Fairy Dog Mother

Paws In

2011-10-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

We took a little break in the sunshine the other day...

Life has been especially stressful lately. These are the kinds of moments I want to remember first when I think of Fall this year.

Decisions, decisions

2011-10-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

We may take the boy to a doggie costume contest tomorrow. So Internet, which would you choose?

And does it influence your decision to know that the boy also has a Halloween-themed bandana that would likely be incorporated into a pirate costume?

Job Hunting?

2011-10-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

Know anyone looking for a writing/editing/social media job? Look who is hiring. Came across this little announcement in my FB feed this morning. Nice way to liven up the old resume, no?

Texts from This Morning

2011-10-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

From my honey, on her way to work via the bus this morning: Just saw a guy using a flame thrower and 3 cop cars

Me: WTF? That's the kind of text I want to get on your way to work for the next 10 hours!

Honey: Looks like he was trying to patch his asphalt the homemade way. Doh!

Me: Really? Idiot!

Yeah, we live in the super classy part of the suburbs, obviously! At least our recently increased taxes are being put to good use...

Little Left to Lose

2011-10-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

So is there any chance any of my handful of readers know anything about resources for injured workers whose employers are blocking the system of access to health care in a timely fashion? Like how one would go about obtaining an attorney, and if it is even possible to do so without going bankrupt? Which, by the way, I'm pretty damn close to at this point already. I'll take any info or advice available at this point, with cautious appreciation. (I'm rather stressed out and beyond my capacity for coping with stress even remotely reasonably well by now).

Big Picture

2011-10-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

So let's talk about Facebook for a while, shall we? More specifically, let's talk about this story that was floating around yesterday, repeatedly being framed as a "sweet love story" because the couple died holding hands. Yes, that part is touching. Kind of. In a tunnel vision sort of way.

However, let's look at the big picture here. What really happened is a driver who should never have been behind the wheel that day failed to yield at a stop sign, causing a collision resulting in fatal injuries to himself and his wife, and injuring another couple as well. He could have killed those people in addition to himself and his wife. Which, let's face it, is exactly what he did. This is a man who was already facing pending action to have his driving priveleges revoked, who knowingly got behind the wheel anyway. I have lost far too many family members and friends (4 just in my immediate circle of family & friends) in car crashes due to the actions of other dangerous drivers to find this story to be anything but a tragic, unnecessary cautionary outrage.

And everybody spreading it around FB and calling it a sweet love story is making me very cranky. Especially extended family members who have been to some of those memorial services with me. We should all know better.

But then again, I feel like I find myself feeling that way about a lot of things lately. Must be election season.

No, really...

2011-10-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Hi reader in Hudson, Ohio. Welcome to my blog. I'm truly happy to have you here! It looks like you enjoyed yourself in my archives for a while last night, and that's great! Please feel free to read, comment, and enjoy.

I do have one small bit of housekeeping though. I was not kidding in my previous post, so allow me to repeat myself:

Just like with my blog posts themselves, ANY and ALL photographs posted on this blog are my intellectual property (unless otherwise noted and credited). I own any and all copyrights on my photos, even the crappy ones, from now until the end of time. That means every download in my stat logs is an act of STEALING. In case your mother never told you, it's not okay to steal. So stop it. Now.

Just because something is on the Internet does not mean it is up for grabs. And just because you can do something, like download a stranger's photo for whatever reason, does not mean that you should.

Foiled Again

2011-10-16T02:52:00.000-07:00

I've vaguely mentioned that I've been having some health issues recently. Health issues for which I'm on several medications, most of which claim to come along with a lovely dash of sedation on the side, esoecially in combination with each other. And since not being able to sleep for reasons related to these issues has been a concerning & problematic complication, my doctor after seeing the results of his own trial & error followed by some medication hmmmm, how shall I put this? Let's call them missteps for now at the crappy ER he ended up sending me to for an allergic reaction to another of the long list of medications I am now allergic to, or so sensitive to and have such severe, debilitating side effects from that my doctor classifies them as allergies to be safe.

So Anyway, for about a month now we've had a pretty decent cocktail going of a few supplements, good old fashioned Benadryl, and some others I'm totally not telling because I've had enough creepy google searches reaching my blog lately, thank you very much.

So what I really want to know is why, after I finally got used to getting some fairly regular sleep for the last month or so, or something resembling sleep at least, am I now suddenly back to starting the night off with maybe 90 minutes of sleep, waking up groggy, exhausted, starving and disoriented, with eyelids of lead, wanting nothing more than a good night's sleep? (Oh alright, and also a warm batch of fresh brownies!)

Here's the real bitch of it all though: when you wake up groggy, exhausted, disoriented, and still medicated yet unable to get back to sleep, you tend to be pretty grouchy. Especially when it seems like it has been forever since you've had any real sleep at all. So grouchy, in fact, nobody will want to make you any brownies. Or hear about how completely fucking exhausted you are. Shocking, I know. And by the third night, when you decide to just get up and make the brownies yourself already? You'll open your fridge to discover that you're out of eggs anyway.

So instead you'll make a cup of hot cocoa because at least it is chocolatey, watch whatever semi-decent movie you can find on tv and old Almost Live reruns while you wait for the extra dose of pills you took to kick in, and hope tomorrow will be better.

You will also publish this post with minimal proofreading, so that should be extra entertaining/mortifying tomorrow when you stumble across this post you barely remember writing. Have fun with that.

Good Stuff

2011-10-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks be to Facebook, I now have yet another new favorite place on the Internet. Or new version of an old favorite, actually. I really enjoyed Mindy Kaling's old blog, Things I've Bought That I Love, and even kept a link to it over in my sidebar until very recently. Well guess what I found today? Mindy's new website! Fun stuff!

Speaking of fun stuff, if you have yet to see Rosie O'Donnell's new show (The Rosie Show), I highly, highly recommend checking it out. It guarantees a brighter evening in my living room each day, and it has only been on for three days. Loving it, so happy she's back!

What can I say, Internet, some days are about hanging out on the couch watching tv and tooling around the interwebs on my iPod. Just keeping it real...

On Notice

2011-10-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

So. I'm probably wasting my energy even writing this post, and I kind of can't believe I'm even trying, as those who need to be reminded probably do not care about the laws they are violating. But I do, and I'm pissed off.

Just like with my blog posts themselves, ANY and ALL photographs posted on this blog are my intellectual property (unless otherwise noted and credited). I own any and all copyrights on my photos, even the crappy ones, from now until the end of time. That means every download in my stat logs is an act of STEALING. In case your mother never told you, it's not okay to steal. So stop it. Now.

That paragraph right up there? Is going to become a form letter. And I will be watermarking photos from now on, apparently.

Rockin' the Suburbs...

2011-10-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

...Florence and the Machine style!

For(get) You

2011-10-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

A little Cee Lo & Paloma Faith to liven up everyone's Saturday

Note to Self

2011-10-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

Note to self: You deserve a better life, and it is time to start remembering that.

As a noted visionary who the world just lost much too soon once said:

"Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

A Hope for Peace

2011-10-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

So, as I'm sure that anyone who has had any exposure whatsoever to any sort of media or news coverage recently can imagine, it has been an interesting 24 hours or so to live in Seattle.

And I'm certain that it will only get worse before it gets better, as the Seattle media has made it impossible to not be at least slightly aware of a certain young woman named Amanda's exact presence, along with that of many of her friends and family, as well as members of the international press, all of whom are due to descend upon us in about an hour. Literally.

I understand that this is newsworthy, and yet I find myself wishing that we, the general public, were a bit less in the know at the moment. It feels...unsafe, somehow. I hope that whatever happens at this post-flight press conference, Amanda, her family & friends, as well as a certain family in the UK, will be left in peace to begin their own healing processes.

Peace.

A simple wish, that most likely is anything but simple.

A Mini Love Letter

2011-10-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Gmail,

You have my eternal thanks and admiration for your fabulous feature to auto save draft emails. Safari is not playing nicely lately on my iPod, and crashed again as I was wrapping up a lengthy email. Thanks to your thoughtful foresight my head did not, in fact, explode in response. It was a close one though, and for preventing such horror you have earned my undying love!

XOXO,
Fairy Dog Mother

You don't say...

2011-10-01T01:01:00.000-07:00

Anyone who is...let's see...how shall I put this?...lacking in savvy to such an extent that they would find themselves in the market for a product called Forever Lazy, has probably found the one product perfectly tailored (Oh, the irony!) just for them!

Holiday shopping list for that crotchety, impossible to shop for family member? Done!

You're welcome, Internet.

Two Percent Really Doesn't Seem Like Too Much to Ask

2011-09-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

So I have this fancy new gadget for checking my blood pressure at home these days. Not that I technically have high blood pressure, just that I've been in a ton of pain lately, and that combined with possibly a couple of other reasons has resulted in some seriously off the charts BP readings recently in various settings.

SO, my doctor asked me to get a device for measuring it at home. And not just any old thing either, but a super fancy one lIke they have in the office. Ok. Fine. You're scaring me a bit, but whatever, I'm kind of tired of schlepping all the way to your office each week and freaking out the nurses. Even the nice one who I really like and kind of want to keep forever and ever. So I find the super special fancy BP machine, realize the best price I'm going to get is on Amazon, and even pay for half of it with points.

Score! Right?

Apparently not. You see, my friend Amy has a 2% rule: you must be 2% smarter than the thing which you are trying to manipulate.

Apparently I need to be about 2% smarter these days, because I swear about 75% of the time I try to use the damn thing I get an error message of some sort, or a super wacky reading that I *know* is not right. And as soon as someone (read: my honey) is around to help it works just fine DOING EXACTLY THE SAME THING I WAS DOING BY MYSELF FOR THE LAST 30 MINUTES, THANKYOYVERYMYCH.

Yeah, I don't think this is helping anything.

What is This, Junior High?

2011-09-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

So without getting myself into trouble getting into specifics really, I should preface this by saying that I have been seriously ill lately, so I've been on a sudden and unexpected leave from work. Not to sound scary, or anything either -- I'm OK now, but I really wasn't for a while there.

And during all of this time a co-worker kept sending me messages on...*cue foreshadowing music*...FB of all places trying to talk to me about work, asking what was happening with me, and then once I gave her a brief rundown (still conveying the seriousness though - in an effort, of course, to set boundaries & get her to give me a break already), she persisted & found any and every opportunity to comment, post, or send me a message about her own simultaneous (& less serious) health stuff or what was going on at work without me there. Gee, sorry I can't help but I'm not there for a reason! I tried every tactic I could think of to get her to chill out on me a bit, all to no avail, and she was directly impacting my health & my recovery efforts, so I blocked her temporarily.

Problem solved, or so I thought! When I felt better enough that I thought I may be able to handle her comments, posts, etc. again I unblocked her, and quickly realized she had unfriended me. Oh well, right?

Maybe ten minutes go by, and guess who I get a new friend request from?

Really? Because I thought I left this sort of ridculous, unnecessary drama behind in Junior High!

Ranting

2011-09-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Bank of America,

You blow. Hard. And by the way, you just lost a customer of twenty years.

I'll try not to let the door hit you on my way out!

Less than fondly yours,
A pissed off and soon-to-be former customer

Dear Blogger,

Your 'improvements' are making it even more of a challenging pain in the ass to blog on my iPod. Please don't break what is barely working.

I'm securely on the fence about you these days, ya know.

Love, Fairydogmother

P.S. WTH is with the (lack of) font choice? A girl has her standards, and this is not gonna fly...

Rushing Things

2011-09-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

Updated(ish) because my post disappeared & somehow ended up back in draft mode sometime over the last couple days. I'm having issues with bloggers 'improvements' and iPod blogging...

So a few of you have been following along in real life, and know that good friends of mine had twins rather unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. Although the boys came quite early, everyone is doing remarkably well under the circumstances. For those of you who might want to follow along, or check in every so often to see about the boys' progress, they have actually started a blog. It has already become my new favorite corner of the Internet, and I have a lot of forced down time these days so that says a lot. Not that I'm the least bit biased or anything.

{via}

Ironically, I received a text earlier this morning from my friend. While they are on the way to go visit their own preemies in the NICU, she found out that her sister-in-law has gone into labor with their niece 4 weeks early. For those of you who are so inclined, would you mind sending prayers, love, positive thoughts, etc. out to the Universe for another positive outcome? Their family has been through so much lately, and I am really hoping that everything turns out as well as possible this time too.

Thanks, Internet.

Update, part deux: So the boys have been making great progress, and their blog really has become a favorite haunt lately. It's where I turn to when I'm in one of those 'OMG, my head is about to explode somebody better remind me that good things really are still happening in the world' moments. OK, days. Fine, weeks! Whatever. Just remember, if anyone makes their way over to the boys' blog from here, please don't refer to my blog name. You'll notice I don't comment there using my google account. There are simply too many eyes in the silent audience over there for that to feel safe, and I really want to protect whatever level if anonymity I've managed to cultivate here. Thanks, friends.

Tempting Fate

2011-09-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hey, so you know what might be an even dumber idea than blogging about work in front of the whole entire Internet? Blogging about long, drawn out, crazy, random medical sagas that could pretty much only happen to you, are currently ongoing (and overlapping!), and that you are still hoping will be covered by insurance in one form or another!

Suffice it to say, it has been a long, frustrating, painful summer. And I am so aggravated and frustrated by it all at this point that I don't even know what to do anymore. Except wait. Which is getting me nowhere.

For the couple of you still reading, don't be surprised if I just password protect the entire blog pretty soon, if possible, at least temporarily. If I do, I will gladly share the password with readers I already know, and of course the few real life friends who know about this space. You houligans know who you are.

Because it really is a good story. As far as stories go, that is. Not good as in it has been a positive experience by any stretch of the imagination. And not venting my frustration aside from bits and pieces here & there with a few close, trusted friends is not really working so well for me these days.

Le Sigh

Wondering...

2011-08-31T02:34:00.000-07:00

I think I already know the answer to this question, but does anyone happen to know if Blogger has enabled a password protection option for individual posts, or if there is a relatively easy workaround for it yet? Other than simply moving to Wordpress, which, though appealing, may very well be beyond my current brain power capabilities.

In case you haven't guessed, SO much going on in recent weeks that I actually have several stories I really want to slowly start sharing with you guys (as part of one long, drawn out, continuing saga). Unfortunately though, due to fairly distinctive, easily identifiable details, it is really not safe to do so openly for the entire Internet to see.

I promise it will be worth the wait for those who are interested: it's bad, it's good, it's darkly amusing, and full of twists and turns! And the best part is that it continues to unfold with no real end in sight. In a word; it's absurd. Which, as far as I'm concerned. If I have to have a saga befall me, it better at least be entertaining!

Cruel Summer

2011-08-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

Oh, you guys. It has been a day. You know the kind. The ones that have you wanting to quit your job and just go back to bed all before 9:00 a.m. has even rolled around. And almost purely for reasons that aren't really safe to go into with the internet watching, lest I wish to lose my job. Oh, the irony.

And I know how utterly ridiculous it is to complain about the weather in the middle of August. And yes, I know that I live in Seattle. But it DID. NOT. HELP that is was gray and dreary with misty morning fog for much of the morning when I had been looking forward to the gorgeous 75 degree sunshine that we'd been promised all week. Apparently August 12th is my limit, because that is when I joined the throngs of whiny Seattleites bitching about our decided lack of summer this year.

But you know, it most definitely has not been all bad. I was at a concert at the zoo on a beautiful Friday evening a couple of weeks ago, and this happened:

Dangerous Territory

2011-03-01T14:20:00.000-08:00

I'm firmly in "Danger Will Robinson" territory today, and it is entirely likely that this will end up being yet another post (or partially-written post) that simply ends up lingering in my drafts folder forever. Having said that, however, I am tired of remaining silent in this space for months at a time because so much of my energy is spent not saying things, either in person or in the form of writing in this space. The funny thing about expending so much energy not saying certain things is that you eventually end up saying nothing at all. Gee, I wonder why I have so many stress-related health issues right now? Insomnia? Check. Headaches? Check. And to be quite honest it is getting to the point now that I really can't continue to remain silent. If I don't vent somewhere safe, and good lord do I hope that this is a safe space, I am going to snap and say the wrong thing to the wrong person. If that happens it quite likely won't matter what I did or did not say in my anonymous blog.

You guys, my work situation is simply ridiculous. My supervisor is so inept in so many areas of her job that it isn't just like having a member of the team who is useless, she actually makes things even worse than if she wasn't there at all. I'm trying to think of analogies I can use to give you an idea of what it is like without revealing too many details, and of course they all fall short of really doing the situation justice.

So, I don't know. I'm at a loss. Perhaps I'm not going to be wading very far into Dangerous Territory after all today. Which might be good, because quite frankly I've been feeling like I've been drowning from the stress of it all for quite some time now, along with the vast majority of my co-workers, and none of the lifeguards who are in a position to do something about it seem to notice anything other than the waves.

Tomorrow is another day though, so stay tuned.

No, Really

2011-02-24T17:53:00.000-08:00

So yesterday's video has since been removed from You Tube. There's a shock. More importantly though, how did I just manage to see this video today? There is so much awesome here I don't even know where to begin. If you haven't seen it yet, just hit play. If you have seen it, hit replay. That's what I'm going to do.

Breaking News

2011-02-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

I find the shell-shocked look on her face entirely too amusing. It just so clearly conveys that she is really thinking "I don't know how to break this to you, but gay people want to be treated like humans now. And the worst part is, the President actually seems to support this crazy idea! Can you even believe this is happening?!" That combined with the scrolling ALERT in the corner of the screen is just so over-the-top ridiculous that I have to laugh at it at this point. Because screaming "Yeah, lady, the President and the Attorney General have declared that they think we should no longer be defending this unconstitutional law in court BECAUSE IT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL" at my computer screen is giving me a headache. And laryngitis.

Deliciousness

2010-11-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

Swistle's salt brownies are in the oven, and I have to say delicious smells are starting to permeate the house. Exactly what I needed at the end of a cold, dreary Monday back at work following a 4-day weekend!

Treading Water

2010-11-11T14:27:00.000-08:00

Oh, you guys. This week, and today in particular, has been so beyond stressful it isn't even funny. Work is ridiculous. And totally unbloggable.

Oh, what's that Blogger? You don't like "unbloggable"? Too bad for you, as that is the least of my worries these days.

The worst part about days and weeks like this is that they are so. fucking. endless. One stressful hour bleeds into the next and before too long the hours are blurring together into an endlessly stressful day, which blurs into the next endlessly stressful day until I finally make it to the weekend, and feel like I have a chance to breathe again. Friday evening always brings the hope of two days ahead of me to recover from the week and recharge a bit in anticipation of the next week. Except that I seem to forget that the weekends are always about attempting to catch up with all of the life stuff that didn't get done during the previous week. Bills to be paid, meals to be planned, grocery lists to be made, and housework to either be done or put off for yet another day or twelve. And then of course there are the errands that don't run themselves, and laundry that does not take care of itself either. Which is all the more challenging when you don't have a functioning washer & dryer, leaving you to do laundry either at the laundromat or the ever popular option of taking a week's worth of laundry your parents house. Like the real grown-ups do.

Everything but the absolute bare necessities always gets put off until later in the week, and it only serves to elevate my already over the top stress level since nobody is magically swooping in and taking care of anything for me. The bills fairy isn't showing up and writing checks out for me. The housework fairy seems to have lost her house key long ago. And the laundry fairy left us high and dry the minute the machines started acting up. Apparently my magic wand is broken.

You know what is really awesome though, is the dog learned a new trick. He now high fives on command, and it never fails to crack me up. So maybe the cell phone bill gets paid a day or two late this month. Again. But hey, the dog can give me a high five, so maybe my priorities aren't so out of order after all.

Impromptu

2010-11-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today is the kind of gorgeous November day we don't see very often in Seattle at all. Don't get me wrong, we are lucky enough to live in an incredibly beautiful place, but when we have blue skies and sunshine in November it is usually quite chilly. The kind of weather we have had today does not come around very often: clear blue sky, plenty of sunshine, and feeling more like summer than fall. So when I got home this afternoon I threw on jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie, leashed up the dog, and grabbed the camera. We didn't get two minutes into our stroll around the block before I realized I was actually too warm in my not-even-zipped-up sweatshirt, but there was no turning back. I pushed up my sleeves and we were off on an adventure.

Vote!

2010-11-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

I remember, and I vote.

If you are in the Seattle area, you can drop off your ballot at any drop box in King County until 8pm this evening.

Today

2010-10-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

There is so much that I don't feel free to say here right now. Oh irony, you cruel twist of fate. What is the point of having a relatively anonymous space in which to write about one's life without feeling free to write about the issues that are consuming so much mental, emotional, and physical energy?

Work. The economy. Trying to improve my work situation, which is complicated by the current economy. Relationships of various sorts, including those vaguely and not-so-vaguely related to work. Oh what a tangled web! I suppose the details aren't that important except to those of us directly involved anyway. And ultimately the stories I don't yet feel free to tell probably aren't that different than those of many, many others these days.

Life, man.

Suffice it to say I feel like I am so far beyond the point of running on empty that the thought of running on fumes feels like it would be a vast improvement. I need to put a stop to this.

Today I vow to step away from all the stress.

Today I will limit myself to completing only those tasks on my various to-do lists that are absolutely necessary to take care of today. Like the quarterly taxes that are due today. I can pick up to 2 other necessary tasks, and everything else will have to wait.

Instead I will be focusing on the things I need for me. Relaxation. Recharging. Soul soothing.

The time is now.

Status Quo

2010-05-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

Et tu, June?

The Cure

2010-05-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

I am home for the long weekend, and I could not be more ready for an extended weekend. In fact, I don't think I have ever been more ready for a weekend in my life. Work is... Well. Work is miserable, quite frankly. Thankfully I have some really wonderful co-workers who help me keep some semblance of sanity. Over the last several months a handful of us have begun comparing notes and realizing that we are all having similar experiences at work, with the common denominator always being our boss, who is simply awful. Morale is horribly low. To the extent that I don't know of a single person who is actually happy at work right now. I have a fabulous new co-worker who has been on our team for about a month now, and even he has been tempted to quit on more than one occasion already. I have lost track of the number of people who, in the last few weeks alone, have given notice or told me in confidence that they are job hunting, recently received a job offer, or expect to receive a job offer any day now. I have never seen anything quite like it, and I have been working in some capacity or another since I was 16.

If nothing else, at least I am able to take some solace in the fact that I am not alone and enjoy the informal support systems that have developed amongst the staff over the last year or so. It is nice to reaffirm that the problem is not with me, because if it were then nobody else would be having similar experiences at work. Or they would experience problems with me, not with our boss.

And with that I have already said more about work than I ever planned to on a public blog but if you can't blog anonymously every once in a while in an effort to preserve your own mental health, what is the point of having an anonymous blog in the first place?

In any case, I am looking forward to the day I find the cure for this situation and I am literally and figuratively in a better place with respect to work. In the meantime, my own personal soundtrack for the evening is an endless loop of "I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too, Thursday I don't care about you, its Friday, I'm in love..."

Twenty Two

2010-04-21T07:38:00.001-07:00

I have fairly nice handwriting, but I wish my signature looked nearly this nice when signed with one pen much less twenty two!

On another note, this very well might be the most shallow post ever written about the health insurance reform bill!

(Photo Credit: Barack Obama on Facebook)

Haiku and Photo Essay

2010-04-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

Injury prone one:

bled for a day and a half,

high maintenance much?

Understatement

2010-04-07T23:09:00.001-07:00

I don't regularly watch the local news, as I typically prefer to get my news from other sources. Tonight I happen to be up watching TV later than usual, only to hear a brief story about a missing vial of cyanide. The story included a warning to the public that ingesting the contents of the vial "could be fatal".

You think?!

'Duh' comes to mind...

Putting A Spring In My Step

2010-02-22T14:14:00.000-08:00

Seriously?

2010-02-08T11:34:00.001-08:00

I'm battling yet another round of sinus pressure-y, migraine, low-grade fever yuckiness, so I've spent most of the morning on the couch in my pajamas with my laptop trying to get some work done but ending up spending most of the time mindlessly blog surfing instead. I've moved on from tea to slightly diluted Gatorade, and have been snacking on the salted caramels we made last week because it is the only thing that has been effective in staving off the migraine-induced nausea. A few minutes ago while engaged in the previously mentioned blog reading I reached over to grab another caramel and only to surprise myself by reaching into my glass of Gatorade instead. Then as I got up off the couch to go wash my hands my foot got caught in the blanket I had thrown over my lap, which I suppose is more fitting that gracefully walking into the kitchen without incident. But really, could my morning scream any more loudly of Monday?

Where You Can Find Me

2010-01-25T10:31:00.000-08:00

I woke up with a terrible migraine for the third day in a row. I should be dragging my ass off to the chiropractor to try to get rid of this miserable headache but seeing as how I started my morning by taking migraine medication on an empty stomach (for the second day in a row, no less), I am not in any sort of shape to be driving myself anywhere. Of course I have what feels like an endless list of things I should be spending my time doing today. I have work to get done, paperwork to fill out for a doctor's appointment tomorrow, research to do for the new business we are working on starting, housework and other assorted puttering around the house that is calling my name, and cookies that aren't going to bake themselves. Instead I have spent the morning grazing on crackers, sipping ginger tea, and willing myself not to throw up. So for now at least I am setting my to-do list aside and trying to make myself comfortable in my cocoon of pillows and blankets on the couch. If you need us we'll be in our respective lairs.

Shiny Happy People

2010-01-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

A brief list of things that are making me happy lately:

The new full leaf teas from Starbucks, and the fact that my honey can bring some home for me each week as a perk of her job.
Hitting our neighborhood movie theater for a Saturday morning movie matinee last weekend. We saw Leap Year, which was about as good as you would expect. What can I say, I'm a sucker for any movie involving women traveling thousands of miles away on a whim, especially if it involves travel to a foreign country. Bonus points if Robert Downey, Jr. is involved.
My homemade chex mix, which is awesomely addicting. Seriously. I've made three or four batches in the last couple of weeks. Each batch makes eight cups. Only two people live here.
Having a friend ask me for my awesome chex mix recipe after I oh-so-humbly mentioned on facebook over the weekend that I make the best chex mix in the world. I'm not sure why this makes me so happy exactly, it just does. Something about adapting a recipe to suit my own tastes, getting feedback that other people like it as much as I do, and being asked for the recipe makes me feel like a grown up, I suppose.
Seeing how much the people at the boy's vet office love him. From the front desk staff to the vet techs to the docs who come out to the lobby to greet him, they are genuinely happy to see him. The staff is friendly to all of the clients and pets, but the boy usually ends up getting extra attention & love. Last week when we made his follow up appointment I stuck the reminder card in my wallet without looking at it. When we got home and I went to stick the card on the fridge I saw this:

Fingers Crossed

2010-01-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in this post, the boy has had an ulcer on his eye for the last several months that has been taking forever to heal. I have lost track of how many different medications we have tried since last summer, but it is well into the double digits. Last week alone we were still using five different medications, down from the ten we were using in November and early December. He has had surgery to scrape the surface of the eye and stimulate the healing process. Twice. He is the second dog in the history of our veterinary office to ever need to have that procedure repeated. The other dog was a boxer, who happen to be prone to eye ulcers. According to the vet that dog's eye was 100% healed in a week after the second surgery. It has been over a month since the boy's second surgery. He has officially set a new record.

At our last appointment a couple of weeks ago the vet was going to have to stitch the boy's eye nearly all the way shut to allow it to heal if it didn't appear to be healing on its own. That was the day after Christmas. I told my honey all I wanted for Christmas was for the boy's eye to get better so it wouldn't need to be stitched shut. We were vigilant about all of his different medicines, and it seemed to finally be getting better. We weren't sure if it was wishful thinking and we were just seeing what we wanted to see, but when we took him in that Saturday two different doctors looked at his eye and agreed that it did finally seem to be getting better. The decision was made to continue with what we were doing and let the eye finish healing. We were so relieved to be taking home a two-eyed dog! Happily, his eye continued improving over the next two weeks. We finished his eye drops over the weekend, and yesterday we noticed that his ulcer is returning.

So this morning we are off to the vet. Unfortunately the boy's favorite doctor is out of the country until the end of the month. Hopefully they won't have to stitch his eye shut or perform yet another surgery, but we are prepared to do whatever it takes to get his eye completely healed. We just want our dog to get better.

Information Overload

2010-01-12T09:44:00.000-08:00

Since joining Facebook last week I have been reminded that it doesn't necessarily take much to make me feel grouchy. Having to weed through endless notifications on my homepage that you have recently become a fan of Clorox, DiGiorno, and Nordstrom? That you joined this, that and the other group? All of the above interspersed with detailed update after detailed update of your family member's health crisis? Too much information! Repeated status updates regarding details of your relationship status swinging rapidly between ridiculously happy and so over it you no longer want to continue living? Perhaps you might want to be a tad more selective about who receives specific updates.

Although really, it is fitting when it helps me remember why I let certain friendships fade away in the first place. So I suppose my grouchiness is really irritation at myself for getting sucked back in to the endless cycle of drama and information overload by accepting certain friend requests in the first place. Funny how getting back in touch with people from high school can feel like being back in high school drama-wise.

You know what option facebook really needs? A setting that would allow us to select which information updates we receive from the individuals in our friends lists!

Fortunately I am aware that grouchiness is just feeling, and I can choose whether or not to act on my feelings. I can either continue to let myself be irritated by it and pare down my friends list in the future, or take it in stride, roll my eyes when it is irritating, and move on. Problem solved.

P.S.

2010-01-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

Dear Blogger,

Why are you messing with my fonts mid-post? It is annoying.

Are you trying to make me switch to WordPress?

Dear Everyone

2010-01-11T09:17:00.000-08:00

Dear lady in the parking lot at Target,

Next time you decide to park the "wrong" way in a parking spot, I suggest checking to make sure that the parking spot next to you is still empty before swinging your car door open and jumping out. Sometimes people actually pull their cars into empty parking spaces. Crazy, I know!

Lucky for you I have quick reflexes. And good brakes.

Dear teenage cashier at Target,

When you are working at one of the two open checkout lanes it would be helpful if you made sure to remove any carts that are blocking your aisle. Ditto trying to make yourself appear so busy that you don’t notice the cart or the customers who start to go to your aisle, only to have to go to the neighboring open stand instead. When you then look at your friend who is cashiering in the neighboring lane and say in that way that only a seventeen year-old girl can quite pull off, “Both of our lanes are open. I wonder why everybody is going to you”, and giggle when I point out it is because a cart is blocking access to your lane then continue to take your sweet-ass time puttering around your station before moving said cart and never once offer to help me or any of the customers who have lined up behind me? That is how you really piss off customers.

I doubt you will be working there for very long.

Dear people I went to high school with,

If not only were we not friends in high school but I don't even know who you are, there is no reason for us to be friends on Facebook. See also: we knew some of the same people but you were always sort of a jackass to me. There were 1500 students in our high school. I do not need to be "friends" with all of them.

Ignore!

Dear sweet, adorable loving boy,

Thank you for wanting to spend time with me so badly yesterday morning that you decided you could not rest until mama was up, out of bed, and out in the living room hanging out with you. I appreciate that you practiced using your "inside voice" and it was awfully sweet how you cuddled against me when I knelt down and told you it was still time for sleeping. Because that's what we do when it is not even 4:30 in the morning around here. And again this morning when you woke me up at 3:15. Yes, you curled up and went to sleep after the second time I told you to. I, on the other hand, never did get back to sleep. For the second. day. in. a. row.

Mama only barely tolerates pre-dawn wake up calls when it involves leaving for a fabulous vacation and copious amounts of caffeine. Neither of which are a part of our life as we know it currently. So please, have some sympathy for your sleep deprived mama, and at least let me sleep until 7:00.

You are lucky you're so cute.

Girls vs. Suits

2010-01-09T14:09:00.000-08:00

I did not realize just how much I have missed new episodes of How I Met Your Mother until I watched this video.

This makes me ridiculously happy. I can't help it, I love you Neil Patrick Harris!

Facebooking

2010-01-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

So I joined Facebook the other day, and I'm happy to report that I quickly found my friend and have been enjoying catching up with her.

However I haven't even been on FB for 72 hours yet, and I already find myself wondering if I should ignore a friend request from someone who was a friend in high school but then actively chose to NOT be a friend when life got tough two short years later.

I should probably be the bigger person in this situation. But for now her friend request is going to just sit there because while my 20 year-old self was understanding and forgiving, right now at this very moment my 35 year-old self is really angry on behalf of that 20 year-old who needed the love and support of her friends.

This is why I resisted joining FB for so long. Hopefully I will feel better about it all in the morning.

Details

2010-01-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Sizzle’s post yesterday, I have decided to tell the internet about the horrible, traumatizing way I started off this week. Now, I am normally hyper vigilant about milk because I have sensitivity issues. I will not, for example, mix milk from different containers since they will have different levels of freshness. Well-meaning friends who like to think they are funny have pointed out in the past that the milk in the containers comes from different cows anyway, so it is already mixed together. But it isn’t about that people! It is about the freshness! I've only recently started keeping regular milk in the house to use with recipes and for using in my tea. I use soy milk for cereals, which is mostly what I use milk for. Anyway, I’m off on a tangent here!

So Monday morning I was half-asleep and making my tea. The dog was right at my hip, and I was sweet-talking him while pouring milk into my tea & stirring it, trying to keep his attention so I could sneak attack him with his current arsenal of eye medicine, which is conveniently kept in the kitchen, once my tea was ready. All of this is a long-winded way of saying that I completely lost my mind momentarily and was not paying attention to the milk I was stirring into my tea. I started drinking it, thinking it tasted a little funny. But kept drinking it. It wasn't until I grabbed the milk out of the fridge again the following day and was knocked over by the smell when I opened the carton that I realized I'd ingested sour milk the day before. Horrifying! I'm gagging again even now just thinking about it.

I have yet to replace that milk. I’ve been using flavored coffee creamer in my tea the last few days. I’m going to have to work up to regular milk again.

Rivalry

2010-01-06T08:19:00.000-08:00

The Shorecrest-Shorewood rivalry was never this much fun in the early '90s.

Fifteen

2010-01-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

Fifteen years ago today this happened. My friend's husband was one of the firefighters who were killed that night. We actually met after the fire, because unfortunately our lives were in similarly awful places at the time. I'm not really sure that I have anything to say about that fire or the tragically stupid and selfish man who caused it to happen, in part because it isn't my place.

I'm just thinking about my friend today, and how I miss her since we've lost touch. I just might sign up for a facebook account and see if we can get back in touch. Because although our lives might be much different now and it is entirely too easy to lose touch when life gets busy, we had some really wonderful times together and I've missed her. We might not be drinking cappuccinos in Italy or seeing the Eiffel Tower together again anytime soon, but maybe I can drop her a line to say hi and tell her I've missed her.

Resolved

2010-01-04T13:40:00.000-08:00

I don’t normally make resolutions, but last year was particularly challenging and left me wanting to make some fundamental changes in my life for 2010. I think the first step of that has to be putting my intentions in writing. So here we go.

I resolve to find a job that does not make me miserable, deplete my energy, and suck every last bit of joy out of my days. Some how, some way I am going to say goodbye to my horrible boss. Ideally I would like to do so on my own terms. However, given the current economy and all that I know about my boss, I am fully aware that it may not happen that way. If not, I will do my best to focus on the positive: saying good riddance to an unhealthy situation.

I am going to make sure my days are filled with more peace, joy, and fun, and less stress, worry, and desperation. (Related: see above!)

In 2010 I will celebrate the victories, both large and small.

I am going to make more time for the little things I enjoy: lingering trips to my favorite coffee shop for lattes made by my favorite baristas, spontaneous walks with the boy, photographing the cherry blossoms just steps away from our patio in the spring, trips to the dog park, $5 movie matinees on weekend mornings, and a thousand little things I am probably forgetting because I simply got out of the habit.

I am going to make taking care of myself my top priority. For once and for all, I am going to learn to stop being the girl who spends all of her energy taking care of everybody else without even putting herself on the list.

In short, I deserve better. 2010 is the year that I am going to make it happen!

Out With the Old

2010-01-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

I've completed this questionnaire for the last couple of years. I wasn't going to do it again this year as 2009 has not been a whole lot of fun around Chez Dogmother, but last night I decide that is exactly why I *should* do it again. So here we go.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Found a favorite hotel on an overnight trip to Portland. Took my honey to the emergency room, and spent a morning in a waiting room with some wonderful friends to keep me company while she had gal bladder surgery a month later. Spent six months and hundreds of dollars in vet visits to heal the boy’s scratched eye that developed an ulcer. An ulcer that is STILL healing.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don’t usually make new year’s resolutions, but this year I’m making an exception. I resolve to find a job that does not make me miserable.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No.

4. Did anyone close to you die? No.

5. What countries did you visit?

None! For the second year in a row the furthest we traveled was Portland, OR. Now I happen to love Portland, but like I said last year we definitely need to travel more, even if it is just for a weekend jaunt here and there! I’ve been itching to get back to the Oregon coast for quite a while now

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

Again, for the second year in a row: a better employment situation, more financial security, and more fun! Also, a dog who comes when he is called at the dog park. An addition to the list for 2010: a boss who does not make me miserable and suck the joy out of my time at work.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

August 20^th (our trip to the ER), September 30^th (surgery day), and December 26^th (the day our wonderful vet finally was able to say that the boy’s eye is almost healed. I REALLY hope I didn’t just jinx us!)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Sticking it out in a soul sucking job that makes me completely miserable.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Letting the soul sucking job, and more specifically my awful boss, make me feel miserable. And letting it effect the rest of my life.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Yes, I suffered an on the job injury last spring, followed by a minor concussion. And this fall a lingering sinus/ear infection accompanied by walking pneumonia led to a very scary severe bad reaction to an antibiotic that, quite frankly, nearly killed me. I don’t recommend it, to say the least.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Tickets to an amazing private Brandi Carlile show at the Triple Door that supported the Looking Out Foundation. And the stay at the previously mentioned Hotel Deluxe.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

A couple of wonderful doctors at the boy’s vet office, and my honey who is far more successful at putting the various drops in the boy’s eye.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

My boss. I’m sensing a theme here.

14. Where did most of your money go?

The vet’s office, medical bills, and bills in general.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The possibility of starting a new business with my honey and a colleague of hers. I know I have the personality for working from home, running a small business, and being my own boss.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

Brandi Carlile, Pride and Joy.

Kings of Leon, Sex on Fire. Except that it will always remind me of hearing this story, which never fails to make me laugh!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Sadder, thinner and poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Relaxing. Enjoying the little things. Traveling. Having fun.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Stressing out. Worrying about finances. Letting my boss get to me and make me question what I know to be true about myself and my abilities. Visiting the vet!

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Our Christmas started with a 5:28 am wake-up call from my honey’s family on the east coast. Then we went over to my brother’s for breakfast with my parents, my brother, his girlfriend, and their boxers.

Later in the afternoon my parents came over to our place to hang out and watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?

No.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

How I Met Your Mother

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No. I simply don’t have the energy or inclination for it. Although my boss is very close to changing that fact.

24. What was the best book you read?

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I’m really enjoying Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

26. What did you want and get?

Time off, although I wish it hadn’t been due to an unforeseen medical leave. Oh, and a new ipod which I’m completely in love with!

27. What did you want and not get?

Better financial security. My dream job. A winning lottery ticket. A clear bill of health from the boy’s vet.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Julie & Julia, with Up in the Air a not-so-distant second.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Let’s see, I turned 35. My honey and I went out to dinner with my brother and his girlfriend at the no longer in existence Yarrow Bay Grill, and I drank too much wine. I don’t really remember how we spent our time earlier in the day. My honey got me an ipod, so most likely I played with that a bit. We probably went to see a movie or just relaxed at home.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A better job situation with a paycheck that appropriately compensates me for all that I do and actually pays the bills.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Relaxed. I’m a t-shirt or sweater and jeans kind of girl. Or slippers and pajama bottoms when I’m at home.

32. What kept you sane?

Cuddles from the boy. Could you resist this face?!

And my mom deciding to use frequent flyer miles at the last minute to come to town to take care of me when I was so sick I couldn’t take care of myself.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Nobody, really.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

I was glad that at least the “everything but marriage” bill passed in Washington State. Baby steps.

35. Who did you miss?

My parents, who have retired and moved a thousand miles away, especially my mom.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

I feel like I spent most of the year at work, or in a waiting room/doctor’s office of some sort. So I didn’t really get out much, and when I did it was spending time at my favorite coffee shop or seeing friends I see far too little of.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.

Crappy things happen to everybody, often despite our best intentions and best efforts. It is how we react when these things happen that matters the most.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

“It’s not the end of the world. It’s not even over, but it will be soon”. (I Will, Brandi Carlile)

Positivity Needed

2009-12-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

**Re-posting from Jess & Sizzle's blogs today. Because at some point in time each of us needs as much positivity as possible to be sent out into the universe.**

My name is brandy. And I have a blog.

And a plea.

I use my blog to showcase the crazy I meet everyday, share the stories of the kids I teach and document my love for tequila, dairy products and the abdominal muscles of Ryan Reynolds. Rarely do I talk about personal issues on my blog- as personal as the dude that I adore (who I actually met through my blog- single ladies, let that be a very good reason to blog, the possibility of meeting someone as wonderful as my man), but I need your help. And it involves my dude.

He’s a guy who made math comics for my class, so they would love learning about addition. He’s the kinda guy who sends my friends gift cards when they are having hard times, who remembers every story I ever told him, who was the first person I celebrated with when I got a teaching job. He’s the guy who sent flowers to me at school- dozens of my favourite pink roses just because he loves me. He’s a guy who has spent a year patiently explaining (and re-explaining) everything there is to know about football during the important games when silence is preferred. He’s made me word puzzles and comics and stayed up late playing Scrabble with me (even though I beat him almost every time). He’s listened to me cry about school and family and jobs. He is everything I never knew I needed and everything I always knew I wanted.

The holidays have hit us hard. He’s recently been told he may have something called multiple myeloma- an incurable cancer, that gives a person an average of five years of continued life. Though this news has came as a shock, he continues to be exactly who has always been- spending his time worrying about me, rather than worrying about himself. He’s the most selfless individual I know- (he stayed late on Christmas Eve to work, so his co-workers could leave early) and a post like this would never be something that he would promote or encourage but when I’m overwhelmed and feeling helpless, the blogging community has always given me tremendous support and comfort, two things I desperately need at this time.

As I write this, the future is uncertain and we aren’t sure what’s happening. He’ll need to see an oncologist soon, to verify what’s going on in his body. My hope is that everyone who reads this think positive thoughts and if you are a person who prays, could you add him to your list? (You can refer to him as ‘brandy’s hot awesome dude’). If you don’t pray, please keep him in your heart.This cancer is only a possibility and I believe that the prayers and positive thoughts of people can make sure it never becomes a reality.

I want to give a big thank you to the blog owner who scraped their original blog plans and graciously put this up. My goal is to get as many people as possible to see and read this post. If you are reading this and want to help, copy and paste my plea into your blog or send a link through twitter, so more people can keep him in their thoughts. I would be so very grateful (even more grateful than I am to my friend who first showed me the picture of Ryan Reynolds on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. If you haven’t seen it, google it. You. Are. Welcome).

I realize this all sounds dramatic, a Lifetime movie in the making- but this is life. Right now. And I’m throwing away any hint of ego and am humbly asking for you to pray or think kind thoughts. If you are able to pass this on, thank you and if you know anything regarding MM- please email me (my email is on my blog). This isn’t a call for sympathy or a plea for pity. It’s just one girl hoping you can think positive thoughts for the person she adores. If my current heartache provides you with anything, let it be with the reminder that life is short, love is unbending and no one knows what could happen next. Maybe it is silly, but I really do believe that positive thoughts can make a huge difference. Thank you for reading this and if you haven’t already? Please tell someone you love them today.

I did.

Should I Happen To Win The Lottery

2009-10-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Boss,

I quit. Effective immediately. Working for you is just not worth it.

I wish you the best of luck trying to figure out exactly how much you DON'T know about running the business you have been charged with overseeing.

Sincerely,

Your overburdened and significantly underpaid office manager

P.S. Yes, most of the staff does actually hate you.

Oh Happy Day!

2009-07-03T13:33:00.001-07:00

I cannot WAIT to find out more about the reasons behind this, but in the meantime I am just going to enjoy the fact that Sarah Palin has resigned as Governor of Alaska.

Why yes, as a matter of fact I probably will be spending the afternoon watching CNN. Why do you ask?

Relief

2009-06-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

This is the first day in two weeks that I did not wake up with a sinus pressure induced migraine. In fact, it is the first time in two weeks I've not had a migraine. I never thought I would feel relieved to have a ridiculously painful sinus headache, but at this point I'll take it. Of course it is thanks to two kinds of prescription allergy medicine, two types of decongestant, AND prescription migraine medication. But right at this very moment as I sit here typing this late for work and still trying to choke down cold oatmeal for breakfast, all I can think is that it is not a moment too soon because I cannot call in sick to work and yet I am certain that I will get to work and spend a significant portion of my day dealing with people who called in sick and/or want to go home because they are "sick". If I had to spend one more day putting up with other people's bullshit while suffering my own sinus-fueled migraines on top of the other health issues I've been dealing with for the last couple of months without missing a single fucking day of work I'm pretty sure my head was going to explode.

Time for a new job much?

Three Things Which Sum Up My Week

2009-03-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

Thing the first: Thursday afternoon I went out to the parking lot on my way to make a bank run at work and discovered my car was covered in bird shit. There were at least 40 or 50 splotches all over the damn thing.

Thing the second: Friday morning after dragging myself out of bed and rallying every tiny molecule of energy I could muster simply to get dressed and ready for work I crouched down to give the boy scratches and a kiss on the head only to have him repay me by sneezing in my face right as I should have been walking out the door. It was disgusting and funny at the same time.

Thing the third: I woke up at 6:15 this morning with awful sinus pressure and a migraine. And on top of all that I now seem to be struck down by the stomach bug that took down several of my co-workers throughout the week.

I'm feeling very much like the stars are stacked against me lately. On a happier note I've been soothing my soul by splurging on concert tickets, so that gives me something to look forward to. Too bad the shows are still a couple of months away!

Oh, Look!

2009-02-20T17:00:00.001-08:00

My blog appears to be broken. Fun!

Update: And now it is back. I really need to post more frequently.

And Then My Head Exploded

2009-01-04T16:41:00.001-08:00

About an hour ago I noticed it is snowing. Again.

We're only, what, two weeks into winter?

Recap

2009-01-01T06:53:00.000-08:00

I did the new year's pop quiz at Sundry's place last year, so I figured I better keep it up and do it again this year. If you decide to do it too please let me know. I'd love to read all about it.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

Went to a concert at the Portland zoo, where a baby elephant was being born. Got snowed in over Christmas. Made it through the stress of several months of unemployment while job hunting.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don’t make new year’s resolutions. But I will be setting goals as the year progresses, I’m sure!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5. What countries did you visit?

None! The furthest we traveled this year was Portland, OR. We definitely need to travel more this year, even if it is just for a weekend jaunt here and there!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

A better employment situation, more financial security, and more fun! Also, a dog who comes when he is called at the dog park.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

November 4th, of course!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Sticking it out job hunting while the economy was tanking, and not just grabbing the first job I saw.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Letting the stress of job hunting in a crappy economy and financial worry impact my relationship, and then ending up settling for a “works for now” job instead of something more along the lines of a dream job.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nothing serious, thank goodness. A couple of minor sprains, and a few less than pleasant migraine episodes are as bad as it got for me this year. Although I certainly could have lived without the one migraine that had me puking in the car last summer. Actually this category belongs to my honey this year. She started 2008 off with a knee injury, and managed to get herself a severe concussion a few weeks back! Combined with the stomach bug she caught just before Christmas it has been an exciting few weeks around here. Bet you want to come hang out with us now!

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Well technically I didn’t buy it, but I have to say the wii I got for my birthday is pretty fantastic. Oh, concert tickets! We did get to see some pretty fantastic shows this year

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Everyone who voted for Barack Obama in November.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

This could be a long list:

Everyone who voted for Prop 8.

Sarah Palin. The sheer volume of venom and incompetence that this woman brought to the table was astonishingly frightening.

John McCain.

As much as it pains me to say it, Barack Obama in recent weeks. Recovering Straight Girl has a great discussion about it over at her blog that nicely sums up how I’ve been feeling about the situation but have been unable to put into words myself.

Most recently, my grandfather although that is probably a story for another day.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Bills, bills, and more bills. Again.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Election results. And getting Guitar Hero for the Wii.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

The Old 97’s “Question” will always remind me of Bumbershoot 2008, and the proposal in the crowd. Musically this was the year of some fantastic Brandi Carlile shows back at home again, and her version of “Hallelujah” from the Seattle Symphony show was a highlight of the year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier, thinner and richer. If making more progress paying off credit card debt counts as "richer".

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Travel, and having fun!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Stressing out. Worrying about finances.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Snowed in! Fortunately my brother lives within walking distance, so after the pre-six a.m. wake-up call from my honey’s family on the east coast we packed up the gifts and made our way through the snow over to his place to spend the morning with my family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

No.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

How I Met Your Mother and The Office

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No. I simply don’t have the energy or inclination for it.

24. What was the best book you read?

Loved Walked In by Marisa de los Santos. And Jen Lancaster’s latest, Such A Pretty Fat.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Lenka

26. What did you want and get?

A new job; a Wii; and Guitar Hero, which I didn’t even really know I wanted until I got it. Oh, and there was also the little matter of electing a new (and hopefully much, much improved!) president!

27. What did you want and not get?

Better financial security; a new ipod or an iphone; my dream job. More official snow days at work during Snowmageddon 2008* instead of having to risk my life for a paycheck.

*(phrase fabulously coined by Sizzle)

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Rendition.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 34, and my honey bought me a Wii so we spent the afternoon playing video games before heading over to my parent’s house for dinner with my family. Which we never made it to because my brother lost his keys and was late. So we ended up getting a take & bake pizza and having a Wii bowling tournament. We sure know how to celebrate in our family!

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

The failure of Prop 8.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Improved. Of course that is not saying much seeing as how I spent most of 2007 in tank tops and yoga pants. At least I’m not wearing flip flops to work. In fact, yesterday I wore these .

32. What kept you sane?

Moments like this one:

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Tina Fey!

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Election results, both good and bad. The landslide election of Barack Obama, and the at the other end of the continuum, the passage of Prop 8 and its ilk. When will people understand that it denying basic civil rights to a segment of the population is simply not okay? And how is it okay to tax us at the same rate, and in many instances tax us even more, and yet provide us with fewer rights and protections under the law? Quite frankly it is not okay, and we are fed up.

35. Who did you miss?

My best friend, who lives entirely too many time zones away. And my sister, who passed away entirely too soon.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

I have some pretty great co-workers.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

We are not defined by our circumstances.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I’m just a little bit caught in the middle/ life is a maze and love is a riddle….I’ve got to let it go and just enjoy the show (Lenka, “The Show”)

Post Script

2008-12-26T11:24:00.000-08:00

So remember earlier this week when someone tried to set our dumpster on fire with their fireplace ashes? We told that story at breakfast with the family on Christmas morning, only to find out that my brother actually set their dumpster on fire doing the same thing the other day! Fortunately he happened to look out the window and saw the smoke before the fire got too dangerous, so he was able to go put it out before it got out of hand. And, he hopes, before anybody else noticed.

The boy says, "Seriously people, cool your ashes in a metal container this winter!"

White Christmas

2008-12-25T16:31:00.000-08:00

Photographic evidence of the wonderfully peaceful and beautiful early morning walk the boy and I enjoyed today.

Merry Christmas, from our family to you and yours!

What A Jackass

2008-12-24T19:19:00.000-08:00

As if there weren't enough reasons to NOT drive drunk in the first place, now we can add You Tube to the list.

Speaking of lists, I'm thinking that guy is definitely on Santa's naughty list this year!

Over It

2008-12-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

This is why my honey has been driving me to and from work the last couple of days. Yesterday it took nearly two hours to get there. Normally it takes me about half an hour. Some people spent several hours on multiple buses to get to work. And then we ended up being horribly overstaffed so we had to send people home early. Today I had to go in early to open the building. I was the only person there for well over an hour. If only I could have left the phone on voice mail it would have been quite peaceful!

I'm home early, we have a fire going, and I am already in my PJ's. My honey and the boy are both sleeping, and I am trying to decide whether I should open a bottle of wine or spike some cocoa or coffee because it is fucking snowing again. I passed my maximum snow threshold a couple of days ago when I lost track of exactly how much snow we have. I honestly couldn't tell you, since my ruler only goes up to twelve inches.

Wine. I am definitely leaning towards wine!

Scenes From Our Morning Walk

2008-12-22T12:29:00.001-08:00

Public Service Announcement

2008-12-22T06:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon the boy and I bundled up and went out for a trek around the block in the snow. Somebody needed a potty break, and it wasn't me. On our way back in we got to the top of our stairwell when the boy sat down in the snow and refused to move, preferring instead to sit in the snow mesmerized by watching one of our neighbors trudge through the snow to the dumpster to throw away some garbage.

Once the neighbor was out of sight the boy was finally willing to get up out of the snow, so I dropped him off inside and grabbed our garbage to take out before the dumpster lid got too heavy with snow for me to open it. I actually had a little difficulty already, and once I got it open and tossed the trash in I noticed what looked like steam coming from inside the dumpster. A split second later I realized it was smoke and noticed a melting, smoking corner of a plastic garbage bag. So I ran inside, yelled to my honey that something was burning in the dumpster, and we went back out to the dumpster together with our makeshift firefighting equipment: a dustpan and bowl to scoop up snow to throw in the dumpster.

Then we called 911 to report the fire, and were told that the fire department would come out to check it out but it might be a while due to the weather and road conditions (um, duh, why do you think we threw snow in the dumpster before we called you?). They did ask us to keep an eye on it and call them back if it got any worse. Within half an hour the fire department SUV made its way up our hill, which was the only vehicle I saw successfully maneuver the hill all afternoon. About ten minutes later three firefighters in full gear with shovels in tow came slowly walking up the hill, since their truck couldn't make it. They checked it out, took our contact information, and told us that throwing snow on the smoldering mess was exactly what they would have done, hence the shovels, but to be very careful in any situations involving smoke. Then they said that by the way, the investigators could not get here to check it out because the roads are so bad so please stay off the roads, and asked us to pass the message along to the condo association to please remind people to cool all fireplace ashes in a metal container.

So there you have it: cool all fireplace ashes in a metal container. And those of you in the greater Seattle area should stay off the roads and take a snow day. The nice firefighter said so.

Precarious

2008-12-20T05:24:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit: Seattle Times

This is why the greater Seattle area should and, to an extent, does basically shut down during snowy, icy winter weather. Not only is it something we do not experience often enough for most people to know how to handle the weather and road conditions, but people also have to keep in mind that the cities do not have enough snow plows and sand trucks to handle even the major roads quickly. In many cases roads simply never get plowed or sanded. I did see a snow plow yesterday a couple of miles from home, but it wasn't plowing the surface streets. Our topography here only adds to the danger. And the hundreds of bridges? Forget about it.

I'm tempted to send this news story to my company's out of state home office and tell them that this is a perfect example of why we should be closed on days like this. When the majority of the school districts are closed and cities are telling people to stay off the streets, many businesses should close. Especially when your business does not lose money by closing down due to adverse weather conditions, it is irresponsible and dangerous to put your employees in situations like this one. And all of us who were told to report to work yesterday could have been in a similarly dangerous position in the blink of an eye.

Anyone who makes fun of the fact that a little bit of snow and ice paralyzes our city should have been driving on I-5 underneath that bus yesterday and trying to traverse some of our hills. Then talk to me about how laughable it is.

Dear Mother Nature

2008-12-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

If you could keep dumping white stuff over the next couple of hours, I would really appreciate it. I could really use a snow day today. You see, I live in the Puget Sound Convergence Zone and being a Seattle native I am biologically predisposed to not knowing how to drive in snowy, icy conditions. Okay, perhaps that last part is a slight exaggeration. But really, we rarely get weather like this so most drivers here do not have much experience with driving in these conditions, and with all of the hills and winding roads around here driving is really treacherous.

Also, my bed is calling me, and I would really, really like to spend the day in my pajamas.

Our Boy

2008-12-17T17:50:00.000-08:00

Is it obvious that he has two mommies?

Let It Snow

2008-12-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

I Should Really Check My Email More Often

2008-12-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

I just discovered the following missive in my inbox:

For Immediate Release Contact: Adam Bitely
November 24th, 2008 Phone: (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Dear Fellow Blogger,

It is my distinct pleasure, as the president of Americans for Limited Government, to invite you today to become a key member of the exciting new conservative “bloggers central,” NetRightNation.com.

At ALG, we recognize the critical role you as a blogger play in gathering, assimilating, and disseminating news and commentary. And I, personally, am deeply grateful to you for taking the lead in fighting some of the most important battles our country has faced over the past decade, and more.

That's why I am so pleased to announce that NetRightNation.com is providing bloggers like you, the mainstream media, politicians, and other opinion leaders free, instant access to nearly 60,000 conservative blogs nationwide. And counting.

As a complete service bureau, NRN provides you a wide new array of blogger opportunities. As a featured blogger on NRN, you will be able to post your own blogs and interface with other like-minded bloggers nationwide. You will soon be able to “claim” your blog and customize your blog profile.

Information on NRN – blogs, as well as Twitter feeds -- will be divided by state, as well as by issue, to make it easy for you and others to access. NRN will also include a sophisticated search engine function and will soon have the capability for you to subscribe to customized email blog feeds on your topics of choice. Stay tuned, for these features will soon be online!

And all of that is just the beginning. In fact, I have asked ALG's Director of New Media, Adam Bitely, to follow up on this note with a letter of his own providing you the exciting details on how NRN can help you grow your own blog.

Above all, we want to make sure NRN is all that you, an important member of the conservative blogosphere, want it to be. So, as you visit NetRightNation.com, I urge you to please give us your input on how to make it the valuable asset we are committed to providing, at absolutely no charge.

Thank you for all that you are doing. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Bill Wilson
President, Americans for Limited Government

I am so tempted to respond with a link to my actual blog and ask them if I meet their expectations of a member of the conservative blogosphere. Or if they even know what the word conservative means.

Warning: Goosebumps Ahead

2008-11-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

Brandi Carlile with the Seattle Symphony. Watch it quickly before it disappears, you won't want to miss this.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

Starbucks Just Can't Win These Days

2008-11-26T18:39:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking having your business mentioned in the same story as Hitler is not exactly a PR dream...

In Case You Were Wondering

2008-11-22T21:18:00.000-08:00

An assortment of things that greatly interfere with blogging quality and frequency, in no particular order:

Job hunting
Starting a new job
Having a bit of a ridiculous schedule due to said new job
Spotty cable service
Discovering the reason the cable keeps going out is that someone has been stealing our fucking cable
Having a variety of blog-worthy events occur over the past few months, almost all of which fall deep within the not-safe-to-blog-about realm. Which of course only serves to tempt me to blog about those very topics. Danger Will Robinson!

Suffice it to say that I'm still here, I'm just having trouble managing to keep up with reading blogs at the moment much less commenting regularly or coming up with anything remotely entertaining of my own.

Exhale

2008-11-04T22:30:00.000-08:00

Tonight I'm feeling like I can finally breathe again for the first time in, oh, eight years.

Eight long, frustrating years. Tonight a sigh of relief, tomorrow we begin moving onward.

Wishing I Had Thought of This First

2008-10-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

Some days I really love the internet.

I wonder how much has been donated to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's name?

Dear Sarah Palin

2008-10-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

The word is nuclear.

It is pronounced NOO-KLEE-ER.

Who Cares

2008-10-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

Did you know that in some states the deadline for registering to vote in November is as early as this Saturday? Are you registered? Are you sure? Click here to find out when the deadline is in your state, verify your voter registration information, or find your polling place.

I care. I'm registered, and I will be voting. I hope you will too.

Saddened

2008-08-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

I know it was just yesterday that I said this wasn't going to become an all music, all the time blog, but I was so sad to hear that LeRoi Moore, saxophonist of Dave Matthews Band, died suddenly yesterday. Some of my favorite concert memories are from years gone by at DMB shows at The Gorge like this one:

Rest in Peace, LeRoi. You will be missed.

Stuck in My Head

2008-08-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

I wasn't exaggerating about the awesomeness of last Friday's "secret" Fighting Machinists/ Brandi Carlile show at the Tractor. You know how every so often you go to a show and the performers are so on fire that you find that it is still playing in your head like a soundtrack for the next several days? That was this show.

I promise this isn't turning into an all music, all the time blog, or even a Brandi Carlile band blog. Although either of those would be fun!

BEST. SHOW. EVER.

2008-08-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

Brandi Carlile and the boys had a secret show at a tiny venue here in town the other night. Some decent video is starting to surface for your viewing pleasure. You'll just have to imagine the sweltering packed bar for yourself. And when I say packed, I mean the supremely annoying couple who managed to elbow their way sideways through the crowd to stand in front of us were standing so close that neither one of them could manage to lift their drinks (and they had many) to their lips without elbowing me. In the boobs.

And then they decided to stick their tongues down each others throats in between sets.

Super charming.

So enjoy. Although without the ninety million degree heat and complete lack of personal space, a certain je ne sais quoi might get lost in translation. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Decisions, Decisions...

2008-06-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

I have three free song "coupons" to redeem from Itunes and since our record-breaking heat has fried my brain, I'm feeling completely indecisive. Some music I've been enjoying lately: The Old 97's "Dance With Me", Duffy's single "Mercy", Tristan Prettyman's "Hello", Jason Mraz's new stuff...pretty much a little of everything. I've also been enjoying some old favorites: Joseph Arthur, Rachael Yamagata, Patty Griffin and Ray LaMontagne. I think my main obstacle though is You Tube. I am anxiously anticipating new music from Brandi Carlile, and have already fallen in love with a couple of the band's soon to be recorded new songs.

Here is the part where you get to dazzle me with your own fantastic taste in music. What would you recommend? I need some new tunes to break me of my growing You Tube addiction. And I need to use my coupon codes before they expire.

Highs and Lows

2008-06-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

Contrary to the optimistic tone of my last post, my summer has started off with an extraordinary whimper. Yes, the weather has been nothing short of fabulous for the better part of the last two weeks. Unfortunately the fabulous weather has coincided with a horrible case of a summer cold/allergies that can't seem to decide if it wants to turn into a sinus infection or not. And I've taken so much Sudafed in the last few weeks that it is messing with my ability to sleep through the night, which in turn has been messing with my ability to feel like a human being again already. I mean it has been seriously gorgeous here lately, and I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but Seattle does not exactly have a reputation for clear blue skies and warm sunny weather. Is it really too much to ask to have the energy to be out enjoying summer rather than spending much more time than I should probably admit to curled up on the couch underneath a blanket and going to bed by 8:30 every single night this week?

Now, not to jinx myself or anything, things are starting to seem like they might be beginning to turn around. I haven't had a fever in the last 48 hours, and since I realized that the Sudafed was probably contributing to my horrible insomnia and stopped taking it earlier this week I have started sleeping a little bit better each night. It also doesn't hurt that in the last 24 hours I procured tickets to this weekend's sold out Indigo Girls show, as well as tickets to a secret show later this summer for a certain local singer-songwriter who has been getting all sorts of critical acclaim the last few years at the sort of tiny venue she has long since outgrown here in town.

It is shaping up to be a fantastic weekend. I'm determined to enjoy it to the fullest, allergies and all.

Summertime

2008-06-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Summer-like weather has returned to the Seattle area after about a month of grey, dreary days that were beginning to feel more like winter than late spring. I don't want to jinx us by mentioning how lovely it has been only to have cool, rainy weather return until after the Fourth of July (which, let's face it, happens more often than not around here). So I'll just say that I have certainly enjoyed slipping on sandals for two whole days IN A ROW, and leave it at that.

This afternoon I grabbed a blanket, a magazine and a dish of water for the boy, and we spent some time outside enjoying being able to stretch out on the grass and simply enjoy the sunshine again. In fact, he was having so much fun and being so thoroughly adorable it wasn't long before I set the magazine aside and exchanged it for the camera.

Here's hoping the sunshine sticks around for a while.

I Heart Rhett Miller

2008-06-12T09:23:00.000-07:00

The new video from The Old 97's for their song "Dance With Me" just might be one of my favorite videos ever. Certainly cheers up yet another dreary day waiting for summer to make its way to the Pacific Northwest!

The Downside of Going First

2008-06-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

We bought a Wii fit today.

Of course we immediately brought it home, set it up, and tried it out.

The results? My Wii fit age is 7 years older than my actual age, while my honey's Wii fit age is 3 years younger than her actual age.

Postsecret Curiosity

2008-05-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

Something tells me perhaps you don't get it after all.

Dear John McCain

2008-05-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

Do you really think you are fooling us?

We are well aware that you do not support either gay marriage or civil unions. We are also very much aware of the fact that you have voted against prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and against expanding the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation. Your track record speaks for itself: you are very much saying that Americans who happen to be gay are not entitled to the same rights, responsibilities and protections under the law that most Americans have automatically. Saying that you think we should be allowed to enter into legal agreements does not distract us from that fact. And calling it a "respectful disagreement" does not fool anybody. It is bigotry, and that is anything but respectful.

Edited to add: if you have not yet seen the video it can also be seen here.

Looks Like Summer

2008-05-17T21:43:00.001-07:00

So Clearly Awesome

2008-05-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Writing Staff of The Office,

I love you. Also, will you marry me?

(You can watch the full episode here)

Reasons Why My Dog Is Weird

2008-05-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

In no particular order:

He does not like to eat breakfast in the morning. In fact, it is not unusual for him to wait until anywhere from 3-5pm to eat his "breakfast". And on nights that my honey works late and does not get home until after midnight he does not like to eat his dinner. This does not, however, mean he will not eat treats at any time of the day or night. If he could get a treat simply for waking up in the morning and being adorable he would gladly accept it.

Speaking of treats, he is picky about dog biscuits, especially if one of his moms gives it to him. He will refuse biscuits from his own treat jar until he gets the exact kind that he wants. Yet if we are out and about and somebody else gives him a biscuit he will gladly accept it and eat it right away. He loves going to the bank drive-thru or the drive-thru coffee place with me for this very reason.

Some of his favorite items to play with are empty cardboard boxes, paper towel tubes and paper bags. He is prone to treating the recycling bag as his own personal toy box. One day when the boy was about a year old I came home from work to this:

He does not like spray bottles and heads in the opposite direction whenever possible if he sees one or hears one being used. Unless I am trying to clean up a spot on the carpet, in which case he tries to put his nose right in the line of fire of the carpet spray. He is scared of a little bit of water but the citrus oil-based carpet cleaner is simply irresistible.

When we leave him home for the day he sometimes barks a few times, but seems to settle down relatively quickly. However when one of us takes the garbage out he barks his head off and races from room to room until we return, as if he is looking for the mom who just left. The mom who he just watched walk out the front door. Then when we come back inside two minutes later he acts as if he hasn't seen us for years, wrapping his front legs around our leg like a little kid who is begging mommy not to leave.

He is such an adorable crazy little weirdo!

Overheard At Mother's Day Breakfast

2008-05-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

My mom is on the phone with my grandma while we are waiting for my dad to return from the store with orange juice.

Mom: We decided to have Mimosas with breakfast, so he ran down to the grocery store to get orange juice.

Grandma: You're having what with breakfast?

Mom: Mimosas. Orange juice and champagne.

Grandma: Orange juice and cocaine?!

Mom: (laughing) Yes, mother. Orange juice and cocaine.

We sure know how to celebrate in our family!

Ugh

2008-05-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

John McCain is coming to town next week.

Apparently he is headlining a fundraising event one evening next week where people are being charged as much as $33,100 per person.

I am so sick of politics and politicians right now. I'm tired of this election year, I'm tired of hearing people speculate about "electability", I'm tired of rude Obama supporters bashing Clinton supporters*, and most of all I am tired of the current administration. My patience has worn thin.

I think I need a nap. Somebody wake me up around December or January.

*To be fair, I would be sick of rude Clinton supporters bashing Obama supporters as well; I just haven't seen that happening.

Dog Day Afternoon

2008-05-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

We took the boy to the dog park the other day and had the most successful dog park visit in quite some time. Of course the bar has been set low over the past month or so. The last time we went to the park the boy got spooked by a scuba diver who was coming out of the water and managed to escape into the neighboring NO DOGS ALLOWED park where he proceeded to run down the entire length of the beach before we were finally able to get him back on his leash. Lots of fun for him, not so much for either of his moms. And the time before that we couldn't even get parking because both of the parks were so busy.

This last visit was a rousing success though. We were able to work on his recalls and a few other commands, but as far as the boy was concerned it was all about fun!

He was able to play with some new friends:

He spent lots of time splashing in the water:

And he raced around all over the dog park for the better part of an hour:

As we were about to get in the car we were even stopped by a woman who was absolutely gushing over how adorable the boy is, and how he seems like such a sweet dog.

Of course coming home and getting right into the tub was slightly less fun for the boy, but he got over it.

The rest of day looked a lot like this:

Humoring Me

2008-05-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

Adventures With The Boy

2008-04-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

I had a couple of library books that were due yesterday, and the weather was semi-decent in that springtime in Seattle sort of way, where if you look out the window at the right time you see blue sky and puffy white clouds instead of overcast sky and rain showers. So late in the afternoon I threw my library books and house keys into a bag, grabbed an assortment of dog treats, and leashed up the boy for a walk to the neighborhood library.

Although the library is just down the main street in our neighborhood, this was the boy's first walk along that particular street. It is a fairly busy street, so for our usual walks we stick to the quieter residential streets in the neighborhood. You would have thought we were off to the doggie equivalent of Disneyland if you had seen how excited the boy was for this little adventure!

On the upside things were new! And exciting! And there was so much to pay attention to along the way!

On the downside things were new! And exciting! And there was so much to pay attention to along the way!

The boy absolutely loved it though, and took full advantage of the opportunity to flirt with strangers on the sidewalk; sniff new and exciting rocks, plants, and patches of dirt along the way; and occasionally ignore mommy's commands in favor of paying attention to mysterious new sounds like the beeps of the crosswalk signals, the rattling of the library book bin wheels, and soaking in praise and compliments from new people friends he made along the way.

All in all it was a successful adventure, especially considering that we got home just before the next rain shower hit. It was also a great reminder that just because the boy is technically beyond puppyhood, he still has the mentality of a puppy at times and forgets that he is supposed to follow commands every time, not only at home or on our regular routes.

Of course the reminder was mainly for me: if we expect the boy to follow commands in a variety of situations, we have to regularly practice his commands in a variety of settings. Funny how that works.

Also, afterwards? So tired:

"All the freaky people make the beauty of the world"

2008-04-27T13:12:00.001-07:00

The following conversation just took place in our living room:

Me: Newt Gingrich isn't nearly as freaky looking as he used to be. What is it?

Honey: He's lost weight, I think.

Me: Is his hair different too?

Honey: Yeah, he's sporting more of a Phil Donohue look now.

Me: That's it! He's got Phil Donohue hair! Hmm....he's still a creep though!

Make My Day

2008-04-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

I woke up with a sinus pressure induced migraine this morning, and figured I was in for a long, dreary day. Then I stopped by Lelo's blog where she pointed me in the direction of what is quite possibly the most entertaining news story I have ever read.

I dare you to read through this story and the comments and not laugh out loud. Also, your day might suddenly feel as if it has been greatly improved. I know mine has!

Cheered Up

2008-04-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

The cold, crazy weather we have had for the last few days has left me feeling seriously grouchy. Actually, it is the combination of this crazy weather coupled with the memory of the single day of gloriously sunny summer-like weather we had last weekend that has had me feeling so grouchy.

Then I came across this little gem from Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard. I don't know why it amuses me so greatly, but I suddenly find myself in a much better mood.

Waiting For Spring to Return

2008-04-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

The boy is wondering what that white stuff is that keeps falling from the sky...