Mr Turtle Spotting

This is Mr. Turtle

The first year he must of been a bit freaked by the furry 12 lb. creature that was playing 'big dog' when she stumbled upon him... that would be Jersey aka JerseDog or Jerse for short. Jerse had been outside for a much longer period of time then normal. After fifteen minutes or so, I looked out the window to see what is happening. She had something cornered on the back hill -- and for Jerse to have something cornered i knew it had to of been slow and small. My first thought is it was a snake and y'all know how i hate the snakes. My maternal instinct kicked in and i tiptoed up the hill to determine what she was getting into... thank god it wasn't a snake, it was a turtle huddled up in his shell pissed because that big furry thing wasn't in this annual travel to the creek the year prior... so i brought the Jdog in and the next day Mr. Turtle was gone... that was probably in 2005.

In 2006 I don't recall seeing Mr. Turtle... he must have remembered that a big furry thing moved into 5441 and he needed to find a new path to the creek down the hill.

Last year (2007) a friend had made his way to the house one day w/ a turtle he had stopped to 'rescue' crossing the road down near the four-way stop. Mr. Turtle had returned to 5441, the place where he use to 'hang out on the hill.' After telling him that the turtle was not allowed in the house, he had taken Mr. Turtle back down to the end of the road placing him on creekside.

A few weeks ago i walked out on the back deck looking at my 'desperate landscape' (as you know, I have not been much of a landscaper this year) and saw a funny shape in the middle of the hill. This year Jerse didn't notice Mr. Turtle (her eyes are getting bad and he blended in with the bland landscape well). So I had an opportunity to take a couple of photos of our transient neighbor... then Jerse and I moved inside to let Mr. Turtle peacefully move further down the hill to his summer bungalow in the creek...

See you next year Mr. Turtle...

it's got to get better...

OK, so yesterday I actually had a date with one of my online finds... needless to say, we probably aren't the perfect match being that we don't have many common interests. He seems to be a very nice guy but every point that came up in our conversation we had different views and likes. He doesn't like Mexican food, I love Mexican food; he listens to rock and roll and heavy metal, i don't; he reads a lot, i don't; he barely uses a computer, I'd be lost without mine... that's only four of the several different topics we discussed and kept finding ourselves on the opposite side of the spectrum.

All that said, it really wasn't that bad experience for my first outing with an online find... he is a southern gentlemen that will find his perfect lady, even if I'm not it. I wish him well ~ now how to I communicate all this to him? Any advice....

Tell you a secret...

Over the last several years I've been in two major relationships; one was a failure from the start and the other just bad timing (i think - still trying to assess that one). now that i am 35 and still searching for 'the perfect man', I've determined it may be time to overcome my preconceived thoughts, and start looking for him using the internet. OK, so it's not like Mr. perfect is at my place of employment (tried that - bad, bad idea...) or within my group of friends (tried that too -- you always start one of those not thinking you will end up having to see him after your relationship is kaput) and we all know I'm not really a church person ... so me, the total skeptic, is looking for love online...

The masters behind the dating website tell me i'm compatible with all of Nashvegas signed up on their site... amazingly enough. But i've weeded through the majority of them and have about 10 or so options. This has been quite of a learning experience for me, or i guess more of a self-improvement experience. I've tried to keep all my options open and even initiated communication w/ several matchs...I am proud of myself for continuing on with it this long, my 3-month subscription is almost up.... should i renew? I think i may just do that, see if i can narrow my options even more, maybe i'll meet one and fireworks will go off...

I'll keep you posted....

life at 5441... the beginning

Well, after seeing my friends take a technological plunge and begin their own blogs, i figured it can't be that difficult. Hence, the beginning of life at 5441 -- the blog.

I'm sure my life and blogs won't interest very many folks, since i am just a regular 35 year-old living in Nashville, TN. I really don't have any political views - besides the fact that all of it annoys me, especially the whole primaries season. It bothers me that candidates (for both parties) spend millions of dollars on 'campaigning' for most likely nothing (by that i mean, we end only end up with two options come November), yet good people in this country are losing their jobs and homes and struggling to find ways to keep their families whole. I understand that they need a way to get a message out and make their beliefs & potential policies known -- to educate the public per se -- but hundres of millions of dollars... come on now.

Whoops, guess I do have some views... maybe you'll see/hear more in the future...