Right now I miss sleep and not feeling stressed. Working in the casting department for the Dreamworks film is intense, to say the least. However, what I have learned so far is pretty amazing. But one thing I have really learned is what not to say and do with casting people!

My dogs were a little whiffy, you know how dogs can.  I didn’t want to give them a full on bath because they had just had one recently and well giving them a bath is a commitment to having one myself and cleaning the bathroom after.

So, you know those little perfume samples you get from Avon? Okay, I took some of those to spruce them up a bit. Instead of saying “Thanks! I smell so much better” and rejoicing in the aroma, they both twisted and turned, grunted and growled all over the carpet.

Maybe they were trying to rub the scent in?

What the hell has happened? I mean, where have they gone? Why aren’t they around anymore? I miss seeing Bugs, Daffy, the Smurfs and everyone else on Saturday morning. I know Cartoon network kind of took over things but honestly, even they don’t show it anymore.

These cartoons were classics and kids today would love them just as much. Have we become to PC to watch them? Is the reporting of Clinton v. Obama on Saturday morning really more important?

The idea that kids no longer rush out of bed on Saturday mornings in their pj’s to eat sugary cereal and watch mindless cartoon violence, while their parents enjoy a lie in just breaks my heard.

It’s the end of a era.

I didn’t really write the following blog. It came to me via an email from my sister-in-law. However, I wanted to share it with everyone else as it’s to funny not to.

“This is too funny not to share…

This morning my husband made breakfast for Sydney, Stuart was sick and still in bed. Sydney wanted Dad’s famous extra buttery, piled high with tons of cinnamon and sugar toast. We were almost out of already mixed Cinnamon Sugar so Russ grabs a bottle of cinnamon and mixes it with sugar in the almost empty “Cinnamon Sugar” bottle. He makes Sydney’s toast, puts his shoes on and goes on to work. I am meanwhile finishing getting dressed and Sydney comes in and reports that the toast is “spicy”. My daughter is ALWAYS complaining about food, it is just never what she wants or the the way she wants it, so I make nothing of it, tell her to go drink more milk and don’t eat it if you don’t like it. She doesn’t finish it and we go on about her morning, we get her to school and go on with our days. So, later in the day, my sick son asks for Cinnamon Toast, so I proceed to make it with the Cinnamon Sugar my husband had whipped up earlier this morning, and as I sprinkle the “Cinnamon Sugar” on the toast my eyes begin to water. I give the bottle a sniff and very quickly realize this is NOT cinnamon sugar! I check the trash for any empty bottles of spices and what do I see in the recycle bin, but an empty bottle of Cayenne Pepper! Then I begin to put two and two together from this morning and suddenly Sydney’s “spicy toast” all makes sense! My husband had mistakenly mixed Cayenne Pepper with Sugar and served it to our daughter this morning. I guess Cinnamon and Cayenne Pepper are the same color and all, but that is soooo like a man not to read the bottle! Once I realized what had happened, I called Russ and we had a big laugh about it, I hope you have one too. I am sure from now on Daddy’s special Cinnamon Toast will have a whole new meaning for Sydney!

Have a great day! (and read those labels!)”

I enjoy Aidell’s sausages. My favorite is their chicken and apple. While I was preparing them recently I found a chicken bone in them. I wasn’t surprised, as I know this can happen. I have also never had any problems with them. Still, I decided to contact the company anyway.

I sent them a nice email and let them know what had happened and let them know I still loved their product. Not only did I get a prompt email reply apologizing about the bone, they said they would send me a coupon for a free package of sausages.

When I got a letter from them I expected to find the coupon. However, when I opened it I found not only two coupons but a hand written refund check and the business card of one of the chefs. I never asked for a refund, nor did I expect it.

It just goes to show you, some companies do care.

I went along with my mother to an appointment the other day. While I was waiting for her in the aptly named “waiting room” I happened to be seated next to a daughter, mother, grandmother, combo. This didn’t bother me at all but the conversation of the mother and grandmother did. Mind you, this wasn’t a large waiting area, so even if I had moved from my spot, I wouldn’t have been able to avoid their cluckings.

The long and short of it is was it seems this family had some issues. Everything from the mother’s past drug problems (which included copious amounts of Motrin, which the grandmother was shocked hadn’t damaged the mother’s liver) to alcohol and other abuse. They also had issues with the place they used to work. A place I wish I would have caught the name, because I would like to avoid it in the future. The daughter would love to run into her ex-boss from there so she can tell him what a piece of shit he was (at which point the grandmother told the mother to lower her voice, yeah, like it matters NOW!) and what she would like to do to him.

It amazes me how some people will just air anything out in public and think or not care that the rest of us can hear. I’m not a Victorian. I don’t think we shouldn’t talk about our problems and handle them like civilized human beings but there honestly is a time and place. I didn’t need to hear all of this, nor did I want to. And I knew that if I asked these people to stop talking I would be accused of eavesdropping. Which was impossible not to do.

Some people just need to learn basic social skills and graces. Clearly they missed out on the lesson on talking in waiting rooms.

I auditioned for a role in the new Dreamworks film. Sadly, I didn’t get it. I was told I gave a great audition but I wasn’t what they were looking for. That’s the way the cookie crumbles. Yet when a cookie crumbles, there are crumbs. And crumbs in my opinion, ain’t a bad thing. I will be working on the Dreamworks film. Not in a performing capacity but behind the scenes. For the duration of filming, which will take place March 27-May 31, I will be working as an assistant. Getting a steady pay check again will be great (even if it’s only for a few weeks) and it will be awesome to be on set everyday, learning even more about the film making process.

I also hope that this is a foot in the door in some capacity. Because after all, you never know what’s around the corner until it smacks you in the face.

I love dogs. That is a fact. I’m not a cat person, I’m a dog person (no saying I hate cats, but if given the choice I take the dog). Whenever I see a dog being walked in the park or down the street, I can’t help but take notice. I have dog encyclopedia’s, I enjoy reading about dogs online. I’m pretty “with it” when it comes to breeds and even mutts. So when I saw a dog the other day that looked like it had been hit with a shrink ray, I was a bit surprised.

This, um, “little” guy (he was more medium but it sounds stupid to say this “medium” guy) was a mess off fluffy hair. He looked like the pink panther in the one episode he came out of the dryer. He had a noticeable saddle and all the markings of a German Shepard. BUT! his legs were about four sizes too small. They were mere stubs. His tail was also a bit shorter than usual. Well, ladies and gents, what that bundle of fur love was is quite simple. It was a German Shepard that had been crossed with a Welsh Corgie!

How this mismatched love affair took place, I haven’t the foggiest, all I know is that the result was adorable, if not a little weird.

Most doctors offices I go to have magazines to peruse or books to flick through. Sometimes they might even have television, which is of course tuned to “The Family Feud”, riveting game show action I tell you.

But while waiting in this doctor’s office I had an interesting, new thing to look through. Little baskets filled with already clipped coupons. It was such a novel idea. I am a big coupon cutter. I mean, after all, every little bit helps. If you saw twenty-five cents laying on the ground you wouldn’t pass it up, so why pass it up if it’s a savings?

So I got stuck in to looking through the coupons. There was a large variety there. It wasn’t just for doctor type things but everything. There were coupons for everything from motrin to muffins.

I think this is an awesome idea for a waiting room and a helpful one as well. It was a bit more exciting than watching “The Feud” on screen and much better than “Better Homes and Garden” from 1982.