04 July, 2008
Well, it’s summer!
The frog legs are out in full effect! Kyla, Jimmy and I hope you have an awesome 4th of July weekend! Stay cool!
21 November, 2007Happy Adoptiversary, Kyla!
It’s been two years since Kyla finally found her home and her real family. I’ve loved every minute of you, Frito Foot! Can’t wait to spend a long weekend chasing you through the leaves at the park. Smooches!
05 November, 2007Igloo dog.
Kyla has the right idea. I’ve been sick with a stomach virus all weekend. Ugh, the worst. In a few hours I’m going to post something that shows what a cover shot on a local paper looks like when you go to a photo shoot with mind numbing stomach cramps. Verdict: it ain’t pretty! Watch for it…
08 October, 2007Chillin.
After a long walk this is what the cool dogs do. I feel like I need to flop down on a bed after the weekend I had!
Thrifting, farmers market, grocery shopping, marathon cooking (wanted to send some freezeable/reheatable meals to my sister, she’s finishing up her externship for nursing school and is too busy to cook), housecleaning, Cogans, knitting, and then the highlight: seeing David Sedaris last night!! He was hilarious. It was extremely weird to see him in person, I am so used to his voice but seeing him actually talk was strange.
I’m making a big etsy shop update today. Probably later this afternoon/evening. Later dudes.
14 August, 2007Kyla’s a star!
Kyla was the Photo of the Week at Little Beasts again! Go look at all the captions people sent in for her! Here are some of my favorites:
- Loofa dog and I have come to this understanding about eyeballing me.
- 50% Terrior. 50% Frog. 100% dangerous.
- “I thought it was a twinky… I swear.”
- Well, how am I gonna get into med school if I don’t disect something once in awhile?
- Kyla finishes her de-stuffing routine with the signature move- the Boston Sprawl
- Kyla is training for her job as a TSA representative
- yeah, let’s see the Roomba handle THIS
- Yoga gone bad: The Frog Pose in Fluff does not bring enlightenment as it does when done in the Grass.
The Panty Smuggler
So I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to do for Crafty Bastards, which is rapidly approaching. The things I sold out of at Pile of Craft, were the objects that no one else had. For example, I only sold one of the wristlets, which I spent the most time on and was most excited about, but when I thought about it a LOT of people there were selling bags, and doing it better than I did.
So I’ve been thinking: dog stuff. Last night I tried my hand at making a collar. New. Favorite. Project! Quick, easy, colorful. Instant gratification.
This one is the “cheaper” version, just ribbon stitch-witcheried onto the webbing and topstitched down, but I’ll be doing a more deluxe version as well which will be completely covered in fabric inside & out. I’m also going to have fabric labels made up which I’ll sew on the inside. I’m gonna make some coordinating collar & leash sets, and have other doggie stuff too. Toys, beds, “paw balm”, treat bags, pickup bag holders, treats, I have all kinds of ideas!
I think Kyla likes it. It holds her fetching tag quite nicely. Were you wondering what it says?
Yeah. That’s right. I wonder how she got her nickname.
The helpful yarn dog
This is what I get for pulling out all my yarn stash and forgetting to put one away. I was taking photos of everything to upload to Ravelry (yay I finally got my beta invite!), and I guess one ball rolled off the table and out of sight. Next thing I know there is a vicious yarn monster in the living room.
Extremely helpful, don’t you think? Good thing I didn’t like this yarn. By the way if you’re on Ravelry, add me!
OV before it was cool!
Haha those bumper stickers crack me up. Ocean View still ain’t cool, it’s just got bigger houses at one end of it. It’s still my favorite beach around here though, no matter what anyone says. We go to the beach right in front of Capeview, you should check it out sometime. Barely anyone there, clean white sand, mild water. I love it. Forget crowds at the oceanfront or stinky Chicks Beach.
Of course there are certain activities a dog has to do while at the beach. Step one, locate something stinky, preferably a freshly dead sand flea. Pick it up in your mouth and spit it out a few times to make sure it’s sufficiently dead. Then ROLL ALL OVER IT.
Continue to roll until completely covered in sand and you’re sure the odor will permeate you in a way that will get all over the car, house, etc.
Appear immensely satisfied with yourself and your sand snack.
Ahh, a dog’s life.
Hanger Attack!!
Silly humans, you don’t know what hangers are for. Not for hanging, FOR ATTACKING!
The sound you hear when she jumps off the (always unmade) bed is her trying to take the hanger into her lair, but banging right into the crate door. Haha.
This is what a dog does when it’s so hot outside. Cheek on the cold floor. Always helps cool you off.
This is her sphinx pose. Picture by Jimmy.
Got a new shirt, courtesy of Prison Hound, by the lovely and talented Heather from the WOOF board.
As soon as Kyla saw me pull it out of the envelope, she ran over and put her head down so I’d put the shirt on her (not kidding, she really does this, she loves wearing clothes). Everyone loves the shirt, I can’t wait to order more from her! I highly recommend Prison Hound clothes if you have a dog! So sporty!
09 May, 2007A very hungry dog.
Kyla’s going vegan too! SIKE. She acted like she was absolutely STARVING this morning while I was putting together my lunch, so I offered her some broccoli and was shocked that she actually took it! Of course she didn’t eat it, just maimed it and smeared it all over the rug. But I was amused.
Your turn to be amused. Turn up your speakers and listen to the sound she makes when she gets a doggie massage. It’s so hilarious, it sounds like she is snoring. (Livejournal users, for some reason, these videos aren’t showing up on the feed, so click the link at the top of the entry to come see them on my site.)
Also, Kyla says, “Always clean your plate.”
THERES SOMETHING IN THERE!
Kyla does not like. Turn up the volume so you can hear the whimpering. Haha.
Also, this is for those of you who wanted to see the little pillow I scored at the thrift store. Kyla’s guarding it apparently.
11 April, 2007I’m officially a monster.
I feel terrible. First, background: Remember yesterday how I mentioned that lumberjacks were hanging in my backyard and felling two huge pine trees and two really scrawny mimosa trees? Well they finished up yesterday afternoon, and my yard looks like a warzone now. Before at least I had hard-packed dirt. Now it’s like a dinosaur plowed the yard. There’s sawdust everywhere. ANYWAY.
Last night I went to take out the trash and recycling and guess what was sitting on top of my recycling bin? This little nest and a lonely robin’s egg. I felt so bad. Some poor mama bird is probably freaking out because I chopped her home down, and now her baby is abandoned. I set it down on the ground so Kyla could look at it, and you know what the little crackhead did? PICKED UP THE EGG IN HER MOUTH AND SPIT IT OUT ON THE GROUND, THEREBY BREAKING IT!
I just sort of screamed, and then took this video of her being annoyed that another dog exists behind the fence diagonally to our house. Watch the whole thing so you can see her jump. That’s not even a high one.
This morning when I went in the backyard to let Kyla out, there was a robin hopping around on the ground. It seriously looked at me and glared. And flew away. I am a monster.
27 February, 2007Don’t ignore the dog.
Hey you! Yes, you who are working on the computer all night! Yeah, I have your shoe. What about it?
Yeah, I knew you’d come chase me. You’re so gullible. Time to play now.
26 February, 2007Shake it!
Nothin’ like getting a new toy from your internet boyfriend. Thanks, Gooch!
20 February, 2007Who me??
What a gorgeous dog, staring longingly out the window. So innocent, so sweet.
Surely you can see that a precious angel would NEVER make a mess like this right after I’ve vacuumed. We’re both blaming Jimmy.
07 February, 2007In pursuit of treats
What? You’re gonna fill up the treat ball with treats? SCORE!
She sounds like she’s a tapdancer. A snorting tapdancer.
Okay and now I’m worn out.
How to hypnotize a dog. You need a spoon and some Italian ice.
Obviously he hasn’t perfected his technique.
21 January, 2007Lazy Saturday Morning
Saturday morning at the Kyla Headquarters. Zzzzzz.
Also, Flock of Seagulls ain’t got nothin’ on me.
08 January, 2007Stink Eye
At my house this is what we call the Stink Eye. It says, “How DARE you bathe me?!”
Still despondent over her bath and manicure.
She got over it, obviously.
“No, I wouldn’t roll in anything stinky to try to get revenge for being bathed! What would make you think such a thing?”
02 January, 2007Kyla rings in the new year
We’re very lazy about ringing in the new year around chez moi. I guess I don’t really celebrate it like other people do. I slept through it last year, and this year I had gorgeous yellow rubber gloves on, cleaning the half-bathroom in Jimmy’s apartment. One of his roommates moved out and now he has the bigger, better room. I got a nice big smoocharoo at midnight, but other than that new year’s went by unnoticed.
On January 1st, The Queen tried to nap while I annoyingly took pictures of her. I woke early, but made a luxurious breakfast, drank tea, read my book and dozed until around noon when I finally got in gear and headed to my mom’s. I had the best intentions of painting two bookshelves as well as my desk which I finally assembled. I sanded and put a first coat on one bookshelf before deciding that my time spent painting two cheapo MDF bookshelves is worth more money than it would cost to just buy two cheapo MDF bookshelves in the colors I wanted. The desk project has been postponed until next weekend when dad brings the power sander thingy back. I’m so lazy.
Since I’m pretty much all knitted and crafted out for a while, my current new obsession is Japanese cooking, and specifically bento box lunches. I visited the Asian market on Great Neck Road for the first time, and let me just say that I’ll be doing a good bulk of my shopping there from now on. Their produce selection is amazing and cheap, and they have really fresh seafood as well (live crabs, fish swimming in tanks, as well as a huge range of fresh whole fish and shellfish). I got a pound of shrimp with the heads still attached, and tried my hand at making a Japanese curry. Granted, I used a Japanese curry mix for the spice portion, but it came out delicious. I’m excited about trying new recipes with some of the ingredients I picked up at the market.
It’s unseasonably warm here, (70 degrees yesterday) so despite the overcast sky, we took Kyla down to the beach so she could pull my arm off, sniff every grain of sand and pee about a thousand times.
I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing new year. Here’s to 2007, I have a feeling it’s going to be great.
31 October, 2006Thanks Gooch & Sophie!
Kyla has an internet boyfriend, y’all. His name is Gooch and he’s just about the cutest little Boston terrier in the world. His mom Kelly has been reading up on Kyla’s rough time lately, with the eye injury, then getting sick all over my carpet (yeah I didn’t post about that one here, but it was gross), and then having to go to doggie boot camp, and so Gooch and his sister Sophie put together a package for Kyla!
Awesome treats, a ball, a card and best of all, a squeaky toy to kill! Kyla loves em.
An annoying voice AND an unmade bed. I’m awesome. Thanks Gooch & Sophie (and Kelly)! You guys rule!
30 October, 2006Beast Update
Well I have good news and bad news kinda. The dog behaviorist came over Saturday to evaluate Kyla. The little terrorist didn’t show aggression to her at the door, but I think that’s because when she jumped up, the lady gave her a firm “OFF” and moved her with her leg, and then ignored her for a while while we talked. When she finally did get on Kyla’s level she didn’t force herself on her, she let Kyla approach her (very unsure and scared), and after walking up and backing up a few times, she licked her hand. What a mean beast (eyeroll).
My conclusion here was right. If everyone that came in my house would just ignore her (except telling her OFF when she jumps up) and then let HER approach, she would be fine. I’m going to 100% insist that this be the case from now on.
She wanted to watch us walk together so she went to tighten Kyla’s collar, since it was very loose, and Kyla FLIPPED OUT. She tried to nip her hand as soon as it went behind her head. So the lady sat there with her hands out, and just tried waving her hands near Kyla, any time her hand would move out of Kyla’s field of vision, she’d quickly snap around to get it into her sight. She said she has real boundary issues (duh). Most of the time Kyla won’t let people pet the top of her head or behind her head unless she knows and trusts them (me, Jimmy, some family members). When the lady told her “NO!” when she tried to nip, and then just stared at Kyla, she started trembling and backing up onto my feet.
So I fixed the collar and we walked. She talked to me about giving the leash a little snap and making a sound whenever she starts to get in that keyed-up pre-aggressive mode, like when we see another dog or kid or whatever, and keep her distracted while we pass the obstacle so she doesn’t go into full end of the leash lunging mode.
We went back to the house and talked about “go to place” command. Kyla has a corner of the couch where she sleeps, it has her blanket, she always sits there. The lady said normally she encourages the owner not to let the dog on furniture, but she said in Kyla’s case, she needs most to feel safe and not scared and this is obviously a safe place (she kept retreating there to get away from the lady). So we are going to work on “Place” command. She already knows it, just since yesterday.. now we just have to work on the “stay there” part.
We also made a boundary line with painters tape around the door so Kyla is not allowed to cross it unless we’re leaving for a walk and I say “Kyla walk”. That will keep her off strangers too. She encourages me to let Kyla sleep in her crate with the door shut. I have no problem with that, and she slept in there Saturday night fine. We even slept in til like 9 Saturday morning and she was okay.
She said she’s worked with hundreds of dogs, and she could tell me a couple things.
- Kyla is way older than 5, which is the age the rescue told me. She guesses around 8-9. My mom and I have suspected this all along.
- She had more of a crappy past than I was told and certainly was abused, like hit or kicked, and definitely grabbed behind her head… not just had crappy owners. She said the only dogs with that much fear and that are hypervigilant about their boundaries are abused dogs.
- She says she’s not the kind of dog trainer that has a huge ego and thinks she can fix every dog no matter what. She said Kyla is obviously scared of her (on the walk Kyla kept looking bheind her and moving all around to keep her in her sight), and that her being there makes Kyla not able to pay attention to me, and if she were to work with her, she would just be forcing Kyla to do things while terrified, which will make it worse. So we’re not gonna work together regularly as I thought.
- She says that anytime Kyla acts out and nips, it’s strictly out of fear, and people are going to have to just keep their distance. She said to work on the place command, and not going past the door boundary, and make people ignore her. She also recommended getting a muzzle for the times when there will be a lot of people around but we dont’ want to crate her. My cousins who I’ve never met are coming for xmas and they’re in 4th & 5th grade. Kyla is scared of kids, and I would just die if one of them got bitten. She wears a “party hat” at the vet, she can wear it to put us all at ease until she can be more trusting to meeting someone for the first time (if ever).
- She thinks another dog would be extremely good for Kyla. It would give her positive experiences socializing with another animal, it would let her have a packmate, and watching tht dog be ok with strangers and other dogs might help her be more trusting. She said it absolutely has to be the RIGHT dog though. An older, mellow male would be best. I do not want to go through the rescue group I went through to get Kyla (I have several reasons) but I’m going to start talking to ABTR and some of the other nearby groups and have them be on the lookout for THAT dog. The behaviorist also said she would go with me when they meet to evaluate them together, and also if we find the right dog, to help introduce them for the best experience possible.
So, I got a grumpy old girl, and I can deal with that. I will just keep doing what I’m doing, try to give her positive experiences and try to find her a furry brother.
Kyla says, “Fine, find me a brother, but back up off my Bully Stick.” I was sort of depressed after the trainer left, thinking about Kyla’s past and future and all that. So I did what any sensible woman would do: RETAIL THERAPY.
Nah, I needed to pick up training treats and stuff anyway, so I just got a FEW more things than normal. Some of these I’m saving as Christmas presents.
Also, Happy Dogoween everyone, from Jimmy, Kyla and Amber.
27 October, 2006Time for doggie boot camp
If Kyla was allowed to participate in Halloween, I’d probably dress her up in this dino suit. I got this last year in a crafty doggie swap and she’s only tried it on once.
As you can see she’s totally stoked about being a dino. But anyway, Kyla is not allowed to participate in Halloween. That’s because Kyla hates kids. Other things she hates: people, other dogs, the mailman, rabbits and AIR.
I don’t know how much I’ve talked about Kyla’s issues on here, but Kyla had a crappy life before she came to me last November from the rescue group. And she doesn’t trust anyone or anything. She hates being petted by strangers and if you force yourself on her, you will get bitten. If you’re a male and you come in my house, you will probably get bitten. If you are ANYONE coming in my house, there’s a good chance you’ll get bitten on the way out.
Now one thing I will say about her, if you ignore her and if I keep a watchful eye, after 20 minutes or so, she can tolerate people being around, and she LOVES Jimmy and my family members (kisses, snuggles, normal dog stuff). But they all had to go thru bite and/or headbutt initiation. Sometimes she forgets that she likes them, and bites them anyway.
Kyla has serious trust issues, and needs to stop communicating with her teeth. As a result, it’s doggie boot camp time. I’ve found a behaviorist that I’m really excited about working with, and starting tomorrow morning we are going to work together on a regular basis. My goals are:
- Kyla will tolerate or ignore (best case scenario… actually like) strangers that come into my home
- Kyla will stop biting. Period.
- Kyla will not have to be crated when I have a party or more than two guests over
- Kyla can be around kids
- Kyla can be around other dogs without attacking them
- Kyla will not be terrified of riding in the car (she does fine once we’re in the car and driving, but she’s a freaking wreck if the leash comes out and I don’t say “wanna go for a walk”)
I don’t expect all this to happen in a week, maybe not even a year. But I received several references from other ex-bitey-dog-owners who this behaviorist has helped, and so I have hope for Kyla.
Parts of this are gonna suck: me having to be consistent 100% of the time, Kyla not sleeping with me or taking over furniture (I’m still not 100% clear on the rules of this yet, will find out more tomorrow), trying to make sure my parents are on board with everything when she stays with them, etc. But I want this dog to stop living in fear and stop being aggressive. I’m gonna be paying this lady big bucks to see results, and so I’m going to follow her advice 100%.
She slept in her crate last night. She did the “I’m annoying and I want something” bark about a thousand times, but she got over it. The world didn’t end.
Ugh, wish us luck!
20 October, 2006“You are dead to me, woman!”
Kyla is pissed. She hates the eye ointment and the fact that I won’t let her paw at it. This is her last night right after application. She’s all, “Get the camera away! I hide my face in shame and hate you!”
The good news is, she was in much better spirits yeseterday afternoon. We ran 2 miles together, and she ate dinner just fine. She still looked like popeye though, and didn’t want to open the eye.
This morning, a 500% improvement. She’s barely winking it (except after I put the ointment in) and the whiteness is clearing up. I’m so glad, and I don’t feel as bad leaving her to go to DC this weekend as planned. My brother has promised to take care of her, but only if he can make her wear the head cone the whole time haha.
Yay Kyla for getting better.
19 October, 2006Oh no, Kyla is hurt.
Well the vet lied. Or, well not lied, but now Kyla’s eye is NOT OK.
She has a corneal ulcer. Which is an abrasion on her cornea. The whole middle part of her eye is white. She’s keeping it shut. And according to the vet, she is in a lot of pain.
$82, new eye ointment, and pain medication is supposed to make her better. I’m sorry Kyla, I’m a bad mom. I didn’t mean to poke you.
Worst of all, I may not be able to go out of town this weekend to meet up with my friends as planned. I’m sorry you guys (Gen, I left you a voicemail). We will just have to see how she is Saturday morning.
Sniffle. My poor baby.
18 October, 2006This dog owes me money.
$97 to be precise. I just love paying the vet a ton of cash to tell me that my dog is fine.
Monday night we were playing with squeaky fish and I poked her in the eye with it. She squeaked, but seemed to act okay. Well yesterday when I came home from work, she looked like Popeye; she was squinting and winking and the eye was all watery.
So I took her over to the vet. She put on a big show for my friend Abby and the veterinarian. She’s been examined by that doctor before, and stood there like a perfect show dog, but yesterday she decided to be tough stuff and break hard on everyone.
Soooo the party hat came out. Hahah I’ve never seen such a tiny muzzle. She was NOT pleased, and grunted her dissatisfaction the whole time. A dye test, much light shining, a pressure test and $97 later, she was declared A-OK with an annoyed eye and sent home with eye drops. I get to bring her back in tomorrow on my lunchbreak to get checked and if they try to charge me another exam fee I’m going to unleash Cujo on them, I swear.
Project Runway party tonight! Team Laura for the win!
16 October, 2006Victory dance!
This is what happens after Kyla takes a big dump. We call it the victory dance.
11 September, 2006Changing my surroundings
What a weekend. I spent literally all day Saturday cleaning, purging, rearranging and redoing my house. I also got my new couch!
Here’s what my living room is looking like these days. Isn’t my couch great? For anyone who’s interested, it’s the GUS Design Group Jane Sofa, which I picked up from Design Public. It’s wonderfully firm and I love the way the flannelsuede feels. Kyla likes it too.
I plan on putting a tree/large plant in that back corner, and getting a big piece of artwork (probably a canvas I paint myself) on that wall. The couch also needs a throw.
See? She likes it.
I had this little 1951 Richard Galef telephone table that I picked up from FUTURES Antiques that I was gonna put in the office (which is gonna be all black and white with hints of red) but I decided this would be a great way to have some books or magazines nearby and also not have the remote controls on the coffee table.
Here’s a better view of it. I love that little table! Kyla’s like sooooo bored with life.
Here’s the front door/entryway. For those of you just joining us, that’s a vintage Kreuger fiberglass chair (also from FUTURES), a table I picked up at a yard sale and revamped for $3 (see that entire project here) and an unidentified Danish modern walnut chair I found at a yard sale for $20.
So here’s my one lingering concern about the living room. THE GAP. I guess it split this way because of the hallway and the flow right through to the kitchen, but I just think it’s TOO much. Too fast of a flow. I don’t know how to break it up. Another chair facing the coffee table? Another sofa? A big runner? Someone help me here.
I also worked in my bedroom. I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned the disgusting carpet. I have to tell you doing that TOTALLY improved my mood and I feel like it changed the energy of the room. I also dusted the blinds and wiped down everything. Getting the dust out just made me feel refreshed. Please ignore the fact that I need a bed skirt/duster and actual BED. That will happen soon.
My brother helped me repair the closet door that wouldn’t sit in its’ track. Now it no longer whacks me in the back when I’m trying to get my clothes. I moved the bed from under the window to the left wall. This makes me feel much less vulnerable and it breaks up the space better too. I moved the dresser slightly. I put Kyla’s crate on the other side of my bed and she is actually using it now. She wasn’t before. I got some African violets for the bedside table and flowers for the window.
I need artwork in here, and I think a comfy table and chair near the window for a reading area would be really nice. There’s a lot of unused space in here. I’ll just have to make it happen one piece at a time. Changing this room, cleaning and fixing things and putting plants around just made it feel so different. I slept like a baby both nights.
I also bought paint for the office and bathroom, and started on the magnetic wall. I’m doing one wall of the office with magnetic paint (use it like a primer then paint over it with wall color), and am going to put all my posters on that one wall. I don’t have to frame them and they look like a collection. It’s gonna look great. I got four coats of magnetic paint up (my sister helped me) and I think it’s ready to paint over. I bought these tiny superstrong magnets, and they stick just fine, but I need to make sure they’ll hold up the posters before I put up the final wall color. I stuck some regular refrigerator magnets up there this morning and they seemed to hold.
I have pictures of all that. It’ll be a separate post when the wall is finished. I also finished repainting that Paul McCobb coffee table (remember the one some idiot painted with that flecktone crap?). It’s drying at my mom’s house. I’m gonna pick it up Thursday when I go over there.
Also this weekend: Kyla escaped and attempted to eat the mailman. Yeah THAT was a fun time.
28 August, 2006Famous Canine
Did I mention last week that Kyla was featured as the Photo of the Week on Little Beasts.com? There’s also a caption contest. Read the captions sent in for Kyla’s picture here. Here are some of my favorites:
- And cabanna boy, I want a bottled water & fresh squeeky toy.
- The new “Bitch” of Laguna beach
- This is the last time I am doing a nude centerfold shoot on the beach- there’s sand up my butt
- Where’s my entourage?
- I still don’t understand why I need this stupid thing when it isn’t even raining!
- Who took my bathing suit? It was on me when I went to sleep…
- Wow! Amityville beach is great! But why are we the only ones here?
- I thought this was a picnic? Wheres the chicken?
GET STINKY
This dog is insane. The stinkier the seaweed, the better. If you can’t see the video above, click here.
EDIT: What the heck? You Tube deleted my video for “inappropriate content.” A dog rolling in the sand. Whatever.
Zzzzzz
Can you blame me for not wanting to leave for work in the morning? I just want to cuddle up with this face. Also the toggle switch on my camera broke, which means I can take pictures but not look at them, change menu settings, set the timer, change the flash, etc., rendering the camera worthless.
I think I’m going to buy this one.
Chillin. And also rollin.
Here’s Kyla chillin’ in my mom’s yard. “Oh wait, what’s that I smell? Something stinky? Probably rabbit poop. Let’s go roll in it.”
Too bad you can’t hear the snorting. It’s ridiculous.
14 August, 2006More Kyla adventures
Best dog-furniture combo ever? I think so. This is my mint condition 1952 Bertoia side chair, which I don’t think I’ve posted before. Of course I got it from FUTURES Antiques. And the dog is of course Kyla the wonderbeast.
Yesterday we had a little bit of a scare with her. My family and I went to First Landing State Park to walk the trails. The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not humid. Probably about 80 in the shade. It was nice. We set off on the 5K trail and Kyla was having a sniff-fest. She was panting pretty hard but I figured she was just excited plus we were walking at a good clip. She drank a bunch of water and I figured she was okay since she was going pretty fast and pulling me a bit (which she doesn’t usually do).
About halfway, she started snorting and panting which is usually a sign she’s getting too hot, so we stopped for a minute to give her water and let her calm down. All of a sudden she started doing this thing that I call “honking,” which I have heard most bostons do at some time or another. She freezes up, sucks in her breath and does this reverse-sneeze thing that sounds like a goose honking. You can tell she’s not breathing while she does it and it’s really scary to watch, but I have seen her do it before and a bunch of people on Woof told me that it happens to their dogs, and you just have to let them work through it. I think they do it when they need to clear their airway. Anyway this went on for like two whole minutes. My mom was really worried and I was feeling bad because I thought she might have overheated.
She finally got over it and started panting again so David carried her for a while in case she was too hot. She was still snort-panting a lot which is usually the point when we go home, because I don’t want her to overheat. But we were in the middle of the woods so we didn’t really have that option. I also took her harness off. I just got this camo harness (in the picture above) and it’s really cute, but a little smaller on her than I thought it would be (it’s by the same company that makes her black harness, and the same size). I think the harness being tight against her chest is the reason she was pulling so much, and my mom said it was pulling tight right against her neck, which probably caused the doggie-asthma attack.
After a while, she’d stopped panting so I decided to let her walk the rest of the way. She was doing fine until three bull terriers came by and she started pulling again, which triggered another honking attack. Luckily this one only lasted about four honks, but at that point I just took the harness off and let David carry her the rest of the way.
I don’t know if it was the dust from the trail combined with the heat or the harness on her neck or what, but I’m not gonna use that harness to walk her anymore just to be safe. We have run in full sun in hotter weather than that, so I don’t think it was the heat alone, but who knows. I’m just glad she’s okay.
In other news, I ruined a perfectly good shirt that I was sewing last night. I was so pleased with how it came out, then I hacked it in half! Go read my cautionary tale and don’t sew late at night.
03 August, 2006Heatwave
After dramatically throwing herself to the floor, Kyla tries to cope with the heatwave. Heat index is 115 today, actual temp of 103. I don’t even want to go outside.
21 July, 2006A snack perhaps?
Kyla says she would eat it, but a shark got to it first and she doesn’t like sloppy seconds for her sushi. I’m guessing there ARE sharks in the bay (this was down at Ocean View near Jimmy’s apartment)! I also saw a dinner plate-sized jellyfish washed up on the beach. Good times!
10 July, 2006What dogs do at the beach
Look everyone, it’s the most spoiled dog on the entire east coast. So prissy under her umbrella. Wouldn’t want to get any freckles on that fair skin!
It was a gorgeous day in Virginia Beach yesterday. 80 degrees, low humidity, not a lot of wind. Of course, every boston terrier has two objectives when going to the beach:
- Roll in as many stinky, fish-smelling things as possible.
- Bring half the beach home with you, AKA get as dirty as possible
Ahh! Found something stinky! Roll roll roll…
Keep rolling. Not quite stinky enough. Getting dirty, though.
Ahhhhh mission accomplished. I smell like an old, dried out, dead fish, and I’m covered in sand. We can go now, mom.
08 July, 2006Kyla’s first doggie play date.
Okay, you guys know that my dog Kyla has issues. She wasn’t socialized with other dogs at all when I got her from the rescue group. The foster lady told me that she sometimes did okay with male dogs but was really dog-aggressive toward females.
We took an obedience class last winter just to be around other dogs and I found that to be pretty much true, she liked to lunge and make scary noises at some of the dogs.
Since then I’ve tried to have her around as many dogs as possible, taking her to the pet supply store, walking on leash near dog parks, going to doggie events, etc. She seems to REALLY be improving. So a friend of mine has a mellow, older male border collie mix and she said he’s not macho if other dogs get in his face. So we decided to meet at a park and walk them near each other, if not let them try to play together, sniff each other, etc.
Her first dog-on-dog experience went SO WELL.
When we first got there Kyla didn’t like him getting in her face, she kinda snapped at him, so we decided to just walk them around the trails together. After a long walk (she did fine walking right next to him on the walk), we went back for a water break and just let them hang out in the shade.
She was content to just lay down near him and try to cool off.
That’s Brawn, Kyla’s new boyfriend.
Some tongue action! After a few minutes, Kyla approached him, they sniffed each other (he sniffed her butt and she did not freak out) and then they licked each other’s faces. I was soooo pleased. Definitely a first for her.
Flat Kyla.
I love how that picture came out. He was the perfect gentleman. She still didn’t like it when he came up to her a second time, she got snippy again, but after they just laid in the grass for a minute, she was back over visiting and sniffing. I guess if she does it on her terms, she is fine with normal dog behavior.
Overall a very very positive doggie experience for her, which really pleases me. I would love to adopt a second boston one day, and this certainly gives me hope.
23 June, 2006Pantpantpant
This is a hot dog.
Even the World’s Greatest-looking Dog gets hot after walking in a heat index of 100 degrees.
In other news, if one more person comes over and makes a joke about me listening to Beyonce this morning (“what happened to Minor Threat, durrrr?”) I’m going to scream. Or start dancing all over the place. Or something. I can’t be punk rock all the time for your personal amusement, people. I like Beyonce. Yes, I said it.
Last night I discovered the greatest invention in the history of working out: showering at the gym. After I worked out I got in the whirlpool, steam room, sauna and eucalyptus room (good LORD), then I showered before I went home. Don’t ask me why in the year or so of frequenting gyms I’ve never done this, but I am really glad I finally did. I get to run up their water bill instead of mine, I feel REALLY good showering immediately after getting gross and sweaty (usually when I get home I end up doing dog-related things and making food before I get to shower, and I’m sure that’s all kinds of disgusting) and I don’t know, it was just great.
I want to do the steam room-sauna-eucalyptus room every day. I felt like a New WomanTM.
19 June, 2006Beachy weekend
This dog is too lazy to even hold her ears up straight. I went to the beach twice this weekend. Gracie graduated from high school, we did father’s day crap. Jimmy and I watched TV. I knitted. Got my 25 pounds lost magnet at weight watchers. That’s about it.
07 June, 2006Scrunchie Torture
You kill the elastic in my scrunchie? You pay the price, dog.
(Actually no one call the SPCA, we played with it for about half an hour, she fell asleep and I woke her up to take this.)
05 June, 2006Dig dig dig!
Kyla digging for a cool spot at the beach. She is the perfect beach dog, too bad you can only take dogs on the military base beach during the day, all other beaches are anti-dog until after 6pm. We had so much fun yesterday, she is super fast at catching little crabs. Crazy dog.
This weekend was not that eventful, Saturday the rain was awful, the only really productive thing I did (besides work out) was do Grace’s makeup for prom. She looked smokin’ hot. Other than that I watched TV and knit, basically all day.
I’m gonna try to get my landscape plans for the yard up on the site later today, Kyle’s scanning them for me. Also, I am presenting my prototype for the gym’s website to them today. Hopefully they’ll let me do it and I’ll get to go to the gym for free. Best deal for everyone.
Daily Click coming soon. How was everyone’s weekend?
30 May, 2006HOT DOG
This image pretty much sums up the weekend. It was hot, I hung out with the dog a lot.
I love grilling out and I LOVE watermelon. I want an endless supply. This afternoon, I’m meeting with the landscape designer to get the final design plans for my yard!
Work is driving me crazy. I hate coming back after a long weekend, it takes me forever to catch up. And I hate when people move files WHILE I AM WORKING ON THEM. Seriously, cut it out.
24 May, 2006Culture Clash
Lately I have been really concentrating my efforts on training Kyla and paying attention to meeting all her dogly needs. In fact my house is just one big training camp, for both me and the canine. But anyway. Dog behavior has become truly fascinating to me since I picked up this book: Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson.
It is primarily about operant conditioning in dogs. The amount of information it contains is somewhat overwhelming, which is why I’m reading straight through, trying to comprehend as much as possible, and then I’m going to re-skim it and make notes or mark sections that I want to review or actively use.
It talks about everything from how to stimulate your dog’s brain, feed their predation instincts, teach a non-fetching dog to fetch (holy crap it WORKS, Kyla now fetches when before she stared at me like I was an idiot when I’d throw a ball), how to properly play tug of war games and of course basic training moves (sit, down, stay).
It’s not a step by step dog training manual; it’s more of an essay on what dog training is and how it works. It teaches the science and common sense behind how dogs learn, the steps of teaching an operant (sit, stay, fetch), how to reinforce behavior and how to feed the dog information and create consequences for behaviors, rather than concentrating on saying the right word or using the right tone of voice.
The book covers using food as a primary motivator, and dispels the myth that a dog should obey “to please the owner.” Dogs are innocently selfish. They want to please no one but themselves. That doesn’t make them bad dogs or immoral creatures, it just is how they are. Dogs want to obey because it causes good things to happen for dogs. She encourages you to stop agonizing over your dog’s lack of worship for you and just love them exactly how they are.
It dispels the myth that most problems in dogs are caused by dominance (*cough* no thanks to you, Dog Whisperer *cough*) and encourages you to stop agonizing over WHY WHY WHY does a dog do this or that behavior, and get to reinforcing the behavior you WANT instead. Dogs don’t have big moral agendas. They pee on the carpet because it’s a porous surface and they need to go. They chew the couch because it’s there, HELLO. They bark at strangers and other dogs because, well, they’re dogs. This book makes so much sense (see the chapter “It’s all chew toys to them”) and I wish Jean Donaldson had a show instead of the Dog Whisperer. After reading this (and talking to several dog trainers/behaviorists) I realize how many of the techniques he uses are simply dog abuse. It sucks. (Sorry Kyla for trying some of them on you, I didn’t know what I was doing.)
It also talks about how to be a GOOD dog trainer, and a study that showed the difference between a good trainer and an ineffective one really struck me. The good trainers were speedy, reinforced often and gave immediate feedback clues to the tune of 10 per minute. The lousy trainers were slow, which often reinforced the wrong behavior (the dog would sit, but then stand up and sneeze and by the time the trainer reinforced the sit, the dog was sneezing: sneezing was reinforced), they didn’t give enough feedback (2 per minute average), etc. Dogs who had won obedience titles were included in the study and even they started pulling on leash, ignoring the trainers, etc. when the feedback clues were reduced.
The book also talks extensively about using aversives (punishment) on dogs, and how devastating it can be. If you don’t know what you’re doing, aversives will not stop behaviors, they will merely stop behaviors IN YOUR PRESENCE. Dogs don’t know right and wrong, they know safe and dangerous. That’s why a dog may never chew the furniture when you’re looking, but as soon as you leave, the couch gets munched. It’s safe to do it when you’re not around to yell/shake/grab at the dog.
There’s a wealth of information that I can’t even skim the surface of, but I highly recommend picking up this book if you are at all interested in dog behavior. I am learning so much.
In other news, they are cutting a hole in the back wall of our office. The aim is to turn a former storage room (where old office furniture went to die) into an archive room where we’ll have freezers full of plates, slides, etc. As a result there is this awful glue/varnish smell permeating every molecule of air on the 3rd floor. It is truly heinous. Being a pansy, drugfree lightweight that hasn’t ever so much as smoked a joint in my young life, my brain is mush right now. I have the most awful headache I can ever remember having. I can’t wait to get outside at lunch.
In other OTHER news, the Couch to 5K program is intimidating me for the rest of this week. Check out the workout regimen:
Tuesday: jog 5 minutes, walk 3, jog 5, walk 3, jog 5 (DONE!)
Thursday: jog 8, walk 5, jog 8 (okay the 8s are new but I can probably do this)
Saturday: jog 20 (??!??!?!)
That seems to ramp up awfully fast, and jogging 20 minutes straight sounds like hell personified. I know the POINT of this program is to run for a long time. Yes I know that, I just didn’t know it would be this week. People who run know that 20 minutes is a long time when you’re starting out on a training program. For those of you who think it’s easy, YOU try it. I know superfit people who can do cardio stuff for hours but that can’t run. I’m encouraged and impressed with myself that in spite of being “obese”, I can already run 15 minutes out of 25, and will run 20 straight by the end of the week. In fact I think I’ll do a spontaneous soul train in my honor.
Also, I have changed the date of my first 5K race. Turns out the one I signed up for is at the exact same time as Gracie’s high school graduation, so I’m not running that one. The new race is the Allen Stone Memorial 5K on July 22. There’s also a run-swim-run event, which should be fun to watch, apparently lots of hot military guys participate in this one. I’ll be the slow person on the boardwalk at the back of the 5K. Come check it out.
Oh, and if you’re clicking over from the Apartment Therapy: Chicago site, thanks for looking at my closet. Feel free to peruse any categories on the right that might interest you. I recommend Daily Click and My House for designery things.
15 May, 2006Monday cute dog fix
Saturday, Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation put on a big K-9 Karnival (great name, huh?) for dogs and dog owners. There was a frisbee competition, cheap rabies shots/microchipping, lots of rescues and dog trainers had booths set up, an agility course, etc. I took Kyla cause the new trainer I’m working with said it would be good for her to be around other dogs at a distance and we had a great time.
Here is the beast after getting sprayed down with the waterhose. It was a gorgeous day but a little hot outside. My sister Grace went with me and took all the pictures, since I had Kyla to contend with. It seemed like every breed of dog in the world was at this thing.
Kyla was SO well-behaved. She really has made progress. When we took the obedience class a few months ago, there wasn’t a single class where she wasn’t lunging at the end of her leash, snarling like she wanted to eat faces. She did SO WELL at this event. She walked around calmly, not pulling on the leash, we stopped to watch the frisbee dogs and she sat, yes even LAID DOWN in the grass while other dogs walked by. Dogs would pass by mere inches in front of her and she did not jump up or freak out. She only lunged at one dog, the biggest great dane there, apparently she wasn’t aware that his POOPS are bigger than her whole body. She IS the boss, after all. But yeah, she did so well. I was so impressed.
Next step is actually engaging/playing with another dog, but I’m not doing that solo. That’s what I’m paying this trainer for. We’ll see how it goes. Now onto the dogs!
I love the size difference here. There were probably 10 great danes out there, I think the great dane rescue is big around here.
Fast dogs.
What a purty face.
Another boston.
Saturday afternoon the beast felt the need to whoop up on stretchy cow, she ran outside with him for a special brutalizing.
Hey, Kyla whatcha got there?
I call it MY PRECIOUSSSS, wanna see me tear it up?
If you can’t see the embedded video for some reason, click here.
In other news, Mother’s Day was a big success. Mom got lots of nice stuff, plus we went to the Mother’s Day brunch at the Chrysler Art Museum. Yes, we’re totally Norfolk socialites. They had a few new additions to the modern art section since I’ve been there including a Chuck Close, one of the handmade paper ones. I was stoked to see that, since I’ve never seen his stuff in person.
Weight Watchers on Saturday I was down 1.4, still above where I was two weeks ago, which sucks but I am not freaking out over numbers because all my pants are falling off. I know inches are coming off.
This new gym is amazing, I’m doing weights every day, I love having a personal trainer every time I go in. Today they’re doing a body fat percentage analysis, yeah I’m gonna love to see THAT number. I’m also doing a step aerobics class (first time). It’s an hour long class, according to the points calculator it’s 11 activity points, so I expect to be fully exhausted afterward.
This week is also week four of Couch to 5k. It’s the first time I’ve looked at the workout and felt like, ughhhh I might not be able to do this. But I also didn’t think I’d be able to do the 90 second jogs when I started out, so we’ll see.
What have you kids been up to?
17 April, 2006Birthday weekend recap
A dog’s life is hard around these parts. Can’t you tell?
Well I unexpectedly had a three-day weekend (didn’t know my work gave people Good Friday off). So Kyla got lots and lots of walks, we went to the beach a couple times, spent a lot of time outside. It was grand.
Thursday night Jimmy took me to Croakers for my birthday, I love their food. I got a spicy shrimp and pasta dish that was delicious. Friday I cleaned the house from top to bottom, washed all the rugs, sheets, blankets, etc. I may be a weirdo but I like cleaning, what can I say. Did a little bit of reading, took Kyla on a long walk. I fired up the grill and made some chicken. I’m gonna leave the grilling to Jimmy from now on, it’s too annoying running back and forth to the kitchen, plus the chicken was a little.. um.. toasty. Still good inside though. Jimmy and I took Kyla down to Ocean View friday night and she rolled in many stinky things.
Saturday was my birthday. Went to Weight Watchers early, down another 1.8 lbs, that makes 17.6 so far. Jimmy made me a delicious breakfast and then headed off to work. I gave the dog a bath, took her for a long walk, did some Tae-Bo, read my book outside while the dog was continually furious at the neighbor for repaving his driveway (the nerve!), took her to Northside park (where she promptly bellyflopped in the muddy shores of the lake; so much for the bath). Then I went to the Laser Tag place for Maegan’s birthday party. Heidi came over later and we watched SVU.
Yesterday spent the day at my mom’s house, I got awesome birthday presents. My parents are paying for a landscape designer to take note of my shameful excuse of a yard and make a design for it (hopefully to include a shed, a deck, and many beautiful plants and grass). I also got around $200 to Lowes to buy yard stuff, and promises from my family for many hours of manual labor to make my yard beautiful. I’m so excited. I hope the designer guy calls me soon. Dad made a delicious dinner of shrimp, potatoes and broccoli. I stupidly ate (drank?) a Hardees milkshake later that night which gave me an upset stomach (Jimmy, that was 14 points, FYI).
Kyla got up at 2:30 in the morning and decided it was time to go outside and dig up some food she’d buried, and spend half an hour eating it. That was just SO fun. I was in a great mood.
I’m stoked for our trip to Florida this weekend.
12 April, 2006Dino Dog
Last night I got a package in the mail from a swap I participated in (doggie swap on Craftster.org) and boy did Kyla get the hookup. Handmade dog clothes and other goodies. Check this out, a dinosaur suit.
As you can see, I’m getting the major stank eye. She was less than thrilled about trying on hot clothes after going on a long hot walk.
She also got a handknit sweater. And kisses from Jimmy (well those weren’t in the swap package).
Shield your eyes! Demon dog! She loves that dino cuz, and boy is it LOUD.
She also got an air freshener and a handmade belt pouch to hold poop-pickup bags. So cool. And last of all, here’s a big slurpy kiss for everyone from the dino demon dog.
03 April, 2006Beach dog
The weather was gorgeous yesterday, not too hot, but bright enough I got a little sun on my face and arms. The beach was awesome, and the water wasn’t too freezing to keep Jimmy out of it (he’s slightly crazy).
The beach dog.
She had fun but got mad when I ran into the water and dragged her along with me. She smells like the beach, a bath tonight is a MUST.
15 March, 2006The Raw Diet
Kyla enjoying a chicken wing in the yard.
Several of you had expressed interest in hearing more about the raw diet that I feed Kyla, my boston terrier. I did a lot of research before I decided on the breed of dog I wanted to get, and then on everything about that breed, including its nutritional needs. This is by no means a complete or 100% correct feeding manual. I encourage everyone to do your own research to determine what’s best for your pet.
That being said, Kyla is the picture of good health, according to our vet. Her teeth are 100% tartar-free (which the vet was surprised to see in a 4-year old dog), her coat is shiny, she has toned, defined muscles and she is free of allergies and most importantly FARTS. All this I attribute to the raw diet plus our daily walks. You would think since I’m such an expert on dog nutrition I’d be in better shape myself.
The diet consists of the following:
- Raw, meaty bones
- Ground muscle meat and organ meat
- Raw eggs with shells
Raw, meaty bones: I feed these daily and they are the bulk of her diet. They include chicken (whole fryers quartered), rabbit (whole rabbit cut into large pieces), whole fish, beef short ribs, pork ribs, turkey wings and legs, as well as marrow bones. The number one thing people ask me is, “Isn’t it bad to feed bones to dogs? Won’t they splinter and make them choke?” The answer is, the evil is COOKED bones. Raw bones are fine for dogs to eat. They snap easily and the dog crunches it right up.
Feeding raw, meaty bones not only provides nutrition, but the act of the dog ripping the meat from the bone provides important muscle development in the dog’s shoulders and neck that they’d never get from eating commercial dog food. Raw bones also are crucial in keeping the dog’s teeth tartar-free, as well as keeping their anal glands from getting impacted. Anyone who has ever smelled the dog-fish-butt smell or seen their dog scooting their butt along the ground, scratching, licking, etc. knows what I’m talking about.
Ground muscle meat and organ meat, raw eggs with shells: I feed this daily as well. This is what I was making a mixture of last weekend that caused Kyla to almost eat my hand. She loves it. I make enough for several weeks and freeze most of it.
I used to make a mixture of veggies along with the organ meats and eggs, until I read more about the whole prey model diet. I spend a lot less time grinding up veggies, and Kyla now gets a much wider variety of meaty bones and organ meat. I grind up the organ meats (gizzards, hearts, kidneys, liver, etc) and throw in some ground turkey and ground beef as well. Grind up the eggs as well, right along with their shells.
Supplements: I supplement with Flaxseed oil, Omega 3, Glucosamine, Vitamin E and Vitamin C (powdered).
Feeding raw is ridiculously cheap (much cheaper than commercial food) and better for the health of your dog. It is what they were designed to eat. Commercial dog foods are mostly grain-based. Dogs do not have the enzymes to digest grains! They also cause allergies in many dogs. When I first got her, Kyla was a constant itchy, scratchy dog and had awful, room-clearing farts (both signs of food allergies). After I switched her to raw food instead of the kibble she was being fed, all that stopped within days.
If you’re interested in saying goodbye to commercial dog food and feeding a raw diet, here are some good resources to get you started:
Feeding Raw
Raw Learning
Rawfeeding Yahoo Group (dogs and cats)
The Many Myths of Raw Feeding
The Whole Dog News: Great site with info on nutrition as well as articles on pet health, products to avoid, etc.
Why To Not Feed Commercial Dog Food
Food Not Fit For A Pet
What’s REALLY in Pet Food?
The Truth About Commercial Pet Food
Commercial Pet Food & Negative Health Effects
(This entry was edited on 05/08/07 to update the information here. I now feed a raw diet according to the whole prey model, instead of meat with veggies.)
21 February, 2006Nothing beats a happy dog.
Yes, run and make yourself very very tired.
The happy dog.
Me trying to be artistic or something.
===
The weekend can be summed up easily: dog walking, dog training class (the Boston Terrorist came out bigtime, grrr), grocery shopping, nasty weather, mom’s house, knitting, movie, makeup for Grace, catching up on stuff I’ve DVR’d, cleaning the house, laundry, show last night (War Head, Dead Ahead, Death Before Dishonor, Ramallah and some other metalcore I’d like to forget), SVU, zzzzzz.
I feel like I have jet lag this morning. That’s kind of why I hate long weekends.
I’m getting my credenza tomorrow! Sweet.
15 February, 2006Kyla’s ok.
I had to take Kyla to the vet last night. Monday when I came home from Stitch n Bitch, she was curled up in the far corner of the couch. She didn’t get up to greet me or anything, and when I picked her up she was shaking all over.
I noticed she was holding her paw weird, then I saw that she had split one of her nails in half, and the top of it was hanging off. Yeowch. I took the top part off, and there was a little bit of blood. The vet said to bring her in so they could check it.
It’s not bad enough to pull the nail (thank goodness) and the vet said if it were her dog (she has bostons too) she’d just leave it and keep it wiped down, etc.
She also gave Kyla a full exam and she is in tip-top shape. Her teeth are apparently the best teeth in the whole world (a fact which I attribute to the expensive, pain in the butt, yet apparently worth it, raw diet).
Anyway, just happy to get a good report.
06 February, 2006Sunday at the park.
Yesterday the weather was literally perfect. Sunny, breezy, cool but not too cold. I loaded Kyla up in the car and headed over to Northside Park.
We spent a while just walking around. There were some guys with remote control cars there, and Kyla was flipping out. Jumping and barking and probably wanting to kill the very fast, loud rats on wheels.
After seeing a couple people with their (well behaved) dogs off-leash, I decided to break the rules too, and took her over to the fenced in baseball field and turned her loose. She ran and ran, barked at the remote control cars, and got pretty filthy in the red clay of the infield.
Watching for remote control cars.
Taking a moment to enjoy the dandelions. What a hippie.
One of my favorite things about Northside is this huge tree. Get your scroll button ready. I tried to capture it and piece it together, but I couldn’t lean any farther back. There’s probably 15 more feet of tree beyond what I got. The base of this thing is probably 10 feet in diameter. This is big. Keep scrolling.
For once I exhausted the beast and she didn’t wake me up 20 times during the night. Mission accomplished.
The weather today is considerably crappier with a weeklong forecast of crappy. Darn.
Edited to add: Kyla is being featured in Alicat’s Weekend Dog Blogging, even though she was late. Thanks, Ali.
30 January, 2006Another weekend gone.
Saturday after Kyla’s training class, we headed to my mom’s house. It was a beautiful day outside, so we went down to the Navy base nearby to walk on the beach. Kyla seemed to really like it, she kept sticking her face in the water and jumping out again. She also found some heinously smelly seaweed to roll around in. She smelled like rancid fish when we got home. She got a bath immediately.
There was also a lake on base so we went over there to check it out. It was really muddy which of course made her want to get all up in it, and try to swim out to the middle. I let her off leash for a second, thinking she’d maybe stick around, but no, she took off into the woods, running in the total opposite direction I was asking her and seeming really amused with herself. Haha. I think we need to work on the “come” command a little bit.
Let me swimmmmmm!
Mmmmm stinky mud.
She was really worn out Saturday night, which was awesome. I didn’t do much else this weekend. Hung out with some friends, watched a lot of documentaries and that annoying movie Party Monster, ugh. I pretty much wanted to slap all those kids. Jimmy came back from DC with a tattoo. I like it. I’ve been thinking about tattoos lately and wondering if I will ever get one. If I do, I think it will be of illustrations from my favorite books when I was a child. Maybe a Where the Wild Things Are half sleeve. Pictures from The Missing Piece, Light In The Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends. Something from Amelia Bedelia? The last page in the Dr. Seuss ABC book which used to make me cry (the Z character is scary, alright)?
Ugh, another work week.
The stinkier, the better!
This dog has good taste in furniture.
Captain weirdo.
Kyla most likely making a noise like a tauntaun and trying to get a treat of some kind.
28 December, 2005Today’s cuteness fix
Kyla giving you the “squinty eye.”
Photo proof my brother DOES love Kyla even though she’s not a “real dog you can wrestle with on the floor.”
Give me that treat immediately!
Kyla and her “special friend” the camel. And by special friend I mean “favorite thing to hump.”
The Christmas tree at my mom’s house. I love this tree. Every ornament means something. It’s got character.
30 November, 2005Everyone look at how good I look!
My daughter, much like Ron Burgundy, is RIDICULOUSLY GOOD LOOKING. Also Jimmy took this with his camera phone. Not bad, eh?
Also, to the person who ended up on my site by Googling “how to meet Joaquin Phoenix”… if you ever find out the answer to that, please let me know.
28 November, 2005Long weekend update.
Thanksgiving was awesome. I regret not eating more pecan pie haha. I had a great time playing killing everyone at Scrabble. My dog attacked like 20,000 people. She’s a beast.
I also taught her how to help with laundry. She folded all these towels for me. It was awesome.
Hoodie couture.
Tolerating the stuffed camel we put on her back, then getting seriously over it. She looks like a sea monster.
She kept me up all night last night with licking, snorts, farts and snoring. And waking up every five minutes and running around the room, then settling back in bed for more licking. I had to take her outside at 5am. That was fun. Crazy dog.
23 November, 2005Fuzzy.
Look, I bought a space heater for the house. It’s very warm.
This was after playing for a couple hours at my mom’s. Kyla killed the fuzzy soccer ball. She was on a mission to get all the stuffing out and dismantle the squeaker inside. This was HILARIOUS to watch. Once the squeaker was dead and there was stuffing all over the living room, she lost COMPLETE interest in the soccer ball carcass. Time for another stuffy toy.
I gave her a Greenie last night. I swear those things really do have crack in them or something. She buried it in between my bed and the wall and anytime I tried to go near the bedroom she would about bowl me over trying to get in there first so I didn’t steal the Greenie. Weirdo dog. She loves to snuggle. I love it.
I am far too lazy to do any serious designy posts or daily clicks right now. A four day weekend is ahead for crying out loud! Here’s to hoping it doesn’t rain. I’m tired of mud and wetness.
Time to get fat at my parents’ house tomorrow. I’m gonna bring some of the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and something else yummy (maybe some sweet potatoes, using one of the recipes in the recipe swap).
What’s everyone baking/making/eating tomorrow? Oh and is anyone insane enough to be going shopping on Friday? I doubt you’ll convince me to go out but are there any stellar deals I should know about?
21 November, 2005Everyone meet Kyla.
Here’s Kyla! She is a kissy face and likes to murder her fuzzy soccer ball.
She can also jump as high as Jimmy’s head. No seriously.
It’s mine. And don’t you dare touch it.
Give it back!
Mmmmm fuzzy ball.
MUST DESTROY IT BY SHAKING IT TO DEATH.
Okay I’m worn out.
ZZZZZZZ.
Kyla
I have been keeping in touch with the nice lady from the Old Dominion Boston Terrier Rescue since I put in my application several weeks ago. She told me that they really liked my app and were just waiting for a female Boston to become available (my preference).
I looked on their site today, and Kyla was just added. She sounds perfect. And she is shy around men, so we already have something in common. Keep your fingers crossed that the lady emails me back. I am going to try to go meet Kyla asap.
She looks way cute.
