Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass...

I promise I won't drag this out.

I have a few friends that believe "we" should stop being "politically correct" and only say "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays."

I would agree, if we all celebrated Christmas. But as it is, I celebrate Christmas and Chanukkah. I have friends and family that only celebrate Chanukkah. I have friends that celebrate Yule instead of Christmas. I probably have some friends that don't really celebrate anything at all.

Thing is, when you see someone on the street, how do you know what they celebrate? I have been known to respond to a "Merry Christmas" with a "Happy Chanukkah," even if it's past Chanukkah. Then again, I'm a bitter person.

So why is it so wrong to wish someone a Happy Holidays, knowing that it includes any winter holidays they may celebrate. When I wish someone a Happy Holidays, I mean it to include the new year as well. I will NEVER be offended when someone wishes me a Happy Holidays, because that includes all the winter holidays that I choose to celebrate. I do, however, get sick of hearing Merry Christmas all through my Chanukkah celebrations, even on years like this when Chanukkah is over well before Chriatmas.

In other words, it's not rude, or offensive, when someone wishes you a Happy Holidays. Perhaps they do not celebrate Christmas, and wanted to include you if you do. So take it easy and stop pushing your holiday on everyone. Stop being offended if they want to include you in the happiness of their season.

Love Beats Hate

Love Beats Hate


I know quite a few people with chronic pain of various kinds. I myself have chronic migraines and use prescription medication to help control them.

Apparently, some people have decided it is OK to make fun of us, to ridicule us and insult us. I know it is difficult to understand chronic illness if you have not experienced it yourself, but to make fun of someone for something you do not understand is the lowest of low. It's so childish that children look down on it.

I have chronic migraines. My pain levels to not reach as high as people expect, but I get all the fun side effects. I get sensitivity to light and sound, fatigue, dizziness, vertigo, loss of concentration, tingling in hands and/or feet, random pains (usually in my temples), nausea, and other things. These used to last for days, even weeks, before I would get the standard migraine pain and get over it. I had a manager at one point who also got migraines, but not as frequently, with fewer side effects and higher pain. She couldn't understand that I could work through my migraines, that I didn't have to just go home. She didn't understand that if I went home every time I was getting a migraine, I would never be at work.

With some lifestyle changes and prescription medication, I have been able to somewhat control my migraines. Somewhat. But many people still don't understand.

I have friends with fibromyalgia, MS, migraines, crohn's, depression, bipolar, thyroid diseases, and other things that are chronic and often misunderstood. When I find out a friend has some kind of illness, disease, condition, etc., I educate myself. Of course, I am a little addicted to researching stuff on the internet. But I learn enough that I can be understanding.

I will admit that I am guilty of expecting everyone else to be like me. I expect people to be patient and willing to learn. All the while, I know I'm wrong. So many people are not willing to take the time and learn about a person. They judge, ridicule, and move on to the next victim.

I'm lucky in that my chronic condition is well known. Everyone knows about migraines, so people are more understanding. But diseases like fibro and crohn's are not well known, some people have never heard of them at all, and instead of learning, they ignore.

So how do we fight ignorance? Simple - with education. Educate yourself. Educate your family and friends. Do you know someone with a chronic condition? Look it up, learn about it.

I have focused on health issues, but the reason I am blogging today is to speak out for marginalized populations. This includes so much more. Homosexuals, even among themselves, do not always share understanding. Different races, nationalities, cultures, religions do not understand each other. Even people with different hobbies and styles can't seem to get along. People can't even agree on Star Trek vs. Star Wars (I'm a fan of both, by the way).

I'm not saying we should all be the same. That will never happen. We can, however, learn to get along. Tolerance, people, tolerance can work wonders. I don't agree with everyone's point of view, but I try to not let it get to me. If I greatly disagree, I just don't associate with them. They live their way and I live mine, but we both live in relative peace.

I do tend to ramble, don't I? Let's find a point and wrap it up. Education is the key. We don't all need college degrees, but through education we can learn to tolerate, if not appreciate, everyone around us. I know I'm talking about ideals here, but who doesn't have ideals? The best we can do is to work on ourselves and our immediate surroundings. Stand up for someone you know if they are being hurt or ridiculed. Educate those around you. Spread love, and it can defeat hate.

On a more personal note....

...My hometown newspaper SUCKS BALLS!

A friend who still lives in my hometown posted on Facebook about a rock slide that happened Green River, WY. GR is 15 minutes from my hometown of Rock Springs.

So I went to the local newspapers websites to look for updates.

Green River Star
Rocket Miner

Check those out and tell me, on appearance alone, which site you would trust more.

I knew my hometown paper, the Rocket Miner, was a piece of crap, but I hadn't been to the website in ages. HO-LY CRAP! They don't even have any local news on the home page! Hell, I can't even find any local articles!!

Seriously? How is a newspaper supposed to be taken seriously when they can't even post their local news on the main page of their website? On any page? Are they that ashamed of their articles? I know they have a tendency towards typos and misquotations and all sorts of other BS, but to have such a crappy website?

Rock Springs has a population of about 18,000 people, while Green River has about 12,000, yet GR has the better newspaper. Does this sound completely wrong to anyone else?

To end, let me give a personal example of the Rocket Miner's capabilities. My mother submitted an article for my wedding, back in 2005. They got all the names right in the article (Mr. and Mrs. Welch), but the caption under the picture says, "Mr. and Mrs. Zuehlsdorff." Yes, that is my maiden name.

/rant

Some people really need to get a life

The Dyson guy, you know the one, white hair in all the dyson vacuum commercials? Yeah, him. He needs a life. He claims, in one commercial, that he has been obsessed with perfecting vacuums for 17 years. His obsession is almost an adult!

Really? Who obsesses with vacuums. Is he OCD about cleaning his carpets or something? 17 years spent on making the perfect vacuum?

My sister has a dyson. She won it online (she would never dish out that amount for a vacuum). She loves it, says it works great. So yay! Your vacuum works well.

But I bet if you cut the price in half, many more would buy it. Do a search for Dyson Vacuum on Amazon. Sort it by price, low to high. You will see vacuums in other brands that are cheaper than the dyson accessory kits! Even their hand-held vac is $150!

Seriously, I bought a bissell stick vac for $20 and it sucks up my pet hair like a hungry monster. Why spend 7 times that on a hand held that doesn't even convert to stick?

I guess that is for the same people who obsess with perfecting vacuums for 17+ years.

Vampires are Old News. Get over it.

Just saw a commercial for Revlon's Just Bitten Lip Stain. OMFG. Now we're naming makeup to catch on with the whole twilight-sparkly-vampire trend? Puh-lease!

I was a vamp fan back in the day. I read Anne Rice novels. I watched Forever Knight. I saw vampires as sexy because they were dark and dangerous, not sparkly teenagers.

I read the first 2 twilight books. I saw the first movie. I want nothing to do with it now. It's a sparkly, fluffy little view of vampires. What happened to my messy, dark, and dirty vamps that were all evil and sexy? Even in Forever Knight, he flashed back to his evil days.

I hadn't planned on this going into a twilight rant, but then again, I hadn't really planned anything except pointing out the stupidity of that lip stain name. Just bitten? Really? Makes me want to avoid it along with the rest of the twilight-insanity.

Ok. I got distracted by the TV. I love House. Great show.

I want vampires to go back to their dark scary days. And I want Hot Topic to go back to it's goth days and burn all the cutesy trendy shit in there now. Just saying.

Water, water everywhere

Just saw a commercial for bottled water. We are now advertising water. Yes, I'd much rather people drink water than soda or sugary juices, but why spend all the money on bottled water when we can get it from the tap?

I'm one of those people that can drink water. Period. Tap, bottle, sparkling, hose, melted ice, warm, cold, frozen, doesn't matter. I like water.

I've met people who don't like the taste of water. They have to add flavor to it to make it "drinkable" to them. Hence all those little packets of powdered flavor sized perfectly for - you guessed it - bottled water.

In my city, I keep hearing people say the tap water taste bad. I don't taste anything bad about it! I drink it all the time! But quite a few people around here have water coolers in their home and buy lots of bottled water. Ok, so my taste buds may not be as sensitive as yours, but let me present a cheaper option - water filters.

Take the Pur filter for example. It screws right onto the faucet and filters your water. It costs about $25 (at least that's what it cost years ago when I bought it for my sister's wedding gift). You change the filter probably once or twice a year, maybe a little more if you have really hard water.

You'll never run out of bottles, or water. You just turn on the tap, and if you want to drink it, turn a piece on the filter. It's easy.

This isn't to say that I don't drink bottled water. It's great for times when you don't have a faucet handy, like at the zoo or park. When I forget to bring water with me, I might buy a bottle. Hell, I even buy 6packs of bottled water for home. BUT, I don't throw those bottles away. I refill them and use them again, and again, and again. My hubby and I will keep them in the fridge and grab one when we're thirsty, or to take in the car with us. They are easy to clean and reuse. After about a month of use, I'll put them in the recycling and buy new ones.



I think my train of thought is headed down the wrong track. I seem to have lost my momentum. So let me wrap it up - take a look at your water usage. Are you constantly buying bottles of water and throwing said bottles away? Look at the costs of that, then price a couple reusable water bottles and a water filter. Make the investment in a good filter and some durable bottles, and see if you don't save money in the long run. They have all kinds of reusable bottles out there now for all ages and styles.

Instead of throwing it out, try not buying it

Ziplock commercial - she asks for 4 lbs of sirloin, but only wrap half because she'll throw it out anyway.

Well, dummy, maybe you should buy more than you can use!!

Seriously, when I shop for meat or perishables, I remember that there are only 2 of us, and we can only eat so much. I only buy 4 pieces of chicken so we can have 1 dinner and 1 lunch from the leftovers.

Tupperware, gladware, and all those wonderful creations we have for storing food should be used for leftovers, not for extras!

A lot of the problem comes from bulk shopping. People think they need to buy all they can while it's at a good price, but then it goes bad before they can use it and they are just throwing away money. But instead of buying fancy baggies and dishes to "save" the extras, how about not buying them in the first place?

If you look at my fridge, you'd probably think it's bare. But we don't buy food unless we believe we will use it before it goes bad. Think of the European market, where people pop in and buy their day's produce. Just a day or two, not a week, or a month. Then it's not going bad and you're not throwing it out. You always have fresh produce to cook with.

So next time you look at something in the grocery store and wonder if you will be able to use it all before it goes bad, look around and see if they have a smaller size. Even if it's not as good of a "deal," at least you won't be throwing away the extras that you didn't use.

new look

I was checking out some friends' blogs, and realized mine looked lame compared to theirs. So I started playing around with it. Didn't realize how much I can do with this blog!

They didn't have any actual cracker pics, so I went with matzoh. Close enough for me. I still don't know how my friends got the super fancy blogs they have, but I will work on it. Let me know what you think!

boobies!!

Why is breastfeeding in public such a controversial issue?

reference this article: The 10 Commandments of Dining With Little Kids
(be sure to read the comments to see what I mean)

To me, they all make sense. Admittedly, I am not a mother. I have, however, been out to eat with my nieces and my friends' children. I have paid attention to how children act in restaurants. I've noticed how some parents watch their children closely and make sure they behave, while others seem to not even notice their child is there.

As for breastfeeding, I have personally sewn a nursing cover for my friend who had a baby. It took maybe 2 hours to complete, and I know you can buy them also. It's basically a blanket with a neck strap. You slip it over your neck to cover yourself and the baby. I've seen women use a regular blanket to cover while breastfeeding.

The problem is that some women don't cover anything. They lift up/pull down their shirt, pop out a boob, and let the baby go at it.

Now, I don't agree with how the breast has become so sexualized in our society, but it has. As far as I know, it's not acceptable to flash your boobs in public. So why would it suddenly become acceptable to pull it out and show it off while your baby feeds?

I am not against breastfeeding. Not at all. I was breastfed. My sister breastfed. My friends breastfeed. Breast milk is one of the healthiest things you can feed a baby, if not the healthiest. Yay for breast milk! But it's not an excuse to show off your boobies.

I saw one argument that some women show off more skin in their everyday dress. Well yeah, and some women dress like total skanks, but what does that have to do with feeding your baby? And the fact is, even some strip clubs don't allow the women to show the nipples, which somehow became the point of total breast nudity.

I have witnessed a woman completely exposing her breast to feed her baby. We were in a park in the middle of downtown. I was shocked.

Now to get back to the article, I honestly haven't seen many women who breastfeed at a restaurant. Or if they do, the majority seem to cover themselves with a blanket or nursing cover. Go them. There is also nothing wrong with pumping at home and bringing a bottle of breast milk with you. I know some moms argue that "my baby won't take a bottle." Well, advice straight from my sister's doctor when she had to do just that - if the baby is hungry enough, they will take a bottle.

My niece didn't want to take a bottle, but her mommy had to go to work. Sure enough, after a small battle of wills, she learned to drink from a bottle. She is also one of the smartest 3 year olds I've ever personally met. (I know I'm slightly biased, but really, she is super smart for her age!) Mind you, they completed the battle of wills at home, not in public.

Basically it all comes down to this. People will get offended if you flash your boobs at them, even if you are just doing it to feed your baby. The US is stupid like that. Don't like it? Well it's easy as pie to throw a blanket over your shoulder and cover it up. Also cuts out some of the distractions for the baby. And I won't even get into the perverts that are out there.

I think I've made this long enough. Yay boobs. Yay breastfeeding. But please have some sense enough to cover when in public.

People and their pets

I realize I haven't written in a while. We've moved and just got a new puppy so life is crazy busy. But the puppy (and search for the right one) has inspired this post. It's on the serious side.

So many people get a pet and seem to expect it to be easy. Raising a pet is not a laid back job. I have some new neighbors with 2 dogs. They spend all their time just running around the back yard. They never go inside, and they never go on walks. Let me remind you that I live in the southwest, where it's HOT. These dogs have no exercise except chasing each other around the yard and barking at every little noise. I feel sorry for these dogs. I'm considering offering to walk them.

Then there are all these beautiful animals in the shelters. They post their stories on the kennels. We saw 2 older dogs, 9 years old. Their owners moved and decided the dogs couldn't move with them. They spent 9 long years loving their people only to get dumped at the shelter.

I've seen a craigslist posting where the girl claimed she had to get rid of her dog and cats because she's pregnant. You know, that myth about cats suffocating babies is just that, a myth. I have seen cats sit and watch over babies as though they were their own. My parents had a dog with their first child, and had one dog or another with the other 2 as well. You can have pets and children at the same time. Many, many people have done it.

It hurts me to see these animals being given up for such stupid reasons. "We're moving" is not an excuse. I've moved with my cat multiple times. "We're having a baby" is not an excuse. "I don't have enough time for it" is not an excuse. Animals are living beings, not cute little toys. If you aren't willing to commit to them for as long as they live, then don't even bother.

There are some good people on the craigslist postings. They bring in a pet from the streets and try to find a home for it. They understand they can't care for the animal themselves, but don't just leave it out in the streets.

So please, unless you are willing to commit to the responsibility of owning a pet (exercise, food, vet visits, grooming, love, etc.), don't get one. If you know me personally and make this mistake, be prepared to see the angry side of me. This is one issue I take to heart.

What Are We Becoming?

I keep seeing commercials for paper hand towels for the home. Not the paper towels you use in the kitchen, but towels for the bathroom, for drying your hands. Just like in public bathrooms. And I thought the automatic soap dispenser was lazy.

Apparently, our cloth hand towels are too germy for us to dry our hands on. So we're saving ourselves by using disposable paper towels. You could argue that this also saves the environment by using less water and a renewable resource. However, you could also argue that you're killing tons of trees and adding to the landfills.

My argument? How can we become a nation of germaphobes and still eat the way we do? Seriously, we've all heard about the obesity epidemic, haven't we? We eat fast food and gigantic portions and then sit and watch tv, but we're worried that our soap dispensers and hand towels have too many germs?

Besides, look at how many of us grew up without all this anti-bacterial crap. We're still alive, aren't we? Did we die of some weird flu virus?

I'm of the belief that a little bacteria is good for you. Your immune system can't learn to fight things it's never exposed to. So expose it a little. Go ahead and touch that doorknob! Use that cloth towel! I dare you!

In the mean time, I will continue using my manual-dispenser soap pump and my cloth hand towels. I'll even continue to touch the handle on public restroom doors on my way out. Take that, germaphobes!

I think the big macs and cokes will kill you before the germs on your hand towel. (Assuming you do wash the thing periodically, or at least replace it with a clean one.)

The Joys of Being In The Middle

**Not my usual snarky attitude, but actually a somewhat thoughtful post.**


I am a middle-of-the-road type of girl. I love the word compromise. While I admit there is no way to keep everyone happy, I believe there is almost always a way for everyone to not be as unhappy as they would be otherwise.

I am reminded of my middle ways with the signing of Health Care Reform, and my friends’ posts on Facebook. I have friend on the far-right, the far-left, and everywhere in between. I’ve already seen a comments argument over health care. Today, I am thankful that my far-left friends and far-right friends are (usually) not friends with each other. And I am thankful to be friends with them all.

I often describe myself as a fence-sitter when it comes to hot issues. I can see both sides, and that makes it hard for me to choose just one side. Plus, most of the hot issues are ones that I just am not passionate about. (Bring up bras and finding your true size, then you’ll see me get passionate!) I have never been, and will never be, a political person. While I try to follow what is going on around me, I just can’t get worked up over it.

It’s not that I was raised a certain way, since my father is getting more and more conservative as he ages, and yet it is that I was raised a certain way. Let me explain. My parents taught me to survive, no matter what. Whatever life throws at me, I will find my way through to the other side. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger (yes, cliché, but I believe it).

So let’s look at Health Care Reform (HCR). In my opinion, I cannot control this. Sure, I can have my say, but I cannot control it myself. I can control my own personal circle, my personal life, so I will focus the majority of my energy there. It has taken me 29 years to understand that. If HCR is here to stay, I will make sure that I know how to get myself and my family through it. If it changes, I will still get through it.

Now, I’m not saying anyone should stop being passionate about politics or HCR. If you are passionate about it, follow your passion. But as long as my passion lays more along the lines of bras, books, and music, I will stay happily in the middle of the road, and keep my friends on either side of me.

They're Playing What on Animal Planet??

Today's rant: TV channels that can't stick to their niche.

It started with MTV. You remember Music Television, don't you? The channel that played music videos? Well, at first. Now I scan right past MTV since it's usually playing a movie or stupid series that really has little to nothing to do with music.

Other channels are doing the same thing. Look at ScyFy (previously SciFi). They had to change the way they spelled their name when fewer and fewer shoes were actually considered science fiction. I will admit that I still watch the new ScyFy.

And now, my beloved Animal Planet is going to have "I Shouldn't Be Alive." Um, wasn't that from Discovery Channel? I know their owned by the same company and closely related, but what does a survival story show have to do with animals? Put it back on Discovery Channel, where it fits in with the programming.

And please, Animal Planet, give me more dog shows. I'm tired of seeing the same one every Saturday morning. They aren't as much fun when you know who's going to win.

You Call That Art?

Look! Two posts in one afternoon!

To all of you out there, Photoshop does NOT make you an artist!

I was looking at a photography website. This girl is trying to be a professional photographer. I say trying because 1.) she needs to remove the stupid music from every page on her site, and 2.) she needs to back off the Photoshop!

It's like some people think that with Photoshop, they can take crappy pictures and still make money. Now, this girl actually had some good pictures, but the majority of them had at least 1 Photoshop filter applied to them, and half of them made absolutely no sense! Using PS (Photoshop is too much to type each time) filters is a cheat, not a fix. Sure, you can fix some red eye or focus in PS, but it should not be relied on to make a good photo. And knowing how to apply a filter to a photo does not make it art or you an artist.

Look, photography takes skill and talent. I am quite lacking in those skills and talents, but at least I don't try to PS my pics into something "artsy." I believe that if your photos can't stand on their own, without being "touched up," then maybe you shouldn't be taking so many pictures.

When your POA is a POS...

Slightly more personal rant today.

I mentioned that I'm an Army wife. We are trying to get a house on the Fort. The housing office, however, seems to not care.

See, they have this list. When you fill out an application for housing, they put you on the list, because there isn't enough housing for everyone (and they say there's not enough demand to build more?!?). Well, I have not met a single person that made it past number 30 on that list. Not a one.

It seems that, no matter what that biatch in the housing office says, they do not follow the list. Instead, when you call or stop by, if they have a house available, they offer it to you.

Now, what is the point of having a system, and a list, and a whole Plan of Action laid out, when you do not then follow that plan?

For now I am following the same course of action as everyone else and we are going to call or stop by every day until they have a house for us. But I seriously want to see them properly use the system they have in place. grrr!

Good For Your Heart?

I kept seeing this cute commercial, animated, where the stick-figure-guy does some sit-ups and push-ups to inflate his big red heart. Then I stopped paying attention.

My husband pointed out the rest of the commercial today. It's for Diet Coke, support that whole red dress heart health movement. Now I have NOTHING against the red dress heart health thingy. Nothing whatsoever. I support them. Let's get rid of heart disease, yay!

But Coke? Having a drink that is nothing but sugar and bubbles support heart health?

You may say, "But it's Diet Coke! No Calories!" Well it's still nothing but a little water and carbonation with chemicals. Coke is bad, so drink diet, but if you really want to be healthy, drink water. Seriously, people, soda is bad for you, even the diet shight. (see me trying to not swear?) (well, kinda?)

Of course, shortly after that commercial, they aired another version, where the guy climbs a ladder to the top of his heart. Not as cute. But it's still Diet Coke trying to be healthy, which it's not, so it drives me crazy and I had to write a blog about it. *sigh* I am feeling a little better now.

I have a feeling many of these blogs will be about commercials. It's not my fault so many commercials are stupid.

A Nation of Germaphobes

I keep seeing this commercial for a little gadget that pumps your soap for you. The commercial goes on and on about how germs will collect on pump for your hand soap. Now, I don't know about you, but you know what I do immediately after touching the pump on my hand soap? I wash my hands! Well how about that.

Seriously, I've gotten used to everything being automatic in public bathrooms, but now we're doing that in our own homes? What is the point of automatic soap dispensers when we're just washing our hands after touching them? Sure, keep your auto-flushing toilets, auto-sinks, and auto-dispensing towels. But soap? Soap? Next you'll see auto-towel dispensers for the bathroom. I mean really, you keep drying your hands on the same towel for days on end? You know how many germs are in that towel?

My best friend is quite a germaphobe. She's one of those that uses her foot to flush and won't touch the door after washing her hands. But even she isn't like that in her own home. She knows that she keeps her house clean, so she doesn't have to be afraid of touching everything.

I think the true reason for all this auto stuff in our bathrooms isn't cleanliness, but laziness. We're too lazy to flush the toilet, too lazy to pump out our own paper towels, or just pull the stupid things out. What's next, a toilet that wipes for you?

If you can't tell, I didn't catch on to the anti-bacterial gel thing, either. I figured I grew up just fine without it, I can keep going without it. I do use the stuff. It is handy when camping with boy scouts to clean hands before cooking the dinner everyone will eat. The animal shelter I volunteer at uses it to avoid spreading any illness between animals. But you don't need to use it in place of soap. Even my sister (who obsessed with anti-bac gel after the birth of her first child) has admitted they don't really use it anymore. It's hand for those times when you can't use soap and water, but otherwise, soap works just as good if not better.

*sigh*

I think this blog was a good idea. I feel better having gotten that out. It's been bugging me for days.

Valentine's Day

Wasn't this supposed to be a Saint's day? I know it's just a Wiki article, but here's a little info on that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Valentine

So when exactly did we get this commercialized Valentine's Day that we have now? History.com has a detailed article on what they believe is the history of Valentine's Day. http://www.history.com/content/valentine/history-of-valentine-s-day

So now for my opinion. This holiday has gotten out of control. Sure, when you're little it's fun to decorate a box and make little cards for all your classmates, even if you don't really want to give valentines to all of them. But for adults? Seriously?

Someone ages ago must have had their little light bulb flash and realize they could make a buck off this holiday. It's snowballed from there to an outrageous holiday that seems to have lost the point. It's all about getting gifts that "show your love" for your significant other, or being depressed that you aren't in a relationship.

First off, let me say that I am very madly in love with my husband and have been since we started dating. He has never had to buy me anything to show that he loves me. He does that in other ways. I don't buy him gifts either. We take care of each other, we cook and clean for each other, we do things together, we include each other in our lives. I can honestly say that my husband is my best friend.

Neither of us have ever cared much for Valentine's Day. If we do any gifts, it's usually something for both of us that we have been wanting for a while. V-Day is just an excuse to go out and buy it. We might do a nice dinner together. This year we are staying home and cooking my favorite pasta dish - Pasta Alla Carbonara. We're making it special by using real Pancetta instead of bacon bits. No flowers, no cards, maybe some chocolate (because I'm a chocoholic).

Really, gifts do not show love. I have bought gifts for people I don't really care about before, but I was obligated to give a gift. Now, a gift can be an expression of love, but I don't really think it counts if you feel obligated to get the gift. I never feel obligated to get my husband his birthday or X-mas gifts. I see it as an excuse to spoil him. If you feel obligated to get your SO something for V-day, then maybe you need to really stop and think about it. Maybe there is another way to show that you love them, like doing all their chores for them.

Perfect example. I didn't know what to get my friend for her birthday last year, but wanted to do something. So I just spend the whole day with her, running her errands. When she needed to run inside, I would sit in the car with her kids, making that errand so much easier on her. She said it was one of the best birthday gifts.

Ok. I will stop rambling now. Just do me a favor and think about it a little. Do you really need to buy them something to show that you care? If all they want is stuff from you, maybe you need to analyze your relationship. Then again, maybe you are both just material people. After all, we are living in a material world.

The Intro Post

I am opinionated, as are most people. But I have found a need to share my opinions. That is the point of this blog.

As for the title, I started saying "tough crackers" as a way to not curse in front of kids. It stuck. I still say it. It's unique, so I was able to get it as a URL for this blog.

So a little about me - I'm an army wife. I have 1 cat named Duke and will be getting a dog as soon as we can get a house on post. We don't want to pay the extra pet deposit for the house we're renting and the back yard floods every time it rains, so no dog until we move. I'm 29. I grew up in a smaller city in Wyoming, went to school and lived in Kansas for a while, and now I'm in Texas. That should be enough.

Now sit back and enjoy my sarcasm-laden posts.