Bending all the rules

My husband is a Rule Follower. To a fault. He believes that rules were meant to be followed. To a "T". With little or no exceptions. He drives the speed limit and comes to a complete stop at stop signs. He doesn't jaywalk. He reads all of the directions on everything and follows them to the letter. He's always on time. If a sign says "DO NOT!", he absolutely does not.

He's frequently says "You can't DO that!"

It drives me crazy.

I am a Rule Bender. Not a Rule Breaker; I'm not an outlaw or anything. But I drive the speed limit....ish. I often sometimes roll through stop signs. When a sign says NO TRESPASSING, I just have to stick my toe over the line. I may read the directions, perhaps, if I've already done it my way and it didn't quite work. I'm always running late. If a sign says "DO NOT!", I kind of consider it a dare.

I frequently say "Seriously, it's NOT a big deal!"

It drives him crazy.

I'm not saying that one of us is right and one of us is wrong although clearly, I'm right.

But I am saying this....

If you always walk on the marked path, and never venture off of it, you will miss the flowers that haven't been trampled on. You won't see the baby animals that hide in the bushes where the humans don't usually tread. You never know what delights may be waiting, just off the beaten path.

Sometimes, walking the straight & narrow path sucks the fun out of life.

Some rules....are meant to be bent.

Images courtesy of Google Images.

I Have a Pissy List.

Last week, I had a Happy List.

Today, I have a Pissy List.

Feel free to let me know in comments what would go on your Pissy List.

These are the things that just Piss.Me.Off.

{OK just some of the things.

There isn't enough space in the whole interwebz for all of them.}

1. selfish people.

2. partial feeds in my Google reader.

3. the fact that absentee parents retain their 'rights'.

4. the fact that nobody fills the dogs' water dish except for me.

5. captchas.

6. Adam on Teen Mom 2.

7. Jenelle on Teen Mom 2.

8. The fact that I watch Teen Mom 2.

9. winter.

10. the fact that the old western motto of "some people just need killin" is no longer a valid defense.

11. when I really want to reply to your comment, and then I see that you are a "no-reply" commenter.

12. when people say "I could care less".

13. when people mix up YOUR and YOU'RE.

14. and use an apostrophe before 's' when it's not necessary.

15. broken nails.

Although I'm in such a LOVELY mood that I could do this for hours, I'll stop now.

What's on your Pissy List?

Crazy Eights

I saw this meme over on one of my most-est favorite-est blogs, A Thorn Among Roses. She is a daily must-read for me. I admire her so much, she's funny, and she and her whole family are just adorable!!


OK, so here are MY Crazy 8's.


8 things i am looking forward to:


- summer break. I have this crazy idea that I'll get more sleep. I'll probably look back on that & laugh, come July.


- going camping over the summer.

- going to the springs over the summer.


- going to the beach over the summer.

- upcoming changes at work.


- upcoming changes at home.


- FRIDAY!!


- Father's Day.






8 things i did yesterday:


- went to the doctor.


- got diagnosed with a UTI & referred to a urologist.


- filled several perscriptions.


- went home and curled up in a ball and wished to die.


- woke up to pick up the kids.


- went back home, curled back up into a ball, and wished to die, while the children ran wild.


- slept all day.


- got up to come to work at 11pm.



8 things i wish i could do:


- sew.


- win the lottery.


- juggle school along with work & family.


- sing like Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland.


- sleep more.


- work less.


- go on vacation.


- write a book.





8 shows i watch:


- What Not to Wear


- Jon & Kate Plus 8


- Medical Incredible


- Mystery Diagnosis


- all the shows on Discovery Health & TLC, basically.


- so I'm kind of cheating on this one.


- deal with it.



8 fav fruits:


- pineapple


- golden delicious apples


- oranges


- granny smith apples


- grapes


- strawberries


- FRESH peaches


- tangerines



8 places i would like to travel:


- England


- Australia


- Cozumel


- Jamaica


- Florida Keys


- California


- Pennsylvania to meet some internet friends!


- BlogHer



8 places i've lived:


- home with my parents


- with my sister at her former home


- with my (now) ex-husband, several different places


- with a friend & our kids at her home


- by myself, with my kids at our home


- with John & the kids at our home


- all of these places were either in my hometown or small surrounding towns


- I have never lived anywhere else, so I cheated on this one too!

WAY too tired & lazy to tag anyone, so if you want it just grab it!

Have a great Thursday...the weekend's almost here!

Poop, F-bombs, and DysFUNction.

Mostly, I try to keep things really positive here on my blog. I do believe in positive thinking, and I'm just not one to dwell on the negative, in any aspect of my life.

But sometimes I wonder if I give the wrong impression.

In my world, everyone actually isn't a pony. And we don't eat rainbows or poop butterflies.



Trust me. They forget to flush a LOT. That stuff ain't butterflies.



So, I thought I'd blog about a few not-so-pretty things.

* I yell. I'm a yeller. I used to SCREAM, though. That was ugly. Now I just yell. Much better! (seriously, it is.)

* I am one of the most impatient people you will ever meet.

* My sense of humor is totally dark & disturbed.



* I'm a procrastinator. Why do today what I can put off until next week?



* Although I do tend to not stress out much, we do have our share of worries. Such as...

- aging parents/grandparents. (and an aging dog - my little shadow, Suzie, is 16!)
- loved ones overseas in the military.
- recession, pay cuts, $$$$!!
- an old house which we LOVE but is also a temperamental old beast.
- old cars which we also love (especially the fact that they're paid for!) but are also temperamental.

* I am a temperamental old beast.





* John and I never fight. We rarely even disagree. What's the negative, you ask? How the heck are you supposed to have makeup sex when you never fight?! We're going to have to work on this.

So, there you have it. The dark, dysFUNctional negative side of my life.

Have a wonderfully dysFUNctional weekend!!!

Is That a Light I See? At the End of the Tunnel??

I just have to share my relief. I have been uber-stressed lately. So stressed and so focused on the present that I didn't realize that hope was just around the corner.
I've mentioned that night shift has been kicking my butt and I was looking for a day shift job. I was feeling that even more today, after sleeping half of the weekend away. I didn't get to do half of the things I'd planned to do with the kids. I felt terrible.
But the downside to switching to day shift is financial. I get a nice shift differential for working night shift which I'd obviously lose by switching to days; plus I'd have to find after-school care for the little kids, which means less money coming in and more going out. Not good for the budget which is already stretched pretty thin!
So on the way to work tonight, I was thinking about the situation, and finally my mind wandered down the path of the future, and it occured to me that the school year is almost over. Only a few weeks left. Andrew is going to spend most or all of the summer in the Keys with MIL and MIL's sister. My kids will spend every other week with their father. Which means a LOT more sleep for me. A huge difference in my daily routine right now. Even when the kids are at home with me, I will still be able to get more sleep and have a far less hectic schedule.
And as for when school starts back, this year I will put the little kids in after-school care. I've done it before, but in the interest of saving money and spending more time with them, we didn't do it this year. And it's been tough. I really think Andrew would benefit from a structured after-school program, and Elayna will enjoy it. And I NEED the sleep. Sometimes I feel guilty about that, but I'm pretty sure nobody who works days and sleeps at night feels guilty, so why should I feel guilty for needing more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep per day??
So...I feel as if a weight has been lifted off of me. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and it's coming up right around the corner!

Random Tuesday Thoughts 04.14.09

Yep, yep, yep, another Tuesday has rolled around again, and my thoughts are random.

~ My daughter, Shelbie, who is 13, was guessed to be 15 yesterday. Noooo!! That scares the crap out of me!

~ Since the kids weren't with us for Easter, we're going to do a little late celebrating. The Easter bunny left them a little something, and I'm thinking of doing an egg hunt this weekend, because Andrew didn't even get to hunt eggs! But we're definitely going to be exploding peeps in the microwave tonight. Oh, yeah!

~ I'm wearing purple at work today for Maddie. Please remember her family in your thoughts today, the day of her funeral. Also, this family is in need of your good thoughts/prayers right now.

Count your blessings, my friends! Hope you have a terrific Tuesday.

Mindless Rambling Monday

~I went to the bookstore today. My favorite bookstore. A.K.A Heaven on Earth. The girls and I had a great time.
~I started reading a new book today that is wonderful and amazing. It's realling making me think.
~I have had a Grouchy Pouch today. This means that everything I put into my Pouch (my new, small stomach), did not please my pouch and it let me know that quite rudely. I didn't throw up, I've only thrown up twice since surgery, I'm lucky. But it kicked my butt!
~Good things are coming our way! No doubt about it!
~My sister is also losing weight. She's diabetic and is FINALLY no longer in denial, and following a diabetic diet. She's lost 26 lbs!
~T-bone is visiting my brother, his wife, and their son in Pensacola this week. He's having a great time!
~We had our first Meatless Monday. We decided that at least one night per week, we'll have a meat-free meal. Since Meatless Monday sounds so catchy, we chose Monday. Now the Princess has decided we should have Fruit Friday and eat only fruit, and Thirsty Thursday and only have drinks! Meatless Monday went very well and is definitely a tradition we'll keep. So if you have any good vegetarian recipes, send them my way!
~We had the most relaxing weekend. We did nothing. And we enjoyed every minute of it.
~We're getting a new foster Wednesday night. Pictures will be posted!
~I recently got props from THREE wonderful blogging friends. My Fantastic Firecracker & Sweet Beany shouted out, and Amazing Alison gave me an award! I will be sharing it soon, and I am also in the process of making an award of my own to pass out.
Wow! I feel special, I should disappear for a few days more often. :grin: