Wasted Days and Wasted Nights........

I’ve been sidetracked by life lately and haven’t paid enough – OK any – attention to my blog. Alex at Hope and Greyz posted a meme the other day that I have every intention of spreading; I just haven’t gotten to it. I’ve also had several good blogging opportunities present themselves and I’ve let them pass me by. For example, how could I miss writing about snow in Georgia. I mean, it never does that here. I even got a couple of decent shots of the pups enjoying the frosty air.

"What the Heck is that???"

"It's kind of fun out here!!"

The aftermath!!

There are several reasons for my failure. First of all. I’ve been Facebooked. I joined Facebook not too long ago as I felt like I should keep up with Wheeler’s cyber life to be sure he’s safe and not divulging sensitive info. Turns out he’s no idiot in that department and has done, at least so far, an excellent job. He doesn’t have anyone on his friends list that he doesn’t know in real life, and he hasn’t revealed any info that shouldn’t be out there for all to see. I, however, have found that Mr. Facebook can suck up way more time than this blog. I have managed to find a few old friends that I feared I’d permanently misplaced – and that’s a good thing. But I’ve also found that it is a phenomenal time waster – it will take every minute that you allow it. I herby pledge to be more careful in the future as I enjoy this blog too much to let it fall by the wayside. It lets me free form rant at will. What could be better???

Secondly, I had my eyes checked the other day and got a new prescription. I also got new contacts that are supposed to be great. Correct my astigmatism and let more air through. Much more comfortable - yeah rah hooray!! NOT!! The pair I’m wearing was great for about four days. Problem is now they get all dried out by noon and I can’t see thru them. I feel like I’m looking though a sheet of plastic or something. Gotta go back to the eye doctor. Can’t write if you can’t see. I know, I know, pull out the glasses you say. Well I would if they weren’t really, really old. The script is so old I’m not sure I’d be any better off, and the frames are refugees from a decade or more ago. Everyone would laugh at me, trust me they would.

Thirdly, I’ve just been lazy. Bad, bad, bad……..

I’ll do better….I promise!!

Living Vicariously Thru My Kid and My Dog........

We had a very busy weekend; so busy in fact that I’m just getting around to blogging about it. I was exhausted and needed recovery time. I actually have a two brags to record here, so if you don’t feel like reading the ravings of an unabashed proud mom feel free to skip this post.

First and foremost, Wheeler is going to wrestle in the Georgia High School Association State Tournament this weekend. In order to qualify, he had to finish in the top four in his weight class at our Area Tournament. After spending most of the day last Friday and all day Saturday in Social Circle, GA he qualified. Needless to say he’s really excited, and I’m very proud of him. Here’s a picture of him wrestling.

I can’t guarantee that this pic is from the match that qualified him, but I think it is. They all look the same when they’re rolling around on a mat – ya know.

The Area Tournament felt like it lasted forever. There were about 14 teams there and only two mats – made for a very slow pace. I thought my rump was going to take root on the bleachers. But in the end it was all worth it. Here’s a shot of Wheels relaxing in the stands after his win. He’d more or less recovered from his match by the time I snapped this one.

We’ll spend this Friday and Saturday at the Gwinnett Arena. All good thoughts for a safe and successful completion are appreciated.

I spent the day on Sunday lure coursing with Rosie and Nick. Rosie was one of two Pharaoh Hounds running that day, and the only one running in open, so she could only get four points for the day regardless of how well, or poorly, she ran – assuming of course that she ran the course and didn’t just stop. The good news here however is not how she ran Sunday, though she ran well, but that those four points were enough to earn her Field Champion status. Yeah Rosie!!

We couldn’t have had a better day for coursing. The temps topped out in the high 50’s and it was clear and sunny. The ground was not too dry and provided near perfect footing. My friend Sandy brought yummy BBQ for lunch. The company and the vittles were both excellent, though we missed several of our regular coursing buddies. Sandy also brought Rosie a celebratory bottle of Champagne to commemorate her achievement. Sandy and I drank it at lunch and didn’t even share with poor Rosie. Before you picture two drunk women careening around the field, let me point out that the bottle we shared was small (about ¼ the size of a regular bottle.) Here’s Rosie posing with her spoils.

And another of her passed out on the couch. See how she gathers the sofa pillows and uses them for extra padding. She certainly is no dummy :-)!

When I think about it, wrestling and lure coursing have a lot in common. In both sports lots of time is spent sitting around waiting for your child, or dog as the case may be, to have their turn. Then, although I always wish for success, I mostly pray that they finish their match unhurt.

A Funny Thing Happened in the Lunch Line..

Remember back when you were in high school and went to the cafeteria every day for lunch? I don’t know about you, but I always was scared of the lunch ladies. Back in those days you got what you got – no choices – and you’d better not complain. Some days we had hamburgers with stripes painted on to make the patty appear to have been grilled. On others, fried frozen fish sticks were the hot menu item – usually swimming in tartar sauce – yum!

Rob came home from work several weeks ago all excited. Said he’d been in a commercial that day at lunch. I think my response was along the lines of “That’s nice honey.” I then proceeded to forget all about it. Well yesterday this YouTube creation appeared in my inbox.

I think I was right to be scared of the lunch ladies!! At least he got a free sandwich out of it.

It's All About The Chase.....

Nick, Rosie, and I spent the weekend before last lure coursing. The three of us really enjoy it for lots of reasons. First and foremost, I really like watching my pups run flat out as fast as they can and, well, I think they like doing the running. I love this picture taken by Uma Rapiti Photography of Nick. He appeared to be looking at the camera as he came in on the bag at the end of the course. I always like Lee’s pictures, but this one is a personality shot that I’ll always treasure.

We had a wonderful weekend. The trial was sponsored by the Southeastern Greyhound Club. Saturday, was an ASFA event. My hounds had a good day. Nick won open, defeating 3 other hounds. Rosie also took open, but it was a hollow victory as she was the only open Pharaoh running that day. Sunday, was the inaugural National Lure Coursing Club trial. The format of the trial was new. The hounds ran in braces and rather than tallying scores from two runs, winners were determined thru a modified double elimination format. I liked some things about this new format and didn’t like others, but all in all, it’s about the chase. The pups don’t know or care how or if they’re being scored. Also, instead of wearing blankets, the pups (at least the short haired breeds) wore wide red or white collars - much easier to deal with from a handler's perspective.

I’ve attached a slide show that I made comprised mostly of pictures from this trial as well as from the Winter Challenge at GANG Park in Calhoun, GA. That ASFA trial was a five day event that culminated on New Year’s Eve, and really tested the hounds’ endurance. We only made it to three of the 5 days. My hounds might have been able to handle five consecutive days of coursing, I couldn’t though.

My Father's Eyes.....

Weekend before last, I was at the Southeastern Greyhound Club’s lure coursing field trial where we had a really good time both on the field and visiting with old friends. This post isn’t about that event though (I’ll cover that later after my pictures come), but about a comment made by my friend Toni about Nick’s eyes. She asked me if Dutch Bahama was in his pedigree. Now I’m not a big studier of hound pedigrees, so I had no idea. She pointed out that his eyes looked like he came from that line. She went home and looked it up, and sure enough, Dutch Bahama was Nick’s great great grandpa. Cool!!

Now that got me thinking about why exactly we chose to adopt Nick. After Speedy and Sugar died last summer, we resolved to be a one dog family for awhile. I was considering getting a puppy that I could show as well as lure course. Though I knew in the back of my mind that I would eventually get another grey, I thought the hurt was too fresh and I wasn’t ready. In fact, I didn’t think I would be ready anytime soon. Then I saw Nick’s picture on SEGA’s adoptable page. Here's a copy.

He was a small male (small equals less likely to get hurt coursing) with beautiful eyes that reminded me of Sugar's. Now Nick and Sugar look nothing alike. She was a pretty white female with one brindle ear. He’s a red male – but those eyes.

See what I mean!!

I had to meet him. Well of course once I met him, I had to bring him home. The small black “Speedy kiss” on the top of his head sealed the deal. Funny thing is, I looked back as Sugar's pedigree this weekend. Guess what, Dutch Bahama was her grandpa. What do you know about that?

Now being related to Dutch Bahama is not so unusual. According to Greyhound Data, he sired 2557 pups, but of course not all of them were bred. He was a pretty famous guy though and was inducted into the Greyhound Hall of Fame in 1990.

Turns out that Nick and Speedy are also related through Downing, another famous racer found in both of their pedigrees. He won the World Classic in 1977.

Speedy - also a handsome fellow

I’ve been missing both Speedy and Sugar lately; I guess I always will. Maybe they got together at the Rainbow Bridge and sent Nicky to me. I find that thought a little comforting.

More Meme Madness....

There’s no question that I love meme’s!! First of all, they give me something to write about when I’m stumped – or when I’m feeling lazy and don’t want to think hard enough to come up with a reasonably clever topic. Also, I like reading them when they’re posted by my blog buddies because they help me get to know you a little better. I stole this one from Miscellanea (thanks Kathy). It was particularly hard for me though – really made me use my noodle. You try coming up with the right answers when they have to start with Z. People with names like Ann have it easy.

Ann and Andy are archeologists and wear apricot aprons while allowing apple martinis to be abandoned in the abbey.

The object is to answer each question, The catch is the answer must start with the same letter as your name. So here goes:

1. What is your name? Zan
2. A four-letter word: zany
3. A boy's name: Zeus
4. A girl's name: Zena
5. An occupation: zeppelin pilot or zookeeper
6. A color: zebra striped (OK I’m stretching it – you think of a z color)
7. Something you wear: zinnias - you know –flowers in your hair
8. A food: zucchini
9. Something found in the bathroom: zinc oxide
10. A place: Zululand
11. A reason for being late: zipped past your street
12. Something you shout: Zounds!
13. A movie title: “Z”
14. Something you drink: Zinfandel
15. A musical group: ZZ Top
16. An animal: zebra (OK I cheated and used zebra twice - you think of another animal that starts with a z)
17. A street name: Zephyr Way
18. A type of car: Zimmer
19. The title of a song: Zipity Do Dah
20. A verb: zoom

If you read this, and feel like continuing to spread this particular meme virus, have at it!

Memory Maelstorm.....

I was tagged by the Greytblackdog to post the 6^th picture in my 6^th picture folder and explain it. Since I was already tagged with that meme a while back, I won’t repeat myself, but the tag did get me started looking back at old pictures. Not too long ago, Wheeler’s English teacher gave them what I thought was a kind of interesting homework assignment. They had to find an old picture of themselves and write about what they were thinking and feeling when the photo was taken. Since the pictures that they had to choose from were very old, I don’t think any of them could really remember what they were feeling. In fact, Wheeler said it was more like writing about a complete stranger.

I decided that this exercise might make an interesting blog post, or at least might be fun for me. Of course, I’ve never been one to follow rules – and besides, since I’m almost always the one who pulls out the camera, there are very, very few photos with me actually in the pictures. I decided to make my own rules, pick one of my favorites, and write about what I was feeling when I took it.

During the summer of 2007, we took our first ever long vacation – a two and a half week road trip up the Pacific coast. We started in San Francisco and ended up in Seattle. To add to the excitement, in addition to Wheeler, two of my nieces, Amanda and Alexandra, came along.

This picture was taken while sailing on a catamaran in San Francisco Bay our first day there. We’d gotten up at the crack of dawn and taken an 8AM flight and were sailing by that afternoon. What could be better? We were all excited about our trip – on the first day it felt like we had all the time in the world. Everyone was tired, but very pumped. I guess if I had to write a caption for the photo, it might be “Anticipation!”

I really tried to choose only one pic from that trip (see I can’t even follow my own rules,) but I couldn’t resist including this shot of the kids acting like total tourists and hanging off a cable car. Goofy and touristy – absolutely – but we were just having so much fun!! The picture was taken the day after the silliness on the sailboat. That trip shaped up to be more fun that we ever expected and I wish we could go on just such an odyssey every year!

I had so much fun taking a trip down memory lane, I think I’ll pull out old pics and subject you to them from time to time.

Rain Drops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens, These Are A Few of My Favorite Things.....Memed Again...

Alex at Hope and Greyz posted this meme on her blog and tagged anyone interested to respond and pass the meme along. I love this sort of thing; it sort of lets me get to know myself better while I’m learning about my fellow bloggers. So here goes:

1) LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATRE? Sadly, I can’t remember. We watch tons of movies on DVD though. We’ve been on an old (or old to Wheeler) war movie jag lately and watched Platoon last Friday. We try to watch a movie as a family once a week when we can and try to appeal to teen boy tastes. He complains about having to hang out with us, but usually ends up enjoying the flick if I’ve picked well. Platoon had just enough explosive stuff to keep him interested.

2) WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? At the moment Marley and Me is accompanying me to wrestling matches to fill in the copious waiting time between matches. I’m also reading Harvesting the Heart, and a travel guide for Washington, DC.

3) FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Monopoly or Risk

4) FAVORITE MAGAZINE? Hmmm, I guess ”Whole Dog Journal.” Does that count?

5) FAVORITE SMELLS? Freshly cut grass, the air after a spring rain, popcorn, campfires, puppy breath

6) FAVORITE SOUNDS? Waves crashing on the beach, gulls calling, rain falling on a tin roof

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? That punch in the gut feeling you get when you see you child hurt

8 ) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK WHEN YOU FIRST WAKE UP? Is it morning already? Can I hit snooze at least once and still get Wheeler to school on time?

9) FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE? Willy’s

10) FUTURE CHILD’S NAME? Too late for more now!!

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D....give more to charity.

12) DO YOU DRIVE FAST? Probably

13) DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? No, but one of my dogs sleeps on the foot of the bed. Does that count?

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY? Cool- I love watching thunderstorms over the ocean.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? A ‘66 Chevrolet Impala in a stunning aqua color

16) FAVORITE DRINK? Dirty Martini, Woodford Reserve (bourbon) straight up, hot chocolate

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT - IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD...be way more organized

18 ) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Yes

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? Ummm, I do color my hair and I guess I do dye it the color I want.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN? My list is very boring and quite short. Atlanta, GA and Nashville, TN(only if college counts)

21) FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Gymnastics, diving, and baseball if I’m at the game

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Greyhound lover, great mom, and sculptor extraordinaire!!

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED? Dog and cat hair – and the pump for my air bed (which I love)

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN? Sure, why not. Who else could I be?

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL? Night owl – definitely!!

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP? Neither – omelet please

27) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX? My big leather chair with ottoman in my family room

28 ) FAVORITE PIE? Are there any I don’t like?

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Mint chocolate chip

If you’re still with me and want to participate, consider yourself tagged. If you get a chance, leave me a comment telling me that you got the tag and responded. I don’t want to miss your answers!!

This post is About Nothing.......

I’ve been very quiet lately. It’s amazing how much time blogging takes up…and that’s without ever actually posting anything. I am working on a real post, but I keep getting sidetracked playing with my blog. I know it sounds crazy, but I wanted more words and less blank space on the page. I also wanted a signature. Once I added to the wish list a snazzy banner (still haven’t figured out how to achieve that goal to my satisfaction) I managed to burn up a whole lot of time accomplishing a whole lot of nothing. Actually I’ve had fun playing around with the html code, but I still have a lot to learn. I guess it’s the modern version of tinkering around under the hood of a car except you get to keep your hands clean.

Meanwhile, I’ll bore you with a couple of kitty Christmas pictures, just because I think they’re cute. Zach is the orange tabby and Harry is the flame point siamesish kitty.

See, I warned you that this post is about nothing....

I'm an Airhead and a Spendthrift......

I feel like a complete idiot. Why you ask am I making such a broad self depreciating statement? Well stick around a minute and I’ll tell you, but first I need to fill you in on a little background.

Last night Wheeler came home from wrestling practice and headed upstairs for his usual long teenager shower. Those of you with teen know what I mean. When he finished we ate dinner and then I washed the dishes. OK nothing unusual yet. I found that no matter how long I let the water run, it never warmed up. At the time, I thought Wheels had used all the hot water and chalked dishes washed in cold water up to living in the house with a teen aged boy.

Fast forward to bed time. As I ran the water to warm it up so I could wash my face, I discovered, yep you guessed it, still no hot water. A trip to the basement revealed the pilot light was out. OK, no biggy, I can light a pilot light. I’ve done so before, although not on this particular appliance. In fact, in my younger days I lived in a apartment with only a gas space heater and a stick to control the temperature. If I’d waited for the maintenance guy to light the pilot light in the fall, I’d have frozen to death. But I digress; back to the story at hand. It was late, I was tired, and apparently uncoordinated. After some cussing, I decided that something was in fact really wrong with my 4 year old hot water heater as the stupid thing wouldn’t light and stay lit.

Fast forward to this morning. Yep, you guessed right again, I just paid a plumber $175 to light my hot water heater's pilot light. I still don’t know why it went out. The plumber was a nice guy and tried to make me feel less like a dumb ass. Why it wouldn’t light for me I'll never know and I could kick myself for not trying again after a good night sleep. So now can you see why I feel like a complete idiot?!?

Back to Normal

The holidays are over for another year – thank god ! The decorations are down and safely packed away except for the wreath hanging on the garage that requires two people and the ladder to take down. I’m going to tackle it by myself anyway if I can’t enlist aid before the week-end. It’s driving me nuts!! I thought the holidays had left me with lots of blog fodder, but every time a start a post I end up deleting it as it sounds whiny or stupid or something. Oops!! See I’m starting to sound whiny – sorry :-)!!

It’s been wet and rainy here, between that and holiday obligations, the hounds and I've sort of gotten off schedule with our daily walks. Today the rain has finally given way to a semi sunny blustery day, so we set out for a good long tromp in the park. Rosie was, as usual, overly exuberant for about the first mile, then settled down once the excitement of being out walking and smelling the smells wore off. Blustery days are always fun. My guys are not only interested in the stray squirrels, but blowing leaves are also fodder for a second or third look.

It’s always interesting to watch people walking in the park. Most folks are just trying to get some exercise in a place where they don’t have to constantly worry about being hit by a speeding car. You pretty much see the same people every day. There are the friendly people who obliviously consider their daily walk a social event. We’ve made friends with several of them over the years. One older couple doesn’t have any pups of their own anymore. They travel a lot and have moved into a small condo, but always carry dogs treats and love seeing and loving on friendly pups. It’s amazing how much you learn about people after years of quick park conversations. I’ve come to expect seeing these folks, and miss them when they aren’t around.

There are also the people who walk on the wrong side of the trail. Instead of keeping right, they keep left. I never know quite which side to pass them on. Are they refugees from the UK and just haven’t noticed that the convention here is to keep right? Not that it really matters where they walk, it just sometimes make for confusing meetings – kind of an I go right, you go left, – oops sorry, do- si- do dance. I guess you could call them the rebels of the trail ;-)!

There’s lots of interesting wildlife also and our park by the river attracts birdwatchers. I don’t know a finch from a sparrow, but most of the hard core bird watchers are willing to tell you what they’ve seen and when. I met a guy last fall who made it all sound so interesting I resolved to get a book and do some bird spying. I haven’t actually done it, but he convinced me that someday I might like IDing some birds myself.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this little essay. I guess the point is reflected in the title of this post. Holidays are always fun. I get to go to several parties and catch up with folks I only see once a year. I feel popular because my mailbox fills up with greeting cards and the house feels all festive decked out in Christmas colors. But at the end of it all, it’s really nice when everything gets back to normal and I have time to walk in the park with my pups. See how happy they look all tuckered out after their outing!!

Edited because I posted the wrong picture of Nick

Photo Tag - I'm It!!

I was tagged by Hiking Hounds to post the 6th picture in my 6th photo folder, explain it, and tag six other bloggers to do the same - so here goes. This is a picture of Rosie sitting in what she likes to think is "her" chair.

I tag the following:

Hope and Greyz
Confessions of a Trophy Wife
Halfway Home Hounds
In Patti's Place
Whirred Up
Hillbilly Heaven

Tagged!! The Saga of the Everlasting Doughnut

First I have to explain the background to this tale. There is, or was, a box of doughnuts that has been passed around among the members of Georgia Team Pharaoh for more than a year now. It started when someone tucked what was left of the morning’s munchies in Brianna’s car after some event. Her passion for doughnuts is well known!!. Apparently, they stayed in her car for quite a while, and still looked ready to eat. They were so hard, you’d break a tooth on them, but there was not one speck of mold to be found. They were perfectly preserved. Kind of a scary thought if you’d actually eaten any of the original doughnuts. What did they put in them to preserve them for so long?

That box of stale doughnuts became sort of a boobie prize to be secretly or creatively pawned off on an unsuspecting victim – sort of like a hot potato. They even made an appearance at the Pharaoh Hound Nationals back in October and were presented to Brianna as an award for being the Raw Food Educator of the Year. I’m sure I don’t have the back story exactly right. I know my Pharaoh phriends sometimes read this blog so please feel free to comment and set the story straight.

Anyway, I guess I need to explain why I'm telling this pastry adventure story here. I got to the coursing field Saturday ready to set up camp and was presented with a very nicely wrapped present from my friend Bekki. I should have suspected something when she made me open the package then and there. I’m sure you can guess what it contained. Yep, the original donuts have now finally gone to the great dustbin in the sky, but have been lovingly and creatively replaced with the toy pictured here.

Now I’ve got the doughnut and I’m already plotting it’s next adventure. You guys watch your backs!!

Christmas Wish Fulfilled....

Or, be careful what you wish for….

I haven’t posted in awhile as the holiday rush washed over me like a tsunami. As a result, I have lots to report, but will start with Christmas Day and its aftermath.

As a kid, I always wanted to sleep by the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. For obvious reasons, my parents never allowed me to do so. Gee, I wonder why? Even as an adult, I really like to turn all the lights off in the house, plug in the tree, lay on the floor, and just watch the tree. It’s as good as a campfire, and better than TV. Why you ask, am I giving you all of this unsolicited information? Wait a minute, you’ll see.

On Christmas Day, the whole crew, by that I mean my mother, my sister, her husband, and her four kids, all came to my house for dinner. No big deal there, I cooked some, my sister cooked some, and my mom made her famous cheesecake. Just as an aside, her cheesecake is to die for. I had ten hungry people in my house on Christmas looking for food, drink, and Christmas cheer. The kids were also looking for presents! Just before my sister’s crew arrived, I opened the fridge door and the butter dish fell out and hit me on the foot. After muttering some expletives not in keeping with the spirit of the day, I looked around for the stick of butter that should have been on the dish. No stick of butter was to be found, so I assumed that someone had put the empty dish back in the fridge so they didn’t have to wash it. If you have kids in your house, you can understand how that might happen.

After everyone arrived, Rosie managed to find the butter that had escaped the refrigerator. Unfortunately, I only realized her discovery as it slid down her throat. I briefly considered pouring hydrogen peroxide down her gullet to bring the butter back up, but decided that such a cure was probably worse than the problem, especially since we had a house full of folks who wouldn’t appreciate my dog running around the house foaming at the mouth. I figured I was in for a long night as the butter worked its way through her system.

Yes, she had diarrhea, pretty much all night just as I expected. The fun part however, occurred at about three in the morning, After just coming back inside following about the sixth or seventh trip out to the potty, she jumped up on my bed and puked – all over my pillow and about every other sheet and blanket on the bed. Then she jumped down and continued the barf-a-rama in various locations around the bedroom. My poor girl was about a sick as I’ve ever seen her. The good news was it seemed that other than a couple more trips outside, the butter was pretty much out of her system. The bad news was that even if I could have managed to get the carpet cleaned in the middle of the night, the bed was gross, right down to the mattress.

Rob and I looked at each other, laughed pretty hard (it was either that or cry) and went downstairs and slept in the family room on an air mattress right next to the Christmas tree. Be careful what you wish for; your wish might just come true!!

P.S. I’m doing my part to stimulate the economy by purchasing new pillows for my bed. The sheets wash, down pillows, not so much.

Wishing You A....

Merry Christmas!!

It really is A Wonderful Life!!!

May you and your family have a
safe and happy holiday...

Weekend in Review

First of all, I learned that one of my loved ones has an addiction. It’s serious and I think he needs real help. I’ve never dealt with substance abuse before and had hoped I’d never have to go down this path.

Now some of this problem is my fault. I brought the offending substance into the house and I encouraged some moderate use. What I didn’t know was that the problem would get so out of hand.

Nick is really and truly addicted to marshmallows and I think Wheeler is his enabler. You see, Wheeler likes munching on mushies too, and has been making regular trips to the pantry to sneak a sweet treat. Apparently, he’s also been sharing with Nick. For the record, Rosie still thinks they’re disgusting and is holding out for liver treats. She takes the mushie in her mouth, I guess because Nick seems so excited about them, but she spits it out every time.

The irritating part about it is that now, every time anyone opens the panty door, Nick rushes over and starts bouncing around. Not exactly behavior I want to encourage. Wheeler on the other hand is unrepentant and continues to share.

In other news, we finally got our Christmas tree decorated. I know, I know, we’re very late on the draw this year. We’ll leave it up though until the 12^th day of Christmas though. I must admit, now that it’s done, I’m glad. This is Nick’s first Christmas, and I can see the wheels turning. He’s filed this one under “people really are crazy.” He’s wants to know why, if we go to the trouble to bring a big bush in the house, he can’t use it as a potty, especially since it’s so cold outside. Rosie, on the other hand, is probably encouraging him to water the tree figuring that any misbehavior on his part will make her look more like an angel.

Procrastination - Wordle

I have tons to do – it’s that time of year when I have to make a list and check it twice just to be sure I remember to do everything I’ve promised. Tonight, I’m supposed to be wrapping presents. So what am I doing? I’m creating a wordle and posting it here. Kinda crazy, huh?

You can procrastinate and make your own at www.wordle.net. Try it if you haven't already, its fun!

Edited because I posted the wrong image.

It was a Mommy Kind of Weekend

I spent this weekend doing mom stuff. Wheeler had a wrestling tournament that lasted all day Saturday. His school was hosting so, of course, we had volunteer duties. I agreed to a three hour shift at the door. We charge a small admission, just enough to cover the costs of putting on the tournament. What amazed me were the excuses I heard from people trying to get out of paying to get in. “I just want to come watch my kid wrestle. Do I have to Pay?” Well duh, I don’t think there are tons of attendees that aren’t here to watch someone. “I only have a $100 bill, can you break it?” Lady, this is a high school wrestling meet, no, I don’t have ton of change. I started the day with $50 in ones. Eventually, I’ll have change, but not first thing in the morning. Now bear in mind that most of the people complaining were carrying cups of coffee that cost more than our paltry admission fee. They didn’t seem to have a problem with paying for that.

Door duty also makes you the complaint department. One lady harangued me because the sign pointing the way to the tournament was not big enough. There was a sign on the door that said “Wrestling” as well a much larger sign indicating the gym building. Call me crazy, but even if I missed the small sign on the door, I’d probably look in the gym before say, one of the classroom buildings. The school’s not that big anyway. Even without any signs, close your eyes and listen for the sounds of ref whistles.

Truly, those whiners were the minority. I really love door duty because I get to meet and talk to lots of folks.

All in all, it was a good day. Wheeler wrestled well and no one got hurt. Sorry, no pics though. He made me promise not to post one as he says he looks like a dork in a singlet. News flash Wheels, so does everybody else - but they are better than the Speedos the swimmers have to wear.

Comfort Food

Everyone has different favorite foods remembered from childhood. You know, that consumable that always makes everything, no matter how upsetting, seem better. For me, I remember afternoons with my grandmother who believed, and rightly so, that what she called a Black Cow could fix just about anything from hurt feelings to a skinned knee. They’re simple and easy to make with very few ingredients, and very, very tasty. It takes only about 2 minutes to pour a Coke over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, stir in a tad of vanilla extract, and top with a cherry…mmmm!!!

Not everyone has the same childhood associations and some may not even like my grandmother’s Black Cow whether they’re in a funk or not. In fact, my fizzy favorite may sound downright disgusting to you. The funny thing is, apparently my two canine pals, both adopted as adults, have a difference of opinion when it comes to one of Nick’s favorites. Reading Patti’s blog reminded that greyhounds are often given marshmallows by their trainers at the track as treats. They’re cheap and the dogs find them to be yummy – well usually. I used to buy them for Speedy and Sugar, but have fallen out of the habit in recent years. The other day, I walked past a shelf full of marshmallows in the grocery store and tossed a bag in my basket, thinking that the pups would love them.

When I got home, I pulled out the bag of white, fluffy goodness expecting both dogs to love them. Nick recognized the bag before I even got it opened and began bouncing around excitedly as soon as he saw it. Now Rosie is no dummy; even though she's not a greyhound and had most likely never seen a marshmallow, she could tell Nick was expecting something tasty, so she also began a happy dance. Nick happily gobbled up his prize. Rosie also seem thrilled to get the marshmallow. I wish I had a video of what came next. Rosie got a horrified look on her face and promptly spat the offending white, fluffy morsel out. She nosed at it for a minute or two, obviously trying to figure out what Nick found so wonderful about marshmallows, then walked away. Nick was happy to take care of her leftovers.

I guess marshmallows are an acquired taste…..

Who Stands Outside for Two Days in Cold, Rainy Weather?

Apparently , I do! The Metropolitan Atlanta Whippet Association hosted an ASFA field trial Friday , Saturday, and Sunday. What better way is there to fill out the Thanksgiving holiday? Actually, we only coursed Saturday and Sunday, but the trial went for all three days. My pharaoh phriends are always prepared for all sorts of weather, so we didn’t suffer much from the cold rainy weather. Bekki scored a great deal on a tent at the black Friday sales, so we were dry and warm inside with heaters going. Sandy outdid herself with hot soup and BBQ for lunch and Brianna brought tempting sweets. Despite the weather, it was impossible to be unhappy as we were warm and well fed :-)!

Despite my reservations, I let Nick run on Saturday. I was scared as it was wet and the course at Calhoun is hilly. I’m used to coursing Rosie. Pharaohs are lighter and not as fast as Greyhounds and aren’t as likely to get hurt if they fall. In fact, Rosie has tumbled more than once and never been the worse for it. Nick though, moves faster, weights more, and isn’t as experienced. Obviously, I’m a Nervous Nelly. In the end, I let him run and he did very well. He was the only open Greyhound, but he outscored both field champion greyhounds that ran. He tumbled down the hill on his first run (my worst fear realized) and skidded in on his shoulder when he “came in for his landing.” After I got my heart out of my throat, I checked him over – he was fine. He ran well in finals in the afternoon, and managed to keep all four feet under him. I didn’t wrap his legs at all for that run, but did in the morning, so I don’t know if that make a difference. He didn’t run as well in the best of breed run off though, so he only came away with 4 points for winning open. I think is was probably sore from his fall when he ran for best of breed, and I can’t blame him. He woke up Sunday morning pretty stiff, so he stayed home, much to his dismay. He was fine by the time I got home, and didn’t let me out of his sight the entire night. I think he was afraid I’d sneak off with Rosie again and leave him home.

Rosie, the trooper that she is, ran well both days and took best of breed Sunday. All the Pharaohs ran well, including Femi, who at age eight, has decided she wants to try her paw at coursing. Apparently, she was never much interested when she tried as a youngster. She won open on Saturday, but lost by a hair to Reign for best of breed. We teased that she just didn’t want to over obligate herself in her younger days as she’s had great success in agility and in conformation. Trey won field champion Sunday, so really the Pharaohs passed the honors around with everyone having a chance to run off for best of breed.

All, in all, it was a great weekend. It was fun for human and hound – despite the weather!!