't even want to look at the weather forecast anymore. Even if it does show sunny days, I won't believe it.

Dear Sun,

Where have you gone? Why did you go away? When will you be back?
We need you dear Sun. Please come back to us. Warm our minds, hearts and homes.
Please oh please Sun, please come back to us soon.

Sincerely,

A shriveled human

The Great Easter Stuff Hunt

It is true that I do procrastinate way to often however, I have never waited until the day before a holiday to get my holiday shopping done.

Unfortunately I got sick on the day that I was planning on doing my Easter shopping and I could not get out of bed for 2 days, then when I could get out of bed on the 3rd day, it was not for very long and dealing with large crowds of people was just not something I could do.

So, today (the day before Easter) I headed out to the store at about 8:30am hoping to avoid most of the last minute shoppers. It was not too bad except that the local Wal-Mart was out of just about everything. I was able to get a few things there. I then went to a grocery store a few more miles down the road, whom also did not have what I was looking for. I was getting discouraged because I am still not feeling very good and I really needed to get my shopping done without going to every city in Utah County. I finally made my way to a small local grocery store and was very pleased to find those Oh So Yummy Mini Cadbury Eggs that I was looking for. It is not Easter without those to munch on all day long.

Now I just hope that I will be feeling well enough to enjoy all of the yummy candy that the Easter Bunny will be bringing me tonight :)

Happy Easter To All And To All a Good Night

Sick and tired of being sick and tired

First off, NO I am not going to be having any more children, so my being sick is not that.

I have been sick off and on for over a week. It is just the typical tired, weak, and just feeling icky. I have had some flu like symptoms, but not on a daily basis. I thought I was better until this morning while driving to work. Bridget decided that she was cold, so she cranked the heat up as high as it could go. It almost killed me. I was going to either pass out or vomit. But doing either of those things while driving 75 mph down the highway is not a good idea. So, I opened the window hoping that some fresh air would help.

I thought I would be fine once I got some fresh air and sat down at work. But, nope! I am not able to stay out of the potty room for more than 15 min. Needless to say I will be going home early.

If you have read this far, you are probably wondering why I am blogging about being sick.

Well, I guess it is because being sick brings up memories of being sick when I was a kid. Being sick as a kid seamed horrible and tragic, but now I wish I could get all the pampered treatment that I got when I was a sick child.

Back then I would get to stay home on the couch all day watching cartoons. My mom would bring me homemade chicken noodle soup and even my grandma would come over to help the family with other things while my mom was taking care of me.

Now when I am sick, I still have to at least try to get in a full day of work. I am lucky to get a bowl of chicken noodle soup that came out of a can. If I am lucky enough to be at home in bed, I just lay there wondering what bill won't get paid that month and if I don't get better how I am going to pay for a DR visit without any health insurance.

No, I am not having a pity party on my blog. I was just thinking about being sick back in the good old days and wishing that I could just get better.

The dogs have conspired to kill me

I would think that because I am the only person in the house who feeds and plays with the dogs, they would be happy to see me in the morning. But, not this morning. They tried to kill me!

This morning when I went out to tie them up for feeding time, they ganged up on me and I did not even have the food with me yet.

They had a master plan that went something like this. They waited until I was between the house and the fence where I had little room to run. They then started circling me and getting in between my feet. I was knocked right out of my shoes onto all fours. All of the sudden I had doggy tungs, fur and paws all over me. I felt like a dead fish in pond full of starving Purana's. It took me about 5 min to crawl out from under them and get back on my feet.

Now thanks to the mutley crew, I have a sore ankle, tweaked back and a nicely bruised leg. If I was young and fit, this would not be a problem, but I am old and out of shape, so I ache all over.

I think the next time I go out to feed them, I will be warning full riot gear :)

I think all dogs should have their voice boxes removed.

Ok, I really don't think that all dogs should have their voice boxes removed.

But, Jimmy has recently decided that he needs to bark at EVERYTHING! It is very frustrating. I have tried everything in those "Positive Training" books for dogs, but nothing works. So, I went and got a little box thing that sends out an ultrasonic sound when he barks. It is SUPPOSE to get his attention long enough to stop the barking and be such an annoying sound that he will not want to bark. I only turn it on at night so he won't become "amune" to it. But it does not seem to work at all. He does not even acknowledge it when the sound is "supposedly" going off.

All I want is to sleep through the night and not have angry neighbors.

He mostly barks at other dogs that are barking. So, if all dogs had their voice boxes removed, then we would not have these problems.

McDonald's Has Pissed Me Off On The Wrong Day!

I will just start this post off by saying that I have been sick and not gotten any sleep for at least two nights, so I am not in a very good mood to begin with.

I was craving some french fires and a small ice cream, so I thought I would just stop off at McDonald's to get those things.

I started to place my order and was told that I could not order ice cream because the machines were broken. No big deal, I will just get the fries. I pay and move to the next window. I was asked to pull forward and wait (for one small order of fries?) Ok, so I do. Then, 3 cars that placed their orders behind me got their food and left. OK, NOW IM PISSED. I pull into a parking stall, storm into the building and demand my money back. As I was doing so, they just happend to be getting my little order of fries put into the fry box. I grabbed my fries and stormed back out loudly vowing to never go there again.

Why the hell does it take 8 minutes to put a scoop of fries into a box. I dosn't! And 3 other people that were BEHIND me in line got their food and left before I got my ONE LITTLE ORDER OF FRIES! I WILL NOT BE GOING BACK THERE!

So, for the ice cream, I just went to the Wendy's that was across the street. Thank You Wendy's for having the food that I wanted and handing it to me in timely manner, without giving other people their food first.

Little Family Outing

We finally had some nice Spring weather, so we took advantage of it and went on a little family outing.

We took the puppies over to Salem Pond. It is a nice little pond that has a cute park, walking trails and a couple of bridges.

Other than trying to eat duck poop, the dogs managed to behave really well for their first visit to a public park. I was a little worried that they may try and go for a swim, but they did not have much intrest in the water.

The DQ was not so fond of walking very far, so we did not stay as long as I had wanted too, but it was great just to get out at all.

I am hoping to have many more small outings this Spring and Summer.

Learning To Balance

Today I am feeling overwhelmed with life in general. No I don't have 12 kids or 8 jobs, but I do have a lot to take care of.

I guess today I am feeling the stress of trying to find time and energy to get everything done.

Sometimes I feel like I am still trying to find that balance between home, work, taking care of a special needs teen, a husband, myself and 13 pets.
Yes, we have thirteen pets. 2 cats, 2 dogs, 3 frogs and 6 guinea pigs. That is a lot to deal with when I work a full time job plus a couple of side jobs.

I think what set me off today is that when I got to work, I got an e-mail from my boss that another co-worker sent to him asking when a certin product would be added to our website. Well, the picture guy just got the product picture done last night. So, I have not even seen it yet. I can not do my part of the job when I am waiting on someone else to do their part first. So, it frustrated me. Anyway, I think that just got me started off on the wrong foot toaday.

Maybe I am just tired today, maybe I am just not in a good mood. I don't know. But some day I would like to find that balance that makes life a little easier to deal with.

The garden fence is up and still standing

Yippy! The garden fence is up and still standing.

Dave has his way of doing things and I have mine, so when it came time to put up the garden fence, we both did some compromising.

He keeps saying that it will fall because he does not think that the materials I got will hold. I got real fence posts and real fencing, so I don't know why it would not stay up.

The dogs have already tested it by jumping up against it and guess what, it's still standing. The weather has rained, snowed, and blown extreme winds at it and yup, it's still standing. I am fairly sure that it is just fine.

Now I am on a quest to purchase some much needed garden tools. I will have to start with the basics. A shovel, rake thingy and a garden hoe should get me started.

I already have some of the seeds that I am going to plant. I just need to get a few more.

I am totally excited to get my garden started. I love fresh Zucchini, Cucumbers, and Carrots. I am also very much looking forward to being able to grow my own pumpkins......YAY!

Puppy-Wuppy Circus

I had no idea what I was getting into when I got two puppies at the same time. They are brothers, so they are the same age (5 months now).

We have been good little puppy parents, we took them to the vet to get checked out and get their vaccines. They are on heart worm meds and have now been "snipped". But, I had no idea how hard it would be to get all of that done.

They are both very stubborn when they don't want to go somewhere. They are very determined when they want to go somewhere they should not go and they think that they should have free run of the house even though they are outside dogs.

I have raised puppies before, but never more than one at a time. So, this is much harder than I thought it could or would be.

That being said, I am loving having them and I hope that we ALL survive puppyhood!

Halloween Should Be Celebrated All Year Long!

I think Halloween is so wonderful that it should be celebrated all year long. If you know me, you already know that.

Here are just a few reasons that Halloween is the best holiday of all times:

• You get to dress up and pretend that you are something or someone else.
• People give you candy just for knocking on their door and telling them that if they don't give you a treat, you will play a trick on them.
• The weather is great, gray skies, orange leaves, cool (not cold) air and the wind howling through the trees.
• It is the only day in the year that people like myself feel normal.
• And Haunted Attractions, they are the best.
• Oh, and we can not forget about pumpkin carving. I love to carve pumpkins.

Speaking of pumpkin carving. When I feel deprived of being able to carve pumpkins during the winter, spring and summer, I have found that carving oranges is almost as fun.
Above are a couple of my little creations. I think they turned out almost disturbing.....Just the way I like things to be.....disturbing.

Puppies First Walk

The dogs can finally go out into the world (on a leash).

I took both of the puppies for walks (separately) and they did great. Neither of them barked at other dogs or cars and they did not pull on the leash or try to get ahead of me. They were both so excited to go out and discover new smells, people, dogs and so on. I am excited that they were so well behaved. I was sure that they would need a lot of training in order to take them for walks, but they behaved like little doggy angels.

I am feeling old

Today I am feeling old. As I was listening to my fave radio morning show, they had Vanilla Ice in the studio. They were talking about old times and that got me thinking and feeling old.

There are so many things that kids have these days that we could never have thought would be possible.

I was 14 years old before I ever used a microwave and it was the neighbors microwave that I would use until my parents were able to get one. It was the greatest thing to be able to cook frozen burritos in only 3 minutes instead of 30 minutes in the regular oven.

In Jr High, we did not take a computer or keyboarding class, we took typing class and used actual typewriters. We had to use white out when we made mistakes, yup, there was no backspace button to clean up our mistakes.

The very first video recorder (VCR) that we had was SO COOL, we could not believe that we could actually record and replay a show off of the TV. The first thing my parents ever recorded was the Micheal Jackson video - Thriller.

The first remote control device we had was with the newest and best VCR on the market. We did not have to get off the couch to hit the play or rewind button, but it did have a 50 foot cord that attached from the remote to the VCR.

Our first computer, well we all know how old and slow those were. It was many years before we got one that could play any type of video and we were so amazed by it that we did not think computers could ever get better.

Music and Movies are another big thing. We had cassette and VHS tapes. When CD's and DVD's came out I did not want to switch over because I did not think they would stick around long enough. But, they became about the only format for music and movies. By the time I started getting CD's to replace my cassette tapes, the MP3 thing became popular. I have given up on trying to keep up with all that.

Our first video game system was an Atari 360 and the games were so basic that the characters looked like blocks, but it was amazing at the time. I never could imagine that we would have things like the Nintendo DS and Wii.

Cell phones were not even in our wildest imaginations. We had heard of car phones and that was only for the most elite of the elite. Now kids who are barely old enough to talk have cell phones. And on that subject, text messaging, I still don't know how that works.

Oh and we can not forget about Satellite TV. My dad was looking at one when I was a teen, the dish would have taken up the entire back yard and it cost almost as much as a car. Now we have a tiny dish that is so small it attaches to a house and is free with service.

We are all spoiled these days. I think it would do the world some good if we all went back to horse and buggy.

Living in Rural Suburbia

Dave and I were able to (after much stress from the loan process) buy a home. We found out about a great loan option that allowed us to purchase a home in a rural area and get 100% financing. We jumped on that opportunity. Plus the town that we moved to is a great up and comping and quiet little town. It is about a 30 min drive to work for both of us. But it is also a bit of a drive to get to a grocery store. I don't even think that Santaquin has a street light, at least not on any roads that I have traveled on.

The home is perfect for us. We have the space that we need, a good size yard that won't take hours of upkeep and we have a great view of the valley from the back deck. My fave part of the house is that we have a garage! I have never had a garage before. So, this next winter, I will NOT have to scrape ice off of my windshield in the morning. I am very EXCITED about that.

We also went all out and got two puppies. I was really excited about that until they found out that they can bark and dig. I have had puppies before, but never more than one at a time. This is beginning to be a bigger challenge that I first thought it would be.

I am mostly happy (a bit lonely) living in our own little Suburbia. Dave and I both work a full time job plus small jobs on the side, so time together is an issue. I complained about that in my last blog session.

We are kind of in the typical American Suburbia situation. We work all day and night just to have a nice (not fancy) lifestyle, but we are never home to enjoy it. Like most American families, we are in dept up to our ears, we have a mortgage, car loan, cell phones, satellite TV and other luxuries of life. But, sometimes I question if it is all worth it. Sometimes I would rather live in a cave and not have to worry about bills, neighbors, or anything else for that matter.

Family? What is a Family?

Yeah, I know what a family is traditionally suppose to be. I have great parents, brother, sisters and so on.

As I was growing up we had a great family. We did not have money or sometimes even food on the table, but we always had each other. We always had a sibling to torture, play or fight with. While my parents were not perfect, we always had mom and dad at home taking care of us. They found time to spend with us, just each other and they had hobbies, but us kids were never alone or neglected.

But what is a family these days?

My idea of a family is that it is a group of (married or not) people (with or without kids) that choose to live in the same household. They help each other with finances, cleaning, friendship and so on. They choose to spend time together, eat a meal at the same time and in the same room, maybe even at the same table together. They share hobbies, likes, dislikes and more. They CHOOSE each other over other things in life.

But, I am very saddened that even though I am married and have a teen child that live under the same roof as I do, I don't have a family.

I am married, but not a wife, I have a child but I am not a mom.

Both me and my "husband" work a full time job plus other jobs on the side. We strive to be able to have a good life style. I am not talking a 5,000 square foot house and a Luxury SUV, but to have a nice home, car and be able to have a meal every night. We work hard to have that, but by the end of the day the concept of a family has gone out the window. I feel more alone now than I ever have before.

For the past 13 years (I was married for 4 years prier to that) I have been a single parent. I have worked hard to stay off of state assistance and I had a good life. We lived in small and at times very hard to deal with places, we did not have luxuries in life, but I had a family, I felt like I mattered, even though it was just the two of us.

Now I live in a nice home in a nice area, have a nice car, am married to a nice man, have a great job, but none of that matters because the family aspect of life is missing for me. We don't spend time together as a family. We don't eat dinner at the dinner table together, we don't watch movies or TV together, we don't even know that each other exists unless one of us needs something from the other (usually them needing something from me). I make dinner every night. I am the last one to get my plate ready to eat and by the time I sit down at the table (on the days that we are home at the same time), the others in the house have already finished eating and gone up to their caves. Most days, they just get their food and take it to their caves to eat it, leaving me to sit at the table alone and sad.

While I have TRIED to have some sort of a family, the others are too self absorbed to care.
Dave gets on his computer before work, right when he gets home and is there until he finally goes to bed.
The DQ sits in her room watching TV and playing video games not acknowledging that anything else exists.
I am just left to feed and clean up after them.

So as you can see, I don't have a family. I guess if I change my expectations to what a family should be, then I have the perfect one. But, I don't think that I should have to change my expectations of a family just to have one. So, I will learn to be happy in my lonely sad world without a family.

A side note on this subject:
This Valentines day was the first Valentines that Dave and I have had together as a married couple. Maybe it is because I am a girl that this really pisses me off, but he did not get me ANYTHING to say that I am special to him. He did not get me even a card or a single rose. But, he had time and money to shop for and purchase DVD's and 14 music CD's for himself! Yeah, I feel special, appreciated and cared about.

The Funniest, Yet Not Funniest Thing

Last night a friend of mine whom I have not seen for about 8 years came over to my home to visit. We talked until about 11:00 pm. My great and wonderful husband talked with us for a while, but then decided to go to bed (he was just getting over a nasty flu or cold). Anyway at about 11:15 I heard thud, thud, thud on the stair way. My first thought was that my cat was making a very fast run up the stairs, but then I realized that the sound was much to heavy for that. I then thought that maybe Dave had dropped something down the stairs but I did not know why he would be taking anything down them. Then I start hearing thud ouch, thud d'oh, thud oohh, and then it stopped. I quickly realized that what Dave had dropped down the stairs was himself :O

I ran over there to see if he was ok or needed help. His head was all squished up against the wall and his legs and arms were sprawled out over the stairs. It was quite a sight to see. So, once I established that he was not dead or injured, I burst into laughter and I could not stop laughing all night (I know, not nice). I was even laughing on my way into work this morning.

By now you are probably wondering why I am blogging about this, so I will tell you. Dave and I spent about an hour talking and trying to figure out what happened or what he was doing to cause him to fall down the stairs. We really don't know because he was on cold meds and half asleep (oh wait, that is probably the reason). But, he said I should blog about my theories. So here they are:

1) He was reenacting a Homer Simpson scene when Homer was rolling down a hill

2) He decided that body surfing down the stairs was faster than walking down them

3) My real opinion is that he was leaning to look through the railings to see if my friend was still there and he lost his balance which caused him to tumble the rest of the way down the stairs

He said that he went down face first on his stomach and he felt like a Pez dispenser. Every time he would hit a stair his head would be flipped back like a Pez candy dispenser. As cruel as it might sound, I think that would have been funny to see.

Stampin Up

I joined a Stampin Up card club a few months ago. I have found it to be my newest "craft hobby" Here are a couple of my creations. Remember, I just started this. There are much better cards out there and as time goes on I will learn more techniques, have more tools, stamps and paper to work with. But, I just wanted to share a couple of my cards even though they are kind of basic.

Today is a great day to RANT!

This RANT session is (mostly) for all of you selfish JERKS out there!

First Rant: THE HARDER YOU TRY IN LIFE, THE HARDER YOUR ASS GETS KICKED! Maybe I am the only one that feels this way, but I feel like the harder I try in life, the worse it gets. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that I have what I do have...Great family, home, good health, and so on. I am blessed and I appreciate everything. But, there are days when it seems like everything I do to improve things or help others, I just get kicked in the ass for it.

Second Rant: STUPID SELFISH DRIVERS! How many stupid drivers does it take to kill someone and or completely destroy someone, a whole family or communities life's? Just ONE! Get off your phones, stop putting on make up, lighting your cancer sticks, reading the news paper, eating food, text messaging or turning around to yell at your kids and PAY ATTENTION to the road...JERKS! Also for those of you who think that you are so much more important than everyone else out there. When there is construction and the speed limit is lowered....THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT! Stop going 30 mph over just to get to the front of the line and cut everyone off when the lane closes off! So, to all of you I give you a big fat MIDDLE FINGER as you drive past me going 30 mph over the speed limit me putting your selfishness ahead of the safety of others. Oh and by the way, if you have a company logo on your vehicle and you are driving like that, I will NOT go to your company for services.

Third Rant: The WEATHER has been so cold, frozen, foggy, hazy, and did I mention cold for so long that I can not take it any more. I drive to work in the dark, drive home in the dark and I it is gray and hazy all day. I am about ready to pack up and move to Arizona.

Fourth Rant: eBay / PayPal Thank you for raising your fees so high that I can no longer afford to use your services to sell goods to earn grocery money for my family. Thank you for letting me put food on your tables instead of my own. I will be finding a different store format to sell in.

Fifth Rant: TAXES! I am so upset about this that I am not sure that I can even write about it without making threats that would land me in jail. I will just say that I busted my ass to make enough money to support myself and my child without needing to get on any gov assistance just to have my earnings ripped out of my pocket by taxes making it so that I had NO earnings when all is said and done. I was the head of household ALL YEAR long. I paid ALL of the household expenses and then I got married at the end of the year. Now the gov is taking all of the money that my business earned and then some. Just because I got married at the end of the year. His income did not pay my bills and household expenses, but now I am being raped by taxes because I got married at the end of the year. I could go on for hours, but I don't want to loose my job because of writing in here instead of working.

Camping

I like to camp and I have all the gear to do it, but I have only been once in the past 10 years. Something is wrong with that. So, this year my goal is to camp at least 4 times this summer.

It's Been A While

I have not written in almost 3 years! :O
Part of the reason is that I have not had the internet in my home for 6 or more years. But, now I do and I am going to try and keep up with this blog a bit better.