Well, my dear readers, this issue of Doris OnLine is going to the dogs. :-) Or rather about the dogs. Precisely, two Pomeranians named Tex and Star. These two little guys are now just over 18 months old. What do they have to do with "Encouraging you to be the best that you can be?" Well, hang on here with me. There is an old saying that, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." But these two little fuzzy, four-legged almost humans have certainly been "teaching us" a few things during this almost year and a half.

Tex is 16 days older than Star. Although from the same breeder, they are not related and have totally different personalities. But there are three primary traits that they have in common. And I often reflect how wonderful our world would be if we as humans all possessed and practiced these traits so consistantly with each other. Tex and Star are totally devoted to each other and to us. They whole-heartedly love each other and us unconditionally. They are absolutely forgiving of any and all of our trial and error faults in attempting to raise them.

Neither of us would ever intentionally harm them, yet when we've accidentally stumbled over one of them lying quietly behind our feet, or frightened them with an unexpected movement or noise, or even scolded them for bad behavior, they still treat us as the good guys and seek their comfort from us. They each show their devotion a bit differently. Tex will follow every foot step I take within the perimeters of the house where he is allowed. I often call him my little shadow because he is always right there with me. Basically, he is of a quieter nature and less physically active than Star. He frequently defers to Star to see how Star is going to react to a situation. Yet, if I have to scold Star for something, Tex tends to put in his two cents as if to say, "You straighten up there, boy." Star, on the other hand, is more vocal - yeah, he barks - at everything. But while that can get irratating to us, Star has taught us something with his barking. Star is talking to us. We just have to figure out what he is trying to tell us. Sometimes, he's telling us that we left the door open. Sometimes it's because something new has entered the house, as in even a sack of groceries, and he wants to know what it is. He simply must inspect everything. And everything has a name, so I tell him what it is and why it is. I talk to him as with another human, keeping in mind that he is still young and didn't come here already fully loaded with all of the information of living with us humans.

Do not think that Tex is ignoring all of this. At first, we tended to think that he wasn't as into what was going on. Then we discovered that Tex is like that "still water that runs deep" He is quietly observing his surroundings. He just doesn't believe in wasting his energies on anything not important to him. But when he wants my attention, he can be very persistent. Unlike Star who will bark until I respond, Tex will come to me. To start, he will put his paws on my knees and go through a gyration of stretching his head back to get my attention. If that doesn't work, he will then paw at my knees, sometimes making me holler, "Ouch!" Once he really has my attention, he will sit down and give me a look that goes straight through my heart. I can ask him to, "Give Mama sugar," and he will come from wherever he is and stand up on his back feet to give me a doggie lick on my cheek. Yet, he is not especially comfortable with cuddling and lying in my lap. And he has to be super excited to manage to jump up onto the couch. While I don't encourage that, I sometimes feel badly for him because Star, well... he is everywhere. Nothing is too high. If he misses it the first try, he will just do it again until he gets where he wants to be. And to watch him run is an emotional experience. He must have been an eagle in a former life, for he all but floats through the air. Whereas Tex is a ground hugger. But if he decides to move, those little legs are just a blur.

Star is stingy with his sugar, but otherwise a cuddler. He loves to drape over a chair arm. And if I pick up his hair brush, he will bound across the room and jump onto my lap. He's a groomer by nature, and he will sit in my lap and let me brush him with a look of pure delight on his face. Poms tend to have a natural smile on their little faces and there are times when I would swear that Star is laughing. Even his eyes will sparkle. From right after we brought him home, I have often found him watching me as if he sees right through me. I've repeatedly ask him aloud, "Who are you?" For sometimes he is down right spooky. John, my husband, sees it, too. And John's daughter has commented that you can just see Star reasoning things through. He hears and sees all. And no one makes a better alarm system than Star, then add Tex to that, for he will join in if he deems it worthy of his efforts, and I will guarantee you that no one or no other critter will even get close to the house without Star sounding off, generally with Tex joining him.

When I first brought them home as tiny 2.3 pound puppies, I rocked them to sleep at night. Sudden noises and especially thunder, airplanes, loud vehicles and such would frighten them and I'd gather them on my lap and talk to them. I determined to make them a part of our family and to help them recover from the transition of leaving their first home to come to mine. And the reason there are two of them is because I was also determined that I would not bring home just one. I wanted two so that they would have the companionship of each other, especially important when we have to be gone.

Watching them grow from tiny puppies to well past the expected 5 pounds has been an awesome experince. Like humans, they didn't come with language skills and a vocabulary. And while babies are allowed to take a year to two to learn various basic skills of walking and talking, etc., these little guys are expected to know and do it all by about 7 months. And while they don't speak English, I never underestimate what they may understand. Some experts say they don't see colors, or only certain primary colors. Yet, I see my two differentiate between colors of the same objects. And so I make a point to name colors of things. Many years ago I had another Pom, Charlie. I saw many of the same traits in him, but I was working full-time and didn't take the time to educate him as I do these two, although I did talk to him as if he were another little human. It was my almost 15 years experiences with him that made me determine to be more active in teaching Star and Tex to understand the English language and their human surroundings. After all, they live indoors just as we do. They also travel with us. Sometimes while outside, they will just stand and look around at everything. And Tex loves to chase butterflies.

So what have I learned during this year and a half? I've learned to exercise patience with them and to remember that they are still learning and I am responsible as their caretaker and teacher. I have become more alert to my own surroundings by seeing it through their eyes. When I bring flowers into the house, they now have to see and smell them. From the start, I would pick them up and tell them, "Pretty flowers. Smell the flowers." Star will actually smell of them, while Tex tends to want to take nip of them. But they both want to see them. If I'm doing the laundry, I explain that I have to make the clothes clean again. If I have my hair on rollers after shampooing, Star jumps up in my lap to check out my hair. Then he will come back and inspect it again after I've removed the rollers and brushed it out. When I bathe Star, I have to explain to Tex that I am not hurting Star, just giving him a bath. They both have beautiful hair, which gets the best of shampoo and conditioning, followed with blow drying and brushing. :-) Tex is primarily red with sable, with some lighter streaks. Star is mostly cream with a bit of white. They both love to go to PetsMart and know where we are immediately the minute I'm near the store. The staff there treats them like royalty.

Tex and Star are so full of life and energy. When Tex gets excited, he will stand on his hind feet and hold up his front paws and his whole body is in motion. I call it the "Texas Shimmy" because he just shimmies from head to toe. Star, on the other hand, becomes a jumping-jack that spins like a top. He will jump up and down and spin around and around, seemingly all at once. And these are the typical greetings we get when we've been gone, whether an hour or two, or all day. And I can guarantee that whatever else we have going on, when we walk through that door, the exhuberance of their greetings just wipes everything else out.

I laughingly say, "It's hard to be humble when you're worshipped." And they do worship us. But in spite of my joking about it, I feel an awesome responsibility in caring for them. They've shown me true loyalty and unconditional love. They are persistant in achieving their own little goals. Like people, they respond best to praise. While Tex can be bribed or rewarded with certain treats, Star can not. He will respond to praise and seem to reason through what I am telling him. He listens, really listens, turning his little head first one way and then another as if he's absorbing every word. And frankly, he pretty much does.

Yes, living with Tex and Star encourages me to be better every day. For I witness their unconditional love, loyalty, and devotion. I know that they are depending on me to give them nourishing food, to take care of all of their needs, and to teach them about their surroundings, and in doing so, makes me more aware of my own. I know that when Star barks that it is for a reason and it is my job to figure out what that reason is. It's called, learning to communicate. And when Tex comes to me wanting something, he is trying to communicate. It's just up to me to figure it out.

When the birds chirp, I tell them what the sound is about. And we look at the "pretty birds" when we go to PetsMart. I show them the rain when it's raining. During our one rare snow in these parts since their births, I showed them the snow falling. I wasn't sure if Star noticed at first, but when I walked away from the door with him, he jerked his head back around to look at it. They each notice everything we do, from different clothes and shoes to how I have my hair fixed. One day while cooking, I splattered something in the oven and it created the usual burned smell. Star left the kitchen and got as close to the outside door as he could. He refused to come back into the kitchen. I realized that he didn't think it was safe in there, so stopped short of assuring him that it was alright. For I suddenly remembered stories of dogs rescuing people from fires. So instead, I told him that I had burned something and he was right to want to get outside away from it, but that I took care of it. But not until the odor was gone would he leave the door and return to the kitchen.

Obviously, I could go on and on about these two of God's little creatures. But to sum it up, they have taught me to see the world from another view; from their view; from the view of a life beginning, where everything is new and strange. They make me aware of my own short-comings and to try to be better. And over all, they ask for very little - a bit of love and comfort, along with their basic needs - and in return they give their little hearts completely. No, they are not perfect in their behaviors all of the time, but they are a joy and a lesson in the simple pleasures of our surroundings.

Star and Tex are a miracle called, "Life." As my mentor, John Di Lemme often points out, we are all a miracle from the sheer fact of our being born. As humans, we are at the top of the life chain. Our intelligence is suppose to be far more superior than the lower forms of creatures below us. But look around you in nature and compare. The lessor creatures are hardly given a chance to be less than their best, for if they don't succeed at their daily tasks of survival, they aren't likely to survive. They instinctively know just what to do and how to do it. Yet we higher forms of life often never figure out what to do with our lives or how to do it. Have we buried our instincts so deeply in the rush of living our lives that we have lost our natural abilities to succeed? Even Star and Tex seem to rejoice in each of their little accomplishments. I am often in tears as I see them conquer one more little challenge. Little and simple to me, but a biggie for them. I hug and praise them and let them know how proud I am of their achievement. I tell them, " You can do it."

And... oh... a side note... regarding that hug. I recently read a short article about training your dog. There was a remark, "You can't hug your dog." News Flash!!! I hug my dogs everyday. When I get up in the mornings, I go pick them up and hug them to me. They get hugs during the day and again at bedtime. Now, I'll admit, a Pomeranian might be easier to hug than dogs of larger size. But all of our domesticated creatures need and deserve love, affection, and attention, no matter their size, as is appropriate. And that includes humans.

Star and Tex are featured in the background of the book cover to my upcoming book, "Right Here, Lover" which I will publish under my own company, Tex Star Publishing. My book cover was created by a local artist. I was so delighted with it that I have him creating a back cover as well. More on my book later....

Meanwhile, go give somebody a hug. Look for one new thing to do or learn today. It doesn't have to be revolutionary, or save the world, just something new to you, even if it seems silly. And if at first, you don't succeed, remember my little guys who just keep on trying until they accomplish what they want to do. You can do it... Do it... And then tell me of your accomplishment. I will be happy to share your success story. We all deserve some praise and recognition for who we are and what we do. Here is your hug today. Go... do... be... all... that you can be.

My Love and God's be with you.



This is...

Doris OnLine with new dreams and a brand new E-Magazine. How may I help you?
Doris

And... as... Doris Off Line, I am available for speaking and mentoring engagements for motivational, self-enhancement, and how-to-reach for your dreams. If your customers think you or your staff need an attitude adjustment, I can help. Been there; done that. I can lend a helping hand to help you put a smile in your voice so it will radiate on your face and you will make your customers feel truly welcomed and appreciated. I may have a few others surprises as well. So if your office crew, or special organization needs some fine tuning, perhaps I can help. Let's talk

I am Doris Newnam, APMM, Owner, Texas D Net Domains and Web Services, and Former ISP Dial Up Services. Client Relations has been a big part of my life throughout my various business careers and affiliations, from meeting and greeting, to cosmetologist, salon owner, to sales, marketing, and advertising, to customer service and trouble shooting, writer, author, (print) magazine publisher, now e-magazine publisher, motivational speaker, personal enhancement, and soon-to-be book publisher.

For inquiries and scheduling, please contact me first via e-mail: Seminar or Other Event Scheduling

Thank you one and all. Remember: God intended for you to be great. Don't disappoint Him.
Doris
DorisOnLine.Net
Texas D Net Web Services Designed for You.

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Doris... UnLeashed....
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DorisUnLeashed.Com

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To be all that you can be, you must unleash your greatness and find your WHY.

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"You must be absolutely clear about your goal and be relentless in your pursuit of Your "WHY!" - John Di Lemme

FindYourWhy.Com

Monday Night Motivation with John Di Lemme.
It's Awesome.
Click Here; Then "Monthly Motivation"

A "Million Dollar Marketing Tip"... from...

JOHN DI LEMME ON "Voiceprint"

"Mountains are built one pebble at a time and climbed one step at a time." This is a quote of mine that I personally put into practice each day as I progress towards fulfilling my WHY in life.

The word pebble in this quote means that each action you take needs to be productive toward building your mountain of success. As I was retrieving a message today from someone who called me, I had to play the message 5 times to finally understand the phone number he left for me to call him back.

We have always heard the smallest things - the pebbles - in life are the most important. Well, this week's tip from me is the importance of the quality of your phone messages, which I call your voiceprint.

When you leave a voicemail message for someone, it is your "voiceprint." It may sound a little crazy that my motivating tip for the week is "How to Leave a Message", but I'll bet that numerous people right now can relate to this. Everyone has had someone who called him or her and prior to calling them back they had a pre-determined feeling about the person before they even spoke to them live.

The key is to have positive energy and confident words. Words are your #1 tool that God has given you to produce a super abundant life. Energy means to speak with conviction and confidence in your tone when you leave your message. You need to picture the person retrieving your message and ask yourself," Will your message make them listen or just press fast forward?"

The following tip alone will earn you a million dollars! When you leave your phone number, speak in 2 second increments leave the area code first, pause 2 seconds, then the next 3 numbers pause 2 seconds and finally the last 4 numbers. You need to practice this! I guarantee that you will see results right away when you put this tip into action.

They will remember you as the person who actually spoke clearly and slowly enough that they were able to write down your message the first time they played it. As a person who receives numerous calls daily,

I can tell you that I cannot understand the message or phone number in 8 out of 10 messages, nor can I determine WHO THE CALLER IS!

Remember this "pebble of action" is one of the most important. Due to technology, your "voiceprint" is becoming the first introduction you have to many people. Also, do not assume that the person you are calling knows it is you. Always state your name and the best number for the receiver to return your call. You need to leave a clear, precise message, which reflects who you are...a person who knows their WHY in LIFE!

Until next week...Find Your WHY and FLY!

John Di Lemme
Excerpt reprinted with permission from John Di Lemme's E-Zine.
Thanks, John, for a valuable reminder.

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This Doris OnLine Issue is Sponsored by these Special Advertisers. Please visit their websites. Your Support is Appreciated. Thank You. Doris

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My special "Thanks" to the following readers. Thank you. Doris
Reprinted with Permission in order as received:

"Lovely Rose at 87
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.
"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.
She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..."
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.
There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.
You have to laugh and find humor every day.
You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old.
If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability.
The idea is to Have no regrets.
The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets." She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose." She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give. God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it."

submitted by Gene Pine*
*The story of Rose was being passed around through e-mail. I have no idea whether it is a true story or not. Regardless, the message is a powerful one worthy of taking to heart. And to "Rose" and other courageous people who dare to reach for their dreams, Gene and I salute you. Thanks, Gene, for a beautiful story. I've taken the liberty of underlining Rose's 4 secrets to happiness and success. Doris

Send Questions or Comments to: Doris OnLine

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Hands Across The Oceans

I want to pause here for a moment to extend a special
"Welcome of Friendship" to our International Friends.

Off hand, I'm not sure how many have joined us from other Countries, as I don't know where everyone lives, but I believe I speak for all of our American subscribers. We are blessed to have you join us.

And from "Yours Truly"... A BIG TEXAS WELCOME, YA'LL!

"Heaven was designed for all people of all Nations.
God intended that we all be friends." Doris Newnam

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Just For Laughs... Science has proven what we older folks knew all along. Laughing is good for us. My thanks for the following submissions. ...
In Honor of Stupid People
In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed through stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods.

On a Sears hairdryer -- Do not use while sleeping.
(But that's the only time I have to work on my hair).

On a bag of Fritos -- You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.
(the shoplifter special?)

On a bar of Dial soap -- "Directions: Use like regular soap."
(and that would be how???....)

On some Swanson frozen dinners -- "Serving suggestion: Defrost."
(but, it's "just" a suggestion).

On packaging for a Rowenta iron -- "Do not iron clothes on body."
(but wouldn't this save me more time)?

On Boot's Children Cough Medicine -- "Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication."
(We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just get those 5-year-olds with head-colds off those forklifts.)

On Nytol Sleep Aid -- "Warning: May cause drowsiness."
(and...I'm taking this because???....)

On Sainsbury's peanuts -- "Warning: contains nuts."
(talk about a news flash)

On an American Airlines packet of nuts -- "Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts."
(Step 3: maybe, uh...fly Delta?)

submitted by Judy Obuchowski, WI

...

"John invited his mother over for dinner. During the meal, his mother couldn't help noticing how beautiful John's roommate was. She had long been suspicious of a relationship between John and his roommate and this only made her more curious.

Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between John and the roommate than met the eye.

Reading his mom's thoughts, John volunteered, 'I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Julie and I are just roommates.'

About a week later, Julie came to John and said, 'Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose she took it, do you?' Julie said.

'Well, I doubt it, but I'll write her a letter just to be sure.'

So he sat down and wrote:
'Dear Mother, I'm not saying you 'did' take a gravy ladle from my house, and I'm not saying you 'did not' take a gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.'

Several days later, John received a letter from his mother which read:
Dear Son, I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Julie, and I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with Julie. But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle under her pillow by now.

Love, Mom."

submitted by James Swartwout

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Do you have a good clean joke that you would like to share? Submit your entries. Any submissions published will give credit to the contributor with first name, city, and state, and or country.

Send entries to: Doris OnLine Place In Subject Line: "Just For Laughs"

Got a better name for our jokes catagory? Let's see who can come up with a winner.

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New Features in Doris OnLine Web Site

Do you ever have a problem figuring out the number of characters or words for your advertising submissions? Many submission forms are limited in either character or word input.

Now there is a free tool to help you work up your ads or other submissions.

I have installed two separate free tools - a Word Counter and a Character Counter.
Feel free to use them at any time.

Just go the the main page of Doris OnLine to access either or both of them. Enjoy.

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"God intended for you to be great. Don't disappoint Him." Doris Newnam
TexStarPublishing.Com

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©Copyright 2004. Doris OnLine; Doris OffLine; Doris UnLeashed. New Direction E-Magaine;
TexasD.Net; TexStarPublishing. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Doris Newnam, 1349 Western Oaks Dr., Woodway, TX 76712

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"Stretch a little every day to become the person you want to be." Doris Newnam

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©Copyright 2004 Doris OnLine by Doris Newnam, Issue #4. 4/5/04 All Rights Reserved Wordwide.