Guns

I'm so not going to turn this into a political blog by any means, but I just had to post these cartoons. We all know I have my concealed handgun license which allows me to carry a gun with me almost at all times within the state as well as in states we have reciprocation with. I also own a gun that I am proud to say I can shoot pretty darn well. I don't carry my gun with me at all times. It stays at home beside the bed so that if someone should break in, I can defend myself and the dogs and maybe Josh (just kidding honey!), and I take it with me when I travel. Yes, I have flown with it. That was quite the experience! I was flying from Lubbock to Austin, and it had been awhile since I had shot it, so I wanted to do some target practice at home. When you are flying with a gun, you have to show your license, plus the gun has to be unloaded in a locked case, inside a locked, checked bag. Well, when you check in you have to show the ticket agent the locked, unloaded gun. The looks I got were priceless! I'm sure those people were wondering what this little girl with a gun was doing flying with it! Ha!

My dad bought it for me when I lived by myself in Lubbock. His stipulation for buying it for me (because as we all know, guns are not cheap!) was that I would have to shoot it on a regular basis so that I stay accurate and familiar with it, and be able to handle an intruder! My only fear is that I will die of heart attack first if someone actually does break in! And the advice I have gotten concerning an intruder have freaked some people out. I have been told by two different people on different occasions that if someone breaks in, I should shoot them until they fall down, then go over and finish out my bullets. And when the police get there and ask why I shot five times (because I have a revolver), I should say, 'because I ran out of bullets.' If that doesn't make you think...I'll be honest and say that it kinda freaks me out to think that!

Anyways, all this started because this afternoon I got an email about a bill that was recently filed dealing with the federal regulation of guns and how we are going to have go get a permit, and jump through lots of hoops, and basically law abiding citizens will be forced to give up their guns. It's only been filed, with no co-sponsors, so nothing will probably happen with it, but it's still scary to think that I will not be able to defend myself from some crazy intruder who illegally has a gun. I'm not going to get into it here, (I'm sure it's obvious who I didn't vote for) but in doing some surfing this afternoon, I found these two cartoons and couldn't resist posting.

PediPaws

I know I have been a very bad blogger, but there really hasn't been much to blog about. The economy is shitty (which we all know), and we are taking it week by week as to whether we still have jobs or not. That's about it. I will try to be a little better!


I'm sure you've all seen the commercials for PediPaws- the at home pedicure for your pets so that you don't have to take them to get groomed. If you've seen the commercials, it looks really easy to do! Well, Virginia (our secretary) and I were talking about it one day because she has two dogs also. We talked about getting one and sharing it since neither one of us really wanted to spend the $20 to see if it worked. We both kind of forgot about it, but one day right before Christmas, she mentioned that she had bought one. She said that one of her dogs immediately ran to hide, while the other one was a little hesitant. Well, first of all, when she brought it out, the very first thing I thought when she held it up was, 'That thing looks like a vibrator!' and then she flipped the switch! Lo and behold, it sounded like one too! Ha! She and I got a good laugh out of it! She even put it in a bag for me because I said there was no way I was walking upstairs carrying that thing in plain sight because I work with all guys who love to give me a hard time as it is.

Well, this was when Rylie was at my parents, so it was just Bayla. He is the main reason I wanted to get one. Somehow his back feet and all of Rylie's feet stay pretty well trimmed. As a side note- when I lived in my apartment and we would play on the tennis court, I never had to get their toes trimmed because I had a free "pedipaws" right outside my door! Also, when I do have to get his front paws trimmed, I take him to the vet at home because they only charge $5! And you're probably wondering why I even take him to the vet in the first place. That's a good question with a great story! I used to trim them myself. It would take awhile because he doesn't like anyone touching his feet, especially the foot on his hurt leg. One Christmas or summer when I was at home, I wanted my dad to help me do it...I would hold Bayla, and he would do the trimming. In theory, this sounds like a fantastic plan! In reality, it was shitty. I think my dad may have gotten one nail trimmed when Bayla started growling. So, we stopped, calmed him down, and then proceeded to try again. And that is when Bayla bit him! I'm not talking about bruising the skin or a scratch! I am talking about full on, drew blood bit him! And it was on the fatty part on the inside of the palm by the thumb. From that moment, he went to Clint's where they have to muzzle him to do it! I took him this past weekend and he must have moved or something because they took quite a chunk out and he bled all over my truck!

Anyways, back to the PediPaws. I watched the instructional video online, but I had a feeling this still was not going to be easy. I took their advice and set it out for him to sniff it and get used to it being there. And then I turned the thing on! He loved it! He thought it was a toy and wanted to play with it! But then I tried putting it next to him and rubbing his leg with it and he would have none of it. I think Josh may have gotten a little nip of one toenail, but that was it! I gave it back to Virginia to see if she could get it to work on her dogs. She gave it back to me last week so that I can try again. We shall see.

What gets me about their advertisement/commercial is that it looks like you should be able to take it home and immediately be able to use it! I know better then that with my dogs, so I was willing to try it out. What also gets me is that they show animals that are normally pretty passive. They need to be showing an aggressive, hyperactive Jack Russell getting PediPawed! Not an old one, but a fairly young one. That would truly make me a believer in their product! I really think they should develop one that muffles the noise because that is what excites and frightens him. But I won't give up yet! I'm going to try again!

Today, I was surfing and came across this video on one of my favorite sites- slate.com. They tried out PediPaws on some of their own pets, with mixed results. Their conclusion is that it should come with a sedative or you can only use it on old, couch potato animals that really don't care what you are doing to them. It's rather entertaining!

Demotivation

I'm sure you've all seen those motivational posters that show a really great image and have some kind of inspirational message to them. And then there are the demotivational posters that have a really good picture and a clever saying. I tend to gravitate towards those. You have to not get offended easily and realize that it's all in fun, and then you have to have a twisted sense of humor sometimes. I pulled most of these from despair.com and some of the others from searching google images. There is no rhyme or reason to the ones I chose, just that I thought they were good. And if you want a good laugh, go over to despair.com and check out their whole collection. Some are priceless!

This is me!

I liked this one because Josh and I love Chrismas Vacation

This is just hilarious!

Photos as promised...kinda

I still haven't gotten the pics from my dad, but these are a few I took New Year's Eve and New Year's Day before they left on their trip.

Our New Year's Eve campfire


Rylie and Josh

Me and Rylie

Grandpa RoRo and Rylie

Ryan and Rylie

She is ready to get out of town! See the blue and brown blanket behind her? She slept/sat on that on the console for the whole trip!

Heading out!

This is pretty bad! I can only imagine how I'll be when I actually have human children!

These are a few from this past weekend. I was home on Friday, the weather was gorgeous so I opened the back door to let them roam in and out. I was doing some stuff in the front of the house and hadn't heard them in a while. I sneak to the back and see them hanging out in the sun!

Bayla saw the camera come out!

I was cleaning out my "office" and they decided to help me.

Poor Rylie didn't feel well this weekend. I think she may have pulled a tendon or something in her leg. She laid around most of the weekend.

Enjoying the sunshine again

It was a fairly uneventful weekend. We enjoyed the nice weather and got out for a few walks around the neighborhood. I was definitely not wanting to come to work today! The temp was below freezing and my bed was so nice, comfy, and warm. Even the dogs didn't want to get up. As soon as they went outside to the bathroom, they came straight in, and jumped back under the covers! I was so jealous! Little stinkers!

Happy New Year!

Yes, yes, I realize I am a week late! It's been hard getting back into the swing of things...especially blogging!

New Year's was fun and low key. I went to my parents early and Josh joined me New Year's Eve. Dad and I made an awesome camp fire- we grilled steaks, roasted marshmallows, set off a few fireworks, barely made it to midnight, and went to bed! New Year's Day we spent with family for lunch and afternoon naps (we were all pretty pathetic).

Dad and Ryan took Rylie quail hunting with them to Big Bend Ranch over the weekend. I was so nervous to send her! She had been with them since Christmas and were working with her, but I was still an anxious mama! And she's not even a human kid, how sad is that!? I had two travel baskets packed for her...one with towels and blankets and the other with food, bowls, leash, hunting vest, and a bag of medicine which included a list for my dad describing what each was for! My mom got quite the kick out of me! The good news is...she did GREAT! Dad said she loved it and picked up on what they were doing immediately! She never tried to run off. Ryan told me she almost died one time...when she decided she was going to chase a boulder he had pushed over a cliff. Luckily, he said she stopped in time! My heart stopped just a little again as I typed that! Whew! But, she made it back in one piece, and the poor little thing was exhausted!!! As soon as they walked out the door, I said, "Let's go to bed." She didn't even hesitate, but headed straight for the bedroom to go to sleep. Her eyes still look tired, but her energy is getting back up there. I also got the pleasure of pulling cactus stickers out of her! She didn't even flinch or fight me when I was pulling about 30 from her chest and legs. Poor thing! Part of my reason for not posting sooner is because they told me they have pictures of her from the trip, and I was waiting to get some so I could post them. My mom told me there are close to 200 pictures and Rylie's in 99% of them! Ha! My dad complains about the dogs all the time, but he's really a sucker for them, especially her now that he knows she can hunt well! I'm just glad she's back! Bayla is too! I know he enjoyed being an only child, but I knew he was lonely when the day Rylie was coming back, he was throwing with his mouth and chasing an ice cube! I wish I could be so easily entertained!

So, when I get some pictures from the guys, I will get 'em up!

Happy New Year!