Finding the Best Solution

  Our new puppy Zoey is already a celebrity in the neighborhood.  We've had neighbors drop by with gourmet peanut butter dog bones, and someone else gave us two coats that their dog had outgrown.  We will begin our sixth week tomorrow, and she is settling in beautifully.  I believe that puppies train us on how to care for them, and then we have a wonderful life together.  In six weeks, we have learned that Zoey will need to go out as soon as her feet hit the floor, and so I'm happy to say that accidents are few and far between.  It seems that for a small dog, she really loves to be outside.  She will go for walks several times each day, as long as we stop and talk to everyone.  She loves to be petted, and looks for the neighborhood kids who generously give her extra hugs.
    We are working on getting Zoey to come when she is called.  It's fair to say that progress is slow.  It is pretty easy to get her to find me when we are in the house.  I just have to make one of the toys squeak, and she will come running.  What happens outside is an entirely different story.  She bounces over to me, then darts off to chase a leaf, or anything else that has her attention.  This is a problem if she won't come to me, and I need to leave for work.  I need to resolve this issue quickly.
    The solution is the thirty foot training leash.  It gives her plenty of room to run around, but I can get her into the house quickly.  Of course, I just pull on the leash while calling her name.  I also praise her for coming towards me.  A friend also suggested finding a "high value" reward of some kind.  I've decided to use something that she will never get as part of her daily routine, which rules out all the toys, as well as dog bones,  ice cubes, and frozen string beans.
    Zoey went crazy when I microwaved some pre-cooked bacon strips for BLT sandwiches. I believe that bacon may be something impossible to resist.  I'm thinking the real thing is probably healthier than the processed dog treats. I like the fact that I can crumble it up into tiny bite sized pieces.
     I begin by letting her smell the bacon, then I walk into another room, calling Zoey as I go.  Of course, she is hooked, and does not leave my side.  Nevertheless, I reward her with a tasty morsel.  After a minute, I go back to the kitchen, and call again.  She bounced to my side, and gobbled up her treat.  I try and let enough time go by that she becomes preoccupied with a toy, then call again and reward.  After fifteen minutes, we have done this about ten times.  Half the bacon strip is gone, and I decide to stop and try again the next time we are outside.  Even though she is on the leash,  it works beautifully.  I know that we can use bacon for training, as long as I use it sparingly.  We will spend a few minutes each day, both inside and out working on this.  Sometimes,  I will not have the treats, but I can use praise and affection as my reward.  It is all about consistency.  I want her to know what I expect, and what she can expect in return.  This is the foundation of a beautiful friendship....and the beat goes on....the beat goes on.........
     

Winter Break

   Yikes!  I cannot believe that I have not posted for a month.  During that time, I've taken two vacations, got a new puppy, had lots of snow days, and finished my taxes.  One trip was a family reunion with Ron's siblings, and we were lucky that Matt could meet us there.  We all spent a few days in Vegas, enjoying the warm weather.  We had enough luck in the casinos to play for a while on house money.  My favorite thing was the day trip to the Hoover Damn.  It was incredible!  This massive project was completed in the 1930's,  under budget and two years before the deadline.  Workers made twice the national average wage, which was about $0.50 per hour, and it was built with math and muscle.
    We picked up our new puppy, Zoey, on the way home from the airport.  We took the Red Eye flight from Vegas, and the breeder was sort of on the way home.  She is a sixteen week Cavalier Spaniel, and she is doing great!  She has slept through the night from day one, and that is a big help.  It is a lot to ask a puppy to train in the middle of the coldest winter in years.  We have had her for four weeks, and we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The weather is getting warmer, and we can go for short walks.  Once the snow is melted and the mud is gone, I know she will love her back yard.
     My second mini vacation took me to Florida to visit my folks for the annual St. Patrick's long weekend.  We had another block party with seventy neighbors complete with catered meal, and a DJ.  The weather cooperated, and we soaked up the sunshine and vitamin D.  We also attended a fiftieth anniversary party, and had a wonderful time.  It was in a "Happy Days" themed diner with karaoke, and we sang and danced. Usually we bring back some warm weather and sunshine, but Mother Nature had different ideas this year.
    I cannot wait for this winter to be finished, as it has been raining for the past two days.  Every day that the sun shines, and the temperature gets close to forty degrees, I feel encouraged that better days are coming.  New England certainly paid its dues this winter, and I hope that means a beautiful spring and a fantastic summer......and the beat goes on.......the beat goes on.........
     

When in Doubt--Chicken Out

    This has been a good week to stay home and watch the Olympics.  New England is in the midst of our second huge storm this week.  Thursday was an all day snow event, and we were clobbered with another foot of heavy wet snow.  It's been snowing lightly since noon today, just enough to make it treacherous.             Cape Cod area is getting the jackpot, which means they will get the most snow.  There is another snow and rain mix scheduled to hit on Tuesday, then in typical New England form, we may see fifty degrees on Friday.  It will be nice to see a lot of the snow piles melt.  It will begin to feel like the end of winter.
   The snowstorms gave us a good excuse to stay home and watch the Olympics on TV.  I watched most of the US vs Russian hockey game early this morning.  The game was very exciting, and the US won in a shoot-out.  This was not a medal game, and it is quite possible that these two teams may meet again with the gold medal on the line.  Some very familiar NHL superstars are playing for their home countries, and teammates may face off during the games.  Several Boston Bruins are playing for Canada, Sweden, Russia, and other countries.  It must be a thrill to represent their home countries, although I will always root for the United States.
     My favorite events are the ice dancers, and I also saw the luge and skeleton races, as well as the snowboard and some of the skiing events.  The US has not done very well in the speed skating events, and I'm not sure if we have any more chances to compete in that venue.  Win or lose, I'm proud to be an American.  I love hearing the background stories on the athletes.  It is such a huge commitment to prepare to be an Olympian, and they all deserve a fantastic experience.
     Tonight, the Russians have won 15 medals, and the US is in second place with 14 total medals.  There is still another week of competition, and I wish all the Athletes good luck....and the beat goes on....the beat goes on.......
     
     

Super Bowl XLVIII

   Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks, 2014's Super Bowl Champions!  It was billed as an epic match-up between Denver's  number one offense,  competing against Seattle's number one defense.   On paper, it looked like it would be a very close game.  In the end, the Seahawks won by 35 points.  The final score was 43 to 8.  It was the young gun against the seasoned veteran, and tonight the kid played great.
    Russell Wilson has just played two seasons, but he shows a lot of poise and class.  I like him, and he played a flawless game.  I hope he is the face of the new young quarterbacks in the NFL.
     Pete Carroll coached in New England, and so we are pretty familiar with his coaching style.  The defense was excellent, and scored on an interception.  They call themselves the "Legion of Boom", and they lived up to their name tonight.  Special teams also scored on a kick return.  It is nearly impossible to beat a team when all three phases of the game are solid.
   Denver did not look good on their very first play, when a bad snap caused a safety, and gave Seattle two points without even touching the ball.  The Broncos offense never looked sharp in this game, which is the job of an outstanding defense.
   Peyton Manning had set records this season for the most touchdowns in a season, and the most points in any season.  Both of those records had been held by Tom Brady and the Patriots.  A part of me wanted to see Manning finish the season with the Championship, because it is not sure how much longer he will play.  He deserves all the respect and praise that he receives.  He has been a great player and fantastic ambassador for the sport of football.
   Besides the game, the extravaganza includes the commercials, and half-time show.  This year, many ads
featured huge stars like Ellen, Arnold and Bruce Willis.  My favorite ad was from Budweiser with the puppy and the horse.  It was excellent, and I know we will see it many times in the next few weeks....and the beat goes on....the beat goes on.....
 
   

Vermont Visit

   My sisters and I just spent a couple of days in Vermont.  We had a wonderful time despite the frigid weather.  The warmest day hit 20 degrees, and the rest went downhill from there.  The locals say that there is not much difference once the temperature falls below zero, except that hats and scarfs are a must.
   My niece plays basketball at a college near Stowe, and she had home games on Friday night and Saturday.  We enjoyed lovely meals and shopped in the village near campus.  We crammed a lot into two days, and yet it was laid back and relaxed.  Once we found the restaurant that stays open late, and the back roads that save time, it was a piece of cake.
   The campus was small, and we were given a tour of all the important areas.  The dining hall, campus store, and library were within walking distance of the dorms and gymnasium.  The dorm room was adequate, but needed a rug to warm things up.  We found three matching rugs, and now the room has a doormat, a runner near the desk, and an area rug to make walking barefoot more comfortable.  It made us happy to supply something useful and needed.
    Due to snowy driving conditions, the sisters spent more than nine hours driving together.  It's amazing that we always have something to talk about, and we can spend hours catching up.  A snow shower that was not expected to amount to much, dumped about six inches of snow on the roads in about three hours. That caused us to head home while we still had some daylight.  The hills of Vermont are beautiful, and we had the road to ourselves as we spent almost an hour getting to the highway.  We stopped for dinner and filled up the car. Thankfully, the snow had subsided for the last hour of our journey.
     We plan to go back up for softball season, and see the Green Mountains during the spring.  In the meantime, I'll send goofy cards and text messages.  With today's technology, we can view live pod casts of the games, and keep in touch real time....and the beat goes on.....the beat goes on........
    

Some Days are Better Than Others

   Most days are complicated, and today was one of those days.  I will call it a combination of good, bad, and ugly.  Yesterday was supposed to be a rainy day with temperatures close to 40 degrees, but due to a cold front, it snowed the entire day.  It was snowing this morning, and everything we planned to do yesterday, now had to be finished by 3pm today, because wanted to watch the Patriot's and Bronco's Playoff game.
    There were quite a few good things that happened today.  We had an appointment to see a litter of puppies as we are planning to get a new dog.  It took and hour to get there, and the snow had created a winter wonderland.  It was the type of snow that clung to branches, and houses and road signs.  Luckily, the roads were not icy, and we felt safe driving the country roads.  The pups were adorable, and we will take one of the females home by the end of February!  All of this was really good stuff, and we got all the errands done with plenty of time to spare.
    The game was exciting, but our team lost, which can justify a bad day in our house.  New England did not play well, and they needed to play their best game of the year in order to beat Denver.  A couple of lucky bounces may have helped, but our football season came to a screeching  halt today.  I believe that New England  fans are pretty fortunate to have such great teams in all sports. That makes us believe that we always have a good chance to win every game.  I hope that does not make me a sports snob.  I hope it just makes me a true sports fanatic.
     The ugly part of today was watching some of the brutal hits, and unsportsmanlike behavior that accompany both playoff games today.  This season, the Patriots had many season ending injuries to our starters and top players.  Other teams saw injuries end their hopes of getting into the playoffs, but the Patriots did their best to overcome all obstacles, and win with the guys on the field.  New England had more rookies starting games than any other team, and that will be good for next year.
    Congratulations to Denver and Seattle, who will battle in the Super Bowl Game in two weeks.  I wish both teams luck, and we will be watching.  I tend to watch all the commercials, and get snacks during the game when the Patriots aren't playing, but I'll still enjoy it ....and the beat goes on.....the beat goes on.....
   

   

My New Year's Wish List

   Each new year brings hope and anticipation for good things to come.  I've written down a few goals that I will work on during 2014.  New Year's resolutions are tough, because they are almost impossible to achieve. I've decided to call it a wish list, because it will encourage me to take some risks.
  I would like to take a trip,  grow my business, and get one of my Matt and Muggzy books published. This year I will accentuate the positive, and expect great things.
  I recently turned sixty, and I cut out the horoscope for those born on my birthday.  I laminated it, and will use it as a bookmark.  It will be exciting to see what, if anything actually comes true.  Apparently, I'm a cosmic favorite these days, and I must be sure and want things for myself and others.  I should be greedy for love, goodness, and health.  I was also promised that one of my minor,  but very fond wishes will come true. I do ask for my blessings every day, and so I cannot wait to see what will happen.
  I will be increasingly active in the next three months, and I can expect good things physically, socially, an intellectually.  I should take some 'before' pictures, because February will bring an 'after' to my domestic scene.  All of these seem excellent, and I look forward to the improvements in store for me.  I can expect a promotion in May, and I even have a list of my lucky numbers.
  I received many birthday wishes on face book, and I updated that I was partying like I was only 59!  My niece treated me to a fabulous pedicure, and my godson gave me a gift bag with some wonderful things.  We went to dinner and a movie, and I now have new earrings, clothes, jar candles and gift cards. My birthday lunch was cancelled due to a snowstorm, but my cousins have been kind and generous.  I'm told that more gifts are on the way, including tickets to see the Jersey Boys when they come to our area.
   This year, my thank you notes, and emails will include wishes for lots of love, happiness and good health for all of us.  I love the sentiment and I do believe in the power of positive thinking.  I'll document my progress on my wish list, and chronicle any time one of my wishes come true....and the beat goes on.....the beat goes on.......