I never do this stuff

but I'm doing it this time. I think i am dotty's third person, if not, maybe I'll be e's first person.

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

First three people who comment saying that want in are it! (this may take a few days, I wont' take it personally.)

Rain!

Its raining! I know, you're jealous. seriously, it's supposed to rain here through saturday. Constantly. It should make walking the dogs fun.

Really, though, I'm very grateful. We werent' as bad off as you NC folks, but we were struggling. I am extra happy because my tomato plants are still fruiting, and since it's not supposed to get cold anytime soon, I could have tomatoes into november!

The second job

So today was my first day at a second job. I am helping teach a "topics in math" class that is an elective class for "recommended" fifth graders from all over my area. It's saturday mornings from 9:30-12:30. It was a very interesting experience, today. On the one hand, who wants to work Saturday morning? On the other hand, the money was pretty good (the original motivation) and the kids were SO CUTE.

Fifth graders are much needier than my high school kids, they will raise their hand and just sit there and wiggle until you tell them they can use the bathroom. They want you to walk around and confirm every answer (ok, some of my kids do that) there was this one activity where they were supposed to estimate the amount of water on the earth using a grid and ratios and stuff, and they kept asking me if their answer was right, and I wanted to be like "what part of the word 'estimate' do you not understand?" One girl kept needing help, but she couldnt' remember my name, so she would go "Mrs, Mrs . . . " and then very quietly but firmly "I can't remember" and ask her question. At the end of the day she thanked me for helping her so much. A very different satisfaction than you get from high school kids.

This one goes out to all you pet people

I have had a really hard time lately buying dog food. You see, there's a lot of bad dog food out there. Actually, most of the dogfood you see at the store is "bad." Even (especially) "good" brands like Iams, Eukanuba, or Science Diet. My friend, Renee, who has recently been added to my links under "follow me dog training blog" turned us on to this new dogfood. We're going to try it. It's actually cheaper than the (2.50 a pound) holistic stuff we've been feeding the dogs.

I will let you know how it goes.

Fall TV update

Women's Murder Club: BRILLIANT! This is a GREAT roll for Angie Harmon, I hope it lasts, because I miss having her on TV and this show is great.

Sick of me yet?

You know what I'm tired of? Boney-ass women on television. I have recently lost ten pounds, and I need to lose ten more, but I think I look FINE. But with these women running around where you can see every rib on them FROM THE BACK, that's just not normal.

Not. Normal.

My Timeline

I think martha has much more vivid memories than me of growing up, but I'll do my best. Im mostly guessing at ages.

Age 2: My first memory: falling down outside carrying buckets of gravel (?) and break my arm. I swear no one believed me at first, my mom disagrees. We are living in Raleigh. Other people clean my room for me.

A few months later: My sister Kerstin accidentally pulls my cast off undressing me for a bath, we have moved to PBO by now.

Age 4: My dog Mikey dies. I visit his grave in the woods behind the house for like the next ten years.

Age 6?: My parents get divorced. It's not as big of a deal as everyone was trying to make it. I do remember having to sleep in the same room as the washer dryer.

Age 8: we get a new Dog, Patrick, a Jack Russell. He only listens to Dad. He starts to shuffle back and forth with us according to my parents joint custody agreement. It only made him more neurotic.

Age 8ish: I start collecting cats. My dad gets married.

Age 10?: After moving a few times, mom finally buys the big yellow house in the Q. I hollow out a bush in the yard and turn it into a fort. My cat spooks dies, my cat Winnie has kittens. We have to give the kittens to the animal shelter. One of them got bitten by a snake, and my neighbor came over and shot the snake. We get a dog named Smiley, he gets hit by a car. We replace him with Deila.

Age 12: I get hit by a car, Patrick gets hit by a car. I made it, Patrick didn't.

Age 14: I'm kind of over getting hit by the car, Im playing soccer again even though I was never supposed to walk without a limp, my sister starts hanging out with these wackjobs on the internet and I tag along. We make friends for life.

Age 15: I start dating asshat.

Age 16: I'm over asshat. I decide I'm good at math. We get a new Jack Russell, very cleverly named Jackie.

Ages 18-22: I go to Carolina, find Jesus, find Todd, find theatre, briefly want to be a master electrician for a living, until I realize I need to have health insurance and a steady income to refinance the Bynum house when I graduate. Deila gets diabetes.

Age 22: I graduate, I refinance the house, I get a job teaching at my alma mater, for the health insurance. My boyfriend finishes graduate school and drags me off to VA. Deila finally dies.

Age 24: I have a very strange living situation renting some rooms in some peoples house. We thought it would be awesome, it wasnt, we find a way to buy our own house. It is awesome. The dog situation starts to get out of hand. Jackie gets hit by a car.

Its like I dont know her at all . . .

Our friend, Renee, who's a dog trainer came over for dinner last night. Renee is Todd's good friend from college, and she's awesome. As witnessed to by the fact that she gave me some very gentle advice about the dogs, when I'm sure they must've been driving her CRAZY.

Among other things, she told us that Shea is NOT a St. Bernard. Here is a side by side comparison



Ok, so I guess there's not that much of a resemblance. Renee thinks that she is a Landseer. Which is at least part of the same family. you be the judge.

a lovely evening

all the dogs are laying down minding their own business, and my husband is in the kitchen doing the dishes.