I've Made a Decision

I'm not going to blog as frequently. Believe it or not, blogging is time consuming, even the very short ones. I need to get back to work writing books, and I need to concentrate my energy on that.

I was making good progress on my third novel when Thing 1 announced she was getting married. I wrote in between planning her wedding, but not as much as I would have liked. After Thing 1 was married, Thing 3 had his accident. Seeing my son on a ventilator and not knowing what the future held for him was gut-wrenching. He ended up just fine, but the stress of that episode sapped my energy for many, many, many months. Then I sold my home and bought a new one. Throw in a crisis or two (or ten), two grandbabies, another wedding coming up and another grandbaby on the way, and it's been a hectic few years.

If I want to continue writing novels ... and I do ... I need to make that a priority. I still plan to blog now and then, perhaps once a week, but it won't be everyday.

Luckily, my life is rather dull, so my posts weren't all that exciting anyway!

Tupperware Lids

When I moved into this house about a year and a half ago, I went through all my plastic bowls and lids and discarded everything that didn't have a mate. Fast forward to this past weekend, when I found all of these lids, but no bowls ...

I'm sure I've lost the occasional bowl or lid, but the magnitude of missing bowls points to one thing ... kids. I can see if you took something to work for lunch and left the bowl and lid there or even if they threw it away on accident, or because they were too lazy to rinse it out, or because it sat for so long it was growing things, but how do you lose the bowl and not the lid???

I saw a meme that seems very appropriate ...

Sadly

... this is not the record for the most updates at one time. My personal record is 538. And, of course, this is just the first round of updates. There are plenty more to follow. It's fair to say that I spend half of my life installing Windows updates.

Justification

Someone (or several someones) who are messy, disorganized, addicted to Netflix and video games, and find it hard to get up in the morning ... and I suspect living in their mother's basements ... have found some "scientists" to hypothesize that these characteristics indicated they are hyper intelligent.

A Messy Environment:
Psychologist Kathleen Vohs explains, "Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights."

Or ... they could just be too lazy to clean their room.

Losing Things:
According to "experts", chaotic living spaces actually help highlight priorities, saying. "Losing your passport beneath a pile of clothes indicates you need to do your washing, whilst keys buried beneath mail is a sign you need to open your bills."

Or ... it could mean they are too lazy to put things away.

Addicted to Netflix:
The "experts" offer no reason as to why binge-watching Netflix is a sign of intelligence ... they simply state it as fact.

Or ... it could mean they have no self-control and want the immediate gratification rather without considering how tired they will be the next day. 

Snoozing the Alarm:
Experts say those who hit the snooze button are more intuitive, creative, and clever. I hit snooze on my alarm clock, and I like to think I'm intuitive, creative, and clever ... but it has nothing to do with me hitting snooze and everything to do with the fact that I am not a morning person. And, like watching Netflix, they offer no explanation as to how they came to this understanding ... we're just supposed to take their word for it.

Or ... it could mean, that like me, they're just not a morning person ... or stayed up to late binge-watching Netflix or playing video games.

Video Games:
According to PsychCentral, "People who are addicted to video games have better cognitive skills, social memory, power of reasoning and problem-solving."

Or ... it could mean they are addicted to video games and could benefit from getting a real life!

If these "experts" are to be believed, we owe a lot of slackers an apology!

Today is Work Naked Day

Due to the fact that I have a mortgage and like to eat, I will not be participating!

Fortunately, today is also Carrot Cake Day, and ... given the opportunity ... I will happily celebrate that!

Punxsutawney Phil's Saw His Shadow

Which means six more weeks of winter. So far, we've had a lot of rain, but only had one measurable snowfall, which was less than an inch (and schools had a snow day!). If we have six more weeks of the same kind of winter we've had, I'm okay with that!

Our big snowfall this year.

Immigrants, Immigration, and the Wall

I have never been able to understand why anyone would be okay with millions of people being in this country illegally. I have never been able to understand how they can receive food stamps, welfare, healthcare, or why we are obligated to teach their children. It astounds me that they file fraudulent tax returns and get huge refunds! I'm not just dumbfounded, I'm angry. If the government can track me down to make me pay back taxes, why can't they track down illegal immigrants defrauding the government at the expense of the law-abiding taxpayers?

All the uproar about President Trump's Executive Orders on travel bans from terrorist countries and a temporary ban on refugees from Syria is baffling to me. ISIS didn't just imply they would send their jihadist's to America, they said it outright. They bragged that their "soldiers" would pretend to be part of a family in order to emigrate, with the sole intention of killing American's once they get here. They boasted that they are using our porous Southern border to come here. And why not? If we are too stupid to protect our borders, we are all but inviting them to come here and slaughter us.

The countries we are banning from entering the United States are the same countries that will throw you in jail ... for a long time ... if you enter their country illegally or overstay your visa. Pretty much every country in the entire world ... except America ... will hunt you down and throw you in jail if you stay in their country without permission. If you don't believe me, go to one of those countries, and don't go home when you're supposed to.

Protecting our borders should be the number one job of the President. Punishing those who harbor criminals, i.e. sanctuary cities, is not cruel ... it's prudent.

I don't allow just anyone to enter my home. Every door has a deadbolt, a door lock, and a chain. Every door and window is protected with an alarm that will sound if breached. It's not that I don't have compassion for those in need ... I just can't take them all in. I don't have the resources to house and feed everyone who would love to live in my house. (It's not that my house is so wonderful, but when you are homeless, anyplace warm and safe looks like heaven.)

Of all the individuals who would come into my home if the door was thrown wide open, some would simply want a meal and a warm bed ... but there are others who would take advantage of my generosity. And, since criminals profit more by looking "normal", it would be hard to tell the difference between the good and the bad. This is my home. My children and grandchildren are here. My first obligation is to them.

I have taken in a number of kids over the years. Some for a few days. Some for weeks, or months, or even years. Most of the kids were a joy to have, but I did have to ask some of them to leave. They were breaking my rules. They were engaging in behavior I did not approve of.

My house, my rules.

The same can be said for our country. President Trump is trying to protect Americans from the kind of terrorist attacks perpetrated by refugees all over Europe. If there were an attack like the truck attack in France on Bastille day in 2015, American's would be foaming-at-the-mouth-furious that President Trump didn't do something to stop terrorists from entering our country.

President Trump is doing what he promised he would do. He is protecting American lives. He is enforcing the immigration laws in place for decades and repealing the Executive Orders signed by obama, which circumvent our Constitution.

I am all for a wall along our southern border. Once that border is sealed, I suspect we'll need one along our northern border, too. I am all for extreme vetting for citizens from countries with large populations of terrorists. Yes, those countries are majority Muslim countries ... because the individuals we are concerned with are radical Islamist terrorists ... that predominantly come from those countries.

Enforcing federal immigration policies is not cruel. It is not heartless. It does not mean we are unsympathetic to the plight of those wishing to come here. Enforcing federal immigration policies is for the safety of American's, and that should be our first priority ... and for President Trump, it is.

I, for one, applaud our President for having the courage stand against our enemies and say ...

Our country, our rules.

How Lucky!

How lucky that the tornado blogger was able to find a farmer with a smart high school daughter instead of a farmer with a stupid high school daughter! I have a feeling this girl ... most likely scantily clad ... was the brains behind saving the human race.

How Many Faces Do You See?

 

Thing 2's phone saw three!

 

Pneumonia

I was first told, by my employers health clinic, that I had the flu. They said there was nothing they could give me, so I was told to take ibuprofen or tylenol.

A week later I was worse, so went back to the clinic. This time they said I had bronchitis and a sinus infection. They gave me an antibiotic, but no cough medicine ... they wanted me to "cough it up".

A week later I was worse still, so I went back to the clinic. They said I had an upper respiratory infection. They gave me a different antibiotic and 5 teaspoons of cough medicine, to take once a day, just before bedtime. It helped me fall asleep, but a couple of hours later, I woke up coughing and couldn't get back to sleep. They gave me so little, I was afraid to take another dose when I knew I'd need it to get even a few hours of sleep the next night.

A few days later I coughed so hard I pulled a muscle in my back. Every breath was painful. Desperate for relief, the next day I went to an urgent care center. I tested negative for both strep and the flu, and a chest ex-ray showed I had pneumonia. I was given a different antibiotic and cough syrup, and this time, I was given enough cough syrup to take every 4-6 hours as needed.

I haven't eaten much at all for the last three weeks, and what little I did eat I would throw up as soon as I started coughing. I'm still coughing, but I'm no longer throwing up. I haven't had a fever in a few days, and I'm no longer achy. I don't really feel good, but I definitely feel better and I am finally feeling well enough to go to work.

My daughter's have been fussing at me for not blogging lately, but I felt so bad I couldn't even bring myself to attempt a posting. Hopefully I'll continue to feel better and better everyday, and life (and blogging) will get back to normal!