New doggie!

Hey all, just a quick post to let you know we got another dog! A originally wanted to wait until spring to find another dog, but last Thursday he got in the car and said "Want to go to the dog shelter?" and I wasn't about to argue. We found a cutie pie and the next morning, brought Anna the dog and Finn the cat to the shelter to meet him. Both were fairly indifferent, so we brought him home! We renamed him Dutch (after considering Foghorn Leghorn in memory of A's dad's fave cartoon character). So far he's been a great little dog -- he's mostly (knock on wood) house trained, he mostly ignores that cats, and he mostly comes when called. He irritates Anna a little, but once he gets neutered (Nov. 11), we are assuming he'll stop trying to hump her all the time! He loves people and is super friendly and cuddly. I brought him to work with me on Monday and he was a big hit. A has been working with him on commands, and he seems to have already mastered sit and is working on lay down. He's very excitable, but if you put down something soft, he will just curl up on it and go to sleep. Yay!!

In other news, fall has come....Rhody the Rhode Island Red chicken actually had frost on her feathers this morning, poor bird. In other chicken news, I saw our Bard Rock lay an egg yesterday! It was pretty cool. I noted upon picking it up that the egg was still warm, to which my sister said "duh, it just came out of that chicken's butt!". Hardy har har. Mom and Dad were also visiting for the day and seeing all the improvements we've made to the homestead.

That's it from here!! Back to work.

Hello all! I always say I should be a better writer, and I plan to, I really do, but it just doesn't ever work out. Now summer is almost over and the academic year is about to start, which means swarms of students hanging around Athens again. It's hard to resist that start-of-the-year excitement, even when you're not in school anymore, because of course I was one of those nerdly kids who enjoyed school. This time of year also makes me want to buy office supplies, even though I don't technically need any.


I just got back from 5 days in Maine, which was pretty fun. It was nice to be away and although things weren't perfect, we did get to go sea kayaking, which was pretty awesome and not as scary as I thought it was going to be. I wish I had brought my camera on the boat, but I'm sure it would have gotten wet and ruined, so it's probably better I didn't. I've posted some of the better photos of the trip here -- the thing about Maine is, you just have to point and shoot and whammo! A perfect postcard shot. (if you ignore the random people in the frame)

What else? Am also excited for an upcoming trip to NYC for the U.S. Open! I've never seen professional tennis live before, and I'm totally going to be a squeeing fangirl when I see my favorite players.

We're also getting ready to start our bathroom renovation so we might finally have (gasp!) a closet! It will be like the lap of luxury over at our place. A place to store one's clothes? I thought only rich people had that! We also now have a lovely storage bench/window seat and A's mom made sweeeeeeet cushions for it. So the house is coming along.

Animals are all OK, except for the chicken that got eaten while I was away. We're not sure what killed it, but then A ate it. He reports it was quite tasty! And I'm glad I wasn't home to witness the carnivorous carnage.

That's about it from here. If I ever had any exciting news, I would post it, but alas, not much to report! Hope everyone is doing well!

March: In like a lamb, out like a lamb?

Hi everyone! Sorry I have been remiss about writing, but things are busy, blah blah fishcakes. Truth is I'm somewhat lazy and I've been sick again too! I hate the stomach flu...let's just leave it at that.

Upcoming events include the fundraiser for work, and our 10th anniversary party! The party I think is going to be fun -- friends are coming in from out of town and hopefully lots of people will be there.

Other than that, we're waiting for Spring to arrive so we can do some home improvements. We got a new roof last week, which was super-exciting: now when it rains and/or the wind blows, it no longer sounds like the roof is going to come off. And - it's handsome! We got a kick-ass skylight in the porch area that's eventually going to become our bedroom and it is a great addition. Lets in more light than I even imagine. A is in love with the porch now.

In other news, isn't Wonder (left) disturbingly cute? He gave the other cats a rest from annoyance for a few days after he got his vaccinations, but now he's up to it again! Luckily, his 2 favorite activities are snuggling and going outside, so he's not really around to bug the other cats much.

Hope everyone is having a good Spring and staying healthy. Please send me some of those good vibrations....if I get sick one more time, I'm going to, well, be sick!

sicky

So I have some kind of cold this week. I'm feeling much better today, although still very tired. I think a half day of work, sitting at my desk, has done me in. And my coffee? Not enough milk! And none to be had in this building, as far as I can tell. Darnit.

Woke up Monday with a sore throat and killer headache, plus, when I finally found the thermometer, I had a fever of 100.3! Yowsa. Needless to say, I stayed home and slept basically all day (I think I was awake for a total of 8 hours). Once I got some cold medicine -- for which I had to stand in line with all the druggies picking up their oxycodone (thanks Rite Aid in The Plains!) -- I felt much better. Yesterday I just chilled, slept outside on the hammock since the weather is unseasonably warm. I think I slept too much because then last night I couldn't sleep. Oh well!

We had crazy storms last night, like pouring rain and very high winds. I had to pee about 2am and you guys know what that means -- I had to go outside! It sucked but it really couldn't wait. Note to self: get chamberpot. Or, do you think I could get away with peeing in the cat box?

There's not much else going on, really. We have been watching Big Love and enjoying it. Also? JB got me Once, which I loved and this CD. She's going a little overboard on the 12 Days of Christmas gift-giving method, but I'm not complaining!

Hope you guys are having a good week.

Hi Peeps!

Doesn't the cat on the right look like my old cat Hammie?

Could it be any colder? Wait, don't answer that.

It's been cold off and on so far, but last our pipes decided to freeze. Why God why? It's been colder at night before (it was a balmy 13 last night), so it's kind of confusing. The sad thing is we had this conversation right before we went to bed:

A: should I leave the taps running a little so the pipes don't freeze?

Me: nah, it won't be that cold tonight!

D'oh! What did I go and say that for?

It's been a weird week because of the holiday -- yesterday felt like Monday but was really Wednesday and I have no idea what day today feels like. It feels kind of like unbathed day, since we had no water this morning. I did brush my teeth at work but that's about the extent of my hygiene today. Sorry! Was that TMI?

Not too much going on. Christmas came and went, got a cute purse from my sis and I received a memo from JB that there are more presents on the way! Say it with me: WOO!

A's dad is doing fairly well considering. He has started to take some pain meds at night and has perked up some since then. He continues to amuse us with tales of his early-life debauchery. He so crazy!

Anna is loving being a basically inside dog. Wonder the Kitten won't stop attacking her, but she's been taking it very well. We would never leave them alone of course, but she mostly behaves herself, in that she doesn't try to eat him. It's kind of cute how persistent he is, but he doesn't seem to understand that she weighs 65 pounds and he weighs probably 6, so she could crush him with her left paw if she so desired.

I finished a kick-ass papier mache bowl for Jessie that I will have to post a photo of on here.

Hope you guys are having a good new year! Let's hear it for 2008!

Happy Holidays or whatever.

Hey there. Sorry for the lack of updating, but things have been busy (sucky?) lately. We found out about a month ago (on my birthday no less) that A's dad's cancer has spread to his liver and there is nothing more they can do for him. He's been in hospice about a month, and although he's deteriorating physically, he continues to be as smart, funny, sarcastic and generally awesome as ever. Thanks so much to everyone who has been so supportive through all this. I know I could pick up the phone at 3am and call lots of people who will talk to me whenever I need it. You guys rock. A has been handling it OK (how well do you handle the death of your father?), and we've been trying to look at the bright side -- we have had lots of time with him, many good talks and we've heard some truly wacky stories about his misspent youth. We haven't always been the closest with that branch of the family -- usually seeing them once yearly on Christmas -- but I feel like we've gotten to know each other better through this experience. Christmas was bittersweet; knowing it was his last and trying to keep it together, but at the same time being so grateful that we could spend it with him.

Also during these past few months we had to put Morty to sleep and we have a new niece! A's sister had her baby Ava on December 4. Luckily she and mom are fine and have been cleared for travel, so they're winging their way to see the family as we speak. We're so glad they're going to be able to come -- A's dad (a.k.a. Grandpa Dude) wants so much to see his new granddaughter. As for Morty, well he just became very ill suddenly and was basically in complete liver failure by the next morning when we rushed him to the vet. I hate livers. LT hates kidneys, I hate livers. Poor little guy. It sucked really hard, but he was really suffering there at the end and maybe it told us something about going peacefully. We had him cremated and he's currently sitting in a tin on the shelf until we decide what to do with him. Anna was lonely and confused the first few weeks (she kept looking in the car every time we came home, as if to say "OK you took Morty away in this thing, where is he?") but now she's truly embracing her role as Only Dog. She's really a wonderful dog and truth be told, while we loved Morty so much (well I did anyway!), it's so much easier only having 1 dog who we can trust to run free during the day and not pee in the house. Anna's totally eating up all the attention -- being let into the house for loong periods of time for the first time in her life.

What else? My massage office is working out really well -- business has been good mostly (I sold lots of gift certificates for the holidays), although I haven't been doing that much massage since we're up in Columbus all the time. But I love how it's turned out so far.

I'm not sure what else to say right now. I hope everyone's holidays are going well. Will try and update this blog as I can but if I'm not back before then, Happy 2008!

Yes I'm a nerd

So this weekend I went to The Office Convention in Scranton, PA. For those of you who haven't ever seen The Office, go and rent it now. No time to write the details but here is a picture, lest you don't believe me.

More details to come!