13 October 2007

Christmas gifts

I came across a very cool Christmas gift for kids. It's personalized storybooks. I got this book for my granddaughter and it's just the cutest thing.
It includes her name, age, where she lives and the name of 2 of her friends. It is so adorable I just can't stand it.

I really think she's going to like this gift. What kid wouldn't want to have their name in a story book?? They not only have personalized childrens books they have CD's, DVD's, sports broadcasts, they even have books for teens and adults.

These are a great gift idea and a great way to give a really special gift that that really special kid. I think it's so important for kids to read, especially now with all the TV and video games and things to look at. I don't think it's ever too early to start reading to kids and to for them to have books. This is a great way to light the reading spark in kids, a book where they are a character. It's a fantastic idea.

These books are very nice too. They are larger but not too big for little hands to hold. They are printed in a fairly large font so they are easy to read (for kids and us older kids :). So if you're looking for a really unique gift check out personalizedstories.com for something different. It really is a gift that kids will use forever and treasure and pass on to their kids.

Okay, now I'm happy.

I've been a little on the down side all week over this bird I was sitting. I know, it's ridiculous but the truth of the matter is I empathize more with animals than I do a lot of humans. That sounds cold but the fact is the animals can't speak for themselves and, as a whole, humans can. So really I have much more compassion for animals than I do for most humans.

So I've been a little down over Fluffy. The owner picked them up today. Yea!!! And I had a good talk with him. I think I managed to make him understand that he may not be the best owner for Fluffy even though he loves him a lot. Sometimes love is just not enough. I think I made him understand without pissing him off and that's a huge accomplishment for me :) So I'm happy about that.

But what I'm really happy about is Fe-Lady and her hubby are coming to Hawaii!!! I'm so excited I will finally be able to meet a fellow blogger. You have no idea how that cheered me up. Okay, you would think I don't get out much, but I have been pretty down. This was just the kind of pick me up I needed. So I'm very much looking forward to that. There will be pictures and details to follow.

So the events over the course of the day have greatly improved my disposition. So now that I'm feeling better I don't have to consider drugs or the seemingly necessary
drug rehabilitation that follows (I'm just kidding, I wouldn't ever take drugs.)(Again :)

Misc. Stuff

The birds leave tomorrow. As much as I like them and enjoy having them, Fluffy's problems weigh on me and I feel so bad for him. It really brings me down. So I'm ready for them to go home. Also, 5 birds is a ton of work. It takes me a good 45 minutes to get everyone feed, watered, cages cleaned, etc. It's a lot of work. Then they all want some attention. Yeah, I'm done.

I took off yesterday and it looks like today is another off day. It's really overcast and kind of dreary and it's making me a little down. I think between the weather and the birds I'm just off.

I've started another blog. Yes, another one. I get pretty political on this one sometimes and I've decided to start a political/opinion blog. I've added it to my sidebar and you can read it at The Ones Who Get Screwed. I've gone into some more detail on the English court ruling on Al Gore's pack of lies if you're interested. I'm still kind of developing it so postings aren't everyday, I'm working on that though.

That's it for now. I've got to clean some cages and figure out what I'm going to do the rest of the day.

12 October 2007

Nobel Prize for fiction

So you can now put together a work of complete and total fiction that contain outright lies and still win the Nobel Prize. Even though courts have found that the movie contains lies and falsehoods. Even presidents of other countries see what insanity this is.

The world has freaking gone crazy. Mark my words, this is just the beginning in a plan to tax us to freaking death for this made up problem. Watch, they will start taxing your gas (they are already working on that) then your car, then the electricity you use, then they will calculate your "carbon footprint" and tax you on that. Watch and see. I have a lot more to say on this but I really have to get to work. I use a lot of electricity in my work so I better get to it :)

11 October 2007

It all goes back to my ankle

Since I started going to the chiro I've gotten rapidly better. Back pain is just when I overdo it. Hip pain is virtually gone. Plantar pain is blessedly absent. I find myself walking different, better, and standing on my feet differently. I'm guessing this is due to the orthotics.

Anyway, as things get better I briefly get old pains, I'm not sure I can even explain this. My hip was hurting so bad I spent lots of time in agony. When my hip started getting better I got the pain in my butt that I had last year. Ah, the hip was masking the butt pain?? Or the butt pain was the precursor to the hip. Hmmmm. The butt has now gotten better. That's how it's been going, clear up a current problem and an old problem raises it's ugly head. Since this problem has been a progression I realize that clearing it up will result in a backward progression.

So for the past week and a half I've been mostly pain free. It has been nice and I haven't felt this way in a long time. Well, 2 and a half years to be exact. After my run this morning my ankle ached. Hmmm, I thought to myself, this feels like when I sprained my ankles repeatedly. That thought set off a little bell in my head. I went back through my training journals and realized that prior to the ankle spraining episode of 2005 I was feeling awesome. I was pain free, no plantar and in the best shape ever. I then sprained my ankle. And sprained my other ankle. Then sprained my first ankle. Then sprained my other ankle. I think I ended up spraining my right ankle 3 times and the left ankle twice. I believe that is where this problem all began. I believe that I was walking weird due to ankle pain and that began a downward spiral of back, knee, hip problems that took 2 years to finally reach the point where I did something.

So there you have it, I think it all goes back to my ankle. I am well on the way to being totally pain free and frankly I can't wait. Meanwhile, I'm thinking apopcorn machine may be in order. I've been craving popcorn lately, where did that come from???

Another run

So I really feel like I will get back my running speed. I went out today for my 1 mile run. I noticed immediately that I felt great. I mean really great. Nothing hurt. It was wonderful. Running felt good again. I got the 1/2 mile point and felt so good I thought maybe I'd go further. But, I talked myself out of it. I want to run pain free and if that means going super short distances for a while, so be it. I will not injure myself because I'm anxious to go further. So I turned around at the 1/2 mile mark and headed back. When I hit my driveway Garmin said 13:44. That is 20 seconds faster than Tuesday and I had to walk for a little bit to get a dog back into it's yard. I think I did that mile in 13 minutes. I am so happy with myself I can hardly stand it. And, I felt awesome both during and after. Yes.

Okay, that's all for now. I have a post in my head but it's kind of hard to write and I'm not sure I'm going to.

09 October 2007

If this is Tuesday

it must be run day. So I went for a run this morning. Due to a variety of things I did not run last Thursday or over the weekend. Don't ask, I've moved on.

So I did my weight training and got ready for my run. I was a little apprehensive as my foot has been pain free for 4 days and I was afraid what would happen. My fears were completely unfounded. I am starting very, very slowly - kind of like when I first started running. I figure I've been pretty messed up so taking it slow can't hurt. I went out for 15 minutes/1 mile. That's all I'm aiming for right now. Last Tuesday I did 1 mile in 15 minutes - pain free. Today I did 1 mile in 14 minutes. Yea!! I was totally pain free the entire run and all day after. I was very excited that I was a minute faster in just 1 week. It really gives me hope that I will be able to get back to my old pace. Of course, that was slow too (10 min/mile) but I was very happy with it. With any luck at all I'll be back there by the first of the year. That's my goal.

So I made it through the whole day absolutely pain free and I am happy!!

08 October 2007

Columbus Day

I forgot, it's Columbus Day. Being the evil conservative that I am, this is a holiday I celebrate with relish :)

Truthfully, reading all these wackos protesting Columbus Day is so ridiculous. They say he spread death and destruction. My question is this, what would have happened if Columbus didn't find the New World? Someone would have eventually discovered it. When they did chances are good they would have been Europeans. They still would have brought the diseases and illnesses that the Indians weren't protected against. It just happened to be Columbus who got the honor. Seriously, it's so ridiculous. With all the problems in the world today, you want to complain about a holiday??? Get a life.

I've been distracted

I'm bird sitting. That is not that distracting but I'm sitting 3 birds. 2 moluccan cockatoos and a goffin cockatoo.

One of the Moluccans, Tatu, is the bird I sit all the time so no problem there. I've know her all her life and we get along fine.

The Goffin is also not a problem. She's only 20 months old so is just a baby and a real sweetie. Although a little nippy. It seems that the smaller the bird the more nippy they tend to be. Like dogs.

The other Moluccan,Fluffy, though is the problem. He's a mutilator. He plucks the feathers off his chest, then rubs the skin till it bleeds, then he licks it. He has this nasty wound on his chest that is never going to heal. He needs to go to a vet and have this thing looked at. He needs a collar, like the dogs wear, that won't allow him to reach this wound. That's a problem but the real problem is his owner. Bill is a surfer guy who doesn't have a regular job and lives hand to mouth. He lives in a 12'x17' room on the north shore and never has any money. He's also about 60 years old and should know better. He doesn't have the money to provide the kind of care that Fluffy needs. He doesn't feed them fresh foods, they get mostly pellets. Now that I've spent a couple of days with Fluffy I'm really, really angry at Bill. This bird deserves someone who can invest the time and money to make him better. Once a bird starts mutilating it's pretty much a lifetime problem. What may start out as a physical problem rapidly becomes a psychological one. I know a number of birds that pluck and/or mutilate. It's sad but they can live healthy, happy lives if they have the right owner. I'm just so angry with Bill. This is totally irresponsible of him to keep these birds when he doesn't have the ability, financial or otherwise, to take care of them. I plan on telling him exactly how I feel and what I think when he gets back. Until then I'm feeding his birds well and trying make Fluffy feel as safe and secure as possible.

Okay, I got that out and I feel better. In other news, I have been working out almost everyday and the foot remains pain free. Tomorrow is the big test as tomorrow I run. We shall see what happens after that. Also, I can not believe what a huge difference some orthotics make. For some reason I'm not quite sure of now, I've avoided getting them for years. What an idiot. They are wonderful. I wear them all the time since I'm on my feet all day and my feet feel awesome at the end of the day. These are the greatest thing since sliced bread!! I will be getting another pair since these are so great.

Also, my cell phone is acting up. I don't know what's wrong with it, it's not that old so what's the deal. Maybe I should just get a cell phone booster and see if that's help. Ugh!! I'm not in the frame of mind to deal with these little annoyances.

That's pretty much all I have to say. My mornings and evenings are taken up with bird care. I really like these birds and I love Tatu, but I can't wait till they all go home :)

Conversation with Hubby

 So yesterday morning I presented my idea of working out at home to the Hubby. Once I presented it to him, he said he was in. I told him I h...