How to choose a table in a busy restaraunt

Those of you who know me well, know how much I LOVE children. Especially ill-behaved ones that are seated directly behind me during meal time, screaming and kicking the back of my chair. Because of the fact that too much of a good thing is bad, I must make efforts to limit my exposure to such things.

The first step is to survey the area well, making note of all the available tables. It is also necessary to evaluate the tables that are occupied, not only for the general make-up of the guests seated there, but also to estimate the time remaining on their stay.

Open tables must be examined for their value to mothers, especially of young children. Things to take into account are:
1.) Proximity to the bathroom. (young children, I've noticed, pee a lot!)
2.) Proximity to the soda machine. ***this one can be tricky, as some parents will want to be close to the machines, so they can send the kids up for their own refills. Yet others want to be far away from the machines, to keep the children from demanding Coke, when Mom prefers they drink Sprite. Choosing a table between the two extremes is vital.
3.) Ease of use with a high-chair as well as distance from where the high-chair is kept. Parents tend to prefer ailes where the high-chair will be in the way to servers, rather than in corners where the would be unobtrusive.
4.) Booths or tables- booths tend to have a higher value for the parents' ability to pin the child in between themselves and the wall.

When evaluating the occupied tables, you must take into account whether or not their food has arrived, are the consuming alcohol, and if it's a larger group.

All of these are variables in a complex mathematical equation that produces the probability of being seated next to a screaming child, and must be computed within a matter of seconds and without use of a calculator.

Needless to say, I haven't yet perfected the math!

Things I learned Playing Racquetball

When Gene and I were in college, approximately 3498572683 years ago, we used to play racquetball in the evenings before dinner. Since we recently joined a gym, we decided to give it a shot, since we enjoyed it so much in our younger years.

I realized one thing rather quickly:
We suck!

Among other things I learned:
1.) I don't have to worry about the strings on my racquet breaking, because in order for old strings on a racquet to break- it requires something actually making contact with the strings... (like, oh, say, THE BALL!)
2.) The ball does not come to you. You have to actually move around to get close to it.
3.) The plexi-glass on the wall the door is on is NOT your friend
4.) 10 minutes in a racquetball court for us is more exhausting than an hour on a treadmill
5.) Children will laugh out loud at old people attempting to play racquetball.
6.) *playing* racquetball is all relative. Let's just say that there was no sense in either of us keeping score and leave it at that.
7.) Your own husband WILL laugh at you when you swing and hit dead air.
8.) When the ball hits you in the back of the head, it really hurts! (But, you do NOT see stars like the cartoons say you do!)

Needless to say, we need lots of practice to get back to our college days skill level! (Maybe I'll stick with hanging out in the hot tub! Hard to get injured that way!)

For the first time EVER!

I started wearing glasses at a young age. In my early teens. As I entered High School, Dad and I went to the eye doctor together to get contacts. As I aged, I found my eyes become less tolerant to the contacts.

when I turned 35, I was told I needed bi-focals. This made wearing contacts even more difficult. When we started obedience and agility, my glasses seemed to just get in the way.

On July 12th, I underwent Laser surgery to correct my vision. While the healing process was slow, the results have been amazing.

Sunday night, October 5, 2008, I experienced something I haven't in many, many years. I was able to swim, without worry of being able to see where I was going, and what was around me.

It has been such a liberating experience!

U. Ch. Tintlet Grab Life By The Horns

U. Ch. Tintlet Grab Life By The Horns, aka "Hemi"





Hemi finished his championship this weekend in GRAND fashion. Beating out a newly finished AKC champion, and taking a group 1, 2, and 3. He showed very well this weekend, and looked GREAT! (Thanks, Wendy!) After coming home from the show, we went out to take a few photos! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Look at that handsome boy! The sunlight just glistens off his silver hair!

Looking at Daddy

I love this one---he looks so studious and smart! And then, what day of photos is complete without the obligatory agility photo?

Yeah, Hemi! I'm so proud of you AND Gene!

It's been awhile!

Hemi heads to Denton this weekend in search of his last 2 competition wins for his UKC Championship. In preparation, a friend of Gloria's offered to help get him groomed into a better looking cut than Gene had him in previously. Gene has done wonders in learning so much about poodle grooming in a short period of time, but he will be the first to admit that he is no professional. So, we took her up on that offer.
We let as much hair grow as possible. (Man, I hate growing poodle hair! Almost as much as I hate liver and onions!) Here are some before photos:





Many hours later, Hemi emerges a new man, er, dog. He doesn't even resemble the beast she took in.

I can't help it, I love the Pippi Longstocking look he's sporting here!

So, here's hoping that the haircut will accentuate the positive and get Hemi those last 2 wins over competition so he may join his big brother Boo as a UKC Champion!

Tune in Monday for the results!

Hemi's subtle statement about the teeter

Don't let anyone tell you that poodles aren't smart, because I have proof. Hemi has had some issues with the teeter, which is not too surprising since he's just started it. Well, our instructor sent us home with her adjustable teeter to get some extra work in. I don't know why, but I think Hemi is trying to communicate something to us about the teeter. What do you think? I offer up these photos for your consideration:

So, really, what do you think? Do you think he's trying to tell us something?

Man, I love my poodles!

How to Give Boo a pill!

Okay, so rain is FINALLY moving in, and Boo just really stresses out over thunder way too much. When discussing this issue with the vet, she suggested the over the counter stuff first. Great- chewable pills---easy, right? WRONG!

So, I look at the radar this morning and see storms off to the west. To try and make sure that the pills have time to work, I head to the kitchen to give Boo his pills. I try, at first, to hand him the pill- hoping that it will smell like a yummy piece of steak and take it! He sniffs said pill, and turns his head to the side. Shunning the treat offered him. (Which, honestly, I expected.)

So, I dig in the refrigerator for something Boo will eat. He won't touch cheese, or bread, or anything starchy. I finally spy the left over pepperoni. Hooray! Meat! Right up Boo's alley!

I break the pill in half and wrap it in a piece of the pepperoni and hand it to him. He sniffs the pepperoni, and turns his head to the side. Great! Well, he's too smart.

He knows he's being set up. So I decide to take a different tactic. I get a piece of pepperoni without anything to "taint" it and tear off a piece and offer it to him. He pulls his lips back and takes the piece of meat between his teeth and spits it on the floor, sniffs it, then decides it's okay and eats it. To further entrench that it is not a trick, I give him another untainted piece. This piece is gobbled up more readily than the first. Thinking I have him fooled, I hand him the piece with the pill in it. One sniff, and the nose goes in the air.

We stare at each other- me trying to convince him through osmosis that the pill is REALLY good. I can see by the look in his eyes that he is NOT buying it. I do, of course, have 3 other poodles surrounding me that are more than eager to take the meat, the pill or both.

I decide that we've had enough pussy footing around, and decide to go with brute force. I wrenched his mouth open and insert pepperoni wrapped pill onto his tongue and then hold his mouth shut. We lock eyes again- competitors in an epic battle of wills. I pull out all my tricks, rubbing his neck and blowing in his nose. All this is supposedly supposed to make the dog swallow. All it does in this case is make him mad. He appears to swallow, and thinking I had won, I loosen my grip. I am rewarded by the wet and soggy pill landing on the top of my bald foot. The pepperoni, however, found it's way into Boo's gullet.

Another brief session of attempted osmosis gets me nowhere. As a last ditch effort, I put a few pieces of kibble in his bowl and crush the pill into a powder and sprinkle on top of the food. I find some chicken broth and coat the whole mixture.

Giving in to my persistence, Boo nibbles delicately on the mixture, taking frequent breaks to give me that look that says, "don't fall asleep, bitch!"

Now, we can only hope that after all this, the pills will work!