Talon

My dog, Talon, is cracking me up right now. I know I'm terrible for teasing him but it's too cute for words. Every time I give him a treat he wants to save for later he tries to find a good hiding spot for it. I usually pretend that I'm not paying attention but today I've been keeping watch and each time he thinks he found a place he looks up and sees me watching so he picks it up and searches for another nook. He's tried three times now and he's caught me looking...hahaha...so now he's running around whining with the treat in his mouth trying to find a place where I can't see him. Awww...I'll give him a break and pretend to ignore him.

My Little Insurance Policy

A creepy thing happened to me yesterday.  A middle eastern middle aged man followed me home when I took my dog out for a walk.  I didn't even realize he was following because there were several people out for a walk that evening the same as any evening in my neighborhood.  He was on his cell phone speaking to someone in another language.  He had walked past me a couple of times back and forth and I assumed he was just one of those fidgety types but every time I would stop because my dog would want to sniff and mark he would stop as well.  I decided to end the walk and entered the locked gate of my complex shutting the gate door firmly behind me.  As I walked towards my apartment I noticed he had managed to enter and was continuing to follow me.  So, I stopped and turned not wanting him to know which apartment I lived in.  He approached me and asked for my phone number (are you friggin' kidding me!), I told him very politely "I'm sorry but I have a boyfriend." and I stood there until I knew for sure he had walked away.  I entered my apartment and bolted the door.  Later that night I told my boyfriend what had happened so he can keep an eye out when he comes home to my place after work.  I pulled out the gun my daddy gave me (of course he taught me how to use it), gave it a little pat and set it next to me on the bed where it will be every night from now on.  My little insurance policy.  You can bet I won't go down easy.  I'll take someone with me.

A Message To Me

The people have caught the hate frenzy!  The most important thing is to not care what people around you are doing and do what only you can control.  I can control myself.  I’m not going to worry about the ignorance of people and continue to educate myself, to stay upbeat because I have so much to look forward to and look the haters in their eyes and smile because at the end of the day feeling myself smile makes me happy.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (The Book)

I started reading Bram Stoker's Dracula a couple of days ago and I unexpectedly like it. I avoided reading the book because I had already seen the movie and thought it would bore me but I was pleasantly mistaken. I'm a little more than half way through the book. Pretty Mina has already died a second time and Van Helsing has already suspected that Jonathan was also a victim of the dreaded Count Dracula. I'm on pins and needles to find out how true to the book the movie was. I'll soon find out...

Dinner w/ Friends

I meant to write this a few days ago but I've been busy with my book that I kept getting sidetracked.  I had dinner a few nights ago with four friends of mine that I hadn't seen in a very long time.  We had so much fun catching up on what everyone was doing now.  They all looked great and happy.  One of the gals is hoping to retire in a year or two depending on how her stocks do, another just won a medal for completing her first 1/2 marathon, another is training for her first 1/2 marathon and last but not least the most animated of the group is very determined to stay single.  Hahaha... One of them, Carol, gave me some good advice regarding my book and I have definitely been thinking on it (I just don't know where to begin).  I know once my book is complete and I'm satisfied with it, I'm going to need a graphic artist to help me design the cover and I'm going to have to write a good descriptive summary.  It's going to be a lot of hard work.  The book itself is a joy to write because I love writing but it is my first time dabbling in this venture, of course, whether the book fails or succeeds it's not going to stop me from writing another and another and another.

Update - Family & Friends Should Butt Out (In My Opinion)

I heard that the husband came to his senses and apologized to his wife and posted on Facebook to stop the negative comments about his wife.  Well, I should say so!  People were calling her a prostitute without knowing the facts and making assumptions with their small little minds.  She is the daughter of a judge and is well educated.  I'll tell you what, I can bet that 90% of those commenter's barely finished high school.  She studied law before marrying that almost 40 snot nose whelp.  In my opinion, he married well while she drew the short straw.  Poor thing.  Love can be blind.  I'm hoping that the blinders will soon be lifted from her eyes before she has any miniatures of him running around.  I know I sound harsh but in order to be respected you have to show respect yourself.  I don't think his family even knows who paid for all of his trips abroad.  His wife's family, that's who.  He probably pretended he paid for all of his airfare.

Family & Friends Should Butt Out (In My Opinion)

I just heard a story today about a young newly married couple who are already having issues in their marriage.  He made three mistakes in one day.  First, he yelled at his wife in front of his family.  You should never do that.  Keep your issues private between husband and wife behind closed doors.  Second, he aired his marriage problems on Facebook allowing his family to get involved with their opinions, of course, they sided with him.  His wife saw the comments further alienating her to him and his family.  Third, when she walked out the door after he yelled at her, he didn't go after her.  He should have gone after her to at least talk to her, it was an opportunity for him to discuss their problems in private without his nosy family butting in with their two cents.  Apparently, he's not ready to cut the umbilical cord and stand on his own like a real man.

Sad Ending

Today I met an interesting man. A sad man. He and his beautiful English Golden Retriever sat at the table next to mine. He is in his 70's and lives in the white van he pulled up in. I felt sorry for him. His blue eyes looked sad and beaten. He is retired and disabled (a cancer survivor) he explained that most senior housing programs in the Bay Area don't accept dogs of the Retriever's size. He said he made a commitment to his dog nine years ago to take care of him and he was going to do that even if they have to live in a van for the rest of their lives. He does odd jobs here and there and lives on his social security. What a sad end to a long life.

Lunch and a Movie

I had a lunch and movie date with a very good friend of mine today. We had lunch at the Yard House in Santana Row. I ordered the Vodka shrimp pasta and she ordered the Gardein Thai Chicken Noodle Salad. Both dishes were delicious. She let me try her salad, I'm not a huge salad eater but I will definitely order that dish next time. After lunch we walked over to the theater in Santana Row and watched "The Help". In my opinion it was a very good movie. Very well done. I was blubbering throughout most of it. It's a definite must see. The acting was superb. I loved every minute of it.

The Boys Kayaking in Santa Barbara 2011

The Boys Kayaking in Santa Barbara.  Filmed with my iPad.

My Boys Kayaking in Santa Barbara

My Boys Goofin' Around

My Boys At The Wharf In Santa Barbara

Solvang, CA

The Boys In Solvang