Thursday, October 20, 2005

Meet the barkers

Somehow I have made it this far on this blog without gracing it with pictures of the dogs. So now, I introduce to you:

Kato
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This is Kato. He came along with Brian when we got married. He was about a year old when I met him, and he'll be 10 at the beginning of the year. He is a grumpy old man. I still love him, even though he drives me crazy. :)

We've always said that he has a cat's personality, he's very snobby. He sniffs all treats that he is offered and then decides whether they are up to his standards or not. We also think that when we're away from home he walks on his hind legs and speaks with a British accent. This is one smart dog. Once Brian's parents were keeping him and they left him outside when they left the house. When they came home, he was inside. He jumped through a broken window pane to get back in.

When I was pregnant he followed me everywhere I went. He was stuck to my side. I don't know how he knew, but he did, and he was somehow protecting me.

When we first brought Noelle home and she cried in her crib, he was at her door before we were half the time. I think he loves her, even though she takes most of the attention away from him.

Aside from attempting to eat our other dog a couple of times, he's been a really great dog.

Juneau
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This is Juneau. We adopted him from the Humane Society when he was 10 weeks old and his name was Mowgli and Spartacus (poor puppy). He'll be three in December. He is a sweetie. A little nervous & jumpy, though I can't blame him, having to live with Kato. I really can't remember which indcident was first, but I'll start with this one:

Kato apparently was just joking when he appeared to get along so well with Juneau when they met at Pet Smart that day. We hadn't had him home long before Kato had to show him who was boss and nearly take his head off. As it turns out, he just performed a Mike Tyson on him and ripped his ear in half. You can't tell in this picture, but there's a little notch missing and permanent sort of fold right down the middle. I have pictures of that and him in the lampshade, but I think he'd rather I show this one.

Then there was the other time when Kato sliced a little hole in Juneau's cheek, because I guess he just wasn't sure Juneau knew whose house he was in. We thought for sure the emergency vet was going to call the Humane Society and tell them to come get their dog back from these evil people. But they just fixed him up and let us take him home again.

Fortunately we've not had to clean any more blood off the walls, and they're pretty civil with each other now. Although, Kato likes to block the door to keep Juneau from coming back in the house when we take them out. This forces Juneau to go full speed, flying over the couch to get away from him. You'd better stand clear if you're ever there to witness that.

Juneau has probably only caught a ball about 10 times ever. For some reason he was not blessed with this gift. He's a sweet dog, lightning fast, but sometimes he's not all that bright. Like with the catching. Usually it catches him between the eyes before he catches it in his mouth. It's pretty funny actually.

Hug
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This is Noelle hugging Kato a couple of months ago. She absolutely loves these dogs. She loves to hug on them and stick her face in theirs for them to lick. Dado & Nano, as she calls them, are really good to her. Kato is pretty protective still, and tolerates the hugging quite well. Juneau gets a little nervous around her, as is his nature, but will usually get a couple of kisses in before he runs off.

It's a pretty crazy house with these three, but we are never short on cheap entertainment.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Back to one

Well, the Evil Killer went on a rampage.

He killed one Monday and the last one yesterday. I don't know what his problem is. You'd think it would be lonely in there all by himself, but NOOOOO....he insists on being the only fish that I guess we will ever have.

Yes - the Evil Killer reigns supreme.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Strange sensation

Why do I keep wanting to fasten the seatbelt on my chair today?

I’ve never had a desk chair with a seatbelt. Or heard of a desk chair with a seatbelt, for that matter. I don’t feel like I’m falling, and I know I’m not in the car, but I keep having the feeling that I should strap myself in.

This is very weird.

Friday, October 14, 2005

A few more....

Just because I like these...

Water Posted by Picasa


Water 2 Posted by Picasa


Water 3 Posted by Picasa


Have a great weekend!

R.I.P. R2F2

No, this is not some reject Star Wars character.

We lost our second fish from this round of aquarium stock. Round 2 Fish 2 died yesterday. He was a good fish and will be missed by all.

Yes, the Evil Killer has struck again.

Stolen Funnies

I'm stealing this idea from Emily who was inspired by a couple of other people. You can go there to see who if you wish.

Instructions: Go to Google and type in your first name, then needs. I typed in "Melissa needs" and this is the top ten on a list of 1,610 things I supposedly need.

Melissa needs maintenance manuals! I do need one more set of them, but apparently the material isn’t completed yet so there are no manuals ready. And that guy is a jerk.

Melissa needs to board the blob ship that is hovering overhead. How does a blob hover? Blobs sound like heavy things to me. Also something that I do not care to ‘board’. Especially if this is where they do the anal probing.

Melissa needs to select information from the Partners table. The Partners table. Is this where you find out who you’ll square dance with? Grab your partner, doh-si-doh!

Melissa needs blood. Did I give too much last time? I really felt fine, I don’t know where they’d get an idea like that. Although, a guy at work says I must not have any since I’m so cold all the time.

Melissa needs her meds. I find this a little offensive. So I was on them for a while! Don’t throw it back in my face if I’m having a bad day! I’ll decide for myself if I need them again, thank you very much.

Melissa needs someone from near there who will work with her today to get a van and crates and come up with some kind of temporary holding place for this particular group of animals and get them out of there. Oooh – animal rescue? This sounds like a very important task to take on. Now, if someone will tell me where they are near to, I will try to find a vehicle in which to transport them.

Melissa needs athletic promotions director. I just can’t imagine any reason why I would need this.

Melissa needs attention and will do “things” for attention. Now that’s just rude. “Things” implies that I will do something that I will most certainly NOT do, so quit telling people that I will!

Melissa needs computer assistance. Sometimes I really do, and it helps to be married to your computer support. But today I’m operating smoothly. You may delete my helpdesk request.

Melissa Needs-the-Dough! I knead someone to spell-and-punctuate correctly.

I’m adding another one just because I thought it was funny:

Melissa needs your help to understand tar. I really don’t care about tar. It’s black and sticky, and, when shaped like a baby, fools an obnoxious Brer Rabbit.

I have yet to read the other 1,599 needs on my list. That may create future posts if I get writers block. Its certainly not going to be used as my birthday wishlist.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Quick Pic

In cleaning out some files today I found this picture. It's one of my favorites ever.

Mirror Posted by Picasa


More tomorrow...

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Just a thought

This blog started out as a place for a few friends to write down our silly random thoughts and laugh with each other. I never intended to turn it into a baby blog, but aside from work, Noelle is what I do and that’s the direction it has taken. She is where my stories come from these days because she is where my focus is. I’ve wondered a couple of times if people get ‘tired of hearing about the baby’.

But – if you’re my friend, you’re involved in my life, which means you’re involved in hers. And it also means you understand that I’m consumed by baby milestones, baby toys, and baby everything else. I’ll try to come up with some unrelated thoughts sometimes too. But baby stuff is abundant, so those posts are just so much easier!

Monday, October 10, 2005

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Times they are a-changin'. Today I quit my job. I also accepted an offer elsewhere. New opportunities, new location, and hopefully much less stomach-aching and misery.

Happy Monday!

That is all.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Verrry shishy...

There has been a lot of disease and death in our house this year. And there has been a lot of debate over who is responsible for all of it.

We have this fish. I like to call him Evil Killer. We bought him and his little blue friend and poured them into their new home, the 40 gallon fish tank in our living room.

After a while, we added a few more fish, and then a few more after that. It was such a happy scene, and fun to see Noelle captivated by the “shishes”. But then, one by one, the happy shishes began to die off. Apparently there had been an outbreak. We tried to treat it as soon as we noticed, but it was just too late. Every day we would count to see how many fish we had left. And every few days one more cadaver would be floating at the top. Except for the one whose head was detached and floating eerily around by itself. Eeew.

I don’t remember how long this lasted, but eventually we were down to one. And yes, this one is the one I call the Evil Killer. I am convinced that he wanted to rule the vast aquarium. To have the rest of the fish call him Poseidon and bring him flakes from the surface. But they must’ve opposed him. He infected all of them with the secret vial of iocane powder he’d smuggled back from the pet store. (Ok, ok - it was probably ick.) I’m still not sure how he built up his immunity, but he got his wish and became lone resident of his water kingdom.

He was alone for a while. I didn’t want to bring any more fish home just to meet their end at the hands of a killer. I was waiting for him to die so we could just have a terrarium. But I was overruled.

Evil Killer has an ally. His name is Brian. Brian is convinced that Evil Killer did not, in fact, kill the rest of the fish. His version of the story is…


That he PERSEVERED!!

Through ABOMINABLE circumstances!!

BEAT the disease!!

AAAND…

against ALL ODDS!!

LIVED!!

Through the horrible epidemic.


So…on Sunday we went to the pet store and got five more fish. And Monday? One of them was dead. You draw your own conclusions, but I’m sticking to my theory. There is a killer among us. And no shish is safe at our house.

I don't like the way you talk

Why is it that no one in the pipeline community can pronounce Venezuela? I really don’t think it’s that hard of a word, but for 5 years I’ve been listening to people say Ven-zoo-ay-luh. It just really gets on my nerves.