I Know Why They Named it That!

Today at lunch I treated myself to a pedicure, which is something I don't do terribly often. I went for several reasons -- first, I can't bend my knee well enough to paint my own nails; second, I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow and want decent looking nails, and third, I had a super-stressful morning and needed something to help me relax (I thought this was a better option than vodka).

After my pedi, I was hobbling back out to my car when a truck pulled up in front of the little strip mall where I get my toes done. A guy hopped out of the passenger seat and his kids (well, I'm assuming they were his kids) hopped out of the backseat. The three of them were walking into the nearby Cricket store when I heard the youngest child (probably around five years old) giggle and exlaim, "Hey! That's why they call it Cricket! Look at all of the crickets on the ground in front of their door! That's so funny!"

I had seen the crickets when I walked by earlier, and there was, indeed, a pretty big pile of them, but I didn't think of things that way.

I about fell over laughing. Both her mom and dad were laughing, too. It was absolutely great! What an adorable child...kids can be so stinkin' funny, if you just listen to them.

The Truth is Out There?!?!

Okay, so I never did watch the X Files of whatever cheesy show had that as their tagline, but I do still remember it. But something happened the other day that made me laugh and think of how insane some of the "alien hunters" (for lack of a better word) would go if it happened to them.

First off, let me preface this by saying that if there is, indeed, intelligent life on other planets, I don't believe that they are little green men in spaceships who waste their time flying around making crop circles and sucking out the brains of unsuspecting individuals. I think it's very possible that there is intelligent life beyond our planet, but if this is the case, then I think they have better things to do.

So, on to what happened to me the other day...I came home from work on Thursday afternoon to find that my yard guy had mowed my yard while I was at work. That made me beyond happy because, while I'd planned to mow my own yard this summer, it's kind of hard to do with a bum knee; plus, my grass was starting to look shaggy and I like to keep it looking neat. I didn't think much about his mowing until later that evening when I went to run errands or some such. When I walked out of the house, I found this:

Okay, so the photo didn't turn out the greatest and it's not as pronounced since it has been a few days, but I have what some people would probably call a miniature crop circle in my front yard. I'll admit that I walked over to check it out because I thought it was just grass clippings. It's not, though. I can't really figure out what it is...it kind of looks like a darker circle of grass in the middle of the rest of my grass...ahem...weeds.

I think it's fully amusing. I do know, however, that there are some people who would be completely freaked out by it. The good thing is that it makes me laugh every time I walk out my door. I've been in need of a good laugh and smile!

I Wish I Would've Had My Camera....

Last Friday, as I was running around town, I saw a woman posting garage sale signs on nearly every available telephone pole. I didn't think that much about it, other than that she was EVERYWHERE I went.

Later that day, I actually read one of her signs and about wrecked my car because I was laughing so hard. Her sign read, "HUGH GARAGE SALE!" Now, either she was selling a garage belonging to a guy named Hugh, or she actually was having what she felt was a HUGE garage sale. Big difference.

So, being the grammarzon that I am, I went driving around town to find her other signs to see if she had made the same mistake repeatedly. She did. With the price of gas right now, normally I would've considered driving around pretty much aimlessly a waste of time, but I was in desperate need of a good laugh...and her signs were provided that laugh. I didn't go look for all of them, but I did check about three places that I had seen her hanging signs.

I really wish I would've had my camera. Things like this need to be documented.

Stupid Menis-CUSS

So, like the graceful and talented woman that I am, I've managed to tear the medial meniscus in my left knee. Let me make a suggestion to those of you who have never torn yours -- DON'T! It's incredibly painful and being in such a huge brace is beyond annoying.

As best we can figure, I tore it slightly about three weeks ago at the gym. It hurt like no other, but after a few days, felt better. I continued on with life, including going to the gym, until I was in the Kansas City last week. When I got out of the van when we arrived, I felt another burn and a pop. My doctor thinks that I probably tore it more extensively then. So, when we got back home, I went to the doctor. As a result, I'm in a ginormous knee brace for the next two weeks, and if I'm not totally better then, I have to go have an MRI and see an orthopod. It's a very good time.

The pain is bad enough that I'm frustrated, and also very cranky. I'm doing my best to kick the crabbiness, even though the pain doesn't seem to want to abate, but am not being very successful. Suggestions for improving my disposition are certainly welcome! Until then, I'm going to sit on the couch, with ice both under and over my knee, and stew in my grouchiness. Perhaps I should go live in a metal trashcan like Oscar the Grouch.

Crossing Party Lines

I don't often discuss politics with anyone...friends, family, and foes included. So, you can consider this to be a first.

I'm a proud democrat; generally, my beliefs are best aligned with the democratic party. Thus, most frequently the candidates I believe will do the best job are democrats, too. I will admit that I've never intentionally voted a straight-party ticket. I simply vote for who, in my eyes, will do the best job.

While I consider myself to be a relatively political person (in case you don't know and haven't figured out, I'm beginning to feel the political bug myself), it's rare that I'll come out and endorse a particular candidate. I've never before placed a campaign sign in my front yard...until now. I never thought that the first political sign I would place in my yard would be for a republican, but that's the case.

Since I've placed her sign in my yard, you can consider both that, and this blog, my endorsement of Shelley Dickerson for Canadian County's County Clerk. I know Shelley from Leadership Canadian County. She's a wonderful person and, I believe, will be a wonderful County Clerk. Shelley is a long-time employee of the County Clerk's office and strikes me as an extremely competent and intelligent person. More information for her can be found at www.shelleydickerson.com. I encourage you to check out her site and see if you feel that she'd be the best candidate for the job.

Like always, I'm not telling anyone who to vote for this fall. Rather, I'm urging you to do your civic duty and vote. And, if, like me, you happy to think that Shelley's the best candidate for the job, I encourage you to vote for her! (Obviously, only registered Canadian County citizens can vote for Shelley!)

Oh -- and in case there's any chance that I could be breaking any election rules by writing this blog, I do need to tell you that Shelley has not asked me to write it and knows nothing about it. I've written this blog, and am showing my support for her, of my own free will.

Pro-Heart 6

I'm a dog mom to Tess, a crazy little terrier mix. About five years ago, when I took her to the vet for her annual check-up, my vet suggested that we change Tess's heartworm preventative. My vet (former vet, located in Kansas) wanted me to try a six-month injection -- Pro-Heart 6. I wasn't particularly sold on the idea, but after much discussion and debate, the vet finally talked me in to trying it for Tess. Very bad idea -- I've regretted it ever since.

Part of the reason that I was so hard to convince of the value of this injection was because it had killed or significantly sickened several dogs. My vet convinced me that it was an extremely small number of dogs and that they all had either been very sick or were elderly. Well, by the time I got home from work the night that she had the shot (about four hours later), Tess was completely lethargic and seemed miserable. I called the vet; they assured me that her lethargy was probably from the immunizations and not the Pro-Heart 6. They told me she'd get better. Within a few days, she did -- sort of. Within two weeks, she was back at the vet's, where she was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. My little dog nearly died from this infection. They never concretely admitted it, but danced around the fact that they felt it most likely was caused by this injection. Essentially, they admitted it without saying it. I have been told that this infection very well may shorten her life.

Less than two weeks after she recovered from her pancreatitis, I received a notice in the mail stating that this injection had been pulled from the market because of the death and disabilities it had caused in pets.

Fast-forward to today. I'm in Kansas City for a conference and I opened my complimentary copy of USA Today and was greeted with a story that this drug has been placed back on the market! I cannot believe it! The story discussed the fact that this was considered a dangerous drug, but the makers kept denying that it was dangerous. Somehow, they've managed to get it back on the market.

To all of you dog parents, I offer this: DO NOT USE PRO-HEART 6 for your pet! Remembering to give your dog a heartworm preventative pill once a month is not that difficult. Do NOT make the same mistake as me. My laziness in getting this injection nearly ended Tess's life, and as it is, may have shortened it. I can't imagine my life without my dog and don't want anyone else to have to imagine their life without their pets.

Welcome to Meg's Pink Sky!

I've been an avid Myspace blogger for a little more than a year now. While I'll probably still continue to blog there occasionally, I decided that I wanted to try a different forum.

So...why pink sky? Well, it goes back to a comment that I made yesterday on the drive to Kansas City for a conference. A friend was teasing me about something and I told him to leave me alone because the people who live in my world like me. He replied by asking the color of the sky in my world; I, of course, responded, "PINK!" So, pink sky...my own little world.

Now before you think something bad about me, please realize that I don't live in a different universe and that I'm not in an altered state of reality. Pink sky is just my way of discussing what's going on in my world, or rather, my own little corner of the world. You shouldn't expect anything too Earth-shattering or profound; I just have thoughts, and life events, that I want to share with others.

So, welcome to my pink sky!