Glass half empty?

I friend of mine (Hi, Nicole!) sent me one of those “Getting to Know You” type e-mails today. You know the kind I mean, right? The ones that always start with “Do not reply. Cut and Paste the e-mail below and delete my answers….” Yeah, well I always just reply, cause I am a rebel like that.

Anyway, one of the questions was whether or not I am a half glass empty or half glass full kind of person. I immediately answered “half empty”. Another friend that I sent my responses to (Hi, Karyn!) responded “NO WAY!” that I was a “life gave me lemons and I made lemonade” kind of person. (Is it just me or am I using a ton of quotes in this post?) I have often said that your life is what you make it. You have to DECIDE that you will have a good day, DECIDE that you will be happy.

It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I didn’t have the greatest childhood. I won’t get into the details here in case my mother learns how to Google, but let’s just say it could have been better. (Or, to put a more positive spin on things, it could have been worse.) Thankfully I had an ornery old Grand-daddy who made sure my brother and sister and I had what we needed.

I spent a lot of years being mad that I didn’t have the home life I thought would make me happy, that we didn’t have the money to get the things I wanted (we did have the things we needed ), and lots of other things that, looking back, are so miniscule. I walked around with a huge chip on my shoulder and an “ill as a hornet” attitude. One day, many moons ago, I decided that I was going to be happy. That’s it. I just decided. I wasn’t going to let my childhood or anything else define the kind of person I was.

So now I am almost always a happy type of person. I try to speak to people that I pass in the hallways or on the production floor at work or at least smile. I might be the only person today to be nice to that person and I don’t want to miss the opportunity. I think that attitude is contagious, so I try to put out the one I would want back. Until recently anyway.

Lately I have slipped back into my ill ways to an extent. I am less likely to speak to people I pass. Less likely to make jokes or laugh at those told to me. More likely to be short tempered with my husband and daughter. And I hate it. I hate every time I make a smart remark to someone. I hate every time I snap at my husband. I hate it. I have been blaming it on stress and hormones (I seriously think I have PMDD), but that’s no excuse. I decide what I will be like. I decide if I will be happy. I decide if I will have a good day.

So the next time I offer to slap someone, remind me what I decided, OK?

I couldn't resist....

I posted not long ago about people who crave (and that is putting it lightly!) attention. Today I saw this pic and couldn't resist posting it as a part two, so to speak of my previous post....

Hey you!!

You there in the car stopped at the red light in town. You with the windows down and the radio blaring AND THE SMALL CHILD IN YOUR LAP!! Put that child in a car seat!!

Do you not care that your small child could fly right out that open window (or the windshield) if you have an accident? Not to mention what the airbag could do to him. Don't give me that BS line about "we are just going right down the road" or "she cries if I put her in the car seat." Your child's life may not mean enough to you to safely strap him into a car seat in the backseat, but it means enough to me to risk getting shot when I yell at you from the next car.

Several weeks ago, we were driving on the interstate and passed a van. As I glanced into their front seat as we passed, I saw a mother in the passenger seat with a baby that couldn't have been more than 6 months old in her lap. I was so mad that I made my husband slow down so I could get their license plate number. Imagine my surprise when I saw their "Choose Life" plate on the back of their van. All I could think was, "what? save the unborn so they can die in traffic accidents later?"

So if you are one of those people I see with children unrestrained in the car, be ready to get an earful from me. I've got a big mouth and I know how to use it.

Ch, ch, ch, changes...

Why is change such a scary thing for some people? Is it a fear of the unknown? Is it a control issue? Are they just being stubborn because they like the way things are? Maybe they are too lazy to do any work that might be associated with the change? Maybe they are too stupid or too set in their ways to learn anything new?

Change is just like shit. It happens. Deal with it, people! I can’t promise that you will like the new ways. I can’t guarantee that the “newness” will be much better than the old way. I can promise that things are gonna change, whether you like it or not. Quit bitching and you might just like what the change brings.

Obviously, I am dealing with some changes around here. Thankfully, the changes are not in my personal life, though they are affecting it, specifically my pocketbook. There’s a new sheriff in town, and he means business. So all the old school “we have been doing it this way for 30 years, so why change now” nay-sayers better get ready. Look where those 30 years have gotten you! I can tell you where; in this lovely ( can you feel the sarcasm here?) position where you have to change or die! I love the quote by Charles Kettering that says “If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.” (I don’t know who in the heck Charles Kettering is, but I like the way he thinks.)

I, myself, am an advocate of change. Bring it on. The sooner the better. I like things to be fast paced and busy. I hate it when things are stagnant, because it makes me lazy. I hate being lazy (though you could never tell that from the rate my backside has grown in the last year!) I need change to keep myself entertained, and frankly, I’m bored.

Jesse Jackson said “Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change.” While I agree about the sweat, tears aren’t going to get you any sympathy from me. They might, however, get you a swift kick in the backside, you pansy…

I believe...

There are only two ways to live your life: as though nothing is a miracle, or as though everything is a miracle. ~ Albert Einstein

I believe in miracles. I rock one to sleep every night.

My sweet girl at 9 months old. It seems like forever ago.

Responsibility bites....

Have you ever done something that you know was the right thing to do, but you just hated having to do it? Returned the lost wallet you found (that is full of cash) to the rightful owner? Gave the extra back when the cashier gave you too much change? Returned the cute, lost puppy to his owners when you really wanted to keep him for yourself?

Seems like all the examples I can come up with have to do with giving something up. I guess I just have it on the brain lately.

Tomorrow, we are selling our horses. We have owned them for eight years, loved them for eight years. Tomorrow, their new owner is picking them up and taking them to a new home.

Logically, I know it’s the right thing to do. We don’t ride them anymore. They don’t get as much attention as they used to, as having a small farm to care of takes much more time than we could have guessed when we bought it five years ago. Not to mention how much time is involved with caring for a toddler! They will be going to live with our farrier (one who shoes horses, for you non-equestrians), who has more horsemanship skills than both my husband and I put together. I know they will be well cared for (and have all the new horseshoes they could ever need).

I also know that we could use the money spent on horse feed, shoes, hay, etc for other purposes. This “dip” in the economy has really hit home lately. I have taken a huge cut in pay and my husband is down to one job where he usually works two. Of course his job loss is not related directly to the economy and is possibly short term, but we have to be proactive.



Being responsible really bites sometimes.

NEWS FLASH: It's not all about you!!

And we are not competing for best/worst anything, so shut up already!

(Alternate title, “Shut up, you attention whore.”)

Why is it that some people (and you probably DON’T know who you are) have to make every situation about themselves? Anytime a person is telling a story, they have to tell one too, and shift the attention towards themselves? Every story they have is better (or worse, considering the circumstances) than the story that was being told by the other person. If the first person had the flu, the “one-upper” had pneumonia. If the first person’s baby learned to walk at 10 months old, the “one-upper’s” baby learned to walk at 9 ½ months. If the first person broke their foot, the “one-upper” broke their leg. I’m sure you know many people like this. I know I do, and truth be told, am getting sick of it. IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU!!

Now, there is a fine line between telling a related story that serves to support rather than one-up another person’s story. Telling those stories is fine in moderation. A quick blurb here and there to show the original speaker that you are relating to their story is good feedback. People like it when others relate to what they are saying. It makes them feel accepted and understood. But if you cut them off in order to tell them how easy they got off, or how what happened to them was nothing compared to what happened to you, STOP YOURSELF. Let someone else get some attention for a change.

This has been a public service announcement…..


Oh, and I read somewhere that people prefer blog posts with pictures, so while this is mostly unrelated, here’s a picture:

I suck as a blogger.....

I suck as a blogger. As much as I would love to write a witty, interesting post every few days, it's just not happening. I can never seem to come up with anything that I feel compelled to write about lately.

It's not there aren't interesting things going on in the world....

There's that beauty pageant contestant that says that her answer to a controversial question about gay marriage is what made her lose the crown, Um, maybe it's that you just weren't as pretty as the other girl, honey..... No, seriously, while I don't agree with her answer, I think that the question was meant to set up whoever answered it and Miss California just got to be the lucky girl.

There's also the funny story about the major league baseballs jerseys being misspelled. The "O" was left out of "Nationals". Um, yeah, I REALLY don't care about this one.

Or the story about how the Roman Catholic Church is mad at Ron Howard and Dan Brown. Howard is the director of the film adaptation of Brown's book Angels and Demons. They say that the previous movie made of one of Brown's books (The DaVinci Code, you may have heard of it...) depicted the church falsely. They are so mad, that they refused to let any Catholic churches in Rome be used for filming of the latest movie. Hello! The books are FICTION! It's not Opie Taylor's fault if some people can't tell the difference between FICTION and REALITY. (and who could be mad at Opie Taylor anyway.... (Oh wait. I guess I can't tell the difference either!)

Look. I guess I did have something to write about after all.

Lie to me....

Lie to me. Have you seen this new show? So far, I really like it. It's about this guy (and the other people who work for him) who is hired to tell if someone is lying. He can tell by the slightest facial expression or body language. I think it's fascinating! (mostly because I think 99% of people in the world are full of bull sh*t and I would love to be able to definitively prove it when they are trying to sell me a line of crap...)

Why do people lie anyway? In my opinion (and believe me I have MANY opinions and I am not afraid to share them), most people don't lie for any legitimate reason. They just can't stop themselves from exaggerating their stories. For some reason, they must think it sounds better to say they got a ticket for driving 75 mph in a 55 zone instead of telling the truth that they were going 62 mph. They say their child had a fever of 103 degrees instead of 102.4. Why not tell the truth? You still got a ticket. Your kid was sick. Why lie about it?

Now I can see lying for a couple of reasons:

1. To keep from hurting someones feelings. (What a beautiful baby!!)
2. To keep yourself or someone else out of trouble. (Officer, I had no idea my tags were expired.)

But why lie just for the hell of it? I had a friend in college (and high school) who would tell you the sky was green, just to lie about it. (Of course, she would lie now and say I wasn't talking about her...) I never could understand why. She was a smart, funny, talented young woman who had no reason to lie. I guess she felt like she just needed to embellish things to make them more interesting. Who knows? I know I sure don't.

Anyway, tell the truth, people!! I'm going nuts over here trying to use the new skills I am picking up on one of my new favorite shows to see if you're full of it or not......

~Ash

Over the Octuplets!

Is anybody over hearing about the mother of octuplets yet? I am SO over it. Some story about it is plastered on my homepage everyday. Today’s headline is this “Octuplet Mom on Angelina Jolie Resemblance” (here’s the link for those who aren’t over it yet http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=352181&GT1=28103 ).

Seriously, WHO CARES!! Here’s what I am more concerned with… this woman seems to have a mental problem which causes her to believe that having children will help her to fill a void she feels was caused by being an only child and other issues from her childhood. I really believe that she would be calling the fertility clinic for an appointment for another round of IVF if the public had not been screaming so loudly about her story. In the story above, she is asked if she is done having children. This is her answer:

“This happened for a reason," Suleman said of giving birth to octuplets. "This is actually a message I believe from God saying, 'You are done.' It's more than doubled the family size. So now I have to really really realize that this, this has to -- it's done”

Anybody else notice the slip of the tongue there are the end? She started to say “this has to be it” and stopped herself. And she is saying she “has to” realize, not hat she “has realized”. Maybe I have been watching that new show “Lie to Me” too much and it’s rubbing off on me. But she totally wants to have more kids. Hello, is there a doctor she can see that isn’t in a fertility clinic? Of course, considering the success rates of the doctor she chose for fertility treatments, (http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090211/NEWS/90211011 ), she may already be seeing one!!