Buddy + Sleep = Content

Buddy likes to play catch. A lot. However, when she's not playing catch or chasing after a ball in the house, you can usually find her sleeping. Most often, she sleeps in her "house," as seen here:

Sometimes, though, dad will lay down for a little snooze and Buddy just has to join him! It's a hoot! In these next couple of pictures, dad had just woken up, but we just had to catch Buddy's "resting spot" on film:

Finally, when dad leaves the house to go for coffee or to run errands, Buddy usually goes with. Sometimes, though, she has to stay home (like this morning) because it's too cold outside or because Dad is going to places where Buddy isn't allowed to be. What happens on those mornings when Buddy stays home? Well, she gets a "special spot" on dad's recliner. He lays a blanket down for her before he leaves and she knows that when he's gone, she gets to sleep there. Sometimes Dad will barely have the door shut and she'll have already settled in to the recliner. It's a riot!

One thing that's funny about it, too, is that Buddy is definitely like a little child. She flops around all the time and sleeps all different ways. It cracks me up and I had to catch a few of her positions on film, too.

Needless to say, Buddy is quite spoiled! But we love her SO much and we're SO glad that she's a part of our family! :o)

Good times!

Christmas Day was quite snowy here, but we managed to get to grandma's house and enjoyed a day of eating and visiting! It was great! But look at the little cutie that I got to spend some time with! :o) Little Brylee (my cousin's girl) has grown up quite a bit. If you remember, this is what she looked like a year ago:
And now she's just running around everywhere and chatting it up. Her phrase of the day was, "What's that?" She would often point to the same object several times in a row. :o) She was a fun little thing and I can't even begin to imagine how much she'll grow by next year!

Then, I had to show you Buddy's recent development. She learned to open presents!! We didn't know that she was so talented! :) She did this with EVERY present that she was allowed to open...she'd rip off the paper, spit it out and dive in for more. Just like a little kid!! ha! Sorry that the video is so bad, but it's the only one I got.

Winter Wonderland

It's snowing here today!! Do you remember that picture I posted the other day (when I had you guess where I was)? Well, that was taken back in October. This is today's picture, along with a few more. :)

It started snowing last night and it snowed off and on throughout the night. Today and tomorrow we're supposed to get more, totalling about 12-14 inches. It's pretty! I'm sure glad that I'm already here, though, and that I'm not out and about in my travels!!

Some of mom's outside decorations were a little covered up this morning. I thought it was pretty. :o)

As for the baby (Buddy, that is), this is what she likes to do ALL of the time and even more so when it's snowing out...play catch!!! :o)

Stay warm today!! Happy Holidays!!!

Christmas Up North

Yes, I am at my parent's home in the great North (aka, frozen tundra). I flew in on Thursday and we have been on-the-go since then. On Friday, we were supposed to have special company, but then they had to cancel at the last minute, so that was a bummer. My brother came up in the early afternoon hours, anyway, so we just hung out and enjoyed each other's company.

On Saturday, I went with my dad on one of his Nursing Home visits. He & Buddy (the dog) are part of a "Therapy Dog" program and they go visit local Nursing Homes and hospice patients a couple days a week. Dad thinks that Buddy brings some happiness to people, so he likes to share her. Yesterday was a local Nursing Home and in the spirit of the holidays, we spruced Buddy up with some reindeer horns. Plenty of the residents got a real kick out of them. Buddy, on the other hand...not so much. :o)

After we got home on Saturday, we packed up and headed south where we went to a surprise Anniversary/Retirement party for my aunt & uncle. I was able to see all of my aunts and uncles on my dad's side, with the exception of one. It was a great time! But guess who forgot their camera? ME! :(

We came home Saturday night and then on Sunday, we headed out for a church meeting that was more Special than most, and I was able to see LOTS of friends and family there, too. This weekend had plenty of events where I was able to see a lot of folks at one time. It was great!

After Sunday AM meeting, we went to visit a dear friend who is battling cancer. She has been given 6-8 months to live and that diagnosis came about two months ago. I wanted to make SURE to see her on this trip home.

After visiting her, mom & I went to my grandma's house for a visit and we spent a couple hours there. It was nice to see her since we hadn't had time to get over there since I'd flown in. She fed us lunch and then we just sat around and chatted. I love my grandma! :)

After that, we came home. Dad is making spaghetti for supper and we're just hanging out and watching football on the TV (the Packers, of course! :). I have no idea what's planned for this coming week, but I do know that there is something penciled in on the calendar for every day! Sheesh. These retired folk just never slow down! I thought I came home for a vacation, but they just never stop going!!! ;o)

So, I'll keep you updated when I can. There are lots of things to come and I'm looking forward to it all! I'll sign off with a picture of the flowers that my dad got me for my birthday. Aren't they gorgeous!?! They have some pine boughs mixed in there and it smells fantastic. I love it!

Oh, and one last thing...I earned an "A" in my Spanish class! Wahoo! Turns out that when I posted the other day about my grade, she still hadn't entered some participation points. Once she did that, my final grade was a 90.2%. Yippee!! :o)

Where am I?

Without giving my exact location, tell me where I am!!! :o)

And the final grade is...

I don't know. Why? Well, here's what happened with my final exam for Spanish...

We take an online multiple-choice exam for our Spanish class. The exams usually have about 60 questions, but the final had 109 questions. I got a 79.5% on it. Yes, I missed a "B" by a HALF of a point. I was still happy (honestly!) with my grade! :)

Then, we had an oral exam to give in which we answer any questions that she asks and then we have a conversation based on ONE scene that is drawn from a hat (our scenes included a doctor/patient visit, OR a friend asking about a recent movie, OR a friend asking about a party). I ended up getting an 88% on that, which is sufficient for me.

So...I move on and calculate my entire FINAL GRADE for the class and what do I have? And 89.96%. Yes, a "B." If I would have gotten that extra HALF credit on my multiple-choice portion of the final, I would have a 90%, which equals an "A". However, I don't. Technically, I have a "B" and I have NO idea if this instructor will round up this final grade or if she'll just score it as is and figure that I should have worked just ThatMuchHarder to get an "A".

Woe is me.

On the other hand...today is my birthday and I am HAPPY!!! :o)

Finals

So, it was finals week at the University last week and the town has cleared out (for the most part). Students have gone home for Christmas break and it's relatively quiet at work and around town and I love it! I am usually glad to see the students return, but I'm glad for the holiday breaks.

Last week, I took a final exam of my own and I did well and actually ended up with an "A" in the class. Yay!

Tomorrow night I have another final (for the community college) in Spanish and I'm a little more concerned about that one. We have a 50-80 question exam (it always varies) plus an oral exam so that the instructor can evaluate our speaking ability in a foreign language. Ugh. What adds to the frustration of it all is that my partner for the speaking exam has TOTALLY slacked on her part and I've ended up writing all of the scenarios to cover my rear. I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, never agree with a professor that says, "Group work is good for you." It's a total rip-off and there's always someone who gets away with doing nothing. Grrr...

So, I'm off to study a bit more and to memorize more of my lines for the speaking exam. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I'm bordering on getting an "A" in this class, as well, but I might fall just a point or two short of that if things don't go well tomorrow. What shall be, will be! (But I really want an "A" in the class!!! :o)

New York, New York

Back in 1978, Frank Sinatra started singing this song and in 1980, he made a recording of "New York, New York." It became a hit.




In 2009, a rapper by the name of Jay Z made an updated New York song titled, "Empire State of Mind". This is today's hit.

Which one do YOU prefer?!?!? :o)

Water

My daily calendar has a phrase today that I've really enjoyed. It says:

"Nothing in the world is weaker than water,
But it has no equal in overcoming the hard."
~Lao-Tsu

Isn't that awesome? It has just really got me to thinking this morning about how something so simple can have so much power, both seen and unseen. It's definitely a force of nature. Just think about it for awhile and I think you'll quickly agree. :)

Have a good Friday!