Archive for August, 2008

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While I’m looking forward to having a long weekend, I’m not exactly looking forward to doing this long list of chores that need to be done. I suppose I should be thankful that I have three days instead of only two to get them done, but I don’t really have three days as we have to go pick up Tigger Monday - that’s the 10 hour round trip to Raleigh again.

First our weather was so dry that the dust from the dirt driveway coated everything with a fine grit. I wipe down the tables every day, but by the time I get home from work in the evening, they are coated again. Now it’s rained, but that just means mud is tracked in, so I still have DIRT.

And the dogs are shedding like MAD! That’s making the dust bunnies procreate like nobody’s business. I ripped up the carpeting a few months ago — well it was not the nicest carpet in the world in the first place and by the time the dogs had walked over it with muddy feet and dragged in their toys, bones and no-we-don’t-want-to-go-there, well it looked more like home theater carpet bleah! –anyway, the tile is much easier to keep clean, but does nothing to discourage dust bunnies from gathering under the end tables in droves.

Add the seed hulls from the birds and yes, I have a messy house!

I suppose I should now say that I’m grateful it’s not a 3,000 square foot mansion….OK, the jury is out on that one.

I’m counting on Ken to mow the yard Saturday — if he doesn’t, you aren’t going to be able to FIND the house, much less critique how clean/dirty it is.

At least he finally bought batteries for the automatic shower cleaner thingy. Which doesn’t actually CLEAN the shower, but makes it where it’s not quite as hard to clean if that makes any sense whatsoever. Of course, it does no good to HAVE the batteries for the automatic shower cleaner thingy if you don’t put them IN IT.

It’s on the to-do list, I SWEAR!

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Well, I’m broken hearted as Bill and Star got the axe on Greatest American Dog tonight. The judges admitted that they didn’t think anyone really deserved to be axed, but they HAD to choose someone and Bill and Star’s performance was the weakest of the ones who would not jump off a 50′ tower.

She also wouldn’t stay for the elephant’s approach (which I truly didn’t expect her to after the debacle with the Golden Retriever puppies last week), so two bad weeks in a row signed the death warrant for my favorite pair.

No matter what, I still think Star is a great dog and they have nothing to be ashamed of for not finishing at the top.

Now speculation will run rampant over who will be the final winner. I would have said it was going to be JD and Galaxy, but she’s apparently hurt her shoulder and may have to bow out of the competition all together. That would be really awful too.

I don’t much care for JD personally — he’s a bit of an asshole, but Galaxy is an awesome dog and they have a wonderful working relationship. I was really surprised that she didn’t stay locked down for the elephant charge, but I guess some things are just too much for a dog to handle and that was her breaking point.

Of the remaining teams, none are stand-outs. I think Laurie and Andrew have an “in” with the one judge since Andrew is a Maltese which is her dog’s breed as well. Not to knock Andrew too much. He’s obviously a happy little fellow and Laurie and she have a good relationship. He’s also very well trained and works very hard for Laurie. She’s just a little hard on her fellow competitors.

I do have a soft spot for Teresa and Leroy, but I doubt they will win because none of the judges can get past Leroy’s constant barking. It IS irritating, but it’s an indication of how wound up he is. If he weren’t wound up, he wouldn’t do as well as he does in some of the more physical things they are asked to do.

Travis and Presley — well Presley is such an unknown. He came into the competition not even knowing how to sit on command and still has issues with holding a sit for any length of time. As the competition gets harder, I feel that he will either turn a corner and “get it” or he will blow up and fail. He’s sitting on the edge right now and a lot will depend on how Travis handles the new things they are challenged with.

The producers of this show have pulled off some scary stuff. If I had been competing with one of my dogs, my pulse oximeter would have maxed out! I have no doubt that the Elephant they used tonight was well trained, but throwing it at those dogs none of whom had ever seen such an animal and knowing how Elephants smell, I’m truly surprised that any of the dogs stayed in the circle while the elephant approached as long as they did, much less stayed while it picked up a banana from 5′ away. And then having to jump off that 50′ tower! I don’t know if I could have done it myself much less asked my dog to!

Well, ’till next week…let’s all pray that Galaxy’s shoulder injury is minor and that she can continue on. Not just because of the competition, but because I hate to see any dog in pain.

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My little Suzuki SX4 just turned 3 months old. Although I had a few minor problems with it at first, those have pretty much disappeared.

It had an annoying rattle in the dashboard for about 10 days that has gone away — whatever was loose must have shaken out. The gas mileage issue has improved as the engine broke in. I get 32 mpg on the highway, but only about 28 mpg in my work commute. That’s still better than I was getting with the Caravan, so I’m satisfied with those numbers.

Yesterday, the little car that would had a pretty hard test to pass.

I had to drive to Raleigh, NC which is a solid 5 hour drive one way from my house. I planned to make the round trip in one day, which meant 10 hours + on the road. Not something to look forward to even when weather conditions are great, but yesterday saw really bad storms complete with tornadoes, hail, wind and rain.

It wasn’t too bad until I was on the way home. That was when I hit the worst of the weather. There was a lot of standing water on the highway and traffic was heavy and drivers erratic, so I had to be on my toes every second.

No matter that the water lying on the road reached out with malevolent fingers to try to grab my tires, no matter that the angry winds buffeted the little car relentlessly, no matter that the storm hurled buckets of rain onto the windshield, the little car kept going like a trouper. It agilely avoided the mammoth trucks that swerved into our path and stopped on a dime despite the inches of water lying on the roadway — a condition that would have had many other cars skidding into the ditch! My little blue car came through the storm with flying colors and brought me safely home.

I still have some issues with it - it’s not the perfect car, but it’s a pretty good car even with it’s flaws. I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a sporty, quick, economical ride.

Why did I have to go yesterday? Well, Tigger is entered in shows in Raleigh this coming weekend, but neither Ken nor I could go, so his breeder graciously offered to show him for us. I just had to get him there. Oh, and to sweeten the deal, a new Whippet darling came home with me, so watch out for Ms. Nikki in the coming months. She’ll make her debut in the show ring about November.

Of course I had to take Tigger AND his Zero Halliburton so the little car was packed to the gills! These prima donna dogs sure take a lot of baggage!

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Well, you can tell by the way I wield my fork,
I’m a dieting lady; no time to talk.
Low carb bread there is no harm
I’ve been gaining weight
Since I was born.
And now its all right. its ok.
And you may look the other way.
We can try to understand
The effect Lipovox has on man.

Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother,
You’re stayin alive, stayin alive.
Feel the records breakin’ and the fat cells shakin’,
And we’re stayin alive, stayin alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin alive, stayin alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin alive.

Well now, I look low and I look high,
And if I can’t lose any, I may try.
Ephedra or Slim Fast they’re better than booze.
I’m a dietin’ man but I just can’t lose.
You know its all right. its ok.
I’ll live to see another day.
We can try to understand
What effect Hoodia has on man.

Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother,
You’re stayin alive, stayin alive.
Well the scales are breakin’ and the fat is shakin’,
And we’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive.

Diet goin’ nowhere. somebody help me.
Somebody help me, yeah.
Diet goin’ nowhere. somebody help me.
Somebody help me, yeah. stayin’ alive.

Well, you can tell by the way I weild my fork,
Im a dieting lady: no time to talk.
No carb bread there is no harm
I’ve been gaining weight
Since I was born.
And now its all right. its ok.
And you may look the other way.
We can try to understand
What effect Lipo suction has on man.

Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother,
You’re stayin alive, stayin alive.
When the scales are breakin’ and the fat’s a-shakin’,
And we’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive.

Diet goin’ nowhere. somebody help me.
Somebody help me, yeah.
Diet goin nowhere. somebody help me.
Somebody help me, yeah. stayin’ alive.

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