Free Advice

If you love me, put a sock in it!

I made a comment on this blog, but I thought I’d share my pearls of wisdom here.
If someone says something offensive to you, it’s useful to have this little comment tucked away:

“Wow, did you mean to be rude, or did that just come out wrong?”

I like it because it obviously calls them on their rudeness, but you don’t have to stoop to their level by insulting them. Plus, you get bonus points because you give them an opening to apologize.

Yup, I’m here for all your social questions. (Even though I’m a partial hermit myself.)

Fairy Princess (& a rat)

I was talking to a friend last night and she mentioned that I need to have more pictures of Noodle on here, and I told her the reason I don't is because Noodle isn't quite as willing a model as Spud is. Spud is generally interested enough in what he is doing that I can just shoot away, but Noodle either feels obligated to give me an ultimate CHEESE face, or says, "Mo-om, stop taking pictures and PLAY with me!" So, this fairy picture is from last year, but I really like it. This is the one I chose to have printed for my FREE 11x14 (from winning the class vote in my photography class the first week). I think it'l be a fun one to frame and hang in her room.



This picture of Finny is just to show to another friend who asked how well the kit lens on the camera does for rat portraits. This photo actually tied for second place in the class vote yesterday. (Forgive my shameless self promotion.)

Why Rats Are Great Pets

There are actually lots of reasons, but I wanted to highlight a couple of them today:

1. They LOOOVE leftovers of (almost) any type. There are a few forbidden foods, but generally they can eat anything that people eat. Also, unlike a dog, you don’t have to have very much left on the plate for them to get really excited about it. Your toddler’s unfinished bowl of rice & beans? Put it in the rat cage! Half eaten banana from this morning? Into the rat cage! It’s great to feel like I’m not wasting food, and giving my ratboys a treat at the same time.
2. Unintimidating. Lots of young kids who are freaked out by dogs and even cats are not intimidated by rats because they are so small. The kids may not want to hold a rat, but you can bet they’ll LOVE watching them in their cage. I was reminded of this again yesterday when a friend was visiting with her 14 month old daughter. The girl couldn’t get enough of watching the rats.
3. Fun to accessorize their “house”. I love finding new hidey homes or making hammocks for the rats. Presently I have a box “clubhouse” for them on the top of their cage that they get to play in during “free range” time. Remember wishing that you could be tiny so you could fit in your toys? Well, rats are small enough, so you can live vicariously through them.
4. So darn cute & cuddly!
5. People wonder about you when they find out you keep rats as pets. I like to make people wonder.

"Hey, Shove off!"

I love this picture of my ratboys Marco (on the right) and Finny (left).

The Color Code

YELLOWS are motivated by FUN. They are inviting and embrace life as a party that they're hosting. They love playful interaction and can be extremely sociable. They are highly persuasive and seek instant gratification. YELLOWS need to be adored and praised. While YELLOWS are carefree, they are sensitive and highly alert to others' agendas to control them. YELLOWS typically carry within themselves the gift of a good heart.

YELLOWS need to look good socially, and friendships command a high priority in their lives. YELLOWS are happy, articulate, engaging of others and crave adventure. Easily distracted, they can never sit still for long. They embrace each day in the "present tense" and choose people who, like themselves, enjoy a curious nature. YELLOWS are charismatic, spontaneous, and positive; but can also be irresponsible, obnoxious, and forgetful. When others interact with you, as a YELLOW you respond to them best if they take a positive, upbeat approach and promote light-hearted, creative, and fun interactions with you.

Understand that no two YELLOWS are exactly alike. Although you share the same core motivation as many others, your personality is still unique to you alone.

---------------

When I took this test before, I was a yellow, and since they say it is most accurate if you answer as you would have behaved as a child, I wasn’t surprised to see that I was still yellow. And I LIKE being yellow. I really wouldn’t want to be anything else.

The Color Code

mooooo!

Spud learned to say "Cow" on Saturday, as we were driving around out in the "country." Of course he says it more like "cah-oh", but it's obvious what he's going for. He also enjoys moooing.

Here are a couple of the pix from the "farm".




The kids and I are pretty much better. David was sick over the weekend, but is feeling okay today. As hard as it is to be home with the kids when I'm sick, I'm glad that I don't have to go to work and not feel great.

In other news, it seems like exciting things are happening in the lives of everyone but me. One of my dear friends (a former roommate) is getting married in May, two good friends are expecting babies (one of them is expecting her first, and the other is expecting #2), and another friend's home has just started being built. Here I sit, though, with no real excitement as of yet. The progress of David's company is exciting, but that's kind of secondhand excitement for now. But, I am certainly glad not to be pregnant, and I am having a lot of fun with photography right now, so I think that will suffice.

Whiskers in the Dark

This is my rat Loki. He's a partial rex, so he has funky fur and fun curly whiskers. I bought him (and his brother Finny) from a breeder in Idaho when we were there for Thanksgiving. My dad couldn't believe that I was going to keep RATS in his house! He's convinced that they are going to give us some bizarre illness, and sends me links to articles about monkeypox and other diseases carried by "exotic" animals. While some vets still think of rats as "exotics," I think that a pet descended from laboratory animals is pretty non-exotic by now.

Ben Stiller movies

We watched "Duplex" last night. It hadn't really occurred to me that it would be a "typical" Ben Stiller movie. You know, the kind where horrible things happen to him and nothing goes right? A la "Meet the Parents," "Envy," "Meet the Fockers," etc . I do generally like Ben Stiller, and I think he's funny and even kind of cute, but both David and I cringe when we see these movies. Or I should say we cringe repeatedly. And while we do laugh, too, I think we both get a little too stressed out watching horrible things happen to a nice guy like Ben. It's kind of the same way I feel whenever I've watched "America's Funniest Home Videos." I can't help but feel sorry for the people who get hit by falling branches, trip over their own feet and bash their heads on something, or get whapped in the face by a car door opening.

Black & White

Last week's assignment for my photography class was two black & white photos, one with "high contrast". The shoes one was mentioned by the instructor as one of his favorites! Whoo-hoo!

I'm afraid I'm having a bit more trouble with this week's assignment--one picture with fast shutter speed and one with slow shutter speed. I was supposed to have emailed them to him yesterday, but I'm hoping to get something today. I don't think I'll be mentioned as a favorite this week, though. We've been sick for much of the past week, so it's hard to get out and take pictures. Oh well.

bunch of sickos

The kids and I are all sick. David stayed home from church yesterday so I could get some rest, so I'm feeling a little better today, but I'm still coughing and sneezing. At least the achiness is gone. The kids are handling the discomfort pretty well. I'm hoping that this bout of illness will finally clear out the lingering cough I've had since I was sick in January.

On another note, it's now officially SPRING, and we have a few inches of snow on the ground. I think the problem with winter here is that it starts in mid-Autumn and lingers until mid-Spring. What right does it have to encroach upon the other seasons time? Sheesh! This winter has seemed especially long and terrible, and I'm more than ready for Spring.

My little pony...

The other day the kids and I were out running errands and Noodle found her little pony toy in the car, so she was playing with it. I sang the “My Little Pony” ditty (you other children of the 80s might remember it) and then I added the line, “My little pony, eats macaroni...” She said, “No! She eats grass!” A minute later she sang, “My little pony, is purple and BONY!” I laughed, but was impressed. That’s pretty good rhyme for a 3 year old!

Photo Ops

At the end of February, I started my photography class through the local college. We have our third class this week, and I'm quite enjoying them. Every week we will vote on our favorite photos, and the 2 winners will get a free 11x14 printed at the instructor's camera shop. Last week I was one of the winners (top photo of Spud)! Then, to top of my happiness, the instructor said that my photo of my rat Finny (bottom) was his favorite of the week!






I am having a lot of fun thinking of ideas for photographs, and am truly coming to believe that the single most important part of taking a good picture is taking LOTS of pictures. You take 100 or more, and if you get lucky, one or two turn out to be something special. Then of course you only show those to others, so they think you are amazingly talented. Mostly just persistent. This is especially true when working with animals or children.

...........................

I've meant to post more frequently, but my MacJournal isn't connecting well to Blogger lately, and I don't know why not. A week and a half ago our sweet "adopted" stray kitty Nemo passed away. He had been ill, and we did our best to help him through it, but I think the illnesses were just too much and he died sometime during the morning Sunday, March 5th. David's parents were kind enough to let us bury him in their backyard. I still miss seeing him hanging around outside, and coming to our apartment twice daily to eat. He was such a wonderful cat, and Noodle sure loved him, as did I.

Yay March!

I’m really happy that it’s March! That means that the end of Winter is in sight, we’re that much closer to being able to move into a house (I hope), and lots of other happy spring related things. So, YAY!

Live in the Now, Man

I married a very intelligent man who also happens to be quite level-headed and good with seeing what is really important. I’m grateful for these gifts of his, but that doesn’t mean I sometimes don’t wish he were a little more irrational. I’ll explain.

I have been a stay-at-home mom since my son was born almost 14 months ago. Prior to that, David and I both alternated staying at home with our daughter while the other one went to school. This way, we were both able to complete our MS degrees in Zoology in less than 2 1/2 years. Leaving Noodle was hard many days, and I often wished I could stay home and enjoy the day with the two of them. The days when I was home, I was pretty good at balancing trying to get a little schoolwork done and just enjoying being the “mom”. And I enjoyed my days at school, too. I think part of what made the whole situation work was that you knew tomorrow you’d be doing “the other thing,” so it felt like you only had to get through today. It was nice to have the feeling of “missing home”.

Now, however, I am in full time SAHM mode, meaning I am home EVERY day, ALL day with the kids. I don’t get a chance to miss them, because I am always with them. Getting through each day seems a bit more difficult because I know that tomorrow is going to be just like today, which was just like yesterday, and so on ad infinitum. It can be a challenge to keep up my spirits.

As we are still living in our 2 bedroom apartment, and have been thinking that moving out was just around the corner for the past year or more, I have had a hard time enjoying being here, and too frequently find myself wishing away the time until we are able to move into a house. A couple of nights ago David and I were “pillow talking” and he said, essentially, that it’s important to enjoy life NOW, because it is the only life we have. And we can wish that things had taken a different turn, but they haven’t, so it’s just a waste of time and energy. He pointed out that if our lives had gone the way we’d originally hoped (meaning he’d gone to Washington University in St. Louis) we’d be even poorer than we are now, and we’d be at least half a dozen years away from buying a house. AND he’d be gone even more than he is presently with his job. I’ll confess that I was annoyed to have him point all these things, but even with my annoyance I knew he was right. (That’s probably why I was annoyed.) So, I’m happy to report that for the past couple of days I’ve done a much better job at enjoying NOW. And I did pretty good last week. I think Life really is about the details, and the small things. The big things happen too infrequently, so if we wait for those, we’ll miss out on a lot of joy.

Chop chop

So I got my hair cut on Thursday. A LOT! I cut off 10" to donate to locks of love. Then a couple of more inches were "sacrificed" in the name of style. It (the haircut) didn't turn out like I was hoping, but I'm liking it okay now. In a few months it will probably be the length I wanted it to be. I must say that I am quite happy that I no longer have to spend 30 minutes combing my hair everyday. I can comb, blow dry, and style in less time. It's a little weird not to have all that hair, since I've had long hair for the past several years. But it's good.

-------
On another note, I think my blog is in need of some more inspired postings. I think January's illnesses in the house sucked me dry of creative thought, but it's time I get my act together again. Even though I suspect I've already lost my one or two occasional readers.

Forgiveness

St Matthew 18:23-35
“Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made...”

This is kind of a long passage to type out, but it is certainly powerful. After the servant is forgiven, he comes upon a servant of his own who owed him a hundred pence, and demands it of him. When he can’t pay, he has him thrown into jail. The lord hears of it and says

“O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?”

Wow. It’s such a powerful lesson.

St Matthew 16:25 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

I wonder how this applies to me, in my current situation as a mom. I did well this morning about getting up and immediately getting some household chores done, before getting online. I think that “losing my life for his sake” would involve doing more for my family and especially my children. We are constantly bombarded in the mom world by the idea that we need to “take time for ourselves” and I wonder if this is true. I wonder if the actual truth isn’t to more fully involve ourselves with motherhood and our children, and then we will find ourselves much more richly than before. If we are overly concerned with “taking time for ourselves” I think it is easy to become resentful of the demands of kids, but I certainly am no expert on either front.

Something to think about.

Blind lead the blind

In an effort to get myself going on one of my resolutions, I am going to try and pick a verse from my scripture reading and share it, sometimes with thoughts, sometimes just alone. I’m hoping this will make me more accountable for actually reading. Happily I’m reading the New Testament, which is full of great verses.

-----------------------

St Matthew 15:14 “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”

I don’t have any deep insight about this verse, though it does seem an appropriate summation of much of the world today. I think we have a lot of ditches full of blind people...

I'm going to make an enemy...

on a mothering list that I belong to.

Lady1 posted:
Hello all I am in need of some help. I have four
female and one male AKC
Yellow lab pups that need to find new homes. The
females are $350 and the
males $300. IF you know of anyone who may be
interested, please forward
this to them or give them my number. Thank you all
very much!! My number
is XXX-XXXX.

Lady2 replied:
we are looking for a puppy and a lab is high on the
list. can you send photos and any details about
disposition?

And I replied:

As a big advocate for and believer in animal rescue and responsible breeding, I just want to point out that responsible breeders have homes for the litter BEFORE animals are mated. Also, responsible breeders health and temperament test all animals before breeding. Millions of animals are killed every year in animal shelters. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

"Don't breed or buy while shelter animals die."

Mindy

P.S. Lady2, there is a lab rescue group in Utah County, http://www.utahlabrescue.com/, that helps place abandoned dogs and puppies that desperately need homes. They very often have puppies, even purebreds. You might consider looking into them.
------------
I don’t think Lady1 will like me much anymore. But it can’t be less than I like her. If you are going to breed animals, you damn well better do it in the MOST responsible way. Not just because you shelled out $$ for a purebred and want to “recoup your losses.”

Fantastic!

Another reason to love The New Yorker

This is a great piece that takes the backing out of any pit bull ban argument.