The Wedding Date

I got the dvd of this movie yesterday because it looked like a good happy ending movie and I've been wanting to see it for months. I wasn't disappointed. It's funny and entertaining. I'm glad I bought the dvd. The one thing that puzzles me is the dvd case. There are two little flaps on the side that you have to open before you can open the dvd case. What are these for? I haven't seen them on any other dvd cases and the flaps are so thinly attached that they can break off easily. I do have one small criticism about the movie - it seems a bit mature for its pg 13 rating. But then I have no intention of relating to a 13 year old so there is that to consider. I just know I wouldn't watch it while sitting next to my parents. I think that should be part of the ratings system.

Observations

Gas taxes in WV will increase by $0.05 a gallon next week. That's about $0.50 a fill up for me and when my tank is completely empty it would be about $0.80, or about $13.00 - $20.00 a year. This week the average price for gas in my town was $2.30 a gallon. You know, considering how many department of highways employees I see just standing around leaning on their trucks, you'd think reorganization would take place before demanding more money from taxpayers. I still don't know why they don't have a special tax on alcohol the way they do on gas and tobacco. The governor wanted a special tax on soft drinks and junk food but it didn't happen. Why is alcohol so special?

Speaking of taxes, I received both the IRS and State Tax books this week in the mail. Both organizations tried their best to get me to file by phone or online for the past several years but I continued to send my return through the mail.

Am I the only one not to be surprised at all the snow Denver has been getting? Any state who makes that much off of the skiing industry has to expect snow. Here in WV we've been experiencing warmer than normal temperatures, which I am completely happy with.

I haven't said anything about Gerald Ford's passing. The most notable thing I think of about Gerald Ford is that one of his children had a role on tv's The Young and the Restless back when I was a kid. All Federal offices will be closed on Tuesday, but unfortunately, state workers in WV will still have to work.

And the biggest news in the last 12 hours has been the execution of Saddam Hussein. All I'm going to say about this is that pictures and video should not be shown on tv and I am appalled by the reports that people took pictures with him before the execution so they would have souviners. It could have been more of a circus, however, so I guess there's something to say for that.

Some sports observations:

In WV, Huntington High's basketball team is ranked #1 everywhere because of O.J. Mayo and several other exceptionally good players. The latest score was something like 114 to 38 (those may not be exact numbers but it was 100 something to 30 something). That's sad for the rest of the WV teams.

In Golf, it's being reported on some other blogs that Tiger Woods will not appear at the season opening Mercedes Championship next week, an exclusive field of only 2006 tournament winners. The Golf Channel had been heavily promoting his appearance there by saying that one streak will end, either Tiger's PGA tour win streak or Stuart Appleby's Mercedes Championship Win Streak. I thought their hype was premature because Tiger has not made a habit of playing in that event every year. Now they have a bit of egg on their faces. Serves them right for sucking up to Tiger Woods the way they do.

The We Are Marshall movie continues to get a lot of press here locally. The local news reports how much the film grosses, but does not tell me how much it took to make the film. I would like to know how well the film is doing from that point of view.

Another Holiday

Yay! I have Monday off. I have a pretty busy weekend planned. I have to do some cooking today, take the dogs for a walk, walk to the mailbox to get the mail. Tomorrow I have to take Phoebe to Mom and Dad's for her weekly visit. Monday is Christmas Part 2 at Mom and Dad's house - this time my niece, nephew and brother-in-law will be there. I guess I'll have to put away the Christmas Tree sometime. Somewhere in all this I need to schedule time for my naps.

I bought several books from eharlequin.com that I need to read. And yesterday I bought a dvd of the movie "The Wedding Date" starring Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney. All the commercials for the movie looked like it would be a typical romance novel kind of movie, complete with a happy ending. Hopefully, it will be a good movie.

I also bought a big scented pillar candle that was 50% off at Walmart. I thought I would melt it down and pour it into jars so I can have several candles for my candle warmer.

Christmas Part 1

Yesterday, Fritz, Phoebe, and Steffi got their stockings. I couldn't wait any longer to give them to them. They played with their toys and ate their treats. They still have more treats to eat.

Today, was Christmas dinner at my parents' house. We had turkey, noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, gravy, hot rolls. Then for dessert we had red velvet cake, chocolate fudge, raisin pie. Being a picky eater, I only had the turkey, noodles, mashed potatoes, hot rolls, cake and fudge. I was lucky enough to only bring back some fudge. Tomorrow, I'm back on the treadmill and diet so I didn't need any leftovers.

We also exchanged gifts today. I got mom and dad a tin full of amish foods that I ordered from a website. They were very happy to get that. It had different jams and jellies, and canned vegetables. I also got dad a 4 pack of honey from a website I found, a 4 dvd pack of John Wayne movies, and a magnetic flashlight. I got mom pot holders, a back scratcher, and a wall hanging thing that has different sayings. Mom and Dad got me the Tracy Lawrence Greatest Hits cd that's been on my wishlist for a couple of years and two Globe Trekker dvds - Portugal and Central America. And mom gave me a cash gift certificate of $20.00. I can't wait to listen to the cd and watch the dvds.

After eating and presents, all three of us took naps. LOL. That was my second nap of the day. I got up at 5am to make the noodles and went back to bed around 7am. Of course I'm always up around 5:30 am to let the dogs out. Phoebe got to go to her grandparents' house yesterday so she didn't go today. I figured it would be too much to have her there too. I came home from my parents' house and took the dogs for a walk. I think I saw 4 or 5 snowflakes while I was out. I could do without snow.

Christmas Part 2 will happen Sunday or Monday next week when we exchange presents with my brother in law, niece and nephew. That will be fun to see the kids with their presents.

Birthday Fun

Today, Phoebe and I had our birthday party at my mom and dad's house. Before leaving for their house, I gave Phoebe the present I got for her - a squeaky ball. It's a little big for her mouth but she does play with it. At mom and dad's we got a call from my sister who wished me a happy birthday. My niece also wished me a happy birthday and then proceeded to tell me all about the Lion King. She is going to see a live production soon and is really excited. The food at the party was ice cream and a chocolate cake decorated with Fisher Price Little People plastic toys. I saw one like it at the store a while back and decided I just had to have the little pig, so mom went and ordered the cake for me :) The decorator misspelled my name but that's ok. Phoebe got to enjoy the food just a little bit. Dad couldn't leave her out so he gave her a little ice cream and a little of the cake, but not the frosting. As for presents, I got a book about dog whispering (not Cesar Milan's book) and Phoebe got a stuffed cat squeaky. Mom got pictures of Phoebe with the cat and Phoebe with her birthday card in her mouth. That was cute.

I can't believe in just 7 days we will be having our Christmas dinner and opening presents. Mom, Dad and I will do our presents on Sunday next and then about a week later, my niece and nephew will be here to open their presents. Our presents from them and my sister and brother-in-law will arrive then too.

I only work four days this week and four days next week. Yay! I'm taking Friday off and I get Monday off.

Crafting fun: I have wanted for a long time to try glass etching. I have this catalog from etchworld.com and it looks pretty easy. So, I finally ordered the starter kit. I tried it on a few things when I got it and it's a lot of fun. The etched parts don't show up very strongly. I wonder if you leave the etch cream on longer than instructed if it will make the image more definable.

Weather Report: It's something like 65 degrees right now. I love it. No snow. No ice. No freezing cold weather. The downside: without freezing cold weather, the bug eggs won't die and next spring we will be swarmed with all kinds of bugs. I'll have to invest in some good bug zappers.

Lend Me Your Ear

This week I found a cute pig statue at a local store and bought it. The statue has wonderful details and very fine features. I had it sitting on my computer desk so I could pick it up and look at it during the day. Well, this afternoon, I went to my room to take a nap. When I got up, I noticed that the pig was missing part of its ear. It's my belief that Phoebe, upset that I didn't let her come with me for nap time, climbed up onto the desk and chewed on the statue, breaking off the pig ear. I looked and looked and couldn't find the missing ear anywhere. I hope she didn't eat it. I may have to buy another pig statue. I really liked this one.

Observation: Does anyone else hate those Campbells Microwave Soup commercials that feature the slob slurping the soup and falling out of his chair? If there's anything that makes me NOT buy Campbells soup, it's that commercial.

PBS: I get about 5 PBS tv stations with my satellite dish package. All week, they've been having the fund drive. So, I've been watching the Celtic Woman concert every time it's on. It would be better if there weren't so many depressing songs. But there are a few that I like to hear over and over again.

Bad Comic Book Movie Writers

Thanks to the idiot that did the Tim Burton Batman movie in 1989, I know someone who now thinks that the Joker killed Batman's parents. And there's no convincing this person that it wasn't the Joker (refer to the actual comic books - I've read from several sources that no where in the comic book lexicon has it ever been suggested that the Joker killed mommy and daddy wayne). Movie writers should stick to the comic book stories and not go around changing things. Next thing you know, Wonder Woman won't be an amazon, she'll be a geisha. These writers need to be aware that people who go see movies don't necessarily read the comic books. If the writers screw up the history, then they create chaos.

Bondless

Still no Casino Royale at my local theater. This stinks. I know I'm going to have to wait until it comes out on DVD.

Christmas is getting closer and I can't wait. Here's my schedule: 13th - unit Christmas Luncheon; 17th - Birthday Party for Me and Phoebe; 20th - office Christmas Luncheon; then 2 Christmas dinners with the family. My sister is starting to get Christmas presents that I bought for her and my brother-in-law. I had them shipped to Florida so they could enjoy them while their kids are up here for Christmas.

I saw the commercial for the We Are Marshall movie today on Comedy Central. The movie is the talk of local news and tomorrow Oprah will be talking about it. Apparently, the studio is speculating on Oscar chances for this movie. If you don't already know, the We Are Marshall movie is about the rebuilding of the football program at WV's Marshall University after a plane crash killed most of the football team some years ago.

Weekend

Last night I watched Celtic Woman: A New Journey on PBS. I have a Celtic Woman Christmas CD and I would possibly buy a regular cd of theirs. But they do the song Danny Boy and to me that's one of the most depressing songs ever. Anyway, I am considering getting the cd of this concert. There were some good not so depressing songs on there.

This morning I took Phoebe to see mom and dad and then Dad and I went to Walmart and I bought a computer desk. Later, we put it together and ran into trouble with the metal rails that enable the drawer to slide in and out. We think the manufacturer put one too many of one thing and not enough of the other thing in the box. So, I have to search online for the rails or at least find an alternative to fix my drawer. The desk is nice, I like the look of it and the pretty handles. The dogs were excited to see Dad today. They kissed him and got in the way often. That's because he gives them catfood. To sum up this part of the day, it took us about 5 hours to put the desk together and I missed my nap. Dad missed his nap too.

I am planning a birthday party for me and Phoebe for the 17th of this month. I think we'll be having it at mom and dad's house.

There's a neighbor dog that's been coming up to the house the last couple of days. Fritz is going nuts. He runs all over outside, barking and chasing the dog when he finds him. I have a hard time getting him inside.

Shopping Day

Today was another shopping day for me. I went to Big Lots to look for $10.00 book cases. They didn't have any but I did get one for $30.00. I also went to a farm supply store and got some Pig Christmas ornaments half price and a squeaky toy for Phoebe. I also went to the bank and the grocery store and had lunch at Pizza Hut.

Once I got home, I tried an idea I had for left over slivers of bars of soap. I put them in a double boiler and tried to melt them so I could form them into a new bar of soap. It kind of worked. I think I need to grate the soap slivers so the soap will melt better. I have a feeling when I start using the reformed soap, it will fall apart. But we'll see.

Phoebe, Steffi and Fritz got their Christmas Stockings today. I couldn't wait until Christmas eve - the usual day my family celebrates Christmas. They got toys and treats. Phoebe's tail just wags and wags when she gets something to play with.

I got this weird email at my gmail account about an alleged banned blog and israel and stuff. Didn't read the entire email because it looked like bad news, but it did say "somebody (whatever his name was), an anonymous politician" Anonymous politics - I think I have discovered the reason why democracy hasn't taken hold in the Middle East.

Once all the Christmas eating is over, I am definitely getting back on the treadmill and back on the diet. Hopefully, I can suck it up and stick to it for a month or two and lose the 20 pounds I've put on since August.

I've been watching all the Jesus stuff on the National Geographic Channel and the History Channel. In fact, I've watched so much of it that I've subscribed to the National Geographic Magazine. When I was a kid, I had entertained a brief thought of becoming a photojournalist for National Geographic. But, if you know how bad I am with a camera, you could understand why that career goal never became a reality. LOL. The other night, they held up a heel bone with a nail through it and said this was from a person who was crucified around the time of Jesus. And I thought "they could be holding Jesus' foot!" I'm sure it was just the great to the nth degree grandfather of some local citizen but still, it's fascinating.

Gone to the Dogs

This week went to the dogs. Steffi was sick so I spent three or four days getting up early and cleaning up her messes, coming home from work and cleaning up her messes. I think she's getting over it. Phoebe is having her twice a year 'experience' and Fritz has decided that he really, really, really likes her right now. I came home from work on Tuesday to find that they had chewed several holes in a dog bed and scattered dog bed stuffing all over the living room floor. My mom will have plenty of sewing to do to fix that bed.

One bright spot, I ordered some dvds from Amazon.com and got them on Tuesday. They were having a sale so I got Batman Begins and a Pierce Brosnan movie called After the Sunset on sale, and then to get free shipping I also ordered Superman Returns. I actually watched Batman Begins the other night. I usually don't watch movies, but I watched this one. It was very good. But I didn't like the ending. For someone who reads romance novels, I just felt it wasn't right for Bruce to kiss the girl and then to have her leave him. That was just wrong. But as someone who reads comic books, I can understand why they left him sans girlfriend.

Black Friday

I don't think they call it Black Friday because it's supposed to send all the stores into the black in terms of sales. I think they call it Black Friday because it's dark when you have to get up to get to the stores. I left the house at about 4:50am and got back by about 5:40am. I didn't see any fights at Walmart this morning. In fact, many people were pretty friendly. I got the sheets I wanted and some big bath towels to use as Phoebe's blankies in her crate. I got some other things that weren't on sale just because I was there this morning. I came home, fed the dogs and cats, ate a little something, and then went back to bed.

Turkey Day

Well, we had a good Thanksgiving. I cooked and Mom and Dad came here. The dogs were excited beyond belief to see Mom. She never comes here. Dad put together a couple of bookcases I bought on Saturday and changed the tires on his car while he was here. He took the dogs for a couple of walks too. Dinner was very good. Turkey, homemade mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade noodles, gravy, stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, hot rolls, and a pepperidge farm chocolate cake for dessert. I only had the turkey, potatoes, noodles, hot rolls and then later a piece of cake. We were all stuffed. Mom did my dishes and I packaged up some leftovers for Mom and Dad to take home in gladware and ziploc containers that they can keep. I imagine I'll get them back at Christmas when we do dinner at their house. Mom also got some Christmas wrapping paper and bows so she can wrap all the presents she's bought. I had them take the presents I've bought to their house so I don't have to bring them later on. When I go to their house, I usually have Phoebe with me and if I leave her to go out to the car, she pees in the floor. So, I figured it would be better if they take the presents for me. After they left, I curled up on the couch and took a nap while the 2005 Skins Game was playing on ESPN Classic. It has been very warm today, about 60 and the sun was sure bright. I took the dogs for a walk today after Mom and Dad left and they had a good time.

Tomorrow morning I will be one of the stupid people out at 4am standing in line waiting on the big Walmart Sale. There are 600 threadcount sheets that I want to get.

Getting Ready for Turkey Day

Today I dusted my dining room furniture, cleaned the toilets, and began preparations for tomorrow's big dinner and my company coming to share it (my parents). I may put up a Christmas tree today. I have a 4 ft white tree that I might get out. I don't know how Phoebe will do with the Christmas tree. This will be Phoebe's first Thanksgiving and next month will be her first Christmas with her permanent family. She was born on December 18th last year. I may have to have a birthday party for her, especially since my birthday is close to hers.

I also have tentative plans to do the day after Thanksgiving shopping thing at Walmart this year. They have 600 thread count sheets on sale.

I can't believe there isn't anything good on tv during the day. Usually, I'm at work, but this week, I've taken the whole week off. There isn't much on tv. Right now I'm watching a show on the History channel about Captain Kidd's treasure and Oak Island. They detailed an elaborate engineering system constructed to protect some sort of treasure by damming up some water along the shore and redirecting it toward what is called the money pit. If anyone dug a shaft down to the rumored treasure, the shaft would fill with water.

Ready for a Week Off

Today is the first day of a whole week off. I took Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off from work and I get Thursday and Friday off. I had a big day. I went shopping and then after I got home, I took the dogs for a walk. Phoebe was very happy to get some exercise. Then I cooked a turkey for Steffi and steffi, Phoebe and I took a nap on the couch. After the turkey got done, I took the dogs for another walk today. Phoebe has been acting out and not using her puppy pads for #2 so I thought maybe if I took her out, she would do #2 out there. But no. I just got finished taking her out again and she didn't do anything. But she wasn't out that long this time. I did have to take the dining room away from Phoebe because of how she's been acting with her puppy pads. She's confused now and doesn't know where to do #2, even though I have puppy pads everywhere else.

History International Channel Misleads Audience

Right now there's a show on called "Digging for the Truth". However, there is no Josh Bernstein. I am very disappointed that History International would air a show called the same thing as Josh's show.

I told you so

I did find something to do today. I steamcleaned the dining room carpet and then worked very hard to find a way to block it off from the dogs. You have to walk through the dining room to get to the bathrooms and bedrooms so I had to leave a walkway for them but block off the part of the room that has the table and chairs. I used storage totes and it will keep Fritz and Steffi out, but Phoebe is so tiny that she can fit through the gaps created by the slanted sides of the totes. But it's a start. I also took the dogs for a walk today since it was over 70 and sunny. And I walked down to the mailbox and got my mail, ordered a Christmas present for my sister and brother in law, and ate way too much today.

3 Day Weekend

I have today off and I can't be happier. Don't know what I'm going to do today, I don't have a list of chores or anything, but I'll find something to do. It's supposed to be 75 degrees today and sunny. That will be nice. Phoebe will get a walk today. She hasn't been getting walks since it's been rainy and cold and she's getting fat.

I got the bitter apple spray Tuesday. It seems to work pretty well. I just hope Phoebe doesn't get it into her head to chew on my chairs since my buffet now tastes bad.

Alias Bradley Cooper

I was watching Globetrekker tonight and guess who I saw hosting it. Bradley Cooper who played Will on Alias. I was so excited to see him. He was biking in Canada and Alaska. He isn't featured on their website with the other trekkers. I don't guess he spent much time working with them. But it was cool seeing him on the show.

Since Last Week

I got some pans for my toaster oven. I can't wait to use them. I made biscuits the other day in my toaster oven and it worked really well. they baked faster and evenly. I've changed my diet to include poptarts so I've been using my toaster oven for that as well.

Fritz got hurt the other day. He was outside with a neighbor dog. I didn't see what happened but I called him a couple of times before I heard him yelp. His right front paw was hurt in some way, but he's better now. He was so worried about it though and it must have hurt him a lot. He let me pick him up and carry him into the house.

Phoebe has started chewing on my new $1700.00 dining room furniture. I sprayed some generic no chew spray on it, but ordered some brand name bitter apple spray.

Next week I have two days off due to holidays. Then I work a week and then I'm taking all of Thanksgiving week off. I get that Thursday and Friday off for holidays.

New Appliance

I dropped my toaster on the floor a few months ago. I picked it up, pounded the front part back onto the casing and didn't use it until last week. Well, there was this pretty bluish flare I saw through the cracks and I figured I'd better not use the toaster again. So, I bought a toaster oven. I've never had one before. I don't know why mom never had one. Anyway, now I have to find recipes for it. It can cook for up to 60 minutes so I'm sure I can bake things in it. And apparently there are accessories - different pans to use for it and stuff.

The toaster oven websites say that because the toaster oven is smaller, it heats faster and cooking time should be shorter. That's good for me. I won't be running up the electric bill with the real oven. But I can't fix big pizzas in the T.O. I will just have to cut them up in pieces and cook them a little bit at a time. LOL

I used it tonight on a turkey sandwich and it worked well. I can't wait to try other things.

Mastercard prepaid credit card - the greendot card

I got one of these today so I can do christmas shopping online. I'm beginning to think it was a mistake and I haven't even used it yet. Here's how I described the online activation experience to my mom(address changed to protect me):

It was ridiculous. First, they said the social security number wasn't required, but they wouldn't let you continue to the next step until you put one in. Then they wouldn't accept that rt 1 box 555 was my residence address. I had to put in 555 red dirt road. Idiots. Then it took so long to get through that that the website kicked me out and I had to do the whole thing over again. And the weasels didn't even have the decency to have an email address to contact them with customer service complaints. I have to either call them or write them a letter. After Christmas is over, I may not use this stupid card anymore.

Pet Hair Removal

I highly recommend the following. I bought it from DrsFosterSmith.com, but you can get it at other places cheaper - for instance: petguys.com.






Petmate's Pet Hair Magnet is the best way to remove all pet hair. Specially designed rubber blade even removes embedded hair your vacuum can't get! Works great on carpets, drapes, couches, chairs and car seats. Shipping weight: 1/2 lb.

Official Results

Now that we've had frost here I feel it's time to evaluate the performance of the Borax Flea Control method. This past winter, I sprinkled Borax laundry detergent powder onto my carpets to try to control the flea population that had inhabited this house for many years. At some point in the following months I sprinkled another 'dose' of Borax into the carpet and furniture.

The result: I saw only 5 fleas the entire summer and Fritz did not lose his hair like he normally does.

Conclusion: Borax works so much better at getting rid of fleas than any flea spray I've ever used. And it doesn't smell as bad and it's not a poison.

Stay tuned for the next exciting adventure of dog ownership - Removing dog hair from furniture.

Horrible Romance Novels

What's with these romance writers using vulger language in their books? I picked up a book of Christmas themed romance short stories the other day. I could only read one all the way through. Two of the others I skimmed and then I just had to put the book down because I just couldn't stand all the nasty language the writers were using. If people want reality they read the newspapers or watch cable where they don't bleep out nearly enough of the bad language. People who read romance novels want fiction. They want a break from the nastiness in the world. And this book didn't do that.

Brrrr.............

It's cold today. Down in the 40s after being near 80 on Monday. I hate winter and it isn't even here yet.

I got the final season dvd of the A-Team yesterday in the mail. I'm so excited to have all the episodes on dvd now.

I moved my tv into the living room today (well, dad moved it, but I unhooked it from everything and hooked it back up). Time to start closing off the family room and start turning up the heat.

I ordered a book from amazon called "Six Strokes Under". It's a murder mystery with the hero being an LPGA golfer. I hope I like the book because I have the 5th book in the series on a Christmas Wish list.

I've been working out this week, but I think I'm taking today off. And tomorrow I'll be at the store after work so I won't have time to work out. But I'm trying to stay on my diet so at least I won't gain any more weight. Right now the only thing I'm craving are pringles chips and they make fat free ones.

Phoebe's Coat

I ordered a coat for Phoebe from walmart.com. It came today. She wouldn't let me put it on her. But Steffi stood still and let me put it on her. She didn't like it much. But she just wore it and stood there until I took it off her.

It's supposed to turn really cold this weekend. I will have to close off the family room and start living in the living room soon. I can't afford to heat the whole house with electric.

I've started thinking about Christmas shopping. That's because Mom is doing her Christmas shopping. I've got some ideas for them and my sister and brother-in-law, but the kids are a question mark. I don't know what they are into now.

Mom and I have it figured that we would do Thanksgiving dinner at my house and Christmas dinner at her house since the kids will be up for Christmas.

Busy Weekend

This weekend has been pretty busy so far. I used my new vacuum yesterday. I had to wash the filters afterward. Apparently my old vacuum had lost its sucking power at some point. I did a bunch of laundry - my clothes, the dogs' bedding, the couch slipcover. I made soup for this week, worked out yesterday and today, and put some plastic sheeting over some windows in preparation for cold weather. I still have tomorrow off so I will be doing some other things tomorrow. Oh, and all three dogs got baths today. That was a chore and a half. Fritz and Phoebe don't like baths at all so I got soaked.

I was excited to get the Paula Deen Christmas edition magazine at walmart the other day. It has a lot of good recipes in it. Too bad I'm on the diet and exercise thing.

I've been watching season 5 of Andromeda while I've been working out. The episodes are shorter than Alias episodes so I have to walk faster to get to my target before the episodes end. And the real bad thing about the Andromeda dvds is that they automatically go from one episode to the next. Which means, if I'm not done on the treadmill, I get stuck watching the first few minutes of the next episode. I'm thinking of velcro-ing my tv remote to the treadmill panel so it won't fall off and so I will have it handy when this happens with the dvds.

off again

Not on the treadmill tonight. Last night there must have been a big storm because there's half a tree laying in my yard. I slept through it all, which makes me wonder what else I could sleep through.

I ordered Phoebe a coat to wear. It should be here sometime next week. I don't know if she'll wear it, she likes to go naked, but I'm going to try her with it.

I bought a new vacuum cleaner this week. Mom's old one has just about had it. I haven't tried the new one yet. I'll have an extra day off this weekend thanks to Columbus Day so hopefully I can get some house work done then.

I got the season 5 box set dvds of Andromeda in the mail this week. I started watching them the other night while I was on the treadmill. It's been so long since I've seen these episodes that I shouldn't get bored with them.

On again off again

Well, I'm back on the treadmill for at least today. Last week I lasted about three straight days before I started watching recorded golf. Wasted my time on that since it was a Tiger fest tournament. Good thing I didn't watch it on the weekend. I really do need to make more of an effort on the treadmill. Season 5 of Andromeda is on its way to my house, so I will have something to watch while I'm walking.

The dogs are the same as always, playing and sleeping and eating. Phoebe had the hiccups the other night.

X-Men 3 comes out on dvd tomorrow so I will have to buy that. And Chris Young, the newest winner of Nashville Star has a cd coming out tomorrow.

It's been really cold around here lately, even colder now that I'm skinny. But right now it's pretty warm. I'm not looking forward to winter.

A Possible Answer to that Big Question

Coming out of the grocery store this evening I saw a cadillac with a What Would Jesus Do vanity plate. The answer I came up with was this: He would take the money spent on that expensive luxury car and spread the word on foot, using the money to feed millions of poor people.

Oh Happy Day!

I just found out that the second season of Airwolf is coming out on DVD in December! I can't wait until I can pre-order this. Yay!!!

Busy Day

I got up at 2am this morning on purpose to turn on the satellite dish receiver so I could record some golf on the golf channel. I've been leaving it on and just going to bed, but it hasn't been recording. All I get is 3 hours of a screen that says "please press select to continue".

I got up again at my regular time of 5:30am and let the dogs out, fed the cats, fed the dogs, got everything ready and took Phoebe to visit Mom and Dad. I got my hair cut and saw Dad's new truck. It's not brand new, just new to him, but it looks good. Mom's talking Christmas already, so I have to come up with a wishlist soon. I haven't even thought about Christmas yet. I've been busy buying myself stuff. I've bought the rest of the Nero Wolfe novels, I've bought the dvd box sets of Alias Season 5, A-Team season 5, and Andromeda season 5. That finishes up those three tv shows. I bought a slip cover for the sofa and just yesterday I bought a squeegie thing that's supposed to gather up dog hair. Hopefully that will work.

Dad came up later in the day today and mowed the lawn, worked on the bumper of the new truck, and put my table together for me. I need to get a small screwdriver to tighten up the little screws that we had to use. The table works pretty well.

I took the dogs for their walk, made some chicken noodle soup for this week, did some laundry, watched some golf, took a little nap.

Weekend

Well, Steffi and Phoebe are sick again. I wish they would stop that.

I haven't put the table together yet. I don't know when I'll do it. Maybe this coming weekend when I'm in front of the tv all day watching the Ryder Cup.

I caved and spent $20.00 on a paperback book today on Amazon.com. It completes my Nero Wolfe Mystery collection. When I get this book, I'll have all of them.

Update

My cold is pretty much over. Yay.

I got a table I ordered from a catalog today. I have to put it together. Little screws and Phoebe. That is not a good combination.

It's raining again and it's supposed to rain for a couple of days. Wonderful. Fritz doesn't like to go out when it rains.

Sniffle, Sniffle

I woke up with a cold this morning. So, I took some theraflu, went to work and decided that when the theraflu wears off I would go home. That ended up being at noon. Got home, took the dogs for a walk, watched some golf and tennis then took some more theraflu and went to bed. Phoebe howled three separate times while I was napping. The last time, I got up and saw that Maria Sharipova was on TV playing a tennis match. I'm guessing Phoebe heard the shrieking and tried to match it.

I was hoping to get back on the treadmill this weekend, and while experts say exercise won't hurt you if you have a head cold, I prefer to think that if you're sick, then resting the body will aid in the recovery. So, I'm just going to drink my theraflu, take some vitamin c and hope I get over this quickly.

Speaking of tennis, I was saddened to see Rafael Nadal lose in the quarter-finals of the US Open earlier in the week. But, I just read on his website earlier today that he turned his ankle in the match prior to the quarters and won't be playing the next event he had planned to play. So, maybe his loss in the quarters had something to do with the ankle.

First Day of September

And I'm wearing sweatpants, sweatshirt and booties. It's been rainy for three days straight and it's pretty cold.

I've been feeding Phoebe Mighty Dog wet dog food lately. Dad kept saying the hard dog food was too hard for her. Well tonight, she must have been hungry. She ate her mighty dog and then ate some of the hard Purina One food.

I stopped at Fruths Pharmacy tonight to get a couple of money orders. I'm ordering a purple beaded chandelier from one catalog and a drop leaf table from another one. I also found a sale on beanie babies and got a PGA tour beanie baby for only $2.99. And I got a gallon of milk while I was there. I bought a gallon of milk on Monday from the grocery store and even though it doesn't smell bad, it tastes weird.

Trip

Well, I went to Akron for four days to watch the golf tournament. Mom and Dad dogsat for me while I was gone. The dogs were in heaven apparently with all the attention. Mom and Dad were also able to get some work done around here. Mom went through a bunch of stuff they haven't moved yet. And dad mowed and trimmed the weeds along the driveway and started work on a stock trailer he has parked up here. If you want to read my trip diary, it's being posted over on the Even Par Round blog.

Glad it's the Weekend

I'm glad it's the weekend. This has been a long week at work. It was ok until yesterday. Some idiots think I have control over my work assignments so they decided to email me and harass me about a change in the assignments. My regional boss has control over everything so I'm giving her a chance to tell the idiots to leave me alone.

I've emptied up some boxes and put my stuff in storage containers. I like that better than the boxes, and I've found books I forgot I had.

I've finished a rough draft of a book I've written. I need to add more stuff to it and edit it some, but I managed to tell a complete story from beginning to end. I have a feeling that I won't want to polish it now that I've written the ending.

I watched a cool show on CMT last week. It was a duets show with Randy Travis and Josh Turner. It was very, very good. So good, I tried to get online to order a Randy Travis Greatest Hits cd, but the computer was having trouble connecting to the internet. You should check out the show - it's worth it to hear Josh Turner sing Diggin' Up Bones and Randy Travis sing Long Black Train.

Phoebe story

I was on the treadmill today and I heard Phoebe howling. She howled and howled. So, I left the treadmill running and snuck into the living room. I saw Phoebe standing on the floor and howling at Steffi who was sleeping on the couch. Apparently Phoebe wanted Steffi to play with her. For such a little dog, Phoebe can be pretty loud.

Since the Last Post

Not much is going on. I bought some clothes at walmart. I've been working out some and watching what I eat again. I weighed myself Monday and was 129. I'd like to get down to at least 125. My lowest was 120. Found out at work that I was in the running for a supervisor's job before someone else was picked to take it temporarily. I didn't even know about it. I certainly want no part of management. The higher ups suggested me all on their own. I did get picked for a special project. yay for me (that was sarcasm, in case you missed it).

Phoebe's learned a bad habit from fritz and has put her own twist on it. Fritz will jump and bark at me when I walk to the door to let him out. Well Phoebe thinks he's trying to stop me so she jumps in to help. She grabs my feet and barks, bites and claws. Plus, sometimes she will jump up to my rear and nip me on the butt.

Last CD bought - Hall and Oates Greatest Hits at Walmart for 7.50.

I've been having this urge to watch HGTV lately instead of the golf channel. Granted, the last two weeks on the Golf channel they have had three nights with Tiger and three nights with Phil and I have no interest in either one. I even watched Who Wants to be a Superhero on the Sci Fi channel one night.

Shopping

I bought a really cute lamp at Family Dollar for $5.00 today. It's purple. And I got some really large plates on clearance at Walmart. At the Christmas dinner I had here at my house with my parents last year, Dad said that my plates were too small - he couldn't get all the food on them. So, now he's got big plates for the next time I have a big dinner here. Don't know when that will be.

The garden is struggling along. I got some really big squash out of it yesterday. Had to water the garden since we've been having near 100 degree temperatures this week.

The WV chapter of the Miss USA pageant people (the pageant donald trump is involved with) sent my mom an application today in the mail. That was hilarious. I told her she should apply anyway just to show them that they need to pay closer attention to who's on their mailing list.

Hot Sunday

Well, one of my fans quit on me today. I guess I'll have to go buy another one. It's supposed to be back up in the mid-90s this week.

I worked out today. I'm hoping to work out somewhat regularly now. But I don't know about the hot weather coming up.

I watered Dad's garden tonight. He planted some weird looking squash this time. I don't know if it's ready to pick or not.

finally

I finally got my dvds today. It sure took the US Postal Service long enough to get them from New Jersey to WV.

I also handwashed some of my shirts today. They all say wash in cold with like colors but they are all different colors. So, I just hand wash them and put them in the dryer separately to keep the colors from bleeding onto the different shirts.

Went shopping yesterday for some new clothes. I should be ok now for a while on clothes. I have a headache today. I think it's because when I was shopping yesterday I had to drink caffeinated soda with my lunch and dinner. I'm usually caffeine free, like today. Or it could just be the heat. I laid down for a while in the a/c and the cold air helped my head a little. It's not really all that hot today though - just humid.

DVDS MIA

I pre-ordered the 4th season of the Pretender from walmart.com. I got an email that said the order had been processed and I should get the dvds on or shortly after the 18th. Today is the 26th and I still don't have them. As of Monday they were leaving New Jersey.

Another Week Gone By

It was horribly hot this week. So hot that I bought another fan for the house (that makes 7 I have to use). So hot that I didn't feel like getting online. So hot the tomatoes I bought on Monday went bad by Thursday.

I've been writing more on my novel, but haven't typed any more of it. And I won't be typing tomorrow. The British Open golf tournament is on tv for most of the day tomorrow.

I'm back to working out, hopefully on a somewhat regular basis.

I have this coming Friday off from work. I might do a little shopping.

Since Monday

Not much has been going on. I got new tires for my car finally. I've been pulling ticks off of Fritz. They are bad this year. It's been raining and storming a lot here. It finally stopped raining but now it's humid and it's going to be in the mid-90s this week. Steffi got a bath tonight. She was shedding worse than anything I'd ever seen. I worked out this morning. At 6:30 am sweat was pouring off of me. That should give you some indication of how the temperatures and humidity went as the day went on. I'm working on typing up more of my book I'm writing. I was about two chapters behind in typing.

House Hunting

Today after work I went to see a house for sale. The house was ok. It looked older than 5 years old. Even the real estate agent said he would have to verify that it was actually 5 years old. The yard was ok. A lot of neighbors around. The road getting to the house, however, was another story. It was paved. But it was as wide as my driveway. Only .09 of a mile long, I still met 2, count them 2, tractor trailers on my way out to the main road. With the first one, I had to back up (which anyone who knows me knows I don't drive in reverse) and then I had to back into a drive way and back up hill to get out of the way of the tractor trailer. The second tractor trailer was kind enough to stop and let me get by him. So, needless to say, the down payment will be sitting in my checking account for a while longer earning me $9.00 a month in interest.

Couldn't Bear to Watch

I couldn't watch the Wimbledon final today. I was too anxious for Nadal. So, I taped it and every once in a while I would go online to check out the score. Maybe someday I'll watch it now that I know Federer won, but I don't know.

Nadal's in the Finals

Rafael Nadal advanced to the finals of Wimbledon Friday. It will be Nadal vs Federer on Sunday. A lot of people think Nadal has a huge advantage because his record is something 5-1 or 6-1 against Federer, but I'll be holding my breath since this match is being played on grass.

Unsuccessful Google Search

I typed in single mlb players thinking I might find some non-married pro baseball players. Well, what I got was players who had single base hits at bat. Boy was I disappointed. I think I'll stick to golf and the occasional tennis match.

More on Nadal

Rafael Nadal has a girlfriend. And she looks like a really nice girl. There's a picture of her on this webpage. It's good that he has a girlfriend and has a normal life - not completely obsessed with tennis. And as for the doping rumors, I've read some accounts that say the French hate Nadal and booed him constantly during this year's French Open. So, obviously, these 'rumors' are just lies made up by people who can't win anything. They do the same thing to Lance Armstrong. Anyone who is a proven athlete is a target for the French. Here's an article summing up the doping rumors and Nadal's response - Nadal is tested frequently and has passed all of them, and even the people in charge of the investigation stated that tennis players were not the focus of the investigation.

Where oh Where Will Rafael Be Tomorrow??

Will he be on NBC or ESPN playing his quarterfinal match at Wimbledon? I tried searching the NBC website and it had nothing. Thanks for the non-help.

This is what Women Look for in a Man

Man Jumps On 10-Foot Alligator's Back To Save Dog

POSTED: 11:04 am EDT July 1, 2006

UPDATED: 11:14 am EDT July 1, 2006

A man in South Carolina jumped on the back of a 10-foot alligator to save his girlfriend's pet dog as it was being dragged into a lake, according to a Local 6 News report.

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IMAGES: More strange stories, images

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Brent Carey said he was at a park in Charleston with his girlfriend and her dog, Chance, when an alligator jumped out of the water and started to drag Chance into the lake.Carey jumped on the alligator, grabbed it near the back legs and began to fight to free the dog."I could almost grab him and I thought I'm going to die right now, and Chance is probably already dead," Carey said.

"They informed me that I should not jump on the back of alligators," Carey said. "I agree with that. The take home message is not to jump on the back of a gator."

The dog was finally released and it ran to the shore."I can't close my eyes without seeing that gator over Chance's head -- it's awful," Chance's owner Jessica Turner said.Carey received minor injuries on his arms and legs during the attack.The Department of Natural Resources shot and killed the alligator shortly after the incident."They informed me that I should not jump on the back of alligators," Carey said. "I agree with that. The take home message is not to jump on the back of a gator."Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Copyright 2006 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Another Mini-Vacation

Yay!!! I'm off until Wednesday. I have a few things on my things to do list for the next few days. #1 on my list is to tan my feet. The weather man this morning said it should only take 10 minutes today to get a sunburn. Hopefully, my feet will get tanned.

Writing VS Reading

I haven't read one single romance novel since I started writing one. I figured if I read one, I would lose my motivation to write. I have a bad habit of reading a Nora Roberts book or Diana Palmer book and then having to read every single book of theirs I have. It turns into weeks of reading. I would never get back to the novel I'm writing if I started reading again. So, I'm buying books I'd like to read and saving them for when my book is done.

Busy Weekend

Cleaned the living room carpet. Vacuumed the living room and family room. Staked the tomato plants in the garden. Dug out the ditches in the yard thanks to all the rain we've been getting. Laundry. Worked out yesterday and today. Dyed my hair. Took Phoebe to mom and dad's. Made more chicken noodle soup. Watching golf.

Mom showed me the website where she got the dress pattern for phoebe's dress. There were a lot of cute little outfits on that site. Luckily what Mom thinks she can make for phoebe doesn't require putting Pheobe's paws through arm holes.

Haven't worked on my book this weekend. I should have typed up what I have of Chapter 5. But with a 4 day weekend coming up, I can do it then.

Patch is Alive!!!!

Patch has returned to Days of Our Lives!!!! I may have to start watching this now. I got caught up on Days and General Hospital today at work thanks to the co-workers.

Johanna Lindsey has a new Malory novel out. It's in hardback though. I don't know if I'm going to buy the hardback or wait for the paperback to come out.

It's weekend time again. Yay!! I work all next week and then I took the following Monday off because I get Tuesday off for July 4th. Another 4 day weekend coming up.

I might clean the carpets tomorrow. Since Steffi seems to be doing better. She has actually been doing #2 on the puppy pads for the last two days and she's not a puppy pad trained dog. She is such a good girl. Hopefully she will continue this.

:(

Well, my June vacation is just about over. I have to go back to work tomorrow. Yuck. I did finish chapters 3 and 4 of the book I'm writing, and I'm kicking around ideas for chapter 5. Steffi is still sick. Cutting out the dog food didn't help, so I gave her some today. I took Phoebe up to mom and dad's this morning. Dad and two guys he knows were putting a metal roof on the porch of the house. Phoebe didn't like all the noise.

Phoebe

Phoebe put herself to bed last night. It was after 10pm and I was still up watching the rest of the US Open post game report. Phoebe got tired of waiting for me to put her to bed, so she got in her crate by herself and went to sleep.

Steffi's been sick the last couple of days. I think I'm going to stop giving her Phoebe's adult dog food. She's not used to dog food.

Today

Went shopping this morning. Bought a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I also got some ground turkey breast and made taco salad today for lunch sans chips. It was pretty good. There is plenty for the next few days. I did cut my thumb while dicing the tomatoes though. I watched some golf today, took a nap with Phoebe and Steffi. Watered dad's garden this evening. Dad planted a garden up here and so I get to water it I guess. I may be getting new tires for my car finally. I've needed them for like a year or something. I ordered tickets to a golf tournament and reserved a hotel room for the days I'll be going. It's one of those things you want to do once in your life just to say you've done it things. I also bought some storage totes today so I can put away some of my stuff in the spare bedroom.

I'm hoping to work out some while I'm off. I've been overeating a lot lately. And I hope to work on my book. I need to type up chapter 3 and work on chapter 4.

Vacation!!!

Yay, I'm off until Wednesday. Whooohooo!!! Hopefully I can work on my book I'm writing.

DX Reunites?????

Can someone explain how DX got back together in WWE world? Didn't I see Triple H attack Shawn Michaels with a sledgehammer a while back? I haven't been watching wrestling but I saw the commercial for the ppv, and now I want to know what's been going on. Please, oh please, let Shawn Michaels leave his sparkly leather space cadet outfit behind and just wear jeans and a t-shirt. He looks much better that way.

Bud Collins Is Right

He was on the Tennis Channel talking to a panel of experts and said to them that there just isn't any kind of media exposure for tennis. Unless it's one of the majors. And he's right. I did a google news search for Raphael Nadal just a second ago and the most recent news article google picked up was June 7th. Today's the 12th. That's not to say people haven't been writing about him - I did see some articles about his win yesterday when I surfed the web. But google news needs to improve.

Phoebe Doesn't Like the Dress

Yay, it's another weekend!!

I'm happy it's the weekend.

Phoebe is doing better. Whatever was wrong with her, it looks like it's over.

I got some pepperoni and cheese rolls at walmart this morning. They are very good.

I bought a kite the other day at Krogers. They were selling them for $0.50 so I thought what the heck, it might be a stress reliever. I tried it out tonight and it works pretty well. I think I may have flown a kite maybe once in my life, so it's something new.

Update on Phoebe

Well, her poo is still runny, and she threw up again this morning and twice this evening, but I really think this is all caused by Phoebe eating her poo. I don't let her do it when I'm home, but I'm not here 8 hours of the day so I can't keep her from doing it then. Her dinner so far is staying down. She's running and playing and you wouldn't know she's sick if you weren't here to watch her. She did get me up at 4:30 am this morning to let her out of her crate. That was only a half hour before I normally get up.

Phoebe

This morning, Phoebe woke me up at 3am howling. I got up and let her out of her crate and she used the puppy pads. Fritz and Steffi wanted outside so I let them out. Once they came back in, I put Phoebe back in her crate and went back to bed. Unfortunately, I didn't fall asleep. I was almost drifting off when the alarm went off for me to get up. So, I got up and got ready for work. When it came time to put Phoebe in the bathroom for the day, she didn't want to come to me, she wanted to play. She thinks when I reach down to pick her up that I'm chasing her so she runs all over the family room and living room. I finally caught her though and put her in the bathroom.

Tonight, Phoebe wasn't feeling well. She was throwing up a lot and had runny poo this morning. But I think she's doing a bit better. I fed her earlier and so far, it's stayed down. I'l have to watch her for a few days to see if she has any more trouble. I hope she holds it all night tonight and I can get some sleep.

What have I been doing lately? I worked out yesterday and today. I cooked a turkey breast for Steffi. Did some laundry. Worked on the novel I'm writing. Not the manuscript destiny story over in the sidebar. This novel is something new. Watched Raphael Nadal win his tennis match today. Mary Carillo and John McEnroe have a way of creating so much suspense when they call a match. I turned the channel a couple of times because I was afraid Raphael would lose a game or a set. Watched golf today - did not see Sergio or Jose Maria. Brushed Fritz and got about 5 comb fulls of hair off of him.

Today is mom's birthday. I got her a present yesterday when I went to the store. I'm going to take it to her tomorrow morning. I don't think I'll take Phoebe to see them this time.

No Longer a Volunteer

I got my paycheck today in the mail. So, I'm no longer working for free. Yay! Otherwise, work sucked today. Hopefully, this writing thing will pan out and I can someday quit. LOL. That would be nice.

Pay to Play

I did not get my paycheck today. It comes like clockwork in the mail every payday. But I didn't get it today. Tomorrow I will email the personnel office and report it. There may be a chance it was misdelivered by the mail carrier and will turn up in a couple of days, but I will report it anyway because if it doesn't, I want it on record that I reported it missing as soon as I could so that if someone forges my signature and cashes it, I won't be out the money.

It's been so hot here lately. In the 90s. This evening we had a good thunderstorm and it's cooled off some. I'm glad.

I'm back on the chicken soup diet so I can lose some weight. Today a woman at work told me I was too skinny. I didn't tell her I'd gained 8 pounds. They would kill me at work if they knew that.

I bought a miniskirt today at Walmart. I can't bend over in it, but I like it. I'll find somewhere to wear it.

I'm working on some writing. I don't know if I'll finish it or if it will be anything but horrible, but I'm writing.

Good Day Off

Today was a pretty good day off for me. I went to Mom and Dad's for a bit and took Phoebe. Then I came home and worked out on the treadmill. Later, I got to see Raphael Nadal win his 54th straight match on a clay court (tennis). Nadal, Sergio Garcia, Jose Maria Olazabal - I have got to move to Spain. I bathed Phoebe because she was starting to shed and then watched some golf.

Pretty Good Day

It was warm and partly sunny today with a nice breeze. I walked outside and got some exercise. Phoebe used the puppy pad twice today for #2 without me being there to remind her. She still walks off the edge of the puppy pad for #1. I found an idea in a book I might have to try: placing shower curtains under the puppy pads. But I have a feeling she would walk off the edge of the shower curtain too. Anyway, I stuck to the diet today along with all the exercise. Tried to nap with the dogs but I don't think I slept all that much.

X-men 3

I just read some spoilers for the new X-Men movie. I'm glad I read them. I didn't like it when they surprised us by 'killing' jean in the second movie. So, now I know what to expect in the 3rd movie.

Email Lost

The only thing I lost in the computer tantrum was my email. So, SB West, send me an email so I will have your address again!!!

So You Had a Bad Day.....

Everybody sing!!!!

Here's my day:

I got rained on while taking Phoebe for her afternoon walk.

Work sucked - Tony was being more of a 'man' than usual. I actually rolled my eyes in his presence at something he said.

My computer threw a tantrum. I turned it on after I got home and it kept saying that some file was corrupt or missing and that I needed to load the original windows start-up disk to try to repair the file. Well I don't have an original windows start up disk. My computer didn't come with one. What I have is the 10 disk recovery disk thing that I had to make myself. So, I played with the F buttons until I got to the Compaq System Recovery thing and I got to recover the computer stuff while keeping all my stuff I have on my pc. The only thing that isn't working right now is Incredimail. I don't know why that isn't working but I'll figure it out. I can log into my email from my isp's website so I can still get email. The computer has been running a bit slow since I did this. I thought maybe I might have to do something because my tech geek in the next town who fixed my modem also added more ram. But just a few seconds ago I got some popup that said Spy Subtract definitions had been updated. So, I guess the computer was slow because it was updating that crap even though I thought I had closed out of that program. I hate computers. I had to go through the whole process of naming my computer again and everything. So, I gave it the same name (Sergio) but for the description I wrote: This cursed piece of technology.

Taylor Hicks Wins

American Idol Results Show Review:

Toni Braxton - she was completely unaware of what the song was all about.

Clay Aiken surprising his fan was good.

Eliot's mom winning the award was good.

What does Meatloaf, the singer, have to do with the Celine Dion song?

The three cowboys' performance was good.

I miss Bucky.

American Idol

If the judges pan the cheesy have to song at the end (the song the show makes the winner sing) then why don't the judges take a stand and pick the song for the winner. Taylor's song was ok for the cheesy have to song. And Carrrie's and Bo's (they did the same song last year) was ok. But wasn't that hideous "A Moment Like This" a cheesy American Idol have to song? And Kat's song was the epitome of the cheesy have to song. I don't know if Simon said it to help Kat or what but he told the world that he thought Taylor had won the contest. It seems to me this would move more people to vote for Kat just to thwart Simon. Hmm......

Goodbye Alias

Last night was the series finale of Alias. It was on from 9 to 11pm so I had to record it to watch later. But I did read some reviews of it on the web. It sounds pretty good. Apparently, Sydney, Vaughn, Isabelle and Jack survive. I'm glad. Now I just need to get the season 5 dvd.

In other news, I've been working out a bit and I've gone back to the chicken noodle soup diet. Just in time for cake and ice cream at work tomorrow. Oh well. I can have ice cream here.

It's Warm!!!

It was freezing cold this morning - under 40 degrees. But this afternoon it was warm enough for shorts. I went out and walked after taking Phoebe for her walk. yay!!

It's supposed to be cold again tonight, but then stay warm for a few days. I can't wait. Now if only they would fix the a/c at work. All those fat, old, menopausal women have to have it turned to 40 degrees in the office.

I'm Tired of the Cold

It's supposed to be warm, but darn it, it's still cold around here. I'm wearing two pairs of sweatpants, a t-shirt and a sweatshirt, and a pair of socks. Jim Nantz just had to brag a couple minutes ago about how warm it's been in Texas for the golf tournament.

I took Phoebe to Mom and Dad's this morning so I could get an extra pair of hands to help clip her nails. Well, Dad got a couple too close and she bled some. She only whimpered one little time. I don't think it's slowing her down any. She dragged me all over the pasture and yard after we got home.

I made chicken noodle soup for this week's suppers. One more full week of work and then I get Monday off for Memorial day. Yay!

How Sad

I just saw on www.fark.com that one of the horses racing in the Preakness hurt its leg. I hope the horse will be ok.

What's that Bright Orange Ball in the Sky?

Oh, that's the sun. I haven't seen that in a while. It's finally warm for a change. I was able to take off the sweatshirt and jacket and go outside in a t-shirt and sweatpants and walk for exercise this afternoon. I took Phoebe, Steffi and Fritz out with me. Phoebe got hooked up to the tie-out stake with a bowl of water next to her and shade within reach. She didn't drink any water though. I stayed out until her tongue started hanging out and then I brought her back in. About 45 minutes. I might go back out later to get more exercise. I'm hoping to work off some of the weight I've put back on since I got Phoebe.

Enough About Brittney Spears!

There are plenty enough mothers out there actually abusing their kids and these news people are focusing on Brittney Spears. What has Spears actually done? She drove without the kid in a safety seat, did not wreck the vehicle and hurt the baby, and she tripped but did not drop the baby. The one time the baby did get hurt, it was allegedly the nanny, not the mother. In school, one of my teachers told a story about how she dropped her son on his head when they were at a football game. I can only imagine what the press would have done if she had been famous. I followed my dad up onto the roof of the house when I was about 4 and fell off the roof. They were such bad parents (not). The media has the power to change the world and they are squandering that opportunity by making mountains out of molehills.

Weird War Story of the Week

Lionel Richie big in Iraq

Since Tuesday

Wednesday, I watched the American Idol results show. Elliot should have stayed. Taylor should have stayed. Kat, I'm not too fond of. She can sing well and has a great performance personality, but there are more established singers who sound like Kat than there are those who sound like Taylor and Elliot. I'm not sure if I heard Kat on the radio that I could identify her.

Thursday, my sister, her kids and mom and dad came up for a visit. Timmy, my nephew, dumped my supper in the floor and threw some tantrums. He could be the next American Idol in about 20 years if he continues to have that kind of lung capacity. Jasmine warmed up to Phoebe and Phoebe warmed up to her. Jasmine calls her Feefee though. Phoebe was such a good girl. Even though she was scared of the kids and her routine was ruined, she still used the puppy pads the whole time they were here. After they all left, I straightened up the house, did my dishes and around 9:30 laid down with Phoebe to watch some golf. We napped.

Today, I went to Walmart this morning and bought Phoebe a dog bed and nail clippers. I have dog nail clippers but they are almost as big as her whole paw and I didn't think they would work for her. So, I bought people clippers. Tonight, I went to the grocery store after work and found more of the doggy squeaky toys shaped like a cat. Phoebe loves those.

It's supposed to warm up this weekend and stay warm all next week. So, hopefully I can work out some. I'm hoping to get back on the treadmill or walk outside. I've been gaining weight back since I got Phoebe and had to stop working out to keep an eye on her.

Best Laid Plans

The ice diet didn't work out. It's too cold for ice. So, I made chocolate fudge instead. I took some of it to work and gave some to Mom, Dad, my sister, niece and nephew. Wind the kids up on chocolate and have them stay with mom and dad. That's a good auntie plan. Hahaha.

I came home tonight to find a dead cat in my driveway. My gray cat, Curly, died. I didn't see any marks on her and Dad thought she had had a heart attack. But she was only 5 years old or so. That seems young for a cat. I know I didn't hit her on my way to work this morning. At least I hope I didn't. Dad thinks it was natural causes, so I'm ok with that. I imagine 5 years is old for a farm cat who didn't get regular check-ups with the vet. So, after pushing the cat out of the road with a snow shovel and taking my dogs for their walk, I called mom's house, got my sister and told her about Curly's demise. Dad came up and buried Curly for me.

Ice, Ice Baby

Have you ever eaten so much that you decide eating ice for a week is a good diet plan? I got there today. I was stuffed after dinner at mom and dad's. I was invited to mom and dad's by my sister who was going to buy supper for them for a mother's day thing. So, I put Phoebe in the bathroom (I wasn't going to take her to mom and dad's knowing my niece and nephew and all the baby stuff would be filling the house) and I went to mom and dad's. I left half of the subway sub at mom and dad's because I couldn't eat it all and because I have turkey meatloaf in the fridge for this week. I ate a 6in sub (turkey, lettuce, and tomato on wheat bread), three breadsticks from pizza hut and a piece of chocolate cake. I was so stuffed I felt miserable. So, I decided eating shaved ice for the next week would be a good diet plan. I plan to eat the meatloaf and slim fast bars too. But the ice will be dessert.

Phoebe did #2 on the linoleum tonight instead of puppy pads. She was waiting for me at the baby gate and wouldn't leave until she found me.

Also.....

Mom weighed Phoebe today. Phoebe is still 4.5 pounds. I think she's stopped growing. I've never had a chihuahua this small before. All my other ones have been mixed breed chihuahuas.

News

What's happened since I last posted? Well, I caught the mouse. I went to the grocery store last night after work and stood in line longer than it took me to shop. If you're going to pay by check, why don't you have it written out except for the amount before they finish ringing up the sale. This morning I went to mom and dad's house and took Phoebe. I needed my hair cut and mom wanted to see Phoebe. I took my camera and got some pictures of mom and dad with her. I got to mom and dad's around 7:30am. I think Dad now regrets making me get up early all those years when I was a kid. Now I get up early and he sleeps in. I was there in time to answer the phone for mom. It was my sister. She, her husband and the kids are on their way here from Florida for a visit. I think it confused my sister to have me answer the phone. LOL. Dad kept giving Phoebe treats even though she wasn't doing her business on the puppy pad. I told him that if he un-house trains her, she will move in with them and they will deal with her messes. Anyway, Phoebe played a lot and kept begging for food, she used the puppy pad twice and had no accidents, and then she napped. I took Phoebe outside after her nap but she wouldn't do anything. She kept going from one porch to the other looking for mom and dad. So, I packed up everything but the toys (I forgot them) and brought Phoebe home. She did her business here. Right now she's chewing on a rawhide. I traded her that for the plastic squeak maker from her squeaky toy.

Squeak, Squeak: Volume II

I have another mouse. I set out the only trap I have left and hopefully I will catch the little disease carrying rodent. Walmart didn't have any more of the see no mouse, touch no mouse kind of traps when I checked there tonight. Hopefully, I just have the one mouse.

America Has Made A Mistake

They voted off Chris tonight on American Idol. How could they do that?! He was better than Kat. That is just so wrong.

Ouch

I burned my finger on chicken noodle soup tonight. It still hurts. I put the soup in a ceramic bowl and microwaved it for 3 minutes. I reached in and picked up the bowl and that's when I got burned. The bowl was really, really hot. I dropped the bowl on the counter and soup splashed out everywhere. Steffi and Phoebe cleaned up the floor. I did have enough soup left in the bowl for supper.

Not Happy

I washed a shirt today for work. Hand washed it. Put it in the dryer on medium heat. Took it out once it got dry and went to iron it. I checked the label and it said 95% cotton, 5% spandex. So, I set the iron on cotton. The iron burned my shirt. I think they translated the label wrong from whatever 3rd world country produced the shirt.

Another Picture of Phoebe

Saturday

Today I went shopping this morning and got a flat panel monitor for my computer and a fleece jacket that was on clearance at walmart. I also did my grocery shopping and got some ground turkey breast to make tacos. After getting back and eating lunch, Steffi and Phoebe got baths. Phoebe didn't like the bath. I'm going to put flea drops on them later. Then after the baths, we took a nap. Fritz had to bark, so I put him outside and he stayed out for probably an hour while we napped. But it was warm and dry so he didn't mind.

Progress

I am very happy with Phoebe's progress in housebreaking. She is doing her best to use the puppy pads. Sometimes she walks herself off the puppy pad because she has this desire to pee just on the edges, but all in all, she's doing well. She just did #2 on a puppy pad all on her own. I'm not ready to trust her with the whole house yet, but she is coming along.

I'm glad this is Friday. I'm ready for a weekend, which is sad since I had Monday off. I think I'm spoiled with all these days off. I even have this coming Tuesday off for election day.

Alias

They brought Nadia back just to kill her!!! What kind of writers are these people??!! And you'd think Renee would have noticed that "Sydney" was wearing different clothing than the last time (an hour or less before) she saw her. Next week's previews were disgusting. Anna, masquerading as Sydney, finds Vaughn. Yuck.

American Idol

I don't know who they can get rid of now. All of them had pretty good performances tonight. The Against All Odds song was not so good and the Prince song wasn't so good. Chris had two really good performances, but if his album is all like the second song, then I don't think I could listen to it for very long. He will have to mix it up some because otherwise he will sound just like everyone else. I liked Elliot's rendition of "Home" and Taylor did really well. Katharine's Horse and the Cherry Tree song was really good and well performed.

Out of the Blue

I got one of mom and dad's computer monitors today and hooked it up. So, my screen now looks normal. Well, it's a little dark but I have the brightness as high as it will go.

I took Phoebe to mom and dad's today for a visit. She actually used the puppy pads. She was a little afraid of the rooster crowing though.

When we got home today I watched Samantha Brown's traveling in Europe show on the Travel Channel then went outside and walked. I actually got some exercise for once. I don't get much exercise now that I have Phoebe - I have to watch her to see if she's using the puppy pads. I had Phoebe out with me for a while, but she got a little hot so I brought her in, got her a drink, and put her in her crate. Then I went back outside. I think I got more sun tan too.

Well, better go see if I can get Phoebe to eat a little more. She isn't much of an eater when it comes to her meals, but boy does she beg for whatever you're eating.

Nap Time

The dogs and I took a nap today. I used mom and dad's rollaway bed and Steffi and Phoebe and I napped on that. Fritz was on the floor. Phoebe must have been dreaming. Her little feet were moving and she even growled a little, but her eyes were closed.

It's a good thing Steffi and Phoebe get along. They both have to be in the chair with me in the family room. So, Phoebe ends up laying on top of Steffi. They don't mind. They both just lay there and sleep.

I'm getting pretty good at the easy sodoku puzzles in a puzzle book I bought yesterday. But I'm getting tired of them too. I think I'll take a break.

I made home made mashed potatoes and biscuits for lunch and supper today. I even have some for tomorrow. Tomorrow I have to go up to mom and dad's. I don't know if I'll take Phoebe. It's supposed to rain. I think I will take them some biscuits though.

My monitor is still in its blue haze. I unplugged it from the cpu and the screen still looked bad so I don't think it's a problem with the computer. I think it's the monitor.

I haven't been able to do my laundry today. Phoebe has not wanted to let me out of her sight. And I've had to watch her closely to see if she's using the puppy pads. I had her out for nearly an hour today and she wouldn't do #2. She kept getting distracted. I was not happy. Finally after being back inside for about a half an hour, she did #2.

Pictures

Mom found some pictures of Steffi as a puppy and brought them over today. I'm so happy I now have some of her.

Phoebe is regressing I think in the puppy pad training department. I think the move into the family room has confused her. At least I'll have two more days home with her to get her used to the family room. I'm taking Monday off.

I walked down and got the mail a little while ago. I finally got my state tax refund. It only took them two months to process a one page form.

Moving Day

Well, I got the tv and satellite dish receiver moved into the family room. Mom and Dad came up and got some of their stuff and then dad helped me move my tv into the family room. Phoebe was very happy to have company.

I think my monitor is going bad on my pc. It has a blue film across the screen and lines. Oh well, I always wanted a flat panel anyway. I guess I will now have an excuse to get one.

Nice Sunny Evening

It was so nice this evening when I got off work that I decided to take the dogs out for a longer time than normal once I got home. They went out for the potty trip, then we all came in and had our dinner, then I took them back outside. Phoebe got chained up so she could run around but not run off and I got to walk for a bit. Not too long because Phoebe looked like she might want a drink of water after about ten minutes. But we all got a little extra fresh air and sun.

I got my books from eharlequin.com today. I can't wait to start reading them.

I got some gas for the car this morning. I remember when $10.00 could actually buy you something, but these days you can't buy a trip to work for $10.00. This is ridiculous. Especially since they said tonight on the news that Exxon announced an $8 billion profit for the first quarter of this year. They are talking about the government giving everyone a $100.00 gas rebate. I hope the government gets that money from the oil companies.

Matt Mason's Gone!!!!!!

I can't believe they voted Matt Mason off Nashville Star!!!! He was my favorite!! Now there's no reason to watch the rest. Chris Young would be the only reason and I'm not as big a fan of his. I will have to keep searching the web for news on Matt Mason. If anyone out there can tell me if he has his own website or where to go for news on any upcoming record deals, let me know.

Cookies and Treats

I had to make toll house pan cookies tonight. I've got egg beaters that are going to go bad in the next couple of weeks.

Phoebe lost the rest of her broken toe nail. Maybe her toe will will return to normal now.

I had to give Fritz a rawhide treat tonight - he was eating a rug. I don't know what it is with these dogs but I swear I think both Fritz and Phoebe are eating cloth. Some time ago, Fritz had chewed the tie strings off of a dining room chair pillow. Well those strings keep disappearing, piece by piece, after Phoebe chews on them. I took the rest of them and threw them away.

Phoebe is still peeing on the puppy pad to get a treat. I hope she sticks with this and it works.

Second Try

After I got my bath I saw that it was about 10 after 7pm. So, I let the dogs out for a few minutes and then took Phoebe to the vet. This time it worked. No smelly dirty dog to bathe. We did have to sit there for a while. But Phoebe got a shot and her nails cut. I don't know what the shot was for, but the vet says that was all she needed. His nail clippers were dull though. But the way Phoebe runs in the pasture, she will wear the rough edges down.

The Vet Visit that Wasn't

I was going to take Phoebe to the vet tonight to see about her dew claw. She broke her nail but it's still attached. The toe is swollen but I've been dunking it warm soapy water and it helped yesterday. Unfortunately Fritz had other plans for me. He somehow found the stinkiest, messiest mud hole in the pasture and rolled in it. He was covered in this mud and he wanted in the house. He came trotting up the steps like nothing was wrong. Well, he found out something was wrong. I bathed him before he could come back inside. Now I smell like the stinkiest, messiest mud hole. I have to get a bath myself now. By the time I get cleaned up it will be too late to take Phoebe to the vet. So, I'm hoping tomorrow evening after work I can take her to the vet. It will be tough because I get home about 20 after 4pm and they are open until 5pm. I probably won't be able to get Fritz and Steffi in the house in time. Maybe if her toe doesn't get worse she can wait until Wednesday when the vet's open from 6:30pm to 8pm.

Sunday

Today has been a pretty good day. Except for the fact that Steffi is sick again. She's been throwing up today and eating grass. If she doesn't feel better by tomorrow after work, I'll have to take her back to the vet. But otherwise, it's been a pretty decent day. I opened the door to the family room today and let Phoebe play. Come to think of it, Steffi was out on the back porch looking for stray catfood today. Maybe she got into some that had been exposed to ant spray or something. Maybe whatever Steffi has will run its course and she'll be better tomorrow. Anyway, Phoebe played and I cleaned the fans. Phoebe even intentionally left the family room, came back into the living room and used a puppy pad today. If only she would do that all the time. After lunch I took all three dogs outside and chained Phoebe up to a chair I was sitting in. She walked around and rolled around on the ground for a while and I got some sun. Then we came in and took a nap on the couch.

I'm going to have to clean up the family room and that back porch area. I think I'm moving into the family room next weekend.

Phoebe's Day Out

I took Phoebe to mom and dad's today. Mom was thrilled to see her. Phoebe had fun and she and I took a nice nap on the big couch. I miss that couch. Phoebe responded to Dad more than mom but that's because she sees dad more often. Mom won't come to the house. I don't know why. It might have something to do with her oxygen tank.

I did sleep in a little bit today. I got up at about 10 after 5am instead of 10 til 5 am. Phoebe held it that bit longer so hopefully I can get a little more sleep next week when I go back to work.

I mailed off her AKC application and stuff this morning and did a little shopping. I bought these cd roms that have cookbooks on them. I think I will like them except that one of the cd roms doesn't have pictures of the food. I like to see the pictures.

I bought some potatoes today and plan to make mashed potatoes with my ricer. I have a lot of cooking plans. I think I'll be making soup or something tonight. Tomorrow is turkey breast day. Steffi ran out and has been eating bologna for the last couple of days.

Last night I put some pictures of Phoebe in the photo album. I need to take more of them all. I don't have very many pictures of Steffi and not many at all of her as a puppy.

The Dog Whisperer

The Dog Whisperer just fed a dog chicken. Not dog food. So, I don't feel so bad now for feeding Steffi turkey breast. Everyone says dogs should not eat people food, but if Cesar Milan feeds dogs people food, then it can't be that bad. Heck, Tippy lived 16 years or more on bologna every day.

Sunny Day

Today after work, I came home and took Phoebe for her walk. Then I put her in her crate, changed into shorts and a sports bra and went outside myself for some exercise and to try to get a tan. I think I got a little bit of a tan.

At work we had a potluck lunch. It was pretty good.

Dad came up and mowed the grass today while I was at work. He brought instant coffee to make since I don't have a coffee maker and I don't drink coffee. He spilled coffee on the counter just like he did when he lived here.

Phoebe had two accidents this morning. And one this evening. We have more work to do on the puppy pad/treat thing.

Alias is coming back on tonight. I missed the last two episodes but I found a website that had a summary of the last episode that aired before Jennifer Garner had her baby. So, I'm pretty much caught up. I did record the episodes I missed, but I figure that Alias is so complex that you can miss a few episodes and it really won't matter in terms of the big picture. You know, bad guys, good guys and how it all ends in a few weeks. Plus, I plan to get the dvds when they come out. I guess I'll have to get online tomorrow night to see who America kicked off American Idol. I'll be missing it tonight to watch Alias.

American Idol vs Nashville Star

Nashville Star started after American Idol and Nashville Star is already down to the final 4 I think. American Idol is on 7 people. No wonder I like Nashville Star. It's efficient and doesn't waste my time.

Today

I got Phoebe's AKC application in the mail today. I have to get that filled out and sent in. Dad came up and cleaned out the vacuum cleaner and took apart the carpet cleaner for me. He said he might come up tomorrow to mow the grass since it finally stopped raining. I had to make no bake cookies tonight. We are having a potluck lunch tomorrow at work.

Speaking of work, it really bothered me today when one of the old women brought her daughter and grandbaby into the work area. They sat down in the file room right next to my cube and the baby started screaming. She screamed for a half an hour. I couldn't get any work done because it was so distracting. You have to be a little flexible with the employees' families coming in all the time since I'm surrounded by old grannies who talk baby crap all day long, but it is a place of business and people who are employed there should work there and not hold family reunions.

Treats

Tonight I gave Phoebe a treat for peeing on the puppy pad. She peed again on the puppy pad and she got another treat. Then she just started squatting on the puppy pad hoping to get a treat. That didn't work. She did do #2 on a puppy pad that I couldn't see from where I was sitting. So, she walked out until I could see her, sat down and looked at me as if to say "where's my treat?". How quickly she forgets though, later she peed on the carpet. So, we still have a ways to go yet.

She and Steffi are playing pretty well together. They are kissing each other right now.

Phoebe's AKC papers are in the mail on their way to me today.

Rest of Sunday

Well, the carpet is cleaned and dried and the laundry and soup are done. Phoebe and I actually took a nap today. Yay! Getting up at 4:50am every day to take Phoebe out really wears me out. I tried my snow cone maker and it does in fact make snow. It chops the ice up finer than mom's ice crusher. I have eaten way too many cookies today. I'm trying to get rid of them so I don't have any more in the house, which is a bad idea. I froze the last few cookies. I don't think I'll be eating anything else tonight and I'll probably be sucking on this snow cone ice for a few days to recover from the sugar overload.

As for the housebreaking of Phoebe, she's probably 70% trained or so. Most of the time she uses the puppy pads, but there are times when she doesn't. She won't get her freedom for the rest of the house until she improves.

Right now I'm watching Globe Trekker on PBS. You know, the show where the host goes to exciting foreign places. Well, tonight's port of call is....... Florida. Not too exciting. But at least she moves on to the Bahamas after a while.

I finished reading a book I started last week. It was a bit boring and slow, and it was part of a series that I didn't know about before buying the book. So, I skipped a few chapters and read the last couple just to see how it ends. I even wrote some on the novel I'm sort of writing. I'm having a hard time writing it though because I only read dialogue when I read books so I have to force myself to write the extra stuff.

Sunday So Far

Well, this morning I got up and cleaned the carpet in the living room. Phoebe has made most of her accidents in that room. The carpet is drying even as I type. I still have to make some chicken soup for this week and do my laundry.

The vacuum cleaner died this morning. It does that whenever the dust and carpet fuzz get stopped up inside there. I might buy a new vacuum cleaner. The one I have is the one Mom and Dad left here when they moved. They didn't want that dirty old thing in their new house. It's pretty old and is falling apart. There is a strip of rubber that runs along the outside edge that is dangling and flapping around. We lost a screw somewhere.

OCD

I think Phoebe has OCD. I took her out because she very nearly did #2 in the house. Well, she spent a half an hour running from one tree to another and trying to get back to that trail every time I picked her up and put her in another spot. I did that about 10 times and finally just gave up, brought her in and put her in her crate for 15 minutes like the book says to do. She was really trying my patience out there. The positive sign was that in the house, she was sniffing the puppy pads so maybe she would've done #2 on the puppy pads. Steffi growls and jumps at her though when she's trying to use the puppy pads. That's not really an ideal situation.

Dr. Who

I watched Dr. Who last night. Well, Phoebe and I watched it. She sat on my lap for part of it. It was a good episode. Supposedly the last of the Daleks committed suicide. They can't get rid of the number one villain of the series, so I'm sure there are more Daleks out there. I really, really am not going to like it when the Doctor changes at the end of the season. I like this one.

Shopping and Company

This morning I went shopping early. I left here about 8Am and went to walmart first. I bought a shirt that was on clearance for $5.00, a Doug Stone cd and a snow cone maker among the usual weekly items I buy. They didn’t have the chicken treats that the dogs love. I was very disappointed. Stopped and got gas and turned in my winning lottery ticket for two more tickets. Took my paycheck to the bank and then headed to the Dollar General store to see if they had any short sleeved shirts I would like. I bought two there. After that, it was time for the grocery store and then I came home. I put my groceries away and had Phoebe out for a while. Watched Nashville Star. I think it will end up being between Jared Ashley and Matt Mason. They are both pretty good, but I like Matt better. It was that Marty Stuart song he sang early on that did it for me. I had just finished making some spaghetti when Mom and Dad came up. Dad had to take the studded tires off of their car and put the regular tires back on. Mom puppy sat Phoebe while I washed the floor and her crate, cleaned the bathroom toilets, washed Phoebe’s squeaky toy, and sacked up the trash. Then I was able to actually get a bit of a nap. Yay! Phoebe took a nap too apparently. But she was really happy to see Mom and Dad. Dad took Phoebe out for a walk but she didn’t get off the porch. She was hunting for cat food. So, I took her out after my nap. It took her about a half an hour to get around to doing #2 and that was after carrying her off the porch about three times. I would take her off the porch and she would go right back. So, all the dogs were happy to see Mom and Dad.

I got an Easter card in the mail today from my niece and nephew.

I think tomorrow, I’ll use the carpet cleaner on the living room carpet. Since I get up at 5am to take Phoebe outside, I have all kinds of time in the early morning for work.

Weekend

Yippeee!!! The weekend's here. It's horrible to work a whole week after having time off. I have a lot to do this weekend. I need to go to the grocery store in the morning and to the bank and to some stores to try to find some t-shirts to wear. My shortsleeved shirts from last year won't work since I've lost the weight. I plan to leave early tomorrow morning and do all the things I can do before 10 am. At 10 am Nashville Star comes on the USA channel and I'd like to be home by then. I'm hoping mom and dad come up this weekend to watch Phoebe so I can clean the floors and her crate.

Phoebe used the puppy pad this evening. She also went outside and did her business. I'm hoping she's catching on to the housebreaking, but I don't know.

Sunny Day

I got home this evening and changed into a sports bra and shorts and took the dogs out. I'm hoping to get a tan. Phoebe didn't want to come in and her little tongue was hanging out all curled up on the end. I had to make her come in, but once Fritz and Steffi started following us in, Phoebe was more willing to come in. She got a drink and I put her in her crate for a nap. Hopefully, she'll stay in there for a couple of hours so I can watch Martha and clean up the bathroom. Phoebe did #1 and #2 on the pads in the bathroom. Last night and this morning she was good and used puppy pads. Hopefully, we are turning a corner in the puppy training project.

Martha says she's never used cool whip topping. She has eaten opossum and raccoon.

Why?

Why did I watch American Idol last night? I try not to watch that show, but I ended up watching it. There wasn't much of anything else on. They did Queen night last night and all the contestants sang Queen songs.

Phoebe peed today in the bathroom, but she held #2 until I got home and did that outside. And she held both 1 and 2 overnight and did her business this morning when I took her out at 5am. And tonight she was sniffing around the puppy pads in the living room so I took her out again. After a bit of running, she finally peed.

On TLC they have a life lesson commercial - the one where there are better rewards than food. I know what that's like. My dogs beg like that for treats and I give them treats just like that woman did the kid. That's funny.

Good Shopping

I've discovered that eharlequin.com allows you to pay by money order or check when you order books from their website. They will send you a bill with your order. I now have several things in my shopping cart over there. More than $25.00 and you get free shipping on some orders. I haven't placed the order yet. I think I read something about deals offered on Fridays. So, I'll wait until then to see what they have.

This morning

I don't know if it was a fluke or deliberate, but Phoebe waited until this morning when I took her outside to do her business. She did #2 this evening in the family room even though I had her out for a half an hour before that traipsing around all over the pasture. We still have a ways to go.

The Answer

The bare floor. I have to clean up the bathroom tonight and tape down puppy pads all over the bathroom floor for phoebe. I got her a couple more squeaky toys today. Dad was nice enough to take phoebe, steffi and fritz out when he was here today. And he got some biscuits for it. I made some yesterday and didn't want to keep eating them. I'm going to try to stick to the chicken soup diet for a week or two. I ate way too much while I was off. But housebreaking Phoebe is pretty stressful.

This Morning

Well, I got up at 5:40am this morning, just like yesterday, to take Phoebe outside to do her business. Yesterday I was working on the puppy pad thing, but today I'm working on the outside thing. This morning she peed outside. She had done #2 in her crate overnight. I've been taking her out for the last half hour or so to try to get her to do #2 again. She ate breakfast this morning so I know she has to go. Tomorrow will be interesting. She will spend the day in the bathroom so I will see if she uses the puppy pads or her blankets or the bare floor.

Maybe a Switch

I'm thinking of changing a bit of the puppy training method. Now that I know Phoebe will do her business outside, I'm thinking of using the 7 days method with taking her outside instead of having her use puppy pads. I don't think using the puppy pads is teaching her the right thing. I don't know how Fritz got to be paper trained and outside trained and learned the difference between the pads and the carpet, but I don't think Phoebe is going to learn the difference. I don't know if Phoebe will ever be really trained since I have to leave her for the 8 hours I'm at work and then when I'm asleep at night. Why can't the Pet Psychic, Sonia Fitzpatrick, just tell Phoebe to do her business outside? That would be easy training.

I went to Mom and Dad's today for a little while. Dad wanted me there to do something for him. So, he took my car down to the shop to get the tires and oil changed and I drove his car back to his house. He came back there a couple hours later and looked around and said "where's the dog?" I told him I left her at home and he seemed really disappointed. If he wants to see her that badly, then he can come up to the house every day I'm working at noon, like they first agreed to do, and let her out to help with the housetraining.

Wednesday's Mail

I just got around to looking at Wednesday's mail. That was the day that I was so rushed in the afternoon, with getting my pc fixed and taking Phoebe to the vet. Aside from the phone bill I got, I was happy to see that I got Season 4 A-Team dvds. I'm a little concerned though. There's a bonus episode from Season 5 on these dvds. Does this mean there won't be a release of Season 5? I hope they do release all the season 5 episodes.

This Morning

Phoebe had to be corrected once for trying to pee on the carpet. But later, she chose to pee on a puppy pad. So, I think that's a positive sign. I don't think we are there yet and that I can say she is trained. I still don't think she knows enough to think to herself "hey, I have to go, let's find a puppy pad."

Fritz chased her through the house this morning like he chases cats. That may not be a good thing, but I think I will need to let him chase her and catch her so he can settle down and realize that she's not all that special. Phoebe pounced on Steffi this morning and Steffi whipped around and snapped at her. She didn't bite. She stopped just short of that so I don't think she will hurt Phoebe.

I got Phoebe a stuffed doggy toy at Walmart yesterday. She loves it. She runs through the house with it and shakes it. Thankfully, it has saved my hands from the biting.