I'm Back!

As you probably have noticed; I have been "off the air" for a long time! I began having an increasingly difficult time logging on and then I couldn't get on the site to blog. I began hearing from you, my loyal friends, fans, and family, who were having the same problem. When an appliance breaks down in my home or my car has troubles, I know who to call, but when it is a breakdown in cyberspace, I had no idea who to call. I called those I thought could fix it, to no avail. And then my dear roommate and BFF, Herminia came to the rescue. She uses a process of deductive reasoning to figure out such problems and then fixes it! Not to mention, she is smart as a whip. Thank you Hermie!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Mine was low-key but wonderful all the same. My warmest memory of Christmas was the kids (Raise, the white one) and Mr. Re (the black one) opening their gifts. They preferred playing with the wrapping and bows rather than the gift itself ... until they discovered bubble wrap! Hilarious - pop, pop, pop, and them looking up with every pop to see where the popping was coming from!
Christmas eve dinner was spent with many poker friends. Linda Johnson opened her home to us and she cooked a great meal. We all had a good time. We laughed, we talked, we joked, we ate, and we drank. Jan Fisher and Hermie were on opposite sides of the large den. They carried on a conversation, via text!

I played HORSE at the Venetian one Wed. afternoon of the holidays. My friend, Doralee, aka Lady Pink was there in her Christmas top hat. It was so cute and festive with Christmas ribbon and lights! We have come to expect no less from Lady Pink. At one point in the game, she announced to me that she had just gotten a penalty (for the first time in her life,) for exposing herself - her cards that is, prematurely. Not long after than, the floor man gave her a warning for flashing (she had turned her top hat on!) Neither of us won dime but it was a fun tournament anyway. Everyone seemed to be in a festive mood and the few who weren't had to smile when they saw Doralee's flashing top hat!

On a break, Doralee was excited and telling me about a wonderful 3-week Chirstmas vacation her hubby was going to take her on: to Paris, Germany, etc. I, in turn, told her about the wonderful Christmas trip my friend Hermie was going to take me on: 3-days in Southern CA to visit our friends Tammy, Margaret, and Vera.

Prior to the holidays, I took the kids in for grooming. They came home with holiday bows attached to their collars by rubber bands. Mr. Re could not help himself, he had to get to Raise's bow. He would grab it and then back up. Of course when he released it, it popped her on the neck. I don't believe he was whacking her on purpose. He wanted that bow! She figured out what was happening and tried to keep her neck close to his mouth so he wouldn't pop her again. By the time I got the camera, he had gotten a good grip and took off, which led to the rubber band breaking and popping him in the mouth ... but I figure that he figured that he won the game since he ended up with her Christmas bow!

New Years eve was probably my quietest ever. The Spinetti's usual party and poker tournament was not on the calendar this year, so I enjoyed a wonderful seafood feast dinner and watched all the crowds and fireworks from the warmth and comfort of my own home. It was very enjoyable and no shortage of champagne! I hope each of you get exactly want you want out of the new year and for some of you, I hope you get exactly what you deserve. Happy 2012!

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Happy Holidays and After

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a wonderful Christmas. I had a housefull of Californians for the grand Turkey Day. The leader of the CA pact wouldn't accept our Thax invite unless we allowed her to pay half the cost of the groceries. I finally relented. Along with the grocerry bill that was presented to her infront of all the guests, I had added a few other of my bills for a grand total of over $5,000! Her half was over $2,500. We had a lot of laughs and a wonderful meal thanks to the Sniffen sisters, Hermie and Rowena.
After Thax. it is time to think about Christmas. I decided this year that I wanted a good picture of me and the "kids", Raise and Mr. Re (Raise). Sassy was the photographer. Getting two one and a half year old Lhasa-Poos to pose for a Christmas picture is not the easiest thing to do. I will share the outtakes with you.
After the holidays, please help me support my dear assistant, Sassy with another one of her many jobs. See the details below and mark your calendars. In addition to the houseslippers, I will have some special gifts: one for the bubble player and one as a bounty on me. Be there!

Our next Las Vegas High Heels Poker Tour Red Stiletto Event is at Treasure Island, Las Vegas, on Sunday, Jan 22, 1pm PST Buy-in: $125+$5 add-on Chips: 8k + 2k, 20 min levels. Dearfoam slippers from their 2012 collection will be given away to the first 20 people to register.

Happy Thanksgiving One and All!

Thanksgiving greetings, friends, family, and foes (who want to keep tabs on me.) I have so much to be thankful for! I managed not to lose my house during my personal financial crisis. However, I am so upside down, I am dizzy! This year I am most thankful that I didn't lose Bette. She turned 15 in Sept. and it seemed it was downhill from there. She developed "selective" seeing and hearing. I didn't get too worried until she seemed to run totally out of energy and couldn't walk straight. As a matter of fact she often walked in circles and seemed so confused. When she tried to get from one place to another, it was like she was drunk. It broke my heart to see her get herself in a corner and not be able to figure out how to maneuver out of the space. If she shook, she fell over and she completely stopped going downstairs. That meant she either did her business in the bathroom (tile and washable rugs, thank goodness!) or I would carry her downstairs and outside. This turned into six and eight times a day. I decided she had suffered a little stroke. As the days rolled on, she pretty much stopped eating except for her favorite treats and then she stopped drinking water and there was blood in her stool. I believed I was slowly losing her. My friend Rowena came over the first of Nov. and we took her to the Vet. Neither of us were a bit sure we would be bringing her home. We made a pact that we would not cry until we got back in the car, no matter what happened ... I was squalling as I signed her in. So much for our pact. The Dr. looked in her eyes with a flashlight and immediately said, "She has veshbular syndrome." In layman's terms, she called it, "old dog syndrome." This makes her feel dizzy, therefore the inability to walk straight and feeling dizzy also makes her know that if she eats, she will be nauseous. She went on to tell us that she may have had a stroke, she may even have a brain tumor, but if it is just the old dog illness, it could pass. Some dogs just fade away with this condition, some bounce back within a week or too. She gave her a couple of shots and she drew blood for some other tests and we were outta there with our Bette. We got back to my house at 11 AM and had a Bloody Mary to celebrate that not only was Bette still with us, but that there was hope. At 3 P.M. we were still drinking, only now we were on cosmopolitans and solving the problems of the world. Since then, Bette began to eat just a tad. A week later, she seemed better and even came downstairs all by herself. I knew we were making headway. Then she got worse, then she got better. We were on this roller coaster for weeks.
Less than a week ago, Sassy sent us an article from the FDA titled, "FDA issues Dog Treats Warning." It said,

November 18, 2011 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an important bulletin warning consumers that chicken jerky products (also marketed as chicken tenders, strips or treats) may be associated with serious illness in dogs.
Over the past 12 months, the FDA has observed an increase in the number of complaints regarding canine illnesses associated with consumption of chicken jerky products imported from China.
These complaints have been reported to the government by both dog owners and veterinarians.
FDA had previously issued a cautionary warning regarding chicken jerky products in September 2007 and a Preliminary Animal Health Notification later on in December of 2008.
Unfortunately, so far, scientists have not been able to determine a definitive cause for the reported illnesses. The FDA continues to conduct extensive chemical and microbial testing but has this far not identified a contaminant.
What to Watch For
Chicken jerky products should never be considered a substitute for a balanced diet. These treats should are intended to be fed only occasionally — and in small quantities.
The FDA is advising consumers who still choose to feed their dogs chicken jerky to monitor their animals closely for any or all of the following signs that may occur within hours to days of feeding these products including:
Decreased appetite
Decreased activity
Vomiting
Diarrhea (sometimes with blood)
Increased water consumption
Increased urination
Blood tests may indicate kidney failure. And urine tests may show Fanconi syndrome (increased blood sugar). Although most dogs are likely to recover, some deaths have been reported.
What to Do
If a dog shows any of these signs, the FDA urges consumers to stop feeding the suspected products immediately.
Owners should consult a veterinarian if signs or symptoms are severe or persist more than 24 hours.
So, take precautions. And be sure to tell everyone you know.

Bette's favorite treats: Chicken Jerky! What I gave her wasn't from China but she had every symptom listed in the article. I felt like I had been poisoning her! Since I stopped the treats, she has gotten even better! I know I won't have her for a long time, she's 15! But I do feel like I got a reprieve and I will enjoy every single day she has left. She is just a joy and she has had such a wonderful life, full of fun, mischief, and adventure. Her life is so exciting that she wrote an autobiography (with just a little help.) Check it out: www.bettebooks.com. And now available on Kindle! Terrific Christmas gift for kids of all ages and she will autograph them!

Will They Miss Me When I'm Gone?

I never talk about being sick because I am never sick ... until recently. Has anybody missed me? I haven't been out of my house in seven days. No, I'm not becoming a hermit, though on occasion I have given that some thought. But I definitely would need Online Poker to do so. I've had the snot-head-grunge. It started in my head; I felt like my sinuses were going to explode, then it moved to my lungs. I'm better, but until I can get back to the poker table for a good 8 or 10 hour stretch, I won't consider myself "well." My BFF made me chicken soup. It actually helped a bit. I knew it would 'cause they said so on the View in a Fact or Fiction segment. Last night she called and said, "What can I bring you? What will make you feel better?"I jokingly said, "Lobster and a baked potato." Low and behold, a few hours later, she showed up with Lobster and a baked potato! Now that's a BFF with a capital B.
Prior to contracting the S-H-G, another BFF, Diane from Nashville was here to visit. She probably brought strange Southern germs in with her - but she hasn't been sick, so can't really put the blame there. Anyway, she was here for a long weekend and I had managed to get tickets to "The Jersey Boys." What a terrific show! Awesome! Loved it. Never really thought about how The Four Seasons got started, when they broke up or why, and what happened after, but it made for a great musical. Not to take anything away from a great show, but I was so disappointed at the seating in the theater. My God, it was worse than airplane seating. Tiny seats, no leg room and very uncomfortable. They had giant hard plastic cup holders on the end of all of the arm rests so you had about 6 to 7 inches of padded arm rests and then a 5" hard plastic hole. My arms and elbows were sore for 3 days after. Shame on the theater designers, so greedy just like the airlines. NO, the arm rests and attached cup holders did not lift up like in the movie theaters. Anyway, back to the beginning of this tirade, the show was great!
Now explain this to me: first let me say that I do not believe in coincidences. When Diane was here we got to talking about life insurance policies. Hermie told the story about the big policy that she and her sister-in-law have on her brother, Andy. (The whole damn family is a bunch of joksters!) Andy saw to it that there was a clause that said the policy would not be paid unless he was gored by a rhinoceros. We're all laughing and talking about the wooden carved rhino that Hermie found in Mexico and left on his pillow. We turned a corner, in a parking lot behind some buildings and there it was; a huge white truck with a picture of a huge rhinoceros on it. It said, "Rhino Services" and a phone number. Should have written the number down to see what services Rhino Services provided! If we had been talking about a chicken or a cow, okay, but a rhinoceros!

Something Different

A few days ago, I decided I needed a change in several areas of my life. I usually play a couple of weekly poker tournaments, so as not to get rusty when the big games come along. And of course to make some revenue. I usually play at the Wynn, the Venetian, or Aria. I often would go downtown to Binion's but on my last visit, I was surprised to learn that for a $5 add-on, you could get another 5K in tournament chips. This gives you a total of 20K to start with. I never thought I would say this, but that is too many chips, making a daily tournament last too long.
I haven't been to Caesar's since I discovered that they have the highest juice in town, but that is where I decided to go after I heard that they were offering a 5K prize pay-out ... guarantee on their noon daily tournaments! They have five tournaments daily, something for everybody. The last time I was at Caesar's, they allowed tournament re-entry for hours and they didn't introduce the antes until around the 7th level of play. They are now bringing the antes in on the 4th level, as they should. It makes such a differenct in the play. However, I got a schedule and the couple of things I didn't like about Caesar's tournaments will be in effect during the upcoming Poker Classic beginning Oct. 21. Which means you can play for a long, long time and not make a penny. I went on a Monday for their noon event and they fell short of that guarantee. The house added $600 to make up the difference. So, for as long as it lasts, I like the deal at Caesar's daily tournaments, even if the juice is high. I did something I seldom do, I beat myself about half way through the event. I picked up pocket aces under the gun at an aggressive table. I decided to limp, let someone else raise and the re-pop him. It didn't work out so well as we had six limpers and no raise (for the first time in hours!) The big blind out-flopped my aces and that was that, but I will be back. And if you try it out, tell Bill O'Connell that Susie i sent you. Never hurts to build up a little juice of your own.
Another change I have recently made is in my banking. I have been with Wells Fargo for years, but lately I have been feeling like a number rather than a person and forget about calling the bank for anything. You will be put on one of those never-ending recordings which instructs you to go around in circles and you still never get answers. So I checked out US Bank and I like it. I opened my account several weeks ago, went back a week later and was greeted by name! I even called to see if a person would answer and she did! I hope this old fashion customer service lasts for awhile!

I just had a man from Brazil make my day. Thought I would share it with you

Dear Susie,

In these few lines I want to express my gratitude for the training you provided me thru your book '1000 best poker strategies and secrets' .

The way you put your words on the book, increased my passion for poker.

I'm a senior founder of a home poker club in my city of Porto Alegre, South of Brazil.

I'm still playing poker for fun, but now things changed a little, because I'm looking at poker with different eyes.

Thanks for that.

With my best regards, Luiz Buen

My books are good, check them out: http://www.susieisaacs.com/.

On another subject: My two pups are half Lhasa Apso and half poodle. They are called Lhasa-Poos. Their Aunt Shirley reminded me that if they were 1/2 Shitzu and 1/2 Poodle...they would be called "SHITPOO"!! On that subject, check out Bette's new blog about her life with them at http://www.poophappens-biteme.blogspot.com/.