Silly Dog Names

I was so inspired by the silly moniker I gave Blackie the other day that I thought I would make a little something up so everyone can play. Here's what you do: 1. Select your dog's silly first name by the first letter of his/her name; 2. Select the first part of your dog's silly last name by the first letter of your name; 3. Select the last part of your dog's silly last name by the second letter of your last name.

Example: Blackie = Barky Rae Ann = Barfin xuxxxx = drool. Blackie's new silly name: Barky von Barfindrool. Hee! How strangely accurate!



Or if that is too much trouble, just pick one you like from each column! I can't wait to read your dogs' silly names!

My Dog is Broken

Grandma is hard on my dog. Okay, that's not fair. Grandma's 100-pound golden retriever is hard on my dog. Scout and Blackie were playing in the yard when Grandma (aka: Mom-in-law) heard a yelp. She didn't know which dog it was, but assumed it was Scout since he is older and not accustomed to all the rough-housing with hyper Blackie. But no. Young bouncy Blackie was the injured party. She couldn't put any weight on her rear left foot and the foot was just dangling.

Grandma rushed her to the vet who told her she had torn her ACL and to get her to the surgery center ASAP. Once she got there, after an examination, the surgeon told her that Blackie had torn her achilles tendon completely loose from the bone. It is repairable, but will require a loooooong recovery period in which she isn't allowed to run, jump or play. She is going to have an external apparatus that involves screws all the way into the bone to keep pressure off the tendon while it is healing.

So. Hmph. It looks like we will be trading dogs for a while. Scout will be going to live with T and the poms in New Town, while Blackie becomes an only dog at the grandparent's house. (Actually, I think this will suit everyone fine and it wouldn't surprise me if the arrangement became permanent.)

The fly in the ointment? Blackie can't travel, so Grandma can't come out to our new house to help us wrangle kids and get the house into shape. Instead of a week, she will stay through Sunday, then go back to Ginormousville to take care of Blackie.

Nothing is ever easy.

Tired.

We just finished loading the truck. We got it at 8:30 this morning. My amazing friends kept my kids all day... and T piddled. Okay, that isn't exactly fair. We just had very different expectations of how the day was going to go. I figured we would be done loading by mid-afternoon at the latest. Little did I know that he planned to bring the entire garage - and hadn't packed any of it yet. Grrr.

But now it is done. Well, mostly. We still have his clothes to load up, but except for his uniforms everything is contained in some kind of way: suitcases, laundry bags, duffles, you name it.

Anyhoo, we will be heading out to New Town tomorrow (eight hours! Yay.). I will be out of communication for about a week. I am going to go into withdrawals!

Wish me luck!

Man Questions

Which is to say, questions about men, not the questions men ask!

So if you had the whole garage in which to lean something, where would you put it? If you answered in front of the dryer vent, you and T are on the same page!

If you have sterling silverware, where do you keep it? I inherited my in-laws' silver, and Dr. Dad-in-law is having kittens because it isn't in a safe deposit box. Sure it's safe there - you can't ever use it!

If you had an entire closet full of heavy, ahem, hunting supplies, how many boxes would you put it in? That's right! One! I'll see you after we get back from the emergency hernia repair!*


*T did not really give himself a hernia, though he did put about a million pounds of ammo in one box. So maybe I should say he hasn't given himself a hernia yet.

40/365

Today I am thankful for:

1. Z's behaviour seems to be mellowing out. I hope it is a new phase and not that she is getting sick!
2. Q is becoming such a talker. We're still having trouble deciphering half of what he says (ex: hee-ber = hammer), but he is definitely expressing himself.
3. That T is not only capable, but enjoys picking up heavy objects. I tend to over-pack boxes.
4. That all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed for the closing on Friday.
5. That not one, but two wonderful friends were willing to watch my kids while we pack the truck tomorrow. I will probably be thankful for this again tomorrow.

39/365

(Sheepishly) Today I am thankful for:

1. I did some price comparisons and was able to get the price of my U-Haul rental down by almost half!
2. The sellers of our new house are buying us a Home Warranty. Squee!
3. Everything from upstairs that is going in this phase of the move is packed.
4. My new azalea bushes are blooming again after a cold snap froze all of their blossoms.
5. The pit of despair pool is blue (if not clear), the sweeper is sweeping, my arms are totally sore toned after an afternoon of skimming oak tags and ornamental fruit tree blossoms from the pool.

TAG! I'm It!

I have been tagged by my friend Terry at The Four Scarbarys! Thanks Terry! I needed something to write about - and I am too brain dead from all the moving chaos to think of anything!

Here are the rules: 1. Link to the person who tagged you; 2. Share 7 things that people may not know about you; 3. Tag 7 people to share 7 things and link to them; 4. Let them know they have been tagged (I suck at that part!).

So, 7 things about me:
1. I have most excellent spatial perception. I can get more stuff into limited space than anyone else I know. This is not always a good thing. Like when you are moving. Damn that spatial perception!
2. I can't sleep in the car. This is a drag because we here at Casa Critical Mass spend a LOT of time in the car. On the up side, I am an excellent passenger and always keep the driver awake. Notice I said passenger. I don't particularly enjoy driving, so I am always happy to let someone else take the wheel.
3. I loved high school. Somehow I managed to completely miss out on all the angst and vicious peer pressure though I was not in the "popular" crowd. I was one caste down from popular, but able to move freely among cliques: smart kids (my main crowd); drama/speech/debate; cheerleader/dance team; choir/band. I had a great high school sweetheart who taught me a lot about how a boy should treat you. If I could go back, I would, but not because those were my glory days. Because it was just so much fun!
4. I was the worst sorority girl ever. I pledged my freshman year to Alpha Phi, which was a great group of girls. However, about halfway through my first semester, I (unexpectedly) ran into my best friend from North Dakota. We were inseparable and I did most of my hanging out with her. Also? I had a tendency to date guys who lived four hours away, so I was never around on weekends to do sorority stuff.
5. I am a water baby. I find it physically impossible to be anything but happy if I am in the water. In high school, I was life guard certified. In college and during the summers when I was teaching, I taught swim lessons. I taught literally hundreds of kids how to swim and yet can't teach my huz to float.
6. I make a mean mosaic. I have done a couple of table tops to rave reviews. Currently I am making some side tables with slate. Also, I am good at installing tile. Which isn't saying much as monkeys could install tile. I've done floors, showers, counter tops and a back splash. I even own my own tile saw. Gotta love a woman with power tools!
7. I do not like all the smell-good-lotions-and-potions from places like The Body Shop. I have a nose like a dog (which is to say sensitive, not cold and wet) and the strong smells make my head hurt. Also, I wear a fairly spendy perfume, Amarige, and don't want any other scents to clash with it. My mom wore Este Lauder's Youth Dew. It smelled so amazing on her that strangers would stop her on the street to tell her how good she smelled. I want to find a scent like that.

Seven cool people:
Jamie (of course!) at Kids... Me & RAW III
Mel at A Voice for Moms
Shan at My Last Shreds of Sanity
Amy at My Three Crazy Kids
Deb at Life with Birk
Blueviolet at A Nut in a Nutshell
Dawn at Bee and Rose

If you were wondering how I selected these great gals from all the dozens and dozens of blogs I follow, they were the last seven to leave comments for me. Love! Check them out. They are awesome!