Ethan is quite the active child, and yesterday's experience only goes to prove that fact...
About 5 minutes from the end of the last service at church, I looked up on the screen and saw Ethan's number on the "kid call" monitor... the digital sign where they post numbers of the children that are in need of parental assistance. Since Ethan never has had a problem like this -- EVER -- I figured that something out of the ordinary must have happened... and I was right.
Apparently he fell and hit his "noggin" and ended up with 1/2" long split in his forehead over his right eye. He was absolutely fine, but we ended up having to go over to get 2 stitches at Children's Hospital. After talking with him about the incident, we found out that he fell because
"David pushed him" and David pushed him because "I took his drink". Well there... that settles it.
He was gret at the doc, and they were very good with him -- told him that when they put him in the restraints, it was like he was going to be getting a big "hug" and that he could have a lollipop afterwards. He did, and all was good.
I'm so glad E has Sarah's pain tolerance -- and that he's so chill about everything. It was a long afternoon, but yet another instance of E performing well under pressure... :-)
Monday, May 5, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
This. Is. SICK.
Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater playing a "fretless" keyboard, called the Haken Continuum. There's another video on the HakenAudio.com website that shows the performance LIVE. So cool. I want one.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Duct Tape - the stuff of legends.
Saw something funny today on SlashDot today and thought I'd share:
There are only 3 things needed to fix anything in the universe:
- Duct Tape
- WD-40
- A Hammer
If it moves and it shouldn't - use Duct Tape...
If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40 ...
If neither of those work, use the hammer.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Garden Gnomes
Well, we're off to a flying start. We dug up the old nasty "decorative" grasses and planted 4 new mini-azalea bushes, and they're starting to bloom. I also dug out the "nasty trees" (mini decorative evergreens that had dried to a beautiful shade of brown). and we planted our first flowerbox. In a mad frenzy of gardening exuberance, Sarah and I went over to check out the local gardening place and MAN IS IT COOL. My mom would love it... and the people there seem quite knowledgable. A nice lady talked Sarah through everything that needed to happen for planting a flowerbox, the types of flowers to put in there, and how to arrange it. Luckily, we already had the flowerbox mounted on the front side of our house, so all we had to do was fill it up! We bought some really nice things, and are looking forward to them starting to fill out. I believe Sarah has some pictures posted in her Picasa gallery, so I will only include a few snaps here.
One word or warning: Never try to water delicate flowers using a garden hose -- one of our gorgeous Dahlias bit the dust... stupid Jeff. Sorry Sarah. :-(
Luckily the grass is also actually starting to come up in our back yard (formerly known as "Lake Rezer") and its filling in the doggie-made mud path. It's nice to not really need to worry about hosing down the pups every time they come in from a trip outside... now all I have to do is actually mow the grass. Thanks for the lawnmower Dad!
Some other notes of interest:
We've been grilling out a bit as well and it's nice to be able to take advantage of our grill and back deck.
Jeff almost burned the house down when attempting to burn off some accumulated tree branches etc in our firepit on a semi-windy day. Good thing I had a hose handy... Moral of the Story: Even Eagle Scouts occasionally do stupid stuff with fire.
Sarah and I started dieting (HerbaLife) and are doing well. It's going to help a lot to have a routine, not have to worry about what we're eating all the time and it will also save us money! Yee haw!
Looking forward to Sarah's 30th... we'll probably go to King's Island for the day, go to a nice restaurant and then have a little family party... She's got a wishlist on Amazon under sarah@rezer.com if anyone wants to get her a little "You're Old Now" gift.
All for now...
Luckily the grass is also actually starting to come up in our back yard (formerly known as "Lake Rezer") and its filling in the doggie-made mud path. It's nice to not really need to worry about hosing down the pups every time they come in from a trip outside... now all I have to do is actually mow the grass. Thanks for the lawnmower Dad!
Some other notes of interest:
We've been grilling out a bit as well and it's nice to be able to take advantage of our grill and back deck.
Jeff almost burned the house down when attempting to burn off some accumulated tree branches etc in our firepit on a semi-windy day. Good thing I had a hose handy... Moral of the Story: Even Eagle Scouts occasionally do stupid stuff with fire.
Sarah and I started dieting (HerbaLife) and are doing well. It's going to help a lot to have a routine, not have to worry about what we're eating all the time and it will also save us money! Yee haw!
Looking forward to Sarah's 30th... we'll probably go to King's Island for the day, go to a nice restaurant and then have a little family party... She's got a wishlist on Amazon under sarah@rezer.com if anyone wants to get her a little "You're Old Now" gift.
All for now...
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
March Madness
So, it's been a while since I posted... but not so long as my friend Dan... :-)
(Hey Dan, I'm still waiting for "Part Trois")
March was a crazy month full of nice tax returns (HOORAY!), promotions/raises, some unexpected bargains, grand opening of IKEA, visits with family, etc etc etc. A lot actually happened that won't get written about - I'll try to be better next time.
After much CraigsList hunting (basically all by Sarah), we were able to purchase a sectional for the basement and finally get rid of that old futon we'd been using. The problem with our basement is that it's real hard to get larger pieces of furniture down there due to the angle, door width, etc... so a sectional was a good deal. The only problem -- it was MONSTROUS. After a trip to Louisville (2 hours away), a U-Haul rental and multiple trips to the ATM to get cash, we finally got all the pieces set up in the basement except for one -- which now sits sadly in our shed outside. If it wasn't the size of Long Island, it might have all fit...
Another fun thing we got to do last month was get really involved with "Ticket To Ride", a board game we fell in love with at a visit to travelingirl76/bulldogslair's place. They have multiple versions of the game, so we ended up purchasing the European edition so we could trade with our friends Dean and Amy, who have the US version. The game is really cool -- you build train routes between different cities in an attempt to connect cities and fulfill your "destination cards". The longer the route, the more points you get... but you only have a limited number of trains, and there are only a limited number of tracks, so you need to plan carefully! It's a great game, and we've been able to introduce a number of family members to it. Best of all, it's something Sarah and I can play by ourselves and still have fun!
We also got a chance to visit with Mom and Dad (and Token!) when they came for a visit the week preceding Easter... it was great to have them FINALLY see the house, and Dad and I got a chance to tackle some house projects, even though the weather was nasty. Because I wasn't able to take too much time off of work, Dad even decided to take care of some projects on his own... and it was much appreciated! We are looking forward to another visit soon -- as soon as we can -- and can't wait to see everyone back in Philly again!
I got a promotion and raise as well, and am very excited about my future here at F+W. I'll be working with my boss Larry a lot more in the years to come, and will also be assisting a team of people in our Wisconsin office that will take care of the reporting and campaign management that I had been working on. I also get to assist in hiring a new business analyst that will help us look at our web advertising campaigns, review their effectiveness, and assist in finding new ways to generate and maximize our online revenues. (If you want more of a description, feel free to call or Email... but I figured most people's eyes would start to glaze over if I kept talking any more about ROI, sell-through percent and clickthrough rates!)
More to come...
(Hey Dan, I'm still waiting for "Part Trois")
March was a crazy month full of nice tax returns (HOORAY!), promotions/raises, some unexpected bargains, grand opening of IKEA, visits with family, etc etc etc. A lot actually happened that won't get written about - I'll try to be better next time.
After much CraigsList hunting (basically all by Sarah), we were able to purchase a sectional for the basement and finally get rid of that old futon we'd been using. The problem with our basement is that it's real hard to get larger pieces of furniture down there due to the angle, door width, etc... so a sectional was a good deal. The only problem -- it was MONSTROUS. After a trip to Louisville (2 hours away), a U-Haul rental and multiple trips to the ATM to get cash, we finally got all the pieces set up in the basement except for one -- which now sits sadly in our shed outside. If it wasn't the size of Long Island, it might have all fit...
Another fun thing we got to do last month was get really involved with "Ticket To Ride", a board game we fell in love with at a visit to travelingirl76/bulldogslair's place. They have multiple versions of the game, so we ended up purchasing the European edition so we could trade with our friends Dean and Amy, who have the US version. The game is really cool -- you build train routes between different cities in an attempt to connect cities and fulfill your "destination cards". The longer the route, the more points you get... but you only have a limited number of trains, and there are only a limited number of tracks, so you need to plan carefully! It's a great game, and we've been able to introduce a number of family members to it. Best of all, it's something Sarah and I can play by ourselves and still have fun!
We also got a chance to visit with Mom and Dad (and Token!) when they came for a visit the week preceding Easter... it was great to have them FINALLY see the house, and Dad and I got a chance to tackle some house projects, even though the weather was nasty. Because I wasn't able to take too much time off of work, Dad even decided to take care of some projects on his own... and it was much appreciated! We are looking forward to another visit soon -- as soon as we can -- and can't wait to see everyone back in Philly again!
I got a promotion and raise as well, and am very excited about my future here at F+W. I'll be working with my boss Larry a lot more in the years to come, and will also be assisting a team of people in our Wisconsin office that will take care of the reporting and campaign management that I had been working on. I also get to assist in hiring a new business analyst that will help us look at our web advertising campaigns, review their effectiveness, and assist in finding new ways to generate and maximize our online revenues. (If you want more of a description, feel free to call or Email... but I figured most people's eyes would start to glaze over if I kept talking any more about ROI, sell-through percent and clickthrough rates!)
More to come...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
To Philly and Back Again.... a Rezer Tale
Well, vacation #1 of 2008 is over and done. It was quite the adventure, and I know that we all had a fantastic time. Got to spend some quality time with Mom and Dad, visited friends for an overnighter in MD, went out to a SUPERB restaurant in Philly called POD (thanks Christine!) and got to spend time with cousins and other family.
Sarah drove the whole way cause we took her stickshift (and I can't drive it yet), but it really wasn't too bad a drive. We stopped half-way on the trip there, but did the whole journey on the return trip in one day. It would have been totally uneventful if: #1 Ethan hadn't wet through THREE pair of pants during the trip and #2 we hadn't left the first set of wet clothes at the Cracker Barrel in Washington PA. Ugh. Luckily they are sending them back to us via US MAIL. Hopefully they're not too nasty when they arrive. :-)
Our night out at Christine's restaurant POD was phenominal. She's a server there and knew exactly what to order and not only did we get a few free dishes, we also got the 20% discount! We ate, and ATE, and ATE... it was easily one of the top 3 meals I've ever had, and possibly even higher. The food was all fantastic, and I even had an eye-opening encounter with FANTASTIC sushi. Seriously. I had it once or twice before and it was BAD, so I swore I'd never eat it again. But this was DARN GOOD. It was prepared specially for us and was "off-menu", and man was it tasty! Even my non-alcoholic drink was good -- White Peach Soda with Mint. MMMMMMM.
Time down in MD was good as always -- Mandy made a superb roast with all kinds of yumminess, and we got to spend time hanging out with she and Keith as well as the Cunninghams. After dinner we played a great game called Ticket To Ride -- kind of like RISK meets connect the dots. Awesome! :-)
The next morning Keith made soem KICK-BUTT specially-made omelettes and then after some hugs, we headed over to the Vaughns for lunch -- home made chicken soup, veggies, cheese and crackers. It was good to see them and spend some time, even if it was only a few hours. During the visit, I even got to visit Ken's private bar in the basement and sample three homebrews - an English bitter, a real ginger beer and an American Porter. What a TREAT! It's something I'm really interested in getting into, and hopefully this time I'll actually do it!
It was sad to leave them all, espcially our friends in Maryland, but nice knowing that we'll be seeing them again in April or May, and my parents will be coming for a visit in a few more weeks! That definitely makes parting such less sweet sorrow... :-)
Well - back to the grind...
Sarah drove the whole way cause we took her stickshift (and I can't drive it yet), but it really wasn't too bad a drive. We stopped half-way on the trip there, but did the whole journey on the return trip in one day. It would have been totally uneventful if: #1 Ethan hadn't wet through THREE pair of pants during the trip and #2 we hadn't left the first set of wet clothes at the Cracker Barrel in Washington PA. Ugh. Luckily they are sending them back to us via US MAIL. Hopefully they're not too nasty when they arrive. :-)
Our night out at Christine's restaurant POD was phenominal. She's a server there and knew exactly what to order and not only did we get a few free dishes, we also got the 20% discount! We ate, and ATE, and ATE... it was easily one of the top 3 meals I've ever had, and possibly even higher. The food was all fantastic, and I even had an eye-opening encounter with FANTASTIC sushi. Seriously. I had it once or twice before and it was BAD, so I swore I'd never eat it again. But this was DARN GOOD. It was prepared specially for us and was "off-menu", and man was it tasty! Even my non-alcoholic drink was good -- White Peach Soda with Mint. MMMMMMM.
Time down in MD was good as always -- Mandy made a superb roast with all kinds of yumminess, and we got to spend time hanging out with she and Keith as well as the Cunninghams. After dinner we played a great game called Ticket To Ride -- kind of like RISK meets connect the dots. Awesome! :-)
The next morning Keith made soem KICK-BUTT specially-made omelettes and then after some hugs, we headed over to the Vaughns for lunch -- home made chicken soup, veggies, cheese and crackers. It was good to see them and spend some time, even if it was only a few hours. During the visit, I even got to visit Ken's private bar in the basement and sample three homebrews - an English bitter, a real ginger beer and an American Porter. What a TREAT! It's something I'm really interested in getting into, and hopefully this time I'll actually do it!
It was sad to leave them all, espcially our friends in Maryland, but nice knowing that we'll be seeing them again in April or May, and my parents will be coming for a visit in a few more weeks! That definitely makes parting such less sweet sorrow... :-)
Well - back to the grind...
Friday, February 15, 2008
What Time Am I?
You’re the time of day right around sunrise, when the sky is still a pale bluish gray. The streets are empty, and the grass and leaves are a little bit sparkly with dew. You are the sound of a few chirpy birds outside the window. You are quiet, peaceful, and contemplative. If you move slowly, it’s not because you’re lazy – it’s because you know there’s no reason to rush. You move like a relaxed cat, pausing for deep stretches that make your muscles feel alive. You are long sips of tea or coffee (out of a mug that’s held with both hands) that slowly warm your insides just as the sun is brightening the sky.
Friday, February 1, 2008
The carnage continues
Our dogs are either:
1) The unluckiest canines ever
2) The biggest clutzes ever
3) Have a death-wish (or at least have some sort of sado-masochistic streak)
4) All of the above.
We had to take Marie to the emergency vet last night because she ripped the dew claw on one of her front legs. Blood. Nasty. Limping, whining. And she NEVER whines. EVER.
Greyhounds have a tremendously high pain tolerance and almost NEVER show pain unless it's pretty severe. They are so "ho-hum, la-de-da" about medical procedures -- so much that they are the donor of choice when blood is needed for another animals.
Just last month (on my birthday) we had to take Donny in because he stepped on something outside and punctured his front paw between the toes. Now Marie. And these animals have had a history... Donny's had shoulder and leg problems before, plus had some teeth extracted -- greyhounds have notoriously bad teeth. And a few years ago Marie had some surgery and stitches and stuff to repair a gash in her chest. Maybe some of you remember... ugh.
Well, we got lucky cause the vet tech was able to fix her all up by trimming up the nail and getting the bleeding to stop, and it wasn't as bad as originally thought... although still quite painful. We are going to have to do something about our backyard. I don't know if this is all happening because they're tearing around like crazy back there, or because of all the exposed tree roots, frozen ground and lanscaping rocks... who knows. Anyone know a good landscaper?
1) The unluckiest canines ever
2) The biggest clutzes ever
3) Have a death-wish (or at least have some sort of sado-masochistic streak)
4) All of the above.
We had to take Marie to the emergency vet last night because she ripped the dew claw on one of her front legs. Blood. Nasty. Limping, whining. And she NEVER whines. EVER.
Greyhounds have a tremendously high pain tolerance and almost NEVER show pain unless it's pretty severe. They are so "ho-hum, la-de-da" about medical procedures -- so much that they are the donor of choice when blood is needed for another animals.
Just last month (on my birthday) we had to take Donny in because he stepped on something outside and punctured his front paw between the toes. Now Marie. And these animals have had a history... Donny's had shoulder and leg problems before, plus had some teeth extracted -- greyhounds have notoriously bad teeth. And a few years ago Marie had some surgery and stitches and stuff to repair a gash in her chest. Maybe some of you remember... ugh.
Well, we got lucky cause the vet tech was able to fix her all up by trimming up the nail and getting the bleeding to stop, and it wasn't as bad as originally thought... although still quite painful. We are going to have to do something about our backyard. I don't know if this is all happening because they're tearing around like crazy back there, or because of all the exposed tree roots, frozen ground and lanscaping rocks... who knows. Anyone know a good landscaper?
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Two days in a row?
Yes, it's true. The child is in bed for his afternoon nap, Sarah's on the couch reading, and I'm just hanging out. Sure, there's tons to do... but why do it all when there's blogging to be done?
I'm going to be moving the old Rezer pic gallery from rezer.com over to my Picasa Gallery cause I'm running outta space on my server. Seems like my host decided to change their hosting plan, so I'm unfortunately going to have to downsize in order to stay within their storage limits. This means removing files, pix, music, etc... Not horrible, but still a pain in the butt. The main issue, however will be that it will also affect my clients, and I'm starting to look for a new host... which means eventually changing all the DNS, moving sites and files, setting up Email addresses, etc... and, oh yeah, paying more. Ugh.
Anyone know of a good VPS hosting company? Don't care if it's Linux or Windows... but I think Linux is preferred since I have a few clients using PHPList and PHPForms. Lemme know... and the cheaper, the better...
Got a new webcam, too, courtesy of GeGwe and Pop (the Logitech Fusion). Quite nice. We got hooked up over Windows Live and have already made 2 or 3 video calls to them. The quality is not bad at all, and audio is pretty clear. It's not like "being there", but it's probably the next best thing. If anyone's out there with a similar setup, lemme know... we'll chat. Windows Live ID is jrezer at live.com.
PS: My buddy Erik is launching his second new product, Pizza Box Baseball, on Feb 17. Check out the site for Pizza Box Football (designed by me, of course) and look for the Pizza Box Baseball site soon!
I'm going to be moving the old Rezer pic gallery from rezer.com over to my Picasa Gallery cause I'm running outta space on my server. Seems like my host decided to change their hosting plan, so I'm unfortunately going to have to downsize in order to stay within their storage limits. This means removing files, pix, music, etc... Not horrible, but still a pain in the butt. The main issue, however will be that it will also affect my clients, and I'm starting to look for a new host... which means eventually changing all the DNS, moving sites and files, setting up Email addresses, etc... and, oh yeah, paying more. Ugh.
Anyone know of a good VPS hosting company? Don't care if it's Linux or Windows... but I think Linux is preferred since I have a few clients using PHPList and PHPForms. Lemme know... and the cheaper, the better...
Got a new webcam, too, courtesy of GeGwe and Pop (the Logitech Fusion). Quite nice. We got hooked up over Windows Live and have already made 2 or 3 video calls to them. The quality is not bad at all, and audio is pretty clear. It's not like "being there", but it's probably the next best thing. If anyone's out there with a similar setup, lemme know... we'll chat. Windows Live ID is jrezer at live.com.
PS: My buddy Erik is launching his second new product, Pizza Box Baseball, on Feb 17. Check out the site for Pizza Box Football (designed by me, of course) and look for the Pizza Box Baseball site soon!
Friday, January 25, 2008
And we have our first post of 2008...
Yes. I am lame. I say it often. So does Sarah. But that's OK...
Some notable items worth a mention...
#1 -- We had a major plumbing leak. Still trying to put the kitchen back together, but basically we needed to rip out the sink, garbage disposal, countertop and a cabinet so the plumbers could replace some old rotted-out copper pipe. It took me the better part of 4 evenings, doing a little at a time. Unfortunately the previous owners made it almost impossible to just remove the little piece of countertop I needed to without pulling out the stuff it was attached to. And to make matters worse, they used screws that were way too skinny for the job... so when trying to take them out, all the heads snapped off. Nice. This basically meant that I needed to do use a combination of a 2x4, hacksaw, hammer and tire-iron to pull out the cabinet. All while trying NOT to wake up Ethan. Let me tell you, it was QUITE the undertaking.
Anyway, it all got completed, they fixed the pipe, and luckily it was all covered under our Homeowner's Warranty, so we paid a grand total of $100. Not bad.
#2 -- Our TABLE is here! For those of who who remember the saga of the missing table, you'll recall that we needed to order a new one and it was taking 12 weeks to build and then ship. Well, it;'s here. The delivery company didn't bring it inside like they were SUPPOSED to, so Sarah and I had to muscle it off the pallate in the driveway and bring it up the stairs and inside, where we assembled it. And man... let me tell you... that table is SOLID. Freaking heavy. It's actually deceptively heavy. At least we know it's real wood... or mabe concrete. :-)
Ethan "helped" us put it together, and now it's positioned nicely in our dining room. We "retired" the highchair, and now Ethan has taken his place at "the big people table". Sarah has him sitting on pillows to eat... I haven't witnessed it yet, but I'm sure it's cute!
#3 -- We found our video camera bag, old tapes and charger! In the middle of a cleaning/purging frenzy upstairs, there it was... nestled right inside a box of old shoes. Why? I don't know... but there it was. It had been missing since we left MD in May... SO glad it's back. Now we can start filming again... although our digital camera did quite a nice job in its absence.
That's all for now... more later...
Some notable items worth a mention...
#1 -- We had a major plumbing leak. Still trying to put the kitchen back together, but basically we needed to rip out the sink, garbage disposal, countertop and a cabinet so the plumbers could replace some old rotted-out copper pipe. It took me the better part of 4 evenings, doing a little at a time. Unfortunately the previous owners made it almost impossible to just remove the little piece of countertop I needed to without pulling out the stuff it was attached to. And to make matters worse, they used screws that were way too skinny for the job... so when trying to take them out, all the heads snapped off. Nice. This basically meant that I needed to do use a combination of a 2x4, hacksaw, hammer and tire-iron to pull out the cabinet. All while trying NOT to wake up Ethan. Let me tell you, it was QUITE the undertaking.
Anyway, it all got completed, they fixed the pipe, and luckily it was all covered under our Homeowner's Warranty, so we paid a grand total of $100. Not bad.
#2 -- Our TABLE is here! For those of who who remember the saga of the missing table, you'll recall that we needed to order a new one and it was taking 12 weeks to build and then ship. Well, it;'s here. The delivery company didn't bring it inside like they were SUPPOSED to, so Sarah and I had to muscle it off the pallate in the driveway and bring it up the stairs and inside, where we assembled it. And man... let me tell you... that table is SOLID. Freaking heavy. It's actually deceptively heavy. At least we know it's real wood... or mabe concrete. :-)
Ethan "helped" us put it together, and now it's positioned nicely in our dining room. We "retired" the highchair, and now Ethan has taken his place at "the big people table". Sarah has him sitting on pillows to eat... I haven't witnessed it yet, but I'm sure it's cute!
#3 -- We found our video camera bag, old tapes and charger! In the middle of a cleaning/purging frenzy upstairs, there it was... nestled right inside a box of old shoes. Why? I don't know... but there it was. It had been missing since we left MD in May... SO glad it's back. Now we can start filming again... although our digital camera did quite a nice job in its absence.
That's all for now... more later...
Monday, December 31, 2007
Tree roots and skin staples
Ah... an intriguing title... no? Well, read on...
Donny and Marie were out for their afternoon chase the other day and Donny apparently cut his foot on something. No biggee, we thought... just cleaned it up a little and put him in his crate for the evening at about 5:30 since we were going out for my birthday dinner at Red Robin. By the time we came back, his foot had swollen up and he was limping pretty badly. After taking a look at it, it seemed like he had a small hole up underneath the toe on his front paw.
Now if you know anything about greyhounds, they do not show pain AT ALL. For him to be limping the way he was, we knew he must have really been in pain. So... off to the emergency vet we go. Sarah and I are old pros at this by now, what with Marie's frequent trips back when she needed her chest sown up multiple times after having the skin ripped open during a Christmas stay at a border... but that's a story for another time...
I called the place the vet recommended, and luckily they were open 24 hours. No appt necessary, and it's the largest facility in the tri-county area. We decided that Sarah would stay with Ethan while I took The Dons with me, so Sarah grabbed Donny's pillow, while I grabbed the Donster -- man is he heavy! -- in a cradle-carry and we went out to the car. He didn't squirm or anything, so I know he was really hurting. It was 10:30pm on my birthday. Happy Birthday, Jeff... so much for that Chimay chillin' in the fridge.
After an examination by the vet, he told me there was a puncture wound about 1/4" wide under the toe (which I had seen earlier), and they would need to sedate Donny, clean out the wound, and then staple it shut. He also recommended an X-ray, which I agreed with... just to make sure nothing was broken. It was now 12:15a...
Luckily there was nothing broken -- which would have been a whole 'nutha ball-o-wax. Donny came through with flying colors, and although he was a bit disoriented from the drugs, he limped out to the car and we headed home 1:40a...
2:15a... back home. Carried the dog inside. He didn't want to eat... just wanted to lay down somewhere. I obliged. And then went to bed myself. Whoopie... and now it's no longer my birthday. Oh well.
So we think that we're gonna have to do something in the backyard. Marie cut herslef the other day while outside, and my guess is Donny did something similar by stepping on an exposed tree root or stick or rock or something. The ground is really uneven out there, and we might have to resort to having a landscapre come in and even everything out, re-sod, etc. -- most likely a $1000+ proposition. It's either that or keep spending hundreds of dollars on doggie foot therapy. Yuk. There's no good option...
Happy New Year Everyone. For all my "animal lover" friends out there...
May your furry friends be in perfect health
And may every day in 2008 and forward
Be a reminder of what joy they bring to our lives.
Despite the hardships, vet bills, messy feet and accidents on the floor,
Despite the late night walks in the cold and incessant barking,
Despite their curious nature that often causes more harm than good...
We wouldn't trade it for anything,
Our lives are better for having them here with us.
Donny and Marie were out for their afternoon chase the other day and Donny apparently cut his foot on something. No biggee, we thought... just cleaned it up a little and put him in his crate for the evening at about 5:30 since we were going out for my birthday dinner at Red Robin. By the time we came back, his foot had swollen up and he was limping pretty badly. After taking a look at it, it seemed like he had a small hole up underneath the toe on his front paw.
Now if you know anything about greyhounds, they do not show pain AT ALL. For him to be limping the way he was, we knew he must have really been in pain. So... off to the emergency vet we go. Sarah and I are old pros at this by now, what with Marie's frequent trips back when she needed her chest sown up multiple times after having the skin ripped open during a Christmas stay at a border... but that's a story for another time...
I called the place the vet recommended, and luckily they were open 24 hours. No appt necessary, and it's the largest facility in the tri-county area. We decided that Sarah would stay with Ethan while I took The Dons with me, so Sarah grabbed Donny's pillow, while I grabbed the Donster -- man is he heavy! -- in a cradle-carry and we went out to the car. He didn't squirm or anything, so I know he was really hurting. It was 10:30pm on my birthday. Happy Birthday, Jeff... so much for that Chimay chillin' in the fridge.
After an examination by the vet, he told me there was a puncture wound about 1/4" wide under the toe (which I had seen earlier), and they would need to sedate Donny, clean out the wound, and then staple it shut. He also recommended an X-ray, which I agreed with... just to make sure nothing was broken. It was now 12:15a...
Luckily there was nothing broken -- which would have been a whole 'nutha ball-o-wax. Donny came through with flying colors, and although he was a bit disoriented from the drugs, he limped out to the car and we headed home 1:40a...
2:15a... back home. Carried the dog inside. He didn't want to eat... just wanted to lay down somewhere. I obliged. And then went to bed myself. Whoopie... and now it's no longer my birthday. Oh well.
So we think that we're gonna have to do something in the backyard. Marie cut herslef the other day while outside, and my guess is Donny did something similar by stepping on an exposed tree root or stick or rock or something. The ground is really uneven out there, and we might have to resort to having a landscapre come in and even everything out, re-sod, etc. -- most likely a $1000+ proposition. It's either that or keep spending hundreds of dollars on doggie foot therapy. Yuk. There's no good option...
Happy New Year Everyone. For all my "animal lover" friends out there...
May your furry friends be in perfect health
And may every day in 2008 and forward
Be a reminder of what joy they bring to our lives.
Despite the hardships, vet bills, messy feet and accidents on the floor,
Despite the late night walks in the cold and incessant barking,
Despite their curious nature that often causes more harm than good...
We wouldn't trade it for anything,
Our lives are better for having them here with us.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Christmas update 2007
Returned yesterday from Tuscola IL where we spent Christmas with Benji, Liz & Mimi. It was a nice visit, and we had ample time to hang out, eat, and just chill. Ethan was really pretty good, all things considered, and the doggies got along with Sampson (again). All is right with the world. We ended up not leaving until Sat AM (actually, it was more like "Noon-M") since both Sarah and I were asked to play for the big Christmas drama "A Cat Named Bruce" at VCC. Sarah also got to sing "Here With Us" (Joy Williams) with Benji on Christmas Eve and I accompanied... only after finding out that Sarah had mistakenly sent the ORIGINAL song instead of the track. DOH! Benj learned some bg strings and sang harmony while Sarah did the lead, and I pianoed. It was loverly. Sarah even had a request to sing at someone's funeral... and they weren't even dead yet. That was one of the all-time weird moments in my history as a musician... seriously.
Sarah and Liz cooked up a scrumptious Christmas feast complete with Honeybaked Ham, mashed taters, Sarah's baked apples, Cauliflower gratin (an Ina Garten recipe we saw on Food Network), rolls and a yummy salad. And dessert... whoa. Sarah made the Chocolate Hazlenut Mousse Torte again and it was freaking awesome. I'm stuffed just thinking about it.
Packed everyone up and hit the road for Decatur to visit with Sarah's aunt and uncle and cousins. Donny & Marie got to spend most of the evening in the upstairs room -- where we were going to be sleepnig -- and actually got to go crateless for the whole vacation. They did really well... perhaps that's a sign of things to come? Are they settling down perhaps? Either way, I sure am glad I broke down their crates and bungeed them to the car and then got to set them back up again after I got back... :-)
I left early Wed AM for a 5 hour drive back to Cincy with the dogs, took a shower and headed off for work. Sarah actually stayed on for another night and returns later today with Mimi & Ethan. It was nice to be a bachelor for a night (which happens rarely) and I thought I'd take advantage of it and set up the PlayStation, watch some TV or something... but what did I end up doing? Cleaning. Yep. Did the dishes, straightened up a bunch and before I knew it, it was 12:15 and time to go to bed. I invited the puppies to sleep in the bed with me sort of as a reward for their good behavior over the vacation, and I think they were kinda happy... wish I coulda taken a picture. It was a sight to behold I'm sure... :-)
Christmas pix to be posted as soon as Sarah gets abck to town. Love to all of you this Christmas season!
Sarah and Liz cooked up a scrumptious Christmas feast complete with Honeybaked Ham, mashed taters, Sarah's baked apples, Cauliflower gratin (an Ina Garten recipe we saw on Food Network), rolls and a yummy salad. And dessert... whoa. Sarah made the Chocolate Hazlenut Mousse Torte again and it was freaking awesome. I'm stuffed just thinking about it.
Packed everyone up and hit the road for Decatur to visit with Sarah's aunt and uncle and cousins. Donny & Marie got to spend most of the evening in the upstairs room -- where we were going to be sleepnig -- and actually got to go crateless for the whole vacation. They did really well... perhaps that's a sign of things to come? Are they settling down perhaps? Either way, I sure am glad I broke down their crates and bungeed them to the car and then got to set them back up again after I got back... :-)
I left early Wed AM for a 5 hour drive back to Cincy with the dogs, took a shower and headed off for work. Sarah actually stayed on for another night and returns later today with Mimi & Ethan. It was nice to be a bachelor for a night (which happens rarely) and I thought I'd take advantage of it and set up the PlayStation, watch some TV or something... but what did I end up doing? Cleaning. Yep. Did the dishes, straightened up a bunch and before I knew it, it was 12:15 and time to go to bed. I invited the puppies to sleep in the bed with me sort of as a reward for their good behavior over the vacation, and I think they were kinda happy... wish I coulda taken a picture. It was a sight to behold I'm sure... :-)
Christmas pix to be posted as soon as Sarah gets abck to town. Love to all of you this Christmas season!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Now that they have Santa, all they need is a vowel
Kyrgyzstan touted as ideal delivery hub for Santa
Oh, THAT's where he lives. Silly me, I thought he lived at the NORTH POLE!
Oh, THAT's where he lives. Silly me, I thought he lived at the NORTH POLE!
Monday, December 17, 2007
It's that time of year again...
Christmas music. Crazy malls. This year, however, I am actually DONE shopping! Gotta love Amazon.com!
There are still one or two things I would LIKE to have completed if possible, but for the most part I am done. Since Sarah took care of most of the family shopping already, I only really had to concentrate on getting some things for her. I LOVE BEING MARRIED!
Sarah's really good at the whole "present thing" -- perhaps that's because she loves Christmas so much and loves getting gifts and little "special somethings" for people. I'm truly grateful for that... and I wish I were better at it, honestly. But I'm trying...
Went to go see "Christmas in Lights" up in Mason... perhaps you've seen a video of it from past years online. It was actually featured in a Millier Lite commercial a few years ago (or was it Bud Light?), and for all you doubters, let me tell you it is 100% REAL. Check it out online here... http://www.snopes.com/photos/arts/xmaslights.asp
The display had gotten so popular that they had to move it out of this guy's neighboorhood and now it's in a local park. There are actually 4 songs that are choreographed complete with a live broadcast of the music that you tune your car radio to in order to watch the show. It was really quite cool -- and they take cars in groups, and everyone turns off their headlights... so it's really a nice viewing experience. It was definitely a fun thing to do..
We're also involved in the original Christmas play they're putting on at church -- check it out here: ACatNamedBruce.com. We'll be playing in the band Thu and Fri nigths, and then it's off to Illinois Sat AM with Mimi and the doggies to spend Christmas with Benji and Liz (and Sampson!)... we're looking forward to it. Because Monday the 24th is technically a holiday for our company, I'm taking the morning of the 26th off and will be returning to work that afternoon. It will be a nice break and a good visit, I'm sure.
There are still one or two things I would LIKE to have completed if possible, but for the most part I am done. Since Sarah took care of most of the family shopping already, I only really had to concentrate on getting some things for her. I LOVE BEING MARRIED!
Sarah's really good at the whole "present thing" -- perhaps that's because she loves Christmas so much and loves getting gifts and little "special somethings" for people. I'm truly grateful for that... and I wish I were better at it, honestly. But I'm trying...
Went to go see "Christmas in Lights" up in Mason... perhaps you've seen a video of it from past years online. It was actually featured in a Millier Lite commercial a few years ago (or was it Bud Light?), and for all you doubters, let me tell you it is 100% REAL. Check it out online here... http://www.snopes.com/photos/arts/xmaslights.asp
The display had gotten so popular that they had to move it out of this guy's neighboorhood and now it's in a local park. There are actually 4 songs that are choreographed complete with a live broadcast of the music that you tune your car radio to in order to watch the show. It was really quite cool -- and they take cars in groups, and everyone turns off their headlights... so it's really a nice viewing experience. It was definitely a fun thing to do..
We're also involved in the original Christmas play they're putting on at church -- check it out here: ACatNamedBruce.com. We'll be playing in the band Thu and Fri nigths, and then it's off to Illinois Sat AM with Mimi and the doggies to spend Christmas with Benji and Liz (and Sampson!)... we're looking forward to it. Because Monday the 24th is technically a holiday for our company, I'm taking the morning of the 26th off and will be returning to work that afternoon. It will be a nice break and a good visit, I'm sure.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Christmas in LAME-son (... I mean "Mason")
I thought it would be fun to go and do something as a family... and there's this event called "Christmas in Mason" that's about 45 minutes north of us. There were supposed to be carolers and a parade and Santa Claus and all kinds of fun events... even a parade where the doggies dressed up in Christmas outfits. I thought it would be fun.
"Thought" is the key word.
Can you say "Over Promise and Under-Deliver?"
It. Was. ROTTEN.
And I do not use the caps unsparingly. If there was a "Caps-Cap" I would use it here. Maybe this will give you an idea of how I feel about it...
HORRIBLE.ROTTEN.STUPID.POINTLESS (.com)
They should get that as their web address next year --
http://www.horrible.rotten.stupid.pointless.com
(I actually think I'll suggest that.)
It was raining a little, so I'm sure that took away from the festivities.... but it was really just a whole bunch of stores that stayed open later and a lot of teenagers walking up and down the street (4 blocks or so) throwing snowballs at each other. When the highlight of the evening is a 5-minute shuttle rider on a school bus, that's saying something.
Yeah, something ROTTEN. :-0
"Thought" is the key word.
Can you say "Over Promise and Under-Deliver?"
It. Was. ROTTEN.
And I do not use the caps unsparingly. If there was a "Caps-Cap" I would use it here. Maybe this will give you an idea of how I feel about it...
HORRIBLE.ROTTEN.STUPID.POINTLESS (.com)
They should get that as their web address next year --
http://www.horrible.rotten.stupid.pointless.com
(I actually think I'll suggest that.)
It was raining a little, so I'm sure that took away from the festivities.... but it was really just a whole bunch of stores that stayed open later and a lot of teenagers walking up and down the street (4 blocks or so) throwing snowballs at each other. When the highlight of the evening is a 5-minute shuttle rider on a school bus, that's saying something.
Yeah, something ROTTEN. :-0
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Slashdot | MP3 Format Still Gathering Momentum
Slashdot | MP3 Format Still Gathering Momentum
Quote of the Day...
"I'm just gonna go ahead and wait for MP48's, so I can play them on my HHDDVVDDBVD player."
Chris Farley lives?
Who said there's no such thing as reincarnation?
I think this baby was born in a van... DOWN BY THE RIVER!
I think this baby was born in a van... DOWN BY THE RIVER!
Monday, December 3, 2007
My pet peeves, Volume 1
Here is a list of my pet peeves, in no particular order. I'm sure I'll post more later, but here is what I've come up with so far...
- People who make their smiley faces upside-down (:
- The fact that there's no official playoff system for NCAAF. Division II schools have one... so why can't Division 1? Could it be... oh I don't know... GREED?
- People who pull into the left-hand lane before making a right-hand turn (except for Trucks -- they're allowed).
- Christmas decorations going up before Thanksgiving.
- People who don't throw their trash away when in public places (like sports arenas, movie theaters, etc).
- Stereos (and subwoofers) turned up so loud that you can't hear your OWN stereo inside your car when your windows are CLOSED.
- People who say they can "probably come" or something like that when they already know darn well they're not going to attend and just don't want to say No.
- The NFL blackout rule.
- People that won't try new types of cuisine... at least once. (Weird stuff that you'd only see on Fear Factor or Bizarre Foods doesn't count here...)
- Rude patrons.
- Form letters that don't answer the original question.
- Newspapers and other circulars that you never asked for which are delivered in little plastic baggies and that sit on your front steps until YOU have to pick them up. I wonder if we could fine their distributors for littering?
- PEOPLE WRITING IN ALL CAPS FOR NO GOOD REASON.
- People using the "Reply To All" when I don't care what they have to say, especially when I'm on a mass distribution list.
- People that let their dogs roam the neighboorhood, pooping on anything they darn well want to.
That's all for now... more to come.
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