My new puppy....

I got a new pet.....
A chocolate lab puppy named Pokey. The pokey little puppy, I loved that book when I was a kid. This puppy is no doubt the smartest, most obedient dog I have ever had. No joke. I promise. He is already house trained, he knows how to sit, lay down, roll over, shake, and spin. He got third place in an obedience competition and first place in a disc catching competition, and won prize money in both. He sits still when I give him a bath and comes right to me when I call for him. I have never been so proud! All this and I have only had him for 2 days.... he was not even trained when I got him.... what a smart little puppy, for a Nintendog.

A few weeks ago my sister J was playing with her new Nintendo DS (don't ask me what DS stands for.... maybe dual screen because when you flip it open there are 2 screens?) and she showed me her 2 puppies. I fell in love with the game immediately. Now I have never been much of a video or computer game fan. I played my share of Atari games back in the day.... Jungle Hunt, Pac Man, Barnstorm, Breakaway, Pinball, and a few others. I have even played some Mario Bros. (the original, of course) as well as some Duck Hunt. But since the childhood days I have never been interested. Not a bit. I had heard a little bit about these Nintendogs, but until I saw the game myself, I didn't really care. But this game really is fun. It is like having a pet without the mess. Keep in mind that you do all the things that you would do with a real dog, only there is no physical effort involved. Just time. You take the dog for walks and you even have to touch the little poops with the wand to pick them up (it is the law, after all). You pet the dog, but do it too much and he/she will get annoyed. You teach him tricks, and he/she will even recognize your voice! But ignore the dog and they won't come to you as easily. These dogs are spoiled. You buy their food and water (it's distilled) in individual portions. If you don't feed them soon enough, they might even run away. Don't worry, they'll come back. And to earn money, you enter them in contests like agility, disk catching, and obedience.

So I now have my first handheld gaming system. David knew I had liked the game when I saw it, and also knew I had weeks of bedrest ahead of me, leaving plenty of time for mindless tasks when my brain got too tired of thinking or reading (I do like to exercise the mind once in a while.... it IS the only part of me that I can keep in shape for a few months!). While he was on the computer the other day he decided to check out the DS system just to see how much it would be, and we did have a little extra income this month, a rare occurrence with me not working. So why not check it out? He looked for where we could get one for a pretty good price, and depending on where you get them, they sometimes come with a game, so he got mine with a game called Animal Crossing, I haven't tried that one yet, but it is a virtual life kind of game where you get jobs, go from city to city, meet and deal with people, etc. Should be interesting. And of course he got Nintendogs, too, so I could have a puppy. He came home with the gaming system proudly in hand and said, "happy bedrest day, honey!" What a sacrifice. I know he has been wanting to get another computer game or upgrade for himself, so I appreciate this even more. I have a wonderful husband, no doubt about it.

But really, isn't every day Happy Bedrest Day? They should make a national holiday. If they have one it will be on this website. It shows you what national holiday is on every day of the year. Pretty funny, really. I got this email from a friend asking me to find out which holiday is on my birthday. Turns out my birthday is National Answer Your Cat's Question Day and National Blonde Brownie Day. My amusement for the day was looking at all the weird holidays. Happy I Am In Control Day!