Baby, it's cold outside!

I had to post this funny pic of one of my dogs, Sam. He and I love to cuddle and I've been getting him used to having warm blankets wrapped around him and I think he kinda likes it.

Doesn't he look like a Jedi?

Blizzard? STAY HOME!

Living in the midwest, I am used to long winters, ice storms, below zero cold and snow drifts, but one thing I cannot get used to are the idiotic people who live around here.

Here is a tip for those of you who have frozen brains this time of year - if there is a blizzard, a winter storm warning, an ice advisory or otherwise foreboding forecast and you don't have a matter of life or death to be out in it - STAY HOME.

Just stay home, have a cup of cocoa and chill out on the sofa. Make the effort to snowblow the driveway and shovel a path to the yard for the dog but don't go out in the public domain and don't drive.

I worked retail for a number of years and I'd practically kill myself to get to work in horrendous weather - why? Because braindead people still managed to go to the stupid mall when they should have gone or stayed home and I was still required to get to work.

The mall here will not close unless the highway closes. The highway. It takes an act of utter destruction for a HIGHWAY to actually close. Landslides, earthquakes, flash floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorist attacks - mall is still open!

I will recount a couple stories for you about the mall and the weather.

Our local mall used to have a little competition from a smaller mall on the other side of town and these two malls would wait for the other mall to close so they'd effectively play 'chicken' - waiting out the other to see who would close down first.

Here is the thing - if the mall is open for business and you are late opening or don't oepn, you face fines in the thousands, so employees are strongly encouraged to get their gates up on time.

One year when I worked in a mall cookie store/bakery I was there with my manager and we had a particularly horrendous forecast looming - 12 inches of snow, freezing rain, ice, bitter cold... basically the worst blizzard you can imagine.

It had already started when the minions had made their way in to work that morning and a number of merchants met in center court to discuss if the mall would close or not. Schools had shut down due to the frigid temps so we all waited. Word came down from the manager of the mall - who, by the way was at HOME in his nice toasty bed,
that the mall would remain open.

So, a few hours later when it's really bad outside, the mall manager decides that maybe he should close the place. So, there we all were... a couple hundred people having to go outside, scrape feet of snow from the cars and try to get home safely.

Another time I was working at a card shop and school was closed that day and a number of businesses had told their employees to stay home. One lady came into my store and was all excited because she had the day off because of the weather.

Let's back up and think about that. YOU do not have to go to work today because the weather is so bad outside that your employer said don't come in?

Um... and you're at the mall? If YOU weren't at the mall maybe WE could get sent home. If there are no customers then maybe the mall manager would close the place down so the rest of us don't have to risk our lives getting here or getting home.

Don't force other people to risk their lives to wait on you at places you don't need to be. Stay away from the retail places and the restuarants.. let those people go home and be safe.

Stay warm everyone.

It's Over

I quit my part-time retail job. I was only working about once a month, doing floorsets but when things started going to hell, I got out of there. I won't go into details but let's just say that passive-agressiveness doesn't work on me. Threats don't work on me and I have no patience for junior high drama!

Besides, I have bad knees and a ladder is no place for me.

So... while I still do my home businesses (Avon, Watkins and Entertaining at Home) and that is what I LOVE - I'm not really getting many orders.. so if you need anything, I'd love to help you!

Blood & Snake Oil - Who Knew?

My fragrance oil addiction is in full-swing. I have a variety of bottles and endless samples to test but in my journey I have discovered a hidden love that has come to the surface. I love mysterious, thick and sweet blends that contain Dragon's Blood and resins! Who knew?!

Dripping with sensuality, the scent fills my nose with such pleasure. It's intoxicating! I can't stop sniffing my wrists. It's comfort.

My two obsessions currently are both from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

Snake Oil is described as "exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla"

Blood is "dragon's blood resin, thickened with myrrh and cherry, with a trickle of clove"

I have bottles on order. Life is good.

Scent Addict

As some of you know, I'm addicted to fragrance oils now (thanks Marie) and one of my fave places to buy from is Scent Addict.

The owner, Cindy, is fantastic. She provides great customer service and is a joy to deal with. Customer service is very important to me so I'd rather spend what little money I have at an indpendant place like Scent Addict than a big chain place.

Scent Addict carries a variety of product from a variety companies. She has Possets, Villainess, Mythos Mixtures, Good Judy, Cobalt Blends, Haunt, Super Bad, Nocturne Alchemy, Violette Market and many more!

Some of the companies even give her exclusive scents created just for the Scent Addict customer! Don't you feel special?

It's fun to get a few things from different companies for one shipping fee. (and she ships super fast!) I've always gotten a couple samples and a nice handwritten note thanking me for my order. It's an important touch and a small reminder that the mom & pop establishments are slowly giving way to the obnoxious big box stores. That part makes me sad.

So, please give Scent Addict a quick browse and see if there isn't a little something you need for yourself or a gift. You won't be disappointed. Tell her Shelly sent ya!

Winter Sucks

And.. it's only just begun!

I live in the northern midwest and every year when the snow starts to fly and the ice starts to layer and the cold creeps into my old and weary bones, I ask myself WHY.

Why do I live someplace that gets just like the North Pole from November thru February (and Death Valley in the summer? That's another post entirely) I very often expect to find Santa in my kitchen in the morning while the reindeer prance around in my backyard. It's THAT cold.

I've been trying to save money where possible so I keep the thermostat set at 70 degrees but it may as well be off altogether as I am freezing ALL THE TIME. I can't get warm. I wear layers on layers and two pairs of socks and when I'm sitting on the couch I have FIVE blankets on me and I still freeze. I can warm up momentarily by driking a cup of cocoa or hot tea and sometimes vacuuming will help or other cleaning type maneuvers but I'm starting to feel like a Chihuahua.

Those dogs sit and shake and shiver all day long. That's me.

Maybe I need a metabolism! I AM 15 lbs overweight so perhaps if your body isn't burning fuel, you are cold all the time. I'm not sure.

I hate going outside. I wouldn't mind this weather so much if I didn't have to go outside. If I didn't have to let the dogs out or gather the mail. If I didn't have to get groceries or visit friends and family for holiday events.

I can gear up with my warm coat, gloves, hat or earmuffs and snow boots and still, I'm cold until we crank the heat in the car. I hate making the trek from door to car over hazardous ice and annoying snow drifts. I hate the chill that gets into my bones and just won't leave - for 4 months.

Being cold at night is the worst. One of my dogs sleeps with me everynight and even though he's a great source of cuddliness, he hogs the bed like a gorilla. We are fine until I have to get up to use the bathroom. I can be gone for 30 seconds and he's completely taken over. He'll pull each corner of the covers in towards the middle, creating a cozy nest and he plops himself in the middle, making sure he has a small bunch as a pillow and then I'm left trying to eek out a small corner of covers (it's like trying to cover up with a washcloth) and forced to lie in a circular pattern around said canine! He weighs 65 pounds so I can't move him - not even an inch.

and he growls, sometimes.

Grumble is more like it.. he's thinking, 'woman, you left.. you vacated and now the rules say this is MY space, so go sleep on a couch'

Sometimes my pitiful plea of 'Where is momma gonna sleep?' gets him up but these days he's choosing to ignore me and pretend he's asleep. I probably would to, in all honesty.

My mom says it's gonna be a bad winter because the squirrels weren't burying their bounty in the ground, instead preferring to stash them up in trees for better access, it means we're getting 40 feet of snow and the little boogers know it!

It's going to be a long winter.