When the cat is away . . .

Well, it's more like when the kittens are a way the momma cat will ... EAT.

So, my husband takes the kids out for a bike ride on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I sit down at the computer to get a couple things done. It then occurs to me that some McDonald's french fries would be really great right about now. After all, I did manage to somehow miss lunch. We rarely eat fast food. Neither my husband nor I really like it all that much and none of us need it, but McDonalds just sounded good today. So a McFish & fries it was.

Once I was done I decided that I better hide the evidence. [I don't know if I'd be forgiven if the kids found out I went to McDonalds without them.] So, I put the trash in the outside garbage, but when I got back inside I noticed I had forgotten the outer bag. No big deal, I simply turned it inside out (to hide the writing) and stuffed it in the inside garbage.

Would you believe that my 5 yr old son found it when went to go throw something else away! The even funnier part is that he thought it was from the last time we had gone to McDonald's (probably over 2 months prior). I don't know if he thought we had kept it as a keepsake or what. It was a Sponge Bob bag after all. It didn't even occur to him that his mother would sneak something like that past him. [It's not that we usually have months of garbage lying around, we had been spring cleaning and throwing away a lot of unusual things that day.]

So, would you confess?

When a sale is just not worth it.

So I run this small business - mostly out of my home. The business is small, but the money is very good as far as we are concerned. I'm happy. I guess then it should be a compliment when customers or organizations think I'm much bigger than I am. It is - until they start wanting things from you - for free.

More often than you'd think, I get requests for donations - large and small. I have no problem with this if it is within our means. However, there are a couple of things I look for - some of them maybe a little selfish, but this is a business after all. If I'm going to donate to someone for which I will receive no advertising, I prefer it be local and/or for someone or some event to which I have a personal connection. For example, my kid's school, our church, a local family, etc.

I would personally never have the nerve to do this, but more often than not, the requests I receive are from people I have never met from across the country. The story is usually touching. They want the items for underprivileged families, someone who has a terminal illness, etc. I would LOVE to be able to help anyone and everyone with everything if I could, but seriously, I am not rolling in money and how do I even know these situations are legitimate. Isn't that why people prefer to donate to large charities that in turn donate to individuals.

The few times I've agreed, it is under specific circumstances and honestly, I usually wish I never had. The reason for this attitude is that because in almost in every situation I spend an incredible amount of time "hand-holding" these "customers." Sometimes I spend more time with these people than I do with 6 months worth of regular customers. I won't get into the details of what I mean by "hand holding," but you'd think that after getting something for free (or nearly free), they'd be grateful and would simply say thank-you and move on.

I hope this doesn't seem like a pathetic rant, but such requests have become more and more frequent. I can handle dealing with larger organizations, but it's the small requests that are difficult. I suppose those asking figure that such a small request would mean nothing to us, but they don't realize the frequency of those requests.

For all the SAHM's who get no respect......

For all the SAHM's who get no respect......

A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home. He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed "Dear Lord: I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I go through, so please allow her body to switch with mine for a day. Amen." God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish.

The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman. He arose, cooked breakfast for his mate, awakened the kids, set out their school clothes, fed them breakfast, packed their lunches, drove them to school. Came home and picked up the dry cleaning, took it to the cleaners and stopped at the bank to make a deposit. Went grocery shopping, then drove home to put away the groceries, paid the bills and balanced the check book. He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog.

Then it was already 1 P.M. and he hurried to make the beds, do the laundry, vacuum, dust, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor. Ran to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them on the way home. Set out milk and cookies and got the kids organized to do their homework, then set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing.

At 4:30 he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad, breaded the lamb chops and snapped fresh beans for supper. After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, folded laundry, bathed the kids, and put them to bed. At 9 P.M. he was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished, he went to bed where he was expected to make love which he managed to get through without complaint.

The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said, "Lord, I don't know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife's being able to stay home all day. Please, oh please, let us trade back" The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied, "My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were. You'll just have to wait nine months, through. You got pregnant last night."

Swimming Naked

I believe the following was originally quoted by Warren Buffet:

"It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming
naked."

It makes me giggle and it is so, so true. [And when I'm not afraid of who may see this, I just might give some examples.]