Bettas are Good Stress-Relievers

If any of you have noticed that I haven't updated in a few days, it's because I still CAN'T GET IT TOGETHER!!! Yes, people, still behind on everything. I now have TWO weeks of Days to watch and guess will do that this weekend along with everything else that needs to be done. This morning Victor, my nine-yr old, says, "I don't have any clean pants." Never mind that he didn't have any yesterday either. "Go through the dirty ones and pick out the pair that's the least dirty," I tell him. Of course, he picks out the pair that has the big rip in the knee. I swear do I have to do EVERYTHING? I'm stressing too because last night I sat down to take my online art history exam and it's set up that you only have one chance to take it. You can't save it and come back later and continue. So, I log in, click on the link and the first question has an image which is broken. I try doing the "Show Picture" by right-clicking but that doesn't work. I then click Reload but that kicks me back to the course home page and GUESS WHAT? When I try to get back to the exam, it says "Assessment completed, click OK to see results"!!!! AAAAGGGH! Then when I click OK, it tells me, "Assessment not complete, results not available". WTF?!?! So, now I'm waiting for the prof to respond to my plea left on the discussion board to reset my exam considering I didn't even get past the first question.

My stress level did come down somewhat after watching my Thursday night shows. Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock. While watching 3o Rock I set up the new 2 gallon aquarium I got at Wal-mart for my Betta. I've had him in one of those flower vases but have been reading that those are actually horrible for them. They need to be in a minimum of 2 gallons of water heated to at least 80 degrees. From About.com: "Bettas, also known as Siamese Fighting fish, originate in the shallow waters in Thailand (formerly called Siam, hence their name), Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and parts of China. They are found in rice paddies, shallow ponds, and even slow moving streams. Although many fish keepers are aware that Bettas come from shallow waters, a key factor that is often overlooked is the water temperature. These countries are tropical, which means the water temperature is quite warm - often reaching into the 80's. Bettas thrive on heat, and will become increasingly listless when the water temperature falls below 75 degrees F. Water temperature is perhaps the biggest argument against keeping a Betta in a tiny bowl (which cannot readily be heat controlled)."

Another thing about Bettas is they don't like the bubble makers especially if it's in a small aquarium like I got for my greenish-blue Betta. Too much activity on the surface. They prefer still water. This morning when I got up, he was at the bottom and when I turned off the air pump and after the surface cleared he was right at the top nosing around at the bloodworms I dropped in. I have a pink Betta that is in my 30 gallon goldfish tank and he's been doing fine. Victor has a red Betta in a fishbowl in his room and I'm thinking of getting a lamp to heat the water cause the bowl is actually a pretty good sized one. The picture of the Betta I have posted looks similar to mine. I have been thinking about purchasing a female Betta but I really don't want to contend with the breeding. If any of you have Bettas and have noticed the bubbles they make on the surface, those are bubble nests for breeding. They are letting you know they are good to go!


It is a proven fact that watching fish swim to and fro in a tranquil aquarium significantly lowers blood pressure and heart rate. That is why a lot of doctor and dentist offices have them. I love to sit and watch my fish and they will even come up to the glass and look at me but I know they are just wanting food. :) The only thing I don't like is the water changes but if the regular maintenance is done right then these are done only once a month. If you love fish and have always wanted an aquarium but don't want the hassle of a large one, I really encourage you to think about getting a Betta and a 2 gallon desktop aquarium. You'll be asking yourself why you didn't buy one years ago. Take it from this Betta junkie. You won't be sorry.

Can't Get it Together

Well, I am back from Nashville and I swear I feel like I've been gone for a week. Still haven't watched last week's Days so that means I'll probably be two weeks behind now. The picture above is of me and David standing next to this really big gee-tar on Broadway in downtown Nashville. I had a nice visit with him and miss being around him on a regular basis. It was really cold there this weekend and we 'bout froze our patooties off. Went in a few of the shops which included Ernest Tubb's Record Shop. Ate lunch at the famous Wildhorse Saloon and I had me a Wildhorse Cheeseburger. Saw the Tennessee Titans stadium and kinda yawned at that cause I'm totally not into football or any sports at that but it was still interesting to see.

After milling around downtown and driving past the capitol, David drove us over to Centennial Park where the Parthenon is. It is an exact replica of the one in the Athens, Greece hence the nickname "Athens of the South". Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go inside as David had a second interview to go to for one of the many jobs he's applied for (and guess what? he got it!). I told Jimmy (the Husband) that I would like us to go there on a visit so we can visit the places that David and I didn't get to and actually go inside the Parthenon cause there's a statue of Athena and the Nashville Art Museum is housed there as well. We also drove up Music Row (which is just the recording and publishing companies) and there's a statue at the top of the hill called The Muse which I took a picture of. It is very pretty and you have a really nice view of the downtown skyline. Of course, there's the other side of Nashville which includes the vagrants and the weirdos whom I saw plenty of. David drove me down "that side" of town (before dark of course) and after that little excursion, I said, "Well, I'm disappointed. That wasn't at all as exciting as you made it out to be." Maybe it was too cold and it kept them off the streets.

Saturday evening we went back downtown to eat dinner and ended up at Demo's Steak and Spaghetti House which was pretty good. I guess a whole lotta people thought the same thing cause the place was packed when we got there and we had to wait a good hour before we were seated. Our waiter was a guy named Matt and he was really nice and totally on top of everything. I got their speciality which was the spaghetti and I chose meat sauce. It was actually angel hair pasta and a large portion at that. They served these garlic rolls with the meal and they were nice and soft and goooood. David got the 6 oz steak and side of spaghetti aka angel hair.

Sunday was a much warmer day and David took me to this local burger joint called Fat Mo's. It was pretty good though the ambiance was less than stellar. David mentioned that he had only come through the drive-thru during his previous visits and now he didn't know if he'd be going back at all. Of course, David's like that. See one little bug . . . No, seriously there were no bugs there. The decor was just seriously lacking -- they certainly didn't care if the furniture was the cast offs from the previous establishment or that their main feature was sheet metal drilled to the wall instead of painting it or wallpaper.

I left that afternoon at 3:30 EST and made it back home in 4 hours. I am always glad to get home even if I've had a swell time. I hate unpacking though. I swear both packing and unpacking are torturous and this trip was the worst for me in packing. I forgot a total of 4 things and that's totally unlike me. The most I've ever forgotten is like ONE thing.

Well, hopefully I can get back on track in the next few days. Don't hold your breath though. I have a test tomorrow in visual basic that I have to study for tonight. This weekend I'm going to a friend's house pretty much all day Saturday.

Too many things to do. Too little time.

Going for a Little Visit to Nashville

Well, folks I'm leaving on the midnight train to Nashville, TN. OK -- not the midnight train -- actually, the 1:00 SUV. My best friend David moved there last November to pursue other opportunities and to be with his SO. So, I'm finally going down to stay with them. Having lived in Tennessee 95% of my life (5% was spent in Orlando, FL) I have never been to Nashville! I have driven through it on my way to Memphis (took my mom to Graceland for her 60th birthday in 1993) and when we went out West in 2004. So I'm excited to finally get the chance to see my state's capitol, Music Row, the Parthenon, the Grand Ole Opry and whatever else. I definitely want to go to Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. That's where Doolittle Lynn got into that big fight in Coalminer's Daughter. I will be coming back Sunday evening. Since I haven't had time to catch up on the soap this week, who knows when I'll get to post my witty comments! HA!

Here's to all you hip, cool cats

These days I rarely listen to mainstream music. There are a few artists out there that I think are really good -- one being last year's American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry. I'm actually glad in a way that he didn't win cause he's been able to go his own way and break free from the American Idol stigma. But I am really getting off my original subject. I am not a fan of the current hip-hop, gangsta rap, R&B, screechy-Beyonce-to-the-left-hoochie-mama music that's currently being broad casted across my local Top Twenty stations. Instead I usually listen to CDs from my extensive collection that includes everything from the Beatles, John Mellencamp, Aerosmith and Alan Jackson to Dean Martin, Neil Diamond and AC/DC among many, many others. One of my absolute favorite series is the Ultra-Lounge series that my long-time friend, David, turned me on to. It takes you back to days of dry martinis, the atomic age of the 50s, cool cats, Martin Denny's Exotica, Vegas baby and cocktails for two. There's a total of 28 CDs in the series. I don't have all 28, but I have acquired quite a few. My favorites are Mambo Fever, Bossa Novaville and Mondo Exotica. Another great CD in my part of the collection is Christmas Cocktails. It has a lot of the classics such as Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells but they are jazzed up. Other CDs in the collection that I have are Space Capades; Organs in Orbit; Bachelor Pad Royale; Wild, Cool & Swingin'; Bottoms Up; Vegas Baby and Ultra-Lounge Fuzzy Sampler (a great way to be introduced to the series). I just love this series and I mainly listen to them in the car which is where I spend most of my listening time because once I get home either the TV is blaring with Cartoon Network, Nick or some Samurai movie the Husband may be watching. So check out the Ultra-Lounge website or go to Amazon.com where you can listen to the sound samplers. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!