Scrappy Old Lady

My cat, Mindy, turned 18 this month!

Merry Christmas

We hope that you have a very, Merry Christmas. That you and yours are able to spend time together - loving, laughing, remembering, sharing, and experiencing the joy that the Lord has given us through His son.

Pippin and Steve wish you a Merry Christmas while hoping the abuse ends soon.  Mindy escaped the torture, but wishes you the same as well.  :)

Sick Baby

Poor Baby Dog.  Stevie has been sick this week.  Monday night, he started coughing.  When I say coughing, I'm talking hacking like a seal.  I worried that he'd somehow gotten kennel cough at the dog park because his cough was that bad.  Todd took him to the doctor on Tuesday and found out that Steve had an infection plus a fever on top of that.  You can tell he's felt really crummy because he sleeps a lot, doesn't do his usual running around the house, stopped barking, and hasn't been eating much.  You can even tell he's lost some weight!

It's really hard seeing him feel so poorly & knowing all we can do is give him cheese (stuffed with meds!) and love on him.  Steve loves the cheese (especially when he can separate his pill and spit it out!) and the loving is something he needs on a continual basis anyway.


I have the sickies, Mom.  Have you seen my blankie?



Unleash the Hounds!

Pippin and Steve truly enjoyed having us home for the Thanksgiving Break.  They proved this by murdering the rest of the throw pillows on the couch when we left them to go to my mom's for Thanksgiving dinner.  :/

We decided on Saturday to take them to the park.  The kids definitely needed some exercise and a way to release much pent-up energy.  Going to the dog park with Steve is always a crap shoot because he has a new "affinity" for small dogs and is such a nosy bastard that he has to get in to everyone's business (play fights, barking, etc.).  So . . . with trepidation, we headed into the dog park.  Because of past events at a smaller, laidback park closer to our home, we drove a bit further from home to the park that is typically full with lots of busy dogs.  Thankfully it was!

Pippin immediately took off running to go introduce herself to all of the humans and prove how unloved she is at home.  I always remember how timid and scared she was the first time we ever took her to the park.  She LOVES it now and plays so nicely with everyone.  Pippin did a playbow to another dog that was very tiny (keep reading to hear more about this dog) and they played together for a minute.  Pipp did have her first skirmish with another dog.  I think he wouldn't leave her alone & she really took up for herself.  I was proud.

Everyone always asks about Pippin & mentions how sweet she is!

Steve, on the other hand, is a different story.  Todd and I are very aware that some people might be hesitant around a large dog with his looks (aka pittie).  It's obvious they don't know what a chicken baby Steve can be.  Because of this, we always keep a close eye on him and stay within a reasonable proximity.  I charged Todd with the wrangling of big boy in hopes that he could move faster than me should the need arise.

You know . . . in a . . . hypothetical . . . situation . . . like . . . maybe . . . perhaps . . . if . . . when Steve might have found a little Pomeranian in a pink sweater. (Who became Pipp's future tiny playmate.)  He was all over that! He didn't hurt the dog & the owner didn't seem to care that her little girl got stepped on by our 122 lb. bone crusher.  In fact, she laughed it off while we internally freaked that our dog would kill her fluffy little dog.  WTH?



On the run.  Keep running!  Get tired!

I'm still not sure why people with small dogs think it's okay to take their little pups out of the small dog area and take them into the large dog area. The main reason I've heard is "my dog is used to big dogs!" Well, people, our dog isn't used to little dogs. In fact, he likes to step on them and carry them around in his large jaws!  It is because he is a DOG.  Wonder how the small dog owners would like it if I took my big dog in their side of the park.  Yep - that's what I thought.  Flame away if you like, but c'mon, really people!  (my blog - my opinion!)

All in all, the kids obviously had fun at the park, behaved fairly well, and were WORN OUT when it was time to leave.  Mission accomplished!  We will definitely have to return again soon as long as the weather allows.  Goodness knows the new throw pillows I plan to buy will need the break.  Here are a couple of more pics of them during the car ride home.



Tell-tale sign Steve is tired: wrinkly face, squinty eyes.



How funny & cute is this?!

Thanksgiving 2010

All I need to say is LOTS of amazing food and loved ones.  What else would Thanksgiving need to be????  The spread of food was enough to truly feed an army.  That's just how we do it.  There was turkey, ham, dressing, 2 gravies, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, green bean casserole, blackeyed pea soup, salad, creamed spinach, jello salad, deviled eggs, and probably other stuff I can't even remember.  Other family members took photos of the spread, but they aren't good about sharing photos like I am.  (hint hint)

This year we enjoyed lots of family - my Mom & Rick, my brother Jeffrey, my Dad & Joyce, Pat & Linda (Todd's Dad & his wife), my brother Michael, Danielle, Aeva & Will, and Todd and I.  We also had two friends - Jeff, who rents from my mom & Rick, and Diana, a friend of the family.  It was wonderful to be together, enjoy all of the food, and count our blessings.



Jeffrey & Dad



Dad, Linda & Pat

 

Todd, official family carver of all birds and pigs.



Linda & Joyce being pretty while waiting on food.

 

Nobody was willing to quit eating & look up to smile.



Thanksgiving dinner is a serious affair for Mike.



Will (age 3 1/2) loves Thanksgiving!



My sister in-law Danielle.



Mom sneaks a taste.  :)



Papa & Aeva (now 7 1/2)



Linda & Mom (my Mom & stepmom in-law)

The Happy Couple

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and found the opportunity to recognize the blessings in your life.  As I've told myself and others, "Life doesn't have to be perfect for you to be able to count the blessings you already have."

Crazy Pets

This post is surprisingly not about the fact the dogs murdered the remaining five pillows on our couches after being left on Thanksgiving Day.  It is also not about the fact that they unsuccessfully tried to drag one of their huge dog beds out back to murder as well.   It is not even about the fact that there are leaves ALL OVER the floors in the den, kitchen, and breakfast nook and sweeping is an endless task that I don't even attempt anymore.

This post IS about the fact that while our dogs are incredibly needy and fairly destructive, they are sweet and funny.  Whichever dog makes it under our bed when we go to sleep wins that place for the night.  They shimmy their big bodies beneath Todd's side of the bed and sleep in their little "cave."  Last night Steve didn't win under the bed privileges, so he made do as best he could by using bedroom curtains as a blanket to stay warm.  This is what I woke up to this morning - so funny!

 

Rewind: Day Three in California

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Obviously school and life has gotten in the way of me blogging.  Well, here's a rewind (from about 90 days ago!) from our third day in the San Francisco Bay area.

We woke up very late in our awesome Monterey hotel room.  The biggest decision of the morning was whether I wanted to take a bath or a shower.  (I opted for the tub in case you are wondering.)  Upon checking out exactly at 12 noon, Todd and I headed over to Monterey's Fisherman's wharf  to find some lunch.  Walking around and sampling chowder from a few places on the way, it made it easy to decide we wanted chowder for lunch!

We had some fairly good food at a decent restaurant with really crappy service, and I got some more good pics while we sat there (forever).  Our primary entertainment was the seals.  They were great!  Reminding us of our dogs at home, the seals played, swam, showed off, sunbathed, and barked.  It was as if they were doing it all simply for our entertainment.  I really couldn't get enough of them.  Since I loved so many of the shots I took of seals, I'm including all of them.  :)

We left Monterey late afternoon & drove to Los Gatos to see my friend Penny, her husband, James, and their son, Matthew.  Penny and I met a few years ago, and their family recently moved to California.

Todd enjoyed driving the winding roads lined with tall trees.

I enjoyed the views from Penny's balcony.

Matthew enjoyed having company from Texas that expressed interest in his Hot Wheels.

After enjoying some good pizza at a Los Gatos restaurant, we said goodbye to our friends and headed back to Niles.  We spent a long evening chatting, drinking, and hot tubbing with Greg and Shareen, and prepared for a busy weekend ahead of us.

Ahead: Day 4 - Todd and Kristin hit Niles!