freedom

Last night was an experiment.

Rana wakes us up by barking every morning between 5:35 and 5:45, very irritating. (We kennel her at night.) One of us gets up because we don't want her waking the kids and we want our spouse to be able to sleep a little longer in peace. Yesterday Yago and I were talking about it. We both felt like we were reinforcing Rana's bad behavior by trying to be thoughtful. Yago asked what I thought about just leaving her out at night. I was afraid she'd chew up a bunch of stuff while we slept (she's still teething).

We agreed to put her in the kennel but leave the door open. I heard her get out in the wee hours last night but she let me sleep until 6:30 or so. At that point she stuck her wet nose on me and woke me up. That's progress. Also, she didn't destroy anything with chewing.

I took her to get licensed a couple of days ago and the lady asked if her name was a Star Trek reference. ??? I explained that she had the name when we got her and I didn't know where it came from. Maybe Jessica could explain the Star Trek thing...

cars

Schmitty and I like to look at cars while we drive about town. He picks out cool Mustangs and old Chevelles. If I happen to see a Porsche or even the occasional Ferrari I'll point it out to him. We also look at detailing and after-market accessories, he loves those big spoilers.

The other day I was waiting at a red light near our house. When the light turned green the lady in front of me wasn't paying attention and didn't go. We wound up sitting through another red light, I was annoyed. When we were sitting through the second light Schmitty asked me which car was the Broad. "What?" "Which one of the cars in front of us is called a Broad?" Then I realized I had called the lady in front of me a dumb broad and he thought I was talking about a car. I had to explain what a broad was and apologize for my language.

Whoopsie.

frog boarding

We're heading to Oklahoma again Wednesday night for the Fourth of July weekend. The kids had a lot of fun last year so we're looking forward to going again.

I waited until the end of last week to try to find a kennel for Rana. Needless to say, I didn't have any luck. I didn't know there was such demand for pet boarding services. One place said they didn't have to interview her. ??? I guess that's a good idea but it sounds funny. What kind of loser would I feel like if my puppy failed the interview. Luckily, Mistress of Moomoo is willing to save the day (or the weekend) by taking care of her. I'll know better and start early next time.

I should do some housework before Ralphie wakes up. I'm trying to decide what to do this afternoon, Yago will be working late and Schmitty's at his grandparents' house tonight. Maybe we'll stop by the pool for a bit. I have to get my money's worth from our passes.

how stupid can you be?

I just read this article, I'm appalled. This woman is a complete idiot and shouldn't get custody back. Ever.

ambivalent

That's how I feel about MJ dying. In elementary school I had this poster over my bed, Mistress of Moo had another. I was a huge fan but then he became too kooky and started messing around with little boys. I can't say I think he had anything else to contibute to the world.

so silly

The boys went outside to play in the rain during a pretty good storm a few days ago. I saw neighbors peeking out from around curtains but that wasn't going to stop them from having a good time.

argh

If I don't have a drinking/drug problem by the end of the summer it'll be a miracle. There's a reason why Yago had a vasectomy after the second kid.

regrettable

Yago and I mowed the lawn last night. When he was done he told me the bunny died. I feel bad, like maybe there was something else we could have done. I was rooting for that little guy (or gal).

is anyone else hungry?

I was out mowing the backyard to surprise Yago, he plans on doing it all when he gets home. While mowing (and sweating my buns off) I occupied my thoughts with our upcoming anniversary dinner. It's a month away but we agreed to tighten our belts this month so we could go to Sullivan's again. I was dreaming of getting the bone-in ribeye this time, it's what Yago ordered on Valentine's Day. I was imagining the creamy texture of the creme brulee on my tongue when I realized Yago isn't going to be in town on our anniversary! He's going to Keesler for a couple of weeks in July for ACOT. I don't think he knows he'll be gone for the big day yet. It's not that big of a deal, just funny that we didn't realize it sooner. At least this time he won't be in Iraq.

moved on

I discovered the other day that most all the blogs I used to read when I was in Germany are gone. It's like finding out that some people you used to hang out with up and moved, never to be heard from again.

I'd quit checking most of them because they'd quit making regular entries. The other day I decided to go check on them when I discovered they no longer exist. Now I wonder what and how they're doing.

This week is supposed to be awful weather here, close to 100 degrees with a lot of humidity. Miserable. I had my plan to go swimming but the pools aren't cooperating. The pools open at 12:00, that's when we're wrapping up lunch and starting the midget's nap. We're going to have to readjust the study sessions, lunch and nap to accommodate the recreation.

Yago's brother and his wife came up here to see some College World Series game last weekend. Aah, to be young without kids. Those two slept until 9:00 every morning. That seems strange to me now. On Saturdays I usually lay in bed until 8:00 but I can't remember the last 9:00 morning I had. It certainly predates Ralphie.

Bug and Schmitty are trying to convince me that they both read five hours over the weekend. I find that hard to believe. I believe they read but I think they're fudging their sheets for free loot from the library. Can I prove they're lying? No.

Well I have some worksheets to put together...

nest

This morning the puppies (my brother and sister-in-law are visiting) dug up a bunny nest in our yard. Around 7:00 this morning I heard them barking ferociously at something, ran out, and heard a bunny screaming. Really not a good sound. It fit in my palm and was completely defenseless about six feet out of it's nest.

I brought the dogs in and then did some quick research on what the heck I was supposed to. Touch the bunny? Don't touch the bunny? According to what I read I was supposed to gently put the bunny back, the momma rabbit wouldn't be back until nightfall.

I purchased wire garden border stuff to put around the nest in hopes of keeping the dogs out while keeping it accessible for momma. We'll see what happens. They're really too cute.

they do something right

So there is ONE thing I like about W-mart, their site-to-store shipping. It's free and if you're not in a hurry it's great. Why can't all stores do that? I purchase whatever item that they don't have in stock online and then they send it to a local store of my choosing. They're sending trucks full of merchandise anyway, so they add the item I've paid for to the load then send me an email when it gets to the store.

I wish more stores would offer that option.

teletown hall meeting

The other day I got a phone call (which I'd assumed was a telemarketer) inviting me to join a telecon town hall meeting with my congressman. After I realized what it was I stayed on the line and listened, it was one of the most interesting things I've participated in. The topic was healthcare and if I wanted to comment or ask the congressman a question I would be put in the queue. I got to hear some ridiculous rants that had nothing to do with healthcare but it was worthwhile.

We have Yago's bother and sister-in-law coming to town today for some College World Series games. We'll have a good time.

tick tock... or just tick

We are STILL picking ticks off the dog. I found one yesterday while giving her a bath and Yago found another one this morning. Gross gross gross. Everytime I think they're gone we find more. At least they're not on me. Another good thing about NY state, I never saw a tick there. Of course, I didn't spend a whole lot of time walking in the woods back then.

Bug has been banging on the piano trying to write songs and sing. Since Schmitty had his lesson yesterday morning I went ahead and let her have a lesson too. I thought at least it would give her something to practice that didn't make me long for peaceful sound of falling cats. Let's just say things haven't improved the way I'd hoped. Maybe next week it'll sound better.

I'm itching everywhere and all I can think is that it's a tick. Ick.

whew

Well our vacation is over! It had some really great moments peppered with some less than great moments. I guess that's always true. I'm just happy to be home.

We went to see a cave, a natural spring, and spent a couple of days canoeing down the Buffalo River. I was fun and I got a couple of good pictures.

vacation preparation

We're leaving Sunday for a week in Arkansas. I found a cabin in the middle of some woods and that's where we're going. Bird watching and hiking are the activities listed on the website. There's a tv but Yago wants us to spend a week in the woods sans tv, we'll see how it goes. We'll take lots of books and we'll have Ralph and the puppy with us so we shouldn't have a problem staying occupied.

We have a lot to do to prepare. I still have to buy a collapsable crate for the pooch. I always forget stuff, I wonder what it'll be on this trip.

busy summer

Did you see what happened on Oprah yesterday? Me neither!! I've been too busy! That stinks, at least they're all reruns now.

summer lessons

Tomorrow is Schmitty's last day of school. I'm watching my niece, we'll call her Bug, while Mistress of MooMoo is at work over the summer. My goal is to avoid the summer brain drain. Since Bug is already out of school we went to the public library and checked out some books. We're enrolled in the library's summer reading program.

I think I may get more of a lesson than the kids. A puppy, a Ralph, a Bug and a Schmitty? Am I crazy?

Schmitty's been going through a stage that I'm afraid is going to last in to his mid-twenties. He'd rather be holed up in his room than hang out with the family. Really? At eight years old? I expected it when he turned 14. I sense he thinks I'm an idiot that just drones on and on about meaningless crap. It's quite annoying.

nightmares past

I had the worst nightmare last night and thinking about it this morning I don't know why I was so bothered by it. I had a dream I was flying in the RJ again. That alone is enough to make my stomach turn...

I'd forgotten a lot about flying, like I have to take a Dramamine. We'd just taken off and I was nauseous looking at my checklist which didn't bode well for the rest of the flight. Then we had to turn around and come back for something so I ran off the plane to get something I'd forgotten. I was wearing a three quarter coat with a belt instead of my flight jacket. I returned to the plane to a failure letter that the pilot had written when he saw me running across the flight line in a dress coat instead of my flight jacket. The letter didn't just state that I'd failed my eval, it was malicious.

I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep for quite a while. I was thinking about how he'd written it'd been six years since my last flight and after doing the math it'd been nine years. How dumb is that?

yago came back...

Thank goodness, Yago's back! We went to Schmitty's music festival on Saturday and he did very well, he got a little music medal. He made a couple of mistakes but overall did great. He's never been judged or graded before. I asked him if he wanted me to check to see if I was allowed to go in with him. He said no. Hmph.

Sunday afternoon we went for a family bike ride on a local trail. I drove Schmitty's and my bike on the car while Yago rode his to the trail entry point. After the ride we realized we didn't have any wine for dinner and since I didn't bring my wallet Yago had to stop on the way home. He had a backpack he put it in and it reminded me of when Mickity used to ride over to my house at Laughlin with wine in her backpack.

Rana got her haircut today, I think she looks a little funny. She's super fuzzy, still cute.