Saw "007's Quantum of Solace"

Today was a rainy, cold, miserable weather day here in Maryland, with a high of only 41F, so we decided to do some Christmas shopping and go to the movies! We saw Daniel Craig in "007's Quantum of Solace." It was a good movie, about a B+. Of course, we just like looking at Daniel Craig. :)
James Bond is on the trail of the same bad guys that he left off fighting in Italy in the last movie (Casino Royale) and it picks up right after Casino left off. Despite that, we didn't think that the previous movie needed to be re-hashed. This movie pretty much stood on its own, even if you don't remember the last movie (like we didn't!) Anyway, Bond continues seeking the bad guys, even against his service's request. He goes from Italy to Haiti and Bolivia. You'll see boat, car, and plane chases and lots of outrageous fight scenes and chases. Regardless, this one is much easier to follow than "Casino Royale" and I think more memorable and entertaining. Of course, we think he could've had more time to show off his great physique.

Birthday Stuff/Black Friday Shopping

(PICTURE: Dolly chomping her new birthday dinosaur chew bone on their bed in the kitchen, while Franklin vigilantly watches for squirrels out in the backyard).
On Black Friday, Jeff drove up to Md. and went shopping with Rob, while Tom and his sister's other half, Steve put up crown molding in the house. Tom loves home projects and Rob prefers shopping for Christmas, so it worked out perfectly!
-The stores really weren't crowded. There were many people out, but the lines to buy stuff in Sears, Walmart, Kohls, Barnes and Noble, Lowes and other places we went didn't take longer than 10 minutes. Maybe the cashiers are getting faster? This was a total turnaround from even a couple of years ago, when I waited over an hour in line in one store. Anyway, armed with coffee, Jeff and I got a lot done and got great bargains.
Tom and Steve finished the crown molding, but it took longer than expected, so Steve left and joined Lisa, and Tom's folks for dinner, while I made leftovers and Tom finished the trim.

(PICTURE: I'm Franklin, and just where is my treat? He got 'em along with Dolly for her birthday)

Dolly Says: Today is My Birthday! I'm 4 Years Old!

(PICTURE: me!)
Today, November 29, 2008 is my fourth birthday. In dog years, that makes me 24. Yes, for the first 2 years of a dog's life it's 7 human years each, then all the rest are 5 human years for each doggy year. :) See how smart weimaraners are?
I'm Dolly Loretta Gutro-Williams. I'm 4 today, and have 2 great daddies, Tom and Rob, and a great brother, Franklin, although he ocassionally steals food from my bowl when I'm not looking! We eat, sleep, go on walks, and to doggy daycare and play together. Life wasn't always this good, though.
I was born out of a litter of 6 pups, 5 girls and 1 boy. My parents were owned by "breeders" in Atlanta, Georgia. When I was a week old, my momma apparently stepped on a rusty nail and got tetanus, and couldn't feed us pups, so the nasty people dumped us off at a dog shelter in Atlanta. They contacted "Wolf Creek Weimaraner Rescue" in Knoxville, Tennesee, managed by Amber Keirn. What an angel! She and Laura drove to Atlanta and got all of us pups, took us back to Tennessee, bottle fed us and raised us until we were 3 months old, and ready to go to forever homes. That's when Daddy Rob found me on the "Internet." We met March 11th, 2005 when daddy Rob and uncle Jeff drove down so Daddy Rob could adopt me.

{PICTURE: Daddy Rob and I meet for the first time on March 11, 2005)
(March 11th is exactly one week before Franklin's birthday... although Franklin and I wouldn't meet until January 2006 when our daddies introduced us.)
We're celebrating my 4th birthday with a trip to Petsmart and treats, and new toys, walks, and food and fun! Just the way I like it! Happy Birthday to me!
(PICTURE: Our daddies took us to Fort McHenry in Baltimore this summer. We love that place!)

A Nice Thanksgiving at Home

AROUND THE TABLE LEFT TO RIGHT: Tom, Dolly, Richard, Steve (hiding), Lisa, Jack, Mom Ruth (hiding); Dad Bob (peeking over Hil); Amy (on the floor); Hil.
Thanksgiving was very nice, and we had it right here at home. I started baking a couple of days in advance - corn bread, pumpkin pie, and birthday cake! We were joined my Tom's parents (Ruth and Bob); Tom's sister Lisa and boyfriend Steve; our friends Hil and Richard; and our friend Jack! There were 9 people and 4 canines!
DOG TIMES: - Hil and Richard brought their sweet little white mixed-breed furball, "Amy," who loved Dolly and Franklin. - Lisa and Steve have a little Yorkie, "Joey" that doesn't play well with other dogs and proved it by biting our Weimaraner Dolly on her nose and drawing blood. (Dolly is very passive and just tried to be friendly). Kids will always do something during a holiday, won't they?
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS: The end of November marks a couple of celebrations. Tom's birthday was Nov. 23, Dolly's birthday is Nov. 29th (her 4th) and Hil's birthday is Nov. 30th. So, I made a birthday cake and Tom and Hil blew out the candles for Dolly.
AROUND THE TABLE LEFT TO RIGHT: Hil blowing out his candles, Richard, Steve, Mom Ruth, and Tom blowing out his candles. Yes, the cake had orange icing for Thanksgiving!

My Mom - Always an Adventure

My dad used to say to my mother, "Norma, you don't even have to leave the house to get into trouble." How right he was...and still is! Even though Dad passed away some 3 months ago, his words will always ring true.
My mom decided to go on an errand yesterday and backed her car out of the driveway, right into a police car that was parked directly behindd her driveway. She broke the tail-light and the officer who was actually in the car at the time jumped out and went over to mom. He told her what she had done.
She said that she got out of the car and cussed him out for "parking illegally behind a driveway." She said he was 100% at fault and shouldn't have been there. - I do agree that people should NEVER park behind someone's driveway. That's just asking for trouble. Well, my mother let the officer know it. The officer somehow called the Chief of Police (likely mom asked him to) and the Chief was apparently around the neighborhood. He arrived quickly and asked Mom's name. She told him. The Chief said "Is your son the City Councillor." Mom said she gave attitude and told him "of course." (While I listened to mom (over the phone) tell me how mouthy she was I cringed in embarrassment for my younger brother the councilor). She then said "my other son is in insurance and will straighten everything out." So she marched both of them into her house and called my older brother. She told him how dumb the officer was for parking behind her driveway, then handed the phone to the officer. She said the officer and my brother laughed on the phone for awhile. (I assume my older brother was saying mom is a handfull!)... Anyway, mom is going to pay for the tail light and I bet that officer will never park his car behind her driveway again!

Happy Thanksgiving from us to You!

Happy Thanksgiving! - This is a picture of an arrangement that Tom made on our kitchen table, with a picture of our dogs, Dolly and Franklin- whom we're extremely thankful for. We're also thankful for our families and friends. We don't get to see all of you as often as we'd like, but that doesn't mean you're not in our thoughts and in our hearts. So, on Thanksgiving, it's you we'll be giving thanks for. We're also thankful for the love we share and every day we have with each other.
As you know from reading this blog, my dad passed away this August, and I'm thankful for the time we had with him. Tom and I got a lot of funny little sayings from my dad (in the three years Tom knew him), and memories that last a lifetime. This morning on the way to work (it's Wednesday) while driving the dogs to daycare, I played my favorite Christmas CD, Kenny and Dolly's "A Christmas to Remember." The song "(I'll be home) With Bells On" came on and I teared up through it- because about 10 years ago, I sat alone with mom and dad on Christmas afternoon, singing the songs from this CD for fun, and that was my dad's favorite. We were all out of key, and it sounded horrible, but it's a memory I'll always treasure and be thankful for. We hope that you can make memories this holiday that you'll be thankful for later in life. Happy Thanksgiving, Love, Rob, Tom, Dolly and Franklin

2 TV Shows Stupidly Kill Off Supporting Characters

Recently, two tv shows we watched killed off supporting characters.
GHOST WHISPERER - Melinda (the ghost whisperer) lost her husband, who has been a supporting character for years. The producers have "kept" him in the show by making his ghost enter the body of a newly-almost-deceased man. The man's spirit left his body and went into the light, and Melinda's husband's ghost entered the body right after the other left. I can sense ghosts, and believe me, this is pretty unusual... anyway, we think they ruined the show. We don't care to watch it anymore.
NCIS- This cop drama had an asian agent in it over the last 2 seasons that was killing people (other agents) because her daughter was being held by a psychotic killer. Last night's episode ended with the rescue of her daughter, and the agent's murder.
What do producers have against happy endings?

Lesson of the Day: Treat your dog right... or Else!

This is a story that appears in today's Seattle Times newspaper. I love it! Obviously, this dog was either left outside way too long, not given fresh water several times a day, given treats, or taken on walks. Good for the dog! Nothing says "treat me better" than being shot in the ass by your dog! :) Happy Thanksgiving!

Oregon man shot by dog recovers
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTLAND -- A man from the Tillamook-area who was accidentally shot over the weekend when his dog jumped into a boat and set off his gun is recovering.
Matthew Marcum was shot with his 12-gauge shotgun Saturday on the Tillamook Bay. His legs and buttocks were injured in the incident and he was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center in Portland.
His father, Henry Marcum, says the 23-year-old Marcum was about to tie up an 11-foot open aluminum boat, when his 3-year-old Labrador, Drake, jumped into the boat.
Matthew Marcum says his dog, Drake, is a good dog and he isn't upset with him.

Car Trouble!

(This was a picture from the Internet...it's not a young Tom in his first car!) Wintertime usually brings car trouble. Yes, even though it's meteorologically not winter until Dec. 21st, it's felt like January with an Arctic airmass over Maryland. Temperatures have been averaging 15F below normal for about 2 weeks now. So, with the cold comes car problems, and this weekend was no exception for Tom's car.
We think the starter on his car went, so it has been sitting in the driveway since last Thursday. We've found a couple of garages with good reputations, so Tom is calling them today, and we'll use our AAA card to get a tow truck to take it to the shop. I really recommend AAA. I've used them whenever I needed them, and they always come through.
Tom's parents lent us their extra vehicle, so I don't have to drive Tom to the metro at 4:30am anymore (I drove him Thursday and Friday with the doggies to keep me company). So, hopefully, by Thanksgiving, he'll have his car up and running again.

Winter Outlook Announced by NOAA!

In announcing the 2008-2009 U.S. Winter Outlook for meteorological winter from December through February, forecasters at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center are calling for warmer-than-normal temperatures for much of the central part of the nation, and a continuation of drier-than-normal conditions across the Southeast.

REGIONAL OUTLOOKS

Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic: Equal chances for above-, near-, or below-normal temperatures and precipitation.
Southeast: Increased chance of above normal temperatures in the central and western parts, along with below-normal precipitation.
Central Region: Increased chance of warmer-than-normal temperatures, with above-normal precipitation anticipated in parts of the central Plains.
Western Region: Equal chances for above-, near-, or below-normal temperatures, and an enhanced likelihood of below-normal precipitation across parts of the Southwest.
Hawaii: Above-normal temperatures for eastern Hawaii and below-normal temperatures for western Hawaii. There are equal chances for above-, near-, or below-normal precipitation throughout the state.

Happy Birthday Tom!

(Tom blowing out birthday candles as Brooke and Pat look on)
Today is a wonderful day. The love of my life was born on this date (I won't tell you what year), and we're celebrating! Tom and I have been together almost 3 years, and look forward to every day together. We laugh, sing, shop, work in the yard and on the house, play with and walk the dogs, plan things together, and are 100% in love with each other. So, being his birthday - it's a day to celebrate. Tom's really shy and quiet- he's not into parties and big crowds, so pulling a small gathering together (in 2 days) and keeping it quiet, took a lot of effort, but I did it. I had called several friends yesterday that couldn't make it on a moment's notice, but it was hard to find time to make the calls...
Our friend Jeff came up from VA yesterday and helped pull it off. We went shopping, and Jeff treated us to a birthday dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ. We got back to our house with 15 minutes to spare before some friends would arrive. I bought a sheet cake and had it hidden in the garage, and brought out tablecloth, plates, napkins, etc. while Tom was upstairs moments before everyone arrived. Needless to say he was shocked! It was a lot of fun, though. Below are some pictures of the friends that made it, and most were taken from our friend Craig, a master photographer in his own right!
(Dolly and I)

(Jim- a pic from this summer)

(LEFT Jeff and Douglas)

(RIGHT- Craig, our great photog!)

(Tom, with Franklin, Brooke and Pat)

(Erica and Todd - photo from our ghost walk in Oct.)

14 Degrees Below Normal..

It's cold here in Maryland. In fact, very cold for this time of year. Our highs over the last week have been in the upper 30s, which are January/February temperatures. They're 14 degrees Below normal, and like everyone we're feeling it!
This morning, when Tom set out for work at 4:30am his car wouldn't turn over, so the dogs and I got dressed (yes, they put on t-shirts in extreme cold like this morning's 28F) and drove Tom to the metro (subway) in our truck. We'll have to tend to the dead car this weekend.
I walked the dogs this morning for about 20 minutes. They were wearing their "Spiderman" and "FBI" Tee shirts, and I was wrapped in my winter jacket, with scarf, gloves, hat and lots of kleenex. Dry cracked skin on my hands has already reared its ugly head, a month or two ahead of time, so I'm chock full of moisturizer.
As I think about all this, I wonder, how in the world do my friends in Maine, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota do it for a longer winter period? Maybe I'm just getting old! Oh yeah, did I mention another day of snow showers here in Maryland today? Christmas music is now on the radio, and I'm okay with that- given the weather.