Are we poor ?...

Once my daughter asked if she could have something and I told her no, I didn't have any money and she did not need it. She asked me, " Mommy are we poor? ".... I just found out that friends of mine are loosing their house and it made me think back to that question my daughter had asked. I sit quietly and think of all of the people I know and love. I have been blessed to have traveled a great deal when I was younger. I have been to other countries and all over this wonderful land of ours. I have seen riots and angry mobs like the OWS people who claim to be poor. Many of them are looking for places to recharge their i pods and i phones. They act like my little child, if I can't have it now, I am poor. No children, I have seen poor. When you knock on the door of a stranger to beg for a dollar to feed your baby, when there is nothing left for you to give, that is poor. The poor in America are rich in other nations. Many of our poor have televisions, refrigerators and cars. Our poor have hope. My friends are not poor they have each other, they have love, they have God. How about you? ......Now it is time to annoy the dog again, love and peace to you all...

Shoop, shoop, shoop....

I mentioned before, my dog has ear mites and developed an infection. So I took him to the vet and he (the dog not the vet) growled. The tech immediately grabbed a muzzle. The vet treated my dog and sent me home with an antibiotic and wash solution for ears. What the vet did not send home with me was a muzzle and two techs to hold my dog down.
My dog and I disagree over the importance of the ear treatment. My son (six ft tall,190lbs) held the dog for the first home treatment. The dog growled and struggled and then gave up. My son had to go to school today....I think you can follow my story line.
First, I called my dog to me, "Come here, I have to give you medicine". He did not come to me. I was, however, able to catch him as he had fallen over on his back laughing. Afterwards he squinted his eyes at me as if to say, "I see, so that is how it's going to be."
Later I needed to wash his ear out. He saw me coming with the bottle and got up from his bed and walked away. I called him, he hid and peeked out around the couch. I pretended not to see him and nonchalantly walked near the couch. Shoop, shoop, shoop he walked out and down the hall.(shoop, shoop is the noise his feet make on the floor) I pretended that I wasn't looking for him and carried some laundry down the hall. The medicine was hidden in the laundry. He saw me and, shoop, shoop, shoop went back out to the couch. That left me with a stack of laundry to put away. I put the ear wash bottle in my pocket and after I was done with the laundry casually walked out to the living room and sat at my computer. The dog crept up to his bed next to my desk. I read my emails and watched the dog out of the corner of my eye. Soon he began twitching and jerking which told me he was sleeping. I very quietly took out the wash and leaned over towards the dog...slowly...slowly...reaching for his left year.
When 70 lb dogs wake up suddenly they can be quite fast. I think it goes back to their animal nature of survival. It can be very startling. You might fall out of your chair and you might accidentally squirt ear wash on the wall and in you own face. There may be loud cursing and the noise of a desk chair crashing to the ground. Don't give up, all of this can cause the dog to fall over laughing again. Don't miss this opportunity to treat the dog's ear.
Tonight my son will be home. Tomorrow...shoop, shoop, shoop.

Oops, I'm late posting....

I'm sorry. I told everyone I would post on Monday or Tuesday and this is Wednesday. I could blame it on having had a public school education, but the truth is I have been busy. My daughter is turning 14 on Friday. So you see I have been busy. The only thing that can interfere with a "soon to be" 14 years old birthday plans is a two and a half year old German shepherd mix with ear mites. Although there are many similarities. Both demand attention, both need to be walked, both are fashion conscious, and both are very sweet when sleeping. While the 14th birthday is a critical event (until the 15th birthday comes along) I find it difficult to agonize over whether the cake should be hot pink or iridescent purple. Don't get me wrong, I do care, I really do. It is just that I know that the cake will be eaten no matter what color it is, and then it will be gone. I want her to have what-ever cake she wants (except black...I mean it) but as I am not making it, the color needs to be explained to the cake decorator, not me. My daughter chose a dinner party (very grown-up) with all of her favorite people: her grandmother (Oma), her oldest brother, and an adult lady from our parish who epitomizes the quintessential Catholic woman. My daughter feels that this lady is a wonderful example of faith, dignity and poise. I won't mention her wild youth filled with parties and pole dancing, we will keep that just to ourselves, shall we? After all we are all about forgiveness. Any way that is why I am late posting and I'll just point out that whole forgiveness thing again, and ask for your forgiveness. Peace and love to you all...

Teaching your kids...

"Mom, it's not supposed to look like this", my daughter screams. I calmly answer, "Like what?" She responds, " Brown and covered with boogers". Oh the joy of teaching your children to cook. "Well, what is it supposed to look like?" I ask. "Not like this...it's supposed to be white".

I ask,"How do you think you can fix it?" "I know, I'll put some cheese on it", she says.

A little while later she shows it to me, " How does this look to you, Mom?"

"Like brown boogers covered in snow", I answer.

"Ewww, that's gross, I'm gonna' throw it out", she says.

Now before you all jump up and down; I don't make my kids eat things that I wouldn't eat. Also, she did taste it, brave girl that she is, and that is why she put cheese on it. It's just that my Dad didn't really respect the food tastes of kids, and after a particularly nasty lunch, I promised myself that I would not ever do that to my kids. I ask them to try things and my son even takes a microscopic sample, just to please me and show that he has good manners, but I can't see the need of forcing food on kids. There are plenty of other things to force on them. He...he...he.

So, teach your children to cook or sew or mow the lawn, but remember they are learners, not experts. Forgive them and yourself....and your parents, after all they weren't as smart as their kids and you aren't as smart as your kids. Peace and love to all...

Happy New Year...

So what can I do to start the new year right. You know, the new year means time to fix everything I have been doing wrong so as to be a perfect person...hmmm. Usually I just clean out my closets, but this year, this year, I'm going to be different, this year I will do it all. I will lose weight....too ambitious. I will catch up my photographs....okay ,that's just crazy talk. I will organize my kitchen cabinets....clean the carpets....paint the great room...... pant,pant,pant....Okay! sit down, here is some tea and a Tylenol. Really, you shouldn't get so worked up. But, it's the new year, and I have to get started. I understand, but you don't want to have a stroke do you? No, no, your right, I need to start gradually, plan my attack, think things through, after all, I have the whole year to get this done. That's better, breath deeply, you'll be fine. Right, I'll start with....the mail. There's no mail today, really, you mustn't get yourself so excited. Go take a nap, you have a whole year........