A Season for Everything

BLINKIES! I resisted as long as I could, which has actually been years, but the bug has finally bitten me. You can see the ones I snagged over on the sidebar. The absolutely gorgeous one above reminds me of our puppy, Elvis, and is the creation of Lilm’s Glitter.

‘Cause it’s Saturday and I can’t think of anything else to write. This one was stolen from Stranded in Suburbia.

I AM: a conservative, flag-waving, wife and mother.
I WANT: to lose weight.
I WISH: we were leaving a better world for future generations.
I HATE: the Dixie Chicks and the way they think it’s okay to slander and bash and insult anyone whose views they disagree with.
I MISS: my grandmother.
I HOPE: morals and personal accountability make a comeback one day.
I FEAR: global diseases, economic collapse and terrorism.
I HEAR: and respect the concerns of those with opions different from mine.
I WONDER: what life will be like for my children and grandchildren.
I REGRET: not living the adventurous life I dreamed of before settling down to marriage and children.
I AM NOT: an in-your-face republican or christian.
I DANCE: often.
I SING: badly, loudly and in the car.
I CRY: when I’m stressed and over sappy movies.
I AM NOT ALWAYS: little miss sunshine.
I MAKE: people think in different ways.
I LIKE: reading, gardening, Ford trucks and Mustangs, and country music (especially Toby Keith).
I THINK: things to death sometimes.
I WRITE: something every single day without fail.
I CONFUSE: my daughter on a regular basis.
I NEED: to take more chances.
I SHOULD: exercise more and eat healthier.
I START: a lot of things.
I FINISH: the things I really, really like….but not until I absolutely have to.

Today’s post is brought to you by….the letter “P” (for pee and poop) and the number….No, wait, that’s not right. This isn’t Sesame Street. Today’s post is actually the result of Megan spending the night at a friend’s, me being on puppy duty, and said puppy howling all night long. The whole thing about the letter “P” still stands.

You Are a German Shepherd Puppy

Intelligent, quick witted, and a bit aggressive. You’ve got the jaw power to take a bite out of anyone you choose.

Looking to add a little bundle of furry joy to your household? Head on over to Puppyfind for listings of all kinds of breeds.

All About Puppies is a great source of information on all things puppy related.

Prison inmates get a chance to do some good through Puppies Behind Bars. The program trains them to train puppies to become quide dogs for the blind and explosive detection canines for law enforcement.

I’m a poodle lover so had to include a link to TLC Poodles in Virginia. They have a real cutsie, sugary sweet site.

You might want to consider Hushpuppies when looking for something comfy to slip your tootsies into for those long walks with your furry buddy.

Is there anything drug smugglers won’t do to get drugs into the country?

Look no further than this for information on the band, Sickpuppies.

Slushpuppie, purveyors of brainfreeze and blue tongues, have a site filled with contests (you could win an iPod) and lots of other fun stuff.

REDNECK PET CARRIER

Rachel over at Life Being Beautiful had this neat meme posted last week. You go to wikipedia.com and do a search for your birthday (no year). Then post 3 interesting events that happened on your birthday, 2 interesting births and 1 interesting death.

Without further ado, here are mine:

Events

1. 1620 - The Mayflower departs Southampton, England.
2. 1877 - Thomas Edison makes the first-ever recording - “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
3. 1945 - World War II: Victory over Japan Day - Japan surrenders.
**and because I never was any good at following directions**
4. 1961 - Construction begins on the Berlin Wall, Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany.
5. 1969 - The Woodstock Music and Art Festival opens.

Births

1. 1769 - Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France (d. 1821)
2. 1968 - Debra Messing, American actress
3. 1972 - Ben Affleck, American actor

Deaths

1. 1057 - King Macbeth I of Scotland

Chesney Girl tagged me for this. I agree with her, some of these are tough, but I did my best.

3 Names U go By:
1. Ace
2. Roadrunner
3. Mom

3 Screen Names U Have Had:
1. Imroadrunner7
2. Gamemasterdh
3.

3 Things U Like about Yourself:
1. Creativity
2.The ability to get along with even the most difficult of people.
3. Loyal to a fault if you’re one of my peeps.

3 Things U Don’t Like about Yourself:
1. My weight.
2. I procrastinate.
3. I tend to over analyze.

3 Parts of Your Heritage:
1. English. I can trace back to John and Priscilla Alden on my mom’s side.
2. Scottish
3. German
(I don’t know my biological dad so there could be who knows what floating around in the gene pool!)

3 of Your Everyday Essentials:
1. Moisturizer
2. Pepsi
3. Music

3 Things U are Wearing Right Now:
1. Skechers cross trainers
2. Black capri workout pants
3. Red t-shirt
(I’m just home from the gym and a grocery run to Wal-Mart…apologies to Wal-Mart shoppers who were down wind of me.)

3 of Your Favorite Bands or Musical Artists:
1. Toby Keith
2.Gretchen Wilson
3. Kenny Chesney

3 of Your Favorite Songs:
1. A Toby Keith song’s gotta be number one, but I can’t choose just one.
2. Who Says You Can’t Go Home~Bon Jovi w/ Jennifer Nettles
3. Politically Uncorrect~Gretchen Wilson

3 Things U Want to Try in the Next 12 Months:
1. Real Estate
2. A cooking class
3.

2 Truths and a lie
1) I went on a date with a Pittsburgh Steeler back in college (they’re easy to meet when their training camp is in your hometown.)
2) I lived in a wildlife preserve when I was a kid.
3) I have eaten rattlesnake.

3 Things You Want in a Relationship:
1. Honesty/trust/respect
2. Humor
3. Shared interests

3 Things about the Same Sex that Appeal to U:
(I’m hoping we’re talking about friendship here, so….)
1. Loyalty
2. Humor
3. Honesty

3 Things about the opposite sex that Appeal to U:
1. Humor
2. Eyes
3. Smile

3 Things U Just Cannot Do:
1. A cartwheel.
2. Parallel park a school bus.
3. Crack my knuckles.

3 of Your Favorite Hobbies:
1. Reading
2. Blogging
3. Gardening

3 Things U Want to do Really Bad Right Now:
1. Sleep
2. Shower (hey, I just came from the gym)
3. Call off work for this afternoon and go out and enjoy this gorgeous day.

3 Careers U are Considering:
1. Real Estate
2.
3.

3 Places You Want to Go on Vacation:
1. Chincoteague/Assateague Islands in Virginia (Been there, done that, going back in July)
2. Texas, New Mexico, Arizona (Loved New Mexico so figure Texas and Arizona will be pretty cool, too)
3. Caribbean

3 Kid’s Names:
I’ve already got
1. Matthew
2. Megan
I’m not planning on any more, but I like the name
3. Savanah

3 Things U Want to Do Before U Die:
1. Watch my kids grow up, watch my grandkids grow up, see my great grandkids.
2. Visit the Middle East (Egypt, Israel, Turkey)
3. Make a difference

3 Ways U are Stereotypically a Boy:
1. I love football and will watch/play just about any sport.
2. I love driving…fast!
3. I like to work with my hands and tend to get really into it and really dirty.

3 Ways U are Stereotypically a Chick:
1. Shopping.
2. Shoes.
3. Chocolate.

3 Celeb Crushes:
1. Toby Keith
2. Toby Keith
3. and Tob…..ok, ok, how about George Clooney.

3 People I’m tagging (You don’t have to play if you don’t want to, but it’ll be fun)
1. Rachel
2. Grace
3. Skunkfeathers

Thank God, and I do (thank Him, that is), that this is the last day of my work week. Tomorrow is a scheduled snow make-up day and since we haven’t had any snow this winter….three day weekend for me! I couldn’t be happier after the week morning I’ve had. I had to rearrange the whole seating chart on my bus. Too many kids were complaining that so-and-so was being mean to them, the back of the bus was out of control and yesterday a father asked me to move his son away from some kids. Sigh. I hate changing seats around. I spend hours wracking my brain for what I’m sure is going to be the perfect arrangement, the one that will magically make the kids little angels. Yeah, right. More often than not I end up with a bunch of pissed off, pre-pubescent, rugrats. Today was no exception. Most of the kids did actually take it in stride, but “D”, my problem child, bawled all the way to school. Now before you go feeling all sorry for D and hating me, let me fill you in.

D is in 5th grade, the last year of elementary school in our district. D is a bully who picks on the other kids. D does not take discipline well. Nothing is ever D’s fault. Either D didn’t do whatever it is at all (even though caught red-handed) or it is someone else’s fault that D is misbehaving. D also has a problem with control (or impulsiveness). Bus rules are pretty clear and simple: Stay seated, talk quietly, keep your hands to yourself, face the front and no eating. There are others, but those are the main ones we try to enforce for safety reasons. D is rarely sitting down or facing forward. D has one volume, LOUD. D’s hands manage to reach out and touch someone else fairly often. D is disrespectful of authority and seriously mouthy. Every single time I’ve had to correct D, the woeful tale of how I pick on D travels home and D’s momma gets involved. She has at one time or another, called my boss, called the principal, written me letters and once even put D on the bus and then followed me through the entire route to corner me at the school and basically rip me a new one in front of God and everybody for correcting D. Fortunately, my boss knows D and always backs me up. It doesn’t hurt that D has problems in school, too.

Anyway, in changing the seats I tried to clear up as many of the problems as I could. One of those problems was who D was sitting with (a neighbor and D’s best friend, J). D and J are the best of friends, but they are a lot alike and they tend to get, uh….rambunctious. I seperated them to avoid ending up having to write them up. I did not isolate D. I put D with a younger sibling. Close as they are, that arrangement didn’t please either of them. So, I moved both of them to seats with one of their good friends. I just refused to put D back with J. I tried to explain to D that it was not a punishment, that I was trying to prevent having to report poor behavior, because if D is written up one more time, D will be suspended off the bus. D is with a good friend, but still bawled all the way to school and refused to talk to me so I could try and explain. I warned my boss to expect another call.

On to happier things.

FTS posted the link to an awesome clip of Dallas sportscaster, Dale Hansen, speaking about character and integrity in the NFL (Dallas in particular), but it really applies to all professional sports. It’s a few minutes long, but watch the whole thing. It’s worth it.

In case you didn’t notice (or hear) I have a new toy over on my sidebar. Thanks to ChesneyGirl for the link.

I wish I was on the

wearing a little something like this

enjoying the local flavors

and if

showed up in my secluded paradise, well………

25 SIGNS YOU HAVE GROWN UP…..

1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can’t smoke any of them.
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of “hook up” and “break up.”
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as “dressed up.”
10. You’re the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won’t turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don’t know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald’s leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You take naps.
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer “pretty good stuff.”
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. “I just can’t drink the way I used to” replaces “I’m never going to drink that much again.”
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking “Oh S*$# what the hell happened?”

BONUS: You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn’t apply to you and can’t find one to save your sorry old butt.

I’m feeling just a tad stressed today. I won’t bore you with details, but I will share some of the things I found looking for some relief.

Remember mood rings? Along with all the other ‘glorious’ relics from the 70’s, they’re back. Here’s a virtual mood ring to find out your emotional state.

You Are Depressed

No doubt about it, you’re feeling very down. Maybe you’ve had a bad day, or maybe you need help. Either way, make sure to take good care of yourself right now.

Already know you’re in a bad mood/feeling stressed? Find some relief shooting paintballs at smileys that pop out around the office.

This company offers all kinds of products to help you cope with stress.

Are you an emotional eater? If you are, then you know stressful times can drive the best of us to grab the chocolate or chips. Here are some foods that help you manage stress.

Looking for a traditional way to relax? How about fishing? You can’t go wrong with a boat named “Stress Relief.” And if the fish get the better of you, thereby giving you more stress, you can play this game to get even.

Finally, I found a website selling the Orgasmatron. I’ve actually seen this at our mall. In fact, I’ve tried it. It’s not quite what you think.