Annoying As Hell

I have lived in my current place over a year now, and almost from the beginning I have noticed this place has more bugs than my last place. Maybe because my last place was newer or because it was on the second floor, but somehow it was less "buggy". The bugs I see the most in my current place are these teeny, tiny flies. Maybe they are gnats, but whatever they are they are ANNOYING AS HELL. The only thing they have going for them is that they don't make any noise. They seem to do everything in their power to bug me. They will fly right in front of my face and just hover there waiting to be smacked. When I'm in the shower, they get as close to the water as possible and when I try to shoo them away, they fly directly into the water, thus committing suicide just to annoy me, because then I have to worry about dead bugs floating around in the bathtub. They also die on the shower ceiling, where it is very hard for me to reach to clean their dead bodies off the walls.

I have no idea how to get rid of these flies since they seem to have less sense than normal-sized flies. How do you kill something that will readily kill itself, yet seems to keep coming back? Every fly trap that I have found is only recommended for outdoors because they all, apparently, give off a horrible smell. I guess I could try the old fashioned sticky fly tape. But I don't know if these flies would have sense enough to be drawn to that rather than hovering aimlessly. Plus, fly tape is not so pretty. I'm not going for the "creepy, abandoned cabin" look in my house. All I know is, I need to get them before they drive me completely insane.

And So The Wall Of Shelves Begins

I realize I haven't posted very many pictures lately. So I thought I would do so today in case I can capture the interest of any readers who haven't already gotten bored and stopped reading my blog.

I little while ago, Mike and I went to Ikea, just for fun. (Well it is really mostly fun for me even though Mike spent a good amount of time trying to convince me that he likes going there.) I love going to Ikea mainly because most of the stuff is not expensive and it is all stuff for your home. Also, Ikea is about an hour from our house, so it's more exciting when we get to go there than if we lived closer and went there every day. On this last trip we bought two of these shelves, a aloe vera plant, and a pot for the plant.




I'm not sure how sturdy they are, especially since I have issues finding a stud in the wall. But the plant hasn't come crashing down yet, so I guess we're good. I suppose it doesn't matter if the plant falls because Mike is convinced that I will kill it anyway. Just because my last aloe vera plant is sleeping with the fishes doesn't mean anything. This plant better love me if it knows what's good for it.

The second shelf is next to our bed because Mike has been wanting a nightstand for some time. It's not quite a nightstand, but Mike is very pleased with it, and that's all that really matters. In fact, when I put the shelves up, he wanted to buy a whole bunch more and have a wall full of shelves. Don't worry about the fact that I have to dust all those shelves.

Smell Good Inc.

I have heard that when you travel to a foreign country, especially a third world country, the smell can be really overwhelming if you are not used to it. People didn't always smell so good in the past, and many don't have an option even today. But while I was thinking about this, I started realizing that Americans kind of go overkill when it comes to trying to smell good. If you don't wear cologne or perfume, you might think there is no way you are overkilling on the smell. But take a minute to think of all the scented things you use on your cloths or on your body.

Shampoo
Conditioner
Body Wash or Soap
Laundry Detergent
Fabric Softener
Deodorant
Lotion
Sunscreen
Bug Repellent
Lip Gloss
Hair Spray
Body Spray
Cologne or Perfume
Shaving Cream

I could probably think of more. Granted, you probably wouldn't use all of these at once, and women do tend to use more scented stuff than men. However, it still seems a little excessive, and this list doesn't even include things that you don't put on your body like cleaners, candles, and air fresheners. Yes, no one wants to stink, but I can't help but think we must be doing some permanent damage to our sense of smell with all of these smells everywhere. Not to mention, many scents are made from chemicals that may be harmful. So try to get some unscented things, and smell good in moderation.

This Is The Truth

Lie detector tests really bug me. I hate how people use them on talk shows to prove if someone is guilty or not. It doesn't even matter if the person takes the test, because if they don't they are automatically assumed guilty. Let me explain my dislike. First of all, lie detector tests make us assume that the truth is black or white. "Truth" is way more subjective than that. What is one person's "truth" may not be another person's "truth". Secondly, everyone remembers things differently. There is no "perfect" recording in anyone's mind. But what if you do have a video recording of what happened? Wouldn't that prove the "truth"? Not necessarily. Say there is a video that shows a man putting some sort of liquid into a woman's soup. The woman eats the soup and then she dies. You might say, "Well that man poisoned the woman to kill her." But what if the man thought he was putting medicine in the soup and it just so happened that the woman had a bad reaction and died? Or what if the woman's dying had nothing to do with eating the soup? What if the soup was already poisoned by someone else before the recording started? Or, what if the man did put poison in the soup, but he didn't think it would be enough to kill the woman? There are a million different scenarios as to what the "truth" is. So if the man is given a lie detector test and asked, 'Did you poison the woman?', he could say 'yes' or 'no' and it could show up as a lie or the truth either way. That doesn't prove anything. Maybe he says 'yes' because the felt like he caused her death even though he didn't intentionally poison her. Maybe he said 'no' because he didn't intentionally kill her, but it came up as a lie because deep down he still feels responsible. It is ridiculous to me that people put so much faith in lie detector tests. I used to like watching the Dr. Phil Show, but I don't like it as much any more, partially because they started using lie detector tests a lot. I just hope I am never in a situation where I am pressured to take a lie detector test. Then a will be screwed, either by the test or by public opinion of not taking the test.

No News Is Good News

I don't watch the news very often, not because I don't want to be informed about what is happening in the world, but because it almost always focuses on the negative. Yes it is important to know about wars and riots and the state of the country and the world in general. But is it necessary to hear about every murder, every shooting, every accident, every tragedy? I don't think so. We all know there is bad in the world, but constantly thinking about it will only make us live in fear of what is out there. When people live in fear, all they want to do is hide and protect themselves rather than go out into the world and make a difference.

Another disturbing trend in the news is telling a tragic story over and over until you know every, single detail by heart. I suppose news programs do it because it makes for good ratings. People are so shocked and interested in the story that they can't turn off the t.v. But how does this help anyone? Why do people have to beat a story to death? Don't watch it. It will only urge the trend to continue if you participate. As for me, I like to watch the morning shows that are more about living life than about death and destruction. Maybe we should all try more to make a change for the better rather than sitting and waiting for the worst.

Newer But Not Better

It's no secret that I wear make-up most days. One of my favorite brands of make-up throughout the years has been Cover Girl. I probably only started using it because that's what my mom used, and since I didn't know anything about make-up in my youth, I just followed her example. I have stuck with Cover Girl.......until now. I have a problem with how often they are changing their products. It didn't use to be so bad, but in the last few years their whole collection seems to change every few months. Now I know it is hard for the guys out there to understand why this is so upsetting for a girl, so let me give an analogy. Imagine that you have a game that you really love (card game, video game, board game, whatever). Now imagine that you buy that game and all the accessories and you play it all the time with your friends. You play the game for years and become very familiar with it. Then, one day, you need to buy a replacement game because the one you had got destroyed somehow. But when you go to the store to get it, they don't have it. What they do have is something similar, but not the same. The graphics/pictures have changed and even the rules have changed. It's just not the same and not as fun as the old game. That's how girls feel about their make-up, except that it runs out instead of getting destroyed, so you have to always buy more.

I know companies have to keep up with the latest trends to be competitive, but the speed with which things change these days is just mind-blowing to me. "Newer" is not always "better". In fact, I have found that newer is almost always inferior to the older. Things are not well-made anymore. They are cheap, and poor quality, and they break almost as soon as you get them. I know my voice doesn't count for much, but if it did I would tell companies that quality matters more than quantity.

Fan For Life

Mike and I went to eat at a local coffee shop yesterday, and it got me to thinking about how much I like coffee shops. Not only do many coffee shops have really good, homemade food, but they usually seem to be a gathering spot for people who are just a little different. I like that. I like that coffee shops are homey and artsy. I like that many of them focus on living organically and naturally. You can almost always spot interesting people in a coffee shop, and coffee shop people also seem to be more friendly than the average person.

You would think since I am a art lover and a fan of living naturally, that I would have always been around coffee shops as a youth. But, being raised Mormon, I wasn't allowed to drink coffee. So I never set foot in a coffee shop until I was in my late teens or early twenties. Even then it took me a while to warm up because of all those years associating coffee with being "bad". These days I still don't love coffee unless you count those drinks that are more milk and sugar than coffee. But I am definitely a fan of the coffee shop for life.

The Hunger Games

The stress that I had during the previous post has completely disappeared, and I feel silly now for even letting it get to me that much. Oh well. Life continues on.

I know you will be shocked to hear that I already have another book review for you. GASP! Well don't be too shocked because the book I read is a popular book right now which translates into "easy to read" in America. No book becomes wildly popular in our country if it is difficult to read, simply because most Americans are not at a high reading level. Now you will be equally shocked to hear that I actually liked the book. Double GASP! It is true that I like to read the more thought-provoking books. But what this book lacked in being thought-provoking, it made up for in entertainment. I literally could not put this book down at times, and that is saying something since I usually require frequent breaks while reading.

The book is called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It starts out when our heroin, Katniss, (yeah, I don't like the name either) is forced to fight to the death as a sort of teenage gladiator in the annual Hunger Games. She is forced because this book takes place in the future where America is controlled by a cruel capitol city that forces teenagers to complete in the Hunger Games. Except America is now called Panem, and there are only twelve districts instead of states. Katniss is from District 12, one if the poorest districts, where she has to fight everyday to get enough food to stay alive. When she is thrown into the Hunger Games, she uses her hunting skills to stay alive, and also to kill.

This book is great when you are reading about the Hunger Games, but not so great when it starts getting into the general unrest of the population at being controlled by the Capitol. So it works as an action book, but not as a political book. The writing is not profound enough for that. The Hunger Games is actually one of three books. I have just started the second book and it already seems to be more about uprisings than Hunger Games. We will see if it can live up to the intensity and excitement of the fist book. The first book kind of leaves you hanging, so be prepared to read the whole series if you start this book. The publishers obviously know what they are doing, because I could only find the second and third book in hardcover. Once you are hooked, they want you to spend more money to get a hardcover book. But I don't mind so much because it has been a while since a book has entertained me this much. I have to give it credit.

Trying Mightily

Recent events have once again made me keenly aware of the unjustness of the world. This has led to a sleepless night and this current early-morning post. I can only hope and pray that I can get through this without coming apart at the seams. But until I can resolve the issue, I will try mightily to put on a happy face and distract myself with this blog.

Look what I made!



Isn't it so cute and lumpy? What's that? You can't tell what it is? Well of course it's a......well you could call it......it's kind of like......it's a bean-filled heat pack! Just pop in the microwave for a couple of minutes and you have a very cozy warmer. I have another one of these that was a gift, and Mike became good friends with it when he was having all that pain from his tooth infection. So I decided to make another one, because you can really never have too many of those things. The problem is, I don't know what is inside the one that was given to me. You can put many things inside, including beans, rice, or dried corn. I now think the first heat pack has dried corn in it. But, I wrongly assumed beans at the time of the construction of my own heat pack. I know beans is wrong because my heat pack smells TERRIBLE when I microwave it. It's not something you want to put anywhere near your body. So now I must rip it apart and fill it with rice. Why rice? I don't know where to get dried corn, and I'm pretty sure rice smells better than beans. We will see......

Can I See Your House?

I wasn't sure if I was in the mood to blog today, but it was between that and cleaning the bathroom. The bathroom can wait.

Architecture has always been something that has interested me. I love looking at houses and decorating them. I don't mind all the new, pretty, houses out there, but what I really love are the old houses. The houses that have character. The houses that are different. It just seems like so much more care and craftsmanship went into older homes. Today homes are all cheaply made and so similar that they are boring to look at. Of course any house is a good house as long as you have a place to live, but there is something to be said for a beautiful home and quality work. Even not-so-beautiful homes interest me because I like to look for the potential in them or even just take a peek at how other people live. Sadly, I don't get many opportunities to walk right into a stranger's home. That seems to be frowned upon. So I guess I either need to wait for a Parade of Homes, or make friends with lots and lots of people.

I think some of my love of architecture and building came from my dad. He is a Jack of all trades, so to speak. He can fix or build almost anything, and I spent many Saturdays helping him work on the house. When I wasn't helping my dad, I was probably the only pre-teen in the world religiously watching shows like This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop. My dream is to someday own a house of my own so I can play mad scientist and experiment on it. "Dr. Robin" has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

We Were The Mulvaneys

I've been known to do a book review or two on MySpace or Facebook, so I thought I might start doing them on my blog since it seems like a more appropriate place. I'm kind of surprised that I haven't written a review on here before now, but I guess that might be due to the fact that I am a slow reader and I also don't want to review every book I read. So don't expect this too often. Not that everyone out there is yearning for my book reviews anyway.

The book I finished most recently was We Were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oats. It is one of Oprah's book club books, which can sometimes be good, but also sometimes bad. Yeah, she does good things, but I also think she comes off as arrogant at times. But this post is not about Oprah, so lets get back to the book.

The book started off kind of slow with lots of description about the town where the Mulvaney family lives. I am all for description, but I think there is a point where you can have too much description and it doesn't add anything to the story. This book was almost at that point, but its saving grace is that it has moments of intense action where you are on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. The book also has some endearing characters that you can't help but fall in love with. My favorites were Marianne and Patrick. They are brother and sister, yet opposite in almost every way. I loved Marianne for her sensitivity, selflessness, and love of animals. I loved Patrick for his logic, sensibility, intellect, and directness.

The whole book is about how the rape of Marianne, at the age of 16, affects her, her parents, and her three brothers - the Mulvaney family. It basically destroys the whole family, especially the father. However there is some resolution in the end and what might be called "a happy ending". There was also a understated theme of science vs. religion in the book. That issue never reached a solid conclusion, at least not to me. I will be honest and say that I didn't understand the point of a lot of the book. Maybe if I was in a book club and I could hear what other people thought of it I could understand. Or maybe if the author explained it too me. But it just seemed like there were a lot of confusing parts that had nothing to do with the story. I guess it is one of those books where you are supposed to find the deeper meaning from seemingly meaningless writing. Well I didn't find it, and I don't recommend this book unless you feel like doing a lot of deep thinking. Overall, it was a decent book, but not one that I would read twice. It's not for people who like to get direct and to the point, which is me.

Bring On The New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Not that New Years has ever been too exciting for me. I rate it right up there with Groundhog Day as far as excitement goes. But maybe I have just never celebrated properly on New Years. While growing up I was never around many people who drank alcohol, so most New Years were spent at home playing board games with my family. I like board games, just not enough to make a holiday about them. Now that I am of drinking age, New Years hasn't gotten much better. Maybe it is the cold weather or the overall gloominess of January, but even drinking doesn't make me enjoy the noise makers or the party hats or the ball drop at Times Square.

I don't go for the new years resolutions either. I'm sure many people enjoy making a new start with a new year, but to me there should be no limits as to when a person can make a new start. Why do it on January first? Besides, most new years resolutions turn out to be empty promises and if there is anything I hate in this world, it is empty promises. If you want to do something, make sure you are ready to really do it. Don't just say you will do it because it is January 1st.

One last reason why New Years is not my cup of tea is the differences in time and calendar systems around the world. Why count down to midnight when other parts of the world have already done it before you? It is only symbolic with no real significance. It only has significance if you want it to, and I really don't care either way. I could count down from 10 at any time of any day and yell "Happy New Year" when I am done, but that doesn't mean anything has changed. There are even different calendar systems throughout the world where the new year starts on a different day or the whole year is entirely different from what it is in the United States. So why place any significance on numbers?

I'm not trying to spoil the holiday for anyone who loves it. I'm just saying it is not very fun for me, but maybe someone will show me how to enjoy it someday.