Lazy Afternoon

One more greyhound-filled day before Paula and Karlo come home. What will Molly do with herself? What will I do now to avoid actually blogging? I just don't know.

Such a Burden

Paula mentioned once again that she is sorry to burden me with her dogs while she is travelling. Burden? Are you kidding?

I give you exhibit A:And then there's exhibit B:Can you just imagine the work involved in caring for these two? I'm flat worn out! They nap so much, it makes me tired.

I hope that no one is sick of Peanut and Bentley this week because I am so busy at work that I have nothing else to talk about besides these two love-nuggets. Only one more greyhound day until their parents return from LA so enjoy the cuteness while you can.

Jealous?

You should be. Peanut is very snuggleable. Here we are having a private moment in the yard.
Then Bentley got in on the action. You can't forget to give big brother some love.
And here's my favorite action shot of Bentley and Molly playing.

Oh, by the way, you should never let a rescued greyhound off leash in an unfenced yard. And don't ever let them play with small, fluffy dogs either. These are bad, bad ideas.

Baroo?

This is all I have to say today. Too much going on to write about. For now, just a big wet nose for you, courtesy of Peanut.

Three Dog Night

Looks like I caught them plotting something and they're all putting on their innocent "not me" faces. Notice the squeaky bird toy in Bentley's crossed paws. This bird was part of a game that will most likely last until Peanut and Bents go home next week. Bentley chooses one of Molly's 300 toys. He plays with it, she glares at him. He gets distracted for a second, she sneaks in and steals it from him. He gets up and finds another toy, she steals it when he's not looking. She's quite the spoiled brat. "I haven't played with it for months, but since you're playing with it, I want it."

Paula never believes me when I tell her that P and B have been very good house guests. Peanut's a little curious and likes to get into trouble, but she's been a perfect lady. I even forgot to move the baskets of bread and chips that I keep under the butcher block in the kitchen and she didn't touch them all day. Last time she stayed over she took the yarn out of my knitting basket and just relocated it across the room. No damage, she just liked them better in her spot. This time I put the basket on the counter before I left for work, so no yarn-relocation games for Miss P.

This weekend I think we might all go for a nice, muddy run out back. I only have one orange safety dog vest so I'll have to fashion something for the other deer look-a-like greyhound before we head out. It's so cute to see the three of them running around chasing each other. I tried to catch them on video last night playing, but each time I hit record, someone squatted to pee and I didn't think anyone really needed to see that.

OK, one more shot of Frick and Frack. Here they are enjoying a laugh at Molly's expense, I'm sure. I bet they were picking on Molly's short legs or something.

Life is Tough

Professional relaxation specialists, Bentley (r) and Peanut (l) are spending the week at our house while their parents are on a business trip in LA. Here they are, worrying about the war in Iraq and taxes and whatnot. Boy, they really need to learn to let go.

I promised to keep their mom (Paula) updated on their stress levels while she's gone by posting pictures each day. It also might help he not to miss them so much, but probably not.

Molly update: we went to the v-e-t yesterday where we learned that she's been kissing too many toads because the "mole" on her lip was actually a wart! She had it removed in a quick and easy (for me) procedure and then she was rewarded with a trip to the pet store for a new treat. The vet told me not to worry about the tainted dog food too much since she hasn't yet shown any symptoms and it's been almost two weeks since she ate the food. Phew! Still, I'm keeping an eye on her.

Cruel Hartford

Now that I don't work in Hartford, the only reason I will travel there is to update the chalkboards at Max Downtown. Some days, usually early on a warm, spring morning, I actually miss Hartford. It's so cute and convenient. The restaurants and shops are so lovely. I could actually understand why people move to cities to live. And then there are mornings like I had today.

I left the house a little later than I wanted, which left me to fight traffic and dodge jerks talking on cell phones as I made my way into the frozen wind tunnel that is Hartford. There were no parking spots on the street. The open spots were filled with frozen snow banks or the meters were inexplicably bagged. I drove around and around and finally found a spot blocks from where I had to go. Then I fed the meter - where a quarter gets you all of 10 minutes - and made my way to Max Downtown. It was so cold and windy, isn't it supposed to be SPRING today? It was quite a crabby start to my day.

But I did manage to do this:And this:And there's a Starbucks right next to Max Downtown so at least I had something warm to hold onto on the long trek back to the car.

Will Spring Ever Arrive?

Tomorrow is the first day of spring and this is what I saw out my window yesterday. Disgusting. I'm sorry it gets shaky at one point. It must have been my uncontrollable sobbing.

This Scares the Bejesus Out of Me

Dog Food Recall (more info here)

Normally I don't feel Molly the nasty "chunks in gravy" style dog food, but last week she had a can becasue that's all that was available at the store. Now I'm watching her for signs of accute renal failure.

Luckily she has an appointment to go to the vet on Wednesday, (shh! don't tell her), to have a little mole on her lip looked at. Like her mom, she's starting to grow moles and this one on her lip is getting bigger and scaring me. Maybe I'll have them draw blood for a kidney test while we're there, just to be safe.

The Ever-Evolving Party Above My Shoulders

I did it again. More changes. I really don't like my hair. I wish I had someone else's hair. Someone with thick, luxurious long hair. Sadly, I may have been born with a swell craft gene and a brain that can hold onto random bits of trivia and song lyrics, but I definitely wasn't blessed with hair.

I tried cutting bangs, that didn't work for me. I tried getting a flat iron and styling it straight. Still not working. I called my sister (my hairdresser) this week and told her that I need an emergency appointment. I want all of my hair cut off.

I had her cut it off about a year ago and although everyone liked it and I pretty much liked it, Luke couldn't stand it and I was tired of hearing him complain, so I grew it back. I want to be someone with long hair. I've always pictured myself as an old lady with long gray braids, but just because I can grow it doesn't mean I should have it. I was starting to look like a hag with nasty, scraggly hair. But not any longer. This morning I stopped by my sister's salon for a shearing. It's all gone. It's also straight right now because she likes to blow-dry it straight, but I can't wait to wash it and see how curly it gets.

Now I have bouncy, perky hair. Short and flouncy. Actually, in one picture I took of myself I looked just like Amanda - glasses and all. Maybe secretly I want to be Amanda - except for that pregnancy thing, of course.

Random Thoughts

It's been a virtual blog ghost town lately. No one seems to be updating their blogs this week (Amanda... Flannery... Melissa...). I'm even feeling uninspired. I couldn't muster up the creative juices to write anything yesterday and today I'm feeling the same. Blah.

My last post was my 200th. It took me a year to reach 100 and two months to reach 200. Have I been chatty lately?

Have I mentioned how much I love my car? I love my car.

Luke's Jeep has decided to hold a sit-in in our driveway. It's refusing to not only let him open the doors, but also to start. I blame this on Luke's talk of buying a new truck lately. I was still in my bathrobe, making coffee this morning when Luke tried to leave and couldn't. I had to throw some clothes on, dunk my head in the tub, toss some makeup in my purse and hop in the car to take Luke to work. I left in such a hurry that I had to take mental inventory of my outfit before I got out of the car at work, just in case: shirt? check, pants? check, two matching shoes? check.

Molly goes for a haircut tonight. She gets her hair cut more often than I do and her haircuts cost more than my salon visits do. What does this say about me?

I've been crafting lately but I can't share the details with you because they are top-secret crafts for a certain someone who might be reading this blog. Stay tuned and maybe I'll eventually be able to reveal what I've been up to.

It's going to snow tonight, I'm so sad.

Daylight Savings Blows

Remember how I wanted to stop being a lazy slob and get up early for walks with Molly again? This week would be perfect for that. It's not too cold, the ice has melted off the driveway, spring is on the way. And then there was daylight savings. Do you know how dark it is at 6am? My brain thinks it's winter again and refuses to let my body get out of bed. This 3-week early daylight savings was just a bad idea. I tried, I really did. I set the alarm for 6am, it went off and I just couldn't bring myself to get up. It looked like the middle of the night and I wasn't in the mood to search for a flashlight to bring with us on our walk. Maybe next week.

Lazy Morning

It occurred to me the other day that I have the pup that every little kid wishes for. She's cute and soft and loves to snuggle, and at night she climbs under the covers with me and shares my pillow. This photo was taken on Sunday morning by pre-dawn photographer, Luke to document just how badly I spoil my puppy.

Yes, that's my knee and my elbow, and the hideous - but warm, don't judge - flannel sheets on our bed and there's curly Miss Molly snoozing away under the covers. I was snoozing, too, and having a strange dream that I was taking pictures. Then realized that the sound of my camera was coming from outside of the covers.

Molly has always slept in bed with us, but this winter she's developed a taste for flannel sheets and down comforters. Every night she'll hop up on the bed and wait for me to lift the covers so she can settle in. If I'm not quick enough, or perhaps, I don't know, ASLEEP, she'll stare at me and growl ever so slightly under her breath until I lift the blankets. If I'm laying at the edge of the mattress where she likes to sleep, she'll sit on the floor next to the bed and quietly woof up at me to let me know to get the heck out of her spot. I should be annoyed at how my 20-lb mutt is controlling her share of our bed, but it's just so funny. And have you ever had a warm puppy snuggle up next to you under the covers on a cold night? It's worth the trouble.

Long Way Round

This movie has been my obsession for the last week. I think about it when I'm awake, when I sleep, I replay the scenes in my dreams. I want to watch it over again, even though it's about 6 hours long and I just finished watching it Monday. I don't know why it's stuck in my head.

Long Way Round is the DVD of the television series documenting the 2004 trip Ewan McGreggor and Charley Boorman took around the world on their motorcycles. My dad had watched it and gave it to me to watch. I'd seen some other around-the-world-motorcycle-trip movies, like Mondo Enduro, and I just wasn't impressed. Yes it's hard and completely crazy to attempt to go around the world on your motorcycle. Big deal. But this movie is different. It's not so much the trip, although that was truly exciting and beautiful and all, but the friendship between Ewan and Charley is just so much fun to watch. They're total screwballs and even waist-deep in a river, pushing their bikes across through the current, they're laughing. They made fun out of everything they did and I loved that.

As an added bonus, Ewan and Charley both have great accents and use those British phrases I love so much. They visited "petrol stations" and got mosquito bites on their "bums". They stood in "queues" and wanted to film their trip so they might "have a bit of a giggle" later on in life watching the film with their grandkids. At one point Ewan called himself something that I really want to go back and find because I intend to use it some day. Something like "whiney Molly arsehole". I love it!

I feel about this DVD the way I did during the first couple of seasons of 'The Real World'. I was obsessed with that show because it showed real people being real and having fun together. They may have fought a little, but they had more fun than fights. It was reality TV at it's best and that's exactly what Long Way Round is.

I've read some complaints about the movie with people saying that Ewan and Charley are whiney spoiled brats and how some people couldn't get through the first hour of the DVD. The first hour tells the story of how this idea came to be and who got involved and how they managed to organize the whole adventure. I had even said to Luke during one of those early scenes when they're upset because KTM refuses to give them three bikes for the trip, "they're rich - can't they buy their own bikes?" After watching the whole movie, I see why they couldn't just buy their own bikes. Why they needed donations and sponsors. This wasn't just two spoiled brats going on "holiday". They were making a movie. They had camera crews and producers, equipment and insurance, doctors who traveled with them and a whole support team. They needed backing to be able to create such a great DVD. If you watch it, don't be put of in the beginning, it's worth the time to see how it was all planned.

Even if you don't ride a motorcycle or have any plans to ever travel around the world, I would still recommend this movie to everyone. It's a great time watching two fantastic friends have one incredible adventure. Go now and rent it. Or come to my house, I'd be more than happy to watch it again!

Obviously Not Bold Enough

On Flannery's recommendation, I bought myself a pair of new glasses from Zenni Optical and here they are. Bright, no? Sorry about the ghostly pallor of the photo. Mostly that's my real skin tone, but it's accentuated nicely by the flash and the bad lighting in my office.

I figured, since Zenni's glasses were so incredibly cheap, I could afford to get myself some fun glasses. I've always wanted to have a selection of glasses to pick from every morning. I've had the same pair for three years now and, as nice as they are, sometimes I'm just sick of them. Just for fun, I ordered new glasses. RED glasses. And hardly anyone has noticed.

A few people close to me noticed right away and had mixed reactions. My neighbor made fun of her husband for not noticing the difference by saying "how could you NOT notice??" My sister said "you have new glasses - do you like them?" which I think meant that she didn't like them, and my nephew really wanted to know where my old glasses were. My mom politely noticed and Luke called me Harry Potter when he saw them for the first time. Surprisingly though, no one else has noticed.

My boss keeps looking at me strangely like she suspects something is different but just can't place it. Other people I work alongside haven't said a thing either. It's not that I want everyone to notice, I'm not that narcissistic, I just thought they were hugely different and hard to miss.

Either way, I love them. They're fun and I'm off to order another pair from Zenni. If you wear glasses, I would highly recommend them. These red beauties only cost me $30, including shipping. Less than 10% of a pair at the local eyeglass shop!

My Yaris: Week 1

It's been a whole week since I brought home my new car and I've managed not to gush about it here each and every day (you're welcome). Since today marks one week since she became mine, I thought I'd give you the highlights. In case you're on the fence about getting a Yaris of your own (Paula) perhaps this will sway you.

I've decided to name her Bernie - I'll explain that another day.

I love:
The cup holders - seriously - they're sturdy and secure and EVERYWHERE.
How fast she heats up on a cold morning.
The funky weird dashboard.
The three glove boxes.
How peppy she is.
The secret storage compartment in the back.
The comfy seats.
The plug for my iPod.
The scene last weekend loading a new 55-gallon aquarium into the back (it fit!)
The gas mileage! (First fill-up: 35mpg)

I'm still getting used to:
The light-sensing headlights. They turn themselves on which makes me forget to manually turn them on all the way. It's spooky that she knows when it's dark out.

I don't love:
The sensor that knows when someone is sitting on the passenger seat and then turns on the dinger to remind the passenger to put her seat belt on. I've tried, Molly flat-out refuses to wear her seat belt. I have to latch the seat belt across the seat when she rides with me, otherwise I hear 60 seconds of ding, ding, ding... every time the car starts up.

I tried to find other things I don't like but there just aren't any. She's fantastic and I still can't believe she's mine.

Lazy No More, Well Maybe...

Most weekday mornings throughout the year, Molly and I crawl out of bed an hour before Luke to go for a little morning walk. It's good for the pup, and good for the one who sits at the computer all day. We walk in the rain, we walk in the cold, we go every day. That is, until about mid-December. By then, the holiday exhaustion, freezing cold, and serous lack of daylight turn Molly and me into late sleepers.

We slack off from mid-December through January, and then in February we usually resume our schedule, thanks in part to the sun actually beginning to rise before we do. I really can't stand getting up in the dark, getting dressed in the dark, bundling up in my coat, putting Molly in her coat, putting on my reflecting vest, putting on Molly's reflective vest... it's just too much. So in February, when the sun is up by 6:30am or so, we usually get back on our schedule.

February 1st we got up at 6, bundled up and went for the coldest walk in a long time. It was vicious. Molly has a problem with her paws cramping in the bitter cold and I thought I was going to have to carry her for the whole walk so we cut is short and decided to walk again when it got warmer.

March 1st. We've been lazing in bed for another month, sleeping in, and I decide: it's March, we really need to start walking again. We get up early, bundle up, and go for a walk. It wasn't fun, it was darn cold, but we went. Our driveway is like a giant frozen bobsled course, but we braved it. OK, we're back on schedule! Lazy no more. That was, until today.

I woke up early, it was dark. I looked outside at the lake of rainwater in the driveway and decided that I wasn't in the mood to put waders on and find Molly's life preserver. We went back to bed. It's Mother Nature's fault that I'm fat and lazy! We'll try again Monday, but I hear it's going to turn bitterly cold and that's just not good for those little puppy feet. It might be June before we can get back on schedule.