Saturday, February 10, 2007

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Monday the 12th and Tuesday the 13th

Click title for more information!



I love this show.....watch it every year if I can....

WKC TELEVISION COVERAGE

USA Network

Monday, February 12
8:00 PM - 11:00 PM ET/PT
Best of Group Competitions will be judged in the following order:
- Working
- Terrier
- Toy
- Non-Sporting

Tuesday, February 13
8:00 PM - 11:00 PM ET/PT
Best of Group Competitions will be judged in the following order:
- Sporting
- Hound
- Herding
Followed by Best In Show Judging

Friday, February 09, 2007

can I scream a tiny bit now?

okay........so somewhere down toward the connection to the sewage line I guess...maybe there is something blocked.......

cause when Noah was sitting in the tub tonight......I had the washer going at the same time......next thing I know when the washer hit the spin cycle and was spinning the water out.......it all was gushing into the tub through the seal up near the faucet as well as backing up in the toilet! I had water everywhere......I called the landlord....who seemed very unconcerned and said he MIGHT be able to get someone here tomorrow.....but probably not till sometime on MONDAY!!!!

Oh yeah.....so where am I supposed to pee or otherwise till then? Let alone Noah....who may likely freak out if he has to do his business in a bucket?

I cleaned up the floor...the tub is not yet drained out....it has been 2 hours. The toilet has finally drained down.....great. I have cleaned up the place a bit in case the landlord brings a worker over here.......but my office is a mess but they have no reason to be in there. The door can stay shut. The rest of the house is fine.....

this was not what I had planned for a Friday night. I was to be working. The landlord wanted to bring a plunger over to try that before he would ever even think about calling a plumber. AND he wanted me to help him plunge...which I told him I did not have time to do (but I think I scared him off as he never called back to even check to see how things were....and I ended up doing all the plunging by myself which did no good anyway).

He just does not want to pay the extra for an after hours plumber's call......but that goes along with being a landlord. I think I scared him off as when we were talking and I had water backing into the toilet and into the tub and Noah standing there panicking...I probably raised my voice to him on the phone a bit and told him I guess it all depended on how much damage he wanted to have to pay to get fixed later as right then more water was gushing in and there was already 2 inches on the floor.....the tub was over half full and still coming in.....and I had no time to talk to him on the phone! NO plunging was working. No amount of Liquid Plumbers is going to fix this. This is another problem obviously when the water is backing up into the tub or toilet without doing anything!

he is crazy. ....I am thankful I got a shower earlier today and it went fairly well then. I am thankful we were done with Noah's bath and rinsing the shampoo out of his hair before all this happened. I guess I should have held off on the washing of one load of clothes as things may not have escalated to this point. Maybe the landlord knows these things already and just is a laid back sorta guy who does not let anything ruffle his feathers.....I don't know. BUT it ticked me off that he did not think water gushing in around us was an emergency. When I asked him what we were to do for a bathroom for the next 1-3 days he asked me "well isn't the water going down the toilet?" HELLO?????????????? I have water backing up and running out on the floor so NOOOOOOOOO it is not going down!

breathe.......breathe.........

all is well now.....to hell with it. I will let the water drain. We will make do. I will somehow make peeing or heaven forbid pooping in a bucket FUN for Noah.......or take him to McDonalds and let him go there. I will somehow magically rise and shine and get my sorry ass out of bed or off the sofa and re-dressed in time after working tonight/tomorrow morning....just IN CASE they decide to show up to check out the problem tomorrow. ( I'll be damned if I am going to call and make arrangements on fixing this. I have called him twice this week already....this time on an emergent basis....he seems unconcerned. ) This could mean less than 4 hours of sleep I am sure. Fine...I can sleep in my clothes...that cuts down on a step. I am not going to have them come into my home with me not here to work on anything....so I guess my plans of doing much else will be put off till I know for sure they have been here and are done and gone.

Okay.....I need to put that load of clothes in the dryer.....spin water out of towels......and hang to dry for now...as they will need washing but I am not sure I can do another load without the same thing happening and crap I may need them again for the same thing so I may as well wait. I want to finish sweeping...baking cookies for Noah and a few other things here...... so much for my working......at least not yet.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

ANNA NICOLE SMITH HAS DIED

Being True to the Inner You



We each operate within belief systems that are in no way exactly the same, even if there exist some similarities between them. In a way, we each walk around within our own bubble colored by our past experiences and the understandings and conclusions we've made about ourselves and the world at large from these experiences. We co-exist within multiple realities, yours, mine, hers, his, and so on. The beauty of this is that reality becomes about what's true for you at this moment. Before you can understand the true nature of your reality however, you have to look within and find out what your stored conclusions are.

For the most part, these are not at the forefront of our conscious awareness and so require us to look within and examine the layers of our attitudes. We have to check-in with ourselves and find out what our fears are and why we have them. What are they? Are there fears about our immediate world or are they shadows that we haven't faced? Look around your immediate surrounding. Are your fears about the world in this moment, your attitudes, based on what is immediately around you? Or is it based upon your perception of someone else's reality? If the latter, can you really know someone else's whole reality or do you only see the small snippet of the outer end? What does this mean?

We have to check-in with ourselves and find out how we define who we are. How do you define who you are? Is it through the identities you hold or is there something more to you? Are you friend, wife, son, daughter, and so on? Or is there something more?

In essence, you begin the train of questioning as to who you are, what you want out of life, what you think life has been about so far and where it is going, and engage with the layers of your inner understanding. It is only from here that you can begin to honor your own truth. To honor it, you have to first know it.

Being true to the inner you begins by understanding what your internal conclusions about yourself and the world are, and working within your own perspective to grow toward your version of truth. Khalil Gibran's poetic words on self-knowledge convey this beautifully when he writes "Say not, I have found the truth, but rather, I have found a truth." The point is that, no one can claim and convince you that there is only one truth. No one can come or should come and claim to you that they have your truth. What's more is that your version of truth will evolve as you do, as you grow and change.

Let the rose of self-recognition blossom in your heart so that you can live life directly from it

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

just misc. junk

So I take a shower this morning after getting my 4 hours of sleep....no...I guess it was actually 4-1/2 hours of sleep. Figured the shower would help me wake up. I noticed about halfway through the water was starting to gurgle a lot and then not drain properly. SO I am thinking 'oh great, we have frozen pipes or something clogged' so I finish the shower and get the plunger......and all this sludgy crap comes up.......I clean the hair from the drain.......and the water is sorta going down the drain a bit better. I then heard gurgling in the toilet....and in the pipes around the toilet.....thinking oh great.....has anyone flushed this yet this morning......remembering I had and Noah had. SO I flushed it......and noticed the water level rising in the toilet bowl.....so I stuck the plunger in there........and it went down......a bit.......not much.....but did not overflow.

Then I see that the two problems are connected.....somewhere......cause when the toilet water drains out of the bowl.......it seems to be coming up into the tub. NOW this is CLEAN water........not sewage and crap......we are not flushing down toilet water after we used it. SO I flush and plunge a few more times....turn on the scalding hot water in the tub........I called the landlord....thinking maybe there is more of a problem than just something clogged.

While talking to him I finally got the tub draining.........and the toilet is getting better.....so I am hoping whatever was in there stuck is moving along.

The landlord did make a proposition.....NO...not that kind. He said since I have been a very good renter and I had originally expressed an interest in buying this home....he wanted to know if come summer when my rent lease is up if I might be interested in buying the house because they are thinking about selling it already......and they would like to sell it to me (on land contract to make money)....since I am a good renter and showed interest in it.

I told him I appreciated the offer but would have to see what life was throwing at me by then.....as right now I was only able to work part-time hours which means I am no longer generating the income like I did before. I COULD work more if I can ever figure out a schedule that actually works........I have been trying to do that now for a year......and so far I still am not past part-time......or barely. SO.....I told him I would definitely consider it.

Downside is...if he is really going to sell it and I do not buy it.......I may be looking at yet another move in 6 months! I moved 3 times last year....and right now would not even have the money to make another move let alone deposits and all that crap. At this rate I will be charging everything in my life which is not good unless I can get a grasp on my hours and work schedule along with the rest of my life! BUT......if I do......I will seriously have to consider buying this then or letting it go....and maybe getting something else somewhere else. This house is nice and the location is great....but there are times when a slightly larger house would be even better.....Noah could definitely use a separate room for his school stuff and therapy stuff. I could use my own office area......etc. We are better than we were before but still a bit shy on space......and now Noah is wanting to get into model RR trains.....set those up. You really need like a basement area for that.

SO lots to think about. We shoveled snow last night even though I guess I did not really have to. My 4-wheel truck would get over any snow in the drive...but I do like to keep it cleared off to get the mail etc.

It is sunny......and already 12:17 and I still have work a bit....have a bite to eat......homeschool Noah.......and work on putting some things away in the house. I am thankful the landlord did not come out or have to today....I still have all my Christmas boxes of ornaments sitting here waiting to be taken back to the garage and put away.....but it has been a bit too chilly to be out there for an hour or two moving stuff around!

AND I got an abrasive comment on my Dear Noah blog....from someone against paddling kids for any reason. They were commenting on one of my posts from 2004 where I said I had paddled....aka swatted......Noah on the butt to get his attention. This was through his diapered butt. Oh well......I am not going to get into it here.

I try to let things be....let it go......just take things for the way they are. I made a vow this year to embrace it all......good or bad.....and that is what I will still be trying to do. Grab what I can when I can....and hopefully give a little back too.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

sparkly snow...

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well the astronut has had attempted murder charges added to her accusations....

I definitely believe with what she was carrying she intended to murder that other woman.

If you check out the pic of her now and before.....she does not even look like the same woman anymore....wow....what a bizarro story

freezing temperatures


with these freezing temperatures I have to think about all the people out there on the streets without a home or place to go inside to stay warm at least. Here where I live now I see few homeless people on the streets. In Denver I saw it everyday....at least 100 people or more every day lying on the sidewalks beside the shelters because there was no more room inside. They would be lined up in a row side by side underneath blankets to keep warm. A couple would always stay awake and stand guard...or at least it appeared that way. They did seem to watch out for one another and someone from the shelter would come out occasionally and make sure they were okay and had something hot to drink. It is pitiful when we as a nation cannot even come up with a simple solution to this but instead tend to turn out backs and allow our brothers to lie freezing in the street and homeless.

I also worry about the animals being outside during these temperatures. Natural wildlife I have no idea how they survive it. I try to put fresh seed and food out along with fresh water at least once per day for the birds and squirrels and rabbits here. I worry about dogs being left outside.

My grandmother has a neighbor who has put a dog outside in a pen and basically forgotten it......it is an old rickety wooden fence about 3 feet high all around....chewed down at the tops. His name is Joe. He is a sweet dog.....deserving so much more than the life he has there in that pen. He is left outside no matter the weather. It can be pouring down rain and lightning outside and he will be there. His owners do NOT clean up the dog poop in the pen......which is now nothing but a mud floor with big PILES of poop all over. Only the storms clear that down a little bit. He has no grass to walk on......no gravel.........no sawdust or straw. It is mud. There are huge holes in the ground probably where Joe dug......when it rains his pen fills with standing water and you can see him out there standing in mid-leg deep rain mud puddles. It is pitiful. Everyone told me he was mean and I thought to myself I could not blame him if he was. What crappy world he must live in. Never having company....never being talked to......never being touched or stroked or played with. His little igloo doghouse is far too little for him now. It also sits over a deep hole.......which he probably had to dig in order to have room inside the house.....maybe it is like a foxhole for him then. Someplace to get in and snuggle down for the night.

Anytime I go visit my grandma Noah and I take treats to Joe. We always go out to him. When I first heard he was mean I was leery about going up to him. He was always barking and wanting to jump the fence to get to you.....but he looked like he was always smiling at us. I started to go over and take him treats......talking to him......petting him. He was the gentlest dog I have ever known....just soaking it all up. SO now every time we go over we stop and talk to Joe. We pet him...play with him a tiny bit and feed him treats which he loves. When it is time to go we always go by and tell him goodbye...petting him again......he always has a sad look on his face then. He little spirit looks completely broken. I know the owners have been turned in to the Humane Society before........and yet Joe remains outside in those conditions. I am afraid if they were turned in again......Joe might get put down. Some would say he would be better off.

I just wish there were a way I could have him. He looks like the dog that plays Air Bud.
I have yet to take pictures of him or his pen. I should. NO ONE would believe the conditions he lives in. Pure filth....and yet he always has a lot of love to give to me...and will still act like he wants to play. I hope during these temps they have at least made it to where he can get in the garage to keep warm.

I wish someone would put the owners out on the street for a night or two......do something to wake them up to what they are doing to that poor dog. See these owners are really bad....because they have another dog.......and they keep that one inside all the time. SO they have 2 dogs......Joe......who has been left outside since a pup......and this other dog......who never goes out other than to play or pee/poop. Joe only gets to watch life go by on the sidelines.

life can be so crappy sometimes......and I wish I could wave a magic wand and take away all the pain and suffering from so many......including those who can't even speak for themselves.

I can't have a pet right now where I live. IF I could I would do something I have never done before. I would go steal that dog and bring him to my house and give him a good home. He would have a nice yard to run and play in......a place to stay warm and out of the bad weather when it was bad......he would be given a lot of love.

It breaks my heart to think that he is out there again today......when the wind chill is about 15 below zero.......he probably has no fresh water......no warm place to be....he could be lying out there frozen fast dead to the ground and the sad part is.....his owners would not even know it. I am sure when they feed him they just dump it and go. They never check to see if he is even around.

has anyone seen this??? holy crap

ORLANDO, Fla. - A

NASA astronaut charged with attempting to kidnap a romantic rival in a love triangle with another astronaut was allowed to go free on bail Tuesday on the condition that she not contact the alleged victim.

The judge told Lisa Marie Nowak she could be released on $15,500 bond, then asked if she understood the conditions. She responded "yes."

Nowak, a married mother of three, stood in a jail uniform, looking down during most of the hearing. She planned to return home to Houston, and the judge ordered her to wear a tracking device.

The 43-year-old robotics specialist faces charges including attempted kidnapping, attempted vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery.

Police said she drove 900 miles, donned a disguise and was armed with a BB gun and pepper spray when she confronted a woman she believed was a competitor for the affections of Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, an unmarried fellow astronaut.

Nowak rode aboard Discovery in July. Oefelein, 41, piloted the space shuttle Discovery in December. They trained together but never flew together.

Nowak told police that her relationship with Oefelein was "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship," according to an arrest affidavit. Police found a love letter to Oefelein in her car.

According to authorities, Nowak believed another woman, Colleen Shipman, was romantically involved with Oefelein. When Nowak found out Shipman was flying to Orlando from Houston, Nowak decided to confront her early Monday, according to the arrest affidavit.

Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers in the car so she wouldn't have to stop to go to the bathroom, authorities said. Astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry.

Dressed in a wig and a trench coat, she waited for Shipman's plane to land and then boarded the same airport shuttle bus Shipman took to get to her car, police said. Shipman told police she noticed someone following her, hurried inside the car and locked the doors, according to the arrest affidavit.

Nowak rapped on the window, tried to open the car door and asked for a ride. Shipman refused but rolled down the car window a few inches when Nowak started crying, the statement said. Nowak then sprayed a chemical into Shipman's car, the affidavit said. Shipman drove to the parking lot booth and police were called.

An officer reported following Nowak and watching her throw away a bag containing the wig and BB gun. Police also found a steel mallet, a 4-inch folding knife, rubber tubing, $600 and garbage bags inside a bag Nowak was carrying when she was arrested, authorities said.

Two other astronauts attended the hearing. Steve Lindsey, commander of Nowak's Discovery flight last July, testified that Nowak would obey the conditions of her release.

Chris Ferguson, a pilot on the mission, also attended the hearing. Asked afterward about Nowak's behavior, Ferguson said "perplexed is the word I'm sticking with."

Oefelein and Shipman, who the Houston Chronicle said worked at Patrick Air Force Base near the


Kennedy Space Center, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

NASA spokesman James Hartsfield in Houston said that, as of Monday, Nowak's status with the astronaut corps remained unchanged. "What will happen beyond that, I will not speculate," he said.

Hartsfield said he couldn't recall the last time an astronaut was arrested and said there were no rules against fraternizing among astronauts.

Police said Nowak told them that she only wanted to scare Shipman into talking to her about her relationship with Oefelein and didn't want to harm her physically.

"If you were just going to talk to someone, I don't know that you would need a wig, a trench coat, an air cartridge BB gun and pepper spray," said Orlando police Sgt. Barbara Jones. "It's just really a very sad case."

According to NASA's official biography, Nowak is a Naval Academy graduate who has a master's degree in aeronautical engineering. She has a teenage son and younger twin girls.

Oefelein has two children and began his aviation career as a teenager flying floatplanes in Alaska, according to a NASA biography. He studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University and later earned a master's degree in aviation systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute. He has been an astronaut since 1998.

I cannot believe she basically got only a slap on the wrist. She is obviously a bit psychotic....and this is the caliber of people they are sending up into space representing our country? I don't know about you but I most certainly would NOT feel any safer if I was that other woman knowing she is back out on the streets! Did you read what all she had with her? Sounded like she was going to kill that other woman. She is obssessed about another man who is not with her too......I am just gonna have to sit and shake my head on this one for awhile.....



Monday, February 05, 2007

amazing new singer from Chicago just starting out - (for you tony)

some interesting quotes

Aristotle..."Men create gods after their own image, not only with regard to their form but with regard to their mode of life."

Abraham Lincoln..."It will not do to investigate the subject of religion too closely, as it is apt to lead to infidelity."..... "My earlier views of the unsoundness of the Christion scheme of salvation and the human origin of the scriptures have become clearer and stronger with advancing years, and I see no reason for thinking I shall ever change them." ....."I am not a Christian."

Mark Twain..."Faith is believing what you know ain't so."..... "Man is the religious animal. He is the only religious animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion---several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat, if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven."

Joseph Campbell..."What gods are there, what gods have there ever been, that were not from man's imagination?"

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Home - by Katharine McPhee

(I LOVE this song...click on the title link above to hear it)

Mmmmmmmmmm
Yeah

You are the world within the world that I exist
You are the touch that just won't fade
You are the end and beginning of each and every day
You are the reason I stay sane

It's hard to see beautiful
Oh, it's hard to see beautiful
In your own eyes
But you make me beautiful
For the very first time

Does anybody know what it's like
To feel larger than life
To look deep in your soul
And know you're not alone
Does anybody know how it feels
To find something that's real
And make it your own
That's when you know that you found home
Home
You found home
Home

And when the strings inside me
Unravle to the ground
You are the hand that gathers me up
And when I'm laughing so hard
That I can hardly breathe
How do you know just when enough's enough

Oh, it's hard to feel beautiful
Oh, it's hard to feel beautiful in your own skin
But you make me
You make me beautiful
Over and over again

Does anybody know what it's like
To feel larger than life
To look deep in your soul
And know you're not alone
Does anybody know how it feels
To find something that's real
And make it your own
That's when you know that you found home
Home
You found home
Home

Don't let me down
'Cause I've waited all my life
To find, yeah

Does anybody know what it's like
To feel larger than life
To look deep in your soul
And know you're not alone
Does anybody know how it feels
To find something that's real
And make it your own
That's when you know that you found home
Home
You found home
That's when you know that you found home
Home
You found home
Home