The Top 10 Things I've Learned From Watching My Dog

10) The proper way to greet new people is bark insanely at them and then run and jump on the back of their legs when they turn around.

9) Used cat litter is apparently much tastier than you'd think it would be.

8) If it's cold outside, the area beside the couch is a perfectly acceptable alternate place to poop.

7) Anything that runs from you, be it a child, a cat, or even a car, is just begging to get chased.

6) If you suspect someone is snooping somewhere they shouldn't be, like at your work cubicle, marking your territory with your own urine will make them think twice before invading your space.

5) There's nothing that says, "I'm happy to see you" to a good friend like jumping up and down in a circle and then trying to lick them on the mouth.

4) The garbage is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to find when you go rooting through it looking for something to eat.

3) You can never really know another living creature unless you sniff its butt.

2) When you meet a female you're attracted to, just immediately start trying to hump her. If she likes it great, but if she growls, it was never meant to be...until she's in heat.

1) Drinking out of the toilet bowl in a pinch is A-OK!

Shamelessly stolen from Right Wing News.

My Little Corner 2005

Well, we're 12 and a half hours into the new year and I can honestly say I haven't broken my resolutions...yet. Partly because I didn't really make any, just a few ideas that I would like to improve my life. If I don't complete them, well, it's not going to hurt me or anyone else. If I do, well, things might be better, but I'll probably be the only one to notice.

I do have some resolutions for this blog. My Little Corner is now a PC-free zone. I will not be mean or nasty and I won't call anyone names. I won't presume to assume you are illiterate or uninformed and ask that you don't presume that about me. I have have readers in the past lambast me for being uninformed. I am not; I have based my opinions on a lot of research and thought. Just because I have reached other conclusions that you have, doesn't mean I don't know what I talking about.

Intolerance will not be tolerated here. If you have an opinion about something, remember it is just that: an opinion. If you want to express that opinion, feel free to do so, just do it nicely. You don't have to sugar-coat, but don't be mean or nasty or use four-letter words just to show that you know them. If you need to use course, vulgar words to emphasize your opinion, it's my opinion that you don't have a well-founded basis for your opinion and is therefore irrelevant. If I feel that your opinion is not of merit I may delete it from my comments or I may post it for all to see along with the comments I care to make.

Blue is my favorite color but I live in a Red State and Red county and I voted for Bush although I don't agree with everything he espouses; I am Christian; I am conservative; I am a wife, sister, aunt and friend; I am a homeowner; I am owned by a dog and two cats; I am employed full-time; I favor the Fair Tax Act and privatization of Social Security accounts; I am all this but so many more things. What I am saying is that I am all of these, but they are not the sum of my whole so unless you personally know me, don't assume things about me I have not expressed in My Little Corner.

I do have a few personal resolutions: the usual lose some weight and get more organized. I can't pledge to quit smoking because I don't smoke; same with drinking, although I do have the occassional drink. I think I'll work on organization because it's more of changing a habit where losing weight is a life style change. Oh, I almost forgot! To get our home computers networked! My computer is currently off-line so I have to use Dale's for Internet use. We were networked but something went wonky and now I can't access the network. Because I don't want to download anything to his computer, I don't have pictures or anything that requires a download on this blog. And there are many that I would like to have. But, this situation should resolve itself within a matter of weeks. Come on, tax return! It better be a big one, I've got lots of plans for that check!

How about you? What are your resolutions?

Good-bye 2004! Hello, 2005!

While 2004 ended on a tragic note worldwide, it was, for us, a good year. While Dale and I both have health issues, his more severe than mine, we are alive and in good health. Money may be tight at times, but there is enough money to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes on our backs. We pay the monthly bills almost always on time. Our vans are not new, but are running, so we can get where we need to be when we need to be there. We are paying off credit cards (the devil's instrument if ever there was one), slowly but surely, and will be completely out of debt, including mortgage, in just a few years.

Our families are hale and hearty; everyone is in good health. We had two new additions to our family, nephews Nicholas and Grady. And let's not forget Wyatt who may be a dog, but is my baby, none the less.

We can look ahead to four more years of leadership, character and strength, something our country has lacked for too many years. If we can get away from the ideas of political correctness and that government has to take care of everyone's every need we'll all be better off. Sure, help those who need it, but also help them to get on their feet so they can be independent and know the pride of being their own man or woman, free to live as they choose.

2004 was the beginning of the Blog Revolution. It was a big year, but I think 2005 will be even bigger as more and more of the mainstream establishment comes to realize the effectiveness of the blog. Every generation seems to have produced a way to broadcast information that surpassed the previous. Think about it: word of mouth, the printing press, the Pony Express, the telegraph, the telephone, radio, television, and now, the Internet. What could the future bring?

I will promise only one thing about 2005: I will continue to blog as long as you, my favorite reader, continues to see something of worth in my ramblings and rantings. I am not showing conceit, it's actually rather humbling for me to know that anyone reads or cares about what I have to say.

I would like to see Congress overhaul both the Social Security system and the Tax system in 2005. My choice would be the tax system as that would benefit all of us immediately, but reforming SS would be a great step in the right direction.

Our economy is actually back to pre-2001 levels. Despite the naysayers, it's getting better every day. Yes, there are still people unemployed, but you know what? Unemployment is at a place where almost everyone who wants to work is working. Not everyone; there are still some who are looking for work. New home construction has been up, retail sales are up, the stock market has finished up for two straight years, and despite what the MSM says, the economy is improving. Okay, you're thinking about businesses that are going under. Do you think that might be because of greed on the part of management or just bad business decisions?

What do you see happening in 2005?

Right On, Andy Rooney!

Well, since Andy denies saying it, and Snopes.com can't find where he said it, I guess Andy didn't say it after all. What I'm referring to is an email that's making the rounds of the Internet. Here's the text of what Andy didn't say:

I like big cars, big boats, big motorcycles, big houses and big campfires.

I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some governmental stooge with a bad comb-over who wants to give it away to crack addicts for squirting out babies.

Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.

I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, that is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts!

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.

I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America.

Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White entertainment Television, or Miss White America and see what happens. Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.

I have the right NOT to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off. When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling, it is the law of statistics.

I know what sex is, and there are not varying degrees of it. If I received sex from one of the subordinates in my office, it wouldn't be a private matter or my personal business. I would be "FIRED" immediately!

I believe that if you are selling me a milk shake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen you should have to speak English!

My father and grandfather shouldn't have to die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours. I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry ass if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.

I feel much safer letting a machine with no political affiliation recount votes when needed. I know what the definition of lying is.

I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.

We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document and open to their interpretations.

I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.

I know wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television, and that doesn't stop you from watching them.

I believe a self-righteous liberal or conservative with a cause is more dangerous than a Hell's Angel with an attitude.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better and put your name on the building. Ask your buddy that invented the Internet to help you.

It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid and smack their little ass when necessary and say "NO."

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And . . . Please stay home until that new lip ring heals, I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me french fries!

I am sick of "Political Correctness" and of all the suck ups that go along with it. I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa, so how can they be "African-Americans"? Besides, Africa is a continent. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe. I am proud to be from America and nowhere else.

And if you don't like my point of view, tough!

So, for my (probably) final post of 2004, I'll say, Thank you, Andy, even though you didn't say it. It's what I would like to have said myself.