Learning New Things

I am always game for learning new things.  I am not one of those people who goes around saying "I can't do that."  (Except when it applies to lunacy such as sky diving, bungee jumping, roller coasters, or anything else I'm afraid to do :)

With the rising costs of everything from gas to groceries, I really thought twice before taking our three beloved dogs to get groomed this month.  They are non-shedding dogs and their hair grows like humans so they get a haircut every 8 weeks.  The groomer charges $75 each for the big dogs and $45 for the little one and that is with the multi dog discount.  Yes, it cost me $195 the last time I had them groomed!  We've only had the big dogs for four months so I've only had to take them to the groomer twice.

So, after thinking about it for a while and watching a few YouTube videos on how it is done, I decided to try grooming them myself.  What's the worst that could happen?  If it turned out awful, I could just shave them down and wait for it to grow back.   The results were not too shabby if I do say so myself.  They don't glare at me when I walk by like my 13 year old does after a bad haircut, so they must like it.  It isn't perfect, but I'm sure I'll improve as I learn more.  

It did help that they were so cooperative.   They just stood there for the hour it took me to groom each one and seemed grateful when all I gave them was a peanut butter dog biscuit for their good behavior.  

I have a new respect for the dog groomer and believe they earn every penny that they charge (the back ache alone!), but I think we'll be seeing less of them.  The moral of my little story?  Try learning a new skill  - you might just save yourself money!!!  

Flip Flops

It is raining.  It has been raining since yesterday morning.  I didn't go anywhere yesterday.  The day before yesterday was gorgeous and 80 degrees.  It was so glorious that we had all of the windows in my Jeep down while driving home.  It was so glorious that one of us (not naming names, but he is 11, is very popular with the ladies, and his name starts with a G) forgot to roll up his window when we returned home.  We discovered this today when we got into the vehicle, after nothing but rain for 24 hours, and found the six month old Jeep soaked on the passenger side. :(

After drying the seats with towels, we then headed out to the post office.  I trotted in, as I always do to check our business post office box.  As soon as I entered the post office, I was flat on my back looking up at the ceiling.  I sat up, stunned, and noticed the bright yellow hazard sign warning me of the wet floor.  Thankfully nobody saw me unless there was some guy in the back watching the surveillance camera and having a good laugh.

Next, it was off to Belk to return the suit that 11 year old Gabriel didn't want to wear to his brother's Bar Mitzvah (another post to follow on that - it was awesome!) because it just didn't look right.  When we entered Belk, my daughter Havilah (age 9) decided to use her Heely's on the wet marble tile floors.  She was quickly flat on her back and embarrassed.  She cried, I consoled, and we carefully tip toed the rest of our time in the store. 

After a few more errands we headed home.  By the time we got home the rain was torrential.  My oldest son Joshua was kind enough to get out and open the garage door to minimize how soaked we got.  Everybody was in and I made the run for it.  As soon as I hit the concrete of the garage......wheee.......I was flat on my back again, except this time the pain was much worse.  I think I probably badly bruised, or maybe fractured my tail bone.  I will admit I cried and was ready to go back to bed and try to start my day all over.  I can say that this day was a pain in the A** and mean it literally!!  I will also tell you that flip flops have no traction whatsoever and are not intended to be worn anywhere but the beach or pool.  I will try to remember this from now on.

Poetry

I just found out that April is poetry month from another blog that I like to read. Shel Silverstein is one of my childhood favorites. His most famous books are aimed towards children, but he also wrote other books and some famous songs like A Boy Named Sue for Johnny Cash and One's On the Way sung by Loretta Lynn. Anytime I need cheering up, Shel Silverstein poems usually do the trick. They are timeless and funny. I love Where the Sidewalk Ends, The Giving Tree, and A Light in The Attic.

Go to www.shelsilverstein.com for some cute animated versions of his poems.

Just one more....

Here is another video that I really like for R.E.M.'s song Bad Day.

R.E.M. - The Concert

Lori and I are finally going to see R.E.M. in concert (in June) after listening to them for 20 years!!! We have been best friends since the 3rd grade. When we hit the teenage years we really started to enjoy music, especially R.E.M..

Every year we try to go to at least a few concerts together. It is our version of a girls night out. We've seen so many over the years including Sting, Live, The Cure,Toad the Wet Sprocket, Maroon 5, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Regina Spektor, and David Gray. We generally make fools of ourselves screaming and singing along. I am sure our children would be completely humiliated to be seen with us at a concert. :)

R.E.M., as I posted before, is one of our all time favorites but we have never been fortunate enough to see them in concert before. I am sure it will be one of the best concerts ever and we are really looking forward to it. The first video is Supernatural Superserious from their new album Accelerate. The second is one of my favorites called Leaving New York.

What's For Dinner?

After spending the afternoon at the hair salon finally giving my hair some much needed attention, I was greeted at the door by my three beautiful children.  They raved over the new "do" (which is really the same old do looking refreshed after I put off going to the salon for too long).  After fulfilling the compliment quota, they asked "what's for dinner?"  

I then went downstairs to my husband's office to show off the new "do" and he also complimented my refreshed style.  He then asked "what's for dinner?"  

Grrrr......

Note to self:  Never return home from the hair salon without a bucket of fried chicken. 

The Dogs

Smokie

Anka and Baron

Baron

I mentioned our Schnauzers in my last post and thought I'd share some new pictures (click on them to enlarge). We got them groomed a few days ago and they look great. I would also love to post some recent photos of the children, but haven't yet figured out how to protect the photos from being copied. If anybody knows of a way to do that, please let me know.

We adopted Baron and Anka (4 year old brother and sister) from a Schnauzer Rescue. They came from a good family and they are well behaved and trained. Baron or "Bear" for short, is a tank. He is unusually large weighing in at 100+ pounds. He looks very intimidating and spends his time patrolling the yard and house looking out for predators.

Anka is very intelligent and quick. She is affectionate and really loves to sit on your lap and snuggle. She is 90 pounds. She loves to play fetch, tug of war and hide and seek. She is also very protective and a great guard dog like her brother.

Smokie is our Miniature Schnauzer. She is going to be 10 years old this summer, though she still thinks she's a puppy. She has been with us since she was just six months old and we love her! She hates getting her picture taken because I think the flash reminds her of lightning. When we have a thunder storm she usually hides.