Big Surprise for Dan

Ryan's Dad, Dan, turned 60 on February 13th. On the 9th, we had a sursprise party for him at Hacienda. He works for the city, so we managed to get a pretty big crew from work together, and all the family within driving distance came to surprise him. I even talked my mom into going. I was really glad Ryan's mom, Janet, didn't blow the surprise. Ryan's sister and I were sure she would :-) This is Dan walking in to the party room. Janet looks more surprised than anyone else...he he he. Dan thought he was just meeting me and Ryan for dinner. So, everyone got there a little early and got some drinks and sat and waited while Ryan went to the front door to wait.
Just as expected, Dan showed up early....he always does...but we made sure eveyone was there extra early because we know that's how Dan rolls!! I would tell you who all these people are, but I'm not sure who is who. This was actually the first time I had the chance to meet some of Ryan's extended family. There were several family members from Michigan who came down for the weekend. It was great to meet everyone.
I tried to get Mom to have a drink with me, but she decided against it. I kept the strawberry daiquiries coming for awhile though :-) She had a good time, and she actually socialized a little with the everyone sitting around us. I was so happy she was there with us.
Just had to throw this picture in because of those beautiful chocolate locks.....meow!!!!! Oh yeah...that's Dan next to Ryan, and some michigan family members to his right.

This is the family. L-R Ryan, Dan, Janet, me, and Ryan's sister, Stacy.

We all had a great time. And like I said, I got to meet some of the family I had never met before, so that was really nice. It seems kind of strange to me that his family lives in Michigan and they don't see eachother any more often than they do. It really makes me appreciate how close our family is.

Happy Kitty Tails Too!!

Even though we have flunked our foster job with Mickey, meaning we're keeping him :-), we have still managed to keep a good tempo going with the whole animal rescu stuff.

A lady I work with had a sweet little calico cat named Patches that she had to get rid of because of her daughter's allergies. I felt really bad for the family, because her daughters are both very attached to Patches, and they didn't realize until recently that the oldest was allergic to her. When they dropped her off at our house, the youngest little girl sat down with her and read her a story and left the book there for us to read to her at night. She said it helps her sleep. It was so sweet.

Patches was the best Kitty ever. She was already fixed and declawed in all four paws, so she was really easy to find a home for. She would let the girls wrap her in a blanket and carry her like a baby. I have never known a cat that would do that....not for long anyway.

I felt really bad for her at our house. I think she was pretty overwhelmed by all the dogs. She had never been around dogs before. So, the first two nights, she hid under our bed. I don't think she ever came out to eat or go potty or anything. The third night, Ryan and I put all the dogs in their kennels and moved the bed out to get her. She drank a little water, jumped into her litter box, and as soon as she was done there, she hid under our dresser. We couldn't get her to come out after that. So, I struggled to get a couple pictures of her hiding behind the dresser so you could all see how cute she was.

So, after only a few days, Patches was given to an older lady with a five year old grand-daughter who visits often. It sounds like the perfect arrangement for Patches. I hope everything works out well for her.

She looks kinda mad here, but she was really cute as a button.....promise!!!!

Screw Winter!!!

So Sorry if this offends anyone, but this is how I feel!!!!

I am so over winter.....

Another Happy Tail

A couple weeks ago, my friend at work, Michelle, asked me if I could help her with a beagle that was found running stray in Indian Heights. It was one of those bitterly cold days, so we had to get this sweet little girl inside and safe somewhere.

The dog was brought to Michelle's mom by a nieghbor boy who visits them often. He had found the dog and asked his mom if he could keep her and she said NO!! So, he took her down to Michelle's mom's house thinking she would keep her. They realized she had tags, so Michelle's mom helped the little boy call the vet to try to find the owners. Unfortunately, the number they had was disconnected. Due to privacy, they wouldn't give out any other info, such as name, address, etc. At that point, Michelle's mom didn't know what to do. She kind of wanted to keep her, but her husband wasn't having it!!

So, I offered to pick this sweet little girl up after work. I really didn't know what would happen since she had tags, but I knew I didn't want her to go to the Humane Society. So, I met Michelle's mom at Speedway on Alto and Dixon at 11:30 after work and picked her up. I loved her as soon as I met her....and so did Ryan!!!

The next morning, Ryan called the vet's office again. He explained that we volunteer for the Companion Animal Association, so they were willing to give us more info. We found out her name is "Spice." Kokomo Animal Hospital is where her tags were from, and they are also the office that helps our organization by giving big discounts andboarding animals when we can't find foster homes for them. So, they were pretty receptive when we told them we were trying to locate the owners. If Spice was mine, I wouldn't have been able to sleep that night. She was so good and adapted so well to our dogs......she was just a good dog!!

Anyway, Ryan got the name and address of the owners and found the house. There was no answer when he went to the door, so he left a note.

After a couple hours, he got a phone call from a woman who found the note on her door. She didn't seem at all happy that we had found her dog, kept it warm and fed overnight, and even returned it. She was more worried about how we got her name and address. I didn't even want to leave Spice there. I'm afraid this may happen again. She didn't say one single word about how she worried through the night or anything. So, it makes me think they let little Spice run free all the time. That makes me furious!!!! She was really lucky that we even made the effort to find her after the phone number provided to the vet had been disonnected. It's her responsibility to keep those things updated. At that point, we just put the dogs in a foster home and put them up for adoption. So, she came very close to losing this sweet puppy, and I don't even think she cares.

Regardless of whether the woman was upset with us or not, I know we did the right thing by returning Spice to her rightful owner. If I just happen to be randomly driving through Indian Heights someday and pick up a stray beagle, I don't think I'll be contacting that lady again........

Ryan and I managed to squeeze in as much lovin' as we could in the short time we had her. It was actually less than 24 hours by the time we got her back home, but it was still long enough for us to fall in love with her.

She didn't even care when I tried to hug her little head right off her body :-)

I miss her already. I hope she is OK and her owners appreciate the fact that she is back with them where she belongs.

First Hookah show of 2008!!!!

It has taken me a minute to find the time to actually write another post, so get ready for a couple over the next few days..............

I went to my first Hookah show of 2008 on January 25th in Dayton Ohio with my friend Caitlin from work. She had never seen them before, so we were both really excited.

Caitlin was one of my x-ray students for the past two years, so I had to wait for her to graduate to actually start having any fun with her :-) But now, she's my co-worker, so I don't have any of that "I have to act professional around you" stuff going through my head anymore!!! It's nice....now I can be myself!!!!

So, the first show of the year was on a Friday, which meant Ryan couldn't go with me since he works second shift five days a week. I was planning on going alone, but then I got the bright idea of inviting Caitlin along. She has a pretty diverse taste in music for someone her age. ( I feel kinda weird hanging out with her because she's just barely 21) But, that's beside the point. So, I thought this little young 'un would appreciate their music...and I was right. In fact, I think her exact words walking out of the venue were : "I want to have ALL their love children!!" He he he....made me laugh!!

We had a great time together. The show was at a brand new venue called Seven Timbers Live in downtown Dayton. Ekoostik Hookah was their first event, so the staff was awesome. They were walking around talking with people in the crowd about what they thought of the venue and what they could do to improve anything. The place was already perfect. The setup couldn't be much better for a music venue.

Seven Timbers is in an old brick building that has a market place on one end, a lounge in the middle, and the concert area on the other end. It was really nice because you could go sit in the lounge, which probably held at least a couple hundred people, and chill out on couches and at big round tables with candles lit. You could carry your drinks from the venue or food from the market place into the lounge. The whole place had a really friendly vibe. I liked it a lot, and hope that Hookah will play there again sometime soon. It's only about a two and a half hour drive, so we made it a one night trip and came home the same night.My pictures didn't turn out very well inside the venue because it was so dark. I played around with my flash and some other settings that night....i don't think I'll do that again ;-)This is the bassist for the opening band called "The Werks." I had heard of them through some of my friends from Ohio, but I had never heard their music. I have to say, I was impressed. They were a lot of fun. For an opening band that I planned on ignoring, it turned out to be a nice surprise.This is the lead guitarist for The Werks.This is the keyboardist for The Werks. I didn't catch any of their names. This was one of very few pictures that turned out decent without my flash.There's Caitlin......Pre Hookah show....she was still a Hookah virgin in this picture :-)Another crappy picture, but I feel the need to post the crappy ones too....sorry :-)The amazing Steve Sweney on lead, and Cliff Starbuck on bass.Cliffy sweatin'....but still sexy!!!!Sweney rockin' my world!!!!

John Mullins, once again.............

So, anyway, I have managed to get another one of my friends hooked on Hookah. That just means more people to party with at all the upcoming shows!!! It's always exciting when you bring a friend who has never heard them, and they fall in love just as fast as I did. I'm already counting the days untill Spring Hookahville. it's like the best place on earth.......kinda like Disneyworld for adult, hippie, tree huggin dancin fools....just like myself!!!!!

Little Orphan Annie

Just came across an old book of poetry by James Whitcomb Riley, and couldn't help but smile when I came across this story. It was one of my favorites when I was a kid. I remember Dad reading it to me in the perfect "story-teller" voice. It would give me chills when he would get to the part about the gobble-uns!!!! So, anyway, I thought I'd share..... Enjoy!!!

To all the little children: -- The happy ones; and sad ones;The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones;The good ones -- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.

Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,

An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,

An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an'

sweep,

An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-

keep;

An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,

We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun

A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,

An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--

An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,

His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,

An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!

An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an'

press,

An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;

But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout:--

An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,

An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;

An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,

She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!

An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,

They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,

An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed

what she's about!

An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,

An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!

An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,

An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--

You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,

An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,

An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,

Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!