Hollywood? No, Nannywood

For about the past year, I have been working for a nanny service here in Topeka.  I not only permanently nanny for a family, but I also weekend babysit.  The last family I babysat for was, well, not your everyday, Kansas family- they belonged in Beverly Hills.

Have you ever seen the TV series on abc family called Beverly Hills Nannies?  Watch the video below to get a sense of what I will be talking about:

Ok, maybe they weren't THAT bad, but it was definitely an experience I won't soon forget.  The house alone was GORGEOUS!  The family had two sons, 9 and 7, and one daughter, 3.  The two sons automatically liked me because I told them I knew how to play the video game Halo.  They wanted me to go play with them right away, but of course, I had to get the run-down on everything from the parents.

The parents were, well, interesting.  They run a jewelry store so the wife's wedding ring was HUGE.  Honestly, I don't know how she can go swimming with such a rock on her finger!  Aside from that, the husband told me to help myself to their liquor and beer.  WHAT!?  First of all, I am not 21, second I would NEVER drink while watching someone's kids.  

The rest of the night was filled with a very spoiled three-year-old crying and a tour of their home gym.  On the walls, the wife had cut out different body shots of toned women in magazines and labeled each one either upper body, abs or legs.  It was clear from first meeting the parents that they were obsessed with their looks.

Before leaving, the parents instructed me that the kids were kept on a very strict diet during the week, but on weekends, they were allowed what ever, when ever they wanted.  Not kidding you, the boys had cupcakes and cheeze-itz for dinner.  By this point I felt completely out of my element.

When the parents came home, the husband explained to me how disappointed he was that he wasn't "smashed."  (Apparently his drinking buddies stayed home.)  

While this family was none like I had ever met before, I definitely would babysit for them again.

#Nannywood

Bruised From Black Friday

Photo Curtosy of: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/black-friday

I went Black Friday shopping for the first time this year.  My boyfriend's family and I left around 11:30p.m. on Thanksgiving and did not return home until after 9a.m. the next morning.  We made a list of all the places we wanted to go, their opening times and the order we would go to each place.

All in all, it was a successful trip.  We went to the mall first and the theme was, "Do you REALLY need it?  No?  Ok, let's go."  The lines were extremely long and we decided to not wait in them.

I made it through the entire night without a single cut, scrape or bruise.  Honestly, the crowds didn't seem too "rowdy."  I began thinking that all the hype about Black Friday was a little over-exaggerated.

Later in the afternoon on Friday, my boyfriend and I went back to Walmart to pick up a gun safe and a printer.  While in the process of loading the safe, my boyfriend went to move the printer and, in the process, knocked me in the head with it.  I can't say the bruise was anything too exciting, but none the less, it was still a bruise from Black Friday.  In my mind, the day was a success.

#ShoppingWasCrazy

I thought only toddlers peed the bed!

My dog, Sampson, is traditionally a very well-behaved dog.  Every now and then he does something and I think, "what the heck are you doing!?"

Well twice now, I have had a major, "what the heck are you doing," thought go through my mind.  On two different occasions within the past two weeks, Sampson has peed...on my BED!

Being fully housebroken, and knowing that dogs do not pee where they sleep, I was extremely confused.  On one occasion,  Sampson's sister did the same thing only in her sleep.  At first I thought that maybe Sampson had done the same, but after the second time, I knew it was something else.

I decided to turn towards Google to see what I could find out.  This is the article I read: Ask a Dog Trainer.  Basically, the article said that dogs, especially young, non-dominant dogs, have a tendency to relieve themselves on their owner's bed after being reprimanded or left alone.  The article said that they do this because they feel insecure or vulnerable so for what ever reason, they pee where their owner's scent is the strongest- our bed.

The article explains that often dogs will grow out of this or to try buying them a crate.  Sampson already has a crate, so I think I may try leaving him in that more often.

Don't worry, I washed all my bedding!

#DogsNeedTherapy

Moving, Cleaning, YUCK!

Photo Credit: 

http://www.thatswhatsheread.net/2012/06/fabulous-friday-june-15th.html

Well I am about to move from an apartment town home into a duplex house!  Yay!  

The pros?
1. A big yard for Sampson (my dog)
2. More privacy
3. A quiet atmosphere
4. Closer to my job
5. Closer to the dog park
6. More space
Etc., the list goes on.

So...the cons?
1. MOVING
2. CLEANING



Moving is always work, but the cleaning is a lot of work as well!  I have turned into a neat freak like my mom so clean for me has a different meaning.  On top of cleaning both my current apartment and the new house, I am going to be doing some minor repairs and painting at both places.  Thankfully I will have all Winter break to do this so its not like I have classes to contend with.  I have been doing a lot of research on home decorating and here are a few websites that I found:

www.hgtv.com

www.pinterest.com

www.homedecorators.com 

Why can't there be 100 hours in a day?

Recently I have had a lot of trouble with time management.  I feel that I time manage fairly well, however sometimes I have too many "important" things to do in one day and I find out that I have no idea how to do it all in 24 hours!  Between doing homework, cleaning, taking care of my dog, studying for classes and work, I have found myself struggling to complete everything with 110% effort.  

You know how back in high school health class, the teacher strongly pushed getting at least eight hours of sleep every night?  Well I have found that my habits of going to bed by 10:30/11:00p.m. every weekday has, in effect, made getting everything done harder.  By going to bed at a decent hour, my body has gotten use to it, and now, anytime I try to stay up later to study, I find it next to impossible because my body and brain shut off and tell me, "it's time for bed."

I have thought up multiple solutions to this problem:
           * Go to bed later every night by one hour
           * Wake up earlier every morning to start sooner on my "To Do List"
           * Throw so much caffeine in my system that I can't sleep

The last solution is something I only do during finals week, so don't worry, I am not a caffeine addict!

In the long run, I feel that going to bed a bit later is going to be the easiest thing to do. Telling myself, "oh, I will just get up early and do it in the morning," rarely works for college students.  When you wake up, tired and wanting to stay in bed, seeing that you have a few hours extra that you COULD sleep often is too much of a temptation.  I think that for the remaining weeks of the semester, I will prioritize what is due, and change my average "bed time" to 11:30p.m./12:00a.m.

#ClocksNeedToHaveARewindButton

Yellow Heels

Have you ever had something you really loved but then something happened to ruin it?  Well, that happened to me this week!

Yesterday, one of my roommates let the puppies run around in my room without supervision and know what happened?  One of them chewed up my favorite pair of yellow heels!  Eek!  Not only were they my favorite pair, they were expensive too.  Well, needless to say, they are damaged beyond repair.

Moral of the story?  If you are either planning on getting a puppy or currently have one, make sure anything that could be damaged is placed far...FAR out of reach!



#NoMoreYellowHells

Sociology=Pulling My Hair Out

All semester, I have been taking Into to Sociology as an online course.  Should be relatively easy right?  Wrong.  A course is only as good as the teacher, and in my case, my teacher is not making this class any easier.

Since early in the semester, my professor has been changing due dates drastically and removing assignments to the point I am completely confused on what is due when!  Beyond that, she will go 2-3 WEEKS without assigning anything, then out of the blue, assign us 200+ pages of reading along with 50+ questions over the assigned reading due that week!  To top it off, the material is so in-depth, you actually have to read the material, no "skimming."

As a student taking 17 credit hours, I do not have the time to to just not doing anything for a class for weeks, then try and find time to do the amount of work required from my professor.

To top that off, my professor does not reply to emails.  Last Wednesday I sent her 2 emails, then another on Thursday.  Friday she sent us an email assigning a paper that was worth 20% of our grade.  On the rubric for the paper, she instructed that we could find the due date on our class syllabus.  Big surprise, it was not on there.  So, I gave her a few days to reply to my previous 3 emails, then Monday I sent her another email asking if she had received my last few emails along with the due date of the paper.  She FINALLY emailed me back yesterday saying that she would reply back to my previous emails within the HOUR.  Another big surprise, she has yet to email me about my past 3 emails, but also, in the one email she did reply to, she never answered my question about the paper.

Oh boy!  By this point, which is where I am at now, I am completely frustrated!  I know every college student has experienced this at least once, but it really stinks to feel like your professor does not care if you pass or fail a class.  Especially being an online class, I do not understand how a professor will just ignore her only means of communication with her class.

Ugh, I don't know what to do!

#StuckInARut