Um, no I don’t!?!

Someone came to my blog by Googling:-

“you feel like shit every day”

Whoever did so, I hope reading my blog made you feel at least a bit less shitty!

Not so much trying to take over the world

Remember that old Animaniacs cartoon, Pinky and The Brain?  “What are we gonna do tonight, Brain?!”  “Same thing we do every night, Pinky – try to take over the world!“

Allow me to introduce: Stinky and the Drain

Isn’t she cute?!  This photo doesn’t do her jowly justice.  Sadie is called Stinky because, well, she was stinky when we got her and it took a couple of baths for that stink to go away.  And Toby is The Drain because Ush used to say his breath smelled like drains.  So there you go.

Now, don’t be fooled by this little naptime spooning action…

She is one randy little pup, poor thing.  And poor Toby!  Poor testicle-less Toby.  As of this weekend, Sadie spends most of her free time (ie: when she’s not sleeping, eating, or sniffing around outside) pouncing on him and sticking her rear end in his face, and he just doesn’t know what exactly is expected of him.  Needless to say, we’re looking forward to her season being OVER.  1 week down, 2 to go.

Ushwin took a video of Sadie’s flirting and Toby’s attempts at humping… But I’m not sure whether it’d be appropriate to post here.  This is a relatively family friendly blog, after all.
Although, random comedic genius, the TV was on in the background during the filming of this doggy porn, and rather conveniently, they were suddenly doing the rumpy pumpy to the tune of “Sexual Healing”  How wonderfully fitting.

Spending money doesn’t always have to be painful

Normally, my therapy of choice is not of the retail variety.

I typically prefer comfort eating, avoidance napping, or escape to TV land.  These are the things that make me feel better.  Or at least they numb the pain for awhile until I am later able to productively cope with my various issues.

Today, though, was an exception.  (As a follow up to my TMI post on PMS, Friday was nothing noteworthy, Saturday was The Menstruation, and today is The Case of the Uglies.)
Today, because I feel ugly and horrible and disgusting and generally down, I needed to go shopping.  I needed bargains, and lots of them.

And praise the Lord, bargains did I find!  Some strappy sandals for work, a black shrug, two pairs of trousers for work, two sweaters, a cute cami, a couple tshirts.  And no single item cost more than 7quid! Woo!  (I always put ‘quid’ because my EeePC keyboard doesn’t have the pounds sterling symbol!)

Also, it wasn’t ALL about me and what I needed.. I also got some things for the house (eg: a squeegee to wipe down the tiles after we shower, a new filter for the water jug) and some groceries for the week.  This made me feel better too, because it was ticking things off of my list.

So, today’s journey of retail was most definitely therapeutic, as I do indeed feel better.  So now I will take a nap.

Evil, greedy, and other not nice adjectives

In case I haven’t yet officially announced it, I no longer shop at Tesco.

Male Readers: Proceed With Caution – Explicit Content

It’s my blog and I can write about whatever I want.  And today my topic of choice is PreMenstrual Syndrome. (Here they call it PMT – ‘tension’ That’s a bit of an understatement, dontcha think? A bit patronizing too.)

Anyway, what follows is probably TMI, but don’t worry.. it’s nothing too graphic!

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My body – inside and out – is pretty irregular in ways… (But then again, aren’t they all?!)

When it comes to the irregularity of my more-like-every-other monthlies, God has graciously given me unmistakable signs of its impending arrival.

Usually these warning sigs come solely in the form of body-bending, crippling, debilitating cramps that radiate all through my lower back, abdomen, and legs.

While I AM grateful for the physical warning, it all gets a bit much.. Ok, I get the message – I’ll go stock up on Tampax! Now get me the blankety blanking Midol! Extra Strength! With a side of Valium!!

But sometimes the premenstrual symptoms area bit less violent, though still cunning and just as powerful.

Take these past few days for example…

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Tuesday – The Irrationality and The Crying.
Oh gosh, everyone hates me, don’t they?!  Wahhhh, I’m going to end up divorced and alone!  Why am I SO ugly?!! Things are ALWAYS going to be THIS HORRIBLE!!!

Wednesday – The Eating.
Anything salty.  Sweet.  Fatty.  Crunchy.  Chewy.  I devoured it all.  I wasn’t even hungry most of the time, but I just could. not. stop.

Thursday – The Inability to Handle The Minor.
Also known as making mountains out of molehills.

So! Let’s see what Friday has in store!  Hopefully nothing that qualifies as a mortal sin and could land me in jail.

the more Pais the merrier!

(Making my surname plural always looks weird to me, because in Spanish the word pais (pronounced “pie-EES”) means country. Which of course has nothing to do with a group of people with the last name Pai.)

Anyway!  I have more Pais in my life, both the human and the canine variety.  So firstly, the new (to me anyway) relatives…

Oh the wonders of Facebook!  A couple weeks ago Ush found a few of his cousins from his dad’s side on Facebook.  They live in India and haven’t seen each other in at least a decade.  Lo and behold, the eldest, Vivek, was soon going to be in London on business!

So, yesterday he came round for a visit.  It was fun to meet another Pai and hear stories about all of them growing up (including Viv’s younger sisters Vidya and Vinaya).  Apparently there is going to be a wedding in Dehli next spring…. That may just be next year’s holiday plans settled!!! We’ll see

Today Ush headed off again with Vivek and I have stayed behind with the dogs.

Which brings me to the canine Pai.  On Thursday evening, we brought Sadie home (who came with the name Lady, but Ush didn’t like that name and seeing as she doesn’t even know her name because she’s never been off the leash let alone given ANY obedience training.  Grrr.. Moving on… Anyway, we’ve decided to call her Sadie. (or Saydee? Not sure actually.))

I just want to clarify that we are currently fostering her.  Read: I couldn’t really bear to take her back to her previous owners and thus am currently doing my damndest not to fall in love with her until we are certain that she is a good match for Toby.  If it doesn’t work out – well, then we will have cleaned her up, had her spayed (I so agree with Bob Barker on this one), given her basic obedience training, and can make for damn sure she goes to a GOOD home who really want her and will care for her properly.

She’s a sweet 14-month old blenheim (brown and white) with the cutest lip flaps (actually jowls, but I like to call them lip flaps. And I love the slapping noise they make when she shakes her head!).  Thankfully, she’s totally housetrained.  And she doesn’t mess about when we let her outside.  She steps out onto the grass, does her business, and then comes back in.  None of this taking an hour to choose the right spot like Toby does.

But I digress!  The obedience training bit is tough, but she’s a quick learner.  Funny thing is, though she’s younger than Toby, she quickly became alpha over him.  We’re told that’s pretty common with females, and coupled with the facts that she’s currently in heat and Toby is uber submissive anyway, I guess that was to be expected!  But she isn’t dominant or aggressive, which is great.  She just makes sure that she goes out the door first and he can only have a toy after she’s finished playing with it.  He is adjusting to this arrangement, unsure still of what the rules are.

So!  I will hopefully get some photos up for you soon.  I don’t have a camera anymore, remember?  Nor do I have a mobile phone with a good camera.  So I’ll have to wait until Ush is back and can upload some that he’s taken.  But trust, she’s a cutie.

Did I mention we’re fostering a dog with a view to keep her?

Ush, holding a snoozing Sadie belly-up on his lap, speaking to her in his gootchie-goo voice, full of compassion as she’s just come into season: “Aw, it is really swollen down there…”

Me: “Yeah, I noticed that earlier too.”

Ush: “…ready for a good porking…”

[cue Me - rendered breathless with laughter]

Photos to come of the lovely Sadie.

things that break the heart of God

Something needs to change, because this is appalling.

Last year, in England and Wales, over 1000 girls UNDER the age of 14 had abortions.  Under 14!!!  Gosh, that breaks my heart. 

Not just because lives were destroyed, but also because girls this young were having sex!  They are girls, not women, not even close to emotional maturity (and probably in most cases not physical maturity either).  They probably haven’t been told about the various consequences of sex - both physical and emotional – not to mention how to prevent some of those consequences, such as pregnancy.

Sure, continue to suggest abstinence.  It may well be an appealing choice for many young people – it was for me.  But doing so CANNOT mean that you stay silent on or delay the teaching of other equally important concepts.  More detailed sex and relationship education is crucial, because these children (and they are still children) are clearly making their own choices by having sex… So we better be giving them some tools to keep them informed, which may well sway their decision more than we know. 

After reading this:
“About 190,000 abortions take place in England and Wales annually“
I’ll admit – my first instinct was to feel like maybe its better that nearly 200,000 more people weren’t brought into an already overcrowded world if they weren’t wanted.  And before you berate me for being heartless, know that I do mourn these tiny people who didn’t asked to be created and then destroyed.  I fully believe their little souls are in Heaven being treasured as they deserve. 

But that statistic also reminded me that while abortion is a tough issue that needs to be looked at (especially by those in power who make the laws, those who have the ability to carry out this procedure, and by those who are faced with the choice), I think we seriously need to look one step ahead.. 

As far as I can see, the greatest way to decrease the number of abortions every year is to do whatever is necessary to make sure unwanted pregnancies don’t happen so frequently.  And I can only conceive that better sex education (in schools AND at home) is the way to achieve that. 

stupid is as stupid does

According to the brilliant WordPress stat collector thingy, my blog’s “number of hits in one day” record was smashed wide open yesterday!  To an astounding 12 views!  Hehe, just kidding.  It was a bit more than that, but still.  It must’ve been all the talk about my grey hair.  Fascinating stuff, I know.

So today, in the newspaper and on the Internet, I kept coming across ridiculous stories about or involving stupid people.  Stupid people drive me crazy.  Lacking common sense is one thing, and can be forgiven in most instances, but stupidity is just inexcusable.  And you will reap what you sow.  Sorry if that sounds heartless, but seriously folks.

Example 1:
‘Love rival’ sets girl of 15 on fire’

Are you kidding me?!  Who DOES that?!  You think your boyfriend is cheating on you, so hunt down the girl you think he might have kissed and throw flammable liquid over her and set her on fire?!?!  That goes beyond stupid into insane and cruel.

Example 2:
‘Man attacked by croc after dumb bet’

Right, now I’m not so sure about this one anymore.  I didn’t read it in The Metro today, and the article I did read implied that where he was swimming was a known croc-infested lagoon.  But the article I’ve linked here implies that he may not have known.  SO, this guy is ridiculously stupid to make a $20 bet that he can swim across croc-infested waters and then unsurprisingly end up being seriously wounded.  BUT, if he didn’t know, and there were no obvious signs, then I can maybe give him a bit of leeway.  Just a bit.

Example 3:
Cannabis ‘can harm fetal brain’

This one is more of a DUH!!! kind of newsflash.  I just don’t know why this is particularly noteworthy because surely it’s ridiculously obvious!
What’s funny is I was reading this one at work when my boss walked by, looked at the screen and back at me, then asked, “Is there something I should know about?!”

Monday ramblings

* From the correct angle, I think my grey hair could look like a natural blond highlight.

 

I’m tempted to pull out the little bugger, but then everyone says “No! 7 more will grow back in its place!”  And I’m tempted to take this opportunity to dye/highlight my hair for the first time.  But then I remember that that is annoying because once you start colouring your hair, you have to keep up with it as the hair inevitably grows, and THAT is a regime that I am only willing to adhere to when it comes to waxing.

 

* Note to self: Always start out each day with a prayer for patience.

 

‘Nuf said, really.  (It’s a work-related thing.)

 

* Is my thumb green enough?

 

We’ve got farmers on my dad’s side and avid gardeners on my mom’s side.  (My Grandma Sherman, for example, pulled a vine from some bush where we got married in Edgware, smuggled it out of the country, and is now growing it at her home in Iowa!) 

 

I’m hoping this gift for all things green has tapered down into my little old genetic makeup, because having our own little home has made me more keen to give it a go…  It started because I read somewhere that certain plants were great air-cleaners and I thought that could be helpful for my asthmatic husband (or at least it couldn’t hurt!)

 

Then that plus the fact that we have this great little backyard to care for has led me to branch out (no pun intended!) a bit more… My current vegetation mini-empire now includes 3 houseplants (peace lily, leopard lily, and spider plant), 2 potted tomato plants, and two pots (one hanging basket, one wooden pot that looks like an old fashioned bucket) with some pretty fuchsia trailing flowers.  I have two more houseplants that I want – a dragon tree and another spider plant – and that will do it for the indoor ones I think.

 

THEN it’ll be time to sort out the weedy borders in the backyard! Wheeeee! :)

 

(Mom, aren’t you SO proud?!)