I believe I've already said quite a bit about myself. Maybe I jumped the gun a bit :) Basically, I'm a good person, I chose to have children when I did because I really thought that I had carefully chosen a good, decent, family loving man that would never betray his child. But regardless of who or how they turned out to be, I am so Thankful. I was blessed twice. I could not have asked for more perfect children, and I take pride in being their Mother. Obviously, I am not responsible for their Fathers bad decisions, but I am responsible for making sure that my girls know theirs Fathers love them, and that they were both created out of love. I feel that I am a head up on most single females because I don't believe that I am a victim and refuse to use that as an excuse for my situation.

I choose to believe that we will rise from this situation, with our heads held high. I am proud of the fact that I earn an honest living, I do not try and "use" the system, I don't lie, cheat or steal, and I feel that just because I am asking for the help of others, that does not make me less of a person, a woman or a Mother.

Lucky, The Starving Calico Cat

Well, this is too strange...

On or around the fourteenth of June my husband and I decided to barbeque. With that, he had to open the storeroom outside to get a few things to use. Later he put everything away, and noticed nothing amiss. He closed the storeroom door and locked it up. The following weekend we decided to celebrate our anniversary a few days early by going out to eat and to a movie. But, he got sick that weekend, and by Tuesday (our anniversary) was at the doctors office. Wednesday he was in the hospital and stayed for nine days. He finally got out by the afternoon of July 3rd. That was a week and a day ago.

One day before going to the hospital to visit my husband, I sat outside to meditate for a while and thought heard a cat mew. Then, I noticed a flash of something (a paw) come through the little crack in the storeroom door. I went over, listened, peeked inside, and nothing was there. I thought I was imagining things. (We have a large stray cat population and they are always popping up in odd places outside.) I shrugged it off, thinking I was just worrying for nothing. Then I completely forgot the incident.

Well today, about 9:30 this morning I was on the way to the grocery store. On the porch I stopped because I heard a cat crying again. This time I got a strange feeling so went in, got the storeroom key and opened it up. I peered in again, but saw nothing. I went inside, opened a can of grilled chicken fancy feast, got a fresh bowl of water and went back to the shed. I placed the food and water inside and suddenly a little head appeared in the back of the room. I stepped back, and waited, but when I peeked in again, the poor calico ran behind some stuff again. It took awhile but he came out, as I kept moving the bowl, and he kept running away. Also, I placed the water a longer distance from him, and gave him a peek. Finally the poor thirsty cat came out of the building to drink the water. I slammed the door shut. That cat drank every drop of water in the bowl, and gobbled every morsel of food.

From approximately June 14th to July 11th that cat had been in the storage building. That's about 25 or 26 days! How's that for one of it's nine lives. That's one lucky cat! I felt so bad for the kitty. I think I'll adopt it, but will have to sneak the food and water and stand guard because there's a whole population out there. Plus, we have an inside cat that is my husbands pride and joy. She's a spoiled Himalayan named Mia. While the calico was starving in the storeroom, I was taking my cat in to get groomed and shots. How's that for social injustice.

The Japanese say the calico is the luckiest of all. I believe it. I think I'll call this kitty Lucky...

m_99 :)

ps_ there's a family in the neighborhood that reguraly feeds the stray cats, so I know the others won't starve while I'm standing guard for Lucky.

I have a friend who has renal cell bone cancer we are having him a benefit may 24th, 2008 to help pay for medical expenses but he was crying to his wife one day I am dying and I wanted to build the deck all the way around the mobile home but only got it half built around I will not be able to finish it and I won't get to live to see it finished and this cancer is progressing rapidly he so much wants to see the rest of the deck built and he also wants a building to put a lawn mower,a garden tiller and his tools in if anyone out there that would be willing to donate the lumber and the time to get this built before anything happens to him would be greatly appreciated the doctors say it is just a matter of time he is going through a lot of chemo and radiation and is getting sicker it is already affecting his mind too.

We are a family of four my husband me and my son and daughter. We both work full time jobs and are scraping by. I am posting because I want my horse back. I had traded her to someone who said they could train her and make her a happy and well behaved horse. They told me the horse whose name is Apple they traded me was kid broke and would be safe for us to ride I thought that it sounded like a win win situation. My horses name was True and I love her so much. Recently we called these people we had been dealing with and they missed their horse as much as I missed mine so we decided we were going to trade back. After about a month I finally reached them again and they told me that True had went through a fence and sliced her leg straight through the thigh down to the bone and that she would be lame for the rest of her life. so they figured it wouldn't by fair to trade back. I went through agony and cried for days for True and the pain I couldn't bare to hear she went through. We told the people who have her that when she heals and they decided what they wanted to do that I wanted her back even if I had to buy her. They agreed two months later I got a call from another lady even farther across the state from us say she had my horse and didn't want her. She said that she traded two horses for her from the lady who got her from us. She said that True was wild and had obviously been seriously abused. She also said that that lady had told her that True was completely DEAD broke. She She also told us that True had never had her leg cut. These two women know eachother rather well from the way it sounds. This lady told me that Apple was never broke and that when she was sat on she bucked. I was completely flabberghasted I couldn't believe someone would do this to me it hurt think that True was injured and then to hear she was abused. Luckily I had never put my children on this horses back by the way they always rode on True. Unfortunatly for me I ahd already attempted to ride Apple and had been thrown it took me two weeks to heal enought to function properly. So as it stands I just want my horse back I love and miss her. This lady who now has her wants 600 dollars for her and she is six hours away. I think I would need 1000 dollars to buy her and help pay for gas. She said if I don't come up with the money by the end of the month shes going to take her to a sale (she refuses to tell me where) horses are selling really cheap at sales and people are buying them and taking them to Mexico for butcher!!! Please don't let this happen to my horse I have to save her! Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you!