Pictures

Here is a picture of Chevy, which I've been promising my mom I would post. Notice our brand new leather furniture that he's made himself right at home on (Scout is super excited about that):



Call me crazy, but we got another dog. How am I supposed to say no to such a cute puppy in need of a home? Really. How do I do that? Her name is Kansas, but we call her Luci (short for Lucifer). She is the WORST dog I've ever had. We're hoping she grows out of it. Just another one of our animals getting cozy on our expensive furniture:



And Daisy. She's gotten so big, but she is just as cute as she was as a puppy. The most ironic thing is that she is the BEST dog I've ever had: calm, obedient, and content in any situation. Love her to death. And gasp, she's a Pitbull:

And how is it that the most hideous tree in the winter can be the most beautiful tree in the spring? I came so close to having Scout rip this thing out when it was all sticks. Good thing I didn't:

Hey guys

Sorry about the lack of blogging. I've had at least three people scold me in the last week or so because they "go to the website every-freakin'-day and nothing is ever there." One of my friends actually asked if I blocked her from seeing any new posts. No, I didn't.

So I'm giving in to the pressure, although it will be a short one today.

Although I haven't been blogging myself, I have been lurking on all of my favorite blogs, occasionally making a comment or two when I actually find the time or can't sleep late at night.

Here is a real gem. It is officially one of my favorite cat stories of all time. But don't worry if you aren't a cat/animal/pet lover. You will still love the story (although maybe not as much as I do). And here's a bonus: it's written by one of my most favoritest bloggers.

I can't promise that I will be blogging regularly like I used to, but I haven't completely given it up.

Pride

I've started three different posts in the last couple weeks, but haven't had the desire to finish them. So they sit, saved as drafts, never to be seen by anyone but me.

I'm having another slump at work. I started out great, had a slump in the middle, and finished my first three months as strong as I possibly could.

My dreaded 90-day evaluation was last week (maybe the week before). I could have hurled as my boss and I walked outside to sit on the steps and go over all the things I've done wrong. As we sat and talked, I was surprised to hear that he his overall impression of me was good; my biggest flaw was my lack of humility.

And so, after being told that I have great potential of being a store manager, my boss got up and shook my hand. I was a little shocked; I was expecting the automatic raise that everyone gets after ninety days - and there was no mention of it. On our way back inside, I asked him about it. He stammered something about how he started me out at such a high wage that he wouldn't be authorized to do that (by the way, leave in the comments section what you would consider a "high wage"). I found myself saying, "C'mon, at least give me a quarter, Boss."

The answer was no, and I refused to beg for $40 extra a month.

The evaluation was the start of this current slump. I have a hard time believing all of the positive things he said if he isn't willing to pay me for it. After all, everyone else that I work with has gotten the raise. And now I find myself thinking, what the hell is the point?

And I've noticed a pattern. I have a really hard time working for "I know it all, I fucking rock the world" type men. Dr. Jackass was one of them; my current boss is another.

The similarities between these two men are frightening: a) they are both extremely intelligent b) know they are extremely intelligent c) want everyone else to think they are extremely intelligent, even at the cost of being cruel and d) I've hated working for both of them.

The thing that separates these two men from true greatness, in my opinion, is the ability to treat others with decency, respect, and compassion. And one of the things I've learned from these two men is that no matter how genius you are, in the end, it doesn't make one damn bit of difference if you have to make others feel stupid.

And so, I've decided not only to a) find a new job, but b) refocus my attempt to leave a legacy of kindness rather than greatness (unless, of course, I find the child that busted my window).

Muslims

If you have five minutes, watch this clip, via Dick. Best thing I did all day.



P.S. Perfect advice, Dick. Thank you. :)

Children

Scout and I have been trying to have a baby. Well, up until yesterday.

A girl at work answered the phone when Scout called and told me, "It's your husband. He says it's urgent."

Apparently, someone had busted out our window (for the second time) with one of the bricks on the side of our house. Scout was nervous that someone had broken in, while I was immediately sure that it was some one's child fucking around on the way home from the bus stop. I told him to call the cops and let me know what they said.

On the off-chance that it was someone planning on coming back for our stuff, I bought some ammo from work that I like to call "Man Stoppers" and replaced the target practice bullets from my .380 when I got home.

Scout went and talked to the neighbors, and after letting all the information he gathered marinate for a while, we both came to the conclusion that it had to be some one's delinquent child with nothing better to do than vandalizing our hard-earned property. Fuck, it makes me angry.

I called the glass company for an estimate, and it's going to cost me 16.25 hours of work time (before I pay taxes) to cover the replacement window. That is more than two fucking days of my time because some jackass doesn't know where his or her child is. Yes, I blame the parents. Don't you?

I've been told by a lot of people that I will have the ability to tune things out when I have a child. But honestly, I don't find that quality appealing. I'd much rather be irritated by my child acting up (and discipline him or her) than tune it out and allow everyone else to deal with it. Seriously, haven't you seen those mothers at WalMart that have that miraculous ability to tune things out? They have no problem picking out curtain rods while their children throw tantrums on the floor, while I have to consider going to the doctor for a prescription of anti-psychotics.

I honestly think that this situation is a result of a mother or father just tuning things out. The kid throws a tantrum, tune it out. The kid gets bad grades, tune it out. The kid throws a rock through some one's window, hell, the parents don't even know because they've tuned everything out his whole freakin' life. He knows he can get away with it.

Well guess what? I'm camping out by our privacy fence this afternoon when the kids get off the school bus today. If I hear anyone bragging about being responsible for our broken window, I am following their asses home and having a little chat with their parents (and calling the cops to file charges). I can assure you that they won't be able to tune me out.

And it just makes me wonder if I can handle the responsibilities of parenting. Baby-making might have to wait a while.

I have the cutest little dishwasher.

Daisy has followed in Lewis' bad habit of licking the dirty dishes while I'm loading them into the dishwasher.

Sneak Peek

Here's a little taste of what I've been doing while Scout has been in the field...

Our bedroom, before:



And during:


I'm almost done with the floors and the walls, so pictures should follow shortly. I can't wait to show you the finished product!