Idiots.....

Gotta love the idiots in this world, and the jerks. Definitely the jerks. This was going to be only about the guy across the street who woke me up at 7 am this morning, running his big old deisel truck for a good 15 minutes or so (probably more, but after 15 minutes I woke up enough to shut my window). The temp did not get below 50 deg. F. last night, and here this guy is at 7 am this morning, wasting fuel by letting his big old, company vehical, deisel truck run for what felt like forever. Can you say FUEL WASTAGE?!?!?! I mean, I know it's a company vehical and HE doesn't have to pay for the fuel, but for crying out loud, the rest of us have to lay there listening to the thing run, or shut our windows and try to sleep in a sweltering room. Then again, he doesn't care about that, either.... They keep their windows shut and turn on the air conditioner in their house. The only time I have EVER run my air conditioner (except for a yearly 10 minute check to be sure it works), is one day this summer when the smoke was so thick it was making us choke. Tay's got asthma, and Puck looked miserable when I went to check on him first thing, so I brought him inside, closed all the windows, turned on the air conditioner (it was about 75 deg. outside, which is HOT for those of us in the Fairbanks area), and let the air purifier in the living room clear out the house for the 2+ hours till we had to leave for work & daycare. That is the ONLY time I've used my air conditioner for it's intended purpose. It uses too much electricity/fuel to be using it otherwise.

Anyway, don't get me wrong, the guy across the street is actually a pretty nice guy, but he evidently has NO clue, or doesn't give a rat's ass, about how his fuel usage affects the rest of us. Not just on an auditory level, but on an environmental level as well. Even my husband, who normally just gripes that he doesn't have a co. vehical that he can use, instead of paying for his own fuel, was saying that he couldn't believe neighbour-guy could be so stupid as to be running that thing in this temp.

Anyway, onto my other gripe for the day. My baby-sister's fiancee was due back from "over there" in 6 or 7 days. They were going to get married, and he was going to move her bragart, whiny self, and her daughter with him out to Michigan this winter. They were evidently going to arrive out there to promptly take over the family business, build my sis her Dream House, fill it with all brand new furniture so that she wouldn't have to suffer used furniture like the rest of us pathetic folks, and enroll my niece in ONLY the best of the best of Michigonian pre-schools where my niece's obvious genious would smoke that of her class-mates. *rolling eyes* Sorry, I've only had to suffer my sister's diva-like ideas and opinions every Sunday for the last couple of years. And, love her like I do, my niece is turning into as much of a spoiled, snotty, diva as my sister is. It REALLY is intolerable in a 4 year old. I'm sorry, Sis, it's NOT cute when your daughter first refuses to give her aunt a kiss, then cries when I decide that's fine and have to head home, only to be told that I MUST wait for the little diva to deign to give me a kiss. I don't need a kiss that bad. It's NOT funny when she sits there trying to color on Tay's pictures. It's NOT hilarious when she decides to ride her tricycle on Dad's new laminate floor. And I'm NOT horribly mean simply because I step in and force her to stop being a destructive brat. She's cute, but she's a brat! Get a clue and discipline her!!!

Ok.... So, this isn't ACTUALLY to my sis, as I doubt (hope!) she'll never read this. Instead.... It's about how my Sis's fiancee won't be back in 7 days to marry her and carry her off to her "Custom Built Dream Home in Michigan". Instead, it's about the fact that the military decided, after telling everybody for weeks that his Brigade would be home on Aug. 2nd or 3rd, that they want to keep these guys over there for another 2 months, definitely. Possibly up to 4 more months. Nevermind the fact that this means my sis WON'T be getting married and moving quite as soon as I'd hoped, it also means that my Potential-Future-Bro-in-Law, and MANY, MANY MORE husbands/fathers/sons/fiancees/wives/daughters/mothers face at least 2 more, and up to 4 more months of physical endangerment in a part of the world that is increasingly anti-American. Not that they don't have some reasons for their anti-american sentiment. There have definitely been things that have been done wrong. But, for those who are just over there doing their jobs, who'd wanted to come back to their fiancees, to their sons and wives (the father of one of my daughter's teammates was due back at the same time as my sis's fiancee), to their fathers & mothers..... These folks just want to come home. That's all my sis's fiancee can talk about, is coming home to his girls, and getting out, and going home to HIS family and helping out with the family biz. So many of them signed up for a typical 4 year tour, and are being stretched to 5, 6, 7 years, or more. So many of them signed up to defend their country, and are being sent off under that assumption, while here at home we're losing rights every day, while our troops are losing their lives in another country who doesn't seem to care about those rights that much, either. I'm sure there are are citizens "over there" who want what they see in America, but want it in their own country. I'm sorry. That's not something OUR soldiers really can do much about. It's not a foreign fighting force coming in and giving it to you, that is going to make your country like America. It's a mindset. It's a being willing to die for YOUR rights, being willing to fight for YOUR rights. The American Revolution didn't happen because we waited around for France to come help us out. We got out there and we kicked ass ourselves. We WERE THE CHANGE WE WANTED TO SEE!

And honestly, it's that lack of mindset that's causing so many Americans to lose OUR OWN rights here at home. Women's rights, voting rights, privacy rights, parenting rights, religious rights...... They're all being infringed upon EVERY DARN DAY, here in America. And, as OUR troops are over there trying to give THOSE citizens rights, we're losing the same rights here at home at an astonishing rate. Because Americans don't give a RAT'S ASS! Most Americans seem to sit back and say "well, it doesn't hurt ME" so why should I care?!?! Or, others, like my Dad, say "GOOD, I'm GLAD that right is being revoked because THAT kind of person doesn't deserve rights anyway, or at least not ALL rights." My husband is one of the first kind. It doesn't phase my husband in the least that if I were to get accidentally pregnant, before long I won't have the option to choose whether or not to keep that child. It'd be forced upon me because I'm "just a woman" and I don't have the right to control my own body and make my own decisions. My husband is a homophobe who doesn't believe that everybody has the right to love who they wish. He likes seeing that right denied those citizens. And, Ironically, when I pointed out that it's a quick step from denying gay citizens of the right to love each other, to the RR denying hetero citizens the right to view legal (ie: not child) porn...... DH made the comment "that's fine, if they outlaw it, I'll just stop looking". It's not about "just stop looking" its about "if you WANT to look, you shouldn't have to worry about somebody else's moral compass". Well, except MINE, maybe, but he married me, after all. But, there's that mindset again of "what do I care, they're not after me." Pretty soon it becomes "well, it's just this one little 'right' and it wasn't even that important to me." GRRRRRRRRRR Some of us damn well appreciate ALL our rights, and don't want to see ANY of them infringed upon, esp. by those we call PUBLIC servants!!!!

Oh, and FYI, for ALL Alaskans. Sen. Murkowski may claim to be pro-choice, but her vote in the recent bill proposed by Sen. Frist was FOR the injunction against non-guardian help of minors seeking abortions. IE: SHE helped pass a bill to say that if any adult (other than a legal guardian) helps a minor seek an abortion, they can and will be prosecuted to the full of the law. That means ALL adults, even grandparents, older siblings, school councelors, Dr's, etc. That's NOT pro-choice. And FWIW, Sen. Stevens made the same vote. They are BOTH anti-choice, when it really comes down to it. Don't be fooled.

Anyway, I've been on here ranting for nearly an hour now. I've gotta get off and get something to eat before I head to work.

Have a Blessed Day!

My Little-Miss-Blue-Eyes got a haircut!

Just had to share. She's got her usual forced smile.... Since she hit 2 I've been unable to get a decent, posed picture of her without this forced, fake smile of hers..... Even her school pictures look forced. But gosh does that haircut look cute. I had a similar cut as a child, and didn't look anywhere near as good with it as my kiddo does. As a matter of fact, I went to a Christian school, and I got called "Carl" quite frequently, while sporting this style. The real irony is that I had a classmate named Carl who's parents had failed to get his hair cut in quite a while, and he sported a longer style and the name "Carla" at the same time I was sporting a short hair cut and the moniker "Carl". We were a rather unhappy pair, that semester.

Anyway, the hubby got tired of her stopping @ practice every 10 minutes and having to have him brush her hair out of her face, then putting her hockey helmet back on, so that she could see to play. One can only play hockey well when one can see well!!!!! ;) She is, at this point, most nervous over what her best friend will think. *wry smile* I guess she has hit that age where it doesn't matter if Mom & Dad like it, if your friends think you look like a doof.

We also had an adolescent moment over the weekend where it was decided that it's time for her to start wearing deodorant. She was sitting on the couch with her arms over her head, and the smell coming off those armpits was definitely not a smell one generally wants to be very close to. But, thankfully, that is the ONLY adolescent mile-stone Tay has reached quite yet. At not-quite-nine years old..... I'm not quite ready for her to BE adolescent yet. LOL She's still my baby (and always will be) and I get worried when I see that a lot of her friends are already into make-up and boys at 9 and 10 years old. Even 18 years ago when I was her age, a girl was still more worried about barbies and baby-dolls at that age, than make-up and boys. But it certainly doesn't help when the popular tv shows for girls of her age, are about girls 5 and 6 years older than she is: Lizzie McGuire and That's So Raven.... To name just 2. Please!!!!! I'm about ready to just turn off the TV and tell her she's not allowed to watch any thing. All the shows, any more, are only about what looks good, who looks good, and how to look good. (And I DID sit down and watch a couple of episodes each of "That's So Raven", "Lizzie McGuire", "Suite Life of Zach & Cody", and "Hannah Montana", and I didn't find anything redeaming about them. Lizzie McGuire was about the best, but even that show left a lot to be desired.) I want my daughter to have a brain, to be a caring individual, and to not give a rat's butt if her best friend doesn't look like a fashion plate 24/7. But that's not what's popular, of course, and it seems that TV has experienced a set back where displaying girls with brains is concerned. As I said, I'm about ready to just turn it off or tell her she's only allowed to watch PBS.

Well.... Off to work. Have a Blessed Day!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy.....

Hope everybody had a great 4th!!!! Actually spent some non-painful time around my SIL. Since she had her 2 boys, she's spent so much of the time being freakishly mean and angry at the world, and spends a lot of the time taking that anger out on Tay and myself. It got to the point where I'd send Tay outside whenever SIL was around (or drag her inside with me if SIL was outside) the inlaws at the same time we were, and I'd burry my nose in a book and ignore her. Well, anyway, evidently their father (SIL's on-again, off-again currently-ex) took them up to his parents cabin for the weekend, giving the SIL some time alone, and it really seemed to help. She's still as self centered as ever, but in a much more fun way..... Like she was before she had her kids. She and Tay spent a couple of hours trying to one-up each other with standing on their heads, walking on their hands, and trying to do cartwheels. And SIL and MIL were joking around and making me laugh (which still kinda hurts). It's amazing to realize that when she's not letting life stress her out severely, or high as a kite on crack, she can still manage to be a fairly decent person to be around. Unfortunately, past experience has taught me not to expect it to last, and to be wary that the next time we see her she'll probably be rude, and hurtful, acting like an oversize toddler who's not getting her way. Ah, well.... It's nice while it lasts. And it does help me see some good in her, to remember for the dry spells in between.

Anyway, got to go back to work, finally, on Wed. Then Thursday was cut short due to the power being out thanks to a major thunder & lightning storm the night before blowing the transformer that provides the electricity for the library. I only got 3 of my regular 6 hours in on Thursday. And Friday is only a 4 hour day for me, anyway. So, it was a nice, short week in which to start back to work. Tomorrow (Monday) I'll start back to my regular schedual. I've got 2 percaset saved for Monday and Tuesday nights if I need them. *grin*

Other than that it's been the usual busyness. I've got a scarf finished that I need to take a picture of. It's one I started on thick bamboo knitting needles, but only got a bit done before I got bored with it. Finally took it apart and restarted it on my Knifty Knitter. Took me all of 2 days, that way. Anyway, whenever I get around to replacing the batteries in my camera (I know, should be easily done, but I don't know where DH stashed the spare batteries), I'll get a pic. of it. Tay looked at it and asked how many scarves I need. LOL I told her that this is only my..... I don't know, 7th or 8th scarf. But then, not all of my scarves are knitted (or crocheted), some of them are fabric, a few of them are purely for appearances, and all but 3 are purchased. I figure that's not bad. And scarves are are so easy to accessorize with, esp. in winter when one needs something around one's neck to keep warm with anyway.

Well, gotta go change before heading up to Tay's hockey practice. I did finally get myself a seat cushion crocheted, as well. Those bleachers are metal and D*MN cold!!!!!! And hard. They keep the building set at about 40 degrees, year 'round. I don't like the feel of cold, hard bleachers under my fat, white butt, while I sit and watch my child skate. *wink*

Have a blessed day!