Gone, Gone, Gone!

Finally, we caught them! And I don’t even feel bad about it being such an inhumane way either since I did not invite them into my house in the first place. So since they were uninvited house guests who overstayed their welcome (I don’t remember sending out an invite) I am now oh so happy that they have been vacated, never to return (thanks due to the “sticky trap things” used since the poison food did not seem to work, at least not fast enough for my liking). I did have to plug my ears while hubby removed the unwanted and captured rodents all while trying to keep Buddy locked in the bedroom with me :)

I am sure Buddy is Oh so happy too, because he wasn’t a happy camper at night when they disturbed his sleep and then he couldn’t get at them! I think they reveled in that fact too.

Birthday Wishes

Twenty-six yrs ago today I gave birth to my second little bundle of joy (ok some would say not so little @ 10.2lbs, but he was .3lbs less than his brother). So long ago, but it still seems like yesterday, not sure where the time has gone, but gone it has.     Happy Birthday!

God's Little Joke?

OMG- the HEAT!

They left for awhile, it was like heaven not having them, not that I can even say when they left, it just hit me later on that I hadn’t been having any of my dreaded “tropical moments” anymore.

But I can say when they came back!!

 About 2 months ago they started up again, and this time there was no calling them “tropical moments” it’s more like “tornado minutes!” They swoop in so fast and furious, last for a few minutes, wreak as much havoc as possible in such a short time, and then take off just as fast.

You no sooner get the house temperature feeling just right, then all of a sudden your drenched in sweat (and that’s no exaggeration!) and you have to peel off whatever you can, turn on the fan, grab a glass of ice water, then ten minutes later you have to go put on something a little warmer, turn off the fan, only to repeat the procedure over again sometime during the next hour!

At bedtime I turn the fan on (pointing only at me cause I’m apparently the only one who is hot) and then sometime through the night I have to grab the blankets from the bottom of the bed (where I through them earlier cause I was too hot), fight to move the dog so I can pull them up, and then by the time I do that, and get covered up, I’m sweating again and have to throw them off again!

If this is “Gods Little Joke” I’m not laughing!

Neighbors

What gives with people? Whatever happened to showing respect for your neighbors?  I don’t think it’s asking too much to at least do the necessary things to keep things like “rodents” from taking over your property! Really, how hard is it to remember that Wednesday morning is garbage morning (ok I realize you do have to put some thought into remembering which week it is, garbage or recycle, but come on it’s not rocket science).

We had gone 25 yrs without seeing any signs of “rodents” (and by “rodents” I am not talking field mice or squirrels, no siree!!!) on our premises. Now for the last 2 yrs we have had signs of them (the dogs ritually circling the shed was a dead giveaway), the same 2 yrs that our neighbors on one side have lived there and repeatedly missed garbage days for 2 and sometimes 3 wks in a row (which because it is collected every second week means that garbage stays out on their deck for 4 to 6 wks!!). So tell me that isn’t reason enough for the buggers to find a home under our shed!

I would have continued to just shake my head at it until the other day when my hubby went to take the green bin down to the end of the driveway and a rat landed on his arm before scurrying off into my garden!!!! (Now just imagine if I had gone to take down the green bin (which I had intention to do that morning before going to work)! But it was raining so I left it….every neighbor on every side of me would have heard me, and I most likely would have been done for the day!

Now it really is going to be the “man’s” job to take out the garbage!!!!

Back In The Groove

I haven't been blogging in quite awhile (just in case anybody noticed, no, oh well then it will be as if I had never stopped then) not sure why. I could say it was because not much has happened except the same old, but that wouldn't be quite true. Maybe it's because of the fact that spring pretty much skipped us by and summer doesn't look like it wants to come and stay either and that tends to give people the "blahs" (well me anyway).

Although we had a very wet, windy and cold spring, we did manage to get a few things done, like a new load of crushed stone on the driveway (didn't have to do much for that one except dole out the $$$). Then we had some rocks pulled up out of the back yard so that the ride on mower didn't have to do so many weaves trying not to hit them every time and leaving tall grass all around them (and yes I know I could have pulled out the regular mower or the whipper snipper and gone around them, but there was a reason we got a ride on mower!).  So anyway after doing that which again didn't involve much hard labour on our part (except again the emptying of my pocket book!), but then we had to get a load of top soil to cover everything over and reseed.

Now had a woman been the one ordering and delivering the top soil things would have been much simpler all around with a lot less hard labour, however it wasn't. So instead a very large truck delivered way too much and couldn't get back in the yard with it to dump it on top of the site we dug out the rocks from,, so it got dumped just inside the fence and we had to shovel and shovel and shovel loads and loads of fill! The one saving grace was the tractor has a cart attachment that could be loaded up and driven to the spots and dumped (good thing because the top soil may still have been sitting there to this day!).

And last but by far not the least, we have started renovations on our basement (now that it is back to being our basement and not a living space for son/girlfriend and dog). At first it was going to just be a repaint job, but was convinced we needed to pull out everything and seal up water leaks so it has become a much bigger job.

• Floor has been ripped up, back to bare cement
• Wall coverings (all 3 of them!) have been removed
• Some new gyprock was put up and walls are starting to be crack filled
• Then soon we will be at the painting stage,,,, and then the new floor (ceramic tiles) will be laid after that

So maybe, hopefully it will all be done by Christmas and I can once again put my Christmas tree downstairs instead of upstairs crammed into a smaller living room. Can't wait!!!

So anyway that's what we've been up to on the labour end of things over the past few months. Although I have procrastinated with my blogging I have been busy!!!

It's The Little Things

The one thing that really burns my a** is when people in the customer service industry fail to use “common sense” when it comes to deciphering promotions. And it always seems to be the younger generation that fails to be able to use this common sense, why is that??

Case in point- Tim’s has a promotion running this week “Get a bagel for 69¢ with the purchase of a beverage”. Seems pretty simple, right? Apparently this is not so.

You can have your bagel for 69¢ so long as you have it either toasted or at least buttered, if you choose to take said bagel and toast it once you get to work (so it is hot instead of cold with congealed butter by the time you get to eat it) then you are buying in “bulk” and you will be charged the full price for said bagel (do I sound just a little peeved!).

Not a great way to start off my morning folks! And yes, I did fire off a “online comment card”!

Short Term Pain, For Long Term Gain

The prospects of what this yard upgrade is going to bring in the future is a little sullied by the prospects of what it is going to bring to us before the grass comes back! 

A Little Perspective Required

It's funny annoying how some people take the time to reach out to others in need, but those same people on the receiving end are not able to do the same for the people who are there for them. Obviously they failed  to remember that that same person offering comfort, advice and understanding is also in need of the same.

Some people need to "think" before offering their words of wisdom!

Thought for the Day

“It is not fair to ask of others
what you are not willing to do yourself.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Reject vs. Spoil

I have been so disillusioned by ALL of the Parties in Government these days, that I had decided I was not going to vote this time (especially since it is something like our 4^th or 5^th  time for an election in less than 4yrs (actually I have lost count)and because there has been absolutely nothing for the so called “middle class in any of them!

And because each time I see an ad on TV (I want to throw something at it, except for the fact that we have a fairly new flat screen, I probably would) or an article in the news I want to scream “ENOUGH ALREADY”! This acting like children and or bullies (actually I think they act worse than children ever thought of) is just such a huge turn off!

That is until I saw this commentary while watching our local news station one night last week:

A rejected ballot is a 'none of the above' option.

To make a ballot rejected simply make no mark on it. Return it blank. That's it. A jump in the number of rejected ballots will be a far more productive outcome than any vote for the status-quo parties.

Solves my dilemma quite nicely I think!  

From The DOG

I received this in an email and thought it was too cute not to pass along to other DOG  persons!

Dear God: 
  Let me give you a list of just some of the things I must  remember to be a good  Dog. 






1.  I will not eat the cats' food before they eat it or after they  throw it up. 
 2.  I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc., just because  I like the way they smell. 
 3.  The Litter Box is not a cookie jar.  
 4.  The sofa is not a 'face towel'. 
 5.  The garbage collector is not stealing our  stuff. 
 6.  I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the  toilet. 
 7.   Sticking my nose into someone's crotch is an unacceptable  way of saying 'hello'. 
 8.  I don't need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm under the  coffee table 
 9.  I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house  - not after. 
 10.  I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt  across the carpet. 
 11.  I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my  crotch. 
 12.  The cat is not a 'squeaky toy' so when I play with him and he  makes that noise, it's usually not a good  thing. 

Waging War

I am waging "WAR" again for the second year in a row! Last year was the first time we ever had a mouse in our house (yes actually in our house, invading our space! Don't they understand that their space is that vast area called the Outdoors?)

Last year we had a cat who at  least was able to notify us when the little bugger had made his way into my cupboard(not sure why but I just assume it's a he). Thank god he chose the cupboard (although chose is probably not the right word), it was the cupboard next to the kitchen sink which I believe is where he came out after climbing up the plumbing pipes from downstairs) which is the one where I keep Tupperware stuff mostly. The main reason I know we have one upstairs is because I found a pile of pink plastic shavings. After carefully moving things around I found the cover of a dish that now had little holes arranged all around the entire circumference (like

that one?).

So anyway as you can see I rushed out and purchased a multitude of wares to  wage my war! I bought a live trap so he could be put back outdoors (and that's only if someone other than me has to pick it up, cause if it's me(and I really hope it isn't) the whole thing is quickly going into the garbage can!) I also bought the snap ones cause if he is too stupid to  go into the one that could save his life, then he's left me no choice but to go the other route (and we all know what that means!)

I also bought the ones where they go in and eat poison and then eventually DIE from it! The only thing with that  is where they are when they succumb to it?? I don't really relish the thought of the resulting smell.

Image via Wikipedia

I know one thing for sure, if I happen to run into it in close quarters I am not sure which one us will be more scared!

A mouse (plural: mice) is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (Mus musculus). It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles. They are known to invade homes for food and occasionally shelter.

Ok the "popular pet" thing is beyond me, why would anyone want it as a pet, eeewwww!!

"Good things come to those who wait."

There's also that saying:

"Good things come to those who wait."

My question.
Just how long are you supposed to wait?????

Rewarded

"Getting an excellent performance review but then no raise is like being told you get dessert, then learning the dessert is celery."

I probably don't need to say much more than that. As you can probably tell I had a performance review done recently. Came across this saying in Readers Digest and thought just how appropriate it was(for me anyway!) It's not that I don't like to get good or even great performance reviews, and yes I know that some would consider the praise as reward enough, BUT STILL.....Just Saying.!

I should have just stayed home yesterday!

Image via Wikipedia

I tried to do my community duty and donate my blood yesterday (give me a pat on the back).

 I drove there (cause they no longer set up actually IN my community now due to a lovely new facility in the city) at my designated time, checked in, they did the prick your finger bit (and yes that hurts, brings tears to my eyes) only to be told “your iron level is low”.

I thought ok, they said that last time too but after doing a second check it came out ok, so let’s just check it again shall we. They did. It came out even LOWER the second time!

So it was a wasted trip, other than the fact that I learned I need to eat more green vegetables.

 They suggested an iron supplement but that just makes you constipated and then you have to take something for that, so no thanks, I will stick with increasing my greens a little bit (cause too much greens also causes you know what) and if that doesn’t work well then my blood donating days may have come to an end.

So anyway I figured since I came into the city (sounds funny since really it is only about a 20 min drive from home) I would kill another errand now that I had not filled an hr with donating my blood.

I drove over to the mall to return a digital cable box to our provider’s store. We had received a new box from them for HD Digital Recording to replace it but had to return the old box.

When I got there the nice young girl at the counter turned the receiver over and checked the serial # (what?) and said very sweetly “this is the box you own you need to return the other one you have at home”. OH COME ON, Really? I said very nicely (considering I had just driven 20 min and been turned down for my blood donation), couldn’t you just switch the serial #’s? No, we can’t do that; you’ll have to return the other one, sorry.

I should have just stayed home yesterday!

Sleeping Beauty

Poor tired baby! Had a rough day today. He was left at the groomers most of the day (so guessing he didn't get any naps in!) for his quarterly haircut.

He's definitely catching up now!

Company and Buddy

My dad came to spend the night last night, on his way back from visiting friends. I knew Buddy would be all jacked up for awhile when he first got there, trying his hardest to get to sit on his lap and lick his face. He doesn’t seem to understand that not everyone likes that sort of thing, go figure? So we left his indoor training leash on once Dad got there so we could keep him from invading Dad’s space.

After a multitude of “No Buddy”, “Down Buddy”, “Stay Buddy”, he finally resigned to just looking at him and whining.

He had a great time when I put the bed down (ok it’s not really a bed, just a futon which is ok for one person, but don’t try putting two people on it!), he thought it was meant for him to rough house on and go wild! I knew this was going to be a problem once we retired for the night….. And for sure there he was scratching at the door to get in once Dad had gone to bed. Little bugger thought that was a game too when I yelled at him to get away!

This meant we had to make sure our bedroom door was shut tight, which also meant Buddy was up then down off the bed a number of times before my “angry” voice finally settled him down.

In the morning Buddy usually likes to laze in bed until 9ish (he’s quite the lazy puppy), however because he remembered there was “company” he barked at every little noise figuring it must be Dad and that he should be allowed to go and investigate (cause that’s what dogs do isn’t it?)

And that was only one night! Now you know why we prefer not to have company too often!

And now that company is gone, guess whose catching up on his sleep!

I Don't Know About You...But...

Every morning after reading the newspaper (maybe it's time to stop) I find another headline that just makes me "cringe with anger"! For example these are just this weeks ones that ticked me off:

• Higher food prices here to stay, says economist
  
  
  "I think the prudent thing to do is to count on their grocery bills and their fuel costs climbing for quite some time yet. Because emerging markets are not going to go away," he said.
  "I think grocery bills could easily climb 10 to 15 per cent –- maybe even more -- over the course of next couple of years."

I hate , hate , hate grocery shopping at the best of times, let alone knowing that I am going to be paying that much more as time goes on. Especially hate it knowing that my pay is not going to have any increases for the same next 4 years!  No wonder so many kids and seniors are not getting their fruits and veggies!

• Kicked to the curb: HRM abandons new trash bylaw

HRM halts garbage changes

Halifax regional councillors had been preparing for a long night of debate about garbage, but a public hearing was cancelled at the last minute Tuesday.

For those of you not familiar with our local group of councillors (your not missing anything except a laugh!) they have once again hummed and hedged their way out of making a decision on something!  I really don't see what the problem is with using clear garbage bags (they said you could have 1 green one for your bathroom garbage) and a limit of 4 bags every 2 wks. The sole purpose is to get people to reduce, reuse, recycle. (People it's no biggie! You need to come down off your high horse if you ask me!)

• Voters disenchanted with ruling NDP: poll

  Nova Scotians are not happy with the NDP.
  
  However, they aren't particularly enamoured with any of the other parties either

You can definitely include me in this, I am so "disenchanted" (I voted for those idiots figuring I had no where else to go and they deserved their  chance- oh how disappointed am I!)  I am no longer going to VOTE as there is finally no where else to go.

And one last one ( I left the worst one for last)

• Cancel disgraced commissioner's cushy severance package: advocacy groups
• OTTAWA

Really, just how gullable does this government think we are? OK VERY I see.

Pancakes for Supper!

Image via Wikipedia

Mmm,Mmm,Mmmm the pancakes were nice and fluffy, the sausages and bacon nice and crunchy! Gotta love Pancake (Shrove) Tuesday! Now to figure out what to give up for the next 40 days.....

Sure Sign Of Spring

The surest way to know that spring is just around the corner; Buddy went out on Sunday and dug his first big hole in the backyard! Just as soon as a large patch of wet soggy grass showed up he went for it (little bugger)!

Sounds Easy

Wise old man once said ...There comes a time in life, when you walk away from all the DRAMA and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, FORGET the bad, and FOCUS on the good. So love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be ANYTHING but happy. Falling down is a part of life, GETTING BACK UP IS LIVING.

This was posted by someone on my facebook site, it sounds so easy, but for some it's the hardest thing in the world to accomplish.

Update - Who's in Control

It has now been 2wks since we had our one on one session with Dan and our "I'm in control" Cairn, and I am happy to report that changed the pack leader around where it should be. Ok, in part anyway! The walking part has improved 100%, when you see us walking up the roadway he is walking nicely right beside you just where he should be and we make the decision on when to stop for a p** break! Many thanks to "Dan the Dog  Father"!

We are still working on the agression, but so far it has gotten much better, we are still using the indoor leash for now (it may become a permanent fixture) to be able to make him do what we want still, but the improvements to date are a good sign (we don't mutter about making a mistake so much anymore!)

As for the "poop eating", he wins on that one! We have resigned ourselves to trying to get out there before he does to scoop up after my sons dog goes out (do you notice something wrong with this picture?) and after much discussion at the pet store on what food to go with (I think I read ingredients on 20 different brands on Saturday- I was sooo confused after the first 10 I couldn't remember which ones were the good ones and had to start all over again!) But we did decide on one with higher protein (they say that is what he is finding in the poop to add to his diet- yeah I know GROSS).

Understanding

It's hard to sit back and not be able to do anything to take away the pain and suffering from someone that you love. I am sitting here in another room while that person sits in another by himself, needing that space. I would be lying if I said that I understood, although I do my best to try. We seem to take one step forward and then all of a sudden fall 2 steps back again, that's when my understanding takes a beating.

A Dog's Life

Dogs have the life don't they? Take mine for instance, all he has to do is either put his face into yours or stand within sight and stare at you and "whimper" and you know he either wants 1 of 3 things.

• to go out and do his "business" (a better way of saying to pee or poop!)
• to have something put in his feeding dish
• or to go for a walk

Now for sure it's not always easy to decipher which whine it is, because they all sound the SAME!!
So we play the game of asking which is it and see which one gets his tail wagging... however on those days when none of them set it off, then it get's rather annoying, BIG TIME!

Then there's the days like this morning when I dragged his sleepy butt out to do his morning business before leaving for work, and the little bugger went half way down the deck and peed in the snow that had accumulated overnight!

I Think I'm Dying!

I’m dying here! Seriously! I have a full blown head and chest cold for the first time in three damn years. I probably could have gotten through this year with just the sniffles if it had not been for the fact that everyone in the household has a cold (three against one was just too much)!

I think I would rather have a broken bone than be suffering with a head cold, all that crap running down your throat because you can no longer even hold a frigging Kleenex up against your nose anymore. (I need to go buy some of those lotion ones!) Where does all that crap even come from, it’s like a running faucet from your brain!

And of course now the dry hacking cough has started, so guess who didn’t get any sleep last night? (HA! EVERYONE!) Serves them right for passing this on in the first place! I had to constantly have a cough drop in my mouth to soothe the cough. It is really hard to fall asleep while sucking on a cough drop! I haven’t quite mastered the art of sleeping and being able to move that little sucker around continually at the same time, every time I dozed off I stopped sucking on it, it just kind of settles into a corner and waits, until the coughing wakes me up again and I remember to continue to suck on it again. Over and over and over again all through the night it was like a little game of hide and seek in my mouth!

It’s definitely not a time to be seen out in public either, red rimmed and puffy eyes, red and dry scaly nose that you can’t even use anymore to breathe through, you have to keep your mouth open which causes your throat to dry out even more! The only relief for a short period of time comes from spraying shit up my nose!

Seriously a head cold has got to be THE WORST thing ever! And on top of feeling like SH@T, every damn thing I eat tastes the same! I have permanent Cherry Halls flavor in my mouth!

Everyone asks me “How are you feeling?” Really, just look at me! Do I look like CRAP, then YES that’s how I feel!

Blessed

I just needed to say that I feel blessed everyday to have him in my life, that I would be a lost soul without him to share it with!

Silent Support

It is so hard to watch someone fall, and not be able to do anything but stand back and see the anger, watch the frustration and helplessness and pray it is the only thing there (instead of broken bones, bleeding or worse). But this is what I find myself having to do, first because I’m not always there, second because I’m not always able to hold them up, third because it is not going to go away.

 I need to be strong and not let the fear in me overwhelm me to the point of being overly protective. To not let them know how afraid I am each and every time I am not there for support, whether it is home alone, out with the dog, driving the car (pretty much everything).

All parents with young tots go through this phase at different stages of their child’s progression through life, unfortunately sometimes this continues on in much later years but much earlier than would naturally be expected with age. And it remains the same, the lurching, aching helpless feeling you have in the pit of your stomach, a feeling I did not think I would continue to have once my kids had grown up.

 Little did I know that I would have that same feeling for my significant other at this stage of our lives, when we should be out there enjoying our empty nest freedom (not that I have that at this point either, but that’s another blog in itself!)

A FEW CHUCKLES I'm Passing Along

I had quite a few chuckles today after reading through an article on "HISTORICAL TRUTH" that someone at work gave me. Thought you might get a chuckle or two as well:

Most people got married in June because they took their YEARLY bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it! Hence the saying "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water"

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and the guests got the top, or "UPPER CRUST"

Image via Wikipedia

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing death by lead poisoning. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous!

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The comination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up, hence the custom of holding a "WAKE"

One on One

I talked about needing to have some extra puppy training (designed specifically for aggression). After doing some research we found a one on one trainer who comes out to your house (so cool). In reading his bio we had high hopes that we wouldn't be throwing our money away, I did not know that you could have a degree in dog training(but apparently there is).

• Canada West Canine Centre was the first school in Canada of its kind.  It is registered with the Private Post Secondary Education Commission of British Columbia.  The school teaches trainers and educates them on how to train for obedience, advanced obedience, tracking, and curing specific behavioural problems

Hubby got some much needed dog walking training, ( I love it when I'm right) so far so good (for both!) and we both got some "to do's" in the house, one of which is to keep Buddy off the furniture and our bed for a few weeks and to leave his leash on in the house when people are there for some back to basics training. BOY tonight is going to be an interesting night, betting there isn't going to be much sleep in  our room tonight!

I watched in utter amazement when our trainor brought out one of his dogs he had with him from his car, and had him sit on one side of the street while he ran over to the other side to  demonstrate something, and that pooch never moved an inch, did not even look to where he had gone, just sat and waited, oh so patiently! So cool, not that I expect anything of that enourmous feat  from our little bundle of "attitude". I'll be happy  once he knows once and for all who is BOSS!

Next step, that's if we conquer the territorial aggression first, is to investigate the "zapping" collar to get him to stop eating 'POOH"... yeah I know GROSS, EWWWW and all that!

Thought for Today

“Be nice to people on your way up
because you might meet ‘em
on your way down.”

~ John Dryden

Thought for Today

“Accept that some days you are the pigeon,
and some days you are the statue.”

~ Author Unknown

I would like a few less statue days please!

Thought for Today

“To get the rainbow,
you’ve gotta put up with the rain.”

Share the Road (on second thought) Get Off the Road!

It never fails, after the first 1-2cm of snow hit the road, you can be assured around 9 or 10 pm out come the avid ATV'ers. Never mind that we live on a very busy street, and never mind that we have no sidewalks, and oh yes never mind that it is ILLEGAL to drive on the road!

Last night on their nightly walk they were almost run over by one of those avid ATV'ers racing up the street that they shouldn't have been on  in the first place! No where to move over to because as you can see there is only a small strip of walkway to walk on without being directly on the road, and a car coming up the street as well made it not possible to move over on to the road.

I think it is a great activity when done within the proper and safe common sense rules that should be adhered to. And to top it all off, you guessed it, the driver of that ATV was an adult (as well as an IDIOT)!

Thought for Today

“Intuition
is a suspension of logic
due to impatience.”

~ Rita Mae Brown

Cute/Cuddly/ Aggressive??

This is Buddy, our 1 yr old Cairn Terrier, who looks cute and adorable here, right? Well looks can and are deceiveing! He can go from cute and adorable to very aggressive in a matter of seconds. One minute he's snuggled up close to you and the next he has either given you a heart attack barking his fool head off because he heard or saw someone moving out on the opposite side of the street even! Or of late if someone, anyone (including family) comes too close to where we are sitting in our living room he goes into "attack" mode! Not so cute and adorable then!

So after some searching we found a triainer who does one on one at your home. He thinks he can get us past this aggression phase, so here's hoping cause I am not looking forward to having to "time out" for ever!

As for the barking at every noise and sight of someone within his vision, he seems to only do this for our benefit (thanks sweetie, but it's really not necessary, really!) because apparently when we are not at home, he NEVER barks! It's nice to know he is looking our for us, but ENOUGH already! Not sure how we are going to make him understand that the neighbors are allowed  in and out of their house.

Thought for Today

“It may be that your whole purpose in life
is simply to serve as a warning to others.”

~ Author Unknown

This came in my "Readers Digest" email today:

5 Ways Love Makes You Smarter

from No More Brain Drain

1. Marry someone similar to you, if a bit smarter  (hmmmm)

2. Hold hands whenever possible  (check, sometimes anyway!)

3. Kiss at least once a day (yep check)

4. Put pictures of your honey on your desk (done)

5. Just be together (Good one!)

Thought for Today

“Aren’t the ‘good things that come to those who wait’
just the leftovers from the people that got there first?”

~ Author Unknown

Snow Path

We had a 30cm dump of snow the other day(this year we don't seem to be getting rain following our snow storms) and have had to actually use the snow blower this year! Here is a picture of the paths that hubby makes for our 1yr old "Buddy".  Check out all the little "snow balls" hanging on his feet! Every time he goes out (all 6-10 times!) you have to corral him so you can brush the snow off before he runs through the house dropping balls of snow everywhere! Notice also on this one ____

that he is not even on the path that was made just for him!

Thought for Today

“A mother is she who can take the place of all others
but whose place no one else can take.”

~ Cardinal Mermillod

Thought for Today

"Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children."
Rosaleen Dickson

Hooray for Sam!

Meet "Shubenacadi Sam".

Shubenacadie Sam heads from his den at the wildlife park in Shubenacadie, N.S. on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. (Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRES)

YAY!  Spring is just around the corner, and with the 30cm + that is expected later today and through the night it can't come too soon!

Thought for Today

“Diplomacy is the art of saying
‘Nice doggie’
until you can find a rock.”

~ Will Rogers

February Goals

It's February 1st and time to set some monthly goals and see how many will need to get carried over to March Goals!

• Reduce my starch/sugar intake (especially at night, and for more than 1 or 2 days!)
• laugh more (they say that Laughter burns 1.3 calories per minute, seems like an easy exercise)
• Save, Save, Save$$ (can't spend it until I can save it!)

• exercise more some!(that means stop being a couch potato!)
• exercise my brain (it seems to be getting a little foggy these days!)

• Update my blog (listing my thought of the day is a start-LOL, although probably doesn't really count)

TODAY'S THOUGHT

“Do Something.
If it works, do more of it.
If it doesn’t,
do something else.”

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

This quote sounds so simple and so easy, yet why is it we I, haven't been able to really find what works so I could  do more of it, or at the very least be smart enough to stop doing it (over and over and over) and keep trying til I find that thing that works.

Today's Thought

“When you hold resentment toward another,
you are bound to that person or condition by
an emotional link that is stronger than steel.
Forgiveness is the only way
to dissolve that link and get free.”

~ Catherine Ponder

Today's Thought

“When you make a mistake,
there are only three things
you should ever do about it:
admit it, learn from it,
and do not repeat it.”

~ Paul “Bear” Bryant

Thought for Today

Thought for the Day

“A man is but the product of his thoughts
what he thinks, he becomes.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Wow that could prove to be interesting now couldn't it! Leaves alot to the imagination! LOL, love it!

Wednesday's Thought of the Day

“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask,
‘Where have I gone wrong?’
Then a voice says to me,
‘This is going to take more than one night.’”

~ Charles M. Schulz

Dead, Dead and Dead

After getting a battery boost to get to work, and then having to call for another boost to get it going again to go home, it was advised that my battery needed to be replaced (even though my car is only a 2008). So because I knew I wouldn't get away with asking for a boost for the next few days of this freezing cold spell, I knew it was best I go that route.

What I didn't know was that the car manufacturers had put in a specialized battery with some kinda gel stuff (beyond me) which is supposed to make the life of the battery longer (ya RIGHT!), and only costs around $400 to replace (ya, RIGHT again!). So now my car has a brand new normal (somewhat) battery in its place.

And then lo and behold my beloved, can't do without,car starter wouldn't start the car this morning( and we are still amid frigid temperatures!), how was I supposed to know that you have to reset them if you have to change over your battery! They should make them so they can pick up on something like that (they would if they were designed by a woman!!)

FRIGID

Ok I know there are places out there that live with -20 and lower on a daily basis in the winter months,,, but not here! We average around -5 to -10 on the colder days, and today it is -19 before the wind chill factor sets in! That is COLD!

So cold in fact that when I started tried to start my car this frigid morning all I heard wash "click", "click" then nothing.

Thank goodness for Husbands and Sons! Sent them out in the frigid morning air to give my car a boost! Now just hoping when I hop in to go home that I don't just hear a "click"!!

MISSING HER

Four years ago today my mother passed away. She was taken from us far too early, she was just turning 76. I have a picture of her sitting on the bottom shelf of the side table by the couch where I generally hang my butt(couch potato that I am), and every now and then (well every night really) I glance down and see her smiling face. Each and every time still to this day, I feel a sense of shock knowing I won't see that smile face to face anymore every time I glance down at that  photo. We weren't "close" but most days when I look down I wish she was here!

Miss you Mom.

Nothing But ICE!

We made the decision this past summer to take up the old pavement on the driveway because it was like driving over a logging road! After a multitude of boulders rising up and heaving, cracking the pavement and digging them out each time one appeared and filling with gravel and tar we decided enough of this.

So wonder of wonders, when I went out to go to work this morning in the pouring rain, the entire driveway was a sheet of ice! It's rather daunting to sit in your car looking out and staring down that sheet of ice you know you now have to drive over, on a decline at that!

I looked for a pathway that might have enough gravel showing to grip my tires on, but the only strip showing was upagainst a row of rocks (somehow I didn't think that was the smartest route to take?) so I put the car into the lowest gear I could, and inch by inch crawled to the end, finally letting out the breath I had been holding the whole way down! Good thing I didn't have much further to go or I might have blacked out! Also a good thing the road in front of me was clear pavement or I probably would have ended up in the neighbours front yard!

Hoping someone (not mentioning any names) goes out and breaks up some of that ice (especially since it is going to turn colder and snow, just saying! before I get home.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Big Guy, one year already!

We`ve come a long way (still a long way to go yet, still not sure who is going to win the battle) since we brought home this little bundle of ``attitude``!  Who would have known what a stubborn, tenatious, noisy, demanding, selfish, loveable,  the devil in disguise..... I could go on and on, but you get the drift.

Power Nap Required

I am so damn darned tired! I am sitting here in front of my computer (at work, don't tell anyone!) and I have that feeling like if I close my eyes for more than just a blink they won't open back up. I am sitting here staring at my computer screen, hands on the keyboard, having a Power Nap! If only there weren't open spaces that people can look in as they pass by my desk and see that I have my eyes closed. Can you actually sleep sitting up straight at your desk, I feel like I could, maybe if I rest my chin in my hands like I am in deep thought I could keep my eyes closed long enough to regain enough energy to finish my blog work.

Now this is what I need a "sleep pod"! I wonder if I could make a case for this:

Slowly but surely, the benefits of the classic, 20-minute power nap are getting more recognition, with big companies installing sleep pods at the office and more software applications like Pzizz helping to set the right power nap aural scene. Here's how to get the perfect nap from the author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life, and more on how and why power naps work.

The reason I  am so very tired this morning (more so than most mornings at work) is because someone kept me awake most of the night! Why are men so GD stupidly stubborn? Why is it so hard to ask "sweetie could you please go get me something for this headache, I'm a little dizzie"? BUT NO, instead it's so much better to stumble your way towards the bathroom and then fall "thump" onto the floor! I would soooo rather try and lift a 200lb man up while trying to keep the dog out of his face and then try to support him while stumbling back to bed instead!

(Tonight the Tylenol bottle and glass of water will be placed on the nightstand ready and waiting).