I always felt I was a 'good judge of character'.  I thought I could read people, figure them out quite easily and size them up.  Over the past few years I have been mistaken.  I have found out disturbing things about a person that was a 'friend'.  I am constantly reminded how people are strange.  Just the other day, while on a local facebook 'mom' page I was attacked (verbally) by someone I had never met!  All for sharing about about a local attraction/business.  Their reaction was unfounded and frankly I was befuddled.  It happened late at night, so there were few others still on the group.  I was proud of myself, I kept my cool and handled myself well.  My friend told me that this was a 'troll' (click here to read the definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet) ).  I found myself hurt after was all said and done.  I have thin skin I guess.  Even though I did nothing wrong, her comments hurt and angered me.  Most of the other forum members were very supportive and agreed that I was not in the wrong.  Why do we give so much power to others to affect our emotions?  I admit I am a people pleaser, but not a doormat.  I will stick up for myself and others if necessary.  I can be ferocious, but why did I give a total stranger another thought?  I guess it is something I need to work on within myself.  I know the person I am, and my intentions.  I think they are morally correct-do I make mistakes, sure I do!  Do I sometimes hurt people, probably (albeit unintentionally).  There is always room for improvement, but I suppose I don't need to be so hard on myself! Anyway, there's my 2 cents-you can keep the change!

Kim

Does anyone else have a conscience that works overtime?  I do.  Even when I know I did everything right and just and honestly during the day, one little thing will stick with me.  When I make a mistake, I feel terrible.  When I cause someone pain, well let's just say I loose sleep-I loose lots of sleep.  Now, with this being said, I try very hard not to make a mistake, not to cause people pain...but it does happen.  I know that I am too hard on myself, but what bothers me more is when people aren't hard enough on themselves.  I am truly concerned about the direction or not only our country, but the world as a whole.  Money, greed, me me me seems to be the common thread.  What happened to compassion and love? Helping your neighbor?  Living humbly?  I have tried to raise my children with a spirit of service, empathy and a good work ethic.  I  really don't understand why people don't volunteer more.  It is a win-win!  I love volunteering-I love helping others-it helps me!  There are so many ways you can volunteer-just picking up trash in your neighborhood is helping-collecting towels for an animal shelter, donating a few items to the local food pantry, posting a charitable event on your facebook page.  Think of your neighbors, show concern for your community and of course love your family and teach your children well!  And of course, take the best care of your animal companions!

Just my 2 cents, you can keep the change-

Kim

So, tonight I have to vent some frustration......most of you know I am passionate about my dogs (and cats when I had them).  It frustrates me so when people get pets for the wrong reasons, at the wrong time and do not make the commitment to care for them properly....
The other day while on facebook, I was on a local group browsing around, and the chat bar popped open-it was a chat going on within the group.  And, if I recall correctly it was a rental connection site-where people post rentals available and other people can look at them.  Anyway, these 2 women are chatting about school districts etc.  The one woman has 6 kids and has to move out of her current rental because the landlord won't fix the heat.  So, she is looking for a new rental for her, her husband and 6 kids and can't afford to pay more than $700 a month (seems like a tall order to fill).  So, then she talks about getting a dog!  GRRRRRRR.....she was mentioning about how hard it is to have 6 kids keeping up with everything! So why the H-E-(double hockey sticks) would you get a dog?????  It was all for me to do to not get into the conversation, but I decided not to-BUT it has been bothering me ever since! 
Vent #2-someone is looking for a puppy on a 'for free' facebook group-some people are telling her to go to a pet store! GRRRRRR  These are PUPPY MILL dogs-no respectable breeder would give their precious puppies over to a pet store for them to be sold to just anyone!  Yes, I feel bad for puppy mill puppies-but as long as there is a demand for them, the a$$es will keep breeding them.  Which brings up another issue-when you buy a puppy mill puppy-you probably will not go to the breeding grounds-they have 'fronts'-a nice family, a friendly Amish farmer, etc, etc-I am embarrassed to be from a state that is ranked one of the highest for puppy mill breeders-just terrible.  So, then I post about local shelters and rescue groups-someone tells the would be puppy wanter to check craigslist!  Then another tells about how she got her puppy off of EBAY!!! OMG are you serious?  I can hardly handle this-I don't know how rescue volunteers keep going-
When you get a dog or a cat, you must have a real idea of what that entails (pun here-entails-get it???).  Just because you have a fenced in yard, doesn't mean you can let the dog out there and expect them to get exercise!  You must deal with accidents, chewed things, vet bills, walking (yes folks, dogs need to be walked for exercise and sanity every day-rain, sleet, sun, heat etc).  If you want to purchase the cheapest food you can-because 'they are just a dog', you are being foolish-feed the best you can afford-give them love, direction and attention and boundaries!  I waited for YEARS before I got a dog as an adult.  It's not because I didn't want one-but I was gone from home 12 hours a day-and couldn't keep any commitment I made to a dog-then I had children-and I couldn't keep any commitment I made to a dog-then, when I was ready and able to keep that commitment we got a puppy, and folks, it is ALOT of work-and things don't always turn out the way you want them to......
Anyway, that's my 2 cents, you can keep the change.....

Kim

I find myself with all these random thoughts-not sure where to begin.  So anyway-after feeling crappy for almost 2 days, I finally feel better.  I really don't know what was wrong (probably something RA related) but just couldn't do a darn thing-that is very frustrating for me.  Ooops, I digress, lol, so instead of doing things that I probably should have, I decided to go for a walk in the woods.  This is more than a walk for me, and my two dogs.  Well, maybe for the dogs its just a walk in the woods, but for me, it is rejuvenation.  It is spiritual, it renews my spirit.  I love to take photos-I always wanted to take a photography class-to learn all the gadgets on my point and shoot., maybe, someday....  This is my favorite time of year.  Some people find that odd-'everything is dead', 'it's cold', 'it is stark'.  Those are all the things I love about it.   I'm not sure if I like the starkness because I am not a 'happy jolly soul'.  I don't tend to look on the bright side of things (although I have no problem pointing others towards the bright side)  Often times I feel lost, actually most of the time.  Still not sure what it is I'm doing here and what my purpose is.  Some people call me a pessimist, I like to refer to myself as a realist.  But being a realist, you rarely dream.  I do not fantasize about the future, I tend to 'what if' with bad things.....'what if my car breaks down on the way to work', 'what if one of my kids gets hurt', 'what if my husband looses his job' (and consequently our health insurance)......this gets very tiring.  I do not want these thoughts....I am trying hard to push them aside.  Trying hard to live by faith.   But, with that being said, I don't really understand about fantasizing about things that you will never have.  To me, this just brings disappointment.  For me, keeping your expectations low, saves your skin....you don't get hurt.....getting let down when you weren't that high up to begin with doesn't hurt as much as if you are way on top.  Am I making any sense? 

 Anyway, this is my 2 cents-you can keep the change......
Kim

Welcome to the first ever post to the first ever blog of ME!
So, thanks for stopping by-
I had an idea for my first blog post-but perhaps I should start out with an introduction?  My name is Kim, I am 41 (soon to be 42), I have been married for 20 yrs (to the same man-lol).  I have 2 teenage children (that will probably be mortified when they find out I have a blog) and 2 incredibly wonderful black and white dogs (I'm sure you will get tired of the stories about them soon enough).  I live in north eastern Pennsylvania, far from the 'concrete' as I call it. I have a sucky disease called Rheumatoid Arthritis, which most people don't understand (click here if you want to learn more about that):  http://www.rheumatoidarthritis.com/ra/understanding-ra/default.htm?cid=act_we_F009007_P000001&c=MIACRAF511P1167&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=rhumatoid%20arthritis&utm_campaign=RA%20General
I am a procrastinator-I am genuine-sometimes I say the wrong things (but for the right reasons).  I hope you enjoy my blog journey!  Would like to thank my friend Jamie for her encouragement and for being my first follower! (hope you are Jamie!)
Enjoy!
Kim