Bugs, horses and wolfs!

Saturday night I was getting ready to go to bed. Ken was still sleeping on the couch. I was on the toilet, brushing my teeth at the same time. I notice some kind of movement next to Ken's sink. I look up to see the biggest freaking cockroach! I hysterically try to scream as much as I can for Ken to come, but it is hard with toothpaste in my mouth. He comes running after a while, asking why I am acting so crazy. Crazy? I am stuck on the toilet with a killer cockroach ready to attack! I can just see his very long antenna twitching, ready to pounce (you now these critters can actually fly too!).

Ken is to no help, so I end up having to spray the disgusting thing myself, and I watch and see it slowly die on the floor...

We are pretty lucky to only see one of these once in a while, usually in the bathroom. Anyone living in Florida knows this is a state big on bugs. And you know those really REALLY big cockroaches? The once called Palmetto bugs, aka American cockroach ? Well, they are named after the city of Palmetto. Which is our sister city to the north. 'Nough said... They can be 1½ inches long, that is 3.8 cm! The worst cockroach incident I have ever had was when I just had my surgery, and I was hanging out on the couch. I felt something on my leg, and as my sister can attest to, you have never seen a newly operated woman get up from the couch that fast before!

On to a much more agreeable creature: horses! Yesterday we attended a birthday party for one of Sarah's best friends. This friend is really into horses, so the party was held at the stables where they have their horses boarded. It was a great afternoon! Lots of yummy barbecue, cold drink and horseback riding! Sarah got to try riding on a smaller pony as well as a really big horse named Rocket. She was so funny, she pretended to throw a lasso and yelled yee-haw! Cracked us up pretty good...

They also had their "dog" with them. I say "dog" because he was 60 % wolf. What a beautiful animal! And a nicer dog than Tail you would have to look hard for. He was extremely affectionate and obedient. I sure made a new friend yesterday!

Wolf hybrid breeding is pretty common in the US. It is however prohibited in some states, while other states have some pretty tough regulations, and other states have no rules at all. In Florida hybrid breeding is allowed as long as it is less than 74 % wolf. Too bad I didn't have a camera, it was a very nice looking animal, for sure the biggest "dog" I have ever seen! I think this one was bred with Labrador retriever, it might explain why he was so mellow.

Today my new camera is being delivered, can't wait! We also sold our BIG entertainment center yesterday, and since I decided to wait to get the new TV stand, we have our old, puny little 27 inch TV on one of our side tables right now. The living room looks kind of empty!

Sarah decided to be a very bad girl this morning. It is often a fight to get her to go to school. She wants me to take her, but since daddy passes by her school on his way to work, it is of course better if he takes her in, and I pick her up. But she always fights us on this. This morning she was particularly stubborn, and she kept unbuckling her seat belt and getting out of her car seat. I tried hiding the buckle under the seat, but she is big enough now that she figured out how to get it out. I told her we wouldn't go to the pool if she didn't go to school. But no. Finally Ken had to go or he was going to be late. I gave her a last chance to let me take her to school, but at that time she had worked herself into a frenzy, so no.

I told her she can stay in her room. I didn't say when she can come out. She is in there now feeling sorry for herself, and unfortunately she is as stubborn as me, so she might be in there for a while. Well, she had a good breakfast and she has lots of things to do in there, so she can stay in there. I don't know what to do with this kind of situation. I am obviously not going to do anything physical, I got beat up all the time as a kid, and it doesn't make anyone any good. I have tried to talk to her, and it works fine until it is time to get in the car. And some days she will happily skip out to the car like it was nothing at all! If she has mood swings now, I can't wait until she is a teenager! :-)