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Double-Dog Dare You

Posted on August 25, 2008 by auburnchick

Today when I awoke, I eagerly awaited the time when I would get home from work so I could start knitting something that isn’t a dishcloth. Last night was the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics, and I finished off my last dishcloth (I’ll try to post pictures tomorrow).

Of course, I had a few small chores to do (as most moms do), and then I had to take Soccer Chick to meet with her sports trainer. When we got home, it was dinner time. I let the dogs out since they had already eaten and needed to do what most living things do after they eat (i.e. go potty).

All of a sudden, Mr. AuburnChick walked out of the other room and informed me that I better check on the dogs. Apparently, Molly and Pele had escaped…once again.

Yes, I said “again,” as in this-is-not-the-first-time “again.”

Grrr…

I don’t understand why, but almost every dog we’ve ever owned has been an escape artist and a runner. Our first family dog, Cali (spoken like “Collie,” but with that weird spelling…blame Soccer Chick for the name), was a Beagle. You think Beagles can’t run? Think again. Every time she spied an open door, she bolted. Boy was she fast too. That was the most stubborn dog I think I’ve ever faced off with. Eventually, we parted ways, with me giving her to a good friend who had the magic touch and got that dog trained so she could leave the door open for hours and the dog didn’t leave the house. Of course, “Duke,” as they renamed her (weird for a female, but my friend’s husband was a John Wayne fan…whatever), continued to exhibit Beagle traits by raiding the leftovers each night.

Anyhow…I digress…

Aubie, my nine-year-old lab mix, has also been a runner…from day one. One time, she ran across a busy street and into another neighborhood. Mr. AuburnChick almost gave her up to the streets that day, but the Chick children, who were quite young, cried so much that he relented, and we all jumped into the car to find her. Imagine our consternation when we finally spotted her…in somebody’s backyard. All we could see was Aubie being sprayed with a hose. Aubie saw us and started trotting down the street. We drove very, very slowly, holding the back door open and calling her name. Aubie calmly walked on, occasionally looking at us over her left shoulder and plodding on. We probably drove half a block in this fashion until we finally coaxed her in the car.

We were fuming but inwardly relieved that she was back home where she belonged.

Pele joined our family about a year and a half ago when Soccer Chick saved her birthday money and used a PowerPoint presentation to convince Mr. AuburnChick to allow her to bring a second dog into our home. Pele has been fairly easy-going since the get-go, but one bad habit he brought to us was his digging. Pele is a lab/heeler mix, and he has BIG paws! It wouldn’t take him long to dig a swimming pool, let me tell you. However, he’s never been much of a runner…just a digger.

Last summer, I fell in love with Molly when I spied her at our local animal shelter (all of our dogs, except for Cali, came from animal shelters). From day one, I knew that Molly was a runner; however, she only weighed ten pounds when she came to my home, so she was easy to chase down. No so anymore.

When you combine Molly’s mind with Pele’s paws…well, you’ve got trouble. I like to tell people that Molly is the brains of the operation, and Pele is the muscle. What a team.

At first, the dogs only escaped to my neighbors’ yards. Thank goodness for kind neighbors…until the day when one of them called me on my cell phone and kindly, but firmly, told me that I would be replacing his sod if I didn’t do something ASAP. Boy, did I fuss at my dogs. I was mortified.

I can’t tell you how many kitchen items I have used to plug the holes around the fence. I used to own a George Foreman Grill…the kind with the tall stand. Due to my doggies’ exploits, the grill has been dismantled. The skillet part is in one hole, and the stand is in another. Hey…whatever works.

I bought a wireless pet containment system for my yard and put the special collars on Molly and Pele (Aubie does not need this because she’s older and pretty much stays home now). However, I don’t always put the collars on the dogs. They know this too, let me tell you. They also found a new place to dig. Under the fence gate…the gate that leads to the outside world.

Great.

And I wondered why there was so much dirt getting tracked into the house. It’s because Big Bad Pele was digging his little heart out…working it a little at a time so I wouldn’t notice. Have you ever seen the show Prison Break? Well, that’s exactly how M and P work.

The worst feeling in the world (well, okay, ONE of the worst) is to suddenly look out your front window and see a white streak go past. That’s when I know that the dogs have escaped.

This has happened so many times that Rockin’ Rooster can put on a helmet and jump on his bike in about five seconds flat. He has a nose for where the dogs run, usually arriving home holding onto Molly’s collar and Pele walking calmly beside her.

So, now that you know the history, you’ll understand my afternoon. As I said, I was excited to finally get to knit something besides a dishcloth, when we discovered that the dogs had escaped once again. After they returned home (yes, they do sometimes come back on their own), I got mad. I got out the shovel, heavy rake, and hatchet and proceeded to clear the weeds behind the gate. The hole beneath the gate was deep. As I hunted for something to put in the hole.,I laid eyes on the plywood I use to cover the windows during hurricane season.

Hmmm…my brain frantically put the pieces together. Would they fit??

I did a little more dirt-rearranging and wedged two of those babies into the ground, covering them with just enough soil to make it look like the dogs would be able to dig.

Heeheehee…

That’s my evil laugh.

In the middle of this chore, Mr. AuburnChick walked outside.

“You picked a strange time to work in the yarn,” he calmly said to me.

I looked up at him between my sweat-soaked humidified hair strands, holding out my dirt-streaked arms and gave him a look that wasn’t exactly loving.

He got the point and walked away.

Yeah, don’t you dare offer to help after that comment, I thought to myself.

So, the plywood is down.  All that remains is for the dogs to test it out.  I double-dog dare them to escape this time.

I sure hope I don’t lose the dare.

Filed under: Pets | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

A Tuesday Worthy of Chocolate

Posted on May 14, 2008 by auburnchick


Pictures speak louder than words.

Tuesday was not the best day. I was greeted at work by a friend bearing a bag of M&M’s. Out of the blue. Very much like my friend. She loves dark chocolate. I’m a milk chocolate kind of gal. Common denominator? Chocolate. The perfect base for friendship. We have a way of bringing chocolate goodies to each other at just the right time. I can see God’s hand in what might seem trivial matters to some people. Chocolate is not trivial to me.

Especially on days like Tuesday.

Without going into details, it was just one of those days. I was glad to get home. However, upon finding out that a new employee was starting the next day (yep…very short notice), I spent the entire evening prepping their computer…remotely from home. Thank goodness for technology. Thank goodness for chocolate.

We had a new gal start in our office this week (a different person from who’s starting on Wednesday), so we took her out to lunch. What a treat for me! I never take lunch since I work part-time. The lure of Mexican food was too much to resist. I quickly jumped in my car and followed my boss.

She started going the back way to the restaurant. I followed blindly. However, when we started pulling up to a seafood restaurant, I got concerned. Surely they wouldn’t have changed the restaurant without calling me to make sure I knew? She had no way of knowing that I was following her.

However, the car I was following passed the restaurant. Now I knew that something was not right.

“Ring, Ring…”

“Hello, boss. Where are you?”

“At the Mexican restaurant, of course!”

Great. I followed the wrong car. Good thing this city is so small. I was there in no time, embarrassed. What kind of impression was I making on the new gal? “Oh, it’s just AuburnChick…you know…”

My bad day extended into my home life.

I’m working very hard to get my dogs trained properly. This has been on my mind since my first attempt to take all three to the dog kennel. See this post if you haven’t heard this story. Let’s just say that I could do the Iditorod with my dogs.

I’ve read that dogs need to be walked…a couple of times a day. Simply running around the backyard is not ample exercise. So, I’m trying to be a good mommy and walk the dogs properly. Easier said than done.

Yesterday, I went to the bookstore and bought this:

In case you don’t know who this man is, he is the Dog Whisperer. I’ve seen some of his shows, and I’m amazed at how quickly the dogs respond to him. The biggest thing about his training, however, is that the owners are actually the ones being trained. Boy, do I need training!

Ever since Pele joined our family, we’ve allowed ourselves to be controlled by our most adorable furry family members. Aubie, in true first-born fashion, was never allowed on the furniture. We were strict with her, and she is the best behaved dog in the world. Not so with Pele and Molly.

So, we’re doing doggie boot camp. We’re starting with walking. You would think that walking a dog is easy. Wrong-O! Molly and I only made it around the cul-de-sac. Walk, stop (when she pulls), make her sit, treat. Walk, stop, make her sit, treat. Over and over and over. I can’t even begin to imagine what the neighbors must have been thinking. Hopefully something like, “Boy, that lady sure loves her dog a lot.” Good mommies make their children behave, whether they are the two legged or four legged kind.

Regardless, my hands are sore from the leash, so knitting has been slow the last couple of days.

After coming in from our training session, I checked dinner, which was in the crockpot. BBQ beef sandwiches were on the menu. Mouth watering, I looked at the meat. Hmmm…it looks…a little pink…

My hands carefully touch the side of the crockpot. Cold. A look at the front assures me that the thing is turned on low. But what’s this? The cord…it’s not plugged into the outlet.

Sigh…

What a dork. I forgot to plug it in.

Sigh…

A whole roast ruined. I had even doubled the sauce mix too because it is so delicious. All that $$ gone down the drain.

So, the kids were reminded of how great it is to have me cooking again and to not take it for granted. They actually took it in stride, which pleased me.

The fact that this happened today just did not surprise me.

Thank goodness for the goodies pictured at the top of this post.

Oh, and here’s a knitting update. I have managed to complete almost three repeats of the Tidal Wave socks for my daughter’s teammate. Here’s how they look so far.

I am using Tofutsies, color #799. It’s a fabulous pattern…very easy.

So, on to Wednesday. Hopefully I won’t have to eat the whole bag of M&M’s. I can’t make any promises though.

Filed under: Knitting, Pets, This-n-That | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

I Spoke Too Soon

Posted on April 18, 2008 by auburnchick

So much for a quiet Wednesday. No sooner did I post that entry did my life turn upside down once again.

After dozing off on the couch…killing time until my son’s doctor appointment, I arose to find a pool of blood on the floor where my dog, Aubie, had been sleeping. I do not exaggerate. It was not a spot, but a big puddle. I took a picture for the vet, but I’ll spare you. Her stomach had been churning all day…sounding kind of like hunger pangs. Well, apparently, while she was sleeping, every time it panged, blood seeped out of one of her ends. Yeah, not a pretty sight.

You know how much I adore my animals, so naturally I panicked. My regular vet was out, so I was referred to the sister office, which is actually closer to my house. Perfect. I made an appointment and tearfully called Mr. AuburnChick. Aubie is the oldest of our dogs…so we’re especially tight. He commanded me to call him the moment I left the vet.

No longer caring as much about my son’s sore throat, I canceled his appointment. He didn’t mind, explaining that having his throat swabbed ranked about as high as getting a suppository.

I had about an hour before the appointment, so I eagerly jumped online, praying that Rabbitrescuer, my KnittingHelp buddy, was in the chatroom. She works at an emergency animal hospital. Praise the Lord…she was there. I tearfully described the situation, and she calmed me down by explaining that it was probably HGE.  It’s very treatable if caught early.

Off I went to the vet, empowered with a little bit more knowledge.

After assessing Aubie’s condition, Mr. Ponytailed Vet-man (kind of looked like Steven Seagal) explained that my Aubie probably had a case of colitis. He told me to put her on Senior formula Sensitive Tummy dog food. My doggie is now considered an old lady, I guess. I walked out of there with four cans of bland, wet dog food, a probiotic, antibiotic, and anti-diarrhea medicine. Poor Aubie. She’s not enjoying the extra “attention,” although she’s loving the soft dog food.

So, that was Wednesday.

Thursday and Friday weren’t too bad. Work was stressful as always. Being the computer tech at work means I am often expected to have answers to problems that occur without rhyme or reason. I enjoy the challenge, but it’s a huge responsibility.

I managed to work on the mate to my Monkey sock, but I’ve only completed two pattern repetitions thus far. I’ve set the sock aside for a little while to concentrate on a couple of other projects.

I received another Oddball Baby Blanket in the mail. It’s called Rainbow Joy, and it’s garter stitch. I’m going to use green. I’ll post a picture when I’m done.

I’ve also decided to make a comfort throw for my daughter’s close friend’s mother. She just found out that she has colon cancer and will be having surgery next week. Someone on KnittingHelp suggested the pattern. So I rushed to Hobby Lobby to pick out some yarn. Her daughter told me her favorite color — teal — but of course there wasn’t enough. I called the daughter back, and she said her mom likes bright colors. Of course, the store didn’t have enough of any bright colors. So, I settled for Dark Raspberry…

I hope to have the blanket completed next week.

On my way home, I stopped at Joann Fabrics. I still had $50 of my birthday money, and I knew that the Ott lights were on sale this week. Here’s what I got, for just under the $50 I had set aside…

I’m off tomorrow…driving my daughter across the state to soccer practice. I’ll have two afternoons to work on the throw.

Please pray for my friend and her family.

Filed under: Knitting, Pets | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

AuburnChick is a Photographer!

Posted on March 26, 2008 by auburnchick

I started working on my Greenaway Fingerless Gloves last night. I even completed the first one, but I decided not to post a picture until I’ve finished the second one.

So, not wanting to disappoint my faithful readers, I pondered about what to post today. I have a picture I want to share. It’s on my phone, though. Of course, when I bought my Macbook Pro, the phone software was not compatible. Go figure. I love the Mac…I’m just starting to stare down my phone (I can’t wait until November…contract will be up, and I will get a new phone!).

Anyhow…I turned into computer techno mode.

My children cringe when I get “In the Zone.” You know what I’m talking about…blank stare straight ahead, not really hearing what they are saying.

“Hey, Mama…I’m going out drinking with the guys.”

“Have a good time,” you say to your 13 year old.

So, I was “In the Zone.” I must figure out a way to get these pictures off of my phone. No longer do I want one picture. Oh no…I want them ALL.

I tried using my daughter’s laptop first, feeling pressured because:

a) She does not like letting me “borrow” her computer even though I am the person who fixes it every time something goes wrong,

b) Same daughter keeps peering around the screen and asking, “What are you doing now? Are you being your nosy self and reading my email?”

She’s clearly forgotten that I’m “In the Zone.” She could be planning a rendevous with Prince William for all I know or care at the moment.

The pressure was too much. I decided to use my son’s laptop instead. Daughter nearly tore her computer out of my hands in her desperation to get her prized possession back.

I connected the phone and laptop, and the driver installed. Good so far. Nope…not really. I can’t get the computer to read my phone. Rats. Fortunately, I had long ago installed a little program called BitPim. It’s useful for grabbing stuff off of your phone. You can even use it to install your own ringtones. I’ve done this. Trust me…I’m a computer geek at heart.

But the program wasn’t cooperating. I sink further into “The Zone.”

“Mama, what’s for dinner?”

“You mean you’re not done growing yet? I thought after the age of 10 I didn’t have to feed you anymore.”

Daughter warmed up leftovers.

I start clicking buttons now…out of a sense of frustration. I have no idea how, but all of a sudden I got a green light. This means that the phone is connected! I’ve always heard that God is merciful. Well, okay, I’ve experienced His mercy many times, but it is nice to be reminded that He sees you in all your pain. Yes, even the pain of a frustrated, self-taught computer geek who only wants to grab a few pictures (correction…ALL the pictures) from her phone. Nothing major, you know.

Here are a few of the better ones…

This is the cake that one of my co-workers made for me. My birthday is coming up, and my office has a monthly celebration. A neat tidbit is that I was born on Easter Sunday (just in case you are ever a contestant on Jeopardy, and Alex asks you this question).

I made the next two pictures a little bigger so you can see better.

This picture is Pele, my daughter’s dog. He always stretches out and gets comfortable. He’s not shy, as you can see…baring his entire 70lb+ body…

The next picture is one you’ll have to look at real closely. That’s my Molly. There was a bone on the counter, and you better believe that she knew it was there. The dogs had been taking turns climbing on the couch and trying to figure out if their bodies were long enough to reach it. You could see the wheels in their brains turning. These are, after all, AuburnChick’s dogs. They ain’t dumb.

Sometimes, I like to take the dogs with me when I pick up my daughter from school. Imagine three not-small dogs in a Jeep. Should be cute, right? It is, until all of the high schoolers start walking out. Then the dogs start barking like crazy. My daughter is not amused.

This is Aubie — best dog in the world. She is so good…you just have no idea. She’s the oldest. You can talk to her like she’s a regular person. She LOVES going for rides!

Pele likes riding…to a point. He’s the whiner in the bunch. He’s the biggest baby you’ll ever see. But he’s so big that you just want to carry him around like a teddy bear.

And here’s Molly. This picture makes her look like the rascal that she is. She’s the child you have when you’re 40 and thought you were done. Yep…she’s my wild-child, but we just adore her.

And the last picture…well, it really is random. This is a dessert that I got when we went to San Diego for Thanksgiving.

Why in the world would I take a picture of food? People…it’s CHOCOLATE! It was so delicate and pretty. I had to share it. It looks like something from a TV food show. It was delicious too.

So, that’s it for now. I hope to have my other glove done tomorrow so I can post pictures!

Filed under: Pets, This-n-That | Tagged: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

AuburnChick Buys Metamucil

Posted on February 20, 2008 by auburnchick

Were you scared when you saw the title? And yet, here you are, continuing to read.

First of all, let’s be clear. The Metamucil was not for me. “Yeah, right,” you’re probably thinking to yourself. Trust me, there is no need for the stuff in AuburnChick’s household. We are, to put it bluntly, a family of poopers. Yep. We have that down pat.

The parents, Mr. AuburnChick, I mean, and myself, passed down this wonderful talent to our amazing children. We knew that they had gotten the pooping gene when our daughter, all of three days old, proceeded to poop — in an arc — over Mr. AuburnChick’s body in bed that first night. I was changing her, and, well, let’s just say it looked like a rocket had exploded. Dad just watched in fear as it went over his prone body. He puffed up with pride when he was sure it was safe to move. It was a sight to behold.

Wanna hear another story? Oh, wait, this is a story about Metamucil. So sorry…I got caught up in the memories…

Anyhow, here’s why (and who) I had to buy the stuff for.

The other day, I came home from work, eager to see my dear sweet dogs. That’s one thing that’s so wonderful about them. They are tremendously happy to see you when you arrive.

Well, I opened the door to let them in, and my sweet little Molly (pictured below) came in and plopped on the floor.

Molly

Huh? What’s this? This is not my Molly. She’s usually so happy to see us that her entire back end wags. Not that day.

So, a little worried, I call her to me. She takes two steps and lays down. Oh no. Now I’m worried, and I get ready to dial the vet. But first I have to inspect my baby. Are hips supposed to look like that? I haven’t a clue. I’m just a computer tech, and I don’t see an escape key anywhere.

Somehow, I think to lift her up and pull her waggy tail up.

Uh oh. I see something. I don’t think I’ll describe it. But, I had to — uh — get a paper towel and pull it out. She cried a little. I wanted to as well. I’m not exactly used to pulling stuff out of my dog’s behind.

Well, that fixed her. It was almost as good as putting a band-aid on a two year old. She unleashed her thankfulness by running all over the house.

Does the story end here. Of course not. This is AuburnChick’s blog, after all. I give you all the fun details of my life.

So, I decide to pick up the phone and call the vet anyhow. I haven’t talked to them in, hmmm, a couple of weeks? I’m like a neurotic parent of a newborn. I love my furry babies.

Ring, ring (do phones actually ring these days?)

“Hello, AuburnChick’s personal vet at your service.” (I’m exaggerating a little, of course)

“Hi, this is Aubie, Pele, and Molly’s mommy. Do dogs get constipated.” (Imagine that, I get right to the point!)

“Uh, ok, uh, sure. Let me ask the vet about this.” She puts me on hold.

Is she laughing? Probably. I can picture the entire office making fun of me. I should charge them a fee for entertaining them.

She comes back on the phone and assures me that it’s normal, and to buy my baby some Metamucil.

“As in old people Metamucil?” I exclaim.

Yep, that’s it.

You mean that I have to go to the store and have people watch me buy it? Uh oh.

What’s the big deal, you ask? Well, at times like this, I forget that I’m 30-something and regress to the teenage years where buying stuff like — well, you know — is plain old embarrassing. This coming from the woman who loves to do Shakira impressions in public in front of my daughter. Regardless, I put it off for a day.

The next day I ease into Target. I really do not want people to think that I’m buying this for me. I’m the Queen Pooper who’s given birth to Princess and Prince Pooper. I want to shout all through the aisles:

“I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM POOPING!”

Mercifully, I don’t do this and discreetly take my item to the cashier, pay for it, and hurry out to my car.

Oh, and for those of you who have a little trouble “going,” I hope you haven’t taken offense. It’s just that we poopers are a proud bunch. It’s probably good to humbled every now and then.

Filed under: Pets | Tagged: , | 3 Comments »

In Memory of Chloe

Posted on December 23, 2007 by auburnchick

Chloe
Chloe
Joined God’s creatures in Heaven on 12-21-07
You will be in our hearts forever

Filed under: Pets | Leave a comment »

The Dogs Display Their Christmas Finery

Posted on December 1, 2007 by auburnchick

Alright…I’ll admit it…occasionally, I get a little silly…despite being an “old” mom.

On a routine errand to get a bag of dog food, I had to splurge. I love spoiling my animals. The rabbit has more chew toys than Donald Trump’s baby, for goodness sake! But, I digress…

Here’s what I came home with TODAY (I’m sure the dogs would have been happy if I had left well-enough alone!):

Pele is not amused…
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Molly wondered why we didn’t get a clue from Pele’s reaction…she readily displayed her displeasure.
dsc02825.jpg

The Santa suit didn’t make Aubie happy either.
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Yeah, I know…Molly didn’t seem thrilled either.
dsc02821.jpg

So, nice “mom” that I am, I returned the costumes, which were way too small anyway. BUT, something else caught my eye…must get three you know…wouldn’t be fair to leave anyone out…

Poor Molly…she’s tired of this game. Pele was already tired and refused to have his individual portrait taken.
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That’s it, Aubie, just bide your time…the torture will be over soon…
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By the time I took this picture, the dogs were too exhausted to move.
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Boy, do I love my animals! Can’t you tell?? <chuckle>

Filed under: Pets | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

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