Well, it’s official. The doves have moved. Perhaps it was too stressful to be stared at by three cats all day long. They are nearby because I have heard them cooing, but I don’t know where they moved to. Maybe they built a new nest in one of the trees in front. They didn’t seem to mind when I went out the front door. Poor kitties will have to find some other entertainment.

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Oh! Please vote for me over at the Blogger’s Choice Awards for “Best blog design.” Thanks.

My cats are tormented by two doves who have taken up residence under the awning. They have been busy for several days building a nest, so there is a lot of activity. The cats watch intently from the livingroom window. I wonder if the birds can see the cats.

It looks like we will have several weeks of torture. They haven’t laid eggs yet, but they have performed all the activity required for making eggs. That’s more than my cats can handle. I’m mostly concerned about all the bird poo I will have to scrub from the bricks and sidewalk. This is the first time birds have nested here.

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Please vote for me over at the Blogger’s Choice Awards for “Best blog design.”

So I have created a list of five songs that describe what my blogging life tends to be like. I chose these based on either the words in the song or the titles.

1. Can’t Get You Out of My Head - Kylie Minogue
2. I’m Still Here - Vertical Horizon
3. Unwritten - Natasha Beddingfield
4. Take It Easy - Eagles
5. Power Over Me - Mr. Mister

Number 1 is on the list because sometimes the ideas just stay in my head. Number 2 because I stay with blogging. Number 3 because so much never gets written. Number 4 because I think I should do that. Number 5 because of this compulsion to keep writing.

What is on your blogging soundtrack?

I’ve been going through all my stuff to get ready for a garage sale. Since it’s not at my house, I have to get ready early so I can haul it over to a friend’s house. How fun. It would be better if my friend was ready for all my stuff. I have gone through a lot of stuff that I had stored in the garage to get rid of, but as I mark stuff up and move it around, I find more stuff. So I really need to get as much of it as I can out of my garage. I typically make $500-700 alone on my stuff, so it will be interesting to see how this sale does. I have double that to sell.

In all my various traveling, here are the states I’ve been to.

create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out our California travel guide. I didn’t put that guide there, but feel free to visit. It’s a great place to visit!

Anyone else out there sick and tired of all the articles about women or directed towards women with the same message “you just don’t add up”? Not a day has gone by in the last month that I haven’t read an article or commentary about how women should be.  Oh, and let’s add the other ubiquitous message “it’s all your fault.”

So where aren’t women adding up to expectations? Work, family, bed, as wives/girlfriends, appearance, etc.  And men wonder why women are angry. If you internalize these expectations (and even if you don’t they still get to you), you are going to be angry because no one can keep up. The expectations change too. So we have these rules that women should follow to be good, hot, pleasant women (pick your adjective) and then the rules change constantly. It’s no longer enough to enjoy sex,  now women have to perform like porn stars and that includes looking like one too (boobs, hairlessness). Or there are the parenting articles that get women constantly concerned that they are failing their children. As if these articles are necessary. I don’t see these articles directed to men. Then the gender gap in the workplace is blamed on women.

It seems to me that it has gotten worse in recent years. I always remember there being expectations, but I can’t remember a time when they seemed so contradictory and constantly changing.  So with the constantly changing expectations of society and the constant blame when you don’t measure up, what is a woman to do? Can I just opt out of the game?

I want to thank Kelly for sending the spam mail this morning. It wasn’t really spam although that is where my email program sent it. She sent me over to the Eternal Wall. It looks like a great place to promote whatever you wish or to memorialize someone in a brick online. You can get a free brick if you give them five emails. Mine went to Scott from Oregon, Mr. Fab, Mr. O, my sister and another friend. There aren’t a lot of bricks yet, and you’re also welcome to pay for a larger brick if you wish. I will have to see if I get any clicks out of it. My banner is up right under Kelly.

I sent my son off into the sky this morning. He should arrive back at his dad’s house this evening. It will be interesting to see how the seminar he went to stays with him and how he affects others. It’s quiet again here, which I have to get used to again. The scaredy cats have come out of hiding. Now they are in “needy” mode.

He wanted to go to the next seminar in the series, so we got signed up this morning before getting to the airport.

The final part of his seminar all the parents, relatives and friends were invited. It was very moving to see the teens get up and speak, especially when they acknowledged their families. Not all the teens spoke. I was rather surprised that my son did because it seemed like he wasn’t going to. I was also surprised by what he said.

Oh, where to start? I feel like I’ve been running for two days straight. My son is almost done with his seminar. I decided to make two trips to San Francisco today because I have a lot to catch up on around the house. My first long day of the new seminar went quite well. I really need to get working on my project though. Of course with this course there’s more “homework.” Some of it is the same as the other seminar. I’m not sure how I will feel about a two month overlap of courses. If I report that I’m going crazy, then you’ll know what has happened. My real work hasn’t started yet. I have been waiting (and waiting and waiting). It seemed foolish to get a job only to quit soon after I got it, but now it has been three months and the funding still isn’t finalized. I’m getting concerned–mostly for myself.