Some Times You Just Have to Smile

A tender hearted friend of mine found a stray labradoodle pup in the parking lot of a grocery store. Worried that the little guy would be hit by a car she scooped him up and took him home. After receiving no responses from her lost/found postings she agonized about what to do with him. She already has two very active dogs of her own and wasn't quite sure if she could support a third. She finally found a placement for him at Atlanta Pet Rescue but continued to watch for adoption status every day.

As far as whether she made the right decision about what to do with the little guy, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Below is the picture of the pup with his new adopted owner.

Happy Earth Day

Recently Cara and I hooked up to go to the zoo. The weather was beautiful fantastical and she is the best person to go with because of her love of all things animals. It was like having my own personal docent at each of the exhibits because she could talk at length about each animal and their habitats. It had been many years since I had been to the zoo and I admit that I could not even name half of the animals like the wart hog or the even more bizarre naked mole rat - ewwww!

I could have lingered all day and watched the primates. It was so easy to read their communication since it is so very much like our own, go figure, that it was like watching a soap opera.

My thoughts today are with Marina, the Beluga whale at the Atlanta Aquarium who died last December. Watching her gave me one of the most peaceful experiences that I can ever recall. Hopefully attached is a quick video I took last year.



On today of all days, god bless them all, large, small, ugly or cute, even the naked mole rats.

My Confession

It started years ago in the shower while living with an old boyfriend. Desperately trying to get ready for work I was running through my shower tasks and there it was. At least 4 or 5 inches long and just my size. The weight was beautiful in my hand without being too heavy. The color wasn't barbie pink or sunshine yellow either, it was, well, manly, which gave it an even more dark and mysterious allure. I just couldn't resist it any more and I finally snatched up my boyfriend's razor and proceeded to use it to shave my legs. With much exhilaration I shaved long strokes until each stubble was turned effortlessly into smooth bare skin. I had cleanliness envy.

The habit started small, just once in a blue moon. But I just couldn't resist the perfectly smooth shaves I got from his razor. Then one day my boyfriend stomped out of the shower with little pieces of bloody toilet paper stuck to his face with the look of death and I really couldn't blame him. After several months of this he got pretty tired of his shredded hamburger face so he found the solution. He bought me one of my very own.

Over the years I've watched the evolution of men's razor's and I even got a free sample of the new Gillette 5 blade razor. I can't say for sure if adding razor blades makes my shave any smoother but just the site of that mac daddy shaver had its merits in owning one. Because the 5 blades makes it more expensive I'll probably just stick to my old 2 blade shaver but it was fun to try out the new model and I just had to smile at the motto on the box "The Best A Man Can Be".

What's for Dinner?

Super-Fast Orange-Ginger Chicken and Rice

I am always on the prowl for quick and easy recipes. Here is an easy one that came out well for dinner and is low-fat. Although not a traditional chicken and rice dish since most of it comes out of a bottle or mix it was fast which merits perks for me for a mid-week meal.

- Bottle of Iron Chef Orange Sauce Glaze with Ginger (found with the bar-be-cue sauces and marinades at Publix).
- Boneless, Skinless, Chicken breasts
- Yellow Rice Mix (my favorite brand is Vigo)

Place chicken in baking dish and glaze generously with orange-ginger sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes - 1 hour. In the meantime make yellow rice mix. After chicken is cooked, cut into small chunks. Mix the chunks of chicken with the left over orange-ginger sauce from the baking dish into the rice. Serve and enjoy.

I still have a leftover baked chicken breast and will probably cut it up and use it in a salad.

I love to hear about recipes at any time!

Sophia's Vacation

This is your rooooving reporter Sophia providing the dish on my vacation while my human was away. The first couple of days I was sad and did not eat well. But the owner fed me lots of treats and I got a bone every day so soon I was quite spoiled. There were two beagles in the house and at first I was quite frightened of them. I wore a muzzle for a few days because I thought the best approach was to show them who's boss. After I got used to them being around I realized all they wanted to do was play. Soon we became fast friends and played all the time!

The owner even had a back yard so we raced back and forth at top speed. I am the fastest one and not even my human can catch me. I also got to take naps with the beagles. Sometimes they snore cuz they have those funny looking noses but I didn't mind because I love being part of the pack.

I'm still not over my fear of other dogs yet because I get pretty upset when other dogs come around me when I'm walked. At least I've made some new friends and learned that sometimes you gotta take a chance on others in order to get the rewards.

That's all for now,
Sophia

Everybody Loves an Irish Girl

Introducing...(drum roll)...Karen's new blog

Everybody Loves an Irish Girl

The Big Banana

Last week I spent the week in a training class in New York. I came upon the Naked Cowboy as soon as I hit Time’s Square. There he was, in all of his shining glory, and I just couldn’t resist the pose. I noticed right off that he was, well, very endowed, but I can say honestly that I was never close enough to verify the claim. I decided the city should not be called "The Big Apple" and instead should now be called, you guessed, "The Big Banana".

The class was in Rockefeller Center so each morning a co-worker and I walked about 6 blocks to work. NY was a difficult place for me because I am directional challenged. I basically started using a Starbucks counting method to get me back and forth to work. I knew I had to go 2 Starbucks up and 1 Starbucks to the right. According to the Starbucks website there are 68 Starbuck shops within a 5 mile radius of the hotel. That’s no joke either. I was happily jacked up through my entire visit! I guess I was thinking that there would only be one building but of course things are never that simple. The plaza contained about six buildings. As I rounded the corner I heard a loud crowd screaming. Whipping around I scanned the area suspiciously. A screaming crowd was not what I wanted to hear in New York. Suddenly I realized that behind me was the Today show window where everyone stands to watch the show and get on TV. My building was across the street. It really was a nice daily treat for my ego. By the end of the week I became accustomed to the roaring crowd and as I rounded the corner I nodded towards them and said in my head “Thank you! Thank You All Very Much!”

It was pouring down rain by lunch time and I discovered that all of the buildings in the Plaza were connected by underground tunnels around the ice rink that contained little shops and eating places. I ate a sandwich and watched people skating at the rink. Before I even looked I knew he would be there. As I scanned the ice skaters I saw all of the tourists clomping around the rink like they had lead weights inside their boots and there he was. The one lone ice skater. The guy that could actually skate. In the center of the rink, with his shiny slick red and black sequenced dance outfit, was the star of the show. He was practicing one tiny part of his routine over and over again. First the tight tight spin, then the quick stop with the pointing of the toe, and finally the over head sweep, hand drop, and the grand flourish. Silently I munched my sandwich and watched the flourish for about a dozen times over and over again. I tried very hard to be cultured. I tried to be posed and enamored of his skill. But, eventually it happened, and to be honest I knew all along it would, the flourish had gotten to me and it started with a smile and ended with a gut bursting, eye tearing, howling laugh in which I had to remove myself completely from the area. I could hear my mom’s voice in my head saying “I just can’t take you kids anywhere”.

On Wednesday we were all taking a quiz and we heard the unmistakable music of REM shaking the windows. Apparently they were on the Today show for their album debut. My table looked at each other and mouthed “REM” with eye bugging resonance. I was tempted to sneak out but my adult side stayed rooted to the chair and finished the quiz. Luckily someone had snuck away and got photos with his cell phone. We passed the cell phone all around the class under the table. I guess passing notes in class just isn’t what it used to be. I imagined the teacher saying “Now, give me that note right this instance!” That evening a bunch of us were walking to dinner and saw the Rolling Stones coming out of a hotel and getting into a car. There were tons of people surrounding them and there were no less than 20 patrol cars. They literally had a presidential entourage as they traveled. The sirens were full blast and police cars surrounded their car and escorted them through traffic lights without stopping. We read in the paper that they were in town for the premier of ‘Shine a Light’. I have to admit that I did not actually see the Stones through all of the crowd but could only make out the unmistakable tuft of hair whipping out from Keith Richards. Alas, such is my brush with fame. The next morning I was waiting for my entourage to arrive to escort me to work but they must have been late so I left without them. Damn paparazzi!

K. came to see me over the weekend. She only asked to do one thing and that was to be kissed at the top of the Empire State Building. So on Saturday off we went. I was amazed that even at my age I was still giddy and excited at seeing the Empire State Building. As we wound our way up to the top we heard many tidbits about the building such as that it has over 1,000 businesses with its own ZIP Code, that at least 32 people jumped to their deaths off the observation deck on the top during the deck's operation and that the metal-plated tower on top of the building was planned as a zeppelin port. Yet it was used for only one zeppelin landing because the winds were too strong at such heights making mooring dangerous and also because the golden age of zeppelins was quickly slipping into the past. We also heard all of the construction Eric-like facts such as that the building incorporates 10 million bricks, 1,886 kilometres (1,172 miles) of elevator cables, 6,400 windows and weighs 331,000 tons. I was surprised how crowded it was at the top. We were virtually elbow to elbow in most places and I suddenly felt very shy about that kiss that I had promised. K. leaned in and all I could muster was one quick peck followed by “Hey look over there…”. But I saw it in her eyes and knew she was disappointed. The more we walked around the observation deck and looked at the view such as the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler building, Ellis Island, the more I became aware of that fact that we would never look at these sites for the first time together again. There would only be one first time. I thought about the many first times in my life. The night I was baptized in my church as an adult on the evening of Easter several years ago, the first time I ate caviar (it was awful), the look in the eyes of my parents when I graduated college and on and on the memories go. I knew that first times made an impression. I had vowed to myself long ago to try to live every moment with intention and without regrets. I vowed to try to live each day with love, honor, and dignity to God, myself, and others in the best way that I can even though I often fail. It’s the trying part that matters. With that in mind, I came upon K. from behind, twirled her around, and gave her the kiss that expressed all of these sentiments that were in my heart. I love New York!