My Dog is Weird.

I just have to share this photo everywhere, because its so darn cute.

My little Scratty is so not right!

But she's also so sweet, at least to us  and she does the weirdest things, like bury herself under the blankets...or stealing one of Mokey's cans of Royal Canin so she can guard it all day long, growling at anyone that happens by.

Yup, she's weird. Very weird indeed.

So Angry I Can Spit

My lawn care guy up and quit on me.  I knew he was getting married, but I had spoken to him about a month ago and it seemed like things were on track.

Yesterday I sent him a text to see if we were on schedule for this week. I knew he had a 3 week honeymoon. (It must be freaking nice) He responded late, he wasn't doing grass cutting this year..and maybe my boss' son or a neighbor kid could do it.

WTF!

Seriously, I always liked this guy. He was kind and seemed smart. But no joke, this is not how you treat someone. He could have at least done one week.

My lawn looks like shit right now, because I was expecting it to be done this week and because of the monsoon like weather we were having.

Thankfully my brother in law will be able to do my lawn, because otherwise I'd be screwed.

Also this guy was the one that was going to look at my bathroom for me to see if doing the wall surround was a viable option..so yeah, I'm doubly screwed.

Further Proof That Walmart Is The Devil's Doing

I avoid Walmart as much as I possibly can, but there are some things I can't get anywhere else. My Pledge Revive It is one of them.

I usually make a trip there once or maybe twice a month, usually when I work a close shift at Lowes, because I like to be at Walmart during their off times.

Well...screw that.

I went last Sunday night after my shift ended for a grocery order.

It was peaceful there. I didn't have to recite my "Its not polite to kill people," mantra.

Until I went to check out.

They had speedy check outs for 12 items or less..the rest of us were stuck with Self Check Out.

Self CHECK OUT!!

Now pardon me if this sounds dumb, but wouldn't it make more sense to have 2 regular registers open, because self check out is much easier when you are buying fewer items not when you are buying your weekly grocery order.

To which I say ...fucking Walmart!

Whatever Happened to Family Sitcoms?

If you watch a lot of classic tv and hang around the channel's message boards/Facebook pages etc, you'll see a lot of people bemoaning the lack of good tv.

Well there is good tv out there, you just have to look for it, but really the family sitcom seems to be a thing of the past. The Middle was really the only show in recent years on the major networks that the whole family could watch. It was also good in the way that you didn't have a "smart mom" and "stupid dad" thing going on..or even better...the goofy looking dad and the "hot mom."  It kind of falls under the Leonard and Penny thing from Big Bang Theory. How does a goofy looking smart guy get a girl like Penny, even when THE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN COMMON.  Sorry, that whole dynamic has always bugged me, especially when Howard and Sheldon both end up with equally smart partners.

Early sitcoms had parents at least on equal footing or absent parents..because the dad's were always widowers. The family sitcom starting dying in the 90s, after The Cosby Show ended its run. Sure shows like Full House, Family Matters and of course Home Improvement lasted well into the 90s..and later Boy Meets World..but the amount of shows with family being a central figure...and without sex being the premise of almost every episode, has faded into obscurity, especially if you don't watch cable.

Its really a sad sorry shame that this type of programming can't make a comeback.

What's your favorite family sitcom?

Oh and as an aside, Disney really did the best sitcoms in recent years, like Good Luck Charlie (which my dad loved) and The Wizards of Waverly Place.

So Many Tears

I think the only thing anyone can talk about right now is the horrific fire at Notre Dame. I remember seeing the first reports yesterday and thinking, please, let them get it out quickly.

Then please let it be saved.

Then I saw the tweet that the POTUS made...and I grew angry, because that man has not a single once of compassion in his entire body. He should have a handler and that handler should take his phone and crush it into thousands of tiny pieces to save him, and the rest of the country from any further embarrassment his tweeting self can cause.

My next thoughts were for the French people..This is history that was being destroyed. History that survived many wars, but was felled by fire.

My tears are for them, because modern materials can't hold a candle to what was build 800 years ago. Its unbelievable.

Then I saw the people of Paris singing Ave Maria, and I had hope, hope for my faith, hope for humanity.

In grief and tragedy, hope will always find a way to shine.

I know I will never see Notre Dame in my life, but it is important to so many people and the world...So glad that in the light of day, though the destruction was vast...it wasn't complete.

I've Made Progress

I've accomplished quite a bit this weekend, and considering I've not got a single day off from here to the end of the month, that is an amazing thing.

I have my dining room floor (aka the floor from hell) looking more like a floor. Hopefully by Saturday night, it will be more tolerable, so I won't be ashamed to have people in my house on Easter Sunday.

I have everything needed for Easter dinner and my house is nicely decorated.

I donated extra throw blankets to a local animal rescue.

Heck I even got 2 things for me! I got a spare pair of shoes for work and a paperback! Woo to the hoo!

Oh and on the financial front, 2 bills are paid off. Now to really start focusing on paying down one more credit card, because this year there are things I need to get for the holidays, like a new Christmas tree and more importantly a new dining room table, unless there is someone out there that could work a miracle on my old one.

Busy Busy Busy

I've been work...

And I'll be working for the rest of the month.

But Wednesday when I had the time, I got some of my early spring flowers in. Aren't they adorable?

I'm Mad As Hell

I have always have a dysfunctional family. I don't mean that in a bad way, really, I just mean we all have messed up lives.

My mother did her best to hold us together and I became head chef of our little household when she couldn't.

I'm still head chef of the "Guy" family.

I've been working 2 jobs since Christmas. Its not fun, though I like most of the people I work with at job 2.

I'm tired all the time and I'm trying to keep up with as much as I can.

No one in my house does much to help.

I ask one to run the sweeper in their room, because one cat likes to leave crime scene fur marks on the carpet..does he do it?

Will he dust his room?

HELL NO.

I feed him. I get his allergy meds...etc...and he lives in my HOUSE. He is not my child.

He helps clean up after the animals...garbage and puts dishes away.

Anything else, is like pulling teeth.

Then there's my sister, who got herself into a SITUATION.

I feed her every night. Heck, I make sure there's peanut butter at least, in case she needs lunch. She's working 2 jobs until Sunday, when her better paying job starts.

Its only been 5 months since mom has been gone.  I don't want to alienate family, but I'm not anyone's mother, or caretaker.

I don't mind feeding people, when I have to cook.

I just wish cups weren't left on my counters that are dirty or on other furniture....or if just once someone would freaking do a dish besides me. Working 12.5 hours at least 4 days a week is not fun and yes, I'm complaining but only because NO ONE IS HELPING ME with some little things.

Daddy's Birthday

Yesterday would have been my daddy's 93rd birthday. It will be 5 years that he's been gone come November and though it is getting easier, these days hurt, especially since it is the first birthday of his without mommy too.

I think a lot about both of them.

So many of my memories involve food.

I made chicken fried rice yesterday and we talked about how he'd put "the red stuff" on it. The red stuff being the sweet and sour sauce. He loved that so much and when we got Chinese takeout it would go on just about anything, and he loved his sweet and sour chicken.

I can still tell you some of his favorite restaurant meals.

If you went to Cracker Barrel, he'd always get the sampler platter so he could get the ham and the chicken and dumplin's. If we went somewhere that had chicken pot pie, like Rock Bottom Brewery or Cheddars, he'd try to lick the plate clean.

Daddy enjoyed his food.

Oh and he loved the beer at Rock Bottom too.

I wish I could cook him one more meal that he'd enjoy...or take him to dinner one more time.

Its the one thing I've learned in the last 5 years. There's never ever enough time, and no matter what, no matter how you hate seeing someone you love sick, or how their illness takes away "them" NEVER EVER EVER stop telling them how much you love them, because one day you won't be able to do that, because they'll be gone.

Happier News

Back to the joys of budgeting.

1. Aldi dog food = $20 savings over the pedigree and cesar wet food Scratty eats. The cats also love the salmon wet food too which is 35 cents over the 55 to 65 cents for friskies.

2. The water bill went down 10 bucks! Woo hoo!

3. I'm learning the joys of dicing potatoes. A bag of o'brien potatoes costs $1.65 frozen at Aldi, but a 10 lb bag of potatoes is $3.49. 4 large potatoes diced makes a lot of o'brien potatoes for a side dish or for fritattas!

4. I've learned I only go shopping on a day where I've worked in Belle Vernon, thus saving money on gas. (At least when possible)

5. I am transitioning the cats back from 4health grain free to the regular 4health food. Its a dollar savings per bag, but each bag also has 2 lbs more food.

6. I'm still having issues with food for my damn lunches. I keep my nephew fed, but when it comes to me, if we don't have leftovers, I'm useless at figuring things out, especially if I'm working both jobs. I'm also trying to cut down on the trips to the fast food restaurants because I'm trying to cut back on my spending there. On a plus I think I'm losing weight, so there is that. Except I can't afford new clothes.