My Weird Dog

I think this is just going to be an ongoing post about my weird dog, Pippen.

I mentioned several weird dog posts ago how Pippen likes to barge into our bedroom in the middle of the night.  RT has taken to locking our bedroom door.  Several nights in a row, we would wake and hear Pippen trying to open our door.  We would tell him to, "Go Na nee." (Na-nee in Greek means to go to sleep) (yea, the dog knows Greek)  He will then turn around and go back downstairs.  One night, I woke up around midnight and heard this awful sound.  I thought it came from one of the boys (who are usually roaming the house at night).  As I listened, I realized that it was the dog crying.  He didn't even bother to come upstairs.  He knew the door would be locked.  I felt sorry for him and let him come into our room.

Another night, Alex heard Pippen outside our bedroom door.  He was pacing and then finally went up by their rooms.  He walked into Bella's room and then paced the hall.  He was ready to open Alex's door, but, Alex said, "Go Na nee."  Pippen then turned around and went downstairs.

On several occasions, when RT goes to sleep on the couch, that's when Pippen gets up and goes into our room.  RT has caught him a few times.

Poor Pippen.  He's such a Momma's boy.


Pippen has stopped his nightly visits.  I'm sure they will start again soon.  Especially if there's a thunderstorm.

Free Music

I think I've talked about "free music."  That's when you're driving and you pull up to a car that's blasting their radio so the entire world can hear.  It's great when it's a song that you like and, hey, it's free!  

The other day I pulled up next to a car at the light and could hear music playing. I decided to roll my windows down to hear what song was playing.  The music was really loud!  And I noticed that their windows are closed!   I listened and realized they were jamming out to "Missing You," by, Diana Ross.

I think they were embarrassed because they sped off once the light turned green.

Hiking or Homeless?

I know I've mentioned that I go for long walks every morning.  This summer we plan on taking a trip to Colorado and conquering Mt. Sherman (and, of course, some other smaller hikes).

In order to prepare for our trip, I have been walking the neighborhood carrying my backpack full of cans (beans and pineapple).

I get quite a few strange looks, but, no one has come right out and asked me about my backpack.

I mentioned all of this to RT.  I told him because I was afraid someone might mention to him that they saw me walking around looking homeless and carrying a backpack.  I say that because my walking clothes aren't fancy workout clothes, they are usually worn out shirts/shorts/pants/sweatshirts.

My walks have become longer.  Even though it's flat here, it isn't easy with all of the extra weight I'm carrying.  On the plus side, I think I lost some weight...which is a good thing.

With the longer walks and the extra weight I'm carrying, I might need to stop and build up my strength.  I picture myself sitting on the path with a little camp fire, eating some pineapple (it's the only one I can open without a can opener).  It's either that or I'm turning into Forrest Gump and walking across America.

If I go the Forrest Gump route, I might need to load up on food and water, though.

And, maybe a can opener.

Dance is over for a short time (Bella is planning on doing a summer class) so, I'm going to try and keep up with my three day a week posts.

Wish me luck!

Car Dealer

Visited the car dealer again.

I told you that I practically live here.

All was going well (meaning it was nice and quiet) until that one guy came in and asked to turn on the TV.  I was OK with it.  It's early.  He'll probably watch some news program, right?

I look up and find that we are watching golf.

I probably don't need to say anymore about my experience.  I mean, who watches golf?  Do you ever hear people say,

"Hey, want to get together and watch golf?"

or

"I'm staying in tonight to watch golf."

How about,

"We went out for a nice dinner and then we went home and watched golf."

I was glad I brought my handy dandy notebook with me so I could tell you all about it.  Of course, in all of the excitement, I forgot to look at what tournament it was and who was actually playing.  But, hey!  Who cares!  I was watching golf!

Complaint Department

Whenever the kids are around me, they complain about something (well, I guess RT does it sometimes, too).  I don't know if there is a sign over my head saying, "Complain here."  or maybe a memo was sent out telling everyone to register all of their complaints with me.

The majority of the complaints are either out of my control or a "too bad, so sad," situation.  Some complaints should be taken to other people (leave me out of it!).  Some things can just be fixed by the "complainer."

I'm tempted to put up a sign with days and hours when you can register your complaints with me.  Maybe even charge a fee just to hear the complaints!   I mean, it's not fun when all you hear are complaints!  How about a compliment once in awhile?

Have a complaint about this post?  You will have to wait until I'm available to hear your complaint.

I'll let you know when I have the time.

The Bathroom Rules

Our bathroom is finally done!

It took awhile, but, it was worth the wait!

The lovely harvest gold fixtures (toilet, tub and sink) is gone.  In it's place is a white with a hint of sea green.  I would say sea foam, but, I'm to sure what sea foam is exactly...

Along with a new bathroom, comes a new set of rules.

Clean up after yourself
Don't make a mess
Keep it clean

How about:

Don't use the bathroom

That's right.  I mean, I waited a long time (20 years) for this remodel.  And, it looks so nice, bright and new.  Let's just keep it that way  forever  for awhile.

Of course, that won't happen, so, I guess we will just go with the rules listed above and see how it goes...

Vegetarian Diaries - Mango Salsa

I thought I put this recipe up on the blog.  When I went to look for it, I couldn't find it!

I love mangoes!  I had a couple of mangoes that were really ripe and thought it would be fun to make them into a salsa.  It turned out delicious and disappeared in minutes with multiple requests for another batch.

I add quite a bit of cilantro (because I like it), I even chop up a small tomato and mix it in.

Here's the recipe:

Mango Salsa

2 mangoes, diced
1/2  red onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, chopped
3 TBSP lime juice
cilantro, chopped (how much depends on how much you like it...I like a lot)
small tomato, chopped (optional)
peeled cucumber, diced

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

A Day in Pictures

I thought it would be fun to try posting my day in pictures.  I will update you throughout the day with pictures of what I'm doing.

Today I am going to the zoo as a chaperone on a fifth grade field trip and thought it would be fun to bring you along for the ride.  

This should be interesting....I sure hope it works!

Let's get started, shall we?

Saw the polar bear jump in the water. It's always a great day at the zoo when the polar bear is swimming !

Lunch

Swallowed up by a fish

Waterfall scare

Tired. I'm still smiling tho. 

Never thought I would be so happy to see the school bus! It was a hot one today!  85F. 

Bus ride back to school. 

Thanks for hanging out with us today!

Poison Water

Awhile back I wrote about my weird dog and his fear of drinking water.  I can put fresh water in his water bowl and he won't drink it.  He waits awhile (some say for it to settle).  My theory is that he thinks everyone is out to poison him.

We go for walks and people put out water bowls for dogs.  Pippen looks at them, gets close to sniff them, but then walks away.  He can be hot, tired, panting foaming at the mouth and he will not drink the water.

RT and I took him for a walk the other day.  It's been raining quite a bit here.  Some areas have puddles, even in the grass.  While walking, we passed a nice bowl of clean water.  Pippen sniffed the water and walked away.  He was already foaming at the mouth hot and panting.  I tried to get him to drink the water but he wouldn't get near it.  We continued our walk to the baseball fields.  We walked by some large puddles in the grass/mud and my weird dog Pippen decides this water is safe to drink and starts lapping it up.

Yes.  We stopped him.

And, yes.  When we got home, he refused to drink the cold, fresh, clean water that was provided for him.

Mother's Day

Isn't it odd that we give our Mother's one day out of the year to show our appreciation?  If you think about everything your Mom did/does for you.  I mean, she carried you around inside her body for nine months.  After you were born, she did everything for you (fed you, changed you).

We give teachers a whole week of appreciation (I'm not saying they don't deserve it.  Teachers give a lot and are deserving of all appreciation).  But, our Mom's are there from the beginning of our life...teaching, protecting, nourishing, caring and loving us everyday.  I think they deserve more than one day.

It's wonderful to give Mom her day to honor her and thank her for everything she has done for us.  Just remember to appreciate her the rest of the year.

Happy Mother's Day

It Wasn't Me

I've mentioned the most used word in our house (what?).

Now it's time to talk about the most used statement:  It wasn't me.


Who left the butter on the counter?

"It wasn't me."

Who left their dirty dishes on the counter?

"It wasn't me."

Who peed on the bathroom floor?

"It wasn't me."

Who made something to eat and didn't clean up?

"It wasn't me."


Based on this response, my kids don't do anything.  They're angels.

Apparently, someone is breaking into my house and leaving the butter on the counter, leaving out their dirty dishes, peeing on my bathroom floor and cooking food and not cleaning up after him/herself.

WHO IS THIS PERSON??

I know.  Usually people break into your house and they steal stuff.  At our house, they break in and leave the ice cream on the counter or empty the ice tray and forget to fill it and return it to the freezer.

Dear "It wasn't me,"

Thank you for visiting our home.

We don't mind your sporadic appearances, but,  do ask that you please clean up after yourself.

If you dirty a dish or bowl?  Please rinse it and put it in the dishwasher.

If you take food out, please put it back where you found it.

And, if you pee on the bathroom floor, PLEASE clean up after yourself.

Thanks again for your cooperation.

My New Clock

So....I took the plunge and purchased a new digital clock.

Remember my post about my digital clock dying?  Yea, I said I bought a clock in that post because I figured it would be a quick and easy decision.

Boy, was I wrong!

Well, I took a little time (THREE WEEKS!) to think about and plan my purchase of a new clock (doesn't everyone do this???).  You see, I didn't have my field researcher (my Dad) to do all of the dirty work find me a replacement.  I had to do all of my own research (alas, whoa is me!) and let me just tell you, it was exhausting!

I looked at several clocks online.  I even took a trip to Walgreen's, hoping they would have the same or similar model to old faithful my old clock.

I have to say, it's really annoying not having a clock in a place where you have always had one.  I would leave my phone on by my bed just so I could check the time.  Of course, I would forget to charge my phone and it would die at some important time during the day (when it was needed most) or I would have to just charge it at various times during the day.

I can't say my decision on this new clock was thought out.  I was at the store and told myself to just make a decision.  I grabbed a clock and hoped it worked.

It was tough making this decision.  This clock was closer to $10 and I'm hoping it lasts longer than the last one.

Stay tuned.

Bella had a week off from dance class and all of my blog post writing just stopped. She's back in class (for two more weeks- yikes!) so hopefully I can get back to my usual threebposts a week.

I realize how painful fun it is to read about my scary life.  I don't want you to be deprived of all of this pain excitement in your life.  So I will soldier on and try to keep those posts coming. 

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Updated to modern times as:  The Girl Who Cried Sick

My child has been complaining of a "stomach ache" on and off for a couple few weeks months now.  I have even told the school that she has to make it through the day.  She has been to the Doctor and there is nothing wrong with her.

Yesterday, after hearing about me complain about a bad head/neck ache, she woke up (crying) telling me her head hurt and she felt like she was going to throw up.

Me, being the perfect mom, told her to suck it up and go to school.   I even drove her to school telling her the story of the Boy who Cried Wolf.

Around 2:00 pm I received a call from the school health office.  My child was in there with a fever of 102.5F.  The child visited the health office several times during the day (once to take a nap).  An aide in the classroom felt the child's head and said she might have a fever.  The Health Office tried to cover their tracks and say that she didn't have a fever until that time.  Turns out they didn't check her temperature until that time.  (I don't blame them..considering the child's track record and world's record for number of office visits in one school year)

I did accept my Parent of the Year Award yesterday (for not checking my child's temperature first thing in the morning).  This has also served as a lesson to said child.

Moral of the story:  Don't pretend you are sick all of the time because no one will believe you when you really are sick.

Let's hope the child has learned her lesson.

Police radar clocked me at 8 mph on my morning walk.  I received a warning and was told to slowly and carefully move along.*

*There's a speed checker on one of the streets that I walk (by the school) and I was surprised that it registered my speed while walking.