Animals..and their sounds....

So I have been plagued by two animals this past week..well, ONE animal this past week, the other for the past MONTHS.....

Our neighbors, whom we love, have a dog whom I HATE. Let me start by saying, if I wanted dog crap all over my yard, I'd get a dog. I don't want a dog, and yet, I have dog crap all over my yard. There started my hate a thon of this animal. I asked them nicely on several occasions to please keep their dog out of my yard, that with me having a daycare, I cannot have their dog in my yard. Their response "But we live out in the forest, he's just being a dog and running free"..yah, IN MY FREAKING YARD. Ugh..I am NOT a dog person to begin with so ANY dog I meet is already on thin ice (except for Guy..he is one SMART dog..you can tell what he is thinking just by looking into his eyes...odd...)..but I digress....so..dog crap..in my yard...THEN..the damn animal decides he is going to start howling all night, every night. One night, I was up for 2 1/2 hours with him HOWLING (imagine a coyote..THAT kind of howling). I talked to them the next day and said "Didn't you HEAR him howling? He went on for 2 1/2 hours!". Their response? Again..."But he's just a dog doing what nature meant for him to do'. My response? "I'd like to do what nature intended for ME to do and that's sleep through the night!". They laughed like I was being funny. I wasn't. The dog howled the next night and the next. And the next. All damn night long. I spoke to them again and said 'seriously, you need to do something about him' (my thought was didn't his howling bother THEM?). They said they were getting a shock collar etc. I don't know if they ever did because he never stopped howling...he'd start at 1am and howl till 330. My favourite one (catch the humour dripping there) was 530 on a Saturday morning. :) For the last three nights, silence! I am wondering..did they buy a kennel and start putting him in the house at night? Then a pang of guilt..did the REAL coyotes get him (we have many creatures here in our forest)..the pang didn't last long.. I figured if he was REALLY doing what nature intended, he wouldn't be so stupid as to get eaten by a coyote...but whatever happened to him, I am loving the silence. I might have to ask my neighbors the next time I see them what happened to him...nahhh....let sleeping dogs lie...

So, onto the NEXT animal noise! We have four frogs. Frogs eat crickets. Crickets are bought at petsmart and live in a small critter keeper till they are frog dinner. Normally, they are quiet. Not sure why. Are they bred to be quiet? Do they keep quiet because they sense the frogs? Whatever the reason, they are quiet. Not this week! Oh no, we have the Bethoven of all crickets. He chirrups all day and all night. I threw him into the frog habitat (forgive me but I'd just put up with months of a howling dog ok? I could see where THIS was going!). Three days later and the damn thing is still chirruping. I swear he is saying 'na na na boo boo' in cricketese. If he doesn't shut up, I might have to feed him to the coyotes...

And this is February. Which means I have about a month before all the frogs in the frog pond start surfacing from the mud and start croaking.

Country livin...it doesn't get much better than this! :)

Hugs to all,
Jaye

Happy Valentines Day!!

Happy Valentines Day to ALL my friends, but especially my single ones who HATE today! Just know that while you may not have a significant other in your life right now, you ARE loved and your friendship means more to me than you will ever know! Enjoy your single time...it is a time to grow and learn and become more of the person you are.

In our society, we seem to still look upon 'singleness' as a flaw..a 'what's wrong with THEM' thought. There is NOTHING wrong with being single! There is not a flaw in someone who is older and single. Sometimes being single is a choice, and sometimes it's not. But however you arrive at your singleness, know that it is not a reflection on you as 'lacking' something..hell, you might even be smarter than us married folks! hahahaha...

Valentines Day is about love..sharing your joy and laughter and self with the world and those in it that you touch each day!

So Happy Valentines Day my friends! While I am alone on this Valentines day, I am not lonely! I have all of you in my life, and THAT is all I could ever ask for!

Hugs to all,
Jaye

Seriously???

I know I have blogged several times about this situation, but it REALLY frosts my cupcake! Can you tell???

So this woman in CA with the 14 kids...the one who already had SIX and is a single mother, then went for infertility treatments for MORE kids and ended up with 8 more! Her latest stunt? She has set up a website! It shows pics of the eight babies, who ARE very cute...and it also, for your convenience, has a link so you can directly contribute to her and her family! WTF?? So she has six kids...is a single mom..and KNOWINGLY and with INTENT went out to have more..and now she is asking US for money??? Oh! And she also has said she doesn't receive state aid..but then went on to say she DOES get almost $500 a month in food stamps. Uh...last I checked, that was considered state aid!

The GALL of this woman...I really just shake my head...I feel for her kids...and her parents...but she is certainly a few french fries short of a happy meal.....

Ugh....

Hugs
Jaye

Alone, but not lonely

I always use my 'alone' times to get things accomplished that I otherwise put off...closets get gutted and cleaned...
I take a class, or teach one...
The kids and I try to do one or two 'new' things during this time...Paige and I are taking up cross stitching and I want to take Ben and Paige to the Rainforest cafe...we've never been and it looks like fun....
I am taking a trip home...which for me is with Marks family...MY family...they are my favourite people and I love them...
I have a personal trainer who gave me a personal fitness routine and if my kids stop getting the flu and other nasty things, I will get to the gym and start this program!....
I read all those books I've put off reading...
I get closer to God..I read my bible and I take the time for personal study..
I just 'listen'. To the quiet of the house...to the sound of the wind in the trees....to my thoughts..

And I love from afar....and I am proud from afar...because I know that no matter where he is in this big wide world, he knows that I love him and that I am proud..and that we are all ok..and that we eagerly await his return....

Hugs
Jaye