momsalive1

Sitting in my second to last final! Woot! Grading should be done by Wednesday!!

Rain, rain, rain.

Friday is my last day to teach a class, then there will be about 12 days of giving exams and grading. Then about two weeks before the six week summer semester.

The mums I planted last fall look like they're coming back - I'd forgotten all about them! Peonies are launching up, redbuds in full bloom.

Dan rear-ended someone in October, totaling the car and damaging two others. He was fine, and evidently so were the other people. The sun was in his eyes and the person in front of him stopped. What he was charged with was worth 4 points on his license (11 gets you suspended) and more than $300 in fines. There is a weird thing in New York (maybe elsewhere) that you always plead not guilty to the ticket, go to court, talk to them, and they may reduce your fine. He did this today, got a reduced plea of parking on the sidewalk, which has no points, is not a moving violation, and cost $180. I've been worried about this since October so I am very relieved!

Have to remember I can't micromanage my son and husband.

Reading for the first time in a long time. Enjoying it until I ran into a disturbing story. Retreated to bed.

I was in my fitness class yesterday, which is different each time I go.  Yesterday it was  (I think) Pilates and there were many things I couldn't do.  As I was struggling away at something, the instructor came over to rearrange my feet.  My feet had been out in the mud for several days working in the garden (photos to come!) and weren't lovely, so I was a bit embarrassed.  I never try the things I see on the internet, but this time I was motivated.  I remembered something on FB that I decided to try.  Half a cup of white vinegar, half a cup of Listerine, a cup of water, soak your heels for 15 minutes and ***cue audience gasp*** ugly dead skin on your heels just falls away!!! Since I felt my case was extreme, I doubled the active ingredients and soaked for 30 minutes.  Complete fail, although my heels are now minty fresh!  

We got a dog on Sunday!!!  Owen is 1.5 years, a Black Mouth Cur / pit bull mix, about 60 lbs, brindle and looks a lot like our dear departed Bailey.  So far he has done very well here, clearly delighted to be out of the shelter after 2 months in a small room.  We got him at the Ulster County SPCA - the nicest of the various rescue/shelter/pound type places we looked.  He's got a good disposition, is house trained, knows "no" and "sit", is a bit sketchy on "come", walks well on the leash, and counter surfs, but gets down when I tell him.  He slept with me for the first two nights, then I put his bed downstairs last night and closed my door.  Didn't hear a peep from him, and he was very excited to see me this morning.

I have a question for you dog people, two actually.  He met my daughter and a friend who is staying here, C, at the same time.  He seemed good with both of them, but this morning, after two full days here, he growled at C. Then he was fine.  Understandably, it scared C.  Any clue why he would do this?  L was there at the same time, and he didn't react that way to here.  C didn't come up on him suddenly, he'd already been fed and had his walk.

The other question is how best should he meet my husband?  He is out in San Diego with Dan, and will be back Sunday night.  He insisted he and I had seen enough dogs together that if I thought Owen was a good match for us, then he is fine with him.  So he will be meeting him for the first time Sunday. The vet talked to me about alpha dogs, which I think is a bit discredited.  She suggested he be out of the house on a walk when Tom gets here, then come in to find him sitting on the couch.  Any ideas?

Found out yesterday that the lump I've been terrified about is only a ball of fat!  Yay!!  I was very adult about the whole thing - waiting a month or so before I said anything to DH, then another month or so before I went to the doctor then another month or so before I went for the test then bingeing on ice cream while I waited out the results.  So now I can look forward to my 16 year anniversary of my cancer surgery as being another year of no recurrence.  More yay!!!

....Australian mining companies say what they really think!

http://www.upworthy.com/the-most-honest-and-awful-corporate-ad-i-have-ever-laid-my-eyes-on-no-they-arent-drunk-i-swear?g=2&c=ufb1