Ten on Tuesday

1. Ralphie scored 9 out of 10 on the CGC last night. You need a perfect score to pass but 9/10 on his first time testing is FANTASTIC in my opinion, especially considering where he was just one year ago (on April 6th to be exact):

2. Ralphie's score is also impressive when you consider that he was beat up at daycare just one week ago and spent three nights at our vet's clinic. He and one of his best buddies got into a scuffle that was instigated (I believe) by the kids who live in the "apartments" next to our training facility. Brandon had already run the kids off once that morning for throwing rocks at the dogs. He has much more self control than I do...I've already had, "If you f------ LOOK at my dog again I'm going to stuff you and hang you over my mantle" translated to Spanish in case there's ever another problem.

3. I'm 11wks 3days pg. It's been pretty textbook so far - no true morning sickness (though I'm thisclose to nauseated all the time). It's the super sensitive nose (when I couldn't smell at all before getting pg) and the bionic gag reflex (hello toothbrush) that I could do without. But hey, if those are my biggest complaints, I'll count myself lucky. We're having some elective genetic screening this afternoon and we see my OB again tomorrow.

4. I also have a job interview tomorrow. I've been surprised at the number of GOOD accounting positions open...but I also realize that there are also a LOT of qualified applicants applying for those positions. My fear is that all else being equal, most companies are likely to choose the person that WON'T be on maternity leave in six months. Oh well. Worrying won't help that I suppose.

5. In the event that I don't find a job prior to October, I will be taking full advantage of my portion of the federal government's bailout. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law in February and provides a federal subsidy for 65% of the cost of COBRA health insurance coverage. That's a difference of $650 a MONTH in our expected cost of insurance. I'd still vote Republican and I still have HUGE hesitations about the direction our country is headed, but I won't turn Democratic assistance away.

6. Miss Molly, the wire haired Jack Russell is still with us. She's being adopted by my sister and brother-in-law and the original plan was to send her out to CA last week when my parents went to visit. Only she's WAY to tall to fly in cabin now. So she'll be in AL until June.

7. Veronica earned her SIXTH flyball title at our March tournament - FM (Flyball Master). It simply means that she's earned 5,000 points over the course of her career. Points are earned based on the speed of the team she's running on - the maximum points you can earn per race is 25 but that is for teams with very fast times. Veronica's total is made up of a LOT of 1 and 5 point races over the last four years. No shame in that! I'm proud of you big V!

8. To update on our other dogs, CiCi, Mazie and Frankie go to daycare (usually) twice a week and have a blast running and playing. CiCi likes to chase the big Jolly Ball egg and barks like a mad woman when she gets it stuck in the corner. Frankie will play with just about anyone. And Mazie...my sweet Mazie...she's content to run in circles, all alone, smiling like it's the greatest thing in the world. Marley is just about ready to compete in flyball - she'll be Brandon's to hanlde as she's a bit nuts. And Lily...well, Lily has her strict routine at home that keeps her sane and everyone else safe. So that's a good thing.

9. Yes, I'm still planning to keep all seven dogs when the kid comes. And we're really not that worried about it.

10. HUGE news regarding Shelby Humane Society here. This program, sponsored by the ASPCA, has the potential to make great improvements in the welfare of animals in Shelby County, AL. HUGE!