OUR LIFE IN 3D

24 Jan 2013

Interview with a Mermaid

As introverts go, I really enjoy meeting new and interesting people. It’s a big reason I stay on WordPress as I have met many here. I think one is reading this post right now!

Last week as I was ~~stalking~~ strolling WordPress and reading some stuff when I actually ran across a Mermaid, I mean a real live Mermaid, the Chubby Mermaid!

Go figure? I mean, why not here on WordPress, right?

I was pretty excited, living on the coast and being a beach bum myself. And some of you may know another one in the family that likes Mermaids, ah…ah…ah:

So I thought this was pretty cool. I checked out the Mermaid’s blog and it was probably a little of what I expected as it was not a usual human type of blog. She has a different kinda outlook plus a very optimistic and whimsical spirit to her. Never mind the title to her blog, this blog is phat! (Sorry, the pun was there I had to take it)

I told my daughters about finding a real live mermaid and their eyes lit up! “What daddy? You found a real mermaid in the computer?”

Being the good dad that people seem to think I am, I tried to think of how to get some sort of way for my kids to meet this mermaid.

Skype was out as Skype doesn’t get under water I found. Something about the frequency waves and all the Skype spam it carries.

So I thought….

A demanding pair of girls ‘virtually’ would not give up. Humoring both the girls I asked, “What would you say to a mermaid if you met one?” They thought about it and came up with a wide range of questions.

Inspired, I hurriedly scribbled some down and thought maybe this mermaid would like to answer my girls’ questions personally. So I sent questions to her. Not surprisingly, this gracious mermaid found the time to reply to my girls with some answers and her positive outlook on life from the sea:

Interview With A Mermaid:

1. Everyone has a name, what is your real name? My name is Dylan. What’s yours? (after I told her the Mermaid I found was called the Chubby Mermaid)

This is some pretty top secret stuff…..I’ve never told any of my computer friends my name before. 🙂

My name is Ambra

2. Where do you live?

I live at the end of the street from the water in a Texas city very close to the bottom of the United States.

This is what I see every night from where I live. I love pretty lights…..don’t you?

3. How do you make cups?

I’ve been wondering that for so long too…..I don’t really know but isn’t this cool

4. What did you have for breakfast today?

I had some extra strong coffee and lots of whip creme 🙂 Shhh, don’t tell my mom.

5. Do you ever wish you were a person and got 2 legs like Ariel?

I used to wish that all the time. Then I realized that being a mermaid is neat….and maybe there are a lot of things I won’t ever get to do because I don’t have legs but there’s an awful lot of people that might like to be a mermaid too. So that makes me feel pretty lucky!

6. What does Autumn mean? I’m not sure…

Autumn is a really pretty time of year where everything changes colors and it gets a little cooler outside. It is also the time of year where we go back to school and make friends and learn things.

7. Do you know Ariel?

Of course. I see her every year at the mermaid parade at Coney Island. The mermaid parade is a great big family reunion for mermaids. She is very sweet and a great mommy. Her favorite color is purple and she is a fantastic singer.

8. And there’s a bad person named Ursula. Do you know her?

I’ve never met her….Thank goodness. But you’ll be happy to hear that no mermaid has seen or heard from her in a very very long time. 🙂

9. Is it cold where you live? It got really cold here today.

It isn’t very cold at all. Today the sun was shining and the water was warm. It was 73 degrees outside. I almost never have to go outside with a coat. Which is good….I don’t think I’ve ever met a mermaid that likes to wear a coat. I don’t even own one right now

10. How are, um, How do you play football?

I don’t even know what football is??? It sounds hard….maybe even impossible.

11. Is school fun? I start school next year.

School is extra fun. You get to try new things and meet many different kinds of people. You also get to sing songs, play on playgrounds, read books, color, play instruments, and learn many important things that will make you super smart.

12. Do you have to hold your nose underwater? I still hafta hold my nose.

Nope- I don’t hold my nose at all. But I do blow lots of bubbles through my nose underwater. Its fun! Do you ever do that? It can get silly and it makes swimming a whole bunch easier.

13. What is your favorite (TV) show? Mine is the Winks Club. And Batman. And Sponge Bob Square Pants

I don’t really get good reception in my fishtank 😦 but I do sometimes watch movies about acrobats and dancers. This girl hula hoops so well….

14. Do you like parties? (she just had one in her bedroom)

Yeah I like parties—-especially parties where everyone dresses up. You should have a party where everyone dresses like a mermaid!! That would be really fun! I could help with that too! : )

15. What does Mermaid mean?

It basically means ocean lady.

16. What does Water mean?

Home

17. Are you a Princess Mermaid?

Not technically — but sometimes I realize how lucky I am and it makes me feel like a pretty magical princess. Do you ever feel that way?

18. Why are monsters bad?

I don’t think all monster are bad…..I think they look funny…but they aren’t all bad. I bet there are a lot more nice ones than there are bad ones.

19. Do you like to sing?

YES!!!! I love to sing! It is one of my favorite things to do. Singing always makes me feel happy…..

Here is a video of me singing with my puppies!!

20. Why does Skylar (her sister) not know how to make pictures?

Maybe she is waiting till she is a little older and for her sweet sister to show her how! 🙂

Thanks so much for your answers and comments Ambra (I hate calling you the Chubby Mermaid) and taking time out of your busy day. My girls want to meet you more than ever now! We’ll have to work on that one.

Some of you may know I turned 50 this year. I actually did the 50 year male physical this morning. Do any of you know what all that encompasses? All sorts of insertions and body invasions, some of which the doctor says, are so uncomfortable that they will actually put me to sleep for some.” WHAT?!

It makes me wish I was a mermaid, er, merman, and get out of some of this stuff. So let’s keep our waters clean of toxins and foreign objects so our new friend, Ambra and all the other merpeople, so they don’t have to worry about their health too. They’ll only have to worry about Ursula.

Have a great day Ambra!

Tell Ariel that Dylan and Skylar said Hello!

Dylan asks, “How did you get on land to play the guitar?”

…more questions I’m afraid 🙂

Posted in Archives and tagged ariel, chubby mermaid, mermaid, mermaids, the water is warm

23 Jan 2013

26 Comments

Party Time!!!

Wait. Wait. Wait! Put the 5 Hour Energy and the Monster Fuel away. This is not going to be an all-nighter (it better not) I was catching up on some reading and projects when my 4 year old came over and told me its “Party Time!”

This time she means business. She came over and cornered me with her posse, Ariel, Eric and King Triton. There was no getting out of this one!

I explained, “I still have some work to do”!

Dylan put on her sad heartbreak face, as she looked down to the floor with her somber look, barely showing her eyes from beneath her hair hanging down.

I said, “But I have nothing to wear!”

So Dylan pulls out her Dora costume for me; a red halter top and baggie genie pants.

I told her, “This will never fit me!” I tried on the red halter top (please don’t picture this!) And sure enough it was too small.

So Dylan ran to get her Tinker Bell outfit for me.

Sorry! Ain’t gonna be no stinkin’ fairy I thought. Feeling the peer pressure I thought I would humor her. Sure enough, it was not going to fit either. I tried!

“Well daddy why don’t to try dis on?” she says, handing me her pink tu-tu from last Valentines day.

Darn! She got me that time as it was a tie-string format. I reluctantly agreed. ~sorry no pictures of this!

Dylan gathered her friends put them in the lil’ shopping cart she got for Christmas and said, “Come on dad, its dis way to the party.” as she walked back the hallway.

I still had so much work to do I knew I didn’t dare ‘throw down’ like days of old. What to do? She had me. I drew a heavy sigh of relief as I saw where the party was going… back to Grandma’s room, a.k.a. her nap room.

So I told her of the great kinds of parties we had when I was a kid (when we still lived by candlelight). I told her they were the best parties, the most popular ones….Slumber parties! And I explained the concept to her.

I told her, her and her friends could sit around and talk about who they liked and who liked them. And when they wake up we would have pizza for everyone; it’ll only be 5:00pm, so no pancakes this time.

The party crew: Dylan, holding Ariel in her PJ’s, Eric, and King Triton

Seeing she’s buying into this I threw in how I would take some pictures ( I really needed some blog fodder) so that her and her friends could share and save the party forever. As my parents did, I warned her there was to be no talking after I turned out the lights and checked for any flashlights in the room; and cell phones, or games, lip gloss, small computers ~ its so cool to be a kid now a days! She said, “OK”.

They slipped on their jammies and I put a finger to my mouth, saying “Hush, be quiet. I don’t want to come back here and see you girls talking after I leave.”

Dylan gave me a nod but then sprang up, as in another attempt to postpone the inevitable, and said, “I still hafta go potty!”

You girls better be sleeping back there!

I asked, ” who else in here needs to go potty?” But the room was silent.

She went. She did. She went back to the slumber party with out incident and I shut the door hoping to get some work done in the quiet. Another party under my belt (sigh) Just in time I thought. No more life in the fast lane for me

Wait. Hold on a second. Do I hear boys back there?

She never ceases to amaze me!

Posted in Archives and tagged ariel, Dylan, fun, mermaid, party, potty

19 Jan 2013

16 Comments

Make a Fast Friend

Make a fast friend. Adopt a greyhound. That’s what the tag on my license plate says. We adopted a greyhound 9 years ago. Dylan still talks about him. In fact, it’s why I am doing this post. A few weeks back, when I found all those lost CD’s with pictures on them while packing up, Dylan spotted a few of ‘Cloudy‘. To this day she still talks about him and even prays for him.

He was a great pet, a good watch dog, and great friend. We miss him and are making plans for adopting another after the new house is purchased (one reason house #2 really didn’t work).

So, one night this week I decided to go shopping at our local Greyhound adoption web site, Greyhound Crossroads. The unfortunate end to these athletes is sad in so many ways. That’s why adoption agencies and foster houses are set up for greyhounds.

When walking Cloud on the beach I was made to feel like a celebrity because so many people wanted to come up and pet him; especially excited kids.

So I wanted to tell you all a little bit more about these lovable pets and too often misunderstood breed. So I contacted the Greyhound Crossorad’s director, Joanne Johnson, and asked for some fast facts on greyhounds.

Now any pet in shelters or in harm’s way is worth adopting. No debating it. Greyhounds, however, have a few misconceptions that people have that keep them from being adopted, Joanne Johnson said in her email. We hear these same things every time we have the dogs out in public. So these are the things we really try to educate people about. For instance:

1) People think they are high energy because they are race dogs – the opposite is actually true. They are sprinters and very low energy. They race only once every 3 -5 days for 30 seconds at the track. That keeps them in top physical form and is all they can do without risking injury because they are low energy dogs. The rest of the time they are resting and sleeping. They have a nick name of ‘couch potato’.

2) People think they can’t be apartment dogs and need huge yards to run in because they think they are high energy. They are actually very good apartment dogs because of their low energy level and quiet nature. Although they do love to run we don’t require fenced yards if a family will leash walk them. A short walk can drain their energy as well as a run because they are such low energy dogs.

How many of you would like a reason to go for a walk each night?

3) People think they can’t live with cats or small animals – not true. We do get a few that have too high of a prey drive to live with small animals but most are fine with cats and some even live with rabbits and birds. Probably 80 percent or maybe even more than that are fine with small animals.

4) Retired race dogs aren’t old. Most are only 2 or 3 years old. Some of the better racers may retire at 4 or rarely 5. Even fast dogs start slowing a little in their 4th year and since one second separates the winner from the last place dog it doesn’t take much slowing to end in retirement. Few dogs ever race when they are 5. Ones that are really poor racers can retire out of training well before their second birthday when they are still pups.

We got Cloud just after he turned 2. His real name was Dana’s Cloud Nine on the track. He didn’t place that often they told us, so they took him off the track early. He was built like a bodybuilder, with bulging shoulders and hip muscles on a well chiseled frame. Greyhounds can be pure motivation to fitness enthusiasts. As a runner, he was always inspiring to me.

5) People think they have been abused and may have behavior issues from training on the track. Greyhounds are elite athletes and trainers only make money when they win races. Any abuse or bad treatment will make them run slower and trainers will make nothing. The average greyhound has over $3000 put into them before they start racing so are a considerable an investment for their owners. It wouldn’t make sense for an owner to send a dog worth that much money to any trainer that might harm it or not take good care of it.

Most trainers chose their profession the same way everyone else does, because it is something they like doing. They love working with dogs and greyhounds in particular. To us, it was like Cloudy had already been to obedience school from the very beginning. He needed housebroken but was otherwise very well mannered. You are actually living with an actual retired professional athlete!

6) Most greyhounds are very social and very bonded to humans BECAUSE of their trainers and the people that work with them at the track and dog farms. So it is natural that they will become bonded to their new owners as well.

Wake me when it’s time for dinner

What else is the baby gonna do?

The biggest behavior problem we see with greyhounds is actually separation anxiety, which is caused by being too bonded to people and not something you see in abused dogs that are afraid of people.

7) Along the same lines people also think that greyhounds are forced to race and hate it. Greyhounds can’t be forced to do much of anything and are famous for turning into statues when forced to do something they don’t want to. They were bred to run and chase for thousands of years. Their pedigree includes, big lungs, tails for rudders and little to no coat to slow them down.

Dogs that don’t have the instinct to give 100 percent effort at the track couldn’t ever win even if someone could force them to run. They are no more forced to run than a herding dog is forced to herd, a retriever is forced to play ball or a water dog is forced to swim. It is what they love and what they want to do more than anything else.

The only thing Cloud enjoyed doing was running. He got so excited when I took the leash off of him on the beach. He didn’t chase balls or fetch sticks. Greyhounds are truly something to watch when they take off; a combination of grace and power, along with a blur of winding legs and determination.

Rumor has it they can go from 0 – 60 mph in 5 steps. I found that not too far from the truth when I thought I would try to jog with him on the beach one time.

Every Sunday I would take Cloud for a walk on the beach as long as it stayed warm. It was therapy for both of us. I was feeling ~~stupid~~ froggy one day and thought Cloud might run beside me while I ran on the beach. I took the leash off and he took off. The best I hoped for was to try to keep him in sight. I eventually caught him as he decided to relieve himself in the back yard of one of the million dollar houses along the beach.

Race you to the dunes!

8) People sometimes think greyhounds aren’t friendly, social dogs because they don’t bounce and wag their tails as much as higher energy breeds when meeting new people. They also hold their ears back when relaxed which makes them look stressed or shy.

When greyhound get real relaxed they like to roll over and lay on their backs, often with their paws up in the air. They do this frequently when they are at ease. The first time we saw it we just looked at each other and laughed. They have no shame we thought.

No shame!

They are just low energy and aren’t hyper like other breeds so most greet people calmly and politely when out in public; i.e. well-mannered. That is one of the reasons they excel as therapy dogs.

Dylan saw this next picture. It is from when we first picked up Cloudy from Greyhound Crossroads. They take a picture to show another successful adoption. Dylan asks, “Why am I not in this pictures? Where was I?”

I politely replied, “Well you weren’t born yet. We got Cloudy before you were born.”

Enthusiastically, Dylan responded, “So I was in Mommy’s tummy then, right?

OMG, it is too early for this talk! “No Dylan. Cloudy just came a few years before you.”

So I keep looking at the greyhound adoption site to see if one is available close to us. And then Dylan, and Skylar, and Mommy and Daddy can have a Fast Friend again.

Here are a few more of our great friend. If you want a fast friend, google greyhound adoptions in your area. And adopt your own retired athlete.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Greyhounds like the water too, although Cloudy never did master the ‘jumping of waves’.

Posted in Archives and tagged adoptions, greyhound, greyhound adoptions, greyhound crossroads, he is fast, He won't bite, you can pet him

15 Jan 2013

14 Comments

Tight-Wad Tuesdays ~ Let’s Go Shopping!

Our house selling project is going slow but steady. We are in the process of getting our house in shape to make it more presentable to buyers. Our realtor gave us a small list of things to fix. More money down this drain!

Of course we want to net as much as possible from the sale of our house. The proceeds, after paying off our current mortgage, will be the down payment for our new house. But here is where I want to cry.

Can you imagine my leaf problem now?

We have been in our current house a little more than 10 years. In round numbers, we paid $150,000 for the house when we bought it. Being a prudent financial advisor, we were not going to get in over our heads, like many people did buying too much house. And we didn’t. The credit scores are still pretty good.

BUT, when I asked our realtor what she could get for our house, she gave me $1,000 LESS THAN what I paid for it originally….. 10 years ago! What? My jaw dropped. I was speechless.

You see, over the past 10 years we did some major improvements to our house. We did a major project every year it seems. Here is a list of some upgrades we did:

Installed new roof
Installed aluminum siding
Had the foundation shored up
Added a new, more powerful A/C Heater
Added 2 remote controlled garage doors
Replaced the water heater
Replaced a wooden deck with a huge stone patio this year.

That was a lot of money. Really no cosmetic upgrades, just all functional ones. And our realtor says she can almost get what we paid for our house; if we want to sell it. We could hold out for more money but might not sell it at all then. I was stunned! I’m still stunned.

But our scenario just illustrates some of the bad stories you have been hearing about the housing industry; and what our local housing market supports in this economy. Not a great investment so far. 😦

And that’s what owning a house is, an investment. Look at the scenario above, housing markets, the economy, supply and demand. I had hoped our house would be worth at least $175,000 at this point, or a 16% gain (ROI). Nope. It is a zero % gain. ZERO. Which is typical for the housing industry in general now it sounds like. The housing markets have been in a ~~crash~~ slump of several years now, not unlike the stock markets being in a slump for much of the 21^st century.

Being a student and fan of finance, and investments in general, I recognize this and forced to accept the value of my home. I sunk over $30,000 in improvements in it, only to lose that money it seems. Yes, your house is an investment, just like stocks are, as well as society, and even our children. They are all different types of investments, with many variables, but in the end we want the money we put into these investments to help raise the overall value of each one; and hopefully get some Return On your Investment (ROI). Not stay the same for 10 years (sniff, sniff)

With any important investment, one popular goal has been Buy Low and Sell High. So our housing situation made me think, what would a great stock of this past decade be priced at if it was at a value from10 years ago, similar to our house?

Apple Inc, maker of some sort of fancy telephone that everybody has, some computers and other fancy high tech gadgets sold for about $15 per share 10 years ago. Today it sells for almost $500 per share; a gain of over 3000%.

Apple was in a slump 10 years ago. Steve Jobs left to go do some work with an up and coming movie maker, Pixar. Apple’s market was down; way down. But not a lost investment.

Now I wonder, how much my house could be worth, if it had any amount of that good fortune that Apple had. A 1000% gain in the value of my house puts it at (tick, tick, tick, tick) $2,250,000 (heavy, heavy, heavy sigh)

Certainly the housing market and the stock market revolve around different elements. What effects one certainly does not affect the other, except for the nature of the economy. The housing market has been hit hard with over building (supply), a bad economy to buy (demand), unscrupulous banks writing loans for people that had no business buying houses larger than what they could afford, and so on.

So, our government has made it as easy as possible, right now, to buy a house, with interest rates at historical lows. Could this be similar to the status of Apple Computers 10 years ago? Buy Low Sell High?

This is what I am seeing. We can buy houses with values depressed to 10 year lows. YOU can buy houses at 10 year lows, similar to ours; Apple Computers for $15! We toured houses with nearly twice the value of ours these past few weekends.

PLUS, with mortgage rates where they are, you can buy a house with a value you never would not have imagined looking at in the past. That’s where we find ourselves today.

We just looked at a house which was built in 2007 and sold for $275K originally. It’s asking $280K today BUT has an awesome swimming pool added and a fully stocked media room included with it (there were even some Yuenglings in the frig). And, with the deposit from selling our house, I can get this house for almost the same mortgage payment as what I have today.

Sure I am not getting what I want for mi casa but neither is anyone else. Why not take advantage of these super low rates right now and trade up? The combination of over built housing along with historical low rates makes this such a buyers’ market I am finding. This could get fun! And sure adds fuel to packing all those boxes.

So, all I need help with now is just making a decision! Lets go shopping…

Can you help me out, all you great shoppers out there?

Here are three houses we have seen over the past 2 weeks. All houses have, or would have, practically the same mortgage payment, within $50 or so. Tell me which would you most like to live in?

Last week’s @ $270K:

For more pic’s click on the link below:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1208-Roma-Rd_Hanahan_SC_29410_M58271-24600

This week’s tour @ $280K:

The pool table, wet bar, and two sets of 'power reclining' theater sofas come with the house along with a projector and large screen.

The pool table, wet bar, and sets of theater sofas come with the house along with a projector and large screen in their ‘Media Room’.

For more pic’s click on th elink below:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/213-Carolinian-Dr_Summerville_SC_29485_M52217-94452

Or this one @ $140K:

We seem to be moving at a great time (I hope). If you are considering a refinance or a move yourself, consult a mortgage broker and a realtor and see what you are able to do. Buy Low and watch it grow! Come on, let go shopping!

Posted in Tight-Wad Tuesdays and tagged I hate moving!, Time to buy a house, where's the tape?

11 Jan 2013

11 Comments

TOYS IN THE ATTIC

Yes, most of you figured out that in my last post I was just talking about moving and not getting off of WordPress. So I have to assume that is why I got those ‘Liked’ acknowledgements! I was hoping to fool a few of you but I certainly was not looking for ‘Liked’s for me leaving WordPress (sniff, sniff). I am glad you saw through this embellishment. 🙂

Yes, the truth is we have to move. Our oldest daughter starts school next year. She is so bright (she has to wear shades). As you may know, US schools rank far down the list in regards to the rest of the world in terms of education. And the state I live in is at the bottom of the US’s top states in education.

Add to that, the school district we live in as at the bottom of our state. This means its time for a move….if she is ever going to take care of us in our old age. Luckily the next school district is just a mile or so away, so we don’t have to move very far.

Over the next few posts you may hear about some of our moving ‘misadventures’. This week we are boxing up our living room. We are reducing clutter and figuring out what we want to ~~throw~~ give away. But I tell you, we have hit gold in lost or forgotten pictures and computer CD’s this week.

You see we found a small basket housing all the computer discs we used to load our computer. I was looking for our MS Word disc as that file was corrupted last year due to a virus. Or did we just fill the memory with too many pictures and videos of the kids?

We did not see the MS Word disc (can anyone spare theirs?) but, in searching, ran across all these old, forgotten, or lost files. The Pandora’s Box of our lowly computer.

Now some of you may already think I have Toys in my Attic. But some of these pictures and ‘mix tape’ CDs we found are a joy to find, for me, most of which I had forgotten about or thought lost. Take a look. See if these people look familiar:

Before we got married my wife and I were actually real fun people! We used to go whitewater rafting once a year. It was such a thrill! We would talk about going over the class 4 and 5 rapids for days. Here is a pic of us going down a rapid called, “Seven Foot Falls” Yes that’s my wife up front with her eyes closed! The rest of us appear a bit more relaxed…

Back then we lived about 4 hours away from Orlando, FL. We would frequently take long weekends down to Universal Studios, where they had some more thrilling roller coasters, like the Hulk where you start off at the top upside down..

Here I am just catching some rays in front of Jimmy Buffett’s Margaretville at Universal. Always a beach bum!

When we got married we lived on the coast at Beaufort, SC, home of the most beautiful and exotic beach I have ever seen, Hunting Island.

It’s an unprotected beach and home to sand dollars, dolphins, fallen trees and even movie stars, as they filmed G.I. Jane there.

We actually did some turtle walks there. We would get up at some ungodly hour to be on the beach just as the sun rose. We walked the beach looking for turtle tracks coming out of the ocean. Loggerhead turtles would crawl up to the unprotected dunes, make a nest, and lay their eggs. It was our job to spot some tracks and find the nest. Then we would relocate the nest of eggs to a protected environment, allowing the eggs to hatch. The tire tracks leading up from the ocean are the turtle tracks here…

I also found a coupla old copies of an entertainment newspaper from Myrtle Beach, Hot Times this week. I used to write a regular feature column in. I was a bar manager at the time. I wrote a fictitious story called “Another Saturday Night with JD McKay” about a bar drunk that sat at the end of the bar, close to the cocktail waitress station.

Another Saturday Night with JD McKay

He had a real abrasive mouth and was usually ~~made fun of~~ avoided by the waitresses. I usually filled the story with funny stories that happened in my night club each week. Any other similarities between JD and myself are purely coincidental!

Pandora’s box indeed!

I wonder if the reason these were shoved in a cabinent in the living room was that they were to be used in the fireplace?

And then I found these on another lost disc…

Our first nanny was an up and coming photographer. For our first born’s first Valentine’s Day she surprised us with a jaw dropping photo shoot of our little girl as a gift.

We emailed some of these photos to my mother. She ended up entering one in their local newspaper’s contest for the cutest kid Valentine. Guess who won?