FGHart

When I was young, dumb and 18 (redundant?) I spent almost a year traveling with the circus (The Circus – Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey). I was in Austin, newly employed at the local Arena as an usher, when I pulled up my tent stakes and hit the road with The Greatest Show on Earth. I lost count of how many cities we visited, Dallas, Tulsa, Wichita Falls, Kansas City, Detroit, Cleveland, Birmingham, Pensicola…with major stops in Boston and Miami. I caught the flavor of the midwest and the eastern states. In the end, I decided Austin was home. Shortly after my return to Austin, I met my wonderful husband and settled down for a life filled with as much fun, adventure and drama as any 3-ring circus could have offered.

One of the things I love about this town, my town, my home of choice…is the live music scene. From the first time I came here in ’82 when I was 17 years old, I have been enamored with the local musicians. Sure, back in my really youthful youth I got to hear Joe Ely, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and other names you may or may not recognize … enjoyed through slightly illegal entry into Dallas clubs. I got to see the Who and be deafened by ZZ Top in the Dallas music scene. But Austin venues hold a charm not to be outdone. Mostly they are open air and free. Zilker Park is most notable for its free concerts – and I’ve enjoyed many. When we lived in Lago Vista (just west of Austin), the town of less than 5,000 had 4 (yes, FOUR) live music venues.

Why am I reminiscing? Today, hubby and I dropped in on the Wheatsville Arts Festival. It was truly a blast to the past. Not because the music was retro, but because all of the people who were hanging out at the free concerts 20-something years ago where there. Not that we recognized anyone…it was just that we were all of an era. Austin’s gay/lesbian community were well represented. Austin’s artistic left were also out in force. Dreadlocks and tie-dye (we bought some of the latter, as well as some home-spun glass art), long skirts and sandals, long hair for men and women, all on folks my age (40+) or older. Very little in the way of piercing and tats.

I’m not sure if there was a memo or what’s going on with the UT collegiates. Today’s happening was at a park just north of campus. Where were all of the 20-somethings? Has Austin moved on? Have we (hubby and I)? Are we a dying breed? Maybe we just need to get out more.

In the end, I guess I don’t need to be hip or cool – I just like knowing that there is good music available for free at Art Festivals. I love Austin, Texas!

I can’t believe it’s been 3 weeks already! Although the Infant Guppy Mortality rate was high, we’re proud of our one surviving fry. He (or she – it’s too soon to tell) is a chip off one of the old blocks. After returning to the general population Mama Guppy took up with a recently-widowed new fella. Papa Guppy had a dramatic and surprising recovery from an out-of-whack pH situation and a near death experience. Although Papa Guppy was nipped on a little bit, and his gait was a little wobbly for a while, within no time he was back at Mama’s door to reclaim his position as alpha male.

Yesterday, our sole survivor from the first litter was ousted from the nursery to make room for a new brood of little ‘uns. Isn’t it rough for the oldest when they are displaced? Poor little guy was pretty bold at first, but I suspect he quickly realized he wasn’t quite big enough to assume he could have his run of the place with the big boys. He now spends most of his time trying to be invisible in one of the dark corners of the tank.

Without much ado, Mama Guppy, who had grown extremely large in girth, was scooped into the nursery. The nursing staff watched carefully, waiting for some indication that she was, indeed, ready to bear more offspring. As the hours wore on, tension grew. At first, both of her beaux seemed unphased by Mama G’s disappearance. They swam about minding their own business. Eventually, they noticed her in isolation and they began to spend all of their time trying to figure out how to get to her. Even in her “huge” state, they find her awfully attractive and a sure bet on a Saturday night. I’m not saying she’s easy…well, maybe I am.

Saturday came and went. Sunday morning – still nothing. After a few hours of nail-biting tension, it was discovered that 3 little guppies were swimming around in the nursery! We all know that the 2nd time around may be a bit less of an *EVENT* and this was no exception. The visits from the nursing staff were few and far between, and the camera was never brought out to document the blessed arrival. In fact, Sunday morning church services took precedence and Mama G was left to her own devices…which by then included at least a dozen fry.

By the time anyone was back to witness the situation, there were over 2 dozen guppettes swimming around and Mama seemed to be beside herself trying to get back to her dirty business. Both males were pounding their heads on the nursery wall. Trying to pick out whose was whose (I suspect we’ll see evidence of both Dads in this litter)? No. Ready to woo Mama anew? Yes!!! These guppies are the definition of “randy!”

So, this episode ends with Mama G returned to general population, Papa G and his competition (Boyfriend G) chasing Mama G all around the fishtank, oldest baby G looking a little nervous as he hides in a dark corner, and about 30 Baby G’s merrily swimming about the nursery not realizing that…unless the nursing staff *really* figured out how to do this right, for most of them, their days are numbered.

Until next time….

Peace,

{Editor’s note: If anyone should want to object to the algae please remember a) the chemicals which control the algae nearly killed the inhabitants and b) these are some very happy fish right now.}

It’s been 3 weeks since the big day. The sole survivor of the last brood (litter?) of guppettes was released into the general population this morning. He seems to be doing fine.

Mama Guppy appears ready to pop with another litter. I’ve been doing some reading and although normal gestation is around 28 days, 21 days is not unusual. In anticipation of this blessed event, I’ve checked the pH level and added some “buffer” to try to avoid SGD. I’ll ensure our nursery caregivers follow all of the established “best practices” – ideally we’ll have a higher survival rate this go-round. So far, all Mama G has done is poop, so hopefully this isn’t all a bunch of drama caused by overeating and constipation. There’s nothing like false alarm trips to the hospital.

We’re going out tonight, but I’m confident that the babies will be safe ’til we get home, assuming anything happens in our absence.

Tonight was the first of our holiday adventures. We went to a dinner party I was not looking forward to (end of a long week, some undercurrents in relationships) and had a good time. I came home and enjoyed a glass of wine and some catching up/commenting on my favorite blogs.

I like that we’re able to leave our son home alone and we don’t have to worry or fret. Much.

And now, off to bed. Tomorrow night is a holiday party with folks from my new team. ‘Tis the season!

Rejoice!

Daughters #1 and #2 inherited some sort of throwback gene that caused their front teeth to come in sideways/crooked. Our son also suffered from this deviation. Daughter #3 had very straight teeth, but her incisors are prominent. Daughters #1 & #2, and son got braces. Now, here’s the story of the one that got away.

Daughter #3 had a cap (because of an adult tooth that never came in) that needed to be replaced. During the visits that happened between her 13th and 14th birthdays, the ortho-assistant began this pitch:

“Do you feel self-conscious about your smile? Do you think your smile could be better? Do you think other girls are prettier?” In hindsight, I almost wish I’d threatened those guys with a lawsuit. I don’t actually wish it because I’m not that way, but that’s not the point. The point is, this is a beautiful smile:

Are we so wrapped up in the pursuit of perfection that we wish to eliminate that which makes us unique? Is there only one form that beauty takes? I see a beautiful smile, but I’m a mother and therefore my judgment is biased.

We changed orthodontists because I thought it immoral for them to play on the insecurities of a young girl, to pressure her vanity and create friction with her practical mother. Should we have spent thousands of dollars on her teeth? Were we being unduly frugal and sacrificing our daughter’s sense of self? I hope she and I can have a healthy conversation about it….someday.

Celebrating one girlfriend’s birthday, going out to dinner & dancing in a glamour-shirt I borrowed from another girlfriend. That’s what I’m talking about!

Good food, good friends, good fellowship. No greater way to celebrate and glorify God.

Amen.

After two miserable nights spent in the penance of Defensive Driving, I’m looking forward to a night out with my loving hubby. Tomorrow is a friend’s birthday and she has invited us out to celebrate. We’re going to see our favorite cover band. It’s important to date after children. Especially after children start leaving home. Who wants to wake up one day and realize their spouse is a stranger?

Marital dating is a must!

Peace,

I’m back at it. I’m not sure how they have calculated the time required to read each page of text, or if the intent is to motivate me to pay for the

Tired of reading? Listen to the entire course with our audio read-along feature.

This is now being offered at a discounted rate. It was ~$10 for the upgrade. I’m either reading faster or the time allowed per word of text has shifted. The challenge with clicking away from the training and letting my mind wander is that there is also a time limit on how long I can be away.

Something that has added a tremendous amount of entertainment is playing “slug bug” during the videos. My son happened to stop by yesterday for this video (mute the video and put on your favorite tune):

We both caught the slug bug so the game was on!

Today, I got to enjoy this video:

How many slug bugs can you spot? (My son and I do not agree on all of the models. He says 1 or 2, I say 3 or 4) Once I started playing, I couldn’t stop. It’s kept me vastly entertained. There’s a clip with the same aqua-colored sb appearing over and over again – very exciting stuff!

If I learned nothing else, I know that we drivers are not checking our tire pressure often enough. This was mentioned repeatedly, and I’m definitely guilty. Check your tire pressure, people! It’s free! It only takes a minute of your time! There is no argument that your vehicle will be safer if your tires are properly inflated.

Before anyone thinks I’m being unduly harsh, I should make clear – this is the BEST DD course I have EVER taken. Ever. I’m a woman who knows her Defensive Driving. www.idrivesafely.com. I strongly recommend it…should you find yourself with a ticket requiring dismissal, or a desire to lower your insurance, or nothing better to do for a couple of evenings or a Saturday.

I, myself, promise to behave on the road in such a way as to avoid this eye-tick inducing exercise. I’m on my last set of lessons (page 3 of 7). I’m confident I can make it through to the end. But it’s bedtime, and I am seriously just wishing it were done.

I’ve saved up lots of fodder for a future recap, but for tonight, I’m hitting publish before I complete the course because honestly, once I successfully complete the final exam (because eventually, I know that this will come to an end) I’m running off to bed. Or stumbling off to bed.

Planning, communication…. they go a long way toward the success of a project. It’s not just about getting the job done. I have to laugh when I think about the point at which someone checked this job off as “complete.”

I’m convinced that this is less about educating drivers and more about deterring us ADHD-always-in-a-hurry folks (speed again and we’ll make you sit through another round of Defensive Driving!). The people who need to hear this are the slow-pokes who get in the left lane (aka “the fast lane”). There’s a statement about “slow down and pull off to the right” when traveling on a 2-lane blacktop and you’re plagued by someone on your tale. On a recent trip to Bryan, the speed limit on the 2-lane blacktop was 70 mph. Understandably, a lot of the locals are comfortable doing a lot less than 70. Others were comfortable doing more than 70. I was happy to do 70, but unhappy when trapped behind yokels driving for miles at 55.

Tired of reading? Listen to the entire course with our audio read-along feature.

If you’ve never taken the on-line course, I can assure you the greatest challenge is the timer. I’m a fast reader so much of the course is focused on counting down 5….4….3….2….1 waiting for the timer to hit 0 so I can click to the next page. I should be embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve taken Defensive driving. My first time was in an elementary school 20 years ago, taught by a DPS trouper. It’s not coincidence that one “took” better than the rest and many years passed before I found myself again in the classroom. I’ve done the comedy club routine – which was painful. Comedian-wanna-be’s teaching unfunny material. I’ve actually tried this one in various mediums. Then I tried the DD/Dinner specials – which always seemed to be hosted in the local greasy spoons. I’ve done on-line DD several times. You may be noticing that DD has not cured me of my speeding ways.

It’s not that I don’t know how to drive safely, defensively, slowly…. I seriously think the gentlemen in blue who patrol the road between here and my old residence in Lago Vista have missed me. I haven’t gotten a speeding ticket in the years since I moved away until…. I took my Mustang out for a spin one Sunday morning, trying to juggle church services. My wonderful husband was giving witness to his prison ministry at our old church and my wonderful son was running the projector at our new church. I told hubby I’d be there at the 8 am and 10:30 am services, and I told son I’d get him to the 10:30 am service and at some point during the 8 am service I discovered the 10:30 am service began at 10! So, I was hustling to get home sooner rather than later in order to get our son to church and myself back to church…you get the picture?

Tired of reading? Listen to the entire course with our audio read-along feature.

I’ve tried deferred adjudication, and it’s not a bad way to go. I can’t remember now why I didn’t opt for that… oh yeah! it takes longer to process at the court. You have to meet with the DA. I was gearing up for my trip to Asia when I got the ticket, and I’d just returned when I went to the courthouse. I sure didn’t anticipate the job change. Now I’m just trying to grind through the mandatory 6 hours of timed spurts of attention. If I let my attention wander too far, I’ll time out and have to backtrack. At least the quiz questions for this particular on-line training have been all common-sense and not “are you paying attention?” I hated the last one where they asked things like “what color shirt was the driver wearing?”

One new twist with the course I’m taking now is that they offered (and I accepted) to acquire the copy of my driving record. It seems like they’re charging 2.5X the rate I’d pay if I could be bothered to find the office and make the request in person – and it is well worth the cost!

I just read the section on aggressive driving. I don’t consider myself aggressive…maybe assertive. Mostly in a hurry. Not hateful. I don’t flip the bird, I don’t honk, I don’t call names (much). But, my goal is that someday people won’t flip the bird at me or call me names. That would be good. Of all of the bad behavior listed, texting my sister with slug bug sightings and driving too fast are my primary faults. Text messaging is a new one on the list of road challenges. I don’t remember that even being mentioned the last time I took DD.
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Google yielded plenty of data that confirms this is a bad practice.

Tired of reading? Listen to the entire course with our audio read-along feature.

Did I mention that the particular flavor of on-line DD that I’ve pursued offers a $10 upgrade to the illiterate? I’m amused that I could simply blog and let the course run as background noise.

Part I is over. I’ll pick up where I left off tomorrow.

Peace,