It's A Solo Life

2011 Pet stories

2012-01-21T10:50:00.000-06:00

Some more amusing stories about my pets from 2011.

January 6, 2012
Ok, so I am throwing this one in....no drinking anyhing while reading, I am not responsible for damaged clothing from snorting a drink. LOL
I am in the house, cleaning up the kitchen. I hear Buddy barking like crazy on the back porch. Since I just let him out less than an hour ago, I figure he is barking at the birds again and I ignore him. A little bit later he start...s barking again, and I hear several crashes. Shaking my head at the stupid puppy, I decide to go check things out. He is barking.....at the garden hose roller.....a little odd, but then Buddy is sometimes a little odd. No biggie. I tell him to hush, I go back inside. Now I am dong some laundry and again Buddy goes crazy barking and and several loud thumps are heard from the back porch. I am wondering if he has lost his ever lovng mind, and go take a peek. Again, he is barking at the garden hose holder. I stare at him for a moment and then ask him (yes, I know he is a dog, but frustration makes you do odd things) why on earth he is obsessed with the hose roller thingy. He just starts looking between me and the hose roller bouncing like crazy as though he has ants in his...er, well....anyway....all of a sudden the hose roller jiggles....now, since I have gotten Buddy, I have had numerous critters, live, dead, and mostly dead find their way to my back porch and my house. I am taking no chances whatsoever. Leaving Buddy to guard the hose roller, I rush into the house for my weapon of choice--the rake from just inside the garage door----and hear Buddy start barking like mad again. Crap, I just know he let whatever it is loose and it is in my house to agravate me or make me clean up mostly dead things.....back to the porch, and I hear growling coming from the hose roller....not a good sign, only large animals tend to growl...All manner of critters go through my mind----armadillo, raccoon, skunk, rabbit (not sure rabbits growl, but I was in a mild panic)----and now I am wondering if I shoudn't be calling animal control. It has to be something rather small to fit under there....hmmmm.....so me being me, I shoo Buddy outside, leave the door open and prepare to battle whatever it is......I like to wet my pants! Out from under the stupid hose roller flees not one, but TWO......of my cats. Millie and Andy got caught on the porch by Buddy and apparently were less than happy to a) see him coming at them and b) me wielding a rake at them when they were just protecting themselves from the creature I brought into their house.
Just another fun night in the Rowell house. You can get a drink now, I know I am going to. :)

Nov 25, 2011
I have apparently gotten so used to giving Buddy commands, that when the cat stopped just out of my arm range and started meowing to be petted, I actually snapped my fingers, gave the command "Come" and waited for her to respond. Needless to say, what I got was a look from the cat that said I was clearly insane followed by a turned up tail and a cat walking imperiously in the other direction....silly me!

November 2, 2011
Not a pet story per se, but I wanted to share: As a single woman living independently I have learned many things. Not the least of which is this: walk proudly and with self assurance, and have a big ass dog by your side and a shotgun by your bed. The first gives you confidence, the second stands as a deterrent and companion when you are lonely. The last assures that if the first two fail you can shoot the crap out of the ill intented. :)

October 31, 2011

My little con artist: Buddy wakes me up at 5:00 a.m. making these cat-got-a-hairball noises looking like he is trying to throw up. I sit up, look at him for a moment, he is in his kennel staring at me making the noise with a look that says help. So, thinking he is choking on a rawhide or something, I swing the covers back, put one foot out----the noise stops, and Buddy is almost bouncing at the door of his kennel waiting to be let out. I sit, wait, see if it gonna start up, but no, now he is whining. I think, Con Artist, tell him nice try, and I go back to bed. He does this three more times once every half hour, with each time me getting closer to the kennel before he stops making the noise and gets excited to be let out. Not sure where he picked this little trick up, but he is my little Con Artist.

October 25, 2011

OMGOMGOMG Buddy was barking like crazy, kept telling him enough, thinking he was barking at Perky. He ignores me so I get hacked and go into the kitchen to find him barking and cornering....A SCORPION!!! WTH?!?!? I have never seen one except in a zoo or animal display that I can remember....I got the dust mop and killed it (took effort, dust mop is NOT a killing tool)....This drought has GOT to end. If the scorpions are venturing from wherever the heck scorpions live, the drought needs to END!!!!!!!!"

October 18, 2011

Buddy has now figured out that just like Perky, he too, can go behind the shower curtain. the first time he figured it out, went back there, turned around, poked his head out and looked at me with a look on his face that said, "Hey, Mom! Check out what I did! I have GOT that cat, now!" He then proceeded to come out from behind it, go back ...behind it, nudge everything on the other side with his nose, including me. He would then poke his head back out, give me that big grin, and do it all over again. I swear he pouted when I made him get out of the bathroom. And Perky? She sat at the door watching and I could swear the look on her face said "Well, damn, now what do I do?" I love my animals. ;)

September 8, 2011

Buddy started whining at 5:45 again, and then got trapped when I tried to lead him out of the bedroom by 4 angry hissing cats. Poor guy, all he wanted to do was go piddle and the cats ganged up on him...no wonder he chases them! Payback....

July 22, 2011

I am laughing at Buddy & Perky's antics n the back porch. He wants to play, and she is smacking his nose every time he gets close and hissing or growling....I think she may be attempting to explain to him that she is a big bad kitty with two snakes and a mouse kill to her name.... :)

Perky caught another snake.....this time I saw it in the sunlight as I carried it out on the rake (all dead)...it was small with a white belly and the back covered in brown spots....I think it is a garter snake....She is SUCH a good kitty. This time she killed it and left it n the porch for me....she was snoozing next to it. :)"

July 15, 2011

Buddy and Perky got into a tussle on the back porch. Not sure who actually caught the rather large bug, but Perky ended up with it and Buddy went crazy barking at her trying to get her to give it up. I finally figured out what the ruckus was about and took the bug carcass away from them. SHEESH!!!!

June 21, 2011

ROFL Couldn't hear Buddy, called his name, he came wandering in with a piece of paper towel stuck to his nose. Hmmmm, wonder what he got into? LOL

This week's Buddy stories

2012-01-21T08:30:00.000-06:00

I have decided to start outting my Buddy stories on this blog for everyone's amusement. I post them to FB, but I feel more people really need to have giggle than just my friends on FB. SO here are this week's Buddy stories:

January 20, 2012
Not even cool - Buddy came up, but his paws one the chair so I could pet him. When I put down my coffee cup - my FIRST cup---he followed it with his nose and then sneezed in it. When I looked at him and said, "Really, you couldn't have turned your head for that?" He just looked at me and then licked the cup of coffee, all around the rim. Do you think he is tryng to tell me something?

January 18, 2012

Buddy is such a GOOD DOG! Some man came to the door and he went running to it and stood guard, barking like he would tear anyone up that tried anything in his house (I admit to being a bit startled myself, never heard him sound so....mean). The guy backed off about 3 steps as I came to the door (the glass door was shut, front open) and just waited, staring at Buddy. I snapped my fingers told Buddy... to sit, he did while growling menacingly at the guy. I told him to hush and stay and he settled back a bit but didn't budge from his position guarding me and the door. Turns out the garbage man lost his wallet on my street and was just looking for it, but I was impressed with Buddy. Not only did Buddy effectively guard me & the house, he listened when I told him to sit and when I told him to stay, he knew to sit back and stay alert. He did the same thing earlier when the FedEx guy delivered my work computer, but that time when I told him to stay, he did even when I opened the door and walked out to sign for it. He wasn't happy, he growled some to warn the fedex guy, but he stayed put when I told him. Good guard dog! That's my Buddy!

What's new???

2012-01-07T07:52:00.000-06:00

Well, the tendonitis cleared up, Buddy has gotten to 70 lbs at 11 months, Andy does not have a deadly disease causing him to lose weight he has arthritis that I medicate using Lemurs meds. Lemur has cancer--multiple tumors all over with one large one on her leg--I have decided that at 16 it really isn't fair of me to keep putting her through tumor removals every 6 months so I am just keeping her happy loved and comfy and enjoying the time we have left. My company announced they are letting 15% of the work force go and this past week they started telling people. I am very fortunatte, so far, I have not been notified, but many many friends and coworkers that I have known for many years are not so fortunate. Since this is the only information they have announced to the press, that is all I can comment on with regards to that. I had a wonderful Christmas with my wonderful family, and even thought my brother and his wife could not make it, agood time was had by all. We even taked to Barry & Catherine via speakerphone on Christmas day, so it was nice. Perky & Buddy are friends finally, although he still gets too rough with her. He is still a puppy and doesn't know his own strength.

OK, so that is the updates so far. 2012 has been uneventful except for the friends being layed off thing, so there is not much to say.

I have been pondering a change in topic for this blog. I update my status with funny Buddy and cat stories and I have several friends who have suggested that I should put all of these stories into a book and publish it. I am thinking I might start a different blog that is all about the shenanigans of animals and see how that goes. Or I could see if I can add a segment here for that....hmmmmmm.

My New Year resolution for 2012 is to get in shape, quit smoking, and get my finances in order. No clue how I will accomplish these feats, but isn't it fun to have a goal?

Gotta go feed the fish...TTFN!

Snake-capades.

2011-06-30T23:34:00.002-05:00

Picture it, Granbury, 2011. I wake up at 6:30 after hitting the snooze a dozen times. Wonder why the only cat on the bed is Lemur, go to the bathroom, wonder why no cats followed me in griping about how long it is taking me to feed them this morning. Come back out to see the other 4 cats clustered by the end of the bed with Lemur looking down on them, fascinated by something. All of a sudden, Perky's head pops up flinging a SNAKE into the air with all the others trying to catch it. So, being the good cat momma that I am, I puff out my chest, calling praise loudly and lauding her great catch....NOT!! I start yelling for her to take it outside, NOW! The only response is more snake flinging and Andy coming to sit at my feet, isolating himself from the situation. After all, HE didn't catch it, he knows that you have to present all dead things on a napkin or paper towel so I can dispose of them more easily. :) Then I notice that when the snake hits the ground and the cats pause to watch it, IT MOVES!!! IT IS A LIVE SNAKE---in my bedroom---AND I HAVE NOT HAD MY COFFEE YET!!!! So I take off for the kitchen, grab some tongs, unlock and open all doors to the back yard, and run back into the bedroom to fend off the cats and grab the snake. Then off I run to the back yard, followed by 3 protesting cats (Andy is still looking smug and just sitting in the doorway watching) where I fling the snake as far as I can (I was aiming to get it over the fence, but I throw like a girl, so it hits the fence and slowly slides down until it hits the grass) I slam the door, lock it, and turn around to find three rather irate cats sitting in the doorway of the house glaring at me. Now really, what did they expect? Of course I now realize that I WANT Perky to keep catching and killing any sakes that appear, so I snatch her up and praise her soundly.

Just another wonderful morning in the Rowell household.... :)

Living Solo is an Easy Life?

2011-06-15T08:16:00.000-05:00

Well, living solo is not as hard as having ?? kids and a hubby to take care of, but it has its own challenges. I thought I might share with everyone what a day in the life is like (when things go as planned). :)

Morning:
I wake up at 6 a.m., get up, go to the kitchen, make the dogs food bowl, start the coffee, get the cats dishes out and on the tray, divvy out the wet food for the cats, medicate Lemur's portion, take it into the bedroom to let them eat, put the baby gate on the bedroom door, go back into the kitchen,pour a cup of coffee, take a drink and go let Buddy out of his kennel. Then I grab a couple of treats from the jar by the back door and take him out to piddle. Once he is done, we go back inside and I put his food and water down on his mat for him and go back to my coffee. A couple of sips later and I straighten the kitchen some, put dishes in or out of the dishwasher, check the aquariums, and have another drink of coffee. Then it is time to take Buddy back outside. Once he finishes (I have to stay out there with him so I can be sure he potties and to praise him for doing it outside), we go back inside, I hide some more treats in his food to get him to eat, and then I go get his pills ready (put them in a pill pocket) and give him his medicine. Grab the coffee cup, head to the computer to check Facebook, and then back outside so Buddy can use the facilities again. Back inside, refill the coffee cup, grab the work computer, check work emails, do the daily paperwork, and then, you got it, back outside with Buddy. This time I will sit on the back porch and watch him while I do some computer work. At this point, if he comes to the back door on the porch, I will let him in while I go get ready for work, but nowadays he prefers to hang out in the back yard while I go get ready. Once the work duds are on, and my morning ablutions complete, I head to the kitchen to pick up Buddy's food and water bowl and check any laundry I might have running. Another pour into the coffee cup and then I go get Buddy from the yard and we play for a little bit (I check FB or this blog) and then I leave him to run loose in the house while I go reload my sales bag and check that I have all the signage I need in the car and get the car prepped for the work day. Then back inside to take Buddy out one more time, gather his kennel toys, his frozen PB Kong, a couple of treats and a rawhide, then he goes into his kennel and I go to work.

Evenings:
I either pick up dinner on the way home, or will set it to cooking when i get to the house. First item up is letting Buddy out of the kennel and taking him outside. Then it is back into the house, check dinner, and feed the fish in the four aquariums. Back to checking dinner, and then I get Buddy's food ready and served to him. While he eats, I finish making dinner (or eat dinner if I picked it up on the way home). Then it is cleaning the kitchen, doing a load of laundry, adding water to the aquariums if necessary, taking Buddy outside again, and finishing up all my computer work. Once done, I try to play with Buddy some (he doesn't always want to play fetch or tug of war with me), give Buddy his evening meds, and then I can check FB or this blog. If I can focus Buddy long enough, we work on learning things like sit and lay down and I try to teach him patience by making him sit and wait before I throw his toy. I will also watch my DVR'd Dog Whisperer show for the day. By this time it is starting to get dark, so I go out and start the sprinklers in the shaded parts of the yard, then back inside to take Buddy out, watching him like a hawk so he doesn't try to attack the water sprinklers. When it is finally almost completely dark, I set the sprinklers to water the major parts of the yard and Buddy and I go for a walk. When we get back, it is usually between 8:30 and 9 p.m., and I can turn off the sprinklers and spend the next 45 minutes watering the areas that the sprinklers did not get to, and hand watering the plants a little extra due to the 100+ degree heat. Back inside to get Buddy and take him out for his evening ablutions, then I take up Buddy's food and water so he isn't having to go potty during the night and I try to brush him (he hates it and keeps trying to bite the brush, but I am hoping he will get used to it). If I need to (and I usually do) I sweep the floors of all the pet hair and spot clean areas that have gotten very dirty. Then I can sit down for a while and watch my DVR'd shows and play on the computer. Arounf midnight, I make sure Buddy goes outside and potties one last time, then get his things together and into the kennel he goes. I go get ready for bed and spend some time playing and loving on the cats (they do venture out into my lap during the evening when Buddy takes naps), and then I drift to sleep so I can start it all over again the next day.

K. (God-niece) said, after watching Buddy this weekend, that he is a lot of work. I do believe she is correct. :)

So, when you start thinking that your life is crazy busy, and that you wish you were single so you could have more time to relax, just remember, the grass is not always more relaxing on the other side of the fence. :)

OK, now I am off to take Buddy outside so I can go get ready for work.

TTFN

Life is Throwing Curve Balls Again

2011-06-15T07:43:00.000-05:00

Lemme see, I have a case of Acute Tendonitis which is giving me pains. I bought an ankle brace to wear for work, and that works pretty well, but it still hurts toward the end of the day. Kinda sucks

Had a greats weekend at the family reunion. I just wish more of the family would come to the reunion, even if we do have a blast with the ones that show up. Pretty soon we will be down to seeing family at funerals only, and that is not something I want to happen. I guess that is just the way it goes.

Buddy's potty training s going really well. I put a bell on the backdoor so he could ring it when he needs to go out. He is not quite there yet, but it is close. He comes and puts his front paws on my chair when he needs to go out, and then when we get to the backdoor he rings the bell. Close, but not quite. :) Now that he has his shots, I can take him on walks again, so last night I set the yard to watering, took 3 tylenol and put on my ankle brace and then we went for a walk around the block. I am trying to train him not to pull on the leash, but I think i am going to have to get a gentle trainer to walk him. I know he is young and will learn, but in the meantime with my ankle, I cannot have him pulling like that. We came upon a family sitting on the driveway during the walk and the kids came running to pet him, which was fine. I guess I still on't know the dog walking etiquette, because they had a dog outside not on a leash and the man (I guess the Dad) kept looking at me as though I was doing something wrong. I can only think that I should have asked him if it was OK for the kids to pet Buddy, since he is still in that mouthing people's hands phase, but I am not sure. I am googling the etiquette for meeting another dog on a walk too, since i am just not sure. The vet also diagnosed him with allergies, so he has to talk 1 1/2 Benadryl every day. His antibiotic treatment goes well, but he is not transitioning to the German Shepherd puppy food as well as I would like. I don't think he likes it much, but I hide treats under the food and he will eat it to get to the treats. :) He crawled up in my lap this morning for a snuggle....it was very sweet. He is already getting too big to climb into my lap, but as long as he can do it and I can stand it, I am going to let him continue. I enjoy snuggling with the big Goober. :)

*sigh* I guess I better sign off and get to work, TTFN!

Wow! It has been a while!

2011-06-08T08:58:00.000-05:00

Well, I just realized today how long it has been since I blogged here. There is so much that has happened since then, but I will try and just hit the most recent highlights. A good friend was a vicitim of a hate crime, but I feel that is due it's own post, which I will take care of tonight. And now, on with the blog!

In 2011, I have had some changes in my life, some catastrophies, and things that have made me a stronger person.

The Lawn
You gotta love it. I decide to save money and start doing the lawn myself. I recruit my neighbor, R., who helps me pick the mower, the weed eater, and the blower. I clear out the flower beds only to discover the weed infestation goes so deep, I have to take it back all the way to the dirt. A week later, I am finally finishing that and laying out the cedar mulch in the front flower bed along with my new bushes. I hate yard work....and my sprinkler system, which had just been making noise in my neighbors house when it changed zones, starts making noise the entire time it is on, rattling his house. Since we have changed out sprinklers heads, troubleshooted, contacted a sprinkler company to check it (they blamed the city), had the city come out several times (they blamed the sprinklers), and I cannot figure out how to get it fixed, I am watering by hand. This is not a difficult proposition, it even saves me water, since the sprinklers use a ton of water, but I have NO CLUE what I am doing, so I am still trying to figure out how to water my lawn.

The Flood
In Feb 2011 we had the coldest iciest time in Texas for decades. I spent a week iced into my home. And on February 10, 2011 I went to work and came home to find 3 inches of water throughout my home courtesy of a broken pipe in my bedroom wall. I admit it, I got a little hysterical. I called my bff, I called my Mom, and they rode to the rescue. They bailed out the house, rescued what furniture they could, put baggies on the feet of the furniture that couldn't be moved.They helped me figure out the first steps, take pictures of the damage, and once I had things with the insurance company ironed out, they all pitched in to help get the house cleared out, and made my life a little easier, since without them I have no idea how I would have gotten through it. For the first week I lived in the office with all 5 cats, sleeping on a pallet made of blankets and comforters and the two pillows I could salvage. Once the house dried out a little, I was able to move back into the living room, but it took almost a month for me to be able to sleep in my own bed since they had to remove half the drywall on the outside wall, which meant I had to keep the animals and me out due to the insulation floating around. I lived on concrete floors with partially damaged furniture for over a month, I hunted down replacement costs, replacement items, and tried to deal with the insurance company, found the funds I needed to upgrade the floor from low cost carpeting to wood laminate (Bella Sera) in the major rooms, higher grade carpeting in the guest room and closets. I had my friends help me move the aquariums (all 3) to the kitchen and laundry room so the contractors could pull and then replace all of the flooring, part of the wall in the bedroom, and repaint/repair all the baseboards and walls in the house except for the office, which had no water damage. So after having the cats living mostly in the office area for 5 weeks, I finally got my life put back together.

The Washing Machine Fiasco
There were a lot of changes in my work life as well, but this forum is not the place for that. In May, my washer goes out. I pay $85 for a repair person (the only one in town that services LG) to come out and tell me that it was the gear (the plastic one, the metal one was fine--why they are not BOTH metal, I do not know) had stripped itself. Apparently the bolt holding the housing was a little loose and since only 1/3 of the plastic gears are in contact at any given moment (even when the bolt is tight) with the metal gears, it stripped itself. Originally I was given an estimate of 1 month to get the part since they had to order directly from LG. I call LG, and their customer service tells me that even though I registered the product with them, I have to show an original receipt to prove when I bought the machine and that I was the one who bought it so they could fulfill their warranty on a part that was badly designed. I explain about the flood and let them know I am pretty sure the receipt and paperwork got lost in it, but they didn't care. Show the receipt or pay full price for the part (A copy of the statement from Home Depot that shows I bought it was also insufficient proof). OK, so I contact Home Depot to get a copy of the receipt--surprise surprise, I get a letter in the mail 1 week later from them stating that they can only pull receipts from as far back as January 2009, and I bought this $850 washer 12/26/2008. So sorry for the inconvenience. During the wait time, I googled my washer only to learn that the musty smell is not just my problem, it is a problem faced by all LG front load washers, there is even two civil action suits against them because of it. I also learned that the gear stripping incident is a common issue with this model washer, and probably contributed to LG discontinuing the model. After discovering all this, I started part hunting, since even if I could get LG to ship the part under their warranty on it, I would STILL have to pay labor costs to the installer, since any repairs I do make the warranty invalid, according to LG. Apparently there are VERY few dealers who sell LG parts. The one recommended by LG I bypassed after discovering they were way more expensive than any other site. I finally found two sites that would ship some of the LG washer parts. I contacted LG one last time to try and get them to stand by what they sold me, and after no go with that, decided that since they were not going to honor their warranty anyway, what did it matter if I just replaced the part myself. So, $88 and 3 days later, I had the part in hand and 20 minutes later, I had a functioning washer again. Moral of this story, don't buy LG appliances, they do NOT stand by what they make. If you own an LG appliance, don't bother calling them, they are useless, take care of it yourself.

The Rescue
In May, I was driving to work on a rainy morning when I see a puppy running down a busy road. After the second time he almost got hit, I pulled over and rescued him, he ran right to me, tail wagging and tongue lolling. I drove all over the neighborhood looking for his owner, I talked to everyone I could find about whether they knew who owned the pup. I took him to the vet to see if he had a microchip or tattoo (nope), I took him into my home until I could find his owner. Every night I went out with home looking for his owner, but if they existed, they didn't come over. My bff and her hubby brought over a kennel and some dog treats after the first 3 days thinking it was a temp measure until the owner showed up. Nope, no owner ever appeared. So I decide that he (a German Shepherd mix) would be great protection, and prepared myself and my house (or so I thought) for puppydom. One nicely expensive trip to the vet later, I had medications (Hookworm and mites) and puppy back in hand and proceed to try and puppy proof my home and make it so my cats were not cooped up in one room all the time. I have a baby gate across my bedroom door so the cats have a safe haven, and my shoes are always up on countertops, aquariums tops, or anywhere he cannot reach. My God-niece Katie named him Buddy. So I am watching the Dog Whisperer, buying expensive dog food to build up his immune system, and draining my wallet to take care of him while exhausting myself trying to take care of him. If you have never had a puppy----puppy training SUCKS! :) But everyone keeps telling me this too, will pass. I cannot take him on walks until he gets his next round of shots, so I have to try and drain his energy in other ways. This has become an adventure. It is sooo hard to get all the animals cared for and get ready for work and out the door in a reasonable time. Just when I think i have it figured out, something changes. So, Buddy has another vet appointment on Friday, we shall see where is health stands at that point, hopefully he will be ok to go on evening walks again.

The Great Fence Adventure
The fence is crap, it has been crap for a long time, but alas and alack, it has come to the point where I need to repair or replace it. Since my coffers have recently been drained by the pup and the washer, I decide to repair it. I gather the materials (thanks, R. for the help), and venture out one morning in my combat boots and jeans to fix it after they mow the field behind the house. I climb through the fence, carting all the materials I need to do the repairs, pull off all the old rotted pickets, pull out all the rusted nails, and get the power drill set to screw the fence back together. Three pickets later, I realize I didn't charge the power drill, so back through the fence I go to get my electric drill and extension cord to cart back out to the field. That done, I get back to the job of fixing the fence, battling insects, wasps, bees, brush (they mowed the field, but the two feet closest to the fence doesn't get mowed). Once repaired, I throw all the remaining new pickets and the pieces of the old pickets over the fence into my back yard with the extension cord, put the drill back in its case, gather my smokes and the leftover screws, and start the hike out of the field so I can go all the way around to get back into my house. Did I mention that even in the a.m. my area is going through a heat wave and drought, and even at 9 a.m. it is 85-95 degrees? So hot and tired, I get back to the house, and fall into my chair, red faced, sunburned, ridiculously tired and sweaty, but satisfied by a job well done.....oh yeah, forgot to take the puppy out to piddle, then I can shower. So fence repair to the back is complete! Woohoo!

That covers the major stuff for the year so far. I have to get off to work now, so I am signing off.

TA!

Diet Schm-iet

2010-05-08T12:48:00.001-05:00

OK, so I think I may be changing this blog from living solo to something new. I have recently gotten involved in photography, so I though about changing this over to a photography site that explores the state that I am so proud of-----Texas. Then I thought, but I am also trying a new process to get myself to eat healthily every day. So maybe I should blog about that. So, this site may be changing in theme, I just don't know which way to change it. Either way I go, the actual name of the blog will stay the same, since the living solo part is still unchanged. To start things off, I am going to set off today with eating healthy--changing your eating habits day by day.

Today I was watching You Are What You Eat. I don't think I understand some of this. I get the eating healthy thing, but for this person, they gave her all of these different things that were healthy. Many of them she liked, but some she just couldn't stand the taste of. So, in the diet plan, I would have thought they would take those things that she didn't like out and put more of the things that were healthy but which she liked the taste. But no, Gillian says she is being silly and to just eat it because it is good for you. I am thinking that if you wanted the diet to work, you would not include things that make you ill to smell or taste. At one point, the overweight girl is eating this soup and she says the smell is nauseating, and her mom (who eats healthy regularly) agrees it is a bit off putting. Since we eat with all of our senses, it seems that would be counterproductive. I understand you need to eat healthy, but why would you want to make eating a new kind of torture?

Eating healthy shouldn't be about forcing yourself to eat things that you detest. It should be about finding healthy things you like and eating more of those things. I started this process at the beginning of the year. Every month I try and add one more healthy item or substitute a more healthy item into my diet. And sometimes I even add/sub more than one item each month. I am trying to gradually change my diet to a more healthy way of eating. I actually find it kind of fun to try and discover something new in the grocery store that is healthy and which I can use in place of a more fattening option. It took me three months to find a wheat bread that I liked both the taste and texture of so I could eliminate the white bread from my lunch sandwiches.

So how did I start this? Well, I decided to start small. The first thing I tried was different kinds of yogurt. I discovered that not only do I hate the taste, the texture is also decidedly disgusting to me. I tried every kind I could find, and every kind I tried was the same, even chocolate ones. The after taste, the texture, all of it was gross to me. I kept forcing myself to eat it, thinking, I would get used to it and it was good for me, so suck it up. After several weeks, I found myself dreading meals, hating the thought of eating, and generally just miserable. It was about that time that I decided this kind of diet would not work for me. Forcing myself to eat things that I hate all because they are "good for me" seemed to be a kind of torturous life. That got me to wondering, what could I do to change that. I am sure there are things out there that are healthy but which will not make me want to gag every time I take a bite. Thus began the process of dieting by substitution and gradual change.

The next change I tried to make was to find wheat or whole grain substitutes for the white breads that I love so much. The first few breads I tried were too grainy for my palate, or had a flavor the I just didn't like. After several months of trial and error, I discovered a whole grain bagel that tasted great and a whole grain bread that tasted as good if not better than my favorite white bread. Do I miss the white bread? Well, yeah. But I don't mind not having it, since I enjoy the whole grain bread I found.

Since I found something that seems to be working for me, I thought I would keep going with other foods. I am not fond of fish (except for LJS, which I am not sure really counts as it is deep fried within an inch of its life). So I bought some lemon and herb fish filets that I can bake. I discovered that while the taste was OK, the texture of the cod wasn't appealing at all. So I tried a breaded cod, thinking that might help. The breaded cod was not bad, and the breading disguised the texture, but I had to dump tarter sauce and malt vinegar on it to disguise the taste. This seemed counter productive to my goals. The next fish was Salmon. I discovered that just the smell of salmon made me want to run from the house. I tried tuna, mixing it with a low fat mayo and some pickle relish. Again, though, I had to use so much mayo and relish, it seemed counter productive. I tried trout next, and discovered it wasn't too bad, but frankly, the smell again put me off. I remember growing up eating fresh caught catfish that was breaded in cornmeal and fried in a good old iron skillet. Sadly, I cannot seem to bring myself to kill a fish to eat it, and although I really like the fried catfish I can get at local restaurants, it is all fried in a deep frier, so again, I thought it was a bad idea. I am currently at a fish impasse, since I have yet to find any kind of fish I actually like. So in the meantime, I am taking a fish oil vitamin.

I am a Texan, through and through. And as such I love my red meat. I know that any diet that includes complete elimination of all red meat is never going to work--I tried going with only a variety of chicken dishes and discovered that you can get sick of it really really fast. But I thought perhaps I could find some non red meat items to substitute for some of those red meat meals. I tried pork chops, since I liked them growing up, and discovered that as an adult, I am not all that fond of it. At least not as a stand alone meat item. So I tried a stuffed pork chop, stuffed with an apple dressing (www.tenderfilet.com). And I absolutely love it! I buy it online and try to substitute it for one red meat meal a week. I eat that with some frozen mixed veggies or peas or peas and carrots to give the meal some variety. It is filling and I like it! I am am also experimenting with different marinades for the pork chops. The thinking here is the right marinade accentuating the pork flavor might make the pork more palatable. Thus far, Stubb's Pork Marinade is the only one I found that I like, but I am still experimenting.

I discovered on this journey, that the frozen chicken breasts, while very easy to use, tend to have a bit of an after flavor. Sadly, I find fresh chicken breasts slimy and disgusting to handle, so I avoid them. I did find chicken kabobs for $3 per kabob at my local kroger. To cook it, in the morning, I push it off the skewer into a gladware bowl, throw some marinade in (I again like Stubb's, but it can overpower the chicken if you use to much or marinade it too long) and when I get home from work, cook it in my Grannie's iron skillet with just a tablespoon of oil. I tried the lemon herb marinade, but it didn't work for me. I also like it marinaded it in some Italian dressing or teriyaki marinade. Again, I am experimenting with different marinades, and try a new one each month or more often, if I want. The kabobs let me eat chicken while eliminating that part of the meal that I find gross and makes me not want to eat it.

So what about my red meat habits? Do I still eat my fave chicken fried steak, greasy burgers, burritos, taco meat floating in grease? Well, I have to confess that I do. I don't eat that as often, since I am substituting things, but I still eat them. So my next goal is to find red meat meals that are healthier for me but I still find delectable. Recently I have been eating chuck roast that I slow cook in the crock pot with tons of carrots and one cut up potato. I am even thinking about substituting a sweet potato for the white potato next time. I also like to eat Swiss Steak (beef cutlet-not breaded, covered in stewed tomatoes and chopped onions, even bell pepper if you like. I also put in a little minced garlic and some italian seasoning in it. I never have gotten it to taste as good as my Mom's, but it is still pretty good.) served over rice (I use white rice, but am going to try brown or yellow rice next time to see if that makes that big a difference) and a veggie on the side. I can get steak kabobs just like the chicken ones and at the same price. I prepare them the same way as the chicken. I occasionally have steak with a sweet potato (butter only on top) and a frozen mixed veg, when I can get steaks on sale. So I still enjoy my red meat, I just cook it a different way with different marinades.

I have determined that one of my main issues is that it is just easier to go out and buy a fast food meal for one than it is to cook for myself. For breakfast recently, I have been stopping by the local tex mex restaurant and getting a mega breakfast burrito - fried potatoes, eggs, bacon, sausage and sour cream in flour tortilla. I eat that and then I am not hungry until 2-4 in the afternoon. Scrumptious, but low fat it isn't. SO this month, I am going back to rating my whole wheat english muffin or bagel with butter or low fat cream cheese. Like I said, this is a journey for me. I expect to backslide sometimes, but I also hope to change it back to the healthy mode once I get it out of my system. I tried grapefruit the other day and discovered that while I love the taste, the acid in them makes me feel ill and aggravates my acid reflux issues. It is the same problem I have with drinking orange juice in the morning--I just cannot stomach it. I can, however, enjoy a nice orange (not the juice, the actual fruit) in the evening with no issues.

The biggest step I have taken so far has been substituting iced tea for the twelve pack (or more) of diet cokes I drink every day. This has been working well so far, but I find myself having to pee ALL THE TIME, which is truly annoying. I carry a cooler in my car every day and I have saved 20 oz water bottles that I fill every morning with the unsweetened (or splenda sweetened) tea. I put them in the cooler, and off I go to work. I will also sometimes carry just a gallon of tea in the car so I get a large diet coke in the morning (or half and half tea, depending on my mood) and then pour in the tea I brewed at home throughout the day. There are days where I still forgo the tea for my diet cokes, but it is becoming less often. I brew tea every evening in my coffee percolator and pour it in a gallon jug with water to dilute it. This gets kept in the fridge at all times. I tried the little packets that you add to water bottles, but I really do not like the fruity ones, and the lemonade ones, while OK every once in a while, don't really work daily. I am also keeping water bottles in the cooler, and alternate pouring a tea fulled bottle with a water filled bottle into my drink cup, so at least a couple of drinks per day are mostly water with just a hint of tea flavor. I really do not like water by itself, so this gives me the water with a hint of flavor. I tried the flavored waters, but they are too sweet to me. The vitamin waters I found were either too expensive or had a taste I didn't like.

So what about lunch. I confess this last month lunch was whatever I could grab on the road. SO I am going back this month to brown bagging it and eating my sandwich by the lake or at the local parks in my territory. I adore olive loaf, and I tend to eat that at least three or four times a week. However, as my sister pointed out, it is so not healthy. So this time I bought a few slices of the olive loaf and a few slices of rosemary ham. I may also experiment with some of the turkey varieties at the deli. I will let you know next month how that goes. So how does that work? Well, I make the sandwich with my fave whole grain bread, a slice of 2% milk cheese, some lettuce (I tried the head of lettuce, but will be going back to using the bags of salad with the slices of carrots and the purple stuff in it as it tastes better) and mustard. I wrap it in a paper towel, put it in a sandwich baggie and then in a small paper bag, placed in the cooler. I tried bringing chips, but frankly, the sandwich by itself is very satisfying, so I will probably just eliminate the chips and just stick with the sandwich. Although, I find myself hungry again about 2:30 or 3 with just the sandwich, so I may have to find something else to take along as a snack. I just haven't figured out what that snack is going to consist of yet. I considered oranges, but they tend to be messy when one is wearing business clothes. I might try a fruit cup in the cooler. Who knows?

Another big step I have taken is eliminating sweets from my diet. I occasionally indulge in a sweet (the funnel cake sticks from Burger King, for instance), but I have sweets very very seldom now. Once in a while I find myself buying the 6 pack of cupcakes from Kroger, but the last time I did that (a month ago) I found that they really did not taste as great as they used to and I ended up throwing out the last three of them. I stopped keeping any ice cream in the house and found that if I have to go get it when I have a craving, I won't do it, just sit and brood about how wonderful it would taste. I eliminated the powdered sugar donuts from the house and discovered that I really do not miss them. For the last few weeks I was eating a bowl of honey nut cheerios whenever I got the need for a sweet, but I discovered it makes me too full. I really want to find a sweet that is not too heavy but which satisfies my sweet tooth. Fruit didn't work for me on that one, nor did sherbet but I am still looking. Frozen yogurt is my next try, I will let you know how it works out.

I really believe the key to this is to find what works for you and start doing that. This is a gradual change of lifestyle, not a diet, so I am taking my time and exploring.

Tis the Season?

2010-03-13T09:13:00.002-06:00

Yes, tis the season. Not for holly and mistletoe, but for flowers to bloom, calves to be born, horses to foal, and the wind to blow everything I am allergic to straight in my face. Yep! It is allergy season! I am sniffling, have those itchy watery eyes, drowning with the drainage, and generally miserable. And that is WITH the medications!

I changed over from Zyrtec to Claritin for a day to see if maybe it will fight the allergies better. Who knows. So far is about the same... But again, living solo is about keeping going even when you would rather curl up and sleep until allergy season ends---that may actually just be a woman thing, but since I have never lived the other side of the coin (married with or without kids) I can only say from observation of others. So I stagger to the kitchen, clean out the percolator, clean off the cat dishes, start the percolator brewing, take my morning medications, get the wet food for the cats, dish out their food, mixing Lemurs meds into hers, change out their water, check the fish (they are all alive! Woohoo!), check the percolator (not done), throw the english muffin into the toaster, the frozen sausage and egg patties into the microwave, get out the saucer, cheese and mayo, check the percolator, make the breakfast sandwich, note the percolator is done, pour a nice cup of coffee, and take my breakfast sandwich and coffee to my chair to enjoy. All the while, sneezing, hacking, sniffling, wiping watery eyes, and thinking that though I love to see spring, I hate the stuff it spews into the air. So, the great allergy war is on again........do ya think I can win it this year? :)

Mom has the appointment with the specialist on Monday afternoon. I go back to work Monday. Hopefully I won't be miserable by then. A lot of friends called to check on her, FB'd me asking after her, and were so very kind to bring in meals so that we didn't have to cook. I have to say, all of it was very much appreciated. OK, I was going to blog more, but frankly, one of the great things about living solo has just cropped up. It is Saturday, my responsibilities to the animals that let me live here is done, I have nowhere to be, so I am going to lay back down and rest a while. Living Solo has many up sides! :)

TTFN

Is this a news week? Nope.

2010-03-08T10:06:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been a very active couple of weeks. Saturday week ago I get a call from Dad saying that he was at the ER with Mom. She had Viral Bronchitis and had apparently coughed so hard she ended up with a stress fracture of two vertebra. She had also fallen numerous times due to her leg just giving out with no warning. The ER doc seemed to think the two were related. So, my sisters came in from Midland and Omaha to help take care of Mom & Dad. First week was H & K, this week, is me, next week is K, and the week after is H again. We are still waiting on the results of the MRI her PCP ordered last week. Hopefully we will know something this afternoon. So, that is my life for the last week or so, helping take care of Mom & Dad and working during the day, taking care of the house once I get home at night, and generally doing tons of stuff. My animals are not happy with me since I have been gone so much.

But how does this relate to Living Solo, you might ask? I shall explain. My sibling from Omaha had a hubby to take care of her two older children and their dog. My sister in Midland had a friend watching out for her teenage son. Me? I have to take care of my little world. This is NOT a complaint, I actually like my little world! And I enjoy taking care of it. But coordinating your own little world solo, well, that takes some finesse. For instance, today I got up at home, fed the cats, had coffee, got dressed and showered, came over to parents home, took Dad to work, came back and started helping Mom with whatever she needs since she is using a walker still. This afternoon I will take Mom to the Dr if necessary, pick up Dad's prescriptions, get him from work, pick up any of Mom's prescriptions, get Mom settled back at home, make dinner, clean up after dinner, make sure everyone is settled for the evening, and then go home to take care of my house and animals. This would include feeding the fish, changing out their water, loving on the cats, vacuuming and general house cleaning that I didn't get done this weekend. Do some laundry, maybe surf the net/FB, then go to bed and get up to do it all over again tomorrow. Again, I am SOOOO NOT complaining, but think, when you live solo, you have to think of things like how do I coordinate family and my own household? There isn't anyone to hand the reins to, and I just don't like the idea of a stranger coming into my house to take care of the animals, I am not sure I would have anything to come home to. :) And I simply cannot ask my neighbors to give my cat her medicine every day, and not many people will watch the fish. So I coordinate things. Its a balancing act, but it is a balancing act which I have become accustomed to accomplishing. Those of you that have spouses, kids, etc. sometimes may think that single people have nothing to coordinate. Oh, we coordinate, we just coordinate differently!

I wondered before why I decided to write my blog. Several people seem to think that I use this blog as a way to vent my spleen. Or to bitch about being single, being lonely, being alone. But I like to think I am writing this blog so that people can see what it is like to live a solo life, to know that, if you are solo too, you are not alone, and if you are not solo, how the solo life works. I have heard so many people say they wish they were living solo, life would be so much simpler. Well, not really, it is a different kind of difficult, I suppose, but I really do enjoy it. Do I get lonely sometimes? Well, sure, who wouldn't? But I love my life, I love my career, I love my home, my animals and my friends and family. So, Solo isn't being alone, it is about being self-sufficient.

Well, I guess I better get back to doing things around here. Have a great day, everyone! And God Bless!

Fort Worth Botannical Gardens Feb 7, 2010

2010-02-13T12:23:00.002-06:00

OK, so I got bored and decided to visit the Fort Worth Texas Botannical Gardens. I decided to take pictures with my new camera, so this is the first pictorial journey I took.

Texas Record Snow Feb 11 & 12 2010

2010-02-13T11:40:00.001-06:00

OK, so we had a ton of snow Feb 11, and I decided it had to be captured on film--well, on disk anyway. I am including a few of the best pictures. I was out working on Feb 12, since the roads were mostly clear. I was all over Palo Pinto County and Possum Kingdom Lake, so the pictures are from all over that part of Texas. My parents had their power go out, and I had a nice time visiting with them while they stayed with me until their power came back on today. It was wonderful getting to spend time with them, I love my parents!

You will probably be seeing a lot more pictures here, since I just got a new camera - a Canon PowerShot SX20 IS. Very very nice! I think I am becoming addicted to photography! I may even take a class or something. My niece and mom are both doing 365 days in pictures, which does sound fascinating, but I a not sure if I want to do that, or just take pictures of the daily things that fascinate me or amuse me or just make me smile. We shall see!

Anyway, here are some of my favorite pictures.

The Texas Lilac outside my House Feb 11 during hour 10 of the snow.

A Pumpjack across from the fish hatchery at Possum Kingdom lake.

Longhorn at the FM2023 turnoff PK

Foxes Playing in the snow near Possum Kingdom lake

8 Days Smoke Free

2010-01-08T21:32:00.000-06:00

Well, this has been a heck of a week, culminating in my work computer toasting itself and losing all of my work for the day, including quite a bit I am going to have to work hard to recreate. *sigh* But I have decided that 2010 is going to be a great year. I started off the year by deciding to quit smoking, and as the title to this post says, I am smoke free after 8 days! Woohoo! Of courwse, I am on the patch, but I just started step 2 of that program, so hopefully by the end of February, I will be both cigarette and nicotine patch free....keeping my fingers crossed! I have great support from my family and friends, and that makes all the difference in the world. That is not to say it isn't hard, it so very much is one of the most difficult things I have ever done. But doing it I am!

Now, the other resolution I had for 2010---exercising.....OK< that one is not going as well, but I am hoping to get in the groove with that next week. I really struggled this week just to overcome my cigarette habit, so I think perhaps doing both was not my greatest idea. We shall see.

I have noted that both my Mom and my niece are doing the 365 project, which is a fascinating concept whereby you take a picture every day and post it to a blog for one full year. It is a great way to cature your every day life and not just the major moments. I look forward to seeing where the year in pictures takes them.

Now, after pondering the 365 project, I considered that I was getting a really nice camera for an award from my company. It hasn't arrived yet, but when it does, what could I do? I like the 365 project, but am not sure I could do it, since I already have so many things I am trying to do in my life. And then I considered that perhaps I do not need to do a specific project, but perhaps something more abstract. Throughout my life, I have times where I see something and think, "Wow, I should get a picture of that" but then look at the clock and decide that I just don't have time to stop and capture that moment. It doesn't happen every day, but it does happen quite often. So I think I might be about to start stopping when those moments occur and capture it on my new camera. I may even post it here so we can all enjoy those minor moments. This has two advantages, the first being I get to spend more time stopping to *ahem* smell the roses so to speak. gthe second is that I can also capture some of those memories I was talking about before. Life is not about the major moments alone. Life is about the minor moments in between those major ones. The minor ones keep us going till we get to the major moments. Well, that is a concept I would like to explore this year. Perhaps I can flesh that out a bit more and by the end of the year be able to articulate it better.

So, I am still single, still living solo, not even dating at the moment. I work, I come home, do paperwork, make dinner, clean up some, watch TV, chat on the internet, and go to bed so I can start it over again the next day. I have decided that this is so boring it isn't EVEN funny. I am hoping that by stopping to capture those little moments in my life I can learn how to go out and discover even more of those little moments, outside of work and my house. For instance, it is Friday night and I am watching DVR'd episodes of NCIS while blogging and face booking after having cleaned out the large aquarium (still have to empty the water buckets, but mostly it is done). Not an exciting Friday night, but to be honest, I have enjoyed it. It is very relaxing in a way. I sometimes wonder if married people ever get bored like this. From my Face book friends, I would say they do, but you never really know, since I have no experience on the other side of the marriage fence.

OK, well, I think that is more than enough self assessment for one evening. I think I will go, focus on vegging out for a while.

I wish everyone reading this a great 2010!

Ellen

Been Awhile!

2009-12-31T18:56:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been quite some time since I updated this blog, so I thought I would take this New Years Eve to update it. First, I had a wonderful Christmas with my family, and am looking forward to 2010.

So, you might be wondering what, if any, New Years Resolutions I might have made.

First, I made the decision yesterday to stop smoking. Now, there are many reasons for doing this, including, I am tired of smelling like an ashtray, I am tired of my car and house smelling like an ashtray, I have experienced the post cig wheeze more than once and I don't like it at all, I am planning to do the Fort Worth Turkey Trot next Thanksgiving with my family, and smoking is not conducive to that. Also, it is ridiculously expensive habit, especially since the useless government started jacking up taxes to ridiculous rates--they get enough of my hard earned money for doing absolutely NOTHING so I am not going to give them this. And, the main reason, I am tired of this habit controlling my actions and life, I am taking back the control! I am smoking my last cigarette right now, so mark the calendar, 2010 is going to be smoke free, baby! LOL

The next resolution has to do with my home. I am tired of the disorganization, so throughout the month of January I will be assessing every item in my house and getting rid/giving away anything and everything I do not need. As of February 1, 2010 everything in my home will have a place to reside in a neat and orderly manner. I am also taking the opportunity to KILZ and paint the walls and ceiling throughout the house so the smoke smell won't pervade once I stop. Once I figure out how to eliminate the smell in my vehicle, I will be taking care of that also by Feb 1.

And my third resolution is to be getting in shape for the Fort Worth Turkey Trot next Thanksgiving. My wonderful niece suggested that the family all do this next year, so starting tomorrow, I am going to do some type of exercise every single day, be it treadmill, Wii Fit or Wii Fit Plus or even (Yes, I own the whole set, and have for a very long time) Richard Simmons Sweating to the Oldies and the like DVDs and videos. The goal is to be able to walk at least 6.5 miles by Thanksgiving 2010. I would love to jog or run, but frankly, I had knee surgery two years ago and don't think I want to try testing it out that way.

Now I know most people do 1 resolution a year, but I am hoping to be an overachiever. Besides, I really think resolution 1 & 3 go hand in hand together. I am also planning to track my progress on this blog, so be sure and keep tuned to see how it goes!

Happy 2010, everyone!!!!

Single Life and Home Repairs

2009-10-11T09:34:00.001-05:00

You guessed it! I have now got a new home repair job to tend to. I out coffee grounds into the garbage disposal, turned it on, and put some water in, did a few dishes, and realized I was standing in a puddle. So what is a single woman to do when the pipe breaks? Much like a man, I muttered, cussed a little, and then got down to fixing the problem.   I turned off the water, got a towel, a mop, and some dishrags, cleaned up the water and the coffeee grounds and the bits of food, wiped down the pipes and started looking for the problem. FOUND IT! Where the drain pipe meets the disposal's pipe, they had become separated. So no problem, I think. Just take the o-ring thingy off, re-sit the plastic gasket in place, shove the pipes back together and reclamp it.   Unfortunately, the handy woman fates were not with me, the gasket would go into place but the o-ring clampy thing that holds the pipes together would not clamp to the garbage disposal pipe.

Now, I remember growing up and whenever we had something to be fixed, Mom would clear us kids out, and if we came back in the room she would shoo us away telling us to leave Daddy alone, he was busy. Now I know why. She just didn't want us to hear dad saying things to the items he was fixing, like "You stupid pipe! Crappy plumbing! Dagnabbit, get IN THERE you piece of garbage!" You know, those things that adults say that we don't want our children to say. :)

So, after a few choice words and smacking the front of the sink soundly a few times to let off some steam, I realized I wasn't getting this fixed at 10--well, 11 now on a Saturday night. Then I remembered that I had some plumber's tape (the kind that you put around the striations on a pipe where you are going to screw one pipe to another). So off I go hunting for that plumbers tape stuff. I knew I had it when I put in the shower head and the kitchen and bathroom faucets, but where fif I put it? I looked in the tool chest I keep in the pantry, in bathroom, which was the last place I remember having it. I looked under all the sinks. I looked in the junk drawers, in the office, and I even looked in the fridge (well, you never know. I found my car keys in there once), but no dice. So WHERE could it be? I started wandering the house, and lo and behold, I found it! Sitting atop the curio in the guest room next to the lights I plan to install in the hallway and entry and on top of the paint cans for guest room.   have no clue how or why it was there, but it was there.

So back to the kitchen and under the sink once more, I took off the o-ring clamp thingy and prepared to put the tape on the threads of the pipe ( I finally remembered the word for them--striations indeed!). I carefully wrapped the threads, and after much fuss, got it all put back together. Now to test it---jiggle the pipe a little to see if it is secure---and CRAP! Yep, the disposal's pipe just slipped right out and everything dangled aggravatingly in my face. So a few more choice words, a few more slaps to the front of the sink to let off steam, and I sat there staring at a pipe I couldn't fix. I thought about Duck Tape (Yes, I know it is really Duct Tape, but I have called it duck tape all my life and after 38 years, I see no reason to stop now!) and then realized that if I used that, it would fix the problem in my typical redneck but effective way. But if I wanted to fix it correctly, then when I tried to get the duck tape off, it would leave a sticky mess to clean up. SO I sadly put the duck tape back in the tool chest, threw a towl in the sink so I wouldn't forget the sink is broken in the morning when I go to make coffee, and sat back down in my recliner.

I put a nice whiny message on my facebook page, complaining loudly to all and assundry how my sink had done me wrong, and then went to bed. Note, I did not say go to sleep, I laid in the bed, way too aggravaed and strung up to sleep. So I got back up, went back to my recliner, let my Facebook pals know I was still awake and not happy about it, but there if anyone wanted to commiserate. Played a few games, and then took some aspirin and went back to bed.

So you are probably thinking, what now? Well, I got up and decided to check facebook, make a blog entery here, got aggravated by politics again, and now I am about to go get ready for church.

Those of you who think single life is a blast? Try fixing everything yourself for a while, when you do not have that testosterone gene that somehow makes you know what to do to fix things. Me? I have a book and the internet. It works for me! Ok, so I am being whiny again. It hasn't been a good night, and today looks like it will be spent researching pipe fixing on the internet and in my how to manuals and possibly an afternoon at Home Depot to find the stuff I need to fix this. Needless to say, I am not really looking forward to it, but I also know that when I get it fixed I will feel so much better aboutaccomplishing this major feat of plumbing conquering!

To those of you who are glad to have a husband, boyfriend, and/or significant other to pass these things off to, well, that might be nice, but I think of it this way. If I figure out how to fix these things by myself, and I am self sufficient, then I have truly accomplished something. I know that whatever life throws my way, I will survive, I can fix it, and it might not be done fast, it may not even be done the "right" way, but it will get done.

Let me tell you a little story about being self sufficient and single versus married: When I first moved into this house, that first Christmas, I went out, bought a bunch of Christmas decorations for outside, and then got my 8 foot ladder out to start putting them up. I saw many husbands out doing the same thing, and I saw a few wives come out, see me, wave, and then ten minutes later, another husband was hauling out the ladder and running around the yard with decorations. The next day, I talked to my neighbor and her hubby.  My neighbor said she was going to send her hubby down to help me if I still had things to get finished, since I refuse to climb on the roof.  Now the hubby, he just looked at her funny and after she went back inside to get a drink and check on their son, he looks at ME funny. He finally says he wishes his wife would get out and do some of these things like I do, instead of coming at him asking him to do thenm all the time. I thought about that for a sec and told him that I wished I had a husband, not to do those things for me, but to do those things WITH me.  I went on to say that maybe not all women want, can or need to be self sufficient. Maybe some women NEED to have a husband to take care of things for them that they would really rather not do. I am not one of those women. I need to be self sufficient. And if and when I get married, I want to be able to do those things WITH my hubby, and maybe even FOR my hubby sometimes. Sure it would be nice to have help once in a while. But I can look at the things around me and say to myself, "I did that! I made that happen!" and it makes me feel good about myself.

Well, I have typed until I am almost late for church, so I have to run! I will let y'all know what happens with the pipes! Cross your fingers!

No politics here?

2009-10-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

OK, so I said I wasn't going to get into politics on this site, but I just realized that part of being single means having no one to come home to discuss your thoughts, your aggravation, your happiness, or any of those other things with. So, I am going to go there for a bit, but politics will NOT be a major part of this site.

First, let me say that while I did not vote for President Obama, I do not support President Obama, I do not think President Obama cares about America, or even particularly likes America, I also do NOT think he is our biggest problem. President Obama is the leader of the problem, but he can do absolutely nothing without the support of Congress and the Senate, which would make THEM our biggest problem. Now, since January, anytime ANYONE says somethings against Obama, you are branded a racist. I could care less if he was purple with green stripes! What I believe has NOTHING to do with the color of his skin and EVERYTHING to do with his values, ideals, and beliefs. I disagree with him and this government, and guess what? For the moment, at least, I have the freedom to disagree with anyone I choose to! Obamam is a bad idea for the country, but from what I can see he is a good man. I see him as a good father, a nice husband, and an overall friendly guy, that in other circumstances, I might be able to be friends with. But I think a President should actually like the country he is elected to run, and I don't think Obama or his wife does. But this is Amerca, and likfe I said, for the moment, we are allowed to disagree and to say what we think. I do think we should all be considerate and not snipey when we disagree. No name calling, no rude comments, or inflamatory diatribe. Agree to Disagree and lets move on with life. Howver, I want it notes that if you want to live in a Socialist, Marxist country, well then good for you! Go find another country that has those values and live there. You'll be happier, and we'll be happier knowing we get to keep our true American values. Enough said on that.

With regards to the Nobel Peace Prize for Obama, COME ON! Ten days into his presidency he gets nominated? He has done nothing but destroy the values America holds dear. And the Nobel committee says that he has taken America's values to meet that of the rest of the world? Since when does America conform its values? Since when do we compromise our principles to make every one else happy, but at the sacrifice of our freedoms and peoples? Oh, that's right, since January 2009. Well, let me tell you, I will not compromise my values or my principles. I will not do that for anyone or anything. Oddly enough, I LIKE America as it was before January. I love this country and its peoples----problems and all. I am a Christian woman, and proud of it! America is a melting pot, well, if the Socialist regime that this government (note I say government, not Obama--again, he is just the figurehead, not the one with the real power) wants so bad to have takes hold, say goodbye to the melting pot. Say goodbye to the freedoms. Say goodbye to the American way of life. There is a reason people have flocked to this country since its inception, and Socialist Marxism isn't it.

BTW, I found this nifty little Nobel Prize Generator, and look what I got!

OK, I'll get off my politics soap box now. I have other things to put in here, and they have nothing to due with the political destruction of the American way of life.

And so it goes...

2009-10-05T23:16:00.000-05:00

Well, let's see. I spent the weekend fairly busy, let me synopsize it for you so this blog doesn't take up twelve pages. I started the weekend off getting ready for the company picnic on Saturday, and then on Saturday *shocker* went to the company picnic (lots of fun great time with the coworkers, seeing how all their kids had grown. And enjoying some time with Katie). Saturday evening saw me with my bff taking Katie to get her flu shot (no fun for the poor kid), then went to my Eliz's for a great bbq inlcuding pork ribs and strawberry shortcake. We ended up watching Joy Behnard's new talk show and watched Mackensie Philips on Larry King. I followed this by spending Saturday night at my parents to take them to catch the bus for their choir tour early Sunday morning at the church. I had a nice evening chatting with them. I always enjoy spending some time with my parents. Sunday morning, I helped Dad load everything in the rain (monsoon time in Texas :)) and then helped dad unload the car and load the stuff onto the buses at the church. I then nostalgically waved goodbye until next Friday to Mom & Dad, then came home and went back to bed (6 a.m. is too early for a weekend). The majority of Sunday was spent sleeping, or loading up the last 100 of my CD collection onto itunes and picking the top 500+ driving songs to put on my Palm Pre for playing while driving this week. This was followed by cleaning the kitchen and heading for bed.

It was a pretty full weekend, and I had a really good time doing everything. Got up this morning to a very typical Monday (If it could go wrong, it did, but I made it through, so it was a great day!) and am now just sitting here typing this. Oh, and tomorrow I'm taking the kitten in to get fixed, so none of the cats get to eat after 7 p.m. tonight until I get back from dropping Winkers off at the *checks around to make sure she isn't trying to read this* vet. My older cats (13 and 14 years old) keep glaring at me when I go into the kitchen. I get the feeling I should sleep with one eye open tonight. LOL

Hmmmmm, I guess that pretty much covers it. It was a cloudy misty day here in Texas, which is a nice change from 101 in the shade with a fan going. I guess I will head off to have my nightcap of a nice glass of wine and head for bed. Hope everyone is having a great week!

2000s

2009-09-30T13:48:00.001-05:00

Not much happened in 2000 that hadn't happened before. Then, in September 2001, 7 days before my birthday, it happened. 9/11. The day that lives in infamy.

I remember what I was doing when it started. I was driving to work and had just pulled up to the building when the announcer said a small plane had flown into one of the twin towers in New York. They were speculating that it might have been an error in landing or some such mistake. I went in and was telling the other admin about a plane that had accidentally flown into a building in New York when one of the management team comes in and says it wasn't an accident, America was under attack, and it was starting in New York. I stood there and stared, and then ran to my desk. I remember frantically trying to get my cell phone to dial my bother's number in New York while other admins were calling our home office in New York-we had people from our office in New York, in transit all over the country, on planes all over the place. I remember giving up on the cellphone and using the office phone to reach him, while co-workers kept a running commentary going from where they had a TV watching the scenes in the conference room. I finally gave up on getting a hold of my brother and called my Dad, asking him if he had reached my brother yet. Dad said he was trying to reach him, let him make the phone calls, he would call me when he had news. I remember sitting at my desk, staring at the cubicle wall, thinking it wasn't real. I remember going into the conference room and hearing the announcer say something about a plane going into the Pentagon, a plane going down in Pennsylvania, and a plane in Florida that they were tracking. I remember telling my boss (from Florida) about it, and her looking terrified and frantically calling her family (We later found out they were tracking Air Force One, not a terrorist, but at the time, we didn't know that). I remember seeing the first tower fall and going back to my desk to answer the phones and keep working. I remember my dad calling to say my brother and sis in law were safe at home, and going to the bathrom to cry, and thank God for their safety. I remember coming back and trying to get on with work while everyone was glued to the TV. I remember them coming in and saying the second tower was gone and that thousands were dead. I remember Tom coming in and asking if I wanted to go home--but I just wanted to keep busy so I didn't have to think about it. I remember fielding calls from managers all over the country who were stranded with no rentals available, and no planes in the sky. I remember talking to the other admins and trying to figure out how we were going to get everyone home, whether any of our people were in the towers (like all those people who normally were not in the Murrah building in OK City, but just happened to be there the day Tim McVeigh decided to bomb it), whether anyone we knew was gone. I remember driving home and staring at the sky that usually had planes somewhere in sight, and seeing nothing but empty sky and silence. I remember sitting at home and staring at my TV watching it happen over and over again, wondering what we were going to do now that America was under fire. I remember watching people desperately seeking there loved ones, posting pictures up all over New York and on the web, and I remember seeing the families sitting out on their front yards in New York and surrounding areas, waiting to see if their loved one was going to come home. I remember watching as New York and the country waited to find someone, anyone alive in the Twin Towers site. I remember thinking life would never be the same in this country again. And I remember talking to Ken & Elizabeth, I remember praying to God to show us a reason, and to give us hope. And I remember George Bush getting up and saying "Never again."

2001 was hard after 9/11. How do you shake off that kind of fear? You watch the sky come to life again with planes and watch them pass over warily. But slowly, oh so slowly, you keep going. You look warily at the sky less, and you enjoy life more, because you know what could happen when it isn't somethng that efects other countries, when it happens to yours.

Ya know, I haven't really looked back at that time, I have tried not to think about that day too hard. But all of a sudden, it felt like I needed to say it here. 9/11 changed me. I started looking at my life and thinking how alone I was, how I had no one but my friends and family to share that fear with, that I had no one but cats to come home too and talk about the day, about how I didn't want to live a solo life, I wanted to share my life with a man who loved me and whom I loved. I wanted to actively start dating again, but I had no clue where to start.

I tried a few churches, but never felt at home. I went to some bars and clubs, but didn't like the scene. I looked around everywhere I went-the grocery store, the movie store, everywhere. But found no one. I began to realize that maybe a solo life is what I was meant to have, and that love would come in time, not to push it, let it happen. So time passed, and I lived that Solo Life, hanging with myh friends, watching Katie grow and mature. I saw my second oldest sister get married, have two boys, watched my nephew and niece by my oldest sister grow up in pictures and at holidays, and lived life as it came to me.

From 1998 through 2002, I enjoyed trips to our HQ in New York, walking Manhatten with my brother, getting lost in NY and stumbling onto the Twin Towers site while looking for the subway, listening to policemen that were on duty there tell stories of that day. Visiting the Statue of Lierty, Ellis Island, and the UN. Learning about history, and enjoying every second of it. There were trips for work to Chicago, meetings in Colorado where we travelled as a group through the mountains, having a blast being tourists and seeing "Elf" (Elk) in their natural habitat. I remember decorating the office for Christmas, the "Phantom", office pranks, and office parties, office lunches for every possible reason, including a certain "Petey", and laughing with friends and co workers over the silliest things, singing along with the radio in the front office--including our daily Oldies song break. There were dinners with co-workers, nights on the town, and all the while, I came home to the Solo Life, with two cats and a nice apartment.

That all sounds kind of depressing, doesn't it. But I had a lot of good times, a lot of great trips, and I met a lot of people, made a lot of friends that I hope will always be there. And I have no regrets from that time. I enjoyed it, I look back at it with a smile, remembering all the good times and good friends.

Then, in 2002 I realized that I was at the top when it came to my job, and if I really wanted to advance, I needed to move on from Region Trade Marketing. I needed to look at going into the field as a Sales Manager. So I talked to Sales Managers, I talked to my bosses, I talked to my friends, my family, and decided to go for it. And I got the job. I moved on in my career with the company to become a Sales Manager in Stephenville, TX. So I packed everything up, moved away from my best friends and little Katie, and headed off with Lemur and Andy to live a Solo Life in the country.

I was now making better money, so I could afford more things, nicer things, and I could afford to go out and do things. 2003 found me with a new kitten in my life, a little 7-week old baby called Millie who I rescued from a store where the owners daughter was torturing it by throwing rocks and cat food at her. So God told me to take her home and love her, which I happily did. It was about that time I met D (I am leaving their names out, since I believe discretion is the better part of valor). He was a nice guy who rode a motorcycle, had a truck, and was an avid hunter. Now, if you know me, you'll know I have a big problem with hunting. I am one of those who believes that unless you give the animals a gun, it cannot be fair. I should have known it wouldn't work, not only am I not a big biker babe, the hunting thing was a big turn off. He was more interested in looking for places to hunt than in talking or having fun and seemed to think that even though I hated hunting, I would have no problem going along on the trip and just staying by the camper while they hunted--there was a TV, after all. So I moved on.

Then came small town man, who had a child from previous marriage that lived with his Mom and whom I promise had Downs' Syndrome but whose parents were in complete denial about. This relationship lasted a few months until I discovered that his maturity level was stuck at about 18. He seemed to think buying beer and smokes for minors was OK, and there was no big deal that his roomie (29 years old) was having relations on a regular basis at all times of the day with his under age girlfriend. And his idea of a fun time out with his friends was driving down the streets of his small town home mooning people---at the age of 30, I felt this was way too immature and in no way a good match for me. So I moved on, living the Solo Life.

There were New Years parties in McKinney, New Year parties at my house, Christmases with my family, Easters with my family, lunch every Saturday with my parents, snow ball fights, dinners at Chili's, drinks at Chili's, a few first dates with no second dates in sight, and still I continued the Solo Life.

I started working to get promoted, but it seemed like everytime I was close, something would happen and it wouldn't go through. So I worked, went to meetings, hung out with friends, and worked. And then, in 2004, my landlady started giving me all sorts of problems. So I decided it was time to get my own place. I had the money, I was sick of renting and being told what I could and couldn't do in my own place, so I made the decision on a Friday, July 2004 to go find me a house. I looked around over the weekend, and visited a few places. I found Choice Homes in Weatherford, but they were about $30,000 out of my price range. They recommended Choice Homes in a different small town, so on that Tuesday, I went and looked at floor plans. two days later, I had my loan and was signing the papers to have my house built--exactly 6 days from the decision to do so.

September 24, 2004 saw me moving into my very first house, after Mom & Dad helping me paint it, move things in, and get everything set up. I was still living solo, but I was doing it in my own home and on my own terms. I discovered a lot of things about liveing in your own home - you need things. Your bills increase, your maintenance has to be done, your budget has to stretch. But I also discovered, it was money and time well spent. I learned how to do things alone, I learned how to accomplish things singly when they really needed another person to get done. I figured out how and when to ask for help, and I made a lot of new friends in my neighbors.

There were nights watching meteor showers on the driveway, going with friends to Fort Worth for dinner and a show, and more first dates, with very few second dates. There were evenings on the driveway having drinks and talks with the neighbors, walks through the neighborhood with friends, and learning more and more about how to live a Solo Life.

Then I met B, who lived nearby. He seemed like a really nice guy, was fun to be around, a great kisser, and liked most of the things I did. I thought it might work, but then I found out things that made me wary of where the relationship could or even should go. So I moved on from that relationship-and yep, you guessed it, continued the Solo Life.

Then came J, but he didn't want a relationship, he wanted to be friends with benefits--LOTS of benefits, but I wanted love and a family. So after several weeks, I moved on.

And still I had good times with friends, work, dinners out, work, barbecues, long walks through the neighborhood, meetings for work, figuring out how to do maintenance on the house like fixing the fence, replacing filters, hanging up Christmas lights when you are scared of heights, work, and holdays with family and friends. Ken & family all moved to the mid cities, which meant I could see them more often.

Then the next guy, who wanted a relationship, but wanted it now, wanted all of the benefits now, wanted me to do all the compromising, and wanted to run every conversation-I could have input, but it wasn't necessary or particularly wanted. He didn't understand that I have a career, not a job, and that it means a lot to me. I liked him a lot, but I was not ready to give up the life I worked so hard for to become a shop teachers' wife whose husband owned only two shirts with sleeves and thought that being just like Larry the Cable Guy was a great thing. And so, I moved on, living the Solo Life.

I even tried dating a friend I have known for 20 years, but discovered that friendship was really all that was meant to be there. It is still a little awkward when we all get together as friends, but I value his friendship too much to let a little awkwardness get in the way.

A few months ago, I rejoined the church I grew up in, after reconnecting with my church and school friends on Facebook. I discovered that Travis Avenue is where I feel at home, and maybe the reason none of the other churches I visited (incuding all of the churches here in town) felt right was because God wanted me to come back home. So I travel to Fort Worth for church on Sundays, and I am even thinking about joining the church choir. I enjoy talking and reconnecting with my old friends. And for the first time in a long time, I have gotten involved in politics--as in protesting that my conservative values are being thrown away for no good reason that I can see. I am probably not going to spout much about the political aspect, since I find it is a divisive topic, and it is sooo not the point of this blog.

This brings us all up to date with my Solo Life. This is me up to this point. I am on the last day of a week's vacation, and I am starting a blog about my life. I am not sure where this is going, or even if I am going to keep this up. But if there are other single women in their 30s, living the Solo Life, comment, let me know if you want to hear more and what you want to hear more about. The blogs from this point on will not be this long, since I had to cover years of time in these first few.

Well, I have a lot of things to do before ending my vacation day, so I will let y'all ponder the Solo Life to this point, and go one living it.

The 90s

2009-09-30T11:43:00.000-05:00

I began my life as a single woman in April 1996. The first three months of my single life were spent on the sofa bed in my friend Ken's apartment while I saved up for my very first apartment. About a month in to living at Ken's he met and fell in love with his wife, Elizabeth. While Elizabeth and I got off to a rocky friendship start, we have since become the best of friends and I wonder how I could ever deal with what life throws me without my bff. I was an administrative assistant, so I didn't make much money, but I tried very hard to save it up so I could get my own place. And in July 1996 I succeeded.

I started my first apartment with my old bedroom furniture and a patio table for a dining table from my parents. My sister donated a sofa to the cause, and I had my TV and an old entertainment center. Not much, but it was mine. The pots and dishes were almost all from my Grannie after she went to the nursing home, including one very old iron skillet (still have and use it all the time). This is when I got my first cat, Lemur (registered name is Sophie). She came to live with me after my friend Angela's girlfriend couldn't take her when she moved out of state. Lemur was barely a year old, and is a registered Chocolate Point Balinese.

When I look back at the 90s I remember lots of fried potatoes, mac & cheese, and Spam. I also remember the day I fried potatoes in my ron skillet (the one from a garage sale) and when trying to pour the hot grease into a can for disposal, ended up melting the back of my hand. To make a long story short, I spent three months with a hand that I couldn't use, trying to make it with the help from my parents and friends. And make it I did. About this time, another cat, Andy came into my life. Andy wasn't his first name, he was Little Bit, Little Shit, and even Booger for a while (the latter name has a story behind it about my dad and a tarantula he found as a boy). He became Andy after I had a dream about a story Grannie used to tell me: When my Uncle Gene was a boy he went to the music minister at their church to ask them to play a song in the service--the "Andy" song. The minister couldn't place that song, so my uncle sang a bit for him--"Andy (and he) walked with me, Andy (and he) talked with me.." I got Andy from my boss whose cat had kittens and she needed to find them homes. Andy walked up to me and I knew he was meant to live with me.

After that, my apartment complex raised the rent so much that I had to look for a place that was more affordable. Oddly, I went from a one bedroom 300 sq foot apartment to a two story condo that was much closer to work--I got a really great deal. And then in September 1997, little Katie came into my life as the child of my best friends, Ken & Elizabeth. Katie was, is, and always will be a very important part of my life. I was there the day she was born, a little peanut coming out of the hospital room in her daddy's arms. I was there to help when I could during those first years of her life, watching her grow, watching her first steps, her first words, her first tantrums, her first birthday, her first manipulation of me (it wasn't hard, she just batted those eyes at me and pouted--I melted into a puddle and gave her anything she wanted) and loving her more every day.

Not long after Katie came into our lives, I moved to McKinney into a very nice apartment with a laundry room in situ. It was less than a mile from Ken & Elizabeth's new house, so I could spend more time with all of them.

You'll notice that I don't mention dating a lot here. That's because I didn't do a lot of dating. I had no money to go out and do anything, so I had no money to go out and meet anyone to date. But while I would have liked to have a boyfriend, it didn't seem like that was God's plan. So I worked, played with katie, hung out with my friends, and enjoyed the life I was given. I wasn't lonely, I had my work and my friends, and it was enough.

You might be wondering about my mention of God. I grew up Southern Baptist, but walked away from the church the summer of 1990 and never looked back. I went to church with my family on holidays, but never went on my own. But just because I walked away from the church, did not mean I walked away from God. I believed, I prayed, I just didn't attend worship services.

So that was my life in the 90s. Not much there, and yet I look back at those times fondly. I wouldn't trade those times for anything--they gave me best friends like Elizabeth and, of course, perfect little Katie. And they set my life up for the 2000s.

And so it starts...

2009-09-30T10:32:00.000-05:00

I decided to start this blog because I wanted to share what it is like to live life as a single woman in America. Amongst my friends, I am the only one who has never been married, has no kids, and has a career.

Some people envy me the single life, some people think I just need a man to take care of me, love, etc and some people just think I need to get a really good sex life and if marriage comes, then whatever. I think that while I would love to have a family to take care of, I made choices, and those choices have led me to lead a Solo Life. It isn't easy, sometimes it is lonely, but it is always interesting.

I guess I should start off with a little bit about me. I live in my own home that I had built in September 2004 in a small town Southwest of Fort Worth, TX. I have never had a really serious relationship, although I have dated on and off. I have worked for the same company for 13 years in various capacities, and have moved up to a Sales Manager in a Fortune 100 company, which has been my position since September 2002.

I have always lived alone, except for a three month period after I moved out of my parents house in 1996 when I stayed with a friend until I could save enough for an apartment. I currently have 5 cats and two aquariums (a 29 gallon and a 47 gallon). But I didn't buy/get all those at once, they came to me over time. And just so you know, I have heard all the old maid cat lady jokes I care to hear. I believe that God brought me into this life and brought these animals to me for a reason. I don't believe I will be an old maid, nor do I believe I'll be the cat lady--these stereotypes are not me, I am none of those things, I am Ellen, single woman, in her late thirties, just trying to figure it out like the rest of the world.

In the next post, I am going to explain my journey to this point. How did I become a single woman in her late thirties? How did I get to this little town? And then I am going to take you into my life and show you how I walk through it, day by day. Hopefully there are other single women in their thirties out there who can identify. And hopefully, people who know one of those single women can better understand just what it means to Live a Solo Life.