Off to the races...

Greyhounds are fast. REALLY fast. I however, am NOT.

Yesterday Donny decided to go for a stroll without permission...

As I was taking some cardboard boxes outside to put them in the car, I placed them in front of the back gate as I opened it slowly... only about 6-8". Now mind you... the boxes stand about 3 feet high and are approximately 2-3foot wide. The door is open about 6-8".

Ahhh... But greyhounds are skinny.

Seizing the moment, and hearing the clatter
Donny sprung from his perch to see what was the matter...

Although nothing was really the matter. He just wanted to get out.

So he did.

So the Punk Trash Dog vaulted the boxes and in one motion, squeezed (squoze???) between the gate and the fence and took off like a shot. There he goes...

It took me all of about 10 seconds to throw my stuff on the ground, lock the gate (so Marie couldn't join us on our leisurely stroll) and run around the corner.

And Donny was nowhere to be seen. I start running down the hill in the direction I think he went. I quickly call Sarah to let her know Donny's on the loose (she's at Mimi's place with Ethan, so she really can't help anyway) and I hang up and continue running.

Stupid dog. This is NOT good. We've been at the house with the dogs for no more than 24 hours, so there's no POSSIBLE way he'll know how to get back. And although the road outside our house isn't a highway, there's some pretty decent traffic. And he's nowhere in sight.

Quick prayer. (huff, puff) Stupid doggggg (huff, puff)...

At this point, I'm thinking to myself that there's no way I'm going to catch him. I should have gotten in the car, but at this point I've already committed. So I keep running... and I'm already gasping for air.

Then a guy in a blue truck calls out to me... "You lookin' for a dog?"

"Yeah..." (gasping for air)

"He went WAAAAAY down there (motioning down the road). I'll see if I can stop him for you... does he bite?"

"No..." (even if he did, I wouldn't have told him)

So nice blue truck man drives on down and I see him pull over. I'm yelling to Donny, and from past experience, I know the Donn-meister hears me but is just ignoring me... I can only imagine his thought process...

No way I'm coming back there... First you leave me at the house in MD for 2 weeks with almost no human contact, then you ship me off to Philly, and now where the FREAK am I??? I've been that stupid crate all day and there ain't no way I'm coming back yet...

Now blue truck guy and another man has reached the fleeing canine and, true to form, Donny approaches (after making his 20th "pit stop" of the trip) and jumps up to try to sniff the guy's face... basically how he greets all humans. Helper-guy grabs Donny's collar, and the journey is over. I thank him and blue truck guy as he drives past, and start the long huff-puff journey back up the hill toward home.

I have decided to wire the gate shut. We will no longer use it. End of story.

No more happiness...

In Fantasy-land, that is. My team lost, despite only needing 6 points from 2 players combined. And to top it all off, Deuce is out for the year, which means my top 2 RBs are now out with injuries. It's a wonder I've even won a game at all... I SO shoulda won that game. Stupid Saints.

Fantasy Football Happiness...

I wrote this in an Email to my bro this AM, and thought I'd just put it up in a post.

Good thing I decided to play Westbrook [Eagles RB] and McNabb [Eagles QB]yesterday. I got a total of 76 points from them, plus another 25 from the Dallas D, who is now on my good side again. :-)

I've got one more player (Cris Brown) going into tonight and it's already over. 124-108.

In my JC league, I need a TD from either Colston or McAllister, or some combination of 150 Yds rushing/receiving between them. If one of them goes over 100yds, that'll
seal the deal right there as we get 1pt/25 yds and 3pt bonus for +100.

It's always nice to come home to a weekend without football (minus the part where we watched Penn State lose to [shudder] Michigan... (you know, the team that lost their first game to a Division II school? ) and find that your home team wiped out the opposition and your two fantasy teams played well enough to pull out the victory. Now I haven't won my 2nd matchup yet, cause I still am losing, but I do have two players going tonight for the Saints on MNF and it looks like I'll be able to pull out the W. Good times... that'll make 3-0 in my JC league and lookin good.

Got the puppies this past weekend and things are starting to come down the homestretch to normalcy. We met GeGwee and Pop in Washington PA... "Why Washington...?" you may ask? Well it's not cause we're a little homesick for good old Montgomery Village... although we are. It's actually about 1/2 way between here and Philly, and it was a great way to meet them and have them deliver the pups without too much trouble. Pop managed to tie their crates to the roof, the puppies hopped in the back and we had a grand old time. Stayes at a Red Roof Inn for pretty cheap -- they accept pets with NO weight limit, so that was happy. They really behaved well (the DOGS, that is), and although it was a whirlwind 24-hour visit, it was a great time.

We'll get to go back again in Nov for my cousin Kristen's wedding, so it's only another 6 weeks till GeGwee can get another dose of the mighty E. We'll try to post some pix from the visit soon... God knows we took enough of them!

Later Shpater.

Die Hunde kommen!

Yes, that's right -- the dogs are coming home this weekend! We've missed them terribly. Going to meet GeGwee & Pop about 1/2 between here and Philly, spend some time with them and have a nice little visit since they won't be able to attend Ethan's 2nd Bday coming up soon.

Here's a picture of Marie and Colin just chillin'... they've been getting some serious "puppy love". No doubt my nephew's gonna miss them... not to mention GeGwee and Pop!

It's been great knowing they've been getting some attention and love they deserved after the DC Debacle. Hope they enjoy their new digs in Ohio. Sarah and I have decided they'll be sharing the Master Suite with us... it's really the only place we can put their HUGEMUNGOUS crates that makes any sense.

We'll be sure to post more pix after they get settled in... although I doubt it's going to be as comfortable for them as it seems to have been in Philly...

Woof.

Donovan Diatribe

OK. I'm a little disturbed by something... I heard some comments made by Eagles QB Donovan McNabb the other evening on some HBO show, talking about how African-American QBs are criticized more than other QBs... I don't know whether that's true or not, and I'm not making excuses. I don't even pretend to know what his personal/professional life is like. I know he rushed his recovery from a torn ACL to come back way sooner than the norm, and I know he hasn't been able to get near enough time on the field to work out the kinks and get ready for the start of the season. I am pretty sure of one thing, though...

After losing in week one to GB, and then losing the other night to Washington while displaying a pathetic looking offense that couldn't even muster a single TD, don't you think there should be less time spent on politicking and more time spent on PRACTICING?

Do I sound like a ticked-off fan? Maybe. Am I insensitve? Perhaps. I'll grant him the fact that this may be a legitimate issue, but I'd rather have him focusing his energies right now on continuing to be the excellent performer he has always been. He is the consummate professional in my eyes, and is definitely a role-model. He has taken every insult, commentary and resounding BOO that the most-times-less-than-understanding Philly fan or member of the media can dish out... and he's always been top-drawer. I admit I was ticked off the other night while watching the game... but I've been thinking about it more and more in light of these comments he made the other day and want to send out my support to #5. Hang in there.

And for all you other McNabb haters out there, I say... "Well at least he's no Kyle Boller..." :-)

Just my $.02.

Could this be the year?

Probably not... but it's worth raising the question. I can't count the number of times the Phillies have raised my hopes with the possibility of making the post-season, and now they are doing it once again. They are ABSOLUTELY RED HOT and are beating every team in sight -- including winning the last 8 games in a row against the Mets (Aug and Sept). Meanwhile, the Mets are tumbling, have lost 5 (or 6) straight and the Phils are now just a game and a half away from the division lead. They're also either a game and a half or just a half game away from the NL wild card lead (depending on how San Diego did last night) and with only a few weeks left (if that), there's a distinct possibility they might actually get to the playoffs for the first time in like 10 years. Now don't get me wrong -- I don't EXPECT them to do it. That would be just plain silly... :-)

Nothing up my sleeve... PRESTO!

As quickly as it disappeared, the table has now been found (see previous post). Should be delivered by the end of the week. I'm sure there are other things that never made it to us, but nothing that seems so important that I'm going to lose sleep over at this point.

Spent the evening over at the house by myself the other night working in the basement... "Why the basement?" you ask? Cause that's where the TV is! Can you say "Monday Night Football"???

Yes folks, I got to experience not one but.. count 'em... TWO Monday Night Games. I could only hope for this to continue throughout the season, but I doubt it will. And it will be tough to keep up with those West Coast games if they don't start till 10:30pm.

So my FF teams are 1-1. I won in the JC League, but lost by ONE POINT in my work league. Can I jsut say how much I really hate Dallas? I should have known better selecting their stupid defense... I lost a point when they allowed the Giants offense to run rampant and score a bazillion points. And in the end, I was undone by Tony Robo-QB hooking up with TO for 2 scores, throwing for 2 more and running for a 5th TD. Can you say MEGA-POINTS scored against Jeff? Oh well... at least the league is free. :-)

High School Nude-sicle

Oh, Vanessa...

Disney backs star after nude photos revealed

First you see it...

Then you don't. It's nice for magicians, but not so nice when you're moving cross-country. Let me just fill you all in a little...

We moved in Wednesday. The movers broke the foot on an antique, the sofa won't fit down the basement stairs, and they can't FIND our dining room table. An expensive one. No idea where it is. We are ticked.

Besides all this, I get the sneaking suspicion that there are more things missing... nothing too terribly important (except for the table),... but missing nonetheless. My 2 keyboard stands? no idea where they are. Other missing items include misc. gardening equipment (lawnmowers, weedwhacker, rakes, etc) and probably a bunch of other stuff we didn't need anyway... ugh.

Luckily, we have Ethan's room almost set up, our king bed made it up the stairs, and things are starting to take shape. It's gonna take a while, but we're on our way. Luckily Benji and Liz are in town this weekend for Debbie's 60th -- so we drafted them to help. Good thing too -- I'm gonna need help getting our extra Queen bed back to Debbie's to replace the busted air mattress. It was a lovely way to wake up this morning... poor Sarah. I know for sure she can't WAIT to be back in our own comfy bed... Ahhh.....