Fur Kids

If you know me, you've heard the news that I recently had to put my beloved chow mix, Imani, to sleep. She had advanced in age and had numerous problems including blindness, joint issues and in the last few days, incontinence. She was my first baby and I'd had her as a very young puppy. She was mixed with an American Terrier (commonly known as a Pitt Bull) but she was the sweetest and most gentle combination of two commonly feared breeds. She did have a ferocious bark but once you got in the door, it was tummy rubs until your arm got tired..
I knew in my heart of hearts that Imani was nearing the end of a good quality of life. I also knew that with the recent loss of my mother in December of 2009 AND the loss of my first puppy would be like a double whammy. In the back of my mind, I was thinking of the type of dog I would wanted to add to my family. I guess fate, or good Karma led my path to cross with Tonka, my new furkid. Never would I have considered a Siberian Husky as a dog breed for me. A tenant in my rental property asked if she could have a dog and I consented. My neighbor had a coworker that had a litter of huskies and could not keep them all. They were all sooooooo cute and my tenant just had to have one. I ended up babysitting and totally fell in love with this animated and charismatic black and white furball. Sooooooo, I kept him :-) and he's been a great companion and gives me a good laugh, as well as a run for my exercise money daily. (that's a good thing...)
Before Imani passed, I bought her a pet stroller (yes, she had a stroller for dogs. I couldn't take one dog for a walk and not the other...) I'd hook Tonka's leash around the handlebar and let him help me pull Imani around the park. That was a BIG help and it's what he was bred for...
Tonka and Imani got along fairly well. Tonka was a bit high strung but at least they could sit side by side like siblings and not fight :-) Imani would of course take the attitude that she's the head dog around here and ignore Tonka and all of his squeaky toys. Tonka, being a puppy, could've cared less, he just wanted to play. It was my dysfunctional furkid family.

The day I didn't come home with Imani was of course a sad day for me. I went to my room and just sat in the chair and stared into space. As I sat there, I heard this strange, sad sound from the living room and when I went to look, it was my 9 month old puppy howling. His first howl ever. It was a sad sound but it was cute to see my puppy looking so "cinematic". Of course, I thought he was howling for his lost canine companion but upon closer inspection, he was howling at the song playing on the radio. To be sure, I downloaded the song from iTunes and each time I play it, Tonka runs to the room and begins howling. I researched this behavior online and experts say it's a very talented canine that howls to certain songs. Some say the dogs will even attempt to match the pitch of the song. Well folks, that's all this furkid mommy needs to know! There's TALENT in my household! Not that there was any needed because Tonka had already won my heart...
Anyway, you can check my little musician out for yourself. Oh, don't worry about the spot on his nose. Tonka also likes playing in the shower, so the spot on his nose is just the drops of water that had not dried from his romp in the shower. Go figure...
For those of you that want to know, Tonka's howl song is "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz
Enjoy!



Until next time I remain,
Simply Dione

Drip...Drip...Drip...

Dear Michael Jackson's Doctor,
Ummm... Do you realize you probably won't get an impartial trial? Ok. Maybe in some remote area that has never seen the likes of a TV and radio. You're up for manslaughter. It should be innocent until proven guilty but it really sucks to be you right now.

If there is a next time, NEVER compromise your values and faithfully execute ethical decisions that have been clearly thought out. Please. Do tell. What was going on in that house? Were you star struck? Yeah, I can see MJ having that effect but dang man, you coulda said no. You coulda said no...

Enlighten Me...

Random things going through my mind lately...

I recently had the weekend off but still had someone to watch my Mom so I took advantage of some "Me Time". I hadn't been to the movies in a minute so I decided to check out a couple of new releases. I went to the counter to get some snacks and Good Lawd! It cost me near $20 just for my ticket, popcorn and a drink. Heck NO lady, I don't want to add a box of candy for an extra $2.50.
That's when I remembered that unspoken rule that you're supposed to take your own candy and drink with you! Obviously we start it at a young age because I took my class to the movies this year and one of my 6th grade students asked me if he could go get a cup of ice for the bottle of soda in his pocket. This was the norm for him but as his teacher, I could not condone such behavior!
Anyway, back to my point. The theaters should be hip to the game by now. Geez! I had people all around me cracking soda can tops, unwrapping Big Macs and fries and passing a bag of Fun Size Snickers down the aisle. One would think they could actually make more money if they simply lowered their prices to something reasonable. Come on. $6.00 for a small popcorn?? Get it together or errybody will be racing to buy snacks ahead of time. By the way, Orphan was a TRUE horror story. Let adoptive parents beware!


Ummmm... Excuse me Jillian from The Bachelorette. Sorry. NO WAY can you be totally in love with two different guys. You're snogging two different people in the same day. Helloooooo. There's a name for that where I'm from...

The LuvGuv. Ha! This is one of my soror's hot topics. Don't get her started! I read the $3.5 million house on the beach was on the market but was removed after Sanford's indiscretions came to light. I guess scandals don't sell houses huh?

Personally, I wonder why he just didn't take his mistress to this castle by the ocean and save everyone the expense of looking for him hiking the trails. This man keeps taking vacations. Please, stay on the job for one straight week and take care of South Carolina Business. As often quoted in my business meetings, "It's not personal, it's POLICY".


Sarah Palin
Listen, you stepped down. Threw in the towel. Gave up a job you took an oath to finish. Please. Stop telling the media to leave you alone. You cannot control this anymore than you can control your Russian neighbors. Hee Hee! :-) Sit Down.

What's up with posting R.I.P. decals on your automobile? Where did that practice come from? Everywhere I go these days, I see these decals plastered on people's back windshields, on the trunk, on the hood, wheverever they can fit in... The girl that does our lawn has two of those MoFo's on each of her back windows. I dunno. Maybe that helps ease the pain but then again... Nah...

I'm loving Facebook and I enjoy thoughtful, meaningful status updates. It's cool because I get my friend's updates sent as texts to my phone. I'm always in touch even when I'm at work where they've blocked it of course :-(
Just one thing. It's Facebook, not Twitter, right? Right?? I've had to hide some folks from the newsfeed due to an update every 1/2 hour about how many people have walked through their office and how many grapes they had for lunch. Also, please. Chill with the Ghetto Drink gifts. I don't understand the point of the application. Oh wait. I just blocked that ish from my feed! Ahhhh. All is better with that part of Facebook for now!

Do you see this picture? Please comply. Thank You.

Photo Fun!

Ok. Ok. Ok. So I've been M.I.A. for a minute. Ok, well... maybe an hour! Y'all (like my southern slang?) it's been more than a notion making everything happen in a 24 hour period! As most of you know, I teach 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Science to middle school special needs children. If you know anything about South Carolina State Standards, you'd also realize that each grade level has an entirely different curriculum. Beyond inquiry and process skills, no class learns the same material. That rules out teaching the same lesson to different classes :-( Phooey for me. Add that to Special Education paperwork and taking care of my mom, it's a no go for my blog posts!

Fast forward to today. I'm sitting at home due to 6 1/2 inches of snow on the ground. Wow. Snow. Falling on the 1st day of March. Talk about March coming in like a lion! Deep breath. Aaaaahhhhh! It felt so good to sleep a little late and not have the usual deadlines and pressures of work, get home, check on mom, fixing dinner, taking care of the dog, etc bearing down on me. You get the point! Soooo, after doing a few household catchup things, I played around on a website I found out about at a technology conference. It was a great way to relax, relate, release (Go Whitley Gilbert!) and I found myself just playing around with different photo effects. I don't have an earthshattering blog topic today so I'll just post a little of my PhotoFunia work. Enjoy!



















Check em out for yourself- www.photofunia.com
I look forward to your creative pics!

Until next time I remain,

20 Things I Love...

I'm staying true to my "No Pity Party" posts so I decided to write about 20 things I Love...

Snuggling underneath a warm blanket with the one you love in the middle of winter...

Time change in the fall...

Coming home after a hard day at work and my dog meets me at the door and just rolls over on her back and gives me those side eyes that say, "I've been waiting on my tummy rub all day!"...

Having someone else wash my hair...

Getting money I never expected...

How Obama is just so damn cool...


Those few friends I have that really understand ME! They don't let me down and they are there exactly when I need them. Whether I called them or not...

Catching up with old friends and feeling like time never passed...

Snow Crab Legs...

Accomplishment of a tough task...

A cold nose and cuddle time with my doggie...

A good movie with a happy ending...

Seeing the light bulb go off when a student finally understands...

Final car payments...

Seeing a man truly appreciate the beauty of a woman. One that gives sincere compliments, not a gawk or a stare and most certainly not crass statements about a woman's body parts...

A well put together melody...

Southern Sweet Tea. Enough said...

Curling up with a good book and no distractions for hours...

My people...

How my family just fits together like the patchwork quilts my grandma used to make...

My list could go on and on, but I must get back to work! Take time today to reflect on those things that make you smile. Then, SMILE!

Until next time... pay no attention to those pesky gas signs...

Oops! That was a pity party remark! Sarcasm is creeping back upon my shoulders...

So Today I needed a laugh...

My good people.
I've been between the paperwork.
Under the microscope.
Feel like the whole world's a stage.
Can't even reach the beloved mountaintop.
What is we gone do?

A message to Y'all know who you are...
I'm turning down the invitation to your pity parties.
Don't want to hear your crying.
Please, find someone else to gripe to.
I gotta do the same thing and still make it through my day.

So...
today..
I...
LAUGH...
with...
or...
without...
YOU :-)











Ahh! I feel better now...
Until next time... I remain...