Obsession

I have always loved the end of a weeknight drama..."Next on." It creates the end of your seat suspense that everyone needs to stay tuned in. This is the reason that I should never be allowed to have access to an entire season of any show. I have had two such experiences (Grey's Anatomy Season Two and Weeds Season One) in the last year that have both confirmed my lame life and led to many a sleepy workday.

The most recent TV obsession: Brothers and Sisters
Days that it took me to watch the entire season on the ABC website: 4
Number of episodes: 16
Time of each episode: 42 minutes
Look on my face when alarm goes off in the morning after not enough sleep: priceless (actually this is pretty much everyday, but you will have to visit my husband's blog for any stories about my annoying snooze habits)

Now I have to give a shout out to ABC for the amazing ability to watch your show online with only three short commercial breaks, however, they should have thought about the hazard this may cause to people like me.

Description of such hazards:

• Trying to wash your hair with shaving cream.
• Feeding your dogs the wrong food or in some cases feeding one dog twice while the other dog says, "What the..."
• Sending emails to incorrect people on Microsoft Outlook. Remember, if there are two such people with the same first name it will send the email to the most recently send Tom instead of the one the Tom that you intended to send the email.
• Knocking over an entire 20 OZ bottle of Diet Mountain Dew on your keyboard and then trying to clean it up with a towel your office mate cleaned up urine with (I work with dogs, OK!).
• Wearing the wrong bra with the wrong shirt in a cold building. Gals, you know what I mean here.

As you can see, I would recommend against this obsession. I have seriously thought about attending my own twelve step program, but I think I will just stick to avoiding the free downloads and staying away from the TV rental section at the Blockbuster.

Sort of Sonnet

Not a lot of time because I am preparing to go out of town to Austin to visit my parents (Hooray!). I took a creative writing class at Metro this quarter to have something to do during the winter that didn't involve complaining about how I hate winter. I wrote several poems and thought I would share one with my readers...all four of them. The assignment was to write a "sort of sonnet." We didn't have to adhere to every rule, but just a few. For more on sonnets visit: Wikipedia. This sonnet materialized out of a journal page written about what was under my bed. Enjoy!

My Bed

There is an eddy under my bed

The swirling of dirt is like a tumbleweed; light and airy

The tent of poplin sheets contains the dread

The swing of the door pushes the particles and causes them to marry.

The socks trapped in the dirt are unwilling guests.

They would much rather do the jobs of warmth holder.

The dust clings to the chenille ripples to create a mess.

Retrieving these defacto swiffers is hard on the shoulders.

Newsprint, magazines and assorted papers fall victim to the suction

The papers are wrinkled and ready to meet the recycle bin.

The space heater brings in the winds and rustles up a disruption.

The papers rise off the ground, elevate and then drop like a fish fin.

The bed seems to breathe these objects in and out.

It is a breathing animal that will eat anything; a goat.

Will Work for Food

I spend a good portion of my day on the phone with pet owners looking for advice on how to peacefully co-exist with their furry friends. I talk to many dog owners with high drive breed under two years of age. I always ask how much exercise the dog gets and many people say a walk a few times a week. Lately(it has been freezing here), it has been common for them to say, "not much." For most high drive breeds a walk is an exercise hors devours.

My advice to everyone is your dog needs to work both mind and body everyday. If they do not get this enrichment dogs will find other ways on their own. A few suggestions to add enrichment to your dog's day. For physical exercise teach your dog a retrieve (fetch), an appropriate tug of war (it can be done), or socialize him with other dogs for play. Exercise your dog before you feed him. How do you feel after a big meal? Do you want to exercise?

After your dog has gotten physical exercise, provide him with mental stimulation by getting rid of his food bowl. That is right. Throw it away. We make the mistake with young adolescent high drive dogs by feeding them out of a bowl. It takes my young dog about 10.2 seconds to eat his food out of his dish. Instead, I make him work for it. There are several toys out on the market that can be stuffed with food. Premier makes has a great toy line called Busy Buddys. You can also use a Kong. These toys require the dog to work their jaws and use their brain to eat. If you are running short on time it is just as fun to just pour your dog's food into his kennel or scatter it all over your patio.

Have fun and look for more tips soon.