March 19, 2009

Sorry, Nash, no more grapes

Perusing my friend Lauren's blog yesterday sent me off looking at a photo of her adorable cousin on a greyhound adoption website. That was fun, if random. While looking around the greyhound website, I read about Patches, the sweet dog who needed emergency veterinary treatment after he got into some grapes.

Timeout: Dogs can't eat grapes? I knew about keeping dogs away from chocolate, but I had no idea about this one.

As I read about Patches I recalled all the times in the past few weeks where I have shared my grapes with Nash, the best dog in the universe. We've had grapes in the house more often recently, since they are a nice alternative to candy. Little did I know I was feeding him puppy poison!

Horrified, I began wondering what other foods I occasionally offer to our dog that might prove fatal. This website had the answer. I didn't like what I read, and neither will Nash. The more I read the more I realized that while we pride ourselves in not feeding our dog human food - meaning table scraps or leftovers - we give him a lot of freebies during food prep. While I prepare a salad, Nash will get a piece of lettuce. If some soup spills on the floor, Nash is the first line of defense. Those days are now over.

From now on, Nash is going to be banned from human food. This will not be an easy task. No matter where he is in the house, Nash will come running when he hears the twist of the lid on the peanuts. He know what the beeping microwave means, and he has mastered the art of trying to snuggle while we snack. No amount of begging or pleading will convince me to give our little furry friend any more foods that might hurt him.

It's been almost 3 and a half years since Lindon's brother first found Nash in a bank parking lot in Nashville. He survived living on the streets for who knows how long before he was adopted into a good home. We're going to make sure that good home isn't the cause of his demise.

March 9, 2009

Work Quotes

This conversation happened when I was telling one person in this office about my new Work Quotes series. This person also thinks I should keep the speakers anonymous, for fear that someone who knows them might actually read this and know what goes on here.

Person 1: Speaking of quotes, I am still trying to figure out how I can get credit for coining the phrase "Obama bucks."

Me: Well I can publish it on my blog and give you credit. Then it would be out there in cyberspace as being attributed to you.

Person 1: No! Don't do that!

Me: Ok, but I was just trying to help...

March 4, 2009

Work Quotes: A New Series

Lately the people I work with have been whipping up bizarre, quirky, and outright hilarious quotes left and right. I had been posting these as my status on Facebook, but they give me so much good material that I think I will start a series on my blog entitled "Work Quotes." I will do my best to explain the context of each quote so the reader can get the full effect. We will see how this goes and how long I can sustain myself by drawing from the well of quirkiness.

This morning: "I've told him straight out, but he doesn't listen. He just laughs and starts talking about rifles." - Mark, on informing Matt that the "World's Best Boss" mug does not apply to Matt, no matter how often he uses it for coffee.

March 3, 2009

So far, so good...

Today marks the seventh day of my sugar fast, and so far I am going strong. Despite my determination to do otherwise, I did participate in sweets on Sunday. It was a bad idea, and I intend to not give in again. Here is what I consumed in one day:
- a sugar cookie decorated with icing, sprinkles, and white chocolate
- a Snickers candy bar
- several Girl Scout cookies
- a glass of chocolate milk

This was a lot of sugar for one day, and by the end of the day I regretted it. But every other day I have managed to stick to my commitment of no sweets (even when I had to skip out on freshly baked cookies and ice cream at a friend's house).

We will see what happens this coming week when I have to attend a baby shower. What are the odds that the tables will be covered with healthy, delicious foods? Yeah.