My Baby's on TV!!!

Light is in a 4-H sewing club and their most recent project was sewing baby blankets for St. Jude's.

A local TV station came out and did a news report on them. She didn't get interviewed, but the ittle girl that goes first, Landyn, is her best friend. However, Light is all over the newscast. She's the one in black and wearing glasses. They got a lot of close ups of her.

When you click on the web page, the video bar is on the left hand side. The description talks about a sewing club. In fact, right now, her face is the face you see when you bring up the web page and look to the left!!!!

I'm so proud!



www.wcbi.com

Ketchup Time

Yeah, I know. I spelled that wrong. On purpose, of course.


Let's see. What have you guys missed out on since I've been away.


Oh, crap. A LOT of things have gone on.


Here's the highlights:


We had a TERRIFIC time in Orlando this past June. I got to spend lots of quality time with the BFF and her fam. Got 4 free days at Disney to boot! Did a day at the beach, spent some time with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. All in all, a helluva trip!


Light had a good summer. She's still going strong in 4-H and is excelling in all activities.


Part of my job is helping to put on our county fair in July. It was soooooooooo time consuming and tiring and crazy and I had a BLAST doing it.


While during the fair, we ended up adopting a new dog named Bella AND a guinea pig named Bob. Yes, I said while during the fair. The dog was dropped off or ran off and ended up at the midway. The carny didn't claim her and she was limping and Light and her friend were doing those big teary eyes at me.....so, I have a new-ish dog. She's a full blood blue heeler and is the sweetest thing. She's had a litter or two of pups in her past so I call her my mama dog. I really need to go get her fixed. She's gone through one heat cycle since I've had her and it was a bitch to deal with. Thank goodness she didn't get knocked up. I have no clue how old she is, but I'm getting the feeling she's up in years. Her teeth are slightly ground down and she just seems older, but then again, even with the lame leg, she can run full throttle when chasing after the mail truck.


Nikki, my dog from my BFF in Florida, got hit by a car but she survived. However, the big old DRAMA QUEEN made me crawl under the house to DRAG her ass out so I could take her to the vet. She had a leg joint that was popped out of place and a bad case of road rash on her side and legs. Thank goodness it wasn't that bad of a hit. I think she just got nicked. Since then, she's not gone out in the road. Lesson learned, I suppose.



Oh, and the guinea pig. Well, my bosses wife's sister (got that?) got preggo and couldn't keep the critter, so the boss man's wife asked me in a half hearted way if we wanted a guinea pig and I said "sure" (gotta learn to teach my mouth to STAY SHUT!!!). However, he's AMAZING. Very well behaved. He came to us as Jacob, but since we had just gotten a dog named Bella, I made Light change his name. It was getting too Twilight-y for me.

Uh...what else.

Oh, Light is now in the 5th grade and still in her gifted class. STILL making straight A's. She's currently working on her reading fair project. She chose to do her board on "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and I must say, she's doing a great job. Pics to come soon on that.

And one of the biggest pieces of news!!!! Light auditioned for a part in the county school play! It's a play that's open to all the kids of the county (we live in a small county). She not only auditioned but she got a (very small) part! She's a villager/wood nymph in the play titled "Into the Woods (Jr.)". She is soooooooo psyched. Of course, I'm having to listen to the same three songs over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Oh, well. I'll just have to sit and suffer. I am so proud of her for getting up the nerve to try out. That took major balls.

Some other big news.....Light was nominated and WON one of two 5th grade spots on the middle school homecoming court! So proud! However, it's a whole 'nother post on the...ummmm...inappropriateness of some of the clothing, hair and makeup that some of the girls had. Last time I checked, no where except on a street corner is it appropriate for a 12 year old girl to wear a strapless dress that increased her bust size to one larger than mine. And I'm not small. The rules said to wear church appropriate dresses, however, with the exception of Light and two other girls, they all looked like 18 year olds at prom.

And some other big news.....Light was "Rookie of the Year" at her 4-H awards banquet. Our mayor (who is also our town pharmacist) was the presenter of the award and he was just tickled pink that it was Light who won the award. Light is one of his favorite kids around town and it was a perfect night. She got a plaque and everything.

I'm still LOVING my job. It's something different every day and I love that aspect of it.

I also did 130 boxes this year for Operation Christmas Child. My goal was 100 so I surpassed that goal! Next year's goal is 150 and I've already got about 50 started. Whew.....thanks so much to those of you that helped by sending me soaps and what not. If any one else would like to help by sending soaps, small NEW toys, etc.....drop drop me a line.

That's it in a nut shell.

How's everybody doing out there? Any big things I've missed out on?

Later taters,

Mama Dawg

Thanksgiving...

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for good friends, lovely family and OUTSTANDING food! I'm also thankful for this terrific Thanksgiving day.

This Thanksgiving, we came back to New Orleans to celebrate with friends. And I have to say, quite simply, this is the BEST THANKSGIVING EVER!!!

Much love and thanks to Kat, Vicki, Chris, Mags, Mom and Rhonda. And I can't forget Oscar. You little weenie dog you.

Love and kisses to all bloggers.

Love,

No Stinky Here!

At least.......not yet.

A friend of ours has such a huge heart and takes in all sorts of orphaned animals.

However, this time, I think she took in more than she could handle.

A neighbor had been having problems with an adult skunk spraying their dogs. The neighbor went out and shot the skunk not knowing it was a mama skunk and she was only spraying to protect her babies from their dogs. Once he found out that there were babies, he felt bad and wanted to find a home for the babies. So, naturally, he thought of my friend.

She invited us over the other day to come see the babies.

Oh, my, lord. Are they ever cute!!!

Light had no fear of picking them up. (yes, that is blue stuff around her mouth...think blue snowball).

Yes, she's kissing a skunk.

I love where I live. Simply love it.

Later,

R.I.P. Mike

He passed away on Friday, June 18th. 15 days after his companion of 13 years passed away. I hate that we were on vacation when it happened, but he couldn't have been in better company with my mom watching over him.


That little girl that you ran from for years is missing you so bad right now. You were her J.D. and she is in such heartache for you. The way you went from not wanting anything to do with her to not wanting to be with anybody BUT her was amazing.

I will miss that sudden dip at the end of the bed when you would jump up to snuggle. I will miss the way that you would MEOW and demand that I feed you. I will miss that particular little chirping sound you would make when you would spot a bird. I will miss your soft fat belly and your long, long, long legs. I will miss the way you would allow Light to dress you up as Tinkerbell and pretend to make you play the piano.

You are in our heart baby boy, now and forever. Go and play with J.D. I know that's why you left us. You just missed him too much.

Love,

Happy Birthday!!!

Lead Celestial Being: On my count of three......1.....2.....3.....

Massive Choir of Celestial Beings:

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Mama Dawg,
Happy Birthday to yoooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!

Lead Celestial Being: Oh, my, choir......that was truly magnificent. A special performance for a special lady. Let's see now, how old are you today Mama Dawg? 33? NO, that CAN'T be right. You don't look a day over 27!!! What is your secret? And my dear, have you lost weight? No? Well, it certainly looks like it. I've never seen your hair looking better and your skin is as smooth as a baby's, well, you know what. Oh, and the Powers That Be want me to tell you that they wish you a very Happy Birthday as well. You know how rare it is to get them to notice anything, so to be acknowledged by them on your very special day is truly an honor.

___________________________________________

On a more personal note, this is what I woke up to this morning!



My own personalized cake. With a hidden Mickey made out of cherries!

Light had a friend spend the night last night and this is what they did for me. I woke up to cake and birthday cards and singing.

And yes, I just did a whole post dedicated to me on my birthday.

Cause I rock!

Later,

R.I.P. J.D.

My darling baby boy. I am going to miss you so much. You brought me so joy and so much peace.

From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were special. And I wasn't wrong.

I will miss the way you purred so loudly, you sounded like a motorboat. I will miss the way you would sit so Zen like with your front paws crossed. I will miss the smell of your fur and the way you would kiss me when I rubbed my face against yours. I will miss your little pink paws and your orange tipped ears. I will miss the way you would stare directly at a fly on the wall even though you had no eyes. I will miss the way you would meow for me to pick you up and put you on the bed when you could no longer jump up. I will miss the way you would snuggle down in a blanket until you were completely covered up.

You were pure magic.

Love forever and ever,

The Universe is a Bitch and Must Die

I'm so pissed.....at myself of course.

Without giving too many details, let's just say that a couple of years ago, I did something and got caught. I didn't pay for my actions and lived in the constant fear that I would be discovered and would pay much worse than I would have if I had paid when I first got caught.

The fear was so relentless and so all consuming, it changed my way of life.

Not enough for anyone to notice and I was able to cover it all up for these past two and half years, but still..........it was out "there". You know, out in the universe.

Over the course of the past week, I have discovered that I was living in fear all this time FOR NO REASON AT ALL. That being caught would not have happened BECAUSE NO ONE HAD ANY RECORD OF IT AT ALL!!!

What the hell Universe? What the hell? Did you enjoy your hearty laugh at my expense? Didja? Huh? Huh?



P.S. Having said all that, the actions I've taken over the past week have obliterated any chance of me getting in trouble now. I've not only confessed and paid for the past actions, but I've obliterated any chance of that fear coming true. Man.......it's like the Rock of Gibralter has been lifted off my shoulders.

P.S.S. I know......cryptic much?

P.S.S.S. Aren't you glad I'm back? *smooch*

Where, oh, Where Has My Little Dawg Gone?

Yeah, yeah, I know. Leave me alone.

I've been gone for a while.

And it's not because I don't have access to my blog at work or that I don't have the time to blog......it's, well, it's just that things are going so good that it's hard to find stuff to write about.

I like to read about happy things as much as the next person, but man, typing happy shit? That's hard.

However, Erin yelled at me on Facebook and I've gotten several other "polite" requests to get off my ass and write.......soooooooo, here I am.

Wanna know what's been going on since, oh, about Christmas?

I still LOVE my job. Seriously, I love it. Specifically what do I love? Dunno. I just love coming to work every day. And that's enough for me.

Still haven't weighed any cows. That's a bummer.

However, a couple of weeks ago we found a baby bunny here at work. I took him home and rehabilitated him and we let him go on Sunday out by my grandmother's land.

We named him Scooter. I wanted to name him Clyde, but I was vetoed.

Uh, let's see.....Oh, yeah....Light made Principal's Honor Roll for the whatever year it is that she's been in school. Kid kicks serious academic ass. Principal's Honor roll since Kindergarten. Dang!

She had her dance recital back in April. I still can not stand those things, but again, she danced circles around those other girls. I shouldn't be shocked each and every year, but I always am.

She just lost her 16th tooth and got $16 for it. I seriously think the tooth fairy was smoking dope when she made that contract with my kid cause she's seriously getting the raw end of the deal. The Tooth Fairy, not Light. She's raking in the dough.

Oh, and Light is now a Sharpshooter in Shooting Sports in 4-H. She went to the District Competition a few weeks back and came in 4th overall in her division and 1st for our county!!!!! Yay!!!!!

She also made class favorite for the second year in a row. Her picture is in the paper this week because of that.

They got out of school on Monday, so she's official a 5th grader now. When on earth did I become the mom of a 5th grader? She'll be entering middle school come fall. She's a bit nervous but excited as well.

Hey...we're going to Florida in a couple of weeks. My best friend Mimi invited us last summer to come spend some time with her and her boys, so, I booked some tickets and we're flying down on the 12th of June. We're flying back on the 20th. Yeah, 8 days. She has no CLUE what they're in for.......me and Light for 8 days. We'll see if she ever invites us back!!! We're getting 3 days in Disney for free. We're so psyched.

Oh and some of the biggest news of all. Light's teacher nominated her for this leadership forum that does a trip to D.C., NY and PA next summer. You have to be nominated to get the invitation. You then have to apply and if you get in, you then have to fundraise to get the money for the trip. It's such an honor to get invited. She'll get to meet the Iraqi Ambassador, speak to several senators and do some sightseeing. We're still trying to decide if we're going to do it. She's going to go ahead and apply and we'll take it from there.

That's been about it. I mean, I'm sure that there's some other stuff going on, but those are the highlights.

How have y'all been?

Later,

Happy 10th Birthday, Light of My Life!!!


I love you.

And God Bless Drew Brees, And God....

bless Sean Payton and God bless Tracy Porter and God bless Tom Benson and God bless the New Orleans Saints entire defensive and offensive lines and God bless the Who Dat Nation and God bless the city of New Orleans.

That had to be the most exciting game I've EVER seen. Of course, it's only the second Super Bowl I've ever watched from start to finish. My dogs thought I was going crazy with all the screaming and hooting and hollering. I need to check with my neighbors to verify, but I'm pretty sure they could hear me all over the hill.

Tracy Porter, you should win a medal for that simply GORGEOUS pass interception that Mr. Manning so sweetly sent your way.

I love you my home away from home. You done us proud. See you this weekend for the BEST MARDI GRAS EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Later,

Mama Dawg