A Day of Laughs

I left work early to go to the bank. I wanted to reinvest my CD that came due and I wanted to open a savings account. The woman at the bank added an extra zero to the amount I wanted to deposit into my savings account. I didn't find out until I got home and looked at the paperwork. I have to call them tomorrow and tell them that they inadvertently made me rich. Then I went to the post office and made sure I got the forever stamps. It was the same woman as last time and she didn't want to sell them to me. I think she wanted to get rid of all the $0.39 stamps.

After that, I went to walmart. I bought a sub sandwich and after the cashier rang it up, she accidentally rang it up again when she went to put it in the bag. I had to go to the service desk to get my money back because they can't make the adjustment at the register. There were two women working the service desk. One of them took care of me and after I explained what happened, she said in a snotty tone, "I think the cashiers need some training." Then she hit a couple of buttons on her register and then turned to the other employee and said, "It's telling me blah, blah, blah, what do I do?" I thought, "yeah, I think cashiers do need some training." I didn't say that out loud. The woman was going to give me $3.69.

I got home and tried this new recipe I found for pie crust. I can't make regular pie crust, but this one you don't roll out. You mix it up and then pat it out in the pan. I made a horribly rich chocolate pie - baked the crust, then put a layer of melted milky way candy bars in it, then added a layer of marshmallow cream, then a layer of chocolate pudding. Once the pudding set up, I topped the pie with chocolate cool whip. I only ate what I consider a small piece and I can feel the sugar in my blood. I'm not a fan of pudding or cool whip so I'm not going to eat much more of the pie. In fact, I emailed mom and told her to come get the pie tomorrow. LOL. Dad's going to come up and get it. The pie reminded me of ice cream in a waffle bowl or fried ice cream or something like that. The crust was like a shortbread cookie.

On Paris Hilton and Jail

I would just like to say that the taxpayers of California would be better served if Paris Hilton was hit with a huge fine and about 200 hours of community service (like at an animal shelter since she likes dogs) rather than sending her to jail. Not too long ago, I listened to a news story on NPR about prison overcrowding in California. It's a huge problem there. I believe they are shipping inmates out of state, or if they haven't then it's in the works.

Here's a news article about the prison overcrowding situation in California:

By Ed Mendel

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

May 8, 2007

SACRAMENTO – The Senate Democratic leader is urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to use his administrative power to change parole rules to ease severe prison crowding, possibly by as many as 8,100 inmates.

Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata, D-Oakland, said Republican opposition kept parole reform out of a $7.8 billion plan to ease overcrowding through a building program and transferring some prisoners to other states.

Perata said speculation at the Capitol that the bill signed by the Republican governor last week includes an unwritten “side deal” to have Schwarzenegger bypass the Legislature and administratively enact parole changes is inaccurate.

“I wouldn't call it a deal,” Perata said of talks with the governor. “What we said is we couldn't put it in the bill because the Republicans wouldn't support it.

“We said further that if you don't do something with parole, you can't make any of this work,” said Perata. “So you've got the ability to do it. It's up to you to do it.”

Adam Mendelson, Schwarzenegger's communications director, said there is no agreement for the governor to take administrative action to ease prison overcrowding.

“The agreement is to sit down with Republicans and Democrats to determine what next steps need to happen,” Mendelson said.

About 173,000 inmates are packed into 33 state prisons designed for far fewer prisoners. More than 16,000 inmates are in “bad beds,” some stacked three high in gyms, classrooms and day rooms.

“The governor has a lot of emergency powers,” said Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Tustin. “I would not anticipate that is going to be a significant thing in trying to get the 'bad beds' taken care of.”

Lawmakers scrambled to get a plan in place to ease crowding before three judges hold hearings next month that could put a cap on prison population, resulting in the early release of some inmates.

The state is scheduled to file its proposed remedy next Tuesday with U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson. Critics say the legislation does not contain sentencing or parole changes, which could quickly reduce the flow into prisons.

AB 900 authorizes a $7.4 billion bond and $350 million from the general fund to provide up to 53,000 new beds, increased rehabilitation and the transfer of 8,000 inmates under contract to prisons in other states.

But the first new beds may not be ready for at least 18 months. Before prisoners can be shipped out of state, a court order blocking transfers must be lifted and inmates must be screened.

The state budget Schwarzenegger proposed in January contained two parole changes for low-level offenders that corrections officials estimated could result in 8,100 fewer prison inmates next fiscal year.

About 70 percent of inmates released from California prisons return in three years, the highest recidivism rate in the nation. California and Illinois are the only states that put all released inmates on parole.

The governor's budget proposal is expected to reduce the number of prison inmates because having fewer people on parole, now about 120,000, would reduce the number of people returned to prison for parole violations.

One reform, “12-month clean,” would shorten the three-year parole period for more parolees if they have no violations for a year. Under the other, “direct discharge,” some inmates who have served their sentence would be released without parole.

The governor has the power to expand the “12-month clean” program. But “direct discharge” without parole, which accounts for about 7,000 of the estimated reduction of 8,100 prison inmates, is not authorized under current law, said Brian Brown of the Legislative Analyst's Office.

Next Week Can't Come Soon Enough

I went to the store this morning. I came home and Steffi sniffed me all over, ran circles in the yard and watched me carry in every single bag. She was looking for the puppies. She wants me to bring them home. I keep telling her 'next week', but I don't think she understands.

Puppy Update #4

Dad and I went to see the puppies tonight. The short-haired one is looking more spry this week than last week. I'm glad. I was worried she was going to be a slow one. But she's catching up. She's still a little scared but she's getting better. She wagged her tail some tonight. The long haired one has turned into a cryer. She whimpered several times tonight. I think she's getting old enough to realize when she's away from her mommy and litter-mates. She should get over it soon though. At least she will have the short haired one to be with in the crate when she gets here. The short haired one's ears are standing up now :) The long haired one's are half way up. They are both going to be adorable, but right now they are especially so since their noses aren't sticking out that much. The dog seller had her grandkids there again and the little girl snuggled up to the long haired one and she kissed the girl's little nose. I don't like kids, but that girl has a cute little nose. The puppies are on track to come home next week. Probably Friday or Saturday. Then I'll have pictures!

Other experiences at the dog seller's house this evening:

The seller played with the grandkids by putting them in a dog crate and closing the door. They should invest in some of those for the lobby at work.

The seller's husband showed us that two of their older Chihuahuas know tricks. They rolled over, ran around in circles. A white one named Cookie sat straight up on her butt and begged. The husband put some jerky on the coffee table and told Cookie to show him what she wanted and she stood up and pointed to it. Cookie also is a grouchy one. She's all right if you're petting her on her head, but try anywhere else and she growls and snaps at you. She got up on the couch between me and dad and then finally got on dad's lap. The husband showed us pictures of what Cookie and the other trained Chihuahua looked like when they got them. It's good that they have pictures of their dogs in picture frames even.

There's another Chihuahua there named Daisy. Daisy is about 3 pounds and about 6 years old. The seller told us that for the first year and a half of Daisy's life, she stayed sick. The vet didn't know what was wrong with her but she wouldn't eat or anything. So, the vet finally told the seller to take Daisy to Virginia Tech to a vet school there where they could run all kinds of tests. After $1600.00 of bills, the Virginia Tech people diagnosed Daisy with some kind of disorder called "Polyarthritis" (I think that's what it is) which isn't what we think of as arthritis. As it was explained to me, It's something like an immune system disorder. Daisy's immune system was fighting her body. So, the VT people gave Daisy steroids to take and that would destroy her immune system. Then she would get weened off the steroids and over time her body would create a new immune system and she would get healthy. And that's what happened. The seller had decided not to breed Daisy because, while the VT people told her it was a fluke, the seller couldn't be sure that any puppies Daisy had wouldn't have the same thing. Daisy may be only 6 years old, but she looks about 14. But she's healthy now. And she was spayed. The seller said that every time Daisy would come in heat, she'd stop eating so the seller decided to get her spayed. A 3 pound Chihuahua can't afford to stop eating.

And tonight they allowed a female weiner dog to meet up with a male. I guess in a few weeks they will have some weiner dog puppies :) The male came in the house and peed by the door. I guess he isn't allowed inside very often. And there was one little weiner puppy that escaped from the room she was in and ran out the door to the outside. She was an active little thing and friendly. Really big paws. The puppies are cute, but I don't think I like the looks of adult weiner dogs. Their chests low to the ground then their lower tummies and butts higher - they look a little weird. Of course, it could just be her weiner dogs and not the breed.

The husband told us about this Pomeranian puppy they sold. It was a really, really small one that the seller had kept for something like 4 months because it was too small to sell for the longest time. Well, she finally sold it and took it to the vet to get its shots and then the buyer took it home. It died that night. They think it might have been the shots that did it - that maybe the shots were too strong for the puppy. I forget how small they said it was but I think they mentioned that it was 14 ounces at one point. I don't think the seller deliberately bred poms to get really small ones, I think that one was just a runt. Anyway, the seller gave the buyer her money back even though the buyer said she didn't want the money back. It was probably one of those things where the buyer thought she was taking a risk on the puppy and felt she paid her money in good faith knowing that there could be a sad ending.

Excellent CD

I got Miranda Lambert's new cd, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, yesterday. I've been playing it at work for the last two days, repeatedly and I even played it here at home. My cd player in the computer at work has a short in it or something, there's a weird sound on it. Plus, I can't play the cd loud enough to hear everything. So, playing it here tonight was like hearing it for the first time. It's a great cd and what I would call progressive, even though she has a couple of traditional-sounding country songs on there.

Attention US Post Office Employees

I went to my local post office today to buy stamps. The poster hanging up in the lobby told me all about the forever stamp. I had also read about the forever stamp on the USPS website. The website says it's on sale now. Well, when I got to the window and asked for stamps, the worker did NOT offer me the forever stamp. I had to buy $0.39 stamps. I'm used to the US Government lying about things like weapons of mass destruction and how well the war on terror is going. But to be lied to about the availability of the forever stamp is unacceptable. Sure, they deliver mail in the rain, sleet and dark of night, but when it comes to selling you the stamps, there seems to be a different kind of code they are following - the same kind that inspired the bait and switch laws.

Not a Day of Rest

I did a lot of housework today. I vacuumed the living room and put down more borax to kill any fleas that might come in. Then I took the plastic off the windows in the family room and vacuumed there - sucking up all the dead asian lady beetless. Then I put down borax there too. I cooked a turkey breast for Steffi, baked some biscuits for me, baked the rest of the peanut butter treat dough I had in the freezer for the dogs, went outside and walked since it was so beautiful outside there today. Sunny, breezy and not too hot. It was wonderful. And I also washed a bunch of dishes since I did all that baking and cooking today.

Puppy Update 3

I went to see them last night. The longhaired one never stopped wagging her tail and she kissed me repeatedly. The shorthaired one was scared of everything and just shook and shivered. I put her on my chest up near my neck and just petted her and she got used to that. I hope she grows out of that. Dad came with me and he got to hold and pet them too. They are bigger than they were last week. The lady said she thinks she saw them trying to sneak some of the puppy chow out of the mom's food dish. I guess the lady mixes adult food with puppy chow when she wants to start getting the puppies to eating dog food.

Dad found another dog he wants. The woman had a 4 month old yorkie running around the living room. He was cute. He had a cute little bark, and he was all hair. You couldn't see his eyes, nose or mouth. Very friendly and very much wanting attention. He finally got up on the couch with us and squirmed all over dad nipping him and licking him all over.

The lady had a min pin who just had a baby Friday night. She showed us the baby and it was so tiny. She's got another min pin who's going to have babies at the end of next week. That dog got up on the couch between me and dad and dad spent a lot of time just petting her. She loved attention.

This Week Has Flown By

What's been going on here? I made some cheesy biscuit treats for the dogs tonight. Another recipe I found online. I ordered ink and photo paper for my digital camera printer the other day. Walmart isn't carrying supplies for my printer anymore. I also ordered the first Princess Diaries movie. Walmart doesn't have that either at the store. And I got a 2007 Rafael Nadal calendar. Plenty of good pictures to admire. I've pulled mroe ticks off of Fritz. This year is going to be really bad when it comes to bugs and pests. Tonight I put some flea/tick drops on Fritz. I hope it helps.

I'm hoping to see the puppies tomorrow. I want to try to go early, but dad just has to go to an estate sale. There will be plenty of estate sales in the future to go to. But only a couple more times to visit the puppies before I bring them home.

Despite the weather people calling for rain every day this week, I got to go out and enjoy some good weather 4 out of the 5 weekdays.

Only One Nap Today

I only took one nap today, when I could have taken two. But it was sunny outside and I didn't have that horrible headache, so I went out a few times and walked around in the back yard. Steffi and Fritz went out every time with me and then they would come back in and sleep for a long while.

I made doggie crackers for them today. I found a recipe on the internet and tried it out. I would call them cookies, but there's no sugar in them, so I'm thinking they are crackers. They're peanut butter flavored. Fritz and Steffi really seem to like them, which is good because there's a bunch. I have some dough in the freezer that I can use next time.

I did some laundry today and washed my dishes.

I also took a couple of pictures of the glider I painted yesterday and emailed them to Mom so she could see what she was missing by not coming up to check it out. I told her that one day I'll come home and it will be gone - Dad will have come up and taken it to his house now that it looks good. LOL

Saturday Notes

Well, I had a bad headache today. I think it was from the caffeine I drank yesterday. I took two different kinds if sinus medication, three tylenol and then ate some chocolate to try to get rid of the headache. And I took two naps. But it's finally gone.

I spray painted the lawn furniture today. There's still a chair that needs painted. It isn't the best job in the world, but the thing's painted so it shouldn't rust any more when it rains. It's painted John Deere Green as they say. I used farm machinery paint that is supposed to be good in bad weather.

Went to mom and dad's this morning to get my hair cut. Took my Lakeside catalog and the newest Paula Deen magazine for mom to look at.

Yet Another Blog

I've created another blog. This one is centered on Chihuahuas. To check out "Gaga For Chihuahuas" click here.

Puppy Update 2

Dad and I went to see the puppies today. We were greeted by a whole pack of mix-matched dogs - chihuahuas, pomeranians, weiner dogs, poodles, boxers, min-pins. And all of them just wanted to lick us and get petted by us. They are all seemingly well adjusted and happy. We went in the house and sat down and the seller brought us our puppies. One had just had her nails clipped and the other one needed hers clipped so the seller's daughter clipped her nails too. The puppies are more active, but not energetic yet. They are only about 4 weeks old and still sleep a lot. The long haired one rolled over on her back and licked me and dad and the short haired one licked me and actually made a noise or two. She was chilly and wanted to curl up.

The seller's adult daughter and the grandkids were there today and there was a lot of house cleaning going on. I think it's worth noting that the seller not only keeps the names of all her dogs straight (I haven't heard her call one by three different names before getting to the right one like most people do their kids) but she also knows their personalities. There was one chihuahua who came in from outside and got up on the couch with me, dad and the puppies. The seller came over to pick her up and said "watch, she's going to growl now." And the dog did. Growling isn't a bad thing in itself. It's just a way of communicating.

After about a half an hour, Dad said "give them back, we have to go." He said that two or three times. He really needs to just sit there and pet the sleeping puppies. But anyway, I gave them back and we left. I think he's going to have to come with me for the next few visits because the puppies are going to get even more active and I will have a hard time keeping a hold on both of them.

A Full Day For A Day Off

I had today off but I was busy just the same. I got up regular time, like always, and let the dogs out, fed the cat, then fed the dogs, washed my hair, ate breakfast, went to the grocery store and walmart and was home by 8am. Then at 9am I was on the road again. This time with mom and dad. They went to the cemetery to pre-pay the arrangements for when they eventually pass away. This was just planning ahead, there's no bad news or anything. But I had to go because Dad wanted someone else to know what was going on. Once that was done, I called my puppy seller to see if I could see the puppies today and when she said yes, I went to mom and dad's house because Dad was going to come with me to see the puppies. Before we went to see the puppies, however, I treated mom to lunch at Ponderosa. She never goes anywhere except to the store and doctors with dad so I thought she needed to get out some. And I lectured both of them, telling them that Steffi and Fritz both need to see them more often. My dogs need to see people who aren't me. It's good for their morale. After lunch, Dad and I went to see the puppies. I'll make a separate post about them. Then we came back, stopping at the bank so I could deposit my paycheck, and I watched Passions with Mom (I don't watch the soap, but it's mom's favorite) and I watched the first few minutes of Ellen's talk show, went to walmart and got some low fat ice cream sandwiches (really wanted a milk shake and should have just gotten one from McDonalds) and then came home. I got down on the floor so Fritz and Steffi could smell the puppies on me and then changed into lounging around clothes, ate an ice cream sandwich, and went outside to walk around in the warm, sunny weather. Fritz was thrilled that I came outside. He ran and pranced and grinned.

All that being said, at least I wasn't stuck inside at work. The cemetery was pretty good compared to that. The sky was blue with just a few puffy white clouds, the cemetery grounds were mowed. It was a pretty place, polka-dotted with flower arrangements here and there.

One Cat to Go

Well, yesterday one of my two remaining farm cats died. I don't know what she died of, but she didn't have any marks on her when I found her. We've been pretty lucky with this last batch of farm cats. We've had them for something like 7 or 8 years. The usual life expectancy of a farm cat here is about two years. After that, they either run off or get killed. They disappear either way. I did have two cats once that disappeared for months, we figured they were dead. But they showed up again. They were named Jim and Andre after tennis players Jim Courier and Andre Agassi. This cat who just died yesterday had two names: Her christened name was Lady. But she was mean when we got her so I renamed her Satan.

This passing wasn't as traumatic as Phoebe's. I'm not that attached to the cats.

So, now I have one cat left, Lapcat. She's a sweetheart. I don't think she's much of a hunter and I don't think she roams all that much. I might be keeping her for a while.

Screwed By Blogger

Monday night everything was fine. I could post on my blogs and life was good. Tuesday after work, I discovered that the not so fine folks at Blogger had migrated all my blogs to what they call ‘new blogger’, supposedly a better form of blogger that offers new features. Well, I tried to log into blogger using my blogger username and password - nothing. Tried logging into new blogger with my google account name and password - again nothing. I was redirected to the blogger help site. What kind of help did I get? Canned how to articles that did nothing but lead me around in circles. Then I clicked on every option available to try to contact an actual employee of blogger, but it took me over an hour to find a form to complete to submit to them. And it wasn’t a ‘report a problem’ form. I went to the google help group and found that many, many others were suffering from the same problem I had. Did google employees help us? One employee posted the same canned answer that we found at blogger help. And he said ‘if this doesn’t work then contact us directly at (insert website). This kind of thing may be best solved on an individual basis.” Well, when you click on that website link, it takes you back to the page where I clicked everything I could to try to find a ‘help me’ form to fill out. After all this, I posted my own comment on the google help group website detailing every step I had taken. I wrote everything down and did it three or four times so I know what I tried and what I didn’t. To date no google tech support person has responded to anyone on that forum that has the same problem I did. Finally, some other blogger supplied the answer and it involved tinkering with the address of a link that blogger supplies us when we ask to retrieve our passwords. Basically, that link that we got when we asked to retrieve our passwords was reading our usernames as Case Sensitive, but when Blogger tried to find our accounts, it was not reading our usernames as Case Sensitive so it wouldn’t recognize us. That is a programming problem that blogger and google tech support are just too lazy to fix. So, instead, they let their customers flounder in frustration.

Bottom line: Blogger/Google Tech support is not serving the customers. They would rather spend their time making money in corporate mergers and stock options, lying to investors by saying that Google is a good company that provides valuable goods and services to the public when in actuality they ignore the customers and do not service their products to the satisfaction of the end users. Or, they are goofing off in a lax workplace in which productivity is not emphasized, but playing with toys is. Word to investors - if the tech support won’t help the people the company serves, then the company doesn’t care about you either. Sell your stock and invest your money in money market accounts or IRAs or Certificates of Deposit. You’d be better off.

Half of the News

On the local news tonight, they said that a couple from my small town ended up in a hospital because inside their plastic magazine cover of a magazine they got in the mail was unidentified white powder. The news reporter didn't report the names of the people, which I could live without. But it would have been nice to know what magazine they had gotten. I got a magazine today in a plastic cover. I doubt theirs was Wizard, the comic book magazine that I have a subscription to. But still, it would have been nice to know what magazine they got in the mail.

Doggie Toys

I ordered some doggie toys from www.dog.com earlier in the week. I got them today. They looked a lot smaller in the catalog. But they are cute. I have to cut the tags off of them and get them ready for the puppies.

Puppy Update

I went to see the puppies tonight after work. I was worried that the woman wouldn't know which puppies were mine since she didn't remember who I was when I called her this morning to ask to come see the puppies. But when I got there she went right to the correct puppies. They are bigger, but they are still sleeping a lot. And they are getting more brown on their noses and eye brows and paws. They are going to be really cute. And I found out a little about the mother of the short haired one. She is 7 years old and has had 6 litters of puppies. To put this into perspective, Twila at work is one of 9 children - I don't think there were any twins or triplets in that family so some people and this dog have a lot in common. But 6 litters are all this dog's going to have. This last litter, the first puppy that was to have been born got stuck and the seller had to take the mama dog all the way to the animal hospital 50 miles away at midnight to have a C section done. She lost that first little puppy because it smothered, but the others were all right. The seller decided to just go ahead and have the mama dog spayed while she was there at the hospital. The seller said that it cost her $562.00. That was the first time she'd ever had trouble with that dog.

The seller had a lot of dogs out in the yard when I got there. A little longhaired Chihuahua, a boxer, a Pomeranian, and I think it was a min-pin, but could have been another Chihuahua - they look alike. And the seller had her two grandkids too. A girl and a boy. And what was the seller watching on TV? Animal planet of course. I sat down on the couch with my two little puppies and the Pomeranian climbed all over me and kissed me and wanted a lot of attention. Now I know where Fritz gets it. He's half pom, half miniature collie. The kids were typical kids. The seller is doing something with eggs in water. I think she put some kind of seed in them and they are going to sprout. Anyway, the girl brought the can over to me to show me and she pulled out one of the eggs and dripped water all over me. Then the kids settled down for all of a few minutes and the seller asked them "where's your mama at?" And the girl said "mom's not coming back." LOLOLOL. Actually mom was at the grocery store. The seller called her to find out and to tell her to get her butt there. I left before meeting the mom, but I think I passed her as I was pulling out of the drive way.

I think I could get used to that little Pomeranian. My uncle said he'd give me his pom when he was done with her. I hope that doesn't mean when he's dead. That's not fun to think about. But if I have room when he's ready to give her away, I might take her if she's as happy go lucky as that one was. I've never met his dog.

Public Service

I just saw a headline on google news that said Barack Obama isn't interested in the Vice Presidency. That rubs me the wrong way. How can he say he wants to work for America and do good things for Americans but only if he's President? If he's a public servant and if he wants to help America, then he should be willing to accept any door that opens to him that would provide him with an opportunity to serve America. Sounds a bit elitist to me.

.... For Dummies

Mom bought a Chihuahuas For Dummies Book online and let me take it home today to read. That was so sweet of her.

PUPPIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In five weeks I'm bringing home two cute female puppies!!!! One is a short haired white with black spots and a little bit of brown and the other one is a longhaired white with black spots. I'm so excited. I hope the lady remember those are mine and doesn't try to sell them again. LOL. She said I'm welcome to call her and come see the puppies anytime before they are ready to go so I will probably go see them again just so she remembers that they are mine.

As for the lady and her business - she sells all kinds of dogs. She had schnauzers, poodles, yorkies, Boston terriers, Pomeranians, weiner dogs, min pins, and boxers. She had a bunch of dogs in the house but she also had two outbuildings with dogs in them. I only got to see inside one of the buildings. The house smelled clean and the two puppies I picked came from the house. The building that had other Chihuahuas in it smelled, but so does my house with its 30 year old carpet so I wasn't too worried about that. She had 4 litters of Boston terriers. She said that they all decided to get pregnant at the same time. Heehee. She had a really adorable 2 1/2 pound chi female but I was afraid Fritz would jump on her by accident and hurt her. She would wag her tail and kiss me all over. Then the woman had one female with a medical problem - part of her intestine was bulging. She said surgery to fix it was about $200.00 so she would sell that one for about $150.00 but I didn't want to start out with a challenge. I wanted healthy puppies to start with. Dad though said I should have gotten that one. The building I was in where I saw the terriers and poodles and some of the Chihuahuas was built with little doggie doors so the dogs could go out and play in a fenced yard. It was warm in there too.

Tomorrow is.....

Tomorrow is Puppy Day!!! I can't wait. I'll be up at 5am anyway to feed the dogs and let them out and then to go to the grocery store. But after that, I will have a hard time waiting around for a decent time to go see the puppies.

I've been trying to find out from the web if I can bring home a male puppy and Fritz won't fight him. I think as long as the new dogs are puppies, the resident dogs will accept new dogs into the home either male or female. I need to read some more on the web and see what I can find out. If I have to get a male, then I'll get one and Fritz will just have to adjust. It's not like the puppy would be a cat or anything. Fritz really hates it when the cats are in the house. He tries to eat them.

This Will Be a Bad Year

So far this week, I have pulled 5 ticks off just one of my dogs. I think last year, I may have seen 5 ticks total.

Too Early For This

I pulled two ticks off of Fritz today. It's way too early to be thinking about ticks. Global warming is real, no matter what the Republicans say.

Saturday is Too Far Away

Mom called the dog lady and she has puppies. Dad and I are going to go look at them on Saturday. But mom said the lady was flighty and so we don't really know how many females she has or how old they are. Hopefully, I will be able to put deposits on two females and I will then soon have new puppies in my family.

Weekend Notes

Let's see - what's been going on this weekend? Yesterday, I got up at 5am, as usual, and fed the dogs and cats, washed my hair and got ready and went shopping at Krogers and Walmart. I like this shopping early thing. I was home by 8am. I bought some green spray paint to paint the metal glider I have here at the house, but it started raining and it's been raining pretty much all weekend so I didn't get to do any painting. I did work out yesterday but I also ate both pop tarts that come in the package, not just one like I normally do. So, I don't know if I managed to do any good yesterday with the diet/exercise thing. I watched golf and tennis yesterday and today, made more low fat chili for this week's suppers (I pour it over lettuce and make taco salads), did some laundry. This morning I went to mom and dad's and took their mail, the newspapers, and dad's birthday present. His birthday is today. Then I came home and ate lunch, worked out, and while it was sunny, I went out and walked trying to get a tan. That lasted about 20 to 30 minutes, then it clouded up again. It's raining again now. I had to take the tv off the satellite and use my regular antenna. Luckily, both tennis and golf are on network stations today.

I'm getting anxious about the puppy project. I decided to wait to see what happens with this local lady whose dog is supposed to be having puppies. The lady said she would call mom or me when the puppies were born. Well, it should be any day now I think. If I don't get puppies from her, then I think I might go back to the pet store. There's another person who is selling puppies - there's a website for that person, but I don't know if there will be any females left by the time I find out if the local lady is a go or not. I will get at least one puppy from somewhere, but my parents talked me into two and I've been making plans for two.

A New Blog

Yep, I've created a new blog. This one is about Tennis. It's called Views From The Baseline. I don't know where I'll find the time to keep all the blogs going. I have a feeling it's going to be a lot of work. But check out the blog if you want to.

Update

Well, the Norton people activated the subscription thing I bought. It only serves to reinforce my belief that they never intended for me to be able to do it myself. That they bulit in that stupid error message on purpose to make me contact them so they would know that I have a real version of their product and not a pirated copy.

I weighed myself today for the first time since Feb 20th and while I fully expected to weigh a lot more than I did then since I went on an eating binge after Phoebe passed away, I was surprised to find out that I am actually 0.2 pounds less than I was then. I've been walking outside for 20 to 30 minutes a day and getting on the treadmill for a little bit longer. And I've been dieting again. Hopefully, I can lose a few more pounds. Oh, I've also been doing pilates.

I may be creating yet another blog. I've been posting entirely too much tennis stuff on my golf blog.

Another person at work asked me about how I lost all the weight. I really should write a book.

I Hate Computers

I ordered the renewal subscription thing for the norton internet security program that came with my computer. I tried to activate it and it won't let me. So, I emailed the norton people. They probably want people to email them so they can make sure people aren't stealing and copying their programs. Like I would want to do that. I don't even want the renewal thing but the stupid program keeps putting up these pop up boxes every few seconds and it's driving me nuts.

Another Sunny Day

Today was another sunny day and I was lucky enough to be off from work. I went to Mom and Dad's for a while today then came home and ate lunch. I was outside using a wire brush to scrape old peeling paint off some lawn furniture when Dad drove up. He had bought a small trailer at an auction yesterday and picked it up today. He stopped by here to get some things he needed to work on the trailer. So, I helped him with some things and then washed my car. Fritz and Steffi were out with me most of the time and they really got tuckered out. I waxed my car, which hasn't been done since sometime in 2005 and then got in a half hour of walking outside. Took a nap and walked another half hour then ate supper, fed the dogs and cats and took a bath. Oh, and I did pilates a couple of times today, trying to suck in everything.

I've been watching the Tennis Channel for two days and haven't seen Rafael Nadal once. I'm greatly disappointed.

Early to Rise

I got up at 5am as usual this morning, but this time I went to Krogers and Walmart instead of staying home on Saturday. I wanted to go really early because when traffic picks up, you can't get out of the Krogers parking lot without going a long way out of your way. At walmart I got these doggie treats that have joint maintenance stuff in them. I figure it will be easier to give those to Steffi rather than pills. And she ate the first one just fine.

I got home and tried to take a nap, but didn't fall asleep. So, I got up and ate lunch (taco salad made with low fat ground turkey breast and baked tortilla chips and reduced fat grated cheese), and went outside and walked for about 50 minutes. Then I took another nap and this one included sleep. I ate supper and then went out and walked a little bit more and raked up some leaves. The dogs have been worn out with all this going outside business, but I'm taking advantage of the good weather. We've been cold and snowy for months. It's about time we get some warm air and sun.

Steffi

A few years ago, Steffi had an operation on her hind leg to repair what the vet said was like an athlete's torn ACL. In the last few days I've noticed that this leg is swollen. She's still using it and doesn't act like it hurts any. I'm guessing this is just arthritis. She will be 15 years old this summer.

YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hostess 100 calorie cupcake snack packs. Very, very good.

Nice, Sunny and Warm

I went outside to walk tonight. There are no flowers out there yet to attract the bees, which means no bees to swarm around my hair.

Today Show

I just saw a piece on the Today Show about the controversial 'Tomb of Jesus' documentary. There was a representative of the Catholic church on the show. This man spent the whole time yelling at Meredith Viera. He said that every year around Easter time something comes out to try to discredit the biblical story of Jesus. Well, he should be used to it by now then and not be so angry. There was absolutely no reason for this man to yell like he did. Meredith didn't produce the documentary, neither did the Agnostic guy they had on there sitting next to the yeller.

Pet Food Recall

Found this at yahoo news:

WASHINGTON - A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths.

An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said.

"At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul Henderson, the company's president and chief executive officer. However, the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.

The recall covers the company's "cuts and gravy" style food, which consists of chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches between Dec. 3 and March 6 throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The pet food was sold by stores operated by the Kroger Company, Safeway Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and PetSmart Inc., among others, Henderson said.

Here's a list of the stores that have the affected foods:
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/

New Shopping Experience

Our new Walmart Supercenter just opened on Wednesday. I got to go see it this morning before work. It's nice. They say that if you walk around the inside perimeter of the store, you'll have walked a whole mile. If I can do that each work morning then that's extra exercise for me. I'm usually in walmart every work day morning for something or other. I'll probably go back tomorrow morning to look at more things and then on Saturday I'll do some real shopping. I've written down the prices I pay for things at Krogers and I'm going to compare. I think they made a mistake though by putting in a game room. It will only encourage the hoodlums to hang around there harrassing people.

I got the Casino Royale DVD today in the mail. I plan to watch it tonight. I would be watching golf but the Golf Channel is only featuring Tiger Woods instead of all the players in the event. So, I wouldn't enjoy watching that at all.

Weekend Work

This weekend I did some yardwork. It was warm and sunny part of the time so it made yardwork better. I took Steffi and Fritz out with me. They enjoyed it. I picked up all the tree branches that had fallen out of the trees and into the yard in the pas 5 or 6 months. Then I cleaned out the gutter that runs beside the house and removed the old peonies bushes from the flower beds. They die every year in the Fall and then come up in the Spring. I'm sure most people cut back the old dead parts in the Fall or Winter but I wait until Spring because a gardening expert on the local news said they could provide extra protection for the bulbs during the Winter. And since I don't need curb appeal because I don't have a curb, it doesn't really matter what the flower beds look like in the Winter.

I think the time change got me this time. Yesterday I only ate about 950 calories and worked out some. That's way too few calories. But I wasn't really, really hungry or anything. This morning I woke up and just wanted to go back to sleep, when usually I'm pretty much awake when the alarm goes off. Then I developed a headache and was just dragging around all day. I ate extra tonight to see if that would make me feel a little better. And although I had intended to work out tonight, I thought I'd better just take it easy. I may go to bed a little earlier tonight. Josh Bernstein's Digging for the Truth tonight is about mummies, and I really don't want to watch a show about dead bodies.

Oh, and starting out for work at 7;30am when it's really really really dark outside is horrible. They shouldn't have started daylight savings time three weeks early. I can just imagine how many kids got hit by cars this morning standing around in the dark waiting for the school bus. And all this was done so the oil companies could make even more money. Seriously, I saw it on the news that the impact of having more daylight in the evenings is that people will drive longer and farther and use more gasoline. Forget what they tell you about conserving energy by not having to turn the lights on until an hour later at night. It isn't what time the clock says it is, it's when people start their day. And I start mine at 5 am. Which means last week I had lights on until about 6:30am and then around 7-7:30am I went to work. I got home and didn't have to turn the lights on until about 5pm. Today, I had the lights on until I left for work around 7:30 am and then I turned them on after work around 6- 6-30 pm. So, for the hour to hour and a half I gained in the evening, I spent an hour in the morning with lights on. Kind of cancels itself out which pretty much means that Daylight Savings Time doesn't really save anything.

Wait a Minute Mr. Postman......

Soon to be arriving in my mailbox:

The Casino Royale 2 disc dvd

ThePretender Movies

I can't wait to get them.

Update on the Crooks

I called the insurance people. They told me I had 50,000 of coverage. But the policy they sent me in December said 10,000. They also acted like my bank was still involved in all of this when they aren't. They also told me the 16.50 I've paid for the last 7 years has been added to the value of the 50,000 policy. They never told me that before. I still canceled it. If I want life insurance I'll go to an insurance agency and pay more but actually know what it covers.

Crooks

When I first opened my checking account back in 1998, the bank offered a program that for a small monthly fee would provide things like notary services, insurance etc. I signed up for it back then because Dad said it was a good idea. Well, last fall, the bank informed its customers that it would no longer offer these services and the company that offers the insurance would send the customers a separate mailing and the customers could opt to cancel the insurance or continue. Well, I submitted a form to them in December telling them to cancel the insurance. Guess what I found today - the crooks are still taking money out of my account.

I'm going to call them tomorrow and they won't be a bit happy to hear from me because I'm not a bit happy with them.

Hard to Spend Money

I never thought it would be so hard to spend $10.00. I signed up with the google checkout thing and I got a $10.00 gift certificate/bonus that would apply to my first order of $10.00 or more before shipping and taxes apply. Well, I've been trying to find things to buy but either the price would be more than I wanted to spend with the credit or they were under $10.00 to begin with. But, I finally found something to buy. Gary Allan, country singer, has finally, I emphasize finally, come out with a greatest hits cd. Walmart.com had it for $9.72 but I found it at CD Universe for $11.16. I ended up only paying about $4.15 after the credit was applied. So, I'm happy.

A Plea

Please, World, Stop naming chihuahuas after mexican foods!!! No more Tacos and Chalupas! I was checking out the local animal shelter website and they have two chihuahua mixed breeds, they are named Taco and Chalupa. That is not cute. That is not clever.

On a different note, one of the chihuahuas at the shelter is a male and the other one is a 2 year old female. They don't mention of the female is housebroken. They say she's used to a leash. I don't think Steffi and Fritz would accept a 2 year old.

Yuck

A woman at work talked me into getting some watermelon to eat. Bad decision on my part. I knew there was a reason I don't eat watermelon. But I think I'll have to eat it anyway. I paid $3.00 for it.

I got some apples too. I don't mind eating those.

I Knew It

When Doctor Who first came to the Sci Fi channel I said that I would come to love Eccleston's Doctor and really really hate it when the new Doctor showed up. And guess what - I was right. I deliberately didn't watch much of that first season for this specific reason, but I did just now see the last half hour of the final episode of the first season. Eccleston's Doctor kissed Rose and everything and then changed. Bah!

I'm going to have to read about a dozen romance novels to get back that happy ending feeling that this episode stole away.

A Very Hard Week

This has been a very hard week, dealing with Phoebe's passing. I had no desire to get on the treadmill at all this week but I did stick to my diet until Thursday. Hopefully, I will get back on track there Monday. Not doing it tomorrow because golf is on practically all day so I'll be watching that. I've also been hugging one of my stuffed animals at night when sleeping. At least the dogs don't sleep with me. That would be just totally unbearable if I had to deal with not having her there anymore.

Today I did a lot of cleaning. I vacuumed the dining room and living room and then cleaned the carpet. After that, I sprinkled borax into the carpet as a preventative anti-flea measure. I cleaned out a closet so I could have more room and moved some junk out of the living room. I need to do dishes but haven't made it to that yet. My hands have been dry and cracked this week and I don't really know why. It's been warmer than usual so they shouldn't have gotten any worse. I still put lotion on them every night when I go to bed.

Last night I did my laundry and took apart the carpet cleaning machine to pick out all the carpet pieces. The machine is kind of old and one of the gaskets is broken but it still works so I'm not buying a new one yet.

I've been brushing Fritz lately. For a while I didn't and he's got a ton of hair. The winter coat.

As for the future, I have written a want ad to put in the local buy/sell/trade papers and on the local buy/sell/trade radio program. I've decided that I want a local chihuahua puppy so my ad specifies preferably my home county. I think it's a good idea to stay local. Vets from some county far, far away from me may be used to seeing certain ailments in all the dogs they treat, but vets in my county may not see those ailments and might end up mis-diagnosing the puppy. So, if I stick with a local puppy, I think the vets will be better able to treat her more effectively. I am on a call list with a lady in the county. She had an ad in the paper for a female puppy for sale but by the time mom called, it had already been sold. But the lady said she had another dog who was three weeks along so mom gave the woman my number and hers so she can call us when the dog has her puppies. The bad part is that if I have to go with her, it will probably be June before I get a puppy. So, I'm still looking but I'm really hoping that at least I can get a puppy from her. Dad told mom I should get two puppies instead of one. So, I agreed even though the puppy pad training will be a circus I'm sure. Mom told dad that I had decided to get two and he acted surprised. She said "You're the one who gave her the idea." LOL. Anyway, now Dad says that if I'm going to get two, I should get a male and a female and then I can have puppies of my own. But I don't think Fritz will get along with a male and I don't want to try to housebreak a male puppy. So, I told Mom and Dad that I'll get the two female puppies and they can have the male puppy. I'll bring my girls to their house for the 'romance'.

I do think with the new puppies I'm going to be one of those mothers you see on 20/20 who take their kids to the doctor every day and believe that the kids are sick even when they aren't. I think I might take the puppies to the vet every three months just to have every test run to make sure nothing's wrong with them. And every time they sneeze, or cough, or spit up, they are going to the vet. Even if I have to get my parents to take them while I'm at work.

In Memoriam

Today is a very sad day for me. My beloved Phoebe passed away early this morning.

She had very stinky runny poo Friday and the day before and Saturday she threw up all the food she ate, threw up all the water she drank, and this is the bad part, expelled a ton of very stinky blood instead of poo. I called the vet's emergency number and took her in last night. He gave her two shots, put an iv in her (but I think all of it ran back out when he pulled the needle out) and he gave me pills and liquid for her to take. The vet didn't give me a diagnosis, but Polly says it sounded like Parvo, even though Phoebe had been vaccinated. Phoebe's symptoms were consistent with Parvo, according to the websites I've visited. He did say she had a small fever. And there looked to be some kind of pus or infection gathering around her butt before she expelled another big puddle of blood at the vet's office. He asked about people food and I don't give her any. He asked about plants, and I try to keep all the plants picked up and out of the way. I can't help it if a leaf gets tracked in from outside. Fritz is always bringing in twigs stuck in his hair. She eats worse than that when we go for walks, which we haven't done in months because of the cold weather. And then he asked about my other dogs and neither of them are sick. I did give her part of a Chicken Jerky treat Friday night, but she had eaten those before and had not had any problems. It did have the potential for sharp edges that might have nicked her intestine like chicken bones would, but as she was sick with the runny poo before I gave her the treat, I don't think it was a major contributor. If you'll recall, I've posted here other times that Phoebe had been sick with runny poo and vomiting. I believe that this was some recurring virus or bacteria that just finally wouldn't go away.

I got up at 3am this morning and checked on her and she wasn't moving, her breathing was very shallow and she was very cold. I covered her with a small blanket and talked to her and petted her for a while. With all the blood loss, her passing wasn't unexpected, but that doesn't make it any less painful for me and my parents. I called mom and dad this morning and told them and I think mom had to put her oxygen on. I knew it would hard for her because she was really attached to Phoebe. She said Phoebe was full of life, the way she would run through the house and go to the bedroom to wake up her grandpa and that Phoebe was really smart in that she would come and tell us when she had used her puppy pads. I think Phoebe's passing is probably hardest on Mom because she didn't see how sick Phoebe was like Dad and I did. The last time Mom saw Phoebe was last week when she went for her weekly visit.

I am planning to bury Phoebe with her favorite squeaky toy and her stuffed cat and her jingle bell collar. She slept with a bunny and I plan to keep it and some other things of hers in a keepsake box. I'm printing out the Christmas pictures now to put in the photo album.

I do plan to get another dog. I don't know when. It will be tough for me and my parents for a while, and when I do get another puppy, I would hope that Mom and Dad would dogsit for me again like they did when I first got Phoebe.

Still Cold and More Snow Expected

Another yucky storm comes in Monday and lasts through part of Wednesday. It's supposed to be part rain, part sleet, part ice and part snow. I hope we get all rain, but the forecast is calling for inches and inches of snow. Granted, we aren't getting anywhere near what upstate New York is getting, but the difference is, we aren't supposed to. Those folks in New York are more used to snow than we are around here. One of these days, I'm moving to a warmer place. Maybe someday I'll take the house money I have saved and go to Grad School, then try to get a better job that will take me to warmer town. But, I don't know if I have that kind of initiative now.

I ate the turkey sloppy joes and made some more today for this week's dinners. It was pretty good. I think the store brand sloppy joe sauce is different from Manwich. I used Manwich today and it didn't sting my eyes with massive use of peppers.

I also worked out for about an hour yesterday and today, burning over 400 calories each day. And today I skipped the two snacks that I usually eat between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner. I was at mom and dad's and missed the mid-morning snack, and then I took a nap in the afternoon and missed the afternoon snack. The Digging For the Truth dvds are working out pretty well for treadmill viewing.

Speaking of mom and dad, I took Phoebe there for her weekly trip. After a while she just started crying and whining and nothing made her happy. I guess she either missed sleeping with Steffi in the chair or she missed her squeaky toy. Dad said I was starving him by telling him to eat 2000 calories a day. Gee, I'd like to starve on 2000 calories a day. I told him he wasn't starving and he said he wasn't allowed to eat what he wanted. Well, neither am I. I found some example menus on the internet and emailed them to Mom so they can get some ideas about what he can eat. I think he's eating corn flakes with water and pop tarts. It's probably the grumpy old man sydrome. He can't do what he wants and eat all the bad foods, so he's deliberately eating the weird not-so-good foods. Maybe he should do the weightwatchers points system since that's supposed to let you eat what you want, just not a lot of it.

The local Krogers grocery store has a clearance aisle in which they are trying to get rid of stuff that isn't selling - preparing for when the new Walmart Supercenter opens. Yesterday, I found some lavender bath stuff from the Healing Garden on clearance for something like $6.00 off. So, I'm going to try that tonight and see what happens. Lavender is supposed to be good for relieving stress I think.

Snow Sucks

We got about 4 inches of snow here last night. It took me about 2 and a half hours to shovel the driveway today and that was with help. Dad came up and helped me.

I got the Digging For the Truth DVDs that I ordered from amazon. That was fast. It was about three days. I picked the free supersaver shipping.

Cold, cold, cold

It's supposed to get really cold these next few nights and days. I hope the cats will be ok out there. I would let them in, but they won't stay. They will stay for a while and then want outside again. Plus, if Fritz knows the cats are in the family room, he will bark and scratch at the door. I also hope my water doesn't freeze.

Today, I washed the couch cover. I also took my two Sunday naps. I made ground turkey breast sloppy joes. I don't know if it will taste good since I still have meatloaf to eat. But at some point this week, I will start on the sloppy joes.

I got out my checkbook and bank statements to balance my check book. I hadn't done that for about three months. I had much of it all written down, but getting the running balance I always leave for when it becomes a big enough job for me to do. I did notice that my ISP didn't take December's payment until sometime in January. Usually they take the money at some point in the month in which it's due. But they didn't take any money in December.

Still Hating Snow

We had snow Thursday night and Friday. I had Friday off so that wasn's that big of a problem. I took the broom and swept the snow off the driveway, except for the places where tires had packed the snow into ice. This morning, I woke up to more snow on the driveway. At least it wasn't that much and we had good sunshine to melt a lot of it. I still took the broom out and swept what I could. Finally, around 2pm I was able to take Phoebe up to my parents' house for her weekly trip. Plus, I wanted mom to cut my hair and I had some of their mail to deliver. Well, now we are in for really cold temperatures. They are talking about zero and below zero with wind chill. The worry now is that my water pipes will freeze.

I brought the cats in for a little while this morning. But they didn't want to stay in. This evening Lapcat came in for a little while and Phoebe ran circles around her. I don't know if Phoebe was playing or trying to figure out how to fight. Lapcat had just a brief moment of possible chasing and then did what any cat would - laid down and rolled around on her back. Mom said Lapcat thought Phoebe was the biggest mouse she'd ever seen. LOL.

Tomorrow I will hopefully make the ground turkey breast sloppy joes. Well, the sauce anyway. I plan to freeze the sauce in 8 ounce gladware/ziploc bowls. That will help me to control portion sizes.

There's not much at all on tv tonight. I've got the dish on the Tennis Channel watching a match in Chile. The players are cute, but the Spanish guy is getting beat by the hometown favorite.

Dad said today that I was making him eat 2200 calories a day. I'm not making him eat anything. But I'm glad he's eating. I told mom about my meatloaf in the muffin pan experience. She said she would be worried about the grease bubbling out into the oven. So, I pointed out that with ground turkey breast, there is no grease - and no shrinkage of the food in the pan like you get in regular beef meatloaf. Mom's even watching the calories she's eating. She's trying to stay around 1400-1500 a day. That's probably the right amount for her. It would be nice if I could get them away from the hot dogs, sausage and hamburger, but we have a whole freezer full of hamburger and pork so I don't think that's going to happen.

I watched Nashville Star again today. I must have missed all of Whitney's good performances because from what I heard today, I don't know how she's been on the show for as long as she has. The men seem stronger contenders than the women this year. I also watched American Idol Rewind which featured the first season. I could clearly see that the judging has gotten increasingly tougher each season. I don't think some of the top 20 or 30 would have made it that far if they were auditioning for season 4 or5 or 6. And it seemed to me that the judges were just as mean on that rewind show as they have been this season. I don't think that's changed any despite what the media wants to say.

I Hate Snow!!!

Well, I went to the bank and walmart around 12:30pm today. It was still snowing and even though some had melted, it had been snowing so hard that the driveway was getting covered up again. By the time I got back at around 2pm, the driveway had about an inch and a half of snow on it. Some places had melted out, but there was still plenty of snow to cause me to slide around. And it didn't help that me and the mail man had both driven over the snow and packed it down into ice. So, I unloaded my groceries, got on my snow boots, hat, jacket and gloves, and shoveled the driveway. I was out nearly two hours doing that so I figure I must have burned the 300 calories a day I want to spend on my diet/exercise program.

In the next few days it's supposed to get down to zero degrees without wind chill factored in. I hope it doesn't snow on top of that. If I have to park my car at the main road and walk, I don't want to walk in zero degree weather. I bought some cat litter and cat pan liners in case I decide to bring the cats inside during the really cold nights. They can usually find warm places around the farm to crawl into to stay warm at night. We have old hay mangers, and boxes with blankets all over the place and all kinds of nooks and crannies for the cats to sleep in.

I got the Celtic Woman A New Journey dvd and cd that I pre-ordered. I haven't played them yet, but it doesn't look like there's much on tonight on tv, so maybe I'll check them out.

Yummy

I baked the soda cake tonight and tried a piece of it. It was warm, chocolatey and gooey. I used a sheetcake pan and only baked it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. If it's cut into 12 pieces, then there are about 180 calories in one serving, but since I used a sheetcake pan, I cut it into 24 pieces, halving the calories. I put the whole thing into the freezer to make it easier to get out of the pan and into ziploc bags.

It turns out I might actually be able to go out tomorrow. I would really like to get to the bank and get some money. I'll just have to wait and see what the weather does tonight and tomorrow. This morning, there was about 3/4 of an inch of snow on my steep driveway. I inched down the driveway in the car this morning and then drove a very slow 50 mph on the interstate to get to work. All the snow had melted away by afternoon. But don't let that fool you, it was still about 35 degrees out. Way too cold for me.

It's freezing!

I hate winter. And it's going to snow tomorrow and into Friday. At least I have friday off.

I have been losing about 2 pounds a week on my diet and exercise program. I didn't work out tonight because I went to the store.

I dug out my mom's old humidifier and I have it on in the living room. We only ever used it a couple of times. I think I know why. It shoots out cold water and it's loud. But I'm hoping it helps my headache, my stuffy nose, and the static in my hair. But I have a suspicion that my headache comes from the need for sleep. By Thursday I am usually dead tired and I tend to get headaches.

I read in a magazine that you can replace the eggs, oil and water in a standard box cake mix recipe with a 12 ounce can of soda. I'm going to try it with diet soda. Wonder how it will work. My mom says she's going to try it too.

It's Melting, It's melting

The snow melted and I was able to drive up the driveway tonight. It looked like someone took a snow blade to the driveway. It can't be that a neighbor felt chivalrous and decided to help a girl out. My bet is someone got a new toy for their 4 wheeler and had to try it out.

I got the travel dvds I ordered so I'm ready to watch them when I get on the treadmill next. I'm not on the treadmill tonight because my back is a little sore from all the shoveling yesterday. I figure I should rest another day and then get back to working out tomorrow.

I went shopping this morning at walmart and tonight at krogers to buy stuff I might need if I get snowed in again. Especially, I wanted to make sure I had enough dog and cat food.

I Hate Snow!!!

We got about four inches total here today. After the first three fell, I went out and shoveled much of my quarter of a mile long driveway. I was so sore and tired after that that I couldn't do the whole driveway. Plus, it was still snowing while I was out, so what part of the driveway I cleared was quickly covered over again. But I figured that it would be much easier for the upper 30s temperatures to melt off one ince rather than 4. I still don't think I'll be able to drive up the drive way tomorrow after work. Wednesday is supposed to be another day in the upper 30s or low 40s so maybe I'll be able to bring my car to the house. I parked it at the main road on Saturday in anticipation of the snow. Hopefully, I'll be able to go to the grocery store on Wednesday and bring the groceries in by car instead of carrying groceries up the driveway. I sent an email to mom telling her that if dad got bored tomorrow he could come up and work on the driveway. Interestingly, she didn't email me back. LOL.

Hillary's Running for President

I'm excited to hear that Hillary Clinton is running for President. Everyone expects the big contest to be between her and Obama. Personally, I would choose Hillary because she has more experience in politics and international relations. I mean really, we've seen what having no experience on the world stage has gotten us - Iraq, North Korea, Iran. The question is, will the American voting public vote for experience or for star quality. Even John McCain hasn't spent 8 years in the White House like Hillary has. Plus, with Bill Clinton buddying up with Bush Senior, I think it adds more credibility to another Clinton White House.

Nashville Star

The new season has begun and apparently I've missed a few episodes. I watched it this morning at mom and dad's house and they were down to 6 or 7. I have one comment on the show so far: Randy Owen of the band Alabama told this one girl that the song she sang - he'd never heard it before and that it was horrible. The song she sang is one that Alison Krauss does and does really well. Judges should be some kind of expert in the music industry. Knowing only the songs that are overplayed on the radio doesn't make you an expert. Randy Owen should either get an education on all types of genres included in the category of country music or not show up next week. At least the American Idol judges, for the most part, act like they've heard the song before. And most of the time, they have heard the songs before. Even Simon from England. Maybe we need to get Bono to judge Nashville Star. He's probably heard of Alison Krauss.

Finally

I finally got the books I ordered from walmart.com. Haven't sent the complaint email yet.

Went to mom and dad's today. Mom tells me that dad walks off every calorie he ingests because he thinks that will make him lose weight. I explained to him that he has destroyed his metabolism by doing that and his body will hold on to every ounce he has because it thinks it's starving. Mom says now that dad is thinking of eating some calories that he won't work off. That's good.

I worked out today. Did a little extra since I missed two days this week.

I parked my car at the main road today, anticipating some snow accumulation between now and Monday morning. The latest weather forecast I saw on the web says it should stay above freezing so the driveway should theoretically stay pretty clear, but who knows what the weather will really do.

Australian Open Tennis

I just read an interview someone conducted with Rafael Nadal after his second round match. Apparently, the guy playing Nadal hit at him twice, once it caught Nadal's finger and the other time it caught his racquet instead of hitting him. That's something I've never understood about tennis. If the object is to keep the ball from coming back across the net to you, then why do the players regularly hit the ball to the other player? Why not hit away from the player and make the player run? I don't think these two incidents in this match were accidents. Players of that caliber can play without hitting each other with the ball. But Nadal won so neener, neener as they say to the other guy.

Hodgepodge

Mom and Dad got their well fixed. It was a leak or a wire or something, not too expensive.

It's been cold lately and I hear we're getting some serious snow Sunday, Monday and possibly Tuesday. I'm taking my weekly trip to mom and dad's tomorrow instead of Sunday.

I ordered some books from Walmart.com on the 6th. Walmart.com said I would get them between the 11th and 15th. Well, it's the 19th and they are in Cincinnati. Walmart first used UPS and then UPS passed the package on to the US Postal Service. According to the tracking info, these books sat in Philadelphia from the 9th to the 19th. I'm not happy at all with this shipping procedure. I will probably try to buy stuff from other online retailers in the future. After I send Walmart an email telling them how disappointed I am in their shipping procedures. It's not like Walmart didn't send the books out until two weeks after I placed the order, but they did choose the shipping people. They need to know if customers aren't satisfied with the service their shipping people are providing.

American Idol - I'm watching the audition shows. I will probably stop watching once the welcome to Hollywood shows start and then pick it up again when they get down to the last 4 or 5. Like I did last year. I think Simon is mellowing a little. Sure he made the 'bush baby' comment, but on the whole, he isn't as mean as he has been in the past. I think he's getting tired of the show. I know a lot of people like watching the bad singers during the auditions, but I like to see all the good singers. I close my eyes and cover my ears when the bad ones are on. I don't like to think about what the judges will say to them, because some of the bad singers are very sincere and you know any negative comments are bound to hurt their feelings. And some of the singers the judges thought were bad, I didn't think they were that bad. The one guy who sang opera for the foster kids - he was good. American Idol isn't the competition for an opera singer, but the judges could have done more to stress that he wasn't a bad singer. And some of the singers could be decent, every day singers if they just had some lessons. There's nothing wrong with developing a decent voice to sing Happy Birthday or For He's a Jolly Good Fellow. But I think the judges are afraid to encourage anyone but the absolute best singers who audition. Now, as for the talk about Paula Abdul's much-publicized interview in which she was a bit incoherent. There could be a multitude of explanations for such an incident. Personally, I suspect that she missed a meal and was suffering from low blood sugar. Anyone that skinny can't afford to miss any meals, or any insects that may accidentally fly in your mouth while you're yawning.

Speaking of skinny, I've been sticking to the diet and exercise thing. I should have worked out tonight, but I didn't. It's hard for me to get on that treadmill on Fridays. I'm free from work for two days and I don't want to be a slave to anything, including the treadmill. I'm starting to toy with this notion that once I lose the weight again, I could just limit my fat grams to 10 per each meal and or snack. I can easily eat less for breakfast and lunch. It's supper and evening snacks where I fall off the wagon. If I limit supper to 10 fat grams and snacks 5 or so, excluding drinks (gotta have milk), then I can't put on too much weight. Especially if I work out something like three to four days a week. Think about what a 10 fat gram limit would ban: full sized candy bars, more than one slice of non-healthy choice pizza, most likely any and all doughnuts. I'll have to think more about the post weightloss plan. I didn't reall have one last year when I started gaining the weight again.

Phoebe absolutely loves the squeaky toy I got her for Christmas. She plays with it a lot and has started taking to her crate with her at night when she goes to bed. So, I figured I'd better get her a back up squeaky just in case something happens to this one. I stopped tonight at the store and bought one for her.

I got my first and second issue of my National Geographic magazine I ordered a few weeks ago. Hopefully, I will find time to read some of the longer articles. I've read some of the shorter ones and looked at the cool pictures. I always wanted to be a photojournalist for them.

I've started writing another romance novel. One of these days I will have to actually finish writing one too. LOL.

And both tennis and golf are on tv this week. The Australian Open tennis tournament is going on as well as the Abu Dhabi and Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in golf. I really need that picture in picture feature that some tvs have.

Oprah

I watched Oprah's show today and she had Bob Greene on there talking about his new diet book. Aside from knowing that I already do most of the food related rules he has in his phase 1 and 2, I thought it was interesting that at no time during the show did he stress exercise. You can't lose weight just by restricting calories. Sure, you'll lose some, but you'll end up losing muscle instead of fat.

Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink

Isn't that how the saying goes? Well, that's what my parents are experiencing right now. Dad came up today while I was lounging in bed not trying to end my morning nap and said that he and mom don't have any water. Something may be wrong with their pump. I gave them a jug of water mom got a few years ago during the big ice storm. While dad was here he cut Steffi's nails (they really needed it), took Phoebe for a walk, cleaned out my gutters, and got some meat out of the deep freezer (they have half a pig down there I think).

How can water be everywhere? Well, it's been raining for over 24 hours. Our county is under a flood warning.

As I said, I took a nap this morning. Worked out this afternoon and after watching an episode of Rick Steves' Europe, I took another nap. The diet's been going pretty well.

Another week

Well, another week has passed. Happy to have Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This week, I've done pretty well with the diet and exercise thing. Worked out Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and stayed on the diet. Thursday I was feeling really tired. Not sleepy tired, but gee I can't move my legs tired, so I didn't work out. I think part of it was not eating enough on Tuesday. Gee, never thought I would ever say that. LOL. I didn't get on the treadmill tonight, but I think I'll go do some pilates before golf comes on at 7pm.

I ordered some books with my $25.00 walmart gift card that I got from 'the piggy lords' aka my sister and brother-in-law. The books are Alias novels and the most recent Roberta Isleib Golf Mystery novel. I hope I get them soon. I think walmart is pretty slow this week. I also ordered some Globe Trekker dvds and they were just shipped yesterday. That seemed slow too but this is the first time I've ordered from them so it might be prompt service for them for all I know.

I got Phoebe a little squeaky toy from the Around the Farm store before Christmas. She loves that toy. She plays with it a lot.

Since Monday

Let's see what all's happened lately.

I emailed HP Tech support about my printer. The text wasn't printing but pictures were. They tried to help but I think ultimately, the problem is my black ink cartridge.

I finally took down my Christmas Tree today. Phoebe got to go for a walk today. I'm cooking a turkey for Steffi and tomorrow I'm going to have to cook for me.

Tuesday and Wednesday I got on the treadmill and stuck to my diet. Thursday and Friday were golf tv days so I didn't get to work out.

I spent some money a little while ago on internet shopping. I got the $25.00 gift card from my sister and brother in law so I ordered some books with it, then I ordered some Globetrekker dvds using my prepaid credit card. They are really good dvds to play when I'm on the treadmill.

Yesterday I got to see some of the Matt Lauer Anniversary celebration on the Today Show. That was pretty good.

Golf season has begun in America and I'll be spending a lot of time posting on my Even Par Round blog.

Christmas Part 2

Christmas Part 2 at my parents' house was pretty good. The kids and my brother-in-law got there around noon or a little earlier. We opened presents. The kids played with theirs and the adults put in batteries and gathered up boxes and wrapping paper and watched the kids play. I ate a bunch of cake and finished up the chocolate fudge that my parents had last week. Later we had dinner, the traditional corned beef and cabbage for New Year's Day and home made noodles because they are one of my brother-in-law's favorite foods. I only ate noodles for supper - I don't eat cabbage or corned beef. Cabbage smells and corned beef just doesn't sound appetizing. Jasmine, my niece, remembered the Petz computer game that we have and had to play it. It was on the computer my dad has in the basement so they were down there for a long while. Jasmine got cold she stayed so long. So, we finally brought that computer up to the office room and set it up. My brother-in-law is a computer guru so he could help my parents hook everything up. As for the presents I got, I got a stuffed piggy bank that makes noise and has lights. I got knitted socks with pig heads on them. And I got a gift card from walmart.

Aside from the trip to my parents' house, I also got to enjoy part of a James Bond movie marathon on one of the encore channels and I got to see the Rose Parade on HGTV. This year, they didn't talk as much about the plants as they've done in previous years. I like to hear about the materials used on the floats.

Okay, I'm watching Anthony Bourdain in New Zealand. He is giving a talk about his book in a town called Christchurch. He starts off his talk with references to pornography. It didn't go well. What part of Christ and Church did he not get? I may have to watch something else. I don't really like him that well, but it's a travel show.

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.