Talking to myself about stress & talents

Manic Monday #143

Do you ever talk to yourself out loud? What do you talk about? LOL I talk to myself all the time! I probably talk to objects more than myself. In fact, I just told Blogger; "yes, keep me signed in, I'm sick of having to sign in all the time!" (I wish I could figure out what I did to my computer that it keeps logging me out of everything!) But, yes, I talk to myself quite often because... well... I answer myself back and it makes for good conversation. I often call myself a dumbass, too.

What stresses you out? deadlines. I hate deadlines - of anything. I'm always afraid I don't have whatever it is done, even though I know I do. But the biggest is my husband... not him personally but I stress about him being happy. I hate it when he's grumpy so I am always trying to cheer him up. I hate it when he can't have what he wants (usually snowmobile related) and I spend hours of my day trying to come up with ways to get him what he wants.

What are your secret talents? if I told you they wouldn't be a secret anymore, so really... whats the point of this question?

I hate emailing myself

Does anyone know how I can Blogger to stop emailing me when *I* comment on someone's blog - or my own blog for that matter? I want to get everyone else's updates, but I know what I said - I don't need a stinkin' email about it.

Sunday Stealing: The Favorite Meme

Sunday Stealing: The Favorite Meme

Fill in your favorite for each of the following:

1. Political show: None. I don't understand politics so watching a tv show about it would just give me a migraine.
2. Picnic food: fruit
3. Mixed drink: slo-7 or Malibu Pineapple
4. U.S. President: do people really have a favorite president? Fine, if I have to pick one I'm gonna say Clinton just because we all know he had fun during his term.
5. Kind of student to teach: developmentally disabled high school students. (sorry... I've worked as an assistant teacher before, I know what I like & don't like!)
6. Hobby you do or wish you still did: sometimes, honestly, I wish I still drank every night like I did in my younger days. Maybe I'd have friends if I did.
7. Sports commentator: I don't have a favorite, but I'd like to take that pen away from Madden and shove it up his ass.
8. Sport to watch on TV: None really - not for any length of time that is. I guess there are a bunch that I'll watch for awhile, but not long.
9. Animal to have as a pet: Dog.
10. Halloween costume you have worn: Didn't I answer this back in October? I couldn't think of what it was called, but I figured out Debbie @ Thick & Thin was one too when she was little and she reminded me. She posted a picture and everything. It was sweet. Anyway, they were called Kooky Spooks.
11. Kind of dessert: anything with chocolate, preferably with ice cream somewhere in it. And peanut butter.
12. Comic strip: Family Circus. I hate comics, but Family Circus is quick and to the point.
13. Ice cream flavor: Peanut Butter Passion
14. News source: FoxNews & Local6.com (no I don't live in Florida, I just like their news site)
15. Vacation spot: the lake 4 miles out of town.
16. Wine: I can't even fake this one people, sorry. I don't like wine... never have. I guess it's a good thing we're not rich.
17. Way to waste time instead of working: I'm doing it baby!
18. Reality show: The first 2 seasons of Survivor. After that all reality shows went into overkill.
19. Childrens movie: Bambi
20. Celebrity you wish would retire: Mel Gibson, but just so him & I can find each other and spend the rest of our lives together. (He's starring in a new movie again!!! wooohoooo!)
But in all seriousness... I can't really think of anyone that I wish would retire, because even if they are retired, we still hear about them.
Mr Bean! Thats my answer! I hope he retires to Mars or something.

Ok, now go be a good blogger and go play....

Saturday 9: Dreaming of You

Saturday 9: Dreaming of You

1. What did you dream about last night? it's funny that you ask that because I know I had a dream about something that I hadn't thought of in a long time, but I can't remember it! It's wierd that I know it's something I haven't thought of in a long time though. I hate mornings like that.
2. Do you often have nightmares? No, not really.
3. Do you have any special talents? I suppose creativity can be considered a talent. Otherwise, I've got nothing.
4. Who is the most talent person that you know? thats a tough one - I honestly don't have an answer.
5. What did you watch on TV last? Whats Eating Gilbert Grape
6. Is there a new TV show that you would recommend? It's not really new, but New Adventures of Old Christine is a pretty good show. I've been slowly getting into Kath & Kim, too.
7. Who was the last person you phoned and why? AT&T because Demon #2's phone melted.. 2 hours later after talking with them AND Nokia, Krissy gets a brand new red Razor out of the deal... and her ring tone that I bought a few weeks ago will get put on her new phone for free!
8. Who was the last person who phoned you and why? My dad... I had to go clip their kitty's nails and bring her treats because they forgot to buy her some (spoiled!)
9. What was the last snail mail letter that you received? besides bills & such? Probably either something from church or school.

Did you know...??

That now you can search for my designs per shop? I know you are looking for that perfect t-shirt, mug or heck.. you want a sticker, right? It's the perfect thing for Christmas shopping!

Try it out...

Say you want something from our main variety shop, InsanityWear.com, which basically has something for everyone... type something in... see what you come up with!

Search InsanityWear:

Not you? Ok, so are you a snowmobiler? Try searching SledderWear for something for your snowmobile addict:

Search SledderWear:

Still not you? Ok fine. You are a fisherman, right? Maybe a hunter? Well try our 3rd shop... go ahead.. put something in the search box!

Search TheFishingBowl:

and these search boxes are right on the store pages, too! No more excuses on not being able to find that perfect gift.

Friday Fill-ins

And...here we go!



1. The last band I saw live was KISS, quite a few years ago - 10 maybe? Their makeup tour. It was pretty sweet.
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is being with family. (if you don't celebrate thanksgiving, insert your favorite holiday)
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is giving me a headache.
4. Thoughts of nothing - this meme? fill my head.... I'm rather lame this morning.
5. I wish I could wear the jeans that I wore a year ago.
6. Bagpipes make me think of men in skirts with nothing underneath and me hoping a strong wind comes along.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to not much, tomorrow my plans include making plans because there are none so far and Sunday, I want to call all my family and friends and tell them I got the winning Powerball numbers!

I wanted to do with Food 4 Thought Friday meme but there only so many Thanksgiving questions you can answer... I'm hoping that next week all the memes don't involve the same questions about Thanksgiving.

Potatoes, sharks, Jello, pudding, keyrings, french fries and so on

This week we will answer some strange, off the wall questions, thought up by Berleen's daughters demons (ages 12 & 14). Brought to you by Berleen, the color green and the number 147. Go play here.

1. Do you like potatoes? What kind? I love all sorts of potatoes, but nothing is better than a big bowl of mashed 'tatoes smothered in butter!
2. If you were dressed up in a fish costume and you went underwater and a shark saw you, what would you do? I would use my fishy costume fin and get the hell outta there! Then I'd probably become shark-kibble.
3. Does Jello make you happy? It doesn't make me sad, does that count?
4. If you could have any animal, exotic, extinct or other type, what would it be? a cougar. They are so cuddly looking! And another golden retriever.
5. Would you fill up a pool with pudding and jump in? No. Because something tells me that you would die from it....
6. When you are feeling icky with the sickness feeling, what is your first choice for feel-better medicine?Blackberry Brandy? Or NyQuil...
7. Do you count with your fingers or in your head when it comes to mathematical equations? all fingers, baby!
8. Do you have any key chains on your keyring? How many? What kind? I just have the button to open the truck as a keychain. Everyone yells at me that I'm going to wreck my ignition when I have keychains on.
9. What do you dunk your french fries in? Mayo. Preferrably german mayo, but it's been a couple decades since I've had that.
10. When I say "Moo I'm a duck" do you think of a cow or a duck? a duck that goes moo.
11. If you had the chance, would you go to the very bottom of the ocean? Nope. I have this claustrophobia of being immersed in water.
12. Would you rather be spiderman or batman? catwoman! I can answer that, right?
13. Would you rather be in a hurricane or a tornado? Tornado. It's a lot quicker.
14. Do you like pumpkin pie? Do you cheat and buy a premade one or do you make it from scratch? Heck, do you even make pumpkin pie at all? I LOVE pumpkin pie and I've made it both ways... usually I just cheat and buy a premade one and bake it.

Below Fricken Zero!

So the husband wants me to go with him on this snowmobiling trip in February... way the hell up north in the boonies of Minnesota... way up by the Canadian border where nothing with warm blood lives. We're talking -40 below weather! Yeah, thats negative, as in below fricken zero. I'm supposed to go up there, freeze my ass off and sit behind his ass on a snowmobile. Why did I even agree to this? Good Lord, what have I done?
I still haven't committed to this 100%... I mean we're talking below zero - like instant ice. I have a low blood pressure to begin with and I've been wearing long johns since September. I ain't a cold-blooded woman!
I try to be a good wife and try to get into this whole snowmobile fiasco that he's gotten himself into, but why can't he just get into water-skipping or something? (thats where you snowmobile across water.... in the summer... when it's warm!) Maybe I'll take it up and he'll forget about snow.
Ok, nevermind that. I don't look good in a bikini anymore.
So thats my whine of the day - to go or not to go. It's gonna be cold. Cold... freezing. Ack! I don't know what to do.
He better never question my fricken love for him if I do go.

Not again! You people are killing me....

Another award? This is getting rather comical....
So this one comes from Kimber, which I suppose is paybacks because I'm slamming her with awards.

So, here are the rules to receiving this award:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Instructions:
On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then "add image" it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as To add it to your sidebar, add the "picture" gadget. Also, don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog.

5 Fabulous Nominations
Christina - she's a fellow Thursday Thunker who started last week... it might be spelled wrong *chuckle*, but her name got my attention!
Shan - another TT'er, but she's from Minnesota so she's even more special!
Holly - yet another TT'er, she stuck out because of the big ugly turkey on her site! (sorry, I think real turkeys are ugly. Yummy, but ugly)
The Spotted Sparrow - I mean, seriously! The name itself is enough to suck you in...
Gina- There's a big fricken lily when you open your page - a girl whose heart beats the same as mine!

5 Fabulous Addictions
1. Peanut Butter Cups. No explaination needed.
2. Coffee. Through an IV preferrably.
3. Insanity Cafe. Posting on the forums and playing in the arcade. Good times. (copying Kimber)
4. Creating stuff for my shops - #1, #2 & #3. Income, obsession, fun!
5. Facebook. I am so addicted to finding old friends, pet society, and all the silly apps being sent around. (I'll just copy Kimber on this one again). She's got damn good answers.

10 Things I'm Thankful for This Year

10 Things I'm Thankful for This Year

1. First and foremost, my family. Of course, thats a given a suppose. It extends further than just the demons & the husband. I'm thankful that we have had a year of non-health issues with my dad. For those of you who know what we went through a few years ago, you'll understand. It was rough and I'm glad we got another year of non-stressful times with him.
   
2. Saki. Yep, the dog. There was always something missing after I lost Max 4 years ago and Saki has almost filled that void. She will never take the place of Max and no matter how many times someone tells me "she's better than Max was", I refuse to accept that (even though it's true in many ways LOL). And, of course, I'm thankful that the husband said those beautiful words when we were thinking of getting a puppy; "why don't we just get a golden retriever". That was almost as precious as "will you marry me". Wait... he never asked me to marry him - we just decided to get married. Anyway, on to #3.
   
3. I'm thankful that my shops have given me one more year of income so that I don't have to go back out into the workforce. It's fun, I enjoy it and I can work in my underwear! Yeehaw! Plus, I like being home with the girls - even though they are old enough to be home alone, I don't want them to be.
   
4. My friends. Melissa has blessed me with another year of her bestest friendship. I just don't know what I would do without her... it's amazing the things I can tell her and the most she will say negative is "you're a dork". I love her to death and back. I just have to get out there to see her so I can feel her prego belly before she pops. I have an obsession with her prego belly. It's fun to feel her up. Then there is Kimber... thanks to the internet I have found another friend in my life that I can throw that "best" word in front of. And the strangest part of it is that we've never met face to face. Someday. Maybe I'll hide in the trunk when my parents go south this winter.
   
5. Health. I'm thankful we are all relativley healthy. We took Demon #2 off of the anti-depressants she was on and it seemed to do a world of good. The thyroid levels on both Demons contiue to flucuate, but thats going to be a lifetime issue.
   
6. Speaking of Demons - I'm thankful that I have come to the realization that I have to accept the girls (mainly Demon #2) for who they are and quit trying to mold them into someone else. It's been a long road and we still haven't seen the end of it yet, but it's getting better. I'm hoping that next year I can add that I'm thankful that everyone has accepted her for who she is.
   
7. I'm thankful that the economy problems haven't affected us as much as most. With me at home working and the husband being a truck driver and bringing the semi (owned & fueled by the company) home each night, we didn't have to fill up gas tanks on a weekly basis like most people. This could be #8, but I'll add it here - even though it's a sucky job at times, I'm thankful the husband is a truck driver. No matter how bad things get... the world will always need trucks to haul things to stores. It's job security. No layoffs in this family. And thankfully he works for a large trucking company - they aren't in danger of shutting down like some of the smaller companies have this past year.
   
8. I'm thankful my parents found that kitty... it was one of the best things that could have happened to them. They have never had pets themselves, only whatever I brought home. My stepmom is the most anti-pet person out there, but I found out yesterday that when she puts Sassy to bed at night (she sleeps in the laundry room), she picks her up, sets her in her bed and COVERS HER UP WITH A BLANKET. That cat has them trained worse than my cat.s
   
9. Blogging. Seriously... do you know how many "friends" I have met through blogging? It's amazing...
   
10. Love, laughter & smiles. I'm thankful for those every day of my life.
    

Its gonna be random

I feel like blogging, but I really have nothing to blog about so I'm just gonna start typing and see where this goes. Maybe it won't go anywhere and this will be a waste of your time to read, who knows.
So yesterday I made our Christmas cards, then I wrote our yearly "letter" to send with it. I'm sitting there and realized that nothing exciting had happened to us in 2008 except for getting Saki. Which probably is ok, it's better than something huge & horrible happening. Knock on wood, of course, because 2008 isn't finished yet.
My brother, Patrick, is a member on IC Forums... actually he's the brains behind it. There wouldn't be a forum to post on if it wasn't for him. Anyway, the other day he posted about a Motrin ad that was created & run that sent a whole bunch of sling-baby-wearing moms into an uproar. I had to laugh.. I never "wore" my babies and not that I have anything against it or anything but I think Motrin was thinking when they created that ad! Wearing your baby any way, even just with your arms, is pain. Plain and simple. And there is not a mother out there who can tell me differently. Motherhood causes headaches, backaches, stomachaches and everything else in between. It comes with the territory. And if you tell me it doesn't, I've got 2 perfectly behaved, non-emotional teenagers to sell you. I think Motrin should point there ad at me! The baby years are easy... just wait until your precious cooing bundles of joy turn into back-talking, mood swinging, hormonal, hate-you-then-love-you teenagers. You don't know the pain of a migraine until you've gotten past those terrible twos.
But yet, even though my demons hate me after I tell them to take out the garbage or that they need to clean their room... I still just had to get them both a puffle from ToysRUs yesterday because... well, I'm a mom and even though they cause me pain, I forget about it when I think of how happy they will be when I give them their "for no reason present". (A "puffle" is a character on Club Penguin. If your kids haven't discovered Club Penguin yet... let them. It's a great site. Very safe, very monitored.)
I've been sick for almost a week... I wish one of the demons would have given me a "for no reason present" of doing the dishes at least once this past week. Never happened. Oh well. The pain of being a mom. They have clean clothes, clean dishes and blueberry muffins in their tummies, but I am still sick.
Baby wearing moms.... just wait. You ain't felt the pain that Motrin can't relieve.
Wow. I really went off on that, now didn't I? Just strikes a cord with me. Perfect little mommies. They all live in a dreamworld.
Hmmm now I don't have anything else to say. Chico is barking at God knows what. Probably the wind or something stupid. I swear that he must have some sort of anxiety disorder. He's always scared of something and tries to act like a big dog and bark. I tell him that nobody is afraid of a dustmop, but he just keeps going.
Hey.... dustmops. I finally got one of those Swiffer WetJets this weekend. The jury is still out if I like it or not. Seems to leave streaks on my living room floor (it's got a wood floor - or those knock-off wood floors I suppose you could call it). Seems to pick up a lot of stuff though. Either that or my floor was just that dirty. It is that time of year... wet, muddy, dogs drag their muddy paws across my floors.
Anyone ever use those Frebreeze candles? Holy cow, do they throw off their scent! It's got to be the strongest smelling candle to date. Love them. Sometimes its too much, but it makes the whole house smell good - not just the 4 foot circumfrance of the candle.
You still reading?? I have days like this where I just want to type about nothing in particular. Today is one of those days. I really should get my ass in gear and go do my errands and visit my parents but I have no ambition. And my weatherbug says its 19 degrees outside. Brrrrcity, as Kimber would say.
Ok I guess I'm done. Don't know if it was worth reading or not, but it got my blogging out of my system for the time being.

I'm adding the Motrin video. Seems even the cached page of it doesn't work. Tell me what you think? Think Motrin went too far? You already know my opinion....

Another award? Crazy people think I'm worth it...

Tammy @ Pink Stinx gave me this pretty award! Geesh... I must have said something recently to really get everyone's attention!

Here are the rules for this one:
1. Mention the blog that gave it to you and comment on their blog to let them know you’ve posted your award.
2. Publish these rules.
3. Share 6 values that are important to you and 6 things you do not support.
4. Grant the prize to 6 people.
5. Mention the blog that gave it to you and comment on their blog to let them know you’ve posted your award.

Six Important Values/Beliefs:

1. laughter
2. forgiveness
3. love
4. trust
5. sympathy
   

Nix Support For These Values/Beliefs:

1. Crabbiness just to be crabby
2. Close-mindedness
3. Judgmental
   
4. Uncaring
5. Selfishness
   

Woo Hoo! THANKS... I'd first like to thank my daddy for giving me that look of "I'm going to kill you" every time I did something stupid, but still laughing at me afterwards.

I'd like to bestow this award to:
My Long Lost Mommy @ Rae's Place
Jen @ Jen's Head
Jenny @ Jenny's Happy Life
Sheri @ CookingMom
Kimber @ Life in a Zoo
Pinaymama @ Pinaymama's Diary