Friday's Frets - Fire Ants

 HOW TO FIGHT FIRE ANTS

Last week I was complaining about chiggers this week it is the other little creature I encounter regularly that is causing me pain. FIRE ANTS! Their name is perfectly fitting as it feels like your skin is on fire when they release their venom.

These little guys are viscous. This year they have overtaken our yard. Ant hills everywhere! We have to be cautious about letting our granddaughter outside because when they bite they leave a stinging sensation that lasts for hours if not days. 

THIS IS HOW WE GOT RID OF THE FIRE ANTS IN OUR YARD.

In this war the weapon I have found to be most effective is Advion Fire Ant Bait. You sprinkle it on the mound and they will run to the top to get it and take it back inside. Within a few days no more fire ants.  Sounds mean but I must protect the ones I love and staying inside just to avoid nasty creature is no fair. I would also advice a good granular spread for the entire yard perimeter as well. 

This post does contain affiliate links. I may be compensated for purchase. However, I would not recommend a product I do not believe in.

 fret

  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.

Friday Frets: Chiggers

 fret

  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.

If you have done much exploring in the great outdoors you have no doubt encountered the almost invisible beasts that attach when you aren't looking. These little guys live on grass and bushes and all it takes is the slight encounter to be plagued for days with relentless itching.

Unlike mosquitoes they don't go for the easy to get to bare skin. They search out the most inconvenient areas and bring an army to make life miserable. 

For years my children and I have been attacked every summer. Well this year I have found the secret weapon to win this war.

There are other choices but this is the only one I have found that actually works. I've tried both home remedies and over-the-counter medicines. 

  

Friday's Frets: Uhh-ers & Umm-ers

fret
  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.

Silence is your friend!

I will be the first to admit that public speaking is not on my list of skills. As a matter of fact, personal speaking isn't a skill I excel at either. I say this as proof I have no right to critique anyone's speech but nonetheless I shall.

I am regularly punished with business meetings. There is rarely anything fun about them but probably the worst for me is if the leader of the meeting is an umm-er. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, an umm-er is someone that fears a silent break in speech so they fill it with ummmm or uhhhhh. Just let there be silence until you gather your thought. JUST LET THERE BE SILENCE!! It is most frustrating when the speaker isn't confident in the subject matter. In this case the um's and uh's flow freely often times to the point that the purpose of the speech is lost. Sometimes there are situations where the presenter is very familiar with the subject yet the uh's lead the audience to believe the opposite. It's my opinion that often these vocabulary destroyers don't even realize they fear silence.

Along the same subject, the more recent generations over use "like".  Every sentence you utter shouldn't contain this word and you definitely shouldn't use it more than once in the same sentence.

Another, don't end a sentence with "you know". If I knew then why are you telling me? 

Lastly, if the sentence is a question commit to the question. Don't start the sentence as a declaration and at the very last minute revert to a question. Example: 
NO: "Roses are always pink, correct?"
YES: "Are roses always pink?"

Welp that's my two cents.

Fretfully, Jessie

Friday's Frets: Computer Monitors

fret

  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.

From the time we start to read we are given literature that is on standard paper, 8.5 inches wide and 11 inches long.  We are educated using books that are portrait view.

So...someone tell me why are computer monitors landscape view!! Why are they always wider than taller?

Doesn't this have some sort of negative effect on our brains.  Many websites you visit actually have quite a bit of white space on either side of the primary view. 

I'm aware that I have settings I can change on my monitor that will allow me to set my monitor up as a portrait view but why doesn't it just come standard that way. Shouldn't that be the norm? Who made this decision to flip my world?

Fretfully,

Jess :)

Friday Frets - Sandwich Buns 8 Count?

fret

  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.




Who decided that sandwich buns should come in a count of 8? Why 8?  Why not 10 or 5? Or better yet 2? 

When I was feeding a family of five, 8 worked out okay. Sometimes there were a couple left over but most times not...teenage boys!  But now that most days I'm only feeding myself and my husband,  8 is too many.

We typically eat two and the other six are left to age. I just want to be able to buy the amount I need.  

The bakery, I guess that is my best option.

Friday Frets - Feet Draggers

fret

  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.

It just drives me crazy, the sound of someone dragging their feet. I'm sure it goes totally unnoticed by the person.  

I'm sure there are some that it is only an occasional occurrence when they are truly fatigued and somehow exhuming their last bits of energy to walk.

But for most it is merely a habitual trait of laziness. 

I notice it most often in the office.  My office is off one of the main hallways in the building I work in.  So unfortunately for me I get the pleasure of hearing everyone's hallway voyages and the hallways are not carpeted.

Over the years I have learned the distinction of foot patterns by person.  And most everyone has a distinct walk. Most I don't mind...it is almost a game at this point...guessing before they come into site.  BUT there are those that insist on dragging their feet. On days when I am trying very hard to concentrate I just want to scream, "Pick up your feet, there is no need to make that much noise walking!".  

When my daughter was younger she had a habit of sliding her feet instead of making crisp steps. Every time I heard her feet slide I would point it out. Now she points it out as well.

Not only does the sound annoy but it also makes you look lazy.  Believe me there is nothing graceful about dragging your feet.

Please don't drag your feet when you walk...if for no other reason than perhaps there is someone like me near that is barely holding on to sanity.  Do you want to be responsible for my break?

Friday's Fret - 5 day work week

fret

  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.

WHY? 

Why do we work 5 days and only leave 2 days for family, relaxation and ME? 

Why have we allowed this to become the standard?

Have you stopped to analyze how you spend your life?  

Let's take my life as example.

I'm a working mom, not that this applies to working moms anymore than anyone else. An average week for me is as follows.  

Monday thru Friday, I spend the majority of my day at my 8-5 day job, which I am happy to have to support my family.  The remainder of the other daytime hours are spent preparing myself and my kids for the work/school 8-5 hours. So in summary Monday thru Friday are consumed with work and school.

The bulk of Saturday is devoted to maintaining a household.  This includes cleaning, laundry, yard work and shopping.  I try to steal a few hours in the late evening to catch my breath.

Sundays - Sundays are the good days, church and maybe a few catch-up chores but on Sundays I enjoy my family.

Anyone else see the problem with this schedule. Too much of my life is monopolized with a day job. 

How would I propose we remedy this problem?

I would suggest small steps.  First, let's change the standard from a 5 day work week to a 4 day work week.  We can still give 40 hours, we just change the schedule. The work week becomes Monday thru Thursday 7-5:30, cut lunch breaks by 30 minutes and add an hour in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening, or vice-versa.  Then you are working 10 hour days but you gain an entire day for yourself.

This should apply to our children in school as well. I could easily get into a totally different "fret" on the working of our current school system here in the US...I'll save that for another day.

I wish I could develop a good plan to push this movement forward.  Maybe my fellow bloggers as you develop businesses and begin to hire employees you can be mindful of the 4 day work week, rested minds are much more creative.

I would love to hear your suggestions and opinions on this subject. Do you think a 4 day work week could be just as productive as a 5 day week?  Or maybe you have a better idea?

Friday's Fret - Temperature Controlled Trunk

fret

  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.

My complaint for this week is just an observation or maybe a question, no definitely a suggestion...I just need to get it to the right people. 

Why doesn't the trunk of my car have a temperature control feature?  

I haven't researched it so it is possible luxury cars are equipped with this feature.  But unfortunately I won't be driving a luxury car any time soon.

Here in Arkansas, the summers are hot and the winters are cold.  So anything I put in the trunk in the summer will melt and in the winter will freeze.  Personally this applies most often to groceries.  But it's a problem with luggage too. Melted deodorant and lipstick cause big pains. Word to the wise...do not let any of your technology equipment get too hot.  This applies to computers, tablets and phones. You also don't want to let that equipment get too cold.

It doesn't seem like would be a terribly complicated addition, right?  So why isn't standard?  Should I contact manufacturers? 

Friday's Frets - Magazine Inserts

fret

  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.

My complaint this week are those little postcard size card stock magazine inserts.  You know the ones I am talking about, the advertisements /postcards /coupons that are meticulously maliciously  placed inside every magazine so it opens to a specific page. I understand some brand pays big bucks to make sure the magazine opens to their ad but it is just annoying to me.

They make it almost impossible to flip leisurely through the pages. You must use both hands. One hand is need to maintain order and the other for turning the page. And heaven forbid you need to set the magazine down mid-article to check dinner or turn the volume down on the TV. "WHOOP THERE IT IS" back to page 112 the new skincare ad in a flash. And do I remember what page my article was on....NO.

I know what you are thinking, this could be avoided by tearing them out before even beginning to peruse the magazine. Nope not gonna work! They are smart, those magazine folks. They perforate those things making you think they made it easy for you but really it just leaves enough of the insert to continue directing you to where they want you. 

All in good advertising!!

Happy Friday Everyone

Friday's Fret - Supermarket Stalker

fret

  [fret] (noun): an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.

Friday's Frets are my little rants about something that annoys me, most often without reason. We all have them, those little peeves that you may or may not notice.


This Friday's annoyance is the "Supermarket Stalker". Every time I go to the supermarket it always seems there is going to be one person who is moving at the same speed I am and has the same list I do.

So throughout the entire store I am in her way or she is in my way. The odds are she is a very pleasant lady but every time I see her standing in front of the next item on my shopping list I feel that annoyed growl start to rise from the pit of my impatient being. Although I try hard to hide my frustration I'm sure she can see it, just as I can see her irritation boil behind her masking smile.


Lastly, the ultimate conclusion to the experience... who is first in line at the checkout counter? We all know being first is the only satisfaction to be gained from the kismet.

So now tell me, am I crazy or do you feel this anxiety as well?