Hippity Hop...

So I went a little Easter nuts the past couple days. Wow, I cannot believe how many hours I've put in since Tuesday morning on my shops. But I got a lot accomplished, so it's all worth it. Not sure why I went with Easter or where the idea came from, but there it was - in my head and I went with it. It's funny how things happen like that with me, once I get something in my head I have to fly with it - but the only downfall of it is I can't make designs that aren't in my head. Sounds obvious, but what I mean is, like today - I'm on an Easter kick, chicks, bunnies & such - I couldn't do a snowmobile design for SledderWear right now if my life depended on it.

Ok, well if my life depended on it....

Anyway. Here's a little preview of what I did the past couple days:




There's more in the shop, if you are interested. I think I did enough Easter for now. Hopefully tomorrow will be something different.

A Kittilicious Did You Know: Did you know that Demon #1 is almost an A student? I say almost because she got a C+ in Tech Ed last quarter, otherwise everything else was A-, A or A+, but she still made the Honor Roll - 3 quarters in a row!

What my girls did today

They went to school. Not really sure what that all consisted of because I wasn't there. Demon #1 got home at 3:20 and irritated me for about a hour with saying nothing but "moo", but I couldn't help but bust out laughing everytime she did it. She helped me make supper and then while she set the table at 4:55, I ran to pick up Demon #2 from swimming. When she got in the car I was greeted with; "Mommy, you better have supper ready because I'm hungry!". Which I then used the ride home to make her come up with better greetings to greet her mother with. I also threatened her with the fact that we only live 6 blocks from school and I should make her walk instead of being a nice mommy and driving to pick her up. We got home, woke dear old dad up who was sleeping on the couch, had supper and then I cleaned up the supper mess, the girls played a game and the husband went back to his nap.

I spent the entire day on the computer today..... 95% of it was creating an Easter line in my store.

It's been 39 days since I quit smoking but I almost had one today.

I'm sorry, those last 2 comments were about me. This is supposed to be about the demons.

I think this is the most boring blog post I've written yet.

A Kittilicious Did You Know: Did you know that if you mess with a mama bear's cubs she will not think twice about killing you?

SHE CAGES HER CHILDREN!!!

Maybe I post too many pictures of Saki and not enough of the kids. Well, did you know that I keep the kids in a kennel, too? We had to buy a bigger one just to fit them all!



















We dress her up, too....

Why are the Demons called demons?

Some of you are maybe wondering why I call my children "Demon #1" and "Demon #2". It has absolutely nothing to do with their behavior, looks or anything of the sort. It started way back in 1994 when I was pregnant with Demon #1. She was an active baby and at times it looked like I was going to birth an alien out of my belly button. Not knowing if this little baby was female or male, I started calling it "the demon spawn seeded from the devil himself"... because she was a difficult pregnancy and - jokingly - I'd blame the husband - her father - the devil - for doing this to me.

When I became pregnant the 2nd time, it was just natural to call that one a demon, too. Although she was the easiest pregnancy a woman could ask for... and the BEST baby!!! Far from a demon, thats for sure, but the names stuck.

So anyone out there who thinks I call my children demons because I don't like them or can't control them or they are these awful children... it's far from the truth. Sometimes assumptions do only one thing... makes an ass out of people and it's usually the person doing the assuming.

Demon #1's other nickname is Monster - for the same pregnancy reasons. Demon #2's nickname is Bear because it sounds cute with "Krissy". Are those bad nicknames for kids? You be the judge.

Bad comments and bad parenting

If you have ever left a negative comment here you will notice it doesn't stay long. I hate negativity. With anyone.

Someone decided to tell me I was a bad parent because I don't post about my kids much. My life revolves around my animals and my quitting smoking and not enough on my children.

This is a blog that any random person can read and it's about me and I have control over what I want to put into it. If I want to talk about puppies and cigarettes I will.

If you look at my blog labels you will see what I talk about most often.

I talk about what I feel like talking about at any given time. I really fricken love chocolate, but do I clutter this blog with it? No. I love to read, do you see book recommendations all over? No. I love sex with my husband, do you see details about it? No.

And one thing - if you don't like what someone is writing about... stop reading it.

Stupid comments made by strangers explain why I don't dive into the very personal life of myself or my children on a public blog.

Not much going on

It's day 36. Yea me!

Husband is on his way to buy a motor for the puppy-trade-off sled, then after that we are going to his dads to help him with some stuff. Have to bring the puppy along because we can't leave her in the crate all day and I just don't trust the eat & chew-everything-in-sight dog alone in the garage that long either. She'd probably eat one of the sleds.

I guess I shouldn't say there isn't much going on - there's actually quite a bit. It involves Demon #2 but honestly I really don't want to get into it right now.

Don't you hate that when people do that? Give you a tease of whats going on? I can't stand it.

******taken out just because*******

Anyway. Just wanted to throw a little update in here. We've got friends from Pennsylvania coming to see us tomorrow... it's one of those "internet things" that old people freak out about. Ok Dad, yep, you're right, I haven't actually met Jill, but I've known her for 9 years. Cue the eye roll from Dad. If you've never met her, how can you know her?
It's funny how the older generations can't grasp the concept of internet friendships. My dad just gets pissed off, too, when you talk about people online. I mean really pissed off because the though is so alien to him. My friend Kimber is one of my best friends and I've never laid eyes on her... but we've talked each other through panic attacks, cried on the phone to each other, laughed, screamed... you name it, we've done it. But nope, I've never seen her in person. It's something that is strange when you try to explain it to someone who still thinks a mouse is a rodent.

He still can't figure out how I made over $7,000 in one month selling t-shirts online. That one went right over his head and I didn't even attempt to explain it.

Jill and her hubby, Sean, are coming to Minnesota for a visit to Mayo in Rochester. Not a planned visit, but it's a good excuse for us to finally meet. The husband has met Sean before, years ago, on a trip out east... but Jill & I? It's a meeting that we've waited a long time for.

Happy weekend everyone....

Ring-a-ding-dong-dog

Well, this weekend was bell-weekend.

So I get a bell and tie it up near the door (it's not ON the door, so it doesn't ring when the door opens/closes or is accidentally hit by passerby humans or critters). Every time I let the critters out I'd either ring the bell myself or put their noses (or in Chico's case, his paw - he's supposed to jump for it) up to it. I started this around .... um.... noon? Now, these dogs go out a lot. I think half the time Saki just wants to play. She loves snow. Anyway, by 4 or 5 I'd stand by the bell and say "Saki, you need to go outside and go potty?"... she'd nudge the bell with her nose. HOURS! She doesn't ring it before she comes & tells me she needs to go out, but hey.. I'm impressed either way.

Except every now & then she'll ring it on her way in the house...

The jury is still out on the intelligence of Saki. Gimme 1/2 hour with her and I can teach her a trick. A couple days, she's a pro at it. At 8:00pm she's barking at me... nope, doesn't need to go potty... she wants to go to bed. So I have to walk her into my room so she can walk herself in her kennel & I can shut the door on her.

But try to teach the dog to poop outside and she's as stupid as a bucket of rocks.

Potty? 99% down. The 1% is nobody paying attention to her or she's just gotta go!

But poop? I don't get it. She will HOLD it to go in the house and do it. I'm not making this up. She won't potty in the garage, but she'll poop in there. I've taken her "accidents" and thrown them outside so she can smell it and think "hmm this is where this stuff goes"... but nooooooo. She can make a grown man proud of her farts, so when I smell them I take her outside - if she poops I make a huge deal about it... I call the neighbors, plan a party, the whole works. But next time? She'll poop in the house.

So she's learning tricks... sit, down, stay, crawl, sit up, fetch, drop it (next it's putting her toys away - seriously, I'm going to teach this dog to clean up after herself.).... she's doing the potty thing pretty good, she's ringing a friggin' bell on her way outside, knows her bedtime and knows how it's done, but she can't figure out the concept of poppin' outside?

So then I took her out this morning, like I usually do. Let her back in and went to fill up my coffee cup. I glance over into the living room and she's in the poop stance! NOOOO SAKI NOOOOO!!! She ran from me, but I just said "lets go outside" like it was normal... I did see she she pooped a little out there, so I let her come in.

I was upstairs on the computer for about 10-15 minutes and was reading forums when.... heard the bell ring..... ran downstairs and Saki wanted to go out! This is the FIRST time she's done it on her own like this!

It gets better.....

She went outside and POOPED!!!!!!!!

.... so I guess she wasn't done poopin' afterall.

Lets hope this isn't a fluke and she keeps this up.

Now if I could just get her to stop chasing her tail all the time.

(Psst.... it's day #31 today!!!!)

28 days, being alone and a lot of money

Day #28 today and $168 saved. Remember, thats a low number though... I put down $4/pack on the website, but we really pay close to $5. And double that for the husbands quitting. I'm pretty much down to 1 pill a day, too, but not by choice. I just keep forgetting to take the other fricken pill.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. My husband left me. Ok, ok, not really... well, yes he did. He left me at 5am for snow covered snowmobile trails and a bunch of guys who all they do is sit around and talk BS and snowmobiles all day. It sorta rather sucked without him yesterday...

I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day - or any commercialized holiday really. Yeah ok, I go overboard on Christmas, but the rest? Bah humbug. A few years back... probably 8 or 9 years ago the husband walked in the door the afternoon of Valentine's Day with a huge vase filled with one dozen roses and a balloon that said "I love you" attached to it. I was in shock! MY husband did this? Talk about falling in love all over again!

In our house we have one checkbook and it stays with me. He hates writing checks and when he became a truck driver I was forced to be responsible for the bills, so it's just kinda turned into me handling it. Which works for us... and hey! no fighting about money! It's great. #1 reason for divorce in America is financial fighting - won't happen here! Anyway, I have the checkbook, but he has one of those handy dandy plastic cards that works as a check, so when he uses it he has to give me the reciept so I can deduct it out of the checkbook. He used the check-card for the roses, so he handed me the reciept. I took one look at it and said; "If you EVER buy me roses on Valentine's Day again, I'm leaving you".

And I mean it. Some guys will say women don't mean it when they say it, but I do. $85.00 for a dozen roses, a vase and a stupid balloon. That should be illegal. $85.00!! If he would have waited a week they would have been $40. It's stupid and as far as I'm concerned - not very original. If most men think women don't mean it... think about this. Women expect it. Valentine's and roses go together. We don't think men can think past what they know... it's an easy-out. Throw money out, bring home roses. Done.

Let me put it this way - I have all 3 notes that my husband has ever written me. I cherish them like I cherish my children. How many of those 12 roses do I have? None. Figure it out.

Anyway. How about a picture of my puppies just to lighten the mood?

Today we are off to the orthodontist and then the dentist. Demon #1 has braces and she doesn't have enough room in her mouth for all the teeth she has, so today the ortho is going to remove her brackets so the dentist can pull 2 of her teeth... then Monday we go back and have 2 more pulled. She's going to be a hurting unit after all this is said and done!

Speaking of money... do we really want to go here when talking about braces? Ugh. And, of course, our dental insurance is good, but it ain't that good! $4600 for braces... that should be illegal too! And I know that Taryn is going to remember that amount until the day she dies because she is always reminded of the cost. Now granted, she might have ended up with braces anyway, but a lot of it is her own fault. She had no idea what the outcome would be, but when she was little and her baby teeth were loosening up, she wouldn't tell us. She didn't want us to pull them out. So by the time we realized they were loose, they were hanging by a thread and the adult tooth had already come in... and not in the right place. She did this time and time again and it drove us nuts. Snaggletooth we called her, because... she was!

So I'm long winded today, ain't I? If you are still reading... whats wrong with you? I'm not that exciting! LOL

Anyway... have a great day and remember to smile at a stranger for no reason. They'll smile back - I promise!

What day is it? Are you curious?

It's Day #26....

..... and thats all I really have to say right now!

Saki Sit

she's growing up, isn't she?

Germs are our friends!

Health officials in Minnesota and North Dakota have identified the first known cases of drug-resistant meningitis.

Minnesota State Epidemiologist Ruth Lynfield is also urging caution in the use of antibiotics, saying that misused antibiotics are the main cause of drug-resistant illnesses.

Link

I had to laugh when I read what the epidemiologist said. Sure, you all know how I can go on about how irritated as crap I am when it comes to antibiotics, but THIS IS WHY! All illnesses are going to become drug-resistant if people keep pumping themselves full of antibiotics and don't just start letting their immune system do what it's supposed to do.
I learned so much when the girls were diagnosed with hypothyroidism. With their immune system being weak because of the messed up thyroid it just seemed to make more sense to build up their immune system instead of babying it. The more I read, the more I realized I was right (and that there are still people out there who are like me!!!).

So people STOP buying the antibacterial soaps and cleaners and whatnot... let the germs in! Germs are what we NEED to stop this stuff... as hypocritical as it sounds.... germs are our friends! Don't let doctors give you antibiotics unless you need them 110%. There are too many doctors out there who will give a person something "just in case". It ain't worth it. I'm glad the doctors we deal with are in this type of thinking - they HATE filling out antibiotic prescriptions. Where do you think I learned that it would do my girls better not to go on antibiotics for minor things or things that they should be able to fight off themselves? (ok, my doc & the pediatric endocrinologist at the St. Paul Children's Hospital)

Did you know that most people should be able to fight off a minor to average infection on their own, without the use of any antibiotics in their system?

Day #21...... still not smoking!

Although I have to say that I wish I was. I miss it. How stupid is that? Not enough to make me light one up, even though there is a pack in my purse (the one that was in the truck from the snowmobile show). I haven't had a cigarette since those 2 drags a couple weeks ago... but part of me really misses smoking. That is dumb if you ask me. And I'm the one telling it! LOL

I did find out from a friend of mine that she was on Chantix about a year ago. She said it's great while you are on it, but once you go off it's like you quit all over again. She started smoking again and so did the people she knows that quit on it.. they started back up after the meds were gone. Great. I knew this was too easy.

Anyway.... this is what the Chantix website told me today. I did not know this.

Why do cigarettes contain menthol?

Because many people like the taste — but that's not the only reason.

Menthol has an anesthetic, or numbing, effect. It quiets the nerves in your throat that react to irritation. (Which is why it is used in cough drops.)

Eugenol, a liquid found in clove oil, is also added to cigarettes. It has a numbing effect too. It deadens the mucous membranes to lessen irritation.

Tobacco companies add menthol and eugenol to cigarettes to prevent coughing. This might sound like a good thing, but it’s not. Coughing is your body’s natural reaction to smoke. It also helps clear out your airways.

So if you've started coughing more since you stopped smoking, that's okay. It means that your throat isn’t numb anymore.

Now that your throat and tongue aren't being “numbed” by cigarette additives, have you noticed the changes to your sense of taste and smell? Someone once said that, for a smoker, eating is like watching a color movie in black and white. Isn’t it nice not to dull your senses through a “smoke screen"? Tune in tomorrow, when we’ll revisit our old friends, cravings and withdrawal.

tricky little bastards, aren't they?