I am listening to NPR's Prairie Home Companion... it's the joke show. I love this joke......

What do you call a man who never farts in public?
A private tooter!

I signed up for Blogger Pro... so far so good. I was going to scan some photos to add as links to my blog, but I can find the power cord for my scanner. That is what happens when you move! Can't find a thing! I have only one box to put away, but I can't find the gumption. It's full of stuff that we don't need, and I can't bring my self to throw the stuff away, so now I'm stuck! :)

The friendly UPS man brought a bag of hardware yesterday. Even though Bill didn't get home til after 10pm, he wanted to start putting the entertainment center together!
We got half of it finished, and we realized it was wrong! UGH! We went to bed at 2 am, and then woke up early today and started over. We built that darn think 3 times before it was finally right! I'm glad I like the way it looks, or I would have given up on the whole thing! It wasn't the direction... it was the way I couldn't read the directions!

I was thinking about the nine miners stuck in the collapsed mine out in Somerset, PA. The more I think about what they are going through, the more it really freaks me out. Nine men stuck in a space 3 feet by 12 feet. Can they hear the sound of the drills? Do they think they are going to die? How do nine men, with no light, no food, no water, etc., come to grips with that? Are they crying or screaming, or swapping stories to make each other feel better? I wonder if they will ever be the same. Would they want to mine again? If it were me, I think I would never go inside small spaces like elevators or closets again. I would want to work outdoors so I could see the sky. I hope they come out alive.

I like this quote...

"Never eat more than you can lift." Miss Piggy

My next door neighbor's little girl, Avery, thinks she is a dog. She is only 4 years old, so she can believe things like that. I do hope she grows out of it, though. She just rang my doorbell with two stuffed toy dogs. Usually she asks if I would let my dogs out so she can play with them. This time she asked for two Milkbones. Of course I gave them to her... can't say no to a child! She looked so happy. My only fear, as she happily ran off with dog treats in her hand, is that she will eat them! Just like real dogs do. Hmmmm.

What's Your Style? Find out @ She's Crafty

I just got home from my second favorite bookstore, Borders. I'm sipping on my Cafe Mocha, and I'm playing around with my blog... I'm still trying to figure out how to add links, and such. The doorbell just rang, and the UPS man handed me the bag of hardware for the entertainment center (very quick for shipping from Canada!), and I know Bill will be thrilled!

Taco Bell's new steak Border Bowl = gas pains. Beware!

Walking my dogs through the park today with my friend L. and her pooch was very nice. But it did make me grateful for something. After walking through the grass, careful to not step on goose poop (and I mean ALOT of goose poop!), I am thankful that I don't live anymore where ducks roams freely over my front yard and drive way. I think you know what I mean.

Have never been much of a baseball fan... prefer basketball and hockey more. Bill and I had a very good discussion at dinner about baseball, why they strike, how greedy the players are, and how I believe the players should never be role models for children. What are we teaching our kids? I would rather have my child look up to and emulate (besides myself or my husband) a great teacher or fireman or chef... anything but a sports figure. Bill brought a memory back... he asked if I remembered when Charles Barkley said "I am not a role model". He got alot of crap for that, but hopefully a few of us understood what he meant by it.

I was thinking today about some emotions I felt last week when I went to a Teddy Bear Picnic with Bill (actually, I dragged Bill there... it wasn't his first choice of things to do that day!). The event was held at a place called Peddler's Village. On the way there, I saw a dog... a black Labrador mixed dog. I had a dog just like that years ago, and I named him "Louie". My Mom and I used to say that all dogs that resembled Louie were "Louie-Dogs". All they had to be was black, and have a touch of Labrador blood in them! The last time I was at Peddler's Village, it was with my Mom and Dad, during another Teddy Bear Picnic. I think it was a combination of emotion, memories and the heat which caused me to get really sad. I said to Bill, that all those little phrases that my Mom and I made up, and only we knew, like "Louie-Dog", are lost. Whenever I say them, there is no one who will know what they mean. She is gone, and I will never see her again. I still can't fathom that. Bill, the wonderful guy that he is, said we told him years ago what a "Louie-Dog" was, so there is still one person left in on the secret language. Did I tell you how much I love Bill?

We were so excited today. Having recently moved into our house a little more than a month ago, we are slowly adding furniture pieces to our belongings. Today, the entertainment shelving unit that we had special ordered arrive at the store. It's a really cool wood and metal tube unit, which perfectly matches the rest of the furniture in the room. Bill brought it home; we rearranged the furniture in the family room; and carefully opened the box and sorted the pieces. To our horror, the hardware (the nuts and bolts) was missing! Arghhhhh! We were so ready to build it, but now our excitement was dashed into the wind! I have to call customer service tomorrow morning (the company is actually in Canada) and see if they can send us the pieces. Hopefully they can overnight them!

I felt like grilling out for dinner tonight, so went shopping for veggies and kebabs to barbeque. I looked at the sky and it was sunny and blue with pretty fluffy white clouds. I thought to myself, "it's supposed to get stormy later, so maybe I should start grilling earlier than normal". So that is what I did. I chopped up my veggies, gathered my kebabs, and turned on my grill. Within moments, the sky turned grey. I watched in horror as these big ugly black clouds were blowing towards. I was praying to the powers-that-be to not let it rain til I was done cooking. Just a bit more time, that's all I needed! The wind picked up, and I had this vision of it picking up my little Westie dog Shallie, and blowing her away. My biggest fear was that I would be struck by lightening while holding onto the metal handle of the grill. Bill came out and said his fish kebab looked fine, to gather it up and bring it into the house. Just as I placed my kebab on my plate and walked through the door to my house, the skies let loose a solid sheet of water and thunder cracked. Phew! Just in time! By the way, Shallie is still here, sleeping at my feet!

Not everyone should own a pet. I get so mad when I think about it. There is a responsibility to the pet, just as there is to a child. You need to realize that sometimes these animals get sick and will need to see a veterinarian. You can't keep putting it off because "Poochie" or "Kitty" will shake it off. Understand that some procedures for pets are expensive. I've seen so many animals suffer because they waited til the last minute, and at that time, the only choice is euthanasia. I've also seen people bring their pets in for euthanasia, and then walk out of the office, leaving their pet, without saying goodbye. How could someone do that? These animals give unconditional love to their owners... even a beaten dog will wag when it's owner comes into the room. To drop them off like they were just a thing is cruel. The pet's last thought, before the drug puts them to sleep, is that they will go back home with their owner where they feel safe... and then all will be well again. I've had many pets, and have had some die naturally and others needed euthanasia. Each time, it felt like a member of my own family died. Each one was my close friend. It makes me sad how unsentimental some people can be.

Today I went to the gym. I've been bad and lapsed for a few months, but today I decided to get back on track. I thought it would be more difficult for me, because of not being there for so long, but it really wasn't that bad. I do think my arms will be sore tomorrow, and I won't be able to lift them over my head. Sore muscles can be embarrassing. I remember, when I first started at the gym last winter, going to a Chinese restaurant with Bill for dinner. Bill had already sat down at the table. I had every intention of sitting down as well, but couldn't take my coat off. Something as simple as that, and I couldn't do it! Of course, our table was in the middle of the restaurant, so everyone was able to see my jerky twitchy attempt to shrug my coat off my shoulders. Finally, poor Bill had to get up and help me!

My goal is to lose weight. I don't have a poor self image of myself. I'm comfortable with myself, but I would like to be thinner. My concern is more for my health... both my parents died from complications of diabetes. I don't have that nasty disease, and I intend to keep it that way. I know my genes are against me, but at least I know I am doing my best not to get it. I used to have a trainer at the gym named James. He was so great... he really made you feel comfortable when he was showing you how to do something that resembled torture. He also didn't care who you were or what you looked like: he was there to help you get fit. Now James is gone and I am trainer-less. Everyone who went to James has been given to Rocco as trainees. Many of us don't care for Rocco. He likes you if you are reed-thin and model-like. You can actually make out his poorly masked look of contempt when he talks to you. Instead of giving us credit for attempting to lose weight and get fit, he not so silently passes judgement that you are the way you are. Needless to say, I am trainerless right now. I do the program that James worked out for me, and I modify it when needed. So far, it's working well!

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. I have not done anything like this before. I send out and receive tons of email; I do the IM-thing; I have even posted photos from my vacation to a website. This is a little different. This is a bigger deal. This is my inner most thoughts, my dreams, my complaints, etc., typed up for the world to see. I'm not promising anything profound, or that I am a very good writer. I do think it's somewhat exciting. For years I have been buying blank journals with the intention of filling them with my innermost thoughts. They are still on my shelf, empty, or being used for scrap paper when someone calls and I have to take a message. My blog seems like fun... I think I will actually stick to it! I do have to figure out how to do it... I don't even know if this message will post. But it should be a fun ride!

Who am I? I'm just me. A simple person named Margie. I'm married to a wonderful guy who is downstairs right now playing baseball online with one of his friends. His name is Bill. He loves computer games, and building and fixing 'puters, too. I grilled veggies for dinner tonight for us (lots of squash, eggplant, corn, mushrooms, and peppers). We also had a fresh fruit salad for dinner. I'm really trying to be better with what we eat... more healthy foods coming our way!