Being Alone

Friends and family ask how I can stand all the alone time while Frank is working in California.  For the most part I don't mind it.  I relish it and embrace it.  Maybe it's because after raising three kids who were about 16 months apart during a time when my husband worked the afternoon shift and I worked days, I never found much time for myself.  A lot of people are afraid to be alone and even more don't know how to be alone.   And then there are some like myself that require a great deal of alone time to regenerate.  I found this awesome poem on YouTube that pretty much explains how to be alone.

My Furry, Feathery, Kids

Just briefly, I wanted to put a couple pictures up of my pets.  I've never added a picture with a post and wanted to give it a try.   

This is Chewbacca Mud (his middle name stands for my ugly dog.)  He's 'special'.  A mixed up mess of a yorkshire terrier, a pug, a shih tzu, and a poodle.  I never have see any poodle in him.  He's so ugly he's cute and he's the sweetest little guy.  He was born with a congenital defect that affects the first and second vertebra of his spine called alanto axial subligation (wobbler.)  More on that later.  

This is Booboo Catface, Chewy's brother.  

This is Marley, the cockatiel.  He's fairly new to the family.  I think he's gorgeous and he whistles at me all the time!  

This is the newest member of the family.  His name is Shadow and I got him a couple days before Halloween from a friend who took in a stray female cat.  Low and behold, the stray was pregnant and Shadow is one of her kittens.  He was born in August of 2010.  Spay your pets please.  It's so sad to see so many kittens and puppies come into this world with no home to go to.  

A simple online search will usually find a low cost spay/neuter clinic in your area.

My Recycle Bin is Here!

It might seem silly to you but one of my New Year's Resolutions is to recycle more this year, so I was excited to see my brand new orange plastic recycling bin being dropped off at my house today!  I'm still going to take all my paper to the local grade school in the neighborhood because I know they can benefit from it.  A simple brown grocery bag just outside the kitchen in the my garage is perfect for paper.  I even tear off our address from envelopes and all mail and toss those into my little compost bin on top of the counter and put the rest of the junk mail in the paper sack.  It doesn't take long at all for the bag to be filled.  Now, with my new orange bin, I can recycle more than just paper without having to drive all over town to drop it off.  They'll pick it right up at the curb once a week.

My First Post on January 2, 2011

I opened this Blog Spot in 2007 so even though it says I've been blogging since then, I've only started today!  January 2, 2011

I'm in my 50's now, an 'empty nester' and unlike the horrors I've heard about how traumatic it can be when the kids all leave home, I embraced it!!  I was born and raised in Indiana and didn't move until I married my high school sweetheart. Since he was in the Marine Corps, we moved and lived in twenty-eight different homes from one end of the country to the other.  I'm a homebody, and I admit, somewhat of an introvert, which I don't think is so bad anymore.  While my husband gets regenerated by visiting with other people, I get recharged by experiencing quiet time; turning to my own self.  Spending too much time with others is exhausting for me.  My friends and family tend to think I have the answer to a lot of things and know it all, which I can assure you I absolutely do not. It may appear that way at times because I know, maybe, a little bit about a lot of subjects.  Sort of a Jack of all trades and master of none, I'm also a self proclaimed 'geeky nerd'.

I love children and have three, though now they are all in their 30's, and they are blessing me with grandchildren. I don't want to miss a minute of them growing up and they change so, so fast!!  I love family, animals, birds, wildlife, nature, gardening, photography, scrap booking, crafting, music, coffee, wine, books, quotes and making lists of things I like.  I'm always interested in health, nutrition, living green and recycling.  I may change my mind about those tomorrow and of course I will add more.  It doesn't take much at all to make me happy.  I keep way too much 'stuff' and it's extremely hard for me to part with a book I've purchased, but I do admire the 'less is more' lifestyle.  Maybe I can learn to live more like that with some practice.  Until then, come along for the ride while I decide who I want to be when I grow up.