A lady at work told me last week that when she was pregnant with her first child, she dreamed that a plant was growing out of her side. When she had this same dream again a few years later, she awoke, instantly angry with her husband because she knew she was again pregnant. She said she woke up, looked at him & said, "THANKS A LOT!" I did not have strange dreams at the beginning of my pregnancies. I only remember feeling really tired, nauseated and very sensitive to smells. Having a strange dream instead would have been MUCH better!

Youngest daughter has decided that she is a vegetarian. Well, her own sort of vegetarian. She has declared that she will not eat chicken or turkey. She'll eat beef and pork. I didn't ask about fish. She's not sure about eating vegetables & plant based foods since she thinks they must have feelings also as they are living things. I assured her that they don't have feelings as we know them. She does not agree. She thought maybe she should just eat fruit since the plant is not killed when harvesting the fruit, as it is when harvesting carrots.

I now have a live animal trap in my back yard, with raw fish in it as bait for the family of raccoons. The maintenance guy signed for it and set it up before I got home from work. Nice of him, I think. I had gotten some moist catfood, as it is VERY smelly, thinking I could use it to set the trap. I guess I'll use it if the fish doesn't work Ick! the smell will be really gross tomorrow, I believe.

Here's to hoping I have no more furry friends in the roof when I awaken tomorrow!

Last night, I awoke to a loud barking sound & the sound of something banging around really loudly. I thought that a raccoon had found its way into the trap. The trap is a long rectangular metal box, bigger than a 10 ream paper box, with a metal screen door on it that snaps down shut when the animal goes inside & steps on the lever that holds the food. When I came downstairs & looked out the sliding glass door into the back yard, I saw that the trap door was still up, open with no animal inside.

My youngest sister, her husband, husband's brother & his wife have started a business, renting Karaoke machines. The brother & sister in law had rented a karaoke machine for their company Christmas party and paid $250.00 for one night. They talked to the guy who they rented from & he told them it's his retirement business. He rents out ten machines, mainly on weekends and makes over $5,000 a weekend. They bought one machine for $1,200, a big one with a ton of microphones & speakers. After they see how they like that machine, they'll get a few more.

I saw the surname Plumalone today.

I immediately had thoughts of a cowboy, sitting by a fire late at night, out in a field, sleeping under the stars, talking to his horse while playing his guitar. Can you hear the fire crackling, owls hooting and coyotes howling in the distance? Can you imagine the breeze blowing & the sound of the leaves rustling around?

The cowboy then says in his tired, forlorn voice, "Here we are Betsy. We're plumalone in the world. It's just you, me and them there cows."

A sad scene that was created in my thoughts, huh?

I am wearing the exact same clothes I have worn for the past four Saturdays. White t-shirt, jeans, reindeer socks, slip on shoes that I take off for the weigh-in at Weight Watchers. I wear a sweatshirt over the t-shirt, but take it off before the weigh in. I need to find some different socks that are the same type and weight as these reindeer socks to wear on Saturdays at the weigh-ins, so I don't have to wear these socks all year long. I'm starting to get funny looks at the grocery store after the Weight Watchers meeting.

This is sickening. I saw a link to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle today about parents who left their two children alone when they flew to Las Vegas for five days. >br>
How can a father leave his children like this, yet provide care for two dogs?

What about the stepmom? How could she think this is ok? What kind of woman is she to leave these two children? Even if they're not hers, they are children, ages ten and five. And the five year old is autistic

I feel sick. Those poor children. Five days. Alone. Horrible.

As I was picking out produce for the week in the grocery store this morning, I overheard this:

*So, how have you been? I've not seen you in forever!
*I'm getting a divorce. He met someone else at work. 28 years of marriage down the tubes just like that.
*When is the divorce going to be final?
*Probably not for another six months or so, we have so much property & all to divide. It's a pain.
*Are you seeing anyone?
*Yes. I'm dating someone now. He's really nice.

I walked out of the produce section at this point.

The way to get over an old relationship is NOT to immediately enter into a new one. I think one needs to heal first. I always think that rebound relationships tend to mess with people's heads. Or maybe that's my way of thinking (justification) because I've not been in a relationship since my divorce. I've been interested, have talked, have dated a little, but have not been in a relationship. I don't know. I just thought it was sad for that lady to share that kind of life changing news with someone when picking out tomatoes in a grocery store.

A friend of mine has an eclectus parrot named Merlin. Merlin is 3 or 4 years old. He speaks a lot. He says, NO, I love you, Hello, Goodbye, What? Give me a kiss! and more phrases that I cannot remember right now. He is also trained to go potty in the bathroom when he is held over the toilet on my friend's or her husband's finger. Last week, friend's husband took Merlin potty & said, "Take a dump," to Merlin. My friend told him to not say this, as Merlin would pick up on it & copy him.

My friend told me today at work that last night as Merlin was walking around in the house, she heard him saying, "Take a dump," repeatedly. She's hoping that if he doesn't hear it again, he will forget. I wonder how long birds retain memories of things like this. She said it's awful to have company come over & have Merlin say something that she wishes he'd not say. She's told me that Merlin says, Don't do that, Merlin, and Stop that, Merlin, after she's said it to him a few times in a day. Merlin's a very smart bird.

Raven was living in her new condo with a filter & a light that was a gift to oldest daughter for Christmas. However, the condo was dropped yesterday & is now in the dumpster with a big crack on one side.

Raven the betta is back in her old digs now, the glass bowl with rocks & fake plants added. She seems MUCH more energetic now. Maybe it was just too deep for such a little fishie.

Raven was never this energetic in the big tank. She's happily exploring the plants, the rocks, swimming in circles around the bowl.

Thirteen things about me:

*I have three children, ages twelve, ten and nine.
*I've been divorced for four and a half years.
*I've lived in seven different states.
*I have a cockatiel named Dobby.
*My favorite animal is the koala.
*My favorite band is Bon Jovi.
*I have two younger sisters.
*I'm 36 years old.
*My favorite drink is Diet Dr. Pepper.
*One of my favorite foods is grilled bell peppers.
*My new favorite game is Su Doku.
*I played the clarinet in band for 6 years.
*I took piano lessons for 9 years when I was growing up.

It was AWESOME!! I saw more BIG hair & leather last night than I've seen since the 80's. The show was incredible. The effects were great. He was beautiful, as usual, no surprise there. We had great seats & when he came out for the first song, he was about 15 feet away from us. When he walked to the stage & passed by, he was about 2 feet away. There were loads of drooling women last night, let me tell ya.

After the first song I felt I'd gotten my money's worth. The rest was just a bonus.

Oldest daughter went bowling today with her band class. She called afterward & told me excitedly that she won an award for being the only person to have their ball go into someone else's lane. She said she knocked down a lot of pins in the other lane, but they didn't count toward her score. Bummer.

She is cute. Uhmmm.. when she's not yelling at me that I shouldn't care if the room she shares with youngest daughter is clean or not. That's what they make doors for, she says. Unfortunately, for her, I tend to disagree about that.

Today is a co-worker's birthday. She is a really funny lady, always saying that she is a princess. One day, about three months ago, she said that she wanted us to sing, "There she is, Miss America" as she walked in the office the next morning. We did not. I had a birthday surprise for her today, though. As she came in, several of us, strategically located throughout the office, played that song on our cd players. When she heard it, she stopped and said, "What ARE you listening to? OH! It's my theme song!" It was really funny.

I just had it out with my ex husband. It's been ages since we argued. And I hate it. It makes my stomach hurt. I tend to get angry and defensive when he criticizes how I parent them, since he's not involved in anything that they do. He doesn't even know how they're doing in school, who their teachers are, who their friends are, or if they even have friends. How can he criticize me when he has no clue? He's good at reminding me of WHY we are no longer married. The adultery was only part of the reason.

Oldest daughter decided to wear sandals with her jeans to school today. It wasn't freezing here or anything, in the 50's this morning & then in the 40's for the rest of the day. I just think that sandals in January (where we live) is silly. I questioned her, but she thought they were cute with her jeans and we all make sacrifices for beauty or cuteness sometime or another, right?

After school, when she called to check in, daughter tells me that she will not be wearing those sandals anymore.

Those sandals have found a new home, the dumpster

Youngest daughter asked me a question today that I didn't have an answer for. I'm still kind of surprised that she asked.

The kids were watching a movie on the Disney channel and youngest daughter asked me how guys put deodorant on with their hairy armpits. How would the deodorant get to the skin if the hair is in the way? Does the hair need deodorant? Is the hair stinky?

I felt my gag reflex go into overdrive and am feeling that way now just typing it. I told her she'd need to ask her dad or her grandpa.

One of my best friends called today & mentioned that her 12 yr old daughter (13 in March) started her menstrual cycle this weekend.

I mentioned to my oldest daughter that this had happened, she seemed very disinterested in the whole conversation.

When I asked if she wants to talk about it & what to expect, just to make sure she remembers, she held her ears & yelled, "Burning! My ears are BURNING! Please stop talking about GROSS things!"

Somehow, I'm thinking this rite of passage into womanhood will be a bit dramatic when it arrives at my house.

I saw earlier that today is the birthday of Bruno Kreisky, the first Jewish chancellor of Austria.

Instead of me wanting to read about him & seeing what contributions he made to the world to earn his place on this site, I thought, he was born in 1911 and he's still alive. Why is he alive and Grandad is not?

Then I saw that he passed on in 1990. So those thoughts were pointless. I hate when I don't not read far enough in the article to see the big picture. I feel silly when I figure it out.

Today at work went by very quickly. Actually, this whole week has gone by very quickly. I have heard that this is a sign of aging. Days go by faster, making weeks skip on by, causing months to fly, and years to disappear before our eyes in brief flashes of light, sound, color. How did time become such a fleeting luxury? I remember thinking that days lasted so very long. Months seemed like years. Years seemed like decades in my child's view. Funny how that changes as we get older, take on responsibilities and raise families of our own.

I've begun a class sponsored by my church called Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. Now on week two, I'm learning so much that I didn't know. I had no idea that I didn't know it. I guess that's the thing about not knowing.. you don't realize it. Anyway, this week's lesson is about making a zero based budget. Every dollar has a name. If it's not named, it gets spent without realizing where it goes. A new concept for me that has been around for a long time, I'm sure. I see light at the end of the tunnel.

Yesterday my children learned about signs & symptoms of illnesses that they might see at school. The reason for this is that a teacher at their school had a heart attack in class and her class did not realize it. I guess they kept on doing what they were doing. Probably working, talking, goofing off. I'm really not sure, as I was not there & my children are not in that class. The teacher is now in the hospital. The kids finally realized that something was wrong & notified the office. Scary. I'm glad she's going to be ok.

I am trying to be like Lily, but my telepathic abilities are NOT working.

Wait until the next book. You will really want her powers.

I keep saying in my head, to the people around here that I hear talking all the time, shut up & work! But it unfortunately is not working. They just keep on talking.

Bring duct tape to work. When they start talking, pull it out and start cutting off strips of it. Then hold it up towards them as if to measure the length. I bet that will shut them up.

I totally agree!

Do you like memes? I've recently discovered the Thursday Thirteen. I have participated in the Thursday Thirteen three times now. Each Thursday, people who are participants list thirteen things about themselves, their life, their week, their family, whatever they choose. Everyone who has signed up as a participant is listed on a blogroll that all Thursday Thirteeners post on their blog. It's kind of fun to see everyone's lists each week. I enjoy reading their list and then a few of their posts. I've become a regular reader of several that I have happened across when surfing the blogroll.

I was talking about my oldest daughter's negative preteen attitude in the forum that I help moderate. I posted a link to an article about positive thinking that I'd found this morning. I referenced the article because I've been trying to help oldest daughter become more positive, as she has been progressively more negative the past year or so. She has the typical "preteen I know everything and Mom knows nothing" attitude. Well, that and a negative viewpoint in general about EVERYTHING. Is there a way to rid my household of this negativity? I'm on a quest for HAPPY!

I'm exhausted. This cleaning of the bedrooms battle has got to end. It's been an all day affair with these girls. First oldest daughter in the morning, then youngest daughter when she got home. Son, love his heart, just cleaned up his room so he could go out & play. Why can the girls not just clean so they can be done with it & play? Why be difficult & willful? I'm sure I'll never know the answers to those questions.. so I'll just let them go. I'll have to check their bedrooms more often to head off messes.

First job: Wal-Mart Pharmacy

Second job: a lifeguard job at the lake where I grew up in SE Oklahoma... at Beaver's Bend State Park.

Third job: Telemarketing, selling sponsorships to the Special Olympics

Fourth job: Typesetting at Josten's. I designed the script for trophies, plaques, and even helped with the Cotton Bowl trophy one year.

Fifth job: Telemarketing. Selling magazines. I hated that job.

Sixth job: Telemarketing. Asking people to switch back to AT&T for long distance service. Hated that one too.

Seventh job: Again, telemarketing. Setting up times for donations to be picked up for a charitable organization.

Tonight the kids and I found the watches that I had planned to give to them for Christmas but had put them up in a place "where I'd not lose them." I really should start keeping a list of the places where I stash these things. I started thinking about my dependence on my watch. I feel lost if I ever take it off and forget to put it back on before going out of the house. I prefer watches that are water resistant. I don't take off my watch. Ever. I sleep, shower, swim, everything, with it on.