Vacation...

 
...what a wonderful thing it is. Everyone asked where I was going for vacation. Well, I had the absolute most wonderful time just being at home. Oh I did go to the immediate family Christmas on the 24th at Renie’s. I also made it to Aunt Becky’s for Christmas with that branch of the family tree on Christmas day. Nannie and I had a marvelous time Christmas day and the day after. Nicole and Ryan made a brief appearance on the 26th, Ryan loves the crock-pot, and then they were off to NYC to begin their vacation. Toby spent part of his vacation with Aunt Rene & Uncle Steve and of course Munchkin. Millie spent some quality time with Aunt Patty & Uncle Jimmy. Most of the time though has been relaxing and well, relaxing.
So, I say to all 4 of you who might actually read this little blog, Vacation is a good thing, even if you don’t go farther than a few hours drive from home.

No Bark Zone

 
How does one stop a barking dog – especially a dachshund that is only protecting her apartment? After the Tulsa Police knocked on the door it became apparent that someone doesn’t like my dachshunds and that I needed to make them a little less protective. So, a trip to Super K (love that store) gained two collars with an attachment that gives off a very high-pitched sound when the wearer barks. We also learned that it goes off when one whines or growls. The collars seem to be working. Don’t worry, Millie still gets to bark her to her hearts content when we go for our walks, and she doesn’t have to wear the collar when we go to bed. After all, I do want protection at night. Other than that the alleged “24/7 barking” has ceased.
In other news…
The Bourbon Legend has arrived and it OMG awesome. Jason Boland is really maturing and yet staying true to his music. Can’t wait until we see him tomorrow night at the ‘Weed!

It was a Merry Christmas

Christmas, they say, is for the children. Well, I have come to believe that Christmas is as much for the Grandparents. Watching my parents and Aunt at Christmas is nothing like they were when I was a child. They spoil the grandchildren year-round; don’t get me wrong, but at Christmas it is magnified tenfold.
When I was a child, Christmas was good at home, but OH MY GOD when we got to Nannie and Poppie’s house, oh the presents! That’s the same with my parents. Every year you think that the next year the kids won’t get nearly as much, surely they can’t outdo what they’ve done. You’re wrong. They get more and more and more! In watching the history of Christmas, it was basically created as a way to spoil the children without actually spoiling the children. So, I guess that’s what happens.
Anyway, it was a nice Christmas and I’m happy that I actually enjoyed the holiday this year. Nicole came to Renie’s with me for Christmas Eve festivities. Renie cooked a huge turkey, mom cooked a 20lb ham and we had all the fixins. Honestly, I was looking around for one of the battalions from Iraq to show up, we had so much food!
I went to Ponca City to Aunt Becky’s Christmas day. Again, so much food! Lots of fun both days. I was blessed to be able to spend a lot of time with Nannie. I don’t get home as much as I should, so running her errands and spending the night with her was nice.
Toby is on vacation at Aunt Rene’s. I understand he is basically taking over the house. Millie spent two nights with Aunt Patty and Uncle Jimmy. She had a blast, but let me warn you not to let a dachshund overdose on Vitamin C. It gets a bit messy. Patty has pictures of Millies vacation, I’ll get them on here soon as I get them.
Nicole and Ryan made it to NYC. Her first comment to me was that there were a ton of people, traffic is horrible and everyone is honking. LOL – Welcome to NYC Nicole!
Ok, Millie is already in bed and I’m on my way. One more holiday to go!

On It's Way!

Well, I guess the squeeky wheel does get the first Bourbon Legend CD shipped out of the warehouse! This email was returned today after I again asked the whereabouts of this treasured item.

Hi Tammie,

The Bourbon Legend CD is scheduled to arrive this week, and hopefully ship out by the weekend. I have contacted the shipping department to make sure that your package will be in the first batch sent out.

Once again, my apologies for the delay; please let me know if you have any further questions. Thanks for supporting Jason Boland.

Thanks,
Allen Cote
Customer Service
All Access Today, LP2100 Northland Dr . Austin , Texas 78756

Christmas Isn't So Bad, Maybe

So, maybe, just maybe my heart has grown a few sizes. I actually like Christmas this year. Oh, not all the bs of who gets what and that crap, but Christmas in general isn’t depressing me.
I’ve been looking for a tree to put up in my humble apt and decided that I didn’t want to pay $60 for a tree that is only used for one month a year. Then Laura called and said they had come across the tree that she had at her apt years ago. She asked if I wanted it, and well, I said yes.
Patty came up yesterday and we went Christmas shopping. I bought decorations and you see the tree behind the dachshunds. The day was fun. No stress, just went to a few stores, had lunch at Red Robin and then they were still around at dinnertime, so off to El Chico we went! Mom and Dad came up today and I finished the rest of my shopping, almost. Presents are wrapped and under the tree. My apt is clean and bleachy smelling. Needless to say, I’m a bit tired.

Let it Snow!

Let me just begin this weather blog by stating that I HATE SNOW.
Snow, snow, snow. Everywhere we look there is only snow, and if we aren’t careful we find ice underneath the snow.

Now, with that out, it all began Wednesday. Yes Wednesday. That’s the day we had our first Weather Meeting. I was given the task of calling the church at the bottom of the hill for permission to park in case the mountain is iced over and looks like Mount Crumpit. I was also asked to do my normal task of ordering dinner for the evening. Thanks to Rib Crib, all were fed well. We also enabled a new school closing reporting system this year. I was placed on stand-by (and later told definitely) to come in at 4:30am.

So I get up around 3am, and to my surprise it takes 30minutes to get the inch of ice off my car! Needless to say I made it to work around 4:30 and ended up spending the night. I didn’t get home until 9:30ish Friday morning.

Of course I had to re-dig out my car at the station. You see I was there for the whole 2nd phase of the storm that dumped an official 10" of snow in the Tulsa area.

It was nice having the love from my puppies. They (at least Toby) were sure that I had abandoned them for good this time. Then I forced them to go out in that terribly cold white stuff. Toby finally figured out to just tunnel his way thru the stuff and the tree would be there at the end of the journey. Millie was more than happy to let Toby lead. And of course they drug mommie everywhere they went.

Of course I have pictures. My car after spending the night on Lookout Mountain during the 2nd phase of the storm; pictures of Toby and Millie, and a picture I found on CNN.com.

This is a baby llama that allegedly got in the way of every picture the photographer framed.

Stay inside, stay cool, and most of all – drive for the weather, not the speed limit!

Good and Bad

UPDATE!!!
The alleged bad guys have been arrested. The merchandise and toys still haven't been recovered, but the evil ones are behind bars! tk
The bad news… The “Boys” equipment and merchandise trailer was stolen. The trailer was found, but completely empty. Total loss!
Good news: The State of Texas has officially issued a warrant for the arrest of Boyd Newman Matthews in regards to the theft of our trailer. Matthews was born on September 21, 1980, is 5'10" tall, 180 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes. If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of Matthews, please contact Det. David Mann of the Tarrant Regional Auto Theft Task Force at 817.560.6560 or dsmann@tarrantcounty.com.
Do NOT attempt to apprehend the suspect as he could be armed and dangerous.
Jason Boland & The Stragglers are offering a reward of up to $1000 for any information that leads to the recovery our equipment, merchandise and donated toys. This reward is based on the finding of the equipment or information that directly leads to the equipment or suspect(s) in possession of equipment.
And more good news from the “Boys”, I ordered the Bourbon Legend some two weeks ago. I was a bit confused when it still had not arrived the day before Thanksgiving. So I sent an email to the company I ordered from.
The reply: “We apologize for the inconvenience - due to the popularity of the new album, we have run out of inventory, and your CD is on backorder. We are expecting more CDs from Jason any day now, and as soon as we receive inventory, we will immediately turn around and ship your order out.”
Good for the Boys, Sad for me!

We give thanks

Thanksgiving is easily my favorite national holiday. (Nicole's b-day isn't officially a National Holiday yet) No demands or pressures, just family and food…way too much food. This year Nicole and I hosted the holiday. What fun we had. She came home Wednesday early enough to make that final trip to Walmart for us. We were able to get everything cooked and/or mixed Wednesday evening and only had the task of making the mashed potatoes and carrying everything over to the clubhouse on Thursday morning. Like I said, it was great fun.

Aunt B and Darrell came with Lance and Michelle in tow. Nichole and J’son were the first to arrive. J’son was a lot of help with the dachshunds. Renie brought Nannie. Patty came alone, followed closely by Jimmy, Steve, Kevin and Connie. Miranda and her roommate spent their lunch hours with us. Mom and Dad were delayed by Alecia’s late decision to let Hayden spend the afternoon with us, and Skylar, Holly, Nathan and baby Z came in. It was a good day. We had far more food than any one family could need. And I must say, I’m sad the day ended.

To Bark or Not To Bark...

Dachshunds bark. That is a fact. Anyone who has ever met a dachshund knows this. They are GIANT sized dogs in small bodies. So, why would the person that has lived next to the most wonderful dachshunds in all of Tulsa for months say that they bark “24/7”?
I know they don’t bark when I’m at home, with the exception of the times that someone is knocking at the door (pizza delivery) or someone is running up or down the stairs. (neighbors) They have exceptional hearing and if they hear someone outside (neighbors), well, they must let that person know that this apartment is indeed very well protected. But now, I’m a bit afraid of being homeless at Christmas. Not a place I want to be. I went online in search of remedies for the “barking” situation. Shock collars are out because I really don’t want to do that to the babies and they are damn expensive. Next, I happened across an interesting method that someone like Carolyn would try, so you guessed it, I’m trying it.
The Empty Soda Can Trick
Here’s how it works: “Clean out an empty soda (pop) can, put enough coins in it to make a loud noise when you shake it, tape the opening shut, and you have a great deterrent to bad behavior! Don't shake it a lot, just a couple of shakes when they are doing the bad behavior followed with a "No!" They get the message and stop right away. Now all I have to do is reach for the "bad boy" can and Baxter stops whatever he is not supposed to be doing. I must admit, he has grown into one of the most well behaved dogs I have ever known, so the "bad boy" can doesn’t get used very much.”
I found an empty can that hasn’t be crushed yet, placed pennies in it and then taped them in. The first test WORKED! We’ll see if it lasts. Of course I’ll have to teach them how to use it on one another while I’m at work, this will keep them from barking 24/7 or at least while I’m at work.

Honestly, do these look like horrible neighbors to you?

Family...

Baby Z visited Aunt Tammie and hung out for a while. The day was fun. We (Toby, Millie and I) did not do our share of spoiling him. ;) He did try to let us know that he was still hungry after he ate all his bottle contents.
If I hadn’t known it before, I do now. I have two very spoiled dachshunds. I sat on the couch holding Zentner. Before I knew it, Millie was on the pillow behind me with her head resting on my shoulder and a very strategically placed teddy bear. Zentner was on my lap resting on my abdomen, so, Toby climbs onto the blanket and lies on Zentner. We all slept like this for about an hour. The day was fun. Then he went away to stay with his Momo.

Later that night he was back with Grannie and Poppie. But, in the meantime, Millie tried to meet a couple of pit bull’s. My toe still hurts from chasing her and trying to convince her that her puppy curiosity is not always a good thing. When I caught her, she did get a good spanking, then we sat on the steps, I cried and hugged her tight and told her that she is never allowed out without a leash again.

So the family came back after a few hours. Mom decided to go buy some of the ingredients we will need for Thanksgiving. She also came in with a flat of Diet Coke and a flat of Classic Coke. Skylar and Holly had Hayden and I guess my apt is the central meeting place. That’s ok, it ensures that I get to see the boys. Hayden and Nathan (Holly’s 2 yr old son) are a handful for sure. Zentner is only 2 months old and already follows the boys with his eyes. I shiver to think that this time next year we will have 3 very rambunctious boys ages 4, 3 and 1. Thursday we will have Hayden, Nathan and J’son, all under the age of 3 – and if we are lucky Emery will make an appearance. How on earth did we end up with 5 boys and only 1 girl?

Enough rambling for now. Toodles!

This is what my life has come to be. I get up, wrestle myself out of Millie’s grasp, walk the dachshunds, feed the dachshunds, shower, tell Millie no, get dressed, wrestle something out of Millie’s mouth, dry my hair, chase Millie to get her into her carrier and go to work. After work, I go home walk the dachshunds, give them treats, make dinner, and wrestle something away from Millie… See the rut!

So, for my birthday I’ve decided to give myself a gym membership. Millie and Toby have actually stayed alone for a whole day without Millie being in the carrier, and the apt survived the experience. We might try it again tomorrow. With this progress, I don’t feel so guilty being away another hour 3 or 4 days a week.
Speaking of rut. I just took a nice hot bath, and a prescription strength dose of ibuprofen, so I’m going to turn in for now.

Hope you like the pic of Millie’s new chew toy, a diet coke bottle.

For the Good Times...

Kris Kristofferson has always identified himself first and foremost as a writer, and true writers know that what works best is giving a piece of themselves to the listener. In fact, he even told God that he is a songwriter, evidently the jury is still out on whether or not God believes him.

Jo and I had the most incredible experience last night. It can only be described as Spiritual. Actually, it can’t be described. But, let me begin at the beginning…

A couple of weeks ago I’m sitting at my desk, working, when Jo pops up on the screen asking if we are doing anything with Kris Kristofferson. Confused, I asked if he was coming to town and when. She, of course knew and moments later we actually had tickets to go!
The tickets we had stated the show began at 8pm. It was natural for Jo to be shocked when she arrived a good hour and a half before show time and there was a substantial line. Not a familiar site in Tulsa. I get there a little later. I have a raging headache that goes all the way to the middle of my back. Of course she is Orange and I’m blue, neither of us have a bit of Gold so no Ibuprofen. We tailgate for a few minutes and then go in, get a candy bar and M&M’s, a couple of beverages and find our seats. The fact that it is 7:30ish is on our minds, but we still settle in and are in awe of the stage. It only has a music stand, a guitar stand and a mic stand. Again, not a familiar sight.

So, we were very surprised and pleased when a man came onto the stage to announce that there had been a printing error on the tickets. Half the people think that the show started at 7:30 while the other half (us) think it begins at 8. The best part: Kris came on 15 minutes or so early – took a 20 minute break at some point – left the stage for the final time at 10:15. We had no opening band or a backup band. Just Kris and us. If you weren’t there, you do not know the essence of what you missed. During the show I was healed from all my pain. Really, it was gone. I sat in my seat and soaked in Kris.

He is truly a gift to all of us. I wish I were better with words and could describe what we experienced last night. From Bobby McGee to Why Me Lord to Sunday Morning Coming Down and so many wonderful tunes in between he had the crowd of 1500 or so captivated. Ok there was the one drunken lady that kept making propositions…

We did do the nerdy things like call people and say, OMG Kris is right there singing to us! We are in the same building with him! And then realized we were talking while he was singing, and well frankly were afraid of being stricken by lightening. So the cell phones went off – and we made more calls during the break. A break that only a man of his caliber can take during a show.

You can see the one usable pic I took. Jo had the better camera and I pray the pics are good. You see, he was the Man In Black last night. He wore all black with a completely black stage and a single spot light coming from above.

I’ll stop rambling now, but you really don’t know what you missed.

Democrats, Displasia and Dachshunds

What a week it has been! It started off as any normal week with great anxieties hinging on two of the days. We had laid the groundwork for the biggest election coverage our station has seen in at least a decade. All the months of planning came down to just a few hours between 7pm and 10pm. The food was ordered, delivered and devoured. Of course you have no idea how the day went outside your little world until the next morning when the Nielsen’s hit your inbox. What was the result? An incredible 2 points ahead of our nearest competitor. We dominated the night.

It was sad to see the Republicans go without Peter Jennings’ witty commentary. Charles Gibson met the challenge though. With respect to my Republican friends, I won’t comment further on the tough victory.
If you haven’t registered to vote, the only liberty we have left that is free… the Democrats have an easy way for you to register: https://electionimpact.votenet.com/dnc/voterreg/index.cfm

In other news – Displasia is a word I had never paid attention to until a few months ago. Come to find out it is the first step to cervical cancer. No one is exactly certain how HPV is activated. One can be born with it and one can get it from sexual intercourse. According to all sites I’ve visited, the great majority say that this is an STD. So, wear condoms even if you aren’t having sex, as is in my case. Anywho, I had what is called a LEEP procedure Friday. It is relatively new and is generally used when there is a rather large area infected. The bad part is a pap every 3 months for the next year. The good part is that I found out that Patty, Ryan and Jo love me. Renie came by with Zentner. Nicole washed the dishes and tried to walk the dachshunds, but Toby was attached to me.

Ryan and Millie bonded. As you can see, they watched plenty of tv together. Turns out, Millie is quite fond of Battlestar Galactica.

Jo brought me chocolate ice cream. Life really is good.

The Dr's office called. They gave me a clean bill of health. All the "abnormal" cells are gone and I'm normal once again!

I Have a Dream!

“I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation...
…Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation...
…I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."…
…And when this happens… when we let it ring from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" - MLK

What an ironically fitting place for the King of the Civil Rights Revolution, between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials in Washington DC. Jefferson, who owned slaves, agonized whether or not to abolish slavery in the creation of our nation. Lincoln, well what can we say about the brilliance of this man. He managed to free the slaves and save our young nation. That was not an easy feat. In fact it cost him his life.

Just as fighting for the rights of the descendents of those freed people cost Dr. King his life. His passive fight changed all our lives. Thanks to this man and others with his courage, I never saw separate “Whites Only” restrooms or water fountains. My educational experience was a healthy blend of many cultures. I can’t wait to see the monument reminding generations to come about the Dream!

My favorite Resident Assistant

Since the day she was born, Cole Bear has been in control of her destiny. While she has been guided by her incredibly wise mother most of the time, she has made a few wise decisions on her own. She chose the University of Oklahoma sometime in her high school career. And so far it has been a good choice for the University of Oklahoma. I took a trip to see her in her new home at the University of Oklahoma.


She is a Resident Assistant with her own hall! I was lucky enough to have lunch with her, Ryan and a couple of their friends.

Nicole did remind the boys that she is celebrating her 20th year on Earth, and in Nicole style, she reminded them what they were getting her for this celebration. Brian is so sweet he is buying her an electronic Soku game. Brian's friend, who was only visiting, is buying her a pony. And last but most important, Ryan is getting her a SURPRISE!

Ok, so we had a good time lunching. Then we went back to her room. I did take pictures so we could share, then she drove me to Crossroads Mall. I have no clue where she gets her road rage issues or her hap-hazzard driving style. =)

Ok, enough for tonight. Sean actually had me working today. That was good because it did manage to keep me distracted for most of the day, from the fact that I was NOT sent to Nashville to the CMA's. - More on that later

Tulsa town

Tulsa is one of the most wonderful places I have ever visited and IS the best place I’ve ever lived. I am privileged to be back in this City/Town that I love so much. And it is even better that I am working at the place I grew up admiring. Life can’t get much better than this.

Oh, I whine on the occasion, like when I’m overlooked for the field producing position of the CMA’s, when clearly I’m the one that knew more than the others. Why, had I not been watching, Pat Green would have never been interviewed on the local news. (for more on that watch JoJo Dreamer’s Dancehall) I had to be content to sit quietly and watch as the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Big and Rich, Brad Paisley and even, YES George! passed by our anchor unnoticed. Side note: I didn’t complain when a certain undeserving Female Vocalist of the Year publicly snubbed us while we were on air! Also, Max, one of my favorite producers, brought me back a souvenir. And, Pat Green was seen by people who didn’t know him before and maybe, just maybe he picked up another fan.
OK, new camera and now a pic of my babies. (not Cole Bear this time)

Happy Halloween!

My new camera is here and as promised, new pictures of the dachshunds!

Millie is just too photogenic to not take tons of pictures. She is sitting in her favorite spot. The top of the sofa, this is a great place to keep an eye on what Toby is doing. She can also launch aerial attacks easier.

In other news...
Today is the last day of October. The time sadly changed over the weekend and we now wake up to sunshine and come home in pitch dark.

It is also the next to last day before ratings begin. It was terribly busy at work today, we had a chili and baked goods cook-off; a costume contest and then who could overlook the winner of the favorite manager. This was an honor given to the manager that received the most balloons purchased for $1 each and given to the manager the person liked best. The winning manager was Chris - our awesome Assistant News Director. He received 59 balloons and a pie in the face. Which, by the way, was the first picture taken with my absolutely fabulous new camera.

So tomorrow, we will have another day full of meetings beginning at 7:45 am. The last meeting will begin at 6:30pm and is mandatory for everyone in our dept. I get to order food. I've been told this is the most important job in the building. I think that they are trying to satisfy my blueness and stop me from whining.

Home On the Range

Thanks to all 3 of you that will actually read this page. Life has been sumwhat uneventful, yet incredibly busy. We are getting ready for the November Book to begin. For those of you who don't know, I work at a local TV Station and the months of February, May, July and November are incredibly important to all involved in the tv biz.

Anywho, I haven't had much time with the dachshunds and boy have they been telling everyone about it. And unfortunately I've also been ignoring my friends, just for the dollars that come with overtime! So last night I packed up some pj's and all my dachshund necessities and we headed "home" to the "farm". Toby was thrilled, Millie had never been there before, and I had 12 hours of Deadwood to catch up on. It was the most relaxation I've had in a very long time. Jo puppysat while Toby and I watched the Deadwood shows that we missed all season.

Millie ran and ran and ran and... you get the picture. She had horses to corral, coons to run circles around and tons of things to smell. She was out cold all the way home. Thanks Jo for the wonderful time off!

Sorry we didn't get the adventure on film, my new camera won't be here until later in the week. Then you will be able to see plenty of the life of a dachshund.