Valentine's day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

What may you ask does a person whose valentine is located on the East Coast do on Valentine's day? Well... make chocolate chip cookies and cuddle with Lola while watching the Westminster kennel club dog show!

I almost wish I was kidding but if you need proof the Boxer just took 2nd in the Working group. Terriers are up next. Lola and I will totally be judging.... while waiting for another tray of cookies to come out of the oven

Love you all! And miss you Craig...

Bad Dog Parenting

Ok I'm the first to admit that I probably should have stopped her instead of grabbing my camera but this was just too hilariously cute to pass up. Don't judge me too harshly -

Lola is 'helping' me clean again.... she's very helpful....

Time for Lola's Close-up?

     As you know Lola is beautiful. This is not just my opinion, or the opinion of my family (most notably my mom who regularly introduces Lola as  her 'Grand-doggy') but we are regularly stopped on walks so that people can admire her or even take pictures of her. Recently there was one gentleman from the Midwest who was documenting his trip to the west coast and felt compelled to take approximately 30 glamor shots of Lola. Anyways - I just stumbled across this great article about dog shows and apparently the owners of these high quality show dogs pay real money to place advertisements in dog show magazines to try and convince the judges that their dog is the best. In celebration of the upcoming Westminster kennel club dog show (shout out to Maddie and Coco the Norfolk Terrier! I swear we accidentally watched the dog show about 10 times in various hotels ... for anyone interested it's always on from like 10pm-1am and you just can't turn it off!) I thought I'd post the link to these excellent ads. I think that Lola could really give these purebred champs a run for their money! I mean.... if the competition was based on snuggleability and sneakiness..... take a look at the ads anyway - they're pretty funny. My favorite clearly being the valentine's day themed poodle ad: Dog Show Glamour Shots

Sneaky Sneaky

Although Lola is clearly domesticated she has still retained some of her wild dog instincts. This is most evident when she gets a particularly tasty treat or bone. To prevent anyone from stealing it she usually feels compelled to 'hide' it. Sometimes she tries to hide it under a pillow or blanket so I usually step in and help her cover it up, however this afternoon she came up with a new spot all her own. Where you may ask? Outside in my potted plant. As you can guess the plant is no longer... however it is quite a handy dandy little bone storage space! It happened while I wasn't paying attention and I had no idea what was going on until i saw a lovely trail of potting soil from the porch through the house to the couch... not so sneaky after all!

Candids

Who knew that (just like humans) dogs can take some pretty funny candids. Here are a few of my favorites that I've managed to snap over the last couple of days:

1) ARE MY EYES OPEN?.... NO..... OK TRY AGAIN

2) DANGIT HALEY... JUST TAKE THE PICTURE ALREADY! I'M TIIIIIIREDDDDD

3) I AM NOT IN THE MOOD. LEAVE. MY. DRAGON. ALONE!

HAPPYHAPPYHAPPY

I really have been a slouch at updating recently but January was a big month so I hope you will all forgive me. First and foremost... Craig and I are getting marrieeedddddd! But you all knew that...unless you are some poor random soul who has stumbled across this blog while making their way across the internet in which case you just get to be surprised! But in all likelihood this is old news to you. I couldn't be happier and I am so excited that I will probably try to tell all of you all about how happy I am in every conversation between now and June 2013 when we get married. After which I will probably continue to tell you how happy I am. So get ready for a lot of happy and consider yourself warned!

Craig was actually here this weekend so we had a great time going skiing, hanging out with Jake and Sarah and Mom and Dad, and playing with the small monster! Thankfully Craig loves Lola just as much as I do. I hope you will accept this picture in lieu of an epicly long update:

also to anyone who is concerned- I did manage to get the toilet unplugged!

Your dog ate your homework? I can top that....

Happy New Year!

As many of you know I was visiting Craig in Boston last weekend. As such, Lola spent the weekend at the scooby shack. She had a wonderful time and was very tired when I picked her up. I think she was a little bit miffed that I left her for the whole weekend though because she did what she does when she's mad.... poop in a corner. Yes, you heard me right. She goes upstairs while I'm on the phone or something and poops in a corner. This is very unfortunate and does not happen often... I would not tolerate that... but it's hard to tell a pissed-off puppy. And catching her in the act is also next to impossible as she's very sneaky. ANWAYS after discovering the proof of her discontent I obviously cleaned it up. As an engineer and a person generally looking for the most efficient (easiest) way to solve a problem I can tell you exactly what went through my head:


oh damn. she pooped. oh well... at least she pooped in the bathroom. I can just flush it right? pick it up with toilet paper and then poop is poop so that shouldn't be a problem... yeah.... flush the poop! problem solved!


Problem not solved. Your dog ate your homework? My dog clogged my toilet.


(actually any hints for unclogging would be generally appreciated.... the plunger isn't working!)