Funny Pic of the Day

Don't we all feel like this some days?

Why I Voted Third Party

I have heard all the crap there is.
Anything other then voting democrat or republican is a wasted vote.
You will let Trump win.
You will let Hillary win.

Unbeknownst to many. third party voters aren't stupid.
We know we aren't going to win.

The deck has been stacked against a third party for many, many years.
Do you really think the two major parties want a competitor?

My reason for voting differently is because there are things I don't like in either side.
I am trying to fight for the future.

The thing is you can't keep doing things the same way and expect things to change.
By keeping the same two major party system, that is what we are doing.

If 5% of the voting population voted for one of the other parties, that party would receive $10 million in federal campaign funds next election cycle.
If 20% voted, that party would be able to take part in debates and would not have to fight every state to get put on the ballot.

Yes, I do know that it would take a lot to get people to vote for a loser.
Nobody likes to vote for a loser.

Republicans have already said they won't work with Clinton if she wins and it will probably be the same way for Democrats if Trump wins.

It is going to be a stalemate, much like under Obama.

People talk about how this election is too important and the Supreme Court and all that.
But, everything is broken.

The Supreme Court needs nine justices and one died. The Senate decided not to let anyone that Obama nominated to even get hearings.
Congress can't even do their job.
But, some people thought that was great because Obama is a terrible president.

Maybe I am deluding myself.
I try and tell people about why third party voting can make a difference and they get quiet or tell me how wrong I am.

My Thoughts on the Election

This whole political process is so drawn out.
Was the Iowa caucus only 8 months ago?

But, I guess there was the year and a half before that of campaigning.

The election season/cycle lasts so long.
I am so ready for it to be over.

I don't say a whole lot about it.
I don't understand people's reasoning for a lot of things.
That's OK.
I am sure they would say the same of me.

I do know when you get down to the bare bones of it, we all want the same things.
We want to be free to say and do what we want.
We want to be able to take care of ourselves and our loved ones.

That being said, I have some thoughts about the election and the top two choices we have.


Maybe Trump should get elected. Big business runs the government anyway, Why not have a business man in charge? Besides, I am sure he and his people will figure out someway for the US to file bankruptcy protection.

Why is Clinton corrupt and a liar and yet Trump is not? Both have done a lot of shady things and neither has been convicted of anything. And how do you know Trump is not a liar? Cause everyone can always spot a liar.

As far as sexual allegations go, if you have never been raped, sexually assaulted, or molested, shut your pie hole about waiting to tell or what the person looks like.  Cause you don't have a clue. This is not just for this election. But, it does pertain.

Not fond of Clinton's choice of fashion. But, also not fond of The Donald's facial expressions.

I don't wanna be a nasty woman.

If you can have dead man walking, why not dead man voting?

People need to quit thinking they are voting for the good one and the other is the worst thing ever.
They both have issues.

Lastly, this election is so much bigger than just who is going to be president. There is Congress and state legislatures and judges, etc, etc..

Everyone has to work together and compromise, but no one wants to do that.
My way or the highway is the new motto and it's all a mess.

It Would Be Good

I always really liked this song.

Of course, the song is about a person thinking his life is shit and wants what others have.

My life is not a peach, but I don't think I would trade places with someone else.

Everybody has their own thing goin' on that most people never see.

Still, I will sing it every time I hear it.

It's My Choice

Just knowing he was president would make me feel all warm. Just like I was wrapped up in a cozy blanket.

Giving Thanks

We are supposed to thank truckers, nurses, CNAs, and soldiers.
We are supposed to thank wait staff in the form of a 20-25% tip.

But, today I want to thank the unsung heroes.
The writers of satire sites that people take as fact.
the writers of quotes people were supposed to have said and didn't really.
the makers of memes that lie completely.

Why do I thank them?

They have made me a smarter, more informed person.

I learned Obamaphones are part of the Lifeline phone program signed into law by Ronald Reagan and was expanded into cellphones under George W. Bush.
That universal fee charge on your phone bill.
That is what that is.
Because when companies are made to pay for things, they make the consumer pay for it.

I learned that Will Rogers first used the term trickle down economics as derogatory.
Ronald Reagan spun it into a good thing for the people.

People are not sticking food up their vaginas or buttholes in Walmart.
No, I really did not have to research this.
But, I did check out News 8 Now and they are just one of many sites popping up with fake news.
I know some people know this is fake.
But, I also know too many people that share this stuff and seem to believe it is real.
Which is really sad that people will believe all that stuff.

Yes, I do look up quotes.
In more than one place.

I am tellin' you.
My noggin is so full of this stuff, one day it will explode.

I know guideline for EBT and TANF, which is known as foodstamps and a welfare check.
I know what Bt corn is. Bt is a toxin put into field corn annd it makes the stomachs of insects explode. Enjoy those corn chips.
I know what the fines are for the ACA and that you can be exempted.
I know that Jackie Kennedy hung that "Muslim" curtain in the white house.
I know that Hillary Clinton had flags during the DNC convention just like Donald Trump did at the RNC convention. Digital screens.

What does this mean?
Three things:

I spend too much of my time researching things.
People believe what they want to believe.
Some people like to start things.

And Life Goes On

But, if it has taught me anything, it is that I am a survivor.

A few weeks ago I went to the rheumatologist and got tried on another NSAID, which I reacted to badly.
I really don't do well on many meds.

My kidney function was also tested, and while the doctor deemed it satisfactory, it is lower than it should be for my age.

Since my husband has chronic kidney disease, I know a bit about lower kidney function.

So, I made the decision to try doing things the natural way.
Anti-inflammatory foods, supplements, the whole nine yards.
Doing stretches and moving a lot too.

Going cold turkey on the Meloxicam isn't working too well.
But, I have quit taking it every day.

The supplements are a work in progress because I am broke.
That's going to take longer to get everything I need.

I am sort of in a catch 22.
Inflammation can destroy tissue in the body, but the meds can do other damage.

I am looking into the low starch/no starch diet for ankylosing spondylitis and most everything I planted in the garden is a no-no for the no starch.
Of course.
And I don't know about testing everything for presence of starch.
Even sweet potatoes have too much starch and those are supposed to be anti-inflammatory.

In other news, my limp toward the loan finish line has slowed to a crawl.
But, dammit, I am going to make it.
4 payments, People!

My husband and I celebrated our anniversary August 29th and noticed it's a death magnet date.
The year we got married, Princess Diana died. Technically, her death date is the 30th, but our time it was still the 29th.
Last year my uncle died on our anniversary and this year it was Gene Wilder.
Makes me want to go back and see who else died on that date.

Honeyman, as I mentioned above, has chronic kidney disease.
Since Lisinopril is hard on kidneys, he got a different blood pressure med.
Lisinopril is an ACE inhibitor, which is recommended to help kidney function.
But, Lisinopril can also be damaging to them.
I would never recommend anyone take that medicine. 

The worst part, is between the Lisinopril and his water pill, his blood pressure was good.
But, he can't take them and other bp meds either make him swell up or don't work so well.

Yeah, I got a fair amount of stress goin' on.

Here is me holding Coo Baby. I call her that because she coos when she is talked to.

The Ups and The Downs

I have been all over the map lately.

I am getting so sick of all the negativity.
It's everywhere.
All over online and in my home.

Online people are just bashing everybody for everything.
And I mean everything.

It is depressing.
Even when the person seems to think they are being funny.
But, they ain't Joan Rivers and it ain't funny.

My husband is not what you would call a content person.
He always sees the negative.
And that can be wearing.

And of course now he is having kidney problems.
They have had to change his blood pressure meds a couple times and take him off his water pill.
Hopefully that will stop them from getting worse.
But, whatever damage has been done is still there.

We are almost done paying off the truck.
End of the year.
Then we can attack other bills and put some money back.
That will be nice.
And if I want to buy a pair of pants, I don't have to mentally calculate whether it is doable.

That's the downside of getting a lower paying job when you still have the bills of a higher paying job.

The pullets will start laying soon.
Not sure how long the roosters are going to last around here.
Dewey could be meaner, but he is still a bit of a turd.
Moe is more laid back.

My diet is still not back to where it should be.
I mean, I am still not eating gluten. I am adverse to stabbing abdominal pains.
But, my beverage choices aren't so great.

Sometimes I just don't care.
I really don't.

I need to get back to posting more regularly on both of my blogs.
But, I don't know if that is going to happen.

I feel better when I post.
Finding the time is hard.
Making the time is hard too.

Lately all I really feel like posting is about crap that I just hate.
But. I don't want Welcome to Me to turn into a blog I don't want to read.

I am trying to find my focus.
I'm not sure were it went.

Cause I am Smart

Sometimes I want to want to ask people why do you work there?
Why do I ask?
Why do I even tell you things?

Take where my daughter works.
I could run that kitchen better than the person in charge.
I do understand profit margins. But, I also understand how to run a kitchen.

Where my husband works, all payroll stuff is online.
Stubs, tax forms, benefit stuff to fill out.
A while back they got hacked and the website address changed so I could not access it.
All I wanted was to be able to get to it.
They just changed my password.
What the hell is that going to do?
They seem to think that all I need is the main page and it doesn't work that way.
Since that site is who they go through, shouldn't they know that?
So, I did a search and found the address myself.
I guess I should have just done that to begin with instead of figuring they knew what they were doing.

Two of my lady chicks turned out not to be ladies.
Yep, I gots me a couple roosters.
When I first told Honeyman, he asked me if I was sure.
The combs and wattles on them and none of the other eight would seem to be a sign.
Don't you think?
Now, we've got crowing action and the romancing of the pullets.

I may just be one of the smartest people on the planet.
You know what that means?

It means that I will never be in charge of anything.

Back in the Day

I remember back in the day 99 cent a gallon gas was expensive.
Now, $2.00 a gallon is cheap

If you tattled at school, the teacher would pin a tattle tail to your back and make you walk around school all day.
Now, telling is good.

I remember common sense being more prevalent.
Now, people listen to the "experts".

Parenting used to be left to the parents.
Some did a shitty job.
Some did a good job.

After that, spanking was frowned upon.
Now, a group of people think spanking is good and teaches respect.

"Kids have no discipline today."
"Obviously their parents didn't believe in spanking."

Oh, please.
There are as many rude, lazy, old people as there are young people.
Old people just think they are entitled to speak their mind.

As a parent, you have to parent in the best way that works for you.
All spanking ever taught my child was that it was OK to hit.
All I learned from getting spanked was that I had to be afraid of doing something wrong.

I didn't learn respect.
I spanked a few times cause that is what I knew as discipline.
I learned that it didn't work so I changed what I did.

Back in the day, we had school from August to May and we learned the whole time.
Because that is what we were there for
Now, kids get candy for doing things right, pizza parties and movie days just cause.

Back in the day, going to college was not a given.
Now, if a kid doesn't go people think it is odd.

Back in the day, most stores had ONE bathroom and it was for everyone and you had to wait your turn.
Now, people are fighting about who should be using which bathroom.

Back in the day, you got domestic beer and you were going to like it.
Now, you can go imported or microbrew or even gluten free if you need.

You can get imported chocolate instead of having to buy Hershey's like back when.

Back when, computers were huge.
Now, we can put 'em in our pockets.
And drop them in the toilet.

People want to take America back.
Back to what?

Some things were better back in the day, some things not.

I Must Ask You a Question

Is there something about me that says, " Don't answer"?

I really am starting to wonder.

Site forums, emails, Facebook groups, Facebook statuses, even sometimes in search engines.
Other people ask the same question and get an answer.
Maybe several.

Me?
I get squat.

Maybe I really don't need to know how my sister is.
Maybe since I don't write in all caps all the time like Honeyman, I don't need answers.

I don't know what it is.
Some people don't answer me when I take the time to comment on something they wrote.
They answer everyone else, but not me.

I don't get it.
I really don't.

Maybe I need to start drinking wine and coffee and post pics of my beverage consumption.
Maybe I need to give up on my sister ever really telling me anything anymore.

I guess I don't need to know if the two chicks I have are males and not females like all were supposed to be.
Just wait til crowing or laying happens.

I don't need to find the website that I read something on a long time ago.
It's not important.
Just cause I need a source so someone will believe me.
That's fine, Search Engine.

I am a Fan of the Zebra

I have always liked black and white animals.

Penguins are so cute.
Skunks  are pretty, but they are pretty odoriferous.
Pandas are amazing.
And of course: the zebra.

It looks like a horse, but is striped.
I love the zebra.

When Kiddo was little she had a cloth book called The Rainbow Zebra.
It was about a group of normal looking zebras with one rainbow colored zebra mixed in.

Rainbow zebra learned how to love himself even though he looked different.

I really didn't like the zebra from Madagascar mainly because I don't like Chris Rock.

Other than that, I like zebras.


Been a good A-Z. I bid you adieu.

The Young Obsession

Nobody really wants to get old.
Sure, we can be grateful when we live to be 80.
But, no one wants to start forgetting things and where opening a jar of spaghetti sauce becomes an exercise in futility.

But, to the lucky, we age.
It is inevitable.

There is the saying that youth is wasted on the young.
When you're young, you have the energy to do things, but not the time.
When you get old, you have the time, but not the energy.



What I have always hated was the "years young" phrase.
People are young and they are two years old,twenty years old, whatever.
But, at some magical age, they become years young.
Seventy years young. Ugh!

For awhile that phrase was used everywhere.
Thankfully, not so much now.

However, it has been replaced by the decade thing.
Sixty is the new fifty, fifty is the new forty, and forty is the new thirty.
Thirty is not the new twenty cause you are still in your youth.
Or maybe it is.
People like to be young.



But, that just sounds corny too.

I am 44 and that it how it is.
My niece tells me I don't look as old as I am.
And I am not even wearing make-up to hide fine lines.

Honeyman is two years older than I am and he feels old to him.
I don't feel old.
Even when I hurt or when I forget something..

Mentally, I still feel young.



And to people older than me, I am young.
My mother-in-law calls me kid.

That's just how it goes.

I Know an Xavier

You see the name in history: Saint Francis Xavier.

You see it in the movies: Charles Xavier from X-Men and Francis Xavier Cross from Scrooged.

There are high schools and universities with Xavier in the name.

But, do you really know anyone with that name?
I do.
My little nephew turns two this year.
Remember when I went to Ohio with my niece because she was having twins?
One of them got the middle name of Xavier.

So, it's not in use everyday.
But, it's in there.

Cause Wages

Wages are a big source of contention in the good old US of A.

Raise the minimum wage.
Don't raise it.
Don't have a minimum wage.
Make a maximum wage.
Congress should make minimum wage.

It goes on and on and on.

Here's the thing:
People saying that raising the minimum wage is a bad idea because everything else will go up is so wrong.
Why, you may ask.
The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour was implemented in 2009. Have prices not gone up since then?
It really doesn't matter. Prices are going to go up anyway.

Congress is never going to make minimum wage.
Why would they vote themselves a huge pay cut?

Same about the maximum wage.
True that no person is worth millions of dollars in salary and benefits to go to meetings.
But, the corporate world says differently.
And who sleeps with the corporate world?
The government.

The argument for not having a minimum wage is that people should bargain for what they want and wages will actually go up.
In theory, that sounds great.
In practice, there will always be someone to take less money because they need the job.

Should people get paid their worth?
Yes.
Sadly, that is not how the world works.

Once a Vegetarian

Oh, yes.
That was me.
Back in the day.

I decided to become full on vegetarian.
Actually, at first it was total vegan.

But, do you know how hard it was to find something to eat in a restaurant?
And with my work schedule, I had to eat out.

So, I let that go and just went vegetarian.

I even got my mother to start buying plain spaghetti sauce and not put meat in it.
No small feat.

After a couple years, I started wanting chicken.
I thought long and hard and ended up at Hardees ordering a chicken sandwich.

That was the end of my experiment.

But, even many years later, I could be happy with very little meat.

I've made some great veggie patties and some awesome mushroom and cheese burgers.

I don't think I could ever do vegan again.

Cause I loves the cheese.

Soy cheese is not all it's cracked up to be.

The Awesome Unitard

Remember the unitard?

The way tard is thrown around these days implying stupidity, one might think unitard meant an idiot of undetermined gender. Or any idiot for us all.


But, no.
A unitard is like a dance onsie for people old enough to dance.
You pull it on over you head and it has crotch snaps.
What, I always found weird and uncomfortable.
Snaps don't want to snap together?
Push harder.
Nope, that is not good.

But, we want to jazzercize or pretend we are an awesome ballerina.
Maybe get classy and wear some panty hose underneath and some leg warmers.
Maybe just the legwarmers.



Sure you can still find unitards, though they look a little different.
Without the legwarmers, they just are not the same at all.

I Am Trying

Trying is my word for the day.
Because try as I might, I can't think of any other word to write about.

I am trying to be optimistic about the future.
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.

I am trying to get my resume written.
It is kinda hard when I can't remember employment dates.

I am trying to get my garden planted.
So far, the potatoes are in the ground.

I am trying to keep my house dusted.
But, it's a hundred year-old house in the country and two days after you dust, stuff is dusty again.

I am trying to think of more things to write.
But, I can't.

Have a good night.

Me and My Spondylitis

There are two types of spinal pain: inflammatory and mechanical.
Mechanical pain comes from moving
Inflammatory pain comes from not moving.

Spondylitis is inflammation of the spine.

Spondylitis is also known spondyloarthritis.
It is not rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.

Spondyloarthritis (say that three times fast) encompasses several types of spinal arthritis.
There is undifferentiated, juevenile, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, enteropathic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis.
Spodylitis.org has a lot of great information if you'd like to read more.

 Right now my rheumatologist has given mean unconfirmed diagnosis of ankylosing spodylitis.
I have the symptoms, but my X-rays do not show evidence right now. I also have some family history.


Some doctors will diagnose before radiographic evidence and some wait until it shows on MRI or X-ray.
They will do that to start more radical treatment before damage actually occurs.

My eye doctor has it written down that I do as a cause for my iritis.
Iritis is inflammation in your eye and it can make you nauseous and hurts pretty bad.

Ankylosing means stiffness or fusion. Not all people fuse.
Historically, AS has been considered more of a man's disease. It can affect anyone at any age. Even kids.

Before I ever went to the rheumatologist, I was looking up something and I stumbled upon ankylosing spondylitis and I thought it sounded like me.
Low back pain,  heel pain, shoulder pain, soreness by ankles, eye pain.
I didn't do anything about it though.

Later on I went to see my gastroenterologist and when I mentioned low back pain, he told me I needed to see a rheumatologist.
I went back to my doctor and told her that. She did an X-ray and checked my range of motion in neck and gave me a referral.
She thought maybe fibromyalgia. I didn't think so.





The doctor has it in his personal notes, but my chart doesn't mention it.
It kind of drives me nuts. My sister asks if I got a diagnosis yet and I have to say no, but he is treating me for it.
Or, I sort of have a diagnosis. That part is confusing to me

I know I am not the only one.
Some people have to wait years to get it confirmed.
I've even read on a forum a woman saying her doctor has never actually ever written it on her chart.


And then, there is that little part of me that says maybe he is wrong.
But, I remember the Schober's Test that showed loss of mobility and the degeneration of discs in lumbar and cervical spine.
The Schober's Test is to test for ankylosing spondylitis
Most older people have degeneration in their discs as part of the aging process, but the rheumy believes that is just the start of AS

This was made by a lady in one of my AS groups.

It's something that is not going to get better. Most likely, I will get a lot worse.

But, for now I get along OK.

The Reality of it All

Sometimes living inside your head is a nice place to be.
Shut out the world.

Reality can be such a harsh thing to deal with.

Thinking about something is one thing.
But, the reality...

That answer that you knew deep down has been confirmed.

And the reality is just inconceivable.

In our minds, we all win.
If we can dream such happy thoughts.

We don't get sick and die.
Our loved ones don't either.

Someday we will make the big bucks.
We will travel.

But, the reality of it all is that it isn't that simple.

Wouldn't it be nice though?

Que Sera Sera

I always really liked this song.
The lyrics always spoke to me so well.

The road of life has many twists and turns.
No one really knows what is in our future.

This song was sung by Doris Day and the lyrics are pretty simple.
Here they are.

Que Sera Sera


When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she said to me.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

When I was young, I fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows, day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I tell them tenderly.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

Exercising Patience

We are said to live in the land of Now.
Who likes to wait?
Nobody.

But, when it comes to dealing with anything medical or financial, you have to exercise patience.

You call a company and you seldom get a person.
You get a series of press 1 or 2 until you get to a person or to a queue where you patiently listen to a voice telling you thanking you for waiting.
15 times.
And don't forget the wait time.
Sure, I have an hour.

You have to show patience when waiting for medical test results or even just to get back to see the doctor or to have the doctor come in.

You have to have patience when you start medication.
If only it started working right away.

Some diagnoses take forever to get.
But, it's OK.
You're not dead.
You can wait.

When you want to get a loan, you have to be patient.
All you want to know is if you can have the damn money.

When you try and lower the interest rate on your credit card. you have to exercise patience.
You have to talk to several people who all tell you no.
Call it tenacity, bitchiness, whatever.
It is still being patient because you are jumping through all those hoops and not giving up.

There is that old saying:
Hurry up and wait.

Very apt.
 

The Offspring

I had a different post in mind for today.
Originally, I planned to right about offended.
But, a lot of things happened today and I can't even think of what I even wanted to say.

I am feeling sad and confused, I guess you could say.
Today was a day of some unwelcome, but not unexpected news.

At this point, I am not going to share.
In the future, I am sure I will.

In the meantime, I will share with you some music from The Offspring.
They are not everyone's cup of tea.
However, I love them.

Namascray

Cause I got nothing else today.

My Miracle

Life can be pretty crappy sometimes and something comes along to put everything into perspective.

About a year ago, my nephew got his miracle. He was speeding down a gravel road and lost control, Major rollover and the top of the car was smashed like you wouldn't believe.
He and his friend walked away.
I don't know how.

Three years ago, my father-in-law had heart bypass surgery.
At first, everything seemed great.
After that one by one things went wrong and he was on life support. The doctors even suggested to my mother-in-law that they take him off.
Honeyman went and talked her off the ledge and persuaded her to come home for a few days.
He also told my father-in-law that if he was going to fight, he needed to start. I am sure he probably heard him.
Slowly, he did get better.
He is still alive.
Missing toes and breathing hard, but here.
That was his miracle, but he really doesn't remember it.

My miracle came about 12 years ago. It was more my daughter's, but I am still counting it as mine.
I know that I have mentioned that my daughter almost died before and that is what this is about.
It was an extremely hot August day. I should have been working out in the garden, but it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit so I stayed in.
That turned out to be the best decision I could have made.
I was upstairs on the computer. Kiddo complained of a headache so she was laying on the couch.
Suddenly, I hear her throw up and I called down to see if she was OK.
Nothing.
I start to head down and all of a sudden a horrible scream.
I came down and she couldn't talk.
I took her in the bathroom to bathe her.
While in the tub, her eyes rolled back in her head, she threw up again and went limp.
I thought she was going into a coma when her eyes rolled back in her head.
I called my in-laws.
They came out and told me instead of taking us to the hospital to call 911.
I hadn't thought of that.
The town near me has a great volunteer EMS crew and so many showed up.
They ended up life flighting her to Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines.
It turned out that she was having non-stop seizures. They had to give her paralyzing medication to stop them or she would have seized to death.
Since, they did not know what was going on and Honeyman was there when the life flight landed he was taken to see her.
He said she looked dead. He thought she was.
At a children's hospital, they work back from worst case scenario to best because a child is more susceptible to things.
So, in the ICU, she got her stomach pumped and had ct scan, mri, eeg, etc,etc.
No cause was found so she was diagnosed with epilepsy. Epilepsy is two or more seizures of unknown origin.
She had one more seizure in the hospital before we left. It was not as severe because she was on medication.
All together, she was in the hospital for four days.
I am so blessed that she made it. I will always be grateful.
She was on Dilantin for 2-1/2 years and outgrew epilepsy. Children can do that.

That time will stay with me forever.
So, when something big happens and a kid dies and I hear parents talk about hugging their kids a little tighter it bugs me.
Cause it doesn't stick.
A few weeks down the road and it's business as usual.

It shouldn't be that way. You never know what is going to happen.

I Got Your Lotion

You got your hand cream, your body cream.
You got your sexy cream, aka motion lotion.
You have handy and body lotion or just hand lotion.
You've got your skin protective lotion and your healing lotion.

It's all about the lotion.

K

When you can't write out okay, just write O.K.
If that is just too much, write K.

If you really, really mean OK in a big way, write KK
Just never write KKK , cause that's bad.

Since I am totally uncool, I write OK in messages.
K seems silly to me.
And maybe a wee bit lazy.

I really don't understand shortening a word that has already been shortened to two letters.

OK, maybe if you were doing Morse code and had to do all those dots and dashes.
But, if you are using a keyboard...
Uh-uh.

It's Time to Jerryrig

He was a master at jerryrigging.

Some people might call him a hoarder..
But, you could make a lot of birdhouses with all the busted tae kwon do boards.
You never know when your lawn mower wheels will fall off and you need to put different, better ones on.

To jerryrig is to do something in a unconventional way.
A more recent term is to McGyver it.

Sometimes, he'll say "It's not the right way, but it'll work".

The thing is, sometimes "the right way" is not always better and many times more expensive.

He turned an old playhouse into a chicken coop.

He used scrap wood and a plastic koi pond to build a habitat for Kiddo's turtle.
No longer have the turtle so he is converting it into a nice home for the ducks.

The ideas that he comes up with are great.

He comes from a line of jerryriggers.
His father did it.
His father's father did it.
And now him.

Who is the jerryrigger?
I affectionately call him Honeyman.

The Informative Internet

You can learn so much from the internet.

You can earn thousands of dollars while you sleep.

You can learn why high fructose corn syrup is bad for you and WORSE than sugar.
You can learn why high fructose corn syrup is the SAME as eating granulated sugar.

You can learn that no matter what, everything is about politics and the Democraps and Republiturds are to blame.
You know the house that burned down last week?
Obama's fault.

You find out many politician seem to resemble a Munster.
From the TV show The Munsters.

Everybody has an awesome mother.
If you have no money, it's your fault.

You learn that SPAM isn't just for supper anymore.

You can learn that the tuft of hair on your duckling is called a crest making it a crested Pekin Duck.

You can learn that there are many bad spellers.

The internet is full of amazing things: Information, misinformation, funny stuff, smart people, and stupid people.

What would we do without it?

Hi, High, and H.I.

H.I.



High



Hi


Have a great Saturday!

God... Like?

As some of you know, I am not religious.
I was raised Methodist and have a bible.

I am not sure where it is and when I last looked at it.
But, it is in the house.

As I got older, I questioned more and more things.
So, here I am.

I am a good person with good values and morality and I find great hilarity in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster, or FSM for short, is the center of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
It is fictional. However, I did read that the Netherlands recently recognized it as an actual church.

If you'd like to learn more about FSM click right here.

I really don't find it rude to anyone.
I think it kinda says that things should not be taken too seriously.
But, I know a lot of people take their religious beliefs very seriously.

I am not knocking it.
My own mother is deeply religious.

But, I am still gonna laugh at stuff like this :

 And this :

 And this one :

Friends or Merely Friendly

So many degrees and types of friendship out there.
Where to start.

You have the facebook friends that you really don't know, but you may have something in common.

You have your BFF(Best Friends Forever) or BFFs.

You have your friends that you kinda sorta know and hang out with on occasion, but you don't talk about the important stuff.

You have friends with benefits. And we're not talking insurance, though the after-effects can leave you feeling pretty good.

Some people have frenemies. You like each other, but not really. It's complicated.

There are the people married to their best friend and people that have best friends outside marriage.

Some people's best friends are their pets.

Friendship is just all over the psychological map.
Some people need a lot and some people don't.

And to all my blogging friends: This is where I leave you for I have no point to make.

That Epic Emu War

It was a big war.
I don't know why it never made the history books.

 A unit of former WWI Australian soldiers going up against twenty-thousand angry emus.

All the people wanted to do was farm, all the emus wanted was to eat and drink.

The evil emus were tearing up property so the army was called in complete with machine guns.

The troops were no match for the stealth emus and they had to admit defeat within a month.


Yes, this did happen in 1932 in Western Australia.

Decisions Decisions

I saw this picture this morning and thought it was pretty good.

It made me think of something I read or heard a long time ago. Not making a decision is in and of itself a decision.

Many times there is no clear cut good or bad decision. It is a decision that may set you on a different path that's all.

Obviously, some things are bad decisions.
Like eating something you are allergic to or buying something you can't afford.

But, sitting on the fence for days or months is going to accomplish nothing.
You can't decide so nothing changes.

Bock Bock Cluck Cluck

Here are my hens coming up to the door to say hi.

 

The tan ones are Buff Orpingtons, the white with a little black ones are a Leghorn mix, and the red one is a Rhode Island Red.

This is the run of their coop. This was last summer before they scratched up all the grass.

These are the newest additions. Five Buff Orpingtons and five White Leghorns are in there. They are getting big enough to divide up into separate totes. They are about two weeks old now and already have wing and tail feathers.

We have all girls. Unless one of the babies was sexed wrong, we won't be having a rooster.

Girl chicks are called pullets and boy chicks are called cockerels.

Chickens are pretty easy to take care of. They do get to free range part of the day and they love it.

They make noise when laying eggs. It's the egg laying song.

It will be 16-24 weeks before the pullets start laying.

I also have baby ducks.

One might say they were a parting gift for buying all the chicks.

We think the yellow ones are Pekin and the brown/yellow are Rouen. They came from the assorted bin so that is what we are guessing for now.

They were given to my husband because they were getting picked on and they were not doing too good. If we didn't take them, they would be taken back to die and tossed in the garbage. 

Since he is a softy, he brought them home.

Bout Those Butts

I thought long and hard about what I wanted letter B to be.

Guess what?
Chicken butt!

Yes, I know.
Hysterical.

What is something we all have in common?
We all have butts.

Some people have big butts.
Some people have little butts.
And some people are just gigantic butts that walk around.

For the ladies and gentleman that like to look at men's butts being painted up like Easter eggs, come on over.

There seems to be an abundance of songs about butts.
Type in butt songs on youtube and you can find a butt songs playlist.

Now, for your listening and viewing pleasure:

Samwell- What What (In the butt)


Sir Mix A Lot- Baby Got Back


2 Live Crew- Too Much Booty in the Pants


Foxy Shazam- I Like It


Eddie Murphy- Boogie in Your Butt


Have a great Saturday!

Always with the Acronyms

Here I am again. I just kind of leaped into this without a plan.
I am good at that.

I thought my A post should be Ankylosing Spondylitis or A.S.
That is inflammatory arthritis that affects the back as well as hips, knees, heels, etc. And also can damage heart, eyes, and lungs and fusing of back and hips can occur.

But, as I am still in denial, I am writing on another topic.

The beloved ACRONYM.

They are everywhere.

Not so much when I was younger. The military has always liked acronyms, but the general population really didn't use many.

An acronym is a group of the letters that stand for something.

We had BFE- Bumfuck Egypt which means being in the middle of nowhere.
We also had FUBAR- Fucked up beyond all recognition.

The acronym has a life of it's own these days.
Known as geek speak, text talk, or internet slang.

I admit to searching for some of these.
Some I can figure out by context.
Does FTW mean for the win here or fuck the world?
Are you playing soccer or having a bad day?

Maybe if you are Monsanto fucking the world means you are winning?

I kept seeing AF. Had to look that one up.
The band AFI means A Fire Inside, I knew that.
As fuck, really?

Does it seem to you that a lot of these have F as a bad word?
WTF is going on here?
OMG, do you think that is why all the acronyms? So people can say naughty words without saying naughty words?

I just have no words.

The Internet is Trying to Dumb Me Down

But, I am not going to let it win.

Many people have sadly lost the fight.
I will carry on.

I will continue to be appalled at bad grammar and God-awful spelling.
I read a comment on an article~ "They think that we are dum".
I'd really like to think typo, but...

I will continue to read both sides to determine what I believe to be right.
None of this " I won't read it because it doesn't support how I think".

I will not blindly think a meme is true without checking.
See my post about baboons and Congress.
Please don't believe that people can't pay for insurance and have to pay a $2085 fine. This year(2015 tax year) the max is $975 or 2% of income. Next year(2016 tax year) is $2085 or 2.5% of income. If you make enough adjusted gross income to have to pay that amount and can't afford insurance, you need lessons in how to budget.( the point on having to buy it or not is a different matter)
Don't tell me how great Republicans are because they freed the slaves. Lincoln freed the slaves for political reasons.


With the exception of the occasional brain fart, I will check dates to see when something is posted.
That person died 10 years ago and that article about the flu went around 2 years ago. Thanks for letting me know.

If I think something sounds goofy, I will check to see if the site is satirical or not. More and more of them all the time. In the words of Jesse Ventura~ "Stay vigilant".
Why people pass all this stuff around as truth is beyond me.

The internet can be a great resource, but you have to dig for it.

You may learn that angle and angel are two different things.
You may learn that Operation Paperclip was a military activity involving Nazi scientists.
You may learn that you can still carry a disease while being vaccinated for it and give it to someone that has been vaccinated.

There are online dictionaries.
In case you have forgotten 7th grade social studies, learn about Socialism and Communism and Republics and Democracy.

You can learn geek speak.
What do those letters mean?
I will look that sucker up.

Use the internet for good.

Now, Where Was I

I don't even know.
Since I last posted, I have had a headache from hell.
Or, more specifically, a headache from the pharmaceutical company.

My doctor switched my NSAID to one that will target the eye and spine better.
Lucky me, I get eye flares.

But, the pills give me headaches.

So, I had to call the clinic and go through that awesome automated menu and wait on hold for what seemed like forever.
All I know is that I lost count of the number of times I heard that calls will be answered in the order they were received.

Oooohhhh, a ring.
Talk to the nurse.
Not my doctor's nurse. Just a nurse.
Talked for a couple minutes and told they would forward the stuff to my doctor and get back to me.

The nurse calls me back to tell me not to take it anymore.
Which is good because I wasn't going to.
Worsening headaches don't seem to be a good thing.

I wish I could try more supplements. I am doing research on diets and such.

In other news, my sister had surgery on her foot.
She has diabetes and somehow got wire in her foot.
She can't feel her feet anymore so hard to say how long it has been there.

She had been in the hospital over 24 hours and through surgery before she even got a room.
Maybe it was two days.
She waited a long time though.

Calling my mother and talking about my health problems is never a good idea.
I fill her in and than she comes back by mentioning that she went to the dentist.
Has a cavity.
I have iritis flares, but you have a cavity.
That's totally comparable.
Why do I bother?
Why?

I get to sit and listen to her lovely constipation problems.
I try and show sympathy.
I don't really give a shit.
Really, I don't.
I have IBS.

Also, I don't care.

I Find Your Lack of Empathy Disturbing

People go on and on about common sense and how no one has it anymore.
There has even been an obituary written about it and you can read it here.

But, I have noticed another trend coming along hard and fast.
It's lack of empathy.

The older I get, the more things I realize.
The more I look at things from the other person's point of view.

I think everyone should.
But, they don't.
They choose not to.
Or, it just isn't in them to do so.

Lots of times people forget where they come from.
My father's family was dirt poor, grew up on what is now called welfare.
Many of my cousins and aunts and uncles call anyone getting government assistance lazy.

Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you need help.
You can work you ass off.
Go to college and you still are just making it.

No, I am not saying that being on assistance is good.
Nobody would choose to grovel for help like that.
Maybe a small minority, but not everyone should get lumped in together.

People and debt.
You should never ever use a credit card.
If you can't afford it, you don't need it.
Maybe money can't be saved and the car needs fixed so you can go to work and pay bills.

People make fun of other people that ride in scooters at the store because they don't look sick.
How do you know?
I don't look sick, but drive me around in a car for about a hour and watch me try and walk when I get out. It ain't pretty.
No, I don't use scooters.
I just walk it off.

There is not just one reason that people do things.
Some people want to and some people need to for whatever reason.

I just get tired of the whole " You need to do this" and " That isn't right" thinking and preaching.

She Just Wants to be Labeled

Yes, some things need labels.

Food, so we know what we are eating.
Stores, so we know whether we are buying underwear or windows.
States, so we know what we can smoke and what we can't.

Except for titles, people really don't need labels.
You do need to know if you are speaking with the CEO and not the mailroom clerk.

That is really where it should stop.

I don't care if you are pansexual, conservative, liberal, right-winger, transgender, blah, blah,blah.

You are a person.
Or, are you not?

We shouldn't be put into a box with a label.
I know I have different ideas and I would have to be put into many boxes or have my own miscellaneous box.

Some people are just assholes and some people aren't.

Maybe we just need two boxes: Asshole and Not asshole.


Political labeling really does annoy me to no end.

Maybe this is why I choose to not be affiliated with a party.

Both sides are so sure they are totally right and the other side is totally wrong.

And they throw conservative and liberal back and forth like they are insulting each other.
But, how is it an insult when the other person is content with who they are?

It's like yelling at me " You, you WOMAN!"

Ooh, you got me there.

How could you be so... accurate?

Many Shades of Broke

Being broke is subjective.
Really, really subjective.

At Christmas time, my cousin shows pictures of all these gifts she bought and she is always talking about going out to eat.
She's broke.

 There are the people that are broke after paying for cable/dish with all the fixins, paying for an extremely expensive family cell phone bill, and going out to eat on a regular basis.

There are the people that are hanging on. Can pay bills ( late ), but not much else.

There are people not going to the doctor because they can't afford the co-pay and/or deductible.

There are people that have to put groceries back at the store because they find they don't have enough money for everything they need.
This makes me sad. My daughter works in a grocery store and said it actually happens a lot.

Last week, I read somewhere that you aren't broke if you can afford air conditioning for your home.
Really?
I can't afford not to have it.
My husband can't handle heat and would end up in the hospital and A/C is cheaper than repeated trips for heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

I can't afford a cell phone or to go out to eat. I find it hard to pay medical bills.
I don't really feel broke though.
I can pay my bills. Even if they are late.

Sure, it sucks when people tell you that they are in the same boat when they don't have a clue.

That's OK.
I gots the frugal skills.

I reuse everything I can.
Now known as re-purposing.

I can stretch my food dollars so far that dollar groans in protest.

I am broker than some, but not as broke as others.
More would be nice, but I have what I need.

That is what matters.

Ten Things Tuesday- Reasons to Caucus in Iowa

Most states in the US hold primaries.
A few have a mixture of a primary and a caucus.
Sixteen states are strictly caucus states.

Why a caucus and not a primary?
Cause a caucus is more homey.

Iowa is very proud to have the first caucus in the nation.

Whoop, whoop!


source


Oh, the excitement!



Don't get me wrong.
Choosing the next president is a big job.

But, being the first caucus never seemed all that important to me.

Iowa IS corn, pigs, and the first caucus and that is how it is.

But why is it important to caucus? Let me tell you in this week's Ten Things Tuesday.

Reasons to Caucus in Iowa:

1. You are a Democrat or Republican
     Change your party from Independent or you can't come in.

2. It's a good way to kill a couple hours.
     Notice I said hours, not that you might not want to kill someone for thinking you are wrong and that Huckabee is not going to make it. You just watch, people!

3. Meeting new people
     You already have common political ground. Your soul mate could be in there.

4. Learning new things.
     It's not all about the vote. Discussions are made on the candidates and the issues before you write down your choice.

5. Chance to meet the candidate
     Either the candidate or a representative is present at many precincts. Ask O'Malley to dance a jig.

6. Being alert
     The cold arctic blast of a February night in Iowa will make sure you are wide awake and won't fall asleep before it is time.

7. No lines
     Primaries have lines. It is just like an election. Not a caucus. It's like a stuffy party for the politically inclined.

8. Make your voice heard.
     So, you voted for Sanders and Clinton won. You were there. You spoke up.

9. You might get on the news.
     News stations cover this stuff. You could get your 15 seconds of fame.

10. You get to talk bad about the other party.
     Bitch away about how we need to take our country back. Talk about corporate greed. Go ahead. You know you want to.


Have a great Tuesday!

What the Funk

Yes, I have been in a tremendous funk for what seems like forever.

Lot of crap happened last year and I just couldn't deal.

Health problems hit
Two uncles, an old neighbor, a friend, and a guy I graduated high school with died
Got behind on bills
Flubbed a job interview

But, today
TODAY
I took one of those facebook quizzes to see what kind of personality I have.

I know
I know

They are silly and many times you get an answer and you are just "what?"
But, here's the thing.
I got

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

You have a uniquely creative personality!

The main things in life for you are your intuition, wisdom, joy, satisfaction and curiosity. The world for you is full of mystery, and is made up of so many different things, situations and people which are all constantly stimulating your imagination. Your life is painted in a multitude of beautiful colours, and you're always looking at it through the prism of creativity. You can turn anything that happens to you into something positive, and you never look for simple answers to life's questions.

You live your life in constant anticipation of experiencing something new and wonderful. However, at the moment you feel a lot of aggression inside. It's possible that recently you've been experiencing a lot of negative emotions and have the desire to finally resolve something that's been bugging you for a long time. You need to calm down and relax. The time has come to do something new. You have the ability to draw a huge amount of strength from yourself, whilst at the same time remaining a tender and loving person.

And I thought to myself. "Damn, I do! This is me."
I am pretty awesome and I really need to start acting like it.

Time to pull my head out of my ass and get on with it.