Photo Phriday

Today was a work from home day for me, but we did venture out for lunch. Hubby really likes sushi, but I am not a fan. He had heard about this restaurant and found that it had something for the both of us. The look on hubby's face told me that his sushi was very good. My food was extremely good, but that was definitely the most expensive lunch I have ever had.

News Teaser

I heard a news teaser this afternoon that was really strange. It said: "A mother throws her daughter in to traffic, how will this affect the child?"

How do you think this will affect the child. Scarred for life, need therapy, or perhaps hate her mother. Give me a break. I know they are just trying to get people to watch, but come on.

Wine

I really want to learn to like wine. My hubby and most of my friends like various wines, but I haven't found one that I really like. Red wines are too strong and white wines taste bitter to me. The only wine that I have found that I can drink is a Riesling, but it is really sweet. We have gone to wine tastings and I have tried to learn and search out which ones are appealing; unfortunately, I still can't find one that I would like to drink on a regular basis.

When I go out for company dinners or out with my hubby, it would really be nice to have a glass of wine and enjoy the conversation. Instead, I drink tea, soda, or a mixed drink. How does a person train the taste buds to enjoy wine?

Flu Shot

I had a flu shot today for the first time ever. After she gave me the shot she told me that my arm would hurt for several days. I really would have preferred to know that in the beginning. What she didn't mention was that by the end of the day, your whole body would ache. They absolutely promised me I would not get the flu. If they told me wrong, I am not going to be a happy person.

This Week

I didn't realize until today that I had not posted anything since Monday. This week has flown by for me. Tuesday, I was so tired and irritable that no fun to be around. I was such a witch that I didn't even want to be around myself. On Thursday I took Riley to her obedience class since I am the one who has a hard time being authoritative when giving her commands. I fully expected the class to be really hard since I have not been going, but Riley was really good - and I did okay too. The only other participant in the class is a 4 month old Yorkie names Tulip and her owners Paige and Alex. Tulip was still in "rock star" mode from Tuesday's howl-o-ween contest. She dressed up like a bumblebee and won first place. Friday I was up at the butt-crack of dawn to go to Flower Mound. That was such a long day. Today, we did all of the errands that didn't get done during the week. While we were at Academy looking for a larger dog kennel, I found the most adorable little shoes for baby Seth. They are camo (my sister in law is active military) with a Longhorn logo. Of course, I had to find something to help cushion the box, so I got several bibs. I had a hard time deciding which ones until I saw one that says "I Love my Auntie." I hope Chelle doesn't read this before the box gets there!

I also noticed today that I looked really old and tired. Hubby, being oh so supportive, reminded me that I was aging after all. He was very amused at himself - I was not quite as amused. Perhaps more sleep will help with the bags under the eyes.

Gas Prices

I am so happy to see gas prices continue to come down. Yesterday, the price at the gas station near my work was $2.59 per gallon. That was a $0.10 drop from the day before. Unfortunately, I fill up when it was $2.69, but I was happy to pay that amount considering some of the prices we had been paying lately. I just hope they continue to drop for a little while longer.

Insomnia Sucks

I was sound asleep on the sofa two hours ago. I don't even remember the ending of the House episode I was watching about the 600 pound man. Now, I am wide awake. I don't have the luxury of being able to sleep in. I have to be up in three and half hours to start my busy day. I can't even sneak out of work early to come home and take a nap - I am booked in meetings or conference calls all day long. Why can't my eyes stay closed when it is time to go to bed? This happens a lot, but it is usually because I have a "to do" list running through my head. Not tonight. My brain is clear and I want to go to sleep. I stayed in bed thinking I would just eventually fall asleep, but that didn't work. I was tossing and turning so much I was certain I would wake the hubby. I don't want to turn on the television or any lights, because then the dogs will wake up and want to be taken outside. I even took some night time cold medicine before bed. Arrrrrgh. I am hoping sitting at the computer will make my eyes tired enough to fall asleep, but not so tired that I don't get up when the alarm goes off at 6.

Photo Phriday

This is Riley's new stick. Apparently the one that we got her from the woods behind our apartment was not big enough! Abbie is trying to figure out how to get the bird seed from the feeder that is about 4 feet up in the tree. Yes, they are crazy, but I love them anyway.

Phone Obsession

My dog, Riley, has an obsession with the telephone. Anytime it rings, she whines and jumps on you wanting to hear the person on the phone. It all started when my husband called me one day at work and put me on the speaker phone. Riley heard my voice and started acting silly. When he showed her the phone, she started licking it like crazy, took it out of his hands, and carried it to her bed. All of this sounded really strange on my end. All I could hear was him telling her to bring the phone back.

Now, any time the phone rings, she insists on trying to get the phone out of your hands. If the battery goes dead, I will know it was not saliva proof!

Blue Lacy

The Blue Lacy is a breed that originated in Texas around mid 1800 and is believed to be a cross between the greyhound, a scent hound, and a wolf. They are very intelligent and easy going dogs. Appearance wise, they look a lot like a lab. www.dogbreedinfo.com/bluelacy.

I am definitely considering adding a Yorkie to the threesome from this litter. It depends on how many she has in the litter. Although I am not sure how one that small will work with Miss Riley who has now hit 27 pounds and still gaining! Riley is quite the little brutus.

Puppies

My mother is about to have a puppy explosion. She has a pair of Yorkies and a pair of Blue Lacey's that are about to be parents. Her Yorkies are due this Saturday and the Lacey's are due just before Thanksgiving. My parents house is already like a miniature zoo, so I can't imagine how chaotic it will be once the puppies are born. They already have 6 dogs, 2 coyotes, and 2 amazon parrots. And, yes, I did say coyotes. My dad is a surveyor and they found them abandoned by the mother on a job several years ago. My parents raised them as if they were dogs and now they don't leave. They have tried to let them go in the wild, but they always come back. They have even had a couple of litters of pups at my parents home.

On a personal note, I would love to have one of the Yorkies. They are so adorable. I got one of the pups from my mothers very first litter almost 20 years ago and our little Munchkin was with us for 13 years. When we brought her home she was so small she fit in my husbands shirt pocket and never got over 5 pounds. Going home for Thanksgiving should be very interesting - especially adding my two monsters to the mix!

Seth Steven

Seth Steven is the name of my nephew who should be making his grand entrance into the world around mid November. At first, I was not crazy about the name, but it has slowly began to go on me. For little Seth's sake, I hope that my sister in laws genes are more dominant than my brother's; otherwise, little Seth will come in to this world with a full head of bright red hair and very large ears. This is not my first nephew on my side of the family (hubby's side is pretty large), but we don't get to see my brother's son from his first marriage very much. I am hoping we will get the opportunity to be closer to Seth. I am the aunt who fills them full of sugar, spoils them rotten, and then sends them back home. I know, I know, every kid needs an aunt like that and I am happy to fill that need. I had an aunt like that, Sylvia, and I cherished every minute I had with her. Even later in life when I knew better, she was still so much fun. With Seth, I will have to spoil him long distance since they live in California.

Glasses in the Freezer

When got my glasses with transition lenses a few years ago, the tech told me to go home and put them in the freezer overnight. When he told me that I that he was playing a prank on me, but I did it anyway. About a year later my hubby got new glasses with the transition lenses and they did not tell him to put them in the freezer. We followed their instructions thinking they knew what they were doing. Unfortunately after about a year the film on his glasses began to peel. It was so bad it was in his line of vision. Of course they started peeling after the 1 year warranty expired. I have been wearing the same pair of glasses since 2005 and have not had any issues with the film peeling. The only thing done differently with the two pair is that mine spent a night in the freezer before being worn. We both use the same cleaning solution and cloths so that could not have caused the difference. When I mentioned this to the techs a the glasses place they didn't say we should put them in the freezer, but they didn't say we shouldn't. Actually I think they were trying to determine if I was joking. Needless to say, the pair we purchased today is spending a night in the freezer before getting worn! They are way too expensive to risk having them start to peel so soon.

Good News

Today I received something in the mail other than a pile of bills. I received the lab results back from my tests on Monday. I am still in the pre-diabetes stage. That means 1 pill instead of 3 or more. Over the last couple of weeks I have been gauging how I feel with different diet varieties. I feel much better when I stick to a primarily vegetable based diet (just include small amounts of meat) and have a light meal mid day. Now I just have to get the exercise thing going.....

OJ Simpson

Okay, I know this may not be a popular opinion, but I am glad that the justice system has finally caught up to OJ Simpson. Yes, I am one of those who thinks he was guilty the first time and got off because he hired a smart lawyer. Do I think they are going overboard with this case? Possibly, but I don't care. Simply mentioning this name in our household starts an instant debate because hubby thinks he is innocent. I, obviously, think he is very guilty. Karma is a witch and she will eventually catch up to you. Looks like she finally caught up to OJ.

Doctor Visit

I have not been feeling like myself for a while. I have been really tired, irritable, and in general just feel like crap. I suspected I knew what was going on, but I went to the doctor Friday anyway so we can get things going on the right track. As suspected, I am a pre-diabetic. I am very familiar with diabetes because of my family and my husband, so I knew the warning signs and could tell I was starting to have more of them. I just didn't want to admit that it could be happening to me too. I have a few more tests to do to make sure I am still in the "pre" stages, but we have a game plan to get things going in a more positive direction. Mainly - be more active. On Monday I go to take the other tests and then I can get busy correcting what I have tried to ignore for too long.

Progress

Today I finally made progress in being able to set up my new team at work. Since Monday I have been in back to back conference calls dealing with all of the other division heads around the state about staffing. Today was the final call and I actually got almost everything I wanted. Now I feel like I can actually begin putting my new team and department together. Things are going to move very quickly from here until the end of the year. My new office should be ready in December and I have 30 days to move in my staff and be ready to roll by the beginning of the year. I am confident we can get it done, it is just going to come quickly.