Calendar Dog

Mom got a new job, so now I'm thinking it's time I hopped on the bandwagon and got a job myself. I'm thinking I would make a good model. What do you think? Do I have what it takes to be America's Top Dog?

My turn-the-head-and-look-surprised pose.


My sultry eyes pose.


My profile shot.


My Purina ad shot.


My I'm-too-cool-for-photoshoots shot.


My action shot / space dog costume.

Family Visit (Part 2)

So, where did I leave off? Oh yes. Saturday we all got up at 6:30 a.m. to support Kirk in his first triathalon. It was at Eagle Creek Park, which is this hidden gem of 1,400 acres of water and over 3,900 acres of land in the city. It was my first time being at an event like that. There were 600 competitors, so you can imagine how crazy it was. But everything ran so smoothly, and the atmosphere was so energized and exciting. The worst part about the whole thing was the unexpected 2-mile walk (each way) from our car to the race area. But it was worth it. Kirk did so great; I was so proud of him. We all were. He finished the race in about 1 hour and 16 minutes. He's a champ in my book!

Kirk poses with Laura and Dave before the race.

And he's off! First up: a 500-meter swim.


Then it's on to a 10-mile bike ride.

And finally, a 3-mile run.

That night we went out to dinner then returned to Kirk and Laura's house. We stayed up until 1 a.m. playing a new game. It's so fun to join a family that loves games as much as I do. We had a lot of fun, and I think the late hour made us all a little kooky. That was about it for the weekend. Dave and Connie left after lunch on Sunday. It was great to have a long visit with them. Maybe next time we won't put them to work so hard. :)

Family Visit (Part 1)

The Stelsels are here for a 5-day visit. Chase is loving all the attention; although, he is missing his daily naps. It's only day 3 and Dave has already transformed our home. He's been busy cutting down trees and overgrown bushes, mowing, trimming, and cleaning out the garage. He's crazy. But seriously, what would David and I do without him?

Dave cuts down trees with his scary chainsaw while David throws branches out of the way.


So far it's been a fun time (for most of us). I accidentally poisoned Dave with bad mayonnaise yesterday. Oops. We don't eat mayo, and I guess it was left in our fridge from a previous Stelsel visit. Connie put it on Dave's sandwich without realizing it had expired......8 months ago! Poor Dave was sick all afternoon, but it didn't stop him from working on the yard. I felt terrible, but I was a little relieved that it was the mayo that made him sick and not the dinner I had made the night before.

Last night, after dinner, we had some fun playing the Wii. We started with bull riding.

Dave and Connie try to stay on track with their racing cows.


Then progressed to Rock Band.

Here we have David on guitar, Kirk on drums, and Dave on vocals. Rock on, boys!


It was pretty funny, and Chase just didn't know what to do. When people were singing on the microphone, he's rub his ears on the floor like we were hurting his ears. Ha! But don't feel bad for the dog for missing out on the party last night. He had his fun the day before when he got to chase baby bunnies. David and I had spotted a nest of bunnies behind our rose bush maybe a week ago. We've been pretty diligent about watching Chase when he was outside because he would always sniff out the bunnies and go straight for them. Well, he ended up catching one on my watch one day; broke its neck. Then when Dave started cutting down trees, it's like they just came out of the woodwork. So here we all are, Dave, Kirk, and David running around the yard trying to catch these bunnies; Connie and I are just standing there watching, waiting to see movement in the bushes; and Chase is running around like crazy trying to catch the bunnies for himself. It was chaos. Chase caught one, but David stopped him from killing it. But in the end, the boys one: they caught all four. Kirk and Dave drove to a spot up the road and let them go. Hopefully they are safer in their new home than they were with the killer dog in our yard.

Three of the lucky bunnies that escaped Chase.


The rest of the weekend is still ahead for lots of fun. Tomorrow we are all going to watch Kirk in his first triathalon. Tonight Kirk and Laura are making dinner at their house. Tomorrow night is dinner at Uno Chicago Grill. And in between all that, who knows what fun will be in store. Stay tuned!

Doggy Style

My Dad decided I needed a new haircut for the summer. Not just any haircut though, a BUZZ cut! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Before:

After:

It's been a few weeks now with my new 'do, and it's not so bad. I'm not as hot; my hair stays super soft; I don't get grass and mulch stuck in my hair; and Mom says the cut shows off my thin waist and skinny legs. :)

What do you think? Would my new 'do make the cut in doggy fashion?

Memorial Day and Beyond

Sorry for the hiatus! Here’s what the family’s been up to the last few weeks.

Memorial Day Weekend
It was a low-key holiday weekend for us. The weather was gorgeous, so Chase and I took full advantage of it while David studied (yes, even on holiday weekends he hits the books; he’s so studious that David). I started a new book—Stephen King’s It. I can only read it during the day, and if you’ve read it you’ll know why. The spook (aka It) is a really creepy clown that has a tendency to show up in unexpected places. I tried reading it at night by myself once; won’t do it again. I couldn’t concentrate because I kept waiting for the clown to grab my arm from behind. Eeek! Anyway, Chase kept me company outside. When he wasn’t chasing birds out of the yard he would rest under the chair where it was shady.



Bragging Rights
It’s no secret David is a romantic and a total sweetheart. He surprised me one night with dinner and these gorgeous lilies. Say it with me now: “Awwww!”



What Old People Do
Now that David and I are an old married couple, and now that we have friends who are old married couples (or soon to be; I’m looking at you, Kirk), we have implemented Game Night. Lindsay and I have talked about doing this for a long time. Let’s face it. Going out to the bars just isn’t what it use to be. And with everybody’s busy schedules, you pretty much have to make plans to see friends. Game Night is our solution. We had our first one at Lindsay and Russell’s house. There were four couples: me and David, Russell and Lindsay, Kirk and Laura, and Michael and Jen. We each brought something for dinner; I was in charge of dessert (see my yummy strawberry shortcake below; thank you to my Mom for the recipe). After dinner we had a looooong round of Pictionary. We had a lot of fun, and I’m already thinking about the next one.



Rain, Rain, Go Away
So after our lovely weather Memorial Day weekend, we had some nasty storms come through the area, bringing hail and tornadoes. Luckily our house wasn’t in the danger zone, and I didn't hear of any major damage. The really bad part of the storms passed north of us, so it was cool to stand outside and watch it pass.



Good Days in June
First and foremost, David took his level 2 CFA exam on June 6. He reports that the exam was harder than last year, but on the plus side he was more prepared. He says he did okay on it, but he’s on the fence about whether or not he passed. He’ll know for sure on August 18. Either way, what’s done is done, and we’re both thrilled that he’s done studying for a while. His goals this summer: go to the gym four days a week and read War and Peace.

Chase found a baby bunny nest. Last year he maimed the bunnies before we knew what he had found. This year David spotted him with the bunnies early, so no harm was done. We’ve got our eye on him though.

Today we got out and worked in the garden. Now, normally the garden is a hands-off project for me. But I was bored today so I offered up some assistance in weeding. David got all his veggies in the ground, so hopefully we’ll have some good eatin’ over the next few months.

On the Job Front
I had an interview at an ad agency. It went really well, but I haven’t heard from them in over a week. So I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that it’s not going to work out. However, on a positive note I had a short phone interview last Friday with ITT Educational Services (the corporate headquarters for ITT Technical Institute). I have another phone interview on Tuesday, so I’m feeling good about this opportunity. We’ll see what happens.

Also, in my last post I mentioned a freelance article was going to be published in a local wedding magazine. Well, I also finished up a feature story for the same magazine issue about IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter. So that kept me busy last week. I can’t wait to get my copy in the mail. And of course I’ll post the stories here for you to see. Stay tuned!