Trouble on Eight Legs

These are my kids. They were featured a while back, but let me introduce them again... The Siamese is Felix, and the Grey and White is Samantha. They are trouble on eight legs. They get into everything! Paper scraps are their absolute favourite, but they'll settle for anything that's chewable or makes crinkly noises.

They used to hate each other. Hard to believe eh? I should mention that the basket they're sleeping in is Samantha's bed. She doesn't like to share and would normally sit on Felix until he moved, but on this day she was content to snuggle with him. They are both crammed in this box so tight that the sides were bending out! Aren't they cute?

God I miss shopping.

Remember the days when we all had money? Sigh. I do. I am a self-diagnosed shop-a-holic. Resisting the temptation to buy a new sweater, or some scrapping supplies, or a new purse is a challenge for me... especially the purses. How I love a new bag. Since the economic craziness started I've had to scale back... WAAAAYYYYY back. Which is not an un-due hardship, but in order to avoid spending money I have simply stopped visiting my favourite stores so as not to lead myself to temptation. After all, a recovering crack addict wouldn't hang out with their dealer now would they? Unfortunately, I've since discovered that shopping is a big part of my well being. It makes me feel good, both about myself, and my home. I like to have new shiney things,(hubby likens me to a raven collecting bits of tin to put in her nest). I miss the self-confidence boost that comes with buying a new outfit. Especially since I've dropped the equivalent of 4 bags of potatoes worth of fat and am now feeling much better about myself.

I have placated myself by shopping at Value Village, which is the local thrift store. It's brilliant really. You'd be surprised at the amount of new stuff people just give away. I came home with a whole summer wardrobe for $50. I would have spent 4 times that in a new store. However, even that is a stretch right now if I want to keep up with my financial goals.

I have now settled for challenging myself to reuse what I already have in creative ways. I have started wearing belts and scarves, (unheard of previously), and changing my jewelry, combining 2 pieces at a time... and keeping all my old purses so I can change them whenever I get bored. I've also started using anything and everything I can find for scrapping. Odd bits I thought never to use have been re-purposed, painted, or cut down. This almost satisfies my inner-shopper... almost.

What are you doing to cut back, but still have fun?

Caution... I offend easily without thinking.

Maybe I should get that tattooed on my forehead... what do you think, colour or black and white?

After reading the lovely comments left on yesterday's post I was quite shocked. I off-handedly (Jinksy, is that even a word?) called everyone who doesn't wear a helmet stupid.. which is a word that I tend to over use. Mostly I was just expressing my frustration about my concern for hubby, not trying to insult the rest of the planet, (should they share his views). I am also not in the habit of calling my hubby stupid, nor do I believe he really IS stupid. I SHOULD have said stuborn, pigheaded,and ignorant... see? There I go again. Needless to say, he usually finds me entertaining and I am not a man-abuser! Please read my posts with a grain of salt, if I tend to rant with colourful language, it is usually meant to entertain and not to hurt. I would never intentionally write something in a public forum to hurt someone else. When I get stressed about something, I tend to develop a sarcastic tone and make a joke out of it... probably not the healthiest coping mechanism, but I like to laugh.

To anyone who may have been offended, my profound appologies. I write to entertain myself, and anyone else who happens to pop in. I am extremely grateful for all of your comments, and your honesty.

Only stupid people don't wear helmets.

Hubby got hit by a car last month. Idiot. He was riding his bicycle when some lady pulled out of Tim Hortons and smoked him. The bike went under the car, and hubby went over. Thankfully the only casualty was the bicycle. Hubby ended up with a separated shoulder, but was ok. Needless to say, this incident freaked me out, and has made me more than a little paranoid since. Enter the evil helmet discussion.

In Ontario, it is law for anyone under 18 to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle. However, if you are an adult, you may use your own judgement, (or lack there of). After hubbys recent ambulance ride, I asked him to wear one. He refused. He is afraid of looking stupid... as if walking around with a smashed-in skull would make him look cool. "Chick's dig scars", he said. I pleaded, begged and cried. Nothing worked. He flat out refuses to be safe. Now I get this sick feeling every time he goes out. If he's late, I have visions of fantastic smash-ups involving various degrees of destruction to both hubby and vehicle. He could alleviate all of this craziness by just putting the damn thing on his head. Why are men so dumb? Stupid Question.

What do you think? Helmet, or no helmet?

Yogurt does not go with everything.

Somebody put watermelon in my yogurt. And cantaloupe, AND hondeydew melon. I was grocery shopping in a hurry last week and picked up the first package of individual yougurts I saw and hurried to the checkout. As you may have guessed by now, I do most things in a hurry... well, more of a panicked dash really, as I am generally late for everything. Right. Back to the yogurt. I zoomed home with my groceries, threw them in the fridge, and promply forgot about them - as by that time there were several other emergencies that needed my attention.

The next day I brought the yogurt to work. Without looking at the container I opened it and ate some. BLECK. Somebody put watermelon in my yogurt. Why would they do that? More importantly, why would I BUY it? I am really going downhill with my shopping track record. Sigh. I probably would have paid more attention if I knew people were manufacturing that crap. Yoplait, if you're reading this, are you out of your MIND? Why would you take perfectly good yogurt and make it taste like THAT? I've been trading with the accounting lady at work for her normal kinds. You know, blueberry, strawberry, that sort of thing.

I should manage that I pulled out the next kind this morning and it has Coconut in it... BLECK! Someone put coconut in my yogurt...

Evil Shoes Of Death.

Sorry for my long absence from the world of blogging. Summer time is insane to begin with and this one was particularly crazy. As usual, I over-scheduled myself for almost EVERYTHING. Why do I always think I'm super woman? No idea.

I missed blogging terribly. There's some kind of therapy involved in writing a short blurb everyday. And maybe it doesn't matter to most people, but it matters to some, and for those of you that missed me while I was away, thank-you. I missed you too!

Enough Mush. On to today's topic: Shoes of death!

I bought a pair of shoes yesterday. There were on sale. I didn't really LOVE the way they fit my feet, but they were only 6 dollars! How could I pass that up? The store I purchased the shoes from was carpeted. I pranced around quickly, threw them in my basket and went on my merry way. Yesterday I put them on, fully intending to wear them to brunch. My floor is linoleum. You can see where I'm going with this, can't you? I took two steps and promptly fell on my a#$. I picked the shoes up and actually LOOKED at the bottom,(which from this point on will become part of my routine upon footwear purchase), they are made of HARD PLASTIC! Who makes the bottom of shoes out of hard plastic? Did they run out of rubber? Was the machine broken? Do they have 100% carpeted floors in Thailand (country of origin of shoes of death). Unfortunately I can't find the receipt for the 6 dollar shoes, which are now in the trash. I literally THREW them in the trash. Then I poured 3 day old bacon grease on top of them for effect. TAKE THAT EVIL SHOES OF DEATH! No longer will I purchase inferior footwear, no matter what the cost. I now have effectively thrown 6 dollars in the trash when I could have just bought a latte and a scone. Leason Learned.