What are your fears?

What are your fears?

Welcome to Monday Mayhem. Today's meme is What are your fears. For each prompt, list your fears. And for goodness sakes, don't be fearful of visiting the other participants!

Have Fun.

1. What are your fears about waking up in the morning? not waking up...
   
2. What are your fears about working? well, in my line of work, which is graphic design and owning online shops (http://www.insanitywear.com) my fear is that my designs suck and nobody will buy them...
   
3. What are your fears about riding the bus? First off I'd be afraid of why I was on a bus and then I'd wonder what would happen if the bus went under 50mph.
   
4. What are your fears about driving a car? oh cripes. What aren't my fears? Is the tire going to go flat.. is it running too warm... what if a deer jumps out... what if this bridge I'm crossing collapses (whew... I'm over it)... what if I crash and nobody knows.... what if I get pulled over, did I put the new insurance card in.... what if when I get there I can't find the place or a place to park..... You don't want to be in my head when I'm driving a car.
   
5. What are your fears about riding a bike? That I forgot how
   
6. What are your fears about making your own meal? that it will suck? LOL
   
7. What are your fears about making a meal for others? that they'll hate it. Simple as that.
   
8. What are your fears about romance? How can you fear romance?
   
9. What are your fears about friendship? that they will end.
   
10. What are your fears about entering a public restroom? Oh now there's another one.... the list is endless.
    
11. What are your fears about using a public restroom? same as above I suppose. Maybe a fear that I'll fart?
    
12. What are your fears about being in crowds? exactly.
    

And a fandom is what....?????

Cheers to all of us thieves!

Sunday Stealing: The Fandom Meme

Rules: We all are fans. Be it Star Trek or Twilight, you are a fan of something. Pick a subject, book, TV or movie series. Now tell us all about it! Does it have to be all about the same one? If it does, well... too bad.

1. The first character I fell in love with: Bo Duke. I was a preteen with a huge crush... and I was crushed to find out that he was doing a Christmas special in Sun Valley, Idaho when we lived out there and my parents wouldn't take me to see him! He was, and still is, the only blonde that I admit to being in love with. There was just something about the way he slid across that car.....
... and then I found out he could sing! I was hooked.

2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Carly from iCarly. Teenage show, I know, but I get stuck watching them. I hated that show & the character when it first came out... I even hated her on Drake & Josh. But she grew on me and now I really like her. I guess I wouldn't say love, but thats the first character that came to mind.

3. The character I would shag anytime: Did I mention Bo Duke? Ok, well... how about Martin Riggs from Lethal Weapon???

4. The character I'd slap: any one of those stupid bimbos who goes looking at what that sound is when they know a psycho killer is on the loose in horror movies.

5. Who are my 3 favorite characters. Ayla from Clan of the Cave Bear, Laura from Little House on the Prairie and Mr. Snuffalupagus from Sesame Street.

6. What are my 3 favorite pairings. Ayla & Jondalar in Valley of the Horses (they have some wild sex in those books!).... Melanie & Jake in Sweet Home Alabama (how could you divorce Jake? Seriously?) .... and I have to go with Noah & Allie in the Notebook - everyone needs a love story like that one!

7. Which character I'm most like. Wow. Um... can someone else answer this for me? I'm just not sure.

8. The coolest thing about the canon: What????

9. The lamest crappiest thing about the canon: Huh?????

10. My guiltiest pleasure in this fandom: What the hell is a fandom? Cripes, spellcheck doesn't even know!

11. What story I wish I could read (or art I wish I could see) The autobiography of my mom, which was never written.

12. What story I wish I had written/still want to write The husband & my love story. Someday I'll write it down in book form.

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Hi. How are ya?

Hi. I'm popping into this world of blogging to say that. I've been a stranger, that I know. Just far too much going on! It's a busy time in the world of what I do for income - InsanityWear.com With Mom's Day and Daddy's Day coming up, it's unbelievable how many people think their parents want a t-shirt or a coffee mug. But hey, it pays the bills so keep shopping!

I did realize yesterday that I screwed up this year. I've got all my bulbs & seeds planted at home and out at the lake. All of a sudden yesterday I thought about it - all the back of the seed & bulb packets say "May-June" for planting in Minnesota. What month is it? It ain't May. WTF was I doing? Luckily for me, it warm, which is probably why I jumped the gun. Maybe I'll just have early blooms.

Demon #1 joined drama this year... so for the past few weeks she has been living in the Little Theater at school (thats what it's called... hey, I didn't name it) rehearsing for "Oklahoma!". She didn't get a big part, just one line. Friday night is the opening show and it runs all weekend. It will be nice to see her again next week... I hate to admit it, but I've kinda missed her.

The Photogenic Little Crapper

Sebastian is the most photogenic cat I've ever had!

April Fools - I did the meme!

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Kimber, the color of cooked crab, and the number 544.

1. It's the first of April, do you play April Fool's jokes on anyone? a couple years ago I told all the members on my forum that I was closing it down. It took them half the day to figure out what day it was.

2. Do you like to eat sardines?no, do you?

3. Have you ever played racketball? Thats with a racket, right? I think we played it in phy ed once.

4. If eating at a fast food joint that has a dollar menu, do you order a bunch of different dollar items or just go ahead and get a regular meal? dollar menu baby... but we still walk out $20 poorer

5. Have you ever taken a brand new pencil and sharpened it in an electric sharper until it was almost gone just because you were bored? can't say that I have... I don't even know if I've ever used an electric one.

6. Do you have any old broken computers still sitting around your home? a closet full of them, but I talked the husband out of the 2 monitors in there - garage sale!

7. Ricky Martin came out this week stating he is gay. Were you shocked, had a feeling, "who?" or just didn't care? huh?

8. If marijuana is legalized, do you think it should have a luxury tax added onto it? I think there will anyway... this is the US afterall. Any country that can put a tax on tanning will be tax on anything.

9. What's the oddest thing you have sitting on your computer desk right now or where ever it is you may be sitting with a laptop (you could be sitting at a Starbucks with an alien from Mars for all we know)? oddest? um.... an empty jolly rancher wrapper that nobody threw away

10. Have you ever bumped into a former lover and found out they were now gay or straight depending on your relationship with them? um... no.

11. Have you ever held a tarantula? yes. And I was ok with it until it's leg moved

12. Shower- curtain, door, walk-in, or do you just roll around in the dirt to get the stink off? What the sam hell are you talking about Kimberella? I shower in the yard with the garden hose.

13. Which commercial is the most annoying to you on TV or radio? the caveman commercials... they are just stupid now. At first it was funny but the 2nd time around? Not so much.

A random blog post.

Yeah, I'm still alive. Just been busy. So something thats been on my mind...

I'm really out of the loop on babies with my baby being 14 in May. I had my little quirks, but I was still a real laid back mom. Someone asked me if I wanted a changing table and I laughed and said "I have one! The living room floor!". I never had a diaper pail either. My oldest had her first taste of mashed potatoes & cranberries at 2 months... her first taste of peanut butter probably around the same time. I started feeding her cereal soon after that. My youngest I started on cereal at about a month and she had tastes of everything as I ate things. If I didn't wear a coat, they didn't. If I didn't think I needed a hat, they didn't.

I know a lot of things have changed in almost 15 years, but I really am amazed at some of the things that I hear from moms of little ones now. I seriously never heard of sterilizing a bottle until today. My youngest took a pacifier until she was about 2 1/2... I don't think I EVER did anything but rinse it off on occasion. Know what made her stop using it? We had a puppy that got a hold of it and chewed the end of the nipple part off and left it lay on the floor. I watched Krissy walk up to it later on, pick it up and stick it in her mouth. She pulled it out of her mouth, looked at the end bitten off, threw it back on the ground and never picked it up again.

Now, let me tell you my one dumb mommy move. When Taryn, my oldest, was born I breastfed her. I couldn't believe how much she ate! At night she would nurse for about 1/2 hour, fall asleep, but as soon as I'd move to go put her in her crib she'd wake up and start eating again. Some nights she ate for a good three hours! It took me a good 3 or 4 months before I figured out why that kid never took a manufactured pacifier. Mom, your a dumbass.

And sleeping.... oh I listened to the doctor and laid her on her back to sleep. Even tried her side. The kid wouldn't sleep for more than an hour or two at a time. My sister (10 years older than me) was watching her one day when she was about 4 months old and when I got home Taryn was laying on the kitchen table... ON HER TUMMY... sleeping. I just about had a heart attack. Then I found out that she had been sleeping almost the entire time we were gone... 5 hours! I put that kid on her tummy that night in her crib and got my first 7 hours of sleep since the day before delivery. To this day she's a tummy sleeper.

My kids shared a bassinet and a crib with a cat, crawled all over dogs, chewed on their ears and sucked on their nose. They used a walker that had wheels, they ate dirt off the floor and sometimes food that fell on the floor.

My point to all this? There really isn't one. But I do enjoy the mommy blogs & message board posts, but let me warn you... some I laugh at, some I roll my eyes at and some I sympathize with. As much as I want to reply and say how I did things way back when... I know you all would think I need to go into a loony bin!

Maybe this is my way to say that its ok.. they all grow up just fine. Mine sure did... outside of their thyroid conditions, they rarely get sick. But really, sit back and enjoy them because from someone who is dealing with teenagers - I'd love to go back to those nervous baby years and pay just a little bit more attention to the little stuff and even less about the stuff that really isn't going to matter years down the road. My oldest just walked through the kitchen and I am pretty sure she was never affected by that junebug she ate when she was a year old...

Wait. I wonder if the junebug stole her common sense on the way down her throat.... that could explain a lot!

1 In 4 Parents Believe Vaccine-Autism Link - Health News Story - WKMG Orlando

1 In 4 Parents Believe Vaccine-Autism Link - Health News Story - WKMG Orlando

One in four U.S. parents believes some vaccines cause autism in healthy children, but even many of those worried about vaccine risks think their children should be vaccinated.

Most parents continue to follow the advice of their children's doctors, according to a study based on a survey of 1,552 parents. Extensive research has found no connection between autism and vaccines.

"Nine out of 10 parents believe that vaccination is a good way to prevent diseases for their children," said lead author Dr. Gary Freed of the University of Michigan. "Luckily their concerns don't outweigh their decision to get vaccines so their children can be protected from life-threatening illnesses."

In 2008, unvaccinated school-age children contributed to measles outbreaks in California, Illinois, Washington, Arizona and New York, said Dr. Melinda Wharton of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirteen percent of the 140 who got sick that year were hospitalized.

"It's fortunate that everybody recovered," Wharton said, noting that measles can be deadly. "If we don't vaccinate, these diseases will come back."

Fear of a vaccine-autism connection stems from a flawed and speculative 1998 study that recently was retracted by a British medical journal. The retraction came after a council that regulates Britain's doctors ruled the study's author acted dishonestly and unethically.

The new study is based on a University of Michigan survey of parents a year ago, long before the retraction of the 1998 study. However, much has been written about research that has failed to find a link between vaccines and autism. Mainstream advocacy groups like Autism Speaks strongly encourage parents to vaccinate their children.

"Now that it's been shown to be an outright fraud, maybe it will convince more parents that this should not be a concern," said Freed, whose study appears in the April issue of Pediatrics, released Monday.

Some doctors are taking a tough stand, asking vaccine-refusing parents to find other doctors and calling such parents "selfish."

A statement from a group practice near Philadelphia outlines its doctors' adamant support for government recommended vaccines and their belief that "vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities."

"Furthermore, by not vaccinating your child you are taking selfish advantage of thousands of other who do vaccinate their children ... We feel such an attitude to be self-centered and unacceptable," the statement says, urging those who "absolutely refuse" vaccines to find another physician.

"We call it the manifesto," said Dr. Bradley Dyer of All Star Pediatrics in Lionville, Pa.

Dozens of doctors have asked to distribute the statement, Dyer said, and only a handful of parents have taken their children elsewhere.

"Parents have said, 'Thank you for saying that. We feel much better about it,'" Dyer said.

The new study is based on an online survey of parents with children 17 and younger. It used a sample from a randomly selected pool of nationally representative participants. Households were given Internet access if they didn't already have it to make sure families of all incomes were included. Vaccines weren't mentioned in the survey invitation and vaccine questions were among others on unrelated topics.

Twenty-five percent of the parents said they agreed "some vaccines cause autism in healthy children." Among mothers, 29 percent agreed with that statement; among fathers, it was 17 percent.

Nearly 12 percent of the parents said they'd refused a vaccine for their children that a doctor recommended. Of those, 56 percent said they'd refused the relatively new vaccine against human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer. Others refused vaccines against meningococcal disease (32 percent), chickenpox (32 percent) and measles-mumps-rubella (18 percent).

Parents who refused the HPV vaccine, recommended for girls since 2006, cited various reasons.

Parents who refused the MMR vaccine, the shot most feared for its spurious autism link, said they'd read or heard about problems with it or felt its risks were too great.

The findings will help doctors craft better ways to talk with parents, said Dr. Gary S. Marshall of the University of Louisville School of Medicine and author of a vaccine handbook for doctors.

"For our children's sake, we have to think like scientists," said Marshall, who was not involved in the new study. "We need to do a better job presenting the data so parents understand how scientists have reached this conclusion that vaccines don't cause autism."

I'm on the fence about the autism link, but I do think there is something going on with all the vaccines. There are more kids sick, more allergies and just more everything. I think I might have been one of those non-vaccinating or limited-vaccinating parents had I known then what I know now. I haven't seen any major things with my relatively healthy kids, but I do wonder sometimes about their thyroid disorders and their obesity if there isn't some link between that and something that we do now vs what people did then. The allergies is what really gets me though - why are there so many of them now? My kids are not allergic to anything (besides one having severe reactions to horseflies) and the only thing I know I did different than parents do now (and then) is they ate everything from birth on. Tastes of peanut butter, mashed potatoes, sips of milk... all in the first few months of their life.
There has to be some sort of link to the autism, but I also wonder how many misdiagnosis are going on. Everyone knows how much doctors (and some parents) love labels.

This is also being discussed on the InsanityCafe Forums - http://tiny.cc/ctROC

Crappy TT Questions & Answers

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen, the color of blood, and the number negative 18.

1. Kimber is freaking out because I didn't get the TT done yesterday. I had a busy day. Will you ever forgive me? Yes I forgive myself. Today is Thursday.

2. So this weekend is Valentine's Day. When you think of yourself and this love-filled holiday, what is biggest memory? The first one that pops into my mind is the $85 roses that the husband brought home quite a few years ago. He got his ass chewed.

3. Pajama pants. Who knew it could have so many fricken opinions. (Seriously... if you don't believe me) Would you... do you... could you wear PJ pants to a store? I wear 'em and I'm proud of it. Even my leopard print ones. They are my favorite.

4. I'm gonna give you one of those big heart candy boxes on Sunday. Are you an expert at chocolate candies and already know whats inside them all or will you just take whichever one and enjoy it no matter what is inside or are you one of those people who sticks their finger in the bottom of the candy to see what the filling is then puts it back if you don't like it? I poke them. I hate biting into something that I don't like and I hate surprises.

5. Scented Candles - whats your favorite? Clean laundry scents.... I hate the fruity ones.

6. Snow sucks. We've mostly all been hit. What kind of snow shovel do you have? (The rest of you who live in sunny no-snow places... tell me your favorite sunscreen brand) We have a old metal orange one that is the best. We bought a new one last year but everyone hates it because the snow slides off before you get it to wear you want it to go. And the old reliable scoop shovel.

7. The first thing I thought of this morning when I woke up was "Oh crap. Kimber's gonna be pissed...." then I had a whole bunch of good ideas for questions to ask. Now I can't remember them. Do you keep a notebook next to your bed for times like that? Obviously not or the questions would have been better.

8. Have you ever seen a groundhog in real, you can touch it and it will bite you, life? Nope I haven't. I'm not even sure they are real. It's a robot, isn't it?

9. Is there any key on your keyboard that is starting to wear off? Which one is it? Strangely my H & N key, which I don't think I use more than any others.

10. Do you think Kimber should move to Minnesota and take long walks in the snow with Berleen? Yes, but I've always thought that.

Wow. Those questions sucked. Yes they did.

Kimber wants to know~ Why haven't you joined ICForums yet? A fellow blogger followed her last week.... wonder who it will be this week. I dunno but I love who joined up last week! You know who you are ♥

In other news... The husband's sister had this little boy kitty - a dark tiger tabby. He's kinda stuck in kitten size because she thinks the dog stunted his growth. He sits and lets their german shepard chew on him... to the point that he's had punctures in his neck. He just lays there and lets her chew!! He wheezes but there really seems to be nothing wrong with him.
Jason went out there the other night and his sister was trying to get him to take him home... I said "awwwww" in my whiney little voice when he told me and he said "go get him". I bounced the idea through my head overnight... 4 cats? Do I need that many? But dammit, the husband never cares about animals, so it made me keep thinking that I really should go get this cat.
The husband told me to make an appointment at the vet... take him in and see whats wrong with him before I even bring him home. Well.... He has severe ear mites so he's away from the rest of the critters for a month. He has an upper respiratory infection and is on meds. He's only 2.3lbs. His testicles haven't dropped yet and he's a year old. He isn't getting any vax until he's better. His ears are scarred from frostbite - my sis 'n law would find him curled up in the snow sleeping with ice & snowballs all over him.

We are now a family with 4 cats.

Meet Sebastian.

Sebastian didn't use the litterbox all night (he's living in Demon #2's room for a month). He was an outside cat, so has never seen one. I had a brainstorm - I took some of the other cats poop out of one of our other littlerboxes and put it in his. 15 minutes later I checked - he had used the litterbox. That was easy.

R.I.P. Mrs H - Frances Reid/Alice Horton

Frances Reid has passed at 93, Reid played Alice Horton on Days of Our Lives, a role she played from November 1965 to December 26 2007 .Reid starred on broadway in the 1930's in Where's There A Will at the John Golden Theatre, She begin tv soaps, joining As the World Turns as Grace Baker in the 1950s, then went on to Days of Our Lives.

As a long time Days fan I am saddened to hear this news this morning. We all knew it was coming... she hasn't been seen on the show for a long time, but there was always that bit of hope that she would be at the Horton Christmas or a wedding....

PJ pants? Where can I get another pair?

Something I read this morning really ticked me off. Check out this blog/article: Should Moms Wear Pajamas to the Store

Bits & pieces:

So wrong, in fact, that Tesco, a giant grocery chain in the UK, has actually had to enact an official store policy banning patrons wearing slippers and/or nightwear.

and this....

For heaven’s sakes, moms, have some pride! I don’t actually care so much about what the other shoppers are thinking: Is a mother in her flannels really a lot worse than Britney Spears prancing through Target half-naked, in an outfit consisting mainly of flip-flops, cut-offs and a Starbucks cup? The problem is a matter of self-respect. How can you take yourself, and what you do in life, seriously, if you don’t think you’re important enough to even bother getting dressed in the morning?

and that...

So far, no U.S. stores have followed in Tesco’s footsteps. But there are a number of people here who wouldn’t mind that happening. One Internet comment urged Walmart to impose the same rule. Added another, “I hope America adapts this ASAP.”

Ok wow. Get a life. Someone actually gives a crap if someone else wears PJ bottoms to a store? Are you the fricken fashion police? I can sit here and pick out a lot more "outfits" that should be banned from stores and none of them include PJ pants.
Now what I find incredibly wrong about this whole thing is that people don't seem to blink an eye about trying to get major chains to do this! What country do we live in again? You want a store to tell you what kind of pants you can wear? What if my PJ pants don't have bears or cupcakes on them? What if they are a solid color? Are you going to check my tag at the door? Feel the fabric to see if it's flannel? If I get hauled out because I'm wearing a pair of PJ pants what about the woman who walks in with all her cleavage hanging out? Or the guy with so many holes in his jeans you can see what brand of boxers he's wearing? And of course there is my personal favorite... the farmer who had to stop and get some milk and you can smell him when he walks in the door because he's been around cow shit all morning.
People need to really sit back and think about the word "freedom" before they start flapping their jaws about what other people do.
I work at home for a number of reasons, but one of them is because I like working in PJ pants. Are they clean? Yes. Am I clean? Yes. Hell, I even have makeup on... it's really helps bring out the color of the purple teddy bears on my pants. If I need to run up to the store, the last thing I'm worried about is some holier than thou mom thinking that my choice of clothing is wrong. My ass is covered... get over it.
And... yes there's more. Slippers. My favorite pair of slippers are moccasin like. They are slippers in every sense, but I wear them everywhere. To the store, on the short walk to my parents house... how the hell does anyone know if they are slippers or not? And I really don't give a shit if the woman behind me at the checkout has big floppy bunny slippers. I bet her feet are warm.

Ok thank you. I'm done now. Leave me and my PJ pants alone. I think these moms are just jealous because my ass looks better in PJ pants than theirs does...

This was brought up at IC Forums, too. Seems like I hang around with the right crowd.

We're Not Laughing At You.... sure we are.

Welcome to the February 4th version of Thursday Thunks!

(which we always seem to post on Wednesday)

Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Kimber, the color of doom, and the number 999.

1. You walk into a room, someone turns and looks at you and laughs. What do you do?
Punch them in the nose. Well, I'd like to anyway. I'd ask what the hell their problem is, but I probably wouldn't get an answer. Nobody ever answers me.
2. You find an egg, take it home and keep it warm. It hatches. What type of dinosaur is it? Do you keep it and name?

It's a tiny one that wouldn't eat me when it grew up and I name George. What else would you name a dinosaur?

3. Which superhero would you want to be related to and why?

Wonder Woman so I can borrow her outfit

4. A drunken sailor comes up to you on the pier...he begins harassing you in a most repulsive way....what'll be your defense?
Push him off the pier and into the water. Duh.
5. Entering a CLASS A piano bar, you're encouraged to sing atop the grand instrument...you grab the microphone and sing.....
in the bathroom. Hey, you said I was encouraged to, not that I had to.
6. If you were a character in a Dr. Seuss book/movie, who would you be and why?

a kitty. Just because.

7. If you have just been called to be a substitute in the Winter Olympics for your country (apparently everyone else was busy), what sport(s) will you compete in?

what are all the sports in the Olympics again?

8. Did the audience from the piano bar in question #5 applaud when you were done with your song?
Dunno, I was in the bathroom. Don't you fricken pay attention to my answers?
Questions 4 & 5 were contributed by Hootin' Anni. Thanks Anni! If you would like to submit your own TT questions, email us at thursdaythunks@gmail.com
Thanks Hootin' Anni! You rock my socks. That explains why #4 & 5 were in red, I thought Kimber was having a mental breakdown there for a minute.
Berleen wants to know~ Why haven't you joined ICForums yet? You're a blogger, you like to talk... you like to read... seriously. It's the same concept!

I did? Really? When did I say that? I still think everyone should join, though. We have some sweet contests going on & coming up where you win actual, hold in your hand, type prizes! Plus I posted an article today about bullying that you can only see if you are logged in. It's an interesting article and it got some interesting responses...