Tag Archives: dogs

Random!

Posted on August 25, 2011 | 6 comments

Good morning everyone!

I had trouble focusing this morning, so we will take a break from carefully crafted paragraphs and anecdotes with beginnings, middles and ends, and venture into the realm of randomness.  

1)     You never have a good hair day the same day as an important meeting.

2)     A child possess an innate ability to pick out the most annoying toy in his or her arsenal to play with at any given moment.  Usually, that toy was purchased by someone other than the child’s parents.

3)     Pay day always seems about two days too far away.

4)     Light bulbs always blow in threes, unless you have more than three reserve light bulbs.  Then the light bulbs continue to blow quickly until you have exhausted your reserve and there still is one light out.  

5)     Mid-life female hormones and the antics of a 9-year-old child can be an incendiary combination.

6)  You never run out of spaghetti sauce in your cupboard until the day that spaghetti is your only option for supper.  You think.

7)     The urge to buy something increases in intensity geometrically to the amount of money not available to buy it.

8)     Nothing is certain except death and taxes – and the unpopularity of both.

9)     The Auburn football team always does better as an underdog.  Thank you, Associated Press and Coaches polls!

10)     Is there a limit to the number of shows that can be made about Bigfoot, Nessie and UFO’s?

11)     Reasoning with a recalcitrant computer is counter-productive; shooting it with a shot-gun is therapeutic.

12)     The only time a child will choose the option that you urge him or her to take is the time that you try to use reverse logic.

13)     Everyone is interested in the kitchen from the time supper is served, until the time dinner is over.  Unless you are No-No and Bad Dog – then your interest peaks after dinner is over, when you can illicitly scan table and counter tops for left-over food, and before someone comes to clean the kitchen and takes all those out-of-bound leftovers out of reach.

14)     You can learn to ignore the sound of a dog barking.  You cannot, however, learn to ignore the sensation of a dog standing on your hair to wake you up.

15)     Being a fan of the San Diego Padres and Chargers, Chicago Cubs and Bears and the Washington Redskins since the mid-1970s quickly teaches you not to bet on sports.

16)     I am a very blessed woman.  Thank you Mark and Kayla, my friends and the dogs for making my life wonderful.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in Cooking, Football, Just stuff..., working mom

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Pencils

Posted on August 23, 2011 | 5 comments

Good morning everyone!

I was sitting here with no idea of what to write about, when my dogs and my daughter saved me once again.

Darwin Barges In

Darwin has a rope toy that he loves. It is the only thing thick enough and long enough that I have been able to find that lasts longer than one day around him. (Right now we are at three weeks and counting.) He had picked it up and was shaking it around in order to entice Mandy to play tug of war with him, when all of a sudden both of them raced off into the bedroom. I looked up as they raced back into our great room, only to realize that Mandy was leading, with something long and white in her mouth while Darwin was chasing her with the rope toy. I managed to save the bath towel from Mandy without further damage, although she has made it clear to me that she thinks I am just being plain unreasonable.

Mandy and Darwin Confer

Then Kayla sat down to eat breakfast, but immediately jumped back up again, ran to her room and returned to the breakfast table to announce that she had put her money in her pocket after all.  Naturally, I was curious as to why she needed money.  She told me it was because she wanted to get pencils from the pencil machine.  (The school has acquired a pencil vending machine this year.)

Now, press pause on that thought for a minute, and travel back in time with me three weeks to our school shopping expedition where we bought two dozen pencils for her to use at school.  Fast forward to yesterday, and view her book bag which at the time had one dozen pencils in its front mesh pocket that I could see, and another dozen in the front pocket without mesh which I found while checking her homework.

Electric Pencil Sharpener

With that in mind, you will understand why I was at least mildly curious as to why a child already overly gifted with pencils would wish to acquire more.  She at first tried to tell me that the pencils from the pencil machine were already sharpened.  That’s probably the wrong tactic to take in a family as blessed with the gift of kindler and gentler satire as we are.  I gasped and said, “Oh no; you might possibly have to find a pencil sharpener in the school so you can sharpen a pencil.”  She looked at me, and I added, “Even worse, you might have to use a manual pencil sharpener.”  At that point I knew I won the logical argument, because the half-smile that plays across her mouth when she knows she can’t win the discussion but doesn’t know how to back out of it arrived.

Manual Pencil Sharpener

So then I said, “Let me guess.  The pencil machine has pencils that are really pretty.”  Straight faced, she told me that wasn’t why she wanted them at all. 

Vending Machine Pencils

My curiosity unsatisfied, I again asked what was the big deal about a vending machine  pencil and she told me that every so often a student gets a blue pencil from the machine with the words “You Are A SeaCoast Winner” printed on it, and that if you took that pencil up to the librarian, you would get a prize.  I asked her what the prize was, and she had no idea.  It’s not that I really begrudge her spending her own quarters for pencils, but my poor pens are already vastly outnumbered by the pencils floating around the house, and I really would like to be able to save at least one or two of the pens.  (See, Of Waves and Pens.)

A Winning Pencil Without the Right Words

Still, as a mom, you have to pick your battles, and I wasn’t willing to engage over 3 quarters when I am sure we have more important battles looming in the near future (can you say homework and reviewing basic math facts?) so having shown that I could have won the discussion if I wanted to, I let it slide.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in Just stuff..., working mom

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Anniversary!!

Posted on August 22, 2011 | 12 comments

Hi Everyone!

Today marks the six month anniversary of my blog.  I want to thank each of you who subscribe to it, read it regularly, comment on it and forward posts.  It really makes a difference knowing that someone out there likes to read what I write.

In six months, I have reached 58 subscribers through e-mail or WordPress and five to 9 subscribers (Feedburner changes its mind daily) through an RSS feed.   Including this post, I have written 136 posts and had 10,821 views.  Those numbers are way beyond my wildest dreams when I started writing on February 22.

The First Picture I Put In A Post

I have, in that six months, taken three trips I have had the privilege of sharing with you, one to Key West, one to Pensacola, and one to Destin. 

The Hemingway House African Tulip Tree with the original Key West lighthouse in the background

I have cooked cheese grits for my daughter once, and only once (see, Cheese Grits and Pugliese Bread and Cheese Grits, the Sequel.)  I have added at least three more rules to my list of “Rules I Never Thought I’d Need.” (See, Just When I Thought I Could Retire the List and Of Kongs and Water Squirting Implements.) 

I was able to share some of the beautiful Southern spring with you, a little bit of the better part of summer, and am looking forward to fall when I can show even more. 

I also have had the privilege of introducing you to the wonderful women I work with at my office, while reserving the privilege of introducing you to the other wonderful women I work with in the Birmingham office as well as all of the wonderful men I work with.  (See, A Tribute to the Women of Main Street.)

You even have given me the courage to start a second blog, The Football Novice, something I never would have dreamed of doing six months ago.

Most of all, I have tried to share with you the wonderful chaos that is my life as a wife and mother with a full-time outside job and three crazy dogs.  I hope I have made you laugh along the way, and can’t wait to share more with you as time goes on.

Tyra: Crazy Dog No. 1

Mandy: Crazy Dog Number 2

Darwin, Crazy Dog Number Three

Have a great evening everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, Just stuff..., working mom

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Shadow’s Spread

Posted on August 4, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone!

This Summer's Bedspread

Usually, Mark and I keep the same bedspread on our bed year round, only changing it out periodically to get it cleaned, but this summer, we decided to switch the regular comforter out for a lighter bedspread.  The bedspread  is  lighter and more comfortable than the regular comforter for summer, but there is another reason I like the bedspread, aged though it is.

 
 

Quilting that remains on bedspread

Shadow loved this bedspread.  It was originally quilted.  Stitch by careful stitch, night after night, without messing up one single square of fabric or alerting us to what she was doing, over the course of her 16 years, Shadow managed to pull out every one of the quilting threads in the bedspread, leaving only a few on the side.

Before and After

We have been without Shadow for over nine years now, but I still won’t get rid of her bedspread.  20 years from now, in whatever condition it is, I still will be carrying it around.  I can’t touch Shadow any more, but I can touch the bed spread she worked so hard on, and smile at the memory.

Shadow and I at Calloway Gardens

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, On the Home Front, Pets, Reflection, working mom

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Handkerchiefs

Posted on August 3, 2011 | 6 comments

Good morning everyone!

Regular followers of this blog will remember that Mandy and Darwin’s favorite pastime, after playing tug of war with one of my elastic headbands, is to snatch a handkerchief from wherever they can find one and chew it. 

 They are beginning to be quite gifted in this regard, and have now been caught snatching handkerchiefs from bedside tables, under pillows, bureau and sofa tops, and just about anywhere except the pocket of someone carrying one (and that’s only because they haven’t figured out how to be pickpockets yet.)

Not unexpectedly, this activity of theirs has taken a severe toll on the number of handkerchiefs available for Mark’s use.  We have decided, as a general rule, that if the washed handkerchief resembles a Rorschach blot more than a square, it should be thrown out.  This rule means that Mark is almost out of handkerchiefs, so we have been keeping an eye out for some but with no luck. 

From Print Shop Professional 2.0

On those rare occasions when he goes out of town overnight, Mark usually stops on his way home and buys something for Kayla and I.  On his last trip a few days ago, though, I knew he wouldn’t have time to stop, so I told Kayla that it was our turn to buy  him something, and we set out towards the nearest city to hunt for handkerchiefs. 

 I lucked out and found some at Target, so bought the store out of their entire five box stock.  Kayla asked if we should leave some for somebody else, and I told her no, they would have to do without for now since we had been looking so long! 

Payphone

When we got home with our treasure, Mark called.  He had just reached his hotel room.  I let him talk to Kayla first, and she told him that we had bought him something.  He apparently asked what, because she held the phone out from her head, without covering the receiver, and asked me, “Can I tell him about the handkerchiefs?”  I told her she already had.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

6 Comments

Posted in dogs, On the Home Front, Pets, working mom

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Bird Watching, Twinkle and Dog Rules, the Sequel

Posted on August 1, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone!

  • Bird Watching

    From Print Shop Professional 2.0

I am writing this post today with a copy of Bird Watcher’s magazine sitting next to me. Why have I subscribed to Bird Watcher’s magazine when my experience with bird watching is limited to the birds I see at zoos, the birds that sit on my fence, and the birds that sit on lamp posts, electrical wires, and the huge flocks of sparrows that wheel through this area in the fall?  Am I eagerly starting a new hobby that would require me to tramp through wilderness at the crack of dawn armed with a binocular and the ability to sit still and silent long enough to see something worthwhile? 

No.  The truth is that I just don’t believe Publisher’s Clearing House when they say that a purchase is not necessary to win their grand prize of $5000 a week for life, and Bird Watcher’s Magazine was one of the best choices available to me. 

  • Twinkle

    From Wikimedia Commons, by the European Southern Observatory

We went and saw Cowboys and Aliens Friday night, and riding home Kayla got kind of sleepy.  Mark felt like singing, so, joking around, he started to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”  That woke Kayla up enough for her to say, “The stars are beautiful, but they don’t really twinkle, do they?”  Score again for the 9-year-old!

  • Dog Rules, the Sequel

    Mandy's close-up

A while ago, I wrote a post about the hierarchy my dogs use, Dog Rules.  While I retain the sobriquet of She-Who-Feeds-Us-Every-Morning, Mandy has also awarded me with the title of She-Whom-I-Must-Ask-To-Let-Me-Out-Immediately-After-She-Settles-Down-On-The-Couch-For-The-Evening.  Her timing is always impeccable.  No matter how late it is, (The term late is relative; I need to be on the couch by 8 to start settling down for bed at 9, so I am referring to whether I sit down at 8, 8:30 or 8:45), and how long Mark and Kayla have been on the couch already, the minute I sit down and pull out my cross-stitch, she comes up to me to tell me that she needs to go out.  Darwin, never wishing to be left behind, joins in.  Tyra usually skips this mid-evening excursion, because she has already staked out her spot on the sofa so she can sit by Mark. 

Tyra on the couch

Mark thinks it’s funny.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, On the Home Front, Out of the mouths of babes...., Pets, working mom

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Acronyms and Adobe

Posted on July 28, 2011 | 2 comments

Good evening everyone! 

I’ve just been through one of those few times when my day job takes over my entire life for a short period of time.  Mark and Kayla are always wonderful in their support for me when I have to do that; the dogs are okay with it as long as they get fed every morning.  However,  now that it’s all over and I have taken a deep breath, everything shimmers back to normal. 

Shimmer

Still, even in high pressure situations, there is humor to be found.

In Alabama and most federal courts, e-filing is now required; this lets you file briefs and exhibits electronically and gives you until 11:59 the day something is due for it to be timely filed, but, as one district court clerk’s office has politely explained  in their e-filing rules, “While a filing is timely as long as it is filed prior to 11:59 a.m. the day it is due, the clerk’s office strongly recommends that attorneys e-file during working hours, when someone will be able to help them if a problem should arise.”  Unfortunately, I was not able to heed their advice this time, but it all came out right in the end.

The briefs I were working on were in an area of the law that uses a lot of acronyms.  Because it is easier to refer to NHTSA rather than the National Highway Safety Transportation Agency, and to the FHSA rather than the Federal Highway Safety Act, and the  STATSER rather than the Smith-Thomas Act To Support Edamame Research  (all right, I made that one up), in certain areas of the law you just have to resign yourself to the acronyms and try to keep up with the scorecard as best you can.  So Monday night, while I was studying  notes someone had made for me to help with these responses, I came across the following phrase:   “since then a LOT has been done to change the design.”  I spent five minutes trying to figure what on earth LOT stood for, only to realize that LOT stood for, strangely enough, the word “lot”, with emphasis.  Things started to fall into place then.

For technical reasons I have tried to understand, but decided that it is simply better to accept, the documents that we file, as well as the exhibits, need to be filed in .pdf format, the kind of file that you use Adobe Acrobat to read.  When we need to refer to deposition testimony [FN]  in a response, we have to find the deposition, print out the pertinent pages, then scan them in to convert the group of pages  into a single file in .pdf format.  (Most courts do not permit you to file the entire deposition; only the pages you are referring to.  A few courts are different.)  Many of the court reporting services now automatically send you depositions in electronic format, which makes this process a lot easier. 

I had called the Birmingham office yesterday afternoon to check that all the depositions were available electronically.  (The original office, where I work, is about 65 miles away from the Birmingham office.)  After I was assured that they were, and got a mobile phone number from Christine in the Birmingham office staff in case there was a hiccup, I turned back to proof-reading and finishing my writing. 

 Fast forward three hours, to when I was finally ready to start putting the exhibits together for filing.  I opened my Adobe Acrobat Reader and plunged into the correct file on the server – only to discover that nary a deposition was to be found!  After a heart attack and a round of adrenaline that didn’t go amiss anyhow since I needed a pick-me-up, I started looking around a little bit to  figure out what was going on so I wouldn’t have to call Christine at 8:00 p.m. and have her return to the office.  After another five minutes, I realized what the problem was.  I had the Adobe Reader program set to where it would only show me Adobe files in the file directories.  Once I changed that setting to “all files,” the depositions I needed magically appeared.  I gave a sigh of relief, and the gathering of exhibits could continue.

Relief!

Technology:  can’t live with it, but sure can’t live without it!

Have a great evening everyone!

Nancy

FN.  For those who don’t know, a deposition is an out of court questioning session where the questionee is under oath.

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Of Kongs and Water Squirting Implements

Posted on July 26, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone! 

So far No-No is off to a rousing start this morning – I have had to rescue one sandal, one pillow cushion, one yellow plastic container of some kind of silly putty and one dustrag from his clutches so far.   It got bad enough that I spent a considerable amount of time searching the house for a chew toy of his called “Kong.”  Once I found it, I gave  it to him.  Now he is a crazed, but happy, camper, and our belongings are temporarily safe, since Bad Dog has restricted herself to chewing  on the blankets in No-no’s carrier. 

Darwin (No-No) With His Chew Toy

I also have new rules to add to the list of Rules I Never Thought I’d Need:

Do not sneak a medicine measuring syringe into the bathtub.

Do not squirt the dog, the ceiling or the floor with water using said syringe.

Kayla called out from the bathroom last night as she was taking her bath, “Mom, I need you!”  Mark called back, “What do you want?”  and she answered “Never mind.” 

After about 15 or 20 minutes though, once she was sure Mark was in our bedroom, she came out and told me she needed me.  I went in to the bathroom with her.  As soon as I opened the bathroom door, Mandy scooted out. Kayla crooned at Mandy, “It’s okay for you to go out, since you’ve already been squirted.”  (I’m sure Mandy appreciated that sentiment!)

Kayla then held up a plastic medicine measuring syringe and announced that she had been filling it with water and squirting Mandy and herself with it, but then she had tried to squirt the ceiling with it, and all that had accomplished was a track of water across the ceiling.  She wanted to know how to fix it. 

I told her a) let the ceiling dry; if it messed up as a result, she would just have to paint it later;  b) dry the floor, which was soaking wet, c) (between gritted teeth) get in the bathtub, take a bath with soap and the use of shampoo on her hair, along with a good rinse for everything and d) don’t squirt anybody or anything else with the medicine syringe, which is not meant to be used as a bathroom toy. 

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

2 Comments

Posted in dogs, On the Home Front, When things don't go as expected, working mom

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The Beeping Fridge, The Momentary Absence of Clutter and Child’s Play

Posted on July 25, 2011 | 4 comments

Good morning Everyone!

It mattered not, after all, whether the Weather Channel gave us a 90% chance of rain, or a 30% chance of rain, because, at our house, we ended up with 0″ of rain.  So either way, I guess, it was right! 

  • The Beeping Refrigerator

    From Print Shop Professional 2.0

The refrigerator in the garage keeps beeping at us.  It has never done so before, so naturally we are a little curious as to why.  We have checked the temperature in the refrigerator and freezer, and they appear to be fine.  I have reset the water filter status, and that didn’t work.  I turned the compressor off for about 10 minutes, then turned it back on.  I have read the 23 page refrigerator manual cover-to-cover and in doing so have learned how to set up the refrigerator, install/hook up the ice maker and water supply if I so choose, how to fix various and sundry problems, none of which apply to our current situation, and even the proper way to dispose of a refrigerator (yes, they spent 2 out of 23 pages on that one), but nowhere does it even mention beeping.  Anywhere.  I even downloaded a version of the manual from the Frigidaire web site to electronically search it for “alarm” or “beep”, and didn’t get anything.  So, basically, I am back where I started, with a refrigerator beeping at me and no information to go on.   It is worse than arguing with the computer, because at least the computer, when it beeps, gives me a crumb of information (usually incomprehensible, but a crumb nonetheless) to go by.  Stay tuned; if I ever find out how to fix it, I will let you know.  At least the refrigerator is only six months old, so it is still under warranty. 

  • The Momentary Absence of Clutter

From Print Shop Professional 2.0

We had company for supper this weekend, an old friend we hadn’t seen in quite a while.  Not only did we have a fantastic visit, but as a side benefit, the clutter throughout the den/kitchen/study/dining room part of our house was completely swept away.  I may not be able to find any of the stuff again, but it is safely tucked away somewhere.  Kayla wasn’t as keen on the picking up part, although she did make a valiant effort on her bathroom and bedroom, but she always enjoys the company part.  We not only visited, but towards the end of the evening we played UNO, one of Kayla’s favorite card games.  The first two games went fairly quickly, but the third game lasted about an hour and a half and was a lot of fun.  To her great delight, and with an assist from Dad, Kayla ended up winning that last round.

The dogs enjoyed my friend being over, and my friend was able to enjoy them once we got the three of them to settle down and stop sniffing.  (Cindy has a bischon frise at her house, and my three were intent on gathering all the information about the bischon that they could.) 

      • Child’s Play

Kayla played Harry Potter Sunday afternoon.  She came out of her bedroom with her purple dance bag packed and a little cosmetics case (for just a minute, it looked like she was running away!)  and informed us that the bedroom was the Forbidden Forest, Harry wanted them to stay there (in this game, she is Harry Potter’s sister) but that she didn’t think that was a good idea, so she was moving on.  She set up camp in the middle of the great room, and was busily setting up file folders.  I guess if you are on the run, file folders are indispensable.  She and Harry must have finally agreed on where they were going , because she eventually broke camp and went back into her bedr…. I mean the Forbidden Forest.  I love my child’s imagination!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Bananas for Bananas!

Posted on July 20, 2011 | 8 comments

Good morning everyone!

Tyra

My sweet and gentle Tyra called me a name yesterday.  It was the kind of look she usually reserves for those times when, after three days of rain, we are forced to throw her out into a downpour whether she likes it or not so she can take care of essentials.  My crime? 

I failed to share a banana with her. 

Unlike humans, dogs have a limited sense of taste, but one of the flavors they can taste is sweet.  Apparently, a banana hits Tyra’s taste buds in just the right way, because I have never met a dog that is as crazy for them as she is. 

In spite of the slight dulling of some senses that comes as dogs age, (Tyra is 10 now), she still is super-sensitive to bananas.  For example, I will be asleep in one room, with the door closed and Tyra and Mandy asleep with me. Mark, in the other room, will tip-toe into the kitchen, grab a lone banana from the fruit bowl and tip-toe back to the den to get ready to eat it.  Before he even begins to peel it,  Tyra is awake, prancing by my bedside, and sending Mandy up on the bed to walk on my hair to wake me up so that Tyra can go claim her share.  (Darwin is a non-factor because he usually sleeps in the den anyhow.)

Whenever Tyra is about to get a piece of banana, she does a little tap/river dance as the banana piece is broken off and handed to her.  Therefore the maximum entertainment value in providing Tyra with a piece of banana is obtained when you give it to her while she is standing on the wooden floor. 

The Rule of Three

Darwin and Mandy are not as wild about bananas, but they do expect the Rule of Three (one for Tyra, one for Mandy, one for Darwin) to be followed, so normally in our family when someone wants a banana, they have to get two – one for themselves, and one to share with the dogs.  Kayla, never having known anything else, finds that to be quite normal, but Mark and I are still bemused by it.  My mother, when she visits, loves to buy bananas simply to have some to give to Tyra.

Fortunately, Tyra doesn’t hold a grudge, so shortly after I finished the banana she forgave me.  However, a trip to the store will soon be in order, as we are now down to three bananas, and I’m not sure if she’ll be willing to forgive me a second time!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, Pets, working mom

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