Lil Rounds

Here are some more information for Lil Rounds:

Pet sitting is something I've always done...I remember posting flyers seeking employment as a dog walker as early as age 10. Since I can remember I've always been tasked with taking care of others pets. I didn't always get paid, but that was OK. I loved animals and I wanted to care for them. I started an official pet sitting business in 2003, after being laid off from my 'real' job. I've learned a lot about pet sitting over the past seven years and I love being a pet sitter. So, enough of that...you want to know what I do! What is a typical day in the life of a pet sitter? Here we go...July 3, 2010.

5:30 am: Alarm clock rings....ahhh...is it already morning? Yes it is. I'm actually happy to get up and going. I have a big day today because of the 4th of July holiday. My dogs stretch and get me up...breakfast time you know! I feed the dogs and jump in the shower.

6:15 am: A quick check of my email to see if any of my clients need anything. And to also confirm my schedule for the day.

6:30 am: Diet Coke and toast in hand, hair still wet, and dressed in capri pants, a tee shirt, and sandals, I say good bye to my pack and off I go.

7:00 am: My first stop is to see Bibi, Peasy, Minou, and Tawny...4 cats. Bibi is insulin-dependent, needing insulin at 7am and 7pm. Peasy is a cute tuxedo kitty. He and I have a lot of fun playing. After the shot, play-time, cleaning litter boxes, and feeding the kitties, I was on my way again.

7:45 am: Next stop on my pet sitting morning rounds is to see Rusty, an 18 year old senior kitty. Rusty sleeps a lot, but enjoys his routine of going outside and smelling all the flowers and then drinking from the fountain. He loves to be combed and purrs very loudly when I comb him. I adore him and dread the thought that he is not long for this world. After giving Rusty three medications that he always fights, cleaning the litter box, and replenishing his food and water, I am on my way again.

8:30: A quick stop to feed one of my sitter's cats, Cassandra and Boo. My sitter is doing an overnight job on the other part of town, so I offered to feed them so she wouldn't have to make a special trip home today. Back in my car and on my way again....

8:45: Time to see Katie kitty...a very social little cat that is full of personality. I picked her up and she started purring loudly. I always look forward to kitty sitting for my friend, Katie. My client's left me a note and asked me to water some outside plants and help myself to as much lettuce from the garden as I desired. Yay! I love the perks of pet sitting....what a nice treat. I was going to stop at Fred Meyer next to get some lettuce for Lil' Miss Funny Face, the turtle, but now I don't have to. After giving Katie lots of TLC, cleaning her box, feeding her and taking care of the plants, I'm on the road again.

9:30: a quick stop at the ATM to deposit last weeks' checks. It's hard to find the time to do these things.

9:45 am: Fish, geckos and Lil' Miss the turtle are next on my agenda. I prepare a bath for Lil' Miss so she can get hydrated. While she is swimming, I care for the geckos, fish, and plants. Then I clean Lil' Miss's cage and rip some of the fresh lettuce for her. I let her walk about the apartment...she loves to stretch her legs. Then I put her back into her aquarium...she dives into the pile of fresh lettuce...yummm. Back to my car and on my way.

10:30 am: Time to see Rusty and Sammy, two cutie tabby cats. Same routine as above. Sweet, social cats. Fun to see.

11:15 am: I swing down to the North end to see Iggy and Hobo....two sweet kitties. We spend all of our time on the deck, enjoying the beautiful day. After caring for them, I also water plants and turn the drip line on and off.

12 noon: Off to SW Boise to care for 3 corgis and a puppy. So cute! I take lots of photos.

1:00 pm. Back to the first kitties...Bibi needs a blood test mid-way between her shots.

2:00 pm. Home for a break! Then I jump on the computer to send updates up to my clients.

5:00 pm: Back to the corgis for dinner time, play and outside time.

5:40 pm: I head over to Mitchell and McMillan to see Max and Abby...two labs. After dinner, we enjoy a nice walk. Treat time when we get back.

7:00 pm: Round three with the first set of kitties...time for insulin.

8:00 pm. Time to visit Rusty for his second visit today. Not so many meds in the evening. He was a good boy for me.

9:00 pm. Home to take care of my pups, email clients, throw a load of wash in.

11:15 pm. Finally, I drop into bed so I can do it all again tomorrow!

Crazy schedule? Yes, but I still love pet sitting!

There you have it! What do you think now?!

My name is Julie Fredrick. I am a professional pet sitter and owner of The Pet Sitter, LLC of Boise, ID. I've been in the pet sitting business since 2003. My services include pet sitting, house sitting, dog walking, and pet taxi services. http://www.thepetsitterboise.com

American Idol's Alexis Grace: Find Your Soul

I have been watching American Idol on and off in the past few weeks for there were people of interest to me personally performing on the show. One was Alexis Grace for she and I both hail from the same hometown, Memphis, TN. No, it's not that I'm to proud of that for I've noticed that Memphis in its same fashion seemed to show preference in reporting on the accomplishments of both Memphis natives for Alexis Grace who is white as opposed to Lil' Rounds who is black. When Alexis Grace was chosen to go to Hollywood her picture was plastered all around town and they did stories on her practically every night and would only mention Lil Rounds in passing IF they mentioned her at all. Those same juvenile and backwards attitudes seem to still prevail in Memphis and it is sad, very sad indeed. Even now since Alexis Grace got voted off the show, there's little mention of the progress that Lil Rounds is making in being the favored contestant amongst the judges. Despite this lapse in common courtesy and human decency, this has nothing to do with Alexis Grace who by all accounts is a sweetheart and a very talented young woman. She's got a nice set of pipes on her and for the most part knew how to use them and intially I was impressed with her interpretation of most of the material that they gave her to sing. Inspite of it though something about her singing made me a little uneasy about her chances of placing well in the competition and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Being a musician myself and a singer I've spent years listening to many many songs paying attention to even the most minute detail for at one time I dreamed of stardom myself. Learning most instruments on my own I became sensitive to the vaguest nuances in sound because I was my biggest critic especially when I was learning a song or writing a song and so other musicians will understand when I say you become sensitive to these things. Now the previous night she performed a song called 'Jolene' written and performed by Dolly Parton years ago. I didn't listen to it closely but I thought it was a good performance. Not a great one, but a good one and I was certain she would pass on to the next stage of the competition. Lo and behold though I was surprised that she didn't make it to the next round and had to perform again that night to try an save herself. She did the song and this time I listened and knew that she wouldn't make it. It wasn't that she performed badly either but I finally figured out what troubled me about her singing that I couldn't quite put my finger on before and something I would share with other aspiring singers who want to make it in the business. You see the problem with Alexis was that she was a good singer, a VERY good singer but that's all. The one thing she lacked that would have made her a GREAT singer was, she had no soul.

It was disappointing to see her get voted off the show (I kind of think it was pre-planned) but I understood why finally. You see Alexis was a good singer in that she could hit the notes and sound good doing it. But to sing with soul you have to have passion in your heart and feel for the words to interpret them and make it personal! Soul isn't singing like in singing R&B music, soul is digging down deep within yourself to bring out the joy the pain the happy the sad of whatever you're singing about. The song she was singing 'Jolene' was a good song for her and gave her a lot of room to really go somewhere with it, but she settled for doing an almost carbon copy of Dolly Parton's original version which wasn't a good idea. Now Dolly Parton's original version was great in the first place because Dolly is one of the most talented women in the music business and the song was a personal song about a personal experience she had with someone trying to steal her man and so when she sang it she remembered that incident and the pleading came out in the song. Alexis chose a good song, but she never did connect with the spirit of the song and interpret such to make it her own. That's why she got sent home. Everyone thinks Simon was being cruel (even I could have choked him) but you see this is what would have happened had she a record contract; they would have exercised their option to discontinue it. To promote a new artist is way to expensive and to timely an endevour to waste on somebody who can't give 110% or more and so you have to be ready. Alexis can still be a star for American Idol gave her a springboard and she does have the potential; but she needs to get her guitar, shut herself up in a room, and practice singing and singing and singing until that one morning she strums that guitar and hums and knows she's finally connected that beautiful voice to her heart.

I'll tell you a story about Elvis Presley. Now I never really liked Elvis Presley for he didn't impress me at all, you know a die-hard soul music fan. Well the year that he died he did a performance, I think in Hawaii and he came out and you could tell he was feeling real low. Eitherway, he talked at first and strummed on his guitar and then started crying talking about how lonesome he was and stuff and you know it was old news about his mom being dead and his being upset about his divorce and all, but in this show there was something different. Well after he got through all that he opened his mouth and man the first verse of 'Are you lonesome tonite' just floored me. This was a song I had heard a thousand times before and had dismissed as light operatic fluff, but this time I heard it and was totally entranced by the performance. This time he wasn't just singing a song as part of his concert set, he was communicating the pain that was buried deep in his heart. This was the first time I ever heard Elvis sing with soul, and the last time for he died that year. After then though, I became an Elvis fan. That's how important singing with soul is for it's not about singing louder or faster but singing deeper. I hope other aspiring singers will be helped by this article for if I could have advised Alexis, she probably would still be on the show.

About the Author

Daniel Asamota is an African American author purportedly of West Indian descent whose book 'Mound Bayou' has set the literary world ablaze. Now check out Daniel Asamota's new novella 'Cricket Man' at www.cricketman.net. Also check out his website www.Dasamota.com or his e-mail at dasamota@yahoo.com.

what is the name of the Stevie Wonder song that lil rounds sings on American Idol?

all i do...

Fear of a Pacquiao Planet - Part II of II
...Shane Mosley, Fernando Vargas and James Toney were all lessened in the ring by steroid use and yet fear of Pacquiao's dominance leads us to believe he somehow got his hands on some "good stuff." Really?

Thanks for visiting!