1 Year!!!

It was one year ago today...June 30, 2007, out of sheer curiosity

to an ad we had seen, that my husband and I were united with our

then little, now BIG, beautiful baby girl, Lady! Hubby had seen an

ad about someone giving away puppies, Lab/Husky mixes. Ever

since we moved into our present home, we had explored the possi-

bility of getting a dog, since we had a fenced yard, and of course,

since we both loved dogs. Occasionally we would takes trips to the

SPCA to take a look, but it seemed like the majority of the dogs

there were either pit-bulls or pit bull mixes. Some of them were

good looking, but I have to admit we are scared of this breed of dog;

maybe they have a bad rep, but it is what it is. Anyway, after seeing

the ad about the puppy giveaway, we were curious as to what they

would look like, as we both liked Labs, and I thought Huskies were

pretty. So on Saturday morning, after breakfast, we took the 25

minute drive to a neighboring county JUST TO LOOK at them.

There were 3 left out of the litter of 10; all 3 were females. The trio

were chubby and very cute, but only the smallest one really paid

hubby and I any attention, coming over to sniff us, then rolling on

her back, asking for a belly rub. The owner of the pups explained

that the small one was her fave, how she had the most personality,

but how no one had wanted or taken her since she was the runt of

the litter. I picked the runt up, looked in her eyes, and knew right

then. That RUNT was 11 pounds at the time. Lady is now in the

vicinity of 70 pounds, and has changed our lives. She is our girl,

hopefully for many more years to come.

Woes

Kind of disappointing weekend. First, the Euro 2008 soccer

tourney is not going as we had hoped. Greece got knocked 

out first, and then Italy; the Italians lost a real heartbreaker

in the quarterfinals to Spain, on penalty kicks after a score-

less regular time and overtime. UGH.  Of course, being fans,

hubby and I will watch the semis and the final; the first semi

pits Germany against Turkey, the second has Russia against

Spain. Personally I hope Germany comes out the winner,

although the Russians have looked rather impressive. We 

shall see. At the restaurant, I had one waitress pull a no

call, no show for the second time, so she is out for good this

time; we had taken her back after she pulled this the first

time after hearing and believing her sob story. Then another

waitress gave her 2 weeks notice as she has some health 

issues and, unfortunately, a difficult family situation. So it

looks like we are about to enter another shorthanded

phase at the restaurant after going several months without

any employee issues. Not too surprising I guess, nature of

the beast so to speak! 

Take the cake

First and foremost, I need to wish a very happy birthday to one of my

gal pals, Michelle! Hope she has a fantastic day! Also need to wish a 

belated birthday to another gal pal, Lola. As she seems to rotate 

between Alaska, Seattle, and Colorado, I can't seem to keep up with

Lola, and in this case, her big day, but I hope she had a good one 

nonetheless! I really need to get my address/important dates book

more organized; I know another friend of mine has a birthday coming

up this summer, just have to remember who and when!  Two nice 

folks that I need to add to my inner circle cluster are a sweet couple 

that frequent the restaurant, I'll call them Keith and Amy here. They 

are about my age (a rare thing indeed when it comes to my inner 

circle!) and are very likable, other than the fact that they just adopted 

a kitten - yes, I know kittens are cute, but the problem is that they 

grow up to be cats! But we can overlook this minor technicality and try 

to ignore my dog (as in Lady!) bias! Anyway, Keith is a computer dude,

like my hubby, while Amy manages the areas largest oral surgery

practice. Hence she is forever offering up dental do's and don'ts! The

funniest thing is when she notices a restaurant staff member or

customer who in some way is dentally challenged and starts remarking

about #9 or #11. I learned that dentists number each tooth; my dentist,

for instance, every year when I go for my checkup, takes a long look at 

#14, as it is a tooth that he feels could be problematic. Every year, #14

gets x-rayed, and every year he says we'll just keep an eye on it and

check it next time. I have my yearly appointment in July, so I am sure

the focus will be on #14 again! The good thing about #14 is that is in

the back, not visible. The teeth that Amy comments on, such as #10,

are front teeth and hard to miss.....if they are not actually missing

that is! And unfortunately the restaurant is staffed/frequented by 

more than a few folks with dental issues, keeping Amy's commentary

flowing while poor Keith just shakes his head....oh, look at #8!!!

Dead Mayors Society

Here is a eyebrow raising story from the Reuters.com website. 

The mayor of a small village in north eastern Romania won

re-election in municipal voting over the weekend...despite

dying soon after the polls opened! Word spread of the 

incumbent's death due to liver disease, but his constituents

deemed that the dead mayor was still superior to his live

opponent. (That is kind of embarrassing for that guy if you

think about it!)  A voter even stated " I know he died, but I

don't want change." In the end, however, elections authorities

gave the post to the runner up; the deceased's political party

are now calling for new elections. Oh well, I am sure if that

does occur, the citizens will pick the best man for the job - 

dead or alive!

Soccer galore

Every 2 years hubby and I get all worked up about a 

big soccer tourney. Two years ago we had the World

Cup, won by Italy; four years ago we had the European

Cup, won by Greece! They are 2 of the 3 countries 

closest to our hearts (along with the United States of

course). Well, this year the European Championship

takes center stage again. Hence, since last Saturday, 

we have planned our days around soccer matches, 

thankfully being shown on ESPN 2. The games will go 

on for about a month, basically killing our social life, 

but bringing our sporting side a needed fix (since soccer,

football, and basketball seasons are over). Unfortunately

both Italy and Greece lost their opening matches, but

both have 2 matches to go before the elimination round, 

so it's not over yet! Go Italia and Hellas!

Waitstaff follies

I have been remiss in my duties....to introduce you to new players and

characters in the never ending restaurant soap opera. Besides the fact

that we have had a couple waitresses get pregnant, take time off, and

dutifully return to work, we have had several comings and goings staff

wise. Keisha, the white ghetto fab waitress chick, and a good friend of 

mine, left a few months ago because she was unable to find reliable 

babysitting for her non-school age children. So how is she earning funds 

now? By....babysitting!!! Actually, she makes a good amount of her living 

by babysitting children of the waitresses who got knocked up (see 

above!). I do miss Keisha though - fortunately we talk on the phone and 

she drops by every once in a while to shoot the bull. Meanwhile we have 

hired several new waitstaff gals, one who used to work with Brandy in 

the past and has been a real find; she actually has no drama or issues in 

her life - she is married AND has no criminal record or addictions - kind 

of makes me wonder what she is doing at the restaurant in the first place! 

But all the other new hires have more than enough crises to make up for 

our normal gal. Two of them are admitted alcoholics; we did have to get 

rid of one of them after she came to work intoxicated on more than one 

occasion. The other is part-time, so I guess she is smarter, saving her 

drunken stupors for her days off! Recently we hired another lifetime 

waitress who has already become fodder for the rumor mill; I could 

really care less if everything said about this gal is true, as long as she is 

reliable, good to the customers, and does her job. Last but not least, I 

need to introduce y'all to a chick I will call Alexia here. She has been 

working at the restaurant for about a month now; I hired her due to need, 

and also as a favor to my gal pal Michelle, as Alexia and Michelle have 

been best buds forever. She recently moved back to the area after going 

through a divorce and other personal drama. Brief outline of Alexia - 

good waitress, pretty redhead, great sense of humor, albeit a bit on the 

sarcastic side at times (definitely NOT a drawback in my book!), mother 

to 2 small children, oh, and did I mention she is a lipstick lesbian? While

she refuses to even consider my theory, I must assume that her marriage 

was so bad and delusory that she just went to the other extreme; I will 

just have to hope that one day Mr. Right will walk in and bring her to her 

senses! Until then, I guess I will have to put up with butch 'women' 

dropping by the restaurant. Oh well, like we don't already have a multi-

tude of characters frequenting our establishment, what's a few more?!?!

Pringles

A touch of the sad and bizarre here. The inventor of the cans that

those way too yummy Pringles potato chips come in died last 

month. Fredric Baur of Cincinnati, Ohio had worked for Proctor

and Gamble as a chemist and food storage technician. He filed a

patent for the tubular chip container in 1966; the patent was 

granted in 1970. Baur was so proud of his invention (and rightly

so in my book!) that he had requested, upon his death, that a

portion of his ashes be placed in one of the cans and buried. His

family honored this, with the rest of the ashes being placed in an

urn and buried alongside the Pringles can. While I do have my

eyebrows raised a bit on this one, I can't help but wonder what

flavor can was picked for this solemn event - ranch, cheddar,

barbeque, sour cream and onion, or simply classic original?!?

It's a dog's life - part 2