booked solid...

Guess what idiot was up until 1:30am doing homework? Yup, that would be me. Although I'm still a moron for screwing it up, at least I won't have to worry about it while at the tournament - which is when it's due.

My spare time is few and far between for the next 6 days - I am booked solid!

I'm meeting Kate for lunch today so I can give her samples and the calendars to add to the BOD and welcome baskets. I have to remember to bring the 10 BOD catalogs too.

I'm meeting Sue & Aunty Kathy for dinner tonight. Probably the last chance I'll get to see them before Monday. Then I have homework to do.

I've printed out about half of the catalogs and need to print out the rest today. Paula & Kate are coming up tomorrow night to help fold and insert the schedules. I suppose I should clean off the table so we can use that, huh? :)

Friday I have to go into work for an All Hands meeting. Then I'm leaving for Fitchburg right after that to help set up. My brother is staying with the dogs this weekend. Oh crap! I'm gonna have to bring Freddie with me to work....I have to figure out the logistics of that one.

Saturday is the tournament and the dinner. Sunday is the tournament and cleanup.

Monday is a day off. :) I have to get Pacie into the vet, return the Tivo's and Tivo upgrade kit (Oh you missed it when Tivo broke - lucky you), and figure out what's what for Xmas. I'll probably start wrapping too. Meanwhile, I still have school until next Thursday.

In blog related news, the subscriber service isn't working so I have to figure out what to do with that. In the meantime, I'll send emails out lettting everyone know there's been an update. I'll have a solution when I can breathe.

Now though, I have to jet!

D

Brrrr...

Yeah, I'm not used to this cold weather yet. It's 26 degrees out and I want to just hide in bed. But I can't because I have to go take all of the recycling out.

The trash guys are here now so if you hear a ton of barking, that would be my house. How dare anyone take the stuff we want to throw away?? The nerve.

Anyway, guess which moron did next week's homework assignment instead of this week's homework assignment? Yup, that would be me. Stupid. So instead of focusing on my final paper, I have to read 3 chapters tonight and do yet another assignment. The good thing is that next week I won't have to worry about reading or doing any assignments and can just focus on my paper. I'm such an idiot sometimes.

I can't wait for this class to be over though. It's starting to be a bit too much with work, the holidays, and everything else that's going on. I'll have 3 weeks off before the next class - yay!

I had a Dr's appt. yesterday and I was less than pleased by what I was told. I have plantar fasciitis in my left foot - I've had it for quite a while. I have inserts in my sneakers and sleep with a brace on and have been for months. Yesterday I got a bunch of "must nots". I must not wear any other kind of shoe except sneakers. I must not exercise in the form of walking (the dogs are gonna be pissed) or using the NordicTrac. (question - how does one stop exercising yet stay active so one's back does not freeze up?)I must not blow off physical therapy any longer. Blah, blah, blah. And the worst one - I must not compete in flyball. Yeah right! That ain't happenin'. The only "must" I got was that I must have this sound wave, extracorporeal blah blah procedure done in January. Yay. I hate my genetics.

I also found out yesterday that Sue needs to have a C-section, which makes my foot thing seem not all that important so I should really stop bitching. :) Little Neely is too big so they're going to let him finish baking and then pull him out. The when part is unknown right now, but I'm going to be pissed if it's while I'm at the tournament. Next Monday works much better for me. ;) Yeah, Sue thought that was selfishly funny too.

I've been kinda seeing this guy lately - we'll call him *M*. I'm taking my time, trying to figure out what I want. He has a heart of platinum and would spoil me outrageously if I let him. He's a sports nut - and I mean *nut* so I'm just wondering if I can handle constantly hearing about how the basketball, football, softball, etc. game he played went. :) Eventually I'd have to actually show up at one of those things too. The only sport I know about - hockey. The only sport he doesn't play - hockey. Good fit, huh? lol As I said, I'm taking my time. :)

Well, Dawn needs to stop procrastinating and take all the damn recycling outside. Maybe I should just give in... I'm sure *M* wouldn't mind taking the recycling out. :)

D

Ok, ok I'm back

I took some time off from the world. The loss of my little girl kicked my ass and I had to hibernate to save my sanity. Don't worry, you weren't the only ones that were blown off - everyone was.

You know what they say, life goes on.

Far too much has happened in the past 7 weeks for one post so I'll update you on the bigger things and the rest will come out in time.

My cousin Sue is about to pop anyday now. She's due Dec 9th but I'm hoping she goes a bit early. I have a flyball tournament that weekend and will be staying onsite in Fitchburg. Speaking of which, Paula let me know how much I owe you for the room. Anyway, I'm very excited and can't wait to get that phone call. :)

The other big deal is the flyball tournament next weekend. We're hosting this tournament and all the bigwigs at flyball headquarters are coming up to hold their annual dinner/meeting. It's a really big tourney with 47 teams entered - read pandamonium. Oh, we could use a few more bodies to help out so if you aren't doing anything, send me an email. I pay in pizza and beer. :)

The question I received the most was 'what happened' with Skootchie? I'm sorry I didn't get back to any of you on that, it was really just too painful to write about. But, here's what happened. Skootchie threw up on a Saturday and I figured she just ate something out in the yard or had a stomach bug. I tried to feed her on Sunday but she was having none of it. I boiled Chicken and rice for her Monday and she still wouldn't eat so it was off to the vet. Her eyes and skin turned yellow on the drive over there. She was in full blown liver failure and there was nothing anyone could do. I held my baby until the end, telling her I loved her and apologizing for not noticing it before it was too late. My vet tried to assuage my guilt by telling me it's not uncommon for dogs to not show any symptoms. I've gone back and thought of her behavior to see what I missed. Almost 2 months later, I almost believe her.

I miss my girl. Life isn't the same without her. My heart isn't the same without her.

So, in honor of my girl, I went out and got my first tattoo. My friend Pat is an incredible artist and works at Pino Bros. ink in Cambridge. I gave him the plaster of Skootchie's paw print that I have, which he then drew out. I absolutely love it and think it's a fitting memorial for my little girl. That really is her actual paw print....



Moving on, I'm still in school, with 10 days left in this class. It's unfortunate but my perfect gpa will be gone after it. I just didn't care as much as I should've and there was too much going on.

The house is decorated for the holidays and almost all of the shopping is done. I think I need just a couple of gifts but until I compare what I have to my spreadsheet I won't know for sure.

Today is the perfect day to work from home as I sit on the couch surrounded by the dogs, watching tiny little snowflakes fall from the sky. Alas, I can't.

But I'm back.

D

Skootchie

I lost my beloved girl today.

I'm devastated.

I'm heartbroken.

My heart hurts so much I wonder how it still beats.

And I am still sick.

Oh my little girl, how can I go on without you?

I love you more than words can say.

I miss you.

My beloved angel.

busy, busy, sick, sick

So much to write, so little time...sigh.

The flyball tournament was great overall. Saturday was gorgeous, Sunday sucked big time. But that was just the weather - the racing on both days rocked. :) We actually had a lot of close racing and one tie!

Freddie got his next big title, Flyball Master Excellent (FMX). I didn't go into this tourney thinking he would get it, but when it looked like it was a possibility, I lost it. :) As our team captain wrote, it became a bit of an obsession. ;) I kept counting up the points, figuring our how many heats were left, etc., etc. We finally got what we needed in the race before the last one of the day, but I hadn't realized it. So we cheered once we got a heat under 24 seconds in the last race. :)

Saturday night I drove back down for my cousin's surprise 18th birthday party. My mother was up from Florida so I couldn't blow it off - not that I wanted to, it was just the driving back and forth that was killing me. :) But, we had an awesome time - our table was the funniest, loudest, most obnoxious, and, of course, the only table to be at. :) Mary was psyched and surprised. :) We met my brother's new girlfriend at the party. She seems nice. :) She was getting along fine with everyone until she started getting drunk - then she said a few things that made me want to ask her if she could hear what she was saying. I'm chalking it up to nerves, meeting the family for the first time, etc. But, if she says anything stupid like that again, I'll have to say something...nicely of course. :)

Sunday was cold and rainy - all day. We tried setting up the tent with the walls, but that didn't work out that well at all. I spent most of the time in my car with the heat on, reading and hanging out with Freddie. It was way too echo-ey in the barn to spend more than a few minutes in there. I stopped by McDonald's on the way home and got Freddie a cheeseburger - he always gets a cheeseburger when he gets a title. :)

Once I got home, I spent a little time with the kids, then headed over to my sister's house to have dinner with my mother and siblings. I was tired, but we had a good time. :)

Monday I went into work for a few hours to get the latest version of a database out to everyone. Then I came home and did some more work - attended a meeting via phone, updated some web stuff, etc., etc. I spend Monday night with my nose in my mathbook trying to understand what the hell they were talking about. :) I had a few people helping me with some questions, which was greatly appreciated!! I was able to turn in my homework on time. :)

I woke up Tuesday with a cold. :( My head was splitting so bad I could hardly open my eyes. Between that and my body being sore (probably from the tourney), I was in enough pain to be nauseated. Yay. So, once Silvane came in and started doing her thing, I took some cold stuff, went back to bed, and slept for 3 more hours. I was in slow motion the whole day. I jumped on the computer to do a few things and ended up working for the rest of the day, ending around 6:30 or so. I had 2 things I needed to do - finish self service testing and finish my sqrs. Neither of those got done due to being sucked into web world by various people - a few even calling me at home. It wasn't as restful as I would've liked.

But, I'm feeling a little bit better today and plan on heading into the office. Except for the few hours yesterday, I haven't spent a solid day in there since last Thursday! So, it's time to make an appearance - let people know I still work there. :) Maybe I'll even get to finish my testing!

This weekend Nancy and Vince are coming up to spend some time in New Hampshire. I'll spend some time with them hanging out, etc. :) There is also a big symposium on animal rights going on at Mass School of Law on Saturday. I'm bringing Millie to demonstrate how to teach your dog tricks. :) I have to brush up on her tricks and figure out what I'm going to teach. I'll see if Nancy and Vince want to go to it too. I think that's all I have planned for this weekend, but I'm really not sure!

But, it's time to head into the office. I'll be late, but I'll be there. :)

D