Wheels - N - Wieners

It’ll be a day at the races for dog lovers in the Inland Empire as Sunny Oasis Rescue presents Wienerfest: Wieners-n-Wheels 2011.

While checkered flags may be waived as races wind down and winners speed across the finish line, the races won’t include race cars. Instead, on May 7 Fairmount Park in Riverside will be the home to a NASCAR-style event featuring Dachshunds, the short-legged and long-bodied canine breed commonly known as “wiener dogs.”

Wiener dogs are a unique breed of canine if not only for their bodily features that also give them the nicknames of “sausage dog” and “hot dog.” Seeing them race with their floppy ears wading in the wind is sure to create a cute canine event.

Dachshund racing is not uncommon. What was new to this writer was that wiener dog races are held all across the country, with the Wiener Nationals set to take place this July at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress. There’s also the Dachshund Dash in West Virginia and the Wiener 100 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Despite the races’ ability to draw a good number of fans, the Dachshund Club of America has been known to oppose the racing of wiener dogs.

Nevertheless, if you want to see wiener dogs running fast as well as a costume contest for dogs, you’ll want to be at Fairmount Park on May 7. There will also be a custom car show, musical entertainment, vendors and food. Dogs will also be available for adoption.

Target Bag

Earth Day exclusive: On April 17, 2011, we'll be giving away free reusable bags in stores (with purchase) to our first one million guests. Limit one per guest. Last year, most stores ran out within a few hours. So get yours while supplies last.

When you use a Target reusable bag ten times, you’ll keep 25 plastic bags out of landfills. Start saving now, and shop our exclusive collection of reusable bags.

YOU KNOW WHERE WE WILL BE ON SUNDAY!

This is MI

The Brady Hoke Era at Michigan begins.

Guinea Pig Update

I am not sure how many people that read my blog notice what I post on Facebook, but I thought I would still post an update here even though most of the comments have been on Facebook.

Last Thursday I was walking to the house from the garage after work (our garages are not connected to the condos) and I saw a orange and white guinea pig scurry under the fence of the unit on the back of the building. I was meaning to tell Ryan about it, but then we had something come up and it slipped my mind... Until Friday when I went to get the mail and noticed this sign on the mailboxes:



As someone pointed out, this was just a 'sighting' poster, not like a 'lost' or 'found' poster. Hopefully the sign let the person know who lost the guinea pig where it was last seen. Well, after I saw the poster, I decided it would be my mission to try and find this little guy. Not that I wanted him for my own, but I didn't want him out in the scary world to be eaten by a turkey (what Ryan and I call the black crows that fly around here), a dog, or even a coyote. I decided to do a little research and found this website: How to Catch an Escaped Guinea Pig. I used a few of the tips, put out some food for him, and kept going to look for him. Oh yeah, the food I had for him was fried rice (probably not his favorite, huh?).

Well, it has been over a week and I have not seen him again. The sighting sign is off of the mailboxes too. I am hoping that Garfield (what I named him because of his colors and his large size) made it home safely and is now chillin' in his safe space.



PS Ryan knows me too well. He asked me what I would have done if I would have seen him. I told him I would have put a bowl over him and yelled for him :) He knows that I wouldn't actually want to pick it up, but hey, it is my kind heart that counts, right :)

Good Marriages

The 10 Secrets of Happy Couples

They might be 30 or 75. They come in all colors, shapes, sizes and income brackets. It doesn't matter how long they've been together. Whatever the demographics, when you see a happy couple, you just know it!

How do these couples stay in love, in good times and in bad? Fortunately, the answer isn't through luck or chance. As a result of hard work and commitment, they figure out the importance of the following relationship "musts."

1. Develop a realistic view of committed relationships. Recognize that the crazy infatuation you experienced when your romance was new won't last. A deeper, richer relationship, and one that should still include romance, will replace it. A long-term relationship has ups and downs, and expecting it will be all sunny and roses all the time is unrealistic.

2. Work on the relationship. An untended garden develops weeds that can ultimately kill even the heartiest plants. And so it is with relationships. It is important to address problems and misunderstandings immediately. Some people believe good relationships just happen naturally. The truth is that a good relationship, like anything you want to succeed in life, must be worked on and tended to on a regular basis. Neglect the relationship, and it will often go downhill.

The rest of the article here.

One Down

Red Wings beat Coyotes for 1-0 series lead

The Detroit Red Wings fell behind soon after the puck dropped and their parade to the penalty box gave the Phoenix Coyotes a chance to build a big lead.

Phoenix failed and Detroit took advantage.

Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen scored midway through the second period to put the Red Wings ahead after they killed four penalties in the first and Detroit beat Phoenix 4-2 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Detroit coach Mike Babcock is glad he didn't find out what would've happened if the Coyotes converted on any of those chances.

"The game would've been over," Babcock said. "They scored right away and then we got four penalties. ... We weathered the storm."

The rest of the recap here.

Second Walk Off

Inge blast gives Tigers second straight walk-off

The Texas Rangers came to town looking like a team that could waltz to October. They left the field at Comerica Park watching the Tigers jump around after a walk-off hit. Again.

That's how quickly momentum can turn in April, making it difficult to anoint contenders and curse pretenders. In the Tigers' case, it turned on two days of walk-off hits, the latter on the swing of Brandon Inge's bat for a ninth-inning home run in a 3-2 victory Wednesday afternoon.

Inge scored the winning run both days, but this time simply drove himself in. He breathed an air of confidence after the first one, and maybe just a little sigh of relief the second time around.

The rest of the article here.