Without fail, once a day, somebody posts a sad animal story on their Facebook page. I have to quickly scroll by it before my brain picks up on it. I hate animal abuse. I hate people pointing it out to me, too. All of my pets have been strays. Not even from shelters. Straight life-on-the streets strays. Two cats and a dog. Whenever I see a loose animal, I mentally have it in my house before I can even catch it. Perhaps I'm chasing them. Twice I've rescued dogs in my neighborhood and found their parents. When I found Molly I didn't even try. She was going to be my baby no matter what. Her previous parents were horrible to her. After I nursed her back to health I walked her all over the neighborhood. I wanted to show the world that she is wonderful and deserves love. If her old parents saw her and approached me I was going to punch them in the throat. Without hesitation.

I use my Facebook as a social media place and put fun statuses and maybe a cute video or two. I don't point out the ugly side of people and how they abuse animals. We all know there are complete assholes so why acknowledge them? Why give them press? So in my world, animals are loved and respected and pets are family members who share my bed, the couch and my love.

Tonight I saw a presentation by National Geographic on our Extreme Planet. It was great! The photographer Carsten Peter showed us photographs (up close and personal) of a volcano, a giant cave in Vietnam and tornadoes. Fascinating! The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a beautiful venue. Great night!

So for about 5 hrs last night I had a sore throat. Everybody around me groaned and secretly prayed, I'm sure. I am the worst sick person on Earth. I am a total whiny baby and I act like I'm dying. To be fair to myself, I do feel like I am dying a slow, miserable death. And sore throats are the worst. When I woke up this morning, I waited to swallow. I decided to wait another second or two and then said what the hell. I swallowed. NO sore throat! Yipee! I am hoping to remain unscathed by this winter.

Has anybody tried the Wen hair products? Are they any good? I'm trying to healthify my hair and I just want to know if it's worth the money.

The previews for the Duff movie makes me laugh untill I realize I'm the duff. Everybody around me works out. I'm too cold and miserable to go to the gym and I don't have the discipline to work out at home. I will just have to be pudgy until next month.

So I have to gather up about 3" worth of paperwork for my accountant. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it took me about two days to gather all receipts, required information and put it into a cohesive spreadsheet. My attention span is worthless and I'm still not done. I have 5 W2 forms! Count 'em...5! Freelance stuff mainly. Oh, my accountant is going to curse me 😃

So I asked for gloves this past Christmas and received ZERO pairs. I went out into the driveway and tried chipping away at the ice before we get even more ice AND I did this gloveless. I don't know if I should brag or break down and hit Kohl's or Penney's to pick through the leftovers.

I'm like everybody else out there. Completely done with winter. Granted our winter really hasn't been horrible except for the temps. Only a few inches of snow...schools only canceled once. Now that I work from home I feel it even more. I feel trapped. I now know how my dog feels every day. It's safer though. We have a winter weather advisory this weekend so I'm trapped again.

I'm the person who doesn't complain when it's hot. I love summer weather. I will take it over this any day. I really should move. Missouri gives us four seasons and although it's pretty during spring and fall, we also get wicked storms including tornadoes. We get thundersnow, too. That's cool but scary.

So I'm rambling on and on. I've had damage from a wicked ice storm and a tornado. How people rebuild after hurricanes is beyond me. Now when I hear wind, I literally cower in my house. When we are expecting an ice storm, I'm up all night. I have huge elm trees right near the house and when their limbs fall it feels like an earthquake.

What I'm saying is that I really REALLY want winter to be over with and I want a mild spring. That's it. Not too much to ask, right?!?!

My neighborhood is relatively quiet. We are under a winter weather advisory and it has started to sleet. It sounds like Pop Rocks exploding. Quietly. I am waiting for the snow. So is Molly. We aren't supposed to get a lot but she acts like a puppy in it. Her arthritis is bad during the cold, but on snow days she forgets about the pain for a little while.

Not only did I read the series, but I saw the movie as well. I don't think that makes me a bad lesbian, it makes me a fair one. I believe anybody should have the right to find love - straight, gay or lesbian. A lot of people hated the movie by saying it's abusive both physical and emotional. They are the same people who admit they haven't read the books. The books fill in the gaps that the movie leaves. The movie was ... Interesting and did follow the book. As a writer, I read the popular culture books because they are popular for a reason and I want to know why. I can appreciate a bestseller as I would love to have one of my own.

For the record, I loved the Harry Potter series but that doesn't mean I'm not a Christian or that I am into witchcraft. I love fiction. I love imagination. The whole world does. If you didn't like 50 shades, that's okay, too. It's all a matter of taste. I've been working on a book that dabbles into S&M somewhat and that world is fascinating to me. I have led a sheltered life. It doesn't mean that I am into it, but if others are, so be it. I like to write about things that are new and interesting. It's a chance to educate myself.

So don't worry about the movie. Don't stress about the meaning of it. Hey, I loved Star Wars and so many people thought it was anti-Christian. I survived it, I still know right from wrong and I freaking love R2D2!