Happy Birthday, Blog!

Holy crap, I've been doing this for a year.  And what a year it's been.  I've really enjoyed having an outlet to share stories and thoughts with my dear readers and I thank each and every one of you for your support.  Your feedback and enjoyment of my musings really do make me want to tell my stories in the best (and often funniest) ways. 

Growing up I always thought I'd be an author.  Many spare moments were spent crafting short (and long) stories.  Creative writing classes were encouraged and completed.  Who knew that the spiral-bound notebooks full of pencil scribbles would later be replaced by a blog?  It's interesting because I was never one for a journal or a diary, opting to focus more on my imagination for stories.  But through the encouragement of many of you, I find telling my own tales often more amusing.  Seriously, without Dave and the mice I don't know what I would have talked about last spring (and fall). 

Two of my biggest supporter have been my mom and my grandmother, who have always been supportive of my writing.  It helps that Grandma also makes for good content (Mom does too, but I'm being kind to her by focusing my energies on making fun of JR.  It's much more therapeutic.)  A year later it still brings a smile to my face to hear someone reference something I wrote here.  It means people actually read this stuff.  Who knew?

The past year has been a big and busy one.  Starting my 3rd decade I wanted a repository to both store memories but also archive things I've done.  There have been challenges--Dave being injured, laid off and working toward finding a job, as well as others I haven't shared yet.  I actually thought I would focus much of this on how Dave and I have been dealing with his situation and our marriage.  I guess I'm lucky that it hasn't been a topic because that means it hasn't defined who we are as a couple or how we live our life.  Not to say that it hasn't changed things.  We've just decided to focus more on the things we can control in life. 

Mostly, I have focused on the positives of the past year.  Funny moments aside, I took on a new position which has treated me well; I learned a new hobby and feel I'm not to shabby at this whole crochet thing; we started rescuing dogs which has been a rewarding part of our life; and then I went ahead and started another blog to chronicle my baking passion.  And we've continued to have great friends and family who support us and help us remember what life should be about.

I hope this next year is as fun and funny.  I imagine we'll have some changes in store (I mean, eventually the economy will turn around and someone will see the value in Dave's skills, right?) and perhaps I'll find new and exciting ways to embarrass myself.  I'll settle for Dave, JR or one of our friend's doing dumb stuff too.

Thank you for reading, thank you for your feedback, and thank you for being funny.  In gratitude, I offer you this LOLdog.

I Heart My Lovebug

Panda might be the most playful dog we've fostered.

Don't get me wrong, Chiquita was wonderful and Rondo, well, he was lazy.  But Panda is the first dog we've had who actually plays with her toys.  Chiquita and Ronda liked to chew their soft toys, but Panda has other plans.  She understands the concept of fetch--we've played a lot in the hallway.  We've actually successfully gotten her off her bed (and the couch when she's being bad) just by enticing her with toys.  But the best part is, she actually knows how to make them squeak and enjoys showing them to us.

As a treat to Panda, we decided to take her to Petco.  We legitimately needed some supplies, but of course we wanted to treat her with some new toys.  We only had rope, balls and hard plastic toys.  Clearly, a "snuggling" toy (seriously, that's what is says on the label), was in order.  She was wonderful in the store and the Valentine's marketing hit me over the head as soon as I walked in the door.  Panda had to have it.  And by "Panda had to have it" of course I mean I had to have it. 

In a sale bin right at the front door were these adorable pink plush balls with arms, legs and eyes.  And it squeaked.  Too cute.  I showed it to Panda who took to it right away.  In the basket it went.  We also ended up getting her a long, yellow, squeaky dog which is perfect for tossing down the hallway for fetch.  She actually carried that up to the register and out the door all by herself.

We named her pink ball Lovebug because she is rarely very far from it.  It comes to bed with her at night and when she's feeling a little insecure, she carries it around.  Cuter still is when she misses us or we come back from being away, she'll run and get her Lovebug and bring it to us, as if to say, "I missed you soooooooooo much.  I'm so happy you came back that I offer you this Lovebug."

She's still a dog, so occasionally she'll sneak up on Lovebug and attack, shaking it as dogs do with their prey.  So that's funny.  And she knows that if she's carrying it in her mouth and she closes slightly, it will squeak.  She also knows that if she puts in on the floor and pushes it with her nose, it will squeak.  So often we are treated to a chorus of squeaking that can last up to 5 minutes.  Panda seriously loves her toys.

Submitted for your amusement.

She's cute enough that the squeaking hasn't annoyed us yet.  In fact, Dave thinks she so adorable that for Valentine's Day he took her back to Petco and got her another one, "In case this one wears out."

For the record, I got a card.

Super Bowl Sadness

Yup, I'm bummed.  It was a little sad to watch the Steelers lose the Super Bowl on Sunday night.  Especially since we had a big party and lots of Steeler fans (or fans for the day). But I can't be too upset with Green Bay because I do like Aaron Rodgers. 

The Steelers overcame a lot this season to be as successful as they were. I'm not going to get into the Big Ben debate because, well, I don't want to.  But the team (because the Steelers are a team and not just a quarterback with some other guys) had a lot of challenges to face.  Multiple key injuries throughout the season, the best defensive lineman in the league (James Harrison) being singled-out for doing what he's always done--make big hits, and starting the season with second and third string quarterbacks.  And yet they still made it to the Superbowl.  Had they not turned over the ball so many times or if they'd have played the first half as well as they played the second half, they may have won. 

But we had fun nonetheless.  My friend Dina, who is from Pittsburgh but lives in Boston, came out with her friend Gretchen.  Our friends Rachel and John came out for the day, bearing black and gold cupcakes that Rachel actually decorated with Steelers logos.  Cindy and her son came for the night, as did Stacy and her family.  Plus Dave's friends Nick and Ben enjoyed the beer and my crazy cheering.  I think I thoroughly amused Ben for months to come.

Panda did great.  She was a little nervous at times, but settled in ok.  There was a little barking, but I think that was more from being scared when Dina and I screamed and jumped during a Hines Ward touchdown.

My favorite part of the season has to be the combination of hairiness among the team.  Between Troy Polamalu and his crazy hair and Brett Keisel's beard with its own persona, there was plenty of humor to be found.  Even Steelerbaby got in on the action.

Or seriousness, like when Aidan told Amy that he wanted hair like Troy Polamalu's.  I guess he's going to need some Polamalecules.

Meet Panda

This is Panda, a 2 year old Akita with a story that will break your heart.  She's gentle, incredibly fluffy and just wants to know she safe and loved.

A few weeks ago, there was a house fire in a town outside of Boston.  A woman lived their with her grown son, with their two dogs, Panda the Akita and a German Shepherd named Prince.  The firefighters who came to the blaze found the dogs in the back of the house, luckily unharmed by the flames.  Unforutnately, both of their owners died in the fire.

Both dogs were traumatized and Prince refused to leave the body of his owner, eventually causing firefighters to drag him out of the home.  The dogs were sent to the local animal control office and when a next of kin was found, the woman's granddaughter, she was unable to keep the dogs and give them the good home they deserved.  Together Panda and Prince stayed, probably knowing they only had each other at that time.  Our group was brought in to find foster homes for these dogs.  It was tragic to split them up when they had bonded so well, but according to the granddaughter, they two had a strained relationship in the past and with good homes and strong owners, they would be great pets at different homes.

Originally Dave and I were going to get Prince, but we ended up with Panda instead and picked her up on Monday night.  She was a nervous wreck on the drive home from the animal hospital, where she got spayed and up to date on all her shots.  She whine most of the way and for most of the night. She really didn't want to go into her crate, and cried most of the night.  She barely ate anything, and kept wanting to find a way out of the house, scratching at all the doors.  We understand from Prince's foster that he has been the same way.  When we did take Panda out, she was most interested in finding a way to escape the fenced in yard (which would have been that difficult since her breed is designed for mountains of snow and our fence is becoming shorter and shorter).  We haven't let her outside without a leash yet.

Over the past few days she's started to calm down and get more comfortable with us.  She gets very worked up when left alone.  She's so difficult to crate that Dave just shut her in the office in order to pick me up from the train the other night. In 20 minutes she tore off some baseboard and trim and knocked everything off my desk.  That was our fault--we should have just brought her with us.  That night, it took 20 minutes to get her in her crate and she was so sad and wouldn't settle down or even sit.  About 5 minutes before I woke up, I started hearing different noises from her.  She'd managed to get out of her crate (pushed through the back of the collapsible wire frame) and was pawing at the door.

We all finally got a good night's sleep last night when we let her sleep (in her own bed) in our room.  She stayed put all night (except one quick walk around the room just after we went to bed) and didn't whine at all.  (She did fart once, though.  And it wasn't just Dave blaming it on her).

I think we're beginning to see her true colors.  She's starting to eat again and feels comfortable in the house. She is definitely latching onto us as people--she really doesn't want to be alone.  But hopefully we'll be able to train her that we'll keep coming back and she'll be ok.  For now, we just want to love her and help her get through all the stress and tragedy she's been through.  And she's easy to love on, what with all that fluffy fur.

A Whole New Year

So Tuesday was my birthday and now I'm into my early 30s at a ripe 31.  It's been quite the year.  The birthday was rather uneventful, what with being in the middle of the week and busy with work and all.  I was positively spoiled by my friends and family though.  Dave took me out to dinner over the weekend and I got lots of cards, calls and presents (and much looking forward to a massage this weekend, thanks to my husband).

The gift that cracked me up the most, however, was from my funny friend, Kate.  She never ceases to make me laugh.  I have to copy her note verbatim because it was that good.

"Happy Birthday, Colleen!
I'm sending the tin back to ensure that I'm on the list for next year. :)

Tell Dave he can use these to perfect his euthanasia technique, a long as you get to eat them afterwards!

<3 Kate"

This is what was in the tin:

Enhance:

Aren't they adorable?  And their very yummy. (Thanks, Kate!)

And the best part about my birthday is that because the Steelers are in the Superbowl, I get to extend my birthday through the weekend.  Partially because we're having a big party at our house, so of course I get to make it all about me (and the Steelers).

Fun in the Snow

There just aren't enough hours in the day.  We'll leave it at that.

With all the snow that we've had, getting roughly 6 feet so far this winter, we've had to find a way to have some fun with it.  Eventually I dug out our Steeler gnome.  He was really well buried!  I haven't even attempted find the Red Sox gnome.  Frankly, I was more concerned about the Steeler gnome, since Pittsburgh's in the Super Bowl (more on that later). 

Anyway, Dave and I decided to make a snowman.  Unfortunately, we decided to do it after a fluffy snow storm, so the snow worked against us. 

This bummed Dave out more than it probably should have. But, ever the problem-solver, he got a spray bottle (typically used for spraying the plants with plant food) and filled it with water.  Slowly but surely, we were able to create the three big, bigger, biggest snowballs for our snowman's body. I think we ended up refilling the "snowman juice" bottle two more times.  It really worked.  We were able to make the balls, attached them, and sculpt his body.  Can't say Dave had a bad idea when he broke out the snowman juice.

We finished him off using our snowman kit.  He looks pretty awesome.  He looked even better when I put an old Steelers practice jersey on him.  He looks less awesome with the additional 12 inches of snow he got covered in over the last couple of days.

Other fun snow things include another afternoon of cross country skiing.  We decided to take the scenic route (and the cheap route) by heading onto some trails in the nearby state park.  It was the first time I'd even been on an ungroomed trail, but we weren't the only ones who had that idea.  We didn't see anyone out, but there had been snowshoers and other nordic skiers around lately and some tracks all around.  Dave did cut fresh tracks in a few areas for us. 

It was so nice to be out again.  The snow was very fluffy and being in the middle of the wood with it all over was really pretty and calming.  Since no one else was around, it was like our own private trail.  The best part (for me) is that since we travelled ungroomed trails, the snowbanks prevented me from falling (or I'm getting better).  I did fall once, sort of, but only leaned forward and ended up with my knees in the snow.  Otherwise,whenever I lost control, my skis made their way under 6 inches of snow and slowed me down.  Hey, whatever works.

Of course, I'm only excited about this because Dave did fall and it was glorious.  Yes, he was standing still.  We had stopped and taken off our skis to cross a brook.  After we hopped over to the other side, we worked on getting the snow off our boots to click back into the skis.  As Dave balanced on his right leg to poke the snow out of his left boot, I watched as he caught himself, but was still leaning to the right.  And then, practically in slow motion, he fell over on his right side.  In the same position when he was standing up. 

Ok, so I may be a little mean because I made him stay there while I took a picture, but it was hilarious.  I couldn't stop laughing.  And he has the benefit of watching me fall all the time, so I had to take advantage of this opportunity.