Worms....

Grace came home form school today with a little container of worms!  The school sent all the 2nd graders home with them.  Worms!!  Really??!!??  How many parents did they think would be delighted with this?  They sent home care instructions, a food list, and a facts sheet.  They're WORMS!!!  And apparently we are supposed to let them multiply!  Breeding worms....that we have to feed & take care of......in my house!  Wonder what they'll send home for Mother's Day.....cockroaches??  Beetles for Easter??

Come here

Two simple words....come here!  Am I saying it wrong??  Should I try it in a different language??  Apparently "come here" translates into puppy-ese as jump and bark at me, and then run away really fast!!!  I'm pretty sure that's not what I said!  My friend Monica asked me if I was sure I wanted to get a male pup.  Maybe she was onto something.  This little boy, as 'OMG stinkin cute' as he is....not the brightest penny in the well!!!  And stubborn as all get out (ok - laugh all you want..... yes, I see the irony - just like me!)!!  I am, however, questioning his intelligence.  The other night, he discovered his tail....and began to chase it.  Now boxer tails are docked short at 3 days old, so his is too short to catch when he's chasing it.  Nevertheless...he ran himself in circles for a good 10 minutes giving it every effort.   Here's the fun part....as he was chasing his uncatchable stub, he was growling at his butt!  That put Grace into hysterical giggles!!!  I was sitting there shaking my head and my daughter was yelling "do it again! do it again!"  Perhaps my friend Monica was right....maybe a girl puppy would have been better.  At least one with two brain cells to rub together and make a spark! I ended up with a male puppy who is the equivalent of Joey from Friends!!  He's cute as all get out, but......well, let's just say, thank God he's pretty!!

Horror films

I love horror flicks - always have.  I think the original Psycho is the best horror movie ever put to film.  When I was in my teens, I loved the slasher movies -the gorier, the better!  (Anything with Jamie Lee Curtis was excellent - the original Halloween ranks almost right up there with Psycho in my book!)  And I'll be the first one to admit, I saw a lot of B- horror films back then, and loved them all!  (If you haven't seen Happy Birthday to Me....it's a must for B-film lovers!)  They were campy and gross and had marginal story lines.  Here's my gripe ( you had to know one was coming - this is MY blog)...with a few exceptions, horror movies today suck.  And it's not just that I'm older and prefer a more cerebral thriller, and it's not just that they are all gore now.....it's due to the fact that for half of the movie, you end up watching a totally black screen and hear screaming.  I don't want to watch a black screen and not know what's going on....that's not scary, it's annoying.  Screaming is not scary on it's own....I want to know what they're screaming about!!  I've had people tell me that they do that so you use your imagination and conjure up whatever horrible things you might think are going on .  Um...NO!  I have a very vivid imagination and can do that on my own....I'm watching a horror flick to see what someone else's twisted imagination can think up!

I will give some credit...although these are not really recent...they brought back the feeling of scary movies I've seen and enjoyed.  Saw (the first one) got to me, Scream (also the first one) - not so much the whole movie, but that first scene with Drew Barrymore...amazing, Drag Me to Hell....shockingly scary scenes in the beginning of the film and some classic camp later on....all good horror films with no black-screen-screaming-I don't-know-what's-going-on "scenes"!  Another one I liked was The Happening, although many critics have panned it.  I loved the creepy factor in this movie!  It reminded me of early Stephen King.  (Whom I forgot to mention - The Shining....right up there at the top of the list with Psycho!)  I want good horror movies back!  Not just gore, no black screen with a screaming soundtrack.....I want horror movies that make me afraid to fall asleep at night!!!

Receptionist saga...

After many, many applicants (some bordering on the ridiculous), Dr. Anne held interviews last week.  4 of them to be exact.  One was pretty good, the second had no experience and had to arrange a ride just to come to the interview (seriously?  she's a NO), the third was qualified but wanted more hours & more pay (the ad specifically stated that it's a part time position!), and #4....well experienced, nice, funny (funny is a big thing in our office), talked a blue streak (but we're hoping that was just nervous energy).  We have tentatively hired #4.  She starts on Wednesday.  I am SO hoping she's the right person for the job as I am starting to burn out working 6 days a week!!! 

On an odd note, just as Dr. Anne decided on this applicant, our old receptionist finally got in touch with Dr. Anne.  Told her that she needs the dog food she paid for and said that she "bent down" to make the call to Dr. Anne!!!  Really???!!  She stooped to make the call???   After she walked out and didn't even have the courtesy to tell her boss that she quit???  Apparently, then she got all weepy on the phone with my boss, and told her "oh, there's so much stuff I should tell you , but I just won't"!  At which point, Dr. Anne told her...just say it!!  "oh no...I just shouldn't"   Really Lucy - spill!  Because I'm sure it's about me....I have nothing to hide and I've done nothing wrong!!!  The witch will be coming in on Wednesday after we close at noon to come get her stuff.  I can't wait to see how this plays out!!!

Magnus is home!!

He's here!  He's here!!  And oh-so-sweet!!  He's learning very fast too!  He didn't want to do anything but be with me for about the first hour (understandable) but as I started to ache & realize I can't sit on the floor with him all night, I put down an old blanket for him and made him take his first (short) nap on that without me sitting right there.  Now, 4 hours later, he thinks that's HIS spot.  I can get up, go upstairs or into the kitchen, and he sits right on that blanket instead of following me everywhere.  I'm finding, without his dog family, he really doesn't know how to play.  He's already learning that though too.  He loves his 'bobo' (long dog toy) and we played for about half an hour with his new "stinky' (flat skunk toy without stuffing inside).  He ate & got several drinks of water from his new dog bowls and has been outside twice where he has peed twice and pooped once (no accidents in the house so far!)!!

The cats are not pleased, but oddly enough both Twinkers & Elina have at least ventured downstairs to see him.  Twink even got close to him when he was sleeping and sniffed him!  Then, of course, hissed and ran off!  Elina is sizing him up from a safe distance.  Galahad refuses to come downstairs.

Happy finding for me...medical-wise anyhow....I had posted before that I thought he was a cryptorchid (only one testicle descended)....once I got him home and he was not jumping all over the place.....there are 2 'boy parts' there!!  Yea!!  This is good news, because when it's time to neuter him, it means much less time under anesthesia  - and with a white boxer, anesthesia is always a concern!!

So, as things stand...life is wonderful at our house, all going well so far.  I'm way optimistic...but I know the next few weeks will be a learning curve for all of us!  But, seriously - with a face THAT stinkin' cute....it will be a  labor of love!!!

Baby Magnus

Yep- it's official....we are dog owners!  He's not with us yet, I go get him on Friday!!  All checked out well with one exception....he's what we call a cryptorchid, which means he only has one testicle descended.  So, when we go to neuter him, we'll have to find the other one and he'll have 2 incisions instead of one.  Not a huge deal, we see this fairly commonly (although Dr. Anne will not be thrilled).  If I wasn't planning to neuter him, it could become an issue later - but there's no way I'd own a male dog and not neuter him!! (Mark your territory in my house?  I don't think so!!!)  But, no heart murmur, sight and hearing are perfect.  The breeder told me (and then showed me) that he already knows the word "no"  (yippee!), is started on crate training as well as housebreaking.  And he's just as sweet as can be!!!  Momma & Daddy were not only gorgeous, but so friendly and well-behaved!  Magnus is definitely the calmer of the 2 puppies Momma had, which is a good thing!  He has the typical Boxer underbite, but it's not extensive (I have seen dogs where the underbite is so bad that they have problems).  All in all - healthy, happy pup....and I CANNOT wait to make him part of our family!!

BTW - new pic...but as I went to snap the shot, he was taking off to go play with the other dogs in their house who were going nuts because they all wanted my attention!!!  I caught him in mid-lunge!!!