Welcome, Blog Stalkers!

I am so excited to have been picked as The BSU's Top Blog for February '09's first week! It is truly an honor. Thank you for taking the time to stop by. I go by Baby Roca's Mama on the webby, but you can also call me Shan. Please sit down, get comfy and read a while. This place of mine is pretty random. I write about anything from my daughter & husband to politics to twisted funny pictures & videos to giveaways. I am kind of a one stop shop. :)

I have listed a few of my favorite posts below for your reading pleasure:

Why Won't The Powers That Be... {This is one of my very first posts}, The Awe and Wonder of Childhood, Open Letters..., And Still More From The Free Range Stupid..., Today's Post Is Brought To You By The Letter D..., Pork: The Other White Meat..., Random Bits I Find Funny, Things The Diva Said.

I have met some pretty awesome friends in my short time in the blogosphere and I hope to meet more soon. It is such a wonderful feeling to find out that the World Wide Web isn't such a vast place after all. Although my mind is a vast, sometimes dark place filled with bizarre bits of information that I feel I must impart to someone. That's how my random drivel ends up on the "Net. LOL You will find that I am way left of center most days, but I always try to be honest with what is written here.

I hope you enjoy my little bloggy. If you do, please come back and visit or better yet, become my follower {you can then stalk me from your Google Reader, but I really do LOVE comments}. And if you really, really like me, please take one of my buttons (I have 3 sizes to choose from) and put it on your blog. I cannot tell you how many times I have clicked on a cool looking button on someone else's blog roll and found a site that I fell in love with.

Happy Stalking!

Want To Read More? Go -->>

Welcome, Blog Stalkers!

http://damnvoicesagain.blogspot.com/2009/02/welcome-blog-stalkers.html

Stupid, Deluded Man!!!

My husband has decided that I spend entirely too much time on the PC. His solution? "I swear I am going to throw that thing out!"

OH, REALLY, NOW? He is threatening me with throwing out nearly $1000 worth of PC equipment because he thinks I spend too much time on it? (While at the same time, he is looking for deals on web cams & memory) He actually said that other than eating, going to the bathroom (he used another word) & sleeping, I do NOTHING else but sit on the computer! Sometimes he is such an idiot!

I guess our almost 4 year old daughter fends for herself all day while he is at work! She must cook for herself, clean up her own messes, dress herself, do her own laundry & grocery shopping. She must have also taught herself to speak, eat, draw & learned right from wrong all by her lonesome self because her Mama (me) ignores her all day long in favor of the computer! Such delusions of grandeur he has! You would think after 20 years together, he would know not to mess with me like that. Stupid man!

He doesn't get that this PC is my connection to the outside world. I am a SAHM. I talk to a preschooler all day. All my real life friends and/or family live in other states or other counties. The only person I talk to that I can actually see with my own two eyes is my neighbor, Maria. She's the best neighbor we have ever had. Her 4 year old son, Alex, & The Diva are "betrothed". I call him "my future son-in-law". I know it probably won't happen, but they are just adorable together. But I digress...

Back to my husband...I guess he is the one who pays all the bills & makes sure we have something left to live on after everything is sent off? NOT!! It's me. All me. He eats, sleeps, showers, goes to work, repeats. Every day. I take care of everything else. Oh, and he washes his own clothes, the towels & blankets (sometimes), takes out the trash & occasionally cooks dinner. That's about it. I am grateful that he has a job with benefits that makes a decent living, but come on!

He also said that if I was making money from this "blogging thing" it would be different. But I am not, so it's just an obsession/addiction. Like your need to Google "big boobs" & porn when you get on the computer, honey? "Blogging thing"??? What nerve!! Doesn't he know that you are all my friends? That I live for comments as validation that someone, other than myself, thinks what I have to say is worth something? Does he not understand that it takes time to stalk all the blogs that I do from my Google Reader? Does he not get that I have to write good posts to get people to read my blog (and get them to even see my ads) & that can take forever some days (well, most days) because it is almost impossible to compose a complete, cohesive, rational thought with The Diva interrupting me every five minutes. He is delusional. And stupid. And...A MAN! OY!!!

His next "edict" was that I need to go get a job. A real job. UMMM, I am a SAHM. That IS my job. And I don't get paid for it. Ever. I read a story a while back that said if we SAHMs got paid for everything that we do, our salaries would be over 120k per year. That's more than what he makes. But does he get that? NOOOOOOOOOO! MEN!!

I almost forgot...in his tunnel vision (a horrible male trait that must be weeded out immediately), it would be simple for me to just go get a job. HMMMM, let's see...we have one car, so transportation is a big issue. And he never knows from day to day if he is going to work overtime, much less how long the overtime is going to last. It could be an hour, it could be 2 or 3. We never know for sure. No child care, so going to an interview is almost impossible. Not to mention who is going to watch my child if I do go to work AND how are we going to pay them? Daycare is expensive. The one place I found that I would be willing to leave my baby costs $179 per week. And there is this little thing called the economy...as in it is failing and people are losing their jobs left & right. Stupid, stupid man!

It is more financially sound for me to stay home with our daughter. If she gets sick, she can't go to daycare. If she can't go to daycare, then someone has to stay home to take care of her, most likely me. So that would mean one or more days of lost wages, still paying the same amount for daycare (they don't pro-rate) & a likely pissed off boss because the new girl called in sick.

And there is the very big "If" of not even making enough in said job to cover the expenses of working (clothing, gas, etc.) & paying for daycare. My going back to work, if we could find a way to make it work, would likely put us in the hole financially. Unless, of course, I was making just as much or more than his current salary. I have done all the thinking on this one. I see the forest for the trees. He, on the other hand, has some mental block/brain fart that prevents this from occurring. Why can't men see the whole picture? EVER?

It's not like I am not trying to help out our finances. Nearly everything I buy is on clearance or with a coupon. I try not to pay full price for anything. Clearance is my friend. I don't go to the salon or get my nails done except every 3 months or so, finances permitting. I haven't had new clothes in forever. Or a bra. Or underwear. He buys new underwear monthly. Why, I have no idea. He is forever getting holes in them or some other misfortune befalls them requiring immediate replacement.

And, even though I haven't found anything yet, I am still looking for a legitimate online job. One exists out there, I am sure of it. But I will probably only find it when I get to the end of the Internet. I do have a request of you, my dear readers, if you cannot buy anything from my amazon.com store, then please at least check it out in case you want to buy something later on. Please have a look at my other affiliate ads to see if anything piques your interest. Please?

Want To Read More? Go -->>

Stupid, Deluded Man!!!

http://damnvoicesagain.blogspot.com/2009/01/stupid-deluded-man.html

I Got Another Award. This One Is Really Cool, Too!

Court, over at Kaiya's Laughter Heals, has presented me with this Lemonade Stand Award. I am so honored. Truly.

She specifically noted my Cervical Cancer story as evidence of being a trooper. I beg to differ, as all I did was my best to survive with some of my sanity intact, the rest was all by the Grace of God. But I do thank Court for her compliment. If even only one woman reads my story & gets herself or a loved one checked and/or immunized against HPV, then I have done my job.

Oh, yeah, and she thinks I have a great attitude...LOL! Well, I do have an attitude, but not everybody thinks it's a great one! But I digress...

Maybe it's because I am so grateful to be alive, Cancer free for three years, able to be with my family everyday & watch my baby girl grow up. In any case, I am touched that she picked me for this award. Thank you again, Court!

Here is the business end of this award...

This award comes with a few rules:

• Put the logo on your blog or post.
• Nominate at least 10 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE!
• Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
• Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
• Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

Now for the recipients...(Not sure that I know 10 bloggers who haven't already received this award, but I will try.)

1. Danielle at An Eagle's View & Blog Stalkers Unite. She's awesome. You only need to read a couple of her posts to see her gratitude & great attitude. Go on, go visit her...
2. April at April Showers Blog Design because even through her recent Lap Band surgery (her "Bubba" got his on the same day), she has this amazing attitude. I never heard her complain once. She was just grateful & ready to start getting healthy. And she is an unbelievable blog designer (and reasonably priced, too).
3. Kelly {The Booger Queen, formerly known as The Neurotic Mom} at Baby Boogers, who because of some evil entity, had to shut down her blog, The Neurotic Mom, but came out with Baby Boogers. Same neurosis, different name. She is very cool. I am sure she doesn't know me from Adam (I lurk on my Google Reader), but I would like her to know that I am grateful she found another way, and a very funny, cool bloggy title, to keep us up to date with her brand of craziness. Personally, I would have been plotting some kind of revenge against the butthead who shut her down....but, again, I digress.
4. ChicagoLady at I Dont Care What You Say Anymore, This Is My Life because I just love her. I love that she is a faithful commenter/follower on my blog. She is funny, and more importantly, brutally honest. I love that! And although I do not comment near enough on her blog, I faithfully stalk her from my Google Reader. And the title of her blog is one of my favorite songs.
5. Abi at I'm Abi..., my follower from across "The Pond" (I'm international, don't you know!). She is a very young Mum of 3 little ones & trying to become a counselor. She had a bout of Post Partum (called Post Natal over there) Depression, but seems to be working through it well. She is honest about all aspects of her life and that takes some brass cahones. I also stalk her from my Google Reader & don't comment at her place as much as I would like to do.
   
6. LadyStyx at LadyStyx's Blog. Honest, forthright, with a thing for vanity license plates (she'd have a field day with mine!), you will love her, too, I'm sure! I also, stalk her on my Reader, as you will see with most of the blogs I follow.
7. Margaret at Nannie Goats In Panties because she never fails to make me laugh. And because I love, love, love the title of her blog. Read her "About" page...it's hilarious!
8. Cheryl at non compos mentis because she is funny. And honest (are we seeing a theme here?). Oh, and she absolutely loves sarcasm, something I have an abundance of. And maybe this will get her to finally update her bloggy (hint, hint).
9. Michelle at My Crazy Life With A Toddler because she is in the same boat as me, just trying to keep sane & make a little cash from her blogging (another one I stalk from my Reader). And because of this post.
10. Courtney at Blogging*Matilda, with whom, even though we are at complete opposite ends politically, I share a love of DIY Home Improvement & Martha Stewart {Although I truly believe she is evil (Martha, not Courtney), I do want her house & decorating skills}. She is also an "Original MassHole", a law student and resides in New England, where I dream of living & raising my family.
    

Holy Crap!! I did it!! That took forever. Not only because I had to decide on 10 bloggers who hadn't already gotten this award, but because my new wireless keyboard seems to be possessed & keeps repeating letters or won't respond at all. Every time I hit it, my Husband says "Ro...er...Shan, no hitting!" (ah, parenting!) To which I respond, "This thing is possessed & I am going to hit it until it does what I want." (Or I kill it...hehe)

Want To Read More? Go -->>

I Got Another Award. This One Is Really Cool, Too!

http://damnvoicesagain.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-got-another-award-this-one-is-really.html