Do you believe in destiny? That it doesn't matter how much we plan something out, if it wasn't meant to be, it will happen as "intended by fate", which may not be how we personally intend for things to happen?
Am I making any sense?
Have you ever sat and pondered on how your life has turned out thus far, compared to what you had planned for yourself? Of course you have, we all have.
My life so far is sooo different than what I had planned, or at least, imagined it would be, when I was a teenager.
When I was a teen, I seriously considered joining the military (Navy to be exact) after high school. I also figured if I wasn't already a mother by the time I turned 25 (married or not) I'd go out and find a good-looking sperm donor to do the honors. I planned on having no less than 2, but no more than 3 children, all by the time I was 30. My life beyond the age of 30 I never really had planned out, I suppose because it seemed soooo very far off.
Now here I am knocking on 40's front door, have never been in the military, was married at 20, have never had any children (except the 4-legged variety), and yet I'm still "planning" out my life, even though I know things are most likely to change for the complete opposite.
So even though this plan may never pan out, I'd like to retire by 65 (even though I'm not supposed to retire 'til I'm like 72 or 75 or something like that). I want to sell the house and it's contents, by an RV and hit American highways and see the country. By that time I'll most likely have had to scale back the size of my dog(s) from 3 Danes to probably 1 corgi. Perhaps I'll have written some critically acclaimed novel by that time, and my name will be a household word.
That's my plan. The reality of it all is that I'll most likely have to work until I'm 80, assuming I live that long, go straight from the workplace to a retirement home, and have no pets at all, and end up scribbling illegible chicken scratch on paper napkins. : (
What do you think your destiny is?
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
BJ
This is BJ, our "1st born".... sort of. He is the first pet that John and I acquired jointly. I brought a dog to the marriage, but BJ is the first (not counting the short-lived guinea pig) that we picked out and raised from infancy together.
When my Uncle B passed away in December of 1990, we stopped by his farm after the funeral was over, and I took one last look around at a place that held many fond memories for me, as I'd spent a lot of time there when I was a child. I think it was from my time spent at Uncle B's that I developed such a love of animals. There was a never ending supply of cattle, horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, geese, fishing in the pond, you name it!
As Uncle B's wife and son had both passed away separately earlier in the year, he was the only one left living on the farm. Now it would go into his estate. The cattle would be taken to market, and the dogs and barn cats, well, they'd most likely end up at the local pound and then euthanized. John & I had been talking about getting a kitten, so why not help ourselves to one that would undoubtedly end up on the chopping-block, so to speak? We looked around at the many litters of kittens. The only thing my cousin knew is that one litter had been born in the spring, so I just assume BJ was born in April. We finally both agreed on the little black and brown splotched tabby cat. We found a box to put him in and as I drove back to Louisville, John had the task of keeping the little wild, barn cat in the box. We discussed names, and finally settled on BJ... the "B" for Uncle B, and the J for Jay, my nickname for my husband.
BJ has always been a slight cat, I mean, a rather tiny little fellow. He never cracked the 8 pound mark, instead spending most of his life in the 7 lb, some odd ounce range. He was never one to carry around extra weight. He has had his little idiosyncrasies through the years, and other than a bout of cystitis as a juvenile, he's never been sick a day in his life.
De-clawed and neutered, he has spent the rest of his life as an indoor kitty, but he did enjoy being put on a light-weight leash and taken outside for walks around the yard, of course, I haven't done that in a long time. He's never much of a lover, instead preferring to be solitary. About the only time he wants to be acknowledged is if I'm trying to work on some cross-stitch, then he wants to lay in my lap and of course get in my way. Or if John is eating ice cream, then BJ tries to become his best friend.
He has a very distinctive purr, and I can always pick his out even if all three of our cats were purring at one time (yes, we acquired more cats over the years).
When BJ went to the vet last month for his yearly check-up, he had lost about 2 lbs. I know that doesn't sound like much, but taking into consideration his size, that was 25% of his body weight. Over the past week or so, I've watched my little boy decline rapidly. He's lost even more weight, and has started having trouble eating. Oh, he still has his appetite, but it takes him forever to eat now. I finally broke down and purchased some can food to give him, thinking that he'd perhaps lost some teeth and was having a hard time chewing dry food. But it still takes him a while to eat. His coat has started to look rather ragged as well. As I sat and stared at him the other day, I noticed that his head had an odd shape to it. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was that was out of proportion, so I finally picked him up and cradled him in my arms. As I stroked his neck, the only place he's really ever enjoyed being petted, I found a large lump right underneath his chin and slightly to the right. A tumor I'm sure.
While he didn't act as if my touching hurt him, I'm sure it's uncomfortable for him, and because of this lump, he's having trouble eating or even grooming himself. I've now noticed that his mouth doesn't close completely and he's started drooling in his sleep. His water consumption has gone way up, no doubt because of the drooling and dry-mouth. My poor little BJ.
He's lived a long, and good life. Certainly longer than he would have had we not taken him home with us. He's been a good little kitty. But all good things must come to an end.
This Friday, June 1st, will be his last day. I'm going to drop him off at the vet's office on the way to work. I'm not even going to stay around to watch them do the "deed". Does that sound awful of me or what?
I do love my cat(s), but I just don't have the attachment and bonding with them that I share with my dogs. Will I cry? Probably I'll shed a few tears, but I don't expect a total breakdown like I've experienced with my canines.
I'll then add his little container of cremated remains to the shelf along side those of Smokey & Kelsey. Farewell BJ, farewell!
Weekend in review, part 2,
Monday, May 30th ... one of our neighbors that recently had a lot of landscape work done in her yard, offered to give us the left-over mulch that was piled in her driveway. All we had to do was come and get it. But before we could start claiming the mulch, we had some work to do in the flowerbeds to get them spruced up.
First I removed some weeds. Then it was time to work on removing the tree stump from one of the beds. I had started digging around it and then John joined me. It had been a small-ish tree, the stump probably no more than 6" or so in diameter, but it was turning into a bigger chore than we'd realized. At this point, the story should be titled: a tale of 3 Johns.
My John, neighbor John M.W., and his father, John W. came to the rescue. The 3-Johns each dug a little, then they wrapped a large chain around the stump and hooked it to John W's truck and attempted to pull it out. It wasn't budging. The 3-Johns dug a little more. Then they pulled some more. Finally the stump and it's clump came free. They knocked as much of the dirt off the clump and back into the hole as possible, before loading the stump into John W's truck, as he'd offered to haul it off for us... THANK YOU JOHN W. & JOHN M.W. FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!!
Now it was time to fill in the hole. This meant digging from the large dirt pile in the back yard, which once-upon-a-time was a flower bed. Prior to that it was the left-over dirt from where our pool was installed. Now it just serves as a playground for our danes, and any flowers that once grew there have long since been trampled into oblivion.
Hole filled it was time to fetch the mulch. Several trips up and down the street with John M.W.'s wheelbarrow and we'd cleaned off our neighbors driveway and prettied-up our beds. My John then added my great-grandfather's old plow to the center (see previous blog for a photo).
Our work was still not done. After much cursing, moaning and bitching (by the husband), he (we) finally got around to putting the decorations from the now defunked Festivus Tree away in the attic. This cleared some of the clutter from the garage.
Next chore, I had to clean all the sand out of the pool's filter tank, so that when the parts come in, we can reassemble everything and hopefully be up and running soon. Hopefully. So I hunkered down over the filter, scooping out the mushy sand with one of my scavenged treasures that I forgot to mention, an antique, 2-cup measuring cup. It was the perfect size for the job at hand.
We then pulled more weeds and pulled up the tomato plants that succumbed to the frost only days after they were planted last month. It was now time to give Bootsy & Eliott baths out in the yard.
By the end of the day, were were exhausted, but it felt good having accomplished so much over the past two days.
I also had Tuesday off, and I spent it making a trip to pick up a two-month supply of dogfood, taking a 2-mile walk with one of my girlfriends & her toddler, getting my allergy shot, going to lunch w/same friend, going to two grocery stores and stocking up, going to p.t., then walking two more miles with friends. I'm worn out from my day off! It's good to be back at work (NOT!) so I can get some much needed rest.
Weekend in review, part 1...
My 4-day weekend in review...
Saturday, well, I'm not even going to mention that day, as it felt like a wasted day. So, moving on...
Sunday the 27th was my grandmother's (Nanny) 80th birthday. Four of her five children (the 5th one living wayyyy out of state), their spouses, and four out of her six grandchildren all gathered at her home to celebrate. Was it a party? Not exactly. We all gathered, dressed in our old (don't care if it gets ruined) clothes and work-gloves, armed with trashbags and determination, and we set about cleaning out 70+ years worth of "stuff" from my late grandfather's shed.
When I was a child, this shed was a single room, wood structure, with a lean-to sort of a "carport" attached to the back. But it's been many, MANY years since I've been there, and over the years, my grandfather had added on room after room, until I dare say, the shed had as many square feet as the main house.
My grandfather (may he rest in peace) was a packrat, never throwing anything away. And if he "found" some piece of hardware somewhere (like an old abandoned house), he'd drag it home, regardless of it's condition or whether or not it was needed, because, heaven forbid!, it MIGHT someday come in handy. One could never know. Also, I think whenever he misplaced a tool, instead of actually looking for it, he'd just go by a replacement. Thus explains the accumulation of a dozen or so hammers, in several varieties including, claw, ball ping and mallet. Also this might explain the accumulation of about 20 handsaws in various sizes. I dare say there were enough coffee cans and jars filled with nail, nuts and bolts to supply a Lowes or Home Depot for a week.
There were also lots of other little treasures. Some of these treasures were, quite simply, JUNK, and they were quickly tossed into a trashbag. Some of the items were set aside to be put into an auction we're planning on having July 1st. And still other items, if any of us desired them, were salvaged and placed in our personal collection pile.
My pile consisted of an old baseball, an antique ice-hook, an antique hay&/or ice-hook**, an antique plow, a blue Mason jar, an old picture that has hung on the wall of the garage for as long as I, no, make that for as long as my dad could remember (and he's pushing 60). Let's see, what else... John layed claim to a giant pipe-wrench he needed for assembling the pool and a set of post-hole diggers.
(see the plow now resting in one of my flowerbeds?... I'm going to paint it.)
(see the plow now resting in one of my flowerbeds?... I'm going to paint it.)**you may be wondering what I would want with these old hooks... well, my mother refinished an antique ice-box years ago that used to belong to my great-grandfather, and I've layed claim to it. I haven't taken possession of it yet, but I've claimed it. I'm the only one of his great-grandchildren that ever knew him, so that's my justification in taking it. So whenever I do take possession, I intend to hang the antique hooks above it.
There were shelves upon shelves, holding hundreds (and NO, I'm not exaggerating) of jars of canned goods that my grandmother had put up... pickles, tomatoes, green beans, squash, jellies, and lots of unidentifiable things as well). Now, my grandmother hasn't done any canning since 1996, as my grandfather died in Jan. of '97, so you can imagine how long some of this stuff has been sitting out there. While some of it still looked (emphasis on looked) good, some of it looked very revolting!! The items that were in real Kerr or Mason jars were dumped out and the jars set aside to be washed, while the other items were set aside to be tossed into a dumpster we're renting.
I had started off helping in the shed, but the years of dust were upsetting my sinus', so I started helping my aunt empty the canning jars. Big mistake!! I'm not sure what was in the one jar she emptied, but it smelled so VILE!, I jumped up and ran several feet away, gagging and dry-heaving. Oh it was gross!! Okay, can't do that task anymore.
At the end of the day, we were all very tired, and very grubby. We enjoyed a pitch-in dinner outside under the shade trees.
I also spent some time with Nanny, going through some old photos, picking out ones I wanted to borrow and make copies of. While going through the photos, I came across one of a young lad, and I turned it over to read what was written on the back: "Dinkie".
Of course, I had a hard time reading the writing and thought it said "Dunkie", but I was corrected. Who was Dinkie?
Dinkie turned out to be none other than my father. I found this nickname to be quite hilarious, and I intend to use it every chance I get now.
Colour my world
Okay, we all know that sun tans are s'posed to be bad for us... cancer-causing, blah, blah, blah. And tanning beds, ditto.
But let's admit it, most of us really do feel better when we've got a little bit o' color to our skin. So what is one to do when we want (need) some color on our skin and don't want to use a lotion that will leave our palms orange? Ever try one of those booths that sprays the tan all over?
Please allow me to explain how one of these spray-booths works.
First you doff all your clothing 'til you're as naked as the day you were born.
Next you don a stylin' hairnet.
Apply a lotion (of sorts) to your nails, so they don't discolor.
Insert plugs up your nose.
Before entering the booth, inhale deeply and hold your breath. They tell you you're not supposed to breath in the mist, but if you do, it won't hurt you. Okay then, what difference does it make??? Just to keep us from getting tanned-lung?
Once in the booth, close your eyes and push the button. Or maybe it's push the button and close your eyes, all the while, holding your breath. Of course by now, your cheeks are puffed out like a puffer-fish, your eyes are bulging behind the closed eyelids, the nose plugs are sticking out your nostrils, and your upper lip is very wrinkled because your lips are so puckered in an effort to hold your breath. Whew!! Does that paint a pretty picture or what???
If you're any good at holding your breath and standing still in a confined space, then this story pretty much ends here.
However, if you're the slightest bit claustrophobic, read on...
If you are claustrophobic, then you know how the feeling of being in a confined space can make you panic, really quick. But add to that the not-being-able-to-see-or-breath factor, and the panic increases 10-fold!!
Now imagine your panic increasing to the point that you freak out and turn and flee from the spray-booth, running butt-naked except for the hairnet & nose plugs, out into the next room. Your panic is so great, you don't even stop to think whether or not there might be other people in the room, because you just want to escape the booth and be able to breath again.
But then you realize, "what am I doing? This is costing me money!", so you take another deep breath and run back into the booth and push the button again. But your panic returns again, and again you flee from the booth.
Okay, so you're now sporting a splotchy-orange tan in some areas which you could just have easily have gotten from a lotion purchased at Wal-mart, and have wasted $25.00.
The only thing you've really managed to acquire today was a lesson that having a good tan, whatever the source, is expensive, whether it's our health or our pocket book that pays in the end.
And just in case any of you are wonder, NO, I wasn't the person that paid for a spray-on tan, but I sure did enjoy hearing them tell me their story!
But let's admit it, most of us really do feel better when we've got a little bit o' color to our skin. So what is one to do when we want (need) some color on our skin and don't want to use a lotion that will leave our palms orange? Ever try one of those booths that sprays the tan all over?
Please allow me to explain how one of these spray-booths works.
First you doff all your clothing 'til you're as naked as the day you were born.
Next you don a stylin' hairnet.
Apply a lotion (of sorts) to your nails, so they don't discolor.
Insert plugs up your nose.
Before entering the booth, inhale deeply and hold your breath. They tell you you're not supposed to breath in the mist, but if you do, it won't hurt you. Okay then, what difference does it make??? Just to keep us from getting tanned-lung?
Once in the booth, close your eyes and push the button. Or maybe it's push the button and close your eyes, all the while, holding your breath. Of course by now, your cheeks are puffed out like a puffer-fish, your eyes are bulging behind the closed eyelids, the nose plugs are sticking out your nostrils, and your upper lip is very wrinkled because your lips are so puckered in an effort to hold your breath. Whew!! Does that paint a pretty picture or what???
If you're any good at holding your breath and standing still in a confined space, then this story pretty much ends here.
However, if you're the slightest bit claustrophobic, read on...
If you are claustrophobic, then you know how the feeling of being in a confined space can make you panic, really quick. But add to that the not-being-able-to-see-or-breath factor, and the panic increases 10-fold!!
Now imagine your panic increasing to the point that you freak out and turn and flee from the spray-booth, running butt-naked except for the hairnet & nose plugs, out into the next room. Your panic is so great, you don't even stop to think whether or not there might be other people in the room, because you just want to escape the booth and be able to breath again.
But then you realize, "what am I doing? This is costing me money!", so you take another deep breath and run back into the booth and push the button again. But your panic returns again, and again you flee from the booth.
Okay, so you're now sporting a splotchy-orange tan in some areas which you could just have easily have gotten from a lotion purchased at Wal-mart, and have wasted $25.00.
The only thing you've really managed to acquire today was a lesson that having a good tan, whatever the source, is expensive, whether it's our health or our pocket book that pays in the end.
And just in case any of you are wonder, NO, I wasn't the person that paid for a spray-on tan, but I sure did enjoy hearing them tell me their story!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Casting Call
Have you ever wondered how some of these people end up on television?
You find out there was an open casting call... usually after the fact though. How did so many others know about it? Goodness knows I'm usually the last to know about anything!
I was surfing the 'net a little while ago, and saw on the ABC website that they had casting calls, so I clicked, and it brought up a list of shows they needed people for. I'm very tempted to submit my name, or rather, my husband's name, to a few of them. The show "fix my husband" really caught my eye. hmmmmm
This intrigued me, so I went and checked out NBC & CBS's websites also. They too have a link for open casting.
I think I'm going to give this some serious consideration, and keep checking back.
If you're interested in possibly having your 15 minutes of fame, go check it out!
You find out there was an open casting call... usually after the fact though. How did so many others know about it? Goodness knows I'm usually the last to know about anything!
I was surfing the 'net a little while ago, and saw on the ABC website that they had casting calls, so I clicked, and it brought up a list of shows they needed people for. I'm very tempted to submit my name, or rather, my husband's name, to a few of them. The show "fix my husband" really caught my eye. hmmmmm
This intrigued me, so I went and checked out NBC & CBS's websites also. They too have a link for open casting.
I think I'm going to give this some serious consideration, and keep checking back.
If you're interested in possibly having your 15 minutes of fame, go check it out!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
It's a small world...
You know the lyrics of the song... It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all, it's a small world after all, it's a small, small world.
And it truly is.
We use this phrase most often when we find out that someone we know or just met, happens to know somebody else in our life. You know what I mean. We have all had this happen to us at one time or another... most likely it will happen several times in the average person's lifetime.
Yesterday, it happened to me, and not for the first time, and I'm sure not for the last. Yet each time it happens, it amazes me. Here is my story...
I've been going to the same p.t. place for over nine months now. I've gotten to know most of the employees pretty well by now. Which ones have children & their ages, where they live, their marital status, even their birthdays, and other such general info.
While one of the p.t. techs was unstrapping me from the decompression table, we were chatting and somehow it came up that I worked at a funeral home. He asked which one, I told him, and he registered surprise, then informed me that his brother used to work at the same place several years ago. I inquired as to his brother's name, and while it rang a bell with me, I couldn't figure out why, although I was certain it didn't have anything to do with my workplace.
I repeated his brother's name out loud and then asked more to myself than anyone, and not really expecting an answer, "why do I know that name?"
I finally asked him what his brother did while working at the funeral home. He told me, but I just knew that wasn't where I knew his brother from, even though I couldn't place who his brother was. I asked what his brother did now, and was informed that he worked for a lawncare company.
BINGO!!! I suddenly knew. "American Lawncare?" He confirmed it.
As it turns out, his brother is the guy that takes care of our lawn. I've even got his number in my cellphone's address book.
Now that's what I call a small world.
And it truly is.
We use this phrase most often when we find out that someone we know or just met, happens to know somebody else in our life. You know what I mean. We have all had this happen to us at one time or another... most likely it will happen several times in the average person's lifetime.
Yesterday, it happened to me, and not for the first time, and I'm sure not for the last. Yet each time it happens, it amazes me. Here is my story...
I've been going to the same p.t. place for over nine months now. I've gotten to know most of the employees pretty well by now. Which ones have children & their ages, where they live, their marital status, even their birthdays, and other such general info.
While one of the p.t. techs was unstrapping me from the decompression table, we were chatting and somehow it came up that I worked at a funeral home. He asked which one, I told him, and he registered surprise, then informed me that his brother used to work at the same place several years ago. I inquired as to his brother's name, and while it rang a bell with me, I couldn't figure out why, although I was certain it didn't have anything to do with my workplace.
I repeated his brother's name out loud and then asked more to myself than anyone, and not really expecting an answer, "why do I know that name?"
I finally asked him what his brother did while working at the funeral home. He told me, but I just knew that wasn't where I knew his brother from, even though I couldn't place who his brother was. I asked what his brother did now, and was informed that he worked for a lawncare company.
BINGO!!! I suddenly knew. "American Lawncare?" He confirmed it.
As it turns out, his brother is the guy that takes care of our lawn. I've even got his number in my cellphone's address book.
Now that's what I call a small world.
Outrageous!
I heard on the news this morning where a 60 year old N.J. woman gave birth to twins. I thought this was so outrageous!!
I'm approaching 40, and the thought of becoming a parent at my age would horrify me, much less 60.Yes I know, some women want to put off having a family until they've had their careers. But this woman already has two grown children, not to mention another child that was 6 or so. I suppose it's one thing if she had gotten pregnant "accidentally", you know, "the old fashioned way", but she had help from a fertility doctor. At some point we there needs to be some limits set on what's an appropriate age to start a family.
Some will argue that she'll be 78 when the twins graduate high school, how does she even know if she'll live that long? Well, how does a 20 year old mother know she'll be alive at 38 to see her child graduate? She doesn't! Trust me, I see young (under the age of 50) people pass through this funeral home all the time that leave behind underage children. Life carries no guarantees.
So then you're probably wondering what I'm outraged by... well, I'm not sure I could even explain, it's just too complicated to put into words, but it just doesn't seem right.
There are so many children out there in orphanages in need of a good, loving home, why not adopt? Yet, so many of these adoption agencies automatically reject you if you're over the age of 40, because they consider you "too old". Now that I think IS outrageous!! It's kind of a catch-22, no-win situation. Darned if you do, darned if you don't.
Okay, now I'm just getting frustrated. Ignore my ramblings and go on about your business.
I'm approaching 40, and the thought of becoming a parent at my age would horrify me, much less 60.Yes I know, some women want to put off having a family until they've had their careers. But this woman already has two grown children, not to mention another child that was 6 or so. I suppose it's one thing if she had gotten pregnant "accidentally", you know, "the old fashioned way", but she had help from a fertility doctor. At some point we there needs to be some limits set on what's an appropriate age to start a family.
Some will argue that she'll be 78 when the twins graduate high school, how does she even know if she'll live that long? Well, how does a 20 year old mother know she'll be alive at 38 to see her child graduate? She doesn't! Trust me, I see young (under the age of 50) people pass through this funeral home all the time that leave behind underage children. Life carries no guarantees.
So then you're probably wondering what I'm outraged by... well, I'm not sure I could even explain, it's just too complicated to put into words, but it just doesn't seem right.
There are so many children out there in orphanages in need of a good, loving home, why not adopt? Yet, so many of these adoption agencies automatically reject you if you're over the age of 40, because they consider you "too old". Now that I think IS outrageous!! It's kind of a catch-22, no-win situation. Darned if you do, darned if you don't.
Okay, now I'm just getting frustrated. Ignore my ramblings and go on about your business.
P.O.O.L.
Acronyms... they are such a common item in our everyday vocabulary. Created either to shorten a long name/title, thus saving time, or to be "catchy" so that people will remember the name. Example: MADD... Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Sometimes they're created simply because of our laziness in typing/texting one another, and they've now become part of our spoken vocabulary. For example: TMI... too much information
Then there are the other acronyms designed to be witty, such as FORD... Found On Road Dead, or Fix Or Repair Daily, or BOAT... Bring On Another Thousand
So speaking of bringing on another thousand...
We opened our pool up this past week, and as is typical, something major has gone wrong with it. We got the cover removed without incident, pipes connected, filled with water, plugged in and vacuumed out, and then.... things started to go wrong.
Sand started spewing out the return line. Not a good thing.
We went to Leslie's Pool Sply. last night for help with diagnosing the problem. We were advised to remove the top from the multi-port valve and inspect the spider-gasket, and if that wasn't the problem, then to check the "fingers" located inside of the filter. **sigh**
This involves removing the top from the filter, then removing the "finger" gadget, which I didn't help install, thus I would have no idea how it operates. The husband however did help, but managed to forget that the fingers fold up for easy removal from the tank, and thus proceeded to try and unscrew all the fingers, managing to break 4 of them in the process. Nice. At about $15 each, there's an automatic $60 repair. Ah what the heck, may as well go on and order an extra one to have on hand... just in case. Make that $75.
Okay, so the real problem, before the broken fingers, turned out to be the long pipe, about 2 1/2 feet long, that runs from the multi-port valve down to the fingers. I reckon this is what carries the water to and fro. Somehow, this pipe was so destroyed up inside the multi-port valve, that it needs to be replaced. Have no idea how it happened or how much that's going to cost. Hopefully the husband can get the necessary parts ordered this evening, and they'll be here in a few days.
In the meantime, the pool sits, full of water, less the inch or so we lost do to our unexpected maintenance, stagnating. In the event that we're able to reassemble everything without anything else breaking, maybe we'll actually get to enjoy the pool by mid-June.
Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention... in order to re-insert the finger thingy, we (that reads "I") will have to remove all the sand from the filter (this process takes a lot longer than the 20 or 30 minutes the pool-guy hinted at... trust me, I've done it before!!), then once the fingers are in place, refill the filter. GRRRR!!!
So I'm now trying to come up with an acronym for POOL. Something catchy that hints at the major investment these things are, the headaches they create, and the money they suck out of the bank account each year.
Anybody got any suggestions??????
Sometimes they're created simply because of our laziness in typing/texting one another, and they've now become part of our spoken vocabulary. For example: TMI... too much information
Then there are the other acronyms designed to be witty, such as FORD... Found On Road Dead, or Fix Or Repair Daily, or BOAT... Bring On Another Thousand
So speaking of bringing on another thousand...
We opened our pool up this past week, and as is typical, something major has gone wrong with it. We got the cover removed without incident, pipes connected, filled with water, plugged in and vacuumed out, and then.... things started to go wrong.
Sand started spewing out the return line. Not a good thing.
We went to Leslie's Pool Sply. last night for help with diagnosing the problem. We were advised to remove the top from the multi-port valve and inspect the spider-gasket, and if that wasn't the problem, then to check the "fingers" located inside of the filter. **sigh**
This involves removing the top from the filter, then removing the "finger" gadget, which I didn't help install, thus I would have no idea how it operates. The husband however did help, but managed to forget that the fingers fold up for easy removal from the tank, and thus proceeded to try and unscrew all the fingers, managing to break 4 of them in the process. Nice. At about $15 each, there's an automatic $60 repair. Ah what the heck, may as well go on and order an extra one to have on hand... just in case. Make that $75.
Okay, so the real problem, before the broken fingers, turned out to be the long pipe, about 2 1/2 feet long, that runs from the multi-port valve down to the fingers. I reckon this is what carries the water to and fro. Somehow, this pipe was so destroyed up inside the multi-port valve, that it needs to be replaced. Have no idea how it happened or how much that's going to cost. Hopefully the husband can get the necessary parts ordered this evening, and they'll be here in a few days.
In the meantime, the pool sits, full of water, less the inch or so we lost do to our unexpected maintenance, stagnating. In the event that we're able to reassemble everything without anything else breaking, maybe we'll actually get to enjoy the pool by mid-June.
Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention... in order to re-insert the finger thingy, we (that reads "I") will have to remove all the sand from the filter (this process takes a lot longer than the 20 or 30 minutes the pool-guy hinted at... trust me, I've done it before!!), then once the fingers are in place, refill the filter. GRRRR!!!
So I'm now trying to come up with an acronym for POOL. Something catchy that hints at the major investment these things are, the headaches they create, and the money they suck out of the bank account each year.
Anybody got any suggestions??????
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Memory-photos
Our eyes and the things we see are like a camera and film for the memory. Or something like that.
Ever see your kids/pets doing something so darned adorable that you wish you could get a picture of it? Only you don't have a camera at hand to take the picture, or if you move to go and get the camera, then the kids/pets move or stop doing what they were doing, and the precious opportunity is lost. Therefore the image has to remain forever in our memory, never to be developed into a photograph to share with the rest of the world.
These are precious images that are ours and ours alone to reflect upon. Enjoy them.
I bring all this up because my "kids" were being so darned adorable this morning. Even if I could've gotten to the camera without disturbing them, a photo wouldn't have done justice to the moment, so I'll just keep the vision in my head as a memory-photo. Fortunately though, the husband saw it too, so it's a "photo" we'll be able to look back upon together sometime.
Recently, Bootsy & Eliott (though mostly Bootsy) have taken to going into the dog crate to sleep and seek refuge from the chaos (a.k.a. Olivia) that lives outside the crate. Even on occasion Olivia will go in the crate also.
We've taken to leaving the door of the crate open so they can come and go as they please, simply because we got tired of listening to Bootsy paw relentlessly at the door in an effort to open it if it was locked and she wanted in.
This morning, for reasons we're not sure of, Eliott & Bootsy both sought refuge in the crate, together. They were curled up next to each other, leaving Olivia alone to gaze in at them with her head cocked to the side, as if trying to figure out why she was being snubbed.
Most of you that read this will probably think I'm "mental" for telling you all this, but seriously, I guess you just had to have been there, because it was just so darned cute of them.
Ever see your kids/pets doing something so darned adorable that you wish you could get a picture of it? Only you don't have a camera at hand to take the picture, or if you move to go and get the camera, then the kids/pets move or stop doing what they were doing, and the precious opportunity is lost. Therefore the image has to remain forever in our memory, never to be developed into a photograph to share with the rest of the world.
These are precious images that are ours and ours alone to reflect upon. Enjoy them.
I bring all this up because my "kids" were being so darned adorable this morning. Even if I could've gotten to the camera without disturbing them, a photo wouldn't have done justice to the moment, so I'll just keep the vision in my head as a memory-photo. Fortunately though, the husband saw it too, so it's a "photo" we'll be able to look back upon together sometime.
Recently, Bootsy & Eliott (though mostly Bootsy) have taken to going into the dog crate to sleep and seek refuge from the chaos (a.k.a. Olivia) that lives outside the crate. Even on occasion Olivia will go in the crate also.
We've taken to leaving the door of the crate open so they can come and go as they please, simply because we got tired of listening to Bootsy paw relentlessly at the door in an effort to open it if it was locked and she wanted in.
This morning, for reasons we're not sure of, Eliott & Bootsy both sought refuge in the crate, together. They were curled up next to each other, leaving Olivia alone to gaze in at them with her head cocked to the side, as if trying to figure out why she was being snubbed.
Most of you that read this will probably think I'm "mental" for telling you all this, but seriously, I guess you just had to have been there, because it was just so darned cute of them.
Having a blast
As I've traveled the roads around my home and work the past few days, I've seen several orange constructions signs, warning drivers that they're entering a blasting zone, and asking that they please turn off all 2-way radios and cell-phones.
I find these signs humorous.
Do they (the creators and placers of these signs) really think that the general public is going to turn their precious cell-phones off for 1000 feet on the highway (a matter of seconds considering the way most of us drive), when so many of us won't even turn them off to watch a movie at the theater, or while attending church services, or while attending funeral services, or while at the hospital/doctors offices even though there are signs posted everywhere asking that we not use them?
Give me a break!
Most drivers are too busy holding their cell-phones with one hand, changing gears with the other, in addition to applying make-up &/or shaving, and reading either the newspaper or a map, in addition to eating our meals-on-the-go (where do all extra hands come from?), to even notice the warning signs, much less heed them.
So I keep wondering when it's going to happen that I'll be driving down the road, minding my own business, when an unexpected incoming phone call will detonate the explosives along the highway, and we'll all be blasted off the road.
I find these signs humorous.
Do they (the creators and placers of these signs) really think that the general public is going to turn their precious cell-phones off for 1000 feet on the highway (a matter of seconds considering the way most of us drive), when so many of us won't even turn them off to watch a movie at the theater, or while attending church services, or while attending funeral services, or while at the hospital/doctors offices even though there are signs posted everywhere asking that we not use them?
Give me a break!
Most drivers are too busy holding their cell-phones with one hand, changing gears with the other, in addition to applying make-up &/or shaving, and reading either the newspaper or a map, in addition to eating our meals-on-the-go (where do all extra hands come from?), to even notice the warning signs, much less heed them.
So I keep wondering when it's going to happen that I'll be driving down the road, minding my own business, when an unexpected incoming phone call will detonate the explosives along the highway, and we'll all be blasted off the road.
Health & wellness
I learned a new word today, and I'm almost sorry I did. It's so complicated.
Except for 8th grade science, which focused on chemistry, I took no other chemistry, I didn't study molecular science, or bio-technical stuff.
I know where babies come from, and I know that 2 parts Hydrogen and 1 part Oxygen make water, so I feel I'm doing good. Science just always booooorrrrred me to tears.
My new word is: TOCOPHEROLS, or, to be more precise, mixed tocopherols.
I came across this word while looking at a nutrition and ingredient label on a can of Campbell's Veg. Beef soup.
I'd never heard or seen the word before, so being the curious person I am, I Googled it.
Well, as I've already stated, science bores me. My eyes glaze over, I develop a steady humming in my ears that blocks out anyone lecturing on science, and my mind starts to wander. So needless to say, I didn't read a whole lot of what was on the 3 or 4 websites I clicked on. They started getting too scientific. But, what little I did gather is that is has something to do with Vitamin E.
So I ask you, why couldn't they just put "Vitamin E" on the label? It would've satisfied me, and not sent me on a wild goose chase.
---
The whole reason I was reading the nutrition label is that I finally got the results of my recent cholesterol test back. It's slightly elevated... not a lot, just a little. I actually figured it would be sky-high, but it wasn't too bad. Cholesterol has never been anything I've worried about or watched when I ate, whether I was dieting or not. So in the past few days, I started looking at labels, trying to figure out where I might be able to scale back just a bit.
I had thought for sure that all the potato chips I consume was a big factor, they are one of the major food-groups in my daily fare. Imagine my surprise that my potato chips are cholesterol free. Actually, very few of the things I've been looking at have cholesterol.
Butter yes, margarine no.
Cheese yes, skim milk very little.
It seems for every health program out there, there is another one that totally contradicts it.
If you do the Atkins diet (all meat and cheese basically), then it would seem you're loading up on cholesterol.
If you want to avoid the cholesterol, eat your veggies, but then you're loading up on carbs.
What to do, what to do???
I guess the old saying of a "balanced diet" would be best.
But I just don't know if I can give up my potato chips... can I count them as a vegetable? And if they're cheese flavored, can I then count them as a dairy product as well? :(
Except for 8th grade science, which focused on chemistry, I took no other chemistry, I didn't study molecular science, or bio-technical stuff.
I know where babies come from, and I know that 2 parts Hydrogen and 1 part Oxygen make water, so I feel I'm doing good. Science just always booooorrrrred me to tears.
My new word is: TOCOPHEROLS, or, to be more precise, mixed tocopherols.
I came across this word while looking at a nutrition and ingredient label on a can of Campbell's Veg. Beef soup.
I'd never heard or seen the word before, so being the curious person I am, I Googled it.
Well, as I've already stated, science bores me. My eyes glaze over, I develop a steady humming in my ears that blocks out anyone lecturing on science, and my mind starts to wander. So needless to say, I didn't read a whole lot of what was on the 3 or 4 websites I clicked on. They started getting too scientific. But, what little I did gather is that is has something to do with Vitamin E.
So I ask you, why couldn't they just put "Vitamin E" on the label? It would've satisfied me, and not sent me on a wild goose chase.
---
The whole reason I was reading the nutrition label is that I finally got the results of my recent cholesterol test back. It's slightly elevated... not a lot, just a little. I actually figured it would be sky-high, but it wasn't too bad. Cholesterol has never been anything I've worried about or watched when I ate, whether I was dieting or not. So in the past few days, I started looking at labels, trying to figure out where I might be able to scale back just a bit.
I had thought for sure that all the potato chips I consume was a big factor, they are one of the major food-groups in my daily fare. Imagine my surprise that my potato chips are cholesterol free. Actually, very few of the things I've been looking at have cholesterol.
Butter yes, margarine no.
Cheese yes, skim milk very little.
It seems for every health program out there, there is another one that totally contradicts it.
If you do the Atkins diet (all meat and cheese basically), then it would seem you're loading up on cholesterol.
If you want to avoid the cholesterol, eat your veggies, but then you're loading up on carbs.
What to do, what to do???
I guess the old saying of a "balanced diet" would be best.
But I just don't know if I can give up my potato chips... can I count them as a vegetable? And if they're cheese flavored, can I then count them as a dairy product as well? :(
Thursday, May 17, 2007
2-day vacation
I just spent two vacation days that I almost wish I could "take back". They weren't the most enjoyable days I've ever spent. However, even a bad day away from the office is better than a good day at work anytime!!
Tuesday, the husband & I went to the Louisville Zoo. This is something I had been looking forward to for several weeks. I packed us a picnic lunch, and we arrived amid several bus loads of school children arriving for their field trips. But even that didn't dampen my spirits. I expected there would be a lot of them there. All in all though, it really wasn't too crowded.
First came the sticker-shock! I couldn't believe how much ticket prices had gone up since our last visit. Tickets are now $10.95/adult. Fortunately, they do give 10% discounts to AAA members, so that saved us a little dough.
We toured the zoo in reverse. Always (and I do mean ALWAYS) in the past, we've gone clockwise, but this time, we went counter-clockwise. We were both disappointed in most of the animals we saw, or perhaps I should say, the lack of animals we saw. There was only 1 polar bear, 1 tiger, 0 wolves, never saw any leopards or cheetahs (assuming the zoo even has them). We did see the new baby elephant (only on display from 10-12 & 2-4). The mountain goat & babboons are gone. The pen is still there, but some other animal is now in their place, and they were disappointing to watch. The gorillas were a disappointment. We did get to see an orangutan pee on itself. ooohhh-ahhhhhh
Normally there are peacocks running wild all over the place. We saw only 1 the whole day.
And we both thought the carousel, playground and waterpark that have been added since our last visit were a ridiculous waste of space and resources that could be better spent on the animals.
Just before blogging this, I sent a long email to the Lou. Zoo telling them how disappointed we were with our visit.
I think I'll reserve my future zoo trips for either Cinci. or St. Louis.
The hi-lite of our afternoon was spreading out a blanket and eating our picnic lunch on the hillside, and watching an Amish (Menonite?) family and their small children.
After we arrived home, my sinus' were in such an uproar, I took 2 Benadryl and spent the next 17 hours in bed. When I awoke, my back hurt so bad, I was almost ready to beg for an epidural.
The back & sinus' are marginally better this morning, and I'm back to work. ho-hum
final note: I'm sure there are more than a few misspelled words in this blog, but for some unknown reason, my spell-check isn't working.
Tuesday, the husband & I went to the Louisville Zoo. This is something I had been looking forward to for several weeks. I packed us a picnic lunch, and we arrived amid several bus loads of school children arriving for their field trips. But even that didn't dampen my spirits. I expected there would be a lot of them there. All in all though, it really wasn't too crowded.
First came the sticker-shock! I couldn't believe how much ticket prices had gone up since our last visit. Tickets are now $10.95/adult. Fortunately, they do give 10% discounts to AAA members, so that saved us a little dough.
We toured the zoo in reverse. Always (and I do mean ALWAYS) in the past, we've gone clockwise, but this time, we went counter-clockwise. We were both disappointed in most of the animals we saw, or perhaps I should say, the lack of animals we saw. There was only 1 polar bear, 1 tiger, 0 wolves, never saw any leopards or cheetahs (assuming the zoo even has them). We did see the new baby elephant (only on display from 10-12 & 2-4). The mountain goat & babboons are gone. The pen is still there, but some other animal is now in their place, and they were disappointing to watch. The gorillas were a disappointment. We did get to see an orangutan pee on itself. ooohhh-ahhhhhh
Normally there are peacocks running wild all over the place. We saw only 1 the whole day.
And we both thought the carousel, playground and waterpark that have been added since our last visit were a ridiculous waste of space and resources that could be better spent on the animals.
Just before blogging this, I sent a long email to the Lou. Zoo telling them how disappointed we were with our visit.
I think I'll reserve my future zoo trips for either Cinci. or St. Louis.
The hi-lite of our afternoon was spreading out a blanket and eating our picnic lunch on the hillside, and watching an Amish (Menonite?) family and their small children.
After we arrived home, my sinus' were in such an uproar, I took 2 Benadryl and spent the next 17 hours in bed. When I awoke, my back hurt so bad, I was almost ready to beg for an epidural.
The back & sinus' are marginally better this morning, and I'm back to work. ho-hum
final note: I'm sure there are more than a few misspelled words in this blog, but for some unknown reason, my spell-check isn't working.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Weekend in review
Once the husband clocked-out on Saturday afternoon, he was officially on vacation. I sent him packing to stay with his family in Lebanon, and visit with his mother for a couple of days for Mother's Day. My present to her.
I had a luncheon date with an old classmate. We'd hoped more of the girls of '86 would show up, but that's okay, the two of us spent 90 minutes chatting and laughing ourselves silly. I had a great time! I wonder how many calories you can burn by laughing & crying??
Since the every-other-month get-togethers with my fellow female classmates hasn't had the participation I'd hoped for, I reckon this was our last planned get-together. The few of us that do keep in touch can just get together whenever, wherever, and as often as we like. It's just too much like work trying to please everyone and fit everyones schedules. The rest are on their own from now on.
For Mother's Day, I met up with my mother in Lebanon Jct. and from there we headed south to Glasgow, the small town where her parents were from and are buried. Sunday would've also been her mother's 94th birthday, so we made it a Mother's Day/Birthday trip to the cemetery to place flowers. The other women in the family were invited, but with the exception of my cousin and her family, all others declined. That's okay though, the seven of us had a good time visiting, "playing" at Ft. William that overlooks the cemetery, and then having lunch at Cracker Barrel.
My back was aching by the end of the day... #1) from the long car ride, #2) from standing on my feet so long while we waited for a table, and #3) my knee hurt terribly from sitting at the table so long without being able to move my legs. Guess that's the price I pay for getting older.
When I arrived home, my children celebrated Mother's Day by throwing confetti all over the house... sort of. One (or more) of the dogs had shredded up some store-ads and coupons all over the place. Once that mess was cleaned up, children pottied and fed, I headed out on a 3 mile walk to work out some of the kinks.
I hope everyone of you had a happy Mother's Day as well.
I had a luncheon date with an old classmate. We'd hoped more of the girls of '86 would show up, but that's okay, the two of us spent 90 minutes chatting and laughing ourselves silly. I had a great time! I wonder how many calories you can burn by laughing & crying??
Since the every-other-month get-togethers with my fellow female classmates hasn't had the participation I'd hoped for, I reckon this was our last planned get-together. The few of us that do keep in touch can just get together whenever, wherever, and as often as we like. It's just too much like work trying to please everyone and fit everyones schedules. The rest are on their own from now on.
For Mother's Day, I met up with my mother in Lebanon Jct. and from there we headed south to Glasgow, the small town where her parents were from and are buried. Sunday would've also been her mother's 94th birthday, so we made it a Mother's Day/Birthday trip to the cemetery to place flowers. The other women in the family were invited, but with the exception of my cousin and her family, all others declined. That's okay though, the seven of us had a good time visiting, "playing" at Ft. William that overlooks the cemetery, and then having lunch at Cracker Barrel.
My back was aching by the end of the day... #1) from the long car ride, #2) from standing on my feet so long while we waited for a table, and #3) my knee hurt terribly from sitting at the table so long without being able to move my legs. Guess that's the price I pay for getting older.
When I arrived home, my children celebrated Mother's Day by throwing confetti all over the house... sort of. One (or more) of the dogs had shredded up some store-ads and coupons all over the place. Once that mess was cleaned up, children pottied and fed, I headed out on a 3 mile walk to work out some of the kinks.
I hope everyone of you had a happy Mother's Day as well.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Pet Peeves
I've got a few pet peeves I'd like to mention... some new, some not so new.
#1) Turn signals and some peoples inability to use them properly, if they use them at all.
Come on people, that little "branch" sticking out from the left side of your steering column is there for a reason. And those little blinking lights on the four corners of your auto, they aren't just for decorative purposes.
Learn to use them!! And, might I add, use them correctly!!
You are supposed to indicate your intentions to turn, before starting your turn. Once you've started to veer from the straight path you were on, the rest of us have pretty much figured out that you're changing directions, and by then it's pointless to push that little stick up or down.
#2) Rhetorical questions.
This should actually be #1 on my all-time pet-peeve list.
I hate them!!
However, unfortunately, I'm guilty of using them also. Although I dare say, not nearly as much as most people.
Why is it we are raised to ask people when we first greet them, "how are you doing?".... and then we expect a reply of "fine thanks, and you?"?
Rarely do I greet people that way, and if I do, it's because I genuinely want to know how they've been doing.
I don't toss my "how are you's?" around lightly.
It probably irks a lot of people, and they probably immediately chalk me up as having bad manners because, if they ask me first, I'm liable to actually tell them how I am instead of giving a standard "fine", and then more often than not, I don't inquire of their well being in return.
If I don't reply with a "... and how are you?", it's probably because I could care less, or just really don't want to be bothered with the details at that moment. Sorry, don't mean to sound so cold and uncaring, I'm just being brutally honest. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't care about them as a person (maybe I do, maybe I don't) it's just that at that moment, I don't care to hear about their issues and in all honesty, they probably aren't going to tell me, instead, answering with the standard reply of "fine" which means we've both just wasted our breath and 20 seconds of our time. So why bother??
So I wish people could just greet one another with "hello" and then move on to the real conversation at hand.
Another rhetorical question that gripes me to no end is "what are your plans for the weekend?" or "how was your weekend?".
This question, exchanged between really good friends/family, is usually legitimate. When asked by other people passing through our lives, it's one of two things: an empty question designed to create meaningless conversation, or it's someone being nosey. Either way, I don't like it. If I wanted you to know, I'd volunteer the information.
Sometimes when I do answer the query of "how was your weekend", I'll proceed to tell that person, only to have them ask a few minutes later either, "huh?" or "so how was your weekend?"
Um, didn't we just have this conversation? No, I guess not, because you weren't listening (as usual), and I just wasted my breath, and I'm not going to repeat myself, and now you probably think I'm copping an attitude because I only grunt at you in reply. Arghhh!!
#3)Run-on talkers.
What's a run-on talker you ask? Much like a hit-and-run driver that causes an accident, then keeps on driving without looking back or stopping to make sure everything is okay.
Arunontalkerissomeonethatabsolutelydoesn't"comeupforair"andjusttalksandtalksandtalksandneverlet'syougetawordinedgewiseThey'llaskyouaquestionyetnevergiveyouachancetoanswerbecausethey'vealreadymovedontothenextthoughtontheirmind. Whew!
Yeah, I know, occasionally we're all guilty of it, especially if we're excited about something. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about those that do it ALL the time!! Give other's a chance to contribute to the conversation.
#1) Turn signals and some peoples inability to use them properly, if they use them at all.
Come on people, that little "branch" sticking out from the left side of your steering column is there for a reason. And those little blinking lights on the four corners of your auto, they aren't just for decorative purposes.
Learn to use them!! And, might I add, use them correctly!!
You are supposed to indicate your intentions to turn, before starting your turn. Once you've started to veer from the straight path you were on, the rest of us have pretty much figured out that you're changing directions, and by then it's pointless to push that little stick up or down.
#2) Rhetorical questions.
This should actually be #1 on my all-time pet-peeve list.
I hate them!!
However, unfortunately, I'm guilty of using them also. Although I dare say, not nearly as much as most people.
Why is it we are raised to ask people when we first greet them, "how are you doing?".... and then we expect a reply of "fine thanks, and you?"?
Rarely do I greet people that way, and if I do, it's because I genuinely want to know how they've been doing.
I don't toss my "how are you's?" around lightly.
It probably irks a lot of people, and they probably immediately chalk me up as having bad manners because, if they ask me first, I'm liable to actually tell them how I am instead of giving a standard "fine", and then more often than not, I don't inquire of their well being in return.
If I don't reply with a "... and how are you?", it's probably because I could care less, or just really don't want to be bothered with the details at that moment. Sorry, don't mean to sound so cold and uncaring, I'm just being brutally honest. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't care about them as a person (maybe I do, maybe I don't) it's just that at that moment, I don't care to hear about their issues and in all honesty, they probably aren't going to tell me, instead, answering with the standard reply of "fine" which means we've both just wasted our breath and 20 seconds of our time. So why bother??
So I wish people could just greet one another with "hello" and then move on to the real conversation at hand.
Another rhetorical question that gripes me to no end is "what are your plans for the weekend?" or "how was your weekend?".
This question, exchanged between really good friends/family, is usually legitimate. When asked by other people passing through our lives, it's one of two things: an empty question designed to create meaningless conversation, or it's someone being nosey. Either way, I don't like it. If I wanted you to know, I'd volunteer the information.
Sometimes when I do answer the query of "how was your weekend", I'll proceed to tell that person, only to have them ask a few minutes later either, "huh?" or "so how was your weekend?"
Um, didn't we just have this conversation? No, I guess not, because you weren't listening (as usual), and I just wasted my breath, and I'm not going to repeat myself, and now you probably think I'm copping an attitude because I only grunt at you in reply. Arghhh!!
#3)Run-on talkers.
What's a run-on talker you ask? Much like a hit-and-run driver that causes an accident, then keeps on driving without looking back or stopping to make sure everything is okay.
Arunontalkerissomeonethatabsolutelydoesn't"comeupforair"andjusttalksandtalksandtalksandneverlet'syougetawordinedgewiseThey'llaskyouaquestionyetnevergiveyouachancetoanswerbecausethey'vealreadymovedontothenextthoughtontheirmind. Whew!
Yeah, I know, occasionally we're all guilty of it, especially if we're excited about something. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about those that do it ALL the time!! Give other's a chance to contribute to the conversation.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
I'm growing
I'm "growing", and not just wider. ; )
I had four doctors appointments yesterday, count 'em, 1,2,3,FOUR!
I started out at doctor #1, my new pcp (haven't had one of those in 20 years!). I liked her. Looking at her, she reminded me of a former neighbor I miss having. I was weighed (don't want to go there), my height checked, blood taken from the left arm to check my cholesterol, and sent on my merry way.
Okay, they checked my height. I had on flat of sandals. I measured in at an even 6 feet tall. The nurse took off a 1/2" for the sandals, leaving me at 5'11 & a half". I've grown since last summer!! Seriously! Well, maybe not exactly "grown". I reckon these past 9 months of going to the chiropractor and getting decompressed 3 times a week, has done some good, and not just in the area of pain. It's stretched me out, made me stand taller (like I really needed that?). When the doctor checked my height last July, I was 5'10", so I've gained a whole inch and a half. Guess that just means my pants will look even more like high-waters than before. Oh well!
On to the 2nd appointment... the dentist. I went, not only for my 6 month check-up, but to get this filling replaced for the 3rd time in less than a year. Grumble, grumble. Hopefully this will be the last time! I told the dentist afterwards that the numbing he gave me was like an epidural for the mouth... scratch that, make it the whole right side of my face. I couldn't feel my lips, chin, cheek, jaw, nothing! All day long I kept getting an itchy feeling below my lip, and I'd try to scratch, but I couldn't feel myself scratching, so the itch remained and it was maddening!!
Once feeling finally returned about 6 hours later, I discovered I'd only bitten my tongue once that I had been unaware of, and apparently not too awfully bad (this time).
Doctor #3, was the pain mgt. doctor. He is very happy with my progress, as am I. I'm supposed to go back one more time in three months, and then he should "cut me loose". Life is good.
I did sit and wait for an hour for this doctor, and I kept checking my watch, wondering if I was going to have to walk-out, as I had another appt. to get to. Fortunately I got out and made it to appt. #4 on time.
So yet another new doctor, although I swear I've seen this guy somewhere before, 'though I've not figured out where. I liked him. I think I'll keep him as a back-up in case the first doctor doesn't work out or isn't available for any reason.
I had an EKG ran, and the doctor said it was perfect. And barring any negative news from the blood I had taken from the right arm (I now feel like a pin cushion), he said I'm perfectly healthy. He was impressed with the fact that I usually walk 2-4 miles every evening.
Perfectly healthy. Hmmm.
Makes you wonder why I worry about my weight so much?! Guess it's just a self-image thing!
I suppose my insurance company is going to have a field-day with allt he medical claims they'll be receiving from everything I had done yesterday. Oh well, that's why they get such a large chunk of my husband's paycheck every week. : )
I had four doctors appointments yesterday, count 'em, 1,2,3,FOUR!
I started out at doctor #1, my new pcp (haven't had one of those in 20 years!). I liked her. Looking at her, she reminded me of a former neighbor I miss having. I was weighed (don't want to go there), my height checked, blood taken from the left arm to check my cholesterol, and sent on my merry way.
Okay, they checked my height. I had on flat of sandals. I measured in at an even 6 feet tall. The nurse took off a 1/2" for the sandals, leaving me at 5'11 & a half". I've grown since last summer!! Seriously! Well, maybe not exactly "grown". I reckon these past 9 months of going to the chiropractor and getting decompressed 3 times a week, has done some good, and not just in the area of pain. It's stretched me out, made me stand taller (like I really needed that?). When the doctor checked my height last July, I was 5'10", so I've gained a whole inch and a half. Guess that just means my pants will look even more like high-waters than before. Oh well!
On to the 2nd appointment... the dentist. I went, not only for my 6 month check-up, but to get this filling replaced for the 3rd time in less than a year. Grumble, grumble. Hopefully this will be the last time! I told the dentist afterwards that the numbing he gave me was like an epidural for the mouth... scratch that, make it the whole right side of my face. I couldn't feel my lips, chin, cheek, jaw, nothing! All day long I kept getting an itchy feeling below my lip, and I'd try to scratch, but I couldn't feel myself scratching, so the itch remained and it was maddening!!
Once feeling finally returned about 6 hours later, I discovered I'd only bitten my tongue once that I had been unaware of, and apparently not too awfully bad (this time).
Doctor #3, was the pain mgt. doctor. He is very happy with my progress, as am I. I'm supposed to go back one more time in three months, and then he should "cut me loose". Life is good.
I did sit and wait for an hour for this doctor, and I kept checking my watch, wondering if I was going to have to walk-out, as I had another appt. to get to. Fortunately I got out and made it to appt. #4 on time.
So yet another new doctor, although I swear I've seen this guy somewhere before, 'though I've not figured out where. I liked him. I think I'll keep him as a back-up in case the first doctor doesn't work out or isn't available for any reason.
I had an EKG ran, and the doctor said it was perfect. And barring any negative news from the blood I had taken from the right arm (I now feel like a pin cushion), he said I'm perfectly healthy. He was impressed with the fact that I usually walk 2-4 miles every evening.
Perfectly healthy. Hmmm.
Makes you wonder why I worry about my weight so much?! Guess it's just a self-image thing!
I suppose my insurance company is going to have a field-day with allt he medical claims they'll be receiving from everything I had done yesterday. Oh well, that's why they get such a large chunk of my husband's paycheck every week. : )
Monday, May 07, 2007
The animal kingdom
Men fit nicely into the animal kingdom. Seriously.
So many of them are Pigs, Jack Asses, Rats, &/or Snakes.
Need I say more?
So many of them are Pigs, Jack Asses, Rats, &/or Snakes.
Need I say more?
Thursday, May 03, 2007
A different world
15 miles doesn't sound like much... not a great distance... but 15 miles is like the difference between night and day in certain aspects.
I live on the edge (in the suburbs) of a rather large city, #16 in the USA if I'm not mistaken with a population of 1 million people ++. However, I work just 15 miles from my home in the next county, in a small town of 10,000 people +/-. It's a sleepy little town, everybody knows everybody else, not to mention knowing everybody else's business as well.
There is a Walmart less than 1 mile behind my home. I'm in there every week, often 3 or 4 times a week.
With the exception of a handful of people that stick around for a while, the store has a large turn-over rate in employees (trust me, I'm one of those turn-overs). You don't often see the same faces from one month to the next, and the ones you do see all look bored, sullen, or indifferent, and you can tell they'd rather be anywhere but where they are (again, trust me, I speak from personal experience). Most, not all, but most of the employees are of a class of people that seem to care less about customer service. Once they punch the time clock, they spend the next 6-8 hours looking at their watch, waiting 'til time for a break or time to punch out.
15 miles away, in this little town I work in, there is also a Walmart. I don't often have reason to go in there, but on the occasions I do, it's just like walking into a Walmart on a different planet. The workers are friendlier, more helpful, more cheerful, more polite, and just generally make the shopping experience there much more enjoyable. Whether you're there for one or two items or a whole buggy full, you just leave there in a better mood... or at least, I do.
Most of the workers at the LaGrange store are the locals that know most everyone that comes in because they either live near, go to church/school with, or are related to them. I suppose that's a large part of what makes the difference. They are mostly country folk, and well, we all know that country-folk are usually just friendlier.
I may have to start doing all my grocery shopping in LaGrange when I get off work, just so I can have a more enjoyable experience.
I live on the edge (in the suburbs) of a rather large city, #16 in the USA if I'm not mistaken with a population of 1 million people ++. However, I work just 15 miles from my home in the next county, in a small town of 10,000 people +/-. It's a sleepy little town, everybody knows everybody else, not to mention knowing everybody else's business as well.
There is a Walmart less than 1 mile behind my home. I'm in there every week, often 3 or 4 times a week.
With the exception of a handful of people that stick around for a while, the store has a large turn-over rate in employees (trust me, I'm one of those turn-overs). You don't often see the same faces from one month to the next, and the ones you do see all look bored, sullen, or indifferent, and you can tell they'd rather be anywhere but where they are (again, trust me, I speak from personal experience). Most, not all, but most of the employees are of a class of people that seem to care less about customer service. Once they punch the time clock, they spend the next 6-8 hours looking at their watch, waiting 'til time for a break or time to punch out.
15 miles away, in this little town I work in, there is also a Walmart. I don't often have reason to go in there, but on the occasions I do, it's just like walking into a Walmart on a different planet. The workers are friendlier, more helpful, more cheerful, more polite, and just generally make the shopping experience there much more enjoyable. Whether you're there for one or two items or a whole buggy full, you just leave there in a better mood... or at least, I do.
Most of the workers at the LaGrange store are the locals that know most everyone that comes in because they either live near, go to church/school with, or are related to them. I suppose that's a large part of what makes the difference. They are mostly country folk, and well, we all know that country-folk are usually just friendlier.
I may have to start doing all my grocery shopping in LaGrange when I get off work, just so I can have a more enjoyable experience.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Flashback fear!
I had a flashback last night, and it shot a lightning bolt of fear through me. For those of you that are my dedicated readers, you may remember a blog I wrote on April 13th of 2006 titled "Held Prisoner". I had written about some coo-coo woman named "Libby" and her poopy-butt-caked dog.
To my point... I was walking one of the dogs last night and as I was returning to our side of the neighborhood, ahead in the distance , just one house past my own, I saw a gold colored car (probably an Accord or Camry, something along those lines). This car wasn't quite pulled over to the curb, but instead just kind of parked in the middle of the street. The driver was out of the car, talking to what I thought were just some misfortunates that happened to be walking by.
So for those of you that remember that blog, you know where I'm headed with this story.
From the way the car was parked and the driver was standing there, apparently holding this other couple captive, I feared it was Libby. Darn the luck! My mind was scrambling on how to get into my house without her seeing me. I was already working on excuses for what I hoped would be a quick get-away if I were misfortunate enough to have her see me.
I was sweating bullets, and not from the warm evening air.
Once I'd passed the front edge of our fence, I prepared to cut across our lawn so I could get to the front door as quickly as possible. But then I finally got a better look at the car's driver. It wasn't Libby. I'm not sure who she was, but she had no interest in holding me prisoner. I was much relieved!!
On a slightly separate note...
As I was looking back through last years blogs, looking for this story because I couldn't remember the coo-coo woman's name, I came across another blog I'd written on April 25th. Apparently my youngest child was going through the terrible-two's back then also. I had forgotten about all the things she destroyed back then.
Hmm, maybe she just has spring fever and feels a need to destroy things once warm weather starts to set in.
To my point... I was walking one of the dogs last night and as I was returning to our side of the neighborhood, ahead in the distance , just one house past my own, I saw a gold colored car (probably an Accord or Camry, something along those lines). This car wasn't quite pulled over to the curb, but instead just kind of parked in the middle of the street. The driver was out of the car, talking to what I thought were just some misfortunates that happened to be walking by.
So for those of you that remember that blog, you know where I'm headed with this story.
From the way the car was parked and the driver was standing there, apparently holding this other couple captive, I feared it was Libby. Darn the luck! My mind was scrambling on how to get into my house without her seeing me. I was already working on excuses for what I hoped would be a quick get-away if I were misfortunate enough to have her see me.
I was sweating bullets, and not from the warm evening air.
Once I'd passed the front edge of our fence, I prepared to cut across our lawn so I could get to the front door as quickly as possible. But then I finally got a better look at the car's driver. It wasn't Libby. I'm not sure who she was, but she had no interest in holding me prisoner. I was much relieved!!
On a slightly separate note...
As I was looking back through last years blogs, looking for this story because I couldn't remember the coo-coo woman's name, I came across another blog I'd written on April 25th. Apparently my youngest child was going through the terrible-two's back then also. I had forgotten about all the things she destroyed back then.
Hmm, maybe she just has spring fever and feels a need to destroy things once warm weather starts to set in.
Puzzled
There is a problem, no, make that a CRISIS in this country, that I simply don't understand, and it just leaves me puzzled.
Literacy.
The ability to read and write.
It seems like such a simple thing. We're taught this from the time we enter kindergarden (if not before), so why are there so many adults (and older children) out there that can't read or write? I was talking to a friend the other day that teaches middle school and she was telling me how some of her students complain when she writes in cursive on the board, because they never learned how to read anything but print. How is this possible? I don't know at what age they teach cursive to kids nowadays, but when I was in school, we learned it in 2nd grade.
Back in my day, if you didn't understand things, you failed tests, and ultimately failed a grade, thus having to repeat that school year (sometimes twice) until you either got it right or else were placed in special-education.
I know not everyone is a "scholar" or stand-out student, and not all things come easy for all people, but I simply don't comprehend why our nations students aren't learning the basics.
I know some of you are going to say that I don't understand how "the system" works... and to that I say, "You're darned right!" I don't.
Recently there was a man that passed away in this small town I work in, and he had had ZERO education. Looking back at things in his file he had signed, he had signed them with an "X", indicating his "mark".
I understand that back many, many decades ago, children often didn't go to school, usually because they were from farming families and either lived too far away from the school, or else had to stay at home and help work the farms.
But for the life of me, I can't comprehend why this man's children or grandchildren couldn't at least teach him his ABC's and how to print his name.
I just find it all very sad.
Literacy.
The ability to read and write.
It seems like such a simple thing. We're taught this from the time we enter kindergarden (if not before), so why are there so many adults (and older children) out there that can't read or write? I was talking to a friend the other day that teaches middle school and she was telling me how some of her students complain when she writes in cursive on the board, because they never learned how to read anything but print. How is this possible? I don't know at what age they teach cursive to kids nowadays, but when I was in school, we learned it in 2nd grade.
Back in my day, if you didn't understand things, you failed tests, and ultimately failed a grade, thus having to repeat that school year (sometimes twice) until you either got it right or else were placed in special-education.
I know not everyone is a "scholar" or stand-out student, and not all things come easy for all people, but I simply don't comprehend why our nations students aren't learning the basics.
I know some of you are going to say that I don't understand how "the system" works... and to that I say, "You're darned right!" I don't.
Recently there was a man that passed away in this small town I work in, and he had had ZERO education. Looking back at things in his file he had signed, he had signed them with an "X", indicating his "mark".
I understand that back many, many decades ago, children often didn't go to school, usually because they were from farming families and either lived too far away from the school, or else had to stay at home and help work the farms.
But for the life of me, I can't comprehend why this man's children or grandchildren couldn't at least teach him his ABC's and how to print his name.
I just find it all very sad.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Heart attack victim
As I was taking Livvie out for her final potty-break of the morning, I happened to glance down at the ground before me (thank goodness I did too!!!) and nearly had a heart attack at what I just missed putting my foot down on.
There, lying right beside my car (the driver door no less) was a dead mole. **BLECH!!**
I don't know how Olivia missed stepping on it, but I just did miss it.
I let her finish her business and as I walked her back to the house, I made sure to block the path so that she had to walk wide around the little critter. I put her in the house and went to fetch a plastic bag. I went out through the garage, raised the door and walked over to the little lifeless body. Even with a baggy on my hand, I still couldn't bring myself to pick it up. I grabbed the garden trowel to try and scoop it up, but just couldn't get it scooped up off of the concrete. The whole time I had visions of it playing 'possum and suddenly coming to life and running up the trowel and up my arm. I would become a heart attack victim for sure.
My husband would come home this afternoon, if a neighbor didn't spot me first, lying dead beside my auto, thrown into cardiac arrest by a 2" dead mole.
I could see no outward signs of injury, and while I'm no expert, it's neck didn't appear to be broken (by a neighboring cat). So I was left to wonder what had done the little fella (gal?) in? I wondered if, as it ran across the driveway, heading towards the flower bed, it looked up and saw the Great Dane crossing sign that's posted next to our front porch, and perhaps it had a heart attack at the thought of being stepped on by such a huge beast.
But no, probably not. Moles are blind.
I don't know what caused it's death. Don't rightly care. I finally worked up the nerve and scooped it up in my hand, closed the baggie and tossed it in the trash.
**blech**
There, lying right beside my car (the driver door no less) was a dead mole. **BLECH!!**
I don't know how Olivia missed stepping on it, but I just did miss it.
I let her finish her business and as I walked her back to the house, I made sure to block the path so that she had to walk wide around the little critter. I put her in the house and went to fetch a plastic bag. I went out through the garage, raised the door and walked over to the little lifeless body. Even with a baggy on my hand, I still couldn't bring myself to pick it up. I grabbed the garden trowel to try and scoop it up, but just couldn't get it scooped up off of the concrete. The whole time I had visions of it playing 'possum and suddenly coming to life and running up the trowel and up my arm. I would become a heart attack victim for sure.
My husband would come home this afternoon, if a neighbor didn't spot me first, lying dead beside my auto, thrown into cardiac arrest by a 2" dead mole.
I could see no outward signs of injury, and while I'm no expert, it's neck didn't appear to be broken (by a neighboring cat). So I was left to wonder what had done the little fella (gal?) in? I wondered if, as it ran across the driveway, heading towards the flower bed, it looked up and saw the Great Dane crossing sign that's posted next to our front porch, and perhaps it had a heart attack at the thought of being stepped on by such a huge beast.
But no, probably not. Moles are blind.
I don't know what caused it's death. Don't rightly care. I finally worked up the nerve and scooped it up in my hand, closed the baggie and tossed it in the trash.
**blech**
Picky Eater
As if I weren't a picky enough eater before (now), thanks to a couple of my friends this past week, I'm now just a little bit pickier (pickyer?).
Our little walks in the evening are going to help me lose weight yet. If not from the actual act of exercising, then by the revolting things they tell me.
I figure if I keep letting them tell me about disgusting food items, or things that are done that are referred to by the name of a food, then I'll eventually be so disgusted by almost every edible thing out there, that I'll just eventually stop eating all together and become a stick-figure.
I was so excited when I saw an Arby's was being built in the new shopping center by my house. It just opened up this past week, and I haven't had a chance to go there yet, but it's now a moot point. It's highly unlikely that I'll ever set foot in another Arby's again, as long as I live.
And tossed salads are off the list too. May as well add any & all salad dressings as well.
Thanks girls!
If I can ever return the favor, just let me know!!!
Our little walks in the evening are going to help me lose weight yet. If not from the actual act of exercising, then by the revolting things they tell me.
I figure if I keep letting them tell me about disgusting food items, or things that are done that are referred to by the name of a food, then I'll eventually be so disgusted by almost every edible thing out there, that I'll just eventually stop eating all together and become a stick-figure.
I was so excited when I saw an Arby's was being built in the new shopping center by my house. It just opened up this past week, and I haven't had a chance to go there yet, but it's now a moot point. It's highly unlikely that I'll ever set foot in another Arby's again, as long as I live.
And tossed salads are off the list too. May as well add any & all salad dressings as well.
Thanks girls!
If I can ever return the favor, just let me know!!!
So much hope,
So much promise,
So much potential,
And all it did was get you to this?
Lot's of praise,
Lot's of cheers,
Lot's of encouragement,
But why only in your later years?
Why not when it mattered?
Why just now?
It could've made a difference,
But now we'll never know how.
When the child is young,
And developing the mind,
Growing their interests,
Would it hurt you to be kind?
Try not to trample,
Or crush their dreams,
Because one never knows,
Where their future will lead.
So much promise,
So much potential,
And all it did was get you to this?
Lot's of praise,
Lot's of cheers,
Lot's of encouragement,
But why only in your later years?
Why not when it mattered?
Why just now?
It could've made a difference,
But now we'll never know how.
When the child is young,
And developing the mind,
Growing their interests,
Would it hurt you to be kind?
Try not to trample,
Or crush their dreams,
Because one never knows,
Where their future will lead.
My score
I took a "test" today that was in the USA Weekend from two weeks ago (yes, I'm a little behind in my reading). The title of the article was "What Your Pet Says About You"... hmm, didn't know I should be worried about my pets talking about me.
I hope USA Weekend doesn't mind me posting this test on my blog. I found it quite humorous!
#1) How would you describe your family?
a) clean freaks = 1 pt.
b) moderately clean = 3 pts.
c) a little disorganized - who isn't these days? But at least we try to clean up when people come to visit = 6 pts.
d) chaos is our middle name - and we're not ashamed = 7 pts.
(we're the chaos family!!)
#2) Which matches your family's schedule?
a) we're constantly traveling - the neighbors don't believe anyone lives in our house = zero pts.
b) we're home only in the evening, and even then we're in and out = 3 pts
c) we're busy, but relish the time we spend at home = 4 pts
d) we're homebodies = 6 pts.
(somewhere between a c & d is us)
#3) What is your family's lifestyle?
a) we're retired and unable to do a lot at this time in our lives = 1 pt
b) we're lazy - our idea of exercise is reaching for the remote = 2 pts
c) we're active and like to be outside = 6 pts
d) we like to keep busy, but we're also homebodies = 7 pts
(again, somewhere between a c & d)
#4) Describe the personalities of your household members.
a) like Howard Hughes, we're recluses = 0 pts
b) we're quiet and keep to ourselves, although friends and family members visit = 2 pts
c) we like to get out and make new friends on the street, in the grocery, wherever we are = 6 pts
d) we like to show off what we have - we were the first on our block to get an Xbox 360 = 8 pts
(my husband is a definite C, but then again, while we don't have an xbox, we're the only ones with a pool & the first to have a fire pit, so I guess we're D's)
#5) What is your pet-owning history?
a) we've never had a pet before = 1 pt
b) one of us had a pet as a kid, but not since then = 3 pts
c) we're experienced pet owners, but we have pretty much stuck to dogs & cats = 5 pts
d) we've always had a zoo in our home = 8 pts
(mostly C... but has been a D on a couple of occasions)
#6) How tolerant are you?
a) we're the first to complain about noisy neighbors or trash on the street = 0 pts
b) we're not especially tolerant, but over time we gradually accept change = 3 pts
c) we're tolerant and can pretty much go with the flow = 6 pts
d) we can put up with pretty much anything - throw it at us and we'll find a way to deal with it = 8 pts
(that's a tough one, depends on the situation)
#7) Which describes your sense of humor?
a) we have none = 0 pts
b) we're a pretty serious bunch = 1 pt
c) about average = 5 pts
d) we never get upset - we always laugh it off = 8 pts
(sense of humor?... I have none while the husband is a D)
#8) How does your family dress?
a) we're so conservative, we wear shoes to bed = 0 pts
b) we rarely wear ratty clothes, even at home = 1 pt
c) we're into the latest fashion - if it's chic, we have it = 6 pts
d) we wear jeans and dress down whenever possible = 7 pts
(D, definitely D!!!!)
#9) What are your sleeping habits?
a) we're light sleepers and can't deal with being woken up from a sound sleep = 1 pt
b) we hate to deviate from our sleep schedule. We use weekends to catch up on our zzz's = 2 pts
c) we're night owls and nap during the day = 3 pts
d) we get up at the crack of dawn, or we sleep when we sleep = we're pretty flexible that way = 7 pts.
(can more than one answer apply, because B, C, & D all apply!!)
#10) Which describes yor family's vacation habits?
a) we love our vacations and often travel for weeks or months at a time = 0 pts
b) we travel a lot, but we have many relatives & friends who live nearby = 3 pts
c) we take the whole family on vacation and typically travel by car. We don't stay in fancy places, but we spend lots of time outdoors = 5 pts
d) we pretty much never go anywhere = 8 pts
(vacation? what's a vacation?)
SCORING:
0-9 pts: get a beta fish or a hermit crab - that's about all you can handle
10-28 pts: you're most suited for a feline friend (or two), a gerbil or hamster, or perhaps rescuing a senior dog.
29-42 pts: your best choice is a canine companion (or two). If you scored under 35 pts, one dog and one cat may be a better option than two dogs.
43-53 pts: a pet reflects your character, and you want people to know it. You're the perfect candidate to consider a snake, sugar glider or other exotic pet. If you preer a dog, you're up for the challenge and can deal with a very active one, even an intense border collie.
54 - 64 pts: a dog (or two) is easy. You have the skill and sense of humor to deal with a high-maintenance pet, such as a large parrot or ferret.
65-74 pts: you're in the pet big leagues. You'll be happiest with a combination of pets. Just having one kitty or bunny simply wouldn't be enough fun.
-----------
I scored a 64. I don't like parrots (or any bird) or ferrets, but we've certainly got the sense of humor to deal with three great danes galloping through our tiny house. Heck, you have to when your pets combined weight is nearly 375 lbs... it's either laugh or cry.
I hope USA Weekend doesn't mind me posting this test on my blog. I found it quite humorous!
#1) How would you describe your family?
a) clean freaks = 1 pt.
b) moderately clean = 3 pts.
c) a little disorganized - who isn't these days? But at least we try to clean up when people come to visit = 6 pts.
d) chaos is our middle name - and we're not ashamed = 7 pts.
(we're the chaos family!!)
#2) Which matches your family's schedule?
a) we're constantly traveling - the neighbors don't believe anyone lives in our house = zero pts.
b) we're home only in the evening, and even then we're in and out = 3 pts
c) we're busy, but relish the time we spend at home = 4 pts
d) we're homebodies = 6 pts.
(somewhere between a c & d is us)
#3) What is your family's lifestyle?
a) we're retired and unable to do a lot at this time in our lives = 1 pt
b) we're lazy - our idea of exercise is reaching for the remote = 2 pts
c) we're active and like to be outside = 6 pts
d) we like to keep busy, but we're also homebodies = 7 pts
(again, somewhere between a c & d)
#4) Describe the personalities of your household members.
a) like Howard Hughes, we're recluses = 0 pts
b) we're quiet and keep to ourselves, although friends and family members visit = 2 pts
c) we like to get out and make new friends on the street, in the grocery, wherever we are = 6 pts
d) we like to show off what we have - we were the first on our block to get an Xbox 360 = 8 pts
(my husband is a definite C, but then again, while we don't have an xbox, we're the only ones with a pool & the first to have a fire pit, so I guess we're D's)
#5) What is your pet-owning history?
a) we've never had a pet before = 1 pt
b) one of us had a pet as a kid, but not since then = 3 pts
c) we're experienced pet owners, but we have pretty much stuck to dogs & cats = 5 pts
d) we've always had a zoo in our home = 8 pts
(mostly C... but has been a D on a couple of occasions)
#6) How tolerant are you?
a) we're the first to complain about noisy neighbors or trash on the street = 0 pts
b) we're not especially tolerant, but over time we gradually accept change = 3 pts
c) we're tolerant and can pretty much go with the flow = 6 pts
d) we can put up with pretty much anything - throw it at us and we'll find a way to deal with it = 8 pts
(that's a tough one, depends on the situation)
#7) Which describes your sense of humor?
a) we have none = 0 pts
b) we're a pretty serious bunch = 1 pt
c) about average = 5 pts
d) we never get upset - we always laugh it off = 8 pts
(sense of humor?... I have none while the husband is a D)
#8) How does your family dress?
a) we're so conservative, we wear shoes to bed = 0 pts
b) we rarely wear ratty clothes, even at home = 1 pt
c) we're into the latest fashion - if it's chic, we have it = 6 pts
d) we wear jeans and dress down whenever possible = 7 pts
(D, definitely D!!!!)
#9) What are your sleeping habits?
a) we're light sleepers and can't deal with being woken up from a sound sleep = 1 pt
b) we hate to deviate from our sleep schedule. We use weekends to catch up on our zzz's = 2 pts
c) we're night owls and nap during the day = 3 pts
d) we get up at the crack of dawn, or we sleep when we sleep = we're pretty flexible that way = 7 pts.
(can more than one answer apply, because B, C, & D all apply!!)
#10) Which describes yor family's vacation habits?
a) we love our vacations and often travel for weeks or months at a time = 0 pts
b) we travel a lot, but we have many relatives & friends who live nearby = 3 pts
c) we take the whole family on vacation and typically travel by car. We don't stay in fancy places, but we spend lots of time outdoors = 5 pts
d) we pretty much never go anywhere = 8 pts
(vacation? what's a vacation?)
SCORING:
0-9 pts: get a beta fish or a hermit crab - that's about all you can handle
10-28 pts: you're most suited for a feline friend (or two), a gerbil or hamster, or perhaps rescuing a senior dog.
29-42 pts: your best choice is a canine companion (or two). If you scored under 35 pts, one dog and one cat may be a better option than two dogs.
43-53 pts: a pet reflects your character, and you want people to know it. You're the perfect candidate to consider a snake, sugar glider or other exotic pet. If you preer a dog, you're up for the challenge and can deal with a very active one, even an intense border collie.
54 - 64 pts: a dog (or two) is easy. You have the skill and sense of humor to deal with a high-maintenance pet, such as a large parrot or ferret.
65-74 pts: you're in the pet big leagues. You'll be happiest with a combination of pets. Just having one kitty or bunny simply wouldn't be enough fun.
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I scored a 64. I don't like parrots (or any bird) or ferrets, but we've certainly got the sense of humor to deal with three great danes galloping through our tiny house. Heck, you have to when your pets combined weight is nearly 375 lbs... it's either laugh or cry.
Happy May
I had a doctor appointment scheduled for today, to go back to the pain management place for a follow-up. But I rescheduled it for next week...
I already had two appointments for next week, why not make it three in one day? That way I'll just take a sick day from work, and by the time the day is over, I probably will be sick.
But wait, I've now added yet a FOURTH appointment for that one day. Groan! I'm becoming one of those "old people" that I used to make fun of for having so many doctors.
As two of the doctors I'm going to are ones that I've never seen before, I figured they'll probably want a complete medical history and list of doctors, blah, blah, blah. So I sat down and started compiling a list of doctors that I've seen in the past 12 months, their phone numbers/address/and "purpose" for my visit.
Good grief!! Leaving only 1 blank line between each doctors info, I filled two, count them TWO full sheets of paper. I really have become one of those old people **sniff**, and I'm not even 40 yet!!!!
I hope leaving two hours between each visit (9, 11, 1 & 3) will be enough. I'll no doubt feel like a pin cushion before the day is over. On top of all that, I have bunco that evening, and it's my turn to cook... I hope I feel up to it. :(
I already had two appointments for next week, why not make it three in one day? That way I'll just take a sick day from work, and by the time the day is over, I probably will be sick.
But wait, I've now added yet a FOURTH appointment for that one day. Groan! I'm becoming one of those "old people" that I used to make fun of for having so many doctors.
As two of the doctors I'm going to are ones that I've never seen before, I figured they'll probably want a complete medical history and list of doctors, blah, blah, blah. So I sat down and started compiling a list of doctors that I've seen in the past 12 months, their phone numbers/address/and "purpose" for my visit.
Good grief!! Leaving only 1 blank line between each doctors info, I filled two, count them TWO full sheets of paper. I really have become one of those old people **sniff**, and I'm not even 40 yet!!!!
I hope leaving two hours between each visit (9, 11, 1 & 3) will be enough. I'll no doubt feel like a pin cushion before the day is over. On top of all that, I have bunco that evening, and it's my turn to cook... I hope I feel up to it. :(
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