TGIF

Here are a few items from the long list of things that thoroughly annoy me:


1. When I go through the drive thru to get a soda and it either A) is not filled up all the way or B) has soda running down the side of the cup or C) all of the above. How hard is it to fill a cup with soda? And don’t look at me like I am out of line for asking you to wipe it off or fill it up! If I pay for a large, then I want a large!

2. When I get to the cash register to pay for my stuff and the cashier either A) does not tell me how much I owe or B) Lays my credit card or change back on the counter instead of handing it back to me or C) All of the above. I KNOW I can read it off the screen, but I don’t want to. I am not asking you to say hi to me or smile at me, just tell me how much I owe. And if I take the time to had the credit card or change to you instead of making you pick it up off the counter, then you should do the same for me.

3. Teenagers

4. When people I don’t know, especially servers, call me “honey” or “sweetie” or any other pet name. Unless you are my Schmoopie or my kids, my name is Alicia. I’ll even accept Ali from my close friends.

5. People who go on uninvited rants about all the things that annoy them like everyone is supposed … to … care … Oh crap. Nevermind.

First Amendment is not the Right to Be Protected From Your Own Bad Decisions

Alright WCIA, you have done it again.

On thier facebook page, WCIA posted the story about the teacher in PA who was suspended from school with pay for posting some pretty negative comments about her students on her blog. Now, that doesn't really bother me too much. Probably not a good decision on her part, but nothing to get me riled up.

HOWEVER ...

What did irritate me were all the posts from facebook users saying that that violates her right to Freedom of Speech. HELLO?!?!  Since when does freedom of speech mean you get to say whatever you want without any consequences?? I thought it meant that you couldn't be censored or sued for the things you say (with exceptions such as slander and yelling "Fire" in a crowded room). Since when does the Bill of Rights apply to your company's right to fire you? I mean, if you went online and ranted about your boss, co-worker or clients and left it out there on a public page for all the world to see, wouldn't you expect to face some consequences?!?! I know I sure would.

In my oh so humble opinion, this is just another example of people not using common sense. Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it has to be tolerated by your employer. It's legal to drink alcohol at 21, but I bet if I popped open a beer at my desk tomorrow morning, someone (namely my boss or our board of directors) might have a problem with it.

Just sayin'.

Entitlement: It's What's for Dinner

So tonight, WCIA posted on their facebook page that the state of Illinois is considering raising minimum wage (which is already higher than the federal mandate) $.60 per year to end up at $10.65 by 2014. This has pretty much ruined my night. And my family's night, because I can't shut up about it.

What makes people think that they are ENTITLED to $10.65 per hour? How is it fair to require a small business owner (who is probably struggling to begin with) who wants to hire an uneducated, inexperienced high school student to come in a few hour per week to clean or file papers to pay that person $10.65 per hour? How is it fair to me to have to pay the increased costs that will be passed on to the consumer to cover that increase?

I have read all the arguments such as "you can't live on minimum wage"or "you can't pay your bills with minimum wage." Here is my argument: then EARN the right to make more than minimum wage. Get an education. Learn a trade. Develop a skill. Work hard, be responsible and get a promotion.

But what should I expect from a state that has decided that hard working tax payers should pay a 67% tax increase instead of taking responsibility for mistakes and cutting the fat from its own budget? Hey, why not force business owners to pay their employees more money - that's just more tax revenue for the state. After all, 5% of $10.65 is more than 5% of 8.65.

I know many people disagree with me and think that minimum wage should be increased, and I am willing to hear them out. But I work with small business owners every single day. They face such an uphill battle as it is. The state of Illinois is making it look better and better every day to just pick up and move a few miles to the east and live in one of the top 10 business friendly states in the country. If we continue demanding that people, whether it be the workforce or the state government, receive more and more money for the same (or in some cases, less) effort, then what are we really accomplishing?

She's Come a Long Way, Baby!!

Today, Sarah Joy Pettigrew is five years old.

Its hard to believe that this tiny, four-pound baby who came into this world 8 weeks too soon,

has now become this tall, beautiful, mouthy, stubborn, perfectly healthy young lady.

Everything happens for a reason. Thank you God, for whatever reason you decided I deserved her.

Happy birthday, Sarah Joy. Mommy loves you.

5 Random Things for a Monday

1. Why is it so politically incorrect to be a Michael Vick fan because he fought dogs, but no one has a problem with being a Ben Roethlisberger fan, and he assaults women? If you look at facebook after a Sunday, there are MULTIPLE posts about what a horrible person Vick is, but everyone loves Big Ben. That bothers me.


2. I’m more judgmental than I care to admit. But come on – if you take your kid out in public in jeans diapers or tell me a story about how you act like a low-class crazy at your kid’s basketball game (and you’re proud of it!), you’re really just begging for me to judge you.

3. The older I get, the less tolerance I have for negative people. I swear if I hear one more person tell me how much Danville sucks but nothing specific to back it up, I may just punch them in the face. Really. If it sucks, move. Or get involved in the community and do something to make it better. But if all you do is sit on your couch, drink beer, go to bars or post on facebook, guess what? You’re part of the problem.

4. Almost every day I realize that I am better than what I came from. I used to worry a lot about being a good mom, since my childhood wasn’t the greatest and they say history repeats itself. But each day I realize that even though I am probably not the best mom in the world, I have learned from my past, and I am not a victim of it anymore. Might not sound like much, but that’s a big deal for me. I guess my therapist earned her money – which is really saying something, cause that s**t ain’t cheap.

5. I’m happy. Like, really really happy. Most of the time. I love my husband, my kids, my job, my friends and my community. Some days I think maybe I am missing something by staying in Danville, but most days I realize I would be missing so much more if I left. Staying in one place isn’t for everyone, and I respect that. But never having a home growing up, makes me appreciate one now more than most people. Besides, I’m more of a big fish in a little pond kind of girl.

Snow Sucks

I know you all hate this time of year … the cold, the snow, the countless e-mails and facebook updates from me begging you all to donate to my March for Babies team. That’s right people, get your spam filters ready cause I am ready to go!

Seriously, I know that every year I beg all of you over and over again to support the March of Dimes. I know it can be annoying and tiresome, but I can’t put into words how much it means to me each time I receive a donation. Whether you give $1 or $100, it touches my heart each time.

I don’t do it for me. I won’t be having any more babies, premature or otherwise. Here are the reasons I walk.

1. I walk to remember. I know it sounds weird (and I may be crazy and need some more therapy) but I do it so I never forget. I do it so that each year I get to share my story – and also relive it. The time we spent in the hospital both before and after Sarah was born was the loneliest, most heart-wrenching, frightening time of my life. It helps me remember the pain, the disappointment, the fear and also the joy. I never want to forget how lucky I am to have two healthy girls who just happened to be born prematurely. Some parents aren’t as lucky as I am.

2. I walk for Sarah and Emily. As parents of preemies know, women who were born prematurely are more likely to give birth to preemies. I want to do everything I can to help me daughters have happy, full-term pregnancies.

3. I walk for women I don’t know – most of whom I never will. Having a healthy baby is hard enough; having a premature baby is harder. I guess in a way, this is kinds of a selfish reason to walk. It helps me deal with what I went through by helping other women prevent it.

So there you have it. My top three reasons for walking. Everyone has their own reasons, but each reason is important.

You should also remember that the March of Dimes is the champion for ALL babies … not just the premature ones. It sounds funny now, but believe it or not there was a time when people didn’t know that alcohol, drugs and cigarettes were harmful to a fetus. We know that now because of research done by the MoD. They are also responsible for finding a link between folic acid and preventing neural defects. Oh yeah – they also cured polio.

Whether you realize it or not, YOU have benefitted from the research done by the March of Dimes. If you have a polio shot, took folic acid, didn’t get drunk in the womb or countless other benefits, you can thank the March of Dimes for that. Thank them by walking with me – whether as a member of my team or your own – by donating to my team, or simply by spreading the word that this is important.

I’m reminded of just how important it is every time I am called “mommy.” Without the March of Dimes, I may not have been lucky enough to hear that. And you know what? Whether you realize it or not, you might not have been called that either.

www.marchforbabies.org/alidawn924

My Squash Tried to Kill Me

I haven't had too much to write about lately. We have spent the past two weekends at home (one of those weekends I never even got out of my pajamas except to put on clean ones) so not much has happened.

I guess I can tell you all about my latest injuries. Some of you may already know this, but I am kind of clumsy accident prone. For instance, one day last week I was taking Emily into her daycare. I was walking down the stairs and the babysitter's dog knocked me down. I was carrying Emily, so I couldn't catch myself. My left left leg folded underneath me and hit every stair on the way down.

Then on Thursday, I was cutting a butternut squash using my new mandolin and a piece of it got stuck. So, I did exactly what all of the instructions and warnings tell you NOT to do, and I tried to get it out with my hand. My hand slipped, and I took a pretty good sized chunk out of my finger. It bled for an hour. I had to call one of my best friends who happens to be a nurse and ask her how to make it stop bleeding (thanks, Somer!). Later, I was cleaning the mandolin and I found the chunk of finger stuck to the blade. Being the good wife that I am, I saved it to show Dave. He wasn't as appreciative of that gesture as you would think. What did I learn from all of this? Vegetables are dangerous ... I never would have cut myself ordering a cheeseburger and fries at the drive-thru.

Speaking of cheeseburgers ... Yesterday Sarah was sitting on my lap on the couch and she patted my belly and said "Mommy, do you have a baby in your tummy?" "NO," I told her. "But if you don't have a baby in your tummy, then why is it so big?" And to think I have lost seven pounds. Kids ... aren't they asking for a punch in the face sometimes adorable?

It's Not My Fault!

What is it about this country that seems to encourage people to take credit for everything and responsibility for nothing? Sometimes I just get tired of hearing excuses for people's actions.

If someone is lazy or can't hold down a job, it's not their fault - they had a hard life. A guy shoots a politician in the head, but it isn't his fault - It's Sarah Palin's (or Republicans in general) for encouraging people to carry guns. Kids are fat, but it isn't the parents fault, it's McDonalds for putting toys in Happy Meals.

There will always be contributing factors pertaining to the way people behave, but the bottom line is this - we all have free will and we are all ultimately responsible for the decisions we make. Maybe if we held people more accountable for thier actions instead of making excuses for them, the world might be a better place.

And for the record - I can't stand Sarah Palin, and I ate Happy Meals all the time and didn't get fat til I was 21. Maybe someone should ban beer in college.

I Almost Didn't Get a New Nickname

So I have been having a recurring panic attack for the last few days. Maybe if I write it down, it will go away. Or maybe it will just give everyone ammunition to make fun of me. Either way, someone will get something out of it.

A few days ago I was putting something down the garbage disposal when I noticed it making a horrible sound. I turned the disposal off and ... STUCK MY HAND DOWN IT.

That sounds stupid bad enough right there. But it gets better. Or worse.

See, the switch for our garbage disposal is in a really weird place. It is on the front of the counter, in the front of the sink. I am constantly hitting it with my hip and turning it on. So, back to my story.

There I was, my right hand completely shoved down into gently reaching into the garbage disposal when I felt something against my hip. You guessed it.

I immediately jerked my hand up out of the disposal. I looked down and I had turned the switch half-way on. The disposal did not come on, but it was close enough to give me a panic attack.

I know what you are thinking. It is probably something like "OMG, that has got to be one of the dumbest things you (or anyone else for that matter) has ever done." I'm not disagreeing.

It took me an hour to calm down. And still now when I think about, I feel my heart start to speed up and may face gets flushed. I mean, I would not only have lost my hand, but I would have had to become LEFT-HANDED. And left-handed people freak me out (Sorry all you guys - but you hold a pencil weird and bump my elbows when we eat. *shiver*).

Thank God for my loving, wonderful, supportive husband. The next day I e-mailed him to tell him how I was still freaked out that I almost grinded my hand off. He responded with "Had it happened, I would not have called you stubby."

Happy New Year

I know better than anyone that 99% of the time, New Year Resolutions are a complete waste of time. Every year, I make resolutions, and every year I

break them. I understand that a new year is not a blank slate. It doesn't wipe away bad habits or bad decisions. You have to change your behavior to change your results.

BUT GUESS WHAT?!?!

I am making some New Year Resolutions! This is going to be the year I do the same thing I do every year really stick to them. So to help me stick to them, I am going to put them in writing. Out here. On the web. For all of you to see and hold me to them.

1. Get Healthy. This is not about losing weight. This is about living healthy so that I can be a good example for my kids (and not die of a heart attack or something before I get a chance to go broke paying for them to skip classes in college). I am going to stop stuffing crap in my mouth eat better and get off the couch work out more.

2. Save Money. This is my husband's personal favorite. He REALLY wants me to stop spending his money. What can I say, I like STUFF! I am going to do a better job.

3. Blog I love to write. I'm not too bad at it. Funny stuff happens to me all the time. I am going to write about it. You are going to read about it. And like it.

So there they are. These are my resolutions. There are many other things that I want to accomplish this year, but those three are things that are 100% within my control. If I don't do them, I have no one to blame but myself.