I didn’t expect to attract the attention of a crackpot/rabble rouser when I wrote my adoption blogs. I write mainly because I enjoy it, and I hope something I say can be helpful to someone, in addition to myself. Today I did something out of character for me – I deleted them all. I don’t care about blog stats, but I do care about my blood pressure, which was sky rocketing with some of the slamming I took.
Contrary to the opinion of some, posting a blog , while giving you the right to comment RESPECTFULLY, does not give you the right to judge, condemn, condescend, or harass. I don’t care who you are. I give your position very little credence when you use these tactics. Especially when you don’t even take a few minutes to read my other related blogs so you know what is going on.
So what is the point of this post? Just to explain why blogs are missing and to make a request. Well, since it’s my weblog, a demand – if you are here to make trouble, just go away. Post your own blogs where you can rant away. No crackpots wanted here.
PS – Birth mothers who have their parental rights terminated are not victims, AND giving birth is the LEAST of what makes you a mother. That’s all folks!
right up my foot, biting my toes, as I sit here in my computer room. Note to self: no more midnight snacks while writing. Dh come to the rescue with his anti-ant spray, only he sprays our new carpet – AACCKK!!!! Right where our toddler loves to roll, or fling herself, if I don’t pull up her Nemo game because she’s been naughty. Good thing it was me and not her being bit, since she gets a bad reaction every time to a bite. When she falls outside we yell, “Quick, get up!”. Sympathy takes a back seat to ant bite prevention.
We found the source of the attraction – an errant corn chip hidden behind the closet door. Since I wasn’t flinging them, I have to wonder if the little buggers actually carried it off? And how did they know it was there? We never had ants in this house before! These creatures are amazing in their work ethic. Too bad we have to terminate them.
There are lots of rumors on how to go about getting rid of these fire ants. We tried them all – first off grits. My Yankee husband thinks this is the only good use for grits, though they have grown on me because I give them to the little one. Anyway, the grits didn’t get rid of them, they just seemed to have moved. A lot of useless of work for both dh and the ants. We tried cinnamon, which they thanked us for. We tried the boiling water and cayenne pepper trick, only I felt like a heartless sadist and wouldn’t do it again. Next up was dh setting the mounds on fire. Talk about mean!!! It was effective though, except for the little brown patches on our otherwise pristine lawn. Now we spray, which seems to shuffle them around. We aways seem to run out, leaving me to think I should add up the cost of spray. It may be cheaper just to call someone. Then again, dh seems to really love doing combat with them. Hey, it gets him out of the house! 
Oh, and me? I’m sitting here typing with my feet up in the air, just in case…..
From the song: The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching one by one, the little one stops to suck his thumb and they all go marching down, into the ground, to get out of the rain, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!…….
Did you know if you ask for a trial for a speeding ticket, you could be liable for a $5,000 fine and a YEAR in prison? Yup, that’s right, which is exactly why dh pleaded no contest and paid the $200 fine when he wasn’t guilty. I’m still mourning – both the loss of money and the unfairness of it all.
My dh was slowing for a red light when he saw a police car tucked away to the right and up the hill from the light. As the light changed, he saw the car pull out and follow. BAM! The lights and sirens come one, to my dh’s amazement. The officer told him he got him on radar doing 65. Only it never happened since my dh SAW the car behind him and was careful – the man is no fool. The officer claimed it was after the light changed, while he was following him. So my dh does the only thing advisable; shuts up and takes the ticket.
My dh waits patiently for his day in court. It finally arrived today and he got dressed ever so nice and left. Now the only southern court I have been in was quite surprising. A sign was prominently displayed stating no cell phones, sandals, shorts, men must have their shirts tucked in and no male earrings. The security was as rigorous as any airport too, with a metal detector, wand search, xray machine and handbag search. But I digress……
The judge is not without sympathy and tells my dh that it is very difficult to beat the radar gun, to which dh points out they are not flawless. He is asked to sign a waiver for a trial, when he gets hit with the liability clause – a possible penalty of $5k and 1yr if found guilty. Now it is hard to hide how unreasonable he finds this, but he tells the judge he is not signing or risking a year in jail for a speeding ticket! He has a clean license and this just seems unreal. So the judge cuts him a deal – plead no contest and they would waive court fees, not give him any points on his license. Pay the $200 and go home. So he does. Most unhappily.
What a welcome to our new county. What an eye opener regarding the profitability of traffic violations. I guess the officer had to make a quota, since this happened on Memorial Day weekend. I know he has a job to do, but next time maybe he could pull over someone who is actually speeding, because there are plenty of Nascar wannabes around here!!!! 
We suddenly realized the For Sale sign was taken down next door, when we saw the new people moving themselves in. New neighbors are always worrisome to me; it’s that unknown factor. The last house we lived in was isolated, three acres with acres of nothing across the street, a goat farm on one side and acres of woods on the other. The builder assured us the woods would remain, since no one could build there. Two years later trouble arrived when two houses went up.
The people who moved in next to us had five kids and as many atv’s. Well, maybe only three, which they raced alongside our property at all hours, revving the engines and also running them on the road. They would target shoot off their back deck, the kids that is, aiming towards our woods, where we walked when the mood took us. Which wasn’t ever again, after Dad told us they could do what they wanted on their property. On the other side, the goat people, as we called the owners, got a bit too intrusive. A moat started looking good right about then, but it they still weren’t as bad as our New York neighbors.
The last place we lived was an attached duplex, with a couple downstairs that would drink too much and have screaming matches all night in French. Bad enough to keep us awake, but not even letting us eavesdrop? Next door we had a woman with mental issues, who drank AND smoked. We wondered if she would catch the place on fire, until she did, and then we hoped it wouldn’t happen again, until it did. Then we moved, but not until our lease was up, since the property manager wasn’t returning our two months security until then, threatening legal action to recover any remaining time left. You would think fire was a legitimate deal breaker, but apparently not.
For a time we lived in a lake community, where there was no parking. No sidewalks, few driveways or garages. This was originally a summer community and space was at a premium. We could only park in front of the house, which was at the crest of a hill. Our neighbor had a narrow driveway and an oversized truck, plus a boat. It was extremely difficult to back the truck in with the boat there, so he told us we shouldn’t park in front of our house because it blocked his view getting out. HUH? He felt we should just park up the road by the stores and walk home. After refusing , we had many screaming tirades directed at us, by both him and his wife. Did I mention we lived there first, and they could park in front of their own house? But then, that was too reasonable.
In Florida, we lived next to a very quiet family. Too bad about their twenty cats leaving their mementos every where, like on our patio furniture. They also had a rather annoying habit of digging up my flowers and yowling in heat. On the plus side, we also had the best neighbors ever across the street from us – the cemetery. I kid you not, the folks there were the most considerate neighbors we had ever had.
So we have had lousy neighbors in our life, but who knows what they say about us? We always tried to be considerate and private though. So far, everyone is this subdivision seems quite pleasant, keeping to themselves. Someone did bring us a dish when we moved in, an act that was previously unknown to us. Maybe it will work out fine, after all, I see no signs of pets and best of all, no atvs. It’s time for some neighbor luck, like where’s Mr. Rogers when you need him????
“Naughty, Messy Mommy”
from ‘Peppa Pig’
I’m all for a clean house, but my definition of clean differs, depending on what I have going on. Clean to me is emptying the sink and calling Gia, my toddler, to turn on the dishwasher, her daily chore. If the rugs look clean, the garbage is emptied, the clothes washed and put away, I feel ahead of the game. There is always something waiting to be done, such as mirrors to be Windexed and blinds to be dusted. My floor most likely needs a good shining. I’m fortunate that my dh sweeps after each meal, and one of us will make a pass with the Swifter, an easy method of mopping I wouldn’t want to do without. Right about now, you may be thinking my house is a mess, but the thing of it is, it usually looks good. My reasoning then is, if it looks good with a minimum of effort, why stress? I save the stress for something else, and have plenty of it on hand.
I use to be fanactical about cleaning, until I realized it was like shoveling during a blizzard. I will sometimes have marathon cleaning sessions, and we all go about sprucing the place up. There is one thing I never get to that actually embarrasses me – I don’t clean the car enough. Not all of this is my fault, my dh and toddler do more than their share of creating the sloppiness. Adding a toddler to my back seat changed things. When I was smug and single, I could never understand how my friend Aimee would let her car go, with empty wrappers, cheerios and toys everywhere. She should see my Honda now. As Peppa Pig would say, “Naughty messy Mommy”. In case you haven’t heard of Peppa Pig, go to UTube and choose Peppa Pig Cleaning the Car video. It’s a childrens show, with an English pig family, which is better than average, such as Barney or Dora. Blech.
I plan on getting out the shop vac and cleaning the car tomorrow, only Gia doesn’t get to hold the hose. She already got me yesterday with it yesterday. Amazing the damage a two year old can do with a garden hose. Until tomorrow then, I’ll keep my title, unless you know someone more deserving??? (Yoo-hoo, oh Aimee………)
