Sharp Family Blog: Rodents can be Stubborn

Charlie just came in an asked to be picked up and then Katia came in and layed her head in my lap for a pet. I put Charlie down after some snuggling. Mom is pushing for me to read the dog obedience book, but have homework, these Blog responsibilities, etc.
It is getting harder to get Charlie to go "potty' recently. She is holding out for the dinette floor. She has piddled twice there to the tune of at least half a cup each time............ I was truly amazed and impressed, but actually do not enjoy cleaning up these messes. Last night or early this morning Katia left me five really neat post Christmas presents in our dark bedroom. I am learning to slide my feet forward in the dark as to not "step" on anything so that this time all that was required was some tissue and handwashing (washed my feet in the shower later).
I used some Cortisone creme from Costco and my hands were better today; I intend on putting more on tonight and checking the results. Wanted to put a little dab on a sore lick spot of Charlie's but Mom said no and reminded me that Charlie "was her dog". Her dog require a lot of "my work".
I am teaching Charlie to retreive the tennis ball, what is she teaching me?

Sharp Family Blog: The White Rodent Strikes Again.... and again ,,, and

Charlie is wearing me out ......... I was responding to Melanie's Ebay experiences and noticed out the corner of my eye........ the white rodent was viciously attacking the white fur rug in the computer room. I get very tired recently with the mid-night potty break in the freezing rain and or dry cold and then no afternoon nap. My eyes are just plain tired. Calculus is more fun not having physics hanging over my head. I can take Physics later after I finish Calculus, but think it is much harder than chemistry or math. Too much theory, poor book, and not enough time and teaching to tie it together to help you to really understand the concepts. Charlie has a good appetite and her weight is going up and her legs are stretching down further. She will by spayed in 12-14 weeks, the hernia will be repaired, and she will get another DHLP and corona shot, and her first rabie shot.
Katia is eating so much better and she and Charlie have a great time play-fighting. When Katia gets too rough Charlie makes the circuit of living room-hall-kitchen-dinning room and back to living room, sometimes she includes running behind the large sofa. She tries hard to convince Katia that her bed is "safe from attack". but recently Katia has continued to "harass" Charlie even there. When Charlie has had enough and is getting tired of being Katia's acrobatic toy she askes to be put up in our reading chairs and removed from the "killer dog"; well that is what she says.
Her little fierce bark is quite cute, but realize it could really be annoying.

Neat doggy tricks

I just thought I would throw up, I mean out, Ada's latest adventure in "things she can eat but not digest". This time she had eaten the 4 paper towels that we had used to soak up all the grease off of a bunch of sausage we had cooked. Some how she snuck it out of the garbage and swallowed it whole. It came back up with her breakfast all over the living room floor.

And then later that night (after she was fed dinner) she managed to get the dog food container open and ate her dog food all night long until she was sick and woke me up with a wimper to go outside early this morning. I did not watch to see what happened next but I am sure it was not pretty. Her stomach was quite blotted last I looked.

Dogs. They aren't very smart.

Buyers remorse

Well.... I have been surfing around Ebay for months now looking over the various things that a person like me might look at. Software, jewelry, Rhodesian Ridgeback clocks. You name it I have considered it. Anyway, I finally got up the nerve to bid on something that comes with a hefty price tag, a laptop computer that I have wanted for a long time. You ask, "why do you need ANOTHER computer?" Well, my hubby is somewhat coveting of his laptop and I cannot run my programs that I use at work at home because they need a PC. And when I am gone on all these trips that I have planned for these next few months it would be nice to be able to blog to all of you. I also hate sitting in that dark, lonely, cold room we call an office. Also, if we ever did have a baby the crib would go right where the desktop computer is right now.Have I made enough of a case yet?? I had convinced myself lastnight that I did need it.

So.... I found a computer that I wanted on Ebay and came up with a mental price ( you have heard of that term before, right?? it is very different from what the actual price you end up paying will be) and waited until there was about 5 minutes left on the auction and made my bid. And for about 1 minute I was the highest bidder. Then I refreshed my screen and someone had outbid me by $10. Well ok, I can go up another $50 I suppose, what would it hurt. This process continued about 2 more times until I had sold my soul for that laptop in a mere 5 minutes flat. In the end I came up as winning bidder and my heart was pounding through my chest with addrenaline. I was in a slight manic state from all the excitement when it hit me; I just bought a laptop, WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING?? I am not made of money. I already have two computers. I think it is an addiction that I have, where about every 6 months or so, I get this itching to make a purchase that must exceed $500 and until I satisfy that need I can't sleep or eat or anything.

Soon after the manic occured it quickly ran out and the depressive state set in. I feel like I was used by the whole ebay machine that somehow thrives off of my emotions. So now I await my laptop with a heavy heart. My husband assures me that as soon as I am beating him at Warcraft III on it I will change my mind. I don't know if I will ever be able to completely love it, we will just have to wait and see. However, I vow never to enter that site of lust and greed and glory they call ebay.com. We can only hope my father never sets mouse apon this site, we could lose him forever. Oh, that's right, his fear of the "used" could never be overcome.

Please keep me in your thoughts as I work through these troubling days as I wait for my laptop to arrive. (I even forked out an extra $18 for 2 day shipping!!!)

CO Poisoning

Well, we woke up to smoke throughout the house once again. I think we have finnally come to terms with the fact that the wood stove and the forced air heater are incompatible. For some reason when the heater turns on it sucks air through the woodstove and brings hefty amounts of smoke out into our livingroom. So I think after a year of fighting it we have decided to just leave our heater off and just use the woodstove in the winter.

Hopefully we haven't suffered any longterm effects. Just a few lost braincells (one's I am sure I didn't need anyway.)

We are having a light shower of snow that is sticking this morning. Ada and I ran around in it breifly before we both got cold.

The Depths

Readers wanted. Traci Christine Sharp Porter, pen name perhaps Simone Payton, would like some feedback, lots of feedback from the chapters she sent. Come on now, you can spend an hour here or there to help a struggling artist.

To Mother: The rest of the story has lots of depressing/violent scenes. It has good times too, but I thought I should prepare you since you don't like those kind of stories. Focus on the art of the writing, the voice.

Greyson? (You're brain is in the academic, analyzing mode)

Mel? (What a good way to pass time while away from your husband)

Dad? (Read to Charli. She may be able to identify with the protaganist.)

I gained 10 pounds as of New Years. Weighed 142!! That's only been topped by pregnancy weight. perhaps I'll give birth to a 10 pound fudge/chex mix/peanut brittle blob.
I'm happy to report that without all that chocolate and all those naps, I've lost 3 pounds and am back to my Tae Bo each morning.


Had a great Christmas seeing all of you. I still think we should rent a big old cabin in Bend or Sunriver and skip the gifts next year.

charli's owners

That glorified rat is missed by its breeding parents. Please take some pictures since I promised you'd keep in touch to let them know how her...snicker...growing is coming. I'll send their mailing address later if you don't have it.

Greta is getting increasingly naughty. She chewed my earphone, then ran away wildly, chewing edges of couches, shoes, ducking from me, chewing again, then caught. Oh and to the prison. Locked away. Thankfully Lindy wears her out wrestling most of the time. Greta does ask from time to time how that dwarfed little orphan is managing at those tall people's house.

Welcome to 2005

It seems that we all have survived another year. I would say that the last year appeared to end well for everyone. I know it was a good one for me and Greyson. I think we have this being married thing all worked out to a nice system.

It looks like my winter/spring is going to be very busy. I am going to be leaving for Priest Rapids Dam from Jan. 16 through Feb. 2nd and then I will be working on various other jobs in E. Washington through the end of April. I will probably be on a "gone for 2-3 weeks, home for 1 week" schedule during that time. Hopefully I can talk me hubby in to coming to visit me every now and then. Good thing he has that portable laptop.