Kricket's Happy Korner: Happy Animals

I can't believe I totally forgot to do a post Friday. And I had something to Krank about too. But, it's a new day now, and a Monday at that, so let's think happy thoughts.

This past Saturday I started to do volunteer work at Foothills Animal Shelter. It was all orientation stuff and training, but I'm super excited. I've always wanted to work with animals. When I was little I wanted to be a veterinarian, but as I got older and realized how much school that required, I gave that up.

I've always loved animals and growing up we hardly ever went without some kind of pet. Mostly dogs and countless hamsters, but we also had parakeets, and a cat, once. My dad is allergic to cats. And I am much more an animal person than a people person.

Once Daniel and I got married we went through two hamsters and now have a dog.

We got Happy from Foothills Animal Shelter two years ago and I love him to death. He's a great little dog. He loves to cuddle and play and he's as his name implies, happy.

So here in a couple weeks I'll start really working at the shelter. Part of this is to just get me out of the house and away from the kids once a week. And nothing is more relaxing and happy than hanging out with animals.

And now, if you have a pet, give it a big hug and a treat. If you don't have one and want one, go to your local shelter. Some of them, like Foothills, even have small critters like birds and rodents or reptiles. Save a life, an animal's and your's. :)

Kricket's Happy Korner: Girl Power!

Okay, I meant to post this yesterday, but yesterday went to hell in a hand basket, so here we are today. :P

I woke up this morning not having a clue what I was going to write about today. This last week has been kind of cruddy for me and I couldn't think of anything happy to talk about. But then I remembered what people always say, when you're feeling down, count your blessings and what you're thankful for, so that's what I'm going to do.

So, once a month, like many women, I get super grumpy and irritable and my body seems to go on strike and do everything it can to make me feel miserable. For a week or more I sit around hating the fact that I am female. But today, I want to talk about all the reasons it's good to be a girl. :)

1. In my opinion, girls are just naturally prettier than boys. We're all round and soft and squishy in all the right places. There's a reason God made Eve last, it takes time to make something this perfect. ;)
2. With that, we have more options in how we beautify ourselves. More clothing styles, more hairstyles, make up, perfume, the works. 
3. Our reproductive organs are all nicely tucked away inside of our bodies. I just can't imagine men are very comfortable most of the time.
4. Speaking of reproduction, we are the only ones that can have children. Maybe one day technology will be able to make men have babies (and I'll be totally on board with that) but until then, we're the ones that get to do that. As unfun as it is sometimes, overall, having children and raising children is a wonderful and amazing thing. That's why we put up with this monthly pain and annoyance.
5. I'll try not to be all sexist and say that women are better than men at almost everything, because that is more on an individual basis than a gender one, but it is nice that in this day and age, women can do practically anything they want. We can stay home with kids or we can go out and have a career in almost any field. Thank you, early feminist.

And there you have it. This is what I tell my self when I have those, "I don't want to be a girl!" days. It helps to think positive. :)

Thank you for reading and have a happy Tuesday! 

Kranky Kricket: Smart Phones Don't Like Toilets

So, I didn't update this last week because I had family in town and I went an entire week without getting on my computer. Minor miracle for me. But I'm back now and we shall move forward into the Krankiness. :)

Let's talk about smartphones and the people that provide them to us. About three weeks ago I upgraded to a smart phone and I was very excited. It can do everything my Kindle does, plus make phone calls. Only thing that kept me from putting my Kindle aside for good was the tiny phone screen. I don't like squinting at screens.

Anyway, when I bought the phone, the nice guy at the store talked me into getting insurance on the phone. At first I almost didn't do it. I've never once broken any of my previous dumb phones. I always managed to keep them safe in my pocket and away from sticky/slippery children hands. But as the salesman was describing the insurance, I got this image of Will or Jacob dropping my phone into the toilet so I went ahead and signed up for the insurance.

And lo and behold, I dropped the phone into the toilet. Serves me right trying to multitask at 5 a.m. I tried to save it as fast as possible but it was a goner.

So then I went to my local cell phone store to get a new phone and that's when stuff started to get annoying. Apparently, not all Verizon stores are the same. See I got the phone at the Flatiron Mall in Bloomfield with my sister. And the stores that are in the mall operate differently than a stand alone stores, at least with the insurance and stuff. So after driving all the way to one store and waiting around a bit with Will and Jacob in tow, I'm told I have to go all the way back to the original store.

I got sick later that day so I had to wait until the next day to drive over half an hour just so the salesman could call the insurance place for me and then I talk to the insurance lady and get it all settled. $100 later and now I'm just waiting for my new phone to arrive in the mail sometime tomorrow.

Of course, with all of this, I've lost my contacts and all the pictures that were on the now dead smart phone. I didn't have a ton of stuff on there yet, but it's enough to be annoying.

But I've learned my lesson. Never take a smart phone into the bathroom with you and make sure you're paying attention to all the fine print.

And that's my crankiness for the week. I hope your's has been less irritating. :) Thanks as always for reading and have a good weekend!

Kricket's Happy Korner: Who Are You?

I'm going to start this off with a little book review, because I like books, so there. :P

Storm Front by Jim Butcher get 5 stars!

Harry Dresden is a Wizard for hire, the only one listed in the Chicago phone book. Business is slow but things begin to pick up when he is called in to help the police solve a gruesome murder that could only be done through powerful magic.

I was told to read this book, so I did and I loved it. It's a fun read and Harry is a great character to be in the head of. The story never stops and even through the crap just gets piled on higher and higher for Harry, he always manages to scrape out by the skin of his teeth. It's intense and keeps you guessing. I didn't stop reading until my Kindle died and reminded me that it was past midnight and time to go to bed.

I highly recommend this for anyone who likes urban fantasy or crime mysteries. 

The other thing I want to share was a personality quiz a friend showed to me just this morning. I'm a sucker for these things but I have never found one that was so accurate. It's kind of scary. It had me down to a T. Try it out, it only takes about 20 minutes and maybe you'll learn something new about your self.

Personality Test

Thank you for reading, as always. Have a happy Monday and Happy Canada Day to my northern neighbors and early Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans.