Bubba This and Bubba That

All day last week, Olivia kept on shouting, "Bobbie, Bobbie." We were like, "Who is Bobbie?"

Yesterday, at her daycare, the teacher said, "Oh you know what? She must mean one of the toddlers we have in here named Bubba. You know him don't you?" "No," I said. "Everyone knows Bubba," she went on. "Are you sure you don't know Bubba?" "No, I don't know Bubba."

She looked puzzled. "He's the really, really big baby. His mother calls him Bubba because the child eats all day." And Olivia loves to eat therefore, I guess she has an eating buddy and is quite fond of Bubba. So our daughter now can say five words: mama, daddy, kitty, doggy and the ever popular Bubba!

She must be thinking of her buddy, Bubba.

Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Pleads Guilty

From an article posted on AOL by Larry O'Dell:



"Michael Vick's lawyer said Monday the NFL star will plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, putting the Atlanta Falcons quarterback's career in jeopardy and leaving him subject to a possible prison term."

http://sports.aol.com/nfl/story/_a/vick-accepts-deal-will-plead-guilty/20070820145009990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Included in the story, "About a dozen bright red Vick jerseys have been donated - often accompanied by financial contributions - to the Atlanta Humane Society since he was indicted last month. The shelter uses them for dog blankets, and to clean up after the animals."

Utterly befitting if you ask me.

Previous article: http://soyouwouldthink.blogspot.com/2007/07/accountability-is-it-just-word.html

Who Ate the Cheese?

It is starting to become quite the episode when my toddler and I enter through the mechanical doors into a world that Olivia loves - the unassuming grocery store.

She has been on a crusade of exploration. First (and still), it's her thumb in her mouth. Then to soothe herself, she started the habit of rubbing her ear. Next, it was down to sticking her finger into her belly button. It is an interesting show when she decides to do all three at once and it certainly shows that she is a multi-tasker.

At the grocery store last week, she was on to a new venture. She discovered she had a left nipple. Up went the shirt in the frozen food aisle. "What are you doing? Put that shirt down." She laughed of course, since she rarely takes me seriously and up went the shirt again. This happened all through the store, in the grocery section, the baby food aisle, the dairy case, the checkout line and then again out to the car. It was as if she discovered something amazing.

Today at the grocery store, I had it all planned out. I was going to buy a chicken tender at the hot food counter for her to eat while I shopped. I figured it would keep her occupied at least to the checkout lane. It went faster than I thought. So I looked in the cart for some food item she could look at, something that wasn't a jar made out of glass or a can that she could drop on my foot since I went through that experience a few months ago.

I found a block of cheddar cheese in the bottom of the cart. I figured she would look at it, admire it, and that would be that. I bent down to buckle my sandal, came back up and she handed me the cheese, only with a large exposed chunk bitten off plastic and all.

Lord does that child have some teeth.

I could have put it back but what kind of surprise would another customer have when they held up the package and a part of it was gone. Or, I could have given it to the cashier and told her I think they may have a mouse running about in the cheese aisle. Which I'm sure would have made the store and the Board of Health so happy. But alas, I'm too much of an honest person so I had to tell the cashier to ring up the cheese and immediately put it in a bag because, well, my child bit off the end.

But Olivia loves the grocery store and she is a very friendly baby when she is inside. She says a firm "hi!" to every customer who passes by our cart and if they don't respond, she yells after them, "HI!" until they say hello back.


I think her destiny is to be a greeter at Wal-Mart. I just hope they don't have any blocks of cheese there.

Baby Buffalo Versus Lion Versus Alligator

You have to watch this amazing video called Battle at Kruger on YouTube. A man captured this while on safari. It definitely shows you the power of resilience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

It starts out slow so you need to watch it to the end.

Side note: The outcome is good, otherwise, I couldn't watch it.

That Old Black Magic

Photograph by Gordon and Cathy Illg/Animals Animals—Earth Scenes

Tonight it happened again.

Our dog, Emmy, has been skunked so many times she can pass herself off as an honorary skunk. Five times in four years.

We first became aware of this phenomenon when we were at the family farm on one cold Thanksgiving night, right before we were to leave for a holiday party. We were outside in the dark rubbing her fur down with cans of tomato juice. Since then, we've moved onto bigger and better things, namely industrialized strength skunk shampoo.

An hour ago, my husband came running through the living room, “Where are the dogs!" He said he could smell the skunk odor through the air conditioner in the kitchen. (After having a dog sprayed five times, he has developed quite the nose for that particular smell. It has become his enemy.)

He ran outside and I heard this loud, “No, no!” I knew what was coming because I had heard this "No, no" many times before. He walked through the door covered with dirt and said that Emmy had shook her fur (and consequently her odorous perfume) right as he took hold of her collar and then added that he was now covered in skunk dust.

Poor Stephane, he is in the bedroom once again, changing into his worn out shirt and old shorts at 10:30 P.M. on a Tuesday night to go outside and hose down our dog with skunk shampoo.

He deserves an honorary award.

The Amazing Skunk Cleaner Upper

Somehow, I don't think this is the best time to mention the award.

Emmy is now considered the largest skunk in the world.

Accountability - Is It Just A Word?

Michael Vick, a famous NFL quarterback, is in the hot seat for pit bull fighting.
The article http://news.aol.com/sports/story/_a/vick-case-sheds-light-on-dogfighting/20070719101509990001 said law enforcement officials found a dog fighting ring along with many pit bulls and indications that dogs were hung, shot, and electrocuted if they did not win.

According to this article on AOL, by Kevin Johnson, “After a meeting involving NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the Falcons, the league will let Vick keep playing, the Associated Press reported. The AP reported that a person with knowledge of the meeting, who requested anonymity so the case would not be influenced, said the NFL would stick to that position for the foreseeable future, despite its new personal-conduct policy.”

Please post how you feel regarding the NFL and other affiliates that are still supporting Michael Vick by allowing him to play. Michael Vick’s money making capabilities have overshadowed that using animals in any form of fighting is unethical and illegal and all those who participate, regardless if they are star athlete players, should be held accountable.

If you look at the comments at the bottom of the AOL article, you will see that as of this date, there are over 11,000 reader comments in regard to this case. This is just a small amount of the overall opinions on this matter. Most are asking that everyone email Roger Goodell and state they do not approve of the NFL allowing Vick to play until proven guilty. (I mean really people, it was at his house! How could he not know it was going on.) There is an opinion section at the bottom right corner of the web page where people are writing their negative comments. http://www.foxnews.com/sports/football/indes.html

The only way Michael Vick will be held accountable with the NFL is if people hold him and any of his supporters accountable. There are 11,000 angry comments on AOL. If everyone emails their opinion on the Fox website then perhaps it will matter. Address it to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Take the time right now because there are dogs out there that will never be given any time - to live a good life.