Quickly becoming the crazy neighbor lady

I've been driving by these beauties for weeks. Today I stopped and bought them. If they disappear I'm coming after you!

I now have more flamingos than children. You can see the original one here.

Hoping this doesn't end in a disease being named after me

Day 5 of being sick. I'm starting to lose my sparkling sense of humor.

Don't tell my mom. I told her I'd go to the doctor on Friday. I was too busy being miserable. And avoiding the whole blood pressure thing.

Sigh . . .

Heartbroken

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to buy new shoes every month. That hasn't worked out. Mostly because there is long list of other things that need to be paid for first.

I've had my eye on these for a few months. I waited to get them until there was some extra money. I tried to order them today, but now Nike is sold out in my size.

I am so sad.

Man's best friend

Have you seen this picture yet? For those of you who don't know the story, a U.S. Navy SEAL from Iowa, Jon Tumilson, was killed recently when his helicopter was shot down over Afghanistan.

This picture from his funeral last week shows his best friend, a Labrador retriever named Hawkeye, watching over him to the very end.

Go ahead and cry. I need some Kleenex myself.

Seeing this picture all over the local and national news has made me think about the faithful family member we have here at the Hoop-lah house. We adopted her three years ago as a puppy, chosen for no other reason than we knew that she was the one. She belonged with us. You non-animal lovers might scoff, but everyone else will know exactly what I mean when I say the connection was immediate.

She loves us all equally and in our own ways. With Riley and Big Dog, she is rambunctious and crazy, egging them on to chase her or play. She jumps, she licks, she fights, she teases, she cajoles. With Carly she is more reserved, reflecting Carly's preference to not be licked or jumped on. She sits with her beside the couch every day after school watching TV. With me, she is my constant companion during the day, at my side or under my desk while I work. Where I go she goes.

And then, like clockwork, she gets up and goes to the window every afternoon, watching and waiting. Because she knows that her day is about to begin. We should all have someone who is as devoted to us as C.C. and Hawkeye.

 

First Day of School

A little melancholy, but no tears.

And boy is it quiet.

Of course you realize this means war! - Bugs Bunny

You know you have a bug problem when the arrival of the pest control guy makes you almost as happy as seeing the mailman.

Take that ants! You crawled up my leg one too many times.

Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood?

In your neighborhood, in your neighborhood, say who are the people in your neighborhood, they're the people that you meet each day.

So Riley was walking the dog today when he saw the police bring someone out of a nearby home in handcuffs. Nice!

Hoop-lah all wet 2011, vol. 2

You might think I haven't spent much time at the pool this summer. Believe me, I have spent lots of time there. I've looked for good stories to share, but it's been sort of slow. Even with raging teenage hormones. Yawn . . . show me something else. I'm bored.

That changed today when I saw the one-legged lifeguard.

Try wrapping your mind around that. A thousand questions and thoughts flooded my head when I saw him as I floated the lazy river.

WOW!  How can he stand there? Does he have a crutch? Maybe I can't see it. What AMAZING balance. Can he propel himself in the water with only one leg? WOW, that kid is an inspiration . . .

And then I floated around the bend and saw that he, in fact, had two legs. Total party foul.

I'm blaming it on the Coppertone.