Hound Pound

Ever since I was a kid, I've always kind of wanted those glasses that let you see behind you. You know, the "super spy spectacles" that one might find advertised in the back of a twenty-five cent comic.

It's not that I feel paranoid, it's just they always seemed kind of fun. However, now that I'm grownup, a more pressing, real, and "real world" application has manifested. The fact is that my dog tends to walk directly behind me. It's kind of a problem: she's totally outside of my field of vision, and if she ever just stops or gets distracted, I don't know for a long, long time.

So, see? I really need those spy glasses.

Last time I was in Archie McPhee (a toy and gizmo shop), I decided to buy a pair. Five bucks, for such a necessary and useful tool, what a bargain!

Here's the problem. The glasses only show you what's directly behind you with a very narrow slice of visual field. To spot anything that's not in the sweet spot, you have to swivel your head around ... and not just a little. Trying to locate a dog that is behind you and at ankle height requires head swaying, swinging, and bobbing that makes Stevie Wonder look as still as a sniper.

Alas, I think the glasses will be going to that big Value Village box in the basement. Sigh.

I wonder if I can find a grownup reason to get those x-ray glasses I saw advertised by the same people ...?

• 08:01 Happy Birthday @justgina! Much love coming your way!!! #
• 08:13 I'm off to take a nap. Gotta catch up on the sleep I've lost due to my eyes just popping open in the middle of the night! Must. Stop. That. #
• 08:14 @justgina Woo hoo!!! #
• 11:17 Ahh. Feeling human again. It's amazing what sleep can do! I should try it more often, only at NIGHT! #
• 11:48 If you don't watch The Big Bang Theory, do.Now. Trust me. Best line: "All I need now is a healthy ovum and I can grow my own Leonard Nimoy!" #

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I hate winter. Dang, it’s COLD out there!!! I really hate winter. I’m just thankful my doctor appointment was today and not Friday when it’s supposed to be even colder. And they’re saying we may have 2 to 3 inches of snow by tomorrow. Did I mention I hate winter??? *g*

Today is the birthday of silent movie cowboy Tom Mix.

Got another Amazon shipment today. Another book (Boneshaker by Cherie Priest which is a steampunk novel) and a funny desk calendar (365 Excuses For All Occasions). Today’s excuse? “I was dealing with a personal matter.”

Tonight is the season premiere of Ghost Hunters International.

Wrote about half a page last night.

Reading: Finished up Doppelgangsters which I loved. Now I’m reading Pacific Vortex by Clive Cussler. This is the first Dirk Pitt book (though it wasn’t the first one that was published). I thought I’d read them all but this one isn’t ringing any bells, so maybe I was mistaken.

Mirrored from Hollywoodland.

Happy Birthday to trollbabyfeet !  I'm so glad that we're such a part of each other's lives again.  I love you and your family so much!!!  Have a great day and I can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend! 

Early this morning -- we don't know when, exactly -- Lycangeek heard beeps in the living room. Beep beep beepbeepbeep ... beep. He thought to himself through the pressing wool of semi-sleep, "I wonder if a fire alarm battery is running low, but it sure does sound like the kitchen timer."

(I have bought a very loud kitchen timer, which we use for everything from pizza to nap alarms.)

A bit later, he heard some more beeps. Beep beep beepity beep. He again succumbed to the clutch of slumber.

Then the kitchen timer went off. In our locked house, with no one inside but us two and our we doggies, something set the timer and started it.

Lycangeek is wigged, and not in a little way. Creepy, spooky, weird stuff afoot. It did not help much that we'd just watched an episode of Ghost Whisperer.

I suppose it might be a spirit with a chronological anxiety, it might be a singularly unambitious burglar, or the Pillsbury Doughboy trying to expand his resume, or possibly the dogs trying to bake pizza without the pizza or heat. However ...

... I am contemplating that the reason Nigel sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night, barking like a mad thing and running through the kitchen dog door and into the backyard, might be because he's chasing off visiting raccoons. And not, as previously assumed, because he's a little turd.

• 15:33 @NightmareFactor That happened to me one time and it turned out that Trooni had cut her paw. Check the animals! #
• 15:34 Back at work today. Very productive! Feels good! And I'm LOVING the cold weather. Snuggie weather! #

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Last semester Princess took a writing elective.  One of the things that they were required to do was to "publish" their story.  That means that they presented it in a "professional" manner.  Or, as professional as you can be in 4th grade.  Princess chose to type hers on the computer and then print it out.  She's becoming fairly good at typing, but I want to make sure that she's learning correctly.  We found a couple of free on-line typing tutorials, but I wasn't 100% satisfied with them.  They were functional, but kind of boring for a nine year old.

Today at Staples I saw that they had "Typing Instructor Platinum" on sale for $9.99 (after rebates).  I was in the store on a work-related errand so when I got back to the office I looked up that particular software program to read some reviews.  All were glowing and most talked about how much fun the games were.  I figure, for ten bucks, I can risk it.  Then I came to this review on Amazon.com:

"I recently was hired at a new job, but they wanted me to increase my typing speed by at least 10 WPM. I looked at all of the typing programs and bought this one - not hte cheapest, not the most expensive. I defintly got a bargain though! This program is excellant for the money! I took the typing test at the start - determined what level I should be and then conitnued with the reccomend typing program. by the time i got to the end of the program (it took me about a week - practicing an hour or two a night) my typing speed was up by almost 20 WPM!

It really felt good to print off the results of my WPM and hand them to my boss. I am so happy with this program. and now my wife is starting to use it.

The games are entertaining, and the typing drills, skills and tests are efficient. They can be tedious, but you feel yourself getting better throughout the drill. Don't even bother with other programs, this is the one to get!"

I don't know whether to laugh or cry or to just tell the guy "ENABLE SPELL CHECK"!!!!!  

I'm still hopeful that the program will help Princess!  Or maybe I should work with it.  I'm embarrassed to say how many typos I had to correct as I was typing this entry!!!  

Stick me in a big underground tomb in the desert instead, ‘kay? Archaeologists in Egypt have recently discovered a huge tomb near Cairo.

On this date in 1914, the Ford Motor Company gave its workers a pay raise. They went from a nine hour workday for $2.34 (that’s per day not per hour) to an eight hour day for $5.

The first color newsreel was released on this date in 1948. It was released by Warner Brothers-Pathe. and was filmed at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

Much to my surprise, we have new episodes of NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles tonight.

Wrote about one page last night.

Reading: I’m about halfway through Doppelgangster by Laura Resnick. Such a fun book!!!

Mirrored from Hollywoodland.

Some friends recommended a donut shop called Frost Donuts, and as Lycangeek had a team meeting the next day, he toyed with the idea of bringing a box for the group.

It was a very pleasant surprise that he swung by the house and picked me up. It was like an impromptu little lunch date ... moreso because the donut shop is 15 minutes north of our house, and well out of the range of regular Microsoft foraging range.

They had all sorts of donuts ... and glory be, most of them were the "cake" variety. (I really don't like or even understand the fluffy, airy, Krispy Kreme type donuts.) Frost makes a wide variety of donuts: Aztec chocolate (cinnamon-cayenne-chocolate), Bourbon Caramel Pecan, Salted Caramel, and some donuts that have cream cheese frosting. Not bad at all.

Lycangeek bought a dozen, and I bought one ... for now. I bet I'll be going back sometime. Those were some pretty special donuts!

About a year or so ago I started yet another blog (because I have SO much free time) at Tumblr.  I started it as a kind of experiment in photo blogging.  I got out of the habit of posting there and let it slide a bit.  

One of the things that I'm resolved to do in 2010 is to experiment more with my photography.  I loved creating the photos for Rachel's CD release SO much and I think that they were very well received so I want to continue with that.  I want to play with images in Photoshop.  I want to play with macro and micro.  I want to point and shoot and I want to set up and construct.  I want to challenge myself.  

I started on January 1 posting at least one image a day.  I decided not to limit myself to posting a photo from THAT day.  I don't take photos every day and I don't want to force it if it's not there.  I do have a backlog of photos that are just hanging out on my external hard drive waiting to see the light of day.  So today I went through quite a few of them, pulled out some of the best, and filed them on my laptop.  For now, I'm just posting what I have - little to no edits.  But soon I want to make an appointment with my brother's computer and Mega-Photoshop toys and have an art day.  

I invite you now to go to http://cabin77.tumblr.com.  Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions.  I can't get better if I don't have feedback!  And I promise not to cry.  Too hard.  ;-)

• 21:32 Tonight during our Monopoly game we had to continually remind Buddy that Monopoly is NOT a contact sport. #
• 08:39 The kids are playing Monopoly. I have the first aid kit ready. #
• 11:29 @LisaWhelchel Out of the mouths of babes . . . (Don't you hate it when they're right?!? ;-) ) #
• 18:07 Got a lot of decorations put away today. Now I'm left with a scattering of glitter on the carpet. Not really wanting to see it go! #

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I got this notice today:

New Weight Requirement for Whole Blood Donors
"The Blood Center of Central Texas is joining several other blood centers in using a new blood bag for whole blood collection. These new collection bags are slightly larger than what is currently used and will require a small increase (approximately three tablespoons) in the amount of blood collected from whole blood donors. Due to this small increase, The Blood Center will require all whole blood donors to weigh a minimum of 123 lbs beginning January 12, 2010."

That's a thirteen pound increase over their previous minimum.  When you're 5'2", thirteen pounds is a lot!  So much, in fact, that as of January 12 I will no longer be allowed to give blood.  I have BABY BLOOD!  (That means that I'm O- and CMV- so the Center can use my blood for infants under 6 months old and for anyone with a compromised immune system.)  I always get a call within days of being due to give.  I . . . I . . . WANT to give blood!  I want to help!  The last time I gave blood, it hit me how much it helps.  I looked at the posters on the walls of the people who had received life-saving transfusions and I thought, "My blood could have been used for them."  I got chills and I almost cried.  That I could do something that takes very little pain and very little time, and possibly help save another human being's life finally got me.  To the core.

And now I can't do it any more.  My ideal weight - the weight at which I feel good, I look good, and is easy to maintain - is well below 123.  It was no problem when the minimum was 110.  Even before kids when I could get below 110, I would have a heavy meal the night before I gave and be able to tip the scales in my favor.  Not any more.  

I'll give for the last time the day before my birthday.  I'm so disappointed.  I WILL be asking if they will have any concessions - any chance of going back to the old bags.  But I'm not hopeful.  Crud!  I'll also be asking about other ways to donate and if they have weight minimums for those, too.  But it still gets me that I have the kind of blood that they need so desperately and now they can't take it.  Crud again!

And I did so like the Amy's Pint for a Pint! 

On this date in 1954, a young, struggling musician walked into Sun Studios and paid $4 to record a 45rpm record. The title of this post is one of the songs he recorded. His name? Elvis Presley.

On this same date in 1935, Bob Hope made his U.S. network radio debut as a member of the cast of “The Intimate Revue”. Despite a fair amount of googling, I couldn’t find out anything else about the show. I assume it was some kind of vaudevillian musical/comedy program.

Not a lot going on here. It’s cold but sunny. And I got some of my Christmas books I ordered today.

Cockatiels at Seven by Donna Andrews

Goodbye Ms. Chips by Dorothy Cannell

Doppelgangster by Laura Resnick

Crazy Cool by Tara Janzen

So I’m set for awhile longer. I hate not having anything in my TBR pile.

The only thing on TV tonight is MythBusters so I’ll watch another recorded show or two.

And tonight I’ll get back into the writing groove. Hope I do as well as I did the other day!

Reading: I finished up the Trixie Belden book I was reading last night. Not sure what I’m going start next. So much to choose from! Or from which to choose (if you want to be a stickler for good grammar ).

Mirrored from Hollywoodland.

I don't like wine or beer, but I kind of want to. They're both such social drinks, associated with good times and good friends. The fact that I don't like most alcoholic drinks takes most -- but oddly, not all -- of the sting out of not being allowed to drink alcohol. Alcohol is on my no-go list because my arthritis drugs have a heavy toll on my liver.

But I still encounter good times and good friends, where wine (usually) and beer (occasionally) flows freely.

I'm so sick of iced tea and sodas, words fail me.

So I was intrigued when I was at a restaurant this evening, and upon ordering my standard iced tea, and the waiter said, "We don't have iced tea. If you're looking for something non-alcoholic, we do have a shrub."

My hearing's not so good, so I'm not really stopped cold by incomprehensible statements ... I just duck and weave.

"Oh? What?" I asked. See, aren't I clever with my wordplay?

"We serve a shrub. That's a drink made with fruit and sugar and vinegar."

"It's an endangered drink from colonial times," commented a dining-buddy. "No one was making it anymore, but it's kind of coming back these days."

"Well, all right then. I'll take one."

The waiter returned with a small carafe of pear shrub, a little like a pear-aid that someone had added a dollop of vinegar to, providing a tangy twang to what would otherwise be quite a sweet drink. It wasn't diluted as much as I think it might normally be, which made it a "sipping drink." I liked that, because my friends all had wine to sip. So yeah, shrub for the win.

I think I'll make some from blackberries later on this year, for sure.

• 23:01 @dailycoyote Wow. That is scary. We're blessed to have a family doctor who doesn't believe in throwing Rx at everything! #
• 23:01 @RachelFineMusic Hot, hot, hot! You look great!!! #
• 23:03 Buddy told me that my hair reminds him of "that girl from X-Men". My kid knows who Rogue is!!! I'm so happy! #
• 09:12 @dannygokey Wow! That is really beautiful! It's a very sweet tribute. #

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Well, the sun is shining at the moment but we’re also supposed to be having snow flurries. Seriously. I could do without that. I could do without the cold temps too. However, there isn’t anything I can do about it so I’ll just suck it up. And probably complain about it again tomorrow. *g*

On this date in 1959, Alaska became the 49th state. Hey, I need a flag-waving smiley!

I was amazed to learn this morning that NBC is planning 18 new shows for the Fall 2010 season. And not one of them is a reality show!!! Of course, they’ll probably screw up any or all of them by moving the show around into various time slots and then wonder why it doesn’t have good ratings.

Last night, during the last 30 minutes of Doctor Who, I was sobbing my heart out. I don’t remember being that emotionally wrung out when Christopher Eccleston left the show after one season. I’m reserving judgment on the new kid. He only had about five minutes, if that, of screen time last night.

Then I watched Demons. And I loved it! It’s sort of a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen but in modern London. It seems Bram Stoker stole Luke’s (the young hero) multiple-greats-grandfather Abraham Van Helsing’s identity for use in the book Dracula. Luke’s American godfather tells him, “I don’t know about you, but I’d be really pissed about that.”

Even more amazing, I wrote a page and a half last night. In less than half an hour! That almost never happens!!! I was beyond pleased with myself. *g*

Reading: Finished up Tempest Rising. Very much looking forward to the next book in the series. Now I’m reverting back to my childhood and reading Trixie Belden and the Mystery Off Glen Road. I loved Trixie Belden and her friends so much more than Nancy Drew. Though my absolute favorite was Judy Bolton. Unlike Nancy and Trixie, Judy aged during the course of her series. She started out as a young teen and eventually grew up and got married. To a hot FBI agent, no less!

Mirrored from Hollywoodland.

• 20:15 I guess I should start to maybe think about some resolutions. Nah. #
• 21:36 Interpreting canine body language across the yard, I called, "Buddy, is the dog growling at you?" He answered, smiling "No! He's purring!" #
• 10:51 I just read a Best Films of Decade list. Must find time to catch up! Must find ways to be more informed. Must NOT lose my <3 of film! #

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It’s bright and sunny today but they’re predicting possible snow flurries tonight. The wacky weather never stops!

Not a lot going on here. Lack of sleep but that’s nothing new. It’s disconcerting to see 2010 on the satellite TV guide listings. And speaking of TV, tonight is the last of the Doctor Who episodes starring David Tennant who has been my favorite doctor. But maybe I’ll like the child they’re bringing in to replace him. Okay, he’s not really a child, Matt Smith is 27. But still. A new show on BBC America premieres tonight, too. It’s called Demons and focusses on a young man who learns he’s a descendant of vampire hunter Van Helsing and he himself must now fight the undead. Sounds like a male take on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Looks like it could be fun.

Wrote about half a page last night. I’ll make up the day I lost earlier this week tonight.

Reading: Finished up Make Her Pay last night. I really like the Bullet Catcher series a lot. Now I’m reading Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler. This is her debut novel and it’s a lot of fun. Even though the spine labels it as “Fantasy/Horror” there’s nothing, so far, that’s especially scary. And there was one scene that had me laughing so much I almost fell out of bed. And I keep wondering if she and I might be related. I have some Peelers in my family tree. It isn’t the most common name.

Mirrored from Hollywoodland.

I must admit that I have been very lazy when it comes to giving the kids' their allowance.  I haven't made it a priority which means that every couple of weeks they have to remind me that I owe them, catching me with no cash so they just ask for this or that at the grocery store and we call it even.  Parenting experts shudder.

So, this year I'm making it a priority for them.  They are old enough now to have some financial responsibility and I'm old enough (!!) to get my tush in gear and make sure I pay them on time every week.  

I decided to do some research online as to age appropriate amounts and whether or not chores are tied to allowances.  Wow, are there a lot of opinions out there!  One website said that the amount of the allowance per week should equal the age of the child.  That's $6 per week for BUDDY!!!!  I think not!  Some sites assigned cash amounts to chores and at the end of the week, you added it all up and that's what they got.  Sorry, but that's too much work for me.  (Read the first paragraph again.  Baby steps.)  

I'm reading a book now called Love and Logic and that book recommends that chores NOT be tied to allowance.  The reasoning is that the child is a part of the family and, therefore, needs to contribute.  The allowance is a tool to help the child learn responsibility with money and is separate from the contribution of the child to the family.  They can USE their allowance to pay other siblings to do their chores if they choose.  They can also choose to use their allowance to pay a parent to do their chores.  But then, they've used their money and don't have any at the end of the week.  I kind of like that approach.  

I'd like opinions on this subject.  If you are a parent, what do you do?  What are your amounts?  What are your conditions?  If you are not a parent, what would you do?  What were the terms when you were a kid?

We're thinking that we're going to go with Princess getting $2 per week and Buddy getting $1.  We'll see how those amounts fare and then reevaluate in a few months.  (I was thinking $2.50 and $1.50, but I'm fine with the rounded number.)  We're also not going to tie chores to allowance.  I like the idea that they need to contribute freely to the family.  I also like the fact that this approach will eliminate Princess calculating how many chores she can do to get what she wants from Target!  Oh, I know my daughter!  ;-)

Just FYI, though, I am thinking of fining them a nickel for every whine and a dime for every instance of raised voice.  Just thinking . . .  

 

• 22:11 Happy New Year to all and to all a good night! #
• 09:40 @dailycoyote We danced - sparklers in hand, many giggles and squeals from dear friends mixing with the smoke and the sparks. #
• 09:42 @dailycoyote We love you, too! Thank you for sharing Charlie, Chloe, Eli, Daisy, Baby and Frisco with us. (Did I forget anyone?!?) #
• 11:18 @justgina Flashback!!!! (I was actually hoping that you had found my Bono boots!) #
• 16:56 Buddy was on the winning kickball team in a neighborhood tournament today! Great way to ring in the new year! #

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