Friday, May 30, 2008

The French Bulldog

Our French Bulldog Mattie is our baby. She follows us around, sleeps with us and loves us a lot. Frenchies are ugly to the point of cute and are often mistaken for pugs for those who are not familiar with the breed. Here's a look at the colors: First is Mattie, who is brindle, then a black/white frenchie, fawn, and white.

mattiehttp://www.puppycityny.com/medium.htmhttp://www.kennels.co.uk/Utility/FrenchBulldog.htmlBruiser's Adventures in Louisiana

French Bulldogs are becoming more well-known. Martha Stewart has had hers on her show and the cover of magazines. A white frenchie costarred appeared in the movie Secondhand Lions(which I highly recommend not for that reason alone). Patty Hearst's (yes, that Patty Hearst) Frenchie won Best of Breed in 2008.

Secondhand Lions

French Bulldog Did You Know?

  • It is fairly well established that one of the ancestors of the French Bulldog is, not surprisingly, the English Bulldog (most likely one of the toy variety).
  • Two distinctive features of the French Bulldog are its bat ears and half-flat, half-domed skull.
  • Originally called the Boule-Dog Francais, though the english later scoffed at the idea of calling an English dog by a French name.
  • Had it not been for the objections of American fanciers, the bat ear of the French Bulldog would have been bred out of the breed and replaced with a rose ear, resulting in a miniaturized version of the English Bulldog.
  • The first specialty club was the French Bulldog Club of America, and fanciers gave a specialty show in the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC in 1989, the first specialty show to be held in such deluxe quarters. Receiving serious press coverage, French Bulldogs were thrust into vogue, reaching a peak in 1913 with an entry of 100 at the Westminster Kennel Club.
  • While bred primarily as pets and companions, Frenchies are remarkably intelligent and serve as good watchdogs.

From The American Kennel Club

No offense to French Bulldogs or the AKC, but Mattie is not very intelligent nor a good watchdog. She has a very limited number of things she can do and things that she knows. She will bark at unfamiliar sounds, but make fast friends with anyone who speaks kindly and will pet her. If you are thinking about adding a Frenchie to your family, please use the links in this post to see if they are for you. If so, congratulations! you are about to own one of the most cute, funny and friendly dogs. They are great lap dogs, love to play and go for walks and/or nap whenever you do - in fact, Mattie will insist on a nap if I am home during the day.

French Bulldog Link Directory

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Truth Two

I ran across the 30 Essential Truths according to Dr. Gordon Livingston, author of Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart, on Alex Blackwell's great blog The Next 45 Years. Some of them hit very close to home. This post is about the Second Truth. From Alex's blog:

2. We are what we do. We are not what we think, or what we feel, or what we say, we are what we do. Actions do indeed speak louder than words. If you are unhappy with a particular part of your life, take a strong look at what you are doing to be happier.

As someone who has bipolar disorder, I need to remind myself that I am not what I think or feel. Thoughts and feelings become distorted by an unhealthy mind. For example:

FALSE

True

My life sucks.My life is good and I have been blessed.
I hate this.This is not bad.
Things are hopeless.Things are never hopeless.
FearThis will not kill me.
SadnessSadness is only a symptom of depression.
DespairThere are an infinite number of things that are worse.
I am so alone.I am never alone. I have family, friends and God.
People are critical of me.I don't know what people think of me, nor should I base my happiness on others.
No one knows how I feel.Many others have depression and suffer the same feelings.

One the other side of the coin, I tend to go on about making positive changes, referring to myself as kind, honest, wise and a general all-around goody goody. Those words do not necessarily mean that's how I act. It's how I want to act. But what do I really do?? What did I do today that was kind? Did I tell the truth today or try to hide something that I don't like about myself in order to look good? Have I helped anyone using what I know? Do I use any wisdom that I think I have to build others up or put them down by pointing out what they don't know? Can I be helpful with humility? My goal: to include on my daily task list actions that back up my words.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart

I ran across the 30 Essential Truths according to Dr. Gordon Livingston, author of Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart, on Alex Blackwell's great blog The Next 45 Years. Some of them hit very close to home. This will be a post about the First Truth. From Alex's blog:
1. If the map doesn’t agree with the ground, the map is wrong. We are given mental maps as children. Our parents and other adults tell us what is right and what is wrong – sometimes they don’t always get it, well, right. Now as adults, when we find the maps we have relied on for so long can get us lost, we need to recalibrate and create more reliable guides based on what we now know to be true and where we want to go.
It took me a very long time to realize that changing my map would be good for finding my way. For example, a 'good guy' according to mom was someone who bought you nice things, had money, and treated you well. The goal: have someone, be dating, get married - anything else: failure. According to dad, a brain surgeon was the best job a person could have. He often told me that I could be a brain surgeon. When I became a college student business was the best major. When he told me the facts of life, he drew two squares: one home; the other work. He drew a line from home, saying 'you go to work' then going back the same way, 'and then you go home' You go to work, go home, work, home, work...and those are the facts of life.

My map says: A 'good guy' accepts your authentic self; cares about your needs and dreams; loves you. My map says: a relationship is not a requirement for life; you are responsible for your own happiness; in order to love you must love yourself first. My map says: follow your dreams; do what you love; don't forget to have fun. I'm not as cynical or practical anymore. I can look back and see the how and why of poor choices in relationships. My map will keep changing and improving my journey. How about yours?

Monday, May 26, 2008

Planting Seeds, Growing a Blog

As you can see in my sidebar, I'm trying a few new blogger promotion tools. If you click on the RSS button, you can subscribe in a feed reader which is super easy even if you don't know anything about it. There will be some choices like Yahoo, AOL, Google for your reader. For my visitors who are AOL users, just click there. If you have iGoogle (like me, which is fun!) you can add it to either your iGoogle page or your Goggle reader. If you have problems or questions, just leave me a comment. You can subscribe to anything - it's like having your own custom magazine on your computer.
I'm trying a couple of site-sharing tools that are designed to increase traffic. The first is Entrecard. They have a free ebook to explain the card system. You can link all your blogs, advertise on other blogs, drop cards and find a lot of interesting blogs that you might not run across in your everyday surfing. If you have a blog and want to join, it is a nice community - check out the forums. Lots of people are into money making for their blogs. There are also many casual bloggers like me just trying new things.
The other is BlogUpp, just about the opposite type of blog promoting tool. One page to start using it, nothing else to do, keep track of, participate in - I will not lift another finger, which is just my style. The two mini-pages in the sidebar are websites to visit provided by BlogUpp.
One more new tool I use is del.ico.us , a social bookmark site. Instead of filling my browser bookmarks with everthing I want to save, now I can post it to del.ico.us, add tags, share, search, find new links. You can try it by clicking the link at the left and adding this post!
StumbleUpon is a fun way to find and save sites. If you do searches, you can sometimes see the icon and rating next to some of the links in your search results list. My son mentioned StumbleUpon to me a long time ago - I should have checked it out sooner.
Hit me with an questions. I'm no expert, so any help won't be too technical!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Pink Floyd

Here are some real, live Pink Floyd album covers:
Use the link above to get the wallpaper!


Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Missing: One Gallbladder

Yesterday I had outpatient gallbladder surgery. It went very well. The last surgery I had was for a deviated septum and was not worth the pain and discomfort. My heartburn, acid reflux and nausea of the last couple of months became very annoying and I'm looking forward to having a happy gut. The endoscopy a few weeks ago was more distressing for me, but once past that, I felt fine. Because of my dad and daughter's difficulties, I was very apprehensive going in for the endoscopy, which is not like me at all. Since that was such a piece of cake, I was actually looking forward to the gallbladder surgery since I was so uncomfortable. Now I am gallbladder-less and recovering. The surgery was laparoscopic, which means the surgeon made an incision right below my bellybutton. But that's not all - oh no - there are three other incisions: one in the middle right below my sternum and two on the side around the gallbladder area. So my tummy is sore but the pain medication helps with that. I can't work or drive until I go back to the doctor in 7-10 days. Everyone at home is being very helpful - thank you to hubby, son, and the baby mamas.

Friday, May 16, 2008

The Gratitude Campaign

My son-in-law is being deployed to Egypt in September for a year. He is in the Army National Guard. He and my daughter have a one year old baby (Raelynn, the sunshine of my life) who is having a birthday party tomorrow! It is a wonderful thought to thank all of our military men and women who may be spending time away from their families to help defend our families and other families around the world.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Never Again

Those words keep playing over and over in my head.  These are the words that are true.  Holocaust survivor Primo Levi:  "It has happened once, and it could all happen again."

Never Again

'Never again' is the rallying cry for all who believe that mankind must speak out against genocide.
Jon Corzine

www.freeburma.org

Never Again

I hope that the German people will never again make the mistake of believing that because the American people are peace-loving, they will sit back hoping for peace if any nation uses force or the threat of force to acquire dominion over other peoples and other governments.
James F. Byrnes

www.freeburmacoalition.org

Never Again

“The Security Council has today said that in the 21st century, the world will not tolerate genocide or crimes against humanity.”  Nicola Reindorp

uscampaignforburma.org

Never Again

Never again should the international community’s response to these crimes be found wanting.  Rwandan President Paul Kagame

burma.usembassy.gov

Never Again

"On occasions such as this, rhetoric comes easily. We rightly say 'never again.' But action is much harder. Since the Holocaust the world has, to its shame, failed more than once to prevent or halt genocide." UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

Red Cross/Burma

Never Again

“Never again must we be shy in the face of the evidence” of genocide...Bill Clinton

Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative

Never Again

We wish to remember.
But we wish to remember for a purpose, namely
to ensure that never again evil will prevail. ...
Only a world at peace, with justice for all,
can avoid repeating the mistakes and terrible crimes of the past.
.John Paul II, Yad Vashem, March 23, 2000

humanrightsactioncenter.org

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Two Peas in a Pod

Two peas in a pod Began to nod

Off when Nana Sang them a song

peapodavah                            peapodrae

This little pea is Avah and this little pea is named Rae

Monday, May 05, 2008

Trauma Class

Hubby took a trauma class last week. They had cool props like wounds that squirted blood and got to practice sticking tubes down each others' noses. For example, they got to drag victims to safety:

Hubby's nose tube:


Thursday, May 01, 2008

Meatloaf

The best meatloaf I've had is my mother-in-law's.  The recipe survived on a post-it note for about three years.  It is no longer in my recipe folder since how easy would it be to lose a 2 x 3 post-it?  For about one or two meatloaf meals, I went by memory which created somewhat non-standard results.  So I finally requested she email me the recipe again, which she promptly did and here it is!  I usually double it since the male species in my household has a nice sized meatloaf appetite.

Meatloaf with Piquant Sauce

2/3 c. dry breadcrumbs

1 c. milk

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 c. grated onion

1 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

1/2 t. sage

Piquant Sauce

3 T. brown sugar

1/4 c. catsup

1/4 t. nutmeg

Mix meatloaf ingredients, then place piquant sauce on top.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour.