A warning to germs, viruses, and other little creepies.

I am fully armed.

At work, there are four different bottles of hand sanitizer at my desk -- two gel-based containers (one is lavender scented and available for use by the public, and they had best use it -- the other is just a purse-sized trial size). There's also a trial-sized bottle of the Lysol Healthy Touch foam, and a sample of a hand sanitizer spray (part of a promotion that I got last night at Walgreen's). I have sugar-free cough drops. I have plenty of Celestial Seasonings tea bags as well as sugar-free spiced cider packs -- and let's NOT forget the many packets of Emergen-C in my purse. Oooh, I nearly forgot the now almost-empty tub of disinfecting wipes on the shelf (note to self: pick up more of those over the weekend).

And at home, I have the two bottles of hand sanitizer in my purse, plenty -- PLENTY, mind you -- of antibacterial soap, more sugar-free cough drops picked up at lunch, several cans of soup plus leftover hot-n-sour soup from this evening .... which I halfway expected to really open me up from whatever is causing this, but hasn't so far .... and OH YEAH, the rock-n-rye picked up this evening from the P Road Party Shop. God bless good ol' Rock-n-Rye. It's cheap whisky but it makes one hell of a medicinal mix.

Why am I so heavily armed? Because I have a scratchy throat.

Now, I am not a nervous Nellie in the least. Nor am I a germophobe along the lines of Adrian Monk. I'm not wiping down every surface the minute people exit my office or leave my general vicinity. But I will be danged if I allow this feeling to bloom into a full-fledged.... whatever. I refuse to let the germs win. Right now, I sound like Marge Simpson. Here's the other part of the equation -- I'm singing Sunday night for Mass. Yep. I practiced a little in the car at lunch. I hit the bass notes better than the higher alto notes that I am accustomed to singing.

It behooves me to take care of myself as much as possible. And so I am, and armed to the teeth.

This pirate is looking......

So, this weekend, I turned 39. 98% of me is not bothered by that number at all. The other 2% is humming the referenced Buffett song madly.

But I have another song that sums it up much better -- for the 98% of me excited to be alive and another year wiser, and another year better, and another year happier. So, with many thanks to Darius Rucker............

Thirty-nine (39) candles burnt out on a cake
Each representin' a million mistakes
The last one still burns, there's a wish I can make
This time I'm getting it right
So I close my eyes and I take a deep breath
And I promise myself in the time I have left

I'm gonna work like I don't need the money
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin'
I'm gonna love while I still got the time

Lovin' me hasn't been easy on you
I don't know why, but I know you still do
It may be my day, but here's a present for you
You're lookin' at your new man
He's sincere and sober and faithful and kind
And he's home when you need him and girl startin' tonight

I'm gonna work like I don't need the money
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin'
I'm gonna love while I still got the time

No more excuses and no more me doing things wrong
Life is too short, baby, I've wasted ours for too long
And baby from now on

I'm gonna work like I don't need the money
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin'
I'm gonna love while I still got the time

I'm gonna work like I don't need the money -- I know I am
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry -- laugh laugh laugh
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin' -- I'm gonna dance, I'm gonna dance
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
While I still got the time


So there it is -- one more year in the mirror, but so many more to go, so many more to live. Let's live 'em!

My kind of town!

So, this time last week, I was waking up from a nap in a Chicago-area hotel room.

My flight out was nice. It was on time (this is important) and we actually landed a little early. The descent gave me a slight headache, though, and I am not sure why. It wasn't a full-on migraine, but just enough of an ache to make me just-this-side of miserable. My bags didn't get sent to Pocatello, thank you little eight-pound Christchild of the manger, and came off the plane and onto the carousel just fine.

I found a cab right outside that could drive me to Glenview...... where I promptly got handed a jar of Vaseline and told to bend over. Well, sort of..... The meter at the end read $29.25, and I was told, "Well, it's actually $44.00. It's time and a half because I had to drive to the suburbs....." Excuse me? It took you ten minutes, and I have since discovered that you actually drove a mile and a half out of the way because you turned left off the exit instead of right. Fine, whatever. But I saw no notice that said anything about time-and-a-half and the suburbs. It's a shame a pleasant cab ride had to end that way.

The hotel was nice; it was one of the preferred ones from Corporate Office. We got a fantastic rate, and it could not have been a more comfy, pleasant room. And I'm being truly serious. I'm usually the type that says, "Hey, as long as the pillows don't go too flat, the a/c doesn't rattle all night, and the blanket keeps me comfy, then I am good to go, who cares what chain it is?" This one may cause me to change my mind about that. There was a nice LCD TV, a sofa and coffee table, nice desk, and very comfy bed. The facilities were very nice and spacious; nothing I hate worse than a teensy hotel bathroom.

And the staff was very nice. They were able to answer all my questions ..... for the most part. Apparently there is some miscommunication between Corporate and the shuttle service. They told us it didn't start until 9:00 AM, and we were told at Corporate, "BALONEY! It starts whenever you need it to, and you can tell them we said that!" The breakfast was nice too -- a mix of hot and cold, and the staff was very accommodating. And they had a nice workstation area, which is great for those of us in the stone age still without laptops.

So anyway, let's fast forward to Wednesday. Training was great, I learned a lot, we had fun.... a colleague and I both had flights leaving around the same time -- and he had a rental car! So we decided to head downtown and see the sights. My original plan was to check my luggage, hop on the El and go to Daley Plaza. This way, we could see lots of sights, not just Daley Plaza...... only I was stricken with a sudden case of motion sickness. AARGH!!!! I felt a little queasy at one point on the way in, but it passed pretty quickly. But just a few minutes later, a full attack. Just enough to give me a headache, and make me want to do nothing but nap. My colleague -- one of the nicest people around, by the way -- apologized a million times over, thinking his driving had caused it. Nope, just this weird thing I have.... and hate.

I got to O'Hare, got through security, and headed for the gate. There was a Mickey D's there, and I realized I hadn't had anything since breakfast. So I grabbed something quick and WW-friendly, ate it, and sat to wait on the boarding time. I had about 90 minutes to kill so I read the newspaper, read part of a book, and then.......... Delay.

It had rained all day, and the two flights prior to mine were delayed. For starters, they pushed us back a half-hour (ha.... ha ha ha). With that in mind, I called the office, left a message for my boss to let him know I'd be in even later than planned ... actually, I'd take a half-day vacation and come in at 1:00. I also called the family to inform them -- we have some serious worrywarts in the bunch.

Twenty minutes before we were scheduled to board, they THEN informed us that we were changing gates. Yep. Meaning: more delay. FINALLY, we boarded around 7:30 PM Chicago time ... 90 minutes after schedule. Believe me, the pilots made up some of the delay in the air. There were some pockets of turbulence, enough to make me grip the arm of the seat a couple of times -- and I am thinking the flight attendant thought I was sick when it took me a few extra moments in the lavatory. It was actually a zipper on my pants that got stuck. But it was enough for her to give me a free drink..... which I felt bad about!

Finally, we got in only 40 minutes later than scheduled ..... again, praise be, my luggage was the 2nd one on the carousel! I got back to my car in almost no time and on the road for home. I had already decided that I would drive as far as I could until I got tired, and then I would definitely pull over. About a half-hour into it I was feeling good. Twenty minutes later, I was looking for the first good hotel I could. I was still about 45 minutes from home, but no way could I go any longer. I checked into the hotel, got a nice room, and was asleep in 10 minutes.

The next morning, I checked out and headed home. I had had a long trip and needed to chill before heading to the office. And to see my sweet Maddox --- who was incredibly happy and surprised to see me!

And.... I have decided to save some money and go back to Chicago next spring to see the sights myself, on my own timetable!!! I have to see what I missed!

Procrastination, thy name is....

I am sitting here, doing a blog post.

What I ought to be doing is walking the dog. Then packing for my business trip. Then getting more stuff together. And preparing to go to bed a little early, since I plan to go in somewhat earlier tomorrow morning.

And I am sitting here, writing.

Okay. I'm done. I have GOT to go do things. No more excuses.

Releasing my inner country girl....

This week, and even some of last week, I've been in a country music mood. So thanks to Rhapsody, I was able to play some new stuff and old favorites. Monday and Tuesday, I played Darius Rucker's Learning to Live -- it's pretty good!!!! It's got a country feel without being overly twangy. I can definitely see myself buying this one this weekend. Really good sound.

But yesterday, I needed more country and only a dose of George Strait would do. My brother is a HUGE George Strait fan. I swear, for a time there in the early-to-mid-90s, about the only artist he ever seemed to play was George Strait. I learned his music in and out, and it's good stuff. So yesterday, I loaded up his Strait Out of the Box, and played it over and over. Good memories and even better music.

So I have decided that I will be working on a playlist for the ol' MP3 which will allow me to release my inner country girl....... okay, my inner redneck. More to follow...............

Shufflin' Things Up

(and not the Curly Shuffle, woob woob woob).

Here's a little game:

• Put your music player on shuffle.
• Post the first line (unless the first line reveals the song title) from the first 30 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
• Strike through the songs when someone guesses both artist and song title correctly. (Just post a comment, and I will let that serve as the record.)
• Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING!
• If you like the game, post your own

Okay, either mine doesn't have shuffle or else I haven't figured out where shuffle is, BUT.... here goes:

1. Every time I move I lose, when I look I'm in
2. (spoken intro) "Fellas, I'm ready to get up and do MY thang....."
3. If I said what's on my mind, you'd turn and walk away
4. Yeah, it's been a long long time, you're such a sight
5. You turn me on, you lift me up like the sweetest cup I share with you
6. If you can just get your mind together, then come on across to me
7. (2nd line) Light in your head and dead on your feet
8. I'm feeling so tired, can't understand it, just had a fortnight's sleep
9. (opening verse) Midnight creeps so slowly into hearts of men who need more than they get
10. You know she likes to take me dancing on the outskirts of town
11. Now I like taking off, don't like burning out
12. (verse) It burned like a ball on fire, when the rebel took a little child bride
13. We get it almost every night, when that moon is big and bright
14. Everybody go on and dance if you want to, music makes your body move, well all right
15. Talking about stealing the show, no one would know
16. I've seen the bright lights of Memphis and the Commodore Hotel
17. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!
18. I hear songs on the radio, they might be fast or they might be slow
19. Though I've tried before to tell her of the feelings I have for her in my heart
20. Pariah dogs and wandering madmen, barking at strangers and speaking in tongues
21. Long time no see, short time for you & me
22. What kind of trouble did I get into (gotcha moving, gotcha moving)
23. Heartbreaker, soul shaker, I've been told about you
24. I had myself a tall one waiting at the bar
25. This silver bird takes me 'cross the sky
26. Feel when I dance with you, we move like the sea
27. You've got me so confused, and there's words I could use
28. (1st v) Nobody's right till somebody's wrong, nobody's weak till somebody's strong
29. Cheat the odds that made you, brave to try to gamble at times
30. I can feel no sense of measure, no illusion as we take

Have fun!

10 Minutes, 8 Seconds

(note: cross-posted to Weighty Matters)

Today was the Race for the Cure ...... and I reached my goal!!!! I shaved 10:08 off last year's time of 1:06:34 by coming in this year at 56:26. I jogged in a few places to hit my goal, but it was worth it! I would have honestly been happy at anything around 57 or so. But seeing the actual number was fantastic. I went from a pace time of 21:24 (last year) to 18:10 this year. Holy Moses!

And this year, speaking of numbers, we had an approximate 25% increase in the number of participants..... amazing enough, but even more so in light of the very shaky economy. It's unbelievable and humbling.

Last year, I was very inspired by all the survivors. Seeing them do the walk -- especially those newly diagnosed or battling the disease -- was enough to bring me to tears. This year, there was a young lady who was walking it on a prosthetic leg. As she came down her side of the course (as several of us were walking up to the turnaround), all you could hear was "Oh my God, how awesome is that girl!" I found her after the race and told her so -- that she inspired me to keep moving, and that she amazed me. She was so gracious about it and almost seemed as if she couldn't believe all the people who told her how proud they were of her (I am betting her time was probably between 45 and 50 minutes). She was a hero to me today, as were all those who took part in the survivor ceremony.

My cousin was one of the competitive runners.... he fell a little short of his hoped-for time, but not by all that much. Instead of 24:00, he ran a 26:08 .... good enough to be in the top 225 (out of close to 900 runners!). TOP QUARTER!!!! I'm so proud of Brandon I could burst!

And I already can't wait for next year!

A picture of my baby!

This is a picture of my very sweet baby!!!

What a PRECIOUS face!!!! (Of course, it's helped by the fact that "Nanny" had treats, and Maddox is a master at the sad beggy look!)

My busy Thursday.... and lucky Saturday!

It was so busy I'm just now getting a chance to write about it!

As you know from earlier posts, I was last year's captain for my company's Race for the Cure team. It was my first year doing it, and I enjoyed the hard work we put in. I have since learned that I knew nothing about hard work.

Thursday was Team Captain Packet Pickup day. As a member of the Race Committee (Sleep-In chair), I was asked to volunteer --- plus I could do some of the Sleep-In work at the same time. I got there at 8:30 and maybe sat for a total of 30 minutes until 6:00 PM. And that COUNTS the 20 minutes I took to drive some t-shirts over to one of the teams (I had miscounted). I helped move tables, shrink-wrapped boxes on pallets to be moved, hefted boxes once they got moved, packed t-shirts, recounted t-shirts, ran hither and yon, helped in putting together my packets for my own team, and do some of the stuffing for Sleep-In.

I also ran into my cousin's son who works at the building where we had pick-up. I'm so proud of him in so many ways, but especially since this year, he's running the race. His grandmother is my aunt who's the breast cancer survivor, so it's especially meaningful! AND I ran into a classmate of mine -- haven't seen her in 21 years (she lives around here but didn't make either of the reunions). She puts together a HUGE team ..... how awesome is that!

When I finally got to sit down at my WW meeting, it was then that my muscles finally said, "No mas!" and BOY was I sore, even the next morning. But it's the best kind of sore there is -- the feeling of satisfaction, knowing you've done something for a good cause!

***

Speaking of good causes..... The Witch told me that Birthright (for whom she volunteers) would be taking part in Macy's "Shop for the Cause" today. I was going to be out that way anyway, so.........

I first had to go to Burlington Coat Factory. I bought a lovely gray wool coat there several years ago, and wore the daylights out of it.... until it got way too big for me to wear. One of my WW buddies passed on two of her old coats last year, and they were fantastic. But alas, they too are now way too big, and I have passed them on. But I am also heading to Chicago in 3 weeks for training, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I will need a good coat up there by that time. I found a VERY good deal there at Burlington! It was a black wool blend (80/20) full coat, with a heavy-duty zipper, metal closures, and attached hood. Best of all, it was marked down around 22% off the original price. SWEET! There were also some peacoats on sale there, and I might (might) get one of those to use as well.

After my sweet deal at Burlington, I headed over to Macy's. I missed Witchiepoo by about 5 minutes, but bought the all-day savings pass with a donation and signed my name up for the door prizes. My mom was with me, ran into someone we knew, and then I joined them. Suddenly.......... "*BING BING* -- our next door prize winner is Nettiemac! Please come to the front to claim your prize!"

Yeah, I'd stood there a whole 5 minutes and won .... I got a pretty blue-green teardrop glass vase, a set of three crystal candleholders (for use with either pillars or tapers), and a Wedgewood Christmas ornament. I need to give away the ornament, because it says "Our First Christmas Together." I don't know any newlyweds I could give it to, but someone at work might. Ya know?

What a lucky day --- a great coat on sale, AND a lucky break on a door prize. WAHOO!

Crazy days....

Ever have those days where you meet yourself coming and going? Welcome to my world, at least for the last couple of weeks. Between my regular job, helping to coordinate the United Way campaign at work, trying to do Race for the Cure stuff, choir practice, etc. etc., well, it makes for one very tired Nettie.

In good news, I had a follow-up with my physical therapist regarding the lymphedema. The double-hosiery idea (one pair full hose with an additional pair of knee-highs over that) seems to be working. It's holding the areas to their regular measurements, which is what is supposed to be happening. I'll probably have this going on until such time that I have the surgery. After that, I'll probably just need knee highs. But even I have to admit I don't mind the full hose so much. Right now, it's keeping everything squooshed and slimmed.

If you read my Weighty Matters blog regularly, you'll see that I finally hit my 200-pounds-gone mark! Just a few more pounds to go ..... mere ounces for a personal milestone, a teensy number of pounds for yet another personal milestone, and roughly 25 to go to hit final goal. I am being as patient with myself as I can be!

All week long, I've had a very slow, soothing playlist going. It sprang from an Internet discussion among friends, and it's sort of developed a little further. My own playlist has been heavy on Van Morrison and Marc Cohn. Good stuff, those two!

Speaking of music -- I scored two tickets for Trans-Siberian Orchestra, coming to the Bi-Lo Center in November. WAHOO! Others who have seen them have told me that they are fantastic -- I can't wait!

Well, that's about it from here for now. I hope to get back into the blogging habit (I have been slack this summer, I know!)

Earworms.....

You know what earworms are, right? Those songs that get stuck on your mental iPod, and the skip buttons don't work. Sometimes, even the pause button doesn't work. Then, another song comes on and knocks that one out..... then repeat procedure. Worse, they're usually the songs you can't stand in real life anyway.

This morning's earworm isn't a bad song at all -- I actually do enjoy it when it hits my airwaves. Yet, I have no idea why it's going through my head: "Needles and Pins" by The Searchers (1964). Or actually, sung more like, "Needles and Pinza."

And so that you can share in my pain/pleasure:

"Needles & Pins" (written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono*):

I saw her today, I saw her face
It was the face I loved and I knew
I had to run away and get down on my knees and pray
That they'd go away

But still they begin
Needles and pins
Because of all my pride
The tears I gotta hide

Hey, I thought I was smart, I wanted her
Didn't think I'd do, but now I see
She's worse to him than me
Let her go ahead, take his love instead
And one day she will see

Just how to say please
And get down on her knees
Yeah, that's how it begins
She'll feel those needles and pins
a-hurtin her, a-hurtin her

Why can't I stop and tell myself I'm wrong, I'm wrong, so wrong
Why can't I stand up and tell myself I'm strong

Because I saw her today, I saw her face
It was the face I loved and I knew
I had to run away and get down on my knees and pray
That they'd go away

But still they begin
Needles and pins
Because of all my pride
The tears I gotta hide
Ah, needles and pins
Needles and pins
Needles and pins

(*-Yes, that Sonny Bono).

It's Labor Day and.....

in spite of needing to go in REALLY early tomorrow, all is right with the world.

College football kicked off on Thursday, made even sweeter by a Gamecock win. The icing on the cake was a Clemson loss (truly, more of a Clemson butt-whoopin'!). It's been a good day, a good weekend, with time spent with friends, family, and loved ones.

My best friend saved a box of clothing for me -- stuff I can wear at work and at home! In fact, I wore a pair of the shorts tonight on the walk, and they are SO comfy!

I'm pretty content. Content is sometimes seen as a bad thing, but it isn't really. Content is being happy with where and who you are -- always with an eye to improvement, but knowing that right now is good too.

I don't think you can beat that with a stick!

Another cool meme

I'm on an Internet project, and found this meme on the blog of a fellow member. I thought it was pretty cool.

1.Your rock star name (first pet, current car)
Skipper Taurus

2.Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe)
Butter Pecan Mules (yeah .... that's O.G.)

3.Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal)
Blue Dolphin

4.Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born)
Annette Easley

5.Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name)
MccNa

6.Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
Pink Water (well, it beat "Pink Diet-Coke-and-Lime")

7.NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers)
Roy Gene (now if that's not a NASCAR name, I don't know what is: "Hey Roy Gene, 'zair sump'n wrong with this car?")

8.Dancer name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Anais-Anais Cinnamon Button (ohhhhhhhhhhkaybe)

9.TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Simpson Seattle

10.Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Autumn Rose (me likey!)

11.Cartoon name:(favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now)
Apple Jeans

12.Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Kashi GoLean Oak (I don't really have a favorite tree)

13.Movie star name (first pet, first street where you lived)
Skipper Lee (now I always thought that was how you got your stripper name......)

By the way, if you're reading this................ TAG! YOU'RE IT!

But MAAAAAAAAAAAAAHM!!!!

I heard a friend mention today about taking her preteen daughter clothes shopping. Another friend remarked how glad she was that her same-age daughter has a school uniform (private school) so the gotta-haves are cut down considerably.

It took me back 27 years (it cannot have been that long ago. Simply cannot be.) ....... I was about to start 7th grade, which was high school in my town at the time. Our high school was grades 7-12. And it was right at the height of designer jean craze. And real honest-to-Pete Izod shirts, with the alligator and NOT the faux ones that had other animals.

Now picture it -- a fat kid dying for designer duds. But I had one great advantage: a mom who loved me but didn't spoil me. She didn't mind going to the nearby department stores for the Izods, but the jeans..... well, I had limited options. The department stores didn't carry my size in Jordache, Calvins, Glorias or any other designer label. Or in Chinos (the brand name) ..... so what was I going to do? I would be D.O.O.M.E.D. before I ever started.

Mom to the rescue: we went to a place called World of Clothing about an hour from here. They're still open but I haven't been there in a lifetime. We went there one Saturday -- I want to say that someone from my mom's work went with us, but can't remember which person. We shopped, and shopped, and shopped. I got a pair of Levi's, a couple of pairs of dress slacks (similar to Chinos, but not that brand. Oh well), and ..... a pair of Calvins. My mother made one thing quite clear: when they wore out, I'd best enjoy the memories I had with them, because I was NOT getting another pair.

Izod shirts were another story. I got a few of those, with the real 'gators on them. Of course the trend of it having to be a REAL alligator on it died out by year's end, as had my Calvins. I gladly stuck with Lee's and Levi's the rest of my high school career. I still love polo shirts, with or without an attached symbol. And really, when was the last time you saw a 'gator on one?

I'm sure Mom (and Dad) had some misgivings about giving in to me ..... of course, I was cheap compared to my brother who insisted on having the real-honest-no-fakes original Air Jordans. They were $85 in 1985, and by that point times were a lot tighter for us. Again, Mom indulged but not right away...... and told him the same thing: You tear them up, and you do not get identical replacements. You will get CHEAP shoes.

I had good parents. And I still don't think I've thanked them enough.

Just an old chunk of coal.....

I'm just an old chunk of coal
But I'm gonna be a diamond someday....
-- sung by John Anderson

Many years ago, our house ran on a coal furnace. Not in my own memory, because I remember the oil furnace and then when we switched to natural gas. It had to be when my grandparents were alive and living here.

The seller would bring the coal, dump it in your backyard, but it was up to you to go get what you needed or to move it closer. And I imagine that over time, the smaller pieces sifted to the bottom and got (literally) buried in the ground under the weight of the larger hunks.

Guess what my buddy boy discovered? Yep. Coal. He'd eaten some pieces before as I have discovered.

This morning at 6:20, Little Buddy came into my room and said, "Hork, hork, hork" with head bent, and coughing/not-quite-heaving happening. I promptly replied with a sharp, "OUT!!!" He was NOT gonna hork on my carpet, no matter how crappy the condition of said carpet (you'd be bad too after 30 years).

I was praying very hard that he wouldn't urp all over his doggie bed. It's a faux suede microfiber thing that I doubt very seriously can just be thrown into a washer. Maybe one of those huge commercial ones at the laundromat, but not my home Kenmore. Praise be, he didn't hit it -- but he did hit the ripped up old comforter that was on the floor next to it.

The comforter had belonged to my brother. He obtained it from a former sort of girlfreak. Maddox purloined it one day last summer and claimed it as his own. He further tore it to shreds, but then wouldn't let it go. So in order to keep him from tearing the dog bed apart when we bought it, we put the shreds of the bedding with it. He never touched either in a destructive way again.

As I was very gingerly picking up the comforter and its new contents, I noticed it looked like there were huge chunks of black plastic. No wonder he was sick! I let him out for his morning routine, and found a trash bag in which to dispose of the ... stuff (comforter and all).

I told my brother about it when he returned from his morning walk. He said, "Good! We're finally rid of that junk" (meaning the comforter), then "Black plastic?" I replied that it could have been black rubber too, but his tire toy (the only thing with black rubber) was perfectly intact.

I told my parents and my dad said, "I bet it's coal from the backyard. Bet he dug up some...." Yep. Maddox has the look of a Lab but the digging abilities of the Husky. If he can dig it, paw it, or otherwise use his hands, er.... paws to his gain, he will.

I came home from work tonight. Seems he found another small piece of it, and my dad managed to get it out of his mouth.

Oy vey. Guess I'll be spending part of the weekend digging up and removing the coal bits that remain to a safe distance (over the fence).

What won't that dog do next?

I am still around!!

I promise, rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated. Work, life, dog, and other stuff has had me pretty busy lately. And I'm hooked on the evening Olympics coverage -- especially swimming and that hottie Michael Phelps. Yee-Ow.

I have a family reunion today, so I'm sure I'll find some more things to write about tonight..... ooh. Bad Nettiemac. Bad Nettiemac! No treat for you!

What Kind of Cake Am I?

You Are a Marble Cake

Eclectic, inventive, and peaceful. You are never willing to accept what's "normal." You live to push the envelope. You find it hard to make up your mind. You prefer to have everything you want, right away!

What Kind of Cake Are You?

The "Underneefy Bits" picture

see more dog pictures

They arrived at last....

The Dog Days, that is. Hot doesn't begin to describe it. For the last few days, it's been over 95, and it's going to be at least that hot for the next week. So that also means early morning walks .... and I already have early appointments two mornings this week. Guess we know what that means .... either I skip walking those days, or get up at 4:30 to do it. We all know which option I'll be choosing too. I love walking. I love my dog. But I love sleep like a fat kid loves cake.

Even Maddox, who normally loves being outside for a good part of the morning ..... went outside just long enough to do his business and come running back inside for the comfort of a cold linoleum floor. Guess the indoors felt better on his "underneefy bits."

There have been a few changes lately, and so I haven't been around to blog as much as usual. That must be remedied! :)

Until next time, stay cool, especially on your underneefy bits!

Wow!! I feel like I'm in school again

This was cool -- copied from my friends Kate/Susan, and The Glecks (on each of their blogs). I figured, why not? Pretty cool idea!

1) As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2) Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Have at it!