Random Thoughts on a Friday, vol. 1

© shoutingforha

1.  Brick has been sleeping non-stop since we picked him up after our trip.  Our usual dog sitters were out of town and so the poor beast was forced to stay at a local doggie daycare.  Apparently it is exhausting and somewhat traumatic to be forced to hang out with other dogs and humans who try to get you to play fetch and run around like a normal pooch. 

On a positive note, the beast appears to have lost a pound or ten.  Over the course of five days, Brick ate 1 cup (literally) of dog food.  While most pet owners would be concerned by the mere thought of their animal going on a hunger strike, I wasn't worried.  Due to the excessive heat, Brick had been particularly lazy this summer and, as a result, had packed on twelve pounds.  

Thanks to his trip to the doggie day care, good old Brick is back to his slightly less hulking winter weight of 82 pounds.  Now if he would only stop shedding...  

2.  My boy has decided to join the Spanish Club at school.  As he walked into the first meeting, I was certain that I could hear the sound of a heavenly chorus singing Hallelujah.

The hubby and I had been trying to get the boy to try out one of the school clubs for the past five years but he was never interested.  I suspect this was due to the fact that the child despises all organized group activities.  What can I say, he is his father's son.  

Give the boy permission to run wild with a group of his friends and he is as happy as a clam.  But if you suddenly decide to try and organize a friendly game of soccer or get him to work on some sort-of group project, the boy acts like his fingernails are being torn out one by one.

To my delight, the boy loved Spanish club and can't wait for the next meeting.  In addition to skills he will gain by being part of a group, I'm excited that he will be learning another language, and a useful one at that. 

Do your kids participate in any clubs at school?

3.  We had a massive thunderstorm the other night.  At one point, lightening struck so close to our house that I nearly jumped out of my skin and all of the hair on my arms stood up on end.  It was a little freaky.

After I was sure that our house wasn't hit, I began scanning the neighbor's homes to make sure none of them were in engulfed in flames.  You may think I'm joking, but  house down the street was struck several years ago and literally burned to the ground.

The only casualty, as far as I can tell, was our alarm clock.  For the hubby, this was a cause for celebration because he has hated this and every other alarm clock we have owned for the past fifteen years.  The man just wants a good old fashioned, simple clock, which has proven to be difficult to find. 

Have you shopped for an alarm clock lately?  You can buy them with sound soothers, bed shakers, and temperature displays.  They even sell a clocks that race around on wheels and one that releases a key-toting helicopter that you have to catch in order to turn the darn thing off.  I think that's a sure-fail way to wake up on the wrong side of the bed every morning.

Any good suggestions on where I can find a normal clock?