Chapter...Ummm...Of the Mouse Saga

As some of you know, we had a mouse problem a couple months back hence why we now have Cal in our family. Well, before we rescued Cal, we tried mouse traps. You know, the ones where you put the bait in the middle and then they go inside and it twists shut on them. Apparently, we had clever mice. I was cleaning behind our microwave today where we had a trap set and the label on top that hides the bait was all chewed up, the bait was gone, and there were mouse droppings freaking ON the trap where the little buttheads had sat eating their treat!!!! Freaking waste of money traps. We bought four of them and did not catch one single mouse in them. How funny, huh?

Anyway, back to cleaning for me.

My Favorite Things

I was putting on my perfume and was inspired to write this...

• Ralph Lauren's Hot perfume. Yum.
• The smell of freshly cut grass in the summer.
• The ocean...It's sounds, smells, and views.
• The absolute quiet there is when it snows at night and you go outside to stand in it.
• Bailey and Cal.
• San Diego.
• My sister.
• Sleeping in a freshly made bed.
• Mexican food from the dive in Borrego Springs.
• My friends that I never get to see.
• My 4Runner, lol. I don't care that it's a gas guzzler and not a friend to the environment.
• Reading.
• My iPod, laptop, cell phone, and Palm.
  

The kids and hubby go with out saying. They are above and beyond being my "favorite things" that why they don't need to be on this list.

Nerves!!

I just set the appointment with my realtor to get our house on the market. Sheesh! Now I'm all nervous and excited at the same time. I'm hoping he tells me that we'll have no problem selling the house in our time frame and for what we want to ask for it. If not, I don't know what we'll do. I've spent the entire morning up until now, 1:20, cleaning. And it's not the dusting and vacuuming-type cleaning it's the tear everything apart and put it all away and then deep clean-type cleaning. I'm also trying to find a happy medium between bare walls and cluttered walls then I'll have to fill in holes and do some touch-up painting. Busy, busy, busy.

Did anyone watch Barbara Walters' interview with Terri Irwin Wednesday night? It was one of the most heart-wrenching things I've ever witnessed. I cried right along with Terri. I think that's the first interview that I've ever watched Walters conduct in it's entirety and I didn't realize how fake she comes off. She nodded her head at the right times and had a real sympathetic look on her face but anyone with a heart would have shed a few tears listening to Terri and I don't care how much of professional you are supposed to be. I think it's safe to say that I'm not a fan of Walters at all and she can stuff The View. I can't believe that show has been on for ten years. Just goes to show most of America has no taste.

Did you all catch Grey's Anatomy last night?? Is it going to be McDreamy of McVet? I'm voting for McVet because I like looking at Chris O'Donnell, heheh, and I think Derek is an idiot. But oh well.

Well, I have more cleaning to do and I have to fit in a shower before I go to pick up the girls from school so I'm off...

Top 10 Driving Pet Peeves

I found this list while surfing Google this morning. I thought it was pretty funny. I'd have to consider myself a Piggybacker, Space Invader, and Road Rager, heheh. I've had to deal with almost all the rest of those drivers on the road though. How about everyone else?

A U.S. Insurance company recently completed a poll of it's customers to determine the things that really tick them off while driving.

---

1.	Distracted drivers talking on cell phones (Motor Mouths)
2.	Slow drivers in the fast lane (Turtle Racers)
3.	Pushy drivers who tailgate (Piggybackers)
4.	Drivers who weave through traffic to gain one of two car lengths (Wacky Weavers)
5.	Obnoxious drivers who speed up to keep you from changing lanes (Gap Snatchers)
6.	Hasty drivers who change lanes without signalling (Space Invaders)
7.	Road Rage (Road Ragers)
8.	Motorcyclists who race down the middle of a lane, between cars (Speed Racers)
9.	Women applying makeup and men shaving (Driving Divas)
10.	Drivers who leave their turn signals on for miles (Morse Coders)

Advil and Homework: The Great Circle of Life

I don't know what was up with Blogger yesterday, but it certainly wasn't up to par. The fact that I only had 2 visitors yesterday, I can figure it was the same for everyone else. Everything seems to be running smoothly today though so here we go.

Since we moved into our house almost 18 months ago, 7 houses have been for sale on our street and around the corner and the eighth went up for sale yesterday. This is really making us sweat getting our house sold since our house will make the fourth house for sale on our street. If you've ever gone through the process of buying or selling a house, you know that closing on it takes months and that's if everything goes smoothly with the loan, inspections, and so forth. So, if we don't get a buyer within the first month, the girls and I won't be moving Jan 2nd as we plan on doing and we'll be left in C dust since he doesn't really have a choice as to when he has to move. Can anybody say, "Tension headache?" I've had one for 2 days now. Ugh.

Did you ever figure that once you graduated high school and college that you'd be done with homework? I'm currently on hiatus from taking classes until we get moved and I still spend about 2 hours a day doing homework, the kids' homework. It's amazing what you forget over the years such as what a rhombus is or concave and convex. Last night M had grammar homework and she was also working on her book report. I get more stressed out over their work than I ever did with my own.

Is anyone enjoying the new tv shows this season? I like several of the new shows this season which means they'll all get cancelled. That's me being the eternal optimist that I am.

Evel Knievel and Other Things

I forgot to mention this past Friday that I saw the end all, be all, dumb driving stunt on my way to pick up C from work. I decided not to post about it, however, because it was such a crazy thing nobody would believe me and my credibility where the other incidences are concerned would be shattered. So, I'll just have to leave you all guessing as to what I witnessed.

On to the "Other Things" portion of our program...

I am so sore that I could barely sleep last night. I spent all day yesterday making home repairs and painting primer on the girls' room walls yesterday and now I can barely move. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that I get to lounge around until I feel better. I have errands to run today that I didn't get to do on Friday because of the cable guy being so late and I have to actually paint the girls' room today. They had to sleep on the pull-out last night because all their furniture is stacked in the middle of their room. And something that I found to be odd is that while primer is thinner than paint, it's impossible to wash off. I'm covered in it because I had such a limited area to work in that I got it all over me and in my hair and I can't get it off! C was supportive enough to tell me that I look diseased, lol.

So we're down to 6 days before we put the house up for sale. I can't believe we're down to the wire on moving. 3 years goes by so fast even it it's three years of hell.

Well, I'm off to start my very long day. Wish me luck that I get everything done.

You Only Get What You Pay For

I'm a firm believer in my title. There are just some things in this world that buying cheap gets you nowhere.

• Lucky Charms. Magic Stars knock off just doesn't come close.
• Paint brushes. I bought a cheapo brush from the Home Depot and it was a piece of crap. I then went out and bought another brush that I had to pay a little more for and it was worth every cent.
• Windshield wipers.
• Canned soup. If it isn't Campbell's it sucks.
• Shoes.
  
• Crayons.
• Dog and cat food. If you don't believe me, feed Bailey some of the cheap stuff and see if she doesn't run you out of the room in a matter of minutes.
• Cars.
  
• Cheese.
• Tools.
• Laundry Detergent.

That's all I can think of right now.

Tech Support

So, I had to call the cable company yesterday because one of my DVR's isn't working properly. It was zapped by an electrical storm a couple weeks ago but I wasn't too concerned about getting it fixed since all that was on tv was reruns. Yesterday, however, there were three shows on at 10 last night that I wanted to watch so I had to record two on my other DVR and watch the third on the living room tv. Not really a big deal, but a sign of things to come. I broke down and finally called the cable company yesterday to see if I could just exchange my DVR for a new one or if I had to go through the whole troubleshooting process over the phone. Which one do you think I had to endure? Yeah. I was on the phone with tech support for 15 minutes which really isn't that bad considering it normally takes them 30-60 minutes to tell me they don't know what's wrong. I really hate it when they treat you like a moron. The first thing she asked me is if I had unplugged it to reset it. Ummm...DUH!! That was the first freaking thing I tried. Geez! Then she tried "sending the DVR a signal" twice to see if that helped and it didn't so now I'm sitting here waiting for a service person to come and look at it personally. My fix-it window is from 10am-2pm. If they don't show up till 2, my whole day is shot. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll be here closer to 10 so I can run errands today. Anywho...

Did anyone watch Grey's Anatomy last night? OMG! I absolutely love that show and it was totally worth waiting the whole summer for the new season to begin last night. I watched season 2's finale the night before and bawled my eyes out worse than I did the first time I watched it. I don't want to give out any details of last night's episode in case anyone has it recorded and waiting for them but MAN! It was great and I'm already excited about next week's episode, heheh. I'm addicted.

Anyway, maybe I'll be back later with something that's actually interesting to blog, lol.

Enlightenment

I think that I have finally found the religion for me. (No. This isn't the religion post. Sorry Dana.) Upon surfing the blogs that I read daily I found an entry that I couldn't resist checking out for myself. See for yourself: Church of Holy Avitableness

Is it funny or what? However, as with most religions, there are certain tenants to which I don't hold. Example: Under "Sins of Blogging"

#1: Mommyblogging: Blogging about your children's daily lives instead of your own, is a mortal sin, and all mommybloggers go immediately to AOHell.

I do that from time to time. Since this blog started out as a way for our family to keep up with us, I think I should be excused from this sin. Another thing I don't agree with is the Veronica Mars thing. I have never seen an episode of it and couldn't tell you what day of the week it's on or what channel for that matter. Other than that, I'm on board!! I knew I'd eventually find someone who could spew a religion that I could follow along with.

Template Changes

In the place of a scathing post which I seem to be full of lately, I decided to add a music video thing to my blog. I actually stole the idea from another blogger whose blog I find nifty. The third video is a song by Jack Johnson who is one of my favorite artists. It starts out like a behind the scenes thing but if you drag the progress bar so that it's in the middle of the stop button and the previous button, that's where the song actually starts and it's one of my favorite Jack Johnson songs. Just thought I'd give a heads up. Also, I'm going to try and keep it updated and change the videos every so often so that we don't tired. I don't take requests either, LOL. I'll put up what I'm in the mood to be listening to at that moment.

I also updated the calendar. Can't forget to watch the second season premier of Meerkat Manor, heheheh.

Anyway, I have lots of house prep cleaning to do today so that's it for now.

Boring, Boring, Boring

That was my weekend, hence, no updates. Even as I'm sitting here I'm having a hard time coming up with something to say. I've had my nose stuck in books all weekend. I think I read 3 or 4 Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. Nothing like funny bounty hunter stories to pass the time. C had dep'ers and shippers to take down to Mass. last night so it was just me and the girls. The girls have no school today cuz of one of those teacher work day deals so they've been bugging me since 8 something this morning and now they're fighting over who gets the last of the pizza we had from Pizza Hut the other day. I think I might settle the argument by eating the pizza myself and they can find something else. Don't I have the best parenting skills? Yummm. Nothing like cold pepperoni pizza and ranch dressing for brunch.

I have a topic I would like to discuss but I'm seriously hesitating bringing it up as it would be a sensitive subject to almost everyone I know. Since I enjoy speaking my mind and do so much more freely on my blog, I know I would piss off A LOT of people. Should I leave it alone or walk the dark path to hell? And while we're on this subject, I have something I'd like to say.

I have been told in the past that I'm "mean" and too brutal when it comes to my opinions. From this, I have drawn the conclusion that when people ask for advice what they're really wanting is to hear that they are right. I have actually been told this by someone almost word for word when they came to vent to me about their life's screwups. If you go to someone for advice, you should do so honestly wanting to hear what the other person has to say. If you only want to hear what you want to hear, start having conversations with yourself in the mirror and save other people the trouble of being drawn into your problems where they really don't want to be in the first place. Secondly, if I actually said all the things that I wanted to say, most people I know would not just be thinking that I'm mean, but they'd end up crawling off crying dragging along what little dignity they had behind in their wake. And also, so some of you people know, when I don't speak my mind to the fullest, I feel like I'm being two-faced so I always have this little debate going on in my head before I say things: Should I tell them the truth and hurt their itty bitty feelings or tell them what they want to hear and be dishonest? Maybe some of you should think about that the next time you're considering going to me or someone else for advice. Bottom line is you should ask yourselves if you like hearing the truth or if you like living in your fantasy world bubble of self-righteousness. I bet half the people reading this can't even be honest enough with themselves to answer honestly. And lastly before panties get too much in a twist, when I vent or go to someone for advice, I do want to hear the stinking truth or else I wouldn't have asked at all. There was this one time I got a haircut I didn't really like. I asked C if he liked it and he said yes. I found out like 3 or 4 years later that he lied cuz he didn't want to hurt my feelings. Yes. I was still mad about it even all that time later.

Man, I have a lot of pent-up hostility.


Okay, okay okay okay. I'm just going to say it. No, I'm going to think about it a while longer. Geez. See what you people do to me?

3 Days and Counting

I swear I'm not making this stuff up. I observed another "Dumb Vermont Driver" incident this morning while dropping the girls off at school. At the school, there is a one lane driveway that is specifically for dropping off students at school and there are signs stating "No Parking". Does this stop people from parking there? Nope and this morning was no exception.

I pull around and I'm the fourth car in line dropping of kids. The lady in the first position has parked her car to take her children inside so the rest of us schmucks all waiting for her to get back so we can leave. She gets back and goes to open her car door and about falls on her butt when her hand slips off the handle because she has LOCKED HER KEYS IN THE CAR!!! I tell the girls to go ahead and get out of our car and go inside so they're not late to school and I'm sitting there laughing my butt off at her idiocy. Maybe, just maybe, her karma was coming to get her for parking her car in a drop off zone and not the parking lot which is a mere few feet away. Anyway, the rest of us had to go off the road to get around her so we can leave the school while she went inside to call a locksmith, heheh.

So, it wasn't even 9 in the morning and I've already had my good laugh for the day.

Already Need to Add to My List

I think it's safe to say that people, in general, annoy me. I'm not one of those people who can take a leisurely drive. I like to get from point A to point B in a timely and efficient manner, period. People in Vermont make that an almost impossible feat.

This morning I was driving C to work. It's about a 20 minute drive round trip. Anyway, I'm on this road that's three lanes; one lane headed north and two lanes heading south. In Vermont, when you have two lanes headed in the same direction, one is a driving lane and one is a passing lane. Well, I get behind this yahoo this morning that was deliberately swerving between the two lanes trying to keep me behind him and he's only going somewhere between 30-35 mph in a 40 mph FREAKING ZONE! Wtf!! When I finally get the chance to get around him, I end up having to go 60 mph in a 40 mph zone just so I won't get run off the road. What's up with people? And then!! Last night on the same road on the way to pick C up from work I'm in the passing lane, ya know, passing somebody, and someone idiot coming north up the hill starts crossing double yellows and is headed straight for me. Luckily, the slow poke I was passing was clear behind me and I was able to jerk myself into the other lane before getting into a head-on collision. I looked behind in my rear view and said idiot was driving in the passing lane going in the wrong FREAKING DIRECTION!! Does Vermont breed idiot, slow-ass drivers or what?? And don't get me started on how they handle construction zones around here. Oh oh! And I almost forgot to mention something else that happened this morning. To get to C office, we go down this road that's actually an alley way type deal. Anyway, one side goes in one direction and the other in the opposite direction with big huge "Do Not Enter" signs to help idiots figure out which way they should go. Well, we're headed down the road and some dork drives right past the sign and goes the wrong way down a one way road. I swear.

Now, it's not even 8am and I'm already stressed out and pissed off. I hate people.

A Few Changes

I decided to simplify and change my template a bit. I was sort of tired of the busy waterfall scene but am not sure if this template is too simple. So, I'm giving it a trial run to see if I likes or not.

Stuff that Pisses Me Off or is Just Annoying

In no particular order:

1. Liars and cheats. Should go without saying and doesn't need further explanation.

2. People who don't leash their dogs and allow them to pee and crap all over the neighborhood.

3. People who don't drive the speed limit and complain when they get tailgated. Hey, if you're going to go 40 in a 45 you deserve to have my SUV up your butt.

4. Having too much importance placed on party affiliation. Calling yourself a Democrat or a Republican shouldn't automatically mean you believe in one thing or another. It's like it turns off one's ability to make a decision and have an independent opinion.

5. People who have the right of way at an intersection but let other people who don't have the right of way go before them. I really hate polite drivers.

6. Drunk calls. I've made them myself in the past and thought it was hilarious but realize now that they're just stupid and make you sound stupid and I don't like being on the receiving end of them at all. Have proper phone etiquette for pete's sake. Call me sober or don't call at all unless you need a ride home.

7. Neighbors who let their dogs bark from dawn till dusk.

8. People who make excuses as to why it's ok to smoke pot.

9. People who judge the cleanliness of somebody else's house. Just because there are backpacks and shoes out and about at my house and some dishes that should be in the dishwasher but are in the sink instead doesn't mean it's dirty. It means we live here. Get over yourself.

10. Friends who say that they don't want to be a bother by calling or coming over. We must not really be friends if that's how you feel.

I'm going to stop at ten but reserve the right to add to or amend my list. Also, before anyone makes snap judgments here, I'm in a really good mood and have had a good day. I just felt like having a little fun on my blog.

P.S.

I just realized that my blog doesn't view correctly if you're using Internet Explorer. Well, I use Firefox so I don't really feel inclined to fix it, lol. Firefox is a free download, and in my opinion, superior to IE. So, there ya go.

Judgment

This topic could have elements of religion added to it but for the time being, I’d prefer to leave religion out and keep this strictly opinion.

This is a topic that I see in a different light since having taken a class on ethics. It’s not so black and white as many people think it is.

Most often, being judgmental or passing judgment only has to do with some negative aspect. Example: Susie stays with her husband who is a deadbeat. Her friends and family shake their heads, cluck their tongues, look down their noses, and wonder why she’s ignorant enough to stay with a man who is “good for nothing”. Susie’s family is negatively judging her. Everyone is familiar with this type of judging. We’ve all done it whether or not we like to admit it. Some of us claim that they don’t judge at all, to each his own, and it’s none of my business. You may honestly believe this about yourself but as long as you have the ability to observe people and the environment around you, you can’t help but pass judgment in some form or another at some point.

Ponder this side as well…Have you ever considered that when you see something or someone as good, you’re passing judgment? Example: Johnny came home from school with straight A’s on his report card. His family is so proud and congratulates him on a job well done and grandpa slips him some cash as a reward. Johnny has just been judged as a good student worthy of praise and reward.

Everyone passes judgment whether in a good way or in a bad way all the time. Doing so is in the human nature. You could almost say it is a trait of humanity. Unless you live a completely isolated life, it is impossible to escape this trait and even then you’d probably judge yourself and how you’re coping with your solitary life.

So, this is my view on being judgmental. Everybody does it, everybody has been judged, good or bad, and nobody is exempt from either. To say you don’t, won’t, or haven’t is a lie, or fib if you will. Lie seems like a harsh and judgmental word here.

Okay. All this being said, blah, blah, blah, I saw the saddest thing on an episode of Miami Ink. I’m not going to go into the details of what the show is or the characters. You’re on the internet. Look it up. Anyway, Kat, one of the artists, was feeling blue and homesick because she didn’t feel like she fit in with the people of Miami. As they videotaped her walking down the street, people were staring with shock and derision. It was horrible to watch. Just because of her tattoos and the way she dressed, you could see people judging her as a freak. From what you see of her on the show, she’s a really “normal” person with friends, family, and a good job. One of the oldest clichés is never judge a book by its cover. In light of today being the anniversary of 9/11 and the fact that people look and make up their minds about people without getting to know someone, this is one cliché we should all take to heart.

Goodbye Steve

As I'm sure you've all heard by now, Steve Irwin who was better known as the Crocodile Hunter died. You can read the story in the above link if you're some sort of weirdo who's been living in a hole all day and haven't heard the news.

I remember the first time I ever saw him doing a show and it was something like the 12 Deadliest Snakes or some such and I thought he was a complete whack-job. I learned, however, that he was a brilliant conservationist and friend to all of Earth's creatures.

It's strange to be moved by the death of someone you don't even know in person, but I will really miss Steve and his shows. I feel for his wife and children and they are in my thoughts.

Cal Doing What He Does Best

 

Cal in the Kitchen Window

 

Cal the Cat

This is Cal. He's just the best cat ever and a great mouser.