My Hairless Dog

I ended up getting Lil T a sweater and the silly dog loved it. I thought it would be a hassle to put on him and that he would pick at it trying to get it off, but he didn't pay it any attention once it was on. It instantly stopped him from shivering, and he wore it all night. Since I was buying him a silly sweater, I felt bad and also bought him his first black bear. At least he looked like a fierce preppy dog when he was shaking the bear!

Random Thought #31

I am dreading picking Lil T up from the vet today. He had to be shaved instead of a "puppy cut" grooming, so he is going to be one ugly dog. Plus, since it is chilly in my house, I think it is going to be necessary to put him in a sweater. I never thought I would be the dog owner who puts the dog in clothing. If he would just let me brush him regularly, I would not have to have him shaved once a year!

Lil T Update

It has been a while since I wrote an update on Lil T on the blog, so I thought it was about time. Lil T seems to be settling down a little bit FINALLY!!! I can actually have him on the couch with me, laying down, while I watch football on TV. He seems to be calmer when football is on. I don't understand that! Last night I bought him a stuffed duck that quacks. It looks like the toy is designed for bird dogs, but I thought it would be funny to watch him carry the duck by the neck or wing. He did not disappoint! At first, he was scared of it because it was something new in the living room. Then he started to warm up to it, so I made it quack. It feels like it has an actual duck caller in it, so that quack is a pretty good imitation for a squeaky toy. The quack scared him to death. He started whining and crying and scampering all over the place. It was hilarious. I finally convinced him to come back around it and start playing with it again. However, I could not resist and had to make it quack again. More whining and crying and running. I threw it in the floor and curiosity got the best of him. He just had to drag it around by its wing and bring it back to the couch. He became braver and braver and started shaking the duck like he does his other toys when his paw accidentally stepped on the quacker. He shot off that duck like someone had shot him. It was hilarious! I think it is going to take him a while to really warm up to the duck. I found out I could make him jealous too by putting the duck on my chest. He did not like it that the duck was getting more attention than he was. All in all the duck proved to be worth the purchase price and will probably provide many hours of entertainment for Lil T's mommy!

We had a thunderstorm last night, and Lil T does not like thunder. If it is just a small storm, he usually does not get too excited. However, last night lightning struck the water tower behind my house. When I say behind my house, I mean directly behind my house. Where my backyard ends, the water tower begins. The lightning was close – very close. So close that the sounds and the light were simultaneous and jolting. Not just a little flash either. Bright white light that is blinding and thunder that rips through you like you have been shocked with electricity. The noise sounded like every tree in my backyard had fallen to the ground and crackled like the trees were on fire. The lightning was so close that now my small TV has a funny purple line in the top third that makes people's faces on TV look green. The lightning was close! After looking outside to make sure all of my remaining trees were still standing and not on fire, I decided to check on Lil T because I did not hear any noise coming from the kitchen, and there was no way that he was asleep. When I walked into the kitchen, he was hunkered down in his playpen where he sleeps, shaking. Anyone that has seen my dog when you walk into the kitchen knows that he must have been scared out of his mind. Usually my dog starts jumping and turning circles anytime you walk into the kitchen no matter the time of night or day. Lil T was so scared that when he did finally jump out of the playpen after being petted for a while, still shaking, he crept around the kitchen with his tail between his legs. It was quite a sight to see. After some TLC from mommy and cuddle time, he was back to his typical turning circles self. Lil T is just a little scaredy cat!!

Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, and Gumbo

Since Mardi Gras fell a little too early this year, I barely had time to get over my Super Bowl excitement and wish that I was down in the Big Easy taking in some parades.

Well, I am pleased with the outcome of the Super Bowl.  That is my best Manning impression of trying to keep my happiness at a calm level.  I have to say that I was less excited about this Super Bowl than I think I was about the one a few years ago that Pittsburg won (and I REALLY did not care who won that one).  I ended up watching only the 4th quarter for the most part.  I did not care a thing about the commercials.  I talked and played with a kid more than I watched.  However, I was glued to the TV for the 4th quarter.  I was very excited to watch Eli lead the Giants in the 4th quarter, and just see the determination that he brought to the field and used to lead his team.  I was disappointed to see how poor a loser Bill Bellicheck (I don't care if I misspelled his name either) proved himself to be by not staying on the field until the end of the game and not congratulating the Giants in any of the post-game interviews that I saw.  I know that if I had to chose a quarterback to lead my team in the last two minutes of the 4th quarter in a game, I would want his last name to be Manning.  

My love of New Orleans has contributed to my love of the Mannings, and today is Mardi Gras.  I celebrated by eating Campbell's Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, which was a pretty good gumbo in my opinion.  It could have been a little spicier, but it still hit the spot.  Surprisingly the gumbo is part of the healthy request line, but it tasted almost like the real deal to me (granted the sausage was not the real deal, but it was still tasty).  Maybe tonight I will throw some beads at Lil T to celebrate.  He loves beads!

Some Thoughts ...

Well, it looks like this is my first blog post of 2008.  Nice.  Too bad it isn't about something meaningful instead of just some random things all put into one blog.

Lil T:  Lil T had to share his house last week with another dog.  The Floyd (one of my co-workers) family went out of town and their dog Huxley came to stay with us for the week.  Huxley used the time to catch up on his sleeping, and did not do much else at my house.  He did insist on sleeping in my bed with me, but he was kind enough to take up only a few inches at the end of the bed!  Lil T and Huxley got along well.  Lil T did not pay Huxley too much attention unless Huxley had the nerve to come into the kitchen with me, which is Lil T's territory (he doesn't even like me in the kitchen unless it is to "visit" him).  I enjoyed having a dog around that was way out of the puppy phase and not even close to being as hyper as Lil T.  I look forward to the days when Lil T will sit down!  Maybe Lil T needs an older brother or sister.  I did not enjoy the morning and night time trips outside (Lil T is litterbox trained for the most part - nice, huh?!?!).

Writer's strike:  I am disturbed about how upset people are about the writer's strike.  Have we really become that dependent upon TV that we think it is the end of the world if we don't have new episodes of shows?  Maybe we should start spending time with our families or reading books or doing anything but watching TV instead.  I guess that is easy for me to say since the only show I am addicted to is The Office, but I refuse to watch new episodes on TV and instead wait for them to come out on DVD.  Why don't we support writers by reading books instead of watching TV?  It isn't the end of the world if there are only 5 episodes (or however many) of The Office this year - it just means a cheaper DVD of the season!

Football:  Wow, LSU sure pulled out all the stops against OSU.  OU is proving that they should not be considered for a BCS game even when they win the Big 12 (I think Missouri could have done better), but I guess they can't be excluded by contract.  In a season of upsets, there really were no big surprises in the bowl games.  That is kind of a letdown.  Apparently Mallett is transferring because Michigan hired someone who is bringing in a spread offense (really, that is against tradition at Michigan.  I already don't like the guy or the ones who hired him) so someone is about to pick up a pretty decent quarterback who has a year's worth of experience on a big stage.  Should be interesting to see where he ends up.  As for the NFL, go Giants.  Go Colts.  Anyone go to the Super Bowl other than the Patriots.  

LLBB:  I am coaching Little League Basketball again.  This year I am coaching a 5/6 grade team.  The kids are a little older, so at least they can all hit the rim, but it will still be an interesting experience.  Seems to be a decent team, and our skills goal is to learn how to do left handed layups by the end of the season.  I love coaching these teams, so it should be a fun season.

Romans:  Anyone who knows me knows that I love to study the book of Romans.  That is what we are studying as a church on Sunday nights this spring.  I am very excited!

Disclaimer:  I really did not proofread or try to use good English.  It has been one of those kinds of weeks - too busy to get my head screwed back on straight, so I am glad that the end of today and tomorrow looks to be a little less busy.  I am braindead.

Compassion International

I made the decision in July to begin sponsoring a Compassion International child.  I had heard about the organization in college, and I have wanted to sponsor a child since then.  Finally, this summer, I realized I was in a financial position to begin sponsoring a child.  You can go to their website and choose your child by looking through pictures of children from all over the world.  I really wanted a little boy in Africa, but I also wanted a child that was under five years old so that I would be making a long term commitment to the child until the child is eighteen.  After looking through all of the children, I realized that there was not a little boy in Africa that was under the age of five awaiting sponsorship.  I narrowed my choice to two little boys, a three year old from India and a four year old from Haiti.  After praying about the choice I should make, I decided to sponsor the three year old (although I was really sad that I couldn't sponsor the little boy from Haiti as well).

My little boy is Arjun Ajith.  He is from South India.  He is the cutest little thing!  I have placed his picture in my office so that I see him while I am working and remember to pray for him.  I was so excited to receive a letter written by his mother that also contained pictures drawn by him.  I learned that he has a dog too, so when I sent him a picture of me, I included one of Lil T as well.  His drawings of a flower and a bus were precious.  I am excited that I have the opportunity to support him financially.  Since he is a Compassion child, in order to continue to receive the benefits of the sponsorship, he will be attending school at a religious center in or near his hometown.  Therefore, because of my financial contributions, he will be raised learning about the gospel throughout his childhood and teenage years.  I hope that one day I will receive a letter with him informing me that he has become a believer in Christ.

I would encourage everyone to sponsor a child through Compassion.  It is a trustworthy organization, as is evidenced by its many years of service and many success stories.  As for the Haitian boy that I was unable to sponsor, I found out a week or two later that he had been chosen by our youth pastor as the child the youth group would sponsor.  I have been able to contribute to his sponsorship as well, which makes me excited.  If you are unable to afford a sponsorship on your own, I would encourage you to sponsor a child through a group of people, such as a Sunday school class, a discipleship class, a group of friends or co-workers, you get the picture.  If you can't make a long term commitment, choose an older child.  I think this is a small way that individuals can impact the world in a very personal way.  My desire is for Arjun's entire family to be changed by the gospel, and I hope that the love of Christ is shown through each dollar that they receive.

(I do have to add that you should not sponsor a child unless you are already tithing in your local church body.  Support for your local church should come first.)

Lil T and the Christmas Tree

I put up my Christmas tree on Friday.  Knowing how much Lil T dislikes change, I figured he would have a problem with the Christmas tree taking over his dining room.  I let him out of the kitchen expecting him to protest at the very sight of twinkling lights and shining things and a tree indoors.  Lil T ran right past the tree.  Paid it no attention whatsoever.  He eventually sniffed the tree after about two hours of running around the living room, but that is it.  YAY!!!  Now Lil T does not have to stay confined all December long in the kitchen.  The pictures are of Lil T playing on the couch and loveseat when I first let him out to play expecting him to protest at the sight of the tree.

We are also in the process of crate training.  So far so good.

Lil T's Least Favorite Holiday

Last night I found out that my wonderful little dog hates Halloween.  He is a Halloween scrooge.  He does not like little kids talking cheerfully and giggling uncontrollably walking past his house.  He barks at every single last one of them.  I wonder if that contributed to the no doorbell rings or knocks while I was home.  He was finally happy when things calmed down around 10, which, conveniently is his bed time.

Lil T like a little kid

I have already determined that having a dog is like having a two-three year old that never grows up (except that you can leave them home alone).  Lil T just keeps proving that.  On Tuesday, I had to buy dog food, and I decided to buy Lil T a pack of toys that included a ball since all of his balls seem to be MIA.  When I got the pack of toys home to Lil T, he was so excited to have new toys to play with that he could not decide whether to eat his dinner or play with his new toys.  What is funny is that the toys are basically the same toys he already has (except cleaner).  All night long you could hear him playing with his new soft bone (in brown although he already has one in blue that needs to be and will be thrown away because it has been washed one too many times).  I thought he would chase the ball around first since that was the one toy he had not played with in a while, but he did not start doing that until last night.  I guess he was bored with his old toys, and just needed some new ones to entertain himself!

Lil T Update

Well, some of you know by now that my poor little puppy will never be the same again (and will never produce offspring) because of his minor surgery on Monday.  I got a kick out of the event.  For starters, you have to have the dog at the vet at 7:30.  I don't get anywhere by 7:30.  Then they say that they will call you to let you know that your baby made it through surgery.  Fine.  When they call, they act like they are giving you an update on a relative that wasn't expected to make it -- your baby is doing fine, he is waking up well, he is a little groggy but that should wear off, you can pick him up at 4:30, he will be missing his mommy by then, etc.  My dog is a dog, not a human, and it was a surgery that some of my youth could have performed without ever putting him under (so they tell me).  However, I chose to take him to the vet to be charged because it would be less painful for him, not because he is almost human.

I go to pick up Lil T, and they give me the list of instructions - no jumping for 2 weeks, no running, keep activity at a minimum for 24 hours, small amount of food and water tonight because he will throw up, he will be groggy and act like he doesn't feel good, no bath for 2 weeks, he won't like his pills, etc.  I guess that they have never met my dog.  They bring him out in his pet taxi that is now too small for him, but proceed to take 15 minutes to run my card through the machine to pay for his vet bill.  15 minutes of the stupid dog trying to get out of his taxi and going crazy.  Well, there goes the keeping activity at a minimum for 24 hours.  We get home, and the first thing he does upon exiting the pet taxi is jump up to about chest level on me to nip at my elbow.  There goes the no jumping for 2 weeks.  I let him sit with me in the living room, and he proceeds to run in circles and jump from couch to love seat to couch to love seat to couch.  There goes the no running.  By this point I was pretty sure that he wasn't going to act groggy or like he didn't feel good either.

Dinner time for him came around and he ate and drank just fine without throwing up.  Good thing I guess, especially since he was jumping around.  The next morning it came pill time.  My dog thinks that pills are treats because I give him a digestive pill every day and he loves it.  Lil T thought he was in heaven because he got three pills instead of one.  He was so excited.  So basically the vet's assistant was wrong about everything.  I don't know how my psychopathic dog is going to survive 2 weeks without a bath (he loves those too).  

Well since his surgery, we have had no accidents in the living room (prior to the surgery he had gotten in the habit of marking the couches, and spent the last two months away from the living room).  Lil T has not calmed down any, although I really didn't expect that to happen.  So if I had to pay to make him a eunuch so that he would stop peeing on the couch, it was worth it.  Now he can watch TV again and see his favorite Dyson vaccuum cleaner commercial and bark at things that are on the floor that shouldn't be.  And, it means I have to keep my living room clean enough for him, meaning I can have people over again!

Lil T Update - for his grandparents :-)

I just have to tell you what seems to be Lil T's new favorite passtime. He gets on either the couch or the loveseat, throws his ball to the other couch/love seat, then throws himself across to get it. This really isn't that surprising given his love of flying. Also, while I am cooking/baking, he likes to growl at my feet until they chase him or try to kick him. It makes him turn into Tazmanian T when they finally do what he wants. I think he is just a little spoiled.

:-)

Well it has been a while since I last blogged, although, by a while is still less than a week. I think that is partly because I have been busy at work, and not used the blog as a break this week. Additionally, what I wanted to, and did, write about wasn't necessarily something that should be posted for public view.

So what is new with me? I have now entered the wonderful world of home ownership, meaning that I have had to call the air conditioner guy and the plumber to fix various things. Thank goodness I insisted on getting the 1-year home warranty insurance! Yesterday the air conditioner died, and today I found out it was only because of a fuse, which I now know where they are located and how to change one. Basically, I paid my little homeowner co-pay to have a lesson in fuse changing, but cold air is now coming out of the vents, which probably makes my furry, long-haired, over-active dog really happy! Speaking of Lil T, he is now spending the majority of the time in the kitchen after deciding he wanted to learn Greek by ingesting pages of my Greek dictionary. Since the kitchen seems to be the only place I don't have books lying around, it seemed the most logical place for him. Day two and he is a happier camper (until the air broke) and, from the sound of it, really enjoys running in circles on the linoleum.

I am continuing to study the minor prophets for Sunday School. This Sunday past was Habakkuk. Amazing stuff! I will have to blog about it later because it would make this a mini-book. Combine my studies of Ephesians with Jude and now Habakkuk, and I can feel myself becoming more grounded in doctrine and discernment than ever. Challenging lessons to learn!

Tazmanian T

If you have been following my blog, you all know how neurotic Lil T is. Now he has a new trick. He turns into the Tazmanian Devil any time that you blow the hairdryer on him. Just point while on, and he starts turning in circles growling like Taz in a tornado. The funny thing is he likes it. If it happens to be a morning when I am not blow drying my hair, he camps out in the bathroom sitting beside the hairdryer barking. I have to physically remove him from the bathroom. It's crazy!

This morning I woke up to a surprise. His breath smelled great ... because he found my pack of gum (all approximately 20-30 pieces of it) and given the state of his room, he must have played with the gum all night. As far as I can tell, he didn't eat any pieces but just licked some of them as he batted them around the room. So now I am out of gum, and have learned not to store my gum in the room he is in.

Super T

As promised (to my mother who may be the only one reading this blog anyway!), I am posting pictures of one of Lil T's favorite pasttimes. When the youth/college are over at my house, he loves to be thrown back and forth across the couches.

In addition to the throwing fun, he loves to dance with the kids. Lil T has learned how I act when I am preparing for people to come over, so he will start running back and forth between the windows looking for people to show up. It is quite entertaining! He loves having guests!

OCD Dog Update

I thought I would let everyone know that Lil T has a favorite commercial -- some high powered vaccuum cleaner. It is the one that shows all the other vacuums squeaking because they do not have suction power. I think he likes it because it sounds like his squeaky toys. Anyway, I find it funny that no matter where he is at in the house, when he hears that commercial, he comes running and stares at the TV. And, of course, it has to be a commercial for a cleaning product. He is mental!

My Dog Has OCD

I have a confession to make. My hyperactive, fluffy, froo-froo dog has OCD. Usually it is not a problem. It can be quite funny at times. For instance, when I have people over at the house, there is usually trash left on the floor in the form of cups or plates or napkins. If I let Lil T in the room, he barks like crazy until all of the trash is picked up. The only mess on the floor that he will allow is one that he made. It is strange. One afternoon I dropped a pillow on the floor accidentally while he was sitting on the couch with me, and he barked until I picked it up. It took me a while to figure out what he was barking at. As soon as I picked up the pillow, he stopped barking. Weird! The strange thing is that he is nothing like me in this respect. I mean, I thought dogs were supposed to be like their owners. However, I am the furthest thing from a neat freak and have to force myself to clean (unless, of course, the dog is barking out orders!).

Yesterday I was cleaning up the kitchen, doing dishes, randomly baking some peanut butter bars, and I accidentally knocked a plastic cup off the counter. Thinking I would pick it up when I finished that sink full of dishes since my hands were soapy and wet, I kept washing dishes. Lil T ran into the room, and went crazy. He turned into the Tazmanian devil barking and growling and turning in circles until I picked up the cup. Then he looked towards the living room, saw the blinking light of my laptop on the couch and went insane again. I had to close the door of the kitchen so that he could no longer see the blinking light.

This disorder even bleeds over into his hygeine habits. Because of the mean dogs next door, Lil T uses puppy pads inside the house. If he poops, he barks until it gets cleaned up. He doesn't want anything smelly in his area! He also demands baths. The past few Saturdays I have been pretty busy, and his baths have been spread out more instead of weekly. This is not acceptable to him. He has learned how to jump into the bathtub (which is a pretty impressive because I have a pedestal tub with high sides), and he will sit there until you give him a bath or physically remove him from the tub while he scratches and tries to bite you. It is really odd! I am glad he enjoys his bath so much though because it does make him easier to bathe.

I guess I may have contributed to his weirdness by naming him Quintus Septimus Florens Tertullianus, aka Tertullian, aka Lil T. And he does have more nicknames than most dogs his size (the youth and college at FBC WV, and even their parents and my parents have contributed the majority of these nicknames). And I did teach him how to "be a ballerina" as one of his tricks (after receiving this command he proceeds to stand on his two back feet and twirl in a circle, sometimes). At least his strangeness provides entertainment (and motivation to clean) for me!

He loves to sleep on his Mommy's body pillow, although it is three times the size of him.






Another difference between me and Lil T -- he loves feet. Strange dog!!