Quincy training - "Sit" and "Easy"

Well, I thought I'd give the spray of water in his face a shot for correcting behavior and giving a little backbone to "No!" but I think he really likes it. LOL So for now, I'm using a jerk on his collar (as recommended in the training book I'm using) and a smack on his bottom.

I'm pretty sure he's starting to understand "potty" because he gets all excited when I ask him if he has to go potty, and when we get outside, he's frantic to get down and pee or whatever. I don't think he understands the pooping thing yet, but hopefully, he'll start to understand that soon, even though he can't seriously hold it very long yet. Still another 3 months before I can start to expect that of him.

He did learn to play ball with me really fast after I brought him home. I guess it was so much fun for him he paid attention to my commands and did whatever it took to keep the game going.

Tonight I asked him if he wanted a milk bone and he got all excited, so I sat down in the floor with him and put him in "sit" while I held him there and repeated it over and over. I gave him the treat bit by bit, and kept telling him "easy." He, naturally, started out trying to snap at the treat, which is what "easy" is meant to stop. After about three snaps, he reached out gently to take it, so I let him take it and praised him to high heaven. LOL I'd let him get up and then get him to sit, several times, and I think he started to understand that he wouldn't get the treat unless he took it from me gently.

And then he even sat for me a few times on command, without a treat being held up for him, so he got lots of praise and hugs.

I did remember to keep it a short session, so he didn't get bored or tired.

Why am I telling all this basic stuff? Other than Terra picking up words from me coincidentally, this is my first dog to really train. :D

future blogging topics

going to the movies and baskin robbins

skating down hwy late at night because mom forgot to pick us up - was she drunk?

tendency toward hoarding because someone gave my stuff away

junk furniture - some of the just-as-junky replacements are still in my bedroom now - do I think I don't deserve better?

Golden's and the Video Game Era

aka "The Goldens' Years" LOL

In the earliest 80s when arcade video games were all the rage, there was a former gas station in the same shopping center as our old movie theater. Even though our stepmother had forbidden us to ever go in there (I think it was because teenagers were *gasp* smoking in there! But don't let anyone know that Frances smoked herself, all that time and lied to her own mother about it), we still went in when we went to the movies. That was where all the teens hung out. Good and bad.

Personally, I went in to watch others play and because I wanted to play Joust. I loved that game. Wouldn't it figure that I'd want to play a game mixing flying with armored knights? I never got very good at the game, nor any others, and eventually I wanted to save my quarters (yes, only one quarter to play any game you wanted) to buy Hershey bars.

I'd hide them in the freezer and save them for later. Of course, that was commented on as being weird - hoarding chocolate bars instead of spending my allowance until it was all gone. I remember being shown "who was the boss" one weekend when my stepmother gave my candy bars to her grandchildren. She knew they were mine, and she decided that since I wasn't staying penniless, she was going to, yes, take away something of mine yet again.

Back to hoarding the chocolate bars - Hey, $3 a week allowance didn't go far, not even back then. Other kids were getting $5 (for no chores) or $10, or $20, but $3 was what my sister and I got, and were repeatedly reminded that we were lucky to get it. Never mind the fact that I always felt absolutely chintzy when I had to ask Dad for my allowance, because he never did remember it. Sometimes a few weeks would go by, and if we didn't remind him, we just didn't get it. *sigh* Was he really that forgetful? Or did he just hope we wouldn't ask?

It wasn't like we got extra money if we say, wanted something at the book fair (we rarely got to get anything, which is probably why I go nuts every time we have one at the school), or wanted a toy (wait for your birthday or Christmas) or even wanted to go to the store to buy a coke.

I have to tell you that for my 50 pounds of extra weight now, I really was a skinny kid. To the point my stepmother was always making nasty comments about my bony knees. It must have been a real pleasure for her, simultaneously starving me by only serving food she knew I wouldn't eat (like nothing but a pot of her nasty white beans for dinner, or only a pot of turnip greens), and then making mean cracks about how bony I was in my knees, my elbows, and my butt.

Well, it was Golden's for a long time, then it closed and was turned into a Nissan car lot. Then that closed and they finally tore it down. Now there's a new building with three shops - Little Ceasar's is back, and Merle Norman's has moved in there.

Want to know the funny thing that got me thinking about all this? Friday morning I was listening to XM 80s, and they played a song I've always loved and rarely hear: "Come Dancing" by the Kinks. LOL A reminiscence about how the singer's sister used to go dancing on Saturday nights, and never gave her dates more than a hug and a kiss after they'd spent all their money on her. hehehe

New teacher books

I finally received "Awesome Hands-On Activities for Teaching Grammar", "Awesome Hands-On Activities for Teaching Literary Elements" and "25 Fun and Fabulous Literature Response Activities and Rubrics" on Saturday. They're published by Scholastic, so they have the heft of a small workbook.

So far, they look pretty good. I wasn't able to give them 100% of my attention because a little brown and black booger was biting at my feet while I was trying to read. LOL

I just hope that I can apply them to stories we actually have in our textbook. A lot of the ideas are geared to specific stories.

Cheat Sheet / Call Card for parent phone calls

I received a copy of this "phone call cue card" to assist in calling parents. It looks pretty useful for when you're at a loss for words, as I sometimes am when parents become confrontational. (Southern Regional Education Board)

Front:

1. Hello, Mr. /Mrs _____. This is Mr / Ms _____, John's teacher. I am calling to let you know that John did not have his assignment for class today, and I need your help. You know that Failure Is Not An Option in my class or here at _____ Middle / High School), and all students have to complete all of their assignments.
2. I (We) realize that John may need extra help or time in order to get it done, and he is going to need to stay after school tomorrow in order to get some help to complete the assignment. Who will be coming to pick him up? _____ Is there a relative who could come? A neighbor?
3. I understand, but since he can't stay, I am going to need your help. The assignment he missed is _____. I need for you to make sure that he completes his assignment tonight, and please sign it at the bottom to show that you have helped him to complete it.
4. I understand that you are upset, but I am doing my job trying to get your son to be successful in my class. I need your assistance to talk to him and encourage him to complete this assignment.

Back

5. If parent demands that you not call at work, respond in a calm voice ... "I certainly don't want to have to call you Mr. / Mrs. _____, and hopefully I won't have to call you again if you can assist me in getting John to complete his assignments prior to class. Do you need for me to send you another copy of our grading policy for our assignments?

6. If the parent becomes irate or confrontational... Respond in a calm voice... "I understand that you are upset, but this is my job. I want John to be successful more than anything, and I am going to continue to work very hard to make sure that he does. Would you prefer that I call his dad (mom) at work. I'd be happy to do that instead of calling you if you will share that number with me."

7. Regardless of the parent response, always end the conversation with a positive comment about the student that you know he /she can do the work if he/she will come in for extra help that you are providing or if he will work hard. You can even apologize that you are placed in the position of having to call at work, but never apologize for calling.

8. End the conversation with something like, "I appreciate your working with me to get John on the right track, and I'll let you go now. Thank you for your help, goodbye."

Victory and defeat over the weekend

Victory - I successfully installed a new towel bar in my front bathroom, using my handy-dandy drill for the first time. There were a few minor snags, but I worked them out anyway. Having a massive case of screws helped when I discovered that the directions instructed the installer to drill a 3/16" hole for each screw... Which was so big that the screws they provided had nothing to grab onto with their threads. They included those plastic bushings to put into the wall (you know, the kind that will be there forever if you use them?) but they wouldn't go into the paneling... So I found larger screws and basically said "screw this" after the first screw got stripped. It looks pretty good, though my brain wants to tell me it isn't level. Perhaps that's because I'm wearing some 15 year old glasses.

Defeat - I watched "Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The Beginning" last night. I wish I hadn't. I remember Dad dragging me through a haunted house when I was about 6, and there was a guy in there chasing us with a chainsaw, and when I finally saw the movie, I realized that the haunted house scenery looked familiar when I'd gone in there. Like I'd seen it before. I bet someone made me watch that movie. Dad. Who always got mad when I was scared of those places and got so mad once that I was crying and didn't want to go in, that he dragged me up the steps and I cut open my knee. So he dragged me through crying, screaming, and bleeding. I believe his comments any time something like this went on went like this: "I'm not gonna have a kid of MINE being scared of the dark."

Well gee, Dad. It was never the frigging DARK I was scared of. It was all the scary things running around in the dark and the light that terrified me.

Want to know what happened when the first really graphic slasher scene happened? I didn't react like I thought I would, and I sure didn't catch it happening, but it was when the scene was over that I realized I'd curled up into a ball, knees to my chest, hands on the sides of my head, eyes squeezed shut but still crying hysterically, shaking, and wailing. Don't tell me there wasn't anything way back there that seriously traumatized me about that whole situation. I've never had a problem watching horror movies, but something about this one and every other one tied into it just bothers me somewhere deep inside. I had to consciously force myself to think of specific people I know, just to keep my brain from reliving those scenes frame by frame.

Okay, back to something more cheerful. Sort of another victory. Since the stupid bulb blew here in my office, I went to buy another compact fluorescent, but specifically picked out some "daylight" fluorescent bulbs - bye bye yellow light! I know that technically, what I'm looking at is a bluer light than I'm used to, but it's brighter and more uplifting to have that kind of light in here now. The yellow always seemed to be somehow, just too dark. I can't stand having to strain my eyes just to get something out of dark lights.

More disaster prep stuff

Yes, now that hurricane season is upon us, I'm getting a tad paranoid again.

On the brighter side, I finally found the websites, once again, which show those mini emergency kids packed into handy Nalgene bottles. http://teamsugar.com/group/55105/blog/542030
http://www.notcot.com/archives/2007/08/nalgene_kits.php I just think they're really neat.

Now, if you're going to buy one, I suggest shopping around on the net to get the best value. The contents are the same, whichever price you go for.

Just be aware that any decent Wal-Mart sells the wide-mouth Nalgene bottles in Sporting Goods, and you can pack up your own kits to live in your car. Why not customize your own kit?

Personally, I'd suggest building your own anyway. I looked at the Emergency Preparedness one's contents, and the amount of stuff for your $25 didn't impress me. I bought a car kit at Wal-Mart in its own plastic pouch (Ozark Trail brand), and it was only about $8. There's just one thing in there that's truly a bad idea for keeping in the car: A candle. Hello? Hot car, melting wax on everything? I bought a Nalgene (okay, it's not THEIRS, but Ozark Trail again - who cares? Tough 34 oz) bottle too, figuring I could put food-type stuff in there. Not a lot will survive for long in the car pack as food, in the Tennessee heat - maybe some granola bars and Slim Jims might be okay for a year.

The Dog Kit is even worse... for your $25, you get :
Moss Green 32oz WM bottle*
Product description label* (How can they count this as part of the kit? A sticker???)
2pcs - dog Food* (those are small pouches of Pedigree)
1pc - water Pouch

I betcha I can stuff a whole lot more helpful goodies for Quincy into one of those, for less $.

I think I can trace all this fear of the end of civilization back to that werewolf dream I had in college. I only had a couple of minutes to make a run for it, and that wasn't long to go about collecting stuff to go in my car. It's like when I'm camping, and I'm afraid I'll forget something crucial.

I didn't ever get around to buying the tent that I'd intended to during the summer. I should - the setup I liked has 2 sleeping bags, 2 chairs, a large tent, and a few more useful things. I'm worried there's gonna be an earthquake or a tornado, and I won't be able to live in my house because the pecan tree will have crushed it. There, I've said it. *sigh*

I've probably over-prepared for myself for an emergency, because I know that I'm the ONLY member of my family who has any kind of preparation done. They don't have water, extra toilet paper, food, a way to cook it.... I guess I just know that should something happen, I'm going to have to take care of all of them too.

Hm. Time to rotate out the bottled water in my storage bin on the carport. Yep, I've got a big locked (clean) garbage can filled with bottled water. I know that's strange, but it's on wheels, so I can roll it around pretty easily.

No grade lower than a 60 - this could become a disaster

It's already driving me nuts. It was one thing to have it as an unspoken personal decision when I thought it was necessary. It's quite another thing for the school board to announce it as their new policy for the school system, and even worse to publish it in the paper.

I fear that kids will just not bother doing their work, assuming they'll get an automatic 60 on everything, and then go to the remediation week each quarter, expecting to get an automatic 70 at the end of the week.

What motivation will the unmotivated have to do their work, when it's so easy to slack off and then do little of nothing for a passing grade, piling up mountains of "make up work" onto me at the 11th hour of the quarter? I'll have to grade it all, no doubt about that.

I do understand where this is coming from. I know it's hard for a kid who's been making 30s and 40s to stay inspired when they can't possibly bring it up to a passing grade, without some extreme teacher forgiveness. I also understand that it's inherently unfair to have the range between letter grades at just about 10 point increments, and then have the F grade level own a 69 point spread.

I do take solace in the fact that with the new online grading system, I don't have to "give" them a freebie 60. I can just leave it blank, and it'll average in as a zero.

My worry is that it's going to give a bunch of prima donna parents unrealistic expectations that their child's butt should be kissed as if they are a genius... after all - look at those artificially inflated grades that indicate they're neither lazy nor lacking understanding in the subject area.

I guess the only solution is to start keeping lots of kids after school to make up their work for a merely-passing late grade. Yay. More unpaid overtime for me.

The very unprofessionalness of this situation has caused me a problem. You don't tell the teachers they are required to go over all their grading policies the first week of school, then come along the 4th week of school after they've explicitly stated work must be turned in, and turned in on time, or get a zero, and then make them renege on all of that.

It's going to make me look unprofessional and stupid. It's also going to cause me a lot of extra hours of work.

It's going to cause their kids to only answer a couple of questions on tests , earning a 12, but be given a 60. Hey, is college like that? Is work like that? Will parenting be like that? They'll throw a Cheeto in their own kid's mouth and claim that's an acceptible meal. Hey, I fed him, so you can't claim I'm starving my kid. How can you possibly say that a Cheeto isn't good enough to suffice as a meal?

Motivational sayings above the door

It's been my goal for a while now to try this class management tip out - hanging a weekly motivational saying above the door leaving my classroom. But I didn't know if I'd be interested in climbing up, taking down the old, and gluing up the new every week.

I did come up with an idea though, while I was getting my hair done.

Needed:
2 Command Adhesive hooks
1 dowel / stick / rod (as long as a sheet of paper, plus a couple of inches)
the spine of a worn out binder or loose binder rings

Attach the hooks to the wall, about 12 inches apart. Put the pages of whatever you're going to display, into the binder rings. Run the dowel through the rings, and hang the dowel over the hooks. You can just use the hooks and some kind of rod to make a curtain rod, if you have a window but no space for even a tension rod inside the window. If you used the loose rings, you can just flip to a new page whenever you like, and only have to lift the rod momentarily to do so.

Those who can't sew (or just don't want to), staple

Have I ever mentioned that I have an awesome collection of curtains for my classroom? They go with the major holidays / seasons. I've got tie-dyed ones for summer, harvesty-ones for fall, snowflakes for winter, and heart checkerboard for Valentine's Day.

Have I mentioned that I put every single curtain together with my classroom stapler? LOL From plain old unhemmed fabric.

I didn't want to take them home and drag out my sewing machine, that might or might not give me a hard time using it.

Really, all you have to do is fold the fabric over, hiding raw edges inside, and create casings to run a curtain rod through. Staple, fold some more, then string up on a rod.

Then stuff the curtain with something like loosely wadded white paper or Wal-Mart bags for fluffiness, and you have curtains that certainly look more sophistocated than they really are. Nobody ever notices they were stapled until I mention it, and they're all impressed by my curtain-making expertise.

It's a really nice way to jazz up my classroom without a SINGLE permanent addition, with very little time invested.

Random thoughts

I got two of my new books in today - the one on modding Tshirts and the one on modding old jeans. I did try one of the tshirt designs, and of course, when i got finished, I realized I'm too old for cute tshirts. Either that, or just too fat. Nothing I've done so far looks good. I doubt it would look good if I lost 50 pounds. It makes me want to sit and eat an entire gallon of ice cream.

Only teenagers and college kids can wear this stuff.

I want a TV for my bedroom, and some kind of backrest so that I can sit on the couch or in my bed and not have an aching back.

I was thinking the other day how cool it would look if I took those boxes that 12 packs of sodas come in, and die-punched an alphabet out of them. And thinking about that makes me seriously want a Pepsi. In a glass bottle.

I can't get the damn modifications I've made to my Warcraft game to work right. Especially the one that controls all the rest. It won't let me in so that I can use it to set all the other mods correctly.

So my back hurts and i'm pissed off on several levels. Well, I guess it's about time this month for my back and everything else to start bothering me, including my iron maiden bras. I swear I'm gonna wind up having another breast reduction done.

I'm so freaking thirsty right now. I think I'm gonna guzzle some Crystal light, even though I know it'll stain my teeth.

And have I mentioned yet that a fluorescent bulb with a guaranteed 5 year life span blew last night... after about a year and a half? I guess it's better than the usual month before they blow in that fixture. *sigh* This time I'm gonna make sure that it's a whiter light. That yellow drove me nuts.

Telltale sign

I started feeling really down tonight, but I should have seen it coming. After all, I've been binge-shopping at amazon.com again. 3 separate orders in 3 days. Actually, I'm not sure why i'm so hell-bent to blog tonight, seeing as I've fallen asleep a few times already.

Knocked off another %^&* toenail

Me and my deformed baby toenails. This time I got my sandal strap knocked into it and somehow knocked it askew. I can see space under it, where it should be attached, so I know I'm gonna lose it within a month. For now, it'll be black and nasty looking. *sigh* I wonder if there are any single podiatrists around willing to marry me?

I should go on and write a book

I keep seeing books that younger people than me have been writing on how to make stuff. Why couldn't I do that? I just had an idea for a book this weekend that I think would be do-able and practical for a whole segment of society. Furniture for college students to build, with few power tools. Maybe just a drill.

If I put together a book of projects and it gets rejected, it's no different from all the craft classes I tried to teach, except that this time, I won't have invested huge amounts of money on supplies for the classes. Just enough to make prototypes, and if it doesn't get published, it's okay. But what if it does? One book published could lead to more, and with a couple, I could make some tidy extra cash. I'm not dreaming that it could make me a millionaire or anything, but what could it hurt to request submission information from a publisher, anyway? Nothing to lose, everything to gain.

Junk in the house is burying me....

Psychologically, anyways. I don't have much room to walk around, and I'd really prefer to have open, empty spaces to live in. Right now I can't even consider moving, because yes, Dad is planning on building me new cabinets in his shop. They put the roof decking on it today, and it's going up faster than I would have thought for August building.

It's damn hot outside. Even in the shade, the only air moving was hot air.

I do hope that Dad's gonna consider the kitchen plans that I drew up on my Home Designer software. I like the additions that I came up with, and I really think it will be good to eliminate the stupid stovetop poke-out in the middle of the room that impedes traffic. I guess somebody thought it would be a good idea to have physical separation in the middle of the kitchen and a dining area, but really, it's too small in there for that. The only useful table crowds everything anyway.

I did like to cook before I bought this house, but it's a nightmare to cook in that kitchen.

I do hope it's understood that when they start working on my kitchen (maybe this winter??? I hope???) I will need a new floor put down. (Dad made it sound like he was putting new cabinets in the old spaces today, but it needs a complete remodel, including hiding all the knotty pine planking with something modern and paintable.) I don't mind paying for all of the stuff needed... I just hate my house like this and it all starts with my hatred of the kitchen.

I also would like to go ahead and buy the pedestals for my washer / dryer set but who can I get to pick the machines up and set them on top? Right now all I do is pile clean laundry on top until it falls off, and I can't even reach the cabinets above when there's nothing on top. Hiding the detergent bottles isn't possible. So I might as well boost the machines and put storage space underneath. Could I persuade my brother and brother in law to do it for me?

It really bothers me that they might be putting in a ton of work on my kitchen, only for me to sell it as fast as I possibly can. This house isn't right for me. It's not in a neighborhood I like (another house fire today, by the way) and I'd really like to have a modern house with a master bath and new wiring.

Quincy :)

He's growing so fast... He won't be looking like a puppy for much longer. He's finally started going to bed in his kennel at night with very little whining, but housebreaking is still a work in progress. He hasn't understood yet that when we go outside, he has to potty first and then play. He wants to play outside, go inside, then do his business in the house where it's nice and cool. I know it's only been a month, but I'm ready for him to do the right thing. LOL

Yes, I know it's far past the 10:30 I said I've been bedding down at, but I did have a 2 hour nap earlier when I was so tired (and being interrupted sleep, I bet it only counts for about an hour bodywise). I'm also waiting on a load of laundry to finish washing so that I can hang up my undies and let them dry before I wake up.

Why am I so tired lately?

I mean really, I've been going to bed at 10:30 most nights last week, and still feel worn out. Maybe it's time for me to go to a normal person's sleeping habits as middle age approaches? Would that give me more daytime energy and ambition than I currently have?

I know I got a full 8 hours last night and today, but by 2:30 I was so beat that I almost fell asleep in the Goodwill store. Standing. With my sister talking to me. I could feel that exhaustion irritability coming, too. Seems like I never recover any energy and this week is going to be sheer hell.

Our team has the volleyball jamboree concession stand on Tuesday, and the powers that be managed to eliminate our planning periods for both Monday and Tuesday, so we have no during work time to get the damn thing ready. Since it starts at 5:00, we pretty much won't be able to leave school in the afternoon, and since the kids haven't brought the stuff like drinks and candy to sell, we likely will run out of food and drinks.

It's going to be a nightmare. I heard that either 8 or 18 schools will be there, not the usual 2 that cause us a hard enough time. We have few parent volunteers, on top of that.

I know that if we survive, we'll make a ton of money to use in our team area, but I dread it.

Hot and exhausting day (and I'm a little ticked off)

I was asked yesterday to help with concessions at the Cancer BBQ Benefit for a friend of mine. I didn't mind helping at all, but you know, it was about 97 degrees today, and it truly wore me out. I didn't realize it until I got home and was dying for a nap.

Quincy didn't want to take a nap with me, so after about an hour of trying to sleep and him pouncing on me to wake me back up again, I put him in his pen and headed for the bedroom.

I'd only been asleep for about 45 minutes when my youngest nephew called, wanting me to bring over Quincy to play (just like last night, when my brother said, "You know what would be even better? If you'd take my son home for me!" Nothing like repeatedly copping out on your own kid.) because my father and brother had somewhere they wanted to go.

Yep, he ratted them out. I was so groggy that Dad wound up getting on the phone, and he had the nerve to sound all pissed off that I was worn out and needed some rest. How dare I not come running over there to babysit for them the second day in a row, just because I need the weekend I've damn well earned for resting. He kept yelling into the phone because he said he couldn't hear me, but I know he was trying to irritate me awake. I really wouldn't have even been able to drive at that point.

And you know what? They kept calling back, every hour that I was sleeping. I didn't answer the phone. They were probably hoping that the minute I woke up, I'd take over their child care responsibilities. No thanks, I don't have any kids, and if I did, I'd damn well take care of them myself instead of trying to always pawn them off on a family member. My brother tried "dropping him off" at my sister's house "to play" while he went out on the town several times. Then it turned into trying to make the middle nephew babysit under the premise of spending the night at granddad's house. Now he's trying to get me to do it all for him. Time to grow up, big brother. This is the sort of life-sacrifice you have to make when you decide to have children. Your own wants really don't matter that much anymore, in the face of a child's needs.

My nephew had told me he was going to be staying up really late and they wanted to leave (without him, of course) and he wanted to play with my dog. He likes to put my dog in a box and listen to him cry to get out, not to play any games the puppy wants to play.

Needless to say, I won. My nap lasted 3 hours and I still feel beat down. But now I'm angry that they think I should be available to entertain my nephew every night of the week that he's not "convenient" to have around. This is why my middle nephew doesn't want to go over there anymore. The little one is too small to play anything interesting with, and he's realized they only want him there to occupy the youngest and keep him out of their hair. That's not fair to an 11 year old boy.

The benefit went really well. I did a quick count of the money in the concession stand, and the last I checked, there was $1300 in there. :) I hope that the rest of the sales went that well. She REALLY needs the money.

bricks and "building blocks"

As a sponge activity yesterday, I had my students brainstorm as many creative uses for a brick as they could come up with. The discussion afterward was pretty funny.

Today, I gave each one an index card and had them put their name on them and then decorate the cards. I'm going to stick them to the hallway wall like a loose brick wall, and title it "Building Blocks of a great team!" Something to give the moms and dads warm-fuzzies at Open House Tuesday night.

Well, I do have to admit that I'm in competition with the other teams down the hall. I'm determined to outdo them. LOL

I'm so glad I have Quincy. :) It's wonderful to have someone huggable to come home to every day, who's so thrilled to see me every time.

Tiring (but good) first week of school

I know I may be jinxing things by saying it before Friday happens, but I have high hopes. Last year by this time, the kids were already being total pissants. This year's group seems okay.

It has been an entirely exhausting week though. I have worked a couple of hours late so far every day except for the coming day.

I've gone home and taken a one hour nap on Monday...

... a two hour nap on tuesday

... a 4 hour nap on Wednesday

and a 15 minute nap on Thursday. (Quincy pounced on my thigh and scared me awake. LOL)

And I wake up even more tired every morning. I'd say that the solution would be more coffee, but more than one cup has proven to make me sick.

I'm about to go to bed, and I'm sitting here snacking on vermouth-soaked olives, which, oddly enough, taste exactly like plain old olives to me. Hmmm..... Then again, I've never had a martini, so that could just be my ignorance showing.

I do want to apologize to Jennifer for being completely absent this week. I've just been so tired. The first week of school kills me every time.

Quincy loves his puppy Kong - a rubber rounded pyramid chew toy that you can stuff treats inside. It's funny... now even when he gets his liver treat out, he wants to make the fun last and bats it around all over the floor for a while before he eats it. He is, predictably, a very smart little doggie.

He's discovered that he likes to take off running across the linoleum and make himself slide. It's pretty hilarious to see him trying to gain traction while getting started on that floor, but even funnier when he's coming the other way and tries to stop on it. (I really do think he's sliding on purpose.)

He's also discovered how much fun it is to play keep away from me with a stick in his mouth. His favorite thing is to get the stick (which I'm not sure I want him to chew on - who knows if it's safe??) in his mouth -- usually one about as long as his body -- and scamper just out of my reach... and stop. When I get to him, he zips away from me with the stick again. Sometimes he even pretends he can't see me coming so that he can run away from me even more skillfully. I honestly believe the little booger enjoys making me look stupid! He definitely knows how to force me to play with him even when I'm tired. I think he's decided he's gonna whip my fat ass into shape. Scamper, scamper. That's his main move. LOL

Housebreaking is turning out to be kinda rough on the nose for me. I took out all his dirty papers, and the smell is still hanging in the kitchen. Eww.

Right now he's under my chair giving his Kong 9 kinds of snarling puppy heck. LOL I hope he doesn't cry too long when I put us both to bed in a minute. By the way, the washable diapers turned out to be great bedding for his crate. He even likes to pull them out on the carpet and in his pen and lie on them.