Red Sky In Morning

Red Sky In Morning, Sailors Take Warning... that's how the saying goes! I saw this beautiful red sunrise this morning and today they are predicting a Winter Storm Warning with up to 12 inches of snow by tomorrow afternoon! Now you would think we might have another snow day tomorrow but I have a feeling they won't call it in the morning because the bulk of the snow will come after school starts but we'll see. In any case, this sunrise was gorgeous and didn't last long.


I did have my interview today. It went well, I think. They will be interviewing more people next Thursday and make their decision after that. So I'm still the long term sub, for now.
No other news really. No special plans for the weekend except possibly shoveling the foot of snow we will be getting!!

Interview tomorrow...

So, I have an interview tomorrow. It's with the school district where I'm working now as a long term sub. I'm not specifically interviewing for my job though that would make the most sense. My job and nine others are available but going in I don't know where the other nine are. That's all I know. It should be full time, more $$$ and who knows how long it will last. I'm on a "need to know" basis I guess and apparently no one thinks I need to know!!
Last night we had some horrendous winds whipping through! I woke up many times praying that the trees in the backyard weren't going to snap off and crash through the roof and onto my bed!! And if that wasn't waking me up then my "tummy troubles" were so between the two, tummy and lack of sleep, I wasn't feeling like going to work today. The tummy is better so hopefully I will be able to go to work tomorrow and go to the interview. Fingers crossed!!

You can see Charlie's stitches from his herniated belly button in this picture. It's looking good!



"Mom, are you taking my picture again???"


Zoe doing her ball balancing trick!! Wow, she's talented!!

Gray, Gray Go Away!!

I seriously think I have SADD. I got a call this morning at 5:00 that there was no school which came as a shock. Last night when I went to bed it was raining and maybe sleeting a little so getting the call was a surprise. I never really found out why but I'm assuming the back roads where the school buses travel were probably icy. When I got up to let the dogs out around 7:30 it felt almost balmy out and the temp was probably around 40. I didn't really do much today though. It's just hard to get motivated when it's so darn depressing looking outside! This is the time of year when I start trying to figure out how I can go somewhere sunny and warmer. Then I have to talk Howard into going. He doesn't want to go anywhere right now because of work. Spring break week is coming up in a couple months but that seems so far away and it's always too expensive at that time of year to go anywhere. Today all I felt like doing was sleeping but I forced myself not to do that!
Now tonight they are really predicting bad weather. Around midnight we are supposed to have rain, possibly thunderstorms even, changing over to snow and winds at 40-50 miles per hour and the possibility of a couple inches of snow by morning. With the wind chill figured in they are predicting a 50 degree temperature drop from today into tomorrow! And I'm predicting right now that there will be school tomorrow!
For once, I hope I'm wrong. Maybe tomorrow I will feel like getting something done.

In other matters, Charlie's visit to the Dr. went well. His stitches are healing nicely and he goes back next Monday to have them removed. He's feeling like his old self again, full of energy, and it's hard to keep him calm.
I want some sunshine!

Another Project Completed...

Check out this beauty!! Howard worked hard all weekend and we finally have light in the bathroom again!! He stained the wood and cut it to fit perfectly around the mirror and above the new counter top. It looks so nice now! These pictures don't really do it justice but we tried.



The patient, a/k/a Charlie, is feeling much better and without sedation he is back to his wild man ways! It's hard to keep him down and quiet. He makes a visit to the vet tomorrow after work to make sure everything is healing well. I'm not an expert but it looks pretty good so far.

Zoe got to go for a walk today without her little brother tagging along. I think she enjoyed the extra attention and the absence of someone biting at her face all the time!

Not much else new around here. It's winter, cold and white right now. No sunshine today though we did see a bit Friday and Saturday. These are the dark days of winter and spring is a long way away! Sadly there will be no trip to San Diego this year as Howard has too much work to do. Bummer. Some of you may have noticed a new countdown on my blog. We are planning an alternative Christmas this year with a trip to Hawaii, if all goes as planned and everyone manages to save enough money! That's a long way away too, though we are all researching so we can make our lists of what we want to do while we are there. It's good to dream!
Have a great week!!

Rough Night With the Patient...

Well, we had quite the night last night. First I thought I would try to leave the e-collar off since Charlie hated it so much but around 12:30 I woke up to hear him licking so I had to put the darn thing back on. Then around 2:30 a.m. I woke up to the sound of wretching and he threw up what little he had for dinner. Then while we were all awake he decided he had to go outside to potty too! When he came back in he was shaking so badly I had to wrap him up in a blanket and it took another 1/2 hour before he stopped. Did I mention it was like 9 degrees last night? Then around 4:30a.m. there was more throwing up. Finally we went back to bed until around 7:00. He was finally able to keep some breakfast down and then a little lunch too. I also decided I should probably stop the pain medication and sedative if he was doing ok and he slept most of the day and seemed to be ok without both. I wasn't sure if maybe that was the cause of him feeling so poorly. So, that's the latest on the patient. I'm sure every day will get better and hopefully tonight we will both sleep a little better! I'm just glad I decided to take the day off work as I had to take a couple naps myself today!


Here he is, looking a little steadier on his feet than last night!

The Patient Survived The Surgery...

And he's recuperating quietly (for now) at home, with the help of pain pills and tranquilizers!! It's not bad enough they cut off his private parts and then repair his little bubble of a herniated belly button, then they put this dumb E (for Elizabethan) collar on him which just adds to the pain and humiliation.


Zoe had to come over and check things out and show her sympathy. She's having a hard time understanding why he's not chasing her and trying to eat her food and takes things away from her. She doesn't really get that he's having enough trouble just trying to stay upright and walk!


I took the collar off for a while so the poor dog can eat and sleep comfortably. It's just so pitiful watching him walk into walls and scoop up snow outside with this darn thing on. I guess he'll just have to live with a couple days of humiliation and being uncomfortable because I sure don't want him trying to get at the stitches or getting things infected with his licking!
Before we know it he'll be back to his old tricks again, chasing Zoe around the house, getting into things and running up and down the stairs!

Another snowy day...

No school for me today. We had a "developmental day" today where the teachers had to work but not support staff, like me! So I just stayed home and enjoyed the snow today. We got a couple inches and it's so pretty when you don't have to go anywhere and you're inside nice and warm.


This little squirrel is supposed to be hibernating but I guess even he couldn't resist a feeder full of black oilers! He's looking a little scruffy though.


And of course the pups followed me around from room to room, trying to sneak in a nap here and there. I feel guilty getting up and leaving a room when they are mid-nap!

Charlie's surgery is scheduled for Thursday. He had his blood drawn on Monday and everything looks ok. I take him in Thursday morning around 7:30 and pick him up in the evening around 5:30. Then somehow I'm supposed to keep him calm for the next week to 10 days! That's going to be easier said than done as he's not one to stay calm for long. And he's not supposed to go up and down stairs or jump around! Another difficult feat I'm afraid but I guess we'll do our best and hope things stay stitched together.

Another Frigid Day...

Yep, the weather man was right, it was colder today. This morning when I got up, at 7:00ish, it was 0 degrees. Throughout the day it warmed up to around 9 degrees! Take it from me, there's no global warming here in Michigan. This is what it looked like today.


But then today I received these pictures from Tyler. Yes, he is using his new camera and actually sent me some pictures!!! WooooHooooo!!

I'm assuming this is the view from his 18th floor apartment. Looks like it's looking out toward Diamond Head. At least that looks like Diamond Head there in the far background.


Then I found out that he spent the day at the North Shore at Sunset Beach where they have all the famous surfing competitions. Some day I hope to go there to see that myself. What a difference between there and here! Those waves look huge!! You're a lucky duck Ty!
On the home front, Charlie finally got his bath today. I had to hurry and blow dry him afterwards so he didn't turn into a pupsicle!! He looks so shiny and smells so much better!!

Brrrrr...Brrrrr...Brrrrr... and other things

It is super cold here this weekend. The temp this morning was about 14 and the high was only supposed to be 15. The only bright spot, the sun was out part of the day. If you stood by the window and let the sun hit you, you could pretend it was actually warm! Sad as that sounds, that little bit of sun helps me feel better! It's supposed to stay cold all weekend so I think we'll just be staying inside where it's a constant 68 degrees!! Especially since the high tomorrow is only supposed to be 9!!! Geez, that's cold! Dangerous cold!! Then the high on Monday will be 19!! Hopefully this cold snap won't last too long.



In other news, Tyler went back to Hawaii on Thursday. After travelling for 12 hours he made it back safely with no delays or problems. For those interested, the temperature today in Honolulu was 78 degrees, 77 tomorrow and 78 again on Monday. Tyler starts school on Tuesday so he won't be seeing too much of the outside world after that. He's taking a full load this semester, 4 science classes with 4 labs, so he'll be very busy! I think he enjoyed his time here but he did complain about the cold, a lot. He's also not used to all this grayness anymore. Guess I can't blame him too much.


With everyone back to their regular routines and Scott's school schedule changing a bit, the pups will be home alone a lot more now. I will have to rush home for lunch 3 days a week (I only have 45 minutes) to let Charlie out and feed him lunch as he can't make it 8 hours without a potty break yet. Speaking of Charlie, we finished puppy classes Tuesday night and while he did graduate and receive a certificate, I regret to inform you that he did not win the down-stay competition. That honor was won by Jinx, a little female Jack Russel terrier (Charlie's favorite puppy class friend.) We will be taking more puppy classes in a month or so. Before we do that though, we need to have Charlie neutered which I hope will take place next week. We go for blood work on Monday and hopefully the surgery can be scheduled for Thursday or Friday.

Charlie likes to get as close to Zoe as she will let him. It usually doesn't last long as she's not much of a cuddler. This was a rare moment when they were laying near me and I had a chance to grab the camera.

I want a President who will...

I want a president who will make a 3-day weekend the law of the land. Two days just don't seem to be enough to get everything done and have a little R&R too!!
This is how Howard spent Saturday. Our new countertop/sinks arrived so Friday night he picked them up at Lowe's and spent Saturday installing them.



He had plenty of supervision!



They really look great! Next he will work on the light fixtures and trim around the mirror.
Zoe went to see the groomer on Saturday and now she looks so pretty! I was hoping to give Charlie a bath but that was one of those things I ran out of time for.

This is Tyler's last weekend in Michigan as he leaves for Hawaii on Thursday. He has a few days until his semester begins again and then he will be very busy as he's taking 3 biology classes and they all have labs, plus one or two other classes, can't remember. He will be very busy this next semester! He says he enjoyed his stay but the gray weather is depressing. We all agree. Today he and I took the dogs to the high school field for a nice long frisbee session. They will sleep good tonight!!
It's back to work and school tomorrow. Charlie "graduates" from puppy class on Tuesday. I was supposed to try to teach him a "trick" to show off during graduation but we never quite got around to that. I don't think he'll pass his down-stay part of the class either but this class was really just a chance to get together with other dogs and socialize and he is finally doing that. He's been quite shy around other people and dogs but came out of his shell a little last week. Last week on a walk poor little Charlie was attacked by a neighborhood dog. The dog was getting out of a car with it's owner and just charged right towards us. It took a bite out of Charlie's backside but thankfully only ended up with a mouthful of hair. It was a very traumatic experience for both of us though. I have started carrying a broomstick handle just in case. And this was a gentle breed, a Golden Retreiver, that attacked us! But, like I said, Charlie doesn't seem to have any lasting scars from the incident except a little skittishness when he hears a dog barking.
You'd never know it from this picture! And if this puppy class was based on cuteness, he'd be getting first place!!


He's a cutie! Wish us luck!

Our Christmas break is over!

This is what it looks like when there is a ton of snow on the ground and the temperature rises (to 45 anyway). We have had this fog since last night and here it is now around 4:30 in the afternoon and if anything it's getting thicker than when I took these pictures! Lovely Michigan in January! And February and March and April too! YUK! I guess if the weather is going to be this crappy we might as well go back to work/school since we can't go outside and enjoy ourselves.



Tyler is still here on his break though. He's spent a few days working at Mr. B's but mostly he's just relaxing. I'm sure he would rather be relaxing in Hawaii than here. I know I would!
Not much else is happening around here. We finally got all the Christmas decorations taken down, inside at least, and are managing to get things organized and put away. I was hoping to get the outside stuff taken down as well but the weather hasn't cooperated.

In other news, Charlie is 5 months old now. He's getting to be so long and tall, all legs. From the top he's still a little skinny, like a gangly adolescent. He spends most of his time sleeping or playing. I haven't been able to get Zoe and Charlie out as much as I would like but that's winter in Michigan for you. I walked them yesterday afternoon but it was so slushy that every time a car went by I had to jump into someone's driveway to avoid getting splashed with slush! The weather man is saying this little warm up won't last more than a day or two. We'll be back in the freezer later in the week.