Here's some randomness for you

Yep - as the title says, here are some random thoughts, comments, & feelings from yours truly…

1) I don't understand why parents feel they have to compete with each other.  It's interesting to me how parents of similar age children are discreetly trying to 'one up' each other on what their child can and cannot do.

2) It pains me to see my friends and family not making healthy decisions.  No one can be perfectly healthy all the time(i.e. my addiction to sugar) but I just want everyone to be on this earth as long as possible so I can enjoy them.  :)

3) The next time someone asks me why I'm not having children, I'm going to break down in tears and tell them I'm unable to have children.(which, to my knowledge, isn't true by the way ~ it's a choice my husband & I have made)  Maybe they'll learn their lesson on asking questions like that.  Also, please don't give me a facial reaction of "pity" when I tell you I'm not having children…I'm very happy with this decision!

4) To go along with #3, just because I'm not going to have children doesn't mean I don't like kids.  Period, end of story!

5) I don't understand why we can't just be happy for each other and respect each others decisions.  Why do we have to place judgment on someone's decision if it makes that person happy?  For example, if someone gets a promotion at work, why do we have to talk behind their back on why we think they should not have received the promotion?  Why can't we just be thrilled and happy for others when they are thrilled and happy about something?

6) This is absolute truth in our household ~> Rules for Non-dog owners who visit and like to complain about our dogs:  a) They live here, you don't. b) If you don't want dog hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. c) I like my dogs a lot better than most people. d) To you, it's a dog.  To me, he/she is an adopted child who is short, furry, has four legs, & barks.

7) To go along with #6, I adore my dogs and they are absolutely, positively, 100% spoiled and I'm proud of it! :)

8) To accompany #6 & #7, although I love Stuart, I will probably never get another Shih Tzu again.  I think he's adorable and I love all his quirks but he definitely has characteristic of a shih tzu: stubborn & short tempered.  ;)

9) I can be a pretty matter-of-fact & blunt person, especially when it comes to offering opinions to my family & friends.  Yes, this has gotten me into "trouble" before.

10) The dynamics with my family can get out of wack sometimes and I've learned to realize that most families have had times of wackiness.  It can't be rainbows & butterflies all the time, can it?

11) I realize social media is the way of the world these days and I'm not super educated when it comes to politics, but it does drive me crazy when people blast and put down other political parties or others moral beliefs in their social media accounts.  Would you really say something like that to a friend in person if they had a differing belief?  Can't we respect the view even if we disagree with it?  Yes, I have blocked people from social media because of posts like this.

12) Mike and I have separate bank accounts and put a certain percent of our money into our joint account to pay for "joint" bills each month.  If a purchase of something is going to be over $100, we talk about it.  Anything less than $100, we aren't required to discuss it with each other.  This plan works for us and I can't recall a time we've ever argued about money.  Key words…'this plan works for us!'

13) When you feel you are correct about something and later find out you aren't actually correct, just admit it.  Can't we be gracious about being wrong about something and acknowledge the other person was right?

14) I know people who were sexual abused/assaulted, as a child or as an adult, and it is devastating to me to hear that they endured this.

15) For women specifically, why do we have to "read" into everything and make it more than what it is.  During our pre-marital counseling, this is something I had to work on and something I continue to work on.  If I ask Mike if something is wrong and he says no, then leave it at that.  Maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed and is generally cranky today.  Let it go Kirsten!

16) There are honestly about four people in my life that I can truly trust to keep a secret.  If I ask him/her to please not discuss this with others, I'm positive these people will keep it completely to his/herself.  I'm sad that this number is only four.

17) Mike and I agree that we could never go on the Amazing Race with each other.  That just has disaster written all over it!  That said, I do think my Dad and I would be a good team.

18) Ranger(our german shepherd police dog) has been "attacked" numerous times by Stuart(shih tzu)…a) I'm surprised Stuart is still alive, b) It's mind boggling to me that Ranger doesn't fight back.

19) I'm a relatively easy-going person but there was a time that I was someone you had to walk on pins & needles around because you never wanted to endure the wrath of Kirsten.  Not many people know that person but if you ask my friend Jen(we've been friends since 7th grade), she could tell you all about that wrath.  How she is still my friend, I will never know…I was a tough cookie sometimes.

20) I 1,000% believe that if you want your husband to do something or react a specific way when you tell him something, you MUST tell him exactly what you need.  Why are you indirectly pressuring him to "guess" what you want?  Tell him for goodness sake!  If you want him to ask how your day was, tell him you appreciate when he asks how your day was.  Ladies - we put way too much pressure on our husbands to "do things right"(per our requirements of course) when we don't even tell him what we feel the "right thing" is.  Hope that makes sense!  Saves time and heart ache if you just tell him what you need.

21) Mike and I are getting rid of cable and having network channels and Amazon Prime only…and honestly, I'm embarrassed to admit how tough this decision was for me.

22) I strongly dislike when people disappoint me or if I disappoint others.  Don't commit to something if you can't fulfill your committment.

23) I'm convinced people who are perpetually late don't want to break their image of always being late. Honestly, I feel like people who are always late are people who fail to plan(if you know the time to arrive, how can you not plan in advance to be on time?) and frankly I think it's a little inconsiderate & disrespectful to the people hosting or the people who showed up on time.  Santa Fe'ans, as a whole, are perpetually late ALL the DANG time and it really annoys me. (but there's nothing I can do about it so oh well)

24) Generally speaking, I think people take life way to seriously.(trust me, I do too)  Let's make an effort to not sweat the small stuff and enjoy the time we have with the people we love.  Be yourself, don't take so many things personally, and don't be sorry for who you are!

It's interesting how this post turned out as I read back through it.  Guess I took randomness to a whole new level.  :)