A rose on a Wednesday. Just a normal, everyday Wednesday

If anybody remembers this post, they will remember how I feel about a husband buying roses on Valentine's Day. I haven't changed my feelings on the matter.

Holidays such as Valentine's Day were put on the calendar for those who don't think, to think.

My daughter, Demon #1, is not one of those people. She's not the smartest person when it comes to common sense (thats another post), but she makes it up in many other ways.

Last night at her church confirmation class, someone was either going to throw away a couple roses or something, I didn't get the whole story, but Demon #1 spoke up and said that she wanted one.

What did she do with the rose? She gave it to her favorite mother, of course!

This helps me explain the basics of romance, gift giving and thoughtfulness. Anyone can buy flowers, candy and a card on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or someone's birthday. It's expected. Do it when it isn't expected... trust me, it will mean more than any Mother's Day card given on that Sunday morning. Give Mom an "I love you" card for absolutely no reason other than you love her... you'll send her to tears, I promise.

The husband stopped his semi truck on the side of a road one day, jumped out (cut the side of his leg wide open) and ran into a field because he saw a bunch of wildflowers he knew my heart would melt over. They were wilted by the time he got home and thankfully the blood clotted in his leg, but just the thought that he did what he did on some odd summer day meant the world to me.

When you see something at a store or on the side of the road that make you think "Gosh, she would really get a kick out of this" or "she would just love that" or "her favorite color is pink, next Mother's Day I'll have to remember to get pink roses"... do it then, right that second. Don't wait. Do it.

Or be the first to speak up and say "I want it", only to go home and hand the rose to your mom. It's priceless. It's worth more than any dozen roses someone could buy me at a flower shop.

St. Cloud Times | Local News

St. Cloud Times | Local News: "forecasters are now predicting between 10 and 15 inches of snow from a winter storm expected to hit Central Minnesota later today.

St. Cloud State University meteorologist Bob Weisman predicts 10 to 15 inches and the National Weather Service predicts between 12 and 15.

A winter storm warning issued Wednesday takes effect at 1 p.m. today and runs until 7 a.m. Saturday.

About a foot of heavy, wet snow is expected to fall in an area that includes St. Cloud, Hutchinson and Redwood Falls.

The warning begins at 7 p.m. for Little Falls and Alexandria.

The record snowfall for April 10 in St. Cloud is 6 inches set in 1992 and the record is 2.5 inches on April 11 in 1993."

What the hell is this? 15 inches of snow? Seriously, Mrs. Mother Nature... or are you a Miss? I've always assumed that you are either married to Old Man Winter or Father Time, one of the two... whoever you are - can you stop with the fricken snowstorms already? I've already cleaned out my flowerbeds, been on walks with the dogs with no coat and, don't tell my parents but, I've already gone barefoot outside!

... there's some rule that says you can only go barefoot in the months that don't have an "R" in them. I break it every year.

Either give me a real winter... blast me with 24 inches of snow in November and keep dumping it through the end of February... then let it slowly melt and let me tend to my rose bushes.

Not this stuff shit. I hate it. And even for the snowmobiling husband that I have... it sucks. By the time he gets it all plowed off the driveways that he has to do, it will be melted (it is supposed to be in the 50s on Sunday) and he won't get to go sleddin' anyway.

Enough!

How my brain works

Tuesday's blog assignment is/was "when is your mind in full working motion? And what have you been known to accomplish during that time of day?" Yes, I know it's Wednesday. I'm slacking, sorry.

The reason for my slacking is the answer to the question. My mind works best in the morning... we are talking early morning, right when I wake up. People have hated me for it and my family has learned to live with it. Yesterday morning when the topic was created (by me) I was also in full working mode for designs... and fish, which I have been blogging about. I just couldn't bring myself to type about doing it without doing it. Didn't make sense to me.

I've been known to do quite a number of things in the early morning hours - cleaning, designing, laundry... all done by 9am. It's happened, honest.

But the sad thing is, most days my brain shuts down around 10am. I can still function, but any bit of creativity or ambition to do anything else is usually in the next county by then.

Randomness through a lens

It's just a glass of water under a dripping faucet... nothing more, nothing less.

Chico thinks he's a wolf.

So yeah, Demon #1 says I'm not quite right in the head on this one. When she saw that I took a picture of her shoes, she lost of faith of any sanity she thought her mother had left.

Not sure what Chico is trying to accomplish here. It's Saki's toy - maybe he's trying to figure out if he should try to play with it or not.

So then... I took a picture of her hands.

... and now you all think I've lost my mind I'm sure. Sorry for no warning on this one, but meet my baby. This is Jake and he's not as freakish as he looks :)

Coroner rules Diana unlawfully killed

Coroner rules Diana unlawfully killed - Yahoo! News: "A coroner's jury has ruled that Princess Diana and boyfriend Dodi Fayed were unlawfully killed through the reckless actions of their driver and the paparazzi in 1997.

The jury had been told that a verdict of unlawful killing would mean that they believed the reckless behavior of their driver and paparazzi amounted to manslaughter. It was the most serious verdict available to them Monday.

The couple died when their speeding car slammed into a concrete pillar while it was being chased by photographers in cars and on motorbikes."

I've read a few blogs this morning since this news broke, along with some comments on different websites. Many people are basically saying "so what? It's over 10 years ago" and other negative blurbs of nonsense. To an extent I can agree with all that... it has been over 10 years, but I'm hoping one thing... that maybe, just maybe, now there will be some sort of new "rules", "laws", whatever you want to call it when it comes to paparazzi chasing down celebrities like wild animals.

You can argue all you want about them being celebrities and them choosing to be famous and all that other crap, but regardless of that - they still deserve not to be in danger when driving down the road. Everyone deserves to follow their dreams, have employment in the field they choose... that doesn't always mean that they have to give up their rights to privacy and the privacy of their families. And it doesn't give away their right to safety either.

What happened to Diana was unspeakable... they did chase her down like a pack of wild animals going in for the kill. And they succeeded.

Fishing, stuff and how I love what I do.

The husband & I were talking the other day and he said that if we won the Powerball on Saturday he wouldn't go into work on Monday... I replied; "yeah, me neither". A joke, of course, being that I work from home. He looked at me and said; "you would too, you love what you do".

I do. I really do.

And he's right - I would go to work Monday morning, because... well, I like it.

I know not many people can honestly say that they love their job/work, but I can.

So you saw the trampoline pictures from the weekend... I forgot to mention that we just bought it for the demons. As we were walking through the store, the husband & I were finding all sorts of different lawn games and such that would be perfect for out at the lake.

The snow melts and the itch begins... we want to be out there. The demons want to be out there.

Demon #1 mentioned to me the other day that she was going to need some new fishing shirts for this summer. Yep, the girls love to fish. We always joked that Demon #1 could catch a fish in a puddle because she's caught a fish on a bare hook before. Not kidding - a bare fricken hook and she caught a fish. We aren't sure how. The rest of us have given up fishing some days and she just keeps reeling them in. It's pathetic.

And it pisses us off.

So this morning I had springtime, the lake, fishing and new t-shirts for the demons on the brain. So new fishing designs are up for your viewing and/or purchasing pleasure.

When I get on a roll, I kinda go overboard. Thats one downfall of my "job" - if I'm not in a creative mood, it's hard to come up with ideas for designs and if I do... they turn out like crap and I end up deleting them anyway.

Such is life.

PhotoHunt... Glass

PhotoHunt this week is Glass. I wasn't sure I was even going to come up with something, but then ah ha! I thought of it! Awhile back we went to Underwater World at Mall of America... yep, we are under glass while the fish are swimming above us!

It's not we, it's them. The demons & the husband. I, as usual, am the one behind the camera.

It doesn't look real, does it?

I don't think he's picking his nose, but... you never know.

Trampoline

Bad Mom, scaring your child like that!

So we are sitting around watching tv last night and some ghost hunter show was on. This is something we've watched before, not a huge deal for an 11 year old, right? She loves the show... she's the one who wanted it on.

So, on the show, there is this plastic red ball. Demon #2 says; "Wouldn't it be freaky if all of a sudden a baseball would fall down the the stairs?".

Being the quick-thinking mom that I am, I say; "You know what would be even more freaky?"

I've got her attention... she looks at me with a big smile waiting for the punchline of the joke.

"If you didn't own a baseball."

It totally freaked her out! LOL She said her stomach twisted and everything. She was afraid to get out of the chair... afraid of the baseball that we DO HAVE.

I know it's mean, but it was funny. I can't believe I scared her like that over something so silly.

Workin' before the sun comes up

I hate it when I wake up when the husband leaves for work. More often than not I can't get back to sleep... so I started working.

Tax Rebate Check
So George Bush is sending us a check this year.... economic stimulus they say. What are you spending yours on? I'd say buy this t-shirt and let them know where the rest of it is going!

Tax Rebate Check - Bank
The check does us a lot of good if we can't afford to drive to the bank to cash it!

What Rebate Check?
Is your stimulus rebate check gone before you get it just to fill up your gas tank? We feel your pain... and we've got the t-shirt to prove it.

Thanks for the Rebate Check!
Where's your rebate check going? Into your gas tank? With the price of gas & fuel going up, there's no question where that money is going!

ASPCA: Bill to Regulate Individual Dangerous Dogs, Not Breeds

ASPCA:: "Minnesota, Support Bill to Regulate Individual Dangerous Dogs, Not Breeds

HF 2906/SF 2876 is a comprehensive, generic dangerous dog bill that would require individual dogs who have been designated “dangerous” to be sterilized. The bill also would provide necessary appeal procedures to contest the designation of “dangerous” and would prevent reckless owners convicted of violating the dangerous dog provisions from owning dogs again.

In 2006, 97 percent of the fatal dog attacks that occurred in the United States involved unaltered dogs.

This bill is the smart alternative to breed-discriminatory laws, which ban certain breeds of dog wholesale in the hope of reducing dog attacks. There is no evidence that breed bans are effective, while there is significant evidence that well-enforced, breed-neutral laws such as HF 2906/SF 2876 are. Visit the ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Resource Center for more information on breed-specific laws.

I sure hope this bill goes through... this breed banning bullshit has got to stop. People need to be educated and not just left to believe that a certain dog breed is to blame.

I found this article through the ASPCA website. Very informative article... only an idiot wouldn't make sense of it.

Solutions

Recognizing that the problem of dangerous dogs requires serious attention, the ASPCA seeks effective enforcement of breed-neutral laws that hold dog owners accountable for the actions of their animals. The ASPCA believes that this is the most reliable way to control aggressive dogs and reckless owners.

Ideally, this breed-neutral scheme should include the following:

• Enhanced enforcement of dog license laws, with adequate fees to augment animal control budgets and surcharges on ownership of unaltered dogs to help fund low-cost pet sterilization programs in the communities in which the fees are collected. To ensure a high licensing rate, Calgary, Canada—its animal control program funded entirely by license fees and fines—imposes a $250 penalty for failure to license a dog over three months old.
• Enhanced enforcement of leash/dog-at-large laws, with adequate penalties to ensure that the laws are taken seriously and to augment animal control funding.
• Dangerous dog laws that are breed-neutral and focus on the behavior of the individual dog, with mandated sterilization and microchipping (or another permanent identification) of dogs deemed dangerous, and options for mandating muzzling, confinement, adult supervision, training, owner education and, in aggravating circumstances—such as when the owners cannot adequately control the dog or where the dog causes unjustified injury—euthanasia. In Multnomah County, Oregon, a breed-neutral ordinance imposing graduated penalties on dogs and owners according to the seriousness of the dogs’ behavior has reduced repeat injurious bites from 25 percent to 7 percent.
• Laws that hold dog owners financially accountable for failure to adhere to animal control laws, as well as civilly and criminally liable for unjustified injuries or damage caused by their dogs. Calgary has reduced reported incidents of aggression by 56 percent, and its bite incidents by 21 percent, by requiring owners of dogs who have displayed dog aggression or human aggression to pay fines ranging from $250 to $1500.
• Laws that prohibit chaining or tethering, coupled with enhanced enforcement of animal cruelty and animal fighting laws. Lawrence, Kansas, has significantly reduced dog fighting and cruelty complaints by enacting an ordinance prohibiting tethering a dog for over one hour.
• Laws that mandate the sterilization of shelter animals and make low-cost sterilization services widely available.

I have to add that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the part about prohibiting chaining or tethering! That is an awesome point... keep the animals off chains! Wouldn't you bite someone if you had to be chained up all day with no human contact? A chain and no human contact... that would even turn my Saki mean.

School Bus Adventure

Back To School T-Shirts & Gifts : Insanity Wear : CafePress.com

Made this design this morning for a friend of mine who is a school bus driver and has her school bus driving adventures everyday! She loves it... don't know why, but she does. Funny thing is, she didn't start driving bus until both of her kids were graduated from high school! She went with me last night to the Pet First Aid/CPR class and told me about a t-shirt with a similar saying on it and wanted me to make her one... so here it is.

Don't really like the design now that I look at it, but I'm leaving it anyway. Going to do a few more I think today.....