If He Had Another Brain, It Would Be Lonely

Looks like Chimmie wasn't as worn out as Linda and I thought he was. While I was in the den with Linda for the past 1/2 hour, Chim took his favorite "woobie-bed" out of his sleeping den. It's the bed he thinks is his Mommy, the one he nurses himself to sleep in. We both saw him drag the bed to Linda's room which 99.9% of the time means he is going to nap on it. Not this time. He chewed a small hole in woobie-bed and proceded to strew the stuffing all over the floor! Linda tried to take the bed away and out to the trash. Chimmie had a fit. He actually started barking! (For those of you who know Chim in real life, he does not bark. He kind of whines and yips, but not a full fledged real bark.) What to do? Chim has to have his woobie-bed to sleep at night, but Linda does not want him to spread any more stuffing all over the house. She does not have a big enough sewing kit to fix the hole, and he'll just chew a new one now that he knows he can. How dumb can he be? For now, she stuffed a dish towel down into the hole to try and plug it up. P.S. You can see him in this photo riding around on his coyote. He drags it all over the house with the coyote under him and between his legs. I guess he's showing coyote how proud he is of his bed killing prowess.

Marathon Pooch

I'm not dead, even though it kind of looks like it in this photo. I'm just plain tuckered out. While Linda was teaching today, Jerry came over to take us out on the trail. It's a looooog walk, over one hour going though the woods, streams, and dirt trails. I only "carried" a few times too. For my little legs, it was like doing a full marathon. When we got back, he put Chimmie into the backyard and by the time he came back in, I was almost asleep. He left at 1:00 and Linda did not get home until 2:30, so I got a good long nap. When she finally did get home, she was out front planting flowers until almost 6:00 p.m, so I slept some more. Even Chimmie is still worn out.

Green Thumbs

It took Linda and Sarah over three hours and lots of hard labor and finally.... finished! The front garden is planted. A trip to the flower nursery was first on the list. They filled their wagons with lots of pretty flowers. Next up, they had to take out hundreds of pounds of old mulch, dirt and rocks that were in the beds. Then they hand tilled fresh, rich topsoil into the existing left over dirt. So far, so good. After a quick food break, they continued on and planted all the new flowers and moved some plants from past years around a bit. It really looks so nice. Once everything grows up, it will be even more beautiful. Dennis was supposed to come and help, but by the time he would have been done with the gardening job he was working on somewhere else, Sarah and Linda only had about 1 hour left of work. Now Linda's back is sore from lifting and spreading the 40 pound bags of topsoil and her hip is kind of locked up, but she liked doing it together with Sarah. They had lots of good mother-daughter time!

Cat vrs. Dog.. And the Winner Is...

In the second edition of "Who is Smarter" I found out that dogs are smarter than cats. This one confused me a bit. I knew that girl dogs were smarter than boy dogs, but I really thought Chip had both Chimmie and I beat in the brains department. Not so says the National Academy of Science. It seems like dogs brains have become smarter at a faster rate than cat brains over the years. In this house, Chip rules the two of us. She can change her personality to be sneaky, manipulative, pathetic, aggressive or adorable to get her way. Shes figured out how to make Chim obey her with just her eyes or one tiny growl. Plus, scientists say that cats can only remember obstacles or changes in their environment for only 10 minutes. Again, Chip seems to have no problem in that department. The article went on to say that dogs can be trained to rescue people, sniff out drugs and guide blind people all over town, so that makes them really smart. Cats just lay in the sun, lolling around doing whatever they feel like. They demand to be fed with an annoying and high pitched whine, immediately food is bought to them. Now who really is smarter? The cat who gets it's way 24/7 and does exactly what it wants, or the dog who is working for the humans and could possibly putting its life in danger? Hum.....

Work in Progress

Our front yard is looking amazing, and it's not even done yet. Our grass is the greenest and lushest it's ever been. (Thanks to some help from the pro!) Tomorrow, Dennis is going to help Linda get out all the old mulch in the flower beds and put down new, fresh topsoil. Sarah is coming over later in the afternoon to take Linda flower shopping for the rest of the plants. It's going to be beautiful when it's all planted and in full bloom. The backyard is coming along too, but she wants to focus on the front first. This photo was from last Mother's Day when Sarah and Linda planted the bed. This year it will be just as pretty.

Surprise Visit!

As a pre-Mother's Day present, Sarah surprised Linda today and bought over some beautiful flowers to plant in her two big clay pots! We were out on a long morning walk and when we got back to the house, we saw her car in the driveway. Noah was with Sarah, so we entertained him while Sarah put in down new soil, planted the flowers, weeded and cut back the ivy. Noah loves Chimmie more than he loves me, but I'm OK with that. Chim acts like a clown when he is around and the more Noah laughs at him, the funnier Chimmie gets. Poor Noah's head was about to swivel off because Chim was speeding around the house, throwing toys up in the air and rolling on his back kicking his legs around. Every time Chim would do a little "yip", Noah would giggle and wave his arms. I hope Gretel gets him his own puppy when he is a little older. He already loves dogs!

Crunchberries?

Here we go, another semi-tractor trailer crash. The truck crunched into a guardrail and flipped over. This time the accident caused hundreds and hundreds of cereal boxes to spill all over the highway. The Ohio road was closed for almost three hours as bulldozers cleared up the cereal. I really wish the article would have said what kind of cereal it was, I'll need to do some more research to find out. It would be really weird if they were boxes of Cap'n Crunch. (p.s. The driver will be fine. I only most these kind of stories when the injuries are not life threatening.)

I Win

I'm not one to brag (too much) but I think I have this pup beat. His photo has been circulating on the net because his ears are just "so" big. Um, you tell me... who has the biggest ears?

Do Cats Live Forever?

Chip has decided that she has as much right to sit on the love seat with Linda as Chim and I do. This means that when we are totally chilling (me sleeping, Chimmie shoving a wet, sloppy toy into Linda's face) and the cat wants up, our relaxing time is over. She jumps on the arm of the sofa, hisses like a 600 pound tiger who lost her cub, and makes Chimmie and I flee to safety. Usually if she jumps up I stay on the other side of Linda and just Chim panics. Lately her hisses sound like she means business and I'm not taking any chances. Chip is so old, Linda can't believe she is still alive. No one can remember the year she came to live with us, but Linda thinks Taylor was in 2nd grade. Now he's been married almost 4 years! She can jump up onto the dining room table, on Linda's high bed and still has an amazing appetite. Linda does still love her, even though she isn't a cat person and Chip really belongs to Tierney.

Got Milk?

Linda was about to tell us all it was bed time when we spotted this story. Even though she is tired, sore and a tad bit cranky... she had to let me post this. A man dressed in a full cow costume CRAWLED into a Walmart store not too far from our house and loaded 26 gallons of milk into a shopping cart. Then he rolled the cart out into the parking lot and started giving the milk away to shoppers leaving the store. When police showed up, the man-cow got up and skipped away. He was questioned and later released. Yipee for Walmart and Man-Cows!

Did You Say Tennis Ball?

I'm not surprised one bit, but now the whole world knows. Girl dogs are smarter than boy dogs. It's true. Livescience.com says so. (http://www.livescience.com/13890-female-male-dogs-brain-differences.html) Girl dogs did way better on "what happened to the missing tennis ball" lab test than the boy dogs did. They were basically clueless on the whole experiment. The girls were as smart as toddlers, the boys were as smart as dirt. Sorry Chimmie.

So Sleepy

It was fun walking with Dennis today. He spent over an hour with us. I would not let him put the harness on me, but he picked me up and made me put it on. Once I had it on, I was raring to go. We went around the neighborhood for 20 minutes, then Dennis bought me home and took Chimmie for another 20 minute walk. Chimmie is so tired that he is falling asleep right now on the love seat. Maybe Linda will get a quite night to relax after all her classes. Tomorrow is a short day for her (only 2 classes!) and we will probably get to go to family night with Linda if the weather is nice.

I'll Be Good!

The weather is brightening up and it looks like the sun is out if full force. I'm so glad because all this rain depresses me. When I don't get exercise, it makes me even more lethargic and lazy. If Dennis makes it over for a late afternoon/early evening walk, I will try my hardest not to be afraid when he puts the harness on. Linda has explained all the rules. No walking along our main road; we both need to be carried across the street and to look for the signs when I need a rest. She knows its crazy, but she is a little nervous about letting us go out alone with someone new. I just hope Chimmie behaves himself on the walk and doesn't get all crazy and hyper. Maybe Dennis should just play with him in the backyard to be safe.

Dog Walker: Day One

Linda said that we are going to have our first outing today with our new dog walker, Dennis this afternoon. He has been over enough times now that I am not too scared of him. Chimmie loves him and won't have any problem at all going to him. I'm still shy and might or might not let him put my harness on. If that is the case, Linda told him to leave me home and just take Chim. Dennis also has to ride his bicycle to our house, so if it's raining and he can't get a ride, it's going to be a long afternoon/evening in the bathroom for poor Chim. If the weather is iffy when he does get here, he'll just let Chim out in the backyard to do his business then play with us inside for awhile. Linda has 5 classes today plus she is meeting two friends from church to help them prepare for their upcoming Combat training.

Take Cover

Thankfully, we woke up with a roof still over our head, though there was a tornado warning for a town just a few miles away at 7:00 a.m. this morning. Friends of Linda in Tennessee were hit really hard. There have been lots of deaths and massive destruction from these twisters. I was shivering most of the night, pressed right up against Linda. Anytime there is strange weather, I get scared. I told her that the earthquake was going to happen when we were hit by that small tremor last July. A few times last night I made her nervous because I started whimpering and shaking harder. She thought for sure a tornado was getting ready to get us. Linda just prayed for safety and that we would be calm and it worked! This morning, we would have kept sleeping but someone woke us up super early with a subbing request text. Usually, we turn off the phone at night. Just to be on the safe side, we kept it on in case someone called us to take cover. Linda is keeping Chimmie inside today while she is working. In Fayetteville, a family watched as a twister swept their two dogs, a pit bull and a German Shepherd, up into the funnel. More than a week later, both dogs were found alive. Even though Chim is annoying, I don't want him blown away in a storm.

Weather Alert!

Chimmie seems to be back to his normal SUPER ANNOYING self. He is crazzzzy tonight. It must be all stored up from his few days of being laid back or from the intense weather. He is speeding around the house, bringing Linda every single toy, trying to play fight with me and just being a big pain. Now he's play biting Linda! Go away Chimmie, please! We can't go for a walk to drain off this energy because it's been pouring rain off and on all evening. Right now it is thundering and there are strong winds. The news just issued a tornado watch until 2:00 a.m. Places not too far away from my house have already been hit by tornadoes and it's moving into the southern part of our county. (Tornadoes is a weird word. I had to spell check it because it does not look right.) We have the perfect safe room if a tornado does come. Our downstairs bathroom has no windows and it's partially underground. Too bad there isn't room for all of us. Look how fat Chip is. She will have to sacrifice herself and take her chances under the bed.

Chimmie Sleeping!?

Chimmie appears to be not feeling so great. Linda is going to call the vet to make sure it's nothing related to his last shot or micro chip he had implanted last week. His appetite is off (which means he is nibbling his food and not gulping it down in 1 second flat) and his number 2's are looking like mine did when I had pancreatitis. My pancreatitis was from eating bites of rich steak. I had to go on an IV and spend 8 hours at the vet until my vital signs were normal. Chim has only had his regular dog food and some chicken bits. Maybe he ate something strange in the backyard. He has also been relatively calm the last few days (right now he is sleeping next to Linda on the couch.) Linda is going to keep an eye on him to make sure he is OK. A trip to the vet for a check up will cost $200 by the time the blood work and xrays are done. If he just ate a rotten bird egg or something, it will be out of his system and he'll be back to normal.

Wednesday Update

Going to bed early once a week really is a good idea. Everyone wakes up happy and well rested. Even Chip has kept her complaining to a minimum this morning. Chimmie did have a little "oopsie" and had to use his emergency pad during the night, but it was because he was locked up for over 9 hours. He didn't even make a sound until the alarm went off at 6:45. Linda kind of wishes he would wake her up if he has to go during the night, but we are both kind of glad he doesn't make a peep until morning. Linda's legs are much better this morning. No cramping. They just feel tight and strained. Today's classes will loosen them up (or could make it worse) but hopefully they will be fine in time for church tonight. The AC is still working and our house is chilly. I had to sleep wrapped up in Linda's robe at the foot of the bed last night. Soooo much better from when I was panting and drooling because of the heat. This weekend, Linda is going to plant some more flowers in our front yard. Sarah put in a bunch for Mother's Day last year, but only 1/2 of them survived to come back another year even though they were all perennials . My favorite were the pink ones!

Bed Time? Already?

It's only 9:10 and we are going to bed. If Linda is sleeping, she won't feel the pain in her legs. (I just hope she can fall asleep.) I'm glad we got a long 45 minute walk while she was at work because both Chimmie and I are worn out and really don't mind going to bed early. Good night.

Tuesday Night Fun

Just the same as last Tuesday, Linda is suffering from severe muscle cramps in her calves. Tonight she really wanted to lay down on the stage and just cry. She looses 5 pounds from her morning weigh in until her bed weigh in. It's all the sweat from teaching her classes. Two of her 5 classes (WIM) today are on the sauna-hot pool deck. In sweltering heat she is jumping, kicking and doing jumping jacks on the concrete. She also has a Combat class right before the WIM where she sweats buckets. During Combat, the cramp was so bad that she kept losing track of where she was in the song. She had more water tonight and some salt to try and help, but (Tier!!) she needs a deep tissue massage to work out the knots. This weekend she is doing a 5K in support of Carol's brain tumor research. I don't think it would be smart if she ran, do you?

What Hot House?

We are just kickin' back enjoying our nice AIR CONDITIONED HOUSE! I know... just this morning it looked like all was lost and we were destined to live in a hot, sweltering house the rest of the summer. All the googling on fixing AC's failed to mention to check the circuit breaker in the garage. (She actually already did check that on our own, but Linda did not know that the "furnace" switch wasn't the same as the AC switch since there were two banded together. Plus, she could hear the fan blowing away and thought that was the AC unit.) Anyway, sure enough, if you keep trying you'll find one that controls the AC and it was only 1/2 on! When we turned it off and back to ON... TA DAH! Cool air in just minutes!! We are all doing happy wiggles. Big thanks to Paul telling Linda to keep looking for another breaker. Linda is wondering how she ever grew up without air conditioning?! I guess she's gotten spoiled. (Which isn't always a bad thing, is it?)

UPDATE: Taylor just told Linda not to celebrate too much. Even though the air is freezing cold from the vent, it could have tripped the breaker because something is wrong with the unit after all. He said if it works for an hour, it's probably all good. Keeping my paws crossed!

Do It Yourself.. Or Not

Linda googled how to fix the AC unit. First step: change the filter. Check. That was easy. Second step: might be bad capacitor. Check to see if the top is swollen. No check. We have no idea where or what a capacitor is. Third step: Turn off power and see if the compressor is hot. If it's hot, it's working. Again, no check. That sounds scary. Fourth: check the filter dryer. No can do. Don't know what/where that is either. Fifth: Low on freon. Is there a dipstick to check like your car oil? Oh, never mind. It's going to have to be a job for a professional. Do you know there is not an Air Conditioning Repair for Dummies book? Someone should get on that ASAP.

You Know You're a Redneck When....

Does she listen to me? No. I told her the air coming out of the vent was just air and not cold air. We woke up this morning and the new temperature inside the house was 89. OK, down from the over 90 last night, but still boiling. The AC unit ran all night because we kept waking up and could hear it, it's just not cooling. Opening the windows this morning was wonderful! Linda said to get used to it because it could be awhile before she can get a fixer-man out to look at it. We are going to go out back and bang once or twice on the outside unit. That always fixes the DVD/TV when it does not work. If that fails, she said we can build our own air conditioner for a lot cheaper than buying a new one.

I AM STILL SO HOT!

Would someone please cool this house down?? Pretty please! I am so hot that I'm losing my mind. We all just sat out on the deck for awhile since it's cooler outside than inside. No joke, Linda is thinking about bringing the sleeping bag outside and sleeping on the deck tonight. She does not want to open the windows now since she is committed to seeing if the air is working or not. (Obviously Linda... it is NOT working.)

No Hippity-Hoppity For Joe

A family in Tuscon found two lonely baby bunnies in their backyard on Easter. The Mommy bunny knew that one of them was lame, so she abandoned them. (Harsh, don't you think?) The lame bunny, named Joe, was so sweet and adorable the family knew they needed to do something. They made Joe a little wheelchair so he could get around. They nursed both bunnies back to health and now Joe is wheeling around just fine in his new home at a wildlife refuge.

It's Getting Hot in Here

It's soooo hot in the house that I've been sitting by the vent trying to cool off. If I hang my head over just right, the breeze feels marvelous. The house is not really cooling off though. Chimmie is so hot that he is begging to go outside on the deck where it's a little cooler. Linda is just mad that she did not turn the AC on earlier. If it does not work right, we'll have to call a repair guy tomorrow to come out to fix it. There are a few people at church who have companies who fix AC/Heat pumps. We're thinking positively. It's just the first time it's been on this year so it's just taking awhile to get going... right??

Ewww, Was that Tofu?

This cat must have not liked what he had for supper. That was Chip's face tonight after Linda mixed some chicken juice in with her dry food. Chip was not liking it one bit. She growled and gave Linda "the look" when she found out it wasn't her normal dinner. Linda was just being nice and thought it would perk-up her dry food. What kind of cat doesn't like chicken? Too bad Chip, I have to eat my supper when I don't like it. Chimmie will eat anything, so this post does not apply to him.

Dog Days of Spring

The guys came over after work to finish moving Bob's stuff out of our spare room. Now that room is empty Linda is going to start cleaning up the junk rooms. That room will be the "holding" room for stuff she will save. The stuff for the trash... out to the curb. The stuff for donation... out to the car (for dropping off at our local Thrift Store.) Stuff to sell... will go in the large storage room for our next yard sale. The birdbath gutter is also fixed. You won't believe it, but there was a lawn dart ball stuck in the drain clogging it up. Must have been from the boys playing from the next yard. It's still FREAKING hot out. Here is a photo of our thermometer as of 7:00 p.m.. As you can see, it's over 90. What is it, August or something?? (How old-school is this? It's the original one from when the house was built in early 1980.)

I'm One Hot Dog

Linda NEEDS to stop worrying about the electric bill and turn on the AC! According to our indoor thermostat, it is 90 degrees in the house. It could actually be hotter than that, but it only goes up to 90 degrees so it's hard to tell how hot it really is. All I want to do is laze around and sleep because it is super uncomfortable. (Wait, I do that everyday anyway...) Even Chimmie is sitting still chewing on a toy. It looks like it might thunder storm, so she is going to put him in the bathroom and leave me inside when she leaves for class. I'M SO HOT!!

Everybird Into the Pool!

Someone told Linda this afternoon that her gutter was falling off the back of the house. Sure enough, she went out to check and two (largish) birds were taking turns taking a bath in it! There must be a clog because there was some serious splish-splashing going on. If they keep it up or decided to have a pool party and invite their friends, the entire thing is going to rip off the roof. Not good. What if it falls on us when we are playing in the backyard? Definitely not good. She should buy this birdhouse with it's very own rooftop pool. They they will stay out of her gutters.

My Safeguard

Our weather went right from cold to hot, so cool spring. It's in the high 80's and sunny as can be. Linda left Chimmie outside for 5 hours today. She was a little concerned that he might overheat, but there is his doghouse and plenty of shade on the deck. She also left him 3 bowls of water in case he was just being Chimmie and he spilled it being rambunctious. Linda is thinking of putting him in the bathroom and leaving me outside for round two of teaching. She only has one more, from 4:15-5:15, so it won't be for long. Dennis is coming back this afternoon while she is gone to move the rest of Bob's furniture out of the room he was storing it in. They will have the door propped open and Linda is afraid one or both of us will run outside or get stepped on. This way, Chim's safe in the bathroom and I'm safe outside. (Unless some giant hawk decides he is hungry and eats me up. Maybe she'll baby gate me in the back of the house and put Chim back outside. He's way too heavy for hawk food.) If Snickers was still alive, he'd protect me even if a black bear came in our yard. Look how much he loved me!

Fiesta Pet Day!

I love Fiesta Pet Day at our local Town Center. Last year I met my friends Bo-Bo and Belle there (with Leslie and Naj) and we hung out and had a great lunch together. This years festival is May 7th, 10-4 p.m. Besides tons of vendors selling cool stuff, there are contests, demo's and lots of human and dog treats to enjoy. The only downside is that Chimmie is petrified of other dogs. It will be a huge challenge for Linda to try and take both of us by herself. Either she is going to have to get some of her church friends to walk around with us, or Chimmie has to stay home. There is a whole group of folks with little purse size pups who might want to check out the festival. Chim will freak out with the 500 leashed dogs walking around at any given time, but it might be good for him to just do total immersion and get it over with. If it does not work out, maybe one of her friends without a dog can walk him to a quite spot and rest while Linda and I look at the booths and greet the other dogs. If she goes alone, I might just ride in the "carry me" the entire time and she can try to handle Chim on the leash. This is Xena, the Chi from my old small dog meet-up group.

Get In My Belly

We were looking back over all the old photos today and found this shot of Snickers and I when I was little. (Well, technically I'm still little...it was when I was a puppy.) We were the best of friends. I could chew on every part of his body and he would have amazing patience with me. Sometimes I would stick my entire head in his mouth. He never once hurt me. I would even hang on his ears by my teeth and he'd be sweet and tender. The only time he would get riled up was when Chip cat would hiss at me. Then he would jump up as fast as his old body could move and chase the cat away.

2011 Easter Photo

Every year it's the same 4 people and same wall (but different clothes!) Linda hopes maybe someday the family photo will include some little people!

Happy Easter!

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Jesus Christ - John 11:25, 26

Date Night

Linda is trying her hardest to pick up Thor's hammer, but she is not strong enough. Taylor was going to help her, but he was busy getting shot at by the Fast and the Furious guy! I'm glad she had fun on her first "date" night in forever.

Group Hug

Easter Eve

There has been a tradition in our family to take a group photo every single holiday or event at church. Mothers Day, Christmas, Easter, even weddings and the western day picnic. It's something other people even joke about. Someone said at the last photo op "Don't you have enough pictures in front of the planter?" We said NO! We want MORE! Easter is one of their favorite times for group photos. Linda even bought a new dress. I know!! Can you believe Linda bought a dress... she is very frugal with her money and usually does not splurge on things she does not need. But it was marked down from $90 to only $45, so it was a good deal. (Knowing her, she'll decide to wear an old dress to church tomorrow and return it.) Since she does not have a real job that she needs to wear real clothes to , it's kind of wasteful for her to buy a dress she'll only wear on Sundays. But hey, I think she deserves it! This is last years Easter photo. No hats this year though.

Family Time

What started out gray and cold has turned into the most perfect afternoon ever. It's warm, but not to hot. Breezy, but not too windy. No clouds, just sunshine. After teaching her 3 classes, Linda spent another 3 hours on housework. She even shampooed the carpets up and downstairs. There is still more to do, but she wanted to walk us since the weather is sublime. I was worn out after 1/2 hour, so she put me back in the house and just took Chimmie on an additional 1/2 hour walk. He wasn't even tired when they got home, but she still has more chores to do. She's glad she made that decision because Sarah and Taylor had called to see if she wants to hang out tonight! Of course she does. When its a choice between family and chores, family time wins every single time. They should be here soon. Look how happy they were on their vacation in Cabo!

Ain't No Sunshine When Shes Gone

This is the perfect day to stay in bed and do absolutely nothing. Oh wait, that is what I do everyday anyway. But really, this morning it is gray, overcast, chilly and dark so I really don't want to get up. Linda and Chimmie popped right up and jumped out of bed before 7 a.m. Linda is off to teach her 3 classes in a few minutes and Chimmie is off to the bathroom since he does not stay outside if it's raining. I'm switching from the BIG bed to my little snugging bed the second I finish my outside business and eat breakfast. The car show is probably not going to happen today since it is raining, so she'll be home after the gym. I'm looking forward to tomorrow afternoon when she will be home with us the entire time between her church services. After our Easter treat hunt, maybe we'll watch a netflix movie, go on a trail walk and then take a nap. To brighten this dreary day, here is the sunniest photo in my whole collection. Tier and Meg, BFF! Could there be any more beautiful girls? P.S. The iPhone reset during the night. When Linda tried to turn it back on, it worked!

Now Don't Get a Big Head

Yes, this is Tier and Linda. Tierney was a "living doll" in tonight's Easter skit. One or two of the kids were afraid of her, but most loved her. The skit was amazing and of course her acting skills rocked. She even did a meet and greet after the show so parents could take photos of her with their kids. You can see her doll head is wearing Rubywoo red lipstick! (www.rubywoolovesyou.com)

Hello? Hello?

Linda's iPhone froze and is not working. This is very annoying because she does not have home phone and she uses the iPhone for her TKD schools. What if 100 new people are calling to sign up? She can't answer the phone to talk to them. Besides that, what if she hears a bad sound during the night while shes in bed? How will she call for help? I guess she'll just trust the angles to stand guard over us until we can get it fixed or buy a new phone. Chimmie and I will be the watch dogs tonight. If anyone tries to break in, I will use my scary "stay away from my t-bone" bark and Chimmie will hide under the bed. (Plus, Linda has an arsenal of weapons to pick from if needed.) We are going to look online and see if we can figure out how to fix it ourselves. There has got to be a factory reset or something.

Dr. Dr. Give Me The News

I'm so glad we are back home from the vet and it all went well. We saw a new Dr. today. He was the best one yet! Kind and careful and he answered all of Linda's questions. He said I wasn't fat.. not one bit. I weighed in at 5.75, down from the 6.40 I weighed in last time. He was super happy with that weight and said I wasn't chubby at all. I have a "barrel chest" that is why I look so big. If I wanted, I could lose 1/4 pound and I would be perfect. I got 3 shots and did not cry at all. He did see some horrible tartar on my back teeth. Linda had to go out of the room when he scraped it off. I did cry out a little then because he made me bleed. I have to go back in 2 weeks and have surgery to clean all my teeth. The vet said it could take 5 years off my life if I don't do it. You know Linda is making that appointment. I'll be totally asleep, so it won't hurt at all. Chimmie cried and screamed when he got his nails cut. It was like they were torturing him. He also cried when he got his micro-chip shot in his back but that is because that really did sting. The Dr. said he was a big healthy Chihuahua and not to worry that he was such a giant.

She Works Hard For Her Money

Whoa, what a morning for Linda. She probably burned 1500 calories doing her classes this morning. I probably burned about 10 calories because I shifted positions while I napped during the 3 hours she was working out. The good thing about all these classes the past few weeks is Linda lost 5 pounds without even dieting! Plus, how cool is it that she makes a living working out. Sure, it's hard on her body... but its so much fun too. Just think how many more pounds she would have lost if she didn't eat the cupcake (thanks Tammy) or the gingerbread man (thanks Jennie) or the fried green beans (thanks Target) during the week. Only 1 1/2 more hours to the dreaded vet appointment. I'm so nervous what the Dr. is going to say about my weight. He told me last year that I was supposed to be below 5 pounds at my next yearly checkup. I'm still exactly the same, 6.2. I'll let Chimmie weigh first. When he sees a Chihuahua weighing in at over 14 pounds, my weight will look just fine. The top photo was Chim today. The bottom was Chimmie on his very first Vet appointment. He was just 4 pounds then! Look how big his paws are. Linda should have realized right then he was going to be a monster.