Dumb and Dumber

Well, the impossible has happened and we've added two new additions to our LBG clan at the house. Say hello to Dozer and Bullitt...



Dozer is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. We think he's got some boxer in him seeing the size of his noggin. He's 85+ lbs of pure dumb love. He thinks he's a 20 lb lap dog and invites himself right up into your lap whenever he feels like it. He's the sweetest guy you've ever met and is afraid of his own shadow. Bullitt is a shepard/cattledog mix who weighs in at 21 lbs, but she's only 3 months old, so we expect to see her eventually get to 70 or so lbs. She hasn't learned how to control her front and back end in unison, so she wobbles all over the yard and house. Proof that the tail sometimes does wag the dog.

Dozer's got an interesting history in that he's a hurricane katrina survivor. He and his mate, at the time, were locked in a shed with another dog before the hurricane hit. Five weeks later, they were discovered in the shed, barely alive and emaciated to the point of being 40 lbs. the third dog died and dozer and his companion did not survive off the other dog's body. they didn't eat for 5 weeks. So they were both nursed back to health and his companion was adopted last week to a good home. Knowing this history, Operation Kindness was hesitant to adopt him by himself for fear of him suffering from separation anxiety. So, in comes Bullitt. We had seen both pups on the website and looked at both. We loved them both and now they get to live with us together.

Dozer's manage to leave his mark in every inch of the house. Bullitt has managed to leave presents in almost every room, so crate training will ensue. Not fun, but they need to know where and where not to go.

We are overjoyed and happy to have some new pups. We'll always remember Indy and move forward with Dozer and Bullitt.

Portugal vs. Brazil

Center holds it, HOLDS IT, HOLDS IT!!!!
quite possibly, the best Simpsons episode ever. it's to bad we can't watch the rest of the episode - it's when Homer buys a gun.

BORING!!!

An old football injury rears its ugly head...er, face

Being a homeowner is not easy. Take my latest boggle for instance. My wife and i spent all day sunday wiring the living room and patio for surround sound. She spent the day in the attic stringing wire and passing the ends thru the ceiling or down the wall to the outlets where they plug into the receiver. I spent the day 30 feet up on a ladder precariously teetering above death so I got the full impact of contact when watching Fight Club. Enough to knock pictures off the wall. After a full day of this, we got to the point to having to just cut and strip the wire that ran from the wall outputs to the back of the receiver.

To preface this next part, you should know that i spent a year and a half in Lubbock wiring cars with new stereos and speakers for beer money back when i was 19. It's a very professional and defined process of sticking the ends of the wire in your mouth and stripping the plastic from the copper wiring.

So when i am wiring for new systems, these days, i always go back to my old days of drunken attempts of installation at four in the morning sitting in some coed's trunk. In doing this last night, i pulled my front tooth out.

Let me repeat that. I pulled my front tooth out.

Back in second grade (in the early 18th century), some kid elbowed me in the mouth while playing football on the playground and knocked out HALF of my front tooth. He chipped it at such an unusual angle that it didn't just knock out the whole thing, but just the bottom half. I've since lived with half of a real tooth and the bottom half being a fake. A compound of some type that was made to look like a real tooth. This never worked because my teeth aren't white. They are a marble color and the lower half of this tooth was always bright and sparkly white. Not very convincing.

So almost 20 years later, i inadvertently removed that compound with some speaker wire. It gave my wife a good laugh. For 20 straight minutes.

And now i look like i should be working on the Nascar circuit. Or killing possums...

edit: it's 2:30 pm now and i have a new tooth. Dr. A did a phenomenal job replacing it and i'm thankful.

and as an aside to previous jokes i made about Lowes and Home Depot, i figured out that i've spent $1800 in the last three weeks at both places.

And the 2006 Man of the Year goes to...

I love the smell of plumber's putty in the morning

I installed my first kitchen faucet yesterday afternoon. I expected it to go easier than it did, but that sink gave it up like the first time i had sex.
me: oh god, is it in there yet?
her: no, keep trying, you'll find it eventually...

most of the effort was getting the previous faucet out. 11 years of rust had built up and no matter what amount of WD40, Coca Cola or naval jelly i used, it wasn't budging, but Lowe's, my new mecca, handed me an oddly shaped wrench that did just the trick. after an hour's worth of grunting and swearing, i got that bastard out and managed to assemble the new one and get it working.

so yes, we finally moved into the new house. it's so utterly exciting that at times, i just start giggling like a 14 year old girl in a Bon Jovi concert. We spent the last week trying to wipe out all remnants of the bubble gum pink and navy blue paint in two of the bedrooms. but with some elbow grease and a ton of Kills, we managed to make the rooms look somewhat human again. We're about 70% unpacked, but most of that goes to random piles all over the house. i still haven't found any of my boxers yet, but i'm discovering that going commando is a viable alternative during Texas summers...

Unfortunately, we did have one tragedy and i say with a very heavy heart that we lost Indy this week during the move. On our way back from an 18 hour day, her collar broke and she was pulled under the wheel of my truck when she saw the opportunity to find freedom from my truckbed. Her spine was crushed and we had to have her put to sleep. Luckily, we were able to say goodbye to her before she received the shot that let her lazily drift off, but we will miss her dearly. We love you sweetie, you'll always be in our hearts.

As for being a new homeowner, it's very overwhelming. I jokingly mentioned that Home Depot and Lowe's have recently added large wings to their local stores from sales they've made from me. I'm personally greeted by first name when i walk in (usually more than once a day) and my credit is never turned down. On the upside, my wife and i have become amateur electricians, plumbers and gardeners. I'm eager to empty out the garage of boxes and junk and want to try and figure out how to Tivo future episodes of Pimp my Ride as soon as i can find a second to sit down and turn the tv on.

Hopefully, we'll have the house in full running condition in the next month and can sit back and enjoy our new adventure.