On my mind...

ON MY MIND NOW...Ehh...not much to say lately. Feeling anxious, off kilter, restless and stressed.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Still Reading...

I have not finished Dean Koontz's "No Fear" yet but, I am enjoying it. There is humor right along with the darkness and I look forward to the finish line!

I'll see you on the back cover!

I Love My Tivo

It gives me the freedom to live my life and get around to watching my favorite shows without feeling glued to my TV each night. But, I feel like having a Tivo is causing me punishment by CBS. They are constantly starting shows late, playing them past the start of each new hour or doing both in one show. And, the worst is when they air a sport. I believe it is football on Sundays. I like Cold Case. I have seen maybe 20 of their episodes in their entirety since the beginning of the series because CBS is always running late. I know that Football is the reason that their programming is always running late on Sundays but, why can't they schedule shows that people like for later in the evening or on one of their less busy nights? And, while we are at it...aren't there Sports Channels that can air Football? I am not a sports fan. Period. I can't be the only person in the entire world who doesn't care for sports. There have to be other fans that don't watch sports and, I refuse to babysit Football to make sure that I make the adjustments to my Tivo recordings to record shows that I like that follow some sport. That is the entire purpose of having a Tivo. It is for convenience and I hate feeling like I am being punished for having one.

And, it isn't just Cold Case and other Sunday Night shows that get jacked up by CBS. As I said, they like to start a show one or 2 minutes late and then end it one or 2 minutes late so that, if you aren't watching the show live, you miss a portion of the beginning and end.

CBS is not the only station that does this. ABC did it a lot with Lost. Another of my favorite shows. They were doing it for a while in the beginning of the season last year but, either they got tired of complaints or got a conscience because, it stopped by the end of the season. Thank you! Now, if only CBS would catch up!

Stop punishing me for being a fan and a user of technology!

My Litter Kwitter...Another Update

Project "Give Them No Other Option For about 7 Hours Each Night" is going as well as expected. When I get home from work, I take the downstairs litter box away and hide it. Then, I take each girl upstairs and gently remind her of her option by putting her on top of the Litter Kwitter. I give her some loving words, some affectionate pets and leave her alone. It is getting used more frequently now. I then remind each of them again, around 11 pm of their only potty option. Then, no later than midnight (unless I go to bed earlier) I put the downstairs litter box back and they are free to use it till their little hearts are content until I get home from work again. So, not only is it getting used, but it is getting used throughout the day. Not just in the "Missing Box" hours. I can't say for sure who is using it. I can say that my oldest uses it. I think that the youngest has started using it. But, I don't know if my middle child is. She is a very lazy cat. Very sweet but, not the most motivated of felines. All I can do is keep reminding her where it is and hoping for the best!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Some Celebrities I Adore...

Lest anyone think that I have a touch of the Green-Eyed Monster or that I am a celebrity hater, not all celebrities are created equal. I do actually like celebrities. There are several that I think highly of.
Allow me to toot the horns of some I admire.

I like Reese Witherspoon. She is adorable, sweet, well-grounded/rounded, a talented actress and someone worthy of praise and attention. And yet, she is not constantly looking to be noticed.

One of my favorite actresses is Sandra Bullock. She is funny, also a talented actress and, from what I have read, she doesn't have a diva-like bone in her body and tends to both receive and dole out on-set pranks. Everything I have read about her speaks to her happy-go-lucky personality. And, I can't recall any bad press because it seems like she knows how to keep herself out of trouble. Go figure! I can't imagine that it is that hard!

Wentworth Miller from Prison Break is an outstanding actor who also manages to keep his rump out of trouble. He is an Ivy League grad from Princeton University. Not only is he hot as heck but, he is smart and talented! And yet, he manages to keep his media attention to interviews and the occasional rumor of his sexual preference. If that is the worst thing about him...Bravo!

Pink, singer, seems to keep herself out of trouble. At least, that I can remember. Basically, the woman is only a bad ass on the outside. She knows how to look the part of trouble without actually being trouble. Her worst press is about her possibly failing marriage. And, if the rumors are true, it sounds like the failure of her marriage lies squarely on her cheating hubby's shoulders.

Celebrities can have fun without being fodder for headlines in magazines and blog sites. Act like a normal, adult, responsible human being with way more money that a most of us normal, adult, responsible human beings and, we will pretty much let you live your life with mild interruptions.

Just Because You Have a Valid License...

doesn't mean you should be driving, y'all!

Unable to control myself today, I must, I must, I must bust Britney's...err...chops?!!?

Anyway, mere days since her last run-in, literally, with a paparazzi, she did it again. She hit another paparazzo yesterday. And, yes...it was, again, with her car.

I do feel for her...as little as I can feel for someone like her. Here is the thing: she thrust herself into the lime light. She chose her career path and she has continuously made herself the #1 person that people want to read about simply because we all cannot avert our eyes from a horrific accident and, let's face it...she is the biggest, ugliest accident that ever lived. And, by accident, I don't mean that she should never have been conceived. Not that kind of accident. Of course I meant it metaphorically. Let me just make that clear, lest I offend my readers (assuming I have more than one)! Anyway, I feel for her only because she is swarmed by paparazzi every moment that she is out of her house and, both times that she has hit a pap with her car, they were surrounding her car. So, I can sort of see how easy it might be to accidentally hit someone when you are given absolutely no room to maneuver a huge piece of machinery like a car.

However, she also tends to put herself out in the most pap-popular areas of California. If she would frequent more off-the-beaten-path establishments, she may stand a chance of meandering unnoticed.

And, to her credit, she did seem truly sorry for hitting the paparazzo yesterday. Even to the point of near tears.

Now, another piece of news that sinks my heart a little bit is that she was given back her limited visitation rights with her boys. She is allowed to resume monitored visits with them throughout the week and one overnight each week. Awfully generous of the Judge to give it back to her. Dude has a way more forgiving heart that I do. But, I guess that I will just have to settle for not forgiving her for him!

I swear...I can't help myself! She is like a warm cup of coffee on a dreary morning with a pile of work on your desk to greet you when you get into work. She is like a fuzzy pair of slippers after walking around in 3 inch heels for 8 hours. She is like the soothing purr of your cat when she cuddles up on your lap and looks at you like you are the only being in the world that matters. She is like coming home from a long vacation and laying down in your bed with your pillow and drifting contentedly off to sleep. Britney is simply addictive! I can't quit her!

I Feel Like a Super Hero

I got my Flu Shot this year. I haven't had one since I was a teenager. The reason is that I would swear that I was even more sick than normal that year so, I really believed that the Flu Shot was the reason.

So, here is the thing. I get either a severe cold, or the flu every single year of my life. And, when other people think a cold or the flu, they think that they will be out of commission for a week or so. But, when I get sick, I get sick like it is my job. If I get a cold or the flu I manage to be sick for no less than a month and usually am not all better until 3 months have passed. And, then I am only healthy for about a week before someone else manages to pass some bug they only carried for 7 days to my already weak and compromised immune system. Nice huh? Nope...I didn't think so either.

So, in light of this year's Flu Vaccination Campaign of: "if you don't get the flu shot, you aren't just fluing yourself", I decided to get the Flu Shot. Not because I give a rat's batooty about "Fluing" someone else. But, because someone is always "Fluing" me. I would like...no...LOVE...to spend this Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year without coughing my lungs out and carrying around a box of tissues and a pocket full of nose drippings inside old tissues.

So, that is why I feel like a Super Hero today. I got my Flu Shot the 13th (10 days ago) and am feeling pretty good. Not that your average Super Hero tends to need luck or to have others wish him or her "good luck", but...wish me luck anyway! I would love to see my first healthy Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year in all of my 34 years of life!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Why?

My state is under a 100% mandatory water ban. So, why do I see people leaving grocery stores and places like Home Depot and Lowes with outdoor plants?

For those of you whom have never been hit with a 100% mandatory water ban, allow me to explain. We are not allowed to water any plants or landscaping. I don't know if that pertains to indoor plants as well but, for the purposes of this post, let's just leave indoor plants out of it as I specifically made mention to outdoor plants being purchased at some of the above locations.

If it is literally against the law, in my state right now, to water anything outside of your house. How does one plan to keep said purchased living outdoor plants alive? You certainly can not spit on it enough each and every day to keep it thriving. I really doubt that one would use their own urine to hydrate any outdoor plant life. And, even if they did...which is gross...how does he or she know that our urine wouldn't kill plant life?

And, the reason that we are under such a strict water ban is because we may run out of our water supply by the end of January if we don't get some serious rain or help from elsewhere.

So, to the people that I see still making plant purchases while under this strict water ban, Thank you for being so freaking selfish. You are probably one of the people who consistently broke the law when we were under less severe, but still strict, water restrictions. It is because of you, and people like you, that we are in such dire straights. If you, and those like you, would have obeyed the law, we may have 6 or more months of water supply left instead of just over 3. Way to care about the world around you instead of your selfish need to make your land pretty! What good will your pretty land be to you when we have no water to drink or cook with, nothing to flush our toilets with, and we all smell like a sewer because we can no longer bathe? But, never mind all of that! At least your grass is green and your flowers are colorful and lush!

Dr. 90210

I like this show. I can't watch some portions of the actual procedures because it really makes my spine twitch. But, it is still fun to watch. I find Dr. Rey and his wife to be two of the douche baggiest people alive. She needs to quit giving women and wives a bad name by being such a "NAG". And, what is with Dr. Rey's suits, the way he flirts with his female patients and his tendency to have a slightly lingering hand when he is consulting with the patients in all their nude glory? I get that he has to touch them but, his touch seems to linger a little bit too long and he sometimes strokes their tummies and other areas in a less than clinical way. This is just my opinion. But, in watching the other doctors during their consultations, I don't see them wandering and lingering, nor do I see them flirting.

Beyond Dr. Rey, there was one episode, the likes of which I only finally got to see after catching up on most of my other favorite shows, that really bugged me.

The episode was titled "Freedom Riders" and one patient wanted a breast lift and, I think, reduction. She was slightly overweight, IMO, and at the age of 25, had a rather severe case of sagging breasts. She had two reasons that she gave for wanting a breast lift. She rides horses and was experiencing pain while riding due to her girls bouncing up and down and all around while she rode her horse. So, as a result, she had to cut back on her horse riding and, that was not a part of her life that she was willing to sacrifice. Perfectly understandable. Then, she had a second reason. She, her family and her friends like to go to Lake Havasu and enjoy the sun and fun. She didn't feel comfortable in her bikini top at Lake Havasu but, more importantly, she always wanted to join in the fun with her girlfriends as they all go topless while wearing Pasties at the Lake. It has always been something that she wanted to do. And, because of the size of her ladies, and the way that they sagged, she never felt comfortable wearing pasties on the lake. So, what better reason than the desire to wear pasties on a lake can one woman ask for to talk herself into getting a breast lift? None that I can think of...cough cough.

So, she had the surgery and, about 6 days later, she had the bandages removed in front of a live studio audience of her Mother and her Father. That's right folks, her bare breasts were first viewed by Dr. Rey, the patient and her mommy and daddy. WTF? I'll give her having her mom in the room. Her mom has the same parts. But, why did her dad need to see his daughters uncovered knockers? What? Gross!

Then, somewhere around a month or two later, they did another post-op interview with her on a boat on Lake Havasu with her friends, parents and her Uncle. Her Uncle then kissed her inappropriately on the lips and asked when the wet t-shirt contest would begin? Or, something to that effect. I was so stunned that all I really remember was the pervy reference to a wet t-shirt contest, while looking longingly at his Niece.

BTW...mission accomplished. On that boat trip on Lake Havasu, she was wearing pasties under her bikini top. She said she was only wearing her bikini top because her scars had not completely healed from her operation and exposing her healing scars to the sun was unhealthy.

And, as of that final interview, she was unable to ride her horses, yet, due to required healing time. Well, at least she could wear her pasties.

Kelly Clarkson - ONE MINUTE ( STUDIO VERSION)

I LOVE this song. I know that Kelly has taken a lot of flack for her new album and, if memory serves, she is reworking it and trying again to get her career back on track. My hope is that she keeps this song on it. She should have released this one after "Never Again" had less than stellar numbers, instead of releasing "Sober". Don't get me wrong, I loved "Never Again", but, this would have been a better release than "Sober". Work it out girl and then work it like you used to!

The Litter Kwitter...An Update...

It has been a week since I told you about the arrival of The Litter Kwitter in my home. It has been somewhat of a challenge...as I expected...simply because I have 3 ladies to train. My oldest cat, 9 years old, is grasping it pretty well. Not wonderfully but, still better than the others. I can't be sure but, I think my youngest cat has used it. As for the middle child, almost 9 years old, I don't believe she has used it at all.

I am on stage 2 of the first step. I moved the Litter Kwitter from the floor next to the toilet to its rightful place, on top of the toilet and...to my delight, Saturday morning I woke up to see that someone had made tinkle in it! I was thrilled!

I still have one litter box in the house. It is downstairs and, it is being used as the primary box. I let it get stinky and that just didn't really even matter. Then, because we couldn't stand the overwhelming stink, I emptied the box and just left it litterless overnight. The ladies made #1 in it but no #2 and only one of them dared to #2 in the Litter Kwitter, which at the time was still on the floor. So, I had to fill the box up with litter again. I am loathe to completely take away the box because, I fear the repercussions. I fear that there will be urine and poo everywhere. I also loathe doing what the instructions tell me to do and locking them all in the bathroom overnight, or for any period of time longer than a couple minutes as I fear that they might make massive damage trying to scratch the way out, and 2 of them might kill one another. I question whether I should lock them up, one at a time, for a few hours each but, even that seems terrifying.

I really want this to work. It already has to some degree. But, I don't feel far enough in progress to be too tickled by the results...just yet.

I might take away the litter box downstairs for the evening hours after I get home from work until I got to bed. I feel that is the only way that this might really jump start any progress.

Wish me luck!

Friday, October 19, 2007

One of My Pet Peeves...Shared!

I listed some of my Pet Peeves some posts ago and, while reading the "MailBag" item on page 6 of the October 29, 2007 issue of People magazine, I came across the following letter:

KATIE HOLMES
"In your article on Katie Holmes, you stated that Tom Cruise often "babysat" Suri. Really? Since when do parents babysit their own children? Had the roles been reversed, would you have said that Katie was babysitting Suri? I doubt it. Dads everywhere are working hard to share parenting duties with their wives. Please give them credit and don't reduce them to mere babysitters."
Barbara Young Great Falls, VA.

I didn't read that particular article because, Katie and Tom bore me and, until Katie snaps out of her functioning coma, I really don't want to pay too much attention to her.

But, seeing someone else agree with my thoughts on fathers "babysitting" their own kids was validating!

Well put Ms Young! (not that she will ever read my blog...but, I want to give credit where credit is due)

Philly TV Anchor

This was so funny, I had to share! God Bless the Innocent!

I Need Rehab...

I have been accused of being obsessed with Britney Spears! So be it! I just can't help myself! She is a train wreck and I just can't help but look!

So, I will do my best to limit myself to one post today. But, it will be hard as it isn't even noon yet and I have already found 2 big stupids that she did just yesterday.

Fresh from having her visitation rights with her kids taken away, did she spend time at home while reflecting on what she has done to deserve such a sad punishment? No way! Kids, Schmidz! Her pucker need some work so, she allegedly went out and got her lips plumped. When your world is crumbling down around you and you are about to be hit in the head with what may be a fatal brick, go out and do something to enhance your appearance. Never mind the need to give a lot of thought to what went wrong and brainstorm on what needs to be done to right it. Worry more about your appearance because, that is really what matters.

Next up, do what you do best. Have an accident with your car and just leave. It doesn't even have to be a big accident. Just run over a paparazzi's foot, sit there in your car while deciding what to do about the fact that your car is on someone else's flip-flopped tootsie, finally decide to remove your car from said person's foot and just drive away! But, make sure you keep your new puffy lips covered so as not to look less than perfect in public. After all, your appearance is truly what matters most in the entire world.

UPDATE: Hey, at least I'm keeping it inside one entry today!

The Brit Twit has decided to blow off her court ordered/appointed Parenting Coach and, now that coach is not having it anymore of it. The Coach has requested, of the Commissioner, that the home visits be put to an end as she felt that they have been going nowhere. Brit is not taking her advice.

IMO, it isn't that Brit isn't taking her advice. It is my belief that that Twit just doesn't care. It sounds like she is acting like an insolent teen aged brat.

And, it is reported that Brit said, "
Why didn't he (the Commissioner) lock down the building for me?" upon getting into the elevator while leaving last week's court hearing. And, she is right. Why didn't he? I mean, she was only a small total of some 5 hours late for her hearing and she was only reportedly disrespectful towards the Commissioner during the hearing. Why indeed?

Thursday, October 18, 2007

It's Not Her Fault...

Sorry for the Brit Twit overload today but, she is making news all over the place on this day before the last work day of the week.

Her lawyer is going to try to blame the paparazzi for her hit and run accident that she is to answer to soon. He says that she gets distracted by all the flash bulbs from the cameras pointed at her every move. Ok...fine! I might give her the benefit of the doubt there. But, was she then too distracted to do something, anything to own up to the fact that she hit that car? She didn't leave a note with her contact info and an apology. She didn't wait until the driver of the hit vehicle returned to the car and exchange contact info or call the police so that they could file a report. No...she just left the scene of the accident. But, she must have been so distracted, what with the paparazzi swarming her. Poor thing. She put herself into the lime light, sought stardom. We should all really feel so bad for her. No one should have to deal with the price of stardom when they willfully thrust themselves into it!

Ahhh...Sweet Revenge...

Although it is not mine, I feel vindicated for some reason.

Britney's visitation rights have been suspended! Why? Because she did not comply with the Commissioner's court orders. She was supposed to provide whomever performs her random drug tests with contact information so that they can reach her for the tests. She did not provide that info and that is, reportedly, why the Commissioner suspended her visitation rights. This order of suspension will remain in place until The Brit Twit complies with all of the court orders.

My question is, how many more times are we going to see her rights be reinstated and suspended again and again before she completely loses all rights to her children? She has shown, repeatedly, that she has no respect for the law and for court orders. So, it doesn't really look, IMO, like she will be gaining any respect for such things as the law and court orders any time soon.

Get Fed Up Mr. Commissioner! Show us what you are made of! She has no respect for you, for her children or for herself! Don't let her continue to raise those kids and have them in your courtroom 23 and 24 years from now for doing everything that they learned from Mommy.