Interesting Animal Meme

I saw this MeMe here and just had to participate.

An Interesting Animal I Had
Well, my parents have raised a variety of animals in my lifetime; at one point we had a bevy of ducks, a flock of chickens, and two rabbits that, well, bred like rabbits, as well as cat and a dog. However, the most interesting pet I have ever personally had was a chicken. Her name was Lucky, and my mom revived her twice (no, not through mouth to beak resuscitation). At no point was she actually dead, but she was so cold that she wasn't moving. Lucky grew up in a box in our kitchen, and she liked to be held, and she like to snuggle her head into the curve of my jaw.

An Interesting Animal I Ate
I once ate alligator tail at a restaurant in Florida. It was not a wild-caught alligator. I did feel a little guilty about eating it, but I was too curious to avoid it all together. It was battered and deep fried, and it looked and tasted like chicken breast except it was greasier and tougher.

An Interesting Thing I Did With or To an Animal
When I was a kid, we had a dog that we nicknamed "SuperDog." She liked to play tug-of-war, and no matter how hard you pulled she just would not let go of the towel (even if you didn't really want to play tug-of-war). Well, my brother and I discovered that once we got her to bite down on the towel or robe, we could pull her around the room and she would like with her forepaws out in front of her and her hind legs splayed out in back. We even managed to tie another towel around her neck (loosely, of course) so that it looked like a cape and then we would pull her along the floor yelling, "Go, SuperDog!" Lucky for us, we had no carpets.

An Interesting Animal in a Museum
I can't think of any interesting animals I have seen in a museum; I haven't spent much time in museums looking at animals, and any animals I have seen have been pretty normal (elk, bison, deer, etc.).

An Interesting Animal in its Natural Environment
I live in the country, so I see a lot of animals. I wish I had a picture of this one, though. I lived in Florida, many years ago, and had to walk about 3/4 of a mile to my bus stop. In order to save time, most of the kids on my block would cut through two neighbors' yards; it would shave off nearly 1/4 of a mile and several minutes to do this. Their yards abutted each other in the back and were separated by a row of trees, with a 3-foot-wide opening between two of the tree. One morning it became impossible to go through this space because there was a mama opossum and her three young hanging from a tree branch directly above our short-cut, and whenever anybody got within ten feet of the tree, the mama would hiss and bare her teeth. Rather than risk an opossum bite (and possibly rabies shots), we just walked the extra 1/4 of a mile to the bus stop.

Middle Name MeMe

Here are the rules:

Write a post using each letter of your middle name describing something relevant to your life. Tag the same amount of people as you have letters in your name.

My middle name is DAWN:

Dreamer. I have an active imagination and dream-life, and sometimes wish I could stay there indefinitely...

Awe. I am awed by my children; they are my miracles and I am so lucky to have them in my life.

Weird. This is how my children, especially my teenager, would describe me. I make up strange songs and dance to them anywhere; my kitchen, the grocery store, wherever.

Nice; because I want to get something from Santa this year. :)

I'm not going to tag anybody, but if you are interested, feel free to play along.

Weight Loss or Health and Fitness

Rather than waiting for inspiration to strike, I’ve decided I need to start writing about my daily life. I actually made that decision several weeks ago and was going to make one of my regular entries about my attempts at weight loss. I was going to “Diet Naked” (Mel, will you be my friend?) in front of all of you. Then I read this article (I was directed there through this post by Cheeky Lotus. It made me start to think; what kind of example am I setting for my kids (and I do include my son in that statement; it’s not just females that suffer from eating disorders).

So I decided that while I am not happy with my weight, I don’t want to set the example of “dieting” because I’m unhappy with how I look. I don’t want to embark on a journey with the mindset that it will eventually come to an end and then I’ll be able to return to my former eating habits. Instead, I am setting health goals for myself and will work towards them with the knowledge that this is my new life and there is no going back.

The example I REALLY want to set is about choices; specifically, about making the correct choices regarding what food I use to fuel my body, and what activities I allow myself to be involved with. That being said, I have set the following short-term goals for myself:

1. To begin the Couch-to-5K Running Plan.
2. To create a “Deal-a-Meal” type of food plan that incorporates the suggestions from http://www.mypyramid.gov/, the G.I. Diet, and the
   12 Abs Diet Power Foods [http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=nutrition&category=abs.diet&conitem=b72a99edbbbd201099edbbbd2010cfe793cd____ ] (and to start using it).
3. To start spending a portion of each weekend outside being physically active with my children (for as long as weather allows) and to show them myself being physically active inside, too.

I also have long-term goals:

1. To make healthy eating choices.
2. To get regular exercise (30+ minutes) at least 5 days a week.
3. To be able to walk and not feel my thighs rub together.
4. To tone my upper arms so I can wear short-sleeved or sleeveless shirts without having to worry about showing arm flab.
5. To tone and strengthen my core muscles.

If accomplishing these goals causes the number on the scale to go down (and help me fit into smaller pants), then that is just the icing on the cake of setting a good example for my kids and making healthier choices for myself.