Trophy Wife

teen ager story of the day

let me just say this:

this is just my opinion.

if you live on your own, married or otherwise

if you support yourself

if you are over 18

if your parents say it's ok

i really don't give a rat's a$$ if you have one, want one, are going to get one but as long as she lives under MY roof, drives a car she doesn't pay for...the monthly payment, the bi-annual insurance, the twice weekly stops at the gas pumps...she AIN"T gettin one. plain and simple.

a few weeks ago, teen ager (because cheer is officially over for the year and she is no longer cheerleader so we are back to plain ol teen ager) and i were sitting and waiting for tutoring to begin. this is when she springs on me once again that she thinks belly button rings are cute. we've had this discussion a million and one times. i don't care for them personally. i especially don't care for them on minor girls. teen ager got the look. ya know the one...that one. the one that says am i friggin'  idiot? or are  you? she continues to try to persuade...cuz one of her really good friends just got it done for her 16th bday so teen ager thinks she should too. so i use the argument of not while you live in my house. not while i pay your bills. i also tried to find out why she thinks it's so cute and what the purpose is of having your belly button pierced when no one sees it...that's when i hear something about some stupid teen aged boy thinking they (belly button ring) are cute. ummmm....hellooooooo...what the hell??? what boy is going to be seeing this??? not really a persuasive argument. i think in debate class this would be failing. so teen ager keeps trying and i keep trying to find an argument that will shut her trap. then i found one. where do you think belly button rings got started?  she didn't know. so i told her that if she agreed to my one condition, not only would i let her get it done, i would take her and even pay for it! you should have seen her face light up. she thought she won the boy toy lottery. she thought i was the coolest person in the freakin universe...then she came to her senses and asked what my condition was.

get a job as a stripper.

yep. that's exactly what i told her. get a job dancing on a pole and having drunk assholes slip a dollar bill in your g-string. show off your God given assets to total strangers. then and only then can you have a belly button ring while you live in my house.

eeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww, mom, that is so disgusting. (well, DUH! it  was supposed to be disgusting, alarming, shocking. it was totally  meant to turn her off the whole subject for at least a few hours).

well, how do you think the whole thing got started in  the first place? strippers and hookers that wanted to look more slutty to guys...duh! so why in the world would you want to do that to yourself? why do you want to look like a cheap bar slut at your age? doesn't that purity ring mean anything to  you?

well, yeah, it does...but they still look cute...

ok, let's see if you can get a pole dancing job somewhere...i'll even vouch for you since you are under age. i'll tell 'em it's ok since you're my kid. i'm sure i won't be in jail for too long. i could probably still pick you up from school.

mooooom...i'm not gonna do that. that's gross!!!

so is a belly button ring at your age. case closed. don't bring it up again unless you are ready to dance on a gold pole.

but...

no butts...(get it...butts not buts)

we can always ask your tutor what he thinks about young girls getting their belly button pierced?

(gasp!) no, mom, don't say anything!!!

so, kyle, what do you think of belly button rings?

uh, i don't have one...

(teenager under her breath while giving me the death glare) mom, quit it.

(kyle to eric,another tutor) hey eric, teen ager wants to know what you think about belly button rings...

(eric(who is also a very large man)) oh man, i had to take mine out when i gained all this weight back! but what about tattoos???

oh please, we are so not going there! i get one crisis averted and he brings up freakin' tattoos???

yeah mom...what about a tattoo instead? wink wink nod nod. she so knows better!!!

so i was relaying this to a friend who just shook her head and told me that if she were raising a teen ager, she probably would teach her daughter according to the Bible instead. and not encourage her to be a stripper. but ya know what? this works for us. first of all, i know that teen ager knows sarcasm when she hears it. she knows that i really don't mean for her to get a job dancing on a gold pole (unless there is some way it could pay her car payment, insurance and gas without getting all of us in trouble with the law some how). no, i don't really mean that. really. i don't. i don't think i do...

ummm....really, it does work for us. i know it might be a little shocking in the parenting department. but sometimes, the shock factor goes a long way. i'm not worried that she is going to come home with an application to work at Sarie's Gentlemen's Club. she knows that i'm not encouraging her to be a stripper or a hooker or a cheap bar fly slut...no offense to anyone!! i just want her to stop and think about her actions. and how others will think of her actions. and what her actions say about her. about her character. about her integrity. is that really what she wants people to think about her? she doesn't. i know she doesn't want that.

teen ager is a great kid. she makes good decisions on her own, daily. sometimes she wants what other girls have and i can't blame her. i wanted that bike with the pink banana seat that janean coil had when we were in 2nd grade. it was cool and she looked cool riding it. i thought having that same bike and seat would make me cool, too. but guess what?

i'm just plain ass cool all on my own and teen ager is too!

i am grateful:

• for having a nice dinner with hubby, teen ager and her friend
• teen ager and friend would be seen in public with us at the movies tonight 
• Cujo accepts bro as his brother 
• the fantastic few days we had this week with our weather 
• facebook 

  

now it's your turn to tell me something good! leave it in the comments. post it on your blog and link it here in the comments. post it on your facebook and link it in the comments. just get off your butt and DO IT!

just breathing isn't living!

sincerely,

 

im a little confused here

danger 

will rogers

danger

this is a soap box post so you may want to turn away right now...just lettin ya know

meet Acea, Shadow and Bong Box

so apparently there was a domestic disturbance at the address which the above reside. the cops show up, do their thing and leave. then realize that boy above is in more trouble so they go back to the house, where they witness Shadow being in the bong box while Acea smokes...Shadow was given to his girlfriend because the previous owners thought she was a little crazy hyper. she likes to bite and claw. so Acea decides that spending time in the box, getting high will calm her down because, well,it worked in the past. he and his gf didn't want to take shadow to the pound because they don't want her to be destroyed, put down, killed...whatever you want to call it.

now, people are up in arms about this whole deal. you probably saw the story on cnn or fox...it even made it to The Guardian in the UK!!!! the local humane society did freakin chest x-rays to see if there is any lung damage...first, what a waste of money and here's why:boy admittedly put the kitten in the box 3 times. the kitten is 6 months old. do you really think that the damage is going to show up over night? gimme a break!

next thing on my list: WTF??? we are outraged that this kid was getting the cat high to calm it down yet we readily give our kids ritalin, adderall and other class 2 narcotics and send them off to school no less in order to calm them down and help them focus. and what's even funnier...have you seen the signs around schools that label them as drug free zones??? does this drug free as in NO DRUGS or drug free as in IF YOU DR PRESCRIBES IT, THEN IT'S OK BY US. IF IT HELPS THE TEACHERS TEACH WITHOUT DISRUPTIONS, IT'S OK BY US. IF THESE DRUGS ARE APPROVED BY THE FDA THEY ARE OK BY US.

that part confused me. i still don't understand it. 

don't get me wrong...i'm not saying that i agree with Acea getting the cat high. i just don't understand where all the complaints are when we send our kids to school on these mind altering drugs, they shoot up the school and kill people. i don't see it plastered all over the drive by media. but let one cat get high and it's a whole new ball game. point being, you don't see anything about these mind altering drugs that the fda approves of...well,not really...check out the recommendations on some of these drugs and you will find that they are NOT recommended for children. do some research and see what you come up with.

so here's my deal: don't get your cat high to calm it down...crush up your kids' ritalin and put it in the water dish.

not really. just kidding. please don't do that. but if you did, it wouldn't be against the law, would it?

stepping down from my soap box.

i am grateful:

• teenager is being a very careful driver ( a post on that at a later date)
• the weather was so dang gorgeous here today 
• the bathroom remodel resumed this week 
• i got laundry done today 
• for the dvd's of One Tree Hill 

now it's your turn to tell me something good!!!

just breathing isn't living!

sincerely,

 

and talk is cheap when the story is good...

and the tales grow taller on down the line...

REO Speedwagon...Take It On The Run

yep...these lyrics just fit this short story.

so cheerleader has been experiencing some health issues since Christmas. i'm not sure how much i will get into here because i don't want to upset cheerleader but suffice it to say that it's been "girlie" issues. and they have been pretty bad and very upsetting to her, kiroman and myself and of course, the rest of our family and friends that are aware of the situation. so for the last 2 weeks, cheerleader has only been to school for parts of 3 days...not one whole day in the last 10 days. does that tell you how bad it's been?? so, this past thursday, cheerleader gets a text or something from a girl at school who wants to know what hospitals she has been to. well, we did go to one hospital but only because that's the office of the doctor we went to see. anyways...cheerleader told her and then asked why and here is the condensed version of the story (that means that i am omitting lots of 'like's, 'and's and 'so's) basically the story is that one of the teachers is telling her class that i, trophy wife, sent an email to cheerleader's teachers informing them that cheerleader has been in and out of hospitals and having lots of tests done and we don't know if she is going to make it. well, cheerleader happened to be at tutoring when she found this out and immediately texted me and before i even had time to reply, she was calling me. i'm sure she was worried that she was truly dying and we weren't telling her yet. i assured her  that she wasn't dying and that we would, indeed, let her know if she were dying. i kinda laughed it off because i didn't want her to be worrying about  something that wasn't worth worrying about but you know how girls are! kiroman and i finally convinced her that all was well and this was just one of those things. then cheerleader goes to school for morning classes on friday and finds out a bit more of the story.i did email one of her teachers to let the instructor know that cheerleader did not forget about their early morning appointment to make up and exam but that cheerleader was not going to make it to school that early as we were waiting for the pain pills to kick in so i think that's where the "not making it" might have come from. then in french class, a student asked cheerleader why she hadn't been in school to which she responded that she didn't want to talk about it. the student pushed and cheerleader was all like it's personal and embarrassing and i don't want to talk about it publicly to that the student said oh, so you have some kind of std then? then another student piped up and said, no! if she just had an std, she wouldn't be missing so much school and wouldn't look as bad as she does! then she apologized to cheerleader about saying she looked bad. but it's true, she doesn't look good right...poor kid.

so anyway, that is the main reason there have not been any blog posts recently. cheerleader ahs been pretty ill and wanting someone to be with her unless she is sleeping and we have been to a few dr appts and still trying to keep up on school work plus all the other stuff i do on a daily basis... and that, my dear friends, is how we are rolling in kiroland!

i know i have missed a few birthdays lately and i apologize and know that if you had one of those birthdays, i will be making it up to you very soon! and i know...i need to change the dates over there on the sidebar but that ain't gonna happen right now but maybe soon...no promises though! i know better than that!

i am grateful:

• for finding a great "girl" doctor for cheerleader
• cheerleader has been so strong during all of this 
• cujo is learning to be a good big brother
• the great weather we have experienced the last few days 
• a fantastic dinner at sulllivan's last night 

now it's your turn to tell me something good!!!

just breathing isn't living!

sincerely,

 

a day in the life of trophy wife:

this was my friday, let's just say it started about 2:30ish am:

that would be bro barking because he needs to potty so i nudge kiroman and let him know it's time to get up. when kiroman comes back to bed, cujo must attack him and wiggle all over the bed and make sure kiroman returned unscathed. 4am kiroman's alarm goes off (and yes, this is on purpose and what time he gets up mon, wed, fri and sat) so it's time for bro to go out again, join kiroman in the bathroom so they can have some bonding time before kiroman goes off to kiroworld for the day. kiroman kisses trophy wife good bye and lets her know that bro has pooped and peed and off he goes...bro goes back to his kennel and kiroman heads to work. bro continues to bark constantly, without taking a freaking breath, from 4:30 to about 6am. at that point, bro decides that it is entirely possible that everyone in the world has forgotten about him and goes to sleep. at 6:30am my alarm starts ringing but i am smart enough to hit snooze a few times and finally drag my sorry hiney out of bed so i can get cheerleader up so she can start drinking her 32 oz of water. cheerleader decides she doesn't want to get out of bed. she doesn't want to drink 32 oz of anything and absolutely will not cooperate with me. so i ran to the shower and then back down to wake cheerleader. she finally got up and continued to grumble about having to drink water. so now we are down to the last minute and she has less than an hour to finish her BIG drink. i finish my mornning routine of throwing on some making up, brushing my teeth, drying my hair, grabbing some clothes and picking up my mess. then it was off to let cujo and bro out one last time, treats for the puppies and to their perspective kennels. then it was off to the barn to feed and water the horses and dogs. now, back to the house to get cheerleader into the car and off to the doctor where she gets an ultrasound on a full bladder. then cheerleader gets dropped off at school for the first time all week and over to the feed store to get some steam rolled oats for those finicky horses that can't have regular whole oats. now, hurry back home, unload the oats to the barn. once inside, let cujo and bro out yet again. then it's time to write payroll because i totally blew it off the night before and i know everyone in kiroland expects to be paid today since it's payday! also, gather a bit of information for the accountant. now, i get to drive back into the city to get some suck-up cupcakes to take to the accountant since i slacked in getting information to him for the W-2's but great guy he is, he got them done on time for me! spent some time with accountant going over 4th quarter 2008 stuff. now i drive over to the office to drop off pay checks and head back home because the farrier will be here at 2pm to give pedicures to the ponies. in the 30 minutes i have to spare, i make the bed, throw dishes in the dishwasher, change out the laundry and grab a salad for lunch. farrier dude is here on time, which means i get out of here on time to pick up cheerleader from school. then it is a stop in kiroland to get cheerleader her daily adjustment. at this point, cheerleader informs trophy wife that she needs a white and or black t shirt for dance class on monday. so cheerleader decides we need to make a trip to the mall to get the really soft t shirts at victorias secret. we finally head home where i get to let cujo and bro out one more time. another trip to the barn to fill up the oat bucket, feed and water horses and dogs again. make something great for supper and spend some quality time with kiroman. cheerleader has boyfriend come over for a bit, which means i will be staying up until boyfriend leaves since kiroman heads to bed about 8:45pm. finally, it was one more trip outside for the puppies and then i fell into bed about midnight.

that is a true and accurate evaluation of my friday. any omissions are only because i have become sleep deprived.

i am grateful:

• not all boys are crazy
• cheerleader is able to talk to us about almost anything...and if she can't talk to us right away, eventually she does 
• the commercials make the superbowl bearable :) 
• for cheerleader's magnificent cupcakes 
• kiroman made all the trips to the barn today 

tell me something good!!!!

just breathing isn't living!

sincerely,

 

i'm a slacker

no, really, i am.

i slacked on getting needed information to the accountant for W-2 information, although, great guy that he is, it's all done and ready for me to pick up said items. mental note: take them cookies and lots of them!

i slacked on getting stalls done before the farrier comes tomorrow and i hate having dirty stalls/horses when he is here.

i slacked on my book work this week.

i slacked on laundry...i think i have re-washed this load 3 times already because i can never get it in the dryer and i don't want them to be smelly. i know, bad for the environment and a waste of water and electricity but it is what it is, ok?

i slacked on getting my studio cleaned up this week. that really is disappointing to me.

i have slacked on my blog writing.

i have three really good reasons for all of the above:

a. cheerleader had a really tough week. no school on monday because they reached the walk a thon goal so it was a free day then tuesday she started texting me after being in school for about an hour i finally caved (or so i thought) and picked her up at 11:30 only because i was tired of getting the begging texts. well, when she walked out of school, i felt like a big ol piece of poopy. she looked horrible and really wasn't exaggerating in her texts. wednesday and thursday also saw her stay home from school and she will miss a few hours friday morning but it looks like she should be there for the rest of the day. she is looking and feeling better tonight. the best she has all week. and let me tell you, there is nothing worse than watching  your poor baby writhe in pain and there is absolutely NOTHING you can freaking do about it. if i could take this pain for her, i would without a doubt.

b. a new puppy. i really did cave here and any of you that really  know Trophy WIfe, knows that i really didn't want another pooping and peeing body to take care of. kiroman begged. i mean absolutely BEGGED for this damn thing. he made some points and some promises. the points were well placed and hit their mark. the promises...he's kept them but i don't give him any choice there! but it hasn't been an issue. cujo thought it was cute on saturday when bro made his appearance. then on sunday, cujo was like, what the hell?? it lives here? he was a little freaked and decided he needed to make a stand so whenever possible, he played prison with bro. by monday, things were much better and cujo has taken to the role of big brother quite well, although prison seems to be his favorite game. bro doesn't seem to mind too much. and you know how puppies are...they need to go out every 2-4 hours no matter if it's night or day. mix that with cheerleader being up every two hours and do the math...no one is sleeping in this house except for the damn dogs!

c. facebook

i purposely didn't put my explanation there so make a POINT. to show how much of an impact it is making on my life. and to look cool. anyway, many moons ago, i got myself a facebook account so i could keep tabs on cheerleader. keep her internet exploits on the up and up, ya know. then it bugs her that her friends see me as one of her friends and they add me and we talk wall to wall...she thinks it's weird. and then one day i just happened to log in (cuz i didn't really visit much in the early days) and i saw that a high school classmate had requested i add her as a friend (cuz i keep all my stuff private, cuz that's how i am) so i added her. and we chatted. and then i checked out other classmates and added some of them. then i checked out the college i went to and added some of them. then i checked out the high school where my elementary and junior high friends went and i added some of them. now i have to check facebook to see what they are doing right now. i have to see if someone sent me a message. i have to check to see if any more of y friend's requests have been accepted. i have to see who changed their profile picture. who joined what groups and what are they fans of now and should i join that group and become a fan, too? has anyone else from my classes around the country joined recently and do i want to invite to be my friend? it's totally insane and it's sucking hours from my day. i try to see how long i can go without running to check it...sometimes i just leave the page up so i can sneak a peak as i walk by. i think it's become a habit...a BAD one but it's a FUN one! i've reconnected with people i haven't talked to in at least 28 years...that would be junior high! and people i haven't talked to since they were at our wedding 23 years ago and people kiroman went to chiropractic college with 20 years ago. it's crazy and it's cool and i am not giving it up and you can't make me. neither can the laundry in washer going on its 4th round or the dishes sitting on the counter (cuz they don't get in the sink or dishwasher on their own) or the empty cupboards in which my family is always asking "Is there anything to eat here?" don't they know how important reconnecting is?? obviously NOT! tomorrow is friday and i think it's time to finish off that load of laundry and put some food in the cupboards and get those dishes tidied up. after all, they don't call me Trophy Wife for nothin'!

ps...look me up on facebook,, let's be friends! i know, i am such an enabler :)

gratitudes:

i am grateful

• for facebook (you had to know that was coming) 
• cujo is enjoying being a big bro and babysitter 
• cheerleader is such a trooper through this whole ordeal
• kiroman was able to hang with us...i really needed him today 
• for my mom being such a great listener (i love you!) 

and so now, it's your turn to tell me something good!!! go on, leave a comment about ONE good thing in your life right now. i know you can think of something!!! 

just living isn't breathing!

sincerely,

The Trophy Wife

(because i'm on the laptop and haven't moved my nifty little graphic to it yet)

a new era begins

i am incredibly grateful that we live in a country that can experience such a peaceful transfer of power. there are too many places in this world that are not able to do what we witnessed today.

the new guy...he wasn't my guy. but he is now my president and i wish him the best. i hope he is able to keep our country safe. i hope he is able to make wise decisions. it is what it is. and a new era begins.

i must tell you though, i heard a few disturbing messages today and hesitate to go into them here but the one that sticks out most in my mind and i just have to write it out loud is this one: a woman was being interviewed today, following the ceremony, about her feelings and this was her answer (although paraphrased): "Now that Obama is in office, we don't have to worry about paying our mortgages any more!" okay...maybe i missed something in all those debates and speeches but i really don't remember hearing anywhere that should Barry win, mortgages were all forgiven...but if that is indeed the truth, well...i have a shopping spree to plan!

i am grateful:

• for a peaceful transfer of power in our country
• for leftovers 
• the roofers made it out today
• iTouch 
• canon 50mm f1.4 (camera lens that is totally freaking awesome) 

a few of you have played along in the past but i am asking again...tell me something good!

sincerely,

The Trophy Wife (i'm not at my regular computer)

catch up on the last week

ok, where to start...

i'll back up to my birthday...the 23rd...i turned 40-something...age is just a number and really means not a lot to me!!! 

then it's Christmas Eve. our tradition is to have home made chicken and noodles for dinner, got to church and then on to look at the beautiful Christmas lights in the city. well...i was mid-way into getting the noodles rolled out when kiroman called to tell me that Michael Walker was in the office singing and could i come in with cheerleader to listen. here's the thing about noodle dough: once you've started, you gotta finish. so i politely declined but could hear the disappointment in his voice. he couldn't hear the aggravation in my mind: why didn't someone give me a heads up on this so i could have planned better?!?! anyway, i put a hustle on getting the noodles rolled out and ran to see if cheerleader was even up yet. and by golly, she was...so we threw on some clothes, brushed our teeth and hair and out the door we flew! we were able to listen for about 2 hours. friends, this man's voice is absolute Heaven. not just his singing voice, either. i could listen to him all day and all night and never get tired of it! here's cheerleader and Michael:

and we also made it to church and on to look at the lights. usually grandma and grandpa have dinner and go to church with us but this year they were only able to see the lights with us.

then it was Christmas morning. this was the first year EVER that we had to wake cheerleader to open presents. i know, hold the phone! she and i had conversed the night before about how late she could sleep and still have time to open presents, get ready and make it to Uncle Rich and Aunt Jenn's for dinner at one and presents after. 8am was the magic number we came up with and that's when i crept into her lair and attempted to wake her without being assaulted. all went well! thank goodness! i didn't take many pics there as i taped most of it instead but here's one of kiroman and cheerleader as they amused themselves:

next up was Christmas with kiroman's family. his little bro was in town from Colorado. i did get some pics there since lil bro wanted some since he's attempting "to be better at documenting..." here is kiroman and lil bro:

here is cheerleader and her uncle:

here is cheerleader with grandma and grandpa:

and lastly is a picture with lil bro, cheerleader, me and kiroman:

 

next, our 23rd anniversary was on the 28th. yep, i know. i don't look hardly old enough to married 5 years, let alone 23!!! i'd love to be able to do the "that was then and this is now" picture but i can't find my wedding album. must be still tucked away in a box from the move...yes, i KNOW it was almost 2 years ago. anyway, here's the now:

for our anniversary, we had dinner at Firebirds. during our dinner, a couple walked in and he was in his military uniform. so of course, cheerleader got up, went to their table and promptly thanked him for what he is doing for us...ALL of us. then kiroman decided he wanted to pay for their meal. so we set it all up and took care of the bill. later, he came to our table to thank us and to also let us know how much it meant to him as he is being deployed to Iraq on the 18th. i have no idea who he is but i want him to know that he will be in our daily prayers! as will all of our deployed military.

that brings us to new year's. cheerleader and a friend went to another friend's house for new year's eve. us old folks stayed in. and today was just a lazy day around here.

and now i would like to thank you two for leaving your comments about something good!!!

gratitudes:

i am grateful:

• we were able to do all of our traveling safely
• Ranger is going to be ok 
• i was able to find rolled oats finally 
• for a wonderful horse veterinarian 
• the snow melted! 

so now it's your turn to tell me something good!

just  breathing isn't living!

sincerely,

 

rest in peace, mulligan

>

summer 1994 - winter 2008

(picture taken 1-21-2007)

mulligan was a great dog. we've never had a dog own us as long as mulligan did. we knew it was coming. we had a pretty good idea that he wouldn't get through the whole winter. he had been deaf for 3 or 4 years. his hips were shot. every morning when i went to the barn, my first stop was to make sure he was still breathing. kiroman joked that he was renting air and it was the truth! normal life span is 12 - 15 years and he was at the long end of that...especially when you consider the fact that before we moved, his favorite sleeping spot was in the middle of the road in front of our house! he totally lived up to his retriever history...he loved to fetch but only until it bored him. we had barn mama cats that would take their poor, defenseless babies to the field (because they didn't want to care for them) and mulligan would hear them (obviously before he lost his hearing) and bring them back to the barn. he was a gentle soul. and he always protected the weakest...if cheerleader, kiroman and myself were in the yard, mulligan could always be found close to cheerleader and you could count on hearing "Uhhhh, mulligan!" in cheerleaders exasperated voice as he struggled to be as close to her as possible and usually found himself in her way. if it were just me and kiroman in the yard, he was always closest to me and obviously if kiroman were out by his lonesome, mulligan was right there. he was a great dog. he was a loyal dog. yesterday he just seemed to be done. when i did morning chores, he just laid there, never moved but just followed me with his old eyes. when i did afternoon chores, he and i had a heart to heart. he had only moved to the other side of the stall but still didn't budge when i walked in. i sat with him. i loved on him. i told him that it was really ok. i knew his time was near. kiroman checked on him throughout the evening and even took him out some ravioli, which turned out to be his last meal. about 10:30 last night, kiroman did the last check on mulligan. we just missed him. and i am so sad that we weren't there with him but i know he knows how much we loved him and how much he was a part of our family.

he was a good dog.

just breathing isn't living

sincerely,

cujo may have a problem

i think he's a perv...as in PERVERT. as in: in a past life he must have been a man...like a real man, not a dog man.

our shower doesn't have a door. sounds weird, i know, but that's just the way it is. and actually, i am quite fond of not having a shower door. they are such a pain to keep clean and spot free. anywho...every single day i step into the shower and cujo lies on the rug in front of where the door should be (oh, i should add that there isn't supposed to be a door here, it really was built that way...i just don't want you to go away from here thinking that we don't take care of our home or are derelict in our duty of keeping shower water from spraying throughout the bathroom...it's the real and true way of its design) and watches me shower. he sits there the whole time. sometimes he even sticks his head all the way in...sometimes he even just walks right in like he's supposed to be there. this is the same dog that has the runs for days after i give him a bath because he is so traumatized by the event but apparently, if it's his idea to climb into the shower, it's ok. i still think it's a little strange that he sits and watches. although i am guilty of having conversations with him while soaping up my hair. and he really listens.

i dunno...anyone else out there have a dog or any other animal that is fascinated with watching you shower? just curious. maybe this isn't normal. maybe we need a 12 step program. maybe someone is going to turn me in to the humane society for detrimental treatment of my dog. maybe i should have never revealed such a private thing on my blog. i guess sane and normal for one household is crazy and strange to another, right? this IS normal, right? it's comforting to know that cujo takes his guarding of the woman of the house responsibilities so seriously that he suffers being splashed by my shower spray in order to make sure the boogeyman doesn't appear in the shower to cause me irreparable harm, right? he's just doing his job, right?

yeah, cujo, he's not a perv, he's just a loyal guard dog. yeah, that's the ticket. (saturday night live reference for you old fogies out there).

i am grateful:

• to have such a brave and loyal doggie
• the snow has stopped and this morning it looked like people were actually remembering how to drive once again 
• 2 more finals down for cheerleader 
• seat heaters in the kirowyf mobile 
• the propane guy got us filled up before our driveway turned into the iced hill of kiroland 

you know the drill...it's your turn to tell me something good. people, i'm just going to keep asking until someone out there comes up with something! 

just breathing isn't living!

sincerely,

3 down, 4 to go!!

cheerleader has been busting her butt!! today was french, church and geometry. french is posted...the final didn't go so swell but she is coming out of there with a great grade for the semester. tomorrow is dual sports (i know...a final in a pe class? who knew! they actually take TESTS in there...crazy world this is) and american comp and lit. the really cool part...she has a study hall tomorrow...but it's after comp. i did have to get after her a bit this afternoon...she was done with exams at 11am and then we came home til time for tutoring. trophy wife felt this would be time well spent getting ready for the exams tomorrow...cheerleader thought it was a good time to shower and then ask to go to the mall!!! needless to say, trophy wife was not so excited when i found out that the study guide for comp wasn't even done yet!!!! the nerve of cheerleader...getting my hopes to escape the crappy cold and snow and hang out at the mall only to have it dashed away. not fair!

so...nickelback will be here in march and we officially have our tickets! ac/dc is here in january and i have 2 tickets. cheerleader doesn't know that she isn't invited to this one...kiroman wasn't interested in going since it's a work night (meaning, he must be in bed by 8:45pm so that he can rise at 4am the next morning...does that make him sound reversed vampirish??) so then motley crue will be here in february and cheerleader and i will be there...and then i just heard today that buckcherry is here on valentine's day so i am throwing my hat for tickets to that too...i love going to concerts!!!

so...i still haven't done my christmas cards. i still haven't written the christmas newsletter. i still haven't even purchased my christmas stamps! i still am not in the mood to even get started on any of it. i told kiroman tonight that i might just do the newsletter here and see what happens this year. the sad thing is that i can't even use the excuse of no time. i have had plenty of time to get it all done...i've had the cards since the first of november...i just don't have anything exciting to put on paper...maybe we can just do a quickie photo of the 3 of us and call it good...yes?

now, this is the important part of this post, the weather sucks here today. okay, it's sucked here for a few days...since sunday to be exact. that's when the bitter cold and below zero wind chills hit us. at least we have heated water buckets in the barn this year. that takes one crappy job off my list every freaking cold morning...busting the ice out of the buckets...eeeeeeewwwwwwwww. cujo hasn't peed in the house anywhere that i have yet found, so that's a plus. then today...S N O W ! ! ! all day long. and we got a whopping 2-4". really, it's not a big deal. unless you live in the midwest, where it only snows ALL FREAKING WINTER LONG, PEOPLE! but you would think this was so cal as people drove with their heads shoved up their you know what's! good grief...they all totally forgot how to maneuver in this foreign white substance. today...some little blonde girl pulled out in front of me, proceeded to accelerate too fast, skid around in her lane and then mine and then just kept wallowing around out there. then, i get beside her, only because i wanted around and away from her, to find that she is on her F#*!?*$ phone!!! hello? hang up and drive, moron! it's bad enough to see teenagers on the phone while driving but really...driving in the snow and on the phone at the same time...i almost wanted her to hit me so i could have a reason to yell at her and pull every blonde hair out of her head. and it wasn't just her. i was amazed at the people who really had no idea how to get around today...it's like invasion of the midwest body snatchers. i don't know...maybe the whole population of kiroman was transplanted from so cal this summer...except, why am i still here??? please, oh please, send me to so cal!!! (southern california)

and oh...the fish, they are a surviving! the heater is heating and the bubbler continues to bubble and there is space for the whole oxygen exchange and i don't think i axed a single one, thank you, Jesus! that just wasn't something i wanted to live with...the axe murder of any of kiroman's fish!

gratitudes:

i am grateful:

• for getting all of my errand running done today without being involved in an accident
• 3 finals are done and over with for cheerleader 
• i didn't have to make dinner tonight (and probably tomorrow night, too!) 
• we had a back up plan for getting the driveway plowed tonight (because the battery was crap in the 4 wheeler and the pull start did not turn it over) 
• having the ability to purchase warm winter clothing although i am not smart enough to actually do it (but it's on my list for tomorrow!) 

now it's your turn to tell me something good! or put it on your blog, facebook, myspace and link it back here in the comments...i can't believe that out of all of you that visit here, you don't have one single good thing to tell me! that's kinda pathetic, folks. it doesn't have to be FIVE things. that's just a random, self-imposed rule i put upon myself. i would take just ONE thing from you. consider it a challenge of sorts. i know you can come up with at least one thing so far this week that was good. if that's not true, then i am surrounding myself with the wrong kinda people, guys!

just breathing isn't living!

sincerely,