Road Trip

Woo hooo-  a road trip with three other women. The Dinosaur, two other friends and I are traveling East. 

It's been Many years since I've done this. 

I remember the one road trip we took to Illinois  somewhere for a 4-H competition. 

It was my mom, our 4-H leader and 3 teenagers; myself and the twins. I'm pretty sure that I drove part of the trip. We went past Chicago on that trip. 

I have to admit that the trip between Detroit to Chicago is pretty boring. Especially when you've done it more than 5 times. 

Anyway- 5 women in one hotel room is stretching the limit on anyone. 

I think it was more taxing on my mom as the other two girls were terrible sleepers and slow to get ready. In my head when I think of it - I imagine my high school French teacher yelling "Veit, Veit" at students to hurry up. I heard that story from students who went to Europe with her. 

( I just spent 10 minutes trying to get the right spelling for "Veit" and proper translation.  Well- can't find one that works. I tried hurry up, rush, faster, & something else- nothing works.  Maybe one of my Canadian friends can help me - as my teacher was from Quebec and the word might be slang from there. )

Road trips- that was the point of this post.  

Today we are driving from Detroit to Niagara  Falls, NY.  Thru Ohio - yup one person does not have a passport or enhanced license.  Although people on this trip have said other people have told them that going thru Canada is slower due to Construction and the boarder crossings. 

Ohio is just the turn pike and the cops.  We have seen lots if Po-Po in Ohio today. They were totally nailing everyone today. We saw them out with radar guns and friends. 

We just got to Pennsylvania and saw this Casino race track when we stopped for gas. We hit a Sheets gas station. It was pretty fabulous. Think like 7-eleven and huge gas station. It was new and clean. Just what I like.  :-). 

Off and on we can see Lake Erie out the driver side of the car and the weather is beautiful today. I'm glad we decided to drive to the falls today and not on the way back.  I'm sure it will rain on the way home. You just know it. 

Well off to watch out the windows to Buffalo. 

We'll be on the mountains of Massachusetts for most of the weekend with no phone or Internet service. See us when we emerge. 

Job Applications

It occurs to me that job applications now are much more difficult to deal with.

My case being today, I spent 5+ hours working on ONE job application.
First because they asked a question that I really had to think about and go searching for the proper words to express my thoughts in the answer.
Second because they asked for 15 years of job info.  Yes - 15 years.
I had to dig around in papers that I thought were long gone to get the rest of the info.  Thank goodness for Google, otherwise I would not have had addresses to go with some of those 15 years.  Heck, I don't have address for at least 1 or 2 because the business is no longer around.

The funny thing is - this is not the first day I have worked on that application.  I was just very determined today to finish it.

I don't feel to terrible about the really hard question, even though I know I asked about 5 people for help.  I got some and got some better ideas of where to find the right words, but it was tough.

I just sort of felt 15 years was a little too much to ask for.  In this world of I only had that job to tide me over, or that business closed down and that's why I'm looking, to the poor teachers who keep getting laid off (You know who you are). 15 years could take a couple pages.  I even left out the substitute teaching I did this past year, because I have NO idea what address to put down for those weird companies.

I have tried to keep some of the more difficult information stored in my contacts now, but I still have to hit google almost every time I do an application, because I just don't have a list of ALL the jobs I had in one place.

So, MY suggestion to all of you- is to start that list now.  Sure you'll be dropping those wonderful years at Taco Bell off your Resume real soon, but who knows how far back your next employer will ask you to take your list.
Make sure you have a company name, address, phone number - the actual dates you worked there and probably someone you liked to keep on a list with their own email and phone number - just in case the company goes down.
I do have info on a couple people who I worked with from companies that are no longer around. I put their name and number down in case they want to just talk to someone who worked with me.

Good luck in Your Job searching.  I know mine is going very slow.

Best items ever

Traveling

We have been on the road for a week. 

Sleeping is always a worry on the road.  It's not your bed, it doesn't have the same sounds, or your pets aren't in the same place.  

Well, I give you the next best thing. 

And this worked even on my mothers hardest bed of the universe. ( I woke up in pain but I did sleep). 

There are two items here and the only thing missing is iPhone ( which I used to take the picture). 

First is the double USB plug from Costco- although I know they are at Kmart, meijers and probably Walmart. I have an iPhone 5 so it uses the bottom plug- to the white cord. 

The second item is the speaker. Mine is a rechargeable USB powered speaker. There are two kinds of these. Mine is the kind you can daisy chain a few together to maximize sound. The Dinosaur has one that changes color while it plays. 

I use this for sleeping so the lights don't help me. 

With the 2 USB plug both items have power and are close enough to each other to work just fine.  I like it on a bedside table. 

WHY?? You ask.  

Well I found an app called Sleep Machine lite. 

It plays different white noise sounds. Like wind, waves and stuff like that. You can take a few sounds and mix them to get your blend. 

It also has a timer and you can add an alarm at the end or not. 

These items have made it so that I can get at least 5-7 good hours of sleep even in the worst situations. Plus- I only have to carry ONE small bag with me. Not my whole computer. Or blow out the tiny speakers on the phone. 

(Which I did last summer to my old phone after 2 weeks on the road.)

Hey - it also works great for a instant hotel room party.  Or sharing music with a small group. 

The speaker does work with its rechargeable battery, but I have not tested out its battery life yet. I'll probably do that later this month. 

Well- sweet dreams. Off to plug in and pass out.  

Wonderful explanation.....

Think Tech tumblr - Technology in Education

Okay, so the guy (I assume) did not have his name anywhere on his blog.  Anonymous is a good way to go in many things.

Someone posted it on Facebook - oh that would be Kelli the queen of Adult Ed.  Anyway, this is a lovely explanation of why Teachers get fed up with other people telling us how to do our jobs.  Have you ever looked at the class list for teacher curriculum.  Philosophy and "How the brain works" types classes fit in there.
 "WHY?" you ask, because teachers are dealing with Brains that are NOT done growing.

Those students sitting out in front of you have half Baked brains and that is BEFORE they drink that caffeinated beverage or Monster Drink, or eat that horrible bag of Hot Cheetos in front of you, or even worse, get High before school or even better drunk.  (Don't get me started on Red Dye 40)

Those students are still creating brain cells that will be important to them down the road.

So the next time someone tries to tell me or my friends how to do our job. You can go take a couple classes on adolescent development, and maybe a few more on social work in teenagers.
Think that would be a great thing for parents to need to do.  Your kid enters High school or Middle school and you need to go take a couple classes.

Matt, I think that is a calling for you.

Thanks for letting me rant.


Twitter- 20 things to help teach  - Just found that and figured this was the best place to stick it.

ANNOYED

Sorry for the Screaming.

I wanted to share this really cool article with you.
And I refuse to do it.

Why?

The sight that the article was on had not just one Fill the screen Ad that I closed but then ANOTHER ad popped up at the bottom of the page with AUDIO and Video.

I was impressed with the writing of the article so I slogged past the horrible ads and read the whole thing.  But I will not Share a link to an article with that much garbage on the page.  There were like 6 more ads running down the side of the page.

The Article was about WHY they ask you so many questions when you adopt an animal.  Be it a dog, or cat or whatever.
I was impressed with the overall quality of the article.  Yes, they really do need to ask you those questions and yes, answer them honestly, or you are no better than the person that was the reason the dog showed up at the rescue in the first place.

I love my two dogs, and yes, they have done things that I think other people might have taken them back.  The $600 in medical bills for that garbage escapade is the price you pay for having a pet.

So, the next time you hear someone complain about the price of a pure bred dog or even worse the price of an adopted dog.  The agency is trying to pay for all the other dogs that weren't adopted, the cost of the shots, the ring worm they had to get rid of and the neuters for all the animals that show up.  If you aren't willing to pay that price, then you might not be willing to get medical attention if something happens to YOUR pet.

Remember, the money you spent to get the pet is not the last you will pay, like a toy.  (Although with tablet you just keep right on paying)  So, that pet - is going to COST you more money.  Figure out if you can AFFORD it before you bring it home.

Update Apps - Lose it!!! and Coupon Sherpa

Alright-y then,
Tom gave me all kinds of crap for not actually TRYING the apps out.
So I did.

Lose it -

I think I like it.  Not sure if the novelty will wear off, but it's sort of fun putting all the stuff i that I'm eating.
I love the scan the bar code deal.  Coke, Chobani, Grape nuts,- the thing works a ton better if you can actually scan a bar code of whatever it is your eating.
My biggest problem is that the size of things like - Milk or cereal - how much am I really eating?  I am not going to measure out all the food I eat. I don't see that happening.
Here is a screen shot of this mornings excitement.

I had to manually add the walking, but that wasn't too bad. I actually did more walking than my Run Keeper would admit, because When I stopped to pick up the poop in the yard - well she kept pausing.  I think that map probably looks hysterical today.  Lets see.


These are screen shots from Run Keeper.  This app I have been using since Early April.
And as you can see, my road does not exist yet.  If you come see me it will take you to Turkey run, behind our house.

 That is just my back yard.  HA
<---- p="">
This was the entire walk ---->

You can see all the pauses on the left side of the whole walk, where I was walking the dogs.  They either had to sniff, pee, or leave me presents.

Of course most of you are like - why is she talking about this.  Well, it shows WHY- I can't get my time down for a mile. LOL


Coupon Sherpa -

Yeah, I was right.  Not much in there- okay- lots of stuff that some people I know will be happy about.  Toy R Us and Baby's R Us of course have a bunch of stuff.

They have in Store Coupons, that have the bar code on them, so the person at the cash register can get it off your phone.   (Warning for those of you YOUNG people who have cracked screens or the cracked Screen film on your phone, this isn't going to work well for you - but what do you care - you won't use coupons anyway.)
They also have online coupons, where they will tell you the coupon code to type in.

My biggest problem is that they want you to give your email address to all the wonderful stores to sign you up to get the coupons.  Now, I know a few people and I myself get email from some stores.  It CLOGS up the darn inbox.
If they would PROMISE not to email me anymore and just send stuff to Coupon Sherpa - I would LOVE IT.  But, I am very sure that when I sign up to get coupons from Qdoba they are just going spam my inbox.
Yes, I know how to filter all that stuff to other spots in my inbox- but I still have to set it up to do that.

I have several more apps to work on- expect more on this subject.

Apps

Back to Dinosaur Training......

I was asked today by the Dinosaur to check out some apps to see if they were worth using or losing.
This is a bit of a challenge for me, because, well - I've gotten rather lazy.  (See previous posts. LOL)

Anyway - First one on the list is - Lose it.

I Google'd Lose it and found there is an App for both the iPhone and Kindle fire.  It might be the same app, didn't see a picture of the icon on the Amazon page.  But I did find the reviews there and that is really what I am looking for.

• The good - people say it is sort of balanced and they do a pretty good job of keeping track of all the stuff they eat. You can find lots of food from different restaurants.
• I noticed someone on the iPhone said it used to sync with RunKeeper (which I do use), but after an update it wasn't working.  Those kind of complaints happen when one app updates and the other hasn't yet.  I figure that is what happened.  RunKeeper and this app look like they are in it for the long haul.
• It has some complaints that connecting to social media might be on the premium version - of course, same for RunKeeper.  I still use the free version and am doing ok.  

So the question becomes - would I use this app.   I totally should use this app.  I know I need to lose a little weight and maybe my lovely self could be addicted to the filling in the info, instead of filling my face.  Ahh, what a lovely idea.  I haven't used it, but I'd be willing to give the free version a try.

Second app -  Coupon Sherpa

Ah, they named stuff after me.  Actually there are about 10 Apps with Sherpa in the name and then there is a company called Sherpa Solutions Business that makes a ton of apps.  So, much came up when I did a search for the app.  I found an About.Com review of the app and it made sense.

• This app is great if you have kids or buy lots of clothes, shoes and books.
• This is does nothing if you want to get your grocery coupons for food.
• Oh, if you love Starbucks- I saw it listed, so yeah okay- if you could get a Starbucks coupon each week, that could be a big saver.
• I think they have stuff for fast food and entertainment. 

Tanya from About.com said she saved 15% on something at Barnes and Noble and then 10% at Petco.  Sadly my dog food does not come from Petco.  My boys have delicate stomachs, ha ha ha. 

 For Free I would be willing to give it a try, I need to make some room on the screens. LOL

Third App -  Book Crawler Lite  

This app I can way in on a little more myself.  I did go check the reviews on my phone and then hit someone else's blog and their full review on it.  I personally use iBookshelf, that came out way before the Apple IOS update that included the books and newspaper shelf thing as a part of the phone.  And I found some interesting info.....

• Book Crawler shares all your books.  Other people see what you are reading.  (umm, I already do that with Goodreads - I don't need another app to do that)
• The Blog I found said they had a real problem with scanning their books in.  YES, you do have to download one of the Pic-to-shop or something like that scanner- but I already have that stuff for the QR codes everywhere.   Their problem was the phone can not keep up with the scanner, you can scan a ton of books, but it has to search online for the info to go with the ISBN number. (which means it has to connect online)
•  Oh, I just noticed on my iBookshelf that it connects to Goodreads and will show me reviews from that website.  (I totally do not need Book Crawler)
• I liked iBookshelf because it had a space for me to say if someone borrowed the book from me and WHO has it.  THAT is worth everything.  

Overall, I already have this app covered and I'll certainly stick to iBookshelf.  I still have a ton of books to add to it anyway, hate to start over- because that would suck... LOL  I wonder if I can go in and link iBookshelf to my Goodreads log in.  That would save a ton of time.    I totally PASS on this App.

Last one today -  Walkie Talkie Apps....

This category I'm not so sure about.  There were 15 apps right at the top.  One had a free version and then a paid version. ugh.  Okay, so I guess the point of this app is so that you are not using minutes but you can still talk on your phone.  This is where they DIVERGE greatly.

I read a ton of reviews and it is almost like there are two versions of this type of app.

1.  The phones talk to each other over wifi - okay we already have that with Face Time???
2.  The phones talk to each other using Bluetooth.  (Um, severe distance limitations)
3.  They can either be live conversations or sort of saved things that go over the internet to someone else and they can listen later.  Basically like text talking.  The one app had people saying they really liked that feature as they were not texting but talking to someone- while driving. hmmmm  
4. The biggest problem is that you MUST have both people with the same app on their phone.  I know young people are really into a million apps on the phone, but really, I think I'm not impressed.
5. Several people used it as baby monitors or a way to talk to each other from one end of the house to the other without waking the baby.  Okay, useful.
6. One person said it was the best way to keep in contact with family overseas and deployed.  If you have wifi you can talk, I would think Facetime would be better, but hey Facetime uses a ton more bandwidth and battery I would guess.

The one that seemed to have the best reviews was Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT.  

I would be willing to try it out, but you have to have someone else with the same app, and I'm not sure if you have to start on the same wifi network.  

That used way more brain power than I was expecting.  Sure, only looked at what other people had to say.  I will download the first two and give them a try.  I don't really have any spending money right now so I don't know how much good Coupon Sherpa will do me for a couple months.  

Dinosaur wants me to figure out how to link Calendars - that is going to be way harder.  I'm hoping someone figured that out......  

Maybe tomorrow I'll have more....  Sorry no pictures this time.

Feeling Sick - but not....

Most people know that my husband suffers from Migraines.
Migraines suck- and I guess you could say I have joined the ranks of Migraine sufferers.

If I count today- which I should as I just took a pill - it has been 14 days with a headache.
Now, I would never say it is the worst thing that ever happened to me. But I will tell you- I can not get much done in this state. I'm content to sit and stare at the world and try to ignore the pain in my head.

Now, I didn't ignore this. I went to the doctor. We guess I have a sinus infection, probably from the new and exciting allergies that I'm experiencing in Kentucky. The bad part is the allergies I'm experiencing here do not affect me the same way as Michigan. Usually an allergy attack has me sneezing and draining and miserable. I had some drainage, but nothing worth mentioning. Guess what- it isn't draining like I need it to. That seems to be the problem, it is all stuck in my head and I can't get it out.

If one more person mentions the Netti pot to me I might snap. Yes, I have heard of it and no, I don't like it and sure I really should give it a real try. It just bothers me that I need to do something that feels so very wrong.  I don't know if as a kid all the time I tried to spend in pools basically did this for me. LOL  Isn't that a lovely thought.

I'm going out today, so you win. I'll get a Netti pot and see if I can figure it out. It can't be all that much worse than the almost constant headaches. ugh
Oh yeah, the weather here is beyond weird.  Hot and Humid today- in the 90's. Not my idea of fun....

1 or 2 spaces?

I just read the most frightening thing ever in my adult life.
Two spaces is WRONG.     (Article from Slate Magazine)

I pride myself on remembering many things from my time sitting in a classroom. Most of the time I catch some really cool stuff and that I will pass on to others. Hence the reason I am a teaching in the first place. But I just read something that makes me feel about one inch tall. "Using 2 spaces after a period is wrong."

I almost feel ill.

I have to admit that I did learn to type on a manual typewriter. My first class in typing was on one. I then proceeded to take electric typing, because we had it- instead of the computer classes I so desperately wanted but was unable to find at the time. So, I admit- I do the 2 space thing after the period.

Well, I did until today. I vow to try and not do 2 spaces behind a period ever again. Now, I can't promise the iPhone will not do it for me, but I will not do it on purpose ever again.

The worst part about the whole thing is that I'm sure I own or owned an MLA format book that specifically tells you not to do the 2 space thing.  I will happily tell you that I probably never opened the book other than to look up how to do a citation.  And I bet, I never really even used the book for that.

At MSU I had a book for newspaper writing, all the proper abbreviations and a few other things like that in there. You would think the professor that made me get that book would have taught us the 2 space thing???

So there, feel stupid right along with me. Typographers stand up tall and tell us like it is, NO NEED FOR TWO SPACES. (We can talk about the all caps thing later.)

LAZY.......

Yup, just lazy.
Not really, but writing about anything hasn't struck me in a week or so as you can see.

I decided to break it up a bit and tell you what I've been thinking.  HA

WHY - why does it take soooo very long for anyone to decide to have interviews - or at least tell me - you suck and we don't even want to interview you?

WHEN - do I break down and go work at a store or something?   I am about at the end of my rope and I know Tom is at the end of his....

BUT - I have tons of stuff planned this summer.  Like First week of July in Michigan, yup schedule your day now, or come to the party in Mt. Pleasant.

HOW - am I to meet some more people around here without spending a bunch of money?  Should I tell you I considered a country club....  We don't golf so that dropped the price a bit, but still a lot so I'm looking for a health club with a pool...ARG

WHO - do I have to Know around here to get a real job?   I've applied to other than teaching jobs, I'm not completely silly.

WHAT - shall I do with myself.  I enjoy being home a ton, but yeah, I miss having money......

Okay, enjoy - stew in my thoughts for a bit.
I did not want to bore you with these things floating around too much at the front of my brain.
Tom has next week free so I guess that's the last of the fun.  We'll try to go Paddling and do a little sight seeing - probably in Nashville, maybe even hit the Mammoth caves.
We almost went out of town, and then realized - nothing sounded awesome that didn't cost a ton.  boo..

Someone posted on Facebook- bra sizing

BRAs, yes those horrible things all women are expected to wear.

This is a pretty good summation of what you should know.  Enjoy

do-it-now-guide-to-proper-bra-fit-and-measuring

Star Trek Into Darkness

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved the movie.  Not sure how much Tom liked the movie but I am thrilled.
I will not ruin it for you......
But don't think I don't want to tell you!!!!!

I went out of my way- as I try to do on some movies- especially James Bond- to not watch the commercials or read reviews or just talk to people who have already seen the movie.
I hate when the commercials give you the whole darn story, or enough of it that you want to smack someone.
Previews at the movies for other movies are the worst, they give it ALL away.

I have to admit the new ones for Despicable Me 2 at the theater yesterday were great, they did not give anything away.  Sadly I had already gone looking on Youtube at videos and know almost the whole movie.  Oh well, still going to see it on my BIRTHDAY thank you.

Now some people can tell me that the new Thor movie is just a copy from the comic books and they already know the stories.  FINE, you know what happens, I DON'T, so don't try to ruin it for me.

I read an interview with Cumberbach - plays villian in Star Trek- and he is right there with me on the DON'T tell me the whole darn story before I get there.  Going to the movies was supposed to be about the surprise of finding stuff out.  "Luke, I am your Father"  come on, that had to be one of the best ones EVER and I'm sure a bunch of people ruined it for others.

So, please - go see the movie and CALL me, so I can talk about it with someone.  I noticed a few fun things while watching the movie that die hard fans will be beyond excited about.   Hmm, I may have to drive to Michigan just to drag my one friend out to the movies.  He has to see this.  It was awesome!!!

Enjoy your day.

QUESTION???

Once upon a time people used to comment on blogs, now it seems to silent.  LOL
Do you all just comment on facebook or what??
Just my question for the day...

Movies and Stuff

I seriously need to make that book someone found on Pinterest.
It's mostly about organizing yourself to write a blog.  The funny thing is, I like writing on the blog and sadly wait until I have way toooo much to talk about and then finally get on.  Then I forget half the stuff I wanted to talk about and ramble for 20 minutes.

TODAY- Movie Reviews -
I remember doing reviews a while back. Okay, a long while back.  Well, it is the summer blockbuster season and we are pleased with the Options.

First big movie - that we care about - is Iron Man 3.  
SAW it twice already, it's only been out 3 weekends I think.  Tom and I went for 3D and enjoyed a loud but good crowd with a lot of kids.  I personally think the movies are a little violent for the little ones, but hey- I'm not their mom.  There was a ton of good action and a nice little mystery at the end to see what the heck would they do to top this.
Then I saw the movie with Dinosaur and Minion.  HA, I think I enjoyed the Dinosaur's reactions to the movie more than seeing the movie again.  It was still good and I will probably own it. :~)

Second big movie - Star Trek (2) Into the darkness or some crazy thing.
Why do they make the names hard to remember?  It's #2 in the new version.  That suites me just fine.
Okay, I haven't actually seen it yet.  Probably today. LOL

We re-watched the first one last night. Awesome, although I do not like the beginning at all.  I saw the movie 2x's right away the first time.  First in 3D and then in IMAX and guess what- IMAX sucked big time.  I had to move my head from side to side to figure out what I needed to look at.  That sucked and the beginning is SOOOO big and crazy that you can hardly see what is going on to begin with.  Even last night watching it again, you can barely see what is happening.  It's dark and shot very close up and from very weird perspective.  I understand they wanted it to be different - oh it is.

Also saw the director JJ Abrams on Jon Stewart and he didn't like Star Trek as a kid.  ARG- oh well he didn't understand them.  I get that, I really enjoyed watching them with my dad.  He didn't give me any commentary, he just let them be what they were.  The funny thing is, I was a kid when Star Wars came out and NEVER saw them in the theater until the re-release in the 2000's or something.  I still haven't seen all of them in the theater.
Abrams is doing the new Star Wars too.  I find that really Weird.  Stewart did too.  I just hope they get better, cause the last ones were seriously lacking in acting.

Okay, enough blathering about movies.  I best go see the new one.  LATER

Nostalgia

As I find myself in Michigan today, many thoughts were running through my head as I got ready to go out and meet the world.

As I was musing over how awesome it is that George Takei has become such a big hit now, even more so than when he was on Star Trek.  And there is one HUGE reason for that - FACEBOOK.

I know, it seems soooo very weird that an actor that I would see maybe once every few years when they finally started making moves in the 80's, is now bigger than ever in his golden years.

Think about it.  What did he do between the 60's when they made the original Tv Show and the 80's?Being that was more than 10 years.

Ok, I know - go buy one of his books and he will tell me.  I plan to, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

But now, 20 years after the 80's and BOOM!!  With a little help from Facebook and the Star Trek Movie franchise getting a BIG smash in the new version, George is Back.  Along with Lenord Nemoy actually being in the movie, and William Shatner managing to keep his career afloat with commercials and sit coms - our friends are back and better than ever.

I really wish my dad was around to see all this.  That is the crux of today's thoughts.  My dad would have LOVED Facebook, once he realized that he could see George and others almost everyday.  I'm sure the idea of watching what other people do all day would have bored him to tears, but he enjoyed Puns and George is full of those, and he enjoyed reveling in those great moments we share with each other on Facebook now.

I love that I get to know when my Friends kids do something amazing.  I know I won't be there for most of the things that happen, but I get to KNOW about them.  Heck I even get to see some of them.  

So, I know some people think, why in the world would I move away, Hey a job is a job and you have to take what you can get.  Plus, I think Tom and I both needed something new to do and look at.  I was going stir crazy with the politics and the job situation here in Mich.   Not that it doesn't look bleak and weird in Kentucky sometimes, but at least it is new.

So, wake up, enjoy your day and think of what thing or device your family members would have thought as completely awesome today.  My dad would have LOVED a Kindle or Nook - book Hog all the way-  and I think he would have got a kick out of Facebook.

Curtains

I know. So exciting.
It's ok. We finally bought a few rods. Nothing fancy, but not the cheapest things at the store.
Thankfully my mother had a million windows in her last house. She gave me the bulk of them and they are finally being put to use. I found one that's a little short. Hoping another in the box can take its place.

I'm hoping the curtains will help with the echoes. It can get a bit loud.

Here's s couple pictures.

The vet

Well, Cody is still at the vet.
When we went to visit he did not seem overly excited to see us.
But that could just be me. He was more interested in the other dogs in the waiting room.
He was happy to get outside for a walk and was ready to get back inside - to either
1. The other dogs
2. The wet canned food they have been feeding him.
3. Who ever has been petting him.
4. The cat room or whatever was behind the glass we could not see but he might have been able to smell.

The vet says someone is there 24 /7 with the animals. It looks like the place may have been a house at one time. There is an apartment or something.

He does have an IV, they managed to get a stint in his front leg. So they could hook it back up easier. I'm not sure but I think they had to unhook him and take off the cone of shame when they brought him out to us.
He wasn't wearing his collar. I guess they thought he'd catch it on something. Or it was in the way of the Cone. Or he bamboozled them because it is Just So Itchy.
They had the pass through leash thing like when I brought him home. At least they had two together to give you more than 2 feet of lead.

The vet thought he might be well enough to come home tomorrow - Friday. He just needs to have a bowel movement. Much like at a regular hospital.

Brando has been rather calm about being alone. I expected a little more whining or something. He prances and gets all excited when we walk in, but he seems to be sleeping a lot.
Maybe he is still trying to catch up on the million naps he did not get while I was packing to move and we had people in and out of the house a lot.
He still loves the morning walk and has to stop at every mailbox. Joy.
We cleaned the back yard today and it was really GROSS. We need a rain. Eww.
I trimmed the weird tree on the trellis- it reminds me of the tree/ bush things growing along the fence in Michigan. Then I trimmed the tree I thought was a Japanese maple and it turned out not to be.
I'll have to take pictures - someone can enlighten me of what it is. There is another tree near the house I'm sure is a lacy leaf. Not sure if Japanese, because its light green.
Well. That's our excitement besides driving in circles today looking for certain places. We found the harbor freight store and got an air compressor(major cheap). Once Tom puts it together we can air up the bikes.

Oh. And here is a map of our neighbor hood. Made with the help of run keeper.
I love that most of the map is not really there. You can see some of the streets that are brand new but haven't been officially added yet. I like the look of walking in fields- which is what this all was.
Oh yeah and the rain last weekend was crazy. Enjoy

Cody the garbage boy.

Hmmmm
Well from Facebook most of you know the boys were bad on Sunday and tore up the trash. Emptied it all on the floor and proceeded to lick every little thing and enjoy some quality beef bones chewing time.
There were at least a couple pork ribs in there that we did not see when cleaning up. So we figured Brando ate them- and he'd be the one we really had to worry about.
I've been watching them both like a hawk. Cody seemed to get the worst.
I knew he wasn't feeling well as he's had me up several times the last 2 nights.
When Tom got home today - Cody puked up everything he ate today.
We took him outside for a bit and he came and drank some water, but would not take green beans or a soft cookie.
If that dog doesn't take food you know there is a problem.
We called and got in immediately. (Thanks Stephanie, for the suggestion )

Anyway - could not see bones or foil on the X-ray but he has some serious gas and unhappy looking colon. Plus his gums are red.
They decided to keep him and give fluids and antibiotics to make sure he doesn't get anything else wrong.
He won't sit still. He's following people and trying to visit with everyone. I'm not sure he's staying in a cage or what. But he's being the typical wiggly boxer who doesn't feel as sick as he is.
Sadly that means no IV. She did not want to stick him in the giant Cone of shame. Lol.

She took a second set of X-rays - about 3 hours after the first and it looks like stuff is moving.

The vet said they would call if anything changes tonight. They will call me in the morning, Hopefully he will be feeling much better tomorrow.

I'll keep you updated.

One month- Friday

Ok, I have 1/2 a post floating on my phone.  Not sure I'll post it.
Mostly about Dogs getting old and not liking it.   And mostly about Cody hurting his toes, I'm sure he has arthritis and running around like a puppy does not help his situation.

No, this post is more about the craziness of moving across state lines.
I just want to tell you it does suck.
For one- why doesn't each state put out a pamphlet telling you the things you need to do in their state and how to find those things out?  How hard would it be to have one sent when you get your mail forwarded at the Post office.  I mean that is the ONE thing almost everyone knows to do when they move anywhere.

Most of us know the obvious- bank, electricity, gas or whatever they have, phone, cable or whatever.
In Kentucky you are also supposed to show up and Declare you live here in the county you move to.
WHAT????
Also, you have to go 2 different places to take care of your cars.
You go to a state clerk office to get your Drivers License,  good news it was basically empty when I wandered in today.  I did have the right paperwork, thank goodness I checked online before I went.
BUT - you have to go to the County to get your license plate and tags and all that other stuff.
You also have to have your TITLE to the car.  Plus they want to INSPECT your car, make sure the Vin number matches the title and the car.  Joy....

Currently - I don't seem to have a title.  Being that I just got a brand new car.  I did manage to get insurance on the car- which took an extra week because I could not prove lived here yet.  I swear they need to have an order that you do things.
First take your rental agreement, or house papers to so and so to get proof you are here.
Second get your drivers license, and so on....

I guess if you were to buy a house here, you would be dealing with a title office that probably has all that stuff written down, because they want things to go smoothly.  But Renting, doesn't quite work that way.

Anyway- that is my big Rant.  I have lots more to say about all this, but you get the drift.
ugh, have to go deal with Tom - whose phone screen has died.  He won't be calling anyone he can't remember the number to any time soon.  We'll see how long it takes work to send him a new phone. JOY...

Isolation

I've officially been here for three weeks.
Last night the Dinosaur said I sounded like I finally realized how far away I am.
Yup- I'm feeling a little stir crazy.

I know it could be way worse.
If the dogs weren't here and Hubby was gone somewhere I could go days without talking out loud.

We've even had people over for dinner twice. Neighbors and then guys from Michigan down here for work at the GM plant.

I'm not miserable- although I looked it yesterday. Between the rain and cold I was so out of it. The dogs and I watched YouTube videos on tv for HOURs. LOL.

I spent 1 1/2 hours trying to get through to mi unemployment. They don't park you on hold- they hang up on you. Then whee you get in the cue it's at least 10 minutes of on hold before a person gets to you.

They love telling you that you can do everything online- which of course you can not. They also love to tell you that you only get so many weeks and yes the government took back that 10.9 percent so yes you did get less so stop calling about it.

I finally have car insurance on the new car so I feel better about driving it. I found it weird that they didn't demand I have insurance before I drove off the lot. They do in Michigan. Sure I had insurance on the one I turned in but that doesn't necessarily transfer over to the new car.

I have to go get a new drivers license - actually we both do or no insurance - such fun.
Which means I lose my enhanced license. Arg. Now I have to get a new passport. Just more fun for me. ;-)

Well. It's Noon and I really do need to get out of the house. So I'm off.
More later.