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My World, For Better or Worse

Yesterday I took the easy way out. I grabbed someone else’s photo and just admitted that not much had happened to me on Monday.

Well, I later realized that was pretty lame. I mean, stuff happens every day, right? The question is, is the stuff interesting?

You be the judge.

As I sat at my desk, eating but not enjoying my Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Pop Tarts straight from the package, I was feeling a bit, well, confused. I usually love this particular flavor Pop Tart. Hot or cold. But they totally were not hitting the spot.

I pulled the remaining pastry from the package and saw this (photo at left). I think it is Kellogg’s way of sucking people in to buy more pastries. I wonder how well it works. What is “BG” anyway? And really, it looks ugly. And because it looks ugly, it tastes ugly. After I took this lovely photo, I re-wrapped the second Pop Tart. If I get desperate later, I might eat it. Or feed it to the dogs. Or toss it in the trash.

Speaking of the dogs…

I noticed Meg (above) was looking a bit melancholy.

So was C.

I couldn’t figure out why. Not that I wasted a ton of brain energy trying to figure it out. I was working after all. That requires lots of focus.

But I was having a hard time focusing. Maybe it was my lame-ass, half-eaten breakfast?

Perhaps it was the fact that C, who prefers hanging out under my desk while I work, had gas. (I was even feeling a bit dizzy.)

So I decided to take the dogs outside to cheer them up. And hopefully give C the opportunity to air out.

But, it was raining. And we were confronted with this, which I think you might agree is not very cheery.

Doesn’t this shot below make you shiver?

That’s when I realized it was darn cold out there. Wanna know how cold?

Yep, not only was it wet, it was a mere 44.6 degrees Fahrenheit outside. But, what was worse, was the inside temperature. Did you happen to notice that in the handy photo posted above? It was 59.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Inside.

Hmmm. I think that means it is time to switch on the heat, don’t you?

Maybe that will cheer ole C up. I’ll let you know later if it worked.

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My Food-Obsessed Dog

My dog Meg will eat ANYTHING.

Trust me when I say, you don’t want the details on that one.

It never ceases to amaze me what lengths she will go to for what she considers to be a tasty treat.

Take this series of photos as an example…

She’s licking a grill brush.

You know, one of those brushes with sharp, wire bristles.
Can you imagine touching your tongue with that?
How about licking it? I know I can’t.

It was actually pretty funny watching her.
The thing was moving. It was almost as if she was
trying play that bite-an-apple-on-a-string game.

She was quite determined.

I was almost convinced she wasn’t going to full-out lick the thing.

I thought maybe she’d get frustrated and give up.

I was wrong.
Apparently she was just trying to get the angle right.
(That white blob in the shot is my other dog, C.)

Then I started wondering when her tongue would start bleeding.
I mean, tongues are sort of tender, right?

I just knew bloodshed was inevitable.

I was wrong again.
That doesn’t happen often.
Me being wrong, that is.
Just ask Hubby.

Wait. What’s this!?!

For a minute, actually a very quick second,
I thought C, more mentally unstable than Meg
but way, WAY pickier about what she puts
in her mouth, was going to join in.

She didn’t.

Right about then, I got tired of watching.

I made the dumb-ass stop licking the grill brush.

And that’s where today’s post ends.

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The Daily Conundrum

The thing about having a blog is that, on a daily basis, I have to think of something creative to talk about. Or at least something mildly interesting. Funny works, too. And I have to come up with an image to accompany the post because, as I have said a million times, image-less posts are just not as interesting. In my opinion.

I am usually able to find a shot of my own to use. Or I just go to Flickr and use someone else’s. (That’s not stealing, by the way. Most pictures in Flickr have a BLOG THIS option for that specific reason. In case you were wondering.)

Weirdest Discovery: This week I stumbled across a blog post that in itself isn’t weird, it is what the author innocently exposed that still has me marveling at the strangeness of humanity. After you read through her post, look at the 8th comment. If you don’t look at the 8th comment, you totally won’t get the strangeness I am referring to.

Interesting Pictures (someone else’s): I forget how I stumbled across this lady’s blog. Maybe through the Shutter Sisters blog, which I have to give Shannon credit for pointing out to me.

Cool Video: This really isn’t a video. It’s a slide show I did a while back featuring my dogs, Meg and C. Some of you have seen it before. Sorry, but I really like it.

Wanna know what’s coolest about it? At the end of the slide show, I mentioned that both of my dogs came to us through American Brittany Rescue (ABR). Soon afterward, I noticed other rescue groups posting slide shows and/or videos of dogs available for adoption. Like this one, which is very well done, from someone at the National Brittany Rescue and Adoption Network (NBRAN). That’s not a rival group; ABR and NBRAN work together frequently, especially on transports.

Most-Helpful Writing Tips: I could share some tips of my own or just take the easy way out and point you to sites like this one.

Subtle (and not-so-subtle) Humor: Or point you to sites like this, which Hubby introduced me to, that regularly features offbeat news (weird, strange, crazy and odd stories) and photos.

Useful Tools: I could be really boring, too, and point you to sites like this one, which for some strange reason I don’t have bookmarked even though I refer to it frequently. Or this one, which could be really useful in deciding where to go for your next vacation.

Interesting Links: I could just fill my blog with lots of different links (like I did here).

Cliffhanger: Or I could be really mysterious and say something like…

Have you noticed a theme with frog pics lately? Wanna know why I keep posting pictures of my stupid frog tchotchkes? Do you think there is an actual reason? Stay tuned to find out…

Or… I could do all of the above to save myself from having to make such an important decision so early in the morning.

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P.S. – In case you missed the previous frog pics, the first was at the very bottom of this post, the second was posted yesterday, and the third is at the top of this post. I might post a fourth, I haven’t decided yet.

P.P.S. – I did have to go to that unbookmarked site again to find out how to spell “tchotchkes.” In case you were wondering.

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Two for Two and Cute Doggie Lips

Yep, I walked again today. With Meg, who actually might need the walks just as much as I do. But for different reasons. Which I won’t go into because I spend far too much time talking about Meg.

She’s not our only dog, you know.

There’s also CeCe, our little princess, who was, after all, our first dog. I can’t take C along because she has issues. Lots of issues, actually, but the one that prevents me from taking her along is intestinal. The poor girl has had diarrhea off and on for a while now. We’re still trying to get to the bottom of it (yes, we’ve been to the vet).

When she has to go, she has to go. The end result is usually a puddle. So, if she goes on someone’s lawn, I can’t pick it up. Then my neighbors would consider me one of THOSE PEOPLE that don’t pick up after their pets!

When we left this morning, C was busy chewing her “chewy.” In this case, a bully stick. You don’t REALLY want to know what that is, so just think of it as a dog treat. Which it is, of course.

C loves them. Just look at the way she is focused. What I find interesting is how she uses her hands to hang on to it while she chews.

The girl is in dire need of a pedicure. Which she hates, by the way. Just another one of her many issues.

One of the things I love about C is her hairy lips. Looking at her hairy lips, that is. Aren’t they cute? Seriously.

This is one of the pictures her foster mom sent me when we were considering adoption. I just couldn’t say no to those lips. The rest of her body looked pretty pathetic (she was neglected and seriously underweight).

Could you say no to those lips? I mean, really. Aside from the hair, don’t they look painted on? And puckered into a kiss? Mike and I sure thought so. Especially since, at the time, Amy favored lipstick that was almost exactly that color (sorry, Amy, but it is true).

Here, have a closer look…

Lucky for us, C is not a kisser. But I still think she has really cute lips.

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Meg’s Moods

It isn’t just me that would rather be anywhere but here. Really.

I’ve often told people that Meg pouts when we are at our Maryland house. They usually say something like “Oh yeah?” and/or a slight nod that says, “Yeah, whatever. A dog that pouts.”

So I decided to take some pictures. Now I have proof. The following pictures were shot over the course of a few days.

Does that look like a pout to you?

How about this one?

I guess she doesn’t look TOO pathetic here.

She looks pretty sad in this one.

This one, too.

Now, she looks REALLY sad here.

But things are looking up. That’s because I just told her we’d be going to “the WV” soon.

Once she gets to our humble little cabin in the woods, she’s a happy girl once again.

You can see she’s smiling here.

This is Meg, totally in her element.

You be the judge. She went from this…

…to this.

So, would you agree that my dog pouts? Or am I just guilty of hopeful pet-owner personification?

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I’d Rather Be in West Virginia

Continuing with yesterday’s Anywhere But Here theme…

As most of my loyal readers know, Hubby and I built a house in West Virginia. Literally. Over a period of three years, we spent every free weekend there laboring away.

Our WV property is just under six acres. We’re a two-mile drive from the main road, surrounded by woods on all sides. There’s a road below the ridge behind us–Poland Hollow Road–but with only a few houses, the road isn’t very busy.

This is why we feel pretty safe letting our dogs roam free. They never go very far and usually don’t stay away from the homestead very long. They both enjoy it there. Meg likes it far more than C. In fact, Meg LOVES it. Her tail usually wags for hours after we arrive.

Meg really is a country dog at heart. The girl loves to run. In WV there’s space to do just that. She’s in her element.

I always tell people that she pouts when we are at home in Maryland. Today’s picture is evidence. That’s pretty much how she looks all week. Until she sees us packing, that is. Then she perks up considerably and is once more her usual, crazy self.

Today I’ll be heading to WV (hopefully) on my motorcycle. Hubby will follow tomorrow in the truck, bringing all our gear and the girls. The plan is to spend a four-day weekend in WV with our good friends the Spices. Riding our motorcycles by day and relaxing by night.

In other words, we FINALLY get to do what the WV place was built for.

I won’t be posting for a few days. There’s no Internet connectivity unless I ride into town and visit the library. But maybe I’ll have some good pictures when we get back.

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On another note …

Today is my Dad’s 70th birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!

Not that he’ll see this. He isn’t computer minded. But I thought the world should know.

Besides, maybe my Mom, who is computer minded, will see this and say, “Hey, look. You made it to the Internet today. Now the whole world will know it is your birthday.”

If only the whole world read my silly little Blog.