Peace on Earth

My Auntie Jackie took this picture of me by Aunt Janet's Christmas Tree. I think it's one of my best pictures ever, don't you? Ohhhhhhhhhhh....I truly absolutely love being with my fambly. I do!!

Love,

Mary-Margaret

The REAL Santa!

You can tell this is the REAL Santa because he's actually listening to what I want for Christmas. I am thinking really hard because I want to make sure he gets it right. Remembering what means the most to me I said (after a pause), "WORLD PEACE!!"



That's what I want more than anything....even more than duck jerky! Oh....and that reminds me. My very good friend, Gina, was saying she's running out of her bag of treats. I must absolutely make sure that she has more. I think I'll take her some today or tomorrow or....soon, anyway.

Ah....You can tell where my head is all the time. Food. Except Pumpkin Bread. Whoa. Even without raisins it comes back up quicker than it goes down. What a mess, too. I was everly so embarassed, but Mom just cleaned me and my carseat up when we got to the post office and....oh? Too much information? Sorry...you KNOW how I get off track sometimes. Sorry again. Yes...I did ask for world peace. I probably shouldn't have mentioned the pumpkin bread. But I'm the one who wanted it in the first place. My bad! Someday, I'll learn.

I hope everybody got their wish for Christmas. We did. We spent Sunday with our FAMBLY!! I mingled, and Mom just enjoyed seeing everybody and watching them have a good time, which made her have a good time, too! She misses my sisters a whole lot, and her grandkids, and her grand dogs. Maybe next year they won't be so far away.

Love and licks....

Mary-Margaret

Merry After-Christmas!

'Tis the day after Christmas
And all through the kitchen
The micro-wave buzzes
Heating left-over chicken

And turkey and stuffing,
And cranberry and cake,
With my eyes wide open
I eat all I can take!

I'm tossed skimpy morsels
Of some left-over yummy;
And what falls to the floor
I now add to my tummy.

Mom shakes her head.
"Finish whats on YOUR plate!
Think of those starving Chinese
Children - they'd appreciate!"

I guzzle, I slobber
I slurp and I gobble
Til' my bowl is empty
And I can barely hobble

"Ohhhh", I groan and I moan,
and I belch, burp and wheeze.
But I'm proud of myself...
I saved the Chinese!!!

(Consider me an Ambassador of Good Will to China?)

Your humble servant...

Mary-Margaret "Urp" O'Brien

Well, EX-CUUUUUSE MEEEE!

I am not particularly happy. This was taken last Tuesday afternoon. Here's the thing.

About 11:30AM this guy comes to the office and tickles my tummy and then says (to Mom) "Let's go!". Huh? (I say) and what about MEEEE??? Mom and Shannon say "You stay here, Mary-Margaret! This is business!". Well, Excuuuuuse me? I work here, remember? I am the receptionist and Head of Puplic Relations, right? Hmmmmmm?

I am ignored and, as they walk out the door, Mom says "I love you and I'll be back in about two hours!". Oh, I am SOOOOOO broken by this. I sit by the door and sniffle a bit. Shannon says (and not particularly sympathetically, either) "Get over yourself, Mary-Margaret!". I am now completely crushed.

Maybe an hour into this pain of abandonment Shannon decides she needs to go across the hall. She opens the door just a crack, probably to sneak out on me, but by now I'm on to her game. I make a break for it and race down the hallway toward the double doors. She's yelling "YOU GET BACK HERE, YOUNG LADY!!", but I'm not going for it. She can't catch me. I am as quick as a rabbit, zigging and zagging down the hall.

Allstate Insurance opens their door to see what the commotion is all about. Hah! (I say) These people are my friends and they FEED me sometimes. I duck into their office and try to hide. Wait....oh, hello? They are NOT my friends when it comes to hiding from Shannon? I'll remember that next time they want a kiss from me. Phooey!!

So I get picked up, scolded, and plopped back on the floor in our office (after Shannon finishes her business across the hall), and I cry. Oh yes. I cry big alligator tears and I sigh, and I wait.

About 1:45PM I hear my mom .... she has a distinctive walk and I can also smell that it's her, not that she stinks in the literal sense of the word, but ...well, I'm NOT happy.

As soon as she sits down I am all ... like... pick me up? Please? So she does, and I dig my little fingerettes into her shoulder and I am NOT getting down come Helen Highwater. Not that I know who Helen Highwater is, but I hear her name a lot in this business. I digress.

I do believe that I made it perfectly clear that this treatment is NOT ACCEPTABLE. Nope. Not at all. And I sulked all afternoon to make my point, too.

It's Christmas Eve as I'm writing this and I'm over it. Yup....and I'm thinking about feeling happy and stress-less, and wishing you and everyone a relaxed, peaceful and loving Christmas.

All my love.....

Mary-Margaret

OHMYGAWSH! Dolly from Puppy School!

When I was a little Yorkette I went to Puppy School and made some ever-lasting friends. Dolly the Oripei (gee, I hope I spelled that right!) was one of them. Her mom was in MY bank today and she REMEMBERED MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I couldn't believe my ears. Dolly's mom remembered me! Wow.

Dolly has a new sister, Jezebel, who I haven't met yet but she smells really nice. I can tell who's been where by the way their humans smell. And Margie, their mom, smelled really good. The picture is Dolly and Baxter (the Brittany Spaniel). That was about 3 1/2 years ago. I wonder how big Dolly is now?

Here's another pic of me and my students. This is back when I was ..(ahem?)..."Mentoring" the little ones, back in June 2006, when I was only nine months old:

Here's me breaking up another squabble. This time between Dolly the Oripei, and Reese, the little Cairn terrier. She's so funny. She hoards the toys and stockpiles them just behind the little tree. She's got a mouth on her that could get her into trouble. I'm having a stern talk with her and she is listening to what I have to say.


Gina wasn't working today which made me sad. I looked absolutely EVERYWHERE for her. I even went to the back of the bank as far as I could, then I got in line and stood up as high as I could on my tippy-toes. No Gina today. How disappointed can I get?

Seeing Margie and visiting with her just made my day, though. It's nice to keep in touch with old friends. I told her to say "Hi" for me.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Six more days - Santa's EVERYWHERE!

Here's me on my way to work Friday. Notice I'm thinking about all I have to do at the office. I dressed very professionally, too, wearing my school jumper and white blouse. I kept it pretty neat all day, too, despite all the excitement.

As soon as I got there I smelled my very good friend, Robert. I TOLD Mom he was there and she didn't believe me. Well, HAH! He came up to see ME in my office later and told Mom that he took the shell off the back of his truck so she didn't recognize it. I can't explain it, but I get all like jelly inside when I see ...(sigh)...Robert. Shannon snorts at me and says need to get over it, but I have a special feeling for him. I do!



Here's what we did today instead of a report - sat for two hours at DCH Honda in Temecula. Last night the light came on that means we need to get some maintenance done. Mom freaked out...I didn't. I TOLD her...chill. Still, at 4:55PM she screeches into the Honda dealer and blithers all over herself about this silly light. They are very helpful there. They also agreed with me and told her that just means we need an oil change or some other routine maintenance. So we made an appointment for 10:15AM today.

Mom took a book; I took my Christmas dress. There was a sign saying that Santa would be there on Saturday and Sunday. I took that to mean the REAL Santa and I wasn't going to miss out. Sure enough, at 11:00AM Santa's helper came and got me and took a bunch of pictures. This guy was very nice and loving and asked me what I wanted for Christmas and EVERYTHING A SANTA IS SUPPOSED TO DO. He also didn't have hairy arms.

I made a lot of friends and gave out lots of kisses. I'm more of a people person than my mom is. I think she's gotten a little shy in her old age. That's ok. I love her anyway.

We got our oil changed, air filter, oil filter, window washer fluid, tires rotated, new brakes, new pads...the whole kaboodle. This is our way of saying Merry Christmas to our car. Good thing we saved our money, huh?

Then we went to Barnes & Noble and got our Christmas books, and to the office to get our mail, and to the market to get our sparkly cider. We're ready...bring it on!!!

Only six more days....

Love,

Mary-Margaret

SEVEN more days! Christmas Spirit?

Sometimes it seems like people get angry and up-tight about Christmas. They gripe about not having money, wonder where they'll go for dinner, and spend money they don't have so someone will have a super-dooper over-the-top present that they'll "ooh" and "ahhh" over but forget about in a matter of days.

Whenever we'd see a commercial asking for money, or saying "Christmas is all about all children having a present under the tree!", we'd cringe. We watched the neighbors putting up their Christmas trees and we were debating over whether or not we should dust off the tree in the garage and hang ornaments on it, or if we should buy a new one...(problems problems, right?)...and then we heard about a single mom who had her power cut off and couldn't afford to pay the deposit to get it turned back on.

Mom wrote her a check for $100 and quietly gave it to her, without asking for publicity or anything else. I told Mom that having my family was the best present I could ask for, and not to get me anything this year. Mom told me to keep my money in my piggy bank, too, and that she felt the same way.

Then, a miracle happened. We started singing Christmas carols, and we smiled as we drove through our neighborhood admiring all the lights. We started planning on what we were going to do to celebrate our Lord's birth, and decided we'd splurge on a new book from Barnes & Noble, buy some Orville Redenbacher buttery popcorn and Martinelli's sparkly cider, and snuggle under the afghan while watching movies and reading our new book (we're partial to Phillipa Gregory's fact-filled fiction about English history).

We feel really happy, blessed and light hearted. Christmas Spirit for us, anyway, is feeling love and having a happy heart, knowing that you are blessed with good health, good friends, and good family all year around.

May you all have the opportunity to give to someone in need this Christmas and feel the magic of the season, too.

Love and kisses...

Mary-Margaret

Ten more days 'til Christmas!!

Woo hoo! I'm excited. I wonder what Santa will bring me? The REAL Santa, not that guy from PetSmart, I mean. I already know that I am NOT getting my first choice - a baby brother or sister. I wouldn't even care if it was a human baby, though I would prefer another York or Yorkette. But even if I get nothing, I am still blessed with my life. Even my Dr. V once said that if there's such a thing as reincarnation, she want's to come back as "Mary-Margaret".

When I was picking out my gifts for my fur family I thought "What would I like?", so that's what I got them. Shhhhh! It has to be a surprise. Yup! But honestly, I liked the presents SOOOO much, I almost didn't give them away. Mom reminded me that Christmas was about feeling happy because you've made someone ELSE happy, so keeping gifts wouldn't quite cut it.

It's true, though. Like December is probably the WORST month of the year in our business. And yesterday morning Mom gave away some of her work to clients who needed our help but couldn't really afford it. And I hopped into their laps and gave them some loving and licks. Mom and me both felt really sparkly and happy inside afterwards, too.

Then, yesterday afternoon, other clients came in and brought us work and paid for it up front. Hmmmmmm! This totally validates my belief that the whole universe is a system of opposites. You know! Like "positive/negative", "good/evil", "plus/minus" and so on. If you do something nice for someone without wanting something back for it, you get surprised by something nice happening for you when you least expect it.

I think humans say it like this - "What goes around, comes around!". Some call it a "Random act of kindness!" or "Pay it forward!". It works. It really REALLY works.

May the spirit of the Christmas season be with you all.

Love and kisses....

Mary-Margaret

Santa Claus?

Guess who I was supposed to see today? Hmmmmmm?

So I got this red velvet dress put on me (with white snowflakes and sparklies on the skirt). Then I got handed off to a fat guy in a red velvet suit, wearing a white beard that kept slipping off (causing the mustache to fall into his mouth), a cheap watch and thin white cotton gloves. He had hairy arms that hung out below his sleeves(his suit was a little small).

Mom kept saying "SMILE!", the camera lady kept trying to make me look up, and the chubby guy said nothing because, I think, the beard kept gagging him. "What do you want for Christmas", I heard. "Tell Santa!". I glared. The dress was way too hot and this isn't working for me. I admit to being a dog but I am NOT stupid.

While I was sitting on this guy's lap a Chihuahua and a Golden Retriever (Daisy and LuLu, respectively) got in line. After three tries the camera lady gave up on trying to get me to smile. I wriggled free, arms outstretched to Mom, and said (politely, of course) "Get me outta here!". We waited for our picture to get printed and framed, so I figured I'd see how well Daisy and LuLu did. Daisy kept glancing at me and asking if this was "de verdad?" ("for real" in Spanish). Chihuahuas catch on quick. LuLu kept a huge grin pasted on her face since it seemed to make her human happy.

Oh? What's this? My wish came true? Sure enough, I silently wished for a baby sister and here one was right next to me, human and only one month old, named "Avery". She was wearing red pajamas and smelled....um.....ripe? PERFECT (I said), and as I got ready to claim my gift Daisy's mom grabbed the baby and handed her to Santa, poopy diapers and all.

I guess things have a way of working out. Next time I see Santa, it better be the real thing. I can tell, you know. And so can the Universal Forces, as evidenced by Avery's special gift to Santa. Life is good.

Mom says she'll try to post my picture tomorrow. She's too tired tonight. She hopes you understand. (NOTE - Mom remembered!)

Love and Christmas Cheer....

Mary-Margaret

As Good as New (Almost)

Remember how I told you the other day that I really REALLY like postcards? Hmmmmm??
And how I truly savor them? And how I got carried away and pretty much shredded one from my Aunt Elaine before anyone caught me?



Out of the baggie and into my collection! Mom DID it! She DID. It's whole again. It's a miracle, good DOG, it's a MIRACLE!!



(Note to myself: I am a shred-a-holic. I need help!)

(PS - Thank goodness for Scotch tape!)

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Leaping Lizards, Daddy Warbarks!!

Here's me doing what I love absolutely the everly most best: HUNTING LIZARDS!!! Yup. Even fresh from the Puppy Day Spa, the first thing I do when I get to work is look for lizards. I never ever caught one so don't know what I'd do with it if I did, but still. It's one of my great pleasures in life.



Here's me sitting nicely, like my mom asked, and posing for the camera. This might be my official Christmas 2009 picture. Maybe. Unless we go see Santa Claus, which is iffy today. It's cold and rainy and Mom's in a pre-holiday funk. She really misses her family and kids. I tell her that's why she has MEEEEE, which seems to be of some comfort, but I know I'm no substitute for humans.

Where are her kids, you ask? Well, one is in Minnesota with her hubby and three of Mom's grandkids; the other one is just over the hill but she's going to Hawaii this Christmas with her hubby and the other two of Mom's grandkids. So it's just me and her. Yup. So we're wrapping and packing and getting stuff ready to ship out on Monday so at least everybody will have presents from us at Christmas. That's kinda fun to do. I get to play with the ribbon and the paper scraps.

I keep getting emails asking me to help Nigerians get their money over here to the USA. All I have to do is send them a certified check to show good faith. If they knew who they were asking they'd be the one's surprised. I am not a pup with "deep pawkets", and I got no money, honey! Maybe $13 plus change in my piggy bank but that's for a really rainy day, not an iffy one like today. Actually, only $3.00 'cause Mom still owes me $10 from the tip I got from one of my clients last month. But I will have $13 when she pays me back.

Hope you're all staying dry...

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Merry Christmas and....Well, Crud!!

I love Christmas...decorations, yummies and stuff. And cards....especially Christmas cards. If you look at our office you'll see that MOST of the cards are to MEEEEEEEE. From MY friends.


About the "Well, Crud!" comment, I would have said something else but Mom "hushed" me. I got a card from my Auntie Elaine in Tampa today. I KNEW it was for me. Like...nobody else BUT me gets postcards, right? Anyway....Mom read it out loud to me and Shannon. And then, because I was hopping up and down, saying "MINE! MINE! MINE!", Mom handed me the card.

It smelled like Brighton, NY. It smelled just like my Auntie Elaine, which reminds me of my VERY good friends, AbbeyMia, Harper and Piper. Which makes me hungry. (Don't ask..it's a dog thing!)

So...I sniffed, I licked, I kissed, and I shredded and I was just about to digest the whole thing when Mom and Shannon absolutely SHRIEKED at me. "NO NO NO"....and I got the whole thing picked up and headed for the trash when my mom intercepted Shannon. It's in a baggie now. Mom says she's going to reassemble it (like a jigsaw puzzle) and put it with my card collection where it belongs.


I guess humans have a totally different idea of how one is to enjoy post cards.

Hmmmmph!

Mary-Margaret

Dear GrandPapa.....

Hi, GrandPapa. It's meeeeeeeeeeee....Mary-Margaret. Mom left me at home alone this morning and forgot to turn off the computer. Silly woman! She KNOWS how I am. I watched her leave through my little window by the door. She said she'd be gone two hours, so I figured I had just about enough time to hop on her chair and log in, and maybe even update you on what I've been doing.

It's pretty cold at night, so I do a lot of snuggling. We had "fambly day" on Sunday which means movies and popcorn. I LOVE popcorn. We watched some "Harry Potter" marathon. Oh...and we did some Christmas shopping (on the internet, of course!). We only have a couple more things to get and we're done.

I think maybe we'll do Christmas cards this weekend. Just to fambly and a few friends, though. We have three boxes, but I can't remember how many are in them.

Maybe I can go see Santa Claus, too. Last year we went with Auntie Colleen and my Uncle Rudy and got pictures taken. Or maybe it was the year before. I can't remember. I think we'll go to PetSmart instead of PetCo, though. They have nicer frames. I'm working on my smile especially for YOU, Grandpapa.

Uh oh....I think I hear the car. I better move fast or I'm in beeeeeg trouble.

Love ya...

Mary-Margaret

RRRUFFFF! AWWRRURRR!

Happy Thanksgiving, EVERYDOGGIE!!

What I learned last year:

1) Do not cap off your tank;
2) If you ignore #1, stay off white berber carpets (turkey parts tend to get stuck in the fibers);
3) Make sure you know exactly where your potty pad is;
4) Jello is not your friend;
5) Just because someone gives it to you doesn't mean you have to eat it!!

And, dear Lord, please hear our prayer that all pups have a family, a warm place to sleep, and plenty to eat.

Best wishes to everyone, with love....

Mary-Margaret O'Brien

Sundays with Mom!

In case I hadn't told you before, me and my mom share a bed. She gets the left hand side with the remote - I get the right hand side. We watch TV before we fall asleep. Sometimes I get right to the end of the bed so I can see up close. When I'm ready to call it a night I get on my pillow and curl up. I snore pretty loud, which you already know, but it's ok. Mom says it's kinda reassuring to know that all is well in my world.

About 4 or 5 in the morning it gets a bit chilly, so I skootch under the covers and snuggle up with my "bed buddy". She says it keeps her warm, too. If she gets up before I'm ready, I let her give me a tummy kiss but then I get back under the covers to catch a few more "zees".

We vacuumed (which I HATE) and did laundry (which I LOVE!). I can't explain it but vacuum cleaners give me the creeps. They make a nasty sound and look mean and eat everything in their path. One time one even ate my leash! With ME on the other end, too. Talk about scary. I got unhooked really fast and watched while my mom untangled me. My leash was pretty curly after that so I got a new one.

Laundry.......oh, that's the ONE thing I can't wait for. I dive into the piles, muss them up to make a nest....rearrange stuff. The undescribable aroma of dirty laundry is the absolutely best smell in the whole world.

That's pretty much it, GrandPapa. We have clean sheets, clothes and other stuff. I even helped make the bed. Mostly I just lay on it to get any wrinkles out, but I know it's helpful.

Hope you had a nice dinner at Mike and Janet's.

I love you..

Mary-Margaret

TGIF!!

Thank God It's Friday!! I wasn't going to write anything because today was pretty uneventful but Mom laid the old Doglish guilt trip on me. (sigh)

Hmmm...well, we went to three banks today. The first one got complicated (not MY fault) because we were taking some money out of two accounts and putting it into two others. The second one was easy, and the third one wanted to know if we wanted to refinance. Well, it seems that got us into trouble a few years ago and Mom patiently explained why we don't want to do that again. They must have gotten the idea because they smiled and wished us a good day, giving up on their sales pitch.

Back at the office I decided to play the old "Ditch the Dog" game. You remember? The one where I pretend to go into the office but duck out just as the door closes? And I get to run up and down the hallways, and listen under people's doors? Well, it's NOT FUN when no body knows you're missing. After about an hour or so, I got pretty worried and squished my little body really close to the door. I'm not allowed to bark so that wasn't an option. FINALLY!! Shannon opens the door to go across the hall and I practically FELL into our office. Boy, were the ladies surprised. I raced inside and JUMPED into my office bed. Sheesh! I don't think I'll play that again for a while.

After work we went to Albertson's. I made some friends. First, I met an 8-month old little girl and we hit it off right away. She stretched her hand out to me and I kissed her fingers. We both started talking to each other quietly...she'd coo and I'd go "wurf". I guess I got a little carried away, though, because on my final "wurf" it was a bit louder than I intended and I got glared at. OK..I am SOOO sorry. It won't happen again (I said). I saw her later in the check out line and I smiled, but kept my "wurfs" to myself.

There were two kids in the vegetable section at the lettuce stand who looked like they needed some loving. The little boy was maybe 5 and the girl was about 7. BigJack (he said that was his name) and Kalani. I know when people need me...it's just a gift I have. Their dog got run over by a car a few days ago and they were missing it a whole lot. So I let them love on me, and I kissed their faces, and they petted me and ......you know. I just did what I do best. We met again in the butcher department, and then again at check out, where BigJack gave me lots of hugs and Kalani helped my mom put her groceries on the checker's counter. They made a point of saying good-bye to me, too. I love helping people. It makes my heart happy.

Then we went to Customer Service so I could do my usual "meet and greet" with my VERY good friend, Janet. She just got a dog from the pound - a black Lab type named "Crash". Her dog Lucky went to the Rainbow Bridge not too long ago and her family had an opening, so Crash went to live with them. He's only two, so I know I can probably do some mentoring there. She lives just up the street from us and I wouldn't even have to cross any roads because she's on the first cul-de-sac on the left. Yup. I could probably go there by myself now that I'm FOUR! (ow..just kidding, Mom...I'd never go without you!).

Tonight I ate all my dinner (fresh baked chicken and duck kibble) and hung out with my Mom. She has a hand towel folded in half for me on the left hand corner of her desk. It's yellow and soft and fluffy, and very VERY comfortable. When she's taking dictation I lay there and stare into space (she thinks). The truth is, which she just now discovered, is that I can see the TV in her bedroom and tonight "Shrek the Third" was on. So I was watching that and trying to remember what I did today. "Donkey" is my favorite character.

OK...Gads. That took a lot of space to tell you about nothing special. Sorry for rambling like that but I guess a lot of stuff actually did happen today. Yup. I'm a lucky pup.

Love and kisses and have a great weekend...

Mary-Margaret

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDPAPA

Today, November 19, my GrandPapa has a birthday. This is a very special birthday because he's going to be 89. Yup. EIGHTY-NINE. He takes pretty good care of himself, eats well (unless you count potato chips, ice cream and Mountain Dew), and he gets up and out every single day. We think he has more energy than me and Mom combined.

We're going to go see him on Thanksgiving. OHhhhhh!!! I can't WAIT. I just love it when fambly gets together, don't you? I wish we could have absolutely everyone to our house but it's just not possible any more. Mom's got arthur-itis in her back and she can't bustle about like she used to. I've seen pictures and heard stories about when she used to get as many as 26 people to a sit-down dinner. That's when my Aunt Susie and Uncle Sneakers were still here. Counting them, that's 28.

Anyway...everybody wish my Grandpapa a very happy birthday. I know we do. And we send him hugs and lots of slurpy kisses.

From our hearts, Grandpapa... You are the BEST!!

Love, Mary-Margaret

Grounded....ME?

Well, shoot. I'm sitting there with my mom watching "Good Morning America" and I hear "MEEE-YOOOOOOWWWR" and "RRRR-OOOOWWWWRRRRRR". Ooooh, (I said) "CAT FIGHT!". Wooo hoo. Who doesn't love a cat fight, I ask?

So I went racing out my little personal door to get a good seat. But they were gone. I missed the whole fight, darn it. I kept walking back and forth along the back wall hoping to catch a glimpse of them but no success. Then I hear "Mary-Margaret, COME!". I pretend I hear nothing and continue patrolling.

"YOU GET IN HERE YOUNG LADY!!". Oh yell yourself silly (I say quietly). I'll come in when I'm darn good and ready. "I SAID COME!!" Yeah Yeah (I say) and I keep walking.

"YOU ARE NOW GROUNDED!" Yeah? Big whoopeeeee (I say) and sit down in the sunlight against the back wall. I hear the door in the kitchen slam a couple of times, but I know it's just a ploy. She's got so many tricks up her sleeve and I'm wise to them all.

Next thing I see is my mom in her lavendar bathrobe and bare feet walking across the lawn to me. Uh oh (I think)..jig's up. I surrender. I am scooped up and...egads! I am thwacked on my butt. Yup. Not hard, but it's emotionally painful for me. I am put in my place and told NEVER do that again and I should "come when you're called!". Well, fine! I am SORRY!

So she goes upstairs to get ready for work and turns around when she gets to the landing. She says "Come!" in her most nicest voice ever. This is a test, I'm sure, but I come anyway. I even race her to the top of the stairs. Hah! I showed her. I am a GOOD puppy. Yup. I just happen to know that I'm smarter than she is, but she is the one with the food and the bed, so I let her think she's boss. I can do "pawlitics" just as good as the next guy.

Love and kisses...

Mary-Margaret

Teaching Tigger

Tigger came in with him mom today. She needed to have a notary done. She told me that Tigger was only 4 months old and wasn't very social. I said "Put him down and I'll socialize him!". She didn't believe me. It took a while but finally Tigger got down on my level. He nipped at me once and I was very gentle. Maybe only fifteen minutes later he was playing nicely.

Ohhh...I DO so love babies. I miss being a mentor at Puppy School. I must be pretty good, too, because when the lady was all done being notarized she gave me a TEN DOLLAR TIP. Wow. I think that's only the second time in my whole life that I've been given a tip. The lady even said I could baby sit Tigger any time. Wow. Who'da thunk it? I can make $$$$$.

Love,

Mary-Margaret "The Entrepreneur" O'Brien

No! No! No! I don't WANNA go!

Gina works Mondays at the bank. I love Gina so I love Mondays. As soon as I saw her I started running toward her. Never mind that Mom was still holding on to my body about four feet off the floor - I had all my arms and legs going at once. I would have flown to Gina if I had wings. I get plopped on the counter and Gina picks me up.

First off, she says "Oh, HI, Mary-Margaret", and then she says "Hang on! I have to cut up some more jerky!". I tell YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! She knows what a puppy likes. While she's slicing and dicing, I am saying "Hello!" to Marilyn and Aida. They say "Hello" back and laugh with me. I'm very careful not to mess up any piles of paper or step on Gina's ink pad again. Yeah...nothing like inky paw prints on the teller's counter, right? Then I sit down until Gina hands me some duck jerky. Oh YUMMMM! (I say). And I remember to say "Thank you!", too.

After Mom makes the deposit and visits with Gina for a bit I hear, "Come on, Mary-Margaret! It's time to go!". Huh? (I say) I don't THEEENK so. I'd rather stay here with Gina. Gina scoots me across the counter toward Mom and I scoot back to Gina. Then something weird happens.

Mom puts her hand against her forehead and says "Ok...I can see you'd rather stay with Gina. Good-bye, Mary-Margaret!". She sort of lists to one side. And then she starts to cry. "Ohhh, Mary-Margaret! I'm so sad and hurt (sob sob)", she goes. Now this bothers me a lot.

I turn around and walk across Gina's counter and reach for my mom. Well, good gosh. I've never heard her cry like that before. I was just kidding. Really, I was. I don't EVER want to be without my mom. Mom turned around and picked me up and she and Gina winked at each other. Now, I'm not totally sure about this so I'm not saying anything, but....well, maybe I got snookered? You think? What's it called..? Alligator tears? Hmmmmmph! See if THAT works again.

I'll probably get to see Gina again on Wednesday. She goes to school on Tuesday and Thursday so I get to snuggle up to Xochitl (pronounced Soshi) those days. I just love Xochitl too.

Love ya...

Mary-Margaret

I'm Home!!

Wow...that was fun! I just LOVE LOVE LOVE hotels. Mom said she should have named me "Eloise". Like...whateverrrrr! I have no idea who that is, but Mom said it was her most favorite book when she was ten. Hmmmmmmm!?

We got home maybe 1:30 or so and picked up our mail and went to Albertson's. They had just taken some freshly roasted chickens out of that thing-a-ma-bob that goes round and round. Guess what I had for dinner tonight?

We ate early and I slept most all afternoon. Conferences can be SOOOOO exhausting, don't you think? I'm told I snored some during one of the presentations today, but by then everybody knew it was me so it's kewl.

Probably going to go to bed early and maybe watch "Desperate Housewives". I outgrew my "Desperate Housedogs" shirt a few sizes ago and we donated it to the vet for puppies who get cold easily. Now I just skootch under the covers if I get chilly. I help keep my mom warn that way, too.

Niters for now.

Yours truly,

Mary-Margaret

PS: My Aunt Allie in Hawaii (who took in ONE homeless chicken to be nice and ended up with a whole flock of them AND fresh eggs, too!) is now the proud mother of a duckling named "Graham Quacker". She says her daughter-in-law, Candice, named him. Isn't he the cutest ever??

Dear GrandPapa....

I'm on a business trip. A conference, if you will. MEEEEE! Mary-Margaret O'Brien. When I found out Mom was going and she was going to take meeeee because I am FOUR and I'm old enough now, I was everly so excited.

Today, we were downstairs listening to people talk. I dozed a bit between taking notes...well, actually, taking notes was pretty hard to do without opposable thumbs, so I was remembering until I fell asleep. Then we had some lunch, and I got to go out a few times. So many smells...so little time.

This afternoon there was a panel of four speakers - One bankruptcy judge and three attorneys. Mom was really into it but I zonked out. After their presentation Mom started explaining that sometimes I snore pretty loud and she hoped it didn't bother any one. Oh, HOW EMBARRASSING! They HEARD me maybe three rows away, and they thought it was my MOTHER. She took it all right, but I blushed a lot.

Then for supper I got to pick what I wanted off the menu. We had FIVE choices: Grilled lemon chicken breast, char-grilled new york sirloin (with rosemary sofritto) , broiled green tea lacquered salmon, shiitake essence, stir fried brown rice with sunny side organic egg (blegh!) and stone fired pizza. I picked STEAK. (Hey, I'm not paying for it!). It was dee-lish!

Tonight I'm all full of energy and messing with Mom's laundry. This is the life. I could get used to it. Room service is the best ever.

Love and kisses....

Mary-Margaret

What the bank said!

We got a call from the bank this morning. Here's how it was explained to my mom:

When the teller closed out her work two days ago she had a couple of extra checks. She made up another deposit slip and put the $650.00 into our account. (Nobody likes loose checks floating around, right?) So what we want to know is....if she fixed what she thought was a problem on the same day, how come they only took out the money and didn't put it back in?

Here's what we think of that "explanation" - (click here)

Love, Mary-Margaret

PS - We get our $4.00 back that they charged us for correcting OUR mistake (HAH!). Mom said they ought to give us back another $4.00 that we are charging them for THEIR mistake. You want to know what they said? Hmmmmmm? Click on the "click here" link again.

Counting on my fingerettes....

One...two...three...four! That's how many checks we had in our bank deposit yesterday afternoon. Today, the bank said we were missing two checks and they took $650.00 out of our account AND charged us $4.00 for doing so. "Um...." (I said)"....four is two times as many as two." I think someone would notice at the time we gave our money to the bank if we were missing something. Two checks is half as thick as four checks. No point in even going to the bank for two checks.

Oh well. My very good friends who work there are going to find the problem and give us back our money. And if they don't we can always get the people who wrote us the checks to give us new ones, in a month or so, if they don't get their checks back. Still....$650.00 is a lot of money, dontcha think? That buys a LOT of duck jerky, to my way of thinking.

Other than the bank losing $650.00 of our money, things are going well. And I got to see my very good friend Gina today. She's my personal banker, you know.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

RIP Bill Graham

Dear Grandpapa - I got this message from RAND today. I think maybe you know him because he was at RAND the same time you were. I'm very sorry that he passed away.

A memorial service for William 'Bill' Graham will be held at RAND in Santa Monica on Sat, November 14th, from 11AM to 1PM.

Bill passed away on October 4th. He worked at RAND as head of the Electronics and Engineering Departments, among other positions, from 1950 to 1982 and as a consultant from 1982 to 1995. His research on defense weapon systems and remotely piloted air vehicles was widely praised by fellow experts, and he spent two tours studying U.S. operations in South Vietnam. He was also a former Navy radar technical officer.

Let me and Mom know if you want to go to the service.

I love you, GrandPapa

Mary-Margaret

Twick or Tweet

One for the money...........



Two for the show.............



Three to get ready but I'm too tired to go!

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Love,

Mary-Margaret

If it's on the floor, it's MINE!

One of our clients brought in a stack of 23 papers to be served. She also brought an envelope addressed to my mom with a check in it. Somehow (Oh, lucky me!) the envelope landed on the floor and it just sat there, calling my name. Thinking this might be another Halloween greeting, I decided to open it. Hey! It's not like anyone was paying attention to me. I shredded it open and saw there was something in it and walked away. That's just the kind of pup I am, you know? You'd think "some people" would appreciate my consideration, but NOOOOOOO!

"AAAAAAAAAAACK", she yells. "Mary-Margaret, you get over here and clean up your mess!", she says. "As if....!", I replied and sat down next to one of my favorite clients' shoe (he was wearing it, by the way). Uh oh....she looks mad. I stand up as high as I can and I'm begging Mr. "H" to PULEEEZE pick me up. He laughs at me, but I end up on his lap, safe for the moment.

Well, how was I to know there was a check in there if I didn't open it? Hmmmmm??? And I only tore off a teensy little corner of it, sort of by the check number, so I'm sure it's still good, right? RIGHT?

Rule #2: If it's on the floor, it's MINE!!

Hmmmmph! Maybe she'll learn her lesson this time.

Mary-Margaret

GID OWTA DA WAY STUBASKET

"Gid owta da way stubasket!"

Sheesh....My mom has a meatball sandwich for lunch and all of a sudden she speaks another language. "Gid owta da way stubasket", she says. Over and over. Like I'm supposed to know what that means? Hmmmmm?

Meanwhile, until I figure it out, there's some trash in a container under her desk that tastes absolutely heavenly! YUM!

(The melted provolone just makes it, you know?)

Later, gator!

Mary-Margaret

OH...and PS! I got a HALLOWEEN card from my very good friends in Brighton, New York today. We were downstairs when Cella (the mail lady) came by. We sat patiently on the steps that go no where (like the Winchester mansion only there's just three of them that end at a solid wall) and Cella started laughing. She kept looking at me and I said "What's so funny?". She brought me over a really kewl orange envelope addressed to MEEEEEEEEEE, Mary-Margaret O'Brien. It tastes just like my friends AbbeyMia, Harper and Piper from New York. I never ever in my whole like got a Halloween card before. Between the trash and the mail lady, this has gotta be one of my best days ever.

Mary-Margaret O'Boleyn

Argh. I can totally relate to Ann Boleyn's last few moments when she had to walk herself to the chopping block.

"Bath time!", I hear. Oh crud. I look for someplace to hide but I'm not fast enough. "Oh, THERE you are!", she says. "Bath time!". I sit firmly planted on the stairway landing.

"YOU MARCH!", she orders. I hang my head and skootch up the stairs, one at a time. So this is how it feels to have to take yourself to your doom. I am not a willing participant here, but I must obey my ruler.

My collar is removed and I am totally naked. The water is turned on and I say a few final prayers before being immersed and soaped. May I emerge from this torture clean, dry and brushed. And, Dear Lord, please let me have a GOOD hair day.

Amen

Your humble servant...

Mary-Margaret

Thank you, TERESA and DOGGY DAY SPA!

I got a box from Teresa Brendemuehl of Doggy Day Spa in Kerkhoven, MN and I can open it MYSELF!! I don't need any help. I am FOUR!!

This is what she sent me. My very own terry cloth bathrobe with a yellow ducky on the back.....a pink stuffie....a magnetic calendar....perfume (which will come in handy and I will keep at the office for when one of my co-workers - she knows who she is - informs me that I stink)....and PEPPERONI PUPPY-POPCORN. I just LOVE people pop corn and I can't wait for Mom to pop this in the microwave for me.




My Cousin Sophie says Teresa is the very best personal puppy stylist in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD. I don't know about that as I'm pretty partial to my own Miss Marilyn, but I can honestly say that Teresa knows how to make a Pup's day.

Thank you, TERESA!!

I love you.



Did you know us pups get in-som-ni-a too? Gosh...last night I woke up about 2:30AM and started pacing. I jumped up and down on the bed for a while. I went over to Mom and got right up in her face and started heavy-breathing. "Get up", I said. "I want to PLAAAAY!".

"Arrgggh", she said, and told me to get back in bed. But that wasn't my plan. I attacked her hand a few times until she swatted me away. So then I got down and stood by the door, "ruurrrfffing" at her. "Whaaa....whaaaa....?", she asked. "Well, NOTHING!", I said. I just want some attention. "Mmmmmmmfffff", she replied, and stuffed her face back into her pillow.

I got back on the bed and talked her into giving me some belly rubs until she fell asleep. Then I got back on my pillow and went back to sleep, too. Humans are sooooooo chronologically oriented. Everything has to be done "on time". Pups aren't like that. We play when we FEEL like playing, even when it's dark outside. Life would be everly less complicated if humans would toss all their watches and clocks, don't you think?

Mary-Margaret

Happy Columbus Day!

The way I see it, some directionally challenged human sails from Spain, gets lost, loses a few ships in a nasty storm, and beaches himself on an island that he's never seen before. The locals gather about to possibly try to help him and he gives them smallpox. But don't mind me. I'm just a pup who tends to see things in black and white.

My Aunt Rose's (rest her soul) Uncle Joe and Aunt Susie dropped by to say "Hello" with their two remaining kids, Daisy and Coco. Daisy is a Shih Tsu and just the nicest pup I've ever met. Coco Puff was my Aunt Rose's boyfriend. He's 16 years old now. He even once brought Rosie a piece of chicken and dropped it right in front of her, he was so in love with her.

Joe and Susie used to work with Mom until they upped and moved to Colorado. They're on vacation right now for two whole weeks, so they came to California to visit friends and to mine their claims (whatever that means).

Then Mom got a flu shot and she's been reading since she got home. I've been sitting at the front window watching everyone and everything that passes by, woofing at stuff that catches my interest. It's been a nice, restful vacation.

We're charging up the camera battery so I can finish opening my present from Theresa in Kerkhoven, MN. I'm not supposed to open anything unless it's on camera so I can share the joy with all my friends. (rolling eyes)

Hope you all had a fun filled holiday, too.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

The Ins and Outs of it all

Taking what I discovered about my mom yesterday (which is that she can't see her feet without bending over - therefore, I am invisible if I want to be) and applying it to other circumstances, I've discovered other things I can do for entertainment.

For example, we come back from being "out" and I trot right along side of her ankle all the way to our office. "Good girl", she says. Then she opens the door and she goes in thinking I'm right there. Except I put on the brakes and take a step backwards. She goes in and I am FREE FREE FREE AT LAST. Whooo hooo!

I can run up and down the hallways as fast as I want - wheeeeee! I can sneak up to other office doors and listen to people talking. My very good friend Zeus (the Weimaraner) works next to us so sometimes I go and sniff around the bottom of his door. I can sit in the middle of the hallway and see who goes by outside our glass doors. If anyone went out to lunch and got "take-out", I can check for tasty morsels on the carpet.

Then I get bored. Today, I lasted maybe an hour before I said "Arf?". "Arf?", says Mom, and then she asks Shannon where I am. Hmmmmmm, they say after hunting all over. They open the door. I race inside all laughing and stuff. They give me some loving and hugs, and then they say "MARY-MARGARET! What are we going to DO with you?".

I tried it again a little later when Mom went to check out Zeus' dad because there was a loud "thunk" from his office and we got all worried about him. Turns out he just dropped a heavy-duty stapler. It gave me a chance to play in the hall again, but I got caught maybe 10 minutes later.

I figure I can keep this up until either Mom loses enough weight to see her toes (and me) OR I get put back on a leash. (OH GOSH NO...NOOOOOOOO...ANYTHING BUT THAT!)

Cheerfully yours,

Mary-Margaret

Yanking Mom's Chain....again!

What can I say? It's not like I do much at work. I greet people; make them feel comfortable. I take care of little kids when their parents bring them in. Piece of cake...but I need a real CHALLENGE. This is where I get to play with Mom's head.

I had a bit a gas today. So Shannon takes me out and I piddle a bit but nothing serious. She brings me back, and right away I gas Mom again really good. Yup. I get to go out again. This time I hunted for lizards before I had to go back. Shannon just glared at me.

When a client came in later and he and Mom were just winding up some business, I discretely let loose again. They BOTH fanned the air and said "Yuck". This time, Mom took me out. And she waited....and waited.....and waited.

"Oh, come ON, Mary-Margaret!", she complained. But I just checked the outside edges of the planter downstairs. I found an interesting twig that I stuck to my chest (like velcro). I found some really neat spider webs that I draped over my nose. There was something kind of putrid under the plants, so I rolled in that for a while. No lizards this time. Finally I was told to get back on the elevator.

"Fine", I said. And I rode up to the 3rd floor like I always do. Mom got off first (usually it's me first) while I dilly-dallied around because I found some kewl stuff to sniff. She walked all the way through the double doors before she realized I wasn't there.

"Mary-Margaret? Where ARE you?", she said. She hunted all over and finally (duh!) figured out I was still on the elevator. She pushed the button, and the door slid open. I was still sniffing around. She said, "You get OUT OF THERE right NOW!". I rolled my eyes at her and got off. She opened the double doors again and I quickly darted back on to the elevator just as the doors were shutting. (snicker snicker...I am fast and sneaky!)

"NOW where'd you go?", she wondered. It didn't take her long to figure out where I was this time. She punched the button, the doors slid open and I just sat there and gave her my most winning grin. This IS fun. I could do this all day. I don't think SHE could, though. This time she scooped me up and carried me all the way back to the office before she put me down.

Some people have no sense of adventure.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

What's a "Sewer Serve", Mom??

"A "Sewer Serve" is another way of saying that the process server didn't actually serve the paper as they were instructed to do, but just tossed it in the "sewer" (or garbage) and signed a "Declaration under penalty of perjury" or a sworn "Affidavit" that they DID serve the paper". (This is what my Mom said when I asked her. She ALWAYS tells me the truth, too!)

So I asked her how come somebody would DO that? And she says she has absolutely NO idea, since professional process servers are paid to either serve the document, or (if the people don't live there anymore) sign a Declaration/Affidavit of Non-Service. Either way the process servers have done their job. Professional companies like my employer, RASCAL, even get hired to find the person or figure out a way to tell the defendant that he's got a problem so he can defend himself. PROFESSIONAL Process Servers (like my Mom) would NEVER do a "sewer serve"!

So then I ask her how come the "FTC*" is having all these meetings about "Sewer Serves"? And "tens of thousands of people" have defaults entered against them and they don't even know they're being sued? And she says to click on the link above. She thinks a lot of these people just don't want to admit they messed up.

Somewhere in fairly recent times people just stopped taking responsibility for themselves and they learned to blame other people instead. Tsk. No wonder so many humans prefer the company of pups, I say. We're everly so less complicated.

Love and schlurpies....

Mary-Margaret

*Federal Trade Commission, not "Furry Terrier Club" (this time, anyway!)

Clocking in!

I've gotten a few reminders that there are people who actually READ my diary who say that I need to start writing again. Here's the thing! I have to dictate to my Mom, who then has to transcribe Caninidian (or Puplish) into English and then put it on to the computer, which then goes into my blog. She has to be in just such a mood to do so and lately she's been a little distracted.

There are fewer consonents in my language due to the rigid formation of my mouth and lips. So if I try to say something like "Tuna Fish Sandwich", it comes out like "Turr-a-wit Tand-it" (sort of). "Cat" is "Owrrr"; "Out" is "Aurrr". And "Take dictation NOW" is "rrurrr-a-rowr-rrr-RRROW!!" A low throaty growl - "hrurrr hrurrr" can mean a lot of things, including "Have you noticed that the slider is closed and I haven't been out for..oh...let's see...maybe FOUR HOURS??"

We communicate pretty well, but there is room for improvement. At the moment, we're at the office and "The Mother Person" is doing reports. My plan is to sleep until it's time to go home for dinner.

Love you guys...

Mary-Margaret

PS: When I got home tonight I was shooing off cats. Except one cat just sat there and STARED at me. Mom finally got off her duff and came to the window. Whoa...she says, "THAT'S JUST A BABY KITTY, MARY-MARGARET! YOU STOP SCARING THAT BABY!". Oh, like she might like me to have a kitty of my own, maybe? I don't theeeeenk so. But, I have to admit, it was kinda cute the way it kept looking at me. It was grey with a white face and white paws and maybe about 2 pounds worth of kitty...maybe if even that. Note to myself - remind Mom she's allergic to cats.

Powered by Gas!

Or maybe I should say "EMPOWERED" by Gas. I am FOUR - Hear me ROAR!!

It's amazing how the little things in life one discovers that gives them a feeling of superiority. Take "GAS", for example. It's one thing to know about it, and another to take control. For a long time when I was a little kid and I wanted to go to out, I'd scratch at the carpet, then on Mom's legs...and then I start talking non-stop so she couldn't hear her TV program and then she'd say, "Oh? You want to go to out?".

Now that I have the wisdom that comes along with being FOUR, I don't scratch...I don't paw! I don't even have to say a word. Nope! I very quietly hop onto the back of Mom's chair, position my body so my head is at the edge and my tail is in the middle..maybe about 6" from her nose. Then...slowly, silently....(OH I CAN'T STAND MYSELF...HEHEHEHEHEHEH! I AM BAAAAD to the BONE!)...I leak a little post-supper gas.

She goes "EEEEYEEEEW...OH, YOU STINK...ICK...UGH...HOW COULD YOU?" and then she sits up and fans the air. In a little bit, she takes a cautious, tentative sniff again and "OHHHH....GAWD....YOU ABSOLUTELY REEK!!" I'm doing the best I can to keep a straight face, here. This procedure usually gets the back door opened and, as I race for freedom, she calls out, "Make it snappy!". I'm pretty quick about it. Honestly, I might not really have to go out at all, but it's the IDEA of POWER that floats my boat. I HAVE THE POWER TO GET THE BACK DOOR OPEN! I like this very much!

Sometimes, just for fun because I like to yank her chain, I save up a little and let loose on the bed just as she starts to doze off. Yup! That gets her wide eyed and ready to rumble all over again.

I wonder what else I can do? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm??

Love, Mary-Margaret

An Argument Against Electronic Service of Process

An Argument Against Electronic Service of Process

The American people have specific rights afforded to them that are taken for granted. The right to "Due Process of Law" is one of them. As technological advances are made providing transmission of information electronically, do we - The American Pupple...um..PEOPLE - stand to lose our Constitutionally guaranteed rights?

Read the Argument Against Electronic Service of Process. Have we come full circle? Will we be subject to judgment without notification? Will we be found guilty until proven innocent?

Read and decide!

Mary-Margaret "The Bloggy Doggy" O'Brien

(published as a courtesy to my mother, Michele Dawn, otherwise known as "The Princess of Process")

Smarty Pants!!

From Michele, Mary-Margaret's mom:

Last night we were all ready for bed, doors locked and lights out, or so I thought. Mary-Margaret wasn't in any of her usual spots, and she wasn't in bed. The last thing I remembered doing is putting the laundry into the dryer. Could I have left her in the garage? Nope...not there. After looking absolutely everywhere for her, calling and calling, and then listening without response for the little tinkling sound her tags make, I thought the unthinkable. [gasp!] Could I have left her outside in the dark?

What kind of mother am I that I have lost my puppy, and maybe even shut her out doors and left her prey to owls, hawks and coyotes? At the exact moment that I thrust open the glass slider door, my sneaky little smarty-pants darted out from under the kitchen table and dove out her little personal doggy door. "Woo hoooooo!", I heard her say as she raced around the perimeter of our property. I swear I heard her gloating to the neighborhood cats at her cleverness.

Next time, I will look under the kitchen table before I fall for that trick again. She knows that the last place I look for her is in the back-yard, and she totally used that to her advantage.

What a little devil! Yorkies are so terribly smart......and sneaky!!

Happy BIRFDAY to MEEEE!!!

Yup. Finally. I am FOUR YEARS OLD. That's my Aunt Debbie holding me.

This time four years ago I was in Missouri all snuggled in with my brothers and sisters and probably nestled up against my birth mother having some lunch. I wasn't there very long, though. Some human yanked me away from my family, sent me to California where I had some surgery on an inguinal hernia, then I got some shots and was tossed into a glass box in a pet store in Temecula, CA. All this before I was even NINE WEEKS OLD, too. Lucky me that my REAL MOM walked in and adopted me. I don't think much about those cold and lonely days anymore. Just maybe on my birthday, I send my fur mom a little love from my heart.

For my birthday I donated my present money to Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue, Inc. at www.ytnr.com to help other kids like me who weren't as lucky to be adopted by a loving family.

We share my birthday at work with people who have businesses there. They all know me and they drop by to have some cake with me. (FYI, I don't get frosting ...just some hunks of cake without any extras, but that's my favorite anyway!)



This is me opening my present from my friends in New York. I got some more cards, too.

After work we went to Bank of America where everybody there wished me a Happy Birthday. Then we went to California Bank and Trust, and we took them all my left-over cake. I just love those ladies and I wanted to do something nice for them. OH SURPRISE! They had a present for me. Another tiny bag of duck jerky and a pink flower barrette with some mint green ribbon leaves on it.

My very good friend, Gina (who is also my personal banker), cut me up some pieces of duck jerky and EVERYBODY said "Happy Birthday". When we got home, Mom accidentally dropped a whole big piece of duck jerky which I grabbed and enjoyed while I was hiding under the kitchen table. See, I'm not allowed to have BIG pieces of jerky...just tiny small ones...ever since I had one go down the wrong way and then horked it up on the teller's counter (along with some other stuff I'd swallowed earlier). But it's the BIG pieces I like best, so I hide when I'm lucky enough to find one.



(This is MY card from AbbeyMia, Harper and Piper! I'm putting it away someplace so I can sniff them anytime I want. Wow...the scent of them sure brings back some happy memories!!)


And the BEST for last! MY CAKE!!!!!




What a great birthday. Thank you to all my friends, and to my Mom especially, for loving me no matter what.

I hope everybody has a great day today!!


Love, Mary-Margaret

PS - Last night before I gave my mother heart failure (see 9/20 post) my mom put the telephone on speaker, and my GrandPapa played "Happy Birthday" to meeeee, his GrandPuppy. I sat very still, turning my ears to the telephone, so I wouldn't miss one single note. I wish Mom had gotten a recording for me. Maybe next time? I sure do love my GrandPapa.

"Pooky", my new neighbor! And "Rufey"!

Something exciting has happened. I have been talking through the fence to a really nice pup for the past couple of weeks. We've only been doing some preliminary "yapping", though, and hadn't gotten to the basics like names or gender or choice of flea deterrent. Yesterday morning we met! Finally, nose-to-nose, we gazed into each other's eyes and even touched noses.

His name is "Pooky" and he's half-chihuahua and half Basenji. Personally, I think he took after his mother since shape-wise he's about the size of my good friend, Jami Ramsey. His color is white with some cafe-au-lait markings and his nose is medium brown in color. He has nice teeth, and his tail curves in an upside-down question mark formation. Last night we each sat on our own side of the fence and "wurffed" quietly at each other until it was time for supper.

My kitty friend, the black cat with white markings, met me when I got home yesterday. She was waiting for me by the front door under the bush. Lately we've been playing tag. Personally, I don't think kitty leaping to the top of my 6-foot fence is fair, since I can barely make it to the couch cushions, but then I've heard cats don't play fair. Good thing I have a new neighbor, dontcha think?

Love,

Mary-Margaret "Welcome Wagon" O'Brien

PS: I made another new friend today. His name is Rufus, but he prefers to be called "Rufey". He's very nice. His mom is a client of ours, so I guess that makes Rufey a client, too. We shared some treats together. (and I REALLY need to get Mom a new camera. Her cell phone absolutely sucks, dontcha think?)



Rufey

Today is Frontline Day!

Woo hoo. I got "Frontlined" this morning. No fleas for me. Not being the kind of person to keep this good stuff all to myself I made sure I rubbed up really good against Mom's nice work outfit. (hee hee)

Frontline is a little oily so when someone looks at her blouse (chest?) a bit funny today, she just tells them that she's "flea free" for another month, thanks to MEEEEEEEE!!

I DO EVERLY SO LOVE TO SHARE!!

Mary-Margaret

The Duck Lady Returns!

This has been the absolutely most longest two days of my WHOLE life. We went to the bank this morning about 10:00AM and Xochitl (pronounced Soshi) said Gina wasn't coming in until 12:30. Rats! So I helped Xochitl for a bit, and checked our bank balance to make sure she didn't make a mistake. I would have waited two hours for Gina but Mom said...she PROMISED, actually...that we'd come back later today.



We got there about 3:45PM and THERE WAS MY DUCK LADY GINA! Woo hoo. I tried not to show her exactly how excited I was. I've been disappointed 3 times in a row. I think I'll just maybe act aloof and pretend I didn't miss her. Maybe......

OH HECK! I'm not one to play games. I LOVE HER!!!


Love,

Mary-Margaret

Where's my Duck Lady?

I go to the bank every day and I have this little routine. We go in and, if there are no open teller windows, I wait in line. I used to let Mom hold me, but now that I'm almost four and I've shown how professional I can be, I can wait in line by myself. I'm very patient and very polite. (Just nobody better try to cut in front of me, though!)

I just sit there waiting for the window to open. Gina is my everly most favorite teller. She and I go waaaaaaay back to when I was a baby. She has little snippets of duck jerky for me. I waited and waited, and no Gina. I followed Kayla and a customer back to the safe deposit boxes but they whooshed me out. I guess I'm not allowed back there unless I sign a card or something. I got back into line and stood up on my tippie-toes to see as high up as I could and I looked EVERYWHERE. No Gina.

Mom was already at the window with Aida, the Assistant Manager, and she called me over, but I just sat in line on the marble floor, waiting for Gina. Marilyn and Jessica and Aida all told me that it's Gina's day off but I would have none of that. Gina just HAS to be there, I said. And I sat down at the front of the line, all by myself in this great big bank, and I refused to budge. I will wait here all day and all night, and all week if I have to. But Gina is my very special teller and I will NOT move until I've done business with her.

The ladies seemed to feel sorry for me, and I think Mom even teared up a little. They all finally seemed to realize just how important Gina is to me. I LOVE her. I really do. I can't imagine banking without her. I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed myself.

Finally my mom came over and scooped me up, saying "Oh, Mary-Margaret! I'm soooo sorry, but Gina isn't here today. Maybe tomorrow, ok?". My heart is broken. All the way out the bank I looked everywhere but ....(sigh)....no luck. No Gina. No "Duck Lady". No duck jerky. I put my head on Mom's shoulder, dejected and disappointed, and then we went to Albertson's.

They had just taken my chicken out of the oven and it was perfectly plumped and done.
Albertson's knows how to make a puppy feel better. I got lots of loves and kisses there. Mom gets sort of embarrassed at the fuss people make over me, and sometimes she sort of turns away and pretends she doesn't know me. I can't help it. I am a people person. And when I LOVE, I LOVE HARD and FOREVER.

Tomorrow, I will see my Gina again and all will be well in my world.

Love and kisses,

Mary-Margaret

Three strikes and you're "squished"!

My mom is AFRAID of spiders. Big ones...little ones....hairy ones...you name it. She does NOT like spiders.

The other night she was in the bathroom changing my "piddle pads" and I heard her go "EEEEYEEEEEEWWWW!!".
"What? What?", I said, knowing that by now she should be familiar with what appears on a used piddle pad.
"SPIDER", she says. "YUCK!" And then I hear her say something like "Oh, crud. I'm too tired to chase you!". I guess "spidey" crawled into a cabinet or something. Not like I'm going to lose any sleep over it. The next morning, she gingerly picks up the corner of my still-clean pad. Nope. No spiders.

That night she sees the spider skootched up against the wall behind the toilet. She taps the floor next to it and it doesn't move. "Rats. I'll have to get it with the vacuum tomorrow", she says (thinking it's dead). She forgot about it the next day.

The next night she sees it's little body in the same place and reminds herself to get rid of him in the morning. This morning she grabs a wad of tissue to pick up the remains and...[gasp!]... it runs away from her. She goes after it with the plunger but it zigs and zags. It wins. It's fast and elusive. She says "Fine. Stay out of my sight and you live!".

Later this morning, it's right out there in the open between the Weight Watchers scale and the toilet. She grabs another wad of tissue and I hear her saying, "I'm really sorry, but this arrangement is NOT working out!", and then I hear the toilet flush.

My guess is that "spidey" is on his way to a burial at sea. And I won't have to peek under the edges of my piddle pad before I squat. And Mom, despite feeling a little guilty about squishing our uninvited roommate, is glad it won't be having any little "spids" to deal with later. She still hates spiders in general but she did develop some respect for this one. That's a first!!

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Kookie with the Yellow Armpits

WOW! Look who came to visit MEEEEE today! His name is "Kookie" and he says "Hello!". His human asked him what he had for breakfast and he said "Cereal!". He's very beautiful, don't you think?



Not that I asked him, or anything....but...he showed me his armpits. They're YELLOW! Perspiration stains, maybe?



When it was time to say "Good-bye", I was sad to see Kookie go. He's a very nice bird. His human says that he terrorizes their Maltese pup at home but I found him to be very polite.

I hope he comes to visit again.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

A "Shout Out" from Cousin Sophie

My cousin Sophie asked me to give Theresa Brendemuehl of "Doggy Day Spa" in beautiful Kerkhoven, MN a "shout out". She says they are pawsitively FABULOUS and she always comes home beautiful, rested and ready to rock to the music. Hello THERESA!! Woo hoo!

Love ya, girl friend!

Mary-Margaret

Weekly update!

It's hard to get anyone to sit down and seriously take dictation from me. I've been talking my head off and I'm either ignored or told to "Be quiet, Mary-Margaret!". It's not like I'm trying to be rude or anything, but a puppy does need some attention once in a while, even if their mom is trying to balance her business accounts.

Grandma and Grandpa moved to Pacific Palisades when my mom was almost five. They lived in a nice split level, 2 bedroom and den, 2 bath house about 1/2 block from the bluffs. Let's see....moved in about 1949 and....hmmmm. I think they lived there maybe 25 years, but my mom moved out about 1964. This is about how things have changed.



This is what the house looked like back in 1950 when my mom and other "fambly" lived there. See their brand new car?

In the old days, people used an "incinerator" to burn their trash instead of having someone pick it up. Mom says there was a little square in the back right hand corner of their yard with a cement fireplace like thingy that had a metal trap door on the front. They'd throw their garbage into it, light it and voila! Smog!

The incinerator area had a hedge around it and when Mom would get into trouble, usually for disagreeing with HER mother, she'd have haul her "trouble seat" out back and sit there all alone by herself until her mom called her back in. The "trouble seat" was actually a present from Grandpapa's mother, Mila, that she brought back from Mexico. It was painted red with bright yellow and blue flowers and green leaves painted on the back. The seat was made out of woven reeds. It didn't take too long for my mom to wear it out, but I digress.

I'm just telling you this stuff so you'll know how different things are today. No incinerators are allowed anymore, and the house is now a four-story, well designed home that's for sale at approximately 100 times what it was selling for back in the good old days. Where the old incinerator was there's now a spa and pool. And where the avocado tree was that my mom used to climb until she fell out and landed on her head there's a bar-b-que and patio.

Here's what 327 Swarthmore looks like today.

Grandpapa....when you click on the address, the listing will come up. Click on the "See all 25 photos" button and you can see pictures of what "327" looks like now. Pretty much unrecognizable, huh? About the only thing that's where it was back then is the 2nd story balcony, window and door that used to be Mom's room.

I thought you'd enjoy it.

Uh oh...I think I'd better get off the computer and............eeek!

Bye for now

Love, Mary-Margaret

This is #980...WOW!!

Can you believe it? This is the nine hundred and eightieth entry I've made into my diary. When we first started blogging, they said we only had up to 999 posts to make. I wonder what's going to happen in nineteen more posts? I should probably ask BaeBae , the hamster. BaeBae is the successor hamster to GirlGirl, who was the successory hamster to FuFu, who was my very first hamster friend. Hamsters don't live very long, maybe 2-3 years. Being so small, I guess, that everything is relative.

That reminds me about yesterday. I got something dribbled in my nose. Bordatella..some kind of kennel cough vaccine. Makes me sneeze a bit. Mom had to give me a hanky to wipe my nose. Me! Mary-Margaret O'Brien with a Hanky!

Oh oh OHHHHHHHHHHHHh! I forgot to mention. When I was at my doctors a lady brought in three baby Yorkie puppies to get their tails "docked". I always wondered why my tail was so short. It's a Yorkie thing. It's not supposed to hurt much, they say. Probably a lot like what gets docked on human males when they're babies. And since neither one of us can talk, how do people know it doesn't hurt? Hmmmmmmm?

So these Yorkies were squeaking and crying for their Mom because they were hungry and probably didn't feel so great after losing their tails. I wanted to just snuggle up next to them but I couldn't. They were in a shoe box with rags inside and just sobbing their little hearts out. I probably would have made a good mother, I think. I just love babies.

On Sunday my mom went all by herself to meet my Auntie C and the twins, Cailin and Clancy, for dinner in Corona. I got left home which was fine because I got my dinner just a little early. I'm told they all had a good time and that Cailin got my mom a "scratcher" and it was a winner. All of $9.00, of which Cailin got $1.00 back for buying it. Lucky us, huh?

Hmmmm. Let's see. I think that brings us all up to date. Mom, Colleen, Cailin and Clancy are going to visit GrandPapa next Wednesday. GrandPapa got all worried that maybe we were paying our last respects and maybe they all knew something that he didn't. Silly man. It's just the last week of summer before the kids go back to school and the only time they can go see him. He IS their great-grandfather, you know. The only one they got, too! He's fambly and fambly should stick together. I get to go, too.

If anybody knows what happens after #999, let us know, ok?

Love,

Mary-Margaret

BLEGHHHH! YUCK!

Fridays are my favorite day. I get to kick back, relax and I look forward to my weekend. I still hop up and greet people, sniff them, lick them...whatever floats their boat. My point is, I'm easy to get along with.

One of the servers came in this afternoon and sat down to wait for some papers to sign. Naturally, being MEEE, I hopped into his lap. First come the back rubs, then the tummy rubs and then...........OHMYGAWSH! He puts his fingers in my mouth. Then he starts hunting around my gums....then my teeth. "Say AHHHH!, Mary-Margaret!". Like what is this guy up to? This is soooo weird.

Mom gives him a funny look and says "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?". He tells her he's just checking out my teeth and gums to see how healthy I am. ER.....HELLO? I just had my dental? I am just fine, thenkyewveddymuch! Eeeeeyewwwwwwwww!

As soon as I could get free I hopped over onto the chair next to him. I spent the next half hour trying to get the taste of his fingers out of my mouth. Mom says I looked like I'd just eaten peanut butter. Oh, if ONLY that were so. But fingers? YUCKY!!! I think I'll steer clear of him for a while.

Good grief!

Happy weekend.

Mary-Margaret

We Wrote to Oprah!

I dictated and Mom translated, edited and pushed the "send" button.

You all know I've been stewing over this court ruling. One of my friends on another group suggests that we all write to Oprah, since she's an animal lover and she would definitely understand our outrage.

I wrote the Oprah Show. This is what I said (pretty much):

On July 31, 2009, the California 4th District Appellate Court, Div 3, ruled that a woman wasn't entitled to be compensated for the loss of her 5-year old pet that died as a result of "alleged" negligence by a veterinarian. The last paragraph of the ruling reads: "We recognize the love and loyalty a dog provides creates a strong emotional bond between an owner and his or her dog. But given California law does not allow parents to recover for the loss of companionship of their children, we are constrained not to allow a pet owner to recover for loss of the companionship of a pet. Accordingly, we conclude the trial court did not err in striking McMahon's loss of companionship allegations." This would appear to include human children as well as pets.

The full ruling and (lack of) reasoning can be found at McMahon vs Craig . Similar rulings from other states are found here .

I think this is outrageous and merely allows the heavily lobbied veterinary interests to continue to operate without assuming responsibility. Help!

If you want to get involved, please write Oprah at Contact Us - Oprah.com.

Thank you.

Mary-Margaret O'Brien
Local Union Representative for WAYOUT*

(*Worldwide Association of Yorkies Opposed to Unfair Treatment)