destruction is fun!

So I demo'ed most of the half wall today. It was quite fun!! Some work, but still fun. It took about 5 or 6 hours and there's still more to do, but I didn't want a big gaping hole next to the cellar stairs. The dogs are smart enough, or frightened enough, but the puppy is still in a clueless stage and I'd like for her to not fall down the stairs and break her neck. :)

While I was busy swinging a hammer, the kids were outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Tweak got 4 paws in the pool today! For a while, I thought I had the only Border Collie in the world that didn't like water. :p Looks like that might change.

Terrie came over towards the end of the destruction. We went to the New Balance outlet to get new sneakers. I've blown out the heels on the 2 pairs I have and hers were like 2 years old. I found 3 pairs I like, a new gym bag, a couple of work-out shirts, some socks, and a water bottle - spending *far* more than I intended. Sigh.

After that we walked up to a restaurant in the square (don't blink or you'll miss it), had a few beers (Happy Cinco de Mayo - without the crappy beer requirement) and lunch. There was a wonderfully drunk guy at the bar. He made lunch fun. Not. :p

While there, we watched the Kentucky Derby. I've never sat and watched it before - interesting. I have no idea why it's as big as it is however. It's one race! They go around the track, what, once? Whatever floats your boat I guess. I just don't get it, nor am I impressed.

I'm of two minds about horse and dog racing. First, there's a part of me that really likes watching it! Is that surprising? Well, I do. The natural grace of the animal while in full run is incredible. Unless Planet Earth is going to do a special on wild stallions running across the land, I don't get to see that often. I can appreciate the beauty of the animal, the movement, the muscle's moving, the speed, it's all beautiful.

The other half of me wants to take the crops they use and whip the shit out of the riders. Fuckers. They don't give the horse an apple after it's done running, they do victory laps. The rider gets all the attention, not the horse. I'm sure it's good to walk the horse around after the run so it's muscles don't cramp up or something, but jeez, pay some attention to the horse!

(Kid Rock is on CSI:NY - what's up with that? And there's no mosh pit? How realistic is that?)

We came back here, where I did some training with the kiddo. It really doesn't seem like a lot does it? It's been a really full day though! The kids are all tuckered out. Millie, Freddie, and Pacie are under the blanket on the couch. The puppy is at my feet, head on my sneaker, passed out.

Tomorrow I have flyball practice from 8-10am. Then I'm dropping Freddie & Tweak off and picking up my baby cousin. We're heading down to the recording studio so she can make a demo CD. She has an amazing voice, hitting notes I couldn't hit in my dreams. I'm hoping she's going to take care of me when she's all rich and famous. :p

But, if I'm to get any of that done (I should really say - if I'm gonna get to flyball practice on time), I need to head to bed.

Oh, remind me to take an allergy pill in the morning please. I can't stand these itchy eyes anymore. I keep forgetting.

D

coupla pics

I took some quick pics before leaving the house this morning:


White & Purple Violas intermingling with Pink ground Phlox. (I'll have to move them so the don't get smothered.)

A delicate white Tulip.

The Japanese Maple is starting to bloom.

Tweak at 12 weeks old. Look at those ears!!

"Candy-stripe" ground Phlox.

My Parrot tulips have bloomed. I love these flowers! (Need to plant more!)

new game

Tweak has a new game. From the couch, she'll do a kowabonga on to Millie's back, bite her neck, and hang on for dear life. :p Millie clearly doesn't mind or she would've told her off by now. Did you know Tweak's head can fit in Millie's mouth effortlessly? Neither did I, until Millie reminded Tweak of it yesterday when she pushed her too far. Being a hound/lab mix, she's got miles of extra, floppy skin that Tweak loves to grab. Right now the puppy is chewing on her front leg like it's a ham bone. :p

My morning routine has changed with the puppy. We get up, go potty outside (the dogs, not I), and when we come back in, we do some quick training with about 1/4 of her breakfast. Then it's bite inhibition time with Millie & Pacie while I check email, blog, etc. I'll jump in the shower after that, puppy goes in her crate with a bone. When I'm done we all go outside (weather permitting for me), they do their last bit of business, I'll pick up poop, water plants, or go through my mental to do list (which never shortens.)

That's about it. If you call, I'll be doing one of those things. :)

Last night I watched the Springloaded video on how to start training your puppy. I'm doing some things backwards, and haven't even started doing everything they recommend. I guess I better get on the ball with that. :)

The one thing I need to conquer quickly with her is grooming. She *hates* the slicker brush, no matter how lightly I brush her. I had an easier time giving her a bath than brushing her out! We're doing *tiny* sessions, like 10-30 seconds at at time. Since that's all I have to complain about, I won't complain.

Remind me not to turn on my IM in the morning please? I hate doing tech support before I've had my coffee. Gotta go.

D

current events

When it comes to current events, what's going on in the world as a whole, I'm clueless. Seriously. I'm a complete idiot and know zilch. Short of a super huge tragedy or something that people are really passionate about, I know nothing.

I don't read the paper. Nor do I watch the news. Negativity at it's finest. I used to, but not anymore. I used to come home from work and read the paper while I ate dinner. Not now. I made a choice a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I didn't need to know it.

I jumped on Boston.com this morning to check the weather and looked at the latest headlines. Let's see what little gems are out there:

Lawful incest may be on its way (a game the whole family can play)
Ex-MIT dean never cited actual degree (ironic)
Fire closes bridge, T stop (destruction)
Tirades, tantrums, and tiffs (hollywood stars acting normal - shocking)
Bush vetoes troop withdrawal bill (asshole)
911 call played in NYC sex-assault trial (crime in NY? unheard of)
Lawmakers ask feds to share data on guns (illegal guns are fine, lawful owners aren't)
51 civilians killed in Afghan fighting (death and destruction)
Teacher cleared in urination dispute (what?)
FDA: Tainted feed minor threat to humans (who cares if the animals eat it?)

Now of course I picked articles that sounded bad. I'll even admit there was one story that kinda made me smile - the elderly having a prom. Other than that, nothing there really gives me the warm and fuzzies. I can't read that stuff and think "It's great to be alive! I can't wait to start my day!" I will also admit that the pages weren't littered with drive-by shootings in JP & Dorchester like they were when I decided to stop being an informed citizen. Maybe things have changed. Drive-by shootings or war. Hmmm.... Maybe they haven't.

So I'm an idiot and I'm going to stay that way until I decide the media has stopped focusing on the sensational and crappy.

I'd rather focus on how cute the puppy is. Or how wonderful Millie is with teaching her how to play right. Or how Pacie gets her energy out by bombing around the yard. Or how Freddie is getting her interested in tennis balls. :) I'd rather focus on what great friends I have, what smart, funny, intelligent people are in my life. How great my life is (even though I've been known to bitch at times.) There's enough bad stuff out there and I have a choice to bring it into my life or ignore it.

There are countless arguments against my reasoning, I know that. If you want to debate them, shoot me a note - I'm always up for a good debate! But, it's what works for me, at least so far, so I'm sticking to it until it doesn't work for me anymore.

Thank you, drive through. :)

D

haha

Pacie & Tweak are playing tug of war with a toy. Pacie, clearly the stronger of the two, is dragging her around the floor like a mop. :)

Work was crazy, as usual. Y'know how if you're going on vacation there's a bunch of crap that needs to be done before you leave? And you spend the entire week before running around like a chicken with your head cut off? Yeah, well I'm not getting the vacation but that's where I'm at.

Jason came by tonight to take measurements and stuff for the bookcase. I'm really excited though, it's going to be absolutely amazing when it's finished. I have a lot of demolition to do this weekend! I don't think I have much planned except for practice so I should have plenty of time. Oh wait, I think I'm going out Friday night. :p4

I've been reading up on teaching a dog self control. The best training in the world won't matter a bit if the dog doesn't learn some semblance of self-control. It's been 9 years since I've had a puppy and I need to refresh my memory. :) Anyway, I'm about half way through it and it seems I still have another month or so before I need to start teaching her. Hopefully she'll pick that up as easily as everything else. Heck, maybe she'll just have it normally! HA!!

She's so much fun though! Let's see, we've worked on sit, down, spin, & heel. Last night we started working on come. Tonight we worked on come again once Jason left. She's funny, she anticipates me calling her so she'll take a few steps, stop, turn, and look at me like "is this when I get the treat?" We do a little bit of training every day, small sessions, different commands each time. I feel like I'm so far behind, but she's only been here for a bit over a month! :)

Today I learned what prick ears are - ears that stand up. :) In Min Pins, we say they're either floppy or they stand up. Who would've thought there's a special name for it? haha I don't know if it happens at a certain age or not or if they're preferred over floppy ones. I think her ears are cute doing the half and half thing and I hope they stay that way. :)

Time to let the kids out and head to bed.

D