Countdown to....Zoie!

Tomorrow morning will find me heading north to pick up the pups.

I believe that Zack's little sister will be named "Zoie" - once we decide which one to keep.

Yup, the hardest part will be for MLH to decide just which pup will be ours, and which will go to his brother's house. He's already going from picture to picture and saying, "This one. No, wait, this one." Any bets on both of these pups hanging out permanently with Zack upon our return? Lord, help me.

Okay...funny story...sort of.

Since it has turned cold, the mice in this town have turned housebound. And a couple have found their way into our house. (EEeeeeeeeek! I HATE mice.) So, MLH purchased some of those cool plastic mouse traps that work like a clothespin, are top of the line, more sanitary, you know, the whole drill.

I came in this afternoon, and MLH was home.

(Enter disclaimer: For those of you who have recently started reading my blog, I have something to tell you...Zack the Wonder Dog...talks. He has a funky sounding voice, though...it sometimes sounds like MLH on some major helium.)

Janie: Hey, y'all! How's it going??
MLH: Good.
Janie: Whatcha been doing? Did you catch any mice?
MLH: No.
Janie: No? So are we done with the mouse hunting thing? You got them all? Woohoo!

At this point, MLH has a funny look on his face - like the one little kids get when you've not heard the whole story...yet.

Zack: Mom, don't listen to Dad! It's just not true. I hate peanut butter.
Janie: What?
Zack: Dad's saying stuff about me. And I don't even like peanut butter. I don't!! And I don't care what he says.
Janie: Do what????

It seems that Zack the Wonder Dog has figured out how to spring the traps and is stealing the peanut butter.

No way am I going to be on the receiving end of a Zack kiss tonight.

No. Way. At. All.

Did I tell y'all I HATE MICE?

Expanding House

In a week or so, our world as we know it will be rocked, once again.

Zack the Wonder Dog is getting a little sister. We will be traveling to Atwood, Kansas, to pick up two pups, and will get our pick of the two females of the litter at that point. The remaining female pup will be delivered to MLH’s brother Mark…yup, Zack done flung a cravin’ on him for a good bird dog.

So, now, we’ll have doubles…double dog tales to tell, double trees to climb, double birds to hunt, and double dogs to love.

We’re excited, and more than a little hesitant. A new dog? We've talked it over, up, and down - but still it will be a change in our routine. (Yes, crazy as it may be, we do have one!) Zack is a very social animal, so we fully expect him to be accommodating, and now, he’ll have another playmate. We had been discussing the idea of another pup for a while, and I had been tentatively looking on the net and checking out litters whenever we saw them at field trials, etc.

A friend of mine, Karen, thought we might be interested in another liver colored German Shorthair, and e-mailed me from Kansas about Cola’s litter. We knew it was the answer to our question. Cola’s pups are nieces to Karen’s dog Pepsi, who was last year’s High Point Pointing Dog of the Year. (Scroll down to see a picture of Pepsi and Karen’s husband, Eddie.) Though AKC registered, Cola and Pepsi are “rescue” dogs that Karen had saved. It’s a neat story, and I’ll tell it sometime.

Karen went and took pictures, e-mailed them to us, and we were so.immediately.busted.

Here they are. Could you say no to these beauties?

The litter of four, grouped by boys and girls.

Here's the little spotted female. The pups had just opened their eyes the day before. Looks like someone woke her up from a nap. But believe me, the lethargy these pups show in these pictures is a joke. I don't think there is a more energetic breed than the German Shorthair.

And here is the little liver female. Doesn't she have a cute face? I know it's going to be hard to pick between the two, but MLH is good at that, so it will be his job. And we're open to naming suggestions, if you'd care to put your two cents in!

Back to the pup. I'm not worried about house training or any of that, GSP's are so smart. Zack was easy, and we understand female pups are usually easier to train than males. And as for me, I’m ready to have another female in the house. I’m more than a little outnumbered gender-wise at the present, with our sons and our LBs. Outnumbered, maybe, but not too worried, because you know that, admit it or not…

Ladies rule*.

At least in the dog world!

May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up...My Nose?

At lunch, I had a rather intense meeting. All went well, and my customers and I were walking back out to my car so I could deliver them to their offices. It was around 1:10 p.m., and our talk had been rather extended. As I was walking down the sidewalk to my car, I remember taking a deep breath and exhaling quietly (a great stress reducer).

My next breath was a shocker.

A huge insect flew up my nose. (Well, at least, I thought it was huge. It felt huge.)

My thoughts were, in the following order:

(1) This didn’t just happen to me, did it?
(2) How can I handle this in a graceful manner?

I unlocked my truck doors, diving for the Kleenex box. I start blowing my nose as gracefully as possible. Nothing happens.

I confess what has happened to my customers. They laugh. I don’t.

Customer 1: “We had two lost time incidents last month due to insects flying into people’s ears. On one of them, the doctor couldn’t ever find one of the insects, but the employee swore that insect was still in his ear.”

Me: “Well, dude, this insect is still in my nose, too. I can feel it!”

I deliver them to their respective offices, all the while trying to eject the insect from its randomly chosen perch, somewhere up my nose. I drive to the post office. I’m pretty calm, believing that what I feel is just the “sensation” that something foreign has been in my nose, and that with all that blowing, it has to be, by now, (a) dead and (b) expelled.

I go into the post office, and am immediately confronted with a honking huge line of waiting patrons. I join the line, and start sneezing. No, I didn’t take any Kleenex in with me…stupid, huh? Everybody’s blessing me, and I’m thinking , “If y’all only knew. How am I going to handle this? What if whatever this is inches its way up into my brain?”

I get through the 14 minute line, handle my business, and go back out to my truck. I grab the Kleenex, and give it one more college try, and…Voila! At approximately 1:50 p.m., I delivered some type of flying ant type thing, STILL FREAKIN' ALIVE, with wings almost ½” long. And no, I didn’t weigh it, or name it, or take a photo of it. This is the only evidence of the birth certificate you’ll see. And, it is now dead. It will NOT fly up anyone else's nose. I made sure. I promise.

But... Holy Snot, Batman.

Breakfast Shock

On Sundays, one of our favorite brunch haunts is Wall Street Bar and Grill, located downtown Midland, Texas. The doors open at 10:30 a.m., and the food is exquisite. If you’re a little late, you’re guaranteed a short wait.

One Sunday, we arranged to meet friends at 11 a.m., and would ultimately have quite a large table of diners. We went a little early to get everything set up before our friends arrived, and were waiting in the front area.

A beautiful family had arrived before us, consisting of two sons, their wives, and between them, 4 children, and a set of grandparents. The children were absolutely beautiful, and were very well behaved. One tall dad was holding his 3-4 year old daughter, while his 12-18 month old son toddled around amongst all the adults, garnering smiles and gentle pats on his golden curly-locked head. We were admiring the daughter, who was all golden curls herself, and dressed in a very frilly frock, white stockings, and…cowboy boots. You could tell this little one had a mind of her own. She was whispering in her Daddy’s ear. It was obvious they were enjoying a special moment.

About that time, we noticed the dad’s face blanch white…and then, he yelled. I looked around, and happened to see the young golden-hair boy. He was wrapped around his father’s leg, and when I saw him, he was backing his mouth away from his father’s groin.

He had taken a test bite to get his Daddy’s attention. It worked.

To his credit, Daddy handled it very well. He didn’t knock the munchkin across the room, he didn’t do anything but slowly put down the girl child, bend over for a second, steer the little boy away from him, and try to straighten up again, tears streaming from his eyes.

Once he regained his composure, Dad looked over at us and said, “I’m sorry.” MLH said, “No problem, sir, are you okay?” Dad assured us he was, and we all went to our tables.

It’s never boring around here!

The Ultimate Death of Onstar

This happened to us en route to Santa Fe last week. It was a pretty normal road trip day, with the exception of one thing…instead of me being on the phone non-stop, it was MLH. He was pre-planning a fracture stimulation on a well, and as such, was in non-stop coordination mode. Our cell phone coverage had been rather spotty, so at times, we had to resort to using our On-Star phone.

Here’s a sample call:

Onstar: Brinnnnaleep! Onstar Ready.

MLH: Dial.

Onstar: Number please.

MLH: 9
Onstar hears and says: 9
MLH: 5
Onstar hears and says: 3
MLH: Clear
Onstar hears and says: 8
MLH: Clear

Onstar disconnects.
MLH and I look at each other – me, exasperated, him laughing.

MLH hits the white button again.
Onstar: “Brinnnnaleep! Onstar Ready.”
MLH: Dial
Janie: snicker
Onstar hears and says: Directory

MLH hits the white button again.
Onstar: Brinnnnaleep! Onstar Ready.
This time, I take the turn.
Janie: Dial
MLH: harrumph (clearing throat)
Onstar hears and says: Storing number?

Janie: Clear
Janie: Dial
MLH: repeats “harrumph” before dissolving into laughter
Onstar hears and says: Number please.
Janie, in a short, staccato, angry voice: 9
Onstar hears and says: 9
Janie: 7
Onstar hears and says 7
Janie: 2
Onstar hears and says: 4
Janie: clear
Onstar hears and says: clear
Janie: 2
Onstar hears and says: 2

I finish enunciating the number successfully and the call initates…only to go to that person’s voice mail. Really.

Janie: I quit.

Onstar hears and says: Gotcha – nanny, nanny, pooh, pooh! Oh, yeah…you have 10 minute units remaining. To purchase more, please push the Onstar Blue Button.

Where’s Ba Doozie’s knife? I feel a stabbing urge coming on.

Onstar hears and says: Calling Ba Doozie. No number stored. Knives are illegal.

Well, Brinnnnaleep, my butt.

Fours at Random

A week later, here I go with this Random Four Meme…after being tagged by Jeff and Jonboy. Hey, guys, better late than never!

Four Jobs I’ve Held:
Mom
Tractor Driver (really!)
Business owner (multiple times)
Corporate – Executive – Technical – Senior Account Representative (all same job, they just changed the names to protect the innocent, or I got promoted.)

Four Films I Could Watch Over and Over:
Ummmm…I can’t remember one. What does that say about me? Yikes!

Four TV Shows I Watch:

Do I have to reveal this information? Okay. Just remember, my life is not my own. Therefore, until I invest in Tivo (and learn how to run it), I’m basically left with the stuff that happens after 10pm and prior to 6am. I mean, what did you think made me start blogging?

American Idol (when I can)
Flip this House (hey, they’re from Texas!)
CSI
The Colbert Report

Four Places I’ve Lived:

Okay, this is huge. Can you handle it?
Big Spring, Texas
Lomax, Texas
Stanton, Texas
Greenwood/Midland, Texas
Do you notice an ever creeping move west?

Four Favorite Foods:

Les Vela’s Swamp Juice Crab Legs from Vela Bay in Midland
Clam Chowder, Landry’s, anywhere
Sweet Potato Fries w/ cream gravy, Wall Street Bar & Grill, Midland
Huevos Rancheros w/ black beans, La Fonda on the Plaza, Santa Fe

Four Websites I Visit Daily;

All of yours! And…
The Fire Ant Gazette
Skewed View
A Big Doozie
For Love of Home

Four Favorite Colors:
Deep purple
Red
Cobalt
Deep chocolate brown

Four Places I Would Love to be Right Now:
Seattle, Washington listening to some musician on a corner
Hunting birds with my sons, my man, and Zack the Wonder Dog
East Texas hanging out with my cousins
Santa Fe, NM with my man and his guitar, but not on a work-related trip

Four Names You Love, But Could/Would Not Use for Your Children :

Ila Dick. Ila Dick was my grandmother’s first and second name – like Mary Jane. What were her parents thinking?
Emerson. My maiden name – and I’ve known ladies and men with this as their first name, sounds great.
Myers - I love this name as a first name, but my nephew claims it!
Rowdy – I love how this name sounds, but my son would be very unhappy with this name.

I hereby randomly tag:
Karen at Pondering Penguin, Foo at Random Synaptic Misfire, Tricia at Silver Linings, and The Poet of the Panhandle!

I need some Geritol...or maybe a nap would help.

We ended up taking a customer to the airport at 5pm yesterday, then headed home from Albuquerque. Yup, craziness.

I drove the entire way, since MLH needed to leave at 5 am this morning for a job. We got in at 12:30 am this morning. And then...I couldn't sleep. I guess I drank too much caffeine.

I get to the office this morning, and find out I'm leaving for Houston at 4pm today for an overnight trip. I have called and re-engaged the housesitter for Zack the Wonder Dog, and notified MLH of the change of plans.

And I have a lunchtime Assn of Drilling Engineers meeting to help facilitate, with around 100 rsvp'd.

So hear this...(the sound of exhaustion and quiet frustration as I smile and carry on about my day.)

aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!