Happy hump day chat

Same here. Not enough sleep last night.  

Reactive Rover class went a little late and I didn't get home until late and then couldn't unwind and get to sleep until almost midnight.  

We're getting some wonderful rains here this morning.  Lots of thunder and lightning so Gabby and Ruger are getting lots of hot dogs.  Gabby is practically hoping for thunder because she's getting the connection that thunder brings hot dogs. :)  Ruger is getting there.  

I have a big bowl of cut up hot dogs on my desk and give each dog a treat with every thunder boomer.  It makes doing office work hard when you're hands are greasy with hot dogs and slimy from dog slobber. :)  

I'm glad you're getting rain, Jackie. Probably not quite as glad as Gabby & Ruger are for the thunder portion of it.

I'm finally getting rid of a headache that started about 3 hours ago.

I had a nice surprise waiting when I got back from lunch - a $75 gift card in honor of my 15th anniversary here at work. It was really in January, but hey, better late than never.

Wow, Tina -- that's awesome about the anniversary gift.  It's so nice to hear about employers who truly value their staff and take the time to do more than just give lip service for their appreciation.  Is the gift card to a special store, or a general VISA one you can use anywhere?  Have fun deciding what to spend it on!

I'm having a week where I cannot fall asleep.  Sunday and Monday night I ended up taking out my book at midnight and reading for over an hour.  Last night I finished my book at 11:45 and felt tired, but tossed and turned until nearly 2am.  I'm off work tomorrow and Friday, so hopefully I can catch up on some rest.

Jackie, I can see where doing your work would be pretty difficult with slimy hot dog hands.  Someone needs to invent a mini-dispenser that has a remote control or something -- then you could put it on the edge of your desk and have a hot dog drop out automatically with each thunder sound.  But then I guess the dogs would just park themselves under the gadget and possibly try to knock it off your desk, so that probably wouldn't work!

Tracy, there is such a thing but I'm too cheap to buy one. :)

www.petexpertise.com/.../treat-n-train-remote-dog-training.html

Sorry, you're sleeping so badly Tracy.  Hope you catch up while you're off.  Have fun too.

Tina, that was nice of someone to finally remember your 15 year anniversary at work.  Better late than never!

I have a feeling the mosquitos are going to be pretty terrible in a few days. They were already bad but with all the rains we had today, it's going to be mosquito explosion time.

@tacran

Is the gift card to a special store, or a general VISA one you can use anywhere?

It's a "Vanilla Visa", good anywhere Visa credit/debit is taken.

@tacran

 Have fun deciding what to spend it on!

I just ordered 2 Patricia McConnell books as well as a couple of misc. items from Amazon. I have $28 left, so will probably put it in my gas tank.

Lack of sleep has been a problem for me the past few weeks. That and nightmares. I'm tempted to knock myself out with a cast iron frying pan just to get a good night's sleep. I'm not sure Missy could swing the pan hard enough.

Rains-iwe have plenty.   We have hillsides falling, mudslides on roads, houses with deep water in the basements and/or first floors, boats tied up to post apparently in the middle of lakes.  Apparently, we can expect up to 3" more this weekend.  Joy!!! The Minnesota River is up to the flood walls in Mankato.  The Native Americans told the first settlers that that spot flooded a lot, but the white guys knew better.  I think "Mankato" is Sioux for "place where the idiots with wet feet choose to live".    Hwy 169, the original hwy to the north, is closed in many places.  Ironically, the work to raise it above flood levels has to be delayed because of high water  on the road.

Deer and turkey have been driven out of the lowlands by the waters, and are visible by the highways.

Lugnut is growing up, as in puberty has struck.  He tries the male leg lift, while standing in the middle of the yard, and marks his front leg.  Needs work.  He has discovered the joys of chasing rabbits.  His acceleration is amazing, but he hasn't figured out scent work yet.  But it is coming.  He watched a rooster pheasant take off today from about 20 ft, cackling  and stroking hard.  Total amazement.  Then a hen jumped from right under his chin.  Total shock, but the excitement is building.  His last tug toy lasted 3 hours, and we still have pieces to vacuum up.  He is an over achiever.

We have had two grandkids for three days now.  One more to go.  As I have been working, wife got most of the work.  She may be ready for a drink soon, or two or three.  Great kids, not too demanding, pretty self sufficient, but still kids.  They like the pup, the pup likes them.  Good for both sides.

I don't know why but "vanilla visa" sounds dirty hehe

I can't believe you all didn't think my diety sweaty stinky weekend sounded like fun lol

I am living in bizarro world today. There were 2 police standoffs in town today  and since I worked from home on Monday instead of my normal Tues I am thinking it is a day ahead all week long and my brain just won't believe that it is wed today.

I booked my flight to nyc today! I never thought I would actually pay to go to nyc. I hate big cities and avoid them like the plague for vacation destinations. I always figured I would end up there for work reasons not fun. But I'm going out on a limb and hoping to enjoy it while visiting my old college pal.

I am also in the process of registering abbie for her national sar certification test this fall. The The at's scary.

@DougB

The Native Americans told the first settlers that that spot flooded a lot, but the white guys knew better.  I think "Mankato" is Sioux for "place where the idiots with wet feet choose to live".    

That made me laugh, however I know the flooding is no laughing matter.

We had a ton of rain again - nothing dries and its so humid, bleck! The mushrooms are sprouting and the evil mosquitoes are taking over. Our weather reported does the morning weather with a skycam image in the background. The last few days during the report a mosquito is buzzing around the lens and it looks like it's Godzilla size. It is very funny and the whole studio winds up laughing.

I am not a hot commodity at work. I debate whether this is good or bad. It does mean there is plenty of work ahead, this is good as a contractor. I tell myself all the time that I will start looking for something else but I haven't even attempted it yet

My new car is here and I drove it to work today. very pleased. It is tight for Bugszilla but I think we can make it work. I feel terrible about this but a friend reminded me her dog travels in a crate in the car and that helped me feel a little better

Julie, NYC is an experience. I am very well traveled and there is no where else like it. That alone makes it worth a trip. Well that and the pretzels the street vendors sell

I am going to go to work with Jackie and eat hot dogs all day.

Congrats Tina!!

Doug your posts about Lugnut always make me smile, thank you

Well, someone beat me to it with that remote treat-giving gadget. That's pretty cool! But a bit pricey.

Sounds like you got some nice gifts for yourself, Tina. I'm like you when I spend gift cards or money -- a couple fun items, but always something practical like filling the gas tank, too!

Julie, spending time in NYC is fantastic. Even better if you're there with someone who knows where they're going and what's going on in a particular neighborhood. And despite NYC's reputation for being outrageously expensive, the fact is that you can find plenty of options of great food at very affordable prices (including those pretzels!), and LOTS of things to do and see that have minimal costs. Just walking around looking at people and landmarks is great, and that's free!

Glad you like the new car, Karen. Bugsy will adjust to his tight quarters. I used to get smiles and laughs from cars pulling up alongside me in my tiny Honda Civic with huge Tonka filling the back seat!

Doug, I've heard reports of the rain and flooding in your state and wondered what you were seeing in your area. Get that rowboat ready!