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Our Hobbies & Interests:
- Music - My husband and I have been enjoying Saturdays at
our drummer's house for years. We have a nice meal similar to a
family Thanksgiving get together, play music, laugh and have a good
time. Although we enjoy an audience our get-togethers are
usually quite small. We call ourselves the Mike Madison Trio now.
You can see some photos of our band in action and just socializing
here - Meet The Humans.
- Investing - I'm an avid reader and researcher when it comes
to investing in stocks, mutual funds, and real estate. I am my
own financial planner and I monitor my own investments for both long
term and short term goals. So far I'm on track for a solid
retirement.
- Photography - Since I received my first digital camera for
my birthday (summer of 2004), I've been photographing my animals and
sending the photos to various pet industry magazines and websites.
So far, I've won Pet of the Month for a lovely photo of my sun conure,
Whammy. That entitled me to a $25 gift certificate at my usual
pet supply store. I'm hoping to make the cover on Bird Talk
Magazine or Birds USA for $250. But I can start small. I
have a lot to learn, but I'm having so much fun with this camera and
in entering all the contests.
- Writing - I enjoy writing and not only have I written
several pet related articles for my website here, but I have also just
recently submitted several stories to Bird Talk. I write a lot
for the National Cockatiel Society and a lot of that is done answering
posts on the Talk About Tiels boards, but I also have had articles
published in the bi-monthly journal for which I also proof read for.
I also had a small bit published in an internal employer sponsored
publication for administrative assistants called The Administrative
Edge while I worked at The Principal Financial Group back in 1996.
- Parrots - We have enjoyed having parrots in our life for
many years now. Our flock is very spoiled and we feel more
like their slaves than their owners. Much of our life is devoted
to our birds. We have 23 parrots total = 1 Barraband, 16
Cockatiels, 4 Conures, 2 Pionus.
- To view photos of our parrots, click below:
The Barraband
The Cockatiels
The Conures
The Pionus
What do they sound like?
- Some of my favorite bird-related links:
- Computers - My husband is the real techie here in the
family building and repairing computers on the side while I enjoy the
"lighter side" of computers such as using various programs and web
site publishing. My hubby is the professional who works on
networks for a living and he also had our computers here at home
networked as well. If you are interested in talking to Mike
about getting some computer work done, please contact him at
mcalternative@sbcglobal.com.
- Nature & Environment -
We both believe in
recycling and in taking care of the environment. Spending time
amongst nature and the natural world is another love of ours.
- Animal Rescue - Many of our pets were obtained
through various rescue organizations. There are so many
wonderful pets of various ages and needs looking for loving homes.
- Being Thankful - We feel we are truly blessed
with our pets, our health, our happiness, our friends and family, and
our jobs. We try not to take anything for granted and not a day
goes by that we don't communicate our thankfulness to God.
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