Wordless Wednesday version 4.30

Hey, it's my turn!

Project Green - the end.

It's the end of Project Green. Sad to see it go... excited to see whats next!

Upgrades, dog toys & sick kids

Yesterday was a nice, different kind of day.... sort of. It started out by realizing it had been 100 days of not smoking, then realizing Demon #2 was still sick, then being stuck between a rock & a hard place by my brother... and that was all before 8:30am!

The rock & a hard place is somewhere where I knew we'd end up eventually. See, my brother is a computer-nerd of sorts (either that or he fakes it really well). He helps me keep InsanityCafe forums running. Without him there just wouldn't be a forums to go to.

We've been behind on updating my site and the husbands site (which, of course, Patrick helps with, too) so yesterday was the day. If it wasn't yesterday, we probably would have been looking at a November or December date. Trying to get his schedules and mine (which stupidly is not very busy) to connect has been pretty much impossible.

So a comment was mention - I looked over at the husband and within 20 minutes we were out the door. It's over an hour drive to Patrick's, so we knew it would be almost an all day thing.

But it was so fun! I have the most wonderful, comical, sarcastic, humorous, caring brother a person could have. Seriously. You just can't be in a bad mood around him - it's just not possible. The only thing that sucked is that we had to leave.

Came home to a kid that was still sick (she wasn't dying... she's just sick. She was going to sit in front of the computer/tv all day long anyway, so whats the difference if I'm there to watch her or not?), 2 hyper dogs that had obviously been neglected attention-wise all day and a sink full of dirty dishes.

Speaking of dogs... Patrick has a Goldendoodle named Coco. Cutest big lump of fur you'll ever meet. Coco has this squeaky toy... all I know is that it looks like a dinosaur and it's made in China. If you try to feel the inside, it's not hallow, it's got some sort of material in it. It look indestructible and Patrick said they've had it since Coco was a pup (almost a year).... so it survived her puppy-chewing stage. He has absolutely no idea what this thing is called or what brand it is. We stopped at Petco and couldn't find anything close to it. Does anyone have any clue what this could be? We want to buy like 15 of them for Saki, because Lord knows she chews through everything and this is the toy for her!

Send a word out to your critter-friends and help us solve the mystery!

And that, my friends, is your Monday morning ramblings. Check out the work we did at the forums... join up, come talk to us! We love new people... we hand out cookies.

Oh... demon #2 is home sick today still.

Drum Roll, Please....

Today is a very special day. A milestone. It's pretty amazing that we are now talking triple-digit numbers now. Today is, officially, 100 (one-hundred)... not 99, not almost 100, not 90something... but 100 days since the husband & I quit smoking!
Neither one of us finished the Chantix prescription, but please... don't take that as that you shouldn't if you are on it. My parents have both quit smoking a few weeks before us and they both are still on the prescription.
I still find this drug amazing... and coming from me, thats a huge thing. I hate any kind of medicine. When the husband called me that one morning back in December and told me that cigarette prices were going up in Wisconsin....

.... Cig prices went up in Minnesota a long time ago. But being married to a truck driver, we get the luxury of price shopping between states. He goes to Wisconsin everyday and cigarettes were $10/carton cheaper there after the MN prices went up, so... he bought our vice every week.....

..... so he called me and said they were going up and that we should quit. There was this rush of panic that went through me. He'd said it before and somehow I always talked him out of it... but this time? I didn't think I could talk him out of it, maybe I didn't want to, I don't know, but I didn't want to quit. As stupid as that sounds, I didn't. I think only a smoker can understand that thinking. I mean, why would you want to continue bringing smoke into your lungs, right? Dumb, yep.

So I agreed. Yes, it's time. I called the doc and got the meds and we started them... if you've followed along in the beginning on this blog you read how easy it really was. This drug is amazing. It made me, someone who had no interest in quitting smoking, not want a cigarette.

Ok, sure, yeah... I guess part of me had to want to quit or I still wouldn't be a non-smoker.

Do I still want one? Yep. Everyday. Not all the time, but at least once everyday. At the strangest times, too, like - as I type this, because I'm talking about it. Makes me think of it, so I want one.

And, yes, I gained weight. 20lbs to be exact. I don't care about that, either. I'm still not fat, just a little chubby. I can live with that.

So today is 100 days without a cigarette. I think I'll celebrate with a hot fudge sundae.

Weekly Winners (Losers) & Camera Critters

I have to say that this week sucked as far as picture taking. My "winners" for the week are actually sorta losers, but they work for the Camera Critters meme.

Our weather has been freakish this week... 70 degrees on the day I raked the yard and neighbors were mowing theirs, then we had a day of rain. All day rain. Thats where these pictures come in... it was Saki's 1st "rain storm". She ran outside and when the rain started hitting her... well, she didn't know what to think! Snow doesn't feel like that!

Speaking of snow.. we got a couple inches last night/today. And now, at 8pm, it's almost all gone.

Strange week. But just not much of a camera week. Sorry. We've been sick, too, so maybe if we (I) are feeling better tomorrow there will be some last minute weekend shots thrown up.

Project Green. The Book version.

Project Green again

And I'm admitting one of my addictions. Little House on the Prarie. The books... and the show. *hangs my head in shame* Yes, my friends, you will catch me watching this show all the time. I can't help it. I love the show! I always have. I swear I am the only one left on the planet that DOES watch it.

Project Green & White stuff

Another Project Green. I really like this!

My picture to be included is Saki (surprised?) with a bone....but that looks just not right.... now that I did it! Oh well, I'm gonna keep it anyway.

But I feel obligated to included another "green" picture that I took for another day. These "Freshies" bones are green and they are supposed to create a minty-fresh breath in your canine friends but I got a kiss from Saki after she ate one and it still smells like dog breath.

I miss the puppy smell.

Now, I have to add something that is GREEN related... I think. Our weather forecast says FOUR INCHES OF SNOW today. Did someone uproot Minnesota and put it in Alaska or something? This is fricken crazy.

I almost planted flower blubs the other day... when it was 75 degrees.

Project Green.

Project Green. Take Four.I'm late getting in on the green projects! I was all ready to do the Project Yellows, but then it was over. :( Hope the green goes for awhile... I took a whole bunch of green pictures this morning!

If you are looking at your screen, thinking "she's officially lost it", don't freak out too much ... go here and it will explain everything!

.... oh, btw... thats a green twist tie on my countertop!

roses

My rose bush might not be dead... there's some green on it. Not green growing stuff like leaves or anything, but the wood part (this is how you kill a rose bush; know nothing about them!) - there's some green on there!!

and no, it's not mold.

Only time will tell.... but I ain't calling it dead yet.

My lilies are coming up already, but you gotta have a black thumb to kill a lily.

Wordless Wednesday version 4.23

My throat hurts... thats wordless, right?

Today I decided to grab a picture from a few years back. This one isn't Saki, the golden that fills the pages of this blog now. This is Max, who isn't even a golden retriever, believe it or not. He was a German Shepard mix. Mix with a retriever, I'm sure, although the farm I got him from said it was a lab mix. Yeah right. His mom was Shepard though.. Max became quite close with a Rottweiler we had and they had a litter of puppies. Max threw some Shepard ones into the mix LOL

Max was my "first born", thats what I called him. I got him when he was 8 weeks old, before I had children of my own. I answered an ad in the paper that was for German Shepard puppies. I've always wanted a Shepard. I went to this farm and there were a lot of pure black pups, some brown, nothing that caught my attention. The owners said there was a puppy missing, that it was usually off on its own.

Thats when this big ball of golden fur crawled out from underneath a shed door. His legs were so short and he was such a puffball that you couldn't see his legs when he ran. He was running right towards me... and stopped right in my arms. Maxwell found me that day and he was by my side for over 11 years when I had to make the painful decision to put him down. He was my baby, my best friend and no matter how hard Saki tries, she will never take Max's place. She tries to give me "Max hugs"; puts her paws up on my shoulders and I say "No Saki, no Max hugs! Only Max gave Max hugs!". So she's learned that "Saki hugs" are just digging her nose between my neck and shoulders.

She will not fill that place Maxwell has in my heart.

Anyway, the reason for this picture is because Big Boy & Max were the best of buds. Saki is pretty hyper with the cats now, but we are noticing that BB is getting more tolerant everyday. Yesterday the husband caught BB getting a tongue bath from Saki and made no motion to get out of the situation.

Does BB remember Max? Who knows... thats always a question I've wondered about animals. Some people say they don't have memories. I just don't know if I can believe that or not. But, if they do, I wonder if BB sees something familiar in Saki and is hoping that, maybe, he can get his best bud back through her?

Bill Would Ban Dogs For Owners Whose Dogs Attack

wcco.com - Bill Would Ban Dogs For Owners Whose Dogs Attack: "Bill Would Ban Dogs For Owners Whose Dogs Attack
ST. PAUL (AP) ― The Minnesota House has voted to ban dog ownership for people who violate dangerous dog laws.

The bill won unanimous approval after discussion about dog attacks, including one that killed a Minneapolis boy.

The main provision would prohibit dog ownership for at least three years for those whose dogs hurt or kill someone or when the owners violate laws requiring restraints, microchips and other precautions.

Representative Michael Paymar says there have been too many problems with dogs biting and sometimes killing children, adults and other pets.

The punishment would not be linked to the dog's breed."

*jumps up & down excitedly like a puppy*

3 years doesn't seem near long enough, but at least it's a start.... and they aren't going after one breed, which is the BEST!!!

WTG Minnesota!!!

Earth Day

What did you do earthy today?

Starving Dog Art.... art?

I got this email today from a cousin of mine. It was about some guy/artist named Guillermo Vargas, who took a dog off the street, tied it up and put it in an art exhibit and let it die of starvation - a form of "art".

I went directly to Snopes.com because, come on... who seriously would do this to a dog, right? And who would actually stand by, after paying money to see art, and watch this poor dog die?

Snopes.com - Starving Dog Art

Sadly, part of it may be true. It hasn't been discounted.

In the email I received there were 6 pictures total of this dog in the exhibit. It's heartbreaking and very disturbing. Why would anyone walk past this "art" and not untie it and take it home... give it some food, a bath and lots of love? How many people walked by and did nothing?

The good news is, no dog was put in as a replacement once this dog died. It was a one time thing.

Thank God.

But in Snopes.com it says that the artists point of the exhibit was to show how hypocrital people are.

Boom. Someone just hit me in the chest.

His point was - you take a dog, put it on display and refuse to feed it.. emails go around the world, people scream and cry and protest - wanting him out of the art world for doing such a thing.

But would we have stopped and given this dog... this same dog... the time of day or a second thought if we had seen it on the street starving, just as the artist had on the day he chose him? Some of us would, some of us would not.

But... is this art? No, no way in hell. But it is one helluva message this guy sent!

Weekly Winners, April 13 - April 19

My weekly winners... damn, it was hard to choose because most of my favorties I've already posted yesterday with the other memes. I got such good shots yesterday, I even amazed myself! So here's a group from this week that I haven't posted yet...

Camera Critters - #2 - A walk in the park

I'm getting all my weekend photo projects out of the way all at once! Ok, well in 3 different posts... so anyone who wants to see more "park pictures" continue on to the other 2 entries from today!

These pictures I picked out just for Camera Critters. I couldn't decide which one was cuter - them coming or them going. So I'm giving you both!

The girls, the dogs & I headed to the park today. It's a little piece of heaven just on the outside of town... at least I've always thought so. I came here as a child and it just seems right that I bring my own children. It helps that we live just a few blocks away from it, too. :)
It is a "regular kids park", too. If you look off in the distance you might be able to see the playground equipment.
This is the first time I've came here with a mission - pictures. The girls really didn't know that was the mission.. I mean, Mom always has her camera, so they get used to it after awhile.


And the dogs? Well, considering Saki is just about 6 months old and a retriever, she's really into the exploring & discovery of all this new stuff... grass! Sticks! Hey, where'd the snow go? She's in her own heaven.

And Chico? Well, he doesn't get off the leash much (he listens as well as the trees in the pictures), so he was having the time of his life!

This is also my first entry in Weekend Snapshot!

PhotoHunt - Thirteen (13)

My 13 year old... need I say more?

Photo Friday (my 1st one!) - Cold

I found another one... Photo Friday. Like I needed another one, huh?

This one took awhile for me to find something. The challenge this week is cold. Since we are now getting into the 60s everyday and all of our snow from last week's 12+ inches snowstorm is a memory, I'd have a hard time finding something cold. So I went back into time... before I had a decent camera, so forgive the quality of the picture. Demon #2 is about 6 years old here (she's 11 now) and this is at the lake near our house. She's always hated the cold and this day was no exception. And it doesn't help that she took after me when it comes to things on her feet. Ice skates, rollerblades... doesn't matter. Our feet were meant to be flat on the ground. So she did a lot of standing around on the ice that day... in fear that she would (more than likely) fall.

And you know what? Now all of a sudden I just thought of two different ideas for cold. I just might have to come back and edited this...

... no, I gotta wait 10 minutes until I can get the demons out of bed anyway, so I'll go do it now.

Ok the one didn't turn out as I'd wanted it to... I tried to take a picture of a bag of old pancakes in the freezer that had ice crystals in it. Couldn't get it to turn out right... so I left it. True, nobody is going to eat them because they are old, but they fill that little space in the freezer so I leave it. Plus it was like 7 feet to walk to the garbage can and thats... you know, too far.

I can use that excuse, my kids do!

Feel free to grab that idea and then let me know if you posted a pic of it! I'd love to see it.

Here is the other idea I had... a cold cat. I shaved Big Boy the other day because he gets to the point that his fur is so thick that I just shave it. Plus it helps with my itchy eyes! LOL I shave one of the other cats, too, but thats because he hates to be brushed. Big Boy loves it, but it's hard to keep up with his coat. So the first couple days after I shave him - he's cold. Not freezing, just cold. Or maybe he's just mad at me, who knows.