Finally about a month into the project I had to ask my boss if the guy was always this bad. He informed me that the client is always like that, and that he wasn’t really trying to rush us, but that he’s just the type of person, whom once focused on a project, can’t think about anything else until the project is finished.

“He’s like a mother cat who feels her kittens are in danger and wants to move them. She’ll start moving the kittens, and no matter how many times you move them back to the old place, she’ll just keep working until she has them all in the new place. She won’t stop to eat or sleep until she’s satisfied that all her kittens are moved. He (the client) is like that, he doesn’t care about anything else until all the kittens are moved.”

Of course, this became a long standing joke at the office, and someone inevitably meowed every time this client walked in. But the comparison hit the nail right on the head. It fit, it seemed weird but it fit.

Over the course of the nearly seven years that I was the office manager/CAD draftsman, we did dozens of surveys for this client, and it was always the same. I can’t say that I ever got used to someone so ‘one-track’ minded, but I did learn to deal with it.

As I was training my replacement, I remember remarking to her about Keith (the client) and his “kittens”, but I don’t think she really understood what I was talking about.

When I left the forestry and land development business, I surely thought and hoped that I would never run into someone like that again, especially not being a free lance computer nerd. But life has a way of sticking it to you when you least expect it, and it turns out that I have run into another ‘kitten mover’, and not only run into him, but am married to him…

My dear hubby, the laid back easy going guy that I met nearly ten years ago, has somehow inexplicably morphed into the kitten moving client. His latest ‘kitten moving’ has been getting the cars waxed, he desperately feels the need to get the cars waxed, despite the fact that it’s been raining nearly everyday this week. His conversations nearly every evening this week have centered around getting the cars waxed, he’s talked about the best kind of wax, the best way to put it on, the best time of day to do it, until I finally snapped and told him to drop it. (Something I was never able to do with Keith, the client, but I had always wished I could.)

So this morning, not fifteen minutes after yet another thunderstorm rolled over, there was my husband out in the driveway with is bucket and hose, getting ready to start washing the cars so that he could get them waxed. He wasn’t at it twenty minutes when the next thunderstorm rolled in, but it didn’t deter him. Nothing will, not until those kittens are moved!

In some ways I admire the kitten movers, people who can stay so focused on one thing that the rest of the world ceases to exist until the project is finished, I know I’m definitely not like that. I start many projects at once, and unless I’m getting paid for the project it rarely gets finished…

But on the other hand, I also pity the kitten movers, because they seem to miss out on so much of life, while they’re intent on their project…

So which type of person are you, are you a kitten mover, or more like me?

Photo credit: Welfl

It’s about a stray dog that was seen for nearly two decades roaming the streets of the West End of Richmond, VA. The whole neighborhood knew Black Dog, The King of Strays, as they called him, and many families made sure he was fed.

Many believed he wasn’t just a dog, but a spiritual figure, seemingly immune to time and age. On Thursday they learned, sadly, that he was mortal. He was apparently hit by a car early in the morning.

He had even once saved a woman from a late night attacker. After his burial the people of ‘his’ neighborhood repeatedly requested that the SCPA set up a memorial fund in Black Dog’s name, and it was done. Money from the Black Dog Memorial Fund will be used to spay or neuter strays brought into their facility. A dog run will also be dedicated in memory of black dog at the Robins-Starr humane center.

Even a stray can teach us a lesson!

As CBS 6’s Mark Holmberg reports, it’s important to remember how much black dog reminds us it’s okay to be independent, to be free, to be scruffy, and to be hungry every once and a while.

Every afternoon the library turns from a quiet place to go grab a book or two and hang out while reading, to a ZOO… The normally well behaved children become animals, and their parents – mostly the mothers, sit there and let their children act this way… Are these women f*cked in the head or what?

Not a single one of them will get up to discipline their children, nor to help the library ladies keep them under control, instead they sit and gossip, tearing the other mothers, whom aren’t within hearing range to shreds, when it’s usually the ladies that are being gossiped about that actually get up off their asses to help out.

Does their common sense take a leave of absence every Wednesday afternoon? Or does it always happen when you get a group of these ladies together?

Me, of course, I do stand around and gossip with a few of the other mothers, whom I can actually stand, as we wait for all the children to arrive, but after that I run my ass off trying to help out. I make sure that my three never run, shout, or jump around… I help with the crafts, the snacks and today I tied more shoes than I even own… Yet nearly all of the children I helped, HAD PARENTS ON THE PREMISES…

During the activity today, I found that I could no longer keep my mouth shut, when I found myself sitting on the ground outside helping one child, while his mother stood above me bad mouthing the lady whom runs the summer reading program, to another one of the society moms. I found I just couldn’t control my mouth any longer and I ever so politely stood up and stated that at least the woman was trying to do something fun for the kids, and that I was sure that she would happily accept and ideas and help that is offered to her. Then I added that maybe if she (the lady I was talking to) spent more of her time keeping her rowdy children under control, instead of sitting around with the other bitches gossiping, that we would be able to do better activities and crafts, instead of the ‘cheesy’ projects that we’ve been doing…

I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, that I’m not one of the ‘In Crowd’ of the mothers in our school district, and I love that fact, because I absolutely can’t stand the mothers whom have to have their noses into everything, but whom wouldn’t dream of lifting a finger to help anyone besides themselves! But I did at least used to know when to control my mouth… and as of late I’m finding it more and more difficult to do… Hmm… maybe I’ve turned into the the crabby mom… Heck, even that wouldn’t be too bad – not so many play dates that I’ve got to put up with these society moms…

And now that that’s done, I’m going to take my animals children for a walk, to further drain their energy supplies, and to drop off the extra ones at my mother’s house, so that I can come home and actually find my house that is buried under the books and toys…

I just freakin’ love Wednesdays!

Hubby’s post:

Now thats the american way! Teach your child they can do ANYTHING they want! If they’re FAMOUS! Then die and hold a memorial service for you. You can be a big pop star, and guess what you can also be a PEDIFILE and no one will care! Why cuz your the shit! The american way of teaching the new generation!

The Replies:

1. Jamie wrote: Russell,…Michael wasn’t a Pedophile. He was NEVER convicted,…That’s horrible to say. He was an icon from OUR childhood…a inspiration for some of us. Opinions are like assholes,……like MARLON JACKSON said today, “Maybe now,..people will leave you alone.” Again,..he was NEVER charged, acquitted of ALL charges,…people need to suck it up and… Read More realize,..HE WASN’T A MONSTER TO CHILDREN!! (Why would he do that to children when his own father was a monster to him and his siblings his entire life??? Think about it….)

2. Jen wrote: I disagree on the response from Russell’s post. He was a pedophile. He paid off the families not to convict. Don’t get me wrong loved the music, didn’t like the man. You go Russ!!!

3. Glenn wrote: I got russ’s back on this too..sorry MJ

4. Matt wrote: adult men dont sleep in the same bed with other peoples kids would you let that happen . icon or not . i dont think so

5. TJ wrote: OJ was innocent too , right so he’s technically not a murderer because he wasn’t guilty. It’s a bad joke

6. Mandy wrote: Hate to say this!! I agree with jamie! Sorry all but isn’t that why we have a justice system? We can all debate this but none will truely agree with the next

7. Russ wrote: All I can say to sum everything up is Tj good point! Mandy, I don’t need a justice system to tell me my lawn is green! Jamie his music was great in the day but doesn’t make up for who he really is. Why is a 40 to 50 year old playing with the 5 yr old neighbor hmmm If you go to he didn’t get convicted go to my remark for Mandy! Peace!

My personal favorite was TJ comparing it to OJ!

The time that we put into our garden is the time that we would usually be camped out on the couch, him dozing in front of the TV or playing XBox, me caught up in a book of some sort, or messing around on my computer, so as far as time wise goes, we’re not losing any real productive time.

I spent approximately $250 on gardening supplies, seeds, seed starter stuff, 10 fruit trees, gardening tools, plants and some landscaping plants and house plants are figured in there because I ordered them at the same time I ordered the rest of it. So, so far, my costs hover around $250 for my garden this year.

Already we’ve harvested/saved approximately: $55.72

4 Qts of Strawberries @ $1.99 (latest local price on a qt.) = $7.96 (I paid $5.99 for the 25 plants – so already the strawberry plants have paid for themselves, and then some. Plus, they are everbearing plants which will continue producing berries until Sept.)

We usually go through 3 bags of salad mix from the grocery store per week at the lowest price of $1.99 per bag, but a lot of time it’s more like $2.99 per bag. Since the first of May we haven’t bought any salad mix, instead cutting our own lettuce and spinach. 8 weeks * $5.97 per week = $47.76

And that’s only the early stuff that we’ve already eaten, we pick strawberries every few days, and already there is at least another 2 qts just starting to ripen, we always have lettuce and spinach ready to pick, in just a few weeks we’ll have peppers and tomatoes, then later in the season we’ll have corn, carrots, green beans, lima beans, peas, radishes, garlic and onions. We’ll also have quarts and quarts of wild blackberries that grow in abundance all through our four wheeler trails.

And that’s not even counting the fruit trees that in a few years will start producing…

Our family thinks the time put into a home garden is well worth it!

Around one my older sister checked in, they still hadn’t even gotten to see a doctor yet. She gave me the names and phone numbers for the parents of her daughters’ friends, and requested that I call them and ask them to come get their children. The first mother I called was very understanding, and must have left her house within seconds of hanging up the phone. The second mother, not so much, I wanted to choke her – through the phone! She nastily informed me that my sister was supposed to bring the little girl home, I explained the situation, but she was still nasty and very unsympathetic. “I just put the baby down for his nap!” She nearly screamed at me. “I can’t wake him to come get her, you can just bring her home.”

I tried nicely to explain that I had EIGHT children, seven of which required car seats, and that I don’t own that many car seats, let alone a vehicle big enough to hold them all. She was still nasty and rude, but after nearly half an hour of arguing with her, she finally agreed to come get her daughter.

Although it’s only a twenty minute drive from her house to mine, it took her an hour and a half to get here. She claimed she got lost, which is slightly ridiculous, because just the day before she had brought her daughter out to my sister’s house, and I’m only a quarter of a mile farther on the same road. Not to mention that she knew my name, and we have a six foot by six foot rock at the end of our lane that has our names on it in TEN INCH HIGH LETTERS. You can read it from a quarter mile away. The ‘baby’ that she had had to wake from his nap, was a FOUR YEAR OLD.

When she finally made it to the house, the first words out of her mouth was that it sure looked like my vehicle could hold that many people, while she looked disdainfully at my large SUV in the driveway. I pasted on a grim smile and told her first that the durango only holds eight people total, but the the bigger problem was that I only have one car seat for my daughter, and absolutely nothing to put my youngest niece in.

Of course, my teenage son chose that moment to walk out. She looked at him and then back at me and asked why he couldn’t have kept the other kids while I drove her daughter home. By this time, I was ready to blow my top with the bitch! I dropped the nice lady act, and started using the same bitchy tone of voice that she was using, informing her that, my son is only fourteen and that there was no way he could handle seven wound up children, while I drove her little girl home.

Meanwhile, her ‘baby’ was running wild through my house and spilled a glass of grape juice on my carpet, she looked at it and laughed. I not so politely told her to get her children and to get the hell out of my house. She told me that she wouldn’t be allowing her daughter to play at my sister’s house anymore, because we’re not the kind of people that she wants her children to associate with. I shot back that bitches like her shouldn’t be allowed to have children anyway, and that I felt bad for her kids having to put up with her.

I rarely lose my temper, but when I do… It’s bad… Really bad…

The rest of the afternoon went more smoothly, with only my nieces and nephew, along with my own children. Although that mother did call and leave a nasty message on my sister’s answering machine.

I spent the afternoon scrubbing carpet, and refereeing children.

My sisters spent the afternoon at the hospital which was under lock down, because they had gotten a tip from the police that there was an armed man who had been hurt in a car accident and had run from the police. They feared he’d show up at the hospital. He didn’t, at least while my sisters were there. I can’t wait to read about that in the news, too bad we only have weekly papers around here, so I’ll have to wait for the Saturday one.

It turned out that my younger sister didn’t have kidney stones, but just a very bad kidney infection; they sent her home with some pain meds and antibiotics.

Today should be a breeze compared to yesterday…
By eight am, I had over a hundred water bills printed out,
and had taken my son up to mow the lawn at the water plant,
most of my entrecard dropping done, while I waited for water bills to print, as I can stuff and fold faster than my printer can print…
and most of this blog post written…

Now I simply need to:
Shower and get dressed,
Feed the kids,
Shock the pool,
finish three client sites,
do all my daily backups,
read all the blogs I keep up with,
run 65 miles to an accountant’s office to pick up the water authority 2008 audit (with three kids, ages 5, 6, 8), which still doesn’t make much sense to me, as I’m a CPA, although I haven’t worked in that capacity for almost ten years, I keep up with my credits and keep my license valid, yet the water authority has to pay another CPA $3500 a year, more than half of what they pay me per year, to look over what I’ve already done…
Then off to the reading program at the local library to which I take my daughter and my two oldest nieces, Get groceries, after that it’s back home with the three kids, and
I have to get ready for the water board meeting tonight,
the operators reports,
payroll,
paying the bills,
payroll quarterlies for the water board and six other companies that are my clients,
plus clean my house,
cook supper and all that mom stuff I’m required to do…
And be ready to leave for the meeting by 6:30pm…

No, not a bad day at all!

(And my husband complains about working ten hour days – which he works by choice, doing the same thing day after day – he thinks he has it rough!)

So why did I get the extra kids, because my older sister has to take my younger sister to the emergency room, and I guess, since my younger sister is an RN she must really need to go…

But why couldn’t I have just been the driver, my son could have kept my daughter, and my older sister could have kept her own daughters and their two friends, along with my younger sister’s two kids… Instead of trapping me in a house, because it’s raining, with eight children, six of whom are terrified of my dogs…

I do believe I’ve gotten the bum end of the deal, not that I’m not worried about my younger sister, but she just thinks it’s kidney stones, which may be terribly painful and horrendous, but are rarely fatal…

The damn noisy, irritating, oops I mean, adorable little woodpecker that has been living in the grove across the road has decided to move into the tree closest to my bedroom. And he has started going to work on it earlier and earlier every morning. Is it really illegal to shoot those things? How about throwing rocks at them?

I’m actually happy about the rain, because it shuts him up for a while.

I thought April was the month we were supposed to get all of the rain, so why has it rained all of June? My entire garden and all of my landscaping plants are drowning, our swimming pool keeps overflowing and flooding the playset area, and my driveway is washing out something terrible…

I broke my over thirty five day exercising streak by sheer laziness this weekend. Which sucks big time, because now I haven’t worked out since, and I always have a hard time finding the motivation to pick it back up… Well, until my jeans stop buttoning again… My hubby wants to get one of the Nordic Track ellipticals to keep in the living room, he thinks it’ll help us both stay focused on our workouts, because we can use it while we watch TV. I think what will happen is that the first week we’ll fight over it in the evenings, in that one hour or so that we spend watching TV a night, and then after that we’ll go back to sitting with our laptops instead. The machine will be pushed out of the way to gather dust and be tripped over, until we get fed up with it and haul it down to the garage with the rest of the home gym equipment, but then it might at least get some more use.

Jodi over at Bargain Central has graciously graced me with these two awards:

Which I’m happy to accept! Thank you Jodi! And to pass along to some of my favorite bloggers!

1. Anne @ Small Town Mommy

2. Keely @ The UnMom

3. Jamie @ Me, Kids and Raw III

4. Sue @ Farvel Cargo

5. Katherine @ Katherine Unabridged (http:// internetfruit . type pad .com – remove the spaces, for some reason whenever I try to link to any type pad blog, I get an error message I can’t even type in the word without the space without getting it…)

6. Metz @ Empty Streets

7. Julie @ Momspective

8. Maria @ Conversations with Moms

9. Michelle @ Memories of You

10. Jenn @ The Coupon Coup

11. Shauni @ Juggling Teens

12. John @ Gay Dads In Munchkin Land

13. Kristin @ My Art and the Mom in Me

14. Brittney @ Not Your Everyday SuperGoddess

15. Kelly @ Kellyology

You all have amazing blogs! Thanks for keeping me entertained for hours!

Welllllll….. That’s All Folks! (Yeah, I’ve got the woody woodpecker crap stuck in my head thanks to that damn noisy bird, I hope it drowns in all this rain!)

No, fly on over to Keely’s and read up on some more randomness!

Dorie, from Dories Diaries hosts the Thrifty Thursday blog meme/carnival and I love reading about the awesome deals she’s gotten over the past week. Now most of her deals are from CVS and Walgreens, two stores that don’t exist in here in hicksville USA, so following her example is pretty much out of the question, unless I want to drive an hour and a half to find these stores, which in my gas guzzling vehicle negates any savings that I might have. So I’ve been looking for other ways to save.

As most of the stores in my area are small family owned businesses, and of course we have a few Wal-Marts, as heck, where isn’t Wal-Mart these days, store coupons are hardly something any of them have, it all comes down to looking for manufacturer coupons. We also do a lot of our shopping online, so another thing I’ve been looking for is online coupons, and I do believe I hit the jackpot on that one.

The Coupon Trunk is a website that tracks down and posts links to all kinds of online coupons and discount codes, and updates it daily so you can always see what’s new or even which coupons and discount codes are about to expire. You can search by store or item category, the site is so easy to use that you can find a discount for what you’re looking for in just minutes, well, that is if you know what you’re looking for, me I like to just browse and see what’s on sale.

Maybe soon I’ll be one of Dorie’s Thrifty Thursday participants, and able to list all the amazing deals that I’ve found, but from past experience, or maybe it’s another one of those defective genes passed down from my Gram, it’ll probably end up costing me more money, because when we find deals we have to buy them whether or not we even need and or want them, simply because they are deals! Of course, I couldn’t get her ‘well endowed female gene’ but I managed to get every bad habit that she has…