Pets and tests

I did do a post for pics of the animals and also one for videos I took of them, but I wanted to share this pic. I know it's not a great pic - we didn't have the time to sort out camera settings and such - but it's the best pic I have right now with all the cats and dogs in it. And it's not too bad of a pic.


And, speaking of photos... I forgot to take my camera when we went to the park today! Damn! And it was Bella's first time off the lead in the park too! Her season is totally over now so we figured since there were three of us - Mam, Kelly and myself - it would be a good time to see how she behaves off the lead. And, let me tell you, she is an angel! She comes back when called and is more interested in what she's doing than what others dogs and people around us are doing. We were VERY proud of her! Willow was SO sweet! She kept checking on Bella like she thought she had to look after her! It was adorable!

Anyway, changing the subject...

I don't know the results of the tests yet, but I am not impressed with the treatment I got when I went for them. I had to do a fasting blood test so luckily I had something to eat and a drink with me. Otherwise who knows what could have happened? And why do I say this? Because, not only did they literally take the blood and send me on my way - which they shouldn't do, even with a blood test where they know I've eaten - but they never stopped my arm bleeding before they sent me off. They literally pulled out the needle, slapped on a plaster (band aid) and called the next person. By the time I got home I was feeling really dizzy, the plaster was a few inches from where it should have been and COVERED in blood and I had blood all over my arm... literally from my elbow to my wrist. Luckily I don't live very far from the hospital. It was Kelly who stopped my arm bleeding. Imagine if I'd had to go further? As it was I barely got in the door before I damn near collapsed! Needless to say, we are NOT impressed!!!

Anyway, I should find out some time next week what the results of the test are.

And, that's it from me for today because I'm trying to get Zararose (my rogue) to level 40... she's almost there!!!)

Tori

Bella & Kero - Photos

I took these photos (and some others) of the dogs playing with their balls the other day. I also took some other photos and I did some videos.

There are some photos of the cats in their albums too.

Scroll down for quick links to the videos and check out my photo albums to see the rest of the photos.

Tori

Bella & Kero - Videos

Here are some videos I took of the dogs playing...

Enjoy!

Balls and Idols

It's been a beautiful day again today. The sun's been shining and it's even been warm. Well, OK, I shouldn't say "today" really because it's now Wednesday and I'm talking about Tuesday. But, hopefully you knew when I meant.

I Went to town and did my usual weekly food shop and errand run. While I was in town I picked up some new balls for the dogs since we are hoping to start back with our Saturday afternoons at the park again now that the weather seems to be warming up nicely. Last year I just got cheap balls and we went through about one a week. LOL! So, this year I got more hard wearing balls. I got both a football/soccer ball and a football/rugby ball. Basically, a round football and one of the ones that are a sort of egg shape. Hopefully from Saturday onwards the three dogs can play with them together.

Kero's already tried out the round football... lol! He was over the moon when he saw me come home with a bag full of balls! He absolutely LOVES balls. But, we have to put them away after a while because he gets VERY yappy when he's playing with footballs and it gives us all a headache. LOL! I got some nice pics and videos of him with it though.

And I got a couple of squeaky toys for the dogs too. Bella has already broken one of them (a squeaky ball) and is working on the other two (a squeaky pig and a squeaky purple hippo). LOL! I got some pics and such of her playing with the ball. She wasn't all that interested in the big ball, but was over the moon with the little squeaky one. She LOVES all of her "noisy toys"... although, my Mam isn't all that thrilled about that as she ALWAYS seems to be able to find one that still squeaks when my Mam is here. LMAO!

And my Mam picked up some storage drawers that she wanted for some more storage space in their "computer room" and there were some free storage boxes with them so I snagged a couple to use to put Kero and Bella's toys in because they have broken their toy basket a bit where the sides are kind of high and they have to climb on it to get in it and I'm worried that one of them will end up hurting themselves on the broken bit. So, since these boxes have lower sides I asked Mam for a couple and she said I could have them. They do have lids but I've left the lids off because, for one thing, the dogs need to get to their toys, for another, they have so many toys that even without their big balls the boxes are FULL and the lids wouldn't go on them no matter how hard I tried. And I threw out some toys that were broken too! LOL!

I've got to go for those tests in the morning. Yeah, I know it's morning now, but you know what I mean. I need to be there for as soon after 8:30 am as possible. It's not too bad of a walk from my place to the local hospital though. I should probably be in bed now but I'm not all that sleepy. Besides, one of the dogs (not sure who, but we think maybe Bella as she's been out of sorts this evening) was sick tonight on our bed so we need to wash our blanket before we can go to bed.

I almost forgot about my American Idol comments! Well! It was a tough one to call this week! They were all pretty damn good! Sanjaya Malakar is really making improvements. Though, I still think he should give it another year or so to find his style then try again. Melinda Doolittle... OMG was she AWESOME!!! And Blake Lewis and Lakisha Jones were great too! And, like I said, the rest of them - Gina Glocksen, Haley Scarnato, Jordin Sparks, Chris Richardson, Chris Sligh, Phil Stacey and Stephanie Edwards - were pretty damn good too! Shame Stephanie got voted off... still, someone had to go, right? Guess she didn't have as many fans as some of the others... LOL!

I'd just like to point out - for the benefit of anyone reading my blog who is watching Idol in America and didn't see my post a couple of weeks back when I first started watching it - that here in the UK we are a week behind with American Idol. So, what the Americans see and vote on one week, I watch the following Tuesday. LOL! Now, you could find it's on some other night closer to the day it's on in America and I just haven't found the right channel, but this is working for me. I get to watch it and see what every one's making such a fuss about and who they are saying sucked and why and that's all that matters. Besides, until I started watching Idol I wasn't doing much on a Tuesday evening. Now I have 2 & 1/2 hours of TV to watch each week. LOL!

Right, I'll let that do for now.

Tori

When Willow met Bella, the clocks changed and World Of Warcraft took over the weekend

It was a BEAUTIFUL day on Saturday... a bit chilly I suppose, but other than that you'd almost swear it was summer! So, Mam and I decided to take Bella, Kero and Willow to the park together. Of course, poor Bella had to stay on a lead even though the other two were able to run free because she's still in season, but we still all had a lovely time at the park. Bella and Willow had NEVER met before and they got on great! Willow came bounding up to greet Kero - like she always does - then did a sort of double take when she saw Bella... it was really funny! Then she very calmly walked up to Bealla, sniffed her all over then walked off. Mam and I were VERY surprised since it's not like Willow to be so calm. LOL! We had them all out together for a good hour and, judging by the wagging tails, they all absolutely loved it! Willow was FILTHY by the time she was going home since she played in a huge mud puddle. I'm lucky though, Kero doesn't like water and Bella doesn't like to get dirty, so, my two were pretty much clean. Bella did step in the puddle a bit, but she didn't like it and went on a dry piece of grass and rubbed her paws. I swear she was wiping the mud off her paws. LOL! If I'd know they'd all behave that well, I'd have taken my camera with me! Damn! Mam got a couple of pics of Willow in the mud on her mobile phone, but the battery was too low for the camera to work on mine and I never thought to ask Mam to take some pics of the three dogs playing together on her mobile. All three dogs barely moved from when they got to their own homes on Saturday until Sunday morning. LOL!

Our clocks went forward on Saturday night. Well, actually it was early Sunday morning the time officially changed. But let's not be picky. So, I had to change the time zone on my blog. So, according to blogger we are on "British Summer Time" now. I'm sure you'll sleep better for knowing that... LOL! My little clock things on the blogs changed by themselves though. So, that was one less task for me. LOL!

I've spent a lot of time working on some of my characters on World Of Warcraft this weekend. The rogue that was 35 and needs to get to 40 is now 38. That might not seem like a big jump, but you need more xp to make the level after each level you get. Like, you'll only need a 1000 or so xp to get from level 1 to level 2. But then you'd need like 60,000 or so xp to get from level 35 to 36. I could be wrong on the numbers but you get the idea. Anyway, my mage that was level 13 and needs to get as high as possible as quick as possible is now level 21. And I got my druid up from level 17 to level 19 too. But then, you guys probably aren't bothered about how my characters on World Of Warcraft are doing, are you?

That's about all I did this weekend. Apart from the dogs' other walks and sorting housework and such. So, since it's about 1:00 am now I guess I better see about getting myself to bed so that I'm not all tired and bitchy when my Mam is here tomorrow. LOL!

Tori

Spelling chequer

Eye halve a spelling chequer,
It came with my pea sea,
It plainly marques four my revue,
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea,
Eye strike a key and type a word ,
and weight four it two say,
Weather eye am wrong oar write,
It shows me strait a weigh,
As soon as a mist ache is maid,
It nose bee four two long,
And eye can put the error rite,
Tizz rare lea ever wrong,
Eye have run this poem threw it,
Am shore your pleased two no,
Its letter perfect awl the weigh,
My chequer tolled me sew.


~Author Unknown~

My doctor appointment

OK, so, yesterday I went to the doctor and found out that the second test (a thyroid test) was fine too. Which, if you remember, I already said it would be.

She wants me to have some more blood tests done, which I will have to go to the local hospital for on Wednesday morning, again. So, she's doing an FBC (full blood count) check and she's checking my blood sugar (especially since there are people with diabetes in the family) and she's doing a bunch of other blood tests that I can't remember what they are for, but they'll be done at the same time. And, all of them the other doctor 'should' have asked to have done in the first place, but he didn't. And then I have to see her in about two weeks (when all the results will be back and she'll be back from her vacation). In the meantime, I'm not allowed to be on an actual diet. I'm to eat what I would normally eat going by what my body 'needs'. Like the fact I need plenty of iron in my diet because I'm anemic and the fact I need to watch my intake of dairy products because I'm lactose intolerant. And I'm to keep a diary of EVERYTHING that I eat and drink between now and when I see her next so that she can see what I'm eating and tell me what I should and shouldn't have been eating.

She doesn't want to make any judgements on anything until she gets the rest of these blood tests back. The only other thing she told me is I should be getting an appointment through from the gynaecologist in "a month or so".

Tori

Weekly weigh-in for March 21st 2007

Weight today: 16 stone 7.25 lbs (231.25 lbs)
Weight lost this week: 2.25 lbs!
Weight lost so far: 1 stone 2.75 lbs (16.75 lbs)

And today is my doctor's appointment, so, we will 'hopefully' get to find out what could have caused me to put on that 9 lbs in one week.

This week's American Idol

OK, so, tonight was American Idol night for me. And I totally agree with the comments made on other blogs about how much the singers sucked. This is what I thought of the performance...

Melinda Doolittle and Lakisha Jones both totally rocked! I'm not sure which I liked most. Although, if I was in a possition to vote I would probably vote for Melinda. Though I would have seriously needed time to think about it!

Gina Glocksen, Stephanie Edwards and Jordan Spraks were pretty good too. So were Chris Richardson and Haley Scarnato. Out of this group though I would definitely rate Gina Glocksen as being the best. But none of these lot held a candle to Melinda and Lakisha in my opinion.

Blake Lewis and Phil Stacey... hm, they were 'OK'. I wouldn't say they sucked but they were nowhere near being the best of the bunch.

Chris Sligh - who was one of my favourites last week - picked the wrong song BIG TIME! And I think he looked better with his glasses on. I can't bring myself to say that he did a good job but I wouldn't vote him off.

Sanjaya Malakar... well... he's got talent, but he's not using it. The kid could sing if he'd stop holding back and try something more suited to his voice. He has potential... he just needs to find his style. Maybe he should have another try at something like this in a couple of years when he's had time to develop his style and find songs more suited to his voice.

Brandon Rogers sucked. Plain and simple. And I wasn't the least bit surprised that he was in the bottom three and then was the one who got voted off. He was the one I'd have voted off to be honest.

Anyway, changing the subject...

It's F-F-FREEZING cold here today. It would be a beautiful day if it wasn't for that bitter wind. The sky is a perfect blue colour with barely a cloud in sight... but that wind! OMG! It's such a bitter wind! I had a sweater on under my jacket and I was still cold, which is unusual for me, because I almost never feel the cold.

Kero's got his grooming appointment tomorrow. Got to have him at the groomer by 11:00 am. I'll be going to drop him off then going to my parents' place to get weighed and have lunch with my Mam... like I do pretty much every Wednesday.

Well, that'll do for today, I think.

Tori

Puppy love

"... And they called it, puppy love... !"

Oh... hello

So, tomorrow is Ostara - the first day of the Vernal Equinox - which, as I have been "trying" to explain to Kerry on her blog today, is the first day of the mid Spring celebration. Yes, I agree that around March 21st is when all the Spring action starts. It's when the flowers really start to bloom, when the buds begin to appear properly on the trees - in short, when nature begins to grow and thrive once more - and when the days start to get that little bit longer (and hopefully warmer). But, nevertheless, it IS the middle of Spring. The first day of Spring is February 2nd... hence the "take a walk to look for signs of Spring" activity that I mentioned in the Imbolic posts back at the start of February. To be honest, the Vernal Equinox can happen on any date from the 20th to the 23rd of March. But, think about it... in June we have midsummer's eve. That happens on or around June 21st. And, of course, midwinter - Yule - happens on or around December 21st. So, I don't know how people can dispute that Ostara - which happens any time after March 20th - is mid Spring and Mabon - which happens any time after September 20th - is mid Autumn. But, there you have it.

Anyway, changing the subject - as we do - Bella had her shot and the vet said that judging by the progress of her season she'll be ready for her spay around the start of June.

And I got the results of my first test back from the doctor Friday and they were clear. So, there's one less thing that could be causing the problem we had the other week. And I have to go see the doctor on Thursday afternoon at 4:00 pm because she is quite concerned as she thought this test would hold the answer. There is the other one, but since that test had been done back in June when I saw the gynaecologist and it was clear then, we are expecting that one to be clear now too.

I don't really know what else to write about so I'm just going to go to bed out of everyone's way.

Tori

Fluffy Rabbit Finger Play

OK, I know this is more for people with little kids, but I thought I'd post it anyway since other than painting hard-boiled eggs, making pictures from broken bits of egg shells, eating chocolate eggs, taking walks in nature and admiring the beauty of Spring - and nature in general - there aren't really any activity ideas available for Ostara.

__________

Fluffy Rabbit Finger Play

See the Fluffy rabbit as it hops,
(Hold your hands at the sides of your head for ears)
One ear up while the other one flops.
(Bend one hand down)
She's a gentle bunny with a twitchy nose,
(Wiggle your nose)
She's all furry from her ears to her toes.
(Wiggle one of your rabbit ears, then your toes)

__________

Scroll down for info on Ostara.

Ostara Lore (March 20th)

The Spring or Vernal Equinox.
Also known as: Lady Day or Alban Eiler (Druidic)

As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit.

The Christian religion adopted these emblems for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The theme of the conception of the Goddess was adapted as the Feast of the Annunciation, occurring on the alternative fixed calendar date of March 25 Old Lady Day, the earlier date of the equinox. Lady Day may also refer to other goddesses (such as Venus and Aphrodite), many of whom have festivals celebrated at this time.

Traditional Foods:

Leafy green vegetables, Dairy foods, Nuts such as Pumpkin, Sunflower and Pine. Flower Dishes and Sprouts.

Herbs and Flowers:

Daffodil, Jonquils, Woodruff, Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus and all spring flowers.

Incense:

Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry, Floral of any type.

Sacred Gemstone:

Jasper Special

Activities:

Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden. Taking a long walk in nature with no intent other than reflecting on the Magick of nature and our Great Mother and her bounty.

Mother's Day 2007 & Sirius' 2nd Birthday

Today is Mother's Day here. I think it's a month or so before Mother's Day in the US and Canada. Gotta find out when it is because of my mother-in-law who lives in Canada.

I sent my Grandma some money (which you will know if you read her blog last night) and she used it to buy herself a new flowery purple walking stick. And I brought an ornamental plaque with a nice "Nan" poem on it for my other Nan. As for my Mam... well, I gave her some money that she used to buy herself a jacket and a "Mum" ring. And I got her a plaque like Nan's - but with a "Mum" poem, of course - and I got her some imitation roses (pink ones) and she had a cuddly flower (a cuddly toy in the shape of a flower) from Willow. I'm not sure what everyone else got her.

Today is also Sirius' 2nd birthday. So, he's getting a nice big - well, big to a hamster anyway - piece of cheese for his dinner later!

Tori

St Patrick's Day 2007

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you! Are you wearing green? I am. Well, not all green. I'm wearing a green and black t-shirt and the wristband I have on my wrist is black with green and grey stripes on it. I think that's enough green... don't you? One year - I think about 5 or 6 years ago - I went all out... everything but my underwear was green! Even had a green band in my hair. I probably looked stupid, but I didn't care. LOL!

I'm also going to wish you all a very happy Saturday, because Saturday is finally here again! Not that it matters to me since I don't have to spend the week in an office or whatever, but I'm sure those of you who work are extremely glad Saturday is here, right?

I've just been for a nice walk with Bella and Kero. It's a beautiful day today! It's not the warmest of days, but it's nice and sunny and was dry enough for us to cut across the field, which means Kero gets more off-lead time. And Bella gets a longer lead. She still can't go off the lead. She would be fine and come back no problem, I know she would! But she doesn't have her second shot until Monday and also she's in full swing with her season now. And how do I know? Let's just say I'm VERY glad Kero is neutered (though I'm sure he's not) because otherwise in about 9 weeks or so I would have puppies to deal with... and I DO NOT want that! Although, I'm sure they'd be super cute! We'd have to call them "Yorkshire Highland Terriers" or something... LOL! But despite the cool name and the fact they'd be adorable I DO NOT want Bella having more puppies and I'm sure she isn't eager to have more puppies either.

OK, well, I have a level 13 mage that I need to get to level 65 ASAP, a level 35 rogue that needs to get to level 40 ASAP and some dishes that need drying, so, I'm going to end this now.

Tori

Thursday already???

OK, own up... who keeps stealing my hours??? Well??? I know someone must be, because I keep loosing them! LOL! I swear I've hardly achieved anything this week and already it's Thursday afternoon! Sheesh!

Anyway, I got a new CD the end of last week and totally forgot to tell you. It's "Kenny Chesney - No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem". I didn't have ANY of Kenny's CDs, just a few songs Kerry had sent me, so, when last Monday Mam asked if I wanted her to buy me the Donny Osmond CD she just got herself I told her that I'd rather she got me one she hasn't got because I can just get a copy of the Donny one from her. So, she said "OK, name an artist" and Kenny Chesney was the first one that jumped into my head that I knew I wanted CDs for so that's what she got. Then she said that she wanted to get me my favourite CD of his, but since I didn't have a favourite she asked for a favourite song. Well, the only one I knew I could be 100% certain of the title of without looking was "Young" and that one's on this album so, that's why it was this particular album she got me. That's one way to decide, I suppose. LOL!

I also got new headphones for my mp3 player. The old ones work fine but they are just in-ear headphones and I wanted ones with the clip bit that helps them stay put on your ear so I went and looked for a pair of them and brought them. Of course, Mam had to have a pair too. And she's glad she did. She says they make listening to her mp3 player while at the gym so much easier. LOL!

Today is my brother Wayne's birthday. He's 27 today. I don't know if he's going to get to see this message since he hardly ever comes online, but, I'll say HAPPY BIRTHDAY WAYNE just in case!

Right, well, I've got to feed Bella, Kero, Sakura, Megan and Chance, so, I better end this and go do it before they all gang up on me to remind me they need food.

Tori

A week behind but, hey, it's on!

So, I was looking for something to watch, and guess what was on? American Idol! So, I sat and watched it. It seems we're a week behind America and Canada but hey, at least I get to see it. LOL! We have the week's worth of episodes on a Tuesday night by the look of it. Wonder how I missed it before? Dunno! Anyway, I watched it. Got to see the top 12 being picked. I tell you what, there really are some awesome singers among them. And until tonight I had no idea that Carrie Underwood got famous through Idol. Good thing I agreed with ChicagoLady about Idol turning out some good singers, isn't it? LOL!

Anyway, out of the top 12 I have to say that Melinda Doolittle gets my vote for the girls. Stephanie Edwards is pretty damn good too! And Gina Glocksen... well, she's pretty good too. I like Melinda and Stephanie better though. Especially Melinda! Man she was totally awesome!!! Lakisha Jones and Haley Scarnato they're 'OK'. I guess it wouldn't be too bad if one of them won, but Jordin Spraks... I'm sorry, but she totally sucks! And for the guys? Chris Sligh... WOW! He is AWESOME! Blake Lewis and Brandon Rogers are pretty good too! Sanjaya Malakar was pretty damn good too, but I don't think the song he sung really did him justice. He needs to find a song that shows us what he can really do. I don't really think much of Chris Richardson or Phil Stacey though. I don't know how those two made the top 12! Personally, I think that the next Idol should be Melinda Doolittle or Chris Sligh! Although, if Sanjaya finds a song that brings out his talent better then he may make it. And Stephanie stands a pretty good chance too, I think. But, where as everyone else gets to see the next stage in the show this week, I have a whole week to wait before I can see it. OK! I admit it! I enjoyed watching it! You happy now? LOL!

OK, moving on...

The results for the first test "should be" back by the start of next week. And, as I said on Sunday, I do the other test in the morning and that one takes 10 to 14 days to come back. If these tests come back with nothing to show what the hell's going on, I shall be calling the doctor again and telling him that I want to actually see him and not have him send me to someone for tests without even seeing me. I think it's stupid how they've started doing things over the phone as much as possible now.

Bella got a new coat today. We had it made for her (by the same people who made Scotty's coat, Kerry) and she seems very proud of her new coat. She has a matching bandanna and scarf too. The scarf was what was offered with it, and the bandanna was because the fabric I originally asked for (the same fabric Scotty's coat was done in) wasn't available and so she offered me a different one and made a bandanna for Bella to match her coat and scarf. I do have photos of her in her bandanna and scarf but I'll post them another time (if you are in a hurry to see them, look in her photo album). Going to be getting a new coat for Kero soon too, because he's had his for a while now and with all his rolling about outside and all that it's starting to show signs of wear and I suck at sewing so I'd rather just get him a new one. Yeah, I know, lazy, aren't I?

Bella's come into heat so I should be getting her spayed at the end of May. We thought on Saturday that she might be coming into heat but weren't 100% certain until Monday when we noticed she was bleeding a bit. So, I had my Mam help me check and sure enough, she's at the beginning stage of her season.

Oh, and speaking of Bella, she's got her second shot on Monday. I'm taking her in by myself in the morning and Kero's staying with Kelly. I was going to take her in the afternoon and leave Kero with my Mam, but it's easier to trust that the morning buses will show up than it is with the afternoon buses, so, I decided to take her in the morning instead. And Bella's papers for her chip that say she's legally ours arrived yesterday. So, she's ours now, no doubt about it!

I need to get Kero a new bowl again. Turns out melamine bowls and concrete floors just don't mix! No, I didn't drop his bowl. I put it on the worktop, Bella chased Chance, Chance jumped on the worktop and sort of made himself room by pushing the bowl off onto the floor. It had a huge crack in it. So, right now he has a plain green plastic one that I had (it's his travel bowl) and I need to buy him another new one. Damn!

Anyway, I'm going to end this here I think.

Oh, and if you "somehow" didn't notice, I've been playing with my blog the last couple of days and guess what I figured out how to do? I figured out how to fiddle with the html settings so as to change the template of my blog slightly. Pretty cool, eh? *grins*

Tori

Afternoon all!

Well, things have pretty much calmed down with the dogs and cats. We get the odd time when both Bella and Kero will suddenly decide to chase the cats, but Kero did that from time to time before anyway, and the cats are pretty good at getting their opinion of being chased out there for the dogs to see, if you know what I mean. LOL! And I got some cute photos of Bella and Kero together this weekend. They're still on the camera though. I'll sort them when I get a chance and post them on here. They've even been playing together. Which, I'm really glad about.

Oh, guess what? We've managed to teach Bella to settle when we're ready for bed and - apart from the fact she gets up once in the night - she will sleep until about 8:00 am without waking and can now be persuaded to go back to bed until about 10:00 am ish. Woohoo!

We got a new bed and a new fridge-freezer on Friday. I'm glad we hadn't thrown out the old mattress though, because the bed came without the matress. The delivery guy showed us he was told to just bring the bed and the company would get back to us about the mattress and we should have been told. But we weren't. He offered to take the base of the bed back and bring it back when he brought the mattress but we said no, we'd take the base now since ours was very much broken and had been thrown out and we'd cleared the spot for it and all that so it was easier for us to take it now. But if we don't get a call about the mattress by the middle of the week I shall be calling them to ask where the hell my mattress is. The fridge-freezer is great though.

We've had a nice weekend. We decided we wanted to spend the weekend just relaxing and not doing anything. We never even played on World Of Warcraft! About all we did was watch TV together and take the dogs for a few walks. It was really nice. We haven't spent this much time with just us since.... well, I don't think we've ever had this much time with it just being the two of us!!!

I've got the forms for my tests. One of them I will be doing tomorrow (Monday) morning, the other has to be sorted on Wednesday morning (I've got to go to the doctor for one and to the little hospital near us for the other). So, this means that I wont be getting weighed on Wednesday because I can't be at the hospital and at my Mam's place on the scales at the same time. It just don't work! I think the first test takes about a week to get the results back for. Not 100% certain. Will ask when I go to the doctor in the morning. The other one I know takes 10 to 14 days to get the results for.

Anyway, I'm in listening to Kerry's stream and meant to be chatting with her and everyone else in the chat room, but I'm not 'cause of posting on here, so, I had better get back before they start thinking I've fallen asleep or something. LOL!

Tori

Can you raed tihs?

if you can raed tihs, you hvae a sgtrane mnid too.

Can you raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rseeraechr at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Weekly weigh-in leads to tests from the doctor

So, got weighed yesterday and we are a bit concerned because I spent almost the whole week with my Mam and so ate the same as her, but where she hasn't been to the gym but I've been doing extra dog walking (Bella seems to need to go like every 3 hours) you'd think that either I'd have lost more than her or we'd have lost the same. Or, at the very least I'd have stayed put still, right? NO! I put on 9 lbs. But, Mam lost 1 lb. OK, so we're both like "WTF???" And we asked my Dad about it and he comes straight out with "that's not right, weigh again!" Which I did, and when it came out the same he said "go see a doctor ASAP!" And then I told my Nan who's reaction was "are you pregnant???" (To which I said "no idea, would be nice though!") Anyway, called the doctor first thing this morning (since it was 11:00 pm by the time I got home last night) and he says he wents to do a few tests. It'll be hard for me to pick up the forms for it today since Kelly's out and I'd be gone too long for Kero to deal with and there's nowhere safe to put the dogs outside the doctors' office. So, Kelly's going to pick them up on his way home and then I can go see about doing them. Now, had I just put on a lb or two, fine. But it's the amount! Especially when you think last week - I think it was last week - I didn't loose anything and yet had been eating some of every kind of take-out I can get to, not to mention cakes, chocolate and cookies galore. Yet, this week I've watched what I've eaten. Plus, like I said, I'm doing more walking. I mean, Monday I was in town in the morning, walked the dogs about 3 or 4 times and then was back in town in the afternoon for a vet trip. Then Tuesday I walked the dogs, went to town, came home and walked the dogs again then walked them again before I went to bed! And that's just Monday and Tuesday. And, that's also without taking all of the constant trips outside in the yard with them into consideration. I mean, with Kero I would just let him out and watch from the doorway, but until she's had her second shot I have to watch Bella very closely so I've had to go and wander around the yard with them every time they so much as have to pee! I couldn't walk more if I tried!!! So, how the hell did I put on 9 lbs??? Even over Christmas when I was eating nothing but chocolate, pizza, mince pies (with squirty cream) and cookies it took me like a month to put on 12 lbs. So, how did I get 9 lbs in one week??? Going to get these tests done and hopefully one of the tests will hold the answer!

Double Vet Trip

I feel so mean! I took Kero and Bella to the vet yesterday to get Kero chipped (he should have been done ages ago, but I've been putting it off for various reasons) and for Bella to have a full vet check and the first of her shots (since she's not had them before). And I feel so horrid, my babies were so upset with me. Bella forgave me soon after we got home, but it took a good few hours before Kero wanted anything to do with me. Not that I blame him. Poor little guy! My Mam took him in for his chip while I took Bella in for her shot. I think in Kero's mind that made things worse though, because he HATED me going in a different room to him and actually threw himself against the door of the room I took Bella in to try and get to me, and he had to be physically carried into the other room, where as I've never had to do that with him. He was very brave though, didn't even whine when they chipped him (I've heard dogs usually yelp, big time).

As for Bella, she was more concerned about the fact she was up on the table thing than anything else. The little sod though... she SOMEHOW managed to free herself from her harness in the vet. Neither my Mam, me or the vet can figure out how though, because if it was any tighter it would be cutting into her! We've come to the conclusion that - like her daughter - she is just an escape artist. But, anyway, she was given a clean bill of health. I'd hoped to arrange to get her spayed in time so that the dogs and I can go visit Grandma and Jayde at the end of May or start of June, but the vet wants her to come into heat and then for me to wait a couple of months and then get her spayed, because, with her last litter she was a bit early coming in so she could come into heat any day now, but then it could be April before she comes into heat. Shame, 'cause I really wanted it done out the way so that she could start going off the lead in the park with Kero. I don't want her off the lead until she's fixed though because I don't want any 'accidents'.

Got Bella a new bed yesterday. This photo her is of her sat in it. There are other photos of her in it and a quick one I took of the bed (and one of the two bowls it came with) in the photo albums though. The two blankets (the pink one and the yellow one) are new blankets we got for her too. I kept them aside until her bed arrived. Kero and Bella each have one of the bowls. One is a sort of candy striped one... we gave that one to Bella because it's got pink in it... the other is blue with white pokadots on it... Kero has that one.

They also got a new toy each. The photo of Kero in this post is him with his toy, there are photos of Bella with hers (plus one of the two toys together) in my photo albums. Kero's not all that interested in playing with his toy. I mean, I had a bottle that I brought home because I had a drink while I was out, so, why would Kero want a toy when there is a bottle about that he could play with? LOL! Bella LOVES the toys though. They are a squeaky toy, a teddy and a tuggy toy in one. And they are VERY hard-wearing. Bella played with hers all yesterday and still hasn't managed to even tear it. And she has been trying VERY hard to tear it, let me tell you! LOL!

Chance has calmed down some. Bella and Chance were on the floor together yesterday with no problems. Well, until Chance sniffed Bella's butt. She wasn't having that chaos followed! But they sorted it out between themselves. And Bella is sharing a bit better now. Kero is actually allowed to join in with games now. In fact, Bella and Kero teamed up to chase Sakura yesterday. Not a smart thing to do since Sakura doesn't like to be chased and especially not if she's being barked at. And boy did she let them know. LOL! Kero backed off first, then Bella decided Sakura wasn't worth all that hastle and returned to playing with her toy. After all, my cats have their claws!

The only thing Bella isn't willing to share at all is this one green hedgehog toy. I got it for her and gave it to her on Saturday and she's stopped it squeaking but still loves it and carries it about and wont let anyone else play with it. Yes, it's the one in the photos from Saturday with her.

Kero actually stood up for himself yesterday. We were really proud of him. Usually he backs off and lets the other animals eat his food and just goes without, but when Bella told him to get away from his food so she could eat it he said "NO" and sent her away. You could see by her reaction that she wasn't expecting that. LOL!

Anyway, I've got to go feed the animals, get dressed and get my butt in gear so that I can go to town and get some shopping done.

Tori

Bella, Idol & Smello-Phones

Well, Bella has now been here for about 24 hours and things are going quite well, I think. We have a little issue where by Bella doesn't like to share anything with anyone, but we're just keeping Kero and Bella apart so that he can eat his food in peace. I think Kero's got the idea, because when I handed them their Denta Stix just now, Kero raced off into the bedroom to eat his and Bella stayed in the front room with me.

Megan has decided that Bella is acceptable and we had all three of them (Bella, Kero and Megan) in our bed last night. Sakura seemed to have decided by this morning that as long as she still gets her food and treats then Bella can stay, because she (Sakura) came into the bedroom and climbed into bed with us for a while this morning. Chance, however, is still not happy about us having another dog, and is up on top of the kitchen cabinets giving Bella dirty looks. He did come down to eat his dinner, get some treats and get some cuddles, but went straight back up there when he'd had what he wanted.

I'm knackered! Kero usually sleeps from about 10:00 pm until about 10:00 am (sometimes even later). Bella doesn't! Took her and Kero out for a pee just before 10:00 pm last night and it then took us until about 11:00 pm to persuade her to settle to sleep (she wanted to play). She slept then until about 5:00 am when Kelly took her out for a pee (Kero decided it was too early to get up). Took us until almost 6:00 am to get her back to bed. Then she got me back up at 8:00 am, so, back out for a pee we went (this time with Kero too) and I tried until about 9:30 am to get her back to sleep. She was having none of it! So, I gave up and got up. Kero got up about 10:00 am when I was sorting their food and stayed up long enough for them both to eat their dinners, go out in the yard for yet another pee and have their Denta Stix. Then Kero went back to bed. Bella has now fallen asleep on the floor by my chair but I know for a fact (because I learned it yesterday) that if I was to so much as move my feet she'd be back on her paws and ready to go again! I was right to put the 'Shadow' part in her name. She's been like my shadow since she got here.

We had planned on the four of us (Kero, Bella, Kelly and myself) going for a nice long walk together today, but it's POURING with rain and there's quite a wind out there and although Kero, Kelly and I have coats, Bella doesn't. Plus, there keeps being hail among the rain so even if Bella did have a coat we probably wouldn't be going out in that weather. If it calms down in time we might try a short walk some time this afternoon, but we don't hold out much hope! Funny thing is, it was - apart from the odd little shower - a beautiful day yesterday.

By the way, if you didn't see yesterday's post, there are photos and videos of Bella in the relevant sections. There are new photos of Kero, Sakura, Megan and Chance too.

I had hoped to make it to The Wolven for NTT last night, but I'd been up since a little after 6:00 am to get everything done before Mam got down here and, more importantly, before Jo got here with Bella, so, by 9:00 pm I was getting really tired. Would probably only just be getting up now if a certain cute little Yorkie hadn't gotten me up! She's lucky she's cute and easy to forgive! LOL!

Anyway, guess what? I had decided that I wanted to watch idol this time - since everyone else seemed to be watching it - and it's not airing over here this time! I checked every channel (like 600 of them) and I checked every time slot (24 hours a day for a whole week) in the TV guide section. I even checked the sky magazine. And... nada, zip, zilch... NO IDOL!!! Typical!!! I actually want to watch it and it's not on. When I didn't want to watch it it was all over the bloody TV, magazine, newspapers and radio!!! So, guess I wont be watching it after all.

They just said on the radio that by something like 2015 (I think that's the year that they said) they reckon they should be able to send smells over the Internet so that we will be able to not only hear and see our friends and family online, but smell them too. I think that's going a bit far. I mean, I don't know about you, but there are times when I'm EXTREMELY glad I can't get smells over the phone and PC. LOL! However, if they ever learn to send actual objects over the Internet (like Kool-Aid and Wendy's Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers) then I will be interested. I will also be sending Kerry enough money for a stack of each. LOL! The Kool-Aid isn't so bad, I mean, if I'm not very much mistaken I should be getting some of that in the mail in the next few days. But I don't think we'd be allowed to mail the burgers. And, to be honest, I'm not sure I'd really want them after they had spent a couple of weeks trying to get here. LOL! You know what? We need something like that "Wanka-Vision" thing in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. What do you think?

Oh, speaking of that... my phone is now back with BT and not with TalkTalk any more, and it works again now! Woohoo!!!

OK, well, I think this post is long enough. LOL!

Tori

Bella Shadow-Thorn

OK, now that she is FINALLY here I thought I would introduce and tell you more about Bella.

Bella is a female Yorkshire Terrier. She is almost three years old. She will, in fact, be three on April 11th 2007. Her name has been Bella since she was a young pup but we added 'Shadow-Thorn' to it so as to give her a title like all our other animals.

Why Shadow-Thorn you ask? Well, the 'Shadow' part is in honour of Tela Dawn-Shadow who was my Mam's Cocker Spaniel who died two years ago. And the 'Thorn' part is to stick with the theme I had with Jayde Bramblerose and Lucy Blackthorn's names, since Bella is Jayde and Lucy's mother.

Bella is VERY much like Jayde. Or, I should say that Jayde is very much like Bella since Bella is her mother and not the other way around.

Kero is happy to have a new pal, but I think both dogs are right now quite confused about what's going on. The only 'problems' we've had have been that the two dogs aren't used to sharing and have been giving each other a bit of attitude over some things (mostly food items) and then there's the cats. Bella has never met cats before and is very interested in them. They however are NOT impressed at having another dog in THEIR house! Megan's not too bad. She doesn't seem to care either way. Sakura, however, has smacked Bella and made it perfectly clear that Sakura is boss and Bella is not. And Chance... well, if looks could kill both Bella and I would have dropped dead. He's also been spitting and had his claws out. He's not actually hurt anyone because the dogs moved quick enough, but he's certainly tried! He has calmed down a bit now though.

Anyway, not much more I can tell you at this point. So, I'll just say that there are more photos in my photo albums and some videos in my video clips section if you want to take a look.

Tori

The Pillsbury Doughboy has passed away!

Please join us in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

If this made you smile for even a brief second, please rise to the occasion and take time to pass it on and share that smile with someone else who may be having a crumby day and kneads it.

Happy St. David's Day or Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus & Weekly Weigh-In

Just wanted to say...

Happy St. David's Day

or

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus



Weight today: 16 stone 0.25 lbs (224.25 lbs)
Weight lost this week: 0 lbs
Total weight lost: 1 stone 9.75 lbs (23.75 lbs)
Weight left to 12 stone goal: 4 stone 0.25 lbs (56.25 lbs)

It still hasn't changed... no loss, no gains. I suppose with the stuff I ate on the weekend I should be greatful I didn't put any on, really. But I'm starting to get a bit fed up of seeing that I'm still the same weight. It's been over a month now since I've managed to shift anything!

Happy St. David's Day or Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus!

Scroll down for some info on St. David's Day!

Tori

Who was St. David? Why is he so important? And just how is St. David's Day celebrated today?

St David's Day is celebrated in Wales on 1 March, in honour of Dewi Sant or St David, the patron saint of Wales. Little is known about him for certain. What little information we have is based on an account of his life written by Rhigyfarch towards the end of the 11th century.

According to this Latin manuscript, Dewi died in the year 589. His mother was called Non, and his father, Sant, was the son of Ceredig, King of Ceredigion.

After being educated in Cardiganshire, he went on pilgrimage through south Wales and the west of England, where it is said that he founded religious centres such as Glastonbury and Croyland. He even went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he was made archbishop.He eventually settled at Glyn Rhosyn (now called St David's) in south-west Wales, where he established a very strict ascetic religious community. Many miracles have been attributed to him, the most incredible of which was performed when he was preaching at the Synod of Llanddewibrefi - he caused the ground to rise underneath him so that he could be seen and heard by all. How much truth there is in this account of his life by Rhigyfarch is very hard to tell. It must be considered that Rhigyfarch was the son of the Bishop of St David's, and that the life was written as propaganda to establish Dewi's superiority and defend the bishopric from being taken over by Canterbury and the Normans.

From the 12th century onwards, Dewi's fame spread throughout South Wales and as far as Ireland and Brittany. St David's Cathedral became a popular centre of pilgrimage, particularly after Dewi was officially recognised as a Catholic saint in 1120. From this period on, he was frequently referred to in the work of medieval Welsh poets such as Iolo Goch and Lewys Glyn Cothi.

In 1398, it was ordained that his feast-day was to be kept by every church in the Province of Canterbury. Though the feast of Dewi as a religious festival came to an end with the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the day of his birth became a national festival during the 18th century.

Now March 1st is celebrated by schools and cultural societies throughout Wales. It is the custom on that day to wear either a leek or a daffodil - two of our national emblems - and for young girls (and sometimes boys too) to wear the national costume.