BLOGGERS CAN YOU HELP ME?

(actual picture of the aftermath)


I really need your help.Yesterday after two root canals and a lump drain (you don't want to know) my mouth had been open for nearly four hours.Wide open with one of those bite block thingymaboppers dentists put in (thank you Dr.Tanada-Lee..you're the root canal queen! yes,it's a compliment).


Anyway,I was instructed to take my medication "with food" when I got home.If your mouth has been open for as long as mine you know,chewing is not comfortable. Looking for something soft I came across last nights' cornbread in the fridge.I popped it into the microwave and pushed what I thought was :20 seconds into the timer,then the phone rang. Of course I forgot about the cornbread until I walked into my bedroom closet and heard the smoke alarms! I had actually pushed 2:00 minutes instead of the :20 seconds and who knew?...Cornbread can catch fire in the microwave! It was awful.The last thing anyone needs after two root canals.

Now my house reeks of smoke.I have no idea how to get the stench out of the walls.Do you have any idea? Anyone? My blog is open to everyone so even if you have been leery about commenting on a strangers blog before please don't hesitate. Trust me,I have spent half a day on the blogs of people I don't know laughing and agreeing and thinking Wow,this person is just like me.So even if you're not a cornbread-microwave-failure :) and you have a hint about smoke in walls,please don't be shy! Thanks in advance!! Rach

DON'T WANT THE KIDS RUNNING IN THE HOUSE? SHOW THEM THIS..

While you can't tell from this picture,here's a little boy who will probably never run in the house again...especially near the dinner table.Scroll down to see what no parent ever wants to experience.Warning...the picture below this one will make you squeamish unless you have a heart of stone and a steel stomach.

I have no idea who this mom and son are but let me just say that this was one of the scariest lessons I bet they have ever learned! Poor baby! I can barely look at this picture without clenching up,I can't imagine how this kid felt much less his mommy!!

I'm too sexy for my inauguration..too sexy for my...

I'll be the first person to point out that I'm no stranger to heels, short shorts or short skirts.Like our new V.P's wife Jill Biden,I too am a runner but that's where our similarities end.While I thought she looked great on inauguration day,I know I'm not the only person who thought her "outfit" wasn't appropriate for what was arguably one of the biggest events in history.Maybe I'm a little old for my 34 years.?I'm certainly no fashionista but come on,when your husband is about to become the 2nd leader in charge of the free world do you look in your closet and say "Hmm? Joe really embarrassed me on Oprah yesterday by shushing me.Well,I'll show him that this wife will not be shushed! Where are my CFM boots? Where's my "show some leg" Milly dress?Grab my Harper Valley PTA coat and no-one-puts-baby-in-a-corner attitude and get this party started".? Dr.Biden rocks 57 but in my opinion she should have saved the sexy for another event.

"Hey there Good Lookin',...lose your job much"?

After my co-hosts' job (not my brother) was cut from the company budget this past fall,listeners would come up to me in the craziest places (including a dental chair) asking "What happened" and "Are you next"?I'd answer in the best way possible (mostly referring them to this blog under the post "Heavy").At the end of almost every conversation the person would inevitably say "Well,just be happy that you still have a job"! I was and I am.

What I wasn't saying was that I understood more than they/you realized.You see,my husband was laid off the same week as my co-host.I wanted desperately to talk about it on the air because I knew we weren't the only people this was happening to,but at the time my hubby just wasn't ready to hear how sorry everyone was or that he shouldn't worry everything would be alright.If you're experiencing a lay-off yourself you know how scary it can be.Last I checked the unemployment rate in our county is ten and a half percent and nearly eight and a half-percent for the whole country..ouch!

So again, I got your back,I understand.

However,what I am curious about are those of you who are experiencing people who are on the other side of YOUR unemployment? These are the buttholes I like to call the "justwaits" as in "Just wait till something like this happens to you and I hope it does(kind of)." These people range anywhere from the customer service rep at the credit card company where you are trying to get your interest rate down to the relative you overhear saying at Christmas "Well,guess they(hubby and I) shouldn't have bought that truck in 2003(which we sold in 05') or that expensive treadmill(which I got for free) that she spends so much time on trying to maintain the figure of a 12 year old boy"!Please do not misunderstand me,I hate pity.In fact,I'm one of the people who has always believed that if you're hurting monetarily it's probably your own fault.I've suffered setbacks as much as the next person due to poor judgement but the situation alot of us are in right now is the result of many factors far beyond our control.For this reason I am hoping you have a little emotion inside you known as EMPATHY.

We are among those of you who do everything right.My husband is a by-the-book guy! We saved for months of rainy days like all financial planners advise. However, they don't tell you that the rain could become a full blown hurricane. No one likes bad weather but while it's here for you,me and others I implore you to do one thing. Be kind.Be kind because as humans we are statistically,inherently good.If you choose to be an ass however,be ready because kharmic justice loves a criminal.

I'm laughing at you and because of you,not with you....

Everyone knows an "explosive" person but not everyone has had to deal with one.If you are among the group who has had this displeasure,I learned a few tips from an acquaintance who after years of having to deal with dysfunctional people of every shape and size has perfected the art of responding.

1. Do not respond with the same craziness..Respond instead with your normal calm self to defuse people who are behaving in a hostile manner toward you.Stop short of laughing at them.Unless you're on the phone and they can't see you.



2. Sure,at first take their seeming irrationality seriously and try to validate their feelings,even if you can't stand them or what they are.Listen to what they have to say and hear them out; ignoring them or minimizing their feelings may cause them to lash out at people you love,your belongings and even if you don't care...themselves. (okay,maybe you can let that last one go).



3. Never argue with someone when they are drugged out or liquored up.This will be particularly tricky for those of you who are only attacked when someone seems to be "under the influence".It's truly a guessing game for some on the receiving end of another's lipstick lunacy.If that's the case,seek out an al-anon meeting.They dont just help with the addict but also their co-dependent family members and friends.However if you work with this person or you have to deal with them consider a lawsuit..yes it takes time and money but you are worth it!



4. Don’t try to solve an emotional issue with a logical argument.Trying to diffuse a person who is on the "attack' with overwhelming evidence of their obvious errors in thinking,mistakes in logic, or facts to the contrary, or reasons for why they shouldn’t feel the way they do, is like shaving your head to pluck out a gray hair.Basically you know you are sane,and they are not.



5. Think about terminating the relationship.Truth is, some relationships we get involved in are so "toxic" that it is self-abusive to continue in them. Moldy, toxic houses are fixer-upers,people are not.You can clean out a toxic home whereas a toxic person will try and smother you.Now,if you have to deal with this person try and make sure most of your "dealing" is over the phone.Most of the time they are so inept at human interaction that they will most likely hang-up on you anyway,(Also known as a "loss" of complete control).People who hang up the phone while you're talking with them are below you and very,very childish.If you can get away with it,suggest counseling and have a number ready that they can call and no I don't have an "idiot hotline".



6. Experience tells me that the answer you get will be completely nuts but try asking them directly why they often appear angry toward you.A straight line is the shortest distance between two points.However,when dealing with the "crazies" you most likely will get generalizations like "Well,just because you are this or that",or a different take on that is "Well, just because you don't do this or that". A good one I heard recently was something to the tune of someone being irrational because in their own words "Well you're just a loser and a piece of _____ and I am better than you". When you hear that from someone,it is then okay to laugh.Laugh loud and hard and right in their ear.They are going to hang up the phone anyway!