Bettas by Jennifer Lapello
My name is Jennifer and I am 31 years old. I have 3 kids, ages 13, 10, and 3. I am divorced, and I currently live with my boyfriend of 4 years, Gary. He is also divorced and has a 10 year old son. The 3 year old is our kid together, so we really have a kind of extended family thing going on.
I have lived in Illinois all my life. I was born in 1976 in Carbondale, IL. In 1978, when I was 2, my parents moved to unincorporated Joliet, where I lived until I was 19. At 19, I moved to Joliet with my then boyfriend, now ex-husband. We lived in a little 1-bedroom apartment for a couple years and then bought a house when I was 21. When we got divorced, I took over the house payments and stayed there. I lived there for several years and slowly over the years "flipped" the house. I ended up selling it in 2004 for almost twice the purchase price. Gary and I bought a house in New Lenox, IL in September 2004, which is where we are today.
When we moved to New Lenox, I no longer had a babysitter, and the cost of daycare for the youngest was outrageous, expecially considering that I was only able to work part-time. Because of all the time I spent driving, I had to pay the daycare for full days. Add that to my gas money, and working was not very profitable. I felt lost without a job for many months afterwards, and I was bored out of my mind. Thankfully, since I found Bettas and all the work that comes with them, I haven't been bored much since.
My oldest child is my only girl, and she turned 13 in June. She is what you would expect from a typical 13 year old girl. By this statement, I mean that her interests include shopping, talking on the phone, and boys. And that's about it. But, she does have a secret "uncool" side to her that only I get to see. I would go into further detail, but she would read this online and have a fit.
My middle child is my 10 year old boy. He is autistic, but he's nothing like the stereotypical autistic kids you see on TV that don't talk or interact. In fact, he never shuts up! He is very high-functioning for having autism, but it wasn't always that way. He is actually doing so well that he is in mainly regular-ed classes with a few of his classes held in the SI classroom at his school. He is getting very good grades, and I am very proud of him. He has also learned how to lie and smart off! I know that doesn't seem like anything to be proud of, but seeing him act like a "normal" kid, no matter what that entails, makes me happy.
My youngest is my 3 year old boy. He is my little cling-on. He always wants to be with someone, and most of the time, he is very sweet. He has a wicked temper though, so when he's mad, watch out! Most of the time he is a very sweet little boy, and being the youngest, probably a little bit spoiled. He loves anything to do with the alphabet, he loves animals (like mom), and he is a little neat freak, which is kind of different for a 3 year old boy. He also makes me tell him how stinky his feet are for about a half hour minimum every day (he's proud of being stinky). He's fun though.
My boyfriend, Gary, basically has no interest in the fish, which is probably a good thing, because I don't have him offering his opinion on who I should spawn/show, etc. It would be nice if he showed a slight interest, but then again, I'm sure he feels the same way about me and football.
In addition to the fish, we have two dogs. Gary's dog, Duke, is a Yellow Labrador I bought for him for Christmas 2004. He is a big baby, and I don't think he's as smart as most Labs. We love him though. He has finally calmed down and is pretty well-behaved for the most part.
My dog, Frank (he came with that name), is a 7 year old American Bulldog. I adopted him last year after my old dog passed away. Frank is great! He is a little stubborn (typical for the breed), but he is sweet and pretty well trained and excellent around kids. His old owners decided they wanted a Boxer instead of him, and they were just going to have him put down when he was 6 years old. Luckily, their neighbor offered to take him and brought him into the no-kill shelter where I found him. It amazes me how cruel and heartless people can be. Frank has no illnesses and is well-behaved, like I said before, so I have no idea why anyone would have him put down, other than being complete and utter jerks!
I've always been an animal lover. I've owned just about everything at some point in my life. The one animal that I miss the most though (besides my dog that passed in 2006) is my horse, Louie. He was a gorgeous American Saddlebred. I rode Saddleseat, and even competed in a few shows with him. After I had my daughter, I didn't have the kind of time for him that he needed. I gave him to a friend who had a farm, and she was the best owner! Unfortunately, Louie was sick one morning and couldn't get up. She called the vet, and they did emergency intestinal surgery on him, but he never made it out of surgery. It was a freak thing, and it wasn't her fault at all. It was just one of those things where he looked absolutely fine one day, and was dying the next. He was just 17 years old, which is young for a horse. If I ever get a house with enough land, or have enough money for boarding, I will definitely get horses again! I would love to rescue a retired Thoroughbred and learn how to jump obstacles, but that's just a dream right now.
I'm not new to showing animals. When I was a teenager, I was heavily into breeding and showing Netherland Dwarf rabbits, and I did quite well. I was the Illinois State rabbit Queen in either 92 or 93, LOL. I was always at or near the top of the youth show standings, and I traveled nearly every weekend to show my rabbits. I even went across the country a couple of times for both ANDRC and ARBA conventions. I was also an active member of our local club, Tibbar, and even though I was too young to hold office, I helped my mother with just about every aspect of everything that was done in that club. After having a kid and moving into an apartment and having to work sometimes two jobs at a time, needless to say, I didn't have the time or space or ability to travel often anymore, so I had to discontinue raising rabbits. Now that I am home all the time, I could do rabbits again, but without outside buildings to keep them in, it would be pretty smelly.
That's why I love Bettas so much. They don't take up nearly as much space, they don't make noise or smell, and they are truly living pieces of art. I've always been intrigued by genetics, so with the limitless combinations and so many unexplained genetics of Bettas, I will not get bored easily! I won't lie. I spend way too much time changing water, but it's all worth it when I see my little babies growing up into something nice! I also spend way too much time talking about Bettas, but hey, it goes with the territory.
I am a member of the Midwest Betta Club, and I encourage anyone nearby to join, because it is an awesome club filled with very knowledgeable people. And of course, I am a member of the IBC. Anyone getting into Bettas should join the IBC. There are so many things to learn about Bettas, and if you join, you get access to an online forum where you can talk to people who have been raising Bettas for years upon years and are more than willing to answer any questions or help you out with any problems. Not to mention, joining gives you access to the show standards which can really help you get a good idea of what you should be looking for (and running from) when purchasing breeding stock. Individual memberships start at $20 a year, so you more than get your money's worth!
That's basically all there is to me right now. Between the kids, the pets, the house, and the fish, I keep very busy. People who work full time jobs and have pets and kids and still find the time to raise Bettas amaze me. I don't know how they do it all. Please continue to check my site. I have a ton of stuff to add to the site when I have the time to do so. I am hoping to make it a lot more informative in the coming months.
~ Jennifer
About Me