I have an ADHD Dog and one who is Depressed! Faboulous isn’t it!

Last night someone brought our depressed dog home.  He just this past month started wandering the country side trying to “find himself”.  Yeah, I don’t get it either.  With the economy as crappy as it is, don’t you think that a dog would stay home and not wander off when he is getting fed and a little love?  I have read that pets are feeling the economy crunch just as much as humans, people are having trouble feeding themselves, therefore, pets are lowest on the totem pole, so if they get fed at all, they are lucky! 

But this guy must think he is somebody!  He has been wandering off now for a month.  He is home for a few days and then “SURPRISE” he is back and usually very hungry.  He rests up for a few days and then off he goes.  So last night I get a call about him and someone from town brought him home.  This time he was gone for a week.  I just don’t understand why he keeps taking off.  My husband says we need to get him fixed and then he will stick around.  Other people have told me that when a dog starts wandering, they never stop, so be prepared for him to never come home.  That sucks! 

He even has friends, we have 7 cats and two other dogs that run around and protect our little farm.  Or course, our other dog is definitely ADHD, so that can be annoying to everyone so maybe our wanderer is sick of dealing with hyper.  Our ADHD dog is very loyal, and very hyper.  He likes to jump, so everyone is fair game when they are around him.   He jumps up and on the other dogs just for fun.  I kind of feel sorry for him, since it is quite apparent that he just doesn’t know how to socialize with others.   That is why I call him our ADHD dog.  He just doesn’t get it.  The other dogs will come up for pets and love and there he is jumping on them, biting at their legs, charging them quickly and challenging them to wrestling matches.  He just can’t stand when the others get attention, so he has to act crazy in order to get some attention himself.  But just as with kids, the type of attention he gets isn’t positive. 

Then again, it could be my fault that the wanderer keeps leaving.  I do tend to favor my ADHD dog.  I just can’t help but to love this hyper beast.  He just showed up one day two years ago and it was apparent that his previous owners didn’t appreciate how different he was.  He was malnourished and very afraid of people.  I nursed him back to health and helped him find his true self and walla now he is thriving with his little ADHD self.  He is still very annoying, but I really appreciate that he is different and just doesn’t seem to care what the other dogs think of him. 

Maybe I see myself in him.  Who knows, but for now, the wanderer is back and ADHD is harrassing him on the front lawn, so everything is as it should be in our quiet little ADHD world.

How is your day?

Iz

It is COLD today!!!! Why do the kids have to go to school??

You gotta love the Midwest.   The temp is currently 4.  When it is this cold, there is no keeping the house warm!!!  Old farm houses are energy killers.  The kids were complaining about going to school.  They seem to feel that when it is this cold, they should be able to stay at home and not go out.  Can’t say that I blame them, but am glad to have some peace and quiet while they are gone.  Selfish aren’t I?!?!!?   

The older and more logical they get, the more difficult it is.  They are starting to make sense when they question things.  My daughter asked me why she needed to know about the solar system.  Hmmm, can’t say that I ever used that information in my everyday life.  Why does she need to know all the little details about the solar system?  Oh yeah, to get a good grade in Science class.  But is that the only reason??  I wonder…

There is tons of stuff that my kids learn that I just don’t remember learning.  So why do kids have to learn all this stuff??  I told her that someday she may appear on a quiz show and they will ask a question about which position Jupiter is in and she needs to know so she doesn’t look stupid on TV.  how does that sound??  Yeah, I know.  I need to think of a better answer, but it worked for the moment!!!  My son comes home and says school sucks and he doesn’t know why he needs to learn all this stuff.  He is 8.  Yeah I am in deep Sh$* with this kid.   I have way more thinking to do to stay ahead of this kid. 

I keep wondering about school in the 1900’s.  They didn’t learn all the crap that the kids learn today.  They needed to learn how to survive in their less automatic world.  The more learning that takes place in the world, the more stuff these kids are expected to learn.  When does it become overload and when does it become a pure waste of time and how can it be changed??   I want my kids to learn some stuff, but intricate science details most likely won’t help them pay the bills.  Unless of course they become scientists?  Maybe.?!?  I guess anything is possible. 

It just seems that as time goes on, there is so much to learn about that learning is never ending.  Which is fine for someone like me who enjoys learning, but what about those people who don’t??  Their worlds must suck.  Which takes me back to my kids who just aren’t into learning things that they don’t think will apply to them.  But how do they know if it will apply or not?  Maybe that is why they have to learn the intricate details of the solar system?  Have I stumbled upon a new argument?!?!?!  I will try it and see how they respond.

For now, I am going to work on keeping warm and being glad that they are at school learning!!

Large Hadron Collider – How many people are freaking on this one?

OK, so I am bored right.  So I check out the various news organizations to see what is going in the world around me.  I read this article at Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483477,00.html

 And I am thinking…WTF???  Like I need to be thinking about this crap today.  Right?!?!  Then again, if the world is sucked up in a black hole, I certainly don’t need a job, maybe this is just the solution I was looking for?!?!?!  Hmmm, nope, not into this black hole thingy.  I may not be the sharpest tack in the box, but I can’t see how this is a good thing for science to be exploring.  I feel the need to call Switzerland and say KNOCK IT OFF….SERIOUSLY…JUST KNOCK IT OFF!!!

And we already know how my mind wanders, so I start thinking about the depressed people in the world and wonder what they are thinking when they hear about this LHC.  And what about those in the universe who are paranoid…. Bet they are really freaking out.  Just can’t be a healthy read for them. 

By the way, would anyone else buy Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup if they took out the chicken?  Just had lunch and yeah, I had soup, but I hate the chicken in the soup.  I wish they would just take it out.  Crazy huh?!?! 

Anyway, the kids are home in two hours and I am off to play that silly Animal Crossings game before they get here.  YES I NEED A JOB!!!

Speaking of needing a job, I look everyday right, and today I see a Music Therapist job, and I am thinking… (scary isn’t it) Wow that sounds like a kick arse job…Then I read where the job is (a psychiatric hospital with serious violent sexual predators) and I am thinking…. Hmmm, maybe not!!!  The pay is pretty good, but the atmosphere would most certainly be NOT!!  (no offense to any predators out there, but playing music for predators just isn’t my cup of tea!)  And now I get just why the pay is 60+.  

But seriously now, if you are looking for a job, and have health care experience (RN, LPN, OT) , I believe you will be employed forever.   And I just want to tell you that you suck! 

Ritalin helps me out!

So, today I took my doctor prescribed Ritalin.  It helps me out quite a bit.  I don’t know why, but I do know it does.  ADHD is a rough road for a mom.  When I take my Ritalin, I am more focused and get so much more done.  For example, today after putting the kids on the bus, I cleaned the house and took time to call some creditors back to discuss paying the bills I owe, but can’t pay since I am unemployed.  Not fun, but with Ritalin, I can at least not ignore the issue and do something about it. 

ADHD symptoms I have noticed in myself include procrastination, which doesn’t help any situation let alone mine!   I really need a coach right now to help me through these rough patches, but coaching costs money, which I don’t have and I am barely surviving as it is.  Not a happy place, but a place all the same.  And of course winter doesn’t help because every winter I get SAD.   You know, that lack of sunshine disorder that kicks some people in the arse every winter.  I think there are special light bulbs you can buy to help overcome it, but again that takes money!!! 

ADHD also does have you switching up quite a bit pending on what is going on in your environment.  For example, I can be writing on my computer, hear the dogs bark, go to the window to see what they are barking at, see a basket of clothes, proceed to the laundry room to switch out the laundry, come back and start folding clothes, go through the kitchen, start wondering what I am making for dinner, start going through the cupboards, think about the stuff I need to get from the store, go back to my office, get paper for a list, go back to the kitchen and start making a list, hear the dogs bark again, check to see what they are barking at, see the mailman delivering mail, go outside and get the mail, come back in to my office and sit down and begin writing again.  Whew…  I so get the bumper sticker I don’t have ADHD….look a squirrel!! 

Making lists help me get done everything I need to get done around the house.   The order I get things done in changes, but the lists pretty much stay the same.  Its a tool that I use to help me with my ADHD.  I also use the tool with the kids.  They hate lists now, but know it works!!

So, my crazy universe overfilled with ADHD can sometimes be trying, but it is also entertaining.  I always think that I would not change anything about our little world, (except that job thing) because it would also change who we are.  I like me, and sometimes I even like my kids.  Now my husband, that’s another story!!!!!  

Have a wonderful day!  And if you happen to have ADHD as well, have a more focused day!

IZ

True Beauty – My Guilty Pleasure…

OK, I admit it… I am addicted to the new reality show True Beauty.  It is sometimes corny, and sometimes stupid, but most of the time entertaining.  WHY??   I don’t get it, but I have to watch it every Monday night!!  I just love watching the beautiful people being tested on their actions when no one is watching.  I sometimes can’t believe what I am watching.

I can’t forget watching the hidden camera’s catching the contestants looking at each others medical files.  Holy crap, how’s that for in your face.  Then when they went on the streets and peddled money from people ~ the group that said they were collecting for charity.  WTF??!!??  I have to wonder just what are they thinking after they are caught doing these unethical things.  I think I would just die if it were me and I was caught on camera!!!!! 

Tonight one of my favorites was kicked off, so I am bummed.  I really thought he had the chance to take it all the way.  It makes you wonder if the whole thing is rigged or what?   Now I have to wonder just who will win and just how they kept these people from talking about it once they were kicked off. 

This show is too damn funny and I can’t seem to get enough of it.  Like I said, it is pretty stupid, but funny as hell and I can’t wait for what the contestants do next!! 

Iz

Wii Animal Crossings

So, every morning I check email, clean the kitchen, and do some writing.  Then since I haven’t found a job yet, the rest of the day is kind of a blur.

 Enter my daughter’s Wii game Animal Crossings City Folk.  And now I am addicted to fishing and buying cute clothes for my little animal crossing girl.  I can’t believe how fun that game is.  And I can’t believe that I have spent an entire day playing it before the kids got home.  I guess that is one benefit of being an adult.  I tell my kids we work before we play, but after they are at school, mommy plays and shortly before they come home, I save and start getting ready for homework and dinner. 

It’s my dirty little secret in my extremely boring little world.  HOLY CRAP I NEED A JOB!!!!!    SOMEBODY HIRE ME BEFORE I GO CRAZY!!!!

Iz

WordPress spellchecker….Freezing up??? WTF?

So last rant of the day.  I spell check my posts and of course the “th” and “ing” keep getting caught up.  So I choose to ignore all.  And the page freezes and I can’t get it to undo.  All I wanted to do was ignore all the underlined “th” and “ing”.   But, NOOOOOOOO!!!  My page gets frozen, I have to close IE, and find my post in drafts.  Thankfully I can find them and don’t have to re type everything again!  But really now, GET IT FIXED!!!!

Whew.  I feel somewhat better.  Now on with the day of studying spelling words, finding a job, and listening to the phone ring.   

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so competent and I could just bury my head in the sand.   OK not really, but come on now.  It has to get better!!!

Almost had a job, need new personality apparently!!!!!!

So, continuing on with my crappy week….. 

Got a lead on a job.  Went to an interview on Friday afternoon.  Interview goes great.  I am thinking finally….I can start working and gaining some income to make the creditors stop.  Then I have to take some type of personality test to see if I will be successful.  I am thinking GREAT, now some f”ing computerized program is going to tell me if I can have a damn job.  Are you f’in serious?????  

YUP they’re serious.  So this job is in insurance sales.  I don’t really want it, but I really need it!!  And I have a license already, so what the hell?  This test was monotous and long and just trying to see if I would be able to make it as a first year sales insurance person.  IT SUCKED!!!  The only good thing is that I got the results right then.  In order to get hired, which I would have been had I passed the stupid test, you have go score at least a 12.  So, I get a 5.  F$%K!!!!!   So I thank the hiring manager for his time and apologize for wasting 2.5 hours of it and I still don’t have a job!!!

I asked him if he could email me the report so I could read what it was looking for and compare it to what I had or didn’t have.  That was a mistake.  Should have just left it alone and accepted that the computer program called me a 5.  I read the report and find that I scored high in all the categories except 1:  9 out of 10 for Persuasiveness, 8 out of 10 for Energy, 9 out of 10 for Initiative and Persistence, but I score low for Achievement Drive.  So why do I score low for this category I wondered….. Well, apparently if you aren’t motivated by recognition, prestige, power, job security, and travel then this job isn’t for you.  And guess what, I am not.  I told the hiring manager that I am motivated by cold hard cash.  It’s all about the money for me.  If I can make a good wage, I will work my arse off.  (Been there, one that!)  Having a plaque on the wall and getting honored at some year end retreat, just doesn’t do it for me.  Making kick arse commission does!

So, apparently since the company doesn’t feel that their “extras” won’t motivate me, they don’t want me.  I am kind of angry about the whole thing, because I know that I could have kicked some serious arse.  Even the hiring manager said, he wished that I had scored higher on the profile but since I didn’t there was nothing he could do. 

And really, that says a lot.  So to put it into a more “zen” perspective, would I really be happy working with someone who believed I would rock in the job, but let a computerized program hold him back.  Nope!

If you read the report, you can tell eaisly what it really says, and any manager worth his salt would have bypassed it and gone ahead with the hire.  But this guy didn’t.  So, I believe I am much better off and something better is waiting!!!!  (Damn that positive attitude!!) 

Wish me luck!  AND if you have to take this type of test, make sure to put down that recognition and all that other crap is important to you! 

R U Smarter than a 5th Grader???

So, I have a 5th grader.  Anhumd of course there is nothing more enjoyable than having her come home from school and prove to me that she is smarter.   You know the crap they learn in 5th grade; parts of the flower, matter, mass, etc….  So she comes home with her science book and constantly barrages me with questions about crap I most likely learned in 5th grade, but due to limited space in my brain, I forgot!   Which begs the question:  What did you learn in 5th grade that you still know today?  Which begs another question:  Who cares???

So, I have completely forgotten what I learned in 5th grade.  And when I get hit with the “I am smarter than you, Mom” questions, I have to wonder, what hell do these kids need to know this crap for?  Seriously, why?  I think and think, but I can’t seem to come up with an answer that validates the importance of learning the parts of a flower.   It’s a FLOWER.  Isn’t that enough?  Why do I need to know the different parts?   What have I done with all this knowledge all these years???  YUP, that’s right NOTHING!

So, when my daughter opens her science book and “proves” that she is smarter than me, I have a smile on my face the whole time.  After all, I know that this crap is so not relevant to life in general; so who is smarter again?? 

 

Iz

I love Shayne and Matt together!

So, Izzy actually watched the bachelor this season.  Yeah, I know, but I really loved Matt’s accent and got hooked from the first episode on.   I only half assed watched since I had the TV on while I was surfing the net anyway, so it isn’t that bad! 

Then again, by mid way through the season, I definately had gotten hooked.  I really didn’t have any favorites throughout, but I did like Shayne more than the others.  She seemed very cool and less small minded than some of the other ladies.  I really had started rooting for her by the hometown dates episode. 

I thought they had great chemistry together and she seemed so laid back and cool about the whole deal.  A part of me wonders if it is real, but really so what if it isn’t.  It was entertaining and fun to watch and I am sure they both had fun throughout the season.  Even if they aren’t really in love, I still liked watching them together. 

So, why do we want the fairy tale ending all the time?  I seriously can’t make myself believe in that crap anymore.  So, jaded is how I look at the fairy tales.  And I won’t feed them to my kids.  I would love to have them grow up minus the lies of all the bs we were told as kids.  You know…white picket fence, dog in the back, 2 kids, flowers, sunshine, and happiness abounds.  That is so bullshit I can’t even stand it. 

That said, I still can’t resist the fairy tale endings and the happiness that appears to be happening when the story ends.  I don’t believe in it anymore, but I still love to see it. 

My daughter got the movie Enchanted and we watched it.  It was great, but I made sure to tell her that while we love movies with happy endings, we shouldn’t expect it in real life.  Now, I certainly don’t advocate negativity, but I also don’t want her to grow up expecting a prince charming.  Come on now ladies, we all know that the prince is strictly for the movies and our imaginations.  Sucks, but we all know it’s true. 

The reality varies for each of us, but I think we all can agree that whoever we get, he certainly isn’t a prince.  IF you have one, PLEASE let us all in on where the hell you found him!!!!!    

Anyway, I hope Matt and Shayne have a wonderful time together for however long they are together.  That’s it for now folks!  Remember now Different is the new black, and if you like what you read, buy me a Caramel Mach!!!!

Namaste!