What's up with Johnny Depp? I must be out of the loop!

Add me to the list of "loners" here. Small talk doesn't come naturally to me, I have to work at it a bit and am rather shy upon meeting a new person. One of BF's buddies actually told me once he thought I didn't like anyone and came off as a snob. Ouch. I had no idea I was such a b!@#$. I have tried to put forward a friendlier persona, but it is hard to pull myself out of my shell sometimes. My parents are not too social, either, so I think small talk is something I just didn't learn growing up and have had to teach myself.

Michele, have some fun! Maybe a mani or pedi? I think it is perfectly natural that you get into your own routines etc when DH is away. I mean, he doesn't expect you to wait by the phone pining for him until he gets back, does he? (He does understand that expecting that is unrealistic - I'm sure you miss him, but life goes on while he is gone!) Have you asked if there are specific things that make him feel that you're standoffish when he gets back from trips? Maybe it's small things you don't even think about. Also thinking good thoughts for you!

Johnny Depp just broke up with his partner of 14 years, Vanessa Paradis(?). I think she was/is a French model or actress.

Watching animals hunt is very funny. Emma loves to hunt grasshoppers, and the poor lizards and frogs that live in the plants on my porch. I do try to keep her away from them but am not always successful. Have you ever seen a pit bull's ears when they stand up and swivel forward on alert? Her ears do that, except they are bigger and floppier from her lab half, so they flop forward over her face. It's hilarious to me, anyway.

Yoga felt soooo good yesterday. I got up today and walked Emma 1 mile before work. I'm hoping to slowly increase to 2 miles. Meals relatively balanced and healthy. Sanity relatively intact. :)

What about cats that are watching for a gopher, perhaps, now there is an animal with patience.
Megan, we have a good group here and we have some great conversations but some of us have admitted to being shy maybe not so good at conversations eyeball to eyeball. I have often thought it would be fun if we could all meet sometime, but given that some of us are a bit shy we may never be able to talk in person.

My cat is always on the hunt for lizards in our back yard. Twice he has de-tailed them and once caught the whole thing in his mouth. We made him drop it and it lay there stunned and we took the cat inside, but when we went out to check on it, it had run off. I think it was playing dead. Which, in the case of the cat, might not be a good idea--he'd probably eat it at that point. Yuck.

Oh, and lets celebrate our inner *(^&*!!! I've been told I'm one, too. Seriously, can't people see the difference between being a wall flower and being a &*(^&*?

I think I'd be alright with this crew bc I "know" you so well! Once I've opened up it's hard to shut me up. At least according to some people. :dizzy:

Yes... I have no problem being a !@#$ sometimes, but am mortally offended when I'm called one and I wasn't trying to be one. Actually I don't usually call it being a !@#$. Usually I'm just being firm, not rude. It's a fine line. :p

Megan, when I have "had enough" and stand up for myself people are surprised ! I don't think I am wishy washy or even quiet but I often let other people take the lead.
My trouble isn't talking so much as what do I do with myself, I don't find it easy to walk into a crowded room, even when I know everybody. Where do I go ? Where can I sit ? I don't quite have the art of "mingling" mastered.

Ahh, the "B" word.

I have personal rules, boundries, and limitations. Call me what you want, I will not deviate from my standards!

The last person that called me that, I told them to "not forget it!":D:D

I guess now I'm out fo the loop re the b!*ch word. Do people really call each other that? Nasty if they do. I do use the word but in reference to unspayed female dogs - real dogs!

Dagmar :dizzy:

Eeewww!!!
 

I had to deal with a maggot :yikes: :barf: infestation this morning when putting our green bin out for the garbage. I had spotted them in there last night and sprayed with insecticide and closed the lid, hoping the critters would all be dead this morning. No, they had all crawled out and were crawling around on the shed floor this morning.

I can subdue a 120 lb. dog no problem. Show me a maggot or a slug or similar and :faint:. I did manage to spray them all with Fantastik - the most caustic substance I could find - and I will briefly check to see if they are all finally dead in an hour. If not then I'll have to go to the hardware store and ask for help.

Dagmar :eek:

Dagmar, diatomaceous earth is GREAT for any soft-bodied ewwwwwy. Least toxic thing I can think of, and should be available at any garden center or possibly even the hardware store. Salt should be effective as well. Ugh, sorry you have to witness that. :barf: I get a little queasy just thinking about it!

Mmmmm, maggots! I sometimes have to deal with them at work when a predator gets into a sea turtle nest. If there are any viable eggs left I have to clean out the maggots, and re-bury the eggs gently, to give them a chance to develop. My preferred method of "cleaning" is putting on gloves, flinging the maggots away from the nest onto the hot sand, and let the sun do the rest of the work. They do squish well between the bottom of your shoes and a hard surface, too. Once they're "exposed" they don't really last, they need moisture.

I do not bring egg salad sandwiches on turtle patrol days.

More bad weather here. I cancelled my field work at 6:30 AM this morning. My back can't take any more of these windy boat rides. Gotta find something to do on a rainy, windy Friday in the office. Eating leftover garlic bread will not make my day pass more quickly, right? :dizzy:

Megan, cleaning out the maggots would leave me thinking about finding another line of work.

I thought that stuff was only good on insects with an exoskeleton? We have a huge ant problem at work (they seem to live in the garden area that spans the whole front of the building). I was thinking of getting some of that and spreading it there. The other day, one of the days I took Chico into work (thankfully) I found ants. I was taking Chico out to the grassy area out front to let him pee and when I opened the front door to the sidewalk, I noticed ants. Once back in I realized the problem. OMG! A trail of ants from outside, under the front door, along the front windows, up and into the file cabinet next to the window where we store the candy. I buy huge bags of fun sized candy at Costco and we keep a basket of candy on one of the desks--for the guys at the end of the day or anyone who wanders in--the postman is especially grateful. Anyway, I had to sacrifice half of one bag as they were all in there! I sprayed ant spray into the bag, the drawer, all along the trail of ants and let them all die and then I had to vacuum up all the mess and take the bag of now inedible candy to the dumpster.

We're going to try and trap the momma kitty and her two kittens next week and take them in for neutering. Hopefully all will go well. There has been an orange kitty hanging around and if we can get him, I think it'll help solve some of the kittens.

It's Take Your Dog to Work Day! Chico typically goes to work three days a week anyway, but he'll be there for sure today!

Yesterday after work, I needed to buy some salad stuff at the grocery store as well as a few other items. I found myself in the chip aisle. Oops. I bought a smallish bag of Lays sea salt and pepper potato chips. Once home, I did open it and I ate 6 or 8 chips, gave a couple to Chico (to stop the drooling) and put it away. I mentioned it to DH when he got home. After I went to bed--he proceeded to eat the entire bag. And he said this morning he lost half a pound. WTH? Not Fair!

Allison, about DH losing after eating chips. I have noticed men can lose weight just walking to the refrigerator to get a beer.

This is so true! Hahaha.

The maggots stories have my stomach crawling and churning, so thanks for that :P

Have you guys heard about the gym in Vancouver that bans "skinny" people (and men) from joining through their screening process because it might be intimidating or demotivating to the patrons? I get it on principle, but it's stupid that we would probably end up booted because we are no longer very overweight. What if someone invests hours and hours daily to said gym and loses several pants sizes and a bunch of pounds? Are they punished?