Do you ever ask yourself, “Self, Am I a hoarder?” Standing in my basement looking at the collection of empty cardboard boxes I’ve collected (because let’s face it, you never know when you’re going to need a box for something, right?) I did exclaim to myself (and the dog)…”oh, we better be careful, we are headed for total hoarder status if we aren’t careful.” I explained to Duff that camera crews would be coming to film the massive box pile and that he would probably be missing for a few days underneath all of it and we could have a tearful reunion all for the sake of good television ratings.…

Here’s a funny one I heard the other day…..It’s Spring!….hahahahhahahahha….ugh. Well, at least the calendar says so…so there is that. Anyway, I was thinking about the upcoming season…you know what to plant, what to paint, the devil rabbits in the backyard, etc, etc and it got me thinking about something I wrote um teen years ago. (Um teen is a term for old people to use when they can’t really remember when it was, they just know it was too long ago to recall). I do however, have the mental retention to remember where I kept said writings (some of them ramblings) and I wanted to share it again, just…

In the summer of 2003, I got a puppy. She was the last of the litter. Full of puppy energy. I really had no business getting a dog, considering I couldn’t really afford to feed myself, let alone bring a tiny puppy that requires vet visits and food and training and time and attention into the house. But I met this girl and we fell in love. ​Unconditional love. ​We lived in our little house on Hanssler Place where, after what seemed like years (it was only weeks really) she got the whole “housebroken” thing down, she loved to chase squirrels, go on car rides and would spend hours running…

At the beginning of the year, I posted a few “resolutions” that I wanted to work on this year. The last resolution, the one we almost all have, was to get in better shape and maybe lose a little weight. I’ve made a few strides toward that goal as the year is unfolding…one of which was joining a gym for the first time in probably 15+years. No, I didn’t just join, I actually go. So, yay for me! ​Many, many years ago I used to run….or jog….or walk really, really fast and I even entered a few races, not with the idea that I would ever win a single thing,…

  I guess as you get older, it happens more often, or maybe you just become more aware of it. In recent weeks and months, I’ve had lots of friends and relatives experiencing the ups and downs that make up life,the things that make us who we are and teach us what is most important in life. I’ve had several friends and family lose beloved pets, lots of people (mainly co-workers both past and present) give birth to beautiful baby girls, and our family has celebrated lots of milestone birthdays, anniversaries and high school graduations, but this week, we experienced one of the lows. My grandmother passed away around 1am…