2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Van 17 MPG

We have a full size Dodge Ram 1500 Van and have calculated the gas mileage several times. It is 17 mpg every time. On the window sticker it says 14 mpg in town and 16 mpg highway. I think this is awesome for such a HUGE vehicle. Still, it costs us over $100 to fill it up every-other-week. I never imagined I’d pay so much for gas. I’m ready for an electric car, but no way am I giving up my van.

Oops! I took my dog’s medicine. . .

Has this every happened to you? You are getting ready to give your Golden Retriever his antidepressant medicine. Usually, you get a piece of bread, tear it in half and wrap his pill in one piece, then eat the other half yourself. Only, the problem is, you accidentally eat the half with the pill in it? Has that ever happened to you? Oh, I didn’t think so . . .

You might wonder why my handsome Golden Retriever is on anti-depressants. The vet suggest that his constant licking could be obsessive behavior and maybe it would help. Well, just to let you know, it didn’t help.

I was a little worried after I took his medicine. I called the veterinarians and told them. Get this, they laughed at me! Can you believe it? OK, maybe you can believe it. Anyway, they told me not to worry. They said I’d just be really happy for a while. I went about my business. Then something strange happened. I suddenly became motivated to clean my entire house. I did the best cleaning job that I’ve ever done in my life.

This worried me a little. It has me thinking, should I be taking my dog’s medicine all the time? It really helps me focus. Do I have a problem focusing? I didn’t realize I did before.

Oops! I took my dog’s medicine. . .

Has this every happened to you? You are getting ready to give your Golden Retriever his antidepressant medicine. Usually, you get a piece of bread, tear it in half and wrap his pill in one piece, then eat the other half yourself. Only, the problem is, you accidentally eat the half with the pill in it? Has that ever happened to you? Oh, I didn’t think so . . .

You might wonder why my handsome Golden Retriever is on anti-depressants. The vet suggest that his constant licking could be obsessive behavior and maybe it would help. Well, just to let you know, it didn’t help.

I was a little worried after I took his medicine. I called the veterinarians and told them. Get this, they laughed at me! Can you believe it? OK, maybe you can believe it. Anyway, they told me not to worry. They said I’d just be really happy for a while. I went about my business. Then something strange happened. I suddenly became motivated to clean my entire house. I did the best cleaning job that I’ve ever done in my life.

This worried me a little. It has me thinking, should I be taking my dog’s medicine all the time? It really helps me focus. Do I have a problem focusing? I didn’t realize I did before.

Ohio Autism Scholarship Program

I want to start out by saying that I don’t work for the Ohio Department of Education. If you have any questions about the scholarship, I urge you to give the experts a call. Who are the experts on the scholarship?  Carolynn Head or Paul Sogan at the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) 614-466-2650.

If you live in Ohio and are interested call ODE to make sure you qualify, not your child’s school. The school district would much rather you didn’t remove your child, so they may not be the best individuals to ask.

As of the day this was written, the information is accurate to the best of my knowledge. ODE could change the aspects and qualifications of the scholarship at any time, so give them a call.

If you are in Ohio, and your child on the spectrum is having trouble in public school, you can look into the scholarship. You do not need a doctor’s diagnosis to qualify. Your child will qualify for this scholarship if his or her public school has ‘classified’ them under the category of autism. This will be stated in their multi-factored evaluation (MFE), usually typed in really big words across the front page. If this is you, you can go to the Ohio Department of Education’s website and download the forms you need to apply. There is no fee to apply but there is a lot of paperwork. Again, I recommend also giving them a call to make sure you qualify.

There are other things to consider. Using this scholarship requires that you remove your child from public school and put them in a school on the provider list. The provider list is sorted by county.  You will find that many of the services are in the Central Ohio (Columbus), Toledo, Cincinnati and Cleveland areas. You can also find the provider list on the ODE website . Take a look at the provider list, it grows a little bigger every year. Unfortunately, you may find there are no providers in your area and the scholarship will not work for you. If there are providers in your area, call them and go take a tour if they have an opening. Many of the schools on the provider list are looking for kids on the spectrum that are ‘high functioning’. It will also be your responsibility to find a provider for Speech, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy, if those are written into your child’s IEP/MFE. $20,000 sounds like a lot of money, but you might run out. Other funding is useful, such as through your county MRDD. You will find more information on the ODE website if you have any questions.

You will find some valuable information about the scholarship providers and funding on the Yahoo Groups: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AutismOhio/ and http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Autism-Biomed-Ohio/. If you have a child with autism in your family (including Asperger Syndrome, PDD-NOS or anything on the spectrum) you should join these groups! They are packed full of information not just on the scholarship, but on playgroups and much more.

From the ODE website: “The Autism Scholarship Program allows ODE to pay a scholarship to the parents of a qualified child with autism. The scholarship gives parents a choice of sending their child to a special education program, other than the one operated by their child’s school district, to receive the services outlined in the child’s individualized education program (IEP).” more. . .

Golden Retriever Loves the Snow

Our Golden Retriever, Tackle, loves the snow. Actually, he loves it too much. He gets a little crazy.

Tackle stays out for a long time. Can dogs get frostbite? I worry about him. I’m a little over protective. . .

 

Pupster is in Florida - I’m Doing Taxes

In honor of Pupster’s trip to Florida, I am posting these snow, blizzard & snowboard videos:

Snowboard Music Video: 

Rednecks and Utah Snow : 

Blizzard of 77 Slideshow :

Buffalo Snow Storm October 13, 2006Buffalo-SNOW Blizzard :

Pupster is in Florida - I’m Doing Taxes

In honor of Pupster’s trip to Florida, I am posting these snow, blizzard & snowboard videos:

Snowboard Music Video: 

Rednecks and Utah Snow : 

Blizzard of 77 Slideshow :

Buffalo Snow Storm October 13, 2006Buffalo-SNOW Blizzard :

Poking Fun at People’s Names

While traveling, we heard a commercial on the radio for Dick Masheter Ford and my kids all burst out laughing.

They associated the name with ‘Dick Smasher’, I guess.

Poking Fun at People’s Names

While traveling, we heard a commercial on the radio for Dick Masheter Ford and my kids all burst out laughing.

They associated the name with ‘Dick Smasher’, I guess.

Gamefly Is Cool - Rent Some Video Games By US Mail

Update: Gamefly has Gross Advertisements

Gamefly is a company that rents video games through the mail. We have subscribed for over a year and have really enjoyed it. You select the games you want from over 5,000 titles, putting your most wanted picks at the top of your ‘game q’. You keep the games as long as you want. Usually, there is an option to buy it if you like it. The games come with a return envelope, postage paid. When you’re ready for the next game, just return one and the next one available on your list comes in about four business days. They have games for all the newer systems (ps3, ps2, psp, xbox 360, xbox, wii, gc, ds, gba). They also have a section where you can rent movies for your PSP. Gamefly even sends an email on days that the post office is closed, in case we are waiting for a game.