My house is full of junk

And it is all for sale!  You might think I've snapped.  It would be understandable.  I don't like clutter and the house is cluttered (very, very cluttered).  But the stuff really is for sale.  My wife's hobby is selling things on eBay.  Several times I've offered to have a giveaway for her to help promote her site...each time she said "Give away my things?"

I've decided that means she really wants to keep the stuff.  Selling on eBay is just a front for collecting.  So instead of sharing information about her site to help her, I'm doing it for me.  This stuff has to go--especially the scary doll's head!!!  LOL

If you're in need of an unusual gift, stop by Molly's Hidden Treasures on eBay.  But please don't mention my name.  You don't know me and I never said anything about selling anything.  :D

Here's a small sample of the items available:

http://stores.ebay.com/MOLLYS-HIDDEN-TREASURES

Wives need to calm down!

According to a blurb on the HHS (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services) news page, wives need to calm down for a marriage to be happy.  Husbands?  Apparently they can stay upset.  The story references a study done by researcher Lian Bloch. 

The two best lines are:

"This isn’t about who wins the argument – but a study of hot marital fights indicates that when the wife calms down, the couples are more happy."

 "Bloch says calm wives were able to look constructively for ways to deal with the emotions and talk about ways to solve the problems. Happiness didn’t change if the husband calmed down quickly."


Did the researcher only talk to husbands???  It is widely acknowledged that for a husband to have a happy life, his wife has to be happy.  But this comes very close to saying "the little ladies are too emotional and need to calm down/think clearly if they want to be happy."  While I am all in favor of staying calm in the face of a problem, I would never (be brave enough to) say that wives are less rational during an argument. 

Now I don't have to say it--I can just leave copies of the story around the house.  LOL!

In case you can't want to read the blurb, here's a link to the HHS webpage:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/healthbeat/2013/11/calm-down.html



PS - I joke, but I am in no way disparaging the research or wives.  Life is complicated and each person and each couple is different.

'roid problems

No, not that--the other 'roid!  I don't know how it happened, but somehow my thyroid has gotten lazy.  I found out last week it is underactive.  No one in my family has ever had thyroid issues, so it's likely that something caused it. 

I've read that dental x-rays can cause thyroid problems.  Make sure your dentist uses a lead-lined collar (in addition to the lead bib) to cover your throat whenever you get an x-ray.  I didn't know such things existed.

Some believe that Teflon can cause thyroid problems too--the theory is that when the surface of a Teflon pan is scratched, it releases a toxic chemical.  So when you cook with it...  Anyway, I'd already switched to a ceramic-lined frying pan and it works great.  Hopefully that will keep the kids from being exposed to that one particular toxic substance.  Who knows what else we're being exposed to!

I don't know much about this yet, but I'm learning.  Also, I'm looking for a silver lining.  I've read that people with "my condition" often are very tired.  So once in a while I should be able to use this to get out of some chores at home.  Right?

How else can I benefit from this???  :)


PS - My wife has a thyroid problem too, but a different one...it runs in her family.

Tears

A few years ago a blogger friend posted something she'd written when she was 11. I didn’t write when I was 11, if I could avoid it.  But she got me thinking about 11 yr-old me. That was the year I learned I had no defense against tears. It was the 5th grade. I showed up for the first day of school hoping to be assigned to Mrs. Bloom--and I was!  She was great.

She was also 5 months pregnant. She taught me a lot before she left on maternity leave, including how to sew an apron for my mom (as an Xmas present). She made it to the holidays and then we were assigned a new teacher. A brand new teacher, she had just graduated at the end of the fall semester. She was only 21. 

On the new teacher’s first day she introduced herself, talked about her parents, and how excited she was to move to DC (from Tennessee). Then she started to take attendance. Well, she tried. The kids thought it would be funny to refuse to answer. Before she got to my name, the teacher broke. She went to her desk, put her head down, and started crying. 

It was horrible, unbearable! I couldn’t take it. Someone had to do something, but everyone was looking down at their feet. Then I remembered one of my dad’s favorite lectures. When something needs to be done, you can’t wait around hoping someone else will take care of it. You need to step up and do it yourself.  So I did.

I went to her desk, patted her on the shoulder and told her it would be okay. The kids would cooperate now. She looked up and asked how I knew. I smiled and said, “Because I know their names!” That made her laugh and everything was okay after that. She and I developed an interesting relationship. A few months later she asked if I thought it would be okay if she asked the (handsome, single) 6th grade teacher for a ride while her car was in the shop. I said, “Of course, you're co-workers."  That may have been the first time I offered relationship advice. 

I try to keep it a secret, but tears still work on me. 


PS - When my daughter heard this story, she said "You were a weird kid!"  lol!

A Happy Bandit Post

As I've said many times, Bandit was a great dog.  He had the perfect personality for my kids--sweet, loving, manipulative.  He could con my daughter out of food and my son into walking him pretty much any time he wanted.

He was also an extremely atheletic dog--it was in his Border Collie genes.  He could play soccer, blocking balls and dribbling them.  He was very fast and always willing to "give up the body".  I had to train my kids to be careful where they threw Bandit's toys (for him to catch/fetch) because he would run through a table to make a catch (and not appear to feel it or even notice).  He could catch almost anything.

Except food.  Every dog I've ever had could catch food thrown to them.  But not Bandit.  If I tossed him a bit of bacon, he'd suddenly turn into "shaky-the-mohel" (Seinfeld reference) and lose his coodination.  He wouldn't even try to catch it...he'd just look awkward trying to get out of the way.  Once it hit the ground he was all over it.  But in the air?  Nope!  Tennis balls?  Sure.  Any one of his many toys?  He'd do whatever he could to catch them in the air.

But I could never teach him to catch food--or put his toys away. 


PS - My wife and daughter were the easiest touches for food, but Bandit was always polite about it--he was never pushy, he just looked at them.  In fact, he was so polite about it, one night my wife didn't think twice about putting her plate on a chair while she went out to get something from her car.  When she came back her hamburger was gone.  She left the house, so Bandit assumed she was done.  LOL!