Wow...

It's been so long I can't even guess as what's happened in the past couple of months. So just pretend they never happened and you'll be all caught up.

My mother and I took Tweak to her first frisbee competition today and wow did we have fun! Tweak had the most ridiculous blast ever. I did too - it was so relaxing and fun, I forgot it was a competition. I was so nervous going into it you wouldn't believe it. But, once Tweak & I got in for our run, we just did what we always do and have fun throwing and catching the frisbee.

The best part? Tweak took 1st place in the novice division! How freakin' cool is that?! I was completely and absolutely shocked. Paula said we did well and that we'd place but I didn't believe her. Then they called second place and we still hadn't been called. I couldn't believe it. I knew we did well, but I didn't know we did *that* well! Woohoo!

Tweak got a great plaque and half a steak burger for her win. It seems she's a natural frisbee dog.

Apparently, I created a monster. She had such fun jumping up to catch the frisbee during her runs, she's doing it at home now with everything. It doesn't matter if it's 2 inches away from her mouth or 12 feet, she's jumping for them all. I'm actually watching my mother toss a toy at her right now and all 4 feet are off the floor. I'm so taking her to the baseball field tomorrow - so she can jump to her heart's content and so I can practice throwing some more.

She's ready and willing for 40 yard throws now, I just need some time to get to that.

Woohoo to Tweak!

D

Are they kidding??

Surely they jest:

Downloaded from http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2007/11/20/early_sesame_street_shows_not_for_kids/4213/

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Volumes 1 and 2 of "Sesame Street: Old School" come with a warning stating the first episodes of the beloved U.S. series may not be appropriate for children.

"These early 'Sesame Street' episodes are intended for grown-ups and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child," the statement said.

The long-running series began in 1969.

Asked by The New York Times why the warning was necessary, Carol-Lynn Parente, the show's executive producer, mentioned one installment that depicted Cookie Monster chewing on, then eating a pipe during the parody "Monsterpiece Theater."

"That modeled the wrong behavior, so we reshot those scenes without the pipe and then we dropped the parody altogether," Parente told the Times.

She noted that Oscar the Grouch's extreme grouchiness in early episodes doesn't set a great example, either.

"We might not be able to create a character like Oscar now," Parente said.

Seriously people. Let's just put all the little kiddies in a bubble. No sense in showing them any of the heartache or bullshit they'll face in the future.

I'm so disgusted.

D

long time...

Yeah, it's been a while. Anytime that I could log in to blog, the damn thing was down. I really have to find some kind of solution for that. I'm not at all thrilled that my hosting company doesn't think it's important enough to figure out the cause. Bastards.

Anyway, a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. So much that I wasn't looking forward to blogging because I knew I'd be typing for a year. So I'm just going to summarize.

• My Dad had a heart attack at the beginning of the month. It was scary, but he's fine now. Modern medicine is amazing.
• I took allllll the kids with me up to the flyball tourney in Maine - 6 dogs is too much.
• I have two rescues in foster (hence the 6 dog reference). I put them up on Petfinder yesterday so hopefully they'll have homes soon.
• 2 classes at the same time was absolutely ridiculous and impossible. I had to drop one of them. I'll figure out how to make it up
• My friends brought me back a couple of T-shirts from the flyball Nationals - one of them was the team shirt - pretty freakin' cool
• My mother is coming to visit for the holidays and for the first time she's staying with me.
• My boss is leaving our department at the end of the year to become an analyst in another department. I have mixed feelings.
• Jay and I went to see Jonathan Davis last night. He did an acoustic set, which was incredible. We had the most amazing seats - 2 away from the stage, about 10 feet from him. It was freakin' amazing.

It's 37 degrees today and I am not happy about that. I've been thinking about what it is I want out of life. Right now, buying a 300 acre fairly working farm in the southern (read warmer) part of the country sounds very appealing. I could just move to Australia and manage Mag and Geo's farm. They'd probably let me. I wonder if Australian flyball is the same as regular flyball. Since it's a 4 hour plane ride from Perth to Sydney, I think an RV would absolutely be needed.

Or maybe I'll just be a snow bird and find a nice little place in the south to spend the winter in. That sounds good too. Oh, and a place on the beach for the summer.

I think I have to win the lottery. Maybe I should play once or twice.

The kids are all doing well. Tweak and Freddie still like to have their little spats every now and again. Ok, every day. He'll get all uppity when she walks by him, for no reason. So she goes into Border Collie mode and starts following him (herding him) in that low to the ground stance with that specific stare. He just loves that. They eventually go for the same thing at the same time and then it's fight time. He's going to be a polka dotted Min Pin with all the little scars he's accumulating. Millie just looks at them with disdain and Pacie stays under the covers, lying right next to me, ignoring them all. Until the cat steps on his head, then he fidgets.

Next week is Thanksgiving. We're again having it at Carolyn's house. Dad & I will cook, Iyman will fry the turkey. I'm soaking it in a brine the day before. I did it last year and it was dee-licious. I'm heading down to New Jersey that night to stay with Susan and pick up a few cases of dog treats.

Now, I'm off to do some more work. Then I have shopping to do. Then I have to get my ass in gear and get my Xmas list going so I have an idea on what I'm going to get people. Usually I'm done by now. I'm so behind the ball it's not even funny. Sigh.

D

I'm soooooo stupid...

I do it all the time. You hear me bitching about it all the time. But I honestly don't know how to stop it.

What is it?

I bite off more than I can chew. *Constantly*.

Class started up again for me today. I took the first half of the quarter off because of that insane web project that was due (which isn't finished btw, I'm *still* waiting for content on it!!) Because of that, I'm in 2 classes at the same time - Intro to Business and Presentation Speaking. Normally I only take one class at a time but if I didn't use the money, I would've lost it.

I work full time. I own 4 dogs. I kinda like having a social life from time to time. I need to train Tweak and the rescues that come in the door. One class fits into that perfectly. Two classes?

Insane.

Plain and simple. I've sent a note to both instructors explaining the situation and asking for a shitload of pity. Doubt it will work but it was worth a try.

I've looked over what's due for this week's class. Can you say screwed boys and girls? Oh yeah. I'm screwed.

!-- begin rant --!

I have 3 chapters due in one book, a group paper due Monday, a quiz Saturday, I need to log into some stock market tool to pick 4 stocks, and I have a critical thinking paper due. That's one class.

In the next class, I have 5 chapters to read in one book, 1 chapter to read in another book, and a scattering of pages to read in yet another book, I have discussion questions I need to answer, a presentation outline due, an audience analysis paper due, and a presentation.

I also have to log in to each class every day and read all the new postings on the discussion board from the other students. Then I have to think of something clever to say in response to those postings and respond.

!-- end rant --!

What I need right now is a nice frosty pint of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream. Or two. And a beer. Or two.

Did I mention I'll be at a flyball tournament in Maine all weekend? With 6 dogs?

Make that 3 of each.

D

dream or vision?

I had the most puzzling, most sensual, most troubling dream last night. I can't go into all the details because I'll start blushing but it was really, really weird.

Some of it was that I was shopping with someone (can't remember who) and all of my stuff was stolen - wallet, keys, cell phone, car, etc. Then there was a bag dropped off with some of my belongings, shirts that I actually own, pictures I took. The police came by to take a report. They had stopped by my house first and nothing was there - not even the house. The bag of stuff that somehow showed up and my dogs were all I had left of my life. I don't even know how the dogs got to the store.

Then there was this guy and we won't go into that (although I know this part of the dream came from a book I'm reading.)

Then there were some kids in a gang and I can't quite remember that part. Then the store's registers went down (I was at the store the whole time) and I ended up troubleshooting and fixing the problem. (I'm assuming that was in relation to work.)

It was very, very clear when I woke up... not so much now. Where last night was Samhain, I don't know if it was just a dream or if I should be prepared for a turbulent year.

Weird stuff dude.

D

Samhain

A merry Samhain to everyone!

Today I dressed up as a witch for work (fitting, huh?) Yesterday the employees brought their kids to work so they could safely trick or treat around the office. We hang these signs outside our office so they know which ones to hit. Today was the day the cafe was decorated and the employees dressed up. I haven't the foggiest idea why the two events didn't happen on the same day. I would think the kids would've loved to have seen people dressed up. I guess that's why I'm not in charge.

Although I love Halloween, I don't put my light on for kids to come for candy. People coming to the door makes the dogs go bezerk and it's not worth it for me to yell at them for 2 or 3 kids. Do you think that would stop them from doing it? Don't parents know that you're only supposed to go to the houses with the front light on? Has that changed in the 20 years since I've been Trick or Treating? Jeez.

I'm going to spend some time with the pups now because later I'm going to go sit outside, surrounded my nature, and welcome the new year in. (Halloween is a pagan's New Years Eve.) It's a time for reflection and I plan to do just that. A friend is coming over later and we'll see what that brings.

D

parade...

There's a parade today in Boston - http://www.boston.com/

Part of me would like to experience it but I really hate being sandwiched in crowds. Besides, I have to work and if I'm going to take any time off, it'll be for the dogs.

D

an article on dogs...

A great article: http://pets.yahoo.com/dogs/behavior-and-training/316/do-dogs-feel-love.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if we were like dogs?

Lesser beings indeed...

D

the weekend...

I can't believe it's almost over! I feel like I just sat down.

I got my hair done yesterday (Yay!) and I'm thrilled with the cut too. I really have issues when it comes to my hair - mental issues - that I'll someday have to conquer. Until then.... oh well.

I went a shade darker this time and I like how it turned out. It's a good mix between an orange/red and an eggplant/red. Plus Faith left out some of the blonde/strawberry blonde/orange pieces so I have streaks still. The cut is fabulous too - still long, less front and side layers - all good.

Freddie, Tweak, & I had flyball practice at o'dark stupid this morning. I really have to get back into the waking up before 8am thing if I want to be able to survive flyball and not lose my job.

After practice (Tweak did awesome, btw!), we took a ride to Erving, MA to meet Mel and pick up 2 rescues. I now have 6 dogs in the house (yikes!) Harley is a 10 year old sweetheart of a dog that just likes to sit in my lap and gaze adoringly into my face. She's quite a cutie. She's got to lose weight though!! Nikko is a 1 year old BIG boy who is a little unsure of where to lay and what to do. He doesn't have to lose weight, he's just tall and muscular (an excellent flyball dog [not that I'm getting any ideas!!!]) They'll both stay until homes can be found.

The rest of the night will be spent in front of the TV cuddling with allllll the dogs.

D

choices...

It seems I can't have a reliable blog anymore. Anytime I go to edit it, I receive the same MySQL error. I will admit that it has slowed down after some months, but it's still aggravating nonetheless. I'm typing and I have no idea if it will be seen or if it will be lost to some blogger black hole.

Each time, I have to submit a ticket to the help desk so they can delete a particular file in the /temp directory of the server my site is hosted on. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I was having NO problems whatsoever until they picked up and moved my site from an old, aging server to a new, faster server. Just goes to show you that you should listen to some of those old sayings. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

So, I'm not pondering what to do. Should I move back to blogger and just have them host everything? Should I attempt to upgrade my blog software in the hopes that will fix the /temp dir problem? Since there are many, many sites sitting on that server, I'm not even sure if it's my site that's filling up the space or someone else's. I could bitch, again, to the support team but that really isn't going to get me that far since all of my hosting is free.

What to do, what to do. I don't know but I'm tired of having issues. REALLY tired, actually. Maybe I should get rid of all the fancy everything and just go back to posting in html like I used to. Then if something broke, it was just my stupid mistake.

In other news, the weather has been beautiful. If I think selfishly, I will admit that this global warming thing has some benefits to the northeast. I like having 83 degree days in late October. Call me crazy. I can only think of that for so long tho' before the reality of the glaciers melting, continents cracking, floods happening, and California dissapearing into the sea bring me back to reality.

Sigh.

I have a bird feeder on my deck. Directly underneath it are my recycling bins so there's always a layer of bird seed and seed shells on the bottom of them. Yesterday I saw Pacie acting very odd near the bins. He was trying to creep up and look into them but he was afraid. Not knowing what was going on, I brought all the dogs in and went to see what had him so curious. Sitting in each bin was a little tiny mouse. At least I think it was a mouse but it could be some other type of mouse-like critter, maybe a vole. I took a couple of pictures, which I'd love to post here, but can not. (See above rant about server problems, that's one of them.)

This morning there were two tiny critters huddling together in one bin. At least they joined forces this time. I think they can get in, but not out. I'm not sure if I should just leave the bins on their side so they could easily escape or not. What if they're in there when I let the dogs out and they try to run away? Min Pins are ratters. Their whole purpose of being is to chase little furry creatures. So I'm not sure if I'd do more harm than good setting the bins on their side. At least this way, I can bring the dogs in and then let them run to safety. Decisions, decisions.

Tonight I'm heading into Boston to see Wicked with Terrie. I love going to the theatre! We'll do dinner first and then head into the show. Hopefully it'll stop raining by then.

Right next to me are my cats, lying in a dog bed, on their sides, facing each other. Tenille has her paw draped over her brother's neck whilst they both snooze away. It's a very cute sight!

D

wrath...

Tweak got to see me in full wrath last night. I don't think she liked it all that much.

She's normally so good that I really haven't had a reason to get angry at her. I guess you could say she's been initiated.

I went to the bathroom, accompanied by the two Pins (I haven't been to the bathroom by myself in 10 years, sad but true.) How long does it take to go to the bathroom? Without getting into detail, unless you're showering a simple number 1 really takes less than a minute. I mean, there's not much going on and it doesn't take a long time. Right?

So, in under a minute, Tweak had my living room looking like a snowstorm had swept in and dumped about 5 inches of fluffy white stuff. Except, it wasn't snow. It was Millie's dog bed.

:XX" class="middle">

It's one thing for them to rip apart stuffed animals. I'm ok with that and am used to sweeping up the guts of what used to be soft, fluffy toys. A dog bed, however, is a totally different story. Big dog beds are expensive. Little dog beds are $3 - $5. Big dog beds are NOT.

So when I realized what it was she had strewn all over the living room, I saw red. Man was I angry! I yelled at her to stop and put her in a down stay on the chair. I was swearing my head off when she decided she didn't want to lie down anymore.

Wrong answer.

I told her to lie down where she was and she blew me off. All I could see was her tail high and straight as she walked away from me. That's called the doggie finger, by the way.

:-[" class="middle">

Unacceptable. I said her name, calmly, and she turned around. I told her, again, calmly, to come to me. She laughed. Ok, she didn't really laugh per se, but her facial expression and her total joy at ignoring me to get a toy was very much like laughter.

:XX" class="middle"> :-[" class="middle"> :XX" class="middle">

You little fucker. Oh no you don't! I went to grab her and I think that's when she realized Mom had turned into this thing she didn't know how to respond to. She tried to book it into the other room but I got a hold of her and very firmly picked her up, went into the bedroom, and tossed her in her crate. (Don't think toss like threw, think like put.)

I let the other dogs outside because they've seen the wrath of Mom when something goes horribly wrong and were all huddled by the back door. Not wanting to take it out on them, I let them outside so I could clean up.

15 minutes later the living room was dog-bed-stuffing free, I had a little more control of my temper (slamming doors kinda helps, oh, and swearing a lot), and I was slowly getting back to normal.

Damn it. I liked that dog bed, a lot. More importantly, Millie liked that dog bed, a lot.

I went into the bedroom after 1/2 hour to do a little training with Tweak. She really wasn't sure what was going on so she stayed in her crate until she could tell which version of Mom had arrived. Once she figured out I wasn't going to skin her alive, she body slammed me, washed my whole face and snuggled for quite a bit.

Fun stuff.

D

night isn't night

At least not tonight it isn't. I let the kids out for the last potty break of the night just a minute ago. I have to go out with them because Tweak likes to bark at shadows. And bats. And grass.

Anyway, I sit on the deck looking up at the stars while quietly, but forcefully saying 'No, quiet!" every 2.03 seconds to Tweak.

Tonight I noticed that there weren't any stars. Instead of the deep dark night littered with tiny pin pricks of light, there is a gray/dusty rose night sky. It's quite pretty actually. I wish there was a way to catch it on film.

I mentioned before that today was really the first day I had my brain back. In retrospect, it's probably a very good thing I had no clue what the dates/days were earlier this week.

Tuesday, the 16th, made it one year since I lost a part of my heart. Ironically enough, I was sick then too. My sweet love, Skootchie, went to the bridge that day. It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life but she was sick, dying from liver failure, in my arms. We raced to the vet's office where I heard the worst news.

I stayed with her, whispered words of love as she lay in my arms and on my lap. I remember. My heart remembers.

I made the toughest decision I'll ever make. Not one I regret, she was sick - really, really sick and it was very clear she wasn't feeling good. There was nothing that could be done or I would have done it, regardless of cost. They don't have liver transplants for dogs.

While crying, I told her how good she was, how much I loved her, how sorry I was that I didn't know she was sick, how happy she made me, how much I loved her even though she had the absolute worst breath in the world, how I hoped she knew how much she was loved, how I hoped she had the best life possible, and that she made me want to be a better person, worthy of her.

I stayed with her until the very end, as much as it pained me, because I owed it to her. She deserved to have me by her side. There's no way I would leave her with strangers, to be scared while feeling so awful, not understanding what was going on.

I miss my girl.

There are many things I would trade just to see her again. To give her a kiss. To get a rare and precious very stinky kiss from her.

I think she would've liked Tweak. I think they would've played until Skootchie had enough and put her in her place. She was the queen bee after all.

As I'm sure you can imagine, I've cried throughout this whole blog. Since I'm still sick, now I really can't breathe out of any orifice.

I wish you could've known her. She was a really special dog who pleased lots of people by sneezing on command.

D

ill...

I hate being sick. Absolutely despise it. Thankfully it only happens once a year - at least that's been the schedule the last couple of years. I avoided bronchitis this year as well, another good thing, but I still hate being sick.

I've been unconscious most of this week (aka napping for most of the day) and have lost all track of time. I no longer know what day of the week it is, what date, or what time. I kinda like that part of it but the rest just blows.

Silvane just left so my house probably smells nice and clean. Since I can't smell anything, I can only assume. At least my head doesn't feel like it's encased in foam as much as it did earlier in the week.

I had a weird dream last night. I came home from somewhere with Millie and a small section of the pool cover was unclipped and flapping in the breeze. Millie immediately ran over to that side and with super dog strength jumped straight up from the yard on to the small ledge of the pool. I ran over to stop her from jumping in (dog nails are detrimental to the life of a pool liner) but she dove in before I got there. A squirrel had removed the clips and decided to go swimming. I watched Millie dive underwater and start chasing the squirrel. It wasn't in slow motion like it probably should've been but instead at the speed it would've been had they been on the ground. The minds a funny thing. Anyway, after yelling at her to get up here right this instant (I am a mother of sorts), I saw a haze of red roll through the water like fog on a meadow. Then I woke up. Bizarre, huh?

I think my fever broke last night and I have heard of fever dreams so maybe that was one of them.

D

Skunked

My boy did it again. He got skunked last night. I keep trying to tell him that the small black creature with white stripe things aren't cats but clearly he doesn't listen to me. Sigh, children never do.

I used that shampoo stuff you hear about - hydrogen peroxide, baking soda (I used baking powder since I didn't have any), and dishwashing soap. I was shocked, and thrilled, when it worked! Freddie doesn't smell like skunk anymore. My house, however, is a totally different story. I'll have to leave every window in the house open all weekend to (hopefully) disperse the stank of Peau de Skunk.

I think I've been fighting something off. I've felt a little... weird for the past couple of days and I learned Jo was sick as a dog. That would explain it. I was supposed to go out with Dina last night but I begged off rescheduling for next week. I have to leave work early today because I'm stupid and I've double booked tonight. I forgot tonight is St Adelaide's fair. It's the one thing my grandmother looks forward to going to and every year we make it a family thing. I have to stop and get cookies for Pepa (vanilla biscotti - yummy!), then head over to Peabody, spend time with her there, then shoot off to Saugus to go to dinner with my immediate family to celebrate my brother's birthday. He's 30 years old today. I can't freakin' believe it. I really can't. I think I'm getting old.

Anyway, I was hoping I'd have lots of down time tonight and tomorrow so I could rest up and not get sick. Clearly that ain't happenin'.

I have to fit in some time for work on Saturday. I need to finish up a few things on that website and I want it done so I can enjoy Sunday.

But first I have to actually *get* to work!

D

flies...

How is it that 2 flies have managed to survive more than a week in my house when I have 2 cats (isn't their job in life to catch bugs and rodents?), 2 Min Pins (ratters that are alert and go after anything that moves), a hound mix (who has been trained to "get the bugger"), and a Border Collie (another movement activated breed)?

It's unfathomable. Seriously.

What's been going on? Like always, everything and nothing. Work is still crazy. We're supposed to have the site up and off to the CD company right now but I'm still waiting for content. It won't be ready in time and I think I've finally just come to grips with that after pouring my life into it for the past 4 weeks. Shrug it off Dawn, shrug it off.

We headed up to Batavia, NY this past weekend for a flyball tournament. I camped with Jo and Eileen in Jo's camper. Of course we had a great time! I raced Freddie in the Veterans division (a slot for our oldies but goodies) and had a blast! It's absolutely sick that Freddie was on the fastest team ever with all the old guys and gals. Really, it's disturbing. There were 3 NET dogs (who live, breathe, and sleep on the edge of super sonic) and Freddie for runs with impressive time in the 19s. (I know you don't think that's impressive Jo, deal with it. )

The saying of the weekend was something like 'Who knew lettuce was the L in a BLT.'

My team captain ran her two dogs on an Open team - it's kinda like a pick up team for flyball. It's a good thing for those of us that want to travel and compete, but are on a team that generally doesn't go anywhere.

(Tweak is having a mighty fine time throwing a piece of a toy in the air and catching it whilst I type away. She's a hoot.)

Anyway, Cindy had fun and took 3rd place in the Open division. Not bad with 7 teams. Neither Freddie or I can take credit for it, but we got 1st place in vets. NET's regular team got first as well - something they are very used to. It was a successful weekend with plenty of play time for the Bitter litter (where Tweak came from.)

Now it's back to the boredom of work and normal life. I wish there was a way to become a professional flyballer. That would be way too freakin' cool.

Susan called me Tuesday saying she had found the perfect property for me - 54 acres of woods, open fields, and even a small stream going through it. The only problem? It's in New Jersey. Big sigh.

My brother's birthday is tomorrow so I have to figure out if we're doing something for him. I think we'll do dinner Friday night.

I didn't have any plans at all this weekend and as always happens, now I'm booked. At least it's with fun stuff tho'. Dinner Friday, yard sale with Terri Saturday, and King Richard's Faire on Sunday. That's what I'm most thrilled about! Terri is dressing up in costume but I'll stick with jeans and boots.

D

I has a sweet potato

The author of this story, and the original posting of the story, can be found here: http://littera-abactor.livejournal.com/7748.html

I has a sweet potato

Dog: I am starving.
Me: Actually, no. You aren't starving. You get two very good meals a day. And treats. And Best Beloved fed you extra food while I was gone.
Dog: STARVING.
Me: I saw you get fed not four hours ago! You are not starving.
Dog: Pity me, a sad and tragic creature, for I can barely walk, I am so starving. WOE.
Me: I am now ignoring you.
Dog: STARVING.
Dog: Did you hear me? I am starving.
Dog: Are you seriously ignoring me? Fine.

[There is a pause, during which the dog exits the room in a pointed manner.]

[From the kitchen, there comes a noise like someone is eating a baseball bat.]

Me, yelling: What the hell are you doing?
Me: *makes haste for the kitchen and finds dog there*
Dog: *picks up entire raw sweet potato, which is what was causing the baseball bat noise, and flees for the bedroom*
Me: *chases dog, retrieves most of sweet potato, less the portion which has disappeared into dog's gullet*
Dog: See? STARVING.
Me: ...That can't be good for you. It's a RAW SWEET POTATO.
Dog: I had to do it. I haven't been fed. Ever.
Me: You realize you aren't normal. Normal dogs don't steal raw sweet potatoes.
Dog, sadly: I was badly brought up.
Me: Yes. Yes, you were.
Dog: By people who starved me.
Me: Oh, no. I am not doing this again.
Me: *exits the room, bearing sweet potato*

[There is a pause.]

[There is a noise like someone is trying to eat a baseball bat very very quietly.]

Me: Oh, for the love of GOD.
Me: *heads off to the kitchen*
Dog: I am not eating a raw sweet potato.
Me: You have sweet potato parts all over your snout.
Dog: But you don't actually SEE a raw sweet potato, do you? So maybe that's just - um. A birthmark.
Me: Did you seriously eat a whole sweet potato?
Dog: You don't listen. I told you, I wasn't eating a sweet potato.
Me, searching around fruitlessly: Look. NO MORE SWEET POTATOES.
Me: Oh, what am I saying? This is you we're talking about, here. *goes to hide all the sweet potatoes that are left - which isn't many - in the fridge, because some people cannot be trusted*
Dog: *attempts to look thwarted*
Dog: *does not succeed, because her tail is wagging so hard small cyclones are forming in the kitchen*
Me: *has a very bad feeling about this*

[There is a pause, during which I do not even bother trying to return to what I was doing. I just stand in the computer room, waiting.]

[There is, as I wholly expected, a baseball-bat-eating noise.]

Me, stomping back to the kitchen: OKAY. GIVE ME THE DAMNED SWEET POTATO.
Dog, looking up guiltily: What sweet potato?
Me: THE ONE IN YOUR MOUTH.
Dog: Oh, did you want this? I just, um. Found it. Lying here.
Me: *confiscates the sweet potato and deposits it in the locking trashcan*
Me: Let us say no more about this.
Dog: ...Nooooo! They be stealin' my sweet potato!

[I attempt to remember what I was doing before the sweet potato episode.]

[Some ten minutes later, I succeed, and return to it.]

[NOT ONE MINUTE LATER, I hear a noise with which I have become all too familiar.]

Me, bonking head on desk: Arg.
Me, arriving in kitchen: How did you even get another sweet potato?
Dog, smugly: I have my ways.
Me: Are you punishing me for being away for several days? I was at a FUNERAL, you know. It wasn't FUN.
Dog: How would I know? You didn't take me. You left me here with only one human to look after my needs. One human is NOT ENOUGH.
Me: *shuts dog in bedroom, conducts a sweep of the kitchen to track down all remaining sweet potatoes, wipes up random sweet potato particles from floor, eradicates all traces of sweet potato from house*
Me: *lets dog out*
Dog, sulkily: Oh, so you think you've won.

[I watch her go about her business with the same sense of overwhelming doom that heroines of Victorian novels get when they meet Count Sinistrus Grimblack for the first time.]

[Half an hour later, there is a wetter, juicier eating noise, as though someone was eating a very moist baseball bat.]

Me, wearily: What NOW?
Dog, hunched over the remains of a butternut squash: *says something garbled because her mouth is full*
Me: Okay. Fine.
Me: *stomps over, empties entire vegetable bowl into trash*
Me: WE JUST WON'T HAVE ANY ROOT VEGETABLES ANYMORE. THERE. ARE YOU HAPPY?
Dog: I'm not even remotely sorry. I told you I was hungry. And you went to a funeral without me.
Me: ARRRRRRRRG.

[A half-hour later, there is another baseball-bat-eating noise from the kitchen. The dog, who apparently does not know how to win gracefully, has found another sweet potato, or possibly caused one to materialize from the Rift.]

Me, hauling chewed sweet potato parts from the mouth of a dog very reluctant to part with them: Oh my god how is this my life?
Dog: Don't you think it would just be easier to feed me?
Me: EVERYONE GO TO THE BEDROOM AND STAY THERE. EAT NOTHING.
Dog: Actually, I feel...um...not so good.
Dog: *throws up* *vomit is very bright orange*

[Unfortunate details ensue.]

Some time later:
Me, attempting to rescue something from the wreckage: So. What have we learned from this?
Dog: Sweet potatoes are yummy!
Other Dog, looking thoughtful: I should pay more attention to crunching noises. Sweet potatoes are probably yummy.
Me: I need a lobotomy.

seagull nips crisps

A seagull in Scotland has developed the habit of stealing chips from a neighborhood shop.

The seagull waits until the shopkeeper isn't looking, and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos.

Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and shared by other birds.

The seagull's shoplifting started early this month when he first swooped into the store in Aberdeen, Scotland, and helped himself to a bag of chips. Since then, he's become a regular. He always takes the same type of chips.

Customers have begun paying for the seagull's stolen bags of chips because they think it's so funny.

There are clips of Scottish news broadcasts on You Tube about it - quite funny.

D

working, working, working...

It's all I've been doing for weeks now. It will be over soon though, so that's good.

I can't believe it's September 26th and I went swimming - a few times actually. It's 91 degrees, which I totally adore as you well know. But, sitting in one place with a stupidly hot laptop on your lap causes one to melt. The pool is graciously refreshing in those situations.

Unfortunately, Millie wasn't interested in joining me in the pool. The heat hits her kind of hard and it would've been nice and cooling for her. She did, however, patiently suffer through a cool bath.

Because I've had so much to do work wise, the other kids have been chillin' (kinda literally) in the air conditioned bedroom.

Otherwise, things have been pretty quiet since I haven't had much time to get in, or cause, any trouble. " class="middle">

D

just working...

I haven't had time for much at all lately, just been working my tail off. I'm maybe about half way done with my project...perhaps a little less actually.

I took some time off Friday to go and visit my grandparents. My grandmother's birthday was Friday and I really wanted to spend some time with her. I was the only one of us grandkids that did, so I'm pretty thankful I took the time to do so.

Tweak hasn't quite understood that a dog barking on the TV doesn't necessarily mean there's one behind the entertainment center. She's been fun that one.

It's been in the 80's the past couple of days and I think it's been taking a toll on my old gal. Millie's been lethargic, not wanting to do much and sleeping a lot. At least I'm hoping it's just the heat that has her feeling that way. I asked her today if she'd stay with me for another 5 years. I could only be so lucky to have her with me for that much longer.

And that's all the time I have for myself my friends - back to work for me.

D

weird weekend

I think I left the house a total of 3 times over the weekend. Once to get coffee, once to hit the store, and the final time to have breakfast at the little diner down the street.

Compared with the last, oh, I don't know, 2 months, that's hermitville. I needed time to decompress, time for myself, time to catch up on the 8 loads of laundry I needed to do.

And it was great! I got *all* the laundry done, read a shitload, and actually even cooked a couple of meals for myself - something I haven't really had the time to do lately.

The kids haven't seen this much of me since I had surgery and *couldn't* go anywhere for a couple of weeks.

At the same time, I was pretty darn lonely. I haven't felt that way in a long time so I just went with the flow. It was weird. *Really* weird.

I could've done any number of things - 3 different friends had their 3 different bands playing Friday night. I could've went down to the Vineyard to visit my friend who's up from NJ (if I hadn't lost the phone number of where she's staying), I could've called any number of people and gone out.

I chose not to. I knew I needed time alone after such a busy summer and soon enough it will be time for me to hibernate due to winter. This weekend was a good way to get used to it, get into the swing of things for the next season of life. There are a few things left to do before hibernation becomes official - a couple of fairs I want to go to, apple picking, Oktoberfest. All fun stuff.

The summer is over. I think we're supposed to have a few warm days this week, in the 80's, but that will probably be it. Time to close up the pool, put the summer clothes away, and settle in for a long winter's nap.

D

I am not broken.

There is nothing WRONG with me and I wish people would accept my thoughts instead of arguing with me about them.

Seriously. They're my thoughts, in my head, and I'm pretty sure I can voice them without help, thank-you-very-much.

What the hell are you talking about, you're asking.

Children. That's what I'm talking about.

I'd like to see the human being rule books that state all women MUST want to have children. I missed that chapter and apparently I'm about as good as a leper because of it. (Yes, lepers have feelings too!)

I missed the part that said having something the size of a cantaloupe shoved through a body part the size of a kiwi should be my life long dream.

I also missed the section that said giving up your entire life as you know it to produce said offspring made you a better person.

I don't get warm fuzzy feelings thinking of taking a screaming infant into a supermarket or restaurant. Nor do I get those feelings thinking of me covered in spaghetti-o's because junior just learned to flick food.

The lack of sleep, of which I'd *never* make up, does not have me all googly eyed at the prospect.

I should not be defined by wanting or not wanting to have children!

I know many women who *shouldn't* have had children, we all do, or have heard of them or read about them.

Which is better? One would think simply stating their preference to sustain from procreating would be a billion times better than having children and not giving them everything they need to grow up healthy, well mannered, intelligent, and not an asshole.

Wouldn't you think that?

But no. I'm instead looked at like Medusa - a horrific expression of disbelief, fear, and total lack of understanding mingled on their faces.

Sigh.

I recognize that my opinion might change. I don't happen to think so since it's been a pretty solid one for the last 17 years. However, I am a woman and I have the right to change my mind in a micro-second without telling a soul. Having your monthly menses does that to you.

(Don't believe me? You do it. Just once even, then come back and tell me it doesn't give me that right.)

So, I can see that I may, one day, fall deliriously in love at some point and truly feel the need to pop out a tiny representation of that love.

It could happen.

I think I may just want to go on vacation to Australia or some white-sanded beach with see-through cerulean water, drinking some fruity alcoholic concoction on a beach and having mad, passionate sex to celebrate that delirious love, but whatever.

Don't judge me because I don't fit what you think I should.

You go have a baby instead. I triple dare ya.

D

a moment

I have just a moment to quickly type out all of the things on my mind. Just a moment should be enough, but you can never really tell.

Years ago it took just a moment for people to realize the situation had turned from incredibly awful accident to deliberate terrorism.

I'm sure all of the loved ones left behind would give their right arm for just a moment with their lost beloveds.

I'm also sure all of the victims would've traded anything in the world for just a moment before they died.

There was just a moment between fire in the sky and ash on the ground.

You can never really tell when just a moment will impact your life forever.

And that was just a moment.

D

Brian Rowe

First tho', I *finally* caught up on homework! Just in time too since I have to create a 765 page web collection in 2 weeks.

Anyway, I was thinking of that list I mentioned before. I'm having a hard time figuring out what to write. I'll get to it, but right now I'm having writer's block. It'll come to me eventually.

However, the subject line is another thing from my past that I thought of recently. Brian Rowe. That subject is probably one of the very few things in life that comes closest to an actual regret.

I don't regret anything I've done, even if it was wrong. Even if I knew it was wrong. All of those things, good and bad, have made me what I am today. Without them, I wouldn't be me and I like who and what I am today. But I digress.

Brian Rowe was a boy I knew in junior high school. He was really cute and super nice, as far as I can remember anyway. We dated for a while, during that innocent time when I didn't really know what that meant. Y'know, when holding hands made you blush and you had only heard what french kissing was. (I think that's different than kids today...)

Anyway, I really liked him. Unfortunately, I didn't have the courage to stay with him.

I had a friend at the time, Danielle, that had a lot of... opinions. When she found out who I was dating, I never stopped hearing how bad he was, how he wasn't good enough for me, he wasn't tall enough, he wasn't, he wasn't, he wasn't. I didn't have the courage to stand up to her, after all, she was my friend, right? She was looking out for me, for my best interest.

Riiiiight.

I broke up with him for no good reason. I never really talked to him again. I think his parents were divorced and he moved away with one of them. I have a hard time remembering it all now. I do remember his brother, who was in a grade above us, was still at school until he, too, moved away.

Danielle and I didn't stay friends long. I realized, too late for Brian, that she wasn't that great a friend.

Anyway, I've always wondered what happened to him. I never got a chance to say I was sorry. I never got a chance to explain that I just didn't know who I was, that I didn't have the courage to tell Danielle to pound sand. I shouldn't have listened to her, obviously, but I did. It's something that I *still* feel pretty crappy about.

I wonder what would've happened if I had. Would I have lost a friend? Would it have mattered? We probably would've broken up over some silly fight that kids break up over anyway, but still.

I could justify it or excuse it as me just being young, not knowing enough about life, succumbing to peer pressure, insert-excuse-here.

But I won't. I did a stupid thing. I take responsibility for my actions.

Years later I learned from it, which is a good thing. Although still crappy, it wasn't a total waste.

I'll always wonder what happened to him. And I'll always want to say I'm sorry.

D

Ahhh the week is here...

Call me crazy, but I'm thinking life is getting a bit too much when you start to look forward to work because it'll be quieter. Just a thought.

The cookout was good, one might even say great. Of course, one was so busy trying to talk to everyone and getting stuff for people that one doesn't quite remember just how it was. The 22 oz bottles of homemade Drunken' Dreams beer, of which I had 4, were also partly responsible for the lack of memory towards the end, that and the couple of regular size beers I had before them.

As I've been told a few times, at least I wasn't going to get arrested between the back yard and my bed. I mean, it's still quite possible, but less likely.

Sunday was recoup day. I woke up and slowly made my way around the house cleaning stuff up. After a few hours, I had the recycling where it was supposed to be, the extra beer in the fridge, and all the dishes in the sink. Then it was nap time, which I took while floating in the pool. (I used the float that is hard to fall off of.) After nap time I attempted to do some homework. Not surprisingly, I wasn't completely successful and soon gave it up for watching mindless TV.

Monday I drove down the Cape and spent the day on the beach with Sarah. After hours in the sun, we walked back to the house and started grilling for Nana and Fran - two of the greatest old ladies I've ever had the pleasure of meeting!

I like old people. Like 'em much better than kids. So sitting around answering the same questions 5 or 6 times in a 15 minute span is actually enjoyable to me.

While listening to some of the advice Nana had, I started thinking about my life. I've done some pretty cool things here and there, met some pretty cool people, had some pretty great experiences. Oh, and I got a great tan while at the beach.

I've decided I should probably share some of that stuff so I'm going to put together a list and eventually get to the stories behind it. Some are short, some longer, and some you probably had to be there for. But, I thought it would be neat to get them down in writing.

But not today. Right now I'm tired and my bed is screaming my name. That and Millie's at the bedroom door whining to get in so she can go to bed.

D

passwords...

How many passwords do we each have? Have you ever stopped to think about it?

At work, I have access to about a dozen servers. For each server there's probably two username/password combinations. Then there's mail, phonemail, intranet, and about two dozen other applications.

I actually have a little database that keeps track of all my passwords. Of course, it's password protected, which just adds to the list.

There are 83 passwords stored in it - just for work stuff. Then there are all the passwords for home - email, my server, my SQL database, blogger (which I still use to leave comments), alllllll the websites I have an account at - all of banks, credit cards, B&N, Amazon - you name it, I probably have it. (Unless your mind is in the gutter, then I don't. )

Someday I'll collect them all just to see how many I have. I'm sure I'll forget some though.

I think what amazes me the most is how many of them I have memorized. How can I keep them all in my head? Along with all of my memories, knowledge I've learned over the years both school-wise and life-wise. Think about how many phone numbers you can rattle off the top of your head.

It's pretty amazing if you stop to think about it.

I woke up this morning to a crystal clear pool. I need to get in there and vacuum, but otherwise it's like the algae experiment never existed. With as many chemicals that were thrown in there this week, I'd be surprised if you didn't come out radioactive. The really scary part? What I did was a mere fraction of what the water treatment plants do to our drinking water.

I'm kinda having a hard time over there being a tournament today and me not being there! I'm usually available for every tournament so it's kinda bugging the shit out of me to miss it! I know the cookout will be fun and soon enough I'll be so brilliantly busy that I won't even remember there's a tournament going on. Until then, however, it's killing me to sit here talking about it and not be there doing it. Killing me!!!

I know I'll just have to drive down to it tomorrow and get a small fix. Holy crap! I'm addicted to flyball!

I guess there are worse things...

D

pro-duck-tive

That's what I've been. (Please don't correct my spelling, it's a play on the word. )

So the pool, which on Sunday was a container for 14,000 gallons of algae, is now clean. I'm so pleased! It's a tiny bit cloudy, but hey, I'll take that over what it was. I should've taken a picture. I had the water tested, bought some more clarifier, and vacuumed it after work today. It started raining as I was getting out of the pool so my timing was perfect!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to mow the lawn because of said rain. Oh well. We need it so badly, I'm certainly not going to complain!

I finished most of the shopping today. I still need to get corn, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, beer, and ice. That can all be done in the morning. Along with the lawn, poop patrol, the other half of the cleaning I didn't finish today, and dog only knows what else.

Did I mention I'm ready for bed?

Actually, I have more laundry to fold than Macy's has in stock so my blogging time is over.

Stay tuned for BBQ pictures!

D

Freddie and my horoscope...

I forgot to mention yesterday that Freddie is in the latest PetEdge catalog.

A picture of him modeling a mixed color camouflage t-shirt is on page 171, if you have it. Two pictures before his, his flyball teammate Steffi is modeling the regular camouflage shirt. Pretty darn cool if you ask me.

His picture also appears in the 2008 Avonside Miniature Pinscher calendar. He, Janey, and Ebony are the centerfold for the calendar. June will be an awesome month to have open.

Adam and I went to the restaurant store yesterday. It is such an amazing place! I never even knew such things existed. It's like BJ's but for restaurants. So, the price per pound is the best you'll ever see, but you also have to buy 50+ pounds to get that price. While I didn't buy 50 pounds of anything, I did get a lot of food for really good money. All of it is marinating away in the fridge.

I also found a Christmas gift for someone close to me in there. I think that person is going to be quite happy.

Things left to do:
Homework
clean
BJ's trip
Butcher trip
finish cleaning the pool
Poop patrol
set up the EZ up

BJ's, the butcher, homework, and some of the cleaning will get done tonight. The yard, the pool, and setting up will get done tomorrow morning. The BBQ isn't until 2pm so I have a few hours.

This was my horoscope this morning:

Think carefully about what you're really responsible for -- at work, in interpersonal relationships -- and take care not to overextend yourself now. After all, you deserve some energy left over for fun, too!

Ya think?

D

lots and lots of stuff...

Been busy. Again.

But it's kind of starting to calm down a bit. I've caught up on all but 3 assignments for homework - the rest I'll do today or tomorrow. The pool is looking better as well, thankfully. I still have quite a bit to do with it, but I can see to the bottom now. Mustard algae killer doesn't work, btw. Even if the employees at Namco swear it does, don't believe them. I dumped in 4 times the amount they said and it did diddly squat. I stopped there on the way home last night to ask what else I could do and a customer told me how to fix it. And it's working. Go figure.

I have to do a serious poop patrol of the lawn still. My b-i-l is coming up tonight with the grill, maybe my sister as well. I'm leaving work a little bit early today so I can pick up Adam and go shopping at the restaurant store for the BBQ.

Tomorrow night I have to hit BJ's for a few things and stop at HD for a couple of tanks of gas. I have to dump some clarifier in the pool too, maybe I'll do that tonight.

Saturday morning I'll be preparing food, cleaning the house, and getting ice. I also have to set up the tent, clean off the tables and chairs, and put some stuff away.

Now that I have a cellar door in, I don't have to keep a gate plus something heavy in front of it to prevent the cats from going down there. So I can put that stuff away.

I have to find time to bathe the dogs too - I did all their nails the other day.

The BBQ, by the way, is open invitation. If you know me and you're reading this, you're more than welcome to attend!

In dog news, Tweak has fully learned the concept of retrieving. This is both good and bad. Good, because it's a great base for flyball and frisbee - I just have to make sure that she doesn't feel the need to put the tennis ball in my hand like I've taught her for everything else. The bad part is, now that's all she does in the house. If I'm doing something, she'll come bring me a toy. Or a shoe. Or a book. Or whatever she can get her grubby little mouth on.

Lately I've been thinking about the past. I'm not sure why, thoughts just pop into my head. I have no regrets in my life. That doesn't mean I have always made the best choices, just that I realize all of those decisions have made me who I am and I like who I am. So, I may get embarrassed by my actions but I don't think I shouldn't have done them. Everything is a learning experience. I'll share at some point, but this is long enough as it is.

In server news, I'm sure you've noticed the continuing saga with my blog. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not and a not-so-pretty MySQL error is in it's place. I called tech support, again, yesterday to fix it. I've worked with the person that I spoke with in the past - on the same problem. So he understood my frustration at continually having to call to get this fixed. I've had, at minimum, one ticket a week for this since I moved my blog over.

A file is being created in the /temp directory of the server by dog only knows who or what and it is using up all of the available space. When it gets to a certain size, my blog goes kaplooey (yes that's a technical term.) I asked them to research what the cause of that file was, along with what application was creating it. I also asked for them to upgrade this blog software so I could again have comments and such without the hundreds of spam comments I was receiving. I'm not sure if comments work or not right now, but if you've tried, please let me know what the result was.

I don't have permission to install apps on the server or I'd do it myself.

Shower time.

D

only one more...

Only one more crazy weekend and then I'm done. Let me clarify - only one more crazy weekend in a row and then I'm done. Next weekend is my BBQ. Quite honestly, at this point, I hope only a few of the people I've invited show up.

I'm tired. Like real, bone tired. I'm sure the flyball tournament this weekend helped but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with life right now.

I had a couple of dates over the past couple of weeks and neither of them panned out. The crazy part is that I'm actually *happy* they didn't! That's one less thing I need to worry about and I can't tell you how much of a weight off of my shoulders that is. Clearly that's a sign that I have too much going on.

I have a lot of homework to make up - far too much actually. That will have to happen this week at some point.

I have to get the yard ready for the BBQ, borrow a grill from my sister/b-i-l, get the pool back to being clear (tomorrow's project), and go shopping for food. I have training with Tweak tomorrow, which should be fun since we missed the last 2 weeks. I have to bathe and dremel the nails of all the dogs. Oh, and Jay's coming up to install the cellar door tomorrow as well.

I did manage to pick up the couch from my aunt yesterday. We got out of the tourney around 7'ish (a couple of hours past what we should've), stopped at Terrie's house, went to my aunt's, spent a few minutes with my grandparents (my grandfather's birthday was yesterday, he's 86), then got back to my house around 9:30 or so. Got the old couch out on the deck, got the new(er) couch in it's place. Gave the dogs some attention for like 15 minutes, cleaned my team shirt for today, and hit the hay. It was a really long day.

Right now I'm sitting on the couch wondering whether or not it would actually be a bad thing to go to bed at 8pm. I'm thinking not.

On a brighter note, the moon has been gorgeous the past couple of nights. It's been very clear and bright, enough so you can see some detail of the various craters. It has been surrounded by a light gray mist that fades out to a slight dusty rose color. Quite the breathtaking view. Have we seen the same moon?

D