Spray tan

With an upcoming reunion this weekend, I decided going in to it my normal pasty, neon- white color just wouldn't do (especially since it's going to be nearly 100 degrees & I'll want to wear something short).  So, I called a couple days ago to a local salon & asked about spray tanning.  The girl was very helpful, answered all of my questions, and assured me I wouldn't be orange or streaky.  So, I set up the appointment and hoped for the best. 

Just got back from said appointment about an hour ago, and I have to say, I'm pretty pleased!  I'm neither orange nor streaky, just like she said.  And it's fairly dark without being unnaturally so for my coloring - darker than I could probably get even if I spent the whole summer tanning (and without the sunburns I would get for the first several times I'd try to tan!)  I still feel kind of sticky and keep worring that it's going to rub off on fabrics or anything I touch....but it's not.  I can't shower for at least 6 hours, and they told me it would be better if I could hold out until my morning shower tomorrow.  That may be tough, but I'm going to try.  I love the color, especially on my shins ( which no matter how I tan, never seem to get as dark as other places)!!

I do have to say, it was a little unnerving to have some stranger airbrushing me as I stood in my undies & strapless bra ( I was kind of hoping it would be a booth thing), but the results were well worth it!  Even my toes are tan!!  I can definitely see doing this again!!

Numbers

Does anyone else have numbers that seem to follow them around??  I have this set of numbers that seems to follow me through time.  711....and no, I never worked at a 7-11 store!  But these numbers show up in my life a lot!  I've had two addresses over the years with them in it (711 & 2711), I started my current job on July 11th (7/11 - 6 years ago).  I have several account numbers ( my car loan, my car insurance, my electric bill) with 711 in it.  My child support goes onto a debit card.....and I just got my new replacement card...yep, there it is...711!!  And then of course, there are all the random things....I glance at the clock and it's exactly 7:11; I get change at the store..$7.11.  Ohio has a Pick 3 lotto....I keep thinking I should just go play MY numbers....but I'm afraid it would jinx it!  Then again, these numbers following me are starting to creep me out! 

Great read!

Just finished a book by Robert Masello, not normally an author I read, but looked very good at the library.  The Medusa Amulet....fantastic book!!  Very Dan Brown meets Indiana Jones...except it's steeped in mythology rather than religion.  Takes you all over the world and through many centuries.  Through Italy with Michaelangelo, into France with Marie Antoinette, through WWII with Hitler & Himmler, and every other chapter bringing you back to present day (so it doesn't read like a history lesson).  For anyone looking for a great summer read...this is it!! 

Gardening

Whew!  Got it all planted...only took 3 1/2 hours!!!  Would have been longer without Grace's help!  We already have Irises, Daffodils, Tulips, and Hyacinths.  Planted Morning Glories (4 kinds), Marigolds (3 kinds), Sunflowers (2 kinds), Gladiolus, Dianthus, Cannas, Impatiens, 4 O'clocks, Larkspur, Lavender, Delphinium, Alyssum (2 colors), Verbena (2 colors), Zinnias, Snapdragons, one Peony, and one Daylily!!!  We have to wait until next month to plant the Hibiscus if we want a decent bloom for this year.  So glad it's all in....but I'm exhausted and every bone & muscle in my body hurts!!!  Tommorow I will hurt worse!  Looking forward to that....not so much!! 

Living in Oregon, OH

We love living here.  It's a small community, relatively safe from major crime (as much as it can be in today's world), and close enough to a large city so we have pretty much everything we want nearby.

And then there's the weather.  We have normal Ohio weather, like any other city/town near us, except I'm beginning to think Oregon is a tornado magnet.  Wednesday night we had a second tornado touch down in the course of a year!  The one last summer took out a local high school and a couple people were killed.  That one was 6 miles from my house.  The one on Wednesday was not as bad, luckily no one was injured, but there were several trees down and some houses were damaged pretty badly.  It was maybe 8-10 miles from my house.  Both times, little Oregon, OH made national news (at least on the Weather Channel)!  I'm growing a little concerned!  It's not like we are a community of trailer parks that tornados seem to love - in fact, I can't think of a single one in Oregon!!  One last summer, one this April....and we aren't even into storm season yet for this year!!  I know Oregon starts with an O, but hey, Mother Nature....in case you're confused, Oklahoma (which IS in "Tornado alley") is WAY south of here!!!  Not that I'm wishing tornados on anybody.....I just really don't want anymore this close to my home!!

Multi-tasking

A friend's recent Facebook post made me start thinking about this.

As a mother, I am not just Mom but also a chef, a chauffeur, a housekeeper, a teacher, a nurse, a confidante, a friend, a handyman, Santa, The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, and a personal shopper.

As a vet tech, I am not only a nurse, but a phlebotomist, a dental hygienist, a lab tech, an x-ray tech, a grief counselor, a pharmacy tech, and an educator.

No wonder God made women to be mothers, and why there are so few male veterinary technicians!!

Flowers

I am completely baffled as my flowers are starting to bloom this spring.  The fall that we first lived here, I planted daffodils along one wall of my fenced-in patio.  I planted classic yellow ones and white ones with pink centers.  The following spring, when they bloomed, those were exactly the colors I got.  The next year, come spring when they bloomed, I had maybe only 2 or 3 yellow flowers and the rest were white with pinkish-orange centers.  I thought "cool - I made hybrids"!  ( I had piggy-backed the bulbs, so this wasn't too surprising.)  Now it's spring again and they're starting to bloom.  Every one of them...classic yellow!!  Not a white one among them!  Granted, I'm somewhat new to the gardening thing....but this has me stymied!!  I will say, after last years odd colored ones, I'm glad I didn't change my irises!!  I had considered interspersing my purple ones with the rust color ones that I think are gorgeous.  But if they were to mix colors like my daffodils did last year....I'd end up with mud-colored irises - yuck!!!  Wonder how my tulips will look this year.....I planted a bunch of different colors of those that first fall!!

Basketball

March Madness, The Final Four......could NOT care less!!  There are so many sports-only channels.....why must my local networks broadcast all these games???  Are they NOT aware that some of us don't give a frog's fat ass about these games??  With my cable, I get easily 8 or 9 strictly sports channels (which- oh guess what....I don't watch), and then there are probably 6 or 7 pay-per-view sports channels!  With all of these options available, why must basketball pre-empt the shows I want to watch on network TV????  College football doesn't get this coverage....neither does pro football (like I care)....even the Superbowl is only covered on ONE network channel!!  But, March Madness.....unless you're watching lame Lifetime movies or Animal Planet.....you are stuck with who-the-hell-cares basketball!!!  God forbid there ever is anything like March Madness for golf......suicide rates will skyrocket!!

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!!!

I must be crazy....but look how cute!!!

This is the boxer puppy I am going to go look at on Wednesday!!!  Yes, I was hoping to wait until it was a bit nicer weather....but white boxers are few and far between.  Came across this one...and I CANNOT help myself - love the brindle ears!!  His momma is a full white boxer and daddy is a gorgeous brindle boxer!  I'm going to go check him out on Wed. after I get off work...and taking my stethoscope with me....white boxers can have issues such as deafness, blindness, and heart murmurs.  So I will check him out fully...told the people that I will not buy him on the spot....if he checks out ok, will be looking at Friday to buy & bring him home.  Grace is uber-excited  and bummed that she goes to her dad's on Friday....but I think having him home with me alone for the weekend might be a good idea anyways.  He's just now 8 weeks and I don't want to over-stress him.  Anyhow...hoping this all goes well - wish us luck!!!

Friend???

Have been thinking lately I may need to "fire" a friend.  Have you ever had to do this?  This has just been making me nuts for a while now.  I have this old friend and we used to stay in touch all the time.  Now (the past couple years), the only time I hear from him is when he needs something.  Now, every phone call, every email starts with..."Hey, I need a favor..."  I don't mind helping, but I don't like feeling used either.  If he does ask about Grace or I, it always seems to be an afterthought.  I can't remember the last phone call or email that was just about how Grace & I are, and catching up.  I don't like being used.  I think the next "favor" that comes up....it's time for me to say no. 

Bring on the crazies...

Oh wow!  I knew this week would be interesting to see who applied for the job that was listed in the paper...but I apparently underestimated!!!   We have had applications that completely baffle me!!  One was from an older woman (well into her 60's) that was a clerk at a church for a bazillion years (no veterinary experience whatsoever), 3 or 4 from techs or vet tech students (not the position open -I'm the tech, not going anywhere!), one from a woman who uses a walker to get around (this one kills me, because she called first to see what the job entailed....and when Dr. Anne told her it includes animal restraint both on the table and on the floor-she still applied!), several  from restaurant waitresses, and one from a mentally challenged girl who had to have her friend help her fill out the application!  Oh- and many who think this is simply a clerical position....."I can type 50 words a minute and handle a 4 line phone".  Um...no!  I think we need to run another ad.....something along the lines of......"Veterinary receptionist/assistant needed - not a clerical position...veterinary experience a must."!!!!!  Just my 2 cents!

"I just LOVE animals...."

This coming week at work should be interesting.  Apparently the ad went in the paper that we are looking for a receptionist.  We already had one phone call on Friday - someone asking about the hours (even though Dr. Anne purposely left the phone # out of the ad, they are to come in & apply in person so we can see how they present themselves - people look in the yellow pages, find the address & call).  We are going to get every Yahoo from Toledo & Michigan applying for this job.  Forget the fact that the ad clearly states "Experience preferred" - we're going to get every mental midget who's ever owned a cat/dog/bird/fish/hamster/sea-monkey coming in to fill out an application.  And their qualifications???  I can tell you this without seeing a single application - - "I LOVE animals!"  Great. That doesn't qualify you for jack-squat.  I can already see, this is going to be a tedious process.  I suppose I shouldn't complain  - it's still better than having the old witch there.  And, on the up-side....Dr. Anne & I will get plenty of giggles critiquing the applications!! 

Ponytail

I'm quite tickled.  OK - this might seem dumb (but I warned you when I started this blog that I might sometimes talk about stupid nothings) but I have been trying to grow my hair out longer.  Well, tonight I was tired of it being in my face and tried to put it back in a ponytail.  I have achieved ponytail!!  And not too bad either....I probably have 2 inches in the "tail" after pulling it all back & up!!  If it wasn't so stinkin' cold outside, I'd wear it to work this way on Monday!!  Keep the puppies from chewing on it!  C'mon spring!!!!

Repopulation

So Grace comes downstairs last night and asks me what 'repopulation' means.  I give her the Noah story...and after the flood, his descendants repopulate the earth.  I get a blank look.  So, I try to simplify it for her.....I say "Let's say we had a fish tank with 20 fish in it and they get a sickness and all but 2 die.  Then we go to the pet store and buy more fish.....we have repopulated the tank."  Now she asks me if by having her, I repopulated.  I say "no- it's not just one person having a baby....it's more than that...on a bigger scale".  She comes back with "Well, Dr. Anne (my boss) and Joe (her husband) had 3 kids....did they repopulate??
I almost peed my pants laughing!!!