We <3 Flip Video

Brian got an inexpensive Flip video camera and it has been way fun. It's super compact, easy to use, and takes great videos. Check out the video I posted on Facebook from yesterday's Atlanta Tea Party protest. Or, for brief moments of silliness, watch these:

Christina Makes Them Dance

Future Olympic Athlete

Chillin' - or Not - to the Backstreet Boys

It's Official!

I think I've talked to everyone except Jazz and Adrian (sorry guys - you've been kinda nomadic here lately), so for you two here it is: Brian and I are getting married right after Christmas.

Fortunately I found a place we can get everything we need for the actual shindig (ain't that cool?), so the big thing is wading through and purging the amazing amount of crap that has expanded to fill every available space even though I've primarily lived here alone. We've got three and a half more bodies to pack in here (no little people - it's just that Christina started college this year and is living on campus while school is in session).

Yes, folks, this does mean that I will no longer have room for out-of-towners to crash overnight during the holidays and other assorted visits. But the trade-off is pretty darn good for everyone else so I hope you'll forgive me and think it might be worth a visit even if you have to pony up for a hotel room.

Racy!

We (Brian, Michelle, Brandon & I) went to an animal farm of sorts as well this weekend. SummerWind Farm, to be exact, where we attended an annual gathering of something like 300+ Greyhounds and their owners. It was a lot of fun, but tiring. Brian judged the Greyhound contests for the second year in a row, and was licked and hugged by numerous doggies while trying to determine the best kisser and hugger. And for the second year in a row, Sara had the second-longest tail and Grayson was the second-or third-tallest (I forget).

Probably the best thing we got to do is watch the dogs take off as fast as they could toward a stuffed bunny at the end of a training lure (what they use to teach Greyhounds to chase - they don't need much encouragement). Next to the person with the lure was another person with a squawker - a gadget that makes a generic prey-like sound (close to a squirrel, but not quite). It's a combination that makes the dogs so crazy they want to go get it. A third person was there with a radar gun, clocking the dogs. This year, both Sara and Grayson beat their times from last year, coming in at 46mph. Needless to say, they've spent most of the time since then laying around the house!

There was a big (for us) announcement about a special, secret fundraising effort that had been undertaken. Since it costs, on average, $475 to take a dog from the track, spay/neuter and house it before adoption, and we can only get $275 for an adoption fee, there would be a constant shortfall without fundraising and donations. So someone had the bright idea, after seeing the film Calendar Girls, to do a similar nude calendar using some of our members and their Greyhounds in shots with, shall we say, strategically placed props. It was really nicely done, and we hope to sell at least 1500 of them. Take a look (it's maybe PG-13 and there is very little actually revealed, so don't panic!) - www.greymates.org. Please, please pass it along to anyone you think would get a kick out of it. Even if they don't buy a calendar they may pass it along to someone who will. Surprisingly, women - straight ones - have been the most enthusiastic supporters so far.

No, I'm not in it. I seriously considered it, though! But I did do the design and coding for the web site : )

Grand Funk Railroad

What a great show!

Unlike Little River Band, Grand Funk still has pretty much everything that made them rock all those years ago, plus the former lead singer of .38 Special (he's been with them quite a while, from what I understand). The drummer's got to be pushing 60 but he's still a wild man. Well, perhaps some of his edge is gone - Brian said he used to jump out onto the stage over his drum set, and we didn't get that last night. But it was a good rockin' show. Don't know who Grand Funk is? I bet even the youngest of you would recognize "Some Kind of Wonderful" if you heard it.

The opening act - Bobby Yang and His Unrivaled Players - TOTALLY rocked. This guy is a classically trained violinist of immense talent, and what he loves doing with that ability is jamming to the songs of Led Zep and other rockers. His backing band is awesome, too. Christopher was instrumental (ha ha) in booking him for this show. Bobby Yang is from Atlanta and has a bunch of upcoming tour dates near just about anyone reading this.

Angela's sister, Mona, and Mona's husband, Ken, were there. We met up with them after the show, and Ken asked how David was doing. Ken had an Army career many moons ago and has had a special affection for David even before David enlisted. He said, "Tell that boy I think the world of him." His words were a little slurred because it was after the show and Ken always brings a 12-pack, but he was sincere.

The only down side to the show was the incredibly obese - and unbelievably rude - man Angela was sitting next to. He really needed to have purchased two seats - he was spilling out of his and into hers. He had the nerve to ask her to move over, and she replied, "Where to?" He said, "You're touching me!" Then, after she told him something like she wouldn't be touching him if he wasn't so large, he switched seats with his wife, who was kind of big herself. Both sat like statues - very big ones - through the jamming Bobby Yang and the rocking Grand Funk Railroad. Having fun burns calories, people : O

Tons of Fun

We went to Six Flags Over Georgia today and had a blast despite getting rained on intermittently. We were all wiped out except for Brandon, who was disappointed we were leaving before he'd ridden everything twice.

It was rainy and a little chilly at times, and Michelle and Christina were the only ones brave - or crazy - enough to want to ride Thunder River. They should have known better than to leave Brian, Amanda and Brandon behind, because those three were waiting at the Thunder River water cannons to soak the girls as they rode by.

It's not quite 8:30 now but I think I am going to hit the "Publish" button and then hit the rack. I'm beat!

We Were Going to Kentucky

Two weekends ago I took a trip with Brian and the kids to visit his grandparents in Kentucky. It didn't occur to me that our route would take us within a few miles of Lisa's place until I started seeing signs for Nashville. Doh! Not that we could have done anything about it, because by the time we got out of Atlanta traffic it was late, late, late. I'm sure we would have been welcome even at 1:00 a.m. - right Lisa?

The reason that Brian wanted to drive up, in addition to simply visiting, was to give his grandma a talking to. She was not happy about the fact that she had to be placed in an assisted living sort of place until she could heal up from a series of falls that were caused, in whole or in part, by vertigo. So instead of busting her butt to get well and go home she started refusing to even get out of bed for physical therapy. I imagine that, like our grandma Agnes, she was upset over the loss of independence and she just started giving up.

Note: This post is super long; click the "more..." link below if you want to read the rest of it.

I think our being there and her having to listen to Brian and his sister nagging her (and his sister being downright mean) motivated her to do better. While we were visiting she went from a passive futility to flipping Brian off, calling him a smart ass and claiming it was just fine to curse as long as you didn't use the Lord's name in vain. It was very sweet to see Brian's grandfather interact with her. After 60+ years of marriage he still calls her "baby." Of course, he also flirts with the pretty young nurses, but that's another story.

On our way out of Atlanta we stopped at Ruby Tuesday for dinner (yes, the one Amanda works at, but she was back at the house with our pack of dogs). Between the traffic and a couple of other things I've since forgotten, we were running pretty late given the six hour drive ahead of us. Just as we finally got back on the road I realized I hadn't taken the antibiotic I'd been prescribed for a sinus infection. You're supposed to take them with food or they'll upset your stomach, so we pulled over almost as soon as we headed out again so that I could get the pill out of my bag in the trunk and take it. Big mistake.

A few miles up I-75 I started feeling sick. Really, really, nauseatingly sick. I figured I'd tough it out and hope it would pass, because it had already taken us so long to get underway. But within a few minutes I realized we were going to have to stop or I was going to toss my cookies all over the car. I thought I could at least make it to the next exit but within just a couple of minutes I knew that wasn't going to be possible. Brian pulled over and right there next to I-75 I left my own special memorial to Ruby Tuesday. He rubbed my back as I puked my guts out in the grass on the shoulder of the highway, while the kids sat in the car silently. I think they were traumatized.

The moral of that story is that antibiotics and Pinot Noir - even one glass - don't mix. I didn't think about that fact because the doctor had given me samples, which didn't have all those silly warning labels about things that we all think we already know. I did know not to drink wine while I was on them...I just forgot about it until about five or ten minutes after I swallowed the pill. Ugh.

On Sunday morning when we got up and got ready to head back to Atlanta, we discovered Brian's grandfather had lost control of his left arm - symptomatic of a stroke, with which he was familiar since he'd already had a few. This seemed mild in comparison to the others, from what I understand. He was upset, no doubt worrying about how he was going to get his goats fed and take care of everything else around his farm. Brian's dad, who is on oxygen, was visibly stressed with his mom being in assisted living and his nearly 90-year-old dad apparently having had another stroke. He has been regularly driving down from Michigan to stay at the farm for various stretches of time. Given his lung problems he often doesn't even have the energy of his dad, but he does what he can. But he got his dad to the ER that morning.

We went to visit B's grandma again, then went over to the ER to see his grandpa before heading back toward Atlanta. By the time we got there Grandpa was in good spirits and telling all the young ladies how pretty they were. He's in a facility similar to the one B's grandma is in, doing rehab and doing pretty well. It's kind of a blessing that, if he had to have a stroke at all, everyone was there. Had that not been the case he no doubt would have gone out and tried to feed his goats and do all his chores, and there would be a high probability he'd have injured himself given the loss of control over half his body. Plus, now neither he nor B's grandma has to be home alone fending for themselves while the other is in the hospital.

Rambling, Rocking

David headed back to Iraq on Monday after a couple of weeks of leave. I'm still waiting on blog posts about his & Liubinka's new four-legged family member, as well as seeing some of the video he shot with his new toy (a digital video camera). I hear he had a lot of catching up to do while on leave, so he'll get a pass...but only a temporary one!

Amanda is going to dog sit here for the weekend while I head to Kentucky with Brian & Co. to visit his grandma. Grandma hasn't been doing too well lately. I hear she's stubborn, independent and did what she felt like doing instead of what doctors told her she had to do (sound familiar?) to get/stay healthy. So after falling for something like the 57th time she has been in some sort of extended care facility and has been less than thrilled about being there and losing her independence.

I think Amanda will bring some or all of her puppies, making for a big ol' doggie sleepover. She will have to try to tame this pack into submission on her own - Steve has to work all weekend and will not accompany her. I don't think the dogs will give her too much trouble once they realize who is in charge of the treats.

The cold weather is making my skin dry out to the point of being itchy and painful. I never thought I'd say that given that I have battled a greasy face and varying degrees of acne all my life. Stuff changes as you age.

Lastly, on a note that's completely, absolutely unrelated to anything I just wrote, I have to share this video of KT Tunstall performing Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. The song was released last year, I believe, so you may have heard it. I bought it from the iTunes store a while back without knowing anything about the amazing way the artist put it together, because it just rocks. Even if you don't like this genre you have to give her props.

Frozen Poop is Easier to Scoop!

No snow here, but it is a very frosty morning out. Frozen grass, frozen ground, frozen dog poop!

Two of the country's foremost experts on the duration of winter (General Beauregard Lee and Punxsutawny Phil) agreed yesterday that we will have an early spring. This is good news, however government meteorologists disagree. Something about El Niño dissipating. Not sure who I should trust: the government or a couple of celebrity rodents.

Groundhogs aren't the only ones getting attention on February 2nd - at least not around here. Zipper the Bichon, as well as Christina the Lovely (Brian's eldest) were born on the 2nd. I don't know about Zipper, but I heard Christina celebrated by working at Chick-fil-A until 10:30 p.m., after which her dad treated her and her brother and sister to ice cream cake before sending them all to bed. Brian said the daily floggings were withheld in honor of Christina's birthday.

Brian vs. The Mailbox

My mailbox looked like it had been whacked a couple of times before I ever bought my house. One weekend I got tired of looking at it and decided to get a new one. It would be an inexpensive DIY project that I could handle myself. Or so I thought.

I got a nicer, bigger mailbox at Home Depot and went out to the curb to remove the old one and replace it with the shiny new one. Ha. It wasn't happening. Between the rusted-on hardware and my lack of proper tools I was ill equipped to get the old mailbox off of the mounting bracket, to say nothing of installing the new one. I don't know how I could let something that should have been so simple kick my butt like that, but it did and the new mailbox has been sitting in my garage since early Spring.

A couple of guys said they'd fix it for me but never made good on their word. Though that might have been indicative of their character in general it was the least of the problems with them. Angela couldn't believe I'd neither managed to replace it nor talk anyone else into doing it for me; she threatened to do it (which would make me look even wimpier) but still it sat in the garage. When Cherie and Kelly came out to visit in July I was still grumbling about it. I think in a way it came to symbolize my love life. Yikes.

So here comes Brian. You might remember him as my partner in crime for the Craftsman house trespassing adventure. Anyway, we were going out on our first date-date: the kind where the guy comes and picks the girl up at her house and everything. We'd gone a couple of places together and talked on the phone a lot before this point so I wasn't really nervous, and he didn't seem to be, either, when he arrived. I grabbed my stuff and we got into his car to head out for our date. He threw it into reverse and promptly backed into that damn mailbox!

I could not stop laughing. If he wasn't feeling nervous and dorky before, he probably was now. Poor guy. I'm not sure he believed me when I reassured him that I had a vendetta against that mailbox and felt no ill will toward him for backing into it. Actually, it was only his side view mirror that clobbered it. Still, the impact made the post lean like the Tower of Pisa. He felt bad about running over my mailbox the first time he came to pick me up. I know this because he said so repeatedly. Then he said he was going to fix it. I thought to myself "I've heard this before," and wasn't going to hold my breath.

I know Brian well enough now that I can bring up the mailbox and tease him about it. It's still not fixed, either, a fact that came up in conversation again while we were on the phone last night. He said, "I'm going to fix your mailbox this weekend." I said, "Can I have that in writing?"



UPDATE: Brian conquers the mailbox!

Says Brian: "I vanquished my foe."

Look at my shiny new mailbox!