So That's What Happened to Fluffy

Linda just saw this photo of a 12 foot alligator that was killed in Louisiana a few years back.  Normally, I would never post a photo of a dead animal on my blog, but I'm going to make an exception just this once. Maybe you can't see the colorful little straps hanging on the top of the gator.  Let me give you a closer look.

Those are dog collars!!  Ten collars and one harness was found inside it's belly!!  I'm freaking out and am so glad we don't live anywhere near where gators roam.  The gator was probably over 40 years and has been snacking on pets for a long time based on the rust on some of the collars.

Not Much Resting Today

I can't think of a caption funny enough to match this photo

It was one long Sunday for Linda.  She had big fun though!  First, she met Tierney for breakfast before church.  Tierney is a woman who wears many hats.  She can be a Southern Belle; a Disney Princess; a shopping maven who finds incredible deals; a political commentator; a published author; an almost famous blogger; a brilliant business woman; a TV reality show star; a Sunday school teacher and an almost 6' tall goof ball.  She has made Linda laugh so hard that her face hurt and she got a stomach ache. 

After church, Linda had a few minutes to grab a slice of pizza with Taylor, Sarah, Bean (Sarah's lil' sister) and Penny.  It was beautiful weather, so they ate outside.  Sarah's brothers showed up too, so it was even better.   Linda had to eat and run since she had to be at the gym for Body Pump and Combat practice. As always, they laughed and had a great time practicing even though Linda really needed the day to rest.

Beach Baby

Next, Linda was able to stop home for a wee bit to change but then she had to rush back to church for nursery duty.  Guess who was so happy to see her?  Yup, Penelope Rose.  There were 4 babies and 3 workers, so it was a super quite evening.  Chim spent the whole day at PW's, thank goodness.  He would have been just miserable alone for so many hours.  I'm honestly fine.  I went outside to potty at 6 a.m.; 8 a.m.; Noon; 4:30 p.m.; 6:00 p.m. and then again when Linda got home at 9:00 p.m.  PW told Linda that Chim was very naughty during one of their walks. He saw a dog and ran out into the street 3 different times trying to get to it.  Bad Chim!

Wait... this isn't Chim is it?  I think it's Snickers!!

Life is Good

Check out these dog houses!

Turns out Jerry couldn't come to walk us yesterday because he was in a wedding, but it worked out fine.  The weather was cool and with no rain in sight. Chim stayed locked up on the big deck with his Igloo doghouse, patio bed, 21 toys, and a shade awning Linda made out of towels with the deck chairs.  Even though it was 5 hours, he was much better outside than locked in the small bathroom.  I was a good girl and didn't have an accident inside the house.  After her classes, we all hung out until it was time for Linda to go to her dinner party.  There was only 4 1/2 other guests (one joined the table just for dessert) so it was really nice.  We didn't get our salmon treat because Linda forgot to ask for a doggy bag.  She has a piece of salmon in the freezer and promised to grill it sometime this week so we can have the scraps.

Linda is super excited about seeing the kids today.  They are finally back from their beach vacation.  It was only one week, but honestly seemed like a month.  Look who can't wait to see their Nana!

Taylor called Linda yesterday and told her Penelope did a bunch of new tricks during the week.  It's a time of her life (6 months) when even a few days produce major stepping stones.  She is sitting up by herself for a long time and saying all sorts of new baby words.  Linda's been working with Penny on her crawling skills.  I bet this week she starts scooting forward on her own!

Tierney looking lovely.  She is a true Southern Lady. 

The perfect Christmas card!

Every single morning when Linda first wakes up she says a prayer of thanks.  She feels so incredibly blessed and is grateful for all that God's given her.  She has an amazing family (including her church family!), a wonderful home, 2 dogs who adore her, her health, food and clothes in abundance, a super fun job and friends who love her.  If you google the word Content, this is what you should find:

Weekend Plans

Lots of people can't wait for the weekend because it means they are off work.  Saturday for Linda is a long day.  It's not hard, but she is at the gym for over 4 hours.  I don't mind so much, because I always get a visit from one of my favorite walkers.  After 1:30, Linda is usually home for the rest of the day/evening with us.  Tonight she was invited to a friends for dinner, so she'll be gone for a few hours. He's grilling our favorite fish:  salmon.  She said she'll save a few bites off her plate to bring home for us as a treat.  As long as the fish is thoroughly cooked and has no bones, it's OK for dogs.  Raw salmon has parasites that can make us very sick.

They sell this Salmon dog food at the Whole Pets by our house. I love the wild wolves! Maybe if I eat it I'll be fierce too!!

Sunday is another long day for her.  Besides AM church, she has two hours of practice at the gym with the team, then nursery duty at church in the PM.  Those are the days Chim usually goes to PW's for the day.  If PW has plans, Chim will stay outside as long as the weather is cool and there isn't rain predicted.  Linda is so excited about having nursery since she has missed her Penelope this week!  There are only a few babies in the nursery right now, so each baby gets lots of lap time.  Linda will be sure to make sure every time it's Penny's turn that she's on her lap!

"I love the view from Daddy's shoulders!"

Whoooooo Me?

The Culprit

There are so many nice things about our neighborhood.  It's quite (except for a few barking dogs during the day), there isn't a lot of drive by traffic, the houses are well-kept and attractive (except the house with the purple shutters that keeps their BBQ and lawn chairs set up on the front lawn), and best of all... our house is 100 yards from a beautiful trail head.  Linda's lived here over 25 years and still hasn't been on all the different trails.  When Snickers was alive, she was much more adventurous.  He could walk for hours without getting tired or distracted.  Plus, she always felt safe if she went off the beaten path and started exploring the woods.  He wouldn't let any scary bad men or crazed deer near her.  When she is walking with Chim and I, she always worries about us. There are some dangers like poisonous snakes and rabid animals that it would be hard to protect us from.  Today in the news, there is a new worry in our county:  attacking owls.  They are mostly attacking at dawn and dusk because that's when their vision isn't the best.  The owls are mistaking joggers ponytails for squirrels or small rodents!  Not only does Linda have a ponytail, but I actually am the same size and furry just like a small rodent!! One jogger in the next town over has been attacked on the trail two evenings in a row. Linda said we are still going to visit the trails, but she is going to wear a ball cap and carry a big stick. 

Bagelhead

You may be wondering why I'm wearing a bagel on my head.  Well silly, I'm being a Bagelhead, of course!  Yep, you saw it here first folks.  I'm starting a trend for all the hip dogs to follow.  Being a Bagelhead is easy.  All you have to do is sit still and balance a bagel on you head.  Even better, if Beagles got on board with my new trend, they would be BagelBeagleHeads. 

It's a Poppyseed

 Oh wait..Linda just told me I'm a copycat.  It seems like I'm a year late with the whole Bagelhead fad.  Turns out people have been doing it for awhile now!  Except they are a much, much more extreme than me!! These people get silicone injected into their foreheads to make a bagel shape UNDER their skin.  Oye!  What are they thinking!!  I can't give you the link because it's gross, but here is one of the photos that won't make you lose your lunch. (Unless you just ate a bagel!)

"Need cream cheese with that Bagelhead?"

Major Withdrawls

It's the first Thursday since Linda started watching Penny that she'll be missing! Ack! She needs her Penny fix.  She automatically almost took the exit their house after she was done teaching the kids class this morning.  Instead, she came straight home and decided to do chores.. then changed her mind and decide to practice her routines... then changed her mind and decided to check her email,blogs and FB.  Linda does great when her time is structured and she has a schedule. Not so good when things get moved around during the week.  Every Thursday is the same... 9:00 class, Penny 10-3, 4:00-6:30 classes, 7:00 prayer, 8:00 dinner... then bed.  Yesterday her schedule was different too.  Her back became inflamed and was really hurting, so she did not teach her afternoon class and then stayed home from church to ice her back and lay flat.  (One time during church it hurt so bad that she had to go out to the back lobby and lay on the floor while she listened to the teaching.  That's frowned upon though...)   Today, she can feel the swelling in her back (like the size of a walnut) but the discomfort isn't as intense.  It's strange how the pain is intermittent.

Instead of the real-deal Penelope, she'll have to make due with this adorable photo Sarah sent her this morning.  It looks like Penny is going to be a beachy kind of girl like her Mommy and Aunt Tierney.

Enough Barking Already

Not you Penelope!

Remember me telling you about the house across the street from us? The one with the dare-devil kids and the motorcycle riding older Dad?  They also have 2 dogs.  Maybe 3.  We're not really sure because they don't walk them, so it's hard to tell.  They have a big fenced backyard that they must exercise in.  When the parents are working, there is a dog watcher (not walker since the lady lets them in the backyard for a total of maybe 3 minutes before she puts them back inside and drives away.)  Now that the weather is nicer, we have been leaving our windows open for fresh air.  So have the neighbors.  The dogs bark, non-stop... every time someone walks or rides a bike by the house, which is usually every few minutes.  Linda loves dogs, but it's making her crazy.  She has finally got Chimi relaxed enough not to get spun up by their barking. 

Just Chillin'

Tierney posted some adorable Penelope pictures to FB and of course Linda immediately had to save them for herself.  OHMYGOSH, she is really the cutest baby ever.  Linda bought her the little outfit she is wearing in the top two photos. 

Hey!  Who is that cute baby?

Living Small

Most people fantasize over owning a bigger home than they currently live in.  Some even go to open houses of million dollar mansions.  Just for the short tour, they imagine themselves living in luxury.  Others just surf the net for expensive homes and do virtual tours.  Linda is so not most people.  For the past 20 years, she has been thinking how cool it would be to downsize her life.  Instead of a 3,000 square foot home, what if she had 1/2 that?  What if she had only 1/4 of that space??  How about a total of only 260 square feet?  Could she live comfortably in such a small space with only 100 things to her name?  Now there seems to be a lot more people who are feeling the same way.  Enter Molecule Homes

Two brothers (in-law) have started a company that builds portable homes.  These are compete homes and not just a shed on wheels.  Linda has watched the You Tube video twice about this little gem.  Below the picture, Linda copied and pasted the info off their website.  I guess you could get the exact same living style if you had a small Winnebago, but she likes the look and feel of this home much more.  There is a 99.9% chance that Linda will never downsize this small, but its fun for her to make her list of what 100 things she would keep and the approximately 1,000,000 things she would give away.

Built this year, all new construction. This tiny house is 8' 6" wide by 20' long by 13' 5" high. Including the porch and lofts it is approximately 260 square feet. It has has two sleeping lofts, one 8' by 6', and one 8' by 3'. The house is built on a new 12,000 lbs rated trailer, and can be towed anywhere. The house features a full kitchen, including three burner range and oven, and a full bathroom with shower and tub.  A fold down 4' by 8' deck, on demand water heater, double paned windows, and full insulation round out the house. Vaulted knotty pine ceilings with ceiling fan and overhead light brightens the whole house. Tough Pergo floors complement the living space. The house has all the necessary conveniences of a much larger house, despite its small size. Other amenities like fold down "Murphy" style bed on the ground level with convertible fold up writing desk, and washer dryer hookups are available if desired. RV style utility hookups make this house a breeze to set up or move. Convenience of mobility with the comfort of a traditional home. Own a new home for the price of a car. Asking $48,000. Contact moleculehomes@gmail.com

Dog Tired

Shhh!  Someones taking a nap.

Recall!!

"I'm available for print, TV and online media if you need a good dog model."

Thank God neither Chim or I got sick from these poisoned cookie bones.  These exact treats that we just finished were recalled yesterday because of salmonella poisoning.  It's a good thing I only had half of one and Chim had the rest.  He's got a stomach of steel from eating crayons, fabric, squeakers, shoe laces, wood, stones and monster bugs. I'm so little and my stomach so delicate that it might have killed me.  From now on Linda is going to stop buying store treats for us.  Another brand she bought called Wagon something or another was also recalled after we ate some.  There has to be a recipe for homemade dog yummies that would be easy to make and not expensive. 

One Tough Mudder (and a sweet baby)

Here are two out of three of Linda's favorite girls.  I'm not sure what Penny is so intently looking at, but she is just so sweet it gives me a toothache! 

Look at what Taylor received yesterday.  He finished in the top 5% of all Mudders, from all over the world!  Since the event is just weeks away and he's never done any kind of extreme endurance training, Linda is hoping he passes on this one and shoot for next year.  To prepare, he can do two more TM's during the year (but could he ever beat his time from this last race?) and add a few marathons and 50 milers.

Congratulations! You finished in the top 5% at Tough Mudder Mid-Atlantic & have qualified for World's Toughest Mudder 2012! On November 17 & 18, Big Mudder will be delivering the baddest, most epic Tough Mudder course to date in Englishtown, NJ where extreme Mudders from around the world will come together and compete over 24 hours to determine who are the Toughest Mudders in the world.

Foiled

 

Linda was excited to go get her new-old flat screen TV tonight.  Our downstairs TV (thanks Dan!) works great, but it's smallish. That is the TV that Netflix is hooked up to.  When Linda wants to watch Netflix upstairs, she has to do it on the small laptop. For some reason, Netflix can't work on the upstairs TV, but she can't remember why.  If there is a regular show on, Linda watches it upstairs on her newer-old flat screen (Thanks Cris and Kevin!).  It would be nice to have a screen downstairs big enough that Linda does not have to wear her driving glasses to see the picture.  Linda can't remember ever buying a TV.  It's so low on her list of wants/needs that it would never be something she spends $$ on.  When a friend gets a new TV, Linda is pleased to take hand-me-downs if they are looking to get rid of it. So when Jerry offered her this Sony, she said Yes!  They tried to move it tonight but it weighs about 250 pounds.  Linda could not lift her end even 1 inch off the table.  PW has an injured arm, so he didn't want to try to lift it either.  It's going to take two Taylor size men and a pickup truck to get it moved. 

Linda did come home with a bagful of SciFy TV DVD's that Jerry was getting rid of.  Frankenfish; Sharktopus; DynoCroc; Chupacabra... all the old school fun monster movies that Linda loves.  There's probably about 20 of them, even a few she has never seen. 

Get Well Soon

One of my long-time most loyal readers is going to have surgery this week. She has cancer.  I know she'll be checking my blog everyday while she recovers, so I'll do my best not to miss a day of posting.  She actually worries when she doesn't see a post if I miss a few days.

  Jean, please know that Linda will be praying for you.  Even though we've never met you or your Dachshund Chester...you'll be in our thoughts all week.  Please email us when you are up to it and let us know how you are feeling. 

Welcome Fall

Linda decided to celebrate the first weekend of fall by making a carrot cake.  In her world, the only real cake that counts for anything is carrot cake. Other people love Red Velvet, white cake with sprinkles and pound cakes.  There is something just magical about carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  She has probably only made two in her entire life.  It's such a labor intensive cake to make.  Instead of shredding a zillion carrots, she cheated and used already shredded carrots.  It's smelling amazing.  She said both Chim and I could have a taste before she frosts it (and after she picks out the raisins since they are not good for dogs.)

She had to use an 8" pan and a 9" pan, so the layers will be a little lopsided

After church, she went to Pet Smart to try and find some new food for us.  Since she stopped adding diced chicken to our canned food, we've stopped eating it.  It's been good for my waistline, but Chim's ribs are starting to really stick out.  So far can #1 wasn't a big hit.  There are two more flavors for us to try.  She was going to buy us each one of our favorite bones, but decided that $50 for bones was stupid.  They do last a long time, but still....

Instead of the very rare, expensive Elk antlers, she bought us these $3 bones.  Chim has the tail chewed off his already.  Of course I got the smaller porcupine since Chim is her favorite! 

 

 

 

Farmer Green Had a Dream

We might have stumbled across the perfect solution for Chimi's nervousness.  This could have been the most neurotic week of his life.  New to the list of things that freak him out:  going outside on the deck, running after his favorite ball, his plate of food, coming out from under the covers and Linda's alarm clock.  Maybe if he tried Farmer Green's Pig Swing, it would calm him down and settle his nerves.  Watch the video and see what great things it did for his pigs!  Linda said she could look for a used battery operated swinging bassinets that Mother's use for cranky babies.  She'll put Chimi's favorite blanket and woobie inside and watch him be lulled into a peaceful, non-stressed state of bliss.  Knowing Chimi though, he would be petrified of the swinging bed and it would have the opposite effect. 

Big Reveal

Linda's very favorite thing at Disney World is The Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom.  If you've never seen it up close and personal, close my blog right now and book your trip to Orlando.  You have to go see it.  Mickey and Minny are sweet.  The Haunted Mansion is a blast.  Ride Tower of Terror 10 times in a row.  But don't leave until you inspect every single inch of the carved tree at Animal Kingdom.  This photo really does not do it justice.  As you walk through and around the tree, the animal carvings will take your breath away.

Without realizing it, Linda's new lamp is her own little Animal Kingdom monument.  When she ordered the lamp, she didn't realize how many amazing memories it would bring back.  She can so clearly remember the best vacation she ever went on with Tierney and Taylor. It was the first vacation they ever took alone. They were still in elementary school (although they've been back 3 times since then.) The lamp is a small monument to remember their trip.  Linda has walked in and out of the living room 30 times tonight to look at the lamp and run her fingers along the carved African animals.  She is sooo happy she bought it.  Every single time she walks in the LR room she has said "I love my house."  It's such a peaceful, calm room. She could sit in there for hours with just the palm tree twinkle lights on and her new Heart of Africa lamp. 

This is a close up of the two of the sides.  The animals are different all the way around. 

Up and At Um'

Linda made us all get up while it was still dark this morning.  She doesn't have to teach until 9:00, but she wanted to have a relaxed, no hurried beginning to her incredibly busy day.  By 1:01, when her 4 back-to-back classes are done, she is going to feel like something the cat dragged in and will need an ice bath and nap.  (One time Chip caught a mouse and hid it under the big pillow on the couch.  It's a good thing Linda saw her put it there or it would have started stinking.  The worse part, the poor critter wasn't all the way dead! Not Linda's favorite memory of Chip.)   There is also a "To Do" list of at least 15 things waiting that need to be done sometime this weekend.  Yikes.

Sometimes she dreams of a job that she gets to sit in a chair at a desk and not exhaust her body, but then she comes to her senses and is so glad she gets to teach fitness classes and TKD for a living! 

Linda was in the nursery last night for the wedding.  There were only 3 babies and the ceremony was under 1/2 hour, so it was an easy night.  She left her phone in the car so I don't have one picture to post.  She said Penny looked adorable in her lavender dress and lilac shrug.  Tierney looked stunning in a red tight dress and her newly darkened locks.  Sarah was equally stunning in an outfit that she got on sale for the price of two Starbucks Lattes... including the shoes!!  Even Taylor dressed up.  Linda wore a tee-shirt dress since she was anticipating getting spit-up on and possibly worse while juggling babies.  Unfortunately, Linda battled the worse insomnia all night.  At the reception, she had a cup of punch which actually turned out to be flavored peach tea disguised in a punch bowl.  Even a sip of caffeine late at night keeps her buzzed. 

And...drum roll please... the lamp is unpacked and on the table!! What a pain in the tail mess that fiasco was! We are out of light bulbs, so you have to wait for the big reveal since Linda wants to show the lamp in all its glory. 

UPDATE:  Well, Linda survived but just barely.  She had a boxed protein shake at 9:00, then went all the way to 1:00 with no break.  At one point, she got a little light headed and had to sit a second.  A parent from TKD gave her a granola bar for energy and Linda was able to finish sparring.  It's 1:20 and you better believe she is going to soak in a cool bath then take a nap.   

ARE YOU READY...

FOR THE CUTEST PICTURES EVER POSTED ON MY BLOG?

Just like Linda asked, Sarah took another picture of Penny in the exact same position of the photo when she was 4 weeks old.  It just melted Linda's heart.  

Penelope Rose... 4 weeks old

And at 22 weeks old!!

It was a little more challenging for Taylor to hold her in the second photo, but he was able to balance her long enough for Sarah to snap the picture.  I can't wait to see the next shot in 4 months!  Will he be able to hold her like this then??

Catch-Up

There were not any posts yesterday because a certain someone decided it was a a great idea to be gone almost the entire day.  It was all good though.  Linda had the best time teaching all her classes (Thursday used to be her day off because she only taught one Body Pump, now she is doing three more classes!) and an even better time watching Penelope and then... having dinner with the family in the evening.  Sarah made her world famous home made apple pie.

 Taylor said in the 5 years he's been eating her pie it was the best one yet.  Obviously, the pie was for dessert.  Dinner was homemade pizza!  Sarah does things right.  No throwing a frozen pizza in the microwave for that girl.  She also sent home 3 slices of broccoli and spinach pizza, some spinach and snap peas for Linda to enjoy.  (There was no way Taylor was letting her take the leftover pie!)

Penelope was asleep for dinner, but woke up at the end.  She was pretty crabby since none of us heard her whimpering to come downstairs and enjoy the party.  (Everyone must have been too focused on digging into the warm pie.)

Two of the classes Linda added to her Thursday schedule are 4-5 year old movement/dance classes.  She adores teaching them.  Imagine being able to be Big Bear Bill, pretending you are at a circus or on a safari, being a fairytale book come to life and prancing around the floor like a show horse?!  A bunch of weight lifter type guys were watching her through the window as she was perfecting her Transformer moves and swinging her arm around like an elephants trunk. She wasn't sure if they were making fun of her or really wishing they could come in and play.  Here are her two favorite lines of the day.  One boy remembered the stretching they did last week and asked "Can we do the Yoda song today? (it was yoga, but he heard Linda to say Yoda.  Aaron just renamed the cool down!)  The second favorite was a new 4-year old who told Linda he was going to be great at this class because "He was born clapping!" And guess what?  He was great at the class and an amazing clapper.

Maybe she should get this for some inspiration

For anyone who is wondering about the status of our lamp, Linda got it out of the box, or should I say boxes.  It was double boxed, wrapped, foamed, framed, taped, foam peanut-ed, and she STILL does not have it totally unpacked yet.  It was so exhausting doing it late last night that she gave up and went to bed.

It's so small!  The box and packaging was 5 times this size!!

It's Here!

Our new lamp finally arrived.  Linda has been patiently waiting (almost a month) but today the UPS man left the box on our front step.  It's big. It's heavy. It's going to have to stay at the front door until Linda gets help carrying it upstairs.  She actually tried to unpack it, but could not lift it out of the box.  (Yes, Linda teaches a lot of Body Pump classes and probably lifts thousands of pounds of weights a week, but this box is too bulky and contents too fragile for her to take the chance of dropping it.) 

The lamp is part of the National Geographic collection that matches our living room and dining room.  Most of the furniture line seems to be discontinued, but a few sites still carry some of the pieces.  Linda LOVES our furniture.  It is a British safari theme.  Think old school safari's where they set up beautiful trunks, tea sets, elegant folding tables, wooden cots and twinkle lights in the trees.  (Except we don't have the cots....If we had the room and she could find one, it would definitely be set up in the living room.)  The lamp is a carved brass with African animals circling the base.  Here is a little sketch from the instruction page.

Linda is hoping the animals look a little better than the picture. 

 As soon as she can get it upstairs and set up, I'll post a photo.

 

Hear She Comes, Miss Goldfish Queen

Meet the Worlds most beautiful goldfish.  Three thousand fishies from 14 countries competed in the first international fish beauty pageant.  The goldfish were judged on their size, symmetry, beauty, color and (poise?).  Their talent was all the same:  Swimming. The fish went gill to gill to win the coveted crown of most beautiful goldfish.  I don't know about you, but I think Miss Goldie could stand to lose a few pounds. 

This is a true story.  Or so the Internet says.  It could be a hoax and just Photoshopped.

The Preppy Leopard

I'm so jealous of Tierney's new site The Preppy Leopard .  It used to be Ruby Woo Loves You, but she decided to update and change some things.  The coolest part about her blog is the heading.  She actually designed it herself!  Here is her preliminary sketch. You must click to enlarge. 

I don't think she drew the leopard, but she definitely drew herself!

 This is the finished product:

  Mine is a stupid template that everyone else uses.  Linda has zero coding or technically knowledge about web design, so this is what I'm stuck with. Now that I know that Tier is an expert, I'm going to ask her to redesign my site.  

You Say Potatoe, I Say Potato

You have to be pretty hungry (or just off a year long Atkins Diet) to steal a tractor trailer full of potatoes.  A carb hungry crook in Germany jumped behind the wheel of a semi truck that was hauling 13 tons of spuds and tried to make his getaway.  One problem, he forgot to close the back door.

It was a "half-baked" attempt (har-har)

 The coppers had an easy time following him since he left a trail of taters behind him.  After crashing the truck from a burst tire, the man hoofed it on foot.  I guess everyone in the area will be enjoying mashed potatoes for dinner tonight.  

P.S. The majority of the 5 a.m. readers slept in today and didn't read my blog until 6 a.m.  Must have been a late night.  

Ahoy!

Don't forget today is Talk Like a Pirate Day.  It's actually the 10th anniversary of the world wide celebration.  It would be so funny if Linda could teach her 3 classes today in Pirate talk, but she barely gets her right/left correct without having to remember cool pirate phrases.  (She teaches facing the people, so when she says go right... she really has to move left.)  She did look up some one-liners on Google, but most of them are not very ladylike.  (Probably due to the fact that 100% of pirates are not ladylike.)  Also, Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kream, Long John Silvers and Arby's are all giving out free noms to anyone who dresses up in pirate garb.  After her classes are done this morning, Linda is going to go for breakfast at DD's  to see if anyone comes in wearing an eye patch or with a parrot on their shoulder.  Hopefully she'll have some fun photos to post later this afternoon.  You could basically eat free all day if you have a great costume.  The cost of the outfit would pay for itself in just a few years!

A lady like pirate?  Probably not. 

First Tooth

Turns out the tornado and heavy winds missed us.  We had lots of rain and wind at 3:00, but nothing other than light rain and sprinkles after that.  Jerry was able to come and walk us, but didn't stay long.  Linda came home at 8 p.m., exhausted and ready for bed.  Since the season finale of White Collar is on tonight, she is trying to stay up to watch it.  Season 1-3 was much better than the current season 4, but she likes to finish something once she starts it.  (One of the reasons she does not usually bring ice cream into the house.  If she starts the 1/2 gallon, she usually finishes it!)

I can't believe I forgot this!  Guess who cut her first tooth on the camping trip this weekend!!  Yep, Penny chewed on her toes enough to cut through her first little tooth!  Linda was so excited to see it!  It won't be long before Penelope will be chowing down on big girl food.  She's just had Mama's milk for nutrition and is the size of most 9 month olds.  She is just like her daddy.  Taylor only had Mama's milk (no solid food or cereal) for a full year and he was a beast-baby. 

Stump-B-Gone and Thinking Too Much

Linda is so glad that her dead pine tree is no more.  It was traumatic watching it be cut down, but it's for the best.  It was so dead and brittle, there was a real danger of it falling on the house.  There is a tornado warning for this afternoon and evening.  Even if the tornado does not hit our area, the winds will be damaging. You can see the rotten part right in the middle of what is left of it.  Linda is hoping that Stump-B-Gone will work.  Supposedly, by drilling holes and filling it with the special powder, the stump will turn into spongy pulp.  Check back in 8 weeks for an update on if it works!

 Ill admit I'm nervous about possible thunder and the high wind sounds.  I hate storms more than just about anything.  Linda will be gone for 4 hours at work, I just hope that we are safe waiting home for her.  Of course Chim won't be outside.  He'll be in his "den" which is really a bathroom that he has all to himself. (There are three full baths in our house, so it's no hardship on Linda.) He has his bed set up in the shower stall which is a pretty safe place to be in a tornado.  He has all his fresh water and toys handy.  It's a pretty sweet set up, much better than if he had to be locked in a small wire kennel. I can always hide under the couch or bed if things get scary.

Maybe I should take this saying to heart and stop thinking too much!