Yes.. I mean No

I have got to learn how to me a "NO' person. This "YES" thing is killing me. Then applying the "KISS" principle backfires into a WAIADM. KISS you all know means: Keep It Simple Stupid. WAIADM means What Am I A Door Mat?

Now, I've never heard of the Kitchen Sink Syndrome, but clearly my latest project has dishes piled up in it. KSS is where the scope of the project is not clearly defined. It just gets bigger, as the tasks keep getting added to the stack. I still have the same deadline. Ugh!

I'm just frustrated because clearly there was a lack of communication. Yes, Eric was right about the email thingy. The back and forth, exchanging information, and you can lose sight of your original idea. One little tiny phone could have saved me from KSS. And I hate doing dishes, almost as much as doing laundry in my house.

So today is a new day. I've had a cup of coffee, made the calls needed to put out the fires, and I'm now just waiting for those who need to call me back, to do so. Shari, you were right... I should have called Eric.

Get along little doggie

Now it's about time you got to know our littlest baby. I'm sure you are wondering why in the world would I get a tiny little chihuahua when I happen to have four wild & rowdy six year olds. It's because I'm crazy! I'm crazy for this dog.

She is the sweetest thing. And dang it, she's smart too. She has to be. She has survived almost four months of pure terror.

Just getting her was hard enough. I spent some time hanging on the fence about it. I had to find good homes for my last two dogs. They were too much to handle and big barkers. Luckily, I have two great friends who wanted them. I felt really guilty about it, too. Todd leaves for deployment and it's bad enough that I get rid of his two junker cars out front, then I get rid of his dogs, too. I sorta kinda missed them, then I just thought of those calls from the home association asking me to do something about the barking. A no brainer, huh?

My sister has a real sweet chihuahua named Boo. Cheryl and Boo moved out during the springtime after living with us for 4-5 years. I missed Boo (ha ha). She was a sweetie. I wanted a little lap dog just like her.

So, while I was on vacation in Hurricane, UT, visiting my folks, I'd sit and read the paper each morning. There's not much else to do, it's so dang hot there. I mean, I would read that sucker front to back, do the crossword (I hate crosswords), and even read the classifieds. So, no wonder the pet section caught my eye. I was looking at all the ads, even the cat section and I definitely didn't want another cat. I was so bored, figured it would hurt to just go and see a few puppies. Right?

Well, I almost ended up with a little adorable yorkie. But it was way too much money and Todd said something to me about how he just wants to kick those kind of dogs. Ouch! Kinda mean, huh? I think it's all the long hair, hairspray and ribbons. I just didn't want to ask him why. Maybe he watched too much StarTrek as a kid and had bad dreams about Tribbles.

Now, I was honest and I had been talking to Todd about getting another dog, a really small little dog. He said something to me about wanting a black and white dog, like the one my friends had. It was a fox terrier. Now, I thought heck there's an ad for black and white chihuahuas and within my price range - same thing. Bingo! So, I got her!!!

Now during the first month, we've had some close calls, one trip to the ER vet, and one long night of crying and beating myself up. Why in the world would I get such a small dog, when I have four maniac children??? I prayed to God to help me and I vowed to protect her, but she's got it all figured out herself.

She is one of the toughest dogs I've ever been around. She is lightening fast and able to outrun four pairs of feet. She will bite the crap out you, if you stick your grubby pizza face in hers (maybe not, but she growls really loud). She can take on three biggie size cats and make them all run back into their hidy-hole of a master bedroom. She'll also clean your back teeth and the inside of your nose, if you are nice to her. If you visit my home, she will make you the center of her world (and I'm chopped liver until you leave).

Zoey is one smart cookie and she's staying. Now I just have to teach her how to wrangle and herd the boys into bed at night. Heck, I don't need the Supernanny. I've got Zoey.