My Daughter,

If I could give you one thing,
I would give you the ability
to see youself
As others see you ...
Then you would realize
Just what a truly
Special person
You are.

September 9, 1972

Happy Birthday, Michelle.

I Love You.
Mom

"You have reached the City Animal Services and Licensing Department.  For stray animals, press 1; for emergency services or to report a wild animal in your house, press 2; for licensing and registration information, press 3."

*Bleep*

"Welcome to the licensing and registration department. For directions to our facility, press 1; for our mailing address, press 2; for information on registration for your pets, press 3."

*Bleep*

"By City ordinance, all domestic pets within the City limits must be registered and proof of rabies vaccination must be provided.  This includes cats, dogs, ferrets and pot belly pigs; if your pet has not been spayed or neutered, the fee for registration is $12.50; if your pet has been spayed or neutered, the fee is $7.50; all ferrets and pot belly pigs must be spayed or neutered. The fee for pot belly pigs is $25. Registration may be done on-line; by mail; or by visiting our facility.

For directions to our facility, press 1; for our mailing address, press 2; for our website address, press 3."

*Bleep*

Please visit our website at www.city.org/animal. Thank you"

*Click*

After I hung up, I wondered ... cats, dogs, ferrets and pot belly pigs.  What if I had a Lemur? Or a skunk? Do they not have to be licensed?  Who gets to decide what animal is domesticated or not?  

And why are pot belly pigs being discriminated against?

Hmmmmmm ...

Well, I was going to do another Theme Thursday but since I did a Theme Thursday on Wednesday, I think I'm going to pass.

Besides, I'm getting very bored with the look of my blog.  I've decided I'm going to change it, probably even switch to two columns, different format ... whatever comes to mind.

Plus, I have a lot of stuff to get done today besides play with the format here ... shop for a new cook top (it was a choice between a new sliding door in our bedroom or switching from electric to gas cook top in the kitchen ... guess which one I opted for!), check out assisted living housing for Uncle Jerry (he's getting really bad and according to his doctor, she told him back in January that he shouldn't be living alone, let alone still driving! The man is 92 years old and has Parkinson's, for cripe sake!), and a few other errands.

Anyway ... don't be surprised if this place looks different tomorrow.  Of course, don't be too surprised if it looks the same, either.

I have been known to procrastinate once in a while.

Since I got so carried away with those 100 Things, I completely bypassed my Theme Thursday last week!  To make it up to every one (like you really care, I know!), I thought I'd sneak in a Theme Wednesday today ... and possibly a Theme Thursday tomorrow.  That way, I don't have to think too much, since the subjects have already been provided for me.  And I used up all my brain power on that 100 Things list!

Today's topic is from Miss Deirdre ... "What does friendship mean to you (me)?"

According to Webster:

Main Entry: friend·ship
Pronunciation: 'fren(d)-"ship
Function: noun
1 : the state of being friends
2 : the quality or state of being friendly : FRIENDLINESS
3 obsolete : AID

Main Entry: ¹friend
Pronunciation: 'frend
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English frend, from Old English frEond; akin to Old High German friunt friend, Old English frEon to love, frEo free
1 a : one attached to another by affection or esteem b : ACQUAINTANCE
2 a : one that is not hostile b : one that is of the same nation, party, or group
3 : one that favors or promotes something (as a charity)
4 : a favored companion
5 capitalized : a member of a Christian sect that stresses Inner Light, rejects sacraments and an ordained ministry, and opposes war -- called also Quaker
- be friends with : to have a friendship or friendly relationship with

According to Me:

A true friend loves you and accepts you unconditionally ... in spite of yourself;

A true friend will not lie to you or deceive you because they know you can handle the truth from them ... whether you like it or not;

A true friend will support your decisions even if they disagree with what those decisions may be;

A true friend will be there to pick you up if those decisions turn out to be wrong;

A true friend understands when you need to cry, when you need a shoulder or when you need solitude;

A true friend is as comfortable with silence as with conversation;

A true friend is there in times of pain as well as times of laughter;

A true friend will fly across country to help you pack and move;

A true friend will make you a part of their family ... and you know the family feels the same way;

A true friend will drop everything to be there for you when you need support;

A true friend will listen to you complain and bitch about anything that bothers you;

A true friend can play Devil's Advocate even when you don't want to hear it;

A true friend will share the last chocolate covered donut if you really want part of it;

A really true friend will never bail you out of jail ... they will be sitting right next to you in the jail cell saying "Damn! That was fun!"

Thank you, my friend.

After this entry, there will be nothing you don't know about me.  My soul has been bared for all to see.

76.   I am not afraid to die
77.   I am afraid of how my daughter will handle it when I do die
78.   I am addicted to Hazelnut coffee creamer
79.   My 1st (ex) husband was a perfectionist
80.   I used to rake the living room carpet before he came home from work
81.   My 2nd (ex) husband was a slob
82.   I had to find the living room carpet when I came home from work
83.   When I was in high school, I wanted to go into the medical field
84.   The sight of blood doesn't bother me
85.   The smell of blood does
86.   I once served on a jury and the defendant kept winking at me
87.   We found him guilty anyway
88.   I have a shoe box full of greeting cards so I don't have to buy new ones every time someone has a birthday
89.   There's never one that's appropriate so I buy new ones anyway
90.   My father lived less than a mile away from me when I was a senior in high school and I didn't know it until after I graduated
91.   I had to testify at a trial when I was six years old
92.   The man was convicted of rape and sentenced to twenty-five years
93.   I was scared to death that he would find me when he was released from prison
94.   I changed my last name every time I lived in a new foster home
95.   I haven't changed my last name since my first marriage (much to the chagrin of The Butthead)
96.   I will change it if I ever get married again
97.   Drinking a bottle of perfume was the closest I've ever come to thinking about suicide
98.   I burped 'Lilies of the Field' for a week after wards
99.   I love to travel
100. I hate to fly (have I ever mentioned that before?)

Okay.  That's it. There's nothing more to me.  If there are any questions, please forward them to the publicity department and they will be answered in the order received.

Hang in there ... we're on the downhill side of this thing!

51.   I believe in God
52.   I don't believe in organized religion
53.   I don't believe in hypocrisy
54.   When I was 16, my loving-family-oriented-Mormon-Aunt kicked me out and sent me back to foster care after I told her 12-year old daughter to go to hell
55.   I used to drink almost a full  liter of wine every night
56.   Now I rarely drink at all
57.   Incompetent people irritate the crap out of me
58.   I like to paint and draw
59.   When I was little, I had asthma and was allergic to almost everything
60.   By the time I was five years old, I had spent a total of almost three years in the hospital
61.   I still have asthma
62.   I'd rather eat a bag of salt & pepper potato chips than a Hershey bar
63.   I used to have a dream about a huge house with a double curving stairway that went from the ballroom up to a balcony
64.   A few years ago, my older brother Thom told me it wasn't a dream. The house really did exist
65.   My brother Billy and I used to catch stink bugs and beetles and keep them in a little red wagon
66.   I love thunder and lightening storms
67.   My older sister Micki was afraid of storms and used to hide under the covers
68.   I would pull the covers off of her
69.   She hit me in the mouth with a baseball bat
70.   I am an optimist
71.   I never finished college but in a profile written for a company newsletter, the editor wrote that I had a college degree
72.   I didn't correct him
73.   I was once interviewed for an article in the Palo Alto Times about single life and how to meet other people
74.   The reporter called me Nichole in the article and wrote that I bore a "striking resemblance to Faye Dunaway"
75.   I didn't correct him, either

**Must get more coffee ... brain fluid is running very low**

"100 Things About Me" ... (continued from 8/30/06):

26.   My great-great-grandfather was the last Spanish Governor of California (or so I've been told)
27.   My birth mother was fourth generation Californian
28.   I was born in California also, which makes me 5th generation
29.   My daughter was born (guess where?!) in California which makes her 6th generation
30.   My father wasn't born in California ... he was born in Texas
31.   I met my 1st (ex) husband, my daughter's father, in El Paso, Texas
32.   My 2nd (ex) husband (aka, the Butthead) was born in Texas
33.   The love of my life, who I now live with, grew up in Texas
34.   We moved to Texas in January 2006
35.   I really miss California ... but Texas is okay
36.   I once wrote a play which was performed by my 7th grade drama class three nights in a row
37.   The play was a take-off of the TV show Gilligan's Island 
38.   I played Ginger (hey! I wrote it! I got first choice!)
39.   I hate peanut butter & honey sandwiches
40.   I went to four different high schools
41.   I've never lived in the same place longer than five years (like they say, it's hard to hit a moving target!)
42.   I'm really hoping that trend stops ... now!
43.   Unless I win the lottery, in which case I will move once more. To California.
44.   I once wished a dog would bite my little (foster) sister because she was bugging me
45.   The dog bite her.  On the back of the head.
46.   I've never wished anything like that again
47.   My brother Billy can wiggle his eyes
48.   So can I
49.   I've broken my right arm twice and my left arm once
50.   The worst injuries I've ever had were cracked ribs, a cracked jaw, a concussion and a broken arm ... thanks to a horse

Whew!  This little exercise is more difficult than I thought!  I'll go work on the next twenty-five ... before I loose anymore brain fluid!

I've seen it on numerous blogs ... the "100 Things About Me" ... and I wondered if I could come up with 100 things.  Since my little brain is in need of a workout, I figured I'd give it a shot.  So, over the next couple of days, I'll be listing as many "things" as I can come up with. Starting ... Now:

1.    I'm female (HA! Surprised ya, huh?)
2.    I was born in 1952 (You do the math!)
3.    I'm the youngest of eight children
4.    I lied ... Michael was the youngest but he died at age 2 (so I'm the second to youngest of nine children)
5.    I have never met the oldest sibling (a sister ... Maureen ... wherever she is)
6.    I didn't know I even had one sister until she found me (total surprise! Nobody knew she existed, apparently ... well, except my mother and she wasn't telling)
7.    I was raised in Foster Homes (all eight of us were, actually. Mother-dearest had a slight problem with alcohol)
8.    I love animals (if it has fur or feathers ... I can do without snakes and potato bugs)
9.    I hate potato bugs!
10.  I have a wicked fear of heights!
11.  I once decked my (1st) ex-husband when I was standing on a chair because he came up behind me and started to grab me ... Never, Ever, Touch me when I'm more than three inches off the ground!
12.  I've been married twice
13.  The first time I was 18 years old (and stupid)
14.  The second time I was 39 years old (and stupider)
15.  My birth mother was married nine times (that I know of!)
16.  My sister (Micki) was married seven times
17.  My birth mother and my sister were also divorced as many times as they were married
18.  I've been divorced twice (see a pattern here?)
19.  The first time I was 22 years old
20.  The second time I was 46 years old
21.  The best thing that came out of my first marriage was my daughter
22.  There was nothing good that came out of my second marriage
23.  I was a construction accountant for twenty-five+ years
24.  Even though we weren't raised together, most of my brothers & sisters ended up in either construction or accounting careers (insert creepy music here)
25.  I owned a small restaurant for three years (after the construction career)

Alright, that's enough information for one day.  My brain is starting to leak.

The Monkey is starting school today!

Okay, it's only pre-school, but still. It's a huge step in that age-old process of children growing up and getting older ...

... of becoming their own person.

Michelle never went to pre-school. She went straight from the babysitter to kindergarten, from being almost one-on-one to more than thirty-to-one; She wore a green corduroy jumper and little tiny tennis shoes; She learned how to share, how to add 1+1 and 2+2, how to sing the alphabet; She learned how to tie her own shoes and button her own coat; She learned there was more to life than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

That first day of school however, as my little girl waddled into the classroom and never looked back, I stood in the hallway and cried my eyes out.

Some things have really changed since then.

Yes, it's only pre-school but there won't be any green corduroy jumpers and little tiny tennis shoes. The Monkey is required to wear a uniform!

There's Velcro instead of shoelaces and buttons.

Basic math begins with 'y+9=15.'

There's also a computer lab.

The Monkey will be thrilled if lunch includes Sushi instead of PB&J.

Somehow, I have a feeling that Dick, Jane and Spot have been replaced with something along the lines of 'War and Peace.'

*Sigh*

As much as things change, some will always remain the same. I have no doubt that The Monkey waddled into that classroom without looking back.

And I have no doubt that her mommy stood in the hallway and cried her eyes out, too.

A teacher is explaining biology to her 4th grade students.

"Human beings are the only animals that stutter," she says.

A little girl raises her hand.

"I had a kitty-cat who stuttered," she volunteered.

The teacher, knowing how precious some of these stories could become, asked the girl to describe the incident.

"Well," she began, "I was in the back yard with my kitty and the rottweiler who lives next door got a running start and before we knew it, he jumped over the fence into our yard!

"That must've been scary!" said the teacher.

"It sure was!" said the little girl. "My kitty went 'Fffff ... Fffff ... Fffff ...'  And before he could say 'F**k',  the rottweiler got him!"