Hello Charlie, Goodbye Charlie

And so, the saga of Charlie the squirrel continues; and ends. I fed and watered him and come the next morning, he was still sitting on my back porch waiting for me to come out to feed him. Anytime the dog and I would walk outside, there he was running up to greet us. After people had read about the squirrel, they started to drop by to see him. Especially concerned about him was my nephew, Logan. He came over as soon as he found out and wanted to see him.. I took them out back and Logan was, at first timid around around the squirrel. I told him he didn't need to be as I stepped down the steps right next to him and knelt down to rub his head and back. The squirrel was just sitting there letting me rub him. As soon as Logan saw that, he knelt right down and scooped up the squirrel in his hand. Even after two days with it, I still didn't feel comfortable enough to pick him up, but when Logan did, he just sat right there in his hand. All the pictures tonight are Logan with "Charlie." I was originally going to name him "Earl the Squirrel" but, as always, everyone hated my idea and Logan said he was going to be called Charlie. So, Charlie, it is. Logan really bonded with Charlie. They played for close to an hour.

They had to leave for a previous engagement, but I figured I'd see them later. And, after they were done, Logan and Brother-in-Law, Dale, (yes, my sister's husband's name is Dale) came over to check out Charlie. We all watched Logan with Charlie and started to wonder about Charlie. As I mentioned before, he has a bum foot. It was working much better on this day than it did the day before, but the two things got us wondering. Because he really trusted people and had a bad foot, was he being raised in some rehab place and was around humans already? Or, was he just a retarded squirrel that didn't have motor skills and didn't know better? No idea. But, watching Logan play him, it didn't matter. After they were done playing, the sun had gone down and it was getting chilly out. Logan had taken Charlie in his hand and started to rub an area of his back. Charlie curled up into a ball and had fallen asleep!! No kidding, he had a sleeping squirrel in his hand. Since it was getting cold, Logan couldn't stand the thought of just putting him on the cool ground, so we went in, got a box, cut a hole out for him to get in and out, Logan loaded it with grass and put him in there for the night, right by the bottom step where I had his food and a water bowl set out. We all went in for the night.


The next day, today, I stayed home with a sick baby. So, when I got time, we went outside to check on Charlie. He was no where to be found. We looked all over the yard, in the box, under the porch and he wasn't anywhere. Even the dog couldn't sniff him out. All throughout the day, each time I let the dog out, we went out looking for him to no avail. Logan even came by after school to check on him and I had to tell him he had bugged out. Of course, he had to check for himself, so he searched everywhere and Charlie wasn't around. Logan and his Dad had decided that if Charlie was still here, they were going to keep him and take him up to the Animal Rehab place in Atlanta. Very nice thought, but there was no need. I guess we gave Charlie enough food, water and attention to where he felt better and decided to go off and be a squirrel. Maybe we did some good. I just hope he doesn't come back to chew on my water pipes like his elders have done in the past.

Tiny Baby is doing better. We found out why she was running a fever. We have a tooth!! We just noticed it yesterday. This whole time, we thought she was teething, but never felt anything. Some babies will run a fever when they are teething. Then, while my sister was over here, she was playing with her and as she put her head down, Ansley opened her mouth and we saw her first tooth is on the top and not the bottom like most babies have. That's why we never felt it. So, we have our first tooth.

We also want to wish my Sister good luck this week. She has her first, of two, major surgeries this week. Wednesday to be exact. So, good luck and we'll be around if y'all need anything.

Squirrel

I don't normally make two posts in one day, but I had to pass this along. This morning I let my dog, Ripley, out for his morning duty. After a few minutes of him being out there, he was barking up a storm. He normally doesn't bark at much except when the kids next door are in the back yard or the other neighbor's dog is in their backyard. Since it was 9:00 in the morning, I knew it was too early for either of them to be happening, so I knew something else was up. I walked out on the back porch and saw him just going off at something up against the house. As I looked closer, it was a baby squirrel. At first, I did what I always do when there is a squirrel, I told him to "Get Him!" He just started barking louder, but doing nothing but dancing around the squirrel. Then I remembered it was only 9:00 in the morning, so I went down to get him to stop barking. As I got closer, I noticed the squirrel had a bum front paw and couldn't move as easy as he normally could, so I called the dog off. When I called Ripley off, he just started sniffing the squirrel and just being interested in it. I ran in, got the camera and snapped a few shots. After a bit, I came in and got a carrot slice. I took it out, broke it into small pieces and gave it to the squirrel. He started nibbling on one and the dog was being nice, so I decided to come in and show Heather the pictures. After that, I went back outside and the dog wasn't being so nice anymore. He was trying to smell the squirrel, but as he was doing it, he was picking it up and rolling it over with his nose and if it would move, he would paw at it to move it. So, I had to protect the squirrel from Ripley since it was so small and hurt already. I got Ripley in the house and went out to check on the squirrel. He was headed under the porch, so I threw the pieces of carrot under there and hoped he would eat. I figured that would be the end of it. Not so.. The next time I let Ripley out for a bathroom break, I went out with him just to be sure. Sure enough the squirrel was still out there and was already trusting of me. He ran straight towards me and jumped on my shoe. Ripley was occupied and didn't see him for awhile, but it didn't take too long and he was over there trying to sniff him again. Once I got him off my shoe, I gave him some peanuts, raisins and carrot pieces on the step of the porch. I left him there and we went inside. As I looked out the door, the squirrel was following us up the stairs (his foot was doing better, I guess) and he came right up to the door and looked in. Sorry, as cute as he is, I can't have a rodent in my house. A few hours went by and we went back outside. The squirrel was lazing in the sun and looked hot. I went in and got him a bowl of water and brought it out. He went straight through the bowl to get to me. After I settled him down, I took the bowl and tilted it towards him. After he realized what it was, he started drinking the water. He was a thirsty booger. After then, he started chasing my shoes again.. So, I got him to chase me to the only tree we have in the backyard; a huge pecan tree. He actually followed my shoe all the way into the tree. (I took it off and stepped it with my hand in it).. But, as soon as he got up there, he started back down.. We started running towards the house and he followed about half way. We went in and he stayed in the general area of the water bowl the rest of the afternoon. When the sun started to go down, I wanted to try one more time to get him into the tree. There is a nest in the lower portion and I figured he could stay warm in it, if I could get him there. As he followed me again, I let him get back on my shoe. As he sat on my shoe, I took it off and held it up in the portion of the tree I wanted him in. After a few minutes of trying to get him off my shoe, he finally stepped off into the tree. He tried to come back down, so I ran around the other side and tapped on the tree calling him. He came through the middle and saw me. As he started down that side I ran to the other side..I got in the middle and stayed. I ran back to the house and went in. I watched for a bit, but I never saw him come in the yard again. I went back out just as the sun was going behind the horizon and didn't see him in the yard or in the tree. I did see another squirrel in the tree, so maybe his own kind came to help, or maybe he's under the house. But, I guess I'll look for him again tomorrow. Tiny Baby is sick with a fever and I'm going to stay home with her tomorrow, so we'll see if the squirrel is still around.

Nice weekend..

It's Sunday afternoon and I've got a bit of time while the baby naps, so I figured I'd jot down a few words..

The Friday golf tournament was not the best tournament we've played in. Of course, I hadn't hit a ball since last November, so I wasn't expecting to do very well anyway (not like I EVER do very well) but I had a pretty hard time of it. The wind blowing 20-25mph didn't help matters, but my swing was way off kilter. I did hit some nice shots, and luckily when I didn't, my teammates did, which was more times than not. We were all rusty and finished 2 over par 74 for the day. Once we got in, we saw the handicapping was all screwed up. Teams that had players with handicaps in the teens were awarded more strokes than us. The lowest handicap we had the team was a 24, the rest were 36's. So, after seeing it, bringing it to the officials attention and them doing nothing about it, we knew we weren't going to be in the running for anything, so we left. It was a nice day out of work, but I really need to spend more time on the course if I expect to 50% of my shots decent.

Saturday, we went to the new GA Aquarium in Atlanta. Heather has some friends at work that have small children and the 3 families were meeting up there to check it out. We also took nephew Logan with us. (In picture with #1 Mom and Tiny Baby)(One of the families are "members" of the Aquarium and can gets guests in for 10% cheaper and through a special members entrance that lets you avoid the big crowded line at the regular entrance. After seeing the line at the regular entrance, that membership was well worth the price. So, we all met up there about 12:45.. What we didn't realize when we headed up there was that it was St. Patrick's Day and Atlanta was having a St Paddy's Day parade. The directions I printed off to get to the Aquarium led us right into the Parade area and since none of us are from that area, we had no way of knowing how to get around it. After a lot of guessing and then finally running into something that Heather found familiar since she had stayed up there two weeks ago, we were able to find the Aquarium about 30 minutes later than we expected. We met up with the other families (one family was actually following us through the maze that is Atlanta because she didn't know her way around..Lucky her, huh??) We went in and, oh my gosh, was it crowded!!! People everywhere.. I don't like crowds and neither does my family, but it really ended up not being so bad.. We got bumped, squashed, squeezed and all that, but it really could have been worse. The Aquarium is nice. I've only been to the TN Aquarium in Chattanooga, so that's all I have to compare it too. The lay out is kinda crappy in Atlanta. There is one big Atrium and the entrances to the exhibits are all around that central area. You get pretty well squeezed in some area, but the big viewing areas are HUGE and allow many, many people to stand in there and see the fish. I believe they all even have two decks for people to watch. They have some really neat stuff in there.. The coolest, to me, is the tunnel you walk though in the "Ocean Voyager" part of the aquarium. Water and fish on all sides of you except the floor. In that area is also a great array of sharks, rays, fish and even 3 whale sharks. They were awesome to see in person. There is another place that has Beluga Whales. They, too, were awesome.. And, I love jellyfish and I got to see those also.. Overall, a VERY nice trip, although, I think the next we go, we're going to go during the week and avoid the weekend crowds.

If you are interested in more pictures we took at the Aquarium, go here, click on "Trips" up top and click the GA Aquarium link. There are pics of the rays, whale sharks, black tips, piranhas, etc. As I said, it's worth going to Aquarium, but I would suggest going during the week to avoid the crowds that are there on the weekends. Also, Military Members get 10% off in the gift shop, which is a good thing since I spent over 75 bucks there.. LOL..

Sunday is here and Tiny Baby isn't feeling too well. We don't know if it's allergies or a cold. Whatever it is, it's gotten her really snotty and congested. She's run a very tiny fever today, so that's why we're thinking it may not be just allergies, as we thought two days ago. She doesn't seem to feel all that bad, but she is really tired, so we'll just see. If she isn't any better tomorrow, #1 Mom may stay home with her and take her to see the Doc..

Two weeks to Rescue Course... Wish me luck...

Just ramblings

You know, I really don't have anything to write this time.. So it's another one of those that I will just write and see what comes out.

Of course, with #1 Mom being home this week, the week has been all back to normal. Nothing major happened at work, no businesses ignored me, nothing bad happened at all..

Sometimes I hate to admit because of the "stigma" tied to it, but, it's really not that bad: I'm the captain of our Recreational Bowling League team we have at work. Back in 2002 when we started the team, I was approached by the founding member and he asked if I bowled. I did at all my previous bases, but I hadn't since I got out, at that time, 6 years ago. He asked if he put together a team would I bowl on it. I said sure. He put together the team and because I ran all the other teams, we kind of shared the Captain-ship. He PCS'ed (sent to another base for you non-mil folks) and I inherited the team. I am the only member that was there the first year and I'm there every year. We've never been that good, so it's a good thing it's a handicap league. Most of this year we've hovered around 10-13th place out of 14 teams. We're just there to have fun, socialize and have a few drinks.. Although, we started a late season push and are actually tied for 6th in the standings with 6 weeks left in the season. Although I don't bowling seriously, it is more fun when we're winning.

Speaking of fun and drinking, we have our first golf tournament of the year tomorrow. Golf is another sport I don't take seriously, but I do have more fun when I'm actually hitting the ball pretty good. We haven't played since last November, so it should be interesting tomorrow. We've got our "normal" foursome to play: Me, Sid, Big Dawg and PW. We'll see how it goes..

Although there has been no diving (still looking to do Rescue at the end of the month) I do have a new piece of gear. It's just a fun piece, but it's pretty cool. I heard a story about someone who had seen a guy with a dive hood that had a shark fin on the top. I thought that was cool and I started surfing the web looking for something like that.. After a few MONTHS of searching I finally found a place that makes custom dive hoods. And, one of them is a shark finned one. After looking at the ones they had for sale, they had another that caught my eye also. It's a "dragon" hood that has 4 spikes across the top and a small dragon tail off the back. The price of that one was the same as the one with the shark fin, so I decided to go with 4 spikes instead of one dorsal fin. You can pick your colors, so I did black on the side, a royal blue center section (because all of my wetsuits have royal blue on them somewhere) and silver spikes/tail so they would stick out. Recreational Scuba is supposed to be fun and if you can't dress fun every once in a while, then what's the use. I'm sure I'll get a few looks from the Tech/Cave divers next time I head to the Florida Springs. LOL.. Here's where I got the hood from. Terrapin Wetsuits. Chris is very nice to deal with and she cares about customer service. The hoods are on the "Accessories" page.

I just saw a new Subway commercial.. It has a couple ordering at a fast food drive thru.. He is ordering things like "Love Handles", "Blubber" and all those things you'll get if you eat too much fast food. His girlfriend in the car orders the same stuff as him, but instead of "blubber" she wants a "badonka-donk butt." Can anyone tell me what a "badonka-donk butt" is? I figuring it's one of those butts you see able to jiggle all over during the booty shakin' contests you see at bars.

I heard some music from a band I had never heard of until just recently. They've been out awhile, but I never heard them before because we no radio stations in this area that are worth listening too. They are all country, classic rock or chick stations. (I call ANY station that plays Justin Timberlake music a "Chick Station") I don't listen to any of that, so, to hear good music, I had to get XM.. Well worth the 10 bucks a month.. The band is called "Silvertide" If you like that old 80's-ish sound, they have it. Good sounding band.. I do have to mention another good song that's being played a good bit now, "Ladies and Gentlemen" by Saliva. Great rocking tune!!!

Well, there isn't really that much going on and Baby and #1 Mom are already in bed. I still need to walk the dog, so I'm going to sign off for now. Hope everyone is making it through the pollen storm we're having right now. I know I'm suffering.

Have a good one..

Long Week

So ends a long week. #1 Mom was on a business trip in Atlanta all last week and it was just me and Tiny Baby for the week. During the evenings, it was no big deal. She has a schedule and as long as your stick to it, it’s all good. The mornings, however, were a different story. I normally leave for work around 6:10 am. On most days, Tiny Baby isn’t even awake when I leave. So, for this week, I had to change up my routine. Well, in reality, I did everything the same every morning, but when I was ready to leave, I just waited for her to wake up. That ranged all week from 6:15 to 7:00. So, I did her morning stuff, got her to daycare and was anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour late for work each day. Again, no big deal. I just took that much leave that I was late each day. #1 Mom and I, both, were a bit hesitant about this week. I’ve had evenings that it was just the two of us, but never an entire day, much less a whole week. Well, I am happy to say, we blazed through the week without nary an incident. Everyone is good and I think even Heather was a bit surprised at how well we did.

Now, here’s a bit of Middle Georgia Better Business Bureau information for any of you in this area. If you need any glass replaced or repaired in your vehicle DO NOT use Safelite Auto Glass in Warner Robins. Here’s the story: I got my windshield broken on my way back from Florida back in November. After the cold/heat/cold/heat we’ve had, the crack stretched all the way across the windshield, so I figured it was time to replace it. I called every window business in the phone book and Safelite was the cheapest. So, I set an appointment with them for the coming Friday. Come Friday, the tech called and told me he had broken my windshield and wouldn’t be replacing mine that day. I was ok with that (things happen) and asked when he could do it. He said he’d be there Monday. Cool. Monday came and went with no word and no windshield. So, Tuesday morning, I called the company after they opened. I had already decided to talk to a Supervisor or Manager because I wanted to see what the excuse was and what they intended to do to keep me and any person I run into as a potential customer. When I asked for either of them, I was told they were too busy to come to the phone and what my call was about. So, I very politely told the lady the deal and what my problem was. She told me, very matter of fact-ly that no one worked on the weekend and the tech didn’t even get the windshield until Monday. I asked her how I was supposed to know that without a phone call from the company. She didn’t have an answer for that. So, I gave her my numbers (cell and work) and asked for either the Supervisor or Manager to call me. That was at 9:30 that morning. About 3:00, no call back from anyone at that time, the tech called and told me he was ready to do my truck. I told him about my phone call that morning and since his management had no concern about their customers when they had a question, I no longer needed his services. Not only did I not need his services, I would make damn sure that anyone that I had contact with would know what kind of service his company provided. (or didn’t provide, would be a better wording) The management of Safelight never once tried to call me or care about the fact that they lost a customer. It’s typical with today’s society. They figure one person can’t make a difference. Well, I’ve been telling this story by mouth all week, and now I’ve had time to sit down and type it up. Just goes to show, since they were the cheapest in town, you get what you pay for. If you want someone that cares about their customers and does great work, use Glass Doctor on Watson Blvd. 478-922-5339 And, my new windshield from Glass Doctor looks great!!

Now that I have the windshield fixed, does anyone know anybody looking for a slightly used Tundra? The backseat in my ’03 just isn’t real conducive for a baby seat. #1 Mom wants me to have a real back seat, so I need to upgrade to a 4 door. (oh darn) :) So, as soon as I get the time to wash it, I’ll be putting it up for sale, since I refuse to trade in at any car dealer.

Small Scuba Update: Dive Buddy Dee has scheduled her trip to get her Advanced Open Water rating. I’ll list her Congrats here when she passes her check dives. Good Luck!!!

A Real Role Model

A couple of things that bug me and then on to the real entry..

Anna Nicole Smith: WHO CARES???? Shut up about it already.

Hollywood Celebs and who they back in Politics: WHO CARES??? Celebrities live in a seriously convoluted world and don’t deal with “everyday” problems like the rest of us. How would they who the best person is run the country when they don’t even live in the “real” world?

(Stepping off of my soapbox)

Ok.. I was emailing with a friend of mine, LJ, the other day and she told me the coolest story. I just had to pass it along. So, with her permission:
LJ has two kids. Jake, 4 and Hannah is about 5-6 months. Jake is the reason or this story. LJ and her family live close to Philadelphia, PA and her husband (JP) and Jake are hockey fans. Of course, the Flyers are the NHL team for that area and little Jake had picked Michal Handzus as his favorite player. As with every major league sport, trades are inevitable and Handzus was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks before the 2006-2007 season started. Jake was crushed that he wouldn’t be able to see his favorite player in Philly anymore. Well, Jake and his father wrote a letter to Handzus and told him how upset Jake had been about the trade and they promised to come to Chicago to see him play. Handzus, in the meantime, had been injured and was recouping from knee surgery when he ran across Jake’s letter. Handzus actually called JP on his cell phone and asked if they were still coming to Chicago. When JP answered, “Yes,” Handzus said he would love to meet up with Jake.
During their trip to Chicago, Michal Handzus and his girlfriend met with Jake and his father. They all went to lunch together and then he took them to the Chicago locker room so they could meet the rest of the Blackhawks. LJ said Jake was so excited about the entire day. How cool is that???
You hear, almost daily, in the news about Professional Athletes getting in trouble, beating their wives, doing drugs, cheating, etc, etc, etc. Every time they mess up, it’s on the news. But, hardly ever, do you get hear a story that is actually “news worthy” because it’s a feel good story. People want dirt, people want others to do bad so their own lives don’t look so bad from a different perspective. I, for one, like the good news stories. This is a feel good story about a professional athlete that took time out of his schedule to help out a genuine fan. A real “nice guy” in the world of cry-baby, spoiled brat, millionaire athletes. (Note: I’m not talking about just hockey players, I’m lumping ALL professional athletic forums in that negative generalization) I know there are many “nice guys” in professional sports, so don’t think I dislike them all.. I’m just noting you see and hear more about the bad stuff they do than the good stuff.. This says a lot about Michal Handsuz.. I don’t know the guy from Adam’s Housecat, but I’m a fan now because he’s “keeping it real.” Of course, no news media deemed this meeting worthy because Jake is just a regular kid. So, I’ll use my own "media outlet" to tell the story. On that note: Please remember that this is a special thing that Mr. Handsuz did for Jake out of the goodness in his heart. It's not an everyday occurance that's mentioned here and don't get upset if your favorite athelete doesn't do the same. Sometimes timing is just as important as the request itself. Timing just happened to be perfect in this instance.
A salute to you Mr. Handsuz. And, if my Thrashers can’t win Lord Stanley’s Cup, I hope your Blackhawks do. (Although, with the 2007 stats, it’s not going to happen for either of them this year)

The picture is Handsuz, JP and Jake while they were in Chicago.