Oops! They did it again!

Photo copied from online Idaho Statesman newspaper.

BSU's 19th win in a row! Last night, BSU won 69-3 against Hawaii. It was a slaughter, to say the least. In the third quarter, our sophomore quarterback made school history with an 85-yard touchdown run. Wow!

Now, I haven't known much about football before, other than it was on t.v. in my house at every fall/winter holiday event when I was growing up. So, as I grew, married, divorced, and eventually had holiday dinners hundreds of miles from my family, the kids and I had football on our t.v. because it just felt right. I never knew anything about football though. It was on t.v. for the familiar noise in the background.

Well, I have been to two separate BSU games. The first game was about seven years ago with a gal who had won tickets. And the other time was last year when I won tickets.

Anyway, since I am a former BSU student myself, I consider BSU my team! Right now, they're doing great! Each new game that's played, I hold my breath. I am watching the game instead of just listening to it in the background of whatever I'm doing around the house. It's been pretty exciting lately.

Precious Moments...

Rodney... This little guy is so good! I love him to death! I take him to work with me all day long, build a make-shift doggie play-pen around my desk. Throughout the day, staff members come into my office to get their puppy fixes. On Wednesday, I weighed Rodney on the postage meter... he weighed 1# 3.8z at seven weeks old.

Teenagers

I've got to brag a little...

My son... He's my youngest child, 15 years old, a sophomore in a Charter High School which specializes in health care, and he just graduated from his Driver's Training course tonight. Whew! He was given his driver's permit at the end of class tonight. I think that might have been the easy part! Now, he's going to want the keys to the car, all the time! I dread calling my insurance company to add him to my policy. I need a raise!!!

Actually, in the State of Idaho, my son will have to drive an additional 50 hours with a supervised adult, of which, at least 10 of those hours must be night driving hours. Idaho gives the instructors the kids' permits. The instructors hold this until the kids graduate driving school. Then, as long as the kids keep their permit (and do not get their actual driver's license), Idaho parents do not have to pay more on their premiums. I think this sounds too good to be true. I will call my insurance tomorrow and find out for sure.

Tonight, after all the students received their permits, the teachers talked about the class in general. This group of kids averaged the highest on tests in the history of this school, a private driving school. We were told we should all be proud of these kids. I am.

Then the teachers had three verbal awards they wanted to acknowledge to the group of us there, (maybe 30 to 40 parents and kids were there). Best Driver, Best Score on Test, and Best Attitude & Maturity.

I really felt like my son was going to get the Best Driver award. The teacher had made a comment after their first drive that my son was an excellent driver. He's been driving for years with us. They announced the Best Driver, it wasn't my son, we all applauded. Then they announced Best Score on Test winner, applause. And last but not least, they acknowledged the Best Attitude & Maturity... it was my son! Wow! Teachers have told this to me before, but you'd never guess it from his behavior at home! LOL

Anyway, it was after 9 p.m., it was starting to rain, he had his permit and was asking for the keys! I agreed he could drive us home. We started for home and realized we needed fuel, so we turned into a side street and did a u-turn, then headed back down to the gas station, probably three miles away from where we were. My son was totally excited. He got to drive half way into town for gas, then back home. He did very well! I never doubted he would.

#16 Boise State Wins 18th Straight

BSU Football...

33-16 OVER FRESNO STATE


This team, my team, I might add, has won 18 games straight! WOW! I haven't missed one game this season. This year I've caught the games on either local t.v. or ESPN satellite t.v. This last weekend, the game was played here in Boise, at Bronco Stadium. The score, 33 - 16, Boise. It had rained hard all day long. I wasn't sure the game would go on, it had rained so hard. Then, just before the game, the sky cleared and the game began.

Some time during the game, the rain started up again. It even hailed on the game, but the game went on. The hail storm was short lived and the sky cleared again.

GO BRONCOS!

Photos courtesy of BSU website.

Harley's Little V-Rod

Rodney... Isn't he cute?! Rodney, "Harley's Little V-Rod". Yes, he's Harley's son. Rodney's six weeks old in this picture, and a little spitfire. I don't normally like to take these little guys from their momma's so soon, but his momma had pretty much stopped nursing him. Rodney was eating puppy food on his own and playing well with the other pups, so we took him home Saturday.

First Snow ~ Fall 2004

Wow! From 75 degrees and sunny on Saturday, to cloudy, windy and 59 being our high today! Sunday night we received our first snow in the foothills. I tried to get pictures yesterday but the clouds weren't cooperating. Today, another storm is brewing. I was able to take this picture during my lunch today. We're supposed to have rain for the next ten days!

This picture is a bit dark and gloomy, reflecting the mood of the day.

Saturday Six - Episode 27

1. What was your favorite Halloween candy to receive as a child?
Candy corn! Packaged in those little plastic bags, I'd like to eat them in layers, first the white top, then the orange middle, and finally the yellow base!

2. Of cities you've visited (that you don't live in), which is your favorite and why?
Hands down, NYC! There's so much to do and see! I spent three days there in 1999 and it just wasn't enough time, there's so much more to see and do.

3. What is the oldest appliance in your kitchen (and how old is it)?
It's got to be the olive green blender! It was a wedding present in 1978.

4. How many broken bones have you suffered in your life time, and when was the most recent?
One. I broke the larger of the two bones that go from your knee to your ankle, at my ankle in 1985.

5. Check your caller ID: who is the last person to have called you?
Well, there's two sales calls that I have no clue who they are, the numbers are from out of state. I thought I had those kinds of calls blocked! Hmm. And then, the very next call came from someone I know very well, from my guy. ;)

6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #26 from Nettie: What would you say is your biggest "character flaw?"
I think I have a hard time telling people how I really feel, worried that I'll hurt their feelings or make them mad. It makes for a long day sometimes!

Fire over the fence...

Fall, my most favorite season!

Wigs Update

Finally, the gal at work stopped to talk with me!

I didn't think I was going to get a chance to talk with her about Wigs. I wanted desparately to know that Wigs was doing okay. I had been off work for five days since she took Wigs home with her, and yesterday was another day that I didn't see this gal at work. We work in different parts of our facility. So literally, days could go by without seeing eachother, though, I've seen her car parked in our parking lot.

This morning, she saw me and came into my office to talk with me. She began by telling me she didn't think Wigs was eating, she wasn't able to get Wigs to take her meds (I had recently took Wigs in to the doc for some skin irritation), and she thought she may even need to bring Wigs back to me. (My heart sunk!)

Then, she figured out Wigs was eating at night, after everyone had gone to bed. She thought she'd try something I told her about before she took Wigs home. She gave Wigs a cup of yogurt!

Now, I didn't exactly tell her to give Wigs a cup of yogurt, but I did say that Wigs becomes your best friend when she hears the sound of spoons scraping the insides of a yogurt cup. I explained that I would set the practically empty yogurt cup down for her. Wigs would always use her paws to finish off anything left in the cup.

So now the whole cup of yogurt was set before Wigs for her delight and pleasure. Of course, Wigs being Wigs, she began eating the yogurt with her paws! This set the elderly mother-in-law into an uncontrollable giggle, she nearly peed her pants she was laughing so hard. Wigs! She's so cute!

Ahh, I miss her!

Holiday Traditions

tradition: n 1 : an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought or action 2 : the handing down of beliefs and customs by word of mouth or by example without written instruction; also : a belief or custom thus handed down

There's been chatter around here about what to do for the holidays. The holidays are just around the corner and will be here before we know it. So, we've been trying to figure out our holiday plans.

To me, holidays are for family gatherings. This probably comes from growing up with tons of relatives celebrating the holidays together over huge family dinners. It really didn't matter how old or how far apart we lived from eachother at these times, everyone did everything possible to be together for holidays.

Times have changed.

My daughter has mentioned being home for a week at Christmas, leaving us Christmas day to return to her home in Seattle. She did this last year. My son lives with me and will also be leaving Christmas day to visit his dad, out of state. He did this last year too.

For me, this is becoming an unwanted tradition at our house, me dropping these kids at the airport for their Christmas day departures. Then I get to go home, alone, to a fully decorated, empty house. Hmm... huge let down.

This past week I received an email from my daughter. She's coming home for Thanksgiving! Yeah! My office is closed the Friday after Thanksgiving, so this will be a nice, long weekend visit with her! It will be nice to have her home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays this year.

Then, I read more closely and realized she is arriving here at the airport at 9:30pm, the Sunday before Thanksgiving and leaving at 12:00pm, Thanksgiving day. This means we'll need to leave the house about 10:30am, Thanksgiving morning, to have her at the airport by 11:00am.

Hmm... I'm feeling a bit short changed. I haven't seen her since last February and won't get to see much of her while she's here.

My daughter's band is traveling to Europe and she is not exactly sure when they will be returning. Now her Christmas plans have been put on hold. As soon as she knows more about her travel dates, she'll be able to book her days home at Christmas. I'm sure she'll be home for Christmas.

My guy and I are starting to think we should make some Christmas plans of our own. Maybe a romantic cabin weekend, or a flight to a city that's up all night, or a short cruise somewhere warm. A new tradition. We'll see.

Saturday Six - Episode 26

Patrick's Place - Saturday Six - Episode 26
1. What is your favorite cartoon show?
I'm going to be showing my age here, but I used to love Johnny Quest.

2. Patrick found this on Wil's Journal: Take the Quiz... What natural disaster are you?
I found this very same Quiz on Sammie's Movin' On last week, and took it. I'm a Tornado! See my answer here: quiz answers.

3. What was the design of the last postage stamp you used?
Peel and stick, USA 37 cent, images of Mary Cassatt's paintings.

4. What was the last pill you took?
I take two at a time, both are something I'll need to take for the rest of my life.

5. It's your ultimate breakfast: what's on the plate?
Mmm... Scrambled Denver omelet (ham, cheese, green bell peppers and onions) with hash browns smothered with sauge gravy. A medium size glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee with cream and sugar. Mmm!

6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #26 from SpringsNymph and Neil:
a) When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was real little, I wanted to be a veterinarian.

b) Are you anywhere close to that dream now?
Well, I work in a hospital and have a zoo at home.

c) Now that you're in the "real world," is your current job now really what you want to do for a living?
I enjoy my job, but often daydream about a different life, a life of driving and travel. When I was in high school, I wrote a paper for an English assignment about trucking and the pro's and con's of working in the trucking industry. I've ridden across the country, trucking, and though the hours are crazy, I still think I'd like to go fulltime someday when I have less responsibilities here at home.

d) If not, what would you ultimately like to do?
Ahh... I think I got ahead of myself in my answer above. LOL

Wigs

I'm feeling aweful tonight. See, Wigs is my most favorite cat. She's loving, clean, doesn't shed, eats with her paws when she has the chance to. We've had her for more than seven years, since she was just a few weeks old. Today, I gave her away to a wonderful home where she'll be loved and cared for like a queen. I will miss her terribly.

Let me go back to the summer before last. We had three cats at the time, Wigs, Taz, and Nermal. Wigs and Taz came to us at the same time, adopted from our local Humane Society, years ago. Nermal was a stray we took in a couple of years later. Of course, we also had Harley (you can read how we got Harley, here: Black with Gold Trim). And, we were in the midst of purchasing Lucy, another Yorkie. I've always loved animals.

Then, my guy's son was not able to keep his two cats, Goose and Sketch, so we offered to keep and care for them until he was able to take them back. Wow! Now there were five cats in the house! That's alot of cat-box duty!

I do not know what got into me, but about this time, a gal at work brought in a box of kittens, and yes, I came home with yet another critter, Bunni. Bunni was a Manx who had a major wobble to her walk. She hopped when she ran. With all the older cats in the house, the kitten was refreshing and fun. I admit now, it was a very selfish act on my part, to bring her home.

Lucy came home in September, last year. This brought us to two dogs and six cats! CRAZY! We have a pet door and a large backyard, so it wasn't so bad. But in the evenings, there wasn't much room left on the sofa!

After a long winter of pet fur and smells, I started suggesting we give some of our furry friends away to good homes. My guy's son's two cats were off limits. So, I began giving away my cats. First to go were Taz and Bunni. They went to the same home, a gal at work took them. Then, Nermal went. Goose disappeared. I think one of the neighbors is taking care of him. Sketch left last Sunday, home with my guy's son. And, tonight, a gal from work who has an elderly mother-in-law at home all day, took Wigs. Then there were none.

We still have the dogs; Harley, Lucy and Molly. The dogs are not going anywhere. My guy takes Harley with him, long haul trucking. It's now just me and the girls. Much more managable for me. I think keeping Wigs would have been fine, but this gal at work could offer Wigs a better place with more attention. I hope I've made the right choice.

Work

Boy! Do you ever just wish you could have Calgon take you away? Tonight is one of those nights for me! I've worked non-stop for nearly four weeks now. I've had to let people go, train new people, and get my own job done too. It's got to say something about my ethics, at least my work ethics. I'm there until I'm done. Not to mention, housework at home!

And, here I sit at yet another computer with my shoulders aching, back stinging, wrists throbbing, saying kick me again, I didn't have enough at work! LOL

Dinner's done, dishes and laundry are at a managable stage and can be left for another day. The dogs could use a bath, but that just doesn't sound fun right now. It's nearly 80 degrees outside still, just a gorgeous evening.

More About Harley...

I've wanted to get these pictures of Harley out for all to see how he's grown. Yorkies change so much as they grow. They start out looking like miniature Rottweilers. You can see newborn Yorkies here: Puppies!

















Harley is our first Yorkie. In the past, I've always had large dogs, two Golden Retrievers at the same time. I love Goldens, but these little guys are so much fun! They're smart. They play all day long. It's so funny to watch them.

















I'll have to introduce to you Lucy and Molly next time, often referred to around here as "the girls." Lucy is just over a year old, not related to Harley. And Molly, is eight months old. She's Harley's daughter. No, no, Lucy is not the momma.

Black with Gold Trim

As I promised in my first entry, I wanted to share with you how we came up with our little dog's name. Here's a clip from my private journal...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Okay, let me explain a couple of things... My significant other purchased a Harley Davidson motorcycle, just before Christmas 2001. Sight unseen. (His brother's a car salesman.) My guy has owned motorcycles all his life, except for the time since he's met me. We met in January of 1997.

So, he purchases this Harley Davidson motorcycle. It's beautiful. Black with gold trim.

Little did I know, for weeks my guy had been searching for a special Christmas present for me. With his job, he's in another town almost every morning. So, over breakfast he'd read the local morning newspaper classifieds. He found several ads, across the west, for this gift he hoped to give me. He started making some calls and found this particular gift to be very spendy.

Down to the wire, it was the night before Christmas Eve. My guy was now home for the holiday. We had gone to the mall to finish up some last minute shopping. After an exhausting run through the mall, we ended up at the pet shop. Puppies were everywhere. And, all the puppies were Christmas discounted!

I was not aware of my guy asking the store clerk about a specific breed of dog and then actually finding this breed. We had been there for some time, petting most the puppies. They were all so cute! I was holding this little Yorkshire Terrier when my guy tells me, "This is my Christmas gift to you!"

Surprised, I think my jaw dropped to the floor. I was speechless! I looked at the puppy, looked back at my guy. These dogs were expensive, too expensive! I told him, "I don't want any dogs." Besides, we had three very independent cats. We didn't need a dog.

Well, itwas as if I had shot my guy through the heart. The look on his face was pure disbelief and hurt. It hurt me to see him so. It took just a minute for me to realize what I had just done to my guy, I was sure I broke his heart. So, I change my mind. I really didn't want a dog, but even more, I couldn't bare to hurt my guy. I could tell he had put so much love into this idea. And, giving it a second thought, it was so romantic and sweet. I said, "Okay."

As a result, we brought home this very adorably cute, little black with gold trim puppy! What a sweetie! And you might have guessed, his name is Harley!

So you see, we both got Harleys that Christmas, black with gold trim!

Puppies!

Oh my gosh! These puppies are so small! They were only a few days old here, they were born September 8th. Our Harley is the daddy. This is Harley's third litter of puppies. Meggers did a good job, she's such a good mom. There's one female and four males. We get pick of the litter and plan on picking a male.

Patrick's Saturday Six

Get Your Saturday Six here

1. Which of the following do you trust more: a politician, a televangelist, a lawyer, a reporter, or a doctor?
A doctor.

2. What's the last song you liked enough that you actually took the time to look up the lyrics?
A song from my daughter's band, "Into the Darkness" off their recently released CD, "Until the End". I'm not so crazy about the type of music they play and sing, but I'm pretty darn proud of my daughter and her drive to become a rock star! KiTTie

3. Which deceased relative would you most like to spend one more afternoon with?
I would love to spend another afternoon with my grandfather. He passed away in 1991 at the age of 75. Taken too soon from life by Leukemia. To spend just one more afternoon fishing with him would be so nice.
Though we always lived in separate states, my family always spent school breaks, holidays, and a month in the summer each year with my grandparents. We would go camping, fishing, taking day trips in the wilderness.
My grandfather was an adventuress explorer who loved the outdoors. He was a great freshwater fisherman, fly fishing being his favorite fishing. I'll never forget how he taught me how to fish when I was probably just five or six years old... "...hold on, be patient, wait... you'll feel them (fish) knocking at your door..." Sure enough, not but a few minutes later, knock, knock, knock! I was screaming with excitement, "They're knocking! They're knocking!" I think we caught our limits that day.

4. What is your preferred brand for: a) toothpaste, b) soap, c) shampoo, d) laundry detergent
a) Colgate
b) Dial
c) Aussie
d) Kirkland

5. What is your favorite poem?
I don't have a favorite poem, though I do have a favorite poem writer... My grandmother! She has written poems all her life, submitting them to Reader's Digest and others for poem writing contests. She's even won a few awards for her writings.

6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #25 from Tara: How did your parents select your first name? Were you named after a particular friend/relative/fictional character or did they just like the name?
Hmm... Good question! I'll have to find out. I think my first name was picked because they liked it rather than after someone.

Weekend Assignment #27

There are 12 months in the year. Which is your favorite? Give us one good reason why.
October. I love October! The weather starts to change from long, hot days of summer to days of bright, crisp mornings and warm, sunny evenings of fall. The days are getting shorter. The trees are changing colors. The holidays are just around the corner.

Extra Credit: Which month comes in second?
To be honest, I find something special about each and every month. But, if I had to choose one month over another for second place, I would pick April for about the same reasons I picked October as my favorite. The changing climate and weather, bringing out vibrant new blossoms and leaves. The days start to get longer and warmer after a cold winter.