Heart Broken by a Candy

For those that know me, you know I hate Valentine's Day. I have hated it for years. I call it Evil Day. I wear all black on February 14th. The only good thing about that day is the candy. Most candies are just repeats in red, white and pink. But there are a few that only come out this time of year. All the stores have their Valentine Candy out now, so I decided to look for my favorite.

Specifically, Gobstopper Hearts. Those are one of my favorites. Every year I buy some. (Ok, I may buy quite a bit and hoard them - they are hard to find) Now, the Gobstopper Hearts are different from the regular Gobstoppers. They are thinner and have different flavors. Not every store carries them. I can only find them at Target and sometimes at Walgreens or CVS.

Today, I stopped at Target on my way home from work. No Gobstopper Hearts. So, after searching and searching the Target Valentine candy aisle for them. I left the store, disappointed. I stopped at CVS also, and nothing.

So, I drove the rest of the way home, heartbroken by Gobstopper hearts.

Happy Friday the 13th!

I'm not a very superstitious person, but I have a friend who is. And this is a story about her.

I obtained her express permission this morning to post the story on my blog, so I am not violating any codes of friendship.

Anyways, a few years back, Angie was in Germany dealing with some stressful things. I called her and she was venting and at the end of the vent she said "and to top it off tomorrow is Friday the 13th!"

Unlike me, I thought quickly and told her that in Europe, they don't believe in the superstition of Friday the 13th, it's just a USA thing. She believed me, calmed down and all was good. At this point, I am feeling relieved because she is calm, but guilty because I have lied to her and she believes me because she trusts me that much that she doesn't even question me.

Fast forward a few days and she lands back in the states. She calls me to let me know that she has arrived safely. Well, I can barely contain my laughter.

I proceed to tell her that Friday the 13th is a superstition all over, not just a USA belief. If I remember right, she may have cussed at me a bit. But, if she did, I didn't hear it over my laughing.

So, now every Friday the 13th, I call her or text her and ask her if she is leaving the country for the day.

So, Angie - did you go to Canada today? Or are you just in a Canada-state-of-mind?

My friend sent me a link to a picture of a beautiful owl. I couldn't get that picture to post, so I found another picture. Both of these reminded me of my mother. She loved her owls. I just thought I would share.

Some of you have heard an owl after she died, feeling her spirit visiting you. I have yet to have an owl visit me. You are incredibly lucky that way as I haven't had a visit, yet.

Perverted Old Men

WARNING - If you are easily offended, don't read this post.

I'm warning you, it's about a dirty old man and boobs.

..............................................................................................................................................................

Luckily, I am NOT easily offended and can spot pervy old men.

So, here's some background:

When I go to work, I dress professionally, and I don't show skin or cleavage. That being said, there are times that I may have on a new shirt or sweater that may hang differently when I move and I don't realize it until after I wear it.

So, here's the scene:

I'm working in a client's office. I step into the boss's office to review something with him. There is an elderly gentleman in there. The boss says to come on in and he and I discuss the issue. The elderly gentleman joins in with some casual conversation. I take some notes on what the client is telling me. I notice the elderly man hasn't bothered to comb his hair, but I pay little attention to him.

Anyways, the elderly man starts to move in his chair and says he needs to leave and asks me if I can do him a favor. I am thinking he is going to ask me to help him get out of the chair, as he doesn't look very mobile.

I was wrong. He sticks one foot forward and asks me to tie his shoe, stating that if he ties it he will throw out his back. I noticed that the shoe was tied, but it was tied very poorly.

Let me pause here and explain a few things. I know a few perverts (Neil) , I won't call anyone out by name..........

But, I have also seen their tricks. I won't admit to falling for any, but I have seen this trick before. (Bob)

Back to the story, since I am in a client's office, I can't be rude. And it's also not in my nature to be really rude. And, I also can't stand shoes laces tied incorrectly!!!!

Also - I am not quick with the witty comebacks.

So, I knelt down, keeping my back completely straight and brought my knees up against my chest, so there would be NO VIEW WHATSOEVER!

Yeah - the pervy old man was trying to look down my shirt. I knew it, and by the time I was done tying his shoe, he knew that I knew it.

I then went back into the conference room we were working in and shut the door and told the partner what happened. We laughed a bit. I did find it kinda funny. Like I said, I'm not easily offended.

But, I also leaned over the table we were working at to test just how loose the sweater is that I was wearing. And, dangit, I now have to take that new sweater out of rotation for work.

Looks like I need to add a "leaning test" before I leave the house in the morning.

Catching Up, Part 2

I knew I forgot to mention something in the last post. It was nagging me all night long.

I forgot to mention the Wedding of the Century! No, it wasn't Will and Kate. It was my best friend Angie and Mike!

Angie's selection of Maid of Honor was stellar! And the Wedding Coordinator couldn't be beat. Well, I am a little biased. The wedding was this past July and I had so much fun planning it, oh I mean helping her plan it. And it was an honor standing by her side as her and her husband took their vows.

The reception wasn't without a little drama, but like a true lady, I handled it all with grace and charm, and everyone had a great time. The wedding was the highlight of the year!

Isn't she a beautiful bride? And her dress is gorgeous! And the wedding cake was AWESOME!

Time to catch up

Since my last post, I've been told that I need to keep this blog up to date.

I didn't realize I actually had an audience out there! Well, can't be that many of you, but I do like to hear from you, so please leave me comments so I know you are out there.

Anyways, I will catch you up from the last post (pre-mally) till now.

Before I lost Gemini, I had another Greyhound, Mr. Deeds. Fostered him and then adopted him. I only had him 8 short months before cancer took him.

Before that, In December 2009,I lost my mother to lung cancer. Luckily it was a short battle for her. That's a picture of her last trip to Atlanta. Yes, if you read the blog, it's the trip where I treated her as my maid! UGGGHHH! We both look so bad in that pic! She is going to haunt me for posting it!

Exactly one week after, Heater suffered a stroke and died. I lost many more friends and family in 2010.

But, 2011 was a much better year. I changed jobs. Now I am working for a CPA firm. Back to a "busy season". WOW did I forget just how busy things can get!

So, that brings us to 2012. I am hoping things will be much better this year.

I will do my best to keep this blog up to date. That is one of my resolutions this year. But then again it was one of my resolutions a few years ago, and we see how well I did with that one....

Anyways, again, I love your comments, so please leave them for me.

It will encourage me to post more!

Halo O'Mally - 1 year in his Forever Home!

So - I have neglected this blog for a long, long time. So much has happened, and I don't want to bore you with the details, yet. If I actually start blogging again, I may bore you with the stories, but for now I just wanted to post about Mally!

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of this "Gotcha Day" I adopted him one year ago.

He is different for the other 3 greys I have had. First - Mally howls, and howls and howls!!!

He is the most vocal greyhound I have ever come across. He is also more "velcro" than any other the others. He doesn't have Separation Anxiety like Heater or Mr. Deeds did. (Oh yeah, never posted about Deeds - I'll get back to that if I start posting again). But, Mally won't let me leave a room without following me.

Also - this is the only greyhound I have had that has actually raced with any success at all! he raced 88 times.

But, Mally is so friendly, just like every greyhound I've met.

So, Happy Gotcha Day Mally - a.k.a. Malikins, Mal, my goof ball, Howly McMalerson.

Early this morning, Gemini passed away in his sleep. We spent hours at the emergency vet Saturday and they weren't able to give me a diagnosis and his symptoms weren't jiving with the blood work and test results. After ruling out many thing, I decided to take him home to keep him calm, on pain meds and then take him to my vet today. Sadly, he didn't make it.

Gemini was the first dog I ever owned. All the mistakes of dog ownership that could be made, I made on Gemini. But despite all of that, he turned out to be relatively well mannered, most of the time. He was my heart dog.

The only time I ran him in the Blur of Fur, he stopped in the middle and took a whiz. All I could do was laugh, cuz that was my Gemini.

He greeted everyone he saw, whether they wanted to be greeted or not. He was my needle nose moose, my gemstone, my buddy, and the sweetest pup I ever met.

I'm going to miss that big boy.

Heater

Tomorrow, July 27 will be Heater's 12th Birthday.

Friday, July 31st, will be Heater's 1st "Gotcha Day" for me.

For those you reading, us people owned by greyhounds are a bit obsessive about our hounds. We will celebrate things such as birthdays and adoption days.

We have a language of our own, that include words like zoomies and stuffies.

For a senior dog who never raced, Heater can do zoomies as well as Gemini. Around the couch they go, when they stop, nobody knows.

Heater bounced out of a home of nine years and come to me as a foster. Senior dogs can be hard to place, but he was only here for a few weeks then was adopted. I didn't cry, a lot anyways. A foster mom is suppose to prepare the dog for the new forever home.

That adoption didn't work out and after about 6 weeks, he bounced again and came back to my home. He was here that time for about a month without any interest.

A greyhound couple came to look at Heater to add to their brood. Heater growled at their dog! I had never heard such a thing (up till that time anyways) from him. It was that day I decided to adopt the old man.

What I didn't know was that Heater had already decided he was here to stay!

Since then, he has become my "dirty old man". At GreyFest last year, I was busy looking at something at a booth and looked down. Heater had his head UP A WOMEN'S SKIRT!!!!!

Now, just about every morning, to get my attention as I am getting ready for work, he tries to lift my skirt up. Don't let that innocent face fool you......

He can be a bit of a butt head!

It is hard to believe a whole year has come and gone. I love my little Heat-Beat, Beaterman, Old Man, Heater-Beater, BeatMan, Butthead, Nuzzle Butt.

He does have some separation anxiety issues, which makes him whine for attention. But, with Gemini's company, and his favorite stuffie, he does ok.

Happy Birthday Heater!

Camp Kate's

I've been home for a week now, and Gemini and Heater have finally recovered from a week at Many Hounds Inn - a.k.a. "Camp Kate's".

For those of you familiar with SEGA, you've heard of Many Hounds Inn. For the other readers, it is a kennel that houses just Greyhounds, and Kate does a wonderful job taking care of the dogs.

The dogs come home worn out and tired. I have to wake them up to go outside!

Kate even sends home pics! Gemini is the one in the front of the pack - causing all the trouble, I'm sure. And only Heater's posterior is showing here!

And, during this doggy vacation - Gemini (the one in the Mickey ears) found himself a girlfriend! (I'm sorry, Kate told me the bitch's name, but I forgot!)

As you can tell, Gemini is trying to act cool, even licking his lips!

I can't thank Kate enough for having her place. It is incredible, the dogs come home well taken care of and so happy.

As a matter of fact, when I arrive to pick them up, Gemini greets me and then goes right back into his kennel and lays down. Kate tries to tell me that it's because he is scared of the car ride (which is true) but I know the truth. . . he'd rather stay at Camp Kate's than come home. Who can blame him!!!