Snuggle Time

Over the weekend, the animals sometimes drive me crazy.  Running in and out the back door, dragging toys all over the house, Smokie (the cat) whining and hissing because Luci won’t leave her alone, Blacky getting jealous that Luci is getting all the attention, Luci trying to find out why Blacky is getting hugged and she’s not.  Last night they made up for it with snuggle time. 

 

Last night I got to snuggle with Smokie (the cat) for almost an hour.  Luci and Blacky had gone upstairs and Smokie decided to come out of hiding and snuggle with Mommy.  Smokie doesn’t like Luci and will avoid her at all costs.  But if Smokie doesn’t see Luci or hear Luci, she knows it safe to come out of hiding.  Smokie jumps on the couch and plops herself on my lap.  She purrs in my ear and I talk to her about whatever TV show I’m watching.

 

That lasted about an hour or so before Luci decided she needed to see if what’s going on downstairs.  She pokes her head through the stair railing and sees Smokie on my lap.  Luci has to investigate why Smokie is on Mommy’s lap.  Smokie runs for the basement and Luci chases after her.  To distract Luci from the cat, I make Luci go outside to potty.  When Luci comes back in, she decides she needs Mommy time.  She barks at me until I sit on the floor with her.  She plops on my lap and lays there while I watch Grey’s Anatomy.   It’s so sweet and she looks so comfy that I sit there even after my leg has gone to sleep from the weight of her head cutting off the circulation to my leg. 

 

This is my reward for dealing with all the shenanigans of these furry four legged children.  (Yea, it makes up for not having my Sunday paper yesterday.)

Where’s The Paper?

If I have a Sunday that actually goes according to plan, then I don’t know how I’ll react.  Like last Sunday, I planned for this to be a "do nothing" Sunday.  Read the paper, fix a yummy breakfast, sit on the couch to watch movies with hubby, maybe start a new cross-stitch project, spend some quality time with the doggies, try a new recipe for supper. 

 

But first, read the Sunday paper.  The highlight of my Sunday morning is to read the paper – including the ads, coupon inserts, comics.  Since Luci is getting older and can sleep 8 hours without having to go potty, I can actually sleep in a little bit on Sunday morning.  Got up at 8 a.m., took Luci and Blacky out to go potty, fed breakfast to the puppies, fed breakfast to Smokie, started water for my tea, went to get my Sunday paper.  Hmm, no paper yet.  No problem, call Customer Service and tell them I need a paper.  Got the automated message system and left the necessary information for me to get my paper.  Okay, I should have a paper in about an hour or so. 

 

But, the paper never came.  Called again and talked to a human.  Human said they had my message but would see if the delivery person could hurry up.  Weelllll, the paper NEVER did show up. 

 

Rest of the day was nice.  But the routine was disturbed and it just feels I’ve forgotten to do something.  Hubby has laughed at me all day because I just seem lost without my Sunday paper. 

 

Hopefully this isn’t an omen as to how my week will be going.  Needless to say, someone at the newspaper customer service office is going to have a very bad Monday . . . .

 

 

 

Run, Run, Run

Had a bunch of errands to run today so it seems like I spent most of the day in the car.  Picked up arthritis meds for Blacky.  Got a haircut.  Made my weekly trip to Wal-Mart (what would I do without Wal-Mart?).  Go to Pet Smart to get a bigger collar for Luci (she’s growing like a weed).  Picked up lunch for hubby and took it to him at work (what a nice wife!).  Then it was time for the domestic goddess stuff at home – laundry, housework, a little bit of yardwork.  Go to 4:30 Mass (yes, I go to Saturday Mass.  That way I can sleep in on Sundays!)  Finally, go out to dinner with Hubby, Hubby’s Best Friend and Wife to celebrate Hubby’s birthday.  Whew, what a day! 

 

While I was out and about today, I noticed several instances of one of my major pet peeves.  Yes, that would be the dreaded talking on a cell phone while driving.  Ooohhhh, that one always gets me riled.  If the person in front of you is on the cell phone and driving, they are going AT LEAST 15 mph BELOW the posted speed limit and wait until the very last minute to make their turn.  No turn signal, no brake lights, just turn . . . NOW!  If the person behind you is on the cell phone, they are going AT LEAST 15 mph ABOVE the posted speed limit and they are stuck to your back bumper until you get out of the way for them.  It wouldn’t be so bad if it happened once ina while, but this is an every day occurance for me.  Yikes.  I’ve told Hubby that there must be some high powered magnet in the back of my car that attracts these yahoos. 

 

The shining moment of the day, though, completely overshadowed the cell phone yahoos.  I was able to buy Girl Scout cookies from some cute little girls (and their very brave leader) outside of Wal-Mart.  I say brave because it was windy and about 40 degrees outside today.  And they’ll be at my local Wal-Mart every week until March 17.  Mmmmm, thin mints . . . .

 

 

The Invitation

It arrived in my email box at home over the weekend.  The invitation to my 25^th High School Reunion. 

 

I’ve never been to any of my high school reunions.  I’ve always had some lame excuse, but this time I’m going and dragging Hubby along (kicking and screaming if I have to!). 

 

I admit that some of the appeal of going to my 25^th reunion is to see how badly some of my classmates have aged.  (Yes, I’m that superficial.)  Are the pretty girls still pretty?  Is the guy I had a major crush on in high school still gorgeous?  Did he marry a supermodel?  How did the old boyfriends turn out?  Now, I’ll admit that I’ve got the gray hair, extra pounds, and wrinkles that you’d expect on someone my age.  I want to see if they all have them, too.  And I want to show off the Hubby.  I want everyone to see that I DIDN’T marry the high school boyfriend.  (Long story, not a happy ending.  Remind me to write about it later.)  Now I have to lose 10 lbs in 5 months.  I have to find something decent to wear.  I have to convince Hubby that he really wants to spend the day with people he doesn’t know and will probably never see again. 

 

But I’m really curious about why I’m so excited about this reunion.  I wasn’t one of the cool kids – wasn’t a jock, or a stoner, or popular.  In a graduating class of over 300 kids, I was just part of the background.  Somebody’s friend, somebody’s girlfriend, somebody’s sister.  Never particularly stood out in my own light.  I didn’t have much to do with most of these people when I was in high school and I’m wondering why it’s important for me to see how life turned out for them. Is it because I’m getting older and starting to realize how important connections to your childhood really are?  Is it because I’m a sick person the wants to see that the cool kids and the jocks really did turn out to be normal like the rest of us?  I don’t feel like I’m old enough to be going to a 25 year high school reunion and I wonder if they feel that way too.  Where did the time go? 

 

Only 148 days till I find out the answers . . .

 

The Dog Mobile

First off, I will admit that it is a station wagon.  A cute little station wagon, but a station wagon nonetheless.  Something that I never imagined I’d be driving – but now that I have it, I wonder why I didn’t do it sooner.  Hauling two big dogs around in a 4 door sedan isn’t very easy.  Especially since Blacky likes to take up all the room and can’t control his wagging tail when he’s in the car and he was always smacking Goldie in the face with his tail.  (Goldie is the yellow lab that passed away shortly before Luci came to live with us.)  I used to drive a Ford Contour.  Nice car, family type thing, not too big, not too small.  When I first got it I just had Goldie and she fit nicely in the back seat.  Then came Blacky and it just wasn’t comfortable for poor Goldie if they were in the car together.  But I didn’t take them too many places, so it wasn’t a big enough problem for me to get a new car.  When the Contour died (it blew a spark plug clean out of the engine block), and it came time to replace it, Hubby and I decided it would be nice to have a wagon type vehicle for carting the dogs around – hence the title Dog Mobile.  So, we found the Ford Focus wagon.  What can I say, I’m a die-hard Ford owner – can’t imagine owning anything else.  It’s a nice car, keyless entry, childproof locks, electric windows, CD player.  All the wonderful things that I didn’t have in the Contour.  Of course, all the wonderful new gadgets take some time to learn and I’ve accidentally locked myself out of the car a couple of times.  Got some lessons on what to do and what not to do, and I don’t think I’ll have that problem anymore.  Hubby is grateful for that because he had to "rescue" me with the spare key. 

 

The really great thing is that it is a wonderful vehicle for carting dogs around.  They can be in the back area and have plenty of room to move around and not step on each other.  The only bad thing that I’ve found so far is that there are more opportunities for them to leave doggie nose prints on the windows.  I’m just wondering when I became the kind of person that drives a station wagon?  When did I become the responsible adult type that considered the comfort of her "children" before her own desire to drive a cool car?  I don’t feel like a responsible adult type person, but I’m obviously acting like one.  Yikes!  

 

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Today is Hubby’s birthday.  Won’t say how old he is . . . . but if you’ve read 101 Things About Me  you can probably figure it out.  (I will say that he’s old enough to be an AARP member!)

 

Hippo Birdee two ewe!

Hippo Birdee  two ewe!

Hippo Birdee deer ewe!

Hippo Birdee two ewe!

 

x0x0x0x

Me =)

 

 

Raising A Puppy

Luci is our 5 month old black lab puppy.  She came to live with us when she was 8 weeks old.  It had been over 6 years since there had been a puppy in the house, and I forgot how much hard work it is to raise a puppy.  Especially a lab puppy.  I have had my hands full with Luci from the minute I first laid eyes on her.  The first few days, Hubby, Blacky, and I were all thinking "what have we done?" 

 

Luci is a wonderful dog and I do truly love her.  She’s a mischievous little devil – which is why she’s named Lucifer.  Everything goes in her mouth.  Rocks, twigs, pine cones, socks, dryer sheets, refrigerator magnets, my gardening shovel, and my pajamas.  She’s found an Allen wrench that Hubby lost last summer.  She’d rather eat Blacky’s adult dog food than her own puppy food.  If she’s not supposed to have it – then she’s determined to get it.  She’s a counter surfer and if it’s really interesting, she has to see what’s up there.  Last night, she wanted to "watch" me wash dishes.   If she has something she’s not supposed to have in her mouth, she’ll go under the kitchen table and sit quietly hoping that I won’t see her. 

 

She loves the bathtub – even if there’s no water in it.  She’ll just get in the tub and sit there.  She wants to watch when we brush our teeth – because she wants to lick at the water coming out of the faucet.  She loves to chase her tail and she’ll spin until she’s dizzy.  If she’s tired, she’ll wander aimlessly through the house until I sit down with her and make her take a nap. 

 

But she’s not totally bad – which is why her middle name is Raphael.  She can be a little angel, too.  Usually when she’s asleep.  We’re crate training her, and she’s never messed in her crate.  She’s slept through the night from day one.  She was housebroke in less than two months.  We haven’t had an accident in the house in quite a while.  She’s learned the household routine really quickly and has even reminded me of what we’re supposed to be doing next.  She was a little stubborn during obedience class and didn’t want to listen to me.  Some of that was my fault because I wasn’t using my "mommy voice," and some if it was that she was the youngest dog in the class and the instructor told me that was to be expected.  She learned the commands quickly and performed them perfectly – in class.  Home is a totally different story – but she’s getting better. 

 

She’s gone from a 13 lb. baby dog to a 50 lb. big girl – and I’ve loved every minute of it.  Remind me of that the next time she’s getting on my nerves.  From what I hear, she’s going to be this rambunctious for at least the next 18 months!

Aww, Isn’t He Sweet?!

Monday’s are Hubby’s day off.  If he doesn’t have anything planned for the day, he is either on the computer or watching TV.  Being a typical guy, most of the time he doesn’t clean up after himself and there are assorted "gifts" for me when I come home from work on Monday night.  Nothing too serious – just enough for me to notice that this isn’t how I left the house when I went to work.  Just enough to make me spend some of my night cleaning up after him before I can get to the stuff that I had planned.  Hubby bowls on Monday nights so he’s gone before I get home from work.  If I have a mess to clean up, I mutter and mumble under my breath while I do it and by the time he gets home, the mess is gone and I’m in a better mood.  There’s really no point in saying anything to him about it.  Heck, we’ve been married 21 years.  I know by now that stuff like this goes in one ear and out the other with him. 

 

Yesterday was the exception to the rule.  With all the weather changes, the mud room has lived up to its name.  The dogs bring the mud into the mud room, I wipe their feet, and then they come into the kitchen with relatively clean feet.  I try to stay a step ahead of the mud, but the mud room is unheated and it was just waaaayy too cold over the weekend for me to go out and mop the floor.  I had planned to do it Monday night while watching the Olympics.  Hubby got motivated and did it for me.  Mopped the floor, wiped the door frames, cleaned the glass in the door, cleaned up the assorted "stuff" that Luci had brought into the mud room that we determined she didn’t need to be eating.  (Mostly sticks and rocks from the yard.)  Did a mighty fine job, I must say.  He even did the dishes and cleaned up after himself.  No mess for me to come home to.  Awww, isn’t he sweet?   

 

Of course there was a price to pay . . . there was a little "dig" about my housecleaning abilities.  Something along the lines of, "I can only look at something for so long before I do something about it."  Ooohhhkkkaaayyyyy.  Like I enjoyed looking at the muddy paw prints in the mud room?!  Why is it that the guys never notice the stuff you do – only the stuff you don’t do?!  Aaaarrrggghhhh!!! 

 

 

101 Things About Me – Part 4

76. My brother and I are both respectable upstanding adults now

77. My sisters were always the good children

78. Made honor society, always got good grades, stuff like that

79. My favorite color is Red

80. The only brand of jeans I’ll wear are Levis

81. 550 brand, relaxed fit, straight legs

82. I love to watch the Food Network and read cookbooks

83. I hate to cook

84. Hubby was a cook in the Navy

85. He taught me to cook, I’m not bad, I just don’t like to do it.

86. Mainly because I hate doing the dishes after

87. I’ve been a fan of "This Old House" since the first episode.

88. I would love to visit some of the houses that have been featured on the show.

89. Watching MTV these days makes me feel very, very old.

90. I love "Pimp My Ride"

91. I stopped watching scary movies after seeing "The Fly" with Jeff Goldblum

92. The donut scene is the reason why

93. Hubby LOVES scary movies

94. I go in the other room when he’s watching one

95. I’ll watch anything with Kevin Costner in it.

96. Or Antonio Banderas

97. I used to be a big fan of Tom Cruise

98. Until he divorced Nicole Kidman for no apparent reason

99. Then the fiasco that was last summer

100. I’d love to see Dr. Phil ask him "What were you thinking?"

 

So Much For Planning

The plan for today was . . . no plan.  Put on the warm sweatpants and sweatshirt and be a couch potato for the day.  Watch TV with hubby.  Cook his favorite supper with his favorite dessert.  First Sunday we’ve had without plans in a while. 

 

But first, I have to mop the kitchen floor to get rid of the doggie foot prints.  Then a quick trip to CVS to pick up a prescription.  Use the drive thru and I can still wear the sweatpants.  (I NEVER go out in public in sweatpants.)  Called MIL (mother-in-law) to find out about paperwork she wanted me to take a look at.  Something about Medicare Part D info (subject that’s a whole blog by itself).  Okay, I can pick that up.  Sweatpants still an option – MIL is family, not public.  MIL calls back to see if I’d pick up a pound of ground round on my way over.  That way she’s not out in the bitter cold that’s descended on us for the weekend.  Okay . . I can do that.  Grocery store is "public" and that means no sweatpants.  Drat!  Me and my "good daughter" complex.    

 

Shower, do the hair, do the make-up, get out long johns and other warm clothes . . . find the boots.  Gotta make this fast, the Daytona 500 starts at 1:30.  Okay, get it all done and home by 1:45 – not bad.  But the pre-race stuff doesn’t end until almost 2:30. 

 

Soooo . . . . now I’m ready for couch time with hubby.  I’m only a few hours behind schedule.  On a day that was supposed to be schedule-less.