Ramblings about baby chickens and stocks

 
Things I've learned about baby chickens in the past day. 

• To keep them for chirping, you must hold them together while cupping one hand beneath them and one hand over them. Unfortunately, this makes it hard to do anything else in life. The picture to the left is the not the proper cupping, so there was some chirping going on.
• Use a towel in your bottom hand, so you don't get chicken poo on you. Also not shown correctly in the pic.
• Keep the babies really warm to shut them up. A space heater set on 85 seems to do the trick.
• Give them food to shut them up.
• According to Hayley, they are more cuddly than her cat. She really loves them....for now anyway.

Stock rambling of the day:  I bought Exxon a couple of months ago. It is my WORST performing stock.  As a matter of fact, it is my only LOSING stock.

Really? Didn't you make $9.4 BILLION profit and I mean BILLION last quarter? And yes, a quarter is only 3 months. Okay, so Exxon sent me a tiny dividend, but still. I look at my account and see all green EXCEPT for XOM. What gives? 

I thought if I was going to pay $4 for a gallon of gas that at least I'd own some Exxon and laugh my way to the bank with my share of the profits, but NOOOOOOO that has not happened. I'm giving XOM a couple of more months....maybe.

Serious Black and Boo to Choctaw

Apparently I don't watch enough Harry Potter, but that's another story. So one of my neighbors has a rooster. It's not too loud, but it just cracks me up when I'm sitting outside at noon and I hear him crowing. Me and Zena have walked the neighborhood to find this invisible rooster, but we can't locate him. I believe it is the house two doors down.

So the people who sell animals at McKinney Trade Days should be shot. According to my daughter, we now own a rooster too. He's a little black chic named Serious Black. I haven't seen him yet -- only this photo. He is still living with his sister at Hayley's friend's house until he gets a little older. 

Oh, and Hayley seems to think she should get kudos because she called the City of Frisco and got confirmation that it is okay to own a chicken or rooster in city limits. However, she forgot to get the okay from her mother. And what a manipulator, Hayley said that if I didn't let her bring home Serious Black, she would feed him to her friend's snake. Sigh.


Yes, I have a big yard, but we also have a cat and a Rottweiler. I told Hayley that poor Lucy (my parakeet) is buried in the backyard...how long until Serious Black is next to him? Maybe Serious Black will continue to stay at Hayley's friend's house and she can go visit. Hayley wants to introduce Serious Black to Billie Jean (the cat). Really? I told her I'm not cleaning up any dead roosters.

So George Thorogood was great in concert. He may be in his 60s, but he looks and acts 40ish. So I was one of the youngest people at the concert....except for the one younger guy next to me that very obviously forgot to wear his deodorant.

So Choctaw is okay EXCEPT for the bimbo working the bar that had $1.50 beer for St. Patty's Day. She filled the cups up half way and couldn't understand why people were griping at her about it. She said every person griped....well no kidding. It's out of a keg. It's cheap beer. Just fill up the cup or just tell the truth "You can buy 1/2 of a cheap beer for $1.50". There is no TRUTH in advertising. So I say BOO to Choctaw for being that cheap.

I drink alone

Going to see George Thorogood this weekend. He's older than me and still kicking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8VlcbndXdM

I played golf last night. What a great night for it. My golf game was not pretty,but I hit the ball well, so at least my game looked better than it actually panned out on the scorecard.

So my golf shoes are getting worn out. I've always prided myself on having cute golf shoes and I've slacked off. I really think new shoes will help my game. Hard to concentrate when I look down and see my old shoes. So I'm officially on the hunt for new golf shoes.

Recently the kids called me out on dressing like a homeless person and said I need new clothes and to start dressing better. Yes, I bought one pair of heels, so I figure that is a start, but then I bought a new pair of flip flops and now I want new golf shoes. I'm pretty sure this is not what they meant when they said I needed to dress better.

Oh and I'm somewhat frugal. Well, I would never pay $20 for flip flops UNLESS, I just went to an outlet mall and saw some for $50, and then went to Winstar and found flip flops for $287. When I got home, the $20 flip flops seemed like a great deal!

Golf again and I found unclaimed property

So Thursday I start the ladies golf league again. I haven't hit a ball in weeks. I swung a lob wedge at the dog toy on my lunch break, so I'm sure I'm totally prepared now. My next plan of action is to by some whiffle balls so I can practice in the backyard. I  might need to get some tanning lotion for my legs too so that I don't reflect the sunlight in anyone's eyes.


Well not sure why I did this, but for some strange reason I decided someone just might owe me money. I went to the unclaimed property website and found my name. My heart was pounding. Maybe I could pay off my house and retire early, maybe enough for a new car......


Sallie Mac owes me money for the first house I ever owned down in Austin. Unfortunately, Sallie Mac only owes me .45 cents. No sense/cents trying to get it since the paperwork and postage would put me in the negative.....and with my luck I'd have to get my ex-husband's signature on the paperwork and split the money with him. 


Oh and while on the subject of that first house. Bought it for $24K in 1989. It is now tax appraised at $215K. Wish I still had it. It was built in 1940 and is only 900 sq. ft, but it is on 1/4 acre with 100+ oak trees. Hindsight is 20/20. 

Funny but when I bought my first house, my house payment was less than my 1-bedroom apartment. Ironic that my new/old house is almost half the price as the rent on my 2-bedroom apartment I had last year. I did hear on Squawkbox this morning that rents are higher than owning right now. They were even telling people how to use IRA money to purchase real estate, but I didn't pay attention....maybe I should have.

Daylight Savings Time and Safehouse review

Well for the first time in 6 months, the clock in my car has the correct time. Yea!!!! I've been waiting for this day...for well...6 months.

So the Kid Rock concert at Winstar was great and I would highly recommend the Best Western near the casino. They have 24-hour shuttle and free breakfast.....the kind where a lady will make you a fresh waffle.

Next weekend, going to Choctaw to see George Thorogood. So trying to figure out why the tickets are half the price of Kid Rock and the hotel is half the price of the hotel at Winstar. Guess I should quit figuring and just be glad.

I saw Safehouse this weekend. It was my kind of movie. It was extremely loud, violent, and suspenseful, and it had Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington, who I like. I must give it five thumbs up. I knew it was good because I really had to go to the bathroom, but I wasn't about to walk out and miss something. My bladder felt like when I was a kid on one of my dad's insane road trips where we were not allowed to make pitstops.

There were some scenes that made me feel tired and I was just sitting there, but then again, after I saw the Swedish version of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I felt like I had run a marathon.

HOTEL.COM sucks!!!!

So anway, excited to see Kid Rock at Winstar this weekend. I've never been to Winstar because I'm a craps player and they don't do table games. Anyway, got a reservation at Best Western that has a shuttle back before Xmas. Very excited.  So get confirmation for $125.99...yippee!

So today, call to check in since not heard anything. They tell us that we need a AAA card, or the rate is $199.95.  After two hours online with HOTELS.COM, nothing accomplished.  Oh, and then Expedia calls us.....Hotels.com gave them our number. They wanted us to give up our reservation, so they could have it. WTH?  STAY AWAY FROM  HOTELS.COM. Nothing like Expedia ringing you up on your cell phone.