Sunday, September 24, 2006

Siberian Standoff!

Here's what I posted on the Sugar Busters diet support board today where we're supposed to post our daily exercise:

Subject line: 3 miles with 2 dogs...and an attack by 1 Siberian Husky!

Post: It was awful. After his initial pounce on my larger Lab, Misha, I looked up and there was no one...NO ONE...on the track. This dog didn't belong to anyone in sight, and we were on our own at the back of the park to fight off this Hound of Hell!!!

My first thought? "Oh, crap. This is gonna be a bloodbath."

He backed off a little after I yelled at him, but then it attacked two more times. I scooped up the puppy after the first onslaught, even though she cowed into a submissive posture the first time he pounced on us (from BEHIND! never saw him coming!!) but he still terrorized her...not quite *biting,* but snarling and gnashing his teeth and generally freaking her out, and her little heart was pounding...nearly as hard as mine!

Meanwhile, Misha was not taking this attack on her "little sister" lying down. She was snarling and snapping and giving as good as she got, trying to get the Bad Dog to back away from us. She was so noble and brave, and...I apologize to that crazy lady on the board who hates it when I talk about my dogs...BUT I WAS SO PROUD!!!!

Eventually, the owner pulled up in a white pickup. The Husky wouldn't come when he called (or do ANYTHING he said), so Mr. Military Man in his "Hooah!" shirt had to get out of his truck and PULL his dog off of us by the collar.

Here's something weird...as he walked away from us with his menacing Devil Dog in his arms, I think the guy turned around and said, "Thank you." (My MP3 player was too loud to hear what he said...plus, factor in my ragged breathing and heart thudding...and it was impossible to hear Hooah Harry.)

Maybe he was as freaked out as I was and had a case of random word diarrhea...knowing he ought to say *something* to the pale trembling lady, but unable to come up with the words "Sorry about that!"

To celebrate living through The Siberian Skirmish with just scratches & scrapes & muddy pants & a thorough saliva-soaking, we went down the playground slide 5 times!!

When I got home and told hubby the story, he asked if I got the guy's license plate so I could report the guy. I admitted that I was too busy praying prayers of thanks to make note of the license plate or truck model.

Whee!! Another exciting weekend.

Off to church to offer another prayer or two of gratitude,
your pal in Texas

Sunday, September 17, 2006

SPINACH KILLS!

Did you hear a collective cheer go up across America this week as children celebrated in the streets?

I feel so bad for the lady who died, btw. I eat salads and work out to improve my health and nurture the body God gave me, and it just seems a cruel irony that she was killed by her salad. That is just so wrong...

Speaking of SO WRONG...Mike and I just watched the worst movie we've ever rented, the original 1973 Wicker Man. (I thought I read somewhere that it was a "horror classic" with a "cult following," but after actually watching this cinematic travesty, we think maybe I misread the article...perhaps they said this "horror" of a movie was about "a crazed nobleman with a cult following.")

Gratuitous nudity, ridiculous music, the weirdest parade/strangest dance sequence ever...how has this movie never fallen into the hands of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 folks? They could have had a field day with this!

Even funnier was that *right before* the movie, Mike said he didn't want to watch anything I picked because I always select the worst movies...which made the whole thing more painfully hysterical. At one point, Mike was doing some kind of crazy Riverdance-style hand motions as the soundtrack singer warbled some lyrics about "barley rigs" taken from the poetry of Robert Burns.

You've been warned. Lay off the spinach...and the 1973 Wicker Man.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

2 Random Thoughts

As anyone who has ever stood next to me in church can attest, I'm not *strong* in the vocal department. It's much more "making a joyful noise"* rather than singing...but the Wednesday night kindergarteners seem to love singing so much that, for the last three years, I've just closed my eyes and launched into chorus, willy-nilly.

Whether I hit the note or not, these kids DO NOT CARE. All they care about is that I get all the hand motions right...Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree, marching in the infantry, riding in the cavalry, flying o'er the enemy, the foolish man's house going splat, tickling them during "Fruits of the Spirit," and a jillion other facial/hand/body coordinations.

So, anyway, our class got a new teacher last week ("Mr. Jeff"), and when he led singing, he chose "Blue Skies and Rainbows." As usual, I just squeezed my eyes shut and threw myself into it whole-heartedly. Imagine my surprise when Mr. Jeff threw down some serious vocals--soaring FALSETTO HARMONY!

Random thought #1: "Wow. We're like a very pale Peaches 'n Herb!"

Yesterday, on my way out of Albertson's, the boy carrying my grocery bags was a former student who reminded me that he'd been at Madison FOUR years instead of three because he'd flunked 8th grade, but that he was doing better now. We visited about his geometry class and life at The Big High School, he put my four grocery bags in the back of the Tribute, and we wished each other a good day. I jumped in the front seat and realized something ridiculous.

Random thought #2: "I just lifted weights for an hour and a half in a Power Pump class at Gold's Gym...and then made some poor teenager tote my groceries to the car."

Hope you have a great week, filled with happiness and songs and random thoughts that make you smile!

*Psalms 95:1 "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!"