It's warm out there!

And I'm loving every second of it! I'm in taking a small break before continuing on to part two of today's festivities - planting. I've finished overseeding the lawn, including putting down the grub control. But since it's been so dry, I'm more dirty than sunburned due to the overseeder kicking up more dust than anything else. A shower is going to feel soooooo good after this!

While at HD, I found (of course) a few bulbs that looked nice and some small rhododendron bushes. Oh, and some purple sage too. :) Yes, I spent a *lot* of money there today. I got one each of pink, red, and purple bushes that I plan on planting on the left side of the house. They were priced so well that I couldn't pass them up. So, there are few other things to plant now. :)

The bad thing I found out, which I promptly ran away from, is that the bees are out. :( I know, I know... the bees are needed for pollination...whatever. They still suck.

And one good thing that happened, which was completely unexpected, was that I asked about some big stones that are in a pile at the end of the street on the construction site. According to the guy that helped me take the overseeder out of my car (:p), they're just going to be dumped. He asked me if I wanted a few and I said Yes!! That I'd love to line up a few of them in the front of my yard where it meets the street (there isn't a sidewalk.) He said he didn't think that would be a problem at all and would even use the Bobcat to get them over and placed where I wanted them. Woohoo!! Now people won't be able to park on my lawn while they're at the part at the end of the cul de sac! And I can plant rock cress and different mosses to make them look pretty! Woohoo again!!

Ok, before I get too comfortable and don't want to go do more work, I'm leaving to go do more work. :)

D

Nice....

There's just something about casually waking up on a day that the alarm is normally bugging the shit out of you that makes you feel...calm, serene,....happy. :)

I'm goofing off on the computer before starting my back-breaking day. :) Checking in with school, noticed Korn has a new CD out, chatting with people, and writing lists of things I need to get, things I want to accomplish today, etc., etc.

The dogs are in for quite the treat being able to lounge around in the sun all day. I'm sure they're going to love that. :)

I got an email this morning from the tree company - they're not shipping my trees until mid-April, which is a bummer as I was hoping to get them planted today. But, I'll be able to plant all of the other things I have - hopefully. I still have to figure out where I want the lilies. But I do know where I want the hostas and the Gladiolus (I looked at the bag). It looks like I goofed with the Gladiolus though. The directions say to dig em up after they've bloomed and store them. I don't do that. :) So I guess I'll only have them for one year. I'll make sure not to grab a tender perennial next time - it's all I can do to keep my Bay Leave plant alive during the winter. :) Boy are these gorgeous though - they start out black red like a garnet and then lighten up to a beautiful deep red - check 'em out.

Ok, I think I've got just about everything ready. I just have to get clean and get going!

D

It is beautiful outside!

We've finally hit 60 degree weather and I couldn't be happier! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and flitting around finding nest materials, my hyacinths are starting to bloom - today just couldn't be better! :D

It's hard for me to sit here in front of this huge window and try to concentrate on work. I find myself looking outside more often than at my computer screen. Needless to say, my productivity level is down the tubes. :)

But, I'm getting more and more excited about having tomorrow off and working outside all day! I've written my list of things to get at HD when I pick up the overseeder. I'm hoping my trees will come in tomorrow so I can do that at the same time. I called Digsafe and I think everyone has come out to 'mark their territory' on my front lawn - at least that's what I'm assuming is the reason for the little flags all over the place. :)

I'm sure tomorrow's entry will be filled with how sore I am and how much my back hurts, but it will soooo be worth it when everything is green and beautiful. :) I have hostas to plant, some beautiful garnet colored flowers that I can't remember the name of to plant, a few day lilies, and I think one or two other things that I've also forgotten the name of. :) Oh! And my peonies have started coming up too!! I don't know if they'll bloom this year as I've heard they're very tempermental about being moved, but that's ok as next spring they'll be gorgeous. :)

Time to force myself to get back to work. If I stay busy, the day will go my faster and I'll be able to get home to take Millie for a long walk. :)

D

Done!!

Well, I finished my final project - finally. If you want to see it, let me know and I'll send you the link. Otherwise, just know that I'm not all that interested in becoming a Flash developer. :)

I did make up my mind and I'm taking Friday off. :) The weather is supposed to be incredible and I could really use a day away from work and school to just get into working outside. I'm renting an overseeder and will overseed the front, sides, and most of the back yard. Hopefully that alone won't kill me as I also plan on getting the firepit area clean, the branches and twigs picked up, along with all of the thatch raked up. Which reminds me, I need to buy a rake. :)

I had a long talk with my sister today about the changes to the MA SDIP and surcharge policy. I read an opinion site that referenced MA drivers as "ATMs for the State of MA". After hearing about what they're planning, I am in total agreement. I also found the official document of the rules and regs regarding it on the dmv site, but I didn't take the time to understand the 25 pages of "rates are going down but we're going to screw you in every other way possible" crap. Gotta love Taxachussets.

I got an incredible letter from the mother of an ex-boyfriend I was with when I was 16. I can't wait to write her back, but since I've been staring at this stupid screen since I got home from work, it'll have to be tomorrow as I'm *burnt*!

Off to relax for 10 mins. before heading to bed! :)

D

Ackkk!

My final project is due *today* and not tomorrow like I thought! I guess I know what I'll be doing tonight...

Thankfully it's pretty much done. I just need to add the content into it and I'll be set. I have all of the masking done, the scrollbar fixed, and the images created. All in all, I'm in pretty good shape. Which is a good thing since I lost a day!

D

Leaving early...

I have a few errands that I have to run that can only be done during business hours, so I'm leaving work early today. I know, poor pity me. :)

I cancelled my dinner plans for tonight so I can do everything that I need to - finish homework, cook for the week (lemon pepper chicken), get laundry set, dishes, etc., etc.

I've also decided that I'm taking Friday off this week. The weather is supposed to be really nice and I have a few things I really want to get done outside, so, I'm gonna! Is it hard to reseed a lawn? LOL

D

Sunday was pretty good...

I goofed off on the computer for a while in the morning, then got ready for the scrimmage. I only took Freddie with me, so we could work on his box turns in a distracting environment. I'm determined to get that fixed if it kills me! But, he did wonderfully, even when I started him from over the last jump. He's not quite ready for it, but we're getting there.

Sammi & Scarlett both did *awesome*. They both can have issues with other dogs and neither of them looked anywhere else but up and down the lane while racing. I was very impressed with both of them. They're both ready to start warming up at tourneys and coming in for a heat once in a while. They'll be ready for full-time racing soon enough.

After I got home from the scrimmage (we didn't get out of there until 3:30pm - pretty much what I expected), I took Millie to the Laundro-mutt in Salem to get her clean. It's a do-it-yourself dog washing facility. Pretty nice, easy to use, etc. I'm not sure it's worth $17 but whatever. At least it's there in a pinch. She did pretty well, but was not keen on getting up into the tub, or staying there, or the water pressure, or the other dogs whining. Thankfully I know her so very well because I'm sure I would've psychologically damaged another dog with the fur dryer. It was way too powerful and she almost had a breakdown right then and there. But, with her, I can't back her away from what she's afraid of; she needs to work past it for a bit to know that she'll be ok. I only used it for about a minute and a half and she was a little more calm when I shut it off. Needless to say, I won't be using that again. ;)

My dinner plans got rescheduled last minute to tonight. That's fine, I just have to make sure I finish my homework afterwards. I did get one thing done yesterday, but I just didn't care to do more. Only 3 more days until this class is over! Yay!

And in the "isn't it always the way" category, it seems like when it rains, it pours. People are coming out of the woodwork to say hello, be friends, and go out together. My phone is constantly ringing, but not from the person I want it to (the poptart that gives good squeezes). I'm so confused (goes back to the fact that I way over-think everything) and for the first time in a long time, I really have no idea what to say or do. There are times when I think we're on the same page and others when I have no idea - this weekend was one of the others. I just can't tell what he's thinking and have no clue what he wants. Subtlety is not one of my strong points so I really wish he'd just let me know. Then I could stop driving myself insane guessing. I'd bring it up myself, but a) his message returning and emailing skills have been lacking lately, and b) I don't want to make any potential fears worse. So instead I'll languish in the world of confusion and go about my day.

D

I'm blowing off homework tonight...

Honestly, I just don't feel like doing it so I'll have to make sure I really get it done tomorrow morning.

My grandparents are so damn cute it's not even funny. While I was having coffee with them, I noticed there was a new, cordless phone on the table. After a few minutes, my grandmother asked me if I could get it to work. I said sure and immediately went for the battery in the handset thinking she didn't connect it. That wasn't it. So I picked up the base and asked her where the cords were for it. She looked at me with this innocent, confused look and said "It's a cordless phone, it doesn't need any cords." I had enough control to just smile and not laugh hysterically as I wanted to. I explained how the phone works and set it up for her. Damn she's cute. :)

Eeek was sleeping when I got to Elissa's so we hung out getting caught up on friends, gossip, etc. I got a bunch of good pictures of him, which I have to zip up and send to Glen & Elissa. Elissa snapped this one of me and Eek. It usually takes about 20 pics to get one decent one of me, but this one is passable. :)

Now I'm off to relax so I can be energetic for tomorrow's scrimmage.

D

not so relaxing weekend...

Actually, I shouldn't say that since I don't really have anything taxing except for the scrimmage tomorrow. I forgot that I had a small party to go to last night - my cousin's husbands 30th birthday party. I guess it's obvious at these little shindigs that we have Italian in our blood due to the abundant amount of food available. To give you an idea, there were chips & dip, cheese & crackers, bruschetta, nuts, pasta with gravy/sauce/red sauce, meatballs & sausage, plain pasta, sausage cacciatore, chicken fingers, fries, calamari, onion rings, salad &, of course, Italian bread. After that there was carrot cake, Polk cake, and cannoli's to choose from for dessert. How many people, you might wonder? 20? 30? Nope. Nine. Needless to say, I ate too much last night. :)

My aunt and uncle went away for the weekend, so I'm stopping by my grandparents to see how they are and if they need anything. My grandparents live in an apartment over the garage (sounds way worse than it is - their place is nicer than mine...) of my aunt's house. As they got older, they got to the point where they really shouldn't be alone due to the sheer number of doctor appointments, errands, and daily living that they really couldn't perform alone. So, my aunt built this addition on to her house for them, which really put the rest of the family at ease - at least the rest of us that cared anyway. Mema & Pepa still try to be as independent as possible, even going out to the supermarket twice a week. So, if you ever get behind an old man with a hat driving way too slow in the right hand lane, please be gentle, that's my grandfather. He shouldn't be driving, but if you know anything about Italian temperaments, you'll know that trying to wrestle away the keys from a grown man is not the piece of cake it would seem to be. :)

After that, I'm heading down to Glen & Elissa's to visit and play with my little man Eek. His name is Ezekiel, but I call him Eek and he calls me Aunty John - it's just our thing. :) Speaking of which, I need to charge the batteries for my camera if I'm to get any good pictures today. :) He's growing so fast and talking up a storm. I can't believe how quickly time gets away when they're little. I remember Elissa being as pregnant as ever at a July 4th party I had. I think she delivered him the next day or the day after. Thankfully, his big birthday party/cookout is happening on a weekend that I do *not* have a flyball tourney on this year! I posted all the tourneys on myspace so they could plan accordingly. ;)

Tomorrow I have a flyball scrimmage to head to. It's slated to go from 10am - 2pm, but last time we didn't get out of there until 4pm or so. I have dinner plans after that, so I have to make sure I finish all of my homework tonight when I get back. This is my last week of this class, which is nice as I really wasn't as into it as others. I have 2 more classes and then the certificate program is complete. Then I'll have the rest of the summer off until Sept or so and will continue on to one of my degrees.

Next weekend is my last really free weekend before Flyball season really gears up. I have 2 in April, 2 in May, and am then heading down to New Jersey to teach flyball classes at Camp Barking Hills over the holiday weekend. I think I have the last 2 weeks of May off and will be traveling from Vermont to NJ in one of them. Busy times to say the least.

Other than that, I can't wait until I can keep all the windows open all the time and start my spring cleaning - where I'll find the time, I have no idea. :) Anyone want to help? lol

D

I had yesterday off...kinda....

I worked from home in the morning as I had an appt. for a test mid-morning. I'm not going into details like normal, because it definitely falls into the "too much information" arena. Suffice it to say, I had a UDS done and I'm thankful that it's over with!

I had the rest of the day off after that, so I stopped by my cousin's house to see if she needed anything (she's on bed rest right now), and then hopped over to Super Walmart to pick up a few things. I spent way more money than a single gal should while food shopping, but I hadn't been in weeks because of the whole debit card issue. Let's just say that I won't run out of food for a looooong time. :)

I was in the mood to have dinner with *someone* so I called him up and gave him a choice of meals. Steak tips, garlic mashed, and carrots was his choice, so that's what I made. I ran out of propane about a minute into grilling the tips so I had to bring them inside and finish them on the inside grill. The marinade didn't get seared into them like they do on the grill, but apparently he didn't mind. :)

After that it was a night of being lazy, laying around watching TV. Since my ankle is still swollen, that wasn't a bad thing. I doubt I could've pulled off any wrestling moves if I had to. I watched Ultimate Fighting, or something like that, for the first time. I'll say it was....interesting. It seems like it's one of those things that's much easier to talk about (if he just hit him 3 times he'd be done), than do. :) Yeah, I don't think I'll be in one of those rings...umm....ever. :) Now, Monster Trucking is a completely different story! I will be at one of those live events someday, although I really wish I could be in the driver's seat. :)

Time to shower and head off to work. I'm not sure what's going on for tonight - actually, this weekend is fairly quiet as I really only have the scrimmage planned on Sunday so far. I have to get down to visit Eeek since I haven't seen him in a bit and he needs a dose of his "Aunty John". :) Maybe that's what I'll do Saturday... Who said I had to stay home and clean the house?! lol

D

I am such an idiot...

So, my rescue dog, Poe, was very excited about something on the other side of the fence this morning in the back yard. Most of my land is flat, but the way back has quite a slope on it. Of course he was in the farthest corner possible, up the slope. Calling him didn't work, offering food didn't work, threatening to beat his fat butt didn't help - he just wasn't coming into the house. Meanwhile, I'm trying to get ready for work, just got out of the shower, getting dressed, etc., etc. The last thing I want to do is try to scamper up this hill to get him. But, of course that's exactly what I had to do.

Did I mention I was dressed in work clothes? So, I got a leash and scampered up the stupid hill to get him. Getting down - not so easy. The soil is really loose right now and I had a hard time keeping my footing. Which of course, is the perfect time for Poe to hit the end of the leash as hard as he can, which he did. My careful descent turns into a scene from a Saturday morning cartoon with my arms flailing and me running (in small heels) down the hill to keep myself from falling. I had just reached the flat part of the yard when the little bastard did it again and pitched me forward. While trying to catch myself, I sprained my ankle... bad. Oh yeah, and then I fell, in my work clothes.

I limped back into the house, tossed Poe in the crate, changed my clothing and shoes, and finished getting ready for work. My ankle was very tender, but it wasn't swollen or anything so I thought I just tweaked it. But, after a day at work, my ankle is *huge* and I'm once again on the couch, not accomplishing anything. The ice pack is helping a bit, but I can tell I'm going to be sore for quite a bit from this.

I have a scrimmage to go to on Sunday with Freddie and a few green dogs from our team. I will *not* be running as I'm very sure I won't be able to. So, it looks like we'll be doing nothing but boxwork. Since Rob will be there with Sammi, I'm hoping he won't mind bring the box into the lanes all the time. :)

But, the good news is that I haven't been able to sit down and catch up with Tivo for a while so since I can't move, that's what I'll be able to do tonight. I would've liked to have been productive in a different way tho'!

D

one minute later.....

Flyball practice went well - not as productive as usual due to Cindy not being there and keeping us on track. :) But, we got 'er done. :) I really need to concentrate on Freddie's box turn these next few weeks - practice every day at dinner time using his food. I'm hoping to get some marginal improvement by the next tourney.

After that, I did some errands (except food shopping - damn!), took a nice relaxing bath, and got most of my homework done. Fairly productive day all in all.

I was supposed to watch Charlie & the Chocolate Factory last night but *someone* didn't want to...booger. So we watched 40 year old virgin instead. Although I completely adore C&CF, it was a good choice as the movie was freakin' hilarious! There were a few good quotes, which I'll have to write down the next time I see it, and I'll probably never allow the dogs in the bedroom if company comes over due to a scene in the movie. :) You know what I'm talking about. :)

Anyway, it was a really fun night and I was impressed that *someone* didn't get upset when we had to pause the movie so I could get dinner. :)

Time for work so I'm off to get clean and then get coffee. :)

D

Yawn....(stretch)

I got most of my stuff done yesterday so that was nice. I still have a few assignments for school to do, which I'm hoping I'll be able to get done today at some point. I actually took a nap yesterday afternoon - very different for me, but quite a treat!

We did not end up going to the Roadhouse for dinner last night as the wait was 2 hours long. No type of food is worth that kind of wait so we said screw it and headed over to Tokyo's for some Teppanyaki. I love that place and it's (I think) a lot healthier than ribs so I was pretty happy. :)

Max got adopted yesterday as well! My first impression about the potential home (phone) was way off base so I'm glad I was able to meet him in person. I'm really happy that Max has a new home already. It's not good for the dogs to be here for months before finding a new home. Now it's time for Poe! If you know of anyone that wants a sweet, but vocal, Min pin, send them my way!

It's 6:30am now and I think I'm going to take a ride to DD's for some coffee. I never did make it to the supermarket yesterday so hopefully I'll be able to do that today. I can't go to flyball practice and not have coffee - I'll be junk!

Other than flyball and a trip to the bookstore (I can spend hours in that place), that's really all I have planned for the day. But first, I need to go give my furry kids some one-on-one time. :)

D

No shit....

So I went to this Irish restaurant/pub last night - Kelley's or something. I have to give them credit as I did not see one iota of green beer. :) What was truly amazing was the fact that they had a Pipe & Drum company come in and play for everyone. If you've never been surrounded (literally, we were in the middle of it - they joked and called it surround sound) by a group of men and women in traditional Irish garb (read kilt) playing bagpipes and drums, I'd recommend it - just bring earplugs. :)

It was really quite interesting! And very different than anything I've ever experienced on St. Patrick's Day so it was really pretty neat. :) More importantly, I got an answer to the age old question of "Do they wear anything under those kilts?" The answer, according to the 2 men I asked, is... it depends on the weather. :) One of the pipers, having a good sense of humor, showed me first hand by flashing me. Thankfully, it's true and on cold nights the *do* wear stuff underneath them. :) He then went on to explain that it's called "regimental" when they go commando. So, keep that term in mind and when you see a man or woman with a kilt, you'll know how to properly ask. :) lol

I did realize that learning Sign Language has more uses than just communicating with the deaf or hard of hearing. It doesn't matter how loud it is - you can still carry on a conversation! Of course, I also learned that it's only beneficial if the people you're with also know it. ;) Anyway, all in all it was a fun night. :)

Today I have some cleaning, food shopping, laundry, and homework to do. I also have someone coming to look at the boys in a while. I don't think that's going to work out, but whatever. I got an email from an old friend that is also involved in Min Pin rescue in TN or somewhere like that. A home that she adopted a dog to is having medical problems and needs to place the dog. I really don't know any of the details, but it looks like I'll be getting another little boy in at some point. That will bring my total to 8, which is my self-imposed limit. I've found that I start to lose my mind and also start to dislike coming home, so it's in my best interest of my sanity to stick with that number. However, I'm hoping I can get at least two of them adopted by the end of the month as I'll be watching my friend's 2 dogs when she goes in to have her baby. Did I mention that there are 5 flyball teammates pregnant at the same time? Don't drink the water. :)

Tonight I have plans to head to the Roadhouse for some ribs - they're so good there. But, I really need to get my ass in gear if I want to get anything accomplished before then!

D

I've been quiet!

Which is very much unlike me! Actually, I just haven't had much time to blog to be quite honest. There are so many things going on right now that I don't even know where to begin.

But, the other part of it is, how much information is too much on a blog? Especially when you know certain people read it? For example, do I want to go into details on a date that ended up being far more than planned when I know my Dad reads this? No, probably not. He's not stupid and he knows I'm an adult, but I do have to have some respect and not rub it in his face. (Disclaimer: Nothing of the sort happened, I'm just using it as an example. No, really. Honest to dog.)

Back to the subject matter: It's hard balancing the things I want to say versus the things I can say. Some days, I just don't care and will put it all out there for all to read. Other days, like today, I do care. I won't be completely mum, but I won't type out as much as I want to. :)

Let's just say that my time is filling up quickly and I need to start weeding out unnecessary activites in my life. This weekend, which was supposed to be benign is now far busier than I could've ever imagined.

With that said, I'm about to head out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! I absolutely *refuse* to drink green beer though. Hopefully you'll have enough sense to stay away from it as well and just grab yourself a Sam Adams instead. :)

D

I heard it's going to get cold again...

...and that, my friends, is a *huge* bummer! I won't be outside doing any yard work, that's for sure!

Sunday ended up being a much better day than I thought it would. :) I had flyball practice in the morning and hung around chatting with the girls for a little while afterwards. Then I headed down to my Dad's house for a bit. They were on their way out so I didn't stay too long, which was good as Freddie & Pacie were in the car. On the way down to my Dad's I noticed that my friend Mary called and I called her back. One of her dogs had to have brain surgery! I dropped off the boys, let everyone out for a while and then headed over to Mary's to see how Jezzy was doing. We went out to lunch and then hit a few stores. There's a benefit to not having access to your money - you don't buy things you really don't need while out shopping with friends! lol

Afterwards, we went back to her house, unloaded the van, and set up a few of the things that she bought. We then spent a few hours on the computer looking for lights she wanted to get for 2 of her rooms. We found this one incredible site that offered her everything she could've wanted - and it was all customizable. We got everything written down and she was going to call the company today to order them. I'll have to give her a call and see if she did. Sue & Lisa stopped by while I was there. I guess they have a favorite show that they get together to watch. I would've stayed, but I really had to get back to the dogs since most of my time was spent out of the house. I did a bit of homework and then spent some time with the kids while watching a bit of TV. All in all it was a good day. :)

Today was fairly decent too. I was pretty productive at work, which gave me a good feeling. Plus it made the day fly by! I stayed late to finish up this one thing and then came home to the kids. I've already checked homework and have responded to a few emails, so it's time to make dinner while doing the dishes. I think I'm going with an oriental sesame chicken stir fry over basmati rice. Can you say de-lish? :)

D

What a *beautiful* day!

Oh yeah. I'm *totally* ready for Spring!! Today was incredible - so incredible that I got a lot of work done in the front and back yards. :) I have two little flower beds in the front of the house on either side of the front stairs. For the last month or so, little green leaves have been peeking out of the ground from when we got that warm spell. I got rid of a bunch of leaves, thatch, and weeds and cut down the dead Iris leaves from last year. Imagine my surprise when I found a *bunch* of new green stuff coming up underneath the dead leaves! I'll have even more pretty flowers than I thought!! Thankfully I wrote down the names of the flowers I planted so I'll know what they are when they come up. ;) The unfortunate part is that I didn't plant them in the exact place that I mapped out I would so I think I'll still be surprised. I'm still so new to this growing stuff. :) I did recognize the Crocus flowers that bloomed today though! I can't wait for the rest to come up, but so far I have 3 little white & yellow flowers on both sides. :) Yay!

Today I went to Home Depot to get outside shears to cut the Iris leaves (see above) and I ended up buying a couple of bags of Hosta bulbs (to be planted at the end of this month according to the directions), some seeds (Columbine & some other flower), a few peat trays, and some soil. I asked one of the guys in the Gardening Center if they were able to special order any trees as I've decided on what tree I'd like to plant in the front yard - a Kawakamii Dragon tree, otherwise known as an Empress Tree, or Paulownia Tree. Check it out - http://www.dragontrees.com/

Relatives that were looking to adopt a Min Pin came by in the afternoon to take a look at Roxie. Yay! Roxie has a new home! They absolutely loved her and she is now sitting in the comfort of her new forever home. :) While they were outside with her, I started ripping out all of these vines that grow along the edge of the fire pit. Since last year was my first spring here, I didn't want to rip anything out since I had no idea what they were. By the summer I knew they weren't anything I wanted to keep (they have thorns) but by then they weren't coming out of the ground. :) So, I started trying to get that back area into shape. I hope to be able to get out tomorrow and finish it.

After that, I planted all of my seeds in the peat pots, (the flowers mentioned above) along with Lavendar, Forget Me Nots, and Four o' Clocks. There were a few bees buzzing around while I was outside planting those seeds. I have to say that I am NOT happy about that. I *hate* bees. It's ironic that I like to plant flowers but hate bees, huh? Yeah, I know it makes no sense, but, oh well. What can I say, I'm a walking contradiction. :)

I do have to say that I was pretty proud of myself while weeding the front garden. There were little spiders everywhere (I'm shuddering while typing it) and I didn't even freak out all that much. :) I think I only ran away twice actually. If you really knew me, then you would know how much of an improvement that is. :) I will admit, however, that I got great joy out of trying to drown them with the hose afterwards. :)

I was going to head down to my Dad's for a bit, but I got a phone call from a guy that adopted a dog from me a year of so ago. Apparently his sister and niece moved in with him and there was an *incident* with the little girl. I guess it wasn't bad really, no blood or anything, but they just felt that it wouldn't be a safe situation for either of them. I completely understand and my heart goes out to him. :( So, Max is here once again looking for a new home. I thought I would actually get down to just my dogs for a bit, but it just wasn't meant to be. I'm hoping to get some pictures of them tomorrow so I can put them on Petfinder.

After he left, I figured it was time to balance my checkbook so that when I completely switched over to the new bank, I'd have a clue as to what I had for cash. :) Apparently I haven't added any deposits or receipts to Quicken since the end of January. Here's a tip if you ever have to go through multiple months of data entry, add the deposits first. That way, you won't have a negative thousands of dollars balance when you're done entering in the receipts. Can you say mini-stroke? :)

And now that I've typed my little fingers to the bone with today's shenanigans, I'm off to complete my homework for the week so I can have one less thing on my plate. :)

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I've potentially been compromised!

At least that's what the bank said when I attempted to purchase lunch using my debit card today. They also said they sent out letters last week, of which, I got today - *after* I tried to use my card. The poor customer service girl that got my call - I flipped out. The end of the conversation went something along the lines of:
Me: Let me get this straight. You don't know which company's database was compromised, you don't know if my card in particular was compromised, you completely shut off my card for my own protection and left me without any way of accessing my own money but I won't receive my new card until next week?
Christine: That's right.
Me: And just how am I supposed to access my money until then?
Christine: Well, you can come into the office during normal business hours and make a withdrawal from a teller.
Me: I live in Methuen, you're in Everett. I'm not taking time off of work to drive down to Everett.
Christine: Well, we can also issue you a temporary ATM card.
Me: Could you have done that when you found out my card was compromised last week?
Christine: Yes
Me: Then why didn't you? And why am I just finding out about this now if you found out about it last week?
Christine: Well, we did send out letters letting you know.
Me: And that helps me access my money how?
Christine: Well, I know it's really frustrating, but there's nothing else we can do about it.
Me: Well, you're right. It is really frustrating but there is something *I* can do about it; you just lost my business. Thank you for your time.

Needless to say, I need to open an account at a new bank tomorrow. I'm a big fan of smaller businesses and I try to use the little Mom & Pop places within my own community as much as I can. Which is why I kept my account with them and didn't close it when I moved. But, I can't not have access to my hard earned money. All I can say is that the online bill payment thing better work tomorrow or they're going to get more than an earful from me.

Poe came into rescue today. He's an 8 year old, black & tan Min Pin - quite a big boy. He'll lose weight quickly enough though. If you think 8 is old, think again as Freddie is going to be 8 this year and he's still running very strong in flyball. :) Min Pins get old around 13 or so, and they usually live anywhere from 15-18 years on average. Apparently he has some food aggression issues, which is fine for me as everyone gets fed in their crates anyway. He also doesn't like to get his ears touched for some reason. Both important things any potential home should know about with him.

I also received a few emails from adoptive homes this morning. Caesar is doing well, but still barks at the husband. :) Bogey (aka Monkey) is also doing very well in his home. He's completely housebroken now and has learned how to communicate his need to go out to his owners. Bogey's home also sent pictures of Bogey and another dog I adopted out many years ago. :) I love seeing pictures of my fosters in their new home. :)

Thankfully my back is feeling better today and I was able to walk upright like a normal human. I'm not totally pain free, but about where I was before hand - much more tolerable level. :)

Would you believe I'm already booking up time in June with plans? Crazy. The next couple of weeks will be fairly benign, then I have 2 tourneys in April. I'm also going to see Cats in April. Then I have one or two tourneys in May and I'm heading down to New Jersey to do some teaching at Camp Barking Hills. So far I'll be teaching Flyball and an Intro to Clicker class. I hope to have the NJ Devil Dogs flyball team show up to do a demonstration as well. :) I think the last time I looked at my calendar, I have half of the month of May off. Just crazy. If you want to make plans, I'd suggest you tell me about it sooner rather than later!

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Ouch, oUch, ouCh, & oucH

This isn't going to be long because I'm in a bunch of pain and really need to go lay down. But, I did get my homework done and since I'll apparently have no life this week because of my back, I'll have plenty of time to read ahead to the next assignments.

I hate feeling crappy and I hate being in pain. I guess that's the same for the rest of the world as well, but I just happen to have this nifty little blog to bitch into when I do feel that way. Aren't you just so thrilled?! :)

I am feeling a little better today than yesterday, but not by much. I spoke with my spine dr today and we've come up with a 2nd plan of attack since these diagnostic tests aren't helping right now. So, once I figure out what's causing the pain I shouldn't be having right now, then we'll start up again with diagnosing. What fun.

I did manage to go to work for most of the day and I brought stuff home to do so I won't be too far behind.Right now that ice pack is soooo calling my name so I'm off to melt into the couch (which I've spent far too much time on lately.)

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Ouch :(

So, I had a conversation last night that left me in a contemplative mood today. Lots of thoughts flitting through my head in no particular order. But, since I'm in a bunch of pain right now, I'm going to spare you of the sporadic nonsense - at least for today.

I had one of the diagnostic procedures today and I'm hurting pretty bad from it. I'm hoping it'll calm down in a bit and that I'll be able to sleep well tonight. Until then, I'm going to continue becoming one with the couch and watch the Wedding Singer - Adam Sandler rocks. :)

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Ummmm...

I'm not sure the tourney went the way we wanted it to. :) I think Freddie's team came in 6th place for our division. That sounds a lot better than we came in last. ;)

It was such a long day though. We had 81 races and they were *still* racing when I left at 6:00pm. Even though there were a bunch of 5 out of 5 races, it still shouldn't have taken that long. There was also some drama in the beginning of the day that I think will stop us from attending any more tourneys run by that team. At least that's how most of the team feels anyway.

Tonight is the national flyball chat so I'm off to see what tips I can pick up from more experienced competitors!

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The weekend!!

I'm so thankful the weekend is here! I have a busy couple of days ahead of me, but I'm still thankful I'm not in work. :)

I had a few x-rays and tests to get done today so I was out of work at 2:30. I *finally* got my script to work about 1/2 hour before I left. Scratch that, I should have said I finally got it to work the way I *wanted* it to work. For some stupid reason it was concatenating the variables instead of doing the math I was telling it to. I had to do some really cheesy work around to get it to work but whatever - it now works!

I made a trip to the bank after my tests. My cousin called and told me she was craving this pizza that my grandmother used to get when we were younger. Since the bakery was a short drive from the bank, I stopped by there to see if they had any, as a surprise. Unfortunately they were sold out, but they did have 1/2 of a meatball calzone left. I picked it up along with some anise cookies my grandmother loves. Sue & I are heading over there after my Dad fixes the sink. Sunday got busier. :)

But, since I need a decent night's sleep in order to have the energy to run tomorrow, it's time for bed. :0

G'night Gracie.

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bugger

I hate it when you can't get a script to work and you know it's probably your own fault but you can't find what's making it tank. That's what bugger means (at least today.) The good part of that is that the day goes by quickly. The bad part is that you stare at the computer for far longer than you intended.

I made seafood salad and chicken for the flyball tourney on Saturday. Tomorrow or Sat AM I'll make a salad and pack it all up. I'm heading up to All Dogs to set up our crating space tomorrow night. It's going to be a busy weekend, so not a lot of relaxing, or homework time for me.

Speaking of which, I have a few chapters I need to go read....

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Just a quickie

I'm beat and am headed for bed, but figured I'd jot something down since I haven't written in a few days.

This week has been pretty benign, got some dishes done, cooked dinner, did homework, etc., etc. I had my spine Dr's appt. on Monday and I wasn't thrilled with what he had to say. Apparently we need to start at square one and head back into diagnostic time so he can try and pinpoint exactly what's going on. While I'd love to know something definitive, diagnostic time hurts. Bad. It's all these needles going inbetween the vertebrae with no pain relief. Sounds like a bunch of fun, huh? Freakin' cement co. truck. :(

I had a different doctor's appt. this afternoon, which went as expected. Next week I'll head back in for a test and we'll see where that goes.

Enough bitching about stupid health stuff that I can't do anything about!!

I have a flyball tourney on Saturday up at All Dog's Gym in Manchester. It should be an interesting day as one of the other height dogs won't be attending due to kennel cough. Who am I kidding - it'll be a disaster. :)

Sunday looks to be a whole lot better with my Dad coming up to fix a leak under my kitchen sink. I can't wait to spend the day with him getting aggravated and ripping his knuckles apart while swearing. Yup, good times.

And now that I've dumped this all out, I'm going to bed where I can forget about all of it and just snuggle under my down comforter with my dog on such a cold winter night. :)

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