Mr. B (The Old Timer)

Mr. B is getting old. For those of you who don't know him here's a short little background. Mr. B is an 25lb American Eskimo (dog), he's friendly, anxious, scatter brained and lovable. We have had Mr. B for our entire relationship. The CEO and I picked him up together somewhere west of Boston, I think. He was the cutest little dog I had ever seen. He used to hate riding in the car and threw-up in my car many times, however, he managed to get over this problem in time to be the CEO's companion as she drove across American in her quest to live in Hollywood. He was a very curious little guy and had to run to the apartment window in West Hollywood anytime someone was in the garage below to check out what was going on. He's always had some funny traits: he wont step on metal grates, he hates walking through water and he gets upset at the slightest changes to his environment. For example one time he noticed that the CEO had hung Christmas cards on the wall this of course called for a light quick step to get past the wall then some barking to let them no that he was in charge. Despite these quirks he has successfully made the transition to five different homes with us, the addition of another dog and two kids. Now he's really slowing down, having trouble getting up and down stair and worst of all having trouble waiting to go out to relieve himself. It is quite a sad transition. Mr. B is my first dog and if I give his passing too much thought tears quickly come to my eyes. We don't quite know when he will be leaving us but when it comes, sooner than later, it will certainly leave a great big hole in my heart.

Shady Grove

File this on under sleep deprivation.
The littlest one doesn't want to sleep, it's 2:35 AM and she has been up since 1ish. I think she's finally down for the count. I'm just amazed at how little sleep humans can survive on. I think the only time I get uninterrupted sleep (I hear her talking to herself!) multiple days in a row is when I'm on a business trip. The poor CEO doesn't have such luxuries for her it has probably been over five years since she was undisturbed.

Good Night.

Cute Video

This little video about spiders is well worth watching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc

It's been a dry blogging spell and I've also noticed my readership has seemed to have dwindled. I hope to get things back on track soon.

My Nano...

The CEO got me a Nano for Christmas and I do love it. I'm currently listening to a Podcast while typing this blog. Here's a list of the POD casts I subscribe to:
WNYC: The Brian Leher Show
KCRW: To The Point with Warren Olney
KPCC: Air Talk with Larry Mantel
WBUR: On Point with Tom Ashbrook
WBEZ: This American Life
WHYY: Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane

I'm addicted to Podcasts. Anyone out there have a favorite radio show I may be able to add to my list?

When I was in Wisconsin I did have the opportunity to have more than just prime rib. My co-worker and I went out on Friday night to a traditional Wisconsin Friday Night Fish Fry. We were basically in the middle of nowhere and we drove 30 minutes to a restaurant still in the middle of nowhere and the place was packed and everyone was chowing down on fried fish and french fries. I think of myself as an east coast fish snob and I always thought white fish just meant "we don't know what type of fish it is but the meat is white," apparently white fish is a type of fish that is plentiful in the great lakes. So I ordered my self a huge plate of fried white fish and fries and it was pretty damn tasty.

Wisconsin don't you know....

Typical Wisconsin Dinner with perhaps a few too many vegetables.
Also notice that there is both wine and beer.

So I'm back in Wisconsin for the third time within a month. What can I say about this place that you all don't already know, it is cold and snowy, no surprise there. However, it was nice to hear the snow plows in the morning it reminded me of being a child and getting excited at the sound because it meant that school may be canceled. On the flight out I got exit row seating right near the bathrooms, yes being near the bathrooms was no good but I had so much leg room I could stretch my legs out completely and still not touch the wall. I was grinning like I had just hit the lottery (it's the simple things). Another simple thing was getting an email from The CEO. That was just great, I've been under so much pressure with this damn work problem that I haven't been sleeping well on any of these trips. I had only been hear for perhaps 16 hours but it felt like days had already passed and the little piece of reality from my family was all I needed to make me feel great again.

And here's a working link that showcases the CEO's name and award:
Look under the heading:
Special Fellowships for Women Writers
http://www.literary-arts.org/fellowships/recipients.php

The CEO Rules

The CEO was just awarded an grant from the Oregon Literary-Arts Fellowship program for her writing. Last spring and fall she worked her ass off to have a piece to submit and all her hard work paid off.

Look for the CEO name to be posted in the 2006 spot of this list and see the company she keeps:
http://www.literary-arts.org/fellowships/past_women_writers.php

A million congratulations to the CEO!!!!
We were all so excited and proud of her.

Borat and the Pistol

Pistol Pete (aka my Dad) is not a fan of Borat or Ali G for that matter. It was up to biG and I to convince him that he was missing out on something. Actually biG tried to do the majority of the convincing. Anyhow, I feel partly vindicate after hearing Sasha Baron Cohen (Borat) on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, she made many comments on how funny and brilliant she thought the comedy was. Sweet Victory. :)

This is interesting, there is a sink hole that swallowed up a truck at the front entrance of my daughter school. I'll get to see it tomorrow.

Three moments live as one.

I was trying to book plane tickets to go to get back to my grandmothers wake when a package of "struffoli" arrive from my sister as a Christmas gift and my 2 year old daughter started calling out Daddy from the bathroom because she had s#*t in the tub. I would have liked all three of these moments to occupy their own space in the time continuum yet instead they all mashed together to form a bizarre moment that I could only later laugh about.'

(Struffoli picture to be instered at a later date)

I'm still here.

Every once in awhile I disappear from the blogosphere longer than I'd like. I am still here I've just been horrifically busy with work. It's a big time at work and unfortunately do to some issues that I'm intimately involved in I've been under a lot of pressure to deliver on some needed changes and things aren't always going my way. To put it mildly I'm really looking forward to the Holiday break.

The M&D will be in town and we are all looking forward to that. I'm so grateful we got the downstairs redone because four adults, two kids and two dogs is just too much for this house.

After such a long break from the blog I'd hate to leave without really saying much. But that's the type of blog that I have. "It's a blog about nothing" to steal a phrase.

Thanksgiving/Line Rider

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The CEO cooked up a fantastic meal. I was pondering Thanksgivings past and was recalling one in particular which I had such a shameful little thought during. Let it first be known that I love bread. We were at my Aunts and I think someone forgot to pick up bread and all that was available were hamburger rolls (wonder bread style) and I can remember thinking "this sucks." What a jerk I was. My Aunt and Uncle were kind enough to provide a good meal with all the fixings and I'm upset that I can't have my precious little piece of bread to soak up my gravey. Although I don't believe anyone was aware of my rude thoughts I am apologizing for them here on my blog. Sorry.

Heard about this game on NPR it is strangely addictive:
LineRider