Let me Explain. No, there’s not time. Let me sum up.

I’ve been a bit busy lately.  Here’s what I’ve been up to the past 8 or 9 days.

Went to see an AWESOME high school production of Footloose.  My friend was playing in the “orchestra” (if that’s what you call it.)  Cheesy.  High School.  Great costumes.   Can’t beat it with a stick.

Baby shower for Kristi.  Aren’t they cute?

Kristi and Lindsey

Celebrated Kari’s 30th bday (a week early) with a surprise party at J2.  Check out these kids.   Cuteness abounds in my circle.

Beau and Macie mini-bowling

NKOTB, part deux.  This time, we did it up limo-style:

Limo girls in Larry’s shed

shots at the pink house

We had 9th row seats

The “Kids” Wore Illinois shirts for the encore

Ran the FULL 5K for the first time.   Good thing, ‘cuz it’s Saturday. I’m READY TO RUN!

Wrote two stories for my class that I actually like.  They’re about Italian circus performers, naturally ;)

Met threebabies for the first time:  Clennon’s son Neil and Jacelyn’s twins Jacob and Dylan. I even held and fed Dylan, which is quite a feat for me because I’m not much of a baby person–and he was only 4 years old!

Took Roxie to get her shots.  And then to the Emergency Vet for the allergic reaction to her shots.   Her face swelled up like Will Smith in Hitch. It’s funny now, but I was too worked up at the time to snap a pic.  Damn!

Helped celebrate the birthdays of Scott and Kari

Caught about half of The Princess Bride, thus the title of this post.

And then everyday stuff like work and chores and running… I’m kinda worn out, but I cannot WAIT until Saturday.   Don’t worry–there will certainly be a 5K update very soon!!

Interview with a Vampire-lover

I stole this idea from illini_girl, but it’s been a while since I’ve done one.  And I have so many random things to discuss.

Are you really too busy to blog?  What’s that all about?

Honestly, yes.  And no. It’s not that I’m too busy to blog. It’s that I’ve spent a lot of time away from the computer, so my blogging time has been limited.

Are you done with your regular Wednesday posts?  What about Foto Friday?

Yeah, I think I’m giving up Website/Wordy Wednesdays. It’s just too much of a commitment and I have kinda run out of things to talk about. I’ll keep Foto Friday, though.  But I gotta start taking more pix.  Seems like I have to dig through the archives more often than not these days.

Are you becoming a professional dog sitter?

I’m thinking about it.  Last week, I watched my mom’s two dogs-Desi and Lucy- at my house.   And this week I’ve been dog-sitting Knee at a friend’s house.  Thus, the lack of night-time Internet access.

Knee?  That’s an awfully strange name for a dog isn’t it?

Yeah, it’s short for Anfernee (you know… like Anfernee Hardaway, the bball player). But she’s the sweetest dog ever.  Oh, yeah, Knee’s a girl.

So, what’s up with this “re-training” of Roxie business?

I won’t bore you with the details, but basically Roxie has a “dominance” issue.  And she’s spoiled.  To help break her of this, I’m re-training her to sleep in her crate instead of in my bed.

What made you decide to do this?  How did you know what to do?

Well, the final straw was when Roxie scratched my friend in the face for getting too close to me.  But it really needed to be done.  

I did some research online and then I called into Afternoon Magazine on WILL FM.  They had experts on from the Dog Training Club of Champaign-Urbana.  You can listen to it online at http://will.illinois.edu/afternoonmagazine/monthly/2008/12/.  (Click on the Friday, December 5 archive. I’m at about minute 28 or so).  

They gave me some good advice, so I got a crate and started re-training  on a Monday.

How’s that working for you?

Alive. Busy. Tired.

I’m still here… and I have tons to blog about, but I don’t have time to make anything more than a list.  So, here’s what I’ve been up to:

• Dog-sitting: for my mom last week and for a friend this week
• Locking myself out of my car while dog-sitting
• Re-training Roxie (again!)
• Struggling with Evite.  If you haven’t received 15 messages from me about my 30 days of 30 and want to participate, let me know.  Everyone else– sorry for the ridiculous number of emails. I’m blaming Evite
• Oh, and work and Christmas and all that other stuff

Each of these things could (and might) become a blog post in their own right, but I’m too flippin’ tired right now.  Maybe tomorrow.  Maybe not.

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Oh, and BTW– for those of you who have recently told me you’re reading my blog… thank you! It’s nice to know I have readers, even if they’re just lurking.  So holla and let me know that you’re there.

Foto Friday: Papillon

 

Roxie w/the butterfly ears

This is one of my favorite pictures of Roxie.  She’s a Papillon, which means butterfly in French.  Not only is she looking straight into the camera, but you can see her butterfly ears.

For Reals

We’ve established that I’m horrible at blogging. In an effort to get better, here are some random happenings:

• Some bratty kid kicked my dog at the pet store the other day.  Just walked right up and kicked her.  Then the parents SORTA said “sorry” before picking up the kid, hugging her and telling her it was okay.  Um, no… it’s NOT OK!  As my friend said: “that’s how serial killers start.”
• I’m thinking about getting a bike.  There’s a local bike co-op. I think I’ll go tomorrow and see about getting a bike.  I want to bike for a number of reasons:  exercise, transportation, saving the environment.  Those are good enough reasons, dontcha think?
• We’re learning to write for the web at work.  I’m trying to use the tools to start an intra-staff blog. We’ll see what happens.  It’s amazing how little people know about this crazy new internet thing.  Even the developers.  Weird.
• I’m hating that WordPress took away the “insert image” link.  Now I have to add it as “media”?  WTF?  I liked it better when I could just steal from someone else.  I guess that’s the point, huh?
• I finished a book this month.   Which doesn’t sound like it should be THAT big of an accomplishment, but I’m still reading On the Road from May.  Just can’t get into it. I really want to like it.  It’s got sex.  It’s got drugs.  It’s got counter-culture.  But I’m just not as into it as I want to be. 
• I’m also reading a book about Web 2.0 (or Web Twenty as the cool kids are calling it).  Very interesting.  I’ll post a review when I’m done.

Good Samaritan

I’ve decided to stay home all weekend.  Yep, that’s right. I’m spending an entire weekend at home. By myself.  With the dog.  Instead of having happy hour last night, I made the girls come over here and it was actually a reallygood time.

My dog had surgery yesterday, so I’m sticking close to home to keep an eye on her. During one of our short trips outside, I saw another little dog coming down the street.  Without a leash.  He came ACROSS THE STREET into my yard, so I picked him up and took him inside.  His name was Pickles and he had a phone number on his tag, so I called.  No response, so I left a message.  Here are some photos of Pickles:

     

The owner called back.  Apparently she lives in Virginia and her partner still lives here, but her partner is also out of town, so they’re having a friend dog sit.  She gives me the friend’s phone number, but he isn’t home either, so me, my dog, and Pickles all hang out together for a while.   My dog didn’t quite know what to think of Pickles, especially since she’s ‘injured,’ but it worked out.  The owners friend came to pick up Pickles and all was well.

I think that this, combined with the LAST time I took in a stray dog and my reporting of the possible child endangerment qualifies me as a Good Samaritan.

I’m looking at…

I stole this idea from http://simmonssays.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/writing-exercise/.  I’ll totes give her credit.

I’m looking at 30.  Yeah, that’s right. I’m getting fucking old.  One of those legendary stories growing up was how, at the age of 3 or 4, I said that Madonna should retire from being a singer because she was 30. Because she was ancient.  And here I am… 29 years old… turning 30 in a mere 9 months.

I don’t feel ancient. In fact, I don’t feel grown up.  I have a house. A dog. A mortgage. Shit, I’m dog sitting my moms pups tonight.  But I’m plowed.  Ruby Red Absolut + Fresca + Top Chef = One Hell of a Wednesday Night in my book.

So, if we take the question more literally, what amI looking at?  Well, the computer screen, obviously.  And my reflection in the mirror.  Since I was a little girl I’ve always been obsessed with my own appearance.  Not too bad, I say… maybe a little pale.  Definitely a little pudgier than I was last year.  But I’m a cute girl… or so I tell myself.

What else do I see?  I see a futon.  I see purses.  I see a room that needs to be cleaned.   I hear dogs in the other room playing with something they’re not supposed to.  Maybe I should go check on them.

So the dogs were in their crates. Good puppies.  Then my brother called to say he sold his house. Yay!

Now I’m looking at my dog and the black dog fighting.  This isn’t as interesting as I thought it would be.  I’ll try again later.  Maybe when I’m sober.