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.

Talk About Old

This is the actual door handle on my back door. Now don't get any ideas, I have a deadbolt above it and yes you can see daylight through the keyhole.

Blue Skies At Last

It is still a bit cold outside, but I was more then happy to have some blue skies overhead. Ok, so there are a few clouds, but the blue behind them is what matters to me.

My Little Grinch Friend

This is my little Grinch friend. Whenever I go on vacation, he goes too. I think I have undeveloped film of the last time we took him on vacation. I will post pics as soon as I find the film and develop it.

It Has Been Decided!

I have decided that I am going to plant a Veggie Garden this year. It is going to be a Container Garden. That just means that I am going to get a bunch of large containers, fill them with dirt, throw some seeds into it and hope that something grows. This will be fun : )
I think I will plant

• Tomatos
  
• Squash
  
• Beans
  
• Peas
  
• Carrots
  
• Onions
  
• Peppers
  
• Cucumbers
  
• Anything else that I can think of
  

I just rememberd that I planted potatos last year and never dug them up........OOPS! I wonder if they are still there. Maybe when the ground thaws, I will go out and try to did them up.

Stupid Groundhog Shadow

All I want is Summer! So when I heard the horrible news that the Groundhog saw his shadow this morning, I was very upset and did not even want to get out of bed. I finally crawl out of bed just to find that it is so foggy out, that I could not even see the mountains.......BLAGH! The only good thing about having six more weeks of winter, is that Slackers like myself have six more weeks to work on getting into shape for the Summer : )

Speaking Of Summer

Today has been a very lazy day, as you can see by all of my postings today. Anyway as I was sitting here freezing and thinking about Summer, I have decided on some things that I am going to do this Summer.

1) Go bike riding down by the Lake more often.
2) Go camping, I have all the gear, but have not been for years.
3) Maybe float my raft around in Deer Creek again.
4) Wash my car, at least once.
5) Hang out in my hammock and read a book.
6) Go to Saint George, just cause I keep saying that I am going to, but never have.
7) Go to Lava Hot Springs, that is always fun.
8) Put on some overalls and take pics of myself standing in the veggie garden that I may or may not plant this year. I was suppose to do that last year, but I forgot.
9) And of course, take pics of all of these adventures and post them here on my Blog.