1 day and counting....

The marathon is Sunday. I am leaving for Austin today after work and then let the fun begin! : ) The bags are packed, the dogs are actually in the car waiting in my work parking lot, and I will hit the road as soon as I can get rid of my last patient. I feel like I forgot to pack something. Don't you hate that feeling? I mean - it feels like something really important like my running shoes or my sports bra....but I double checked for those - so I know it's not that. I bought Starbucks coffee this morning which doesn't help with the jitters. I am nervous....I started having foot pain about 3 weeks ago and it is not getting better....hopefully not the initial signs of a stress fracture....but that is what it feels like. I am going to try taping my foot to see if that helps. Overall, though, I am ready - ready for it to be here and give it a go! Looks like it might rain a bit, lows in the low 50's and highs in the 70's. The temp is great...the rain...not so much....but I will fight through! I will say that if I don't finish...I will try again...but I hope my next blog is all about finishing my first marathon! stay tuned....

A Whole New World

The facebook world....is a whole new world to me. My sister bullied me into joining and I have been hooked ever since. I have added lots of friends: casual friends, good friends that don't live very close and I don't get to see very often, friends that I somehow can't find time to call but really want to know what they are up to, friends from high school that I haven't talked to in 15 years, friends from high school that I had become un-friends with but somehow on facebook it seems OK to contact them and ask "how have you been", friends from college that I have thought of many times but couldn't get in touch with. In this new world I can be reminded of birthdays of friends that I never even knew when their birthday was. I know when friends are "going to the store" or "ready for the weekend" even when I don't really care. I get poked and hugged and hit by snow balls. In all sincerity though, it really has been amazing how I have reconnected with people that I never thought I would talk to again. I am talking to friends and realizing how much I miss talking to them and sharing things with them. I can find time to type out a quick message rather than pick up the phone to talk. I don't really like talking on the phone anyway and maybe this is easier because you can do this late at night and not worry about calling at the wrong time. So, if you want to get in touch with me, join facebook! For now I will just wait to see who my next friend will be - you never know who you will find on facebook!

Deal or Dud, Part II

Pedi Paws may just be a success. I finally made it a priority and actually stopped at the Dollar Store to buy some C batteries. As I loaded the batteries and reviewed the directions, I had thoughts of dogs scrambling as soon as I turned on the thing...ducking under beds and behind chairs....but it actually went OK. They didn't mind the noise - it's not that loud - and they just sniffed around to see if it was food. (I swear they act like I feed them one morsel of food once a month.) Both Maddie and Hudson HATE to have their nails trimmed with the old clippers. They will lay there, but try to get up after each nail and it becomes this huge battle to get all four paws done. Some times I end up laying over them or on the floor with them on the couch so that I can look up under the paw to see where the quick is on their nails. It becomes a HUGE ordeal. I decided to attempt using it on Hudson first, figuring that Maddie would be a piece of cake. Hudson tends to be the skittish one and jumps at every little noise. The directions go into this long detailed explanation of actually laying on top of your dog if they won't sit still. I was fully prepared to have to do this. But for grins, I thought I would just try it sitting there at first. So, I told him to sit....and he did. I sat down on the floor next to him. Turned on the pedi paws. Grabbed one of his front paws. Put his nail in the little keyhole on the pedi paws and watched it file away. Hudson just looked at me.....it didn't phase him a bit. I was able to do all four paws and all of his nails without any problem. He didn't even try to pull his leg away. I couldn't believe it! Maddie was actually a little different story. She didn't like it so much....I had to spend a little more time making her sit there with me - but no more than actually clipping the nails. She just kept pulling her leg away from me. It takes a little while to get all of the nails done, but at least when I was done I wasn't exhausted from battling with 80 lb dogs to keep them still like I have to do with the clippers. I also wonder how long the little file works. Apparently you can order replacement files.....guess I will have to wait and see how many uses you get out of one. The only really bad thing about it was the smell.....It smelled like something was burning....I guess just from the friction. So, overall.....pedi paws is a DEAL!

Still haven't had a reason to try the bra strap thingys...sorry Katy...I know you are waiting on that one! Stay tuned....I will try it out and will have a review soon to come!

Deal or Dud?

Let me start by saying, I know you have all been waiting anxiously for this blog. I promised user reviews on my “as seen on t.v. products” and I have not tried all three of them, but do have one review for you. I haven’t used the pedi-paws because A: it requires 2 C batteries and I can’t remember to buy them when I go to the store. Nothing uses C batteries anymore….why couldn’t they go with one of the other sizes when they designed the thing? I keep AA and D batteries on hand in the freezer. I only keep them in the freezer because that’s what my mom did. I wonder if that really works? I’m getting off track here…so B: it says that before you actually use the thing on the dog, you are supposed to watch a video, get the dog accustomed to the pedi-paw by showing it to him and then by just turning it on and then only using it on one paw and gradually working up to being able to work on one whole paw. Of course using treats and praising the dog the whole time. I would use it on Maddie, because she would be easy to train. But, she has been filing away her own nails trying to dig out of the concrete that I poured....so her nails don't need the pedi-paw. And, ya’ll know I had to bring out someone to the house to teach Hudson to sit….so I think the idea of the training aspect of using the product is causing me to procrastinate a bit…. I haven’t used the bra strap thingy’s because it is winter and I haven’t found a reason to wear a sleeveless shirt and I haven’t been on a date…so I haven’t needed perky boobs.

So that leaves the Smooth Away…..

OK, so it says it was discovered in Europe and will remove hair “instantly” No pain, No chemicals, No razor burn. So, maybe it was the ¼ inch hair I had lingering (see above…..no date…..no shaving of the legs) But it was discovered in Europe – and aren’t those girls hairier than that? I worked on my leg for a few minutes – and it did work, but not fast enough for me. Maybe I have a different idea of what “instantly” means. So, I went to the shower and shaved. I know, this negates the whole idea not having to shave, but I thought maybe it would speed things up. After shaving, I still had a little stubble because for some reason my razor couldn’t handle the abundance of hair. So, I used the little smooth away scrubber on my legs and it really did get rid of any hair that I missed and made my legs much smoother. It even works on that little spot of hair under your knee cap that the razor always misses. So, I guess overall, if I had a reason to have really super soft and hair-free legs it is worth having. Will it replace the razor? Probably not – because I can do a quick shave in less than 3 minutes and using the Smooth Away would easily take 10 minutes. Maybe the European’s have more time to get ready for work than I do. So, maybe if I get a date I will use it….other than that it’s just me and the dogs and I don’t think they care how smooth my legs are.

Stay tuned for other product reviews….

Choosing your battles

Well, the Maddie saga continues. I have gathered the troops and the battle begins.

This will be the first line of defense.....concrete and red pepper flakes. The act of picking out the right concrete was a battle in itself. Did you know they have concrete that expands, heavy duty concrete, fast drying concrete, concrete for thick walls, concrete for thin walls....you name it....you can get it. I had no idea. Then the act of mixing it was pretty comical. My first choice of an old piece of base board that I found in the garage didn't work out too well. 80 lbs of concrete verses a flimsy piece of wood doesn't get you very far. I had soupy concrete all over the place. Had to pour out some of the water....then it was too thick.....so had to add some water back in. I finally got it poured. Why do all of the little rocks stay at the bottom? Does this mean I didn't stir it long enough? I just scooped them out and spinkled them on top of the mixture....it looks like it worked out OK. It's not the prettiest job and I don't think I will be winning any masonry awards for the year, but at least it is done. Once the concrete pouring was complete, I sprinkled red pepper flakes along the fence and gate. Now we wait for 24 hours for the concrete to set and we will give it a try. Maddie will be let out without supervision into the back yard. We'll see if I win this battle. What will be interesting is to see who wins the war! : )

Happy New Year!

I don't have any adorable kids of my own to show off with funny hats on their heads. My new year's eve was nothing to brag about...so...no pictures of me wearing glittery makeup, clothes or hats. I wasn't crafty enough to think about dressing up the dogs with funny hats. (plus Maddie is already miserable enough - she is running away without the added shame of having her picture taken with a Happy New Year's tierra hanging over her eyes.) So, due to my own mundaneness (not sure if that is a word - but it is in this blog), I will steal this picture of my cousin's little girl ringing in the new year - mainly because she is so stinkin' cute and I wanted to show her off.....I mean.....I will admit I have been biased in the past with my brother and sister's kids....(even though they really are the cutest kids in the world) I really don't have any reason to be biased with this one....I guess she is technically my second cousin? Is that right? Not sure how all that works, but she is far enough removed that I don't think I can call this one bias....she is just flat out cute! : ) Right?
With that said, I hope your 2009 is 10 million times better than 2008. Here's to new goals, attempting to follow up on old goals, happiness, health, and an all around awesome year.

Jail Bird

The great escape....this is where it all happened my friends. It all started Thanksgiving. Maddie and Hudson spent a majority of the week outside. With all of the company here, it was just too crowded to have them under foot. The night before Thanksgiving, Lisa and I drove up from one of our trips to the store to find Maddie roaming the alley. I just assumed one of the kids left the door open or maybe even Bruce threw her out in hopes that she would run away. I put her back in the yard and didn't think another thing about it. Until, she was out again the next day. I then looked around and found that she could have slithered out under the fence in one spot, although it looked pretty small. I left the dogs outside the Monday after Thanksgiving and came home from work to find Maddie in the driveway. At this point, I drug a really heavy flower pot over in front of the hole, filled the hole with bricks, and thought....ok...she'll never get out now. I came home the next day to find the flower pot moved. This is over 75 pounds....easy....how did she do that? And all of the bricks had been dug out of the hole. And Maddie was out again. Come on.....are you kidding me? So, Christmas came around. I was not going to stay home - drove up Christmas morning and back that same night. No need to take the dogs for 12 hours in the car plus the time I would be with family. So, I put 2 card tables in front of the hole and thought surely that would hold her. I arrived home to find Maddie and Hudson in the yard. The card tables were lying on the ground and there was dirt dug out everywhere from the hole. An obvious attempt at an escape, but, I figured she gave it her best and gave up. Ha, I had done it....I had fixed the problem. But, Wait.....not so fast. I went to the front door to check on things before going to bed and a note was on the door.....from the Health Department, Animal Services Division. According to the report, violations were found at my address including no city registration, animal running at large and fence not maintained. Not real sure how they knew Maddie belonged in my yard. But, she had been put back, the fence gate had been secured with a rope and the dumpster had been put in front of the hole outside of the fence. I have been given until January 2nd to correct the violations. I will be going to get the dogs registered this week....and the fence....not sure. Tonight, I let the dogs out to eat. After about 20 minutes I went to let them in. Hudson came bounding in as always, but no Maddie. I called for her and less than a minute later, her nose appeared from under the wrong side of the fence. I told her to 'come' and she got her head through the hole, with a please don't kill me look on her face. I watched as she wiggled and squeezed her way back under the fence to get into the yard. As she lays here tonight, covered in dirt from having to squeeze under the fence, looking up at me so pitifully, I still am not mad at her. I just need the dog whisperer to make a trip to 1534 Lavendale Lane to help me with the escape artist. I thought my worries were over when I moved to a house with a high fence. Hudson could no longer jump over the fence, but now Maddie is squeezing under it. I may be using Christmas money to buy an electric fence. Will that keep her in the yard?