Ah, Sweet Gatherings

I am thankful for my family and the opportunity to get together during the holiday season. We are all at the Akin homestead in Placerville, Nolan & Anneliese, Bob & Barb, Nate, Rory, Chelsey, and John and I.

The morning was off to a busy start. We all participated in The Turkey Trot, a fundraiser 5K walk/run. Thanks Bob for the experience. Now we are now back at the house where the turkey aroma is filling the air.

After filling our bellies to overfilling, we spent an hour or so in the family-size hot tub drinking Bob's newest concoction...Baby Blush. Delicious! Friday morning we made our regular visit to Sweetie Pie for an awesome breakfast. Then we split up in two groups, the Moonies (New Moon)- take two for most, and the lookers. John, Bob and I were the lookers...looking at the surrounding areas of Placerville, homes, lakes, hills, etc.

Today, Saturday, we are going Christmas tree hunting followed by a traditional Chinese dinner. Oh what a wonderful season.

Time To Slow Down

What a busy weekend it's been. I gave both of Da Boys a grooming although I didn't take much off of them. I figure they need their winter coats on as much as we do these next few months. I also gave Chloe a clipping... around her butt. Her hair is so long that her poo sometimes sticks to it, so it had to go if she is going to stay in MY house!

After returning from the Hmong New Year yesterday, John and I stopped to bowl a few games. We have so much fun with it. We got home in time to watch the DUCK game and what a game it was. I was all stressed halfway through the last quarter when it didn't look like the Ducks were going to win. And then, everything changed. WOW what a game!!! Two overtime periods and a win. The Civil War is going to be huge this year as the winner of that game will go to the Rose Bowl.

I am in need of a walk. I just gorged on delicious Mexican food. The potlucks from Church are so much fun. I think I'm going to have to ask John to go on trips more often so that I can have more parties. LOL Actually, John, you were missed by all. You are such a good father to make time to take your daughter to all of her appointments in Portland! Just one of the many reasons why I love you!

Okay, I'm on my way out the door with Da Boys while it is not raining. Maybe I can at least walk off the beans.

A Tripple Whammy

This morning I made a point to get to school early as I had a lot of things that needed to be done. When I opened my door, I was surprised and very unhappy about what I saw. Apparently my room is being used by a law-enforcement team that teaches kids about the consequences of getting in trouble at school and with the law. Great program but all the desk had been moved around and all my stuff was tossed into boxes and put on the floor. Mind you that I've been working very hard at getting that stuff ready and sorted. Now I was going to have to start all over. Ggggrrrrr!

Then on my way to the office to complain about the condition of my room, the right pant leg of my brand new pant got caught on a screw that protruded from the doorstop. Now my pants were ripped as well. Double Ggggrrrrrrr!!

And then.... I had to have a my you-know-whats put in a vice for their yearly mammogram. Boy, am I glad the weekend is here. ...a movie tonight with my love, Hmong New Year festivities tomorrow (great food), and a Mexican pot-luck after church on Sunday. All that AND I get to relax in the hot tub while reading a book.

Critter Care

I kept hearing the sound of something getting stuck on fabric and being pulled free. It was. Chloe and Kona's nails were so long that they were having trouble walking on the carpet, so off to get a manicure they went to Caldwell's Grooming Salon. They are now happily walking around, and maybe they will leave my sofa alone!!!! As I sit here writing this entry, Chloe is pawing at the cursor as it moves across the screen. Too cute. Oh, oh, now she is trying to bite the screen. I'd better close it quick!

Glaucoma Testing

During my last visit to the optometrist, it was noted that I have some pressure build up in my eyeballs which may lead to glaucoma. To be on the safe side they ordered this special test, and I thought the process was kind off fun. You had to look into this small dome in which they scatter little lights one at a time over, a period of seven minutes. Each time you saw a light you had to press a little button. The process was then repeated with the other eye. As it turns out I had NO false positives and NO false negatives... in other words, I got 100% correct. Pretty nice baseline don't you think? I will have to take this test every other year as I am in a higher risk category for glaucoma since my mother had it.

On both Monday and Tuesday I spent my whole time at work packing and unpacking. Yes, I've moved back to my old room! The good part about that is that I LOVE having my own space again. I mean, you do what you have to do when sharing a room, but it is nice to stretch out again! I also finally got to purchase some desperately needed materials so that I can correctly implement this awesome program that will really make a difference in teaching people how to read and write!!!

And... a short bowling update: We haven't /won't bowl in our league for 4 weeks straight as one or another of our team members is gone. I decided I needed to keep practicing so I took in some games after school yesterday. I want my fans to know that I am indeed improving. I bowled an average of about 130 over the span of 5 games.

Double Duty

So.... People are not the only ones that like company when eating. Barnabas, our poodle guest, does not only like company when he eats, he also likes to be hand-fed...just like Cleopatra.

Barnabas is not one to overeat. As a matter of fact, it appears to be a challenge to get him to eat enough. This problem is compounded when he is not with HIS people. I was told to use my judgement about feeding him. I have taken that to mean to do the best I can. And that I am determined to do.

Unlike Otis, Teddy, and Allison, Barnabas is a VERY slow eater. In order for the other dogs not to snatch and eat his food, I've had to put him in the little bathroom off the laundry room. While he eats, some, I feed the other three and keep an eye on them to make sure each one eats just his/her own bowl's worth. When they are done, I return to Barnabas to keep him company and coach him to eat more.

I've learned after just a time or two that feeding Barnabas can take a while. He takes just one itty-bitty-piece of kibble and chews it at least twenty times before swallowing it. Then he actually thinks about taking on the task of eating another piece. I've found that I can expedited the process just a little by picking out a piece of kibble for him and feed it to him. He seems to like that and thus will keep eating just to keep the attention. Hey, if it works for him, it works for me. My goal is to have Barnabas weighing the same, not less, than when we got him! There is only one down side to this. Barnabas' diet includes 1/4 can of wet food. By the end of the eating session, I have ground whateva under my nails. Yuk!

Rather than bending over or sitting on the cold tile floor when I feed Barnabas, I've taken the only other logical spot in the tiny bathroom...the throne. I realized that I had never sat there that long before and it dawned on me that I can make the time do double duty. Hey, maybe that will help me from getting hemorrhoids. Thank you Barnabas for the idea you gave me.

I've learned one more thing from Barnabas. He doesn't eat much and takes forever to eat the little he does. No wonder he is so thin. I am going to try his approach to eating. Maybe I can get John to feed me little bites of chocolate-covered-strawberries and other delights.

Thank you John!

What would I do without my man? Thanks to the techie in my home, I now have pictures posted with my blog from earlier today. :)

Okay! Okay!!

Yes, I know it's been a while since I've posted anything. I guess I'm just not as creative as SOME people in finding stuff to write about and then the thought, "Who actually reads this stuff anyway?"


What a sunset!!!

I've been to a super football game, a wedding, the dentist in Medford, etc, etc, the last few weeks. Nothing worthy to repeat 'cause most of it is old news by now except that my vertigo is almost all gone. Yay! It's been almost eight weeks. John and I've been kitten-sitting two of our three grand kiddies for the last few weeks. At first we were concerned that Da Boys would have themselves a mouth full of fur, but everything considered they are all getting along better than expected. Chloe and Kona are the epitome of calm cats. I'm sure that has helped tremendously.


Chloe and Kona enjoying some attention.

We have tossed two more dogs into the mix for a few days. We are dogie-sitting Allison (yellow lab) and Barnabas (Standard poodle) for some friends. They also are mellow animals. It has been fun to take all four of them on a walk at once, or dragged as the case may be. I have not dared to let Kona and Chloe out of their room with four dogs in the house. I'm afraid one of their nine lives may be scared off of them.


Four Furry Friends

This weekend I get to enjoy them all by my self as John is going to another Duck game with Chelsey. The writing in on the wall. After Thanksgiving I'm going to actually have to earn my pay. New schedules are being worked on so that my classes will be filled to the rim. Darn it already! But first Thanksgiving break. One thing at a time. Ooh, I took the cutest pictures of all the four legged children at our house but unfortunately I can't seem to figure out how to post them. One of these days.....