Friday, November 30, 2007

Celebrity dog!!

So I was just doing a little "research" for Santa so he can bring us (I mean, Emily) the perfect little orange kitty for Christmas. (See post below.) I clicked on the website of the shelter where we adopted Scooter, and the homepage had been updated to read, "The pets above have all found loving homes." Please see the pets here: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TX54.html
The smiling Jack Russell on the bottom row, second from the left is our pooch! We're so proud.

To answer one question

A kindly blog reader recently asked how our cats and dogs are doing. Well, I have sad news (which I don't think I've mentioned on this site yet): My vet -- whom I'd accused of being a "glass half-empty" type when she examined our cat Spot -- was actually just being an observant doctor. Turns out Spot did have cancer, as she'd suspected, and we had to put him to sleep.
Everyone who has ever endured that torture knows how bad it is, so I don't need to go into detail.
We're now down to two cats and a dog, who is barking like crazy right now because he wants in the house. I would let him in, but then I'd have to throw the golf ball for him 10,000 times in a row and would therefore have a tough time typing. He's just gonna have to wait his turn!
Three pets is probably enough for most families, but when Emily mentioned that she wants to ask Santa for "an orange kitten that can fit in my hands," my eyes lit up. What can I say, I'm a Leo.
Just imagine the thrill on Christmas morning when she finds a LIVE BEING waiting for her instead of boring old inanimate toys. (I'm assuming Jake will be fine with the aforementioned boring old inanimate toys.) I'm so excited. I hope Santa comes through for her! Mike, on the other hand, is crossing his fingers that Santa hits some sort of snafu when it comes to this gift. But he won't.
The only potential problem: As I talked up this plan to my hubby, I heard myself promising to take over the litter-box duties full-time if Santa delivers OK (orange kitten. Hey, wouldn't that be a cute name?). I've promised to start my new position on Dec. 20.
I sure hope OK -- and a certain red-haired girl -- appreciate this.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

It's always the little things that get to us, isn't it? Below are two phone-calling-related features that I would like to see gone by the year 2008:
1. The paging option. Oftentimes, as you start to leave a voice mail, the lady on the other end says, "To page this person, press 5 now." Why? There is no need for this service in the 00's. The person will get the page (just some random phone number) and a voicemail/text (containing actual INFO!) at the same time. It's not like the page prompts someone to run through the streets and shout, "Paging Bob Anderson! Paging Bob Anderson!" No. All you get is this on your phone: "bling!" Just like a voice mail.
2. The Workplace Automated Phone Directory. First, a question: Has anyone ever, in the history of phone calling, had success with this system? Here's what happens when I try: I'm asked to type in the entire last name of the person I'm trying to reach. OK. Heavy sigh as I look up corresponding numbers for the name Gulbransonowitz. (It's never "Brown.") My task complete, I hit the pound sign. Whew! I do a happy dance.
The recording then says one of two things:
- "You typed 'Bob Smith.' If this is incorrect, press the star key and start over." OR:
- "This is not a recognizable name." (I got this one the other day as I tried to reach the CEO of a company. I'm sure his name is, in fact, recognizable to the staff.)
Perhaps I missed my calling as a phone-company executive.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Howdy, strangers!


OK, how sad is this: Once I FINALLY decided to post a new item, I couldn't remember my own blog address! Pathetic.

Let me first explain why I've been such a horrible blog owner: At one point or another, I decided to just let it die out. Not even sure WHY I decided that now. I guess I just assumed no one was reading it and that I had approximately 457 other things to do in a day, so something had to go.

But then I'd occasionally get an email from one of you lovely Seattleites (sp?), wondering if I was still alive and kicking. Someone cares! :) So thanks to the person who wrote to me yesterday (his or her name is "Anonymous") I shall begin blogging anew. With regularity, even!

So how have you been? (I'm assuming there's one person reading, so we'll keep it as the singular "you.") Life here is good, but frantically busy as always. My brother and his family are coming over for Thanksgiving, and for the first time ever I'm going to try to make my mom's stuffing. Suffice it to say that it's a two-day process with plenty of opportunities for disaster. But I'm up for the challenge! Got my game face on!

The kids are great, Mike's great, blah blah blah. (See, this is the problem with creating a blog and then ignoring it. Too much to go into with the first post back.) I still greatly miss the old EJ column; there's hardly a day that goes by that I don't think, "Wow, that thing that just happened/that witty comment from the kids/that general life observation would have made a good column." Of course, I could have just posted said thoughts on this here blog! Which is what I shall be doing in the future.

Attached is a picture of a very giddy Emily at the Hannah Montana concert last week, just because this post needs a photo. There's a story behind how we landed tickets, but I'll save that until next time.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOURS!!!!

Sincerely,

Me and Mine :)