November 2010

In Loving Memory

"Though the days are few, they're filled with tears. And since I lost you, it feels like years." Can't believe its been 5 months! I think of you and miss you every day Papa! ♥

Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart

Today I am thankful for so many things, but this year I learned more than ever, that when it comes down to it, family is everything and while everyone's definition of family is different, I am beyond thankful for mine this year. I am thankful for my Mom, who is an incredibly strong woman...who took care of my Dad with grace and love this past year and still managed to be her usual self, giving and giving until she has nothing left to give and then giving some more. She has a heart of gold. I am thankful for my Dad, who is no longer in pain and watching over me always and forever in my heart, who taught me the important lessons of unconditional love and forgiveness and was an incredible example of strength and courage to me. I am thankful for my two beautiful sisters Brandy and Lauren, although one likes me more than the other does I am glad for the important lessons they have taught me this year both good and bad. I am thankful for my two wonderful brothers who have big hearts and work hard for their families and for their wives who make our family complete. I am extremely thankful to be an aunt to my adorable nephews and nieces who make my heart bigger because I love them SO MUCH! I am thankful for my in-laws, all the O'Neills, who have welcomed me into their family and loved me as their own since the day they met me. And of course for all of my extended family, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. who have been there for me in ways beyond measure this year in particular, as well as all the friends who I count as family who have done the same. Most importantly, I am thankful for my amazing husband who has stayed by my side through thick and thin, who loves me more than I ever thought I deserved to be loved, and who makes my life a complete, warm, and happy place. My heart is full today and always because of the incredible people in my life and for that I am grateful.
~Heather


I am thankful for a life filled with warmth and understanding, trial and tribulation, reward and happiness. I am thankful for my wonderful wife who has always put others before herself, sacrificing sanity, patience, and sympathy to do everything she can to be loving and supporting to her family, friends and even people I wouldn't ever recognize if they were staying in my house. I am thankful for my job and co-workers who are always filled with energy and warmth and a sense of camaraderie that makes every day a new and exciting adventure. I am thankful for a place to live that is warm and cozy and filled with lazy energy and a happy atmosphere. Finally I am thankful for all the people in the world who keep a positive outlook and retain faith in the basic goodness of humanity, even when some people are just not good.
Thank you to all and bring on the pie
-Spencer

And we're pretty sure Tank is thankful for his new snuggly doggie bed, his frozen peanut butter bone, and the fact that Spencer shared some Thanksgiving dinner with him, Noelle is thankful for bugs and Spencer's lap, and Layla is thankful for Noelle, hiding spots, and the fact that Heather left yarn out for her to play with last night.

Our Thanksgiving:"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~Melody Beattie

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanks...

I love the ones who are in my life and make it amazing. I also love the ones who left my life and made it fantastic... :)

Happy Veteran's Day!

Today I honor and am thinking of my Papa and how proud I am that he served our country with the US Navy in the Vietnam War and what a beautiful ceremony he received on June 28th in honor of his service and how proud I am to be his daughter. Miss you every day Dad!

New Job! ;)

I had a great first day today. I love my new job. I make my own hours, I wear whatever I want, my boss is super nice (and HOT!), I get paid in kisses, and I can take any day off that I want! WOOT!

;)

I start my new job tomorrow...............................can't wait! ;)

I'm FREE!

As of 4:00PM this afternoon, I now longer have to deal with Starbucks B.S. ever again...unless I choose to be a customer there. My 4 hour shift was surreal...it didn't feel like my last day until I clocked out and proclaimed "I am no officially unemployed" with a huge smile on my face and then promptly got goodbye hugs from the only 4 people who MAY have not minded working with me. (You know you're miserable at a job when the people you work with are miserable while working with you...sad...that's how I knew it was time to go.) I miss my nice, patient, non-stressed (well, less stressed) self and I hope I can find her again in the days, weeks, months, years, whatever it takes to recover, ahead. Nobody can truly understand how abusive customers are unless you experience it first hand. Of course there are some regulars that I loved and have even found friends in, but the majority of the people I had to deal with there day to day, customers, co-workers, and supervisors alike made me feel like absolute shit and I'm really looking forward to hopefully feeling good about myself again.

On that note, everyone keeps asking me what I'm doing next. Absolutely nothing. Well, that's not true. Stay-at-home-wife, domestic goddess, homemaker, call it what you want, but I will be spending my time perfecting my cooking, baking, sewing, cleaning, and laundering skills. When I say this most people think I'm crazy, but I have so many things I want to do and never had the motivation do attempt them after a wretched day at work (at any job really) and so I can't wait. I have lists and lists of things I am hoping to accomplish in my "free time." But more importantly, I love my husband and we are a team. And when one half of this team (my half) is stressed or cranky or whatever, I don't have the motivation to take care of anything else around me which in turn stresses out the other half of this team making it cranky as well. So I'm looking forward to taking care of myself, taking care of my husband and our home, and making the "team" as happy as it can possibly be. And when I get bored, I'll figure out what's next, but for now, I have plenty to do and the days aren't long enough, I'm sure!

ATTACK!

Ok, last night, while attempting to catch Layla for her monthly claw trim, she attacked me. If you've been following along, you know that this cat is a complete bitch. We rescued her a little over 3 years ago from the tiger habitat at the Mirage. She was 6 weeks old tops when we got her. So although she was technically "feral"...she hasn't been for most of her life. We have tried everything under the sun and then some to get this cat to calm down, to be nice, to know that Spencer and I are boss, but that we will not hurt her and that we do in fact feed her. Nothing works. She has hissed and spit at us when we look at her since the day we brought her home. Although she has always been mean with the hissing and spitting, she hasn't actually ever attacked us. We attempt to catch her once a month or less for a nail trim...she claws the crap out of our furniture and this time we are getting new furniture so it was a must and will be more frequent. Last time while trying to escape, she scratched Spencer, although I don't think that was on purpose, but it was pretty nasty. I truly didn't expect her to hurt me when I caught her last night. Not only did she claw me but she drug her claws across my face and tore off a ton of skin just above my lip. It felt so deep that I kept pushing my tongue on the inside of my mouth to make sure the hole didn't go all the way through. The blood would NOT stop flowing out. I'm surprised I didn't pass out (me and blood don't usually get along when we come face to face). I was more upset about the fact that she is going to leave this huge horribly ugly scar on my face than the pain I was in. Spencer doctored me up and took good care of me, but now I'm pissed. I can't even look at myself in the mirror without crying and wanting to kill that cat. I am the epitome of animal lover so this isn't actually true. I am angry, don't get me wrong. And I definitely WANT to get rid of her. But I can't bring myself to do it without feeling completely guilty. If I bring her to a shelter, no one will want her because she will hiss and spit at them...and if they don't adopt her out within a certain amount of time they will just put her down. And deep down I know that even though she isn't a happy animal in general, she is happier here with her "sister"/b/f/f Noelle, than she will ever be anywhere else. This is the only "home" she has ever known, despite the fact that she apparently absolutely hates it. So that being said, I will give her ONE MORE chance...and then I will find her a new home if it kills me. If she hurts me or my new furniture, she's goin' down...stay tuned I guess....and feel free to offer up any suggestions you may have...aside from the ones where you tell me to get rid of her because I just can't do that...yet...

Love (x20)

I just got back from seeing LOVE for the 20th time, this time with Spencer and Khara. It was wonderful as always. I love me some Beatles! This show may end up being the only thing I miss about Las Vegas when I do end up escaping, so I better see it as many times as I can in the meantime...I'm STILL finding new things that I hadn't ever caught before. Gotta love Cirque du Soleil. I'm still so proud that my hubby works for such a cool show and a great company. YAY!

Happy Birthday Big Sister!

Less than a year ago, after several years of extenuating circumstances getting in the way, I was able to get back in touch with my older sister Brandy. Today is her birthday and I am so happy to be able to truly celebrate on this day this year knowing that she is once again an important part of my life. The years in between, I always thought of her on her birthday and at other times too, but this year, knowing I can tell her happy birthday and send her a birthday gift and just rejoice in the fact that I have a big sister means the world to me. So Happy Birthday Brandy! I love you tons! (Here are some old pictures of us that I have always treasured and some new ones that I will always treasure!)

Positive Expectancy

"Live in an attitude of positive expectancy, knowing that everything that happens in your life benefits you in some way. Know that you are guided along a path of never-ending growth and learning, and with it, the path of everlasting love." ~Anthony Robbins

Loving Change

‎"How boring life would be if we knew in advance how it would all turn out! In the next few moments, something could happen that could change the entire direction and quality of your life in an instant. WE MUST LEARN TO LOVE CHANGE, FOR IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT IS CERTAIN."

Why I'm NOT Voting Today

I am the first to admit, I have a strong dislike for politics. Partly because I don't understand it and partly because I don't care, particularly about the fate of the state of Nevada because a.) I hate it, and b.) I don't plan to be here much longer. This blog is strictly my opinionated opinions. It is not based on fact, it is based on my own personal research and experiences (which may or may not be based on fact, hence my disclaimer.) Just as I have and should be thankful for the right to vote, I also have and am thankful for the right to choose not to vote. And though my reasoning in some cases (or all cases) may not be very educated or smart reasons, they are, nonetheless, MY REASONS. And I can promise you that my reasons for NOT voting and NOT liking these candidates are probably better and more educated than most peoples' reasons FOR voting for one or more of these candidates. I would also like to put a little disclaimer in here, however necessary or unnecessary it may be, that I am not a terrorist, nor do I have any intention of bringing harm to the shitty state of Nevada or any of its political leaders, I am just stating my reasons for not voting so that my friends who condemn me for not voting can see the lack of options I have to choose from, in my humble opinion. (That disclaimer is for those of you who were concerned that I might get arrested for writing this blog...bahahahahaha. But just in case, I'm only using initials of candidates.) I simply don't care about the state of Nevada because I am disgusted by it and I just want to leave it as soon as possible. Simple as that. Now, on with the blogging...

In the race for governor we have R R (D) vs. B S (R).
R R's BEST campaign commercial included Las Vegas Mayor O G and "his showgirls" endorsing him for several reasons, my favorite being that besides being good at various aspects of politics "he's sexy." O G, by the way, is the same mayor who said President Barack Obama was no longer welcome in the city of Las Vegas because in one of his speeches he used an example that if you don't have any money, you shouldn't go gambling in Las Vegas and apparently THAT statement put this city's economy in financial ruin causing all the foreclosures, jobs lost, bankruptcies, etc. here. But I'm glad to know that his showgirls are by his side at apparently any price however. And this was not even a bashing commerical AGAINST R R...this was a commercial paid for by HIS OWN campaign. Pathetic. Although, of all the people running, he does have the highest fundraising...probably because he is such an ass kisser with no apparent real plan or campaign platform that I can see from my research. The only good thing I ever heard him say he wanted to do was fix the scandalous and corrupt UMC Medical Centers that have lost something like $70 million in the past year...The "high quality treatment" I received there would send me running for the hills if I were on my death bed before I'd return to any of their facilities. RIDICULOUS! I'm surprised I don't have some disease that I contracted from a re-used IV needle or that my personal health history and information hasn't been published in the newspaper yet. But I digress...

B S is one of those guys who says one thing, but leaves a lot of gray area or wiggle room if you will, so that he isn't so much committed to it 100%. For example, he's apparently been totally back and forth on taxes, basically to the point where he doesn't want to increase taxes for businesses because they can't afford it in these tough times, but in order to help save the state money, he is seemingly happy to lay off teachers and state employees. At this point, I could care less about state employees...the DMV already has lines out the door and screws up SOMETHING every time we go there, and I'm already forced to work basically for free at the court house once a week because it is my "civic duty" so whatever. But lay off teachers? Does anyone know how craptastic the schools in this state are already? How much of a shortage of teachers there are currently? But yes, lets lay off more so each teacher can have like 60 students in their class. While you're at it, cut education budgets in half (something else he plans to do to save money) so the few teachers we DO have can't do their jobs properly due do lack of funding. As if students in Las Vegas/Nevada could be any dumber. Maybe parents should just stop sending their kids to school altogether...would that save more money? The kids would probably turn out better in some cases. But whatever his stance is on the situation, he appears to waffle back and forth...apparently his strategy is to make it sound like he is going to please whoever it is he is talking to at the moment to win votes and then when the time comes later, he'll explain how he ACTUALLY meant this instead of that. He says what he thinks should happen, but gives NO detail on how he's going to make it happen. Its been quoted that he speaks in "glittering generalities." WHAT-ever. I don't trust him.
Which loser shall I vote for? The one who has a douchebag mayor and his showgirls promoting him on lame ass television commercials or the guy who can't make up his mind what he's doing and who he's doing it for? Hmmmmmm....NOBODY!

In the race for Congress we have D T (D) and J H (R).
Oh my GOD!
Ok, let's start with D T. Aside from having the most OBNOXIOUS voice of anyone on ANY campaign commercial or pretty much of anyone I have ever encountered in my entire life, she STILL makes my skin crawl. She was an absolute pro at ripping into her opponent J H....not that he didn't deserve most of it, but still...one too many rip fests makes me hate you more than the person you're ripping on. The only quote I remember hearing repeatedly about her is that "D T rode the Obama wave all the way to Washington" which is apparently how she got her seat in Congress in 2008...so what? Obama doesn't have nearly as many loyal fans as he did at that time, so now what's she gonna do? According to all her criticisms, she is using the same bashing techniques and the same platform techniques she did when she ran for Congress in 2008 because she won....so much for change....she also voted against Obama's healthcare overhaul, which I am kind of for...but regardless, I will admit, I don't have much on her...unfortunately for this blog, her opponent didn't put up many bashing commercials against her so I don't know why she sucks. I just know that if I hear her annoying voice one more time, I'm going to drive to the Hoover Dam and jump off of that new bridge.

As for J H, excuse me DOCTOR J H, my biggest beef with him is that he seems pretty dumb about the common things in the world. Here is an example: he is apparently against the vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer because "if women didn't engage in risky behavior they wouldn't need the vaccine." He's a doctor for God's sake. (Not that my faith in doctors is very big as many of you may know.) You don't get cervical cancer by engaging in risky behavior. I mean, I'm sure some people contract HPV (which can lead to cervical cancer) by engaging in risky behavior but that is a whole other issue. If this guy truly believes that, he is a moron. Plain and simple. He also wants to abolish the Department Of Homeland Security and the Department of Education. WHY? To save money I presume. You already know how I feel about the education system in this state, but now the Department of Homeland Security?! REALLY?! That's gonna go over well...especially when every time you turn around someone has a bomb on an airplane or is condemning someone for "looking like a terrorist." But ok, good idea...because we need more fear in this country. As a side note he also apparently took contributions from insurance companies for his campaign and what not and then voted to deny the insurance claims of injured cops to save the insurance companies money in return. Don't even GET ME STARTED on how I feel about the corrupt insurance companies!!!!! And as a final note, according to D T, "J H has no integrity." Because I believe everything D T says......
Which of these losers shall I vote for? The lady with the annoying voice or the dumb doctor? Hmmmmmm....NO ONE!

In the race for Senator we have H R (D) and S A (R).
This one has the WORST options. You have to go with the lesser of two evils which is quite obvious to most, but STILL! As far as the Senate is concerned, the state of Nevada is surely doomed.
First we have H R. He is apparently hearts the illegal aliens. He has been alleged to have given illegal aliens tax breaks and social security. He also voted against, AGAINST English being our nation's primary language. I can't help but wonder what languages, if any, he speaks fluently aside from English since he is "as white as they come." According to his opponent S A, H R is all about the bailouts and wreckless spending and won't be Nevadans back to work...even though she claims its not her job as a Senator to create jobs, so I guess she won't be putting Nevadans back to work either, pot calling the kettle black, no? ANYWAY, H R also used over $3 million of the government's money and funnel it to big companies who made big donations to his campaign. But perhaps my favorite bashing against him stated that he used tax dollars to provide prescription medication to prisoners, which included, but was not limited to Viagra for those imprisoned because they were sex offenders. LOVELY.

Now we move on to S A. I already mentioned she is quoted as saying that it is not her job to create jobs for Nevadans although she criticized her opponent for the exact same thing. She said she doesn't want to provide jobs for the unemployed because they are lazy. She not only doesn't want to create any jobs for the state but she is also for giving tax breaks to companies that shit jobs overseas. Ummm hello? What? She also apparently provided some kind of ridiculous prescriptions for prisoners with tax payers money, but I don't know much about that. She wants to privatize the VA. She believes that rape victims should be forced to have their babies and "make lemons into lemonade." She wants to phase out social security and medicare but lives off of her husband's pension from the Bureau of Land Management and has government health insurance for the rest of her life. She wants to ban mandatory background checks on people who work with kids (probably so she can get those sex offenders their Viagra easier?) because she says it is an invasion of their privacy. And to top it off she is a complete and utter moron. She paints this horrible picture of her opponent H R being the "best friend" of shadowy, fence-climbing brown people in one of her bashing commercials on television. During a speech she gave at a local, mostly Latino Las Vegas high school, a student asked her about her campaign's obvious portrayal of Hispanics and her views on anti-immigration. She is quoted as saying the following( (me paraphrasing a newspaper article): "I think that you're misinterpreting those commercials. I'm not sure that those are Latinos in that commercial. What it is, is a fence, and there are people coming across that fence. What we know is that our northern border is where the terrorists came through." (Hmmm...the 9/11 terrorists? They climbed fences ...and were from Canada?) She also added, "I don't know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me." (WTF?! WHO SAYS THAT in ANY situation?!) And in an attempt to save her sorry ass, she finished with, "What we know about ourselves is we are a melting pot in this country. My grandchildren (some of whom are half-Hispanic) are evidence of that. I've been called the first Asian legislator in the Nevada Assembly." (Asian? Another one whose as white as they come...and if some of her grandchildren are half-Hispanic, how did she get to be Asian?) I had to read that article over and over again to make sure I read right. Wow. The author of the newspaper article said he suspected she was Martian. I suspect he meant to say MORON. As if the stuff I listed BEFORE the quotes wasn't enough! Not only is she stupid, but she is extreme and hypocritical. So much so in fact, that even well-known Republican business men and women have a commercial on television urging other Republicans to vote for H R, the democratic candidate. How sad.
Do I really have to ask who you think I'm going to vote for on this one? NO ONE!

Also, to further prove to you that while I may not know much, I know a little bit more than most Nevadans who SHOULD NOT be voting, some guy named T B who is running for Attorney General spent time in jail for harassing women and apparently only won the primary because no one knew who he was. Awesome.

Again, I am not claiming any of my reasons stated above as complete fact. I am just stating them as the reasons why I am choosing not to vote. That combined with the hundreds of horrible bullying commercials, 57 fliers I found in my mailbox in the past 2 weeks alone (yes I counted...tree killers much?) and the ENDLESS phone calls from all kinds of random numbers as early as 6:30AM and as late as 10:45PM totaling 74 phone calls (yes I saved them in my phone so that I could count them today), some of which, in the past two days came 6 or 7 consecutive phone calls from the same number 1 minute or less apart....tell me HOW any of that makes me want to vote for you...LEAVE ME ALONE!

My mommy always told me "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I'm going with that lesson today...I think all the options suck, therefore, I'm not wasting my time voting (or not voting) for any of them. (Although I know my harsh criticisms in this blog are not exactly following mommy's advice. Ha ha.)

So, to sum up, NO I didn't vote today. NO I'm not going to. And NO I don't feel bad about it.

"I don't even leave the house on election day, so I have all the right to complain as loud as I want about the mess you caused that I had nothing to do with." ~George Carlin
The End.

Give And Take

"The only way a relationship will last is if you see it as a place you go to give, not a place you go to take."

October 2010