learning to say no

when people ask, "what do you do in your free time", i struggle with a creative answer. yes, i enjoy to travel and take photos. i also tend to be crafty and often scrapbook among other artistic revenues. however, when it really comes down to "free time" i'm limited as to what i actually do. free time for me typically consists of sleeping, napping, or trying to cram more things into the day. i love playing with my dogs, but this needs to be done, regardless if i have free time to do it... i have graduate school, i work a stressful job for a minimum of forty hours a week, and i commute, a lot. so when i have a minute or two, i enjoy doing nothing.

something has to give, but i'm just not sure what. i would love to have a day off, without using it to cram everything i don’t have time into one eight hour day. yesterday was my "day off" (of work) so i woke up early, cleaned the house, did six loads of laundry, walked the dog, got my oil changed, got the dogs licensed, mailed a package, went to the bank, all before my six pm night class, which of course i needed to commute to. (did i mention monday's "off" still mean i have rounds from 2:30-3:30, which requires me to drive to work?)

i would like to have time to... learn to play the piano, read a book for leisure, create a photography portfolio, and explore my hobbies and interest. but whenever i get a moment or two of free time, i am usually two exhausted to do anything.

so how is one to make time, with no time?

it's suppose to warm up...

I'm so sick of people bitching about the snow. It's Wisconsin. What do you expect? If anything, the recent amount of snowfall should remind us how much global warming has affected winters of the recent past. I'm not claiming to love the ice and slush and enjoy winter driving, but I don't dwell and complain about it. I think people don't actually distain the weather as much as they enjoy having something to complain about. It seems like any common chit chat has turned to complaints about the weather to merely fill empty time. I'd prefer silence.

There is a Moose in my house!

I'd like to introduce you to the newest guy in my life! His name is Max, or Roonie, and recently even Moose. He's a 16 month old golden retriever, and after having co-custody of him for the past year, he has official made the leap from outside wanderer to inside garbage disposal.

I still have my one and only, Sammy... and Charlie the tenant, but they both seem to be adjusting to the addition quite well. Charlie no longer hisses at Roonie, but rather tolerates him, and Sammy plays with him when their in the snow and avoid getting trampled on while their in the house. I have only had Moose for three days but over the short time have taught him to: lay down, high five and shake (he already knew how to sit). So I am pretty impressed with how fast he is learning.

While it isn't the best photography, I've tagged the following photo to give a better idea as to how humongo Max-a-Roonie really is. This was taken this evening in our kitchen, he is sitting next to Sammy (my cocker spaniel) and I left the baby gate and kitchen cupboards in the picture for scale.

if you havn't been there, you should go.

Post Secret rocks, if you havn't checked it out yet... you should: http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ . I visit it every Sunday, and typically a few times through out the week. I rescently purchased the first book of the series, and I can't wait to get the rest. That is all.

2008 presidential election

So I pretty much have no idea who to vote for… it’s rather frustrating actually, I feel upset that I don’t know. Like I’m obligated to know… not that it even makes a difference since everyone says the same bull shit and no one really does anything anyway. I took a quiz on http://www.speakout.com/VoteMatch/Senate2006.asp#sec0 and the results surprised me… but even after that my highest match was 43% with a candidate… so that’s still 57% oil and water. I know it’s important to vote, and I will- but I’m getting the point where I feel like it doesn’t even matter anymore.

naps and snacks

i went to the gym today, i walked on the treadmill, did a few stair steps and did water aerobics. i am pretty happy with myself. however, now i am home and i have a few hours before i have to go to work. i would like to: eat, sleep, shower. in that order. i could eat: cheetos, cheese cake, cheese curds, olive garden salad, carmel peacan silk supreme pie, chicken strips, nachos... i could sleep afterwards and hybernate like a bear cub until i have to go to work. i realize that this is not the best decision, to make, for my health... espicially since i made a good decison to work out, actually... maybe it isnt as bad since i did work out, but either way i shouldn't eat these items, but i would like to. perhaps i will nap instead.

Whitening Toothpaste

What constitutes “whitening” toothpaste? It seems that almost every kind has the name attached in some way/shape/form. Doesn’t baking soda pretty much cover it? I mean, in general… shouldn’t brushing your teeth alone do some sort of minimal whitening? Isn’t that the overall intention, to clean the crap off your teeth? I realize some toothpastes may have more “whitening” agents, but could I use my t-shirt and finger to scrape the film off my teeth and develop a marketing scheme to advertise the method as “whitening”? Whitening has become so over abundant than I am questioning the basic qualifications as a whole.

classic nickelodeon

I purchased season one and two of "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" today on Amazon. If you are unaware, Pete and Pete is a show that aired on Nickelodeon in the early 90's and is hilarious. From what I can recall it consists of two red haired brothers and their daily lives. Within the show, Little Pete has a tattoo of "Petunia" which is a woman in a red dress who can be made to dance on Pete’s arm. Little Pete also has a personal super hero, Artie, The Strongest Man in the World. Pretty much the show is just hilarious, as I mentioned before. I strongly recommend anyone who is in need of a good laugh, to check it out. In fact, I'd even be willing to share my DVD's once they arrive. Which, if everything goes according to plan, should be February 4th. I am keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that the show will have a rating that will allow me to take it to work for the kids to watch. All in all, it was a great investment, I am hoping.

However, I do have one issue with internet purchases. Amazon.com has saved my credit card information, which has allowed me to purchase items with extremely little effort. In fact, I know for certain that if I had to search for me credit card and actually go through the effort of locating it and entering it into the site, I would 98% of the time not purchase the items I have stumbled across on the website. So kudos to you Amazon, for your superior marking skills which have caused me to make so many useless and regrettable purchases.

living the dream

So I was at work for approximately twenty minutes this afternoon when one of the kids called me into the bathroom and informed me that his penis was bleeding. Apparently beating your dick like it owes you money isn’t the best idea after all. Well the evening progresses, as it tends to do… and after a few typical racial slurs and half a dozen “fucking skank” comments, I found myself outside of the QR. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with treatment facilities the QR can be compared to the “padded room” in a psych ward) Well I suppose it isn’t enough entertainment to be locked a 5x7 linoleum room, but it sure is a hoot to take defecate and smear it all over the walls, window and ceiling. Which brings me to the question at hand… How did I get to this point in my life? I think it’s a pretty ligament question. I mean, I went to college, I got the degree… but somehow, nowhere in my five year plan did I intend on scraping shit off of walls.