Oh hey, hey.

Confession:  I have put off writing on this because I can't compete with my best friend, the writer.  She's also the educated one.  I have been out of school for over a year and won't be attending again until next fall.  I feel quite ignorant in many ways, but lo and behold, I'm here.

lo and behold!

Meaning

An exclamation, on drawing others attention to something. Used especially to to announce things that are considered startling or important. The phrase is often written with an exclamation mark.

Origin

The word 'lo' as used in this phrase is a shortening of 'look'. So, lo and behold! has the meaning of look! - behold!. Lo in this and its other meaning, which is more akin to O!, has been in use since the first Millennium and appears in the epic poem Beowulf.

Anyway, I'm beginning to realize how much I waste my time with nothingness.  I am always talking to Danielle about how I want to lead a more exciting life.  Perhaps, we should actually write down our to-do list and actually do some things on it.  Can we, oh can we pleaase?!

One item on the list we are actually going to start either Wednesday or Thursday.  Watching some classics and favorites from our place of work, Family Video.  This all started one night at my manager's housewarming party when I confessed that I feel like a horrible FV employee due to the lack of movies I have seen that I definitely should have seen.  Movies like The Godfather and The Goonies...and other classics.  My manager then started reciting a list which I recorded in my phone.  I'm thinking I need to do a Julie and Julia-type-blog.  Two hundred some movies in one year.  I'd better get started soon.

Buh, see Danielle...your blogs are far more interesting and well-put together.  See you tomorrow hopefully for some Citizen Kane aaand...my pick from the classics!

Glee

Picture not only the dorks singing and dancing, but also a boy in a wheelchair, cheerleaders, football players, and of course a gay guy. Then add in teachers sabatoging the club. Oh and lots of flirting.  That's glee.

I hate to admit it but this show is actually good.

I watched most of the first season of Glee tonight, didn't make it to disc 3 or 4. I freakin love it.

I don't understand how the writers of the show made it interesting to watch a show about a high school glee club. When I was in high school I didn't care about the singing clubs. So why now?

Well I didn't know that the glee club has drama.It's like desperate housewives high school edition.  Jane Lynch, yeah the crazy lady who is in almost every movie now, plays a cheerleader coach who wants to get rid of the glee club. One of her lines is, "I will go to the animal shelter and get you a kitty cat. I will let you fall in love with that kitty cat. And then on some dark, cold night I will steal away into your home and punch you in the face! "


Not only that but the teacher is way too hot to be a teacher. 

The show makes me wish I was in highschool again. Only I hated highschool and I can't dance or sing. Anyways, look out for videos of Adrian and I attempting to be glee kids. :)

Biggie Smalls

So a couple of weeks ago Zach and I got a pug puppy and named him Biggie Smalls. He is the cutest.

This is a picture of him is his pee box.

Since it's so cold right now and he is not potty trained we are training him to pee in a box. I'm really not sure if that's a good way to train dogs but I think we're doing okay with it. Except he did pee on my pillow tonight. That sucked. Why can't he just learn to pee on the paper? Pretty I'm  just gonna buy him diapers.

He also likes to play.

I bought him this rope and he thinks its alive. He sneaks up to the rope to attack it. He also has a chew toy. I try to play fetch with him but he runs the other direction. Sometimes he gets it. A lot of the time he falls off the couch. I want to find a wheel for him to exercise on, like a hamster wheel. If I can't find one maybe I'll just have to invent one.

He also has a couple of coats for when we take him outside.

It's a hard life for a dog. He needs his coat for when it's freezing outside. Don't worry he doesn't wear outfits everyday.

So the question is.... am I a good puppy mom? I know nothing about raising a puppy. So I'm probably going to screw this up but hey I'm trying and so far it's going pretty good. Kind of.

The problem is I see all of these puppy things at the store that cost so much money and I wonder if he really needs it. So I don't get it. Am I setting him up for failure? I should probably get a book about pugs so I can learn how to teach him and take care of him. Or the Christmas toys. Puppies dont know it's Christmas, or do they? Should I splurge and buy that candy cane toy? I didn't and I'm pretty sure that doesnt make me a bad mommy.

So far Biggie is awesome. 

My three year old nephew, Jayce, gave me a kiss the other day and said , "Now we're married."
We both laughed for awhile.

Then we talked about what he wanted for his birthday. Everything I named off he wanted. He'd be happy with a box of crayons.

To kids everything is new and exciting. Money doesn't matter. Kids really just want to be loved. Also, everything is funny to them. They don't worry about things.

When I was sick one day he gave me a hug and ten minutes later asked if I felt better. Things are that easy to them. It's all much less complicated for kids.
It made me think how I always am waiting for the next thing, not living in the moment. I'm like most people in the fact that when I was younger, and even now, I am always looking foward to what will happen in the future. I think about how when I get older I'll be able to do more things.
Yet, now I'm thinking I wish I was three.
Three year olds are much more carefree.

• Being able to eat a cookie makes it a good day.
• Money doesn't matter
• No work, all play
• There is so much to learn, everything is new
• School is fun at that point
• Footy pajamas
• Weigth and appearance don't matter
• It's so easy to put a smile on everybody's face
• You can get away with saying stupid things

So I've come to the decision that I don't want to grow up anymore.

If anybody askes, I'm three.

Car Problems

Problems
Every November my car breaks. Last year it was my heat, this year it was a main belt that made it so my battery wouldn't run and my power steering went out, and the years before that I had problems every month.

Well about this November's car problem..

To put it short my car kept breaking down at intersections. It would just stop. And not start back up.
I learned a few things from this.

• Power steering is not run by the battery, even though it has the word "power" in its name.
• Mechanic shops charge a lot but family members can fix things if youre lucky.
• If something is wrong with a car leave it where it is, don't try to drive.
• Cops turn on their flashing red and blue lights even when they are trying to help you so people will always think you are getting a ticket, it just makes them look better.
• People will honk even if it's obvious that a car is stuck in one spot.
• Construction guys are really nice and are strong enough to push a small car through an intersection.
• My car will never fail to break down in November

It's no fun when you're car breaks down. It's not fun to make your boyfriend leave work to come get you out of the middle of the street. It's not fun having cars honk at you. It's not fun being late to work. And I'd rather save money than spend it on my crappy car.
So I've came up with not one solution but two.
Solutions

1. This idea seems a little communist or socialist or some government that's not democratic but it's worth a shot. When a baby is born the government should put a hundred dollars into the stock market with the baby's name on it. When the kid turns sixteen the money should have grown and helped the economy at the same time. This money could be used to buy a car or if you want to be envornmentally friendly a bus or subway ticket. Also, since repair shops can be a little shady and the average person knows little about cars the government could fix cars for free, and people would only be charged the price of the part. This way people would hopefully not be taken advantage of as they are now. If I had to take my car into a repair shop I know it would have been a lot more than the $20 dollars for the part and the $20 dollars I gave my parents for driving around to test my battery and figuring out what was wrong.  Obviously I know this idea will not work because it doesn't fit in with society right now. I think it's a good idea but not a good action, it just wouldn't work.
2. This is a simplier version. A car mechanic class should be required in highschool. My school had car classes but only the people who already knew how to fix a car took the class. Beginners like me who don't even know how to change the oil wouldn't fit in. If a beginner class was required kids would have to learn how to change oil, diagnose a problem, and learn the basics of fixing a car. This way everybody would know a little about cars. I could have used a class like that a lot more than that required algebra class!

Of course this is just me being mad that my car always breaks down in Novemeber. But really, think about it, cars are important in today's society and yet most of society know little about cars.

Things I do In my Sleep

I have to open tomorrow so it's an early night for me.

• Went on a date with Zach.
• Came home.
• Took a shower.
• Painted my nails.
• Messed that up so had to get the nail polish remover out. 
• And almost puked from the smell because I remembered I drank nail polish in my sleep once.

So now I feel like the only logical thing to do on this early night in is to think about all the things I do in my sleep.

For instance--
Last night I ate chocolate. I found this out when Zach saw all of the wrappers next to his bed and said "Whoaaa you ate a lot of chocolate last night."
I counted the wrappers-

• One milk chocolate truffle
• One white chocolate truffle
• Two squares of peanut butter milk chocolate
• Oh and I washed that down with half a bottle of mountain dew

That's pretty regular though. Chocolate and cookies. Occasionally there's a granola bar thrown into the mix. And always a mountian dew to go with it. No wonder I always wake up feeling fat! That wouldn't happen if I didn't stuff my face in my sleep.

I try to stay away from gatorade though. I had a bad incident with it in my sleep when I was younger. I woke up in the middle of the night with my body drenched in what I thought was sweat. As I became more aware of the situation I smelt this so called 'sweat' and got a whiff of fruit punch.
My fruit punch gatorade.
All over me.
And my sheets.
I slept on the floor the rest of the night.

But by far the worse accident involved finger nail polish remover. The smell of it still makes me sick.
It really was an honest mistake, I wasn't trying to kill myself or anything like that. In the middle of my sleep I went to grab something to drink on my night stand. I had accidentally left a bottle of finger nail polish remover on the night stand where my drink usually goes.

The next thing I know I'm in the bathroom puking and dry heaving for about an hour. It felt like my chest and stomach were burning. I could just imagine the little bubbles forming inside of me and burning holes throughout my intestines while I puked whatever else was left up. But eventually I felt okay and brushed my teeth a few hundred times to get the taste of it out of my mouth. I don't think I went back to sleep that night. That's the sole reason my night stand now only has drinks on it. No more finger nail polish remover.

So next time you see me and my finger nail polish is all chipped don't judge me. I can't remove it. I'll repaint my nails when the paint on my fingers is gone.
Well I have to go to bed. Wish me luck on eating healthy tonight.

Food Inc.

Dear Adrian,
I watched Food Inc. last night and it is distgusting and informative all at the same time. I wanted to press stop but I couldn't. the images were hard to look at but the information that this movie shares makes it a movie worth watching even if you have to cover your eyes. The movie is full of valuable information that most people have no idea about and really don't want to hear.
Filmmaker Robert Kenner shows society where their food is coming from. It includes interviews from experts including Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation".The movie shows how the food industry needs some change. Issues include:

• Kevin's Law
• Finding Local and Organic Food
• Factory Farming
• Pesticides
• Worker Protection
• Cloning
• Genetic Engineering

First off a way to avoid getting food from factory farms and whatever else is to simply buy locally. Go to a farmers market and buy things that do not have to be genetically remade so that they can be in season year round. Click here to find farmers markets in your area

Kevin's Law is a sad story about Barbara Kowalcyk's two year old son who died from E. Coli. The food he ate was not recalled until weeks after he was dead. This law would provide more restrictions and health inspections to factories.

Factory Farming is a large topic in this film and it's not pretty to watch. The film shows how animals are raised in more of a factory than a farm. They have no room and do not see light. What is really bothering is that if the farmers do not agree with the major meat companies guidelines for raising animals then they are out of work.

Pesticides are in a lot of food and are harmful. The easiest way to avoid pesticides is to grow food yourself or simply know exactly where your food is coming from.

The worker protection in this industry really stinks. The meat packing industry went to Mexico to recruit laborers. However, these laborers were really illegal immigrants and the industry knew that. Once society started focusing on illegal immigrants those immigrants were arrested. Yet, the meat packing industry, the people that brought those immigrants over were not fined or penalized at all. That just doesn't seem right.

Cloning is also happening to food. Yet there is no labels on food that is cloned! One of the senators shown on the film thought that it shouldn't be labeled as cloned because it would simply scare people away from eating it. Yet we don't know very much about cloned food!

Another big topic is genetic engineering. Did you know that the chicken is now twice the size that is used to be and in at least half the time? The breasts are also larger because more poeple like white meat. The chicken grows too fast for its organs to keep up and can usually only walk a couple of steps before collapsing. Yet there is a lot of good meat on that chicken read to eat.

And just some food for thought: McDonald's is the largest buyer of beef and potatoes. Isn't something wrong if a company that sells dollar burgers is buying the most beef? It kind of makes you think how all meat might just be made for dollar burgers.

Bottom line something really does seem wrong in the food industry. Yet, I'm not going to become a vegeatarian (again) because of this movie. I feel like a lot of people don't want to watch this because documtaries like this are criticized as being made to scare people. However, everybody should know where their food is coming from.

Now have fun eating your lunch :) I think I'm going to plant a garden.

-Danielle.