Monday, January 31, 2011

I Found A Look Alike On Pet Finder!

Carter

Me (Abby)


I just found out about this "Find Your Better Half" contest at Norwood Unleashed in time because this is the last day to enter! You are supposed to find a dog on Petfinder of the opposite gender that looks like you. I found Carter! I think he looks a lot like me although it says he is part Norwegian Elkhound and part Lab. I am part Norwegian Elkhound and part German Shepherd (or so I’ve been told).  We have the same beautiful eyes, same cute ears and the same nose and same smile. If I win, I will choose Canine Lifeline to receive the prize because the founder of this rescue is the kind lady who fostered me to give me more time to find my forever home with Karen and Gerard.

Petfinder is a great way to find the perfect pet that is available in your area. Give it a try just to see all the wonderful homeless animals that need a good home. You may even find one that particularly tugs at your heart who you could take in and provide them with a forever home with you! Woo Hoo!


I Impressed Karen, by Abby

On Friday night, Karen and Gerard went out and Gerard showed Karen how far I walk sometimes. Karen said it was far! I did that walk Sunday and it took me about an hour and a half. Gerard and I both love to walk but Karen doesn't like to go as far as we do. After our walk, Gerard went to the gym to workout. Karen was at the computer, of course. Gerard and Karen took the car later then to measure exactly how long a walk it was and guess what! It was 4.2 miles! There is still about 6 inches of snow on the ground and the temperature is 30 degrees--a perfect day for walking! How far do you walk? Woof! Woof!

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Saturday, January 29, 2011

Soccer Is Harder Than I Thought! (Vlogging Workshop)

PHBC Childrens Workers Breakfast

I never played soccer because it wasn't popular at all when I was a kid, but since one of the workshops at The Childrens Workers Breakfast at our church offered some basic fundamentals for the four sports offered at our sports camp coming up June 20-23, 2011,

I gave soccer a try just to learn something new. I decided after doing flag football for two years, I'd like to try something different. I soon discovered that soccer was not it, but had a good time on basketball so plan to switch to coach basketball for sports camp this year.

I would like to share a few things that I learned in the soccer segment with you here that I thought you may find interesting or at the very least funny.  In the video, I demonstrate a running drill, aiming and kicking, stopping the ball and the head bump:






Joining in Mama Kat's Vlogging Workshop to respond to the prompt: Teach us something.


Friday, January 28, 2011

5 Things We Learned The 4th Week of 2011 (vacuum, news, dogs, insurance)

This clogged it up!

Vacuum Cleaners

We are supposed to clean the filter on our Dirt Devil every time we use it. Who knew? Our belt broke and had to be replaced. On our Tri-Star, the pouch is supposed to be changed monthly! The back filter once every six months and the inside filter once a year. Oops. See Vacuum Cleaners Need Cleaning Too!

News: Don't Blame Your Grandmother

There was an article in the Chicago Tribune about John Stone, a car salesman in the Chicago area, was fired from his job for wearing a Packers tie to work. His general manager told him to take it off five times in 30 minutes but refused so he was fired. The dealership had done promotions involving the Chicago Bears. He wore it in honor of his grandmother, a Packers fan, who was buried two days before the NFC Championship Game. I'm sure his grandmother would not have wanted him to lose his job over that! What a goof. Do you think he should have been fired? He got another job at a different dealership.

source:  Wikipedia

Greyhounds


Over at Snipe Wife I found out the greyhounds actually do shed. I always thought that was one breed that didn't.

Insurance

Over at Eukanuba Reader's Digest, I saw there is pet insurance available with quite a few options. I wouldn't even know which kind to choose!  Personally, I'd rather pay when the need arises. What about you? Do you have pet insurance?  If not, you may want to look into it.

Tweet Chat

I discovered How To Participate In A Twitter Chat with Tweet Chat that is supposed to allow you to have hash marks added automatically to your tweets and give you the ability to block certain people. When I looked into it though, I couldn't figure it out. I think using the hashmarks in regular Twitter works fine for me.

Find some more Friday Fragments.

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Thursday, January 27, 2011

Pizza, Trail Mix, Bread Pudding Poems (Writer's Workshop)

Once again I am attempting a poem thanks to Mama Kat's Writer’s Workshop prompt to write a poem about your favorite food. I have three favorite foods so I present you with three poems (and I use that word loosely).

Casamel's Pizza

Pizza Please!

Pizza is a favorite of mine,
My husband will tell you so.
Pizza please! Pizza please!

Although I could eat as many as nine,
I only eat two which is hard to do!
Give me more! Give me more!

It is so delicious, I have it three times a week!
It’s not all that nutritious, so other food I seek,
Oh, what will I have for lunch?
My stomach says “pizza please”—that is my hunch!

Pizza please, pizza please!
I could eat it every day!
It’s so tasty and yummy good,
Give me more if you would!


Chocolate Trail Mix

Trail Mix

Our chocolate trail mix makes a great snack,
The secret is to save some back.
Those chocolate balls, raisins, cranberries and assorted nuts,
Make quite the mixture of temptation for us!
Portion control is the way,
To have some trail mix every day!



What is bread pudding?


Bread Pudding from Giant Eagle
It’s not really pudding,
It’s not really bread.
It’s hard to explain,
But I know in my head,
That it has raisins,
And maybe some bread,
It’s kind of thick and sticky,
But it must be said,
It is a good food that I love very much,
And enjoy for breakfast, dinner or lunch!

What is your favorite food? 
Mama's Losin' It

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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

What Peanuts Character Are You?

Who doesn't like the Peanuts comics? I think everyone enjoys Charlie Brown and his friends and faithful dog, Snoopy and if not, at least they know who they are. That's why when we saw this quiz, we just had to take it. 




You are a good person, and in a way, you don't get what you deserve in life.  (I like this!)

You are kind, honest, and brave... but you always seems to have the worst luck!  (I really don't feel I have bad luck at all, but like the first part of this.)

You've don't give up easily, but sometimes you can't help but get a little depressed. Life is hard!  (Sometimes I get a bit depressed if I think too much about losing my parents or if I goof up something, but I try to focus on positive things and not stay depressed for long.)

You might be surprised to know your friends like you just the way you are. Others can see your heart of gold.  (I hope this is true!)



Gerard Is Lucy




You are smart as a whip... maybe a little too smart for your own good! Other people tend to annoy you.
(I don't think I'm all that smart, but some people do annoy me when they keep talking and talking all the time.  If you count trivia as being smart, then this is true.)

You tell it like it is, and you're not about to spare anyone's feelings. You're very blunt.(I keep my opinions to myself though unless asked for them so I really don't hurt people's feelings, unless maybe my sister when she wants us to get together.)

You are assertive to the point of being aggressive. You know what you want, and you're going to make sure you get it.
(I prefer to think of myself as being focused, not aggressive.  I did know I wanted Karen though and was persistent in my pursuit!)
Deep down, you're trying to be helpful. You give good advice, even if people don't want to hear it. You always shoot from the hip.
(I really don't give advice much so am surprised I am most like Lucy.)

Go on, take the quiz and share your results in the comments.  I'd love to see if we could find at least one person for each character so we really need you to participate here. 


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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Vacuum Cleaners Need Cleaning Too!

Gerard Vacuuming With Our Tri-Star
We bought a very good but very expensive Tri-Star vacuum cleaner in 2003. Several parts broke and we were too lazy to take it into the center to get it fixed so bought a cheap Dirt Devil last year to use instead of getting the Tri-Star fixed. We did take it in several times before.

Last week the Dirt Devil quit working. Gerard vacuums every day so this was just very upsetting to be without a working vacuum cleaner. It would go on but would not pick up anything. I looked in the instruction manual troubleshooting page. Sure enough, there was a "won't pick up" problem listed with the solution being that the filter should be cleaned. Oops! Gerard never cleaned the filter since we bought it! It says we are supposed to tap it against the trash can until the dirt stops flying out of it. Well, before we gave this a shot, we got a call from Tri-Star saying their office nearby us closed and now they come to the house to provide the annual maintenance for our Tri-Star. I set up an appointment for them to come and fix ours last Saturday.



Sunday, January 23, 2011

Our Breakfast Routine: Pets First!



Manny: Since Karen has cut back on my food so I would lose some weight, I am very hungry in the morning and meow for my breakfast. If you turn up the sound on the video, you can actually hear me waking up my humans. My bowl is now on top of the kitchen table so Abby does not eat my food. She is good though because even if I knock some off, she leaves it alone when Karen tells her to. Spunky Doodle and I got in a little bit of a fight in the video because I had to make sure she didn't try cutting in front of me and eating before I did.

Abby: Karen feeds me first because I am such a good girl and wait patiently for my breakfast. Also, I think she likes to feed me first so I don't start barking. She only gives me half my breakfast though when she feeds the cats (except on Saturdays) and the other half she puts into my Kong and gives it to me when she goes to work. I will do a separate post about my Kong to show you the art of using it. Sometimes though if I hang around and make my cute face she will give me an extra little treat--of course, she always makes me do something to earn it.



Friday, January 21, 2011

6 Things We Learned in Week 3 of 2011 (candy, email, happy, news, animals)


Candy



I thought I pretty much knew all about candy until my boss got a chocolate bacon candy bar in the mail. It's from Vosges Chocolates. Have you ever heard of this?  I finally got to taste it--very good!  The bacon taste was faint, mostly dark chocolate is what I tasted.

Email Subscriptions

Gerard learned that he can get an email letting him know when Best Friends adds a video. I subscribed and forwarded it him. He thought that was really cool! Maybe you would like to subscribe to you YouTube channel? Just click on our video tab at the top of our blog and it will take you right to our channel where you can subscribe.

Happy People Society


At Reader Buzz I learned there is actually a Secret Society of Happy People. Did you know that? I guess the secret is out now! This past week was their 5th "Hunt For Happiness" week.

A Dog In Court

By playing the Freekibble trivia I found out that the Michigan courthouse uses a Labrador Retriever named Amos to comfort kids who have to testify. Our dog, Abby would love a job like that!





Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Abby Loves The Park--Especially With Snow!


One of the benefits of having a dog is that you do actually get more exercise. Because the temperature warmed up to 30 degrees today, we took Abby to the park for the first time this year. I seriously doubt if we didn't have the dog that we would have went. As you can see from the video, we had about six inches of snow on the ground. Abby loved it as you can see by her tail constantly wagging. Gerard and I enjoyed being out together too and we only saw four other people and only one other dog as we were leaving! It was pretty deserted.

Abby wants to add her comments:
Abby Dabby Doo Enjoying The Snow

I am very lucky to have such a good home. I hope you liked my video and it inspires you to take your dog to the park. Did you see my legs were all hidden in the deep snow? I like the colder weather so much better than the hot.  I could be out here for hours!  Karen really wanted to get a good picture of the snow on my snout and finally got this one right before we left. I just was so excited and happy, I could hardly stay still long enough and so much to see and sniff! Happy snow days to you! Woof! Woof!

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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

How Compassionate Are You?

I was happy with the results of this quiz on compassion.


You Have Lots of Compassion






You are a naturally empathetic and caring person. Other people matter to you, and it shows.

I just feel so blessed when I see all the problems others struggle with every day!

You celebrate your friends' successes and sympathize when they run into trouble.

Doesn't everyone do this?  Romans 12:15 says:  "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep."

You have a strong sense of justice, and you want to protect everyone who's been treated unfairly.

(I do for sure, but I know God has it covered.  He is the fair judge and no one will get away with anything.  II Corinthians 5:10 says:  "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ:  that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."

It's hard for you to judge someone unless you've walked a mile in his or her shoes. You give people the benefit of the doubt.


I do.  I believe this is so true.  Who knows what I would be like if I were born in a different country or with different parents or had different experiences?  Romans 14:13 says:   Let us not therefore judge one another any more:  but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
How Compassionate Are You?  Take the quiz and find out!  
Share your results in the comments if you like.
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Monday, January 17, 2011

The Thrill Of Victory--The Agony Of Defeat

Happy Packers Fans

This is a video of Packers fans from Half Past Kissin' Time showing how they celebrated the Packers victory last weekend by running around their house barefoot in the snow and wearing shorts! I just thought it was hilarious and am sure Gerard and me would never do such a crazy thing. How about you?



Sad Patriots Fans

Manny Laid On Me The First Half

Last night once again the Patriots disappoint by losing in the first round of the playoffs! It was sad to see them lose to the Jets (although I do like the Jets' uniforms). It seemed the Jets could do no wrong. It was an exciting game; however, we wish the outcome had been different. Gerard really was in rare form yelling at the TV and stomping around the living room. (Gerard walked Abby at halftime and then watched the second half he watched in the basement while I watched upstairs with calming classical music playing and reading Perfect Chemistry.) It's scary to see him get so worked over a game! Abby climbed up on me--I think he scared her somewhat too! Near the end of the game, the Patriots failed on two on-side kick attempts.



If I were a coach, I would have my team practice, practice, practice that particular play. It just seems the situation comes up for it quite a bit and if teams could actually execute it properly, it would make a big difference in their win-loss records. It certainly could have made a difference in this game!

Afterward, I read some more and Gerard went to bed.

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Sunday, January 16, 2011

Comment For Charity: Last Hope Cat Kingdom


I’ve been trying to come up with a way to do more good with my blog and think it might be fun to use it to raise money for charity by donating $1 per comment received. I can’t take complete credit for this idea because it was inspired by a blog I came across who did this for one particular post to donate to food. Unfortunately, I don’t remember which blog it was so if it was yours, let me know so I can give you some link love here.


Certain charities we donate to regularly; however, there are more that we just give to sporadically and sometimes a special need arises. Those are the ones which we will pick from to use for our “Comments for Charity” campaign on a 3-month trial basis. If it works out well, we'll continue it for the whole year.  I believe this will also help us be extravagantly generous. We will donate $1 for every legitimate comment we get on our blogs during the month of January to Last Hope Cat Kingdom to help rebuild the cat shelter that burned down that we heard about from Sparkle. I hope this will encourage more of our readers to comment instead of just lurk as well as help support charities that are close to our hearts.

So, why not help by commenting on this post? What do you think of this idea? Do you have a good charity you would like to recommend? Not saying we will use it, but we are open to suggestions.  Please visit our other blogs too!  (My Funny Dad, Harry and Grab A Book From Our Stack)

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Friday, January 14, 2011

7 Things We Learned in Week 2 of 2011 (childrn, shopping, children, cats, giveaways)

SD Memory Card

I found out that my new SDHC memory card that I bought with a Best Buy gift isn't compatible with my computer. I exchanged it for one that is (an SD 2GB) and glossy 4x6 paper to print pictures on.


Dollar Bank Giveaway

When I deposited a check, I saw that Dollar Bank is giving away $1,000 a week until March 28. All I did to enter was register the serial number of a $1 bill.

Celiac

I first heard about this rare disease in the book Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans. The only remedy is to not eat anything with gluten. I didn't know if it was a real disease or not because it was a fiction book; however, just this week the PLAIN DEALER did a big article about Gluten-free products that are tasty and mentioned that disease.

Children and Cancer

According to The National Children's Cancer Society, one in 330 children will develop cancer by age 20! Visit their website for information on how to help kids with cancer around the world: www.children-cancer.org




Thursday, January 13, 2011

I Felt Validated On My Wedding Day (Writer’s Workshop)

I met Karen through Great Expectations, a service to find a marriage partner—not just a dating service. I was a member for a long time with no prospects until one day when I had a date with Karen and knew I had someone special. We met November 16 at Pizza Hut.

I was ecstatic and anxious to tell my family who thought I would never find anybody. They were not thrilled when I told them, not even happy for me. The reason why not? Simple, she was not Catholic. I grew up Catholic: grade school, high school, all the sacraments, even an altar boy for a long time! In March, when Karen invited me to go with her to a singles retreat for a weekend, the first thing my sister said to me was “You’re going to miss Sunday Mass!” and on and on it went. I fought many battles and I take my faith seriously.



Wednesday, January 12, 2011

What Fitness Type Are You?

I took this quiz and it says:

My Fitness Type is Competitive





You love to work out, but you definitely need a challenge to stay motivated. (Absolutely true!)

You love to compete - both with others and yourself. You have to have goal in mind.  (Right on!)


Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Enjoying Fitworks Again


After having had to give up working out due to giving my body time to recover from surgery (a year), I have re-join Fitworks. I came across an old blog post that said weight lifting not only builds muscle but also helps harden bones. I know I’ve lost some muscle and definitely some bone density during the last year so really think I need to get back to the gym and do some strength training again. I am actually excited about it!


Sunday, January 9, 2011

Speak Out--A Winter Rant

Gerard says:
We had a good snow fall here--over 4 inches at least and the two things that drive me batty are back: (1) people who walk in the street against traffic and (2) people on bikes without even any reflective clothing!

It's hard enough to battle the snow, black ice and potholes without these two things yet. Am I wrong?


Friday, January 7, 2011

10 Things We Learned in Week 1 of 2011 (news, places, videos, pets, books, humor)


Tasmania

I've heard of the Tasmanian Devil but didn't know Tasmania is actually a city in Australia! It is as I learned when I when blog trotting over at Life . . . Live It: My Place In This Big World. It sounds like a really fun place to live.

Calendar Widget

I learned that Christian Women Online have calendar widgets.

Bowling

I used to have a set of plastic bowling pins and it was called Duck Pin bowling. Over at Karen's Opinion, I learned that in the Easter states there are actually Duck Pin bowling establishments! We were going to go bowling on New Year's Day until I called and found out it was $3.75 per game. That's is so outrageous! I remember when it used to be 50 cents a game!

Manny joined us late, sitting on the corner table.

Blogger Pics

Boy do I feel slow. I just noticed this week that if I click on the image I upload when drafting a post, there is an option for adding a caption. How long has that been there?

YouTube Cat Videos

According to the Freekibblekat trivia, there are over 584,000 cat videos on YouTube! Here is one of ours I especially like when we first got Abby:

If you to to our navigation bar and click on "videos" it will take you right to our YouTube channel where you can browse all of them. They aren't all cat videos.

Poll Results For Favorite Genres

Over at our book blog we had a little survey to find out what type of book most people like. We only had 41 votes; however, Mystery and Suspense was the overwhelming favorite with 30 votes. Historical fiction came in second with 17.  (The links take you to the mystery and suspense book reviews Gerard and I wrote on our book blog.  I'm sure you will find something you like!)

Sad News About Cats

Over at Sparkle's blog I learned about the Last Hope Cat Kingdom sanctuary having a fire and many cats lost their lives. The good news is that it will be rebuilt. Hop over there to read all about it at Give New Hope to Last Hope Cat Kingdom.

Tupperware

I just found out this week that I can put Tupperware in the microwave. Now when I take pizza to work for lunch, I don't need to bring paper plates along. I can just heat it up on my Tupperware lid!

Homeless Ted Williams

A homeless Ted Williams of Ohio finally gets lots of job offers because of his voice and a video going viral. He accepted the offer of doing voiceovers for the Cleveland CAVS. You can read all about it at Mashable/Video: Golden-Voiced Homeless Man Ted Williams Scores Job Offers After Video Goes Viral. the Quicken Loans President also offered to find him a home! Now this is the kind of news I like to hear.

An Old Fart

Thanks to this Alzheimer's Test over at Comedy Plus, I learned that I am an old fart! Boo hoo. I challenge you to take the test to see if you are one too!

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