Dear Tums,

You say you taste like fruit, but you don't. No matter how hard you try, you never will. You just taste like garbage and fruit is not garbage. Stop it.

Sincerely, my taste buds.

Alcohol fun times.

Does anyone who reads this watch Glee? I found it ironic that the night I chose to have a drinking night, was the same day they had their Alcohol Awareness episode. It was a good episode, but seeing all the TV reviews and such - have they gone too far? stuff like that - kind of makes me roll my eyes.

Teenagers are going to drink. You can try to stop them. You can enforce curfews, ground them, do whatever the heck you want. You know what that's going to do? It's going to make them want to drink more. All it's doing is opressing their natural urge to experiment and explore.

My own mother was very open about this stuff: sure, try it, what the hey. But if I was going to get drunk while underaged, she wanted me to do it at home. If I was at a friends, I had my cell phone to call my grampa if I needed to get home. She didn't approve, but she knew it would happen, and instead of trying to tell me "no" she said, "I know" and gave me ways to be safe. I never really got drunk as an underaged teen. A few times, sure, but never at clubs or parties or while sneaking...because I didn't have to sneak.

Now as a legal adult, I don't want to go out and get drunk and party with my friends. I'll sit with my mom and have a few beers, and I'm more than okay with that.

It goes for everything, not just alcohol. There's sex, the ever-evil marijuana. People are going to try things. It's kind of a part of life. I'm not saying I agree with anyone doing illegal acts, but it's going to happen, and trying to lock those urges up in a vault doesn't help. It makes the urge stronger.

I began smoking while underaged, sneaking it from my mom and such. As soon as she found out, it kind of lost it's...flavor? It became dull. The more lenient you are with kids - in my opinion - the less they feel the need to hide things.

Everyone has their own parenting style though, and I'm really not trying to preach. I'm just saying: think back to when you were a teenager. Remember how you felt about this.

You can tell people about your own mistakes, but you can't force them to not make their own. We learn from mistakes, but only from our own. Your horrifying experience at =insert something here= and you telling me about it, doesn't mean I won't ever do it. If it sucks for you, you tell me, but also give me pointers on where else to go/do, then kudos. I might not do the original super sucky thing.

Have you ever fallen in love with a friend? What does it feel like? What did you do?

Better yet. How did it end?

Plants: Update

My little plants are obviously not sprouting yet. I'm going to water them in just a minute, as their soil was damp yesterday. They're settled in the sunshine around various parts of my house.

I'm planning on setting up my bedroom so I can put the little pots in the sunniest part of it. I want them to grow up strong and healthy! Yes, they're just plants, but I don't care. They're my plants.

After I repot them, they're more than likely have to go outside. I was wondering about getting long window boxes for my room. I won't put my current plants in there, but it'd be nice to plant something.

So my question for now is this:

Do any of you grow plants? If so, do you talk to them? Sing to them? Or merely give them the basic requirements of water, sunshine, plant food for older ones?

I sing to my plants sometimes, and always have. Tell me your thoughts!

Collectibles

I really, really want to find the Royal Doulton HN2742 - Sheila figurine. My grandma would just die if I could get that for her. It's such a pretty collectible, but it's retired...ironically enough, it retired the year I was born.

I wish I had money so I could have gone to the auction in Ottawa, starting bid was only fifty for it, and they had much older Doulton's for bid. I think it only fetched a few hundred. I'm digging around everywhere online to see if anyone has it for sale, but no such luck. It was started in 1983 and retired in 1991. It's not that old at all actually.

And as a side note: I'm a freakin' idiot. Yesterday I was at the Salvation Army thrift store, being nosy with my sister and stepdad, and they had a giant collection of China. I was looking at some of the stuff, and a really pretty tea cup stood out. It was only $2.50 - most likely because it didn't have a saucer - and it was a Royal Albert Collectible. Royal Albert is owned by Doulton now, and it's a line of bone china that has been running for a hundred years or more.

The freaking cup was part of the Country Rose line, and was actually numbered. Country Rose is the most popular china pattern. I suppose that makes the cup not worth all that much, but still. It was a classic...I would have actually got it, had it come with matching saucer. I refuse to buy cups without it. I'm sure it lowers the value a bit, but besides that, it just looks tacky to me, having the tea cup without the saucer.

I must sound like an older lady, talking about Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, bone china and Country Rose. Heh, I'm not, obviously. My grandmother - who sparked my interest in it - isn't exactly "old" either. Her mother collected these things and left them to her when she passed away. I've just got an eye for "expensive" things. Plus, collectibles are awesome. It's so great to look at my gramma's cabinets and think about how long some of the items have been in her family. Because I like them so much, she wants me to...eventually, you know...have them. She has well over thirty thousand dollars worth of china and figurines, but I wouldn't be able to sell it either.

Grah, I want that figurine so bad. I also want Claire and Samantha...they're newer ones, if I'm not mistaken.

Flowers

So I've always wanted to grow plants. I mean, I've always had Ivy, spider plants, aloe verra. I've just never grown something from a seed. I think it would be much more rewarding; the one cat we have here, we've had her since the day she was born. She's been the most rewarding animal we've had.

I guess it's like how home made bread tastes better than store bought. The time and effort you put into something makes it seem...almost better.

Yesterday I bought four ninety nine cent "grow your own:" kits from Giant Tiger. I bought Basil, Chive, Forget me Not, and miniature Sunflower. I painted all the pots before I planted them, and now I'm excited! I know plants take a lot of patience, as they grow slowly but surely.

I hope that despite the cold weather outside, my babies will be fine indoors. I'm setting up a place in my room for them, where I get the most sun.

Hopefully, I'll prove to have a green thumb so I can begin planting more and more.

Been a while...

...since I posted. And I apologize!

I just took some crinkle french fries out of the oven, and they were whistling. It was a neat sound, and the weird part of brain screamed "the potatoes are sad!"

I've had entirely too much coffee today.

So my question of the day:

Have you ever split apart from a friend that was very close to you? If so, do you ever have moments where you have to stop and think about them, stop and miss them? How do you cope with the pain of that loss?

If you haven't, tell us about how you've overcome problems with your friends, how you've maintained the friendship. What do you do about fights, arguments?

Recently...

I've been writing a lot about animals. While I do love animals, that's not the reason behind it. In all actuality, it's a coincidence. I'm not trying to make this an animal blog, nor do I want it to be. Just right now, my life is full of animals.

That, and I thought the thing about geese was cool.

In case anyone hasn't been able to tell, animals are in my life a lot. There's probably going to be many more posts about them. Will I control myself and not gush or rant about my four legged friends? No. Will I write about other things? Indeed!

If you don't agree with the opinions expressed in my posts, or you do agree, leave a comment! I like debates, and discussions, so as long as no nasty words get tossed around, we'll be fine. Good luck changing my mind though, I'm pigheaded :)

Control

I can't help thinking back on my post about having control of the big Mastiff. I know a lot of people think pets are pets, that they don't matter. What do pets think?

A lot of reading, vet talks and other great sources of information have told me that when the dog thinks of you as its leader, you're family. We tend to think of pets as toys, dressing them up and flaunting them. To them, we're one of the most important things in their world.

Having control of that Mastiff doesn't just mean he listens to me. It means that I listen to him. I have to listen to when he's making noise, listen to his body language, and I have to care. I say 'have to', as it's my firm belief that we should provide our pets with more love and care than we are physically capable of.

That doesn't mean going out and buying toys, snacks, all that nonsense. My dogs don't need that. What they need is for me to be there, for me to acknowledge them, and to make sure they have food, water, shelter.

It's great, being in control of one hundred and fifty pounds of muscle. Do you know what's better? Seeing the affection in that one hundred and fifty pounds eyes, when I tell him he's good, or when I give him a hug or a pat.

Do you know what's the best? Proving to the newest addition, a dapple mini daschund, that I'm the boss.

But the bestest best thing in the entire world, was wrestling with him on the ground. It was when I leaned over him on my hands and knees, and he rolled over to willingly, trustingly give me his neck and underbelly. It was feeling his tail wag, it was knowing that he knew I would never ever hurt him or let him go without.

Being the boss in great and all, and I like being able to bring control to my pets. What I like more than that, is how when I tell them to stay, they do. And then I can give them cuddles.

As I'm writing this, a previously untrained dapple dasch is stretched out against my side. He wants to go and play, but I'm tired from chasing him around, wrestling, etc. He's listened to my command - really all I have to do is say his name and he settles - and he's okay with that.

What's most important to me, is that I know his favorite place to be is between my leg, and the arm of the couch.

I remember someone saying recently, that a dog should never have to protect its master. As its superior, its "alpha", we should protect them. Seeing this dapple here, wedged between my body and the couch, I know it's true.

They look to us for guidance, for love, and if we give it to them, they're the most loyal companions in life. The dog doesn't care how much money you make, how much you weigh, or if one ear is bigger than the other.

A dog only cares that you're both safe, that you're both warm, that both your bellies are full,and that, at the end of the day...you're together.

Vet bills and upkeep costs aside, it doesn't take much to keep a dog happy. A sleeping dog is a happy dog, as the saying goes.

That being said, please, don't get a dog if you can't afford it or have the time for it. I know that seems like I'm contradicting my above statements, but nothing can live on love alone, no matter how strong that love is. Think wisely, act wisely, and if you aren't certain, do what your instinct tells you, not your heart.

Because you heart may think that puppy at the shelter looks so cute, but if you end up being unable to keep it...well, that's on you too.

Daily Dose of Cute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWgB1hyOHWc

Sadly, I can't just upload the video. I can however link you, and tell you what it's about.

The video shows the life of Jessica, a hippo that lives in someone's house. There's a pod of hippo down the bend, and while she plays with them, she never leaves. The end of the video is adorable, with her curling up to sleep beside the family dog.

I can see the "stupid" here, with them feeding her coffee and the like, but the cuteness takes over my logical side. I've read of people adopting lions and caging them, then wondering why they turn...Jessica is free to leave at any time, yet she chooses to stay. They're not holding her captive, or against her will, and they did actually save her life.

Updates and Geese

I have now changed the comment settings, so anyone including anon can comment. If anyone wants to comment, that is.

Geese.

Did you know the word "goose" actually covers ducks and swans? Ducks being smaller geese, swans being larger. According to the internet, there are three types of true geese. I'm not going to get into that, as I know many people find me droning on about animal facts to be dull.

When I was in high school I took a SAP class (SAP standing for sociology, anthropology, psychology)

My teacher one day decided to talk about how amazing geese were, and that's what I wanted to write about today. Gramma and I had our little road trip, and I saw many geese along the way, including a few lone ones.

In my previous post about my dog training technique, I mentioned that dogs are dogs are dogs. They're animals first and foremost. The same goes for geese. They're just birds, you know? It's one of the reasons that saying they have so much "humanity", "humility" and "compassion" irritates me. They follow instincts, they do what they have to in order to survive and keep their species thriving.

What I will say about geese - and a slew of other animals, actually - is that they appear to be more understanding. How many of us have gotten forwards, seen news clips, or read articles online about 'so and so' animal adopting 'so and so' baby, despite being of completely different species?

I read once that a lioness can walk through a herd of zebra, and so long as her tail is standing at attention, they're content to let her through. Lions eat zebras, frequently, and yet they co-exist peacefully.

Why? Because they're not run by emotions, like us. Animals hunt and kill because they have to, not because they can. Diseases like rabies can turn animals vicious, but that's when they're sick. There are many humans who are not actually sick who do sick things.

In a flock of geese, if one gets hurt - gets shot, for example - a second will go down with it. Why? To nurse it back to health, try and help it survive. Not because it feels particularly sad, but because it wants its blood lines strong, so that next season it can hatch more babies, raise more family members.

I'm sure we've all noticed geese flying in a V shaped pattern. Did you know that the goose at the very tip of that V, switched places with the other geese frequently? The one at the tip gets hit with the most wind, the most of the elements, and they trade places so none of them tire to the point of exhaustion.

And geese, like many birds, mate for life.

None of these things make them human. These things all make them animals, acting on instinct, trying to survive in a world owned by humans. We may be more technilogically advanced, but as a species, I personally believe we're setting ourselves up for failure. None of what we do is based on survival, it's based on greed. Who can have more, who does have more, and what we need. Not what we want.

Penny for your thoughts?