What to blog about...perhaps just an update would be nice?

Lets see....I want to believe so much has happened since I was last here, but in all reality not a lot has gone down here in Kansas.  Mom came for an entire week to be with Aiden for the second part of his recovery after having his tonsils and adenoids removed.  The visit with her was quite lovely actually.  I know you all were ready for this to be full of mom drama, but there really isn't any to report!  

Aiden's voice has changed since having the surgery.  It's kinda funny.  I am finding that teaching him to be patient is a real struggle.  Maybe it's just an age thing, but he has almost none.  It's pretty annoying sometimes. 

Yoshi is 99lbs!  He has gained 8 since May.  That's just crazy.  It has still been too hot most days to go walking.  I am hoping with the start of September that is also is the start of cooler weather.  He needs to be walked much more than I have been able to. Oreo will be here on Sunday.  That should be the start of a whole new adventure.  I am still struggling to get super excited about it.  I fear I have have more headaches than smiles.

Well hopefully I will get some more rest. I have been working my ass off and I need sleep.  Maybe next week when I am back to a normal schedule I will have more to write about that doesn't involve life updates. 

What I am doing VS what I should be doing right now

We started the leopard gecko project yesterday.  We being mostly me while Aiden watches.  I spent about $200 bucks.  That's pretty much what I had planned on and had set aside for everything.  I have a few odds and ends still to get.

So we started painting the aquarium, making the rock hides and overall getting the planning done.  I should be cleaning my house right now.  Mom will be here Monday to stay with Aiden for the rest of his recovery.  I just don't feel like cleaning. It's not really dirty anyways, but really should be tidied up.  Oh well.  I am just gonna keep screwing around!!

Another Reason Men Cheat...blah blah blah

I am a firm believer men often cheat for a reason.  I'm not condoning it, but there are plenty of things a woman should be doing to keep her man at home.  This article on yahoo says men are more likely to cheat if their partner make more money on them.  REALLY now?!

Who woulda thunk that a man who is not the bread winner might seek some place else to feel like a man.

"With women, they were less likely to engage in infidelity the less money they make relative to their husband," said study author Christin Munsch. "But for men, the less money you make relative to your spouse, the more likely you are to engage in infidelity."

Women who make less money than their husbands or BFs are less willing to cheat because they are being provided for in my opinion.  They are simply playing the natural role in their homes.  I can almost promise you a man in a house with a woman who is making more, damn well knows it because she is more than likely rubbing it in.  I'd look for a piece of ass somewhere else too.

"... there's less reason, from an evolutionary perspective, for a man to stray if he makes less money than his female partner, she said. "You'd think a man would want to stick around those resources himself."

LESS REASON for a man to stray?!  WHAT!!   Um....men are supposed to be THE provider.  What man with any self respect would want to hang around and mooch off his well to do woman.  This woman CLEARLY does not know what evolution is.

Yep, lets just keep turning men into women and expect them to bow down and worship a woman who is absorbed in her own self worship.  Lets keep a woman wearing the pants in the house and do studies on why men are cheating, why men aren't as willing to marry, why men are more beta and why women think men are losers.  Sorry ladies, you make them that way.

Funny Mom Harassment

So after our big blow up in June things have certainly been easier with my mom.  I no longer care if I hurt her feelings when she oversteps her bounds and I don't really mind telling her where the bear shits in the woods, so to speak.

So a couple of weeks ago we had a nice long conversation about how I feel about feminists and where she fits into their evil plans quite nicely.  Mom has always pushed me to believe I am better than any man and that I never needed one to survive.  While I commend her to a point in teaching me to be independent, it also landed me in a relationship where I thought it was OK to be the man. You all know the rest of that story.  I took some time to share my thoughts on her beliefs about not needing her husband, her climbing the corporate latter at Walmart and few other odds and ends.  Her bewilderment amused me to great lengths and continues to do so.

So a couple of funny exchanges:

  She calls me one nite and we are chatting and she tells me she has to let me go so she can go do her "wifely duties" and iron her husbands shirts. To which I promptly reply, "Well you might as well give him a blow job while you are at it if you are gonna be 'wifely' and all".   She proceeded to tell me I was sick and disgusting all while I was laughing too hard to breathe.  But hey that IS a wifely duty after all.......

Yesterday we had a talk about her job.  She was complaining that she had to park in the back of the lot and has to walk out at nite.  She said she should have the right to park closer because she is a woman.  I told her that as long as she was playing the role of a man she could park in the back with the rest of the men.  You can't just pick and choose when you want to act like a woman.  Either you are or you aren't.  I got a nice, "SCREW YOU CHRISTINE."   Once again I am amused.


She hates my views on sex.  She doesn't believe the activity should exist and I think every free moment you have you should have in bed.  I love reminding her of that.  It makes me laugh so hard.  She's a good sport and plays along at least.

Scary Storm

I ended up being without power here at home for 16 hours. Spent about 4 or 5 of that with no cell phone service either.  We had a line of very powerful and dangerous storms blast through the area at about 4pm.  I got caught unexpectedly in it driving home from work. My car was blasted with winds that were in excess of 100MPH.  Rain  caused me to pull over at least 4 times because visibility was less than zero and my car was hit multiple times by large tree parts.  Thank-goodness the Kia is made of plastic or I would be making an insurance claim today.  I may still be able to make one because I also got nailed by rocks and dirt.  My windshield is probably pitted something fierce.  At one point on the drive emergency services forced us all off the roads and we were not permitted to move for more than 20 minutes.  That was fine with me.  I don't even think I have driven in a snow storm that scared me as bad as yesterdays drive home.  There was a semi that was completely turned over.  Punctures in the trailer and the cab was twisted to shreds.  I hope the driver made it out alive.

There were multiple lightening strikes in the area and plenty of downed trees.  I have at least 4 neighbors that lost their fences.  There was a trampoline that was lifted over a 6 foot fence and tossed into the support pole and lines of a power line.  Our neighbors not only lost their fence, but also parts of their roof and last check they were still hunting for patio furniture.  

Taken with my phone

I did get to lay in my driveway and stare at the sky without any light pollution. It was beautiful.  I went in at about 11 and took a shower and then laid in bed listening to crickets and frogs.  A neighbor was playing some old blues music and I feel asleep pretty easy, even in the heat.  

Local Business VS Big Box Store

With stores like Walmart, Petco and Target, it's not much of a wonder why small business' suffer.  Prices are usually lower because of their ability to buy in bigger bulk.  They are typically one stop shopping and who has time to waste when we are running out of hours to do the running.  They also have easier access, being found off highways and major roadways.  Smaller, local business' usually specialize in one area making the one stop a no go.  Prices can be a few dollars higher because they just can't order in the massive quantities the larger retail chains can.  They are also in smaller buildings that are not always right off a busy road and would require one to take more than just a left hand turn(or right)into the parking lot. So yes, it can most definitely be a struggle for a small business.

What is the small business to do? I work for a local store and I groom right across the street from Petco. So I have to take that into consideration and I have to up the ante a bit.  I offer exceptional customer service as well as specialized services.  One haircut doesn't fit every dog.  I take time to know my customers and their pets as well as their needs.  It leaves them feeling like family and they are less likely to stray to the Petco when I can't fit them in today.  I also have to get that message across when I have never met a person and my only contact is over the phone.  Most people book and they never complain about how long the wait was.  These things I offer are the same things I look for when I am shopping at a small business.  This is how the little guy gets ahead.

Now, I LOVE Petco.  I do a lot of shopping there.  They have good prices.  Every Petco I have been to has offered great customer service to me and they typically have what I am looking for.  So naturally this is the first place I looked to when I decided to get Aiden a gecko for his birthday.  I have a decent list of things that I will need to have in place before finding the perfect gecko.  I have been doing some window shopping based on prices, stock and what their animals look like.  I decided that I also wanted to see what some of the local pet stores had to offer as they usually have a different variety. Here's where my displeasure kicks in.

Manhattan Aquarium and Pet Supply is one of the pet stores I hear about here.  Both my bosses purchase their pet food here because they offer natural options.  I figure this is a good place to start and it's not too far from where I work.  I plan a trip there today when I get off.  I was mainly going for a few things.  1) the price of a 20 gallon tank.  Petco wants 34 bucks. 2) Reptile supplements. 3)Their gecko stock.  I wouldn't mind spending a few extra bucks on a more colorful specimen.   I was greeted by a nice girl who asked if there was anything I was looking for and I explained and she pointed me in the right direction.

They had no reptile supplements.  No biggy.  They did have reptile tanks with locking lids, but I already decided I wasn't going to spend 79 bucks just because of a lid.  I can get a fitted screen lid for 15 and save a bundle.  They had a few good things that I might need and was worth storing the information in the back of my head.  So now I was off to look at the prices on a 20 gallon.  None could be found.  I walked back to the front where this time I was asked by a man if there was anything he could help with.  I asked him where they kept 20 gallon longs and he said he doesn't keep them because people want 29's not 20's.  Then he asked what I wanted it for and I told him.  He then tells me about their great reptile cages and I explained I didn't have need for a locking lid, but he didn't listen to me and showed me the darn things anyways.  So instead I asked if he was planning to order any 20s and what  they would cost.  He puffed and said "well I can check for you".   He quotes me 45 bucks.  I say Ok thanks.  I see at this point that they do in fact have some geckos and I go look.  They were a little older than I want, I would like a juvenile.  The colors weren't enough to make me reconsider.  So I then asked if they ever stock juveniles and he said not as of late because there hasn't been a big demand.   Ok no prob.  I can understand that.  He then tells me the price he gave me for the tank is a sale price and they are 70 after August.   So basically he was trying to say for 9 more dollars you can buy the cage with the locking top you don't want.  The entire time he didn't smile.  He didn't sound pleasant and acted like I was interrupting him.

Well sucks to be him because even though he had some nice stuff Petco didn't have, I won't be going back to purchase any product.  I do my best to be an educated consumer.  I research before bringing a new animal into my home so that I know I am not forgetting anything.  I won't be thrown for a loop when someone is clearly trying to make an up sale without inquiring further about my needs.  He did nothing to make the experience personalized.  He offered no educated insight and he certainly didn't try to make me want to be his customer.  All things the Petco dude did and has done for me when I am wondering around the reptile and aquatic section.

So that's the battle of small business and big box business.  Customer service.

Getting Rid of Junk to be Happier

I was sitting at work today counting down the minutes to close and I found THIS ARTICLE on yahoo about a couple that got rid of most of their belongings, right down to their cars and are happier.  I found it to be an interesting concept. I believe I am going to follow.  Maybe not as extreme as she did.  She owns only 100 personal items including her toiletries!

When I first met Skip he owned 1 plate, 1 bowl, 1 fork, 1 knife and 1 spoon.  He had a coffee maker and a single set of pots and pans.  I am not kidding.  He had a computer desk, a chair, a small table with a lamp and a TV with a DVD player hooked up. He was sleeping on an air mattress and there was nothing on his walls.  He did get the futon when I came around, but that was as far as it went.  I bought him a coffee cup because he was using Styrofoam and we all know how bad that junk is.  It pretty much echoed in his place.  I did a lot of picking on him about it.

Then he left and my mom brought all my stuff to the apartment and I HATED IT!! I wrote him a few emails announcing my displeasure, but I unpacked all the dust collecting stuff and set up shop.  I left a bunch of stuff packed and took back to Mom's house for storage.  All that stuff has since followed me here, including the stuff I sent to be stored.  I have boxes that haven't been opened and unpacked since we got here.  I think it is safe to say I can live without all that stuff.

So this week I am going to start the cleaning.  I will probably toss a lot of stuff, but I am going to load the big stuff up and donate it to Good Will.  I don't have the energy or patience to do a yard sell.  I am not hard up for money so I really couldn't care less about making anything off it.  I just want it gone.

Off to clean the desks, I need to make room for the gecko cage.

A Nation With Four Genders

Be offended if you will, but I really get irritated reading studies, articles, stories etc and seeing the following terms" Straight/heterosexual men,  Straight/heterosexual women,  Gay or Lesbian.  Damn, are we SO worried about what everyones sexual identity is that is must be labeled now?  Or is our society just so fast to get on the bandwagon to be homosexual that the numbers are getting big enough to be forced to label it out in a study?  OR do we just get off somewhere thinking the homosexual community think so much differently then the rest of us and they need their own studies??

I hope one day I don't have to check M F G L on an application.  I might flip out.

I had to share a funny

I found this little funny on Athol Kay's Blog and it simply amused me to no end.

America, you're FAT!

The CDC announced new numbers today about the nations obesity rates.  A solid 1 in 4 adults are obese, meaning their BMI is over 30.  There are 9 states reporting over 30%   of it's population as being obese last year. In 2007 only 3 states reported over 30% and in 2000 there was not a single state in our nation that could say the rate was that high.  Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia were the states showing the highest numbers.  


Now there is plenty of speculation about the economy making us fat.  We are poorer and therefore cannot afford to eat good foods.  I would like to say yea I agree, but frankly that's a sorry ass excuse.  People are saying it is cheaper to go to a fast food joint and feed their family.  I will say that for JUST Skip and I to eat at lets say Burger King, we are still shelling out nearly 18 bucks.  I can go to the store and get pasta and veggies and have enough for dinner tomorrow on that.  I shop once a week for Aiden and I  and I typically spend $60-$75 on FRESH food! I shop the outside isles away from all the processed stuff that is kept in the middle of the store.  Yes I throw some Pop Tarts in there, some cereal and fruit bars, but over all we aren't eating all that crap.  I can afford to eat on a budget, so can you or anyone else.  Healthy food IS affordable.  


Now tell me, do you want your doctor to tell you that you are fat? Overweight? Unhealthy?  Would you want your doctor to voice concern or perhaps give you some education without you asking?  I know I would.   My BMI is currently 30.  That put's me on the edge of overweight and obese.  Of course no one will say to me, " DAMN girl you are looking obese, you should eat a few less fries."  I wouldn't say I am obese, but I am certainly overweight and I know.  I have lost 15ish pounds this year and I intend to lose more.  I have NEVER had a doctor express ANY concern over my weight.  That pisses me off.  It is their job to monitor my health when I make a yearly appointment.   I would gladly accept any info they gave me on nutrition, weight loss etc.  If they suggested a referral to see a nutritionist I would go and thank them for practicing preventative medicine.  But I guess that's just it, we are not a country trying to PREVENT illness we treat it once it happens.  


I bring all this doctor stuff up because whether we like it or not our government is going to start playing bigger and bigger roles in our healthcare.  Michele Obama is still on her mission to stop childhood obesity and there are more talks about what we do about adults.  Typically you see a fat kid and their parents aren't much better.  Do you think it would be fair if your doctor gave you a mandatory referral to see a nutritionist if you came into the office with a BMI over 30?   Would you kick and scream the whole time?  Would you be offended?  Or do you think you might go and try to learn something?  Would it really be that bad if they started putting some rules out there through the use of healthcare to make us a "thinner" nation? 


I say put a gym in every hospital and if you get referred, you should have rights to use it without a fee.  It should be part of your treatment.  We need to start treating it like an illness before it turns into a real money sucking investment.  Parent should be held responsible for causing their children harm where they cannot help themselves.  Fat should not be the new normal.  We should not be embracing this lifestyle as if it is some designer fashion.  


And I am NOT saying to be ashamed of being fat, overweight, obese, thick, chunky or whatever you choose to call it.  I am saying be aware of it.  Be aware of your health.  Be aware that it CAN and SHOULD be changed.  KNOW the long term health effects.  Our doctors should be educating us and we should be receptive.  This is one thing it is time to stop being politically correct about.  Sooner or later your taxes and mine are going to being for the issues of the 500lb man or woman sitting next you at the movie theater.  Is that really what you want to see it spent on??

Preparing for a new family member

Well over Labor Day weekend our 4 legged side of the family is going to be growing by one.  Patty is bringing Oreo, a husky, to come live with us.  I need to get a kennel and freezer!   There won't be anyway to feed 2 dogs out of the refrigerator.  It should be a lot of fun. I already got 2 new carpets for under the kennels yesterday.  Things have already been approved by the landlord.

I believe now I will have so much to keep me busy, that I may start forgetting to count the days until Skip gets home!