The Dog Park

I just noticed I haven't posted since we got our French Bulldog puppy, "Daly," last weekend! He is just the sweetest boy! Potty training has been a handful though! He's... stealthy. Lol. He has been my constant companion coming to work with me almost every day. He loves to meet people and is very submissive to people. He is still learning proper greetings around other dogs though. He becomes very dominant and alpha-dog unless corrected. We took him to the dog park today so he could practice meeting other dogs and perhaps get some exercise. He did surprisingly well! We kept him on leash for the first 10 minutes or so since he was a little nervous and it was his first time around so many other dogs. Eventually we felt comfortable letting him loose once he saw how much fun the other dogs were having! Soon after he was running full speed ahead (which isn't nearly as fast as the other dogs with his stocky build, lol) chasing other dogs, being chased, and playing with frisbees and tennis balls! Needless to say he's been sleeping the rest of the day, in fact he fell asleep in the car on the way home. I forgot the camera so we didn't get any pictures.:-( Once Daly started to play with the other dogs, Steve and I looked at eachother and both said at the same time, "we should have brought the camera!"
The dog park we took him to was really nice too. It has two huge separate fenced-in areas for small and large dogs. There are trees, grass, and sandy areas for dogs that like to dig! There is also a small agility course.
I can't wait to take him again on the next nice day we get!

Dad-Gummed Auto Correct!

The auto correct on my iPhone and iPad drives me crazy! I was recently posting a comment on The Pioneer Woman's blog, and the auto correct when I entered my web address corrected my site to be located at bloodspot.com instead of blogspot.com. Gross! You would think Steve Jobs could think up an app so that the iGadgets could differentiate when they are being inappropriate. I about grossed out an entire blogging community.
Luckily, I noticed it before I hit "Submit."
Phew.

Iced Over

The weather-man said we were going to get 4-8 inches of snow (Lies!). We got more like 1 inch of snow but a lot of ice. This was somewhat disappointing. I expected to be able to run out in it (and NOT break my neck going down our front steps) and make snow angels and snowmen and send pictures to all my California family and friends who would then be insanely jealous of our good fortune here in good ol' Alabama (the Southern drawl squeaks out sometimes... sorry). But, because of the ice and Alabama's lack of salt and sand trucks, the whole state has shut down. Major roads and freeways are closed. schools and businesses are closed. And my family in Wisconsin (who regularly sees several inches if not FEET of snow every year) is laughing at our silly state for wigging out over a little ice and an inch of snow.
I am starting to feel the effects of a little bit of cabin fever, since we haven't left the house since Saturday night. (I'm antsy anyway with our upcoming trip to Mississippi next weekend to pick up our PUPPY!) :-)Steve took a look at our driveway and instead of walking back to the house, slid back down the driveway. It's a regular skating rink right now!
Please, please. Don't tell me what the temperature is in California.

A special shout-out to my good friend Heather for inspiring me to blog again by starting a new blog of her own, Life As I Know It. http://pinkleopardandbows.blogspot.com/

Busiest. Day. Everrrrr.

Work today was hectic. No lunch for anyone today. We had a fully booked morning and a fully booked afternoon as well as 5 anesthetic procedures and a host of dropped off pets to be seen. I was so exhausted when I got home I had a bagel and half of a pint of Ben & Jerry's for dinner. Straight outta the carton. Yeah, I said it! Then I painted my fingers and toes some cool silver color that ended up being free from Ulta and now my fingers remind me of some kind of weird space suit from some bad 50's alien movie. It's AWESOME!
Ttyl,
Hilabee

Random Clicking

Ever have those times where you get online and start randomly clicking and find something amusing and then wonder, "how did I get to this?" Well, today, somehow, I got from the Pioneer Woman blog to this: (It took a little while to load for me, but its worth it!)

Enjoy!


<3 Hilabee

Oh The Thunder and Rain

We had a thunderstorm this afternoon. I love thunderstorms! I could also see flashes of lightning while I was sitting in the living room so I opened the front door and just watched and listened to the down pour through the storm door. I only had the radio on in the house so I turned it real low. I watched the way the rain drops make circles in the puddles they land in. And how pretty it looks when the water drips off the bare trees. And I listened to the thunder and thought how maybe it's God's stomach growling... And I thought about how the lightning reminds me of a camera flash. I just took a deep breath and stopped to enjoy it. Usually I just curse the rain and hope it stops soon. But today, it felt refreshing, and I knew it was watering the trees, and who doesn't like trees? Anyway, I'd encourage you to stop and enjoy it next time it rains. And wear your golashes if you have to go anywhere!
<3 Hilabee

The Wal-Mart.

Out here there are not just Wal-Marts and Targets. There are Super Wal-Marts and Super Targets. These “Supers” are regular Wal-Marts and Targets that have groceries in addition to all the other regular junk they carry. They have produce, meat, dairy, everything. And they tend to be less expensive than other grocery stores. But I have discovered that I hate them. And here’s why:
1. They do not have baggers. Never underestimate the value of your neighborhood grocery store bag-boy or girl. They expedite the bagging process and get you out of the store in a jiffy. They don’t have baggers at the “Supers.” The cashier has to scan, sort, and bag all your groceries as well as countless other things you picked up that you don’t really need from the non-grocery area of the store (because Wal-Marts and Targets are prime impulse-buy territory). Side note: I once had a checker at Super Target and her name was AquaNetta. No joke. Anyway, needless to say, when you are one-stop shopping in one of these “Supers,” the number of items in your cart can be quite high. So, mathematically, increased number of items to purchase – a bag boy or girl = you waiting for 20 minutes while the checker scans/bags your items. And people behind you become impatient. And they huff and puff and go to other lines. (I’m guilty of this.)
2. They suck at line-management. This is especially bad at Wal-Marts. There are 500 people in line at 3 check stands. Do they open any more check stands? No. And because of the lack of baggers, the lines move slower than a snails pace. I think more time was spent actually waiting in line than collecting my items for purchase.

Recently, I discovered that there is a standard Wal-Mart grocery store near our house. It’s a Wal-Mart. But it’s just a grocery store. It’s missing what makes it “Wal-Mart” in the first place: all the junk that regular Wal-Marts sell. Anywho, I decided to go see if it was any better than the “Supers,” and to my surprise, it was much less crowded with shorter lines. When I had finished my shopping and was walking up to find a check out line, a checker was standing by her check stand waiting for someone to check. She said “Hey! Over here!” And so I went over there and she proceeded to unload my groceries from my cart. When I went around to help her, she said “no, no, I got this, you stay over there.” I thought, “wow, how nice!” Then she checked and bagged all my groceries (still no baggers here, but it wasn’t so bad with the shorter lines) and get this: she tied the handles of all my bags for me. Without me asking her to. This is something that I do anyway when I load my bags into my trunk to keep stuff from rolling out of the bags. I told her that was very nice of her because I was going to do it outside, and she said it’s so cold outside she likes to do it so people don’t have to. (<:-0!!!!!  my look of astonishment) She even chatted with me the entire time she was bagging my groceries, saying that even though tying the bag handles lowers her check times, she doesn’t care because it helps people. What a nice girl! I almost want to write a letter. 