Not that I should continue to be surprised, but I am.

I wonder when the ability to not allow things to shock me will kick in.

The monetary goal for the ‘toy’ mentioned a couple posts down has been met, and exceeded.  I feel… at a loss.   There was over $1200 raised in literally a couple of days.  For an EFFING TOY!

The not-so-nice side of me wanted the total to sit for months and months, with little to no gain.  I knew it was a far fetched dream.  But, that’s what I really wanted to see.

The nicer side of me wants to not say anything more about the whole subject.

But, eh… whatever.  I’m not feeling especially nice at the moment.

I guess that’s the perk of having so many ‘readers’ on a blog.  People throw free crap at you all the time, and you get used to it.  Like, I dunno, you deserve all that free crap…

I still don’t get it.  Why not donate the money to someone in need?  Why not give it to a homeless shelter?  Why not feed some kids in Africa or something?  Why doesn’t she do it now that all the money has been collected?

I kind of hope he decides he’d rather give the money to charity.  I doubt it’ll happen.

Geez.

Just imagine if her power was used for good things instead of out of selfishness.

Gimme, gimme, gimme!!

Aaaand, it frustrates me that very few people are voicing their opinions to her about this on her blog.  Leave her a comment.  Tell her.  If you’re wanting it to be anonymous, fine…  create a fake email address or something.

I know.  I need to just get over it.  And I will.  It’ll all be old news and long forgotten in a matter of a week or two.

Just like many of the things I read; in one eye and out the other.

Hehe.

C’mon… that was funny, right?

I’m not too proud to ask for help.  I’ve done it before.  I’ve done it here on my blog.  I’ve done in face to face with my friends and family.  Heck, I still have that little chip-in widget in my sidebar… which isn’t doing any good anyhow, so I might as well remove it.

But, when I ask for help, its for something important.  Like, groceries.  Or, filling my propane tank.  Even helping make a payment on Tom’s van.

I’d never have the nerve to ask anyone for help buying a toy.  Ever.  That’s just … unnecessary.  A toy is exactly that.  Its not essential to ones daily life.  Its not a ‘make it or break it’ situation.

I’m not saying that the toy is not worth purchasing.  Hell, go ahead.  If I had the cash to buy something like that, I just might.

But, to put it out there to ask your readers to donate their hard earned money for a toy?

Tacky.

Rude.

Inappropriate.

If you need help keeping your electricity on?  Post about it.  Ask for help.

Do you need help from getting your only form of transportation from being repossessed?  Blog about it.  Add a widget to your blog.

Are you trying to find a way to make it across the country to see your mother before she passes away from her terminal cancer?  Please, ask the world for a hand!

But, a toy?  An expensive toy?  An unnecessary, costly toy?

Don’t ever ask me for a donation regarding a toy.

Its just inconsiderate.

There are people struggling today.  And, I mean STRUGGLING.  People are loosing their houses.  People can’t buy groceries.  People can’t buy new shoes for their kids.  People are having to get rid of any luxury they own to help make ends meet.

I am not even struggling so badly that I’ve had to give up a luxury, yet.

And, I’ve not asked the blogging world in the longest time to throw me their spare change.  I know that this isn’t the time to ask for help.  Most everyone is looking for help.  A lot of people are struggling.

And, I’m definitely not asking you to help fund a completely ridiculous request, either.

If you feel the need to donate somewhere, consider these links:

Christopher Reeves Foundation – help research a cure for Spinal Cord Injuries

Harvesters

The Salvation Army

American Cancer Society

My sister and I hung out today at a couple local cemeteries.  Weird?  Some of you probably think so.  But, we were searching for some specific headstones.  No one we knew, though.  We were searching for some that were listed on FindAGrave.  If you don’t freak out about cemeteries, you should totally check it out.

We rescheduled Tom’s doctor’s appointment today.  He just wasn’t feeling it.  So, we’re not going until after Easter.  (Oh, yes, children… Easter is coming up soon.)

The weather has turned from absolutely beautiful 79 degrees to possible snow this weekend.  You know, if Mother Nature would just decide what was going on, it would help me out tons.

We’ve yet to recieve the title for the new van.  But, the company keeps sending us temporary tags to keep us legal.  And, although I appreciate that, I may have to call soon and give ‘em a little hell.  Not too much, of course.  They’ve worked really hard at this whole transaction.  I just don’t understand how they could not have the title in their possession when the van was sold to us.  Ya know?

Gah, the alarm went off again!  WTH?!?!!  There isn’t even a flipping wind outside!  Very very aggravating.  That’s literally 8 times its gone off in the last 2 hours.  Extreme.

I went to the library the other day.  I realized that I have no idea how to work the computer system there to find a book… and, that I honestly don’t know how to find the book if I actually figured out how to work the computer system.  How did this part of my learning about libraries as a child not sink in?  Instead, I browsed the shelves until I found a couple things that caught my eye.

I’ve been getting quite bored with the internet lately.  Someone give me something interesting to do, wouldja?  Thanks.

And, although there is a small problem with trash bags being torn open sometimes, overall there aren’t any problems with the lack of leash law.

But, that is neither here nor there.

Mooch is a black lab, and is probably about a year or so old.

He looooooves to play fetch.  Loves it.  His life revolves around you throwing and him bring back.

He’ll bring you anything to throw.

I mean anything.

When all else fails, he’ll take one piece of mulch out of my mulch garden (because there are no flowers, it is a mulch garden… not a flower garden).  That piece of mulch cannot be replaced with another piece of mulch.  You’d think there was no difference?  Well, there must be… somehow.

Anyway, when he has the luxury of a tennis ball, he’ll bring it over to anyone who is outside.  And, he’ll sit it down and look up to you with his big brown eyes and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

He’ll wait for you to kick the ball.  It doesn’t matter if the ball goes 23094 miles or .02 millimeters, he’s super psyched and will retrieve the ball.

And, then he’ll drop the ball.  Etc, etc.

But, if he drops the ball into my mulch garden, I say to him, “Mooch, its in the mulch…”

Then he quickly retrieves the ball, and drops it the two inches further over so its on the sidewalk instead of in the mulch.  Which makes it easier to kick.

Which makes the ball go.

Which makes Mooch happy that he gets to chase it.

And, if he drops the ball into the mulch after he retrieves it, I’ll say, “Mooch, its in the mulch…”

And, again, he picks it up and drops it onto the sidewalk.

I don’t know if he’s really trained regarding this, or if its just coincidence, but its pretty neat if you ask me.

Wow.

I just wrote a whole post about playing fetch with the dog.

My life is e.x.c.i.t.i.n.g, huh?

Do you have an itouch or iPhone? Is there an application you have that you couldn’t imagine living without? Let me know what it is … I’ll totally check it out.

PS I downloaded a couple free movie trailers, just to play around, but don’t know if they’re on the itouch or not. They show up on the apple store thingee. Tell me how to work this thing.

Thx.

- I did not hear anything from the financing people today.  Which does not shock me.  Because, really, that would just be convenient.  Or, logical.  Or something like that.

- I text messaged a friend of mine that lives in St. Croix (Yes, that would be the Virgin Islands).  She said there was no way in hell that she’d consider moving back to Missouri.  Especially in the winter.  I don’t suppose I’d blame her really.

- I nearly ran out of Diet Coke tonight, and definitely didn’t feel like leaving my house would be a great idea.  Paul willingly went to the store and bought me some pop and chocolate.  He knows not to bite the hand that feeds him… or something like that.

- I feel feverish.  I’ve taken my temperature, and its not gone above 100.  Which, for me, basically means that I don’t reaaaaally have a fever.  Now, if Tom’s temperature was at 100, we’d both be unhappy.  (He runs a low temp on average.  I run higher than most normal people.)

- Can you feel when you have a fever in your eyes?  Like, I dunno, your eyelids are warmer than normal sitting on your eyeballs?  I can totally judge how much of a fever I have by my eyeballs.

- I blabber a lot more about nothing in particular when I’m sick also.  Have you noticed?  You’ve made it this far into this post?  Wow.  I’m super impressed.  I mean, I really don’t feel that I’ve given you anything worth reading… but here you are… still reading.  Crazy.

- My cats have been on a regular feeding schedule for years now.  Yet, they still whine and wait by their food bowl hours before its time to be fed.  Why is this?

- The number 3 has fallen off my house.  The ‘siding’ that the previous owners used must be brick mortar or something.  Its near impossible to drive a nail through that crap.  The rest of the numbers are still hanging in there, though.

- I love twitter.  Lots.  And lotsandlotsandlots.  If you don’t have a twitter account, you should totally jump on the bandwagon and get one.  Now.

Its okay.  I’ll wait for you to start your twitter account before I continue.

Really.  Go ahead.  Its super simple to sign up.  Then, you can follow me.   Cuz, I find 140 characters to be more than enough to express myself throughout the day.

- I think I’m getting tired.

- I think the Alieve is kicking in and beating down my ‘fever’.

- I think I need a zinger.

- I think I want to color my hair.  Or cut it, or both.  Or neither.

- Maybe I’ll get a pedicure instead.

- (I got a gift card for Christmas, btw.  I’m not made out of money here.)

- Are you still reading?

- Seriously?

- If you are, tell me why I just noticed that Tom’s and my hair color is exactly the same.  Like, exactly.  Like, should of both come from a bottle to make it that exact.

- Well, his has some grey hairs scattered throughout there. I would never say something like that!  Rude.

- I’m outtie.  I’ll look for you on twitter.

(yes, that is all.)

Alas (yes, I really just said ‘alas’) I’ve got nothing but a hodge podge of stuffs.

Wanna hear about it?

Okie dokie.

- I have cleaned my desk from top to bottom.  And, I mean cleaned.  Like, everything was taken out, dusted off, gone through and redistributed in a neat fashion.  I bought shelves for all the collectibles that have been…. uh, collected… to help space out the clutter which was the top of my desk.  Its all very surreal.  Having an organized desk is something so rare in my life, so when it happens, its almost as satisfying as buying a new car or something.  Do you understand what I mean?

- My younger cat has taken to hissing and swiping at my older cat here recently.  Its not consistent.  But, it is mainly unprovoked.  I don’t understand what the deal is… nothing has changed otherwise (to the best of my knowledge).  They’re both indoor cats, and have been all their lives, and they’ve been raised together since they were old enough to leave their mothers.  We’ve had them for 6 years or so?  I’ve taken to calling the younger, moodier one a ‘crotchety old man’.  Cuz, apparently its the truth now.

- I got two inches cut off my hair yesterday.  Its the first time in a long long time that I’ve kept my short hair cut after chopping off enough to donate to Locks of Love.  I almost feel guilty for keeping it short this time.  Yet, I’m sure I’ll let it grow back out again, and start the rotation over again.

- We’re having a party in a couple of weeks.  I think we’re going officially call it an annual event to have a party at our house every year in the beginning of Autumn.  We’ve pretty much done it every year since Tom’s gotten hurt anyhow, might as well just stick with it.  You know, if it ain’t broke…

- My sister might be putting in a bid on a house today.  She’s been wanting to buy a house for two years now.  And, she’s actually found one that meets most of her criteria.  I went to see it yesterday and I think its definitely worth the paperwork.  I hope she gets it, if its really the one she wants.

- I bought the paint to change the color of the trim on my house, finally.  It was a rosey pink color, which never really appealed to me.  It wasn’t horrible, hence the reason I waited so long to actually purchase the new paint.  Now its a beautiful forresty green color, which I love.  Of course, forresty green is my favorite color, in case you didn’t know.

Meh, I think I’m over attempting to post something for now.  I’ve been distracted with my dwindling supply of Diet Coke and how to go about fixing this delimma without leaving my house.  Anyone have any suggestions?

It seems that when I have something worth posting about, its because I’m super busy.  And, then, because I am super busy, I don’t have time to post.

Then, by the time I have a moment to actually string words together here, I don’t have any desire to write out all the crazy details of the recent events.

Although I feel like I’m cheating to make a list, that’s what’s going to happen again.  Maybe someday I might write a real post, with real paragraphs and real direction.

Don’t hold your breathe though!

- I was asked by Tom’s cousin to take photos at her wedding this past Saturday.  I always am honored yet terrified when someone asks me to do something like this.  I am not a professional photographer.  I do not have fancy equipment.  And, I never know how to combat the lighting issues that seem to go hand in hand with a wedding ceremony, leaving me to photoshop several photos so they aren’t as dark.  I’ve not yet started this task with the most recent set of photos yet.

- Tom’s niece turned one on the 3rd.  Her birthday party was this past Sunday.  The explosion of pink decorations and the large crowd of people who would never be in the same room except to celebrate Ashlyn’s birthday were both overwhelming, yet perfect.  Of course I have photos of all that as well, but haven’t really sorted through the lot of them yet.  How many photos can you get of a one year old learning that underneith that pretty wrapping paper is something cool to play with?  Well, let me tell you, you can get hundreds.  And, of course, I did.

- I started and finished reading the Twilight series that I had heard the gossip about around the internets.  Of the currently four book series, the story improved with each book, thankfully.  I had found the first book just barely enough to hold my attention to make it through, but if the series had continued along the same predictable tone, I would of lost interest soon.  Thankfully the author seemed to find her footing better for the next three in the series, with the last being very gripping in my opinion.  I had heard rumors that more books were in the future, but then saw somewhere that the collection had been put on hold indefinitely?  I have not even begun to look into this yet to see what the real situation is.

- I purchased two more books yesterday, written by Marie Brennan.  I haven’t even really looked at them yet, but know they are a set.  Hopefully they’ll be worth the read.  I’ll let y’all know.

- My sister’s boyfriend has finally finished his time in the Marines, and has made his way home safely from being overseas.  Hopefully he’ll find a job soon, otherwise my mom may make him a ‘honey-do’ list longer than any list of directions he received while in the military!  Heck, maybe I’ll slip a few things onto the list, also.

And that, my friends, is a quick run down of my time since I’ve last posted.

You’re very welcome.

(edited to add links to my flickr account with some unedited photos from this past weekend.)

With a passion.

I can be asleep before an infomercial begins and subconsciously hear the television yapping at me to ‘ORDER NOW!‘ or suggesting I make ‘THREE EASY PAYMENTS!‘ and I cringe.

In my sleep!

I honestly have to change the channel when one comes on.

I believe they are the biggest waste of time evah.

I’ve never seen something on an infomercial and, at two in the morning, thought, “Holy crap, I need that now!”

In fact, I have never ever watched an infomercial that compelled me to reach for the telephone.  Ever.

I will admit that I have bought several items, at the store, that are clearly marked, “as seen on tv’.

Have I seen them on TV?  I doubt it.

Does the big ‘as seen on tv’ signage on the box draw my attention to the item I’m considering purchasing?

No.

Not at all.

Why, you ask?

Because, I HATE INFOMERCIALS!

I do anything within my power to avoid these television time wasters.

And, after giving you this new information to ponder and process, I bid you adieu.