Do your pets own you? Sure they do!

I have three cats. The oldest will be 18 on Halloween. I can say, without a doubt, she owns me!

My Training:
It all began one beautiful Christmas Eve in 1992. My daughters, Shelley & Mary, had been enticing a cute little kitten with food. Therefore, this kitten decided she wanted to live with us. Now mind you, I already had a neutered male cat that had previous dibs on me. This didn't matter...we soon had a new kitten residing with us!

Now, the time came to name this kitten. She has evidently survived against all the odds of living outdoors with no home to call her own. She was a Miracle. Hence, her name became Miracle. Through time, this name evolved into Merkles. Merkles is mostly Siamese. She was hard to live with for the first two weeks and I had threatened that she will be out of the house unless she learned how to live with us. She learned how to live with me and the kids within the time frame allowed, so, almost 18yrs later, she is still with me.

Yes, I said, with me. LOL She had grown so old that Shelley couldnt see her get older and die. Like I said, Merkles will be 18 on October 31st...thankfully, she still lives. I still get the privilege of feeding her twice a day, giving her meds once a day, and cleaning out her kitty box umpteen times since the meds make her go several times a day! I get to change her water daily too. She prefers the filtered water as the regular tap water upsets her digestive system! She has her special food she prefers to eat, namely, PEOPLE food!

When I cook food for Daryl and I, Merkles is right there yelling at me for a sample. She has to wait until supper is done for any scraps...(I only say this cause I have been asked to not spoil her...but Daryl doesn't understand, this cat is persistent!!! So, yeah, she gets a taste! "Oooppps!! Aww, Merkles, this fell on the floor, its yours!) I do whatever I can to be sure she gets some good scraps too! It is, after all, what Merkles prefers!!

In the mornings, if I have not awakened, Merkles will stand, just stand at the end of my bed on the floor, and stare at me. Now, you know she is there, you can feel her presence! I quietly turn, to look and see if she is there. Yep! There she is! Oh no! She saw me looking at her! It's all over now! She yells at me...I tell her good morning...sit up, get dressed...and she escorts me to the bathroom! I take care of business and she walks me down the stairs into the kitchen to her food bowl. Well, shall I say her empty dirty bowl from the night before. I now am required to dispose of the old bowl and get a new one and feed her what she desires. Her fav food is canned tuna, of course. She gets that about once a month, maybe twice. She likes the water and the tuna both. I can dissolve her meds into the water and she drinks that and then eats the tuna. I do the same with her chicken packages, lol! See! she has me trained!

My Chair:
Well, it used to be my chair! It now is inhabited by Merkles most of the time. I have to practically beg her for my chair to do my radio show or my farms! She is a tough cookie! If I am in her, I mean my chair, she will stand on the box next to me (the left or right box) and yell at me. I think she says something like, "OUT of MY chair! Its MY naptime!! Move it ole lady!" Yeah, that's what it is she says, I just know it! She owns me AND my chair!

Her people preferences:
Now, mind you, I feed her, clean her box, and have loved her forever! You would think she is devoted to me, right? Wrong! When I would talk to my boyfriend on the phone before we moved in together, I had the speaker phone on to be able to hear him better. Well, Merkles decided she wanted to talk to him too. So, she meows. Daryl meows back. This goes on back and forth with each call. Nice, right? Noooooooooo! When Daryl came to visit me the first time and to meet my daughters, as soon as Merkles heard his voice, that was it! She recognized his voice from the phone calls! The next morning, does she tell me hi first, noooooooooooooo. She tells Daryl hello first! Hence, her new love is Daryl. She prefers his lap to mine. She sits closer to him than me. She talks to him in the mornings before me. When he comes home from work, she focuses on him! She wakes up from sleeping all day long, ignoring me, and gives him her full attention! Whats up with that! She is fickle! Yep, definitely fickle!!

How she trained Daryl:
When Merkles sits in his lap, he must cross his leg to where there is a little hole where she can nestle her hind end in for her comfort. She lays her front paws over the top of the crossed/bent knee like the Queen of Sheba! (See photo below!)



Now, I am not the jealous type, much...but dang it, Merkles was MY cat! I work my fingers to the bone for her! (Feel sorry for me yet?) Oh well...guess she likes owning more than one person at a time. I should be happy she loves him and he adores her. Oh and there is another inside cat that loved me more...well, until Daryl came along! (See Photo below!)



Yes, this is Mama...she was another outside cat that migrated with me to Daryl's. She falls all over herself to get to his side for petting or cooing (wooing) him...she cries out for his attention! Yes, she also owns Daryl...used to be me...I still get to feed her and clean out her part of the kitty box. She allows me to spoil her. Sometimes, she likes my chair too. She really likes the kitchen chair. Yep, she loves the chair I like to sit in while cooking and sometimes doing word search puzzles. Oh well...there is Harley too, the outside cat!! He likes to follow Daryl when he works outside! He lets me feed him and clean out his cat box too when he is inside the mud room! I get to hold him and scratch his head. If Daryl comes near, its Sayanara Momma!! (See photo below...Harley likes beer!)




Well, I do love my cats...and in their own way, they love me too...especially when I feed them and clean out their cat box and give up my chair! Now if they can only vacuum up their discarded fur!!! (Yes, I am trained to do that too! Grrrrr!!)

Bubba-isms 2010

Today, I drove my oldest daughter around the area here where I live now and showed her all the cool stuff. I showed her how to get to two different grocery stores. We drove around three small towns and then drove into a larger city for some lunch. We drove around looking for something that would tantalize our taste buds. We ended up eating at a chicken restaurant and had their famous sandwiches, fries, diet lemonade for me and sweet tea for her. We ate, drove over to Best Buy and drooled over some iPads and MacBooks!! Rest assured, we left behind three iPads/MacBooks with the website containing Butt Freckles! lol (see previous blog!)

We then headed on to the town where Daryl's granddaughters live. Since we had about 50 minutes to kill until our 3pm visit, we stopped at Walmart on the way. Shelley slept on probably the hardest bed she has ever encountered. Daryl, bless his sweet heart, had placed several layers of carpeting pad in the bed frame. I added three or four quilts on top, thinking it would be comfy. Well, it wasn't...I think Shelley finally found a position she could fall asleep in..so we had to go get some sort of padding to make it better for her. We got some 4" memory foam thing...but, she has to wait at least 24hrs for it to unscrunch itself! So, she will be sleeping on the living room couch tonite...I think this is going to be quite a challenging trip for Shelley :/

Shelley had slept on the bed upstairs, and well, lets say, it was softer than concrete, but not much more! I bought a 4" memory pad to put on top of all of what I had placed on the bed, and hope it's bearable for her. We told the grandkids that if she thought it was comfy, then they would be as well. They thought this was funny. I remember while I was making the bed up after placing 4 quilts on top that it wasn't going to be enough for Shelley to be comfortable...and sure enough, it wasn't. Tonight will tell the tale!

On the way back home, we stopped in a small town grocery. We got what we needed for the weekend's consumption. As we headed home, I looked down and what was a full tank of gas yesterday, was now down to the last two bars! I automatically turned the car around and headed for the closest gas station and filled up. While there, and being in a tired, silly mood, Shelley and I discovered our own "Bubba-isms."

You may ask, now, what am I talking about? Again, you asked a great question! After filling the tank, we were about to back up and exit the station. Some young gal was driving off in her car. Now, this car sounded as if it had NO muffler! It was loud, and quite obnoxious! Not knowing my window was still rolled down, Shelley yelled, "Why dont you get your car fixed 'ho'!" Upon discovering the window was down, she felt kind of like crap...forgetting she wasnt in the big city any more. She knew she wasnt from around there! lol I told her, well, if she heard, then she should worry about her brother "Bubba" coming to get her! I said she was probably in Bubba's car any way.

Well, our "Bubba-isms" continued from there which caused us to have silly outbursts of laughter: 1) "Yeah well he probably takes bubba baths!" 2) "That 'aint' nuttin'. He may even chew bubba-gum!" 3) "What kind of beer does he drink? Bubba light?" 4) "Stay away from that Bubba bee!" 5) Use bubba wrap for all your shipping needs." 6) "Do you see that Bubba fly on the flowers?" 7) "Make sure the cows stay inside the Bubbawire fence!" Now we could have gone on and on...but we had to get home and do other stuff. It was fun while it lasted...maybe it lasted too long...none the less...our deed began when we had to refill my gas tank. (Disclaimer: If any of these resemble anyone you know, it is unintentional and may the innocent remain unknown! We meant no harm when portraying our Bubbas and if we stepped on anyone's toes, wear better shoes next time ;)

Let's talk...Butt freckles!!

What are butt freckles you ask? Well, I am so glad you asked!

Butt freckles are my new way of showing folks how wonderful they are! Butt freckles have their very own personalities and they bring joy, happiness, and lots of warm feelings to those who own them.

I discovered butt freckles when my beading teacher, Julie, displayed them on her facebook. I fell in love with them immediately!! Some are fuzzy, some are fuzzier! LOL They come in different colors and all have different names to reflect their looks. And trust me when I say this...they are quite ADDICTING!!! Beware! You will find yourself buying them again, and again, and again!!!

Now, my Daryl has 4 of them! I have 3 as of today, but, I can guarantee you, I will have more! I buy a lot of them and give them to family and friends. In fact, I give away more than I keep for myself. I like to give them away so others will know how special they are to me...and I do hope those that have not yet received them yet, don't worry, you shall get yours...have you been good to me? LOL j/k I wouldn't hang out with anyone who didn't inspire me. And Bryan, you will get yours when I can find one that has light green/gray colors...I just have to contact the butt freckles lady (B. Freckle) and request it...she has been so kind to fill my other orders.

How can you get your own butt freckle you ask? Simple! Here is what you do...

Go to: http://www.etsy.com/
Type in: butt freckles

This will take you to the store where you can select the perfect butt freckle for you or others you wish to give them to. I highly recommend any and all of them! When I shop for them, it is so hard to decide which to buy, and then to decide, ok, who gets these! I try to buy 3-4/wk...they are affordable and make great gifts for kids and grown ups! And you know what? I think grown ups are the bigger kids! Seriously! You should see how they react when they get one! I love to bring that kid out of folks! Let me show you some of the butt freckles I have bought:



So, don't be shy! Search the butt freckles available and find that perfect one for you or whoever you want one for...they are cute, and so adorable. And, they seem to sell out quite fast! You do have to watch out tho...sometimes, and I don't say this to just anyone...sometimes, they move around and can cause some mischief! I swear, the ones that Daryl own, they are always getting into trouble! He had my red one sitting on his keyboard, and he tried to blame her for getting the other ones in trouble! Honestly, I think its Daryl who did the trouble-making...but don't tell him I know his secret! He is such a rascal!

Memorial Day 2010

Today is a day we should thank all the men and women of our armed forces who are active, inactive, retired, and deceased...their dedication does not go unnoticed...and to all Vietnam veterans, "WELCOME HOME!"

Many people today celebrate the holiday at home, with relatives, or on the road. Daryl and I chose traveling on the road Friday through Sunday. We stayed home today, mainly because I had my DJing gig today between 1-3pm.

Where did we go? What did we do? Well...we drove to Branson, Missouri to camp with two other couples. Marrien & Steve and Mooch & Juliet who are all friends of mine from the undernet chatting days. I had already met them except for Juliet. She is from Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Mooch & Juliet will celebrate their 7th anniversary this November. She seems to have adjusted well in America. She is an asset to the USA. She is as lovely in person as she has always been online.

Daryl and I took the motel camping route...we merely drove back and forth to the campgrounds. Marrien & Steve had their motorhome, Mooch & Juliet slept in their pop-up trailer...both had A/C, thankfully! The park where they camped was really nice...it was a bit crowded though. Steve brought his boat, unfortunately, it was not usable. Next time, he said, we can go for a boat ride.

We ate Friday night at Mooch & Juliets campsite...hamburgers, hotdogs, deviled eggs, and of course, all kinds of libations :) We left the camp around 9pm...everyone was pretty tired by then. When Daryl and I got back to the motel...we got online and read our emails, and of course, I had to do my Facebook/farms/cafe stuff before falling asleep. It hard to sleep that night...I was awake every hour to head to the bathroom...drank too many liquids, and being diabetic, well, it just wasn't a great night.

Saturday, Marrien cooked a delicious breakfast! We all ate except Daryl who only likes to eat one meal a day. I don't know how he can do that...brave man! lol Most of the rest of the day was for rest and relaxation. Mooch & Juliet fished and brought home only a couple of fish. They decided it wasn't enough to cook for supper. Marrien cooked crab legs and you should have seen her and Juliet eat them! I ate bite...I just wasn't impressed with crabmeat. We had more hamburgers, ham, deviled eggs, and ice cream for dessert while watching a movie. We left about 10:20pm to head to the motel. I fell fast asleep! I only woke up one time...thankfully!

We all went to eat breakfast at a place called Billy Gail's...man, I had a pecan pancake that spilled over the edge of the plate! It took a while to get served...poor Steve got his food last, and we all had finished before he had. The restaurant atmosphere was nice...but honestly, breakfast Saturday morning that Marrien fixed was much more delicious!! Mooch was a rascal while waiting for our food...he used my cell phone with bejeweled on it to keep him from going crazy...not sure it stopped him though, lol. Aww Mooch, you're a good egg!!

Daryl and I left Branson about noon sunday...I was glad to be leaving...I was not impressed with that city. Too crowded...with people and businesses. We really enjoyed where we stayed at the Super 8 motel...great coffee, juice, and breakfast was a filling one for all who ate.

It's nice to be home again...I missed the cats and they us. Guess its bye for now...retirement sure is interesting!

Today I msgd on Facebook the following, and its what I believe in...


"The following words are my opinions from my observations and my own life experiences...take them with a grain of salt if you so desire...or as words of wisdom. I know there will be those who disagree, and that is fine with me. May your life be filled with all you wish it to be...it's your choice:


NO matter what ppl choose as their life's work...it is their choice and I am happy that David has some direction in his life. I know a lot of mechanics who make a lot more money than I ever did. [And, I have a master's degree and taught for 26 years!]

I have seen former students handed scholarships and grants and wasted them! I believe if someone is just handed things, they usually abuse them, take them for granted. Ppl, who work for what they want, they will appreciate it much more because they have 'earned' it.

Weakness in ones ability to follow through is a big downfall. College is much different from high school where students can truly be spoiled. Gone are the days when the majority of students truly wanted to study and learn things. It seems high school is a place where students want to socialize way too much. There is a value in education...anything of value must be paid for with hard work and dedication. Many think they already know it all...if that were true, why are these ppl not successful?

Handouts are for those who really need them...but not for a lifetime of taking. I myself have been on welfare for 6 months, not a lifetime of it though. I have also lived where I only had a can of potatoes, a box of grits, 4 sticks of oleo, and running water...I looked for work and made it out of that pitiful life. I had a desire to succeed and on my own. I did not want to be weak. I didn't turn to drugs or alcohol to escape. I lived and yearned to be successful by learning in school. I didn't have a grant or scholarship to pay for my college. It was up to ME to do it...no one else. Failure was not a lifetime option! Period!

There are a lot of others out there that are your competition...they will work harder than you, and they will be more successful than you. If you think you can compete with what you are not equipped with, go on ahead and keep spinning your wheels. If you decide to break free of the ruts you have made, pick yourself up, stop feeling sorry for yourself...you can succeed. It's YOU who must decide to change. Be the best at what you want to be! I wish you lots of success!"



I wonder what kind of responses I will get from it...I am fairly sure at least one or two ppl will say something like "who does this person thing she is?" or "blah, blah, blah"...and these responses are ok, and yet I worry about those who do. I worry because they just don't get it! They have no life experiences to back up their lame words...that's ok...I wish them the best!

First comes the snow, now the rains!

I can't wait for Spring to REALLY get here...every time I plan to go do some walking outside, the weather screws things up! At least there are some times to do some sort of exercise. And, going to the bathroom, up and down stairs, doesn't count! lol

Daryl isn't feeling well today again...I hope he isn't getting the crud...he works so hard, even when he doesn;t have to work...he wont miss work unless he really is so sick he cant get up! Men!

Merkles and Momma each fight for Daryl's chair while he is at work...this morning, Momma jumped up while Merkles was already there. Merkles swung her paw at her and down Momma goes. Animals!

I was going to go get that new cell phone that came out today from Tmobile...it will work on wifi...I need to re-hook up the wifi tho...I hope it does work, when I do find the power cord. We disconnected it when our internet was going haywire...its an expensive wifi and I really doubt that it was bad. We shall see...more on that later!

Just learned that women who are fit, must work an hour a day to keep their weight at the same level...obese gals, well, we are gonna have to work what? Five hours a day! NOT! I was asked to do 30 mins a day for my diabetes and that is hard to do...maybe I need to get some new speakers and play loud music and dance my arse off! Well, when I get to the doc regarding my back, that is...I am afraid if I go to the back doc, there could be some surgery involved...not what I want! Losing weight should help the back pain...so why is the weight not getting off faster? Cause someone cant get out and walk!!

Eight more days till payday! I'm not hurting, but its always nice to have a nice cushion in the checking account! I need to pay my income taxes with this next check...not looking forward to turning money loose for that! It will make things tight, but I will survive...I will just have to cut down somewhere...maybe food? lol I really need to work on my jewelry much more than I do...I cannot get myself in gear! I have become the ultimate example of retired laziness! I need a job! A job...one where the state of Kansas will tax me even more on! Grrrrrr

Well, lunchtime...gotta go eat some tuna...it will be good. Wish I had some chips to go along with it! Bad Diane! I am getting tired of my farms and cafe, and aquariums...imagine that! I do love reading Facebook tho...I can keep up with my children, other family, former students, and friends. This is nice!

Laters...

Being retired...

Being retired is good, and bad.

THE GOOD: I can stay up as late as I want, sleep late, and take unlimited naps! I have learned to live on a tight budget and be successful! I can help others on how to retire (the process as I dealt with it). I can catch up on old movies, soaps, online activities (Facebook, Farmville (and other farm games), Island Paradise (and other island games), Cafe' World, Fish World (and other aquarium games), Yoville, Egg Buddies, and Zoo World. (More will come, I just know it!) There are beading projects galore and relaxation doing it! Living out in the country brings fresh air!

THE BAD: Cows don't always stay on their side of the fence! Skunks can really stink things up around the house outside! People don't like to lock their doors; MizMac always locks her doors! People will just walk inside your home mistaking it for the new gunshop down at the end of the road. Not good! The nearest grocery store is 12 miles away, in either direction and they don't have everything one needs!

There are taxes on food here! Car registration was close to $300 (property tax they call it) as opposed to under $90 back home. Speaking of taxation, Kansas has a state tax! I will let you know if I have to pay taxes on my annuity income I earned in TX and is deposited in my TX checking account...its a sore subject for me right now :/ and I wont know for sure until 2010 taxes are done.

My cell phone doesnt work out here in the country. It will if I buy a new cell phone that allows wi-fi internet use. There is a catch! I learned I have to buy the phone at the regular price $450 and keep our no-contract status, or pay $199 with a 2-yr contract! What a racket! With a wi-fi phone, I can get phone calls/texts and internet usage w/o paying the extra web fee. (Of course, this phone will not be out until Oct. 24th and I have time to decide if its worth it.)

THE RESULT: A dear friend of mine teaches in the Dallas, TX area and asked me about how I spend my time now that I am retired. She had stayed home a few days due to illness and said that time went by so slowly and what did I do to fill my time? I told her this:

"Well, I sleep late after staying up late with Daryl...I read, bead, shop as needed and take my time during the day when few are out shopping and find great deals, TV, Facebook (I have over 700 ppl on my friends list, most are former students that I can still nurture), Facebook games, chatting, soaps, cook, nap, now I have to excercise to help me lose weight cause of my back, walk outside and enjoy the fresh air, watch the cattle and horses in the back field, bake whenever, I hope to do an at home job...I take care of bills, banking, any problems that arise that need to be taken care of...I can do anything I want to do...no more grades, school deadlines...if I had stayed in Corpus, I would have worked part time and done some volunteer work...but really, it just seems the day is already gone, then its time to get to bed.

It took me time to "slow down" from my hectic lifestyle as a teacher. My blood pressure is so much better too! I dont have bags under my eyes any more, I am not grouchy, I am happy to wake up to a new day every day. There are always little projects to do or finish up. I just dont have to be a slave to any thing any more. I do not watch the clock much any more either. I have a freedom that I never knew...no worrying about being late to work, or doing this and that. The life of leisure took time to learn, just think of it as being off for the summer, and not having to go back. Remember how we always said, I wish I didnt have to go back to work so soon, cause the summer went too fast? It gets like that. I mean, you are wound down...no more having to give up your time. Take care of YOU for once!"

WHAT I MISS MOST: My daughters!!! I miss being there with them in case they need me. I know, I know...they are adults and can take care of themselves. I'm a mother, so shoot me! LOL I miss being in the classroom with students I already know or will get to know and love. I miss former students coming back to visit. (Facebook is great for me though as I get to read about them and their families. I can offer them advice still, and no, they dont have to take it just like in real life!) I miss stores being so close for shopping! I miss great internet service! I miss being home in TX. I miss my family back in TX...my brothers and their families, cousins, nieces, nephews. And my friends! I miss my beading buddies! My neighbors! My clubbing buddies! I miss being their designated driver!

WHAT I FEEL TODAY: I feel peaceful and very happy to be here with the man I love. My cats are happy and love running up and down the stairs. They also love to come up and sit by my bed watching me...watching me until I wake up and they can meow for food, water, love, or attention. I wish my neighbors, town folks, and others were more friendly. I miss the TX ppl and their hospitality. Kansas folks are very cautious. They don't extend their hand in friendship like we do in SoTX...I got spoiled back home! Well, I guess they will just need to learn some TX ways here in KS...I'll just have to kill them with TX kindness! :) "Laterz!"