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The Perfect Plan – A Rescue Story

By Sue · 49 Folders and Gabbers · March 21st, 2013

I crafted the perfect plan.

Remember, friends?

After having our sweet Macy put down in September, my family endured a long, lonely fall and winter.

The void in our home was so great, it was actually tangible.  The silence?  It was audible.

And all the lonely while, I crafted the perfect plan.

Taking everyone’s ‘druthers into consideration, I decided that a purebred Doberman Pinscher would be our next pup of choice.

His name would be Redd, a nod to Otis Redding and Red of The Shawshank Redemption.

We would find a well-respected breeder through an extensive search and visit his farmhouse estate in June, once school had let out and the weather had turned warmer and more pet-friendly.

We would select the pick of the litter and raise a show-worthy dog with an impeccable pedigree.

Yes.  It was the perfect plan.

But…friends?

Guess what I forgot to include in the plan?

Compassion.  And Love at First Sight.

My plan sprouted wings and flew right out the window

When my family and I were hit smack in the face by those two forces that make the world go ’round.

So we will not have Redd the Doberman come June.

Dog rescue - A Place to Bark

No.

We have Gwen the Rescue Foxhound-Beagle Mix.  As of this past Sunday.

Dog rescue - A Place to Bark

And now, in retrospect, I’m quite certain…

Dog rescue - A Place to Bark

No.  Absolutely certain…

That the good Lord, in His infinite wisdom and with His ultimate sense of humor, chuckled at my folly

A Place to Bark Dog Rescue

When I crafted the perfect plan.

 

Note:  Gwen is a rescue from  A Place to Bark.  We cannot thank them enough for their tireless efforts.  Please take a moment to read about them on their web page and to follow them on Twitter and Facebook.  I received no compensation for writing this post.  I just felt it worthwhile to share this wonderful organization with my readers.

Inspired by a post from Mama Kat’s Losin’ It.

 

 

 

49 Folders and Gabbers

Six Things They Didn’t Teach Me in School (or how to survive an eardrum perforation)

By Sue · 29 Folders and Gabbers · March 14th, 2013

First:  A bit of business…Thank you to everyone who entered the Bling it Up CafePress Giveaway! Click here and scroll down to view the winner in the Rafflecopter box of the giveaway post.  I’ll be emailing the winner today to obtain shipping address information.  I hope that they enjoy their Spin Cycle charm bracelet as much as I do.

And now…Back to our regularly scheduled post, inspired by the most excellent Mama Kat:

 ****************************************************************************************************************************

You know that poster, All I Ever Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten?

Cute, right?

Quaint.  Amusing.  Touching.

And a total load of hooey.

As the past few days of my life have run their course, it has become clear to me that there are some things that simply cannot be taught in school.

No way, no how.

They must be learned, first-hand, on this roller-coaster of motherhood.

And I present them to you here:

Six Things They Didn’t Teach Me in School

1.  Eight year-old boys are the most oddly fascinating creatures.  They tend to do all sorts of absurd things, like getting low-lying tree branches poked in their left ears while playing in the snow with the neighbor boys.

2. If your oddly fascinating creature is hysterical, though his ear may look perfectly fine to you, you must trust your gut and seek medical attention.  Even if it’s seven o’clock on a school night.

3.  As any emergency room physician will tell you, there are are three teenytiny cartilage-y bones that connect your eardrum to the inner ear.  Break one?  And it’s an instant, major hearing loss that requires surgery to repair.

4.  It is possible – albeit rare –  for a branch in the ear to bypass all three bones and poke a neat little hole in the eardrum that can be as painful as all get-out but, thankfully, is likely to heal on its own in time.

5.  Prescription medication, followed by a post E.R. trip to McDonald’s, does wonders for painful eardrum perforations.

6.  There is such a thing as a Magic Get-Well Chair.  It works best when it has been designed by the oddly fascinating creature’s older sister.  And it does work, friends…if the proper amount of love goes into the design.

 

 

 

 


29 Folders and Gabbers

Bling it Up: A CafePress Giveaway

By Sue · 18 Folders and Gabbers · March 7th, 2013

I love me some bling.

If it sparkles and shines?  If it dangles from my earlobes or makes a clinkety sound when I raise my glass of Cabernet?  I’m all about it.

And, in my mind, the only thing better than bling?

Is one-of-a-kind bling.

And the only thing better than one-of-a-kind bling?

Is one-of-a-kind-that-I-designed-all-by-my-big-girl-self-bling.

Booyah.

Now.  I know what you’re thinking, friends.

Wait.  Actually, I don’t.  I’m just going to give you a topic to think about:

Where does Sue get one-of-a-kind-bling-that-she-designed-all-by-her-big-girl-self?

Answer:  CafePress.

Ever checked them out?

No?

What’s wrong with you people?

CafePress is where the world shops for  and other gifts that express people’s personalities. They’re the leader in on-demand printing…my go-to source for millions of one-of-a-kind designs on every topic you can imagine -and some you can’t – from political expressions, unique bedding, funny T-shirts & stickers, to all sorts of merchandise with personalized designs.You can find themed gear from major brands, and you can also make your own personalized gifts with their easy design tool that even I can wield with ease.

Check it, homies:

 

cafepress spin cycle charm bracelet

Introducing The Spin Cycle Custom Charm Bracelet. Squeeeeeeeeeee!

 

I love this thing more than life itself.

That was an exaggeration.  I like living more than this bracelet.  But the bracelet is a close second.  And what’s more?  It was a cinch to design.  For realz.  Click here to check out how easy CafePress makes it to create your own custom jewelry.

Surely you know someone…a fun friend, a sassy sister…a cool co-worker…who would love to have one of these.  Heck…maybe you’d enjoy wearing one.

Unless you happen to be a man.  Or a ferret.

Or a male ferret.

Anyway.

The groovy folks over at CafePress will send a Spin Cycle charm bracelet to one lucky reader…use the RaffleCopter thingy below to enter my giveaway!  As always, RaffleCopter and I encourage virtual ballot box stuffing in the form of multiple entries.

Good luck, friends!

Disclosure Statement:  I was provided with a CafePress gift card in order to design this piece and complete this review.  All opinions are my own.  Continental U.S. residents only, please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

18 Folders and Gabbers

His Will be Done

By Sue · 31 Folders and Gabbers · February 28th, 2013

YOU GUYS!  I have been nominated as one of the Top 25 Humor Blogs of the year over at SkinnyScoop!  And would you believe that I’m currently in second place, with voting ending TODAY?  Please take a moment to click over, scroll down to my Spin Cycle icon, and click “like” to vote. And by all means, please share the link!  Thank you!

—————————————————————————————————

So.  Let’s get right down to it today, shall we?

God and I?  We’re tight.

Stop looking at me like that, friends…If you had as much confessing to do as I?  You’d be just as tight.

What’s more, over the course of the past few weeks, He has made His will for me abundantly clear.

He has sent me signs.  And affirmations.  And starry alignments that I can no longer call coincidences.

And do you know what He is telling me?

Of course you don’t.  That’s why you’re here, no?

He wants me…

wait for it…

…to have an Iphone.

Yes.  Of this I am certain.  And by way of evidence, I offer…

The Top Five Signs from God that Tell Me I Need an Iphone

5.  I’m getting callouses on my fingers from the keypad on my Blackberry.  Aside:  I’m also growing weary of pretending in mixed company that my Blackberry is an Iphone and pantomiming little touch-screen finger bluffs.  Although I have become quite adept at it.

4.  I can’t understand the cute little emoticon thingies that my friends send me in their texts.  What looks like this on an Iphone?

Iphone Emoticons

Looks like this on a Blackberry.

Blackberry Emoticons

 

I spent weeks under the impression that my contacts thought me to be a square before I caught a glimpse of an actual Iphone text and became hip to their lingo.

3.  I cannot reply all when I receive a group text from my Girlfriends.  The last time I tried to do so, saying, “Girlfriends! Pick me up on the way out to Sushi World tonight!” the message was received by only one Girlfriend, who was home sick.  Unaware of this, I waited at the edge of my driveway for an hour that evening and was picked up by nobody.  Unless you count the attempt made by the elderly gentleman out walking his Dachshund by moonlight.  And I don’t.

2.  My Blackberry case is broken.

How did it break, you ask?

Well, I’ll tell you. It popped open whilst I was riding in the back seat of a friend’s car.  My well-meaning friend found in on the floor mat the next morning.  No worries, texted the friend, adding a cute little emoticon thingy that looked like a square to me.  I’ll have my groom drop it off for you on his way to work today, said the friend.

And drop it off, he did.  In a snowbank next to my mailbox as he drove past my home at a 35 mile per hour clip whist running late for work.

I kid you not.

Anyway.

Trying to find a stylish replacement cover is about as easy as finding replacement parts for an IntelliVision gaming set.  note:  If you don’t know what IntelliVision is?  You’re too young to be reading The Spin Cycle.  They just don’t make ‘em any more, friends.

1.  A week after my Blackberry case broke, I dropped my naked Blackberry in the toilet.  I’d rather not divulge the details of exactly how this came to pass.  But it did.  And the blasted thing came back to life after a little slumber party in a Tupperware-clad bed of rice.  And while I should have rejoiced at this small miracle?  I wanted to drown the DingleBlackberry all over again.

So there you have it, friends.  My birthday’s a mere three months away.  As are the end of my patience and sanity.  Pray for me, won’t you?

Amen.

Inspired by a prompt from Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop:  ”Incorporate the phrase, ‘Stop looking at me like that,’ into your post.”

31 Folders and Gabbers

Healthy Shower Recipe – A Spin Cycle Tutorial

By Sue · 26 Folders and Gabbers · February 21st, 2013

YOU GUYS!  I have been nominated as one of the Top 25 Humor Blogs of the year over at SkinnyScoop!  And would you believe that I’m currently in second place?  Please take a moment to click over, scroll down to my Spin Cycle icon, and click “like” to vote. And by all means, please share the link!  Thank you!

—————————————————————————————————

This week, the inimitable Mama Kat prompted me to share a guilt-free recipe with you all.  And because I am a joiner

a victim of bloggy hero worship

at a loss for a better topic

um, intrigued by this prompt, I have chosen to do just that.  You probably know by now that, although I’m not much of a chef, I do love me some Pinterest action.  And that?  Is where I found the recipe that I share with you today.

It’s a hit at every baby shower that I’ve ever hosted.  You know how expectant moms love their health food.  And although it looks complicated, it truly is not.

Truly.

All you need is a watermelon, plus a boatload of other assorted fresh fruit…

an ounce of Limoncello…

…and that’s about it.

Here’s what you do:

1)  Cut the watermelon in half and at a slight upward angle.  Hollow out the middle.

2)  Using a melon baller, scoop the flesh of your assorted fresh fruit into spheres.

3)  Arrange the fruit in the hollowed-out watermelon to your liking.

4)  Down the limoncello quicker than you can say “My friend’s got a bun in the oven!”

5)  Tell yourself that the guests at the baby shower will love your creation.

6)  Believe your positive self-talk as the limoncello hits you like a ton of bricks.

7)  With a flourish, a slight stumble, and a TA-DAAAAAAAAAA!, present your creation to the shower attendees:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Shower Fruit Salad

Mama.

 

It’ll have everyone at the shower buzzing.  Or if not, it’ll have you buzzing.  Which is kind of more important, anyway.

And there you have it, friends.

Healthy.

Stylish.

You’re welcome.

*For more super-nifty ideas like this one, please be sure to visit my Pinterest board entitled Things I Will Never Do. Ever.

 

26 Folders and Gabbers

A Love Letter…And a Dump

By Sue · 25 Folders and Gabbers · February 14th, 2013

YOU GUYS!  I have been nominated as one of the Top 25 Humor Blogs of the year over at SkinnyScoop!  Would you mind taking a moment to click over, scroll down to my Spin Cycle icon, and click “like?”  Thank you!

Also:  A bit of business…Thank you to everyone who entered the Thinkfun WordARound giveaway! Click here and scroll down to view the winner in the Rafflecopter box of the giveaway post.  I’ll be emailing the winner today to obtain shipping address information.  I hope that they enjoy the puzzle as much as we have.

And now…Back to our regularly scheduled Valentines Day post:

*************************************************************************************************************************

Dearest Ginormous Handbag of Mine,
You know who you are.  The one that has been at my side longer than my groom.  The one with the seams stretched to their limits.  The one that smells as if something unsavory has been left within you to die a slow, horrible death.
Yes…you.  You are all of these things, as well as other things far, far more horrific.  And yet…inexplicably…
I love you.
There.  I said it.
You hold my deepest, darkest secrets.  I  cram junk lovingly tuck treasures away within your confines, and I know that you will never divulge them to the outside world.
Unless I am asked by the lovely Kelley of Kelley’s Break Room to dump your contents for all of the blogosphere to see.
*drum roll*
Purse
Bam.  See the corresponding numbered list below to decipher what the flippin’ frack was in my bag.
1.  One Bazillion Lego Guys confiscated from The Small One as he tried to smuggle them to school.
2.  Stag’s Leap Wine Cork…evidently, I had a *great* night recently.
3.  Tissues.  *Tip* If you have your sick Cherub blow their nose right before you drop them off at school?  You get a good hour of Mommytime before school calls you to pick them up.  Or so I’ve heard.
4.  Clear Coat Nail Lacquer.  Sort of a Jack of all trades: Nail cover, run stopper, Cherub mouth sealant, etc.
5.  Assortment of Pens, half of which are monogrammed with our vet’s name.  Sort of like still having a dog, I suppose.  Le sigh.
6.  Blackberry.  Not an Iphone.  Blackberry.  Don’t judge.
7.  Burping Cheeseburger Key Chain that Twin B Received in his Stocking at Christmas.  WTHeck, Santa?
8.  Wallet and Car Keys.  Duh.
9.  Poi Dog Pondering CD.  A nice alternative in the car to the KidzBop juggernaut.
10. Behemoth Grocery Store Receipt.  This purchase should see the five of us through the week.  No lie…I think I’m raising goats here.
11. Box of Paperclips Lifted from the School Office when I Stopped in to Volunteer.  Sshhhh.  Why thievery?  See Behemoth Grocery Store Receipt.
12. Leftover Vitamins from our Last Family Vacation in a Baggie.  Yes, officer…they’re really VITAMINS.
Aaaand there you have it, friends.  My purse Kelley-dumped for your amusement.  Ain’t love grand?  What’s in your bag?
 Inspired by a prompt from  Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop.
25 Folders and Gabbers

WordARound – A ThinkFun Review and Giveaway

By Sue · 7 Folders and Gabbers · February 7th, 2013

Guess who’s back?

Back a-gain?

Eminem

Tell a friend.

Nope.  It’s not The Real Slim Shady.

It’s better.

It’s ThinkFun!  *cue applause*

And they’ve shared a new game with me, friends.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it.  If you, uh…play your cards right, you could win one for yourself.

Did you see what I did there?  A clever little funny?

No?

Anyway.

Introducing WordARound.

ThinkFun WordARound

Eight year-old, pajama-clad flu patient sniffing the box not included. And let the record state that “It smells really good, Mom!”

It’s simply a deck of cards, friends.  And yet…it’s so much more than a deck of cards.

ThinkFun WordARound with Lego Minifigures

Inquisitive Star Wars Lego Guys not included, either.

Two or more can play.  To get started…shuffle the cards…

WordARound Cards

Twin B’s Mad Shufflin’ Skillz captured on camera

…and stack them, covering the card on top with your hand.  On the word “Go,” reveal the card and focus on the letters in the outer black circle.  Try to read the word that is spelled out within that circle.  It’s trickier than it would seem.

WordARound

A whole lotta thinkin’ goin’ on…

ThinkFun

The Small One’s got it: “CONFUSE!” {See it?}

The Thinker

D’oh!

The Small One keeps the card and turns it face down.  The color revealed on the back of that card is the color of the circle on which players are to focus on the next card.  The game continues with players calling out words as they see them, keeping the cards, and flipping them over to reaveal new color cues.

We broke word-reading ties via Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Rock Paper Scissors

That’s so funny I forgot to laugh, Mom.

We had a fantastic time playing WordAround.  Twin B, The Small One and I all agreed that this could very well be our favorite ThinkFun game yet.  Vocabulary building?  Sequencing? Sight word growth?  Laughs?  Fierce competition? High-speed car chases? Unrequited love?  WordARound‘s got it all.  I even have a few tips on how to modify this game in order to bridge the gap between older and younger players.  Inbox me, homies.

High Five

We also agreed that I could do with a new nail color. And that I needed to use oven mitts more often, thereby reducing the occurrence of random hand scarring.

But I digress.

So…would you like to win your very own WordARound?

I thought so.

Get clicking with the Rafflecopter gizmo below.  You can enter multiple times daily for up to a week.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

7 Folders and Gabbers

Open Letter to Mom from The Small One

By Sue · 31 Folders and Gabbers · January 31st, 2013

Hey there, Facebooker!  If you like it, then share it!  It’s easy as shack bread with the little “Facebook” icon at the end of the post.  Gracias!

Author’s Note:  Today’s post has been supplied in large part by The Small One, who I picked up from school at noon on Wednesday with a low-grade fever.  Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop, I asked him to dictate an open letter to all women.

He refused.

I did, however, manage to elicit an open letter from him to me.  In it, he waxes poetic about what I do well as his mother…along with a thing or two that he might change if he could.

 

Dear Mom,

I think that I should get more screen time.  I only get an hour each day.  Except for today. Because I’m sick and I deserve it.

I also want to talk about dinnertime.  I’d like to have more of my favorite dinners.  Like Ham & Shells.  But you barely ever let us eat it because it’s not healthy.  And even though you found out a way to make it healthier with milk instead of cream, you still don’t make it all that much, and that makes me kind of sad.

Pasta Shells with Peas and Ham via Food & Wine

 

There are some foods that I don’t want to have.  Like the sausage soup thing.  Actually, it’s not the soup I don’t like.  It’s the sausage.  Sausage belongs with pancakes, waffles, and other breakfast foods.  But not in soup.  That’s just odd.

Author’s Note: I approve whole-heartedly of this and all other Pinterest Foods about which I’ve written positive reviews.

 

And then there are the taquitos.  They tasted like bread shacks.  A bread shack is like a gingerbread house that’s gone rotten.  Actually, any food that is way too crunchy can be a bread shack.  Crunchy is usually good, like when it’s in apples and potato chips, but not in my main course.  Way, way, WAY too crunchy.  No more bread shack foods.

Baked Chicken Taquitos via Pinterest. A bread shack food. Who knew?

 

And then there’s most Pinterest Foods in general.  What I don’t like about Pinterest Foods is that they’re usually completely bizarre and odd.  They look nice, like in the pictures on your computer, but I feel different about Pinterest Foods when they’re lying there on my plate. Sometimes food can be as good as it looks, like nachos.  But with most Pinterest Foods that is not true.

Sometimes I think about hiding your computer.  This would be a good thing because then you wouldn’t get any more Pinterest Food ideas.  But then that could also be a bad thing because you might miss your computer a lot and get really sad and then mad.  Plus, how would my Cool Cat Press books for school get typed up?  But it would be for a really good cause, so I think I might try hiding your computer anyway.  You know, sometime when you’re not expecting it.

There’s one more thing:  Punishments.  When I get in trouble and you send me to my room, you press timer-eight-zero-zero-start on the microwave.  That’s because I’m eight years old.   I think it should be how old you are, minus two.  I think that would be fine.  Then The Twins would go to their rooms for nine minutes when they get in trouble, and I would go for six minutes.  That is two more minutes that I would get to spend with my family that I love very much.

I do approve of some things, though.  Like when I get sick at school.  Like today.  You wrap me up in the sickie blanket and gives me popsicles and juice in a sippy cup.  I also like that you let me eat pretty much what I want except for dairy which can do harm to your stomach if it’s already upset.  All of the extra T.V. and computer are very good, too.  But I already told you that.

I just want to play Minecraft now, so I have to go.

Love,

The Small One

31 Folders and Gabbers

Coming Out of the Closet

By Sue · 42 Folders and Gabbers · January 24th, 2013

Hey there, Facebooker!  Do you Like Me yet?

It was Sunday.  We always attend church as a family on Sundays.

But on this Sunday?  It was not to be.

I was a bit too lazy comfy in my pjs.  A tad comatose weary from the previous evening out with good friends.  Longing to crawl back into bed enjoy an easy morning with my family in the comfort of our own home.

The Cherubs snuggled with me on the family room couch.  I watched them as they watched the minutes on the wall clock tick by, thinking that I was unaware of the time and that they were pulling one over on me.  And when the Moment of no Return – the time at which we would physically be unable to make it to the 11:00 service on time – arrived, they let out a collective whoop and began to tear about the house.

And the easy morning with my family came to a screeching halt.

My groom was in the pantry, mumbling with disdain.  He backed his way out, tripping over a super-sized jar of canned tomatoes as he did so.  He stifled curses under his breath.

It was Sunday, after all.

Aloud, he announced, “That’s it.  It’s time to clean out the pantry…”

I winced.  His words stung like a hornet’s tail end on my sensitive skin.  Nonetheless, I rose and shuffled over to where he was standing to have a look inside.

“…As a family.”  He finished.

At that juncture, I believe that I lost consciousness for an indeterminate period of time.  I cannot completely account for all that transpired during my metaphorical absence.  But the din of chaos brought me back to reality.  Face down on the floor in front of the pantry, I raised my throbbing head…

And I saw this.

 

 

 

 

I blinked.

What the?

Still facing this gaping chasm, I clutched the door frame, staggered to my feet, and inhaled several times.  My childbirth breathing techniques proved more helpful in bizarre scenarios like these than they ever did when in labor with The Cherubs.

Even with The Twins.

I slowly turned around and surveyed the rest of my kitchen.

And I screamed.

Five times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next several hours were more or less a blur.  The five of us filled garbage bags, sorted, sanitized, and occasionally dry-heaved over what we discovered had been lurking in the corners of the pantry.  And when it was all said and done…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…my groom suggested that we tackle the hall closet.

At which point Twin A made a hasty retreat into the basement.  After noisy footfalls on the stairs, she began to practice her piano pieces with a level of enthusiasm that was usually reserved for Recital Week.

The Boys followed her, bickering over who would have the next turn at the piano.

And I?

I slithered down after them, sheepishly murmuring that my Mozart could stand a bit of brushing up as well.

 

Inspired by a prompt from

Mama’s Losin’ It 
“Show us your kitchen!”

42 Folders and Gabbers

Laptops, Urine, and Pavlov

By Sue · 35 Folders and Gabbers · January 17th, 2013

There’s been a whole lotta doggy talk goin’ on ’round he-ya, my friends.

I don’t know why I found it necessary to break into jive speak up there.  It just felt right.

Anyway.

As you’ve probably surmised by now, there was No puppy in a stocking at Christmas for The Cherubs.  And that was pretty much ok with them, considering the fact that I prepared them for the inevitable by ever so gently telling them, “There.  Will.  Be. No.  Puppy.  In.  A.  Stocking. At. Christmas.”

On the bright side, Santa scored a white-hot deal on laptops, so the glitz of shiny new technology helped to soften the blow.  And this trio of portable internet access, combined with unseasonable early January temperatures that had us practically sunbathing in the driveway, formed the perfect storm this past weekend:  An intensive online search for just the right breed of dog to be purchased in the spring.

Three cheers for global warming and Google.

So there they sat in the family room with their computers on their laps, clicking away with abandon.  The Small One called out from his perch on the fireplace hearth, “Guys!  Checkitout! If you go to iams.com and search ‘pet finder?’ It asks you questions and tells you the perfect kind of dog for you!”

The Twins’ curiosity was peaked, and they quickly logged on and began the online inventory that would unite them with the breeds of their dreams.  Even my groom got into it, opening up his computer and making his way through the pet-finding prompts.  I seized this tech-fest as an opportunity to load the dishwasher.

After a few minutes, Twin B snorted in disgust.  ”Awwww…man…They’re all ugly!”

“What?” I asked, drying my hands on a paper towel and making my way toward him.  I looked over his shoulder at his computer screen.  ”It says a Schnauzer would be good for you.  Or any kind of Terrier.”

Click images for sources

“Yeah.  Terriers are ugly.  And stupid.”

“Now, how can you say that, B?  Have you ever spoken with a Terrier?”

“I don’t have to.  I can just tell.  Look at these dogs, mom…all wiry haired and weird-faced.”

“Oooooooh!” breathed Twin A from the other end of the sectional.  ”Look at this!  It says that I should get a Belgian Terv-oo-reen.  It’s so pretty!”

“A what?” I sat down beside her took a look at the breed pronunciation guide.  ”Look, hon, it’s pronounced Terv-Urine.”

“Urine?” crowed The Small One.  ”That’s awesome!” he laughed so hard he began to choke.

Twin B, helpful soul that he is, whacked his brother on the back.  ”Well, I’d rather have a Terv-Urine than a dog with shag rug hair and a jacked-up face.”

Twin A giggled, “Mom?  Can we get a Terv-Urine?  And name it P.P.?”

“No!  Wait!  Forget the Terv-Urine, guys!”  The Small One, now coughing, was pointing at his computer screen.  ”This is what we need!  A Poo-me!”

I rolled my eyes and glanced at his screen.  Pumi.  Fabulous.  I had never heard of such a creature, but leave it to The Small One to find it.

My groom had remained silent during this debacle.  He was staring at his search results, his eyes growing wider by the minute.

“What did you get?” I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“An African Basenji.”

In an automatic gesture that would make Pavlov proud, his hand traced its way down his right leg and came to rest upon his shin.  Right over the spot where I knew there was a scar underneath his pants leg.

A scar that had its origins when he was eight and had a chunk of his leg removed by…you guessed it…

…an African Basenji.

All four of them slowly and quietly closed their computers, and the online exploration came to an end.  The Small One and Twin A were wiping tears of laughter out of their eyes and still sputtering a little.

Twin B broke the silence by offering meekly, “Ummmm…maybe we should look into getting a cat instead.”

 

Inspired by a one-word prompt from

Mama’s Losin’ It 
“Explore.”
 

35 Folders and Gabbers
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