new colors

I decided my blog was ready for a facelift. When I saw this clouds template, I was delighted! Clouds are one of my absolute favorite things. I still have a dream of painting my bedroom sky blue with clouds on the ceiling. I even had a friend paint clouds on my generic navy blue luggage. And BOY was I grateful for those clouds when I had to pick my luggage out of a lineup of several hundred pieces (a bunch of flights were delayed out of Chicago due to storms, and they'd just been lining up luggage all day).

Oh, and by the way, Happy Leap Day!

tribute to the mundane

A few months ago we got this wonderfully perfect tomato. David felt it needed to be documented, so he had his own mini photo shoot. Sometimes unexpected things are beautiful

so I don't generally dig LDS-themed stuff...

but this is pretty cool. I think I'd like it on a hoodie.

the end of winter

We are down to a few islands of snow in the backyard! It's been buried under 6-8" since the first of the year, so I couldn't be happier! Especially with two cabin-fevery kids and two energetic dogs. I managed to get one snowman built this year, and he lasted a good couple of weeks. Then we had a few days of thawing weather, and one night as I returned from walking Daisy (in the pre-Rudy days), I noticed that the snowman looked downright depressed. Previously, he'd held his arms up high and his head tall, but I guess after the loss of his eyes, nose & mouth, not to mention much of his girth, he felt he had nothing left to live for. Sure enough, the next day when I came outside, he'd beheaded himself. Hopefully his snowman spirit lives on! Farewell, Frosty!

movie review monday

We watched Becoming Jane last night, about author Jane Austen. I enjoyed the movie and found it interesting to learn more about Jane Austen. I'm a big fan of Pride and Prejudice, and I enjoy all of the movies that have spawned from her books (have you seen the Bollywood's Bride & Prejudice? It's fabulous). Anyways, I've not actually made it through any of her other books, even though I have a big fat book of them on the shelf. She did fall in love, but because of their lame social stratifying back then, and the fact that it was impossible to just get a freakin' job to support yourself, she wasn't able to marry the man she loved, because he was responsible for mooching off of his uncle to provide income to his family back in Ireland. And she didn't want to marry "without affection," which I can't blame her for. I do think she could have grown to have affection for the nice, wealthy guy, though. But it's probably just as well, as after her sister's fiance died, the sister never married, either. If I had to be an "old maid," it'd be much more bearable with a good friend or sister.

But if you are into Jane Austen, you'll enjoy the movie.

spikes

daily dose of doggies

Here are the furballs playing with a toy the other day. We were playing fetch with TWO toys, so they could both bring one back, but invariably they decide they want to bring the same toy back. Silly pooches.

ahhhh love...

Katie tagged me, and since I was bored this morning, I thought I might as well do it.

What is your Hubby's name?: David. And he prefers to be called David, not Dave, but he still answers to Dave.

How long have you been together? How long did you date?: Our first date was Saturday, November 11th, 2000. Prior to that, we'd already spent two weeks together nearly 24/7. And we'd already smooched a fair bit, too. (What can I say, it was jungle love?)

Who said I love you first?: He did. I think it was not too long after we'd returned from Brazil.

Who is smarter?: Hmmm. I'm a better "student," but he is by far a better problem-solver.

Who does the housework?: Me. But he cooks dinner the vast majority of the time. (I just started cooking dinner 2x/week, but he's done 99.9% of the dinners for the last almost 7 years.)

Who sleeps on the right?: If you are facing the bed, me. If you are in the bed, then it's him.

Who pays the bills?: Generally me, but for right now while we get some things in order, him.

Who cooks dinner?: Him, most of the time. Me, 2x/week. (Yes, I know I'm super lucky with this!)

Who drives when you are together?: He usually does. Sometimes, though, when I have the car and pick him up from work, I stay behind the wheel if I want to.

Who is more stubborn?: It's a toss-up. We are both pretty darn stubborn.

Who kissed who first?: David kissed me first. It was soooo sneaky. We were sailing down the Amazon River in the middle of the night, looking up at the stars. I was sitting in front of him and he had his arms around me to keep me warm. And he kissed the back of my neck. At first I wasn't even sure what was happening. When I turned around to say "Hey?!" he kissed me on the lips! What nerve!

Who asked who out first?: He asked me out. We went and watched "The Fiddler on the Roof," at Jordan Commons.

<Who proposed?: He did. He flew me to San Francisco for my birthday weekend and proposed to me on the "beach" next to the Golden Gate Bridge. I gave him his ring that same weekend. I'd tied the box to the neck of a stuffed toy sloth (his favorite animal) and hung the sloth in the sequoia forest we visited.

Who has more siblings?: Same. He's the oldest of six and I'm the youngest of six. And both families have 3 boys and 3 girls. And both families have a David and an Eric.

Who wears the pants?: Well, we like to tell the kids that I'm in charge, but I think we have a good balance of power.

I tag: Andrea, Debra, Kristin & Karen

happy mindless reading

I just finished reading Pretties, the second book in the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfield. We read Uglies for book club, and while I thought the characters lacked a bit of depth, the story was engaging enough to make me want to find out what happened next. I picked up Pretties from the library Thursday night, read a bit on Friday and finished it late last night.

The general idea (very general so as not to spoil the fun if you read them) is that in this futuristic society, at age 16 everyone gets super-deluxe plastic surgery to become "pretty." This is supposedly based on tne evolutionary desire to seek out mates with certain biological traits (symmetry, big eyes, clear skin, etc) and so noone has an advantage over another person because of their looks. There is obviously more that comes to light, but that's what you learn in the first chapters. If you like cool technology in science fiction books, you will enjoy reading these books for that, alone.

Let me know if you pick them up what you think of them.

do you live in a hotbed of sin?

Forbes has the answers

And on that note....

yeah, i'm bored

wanna make something of it?

the end

Something I love about kids (and I think most people appreciate this) is the fun ways they come up with to express their thoughts. At about age 2-3, Noodle mixed up many of her compound words, resulting in things like "markbook" for "bookmark," "packback" for "backpack," etc. She also called flip-flops "flop flops." Spud does the same thing with some of his words, but I think my favorite is "got for" and "get for". "Mom, don't get for me." "You got for my water, mom." If you haven't figured it out, it's his version of forgot. I love that he even uses the appropriate ending, although it's of course the prefix the way he says it.

Another Spudism that I loved, but he has now outgrown, is the expression, "I don't how to." Our thoughts on this was that the word know equaled no in his mind, so he left it out. We'd ask him to say a new word or do something, and if he couldn't, he'd reply, "I don't how to." Sometimes he would say, mostly to himself, "I how to." Last night I noticed for the first time him saying, "I don't know how to." Sigh... I guess it will always live in my memory.

monday cuteness

dogs in the snow

one hundred

A couple of weeks ago we told Noodle we'd make a "100 Cake" when she could count to 100 by herself. Well, on Thursday she did it! We ate the last of the cake yesterday and it was delicious down to the final bite!

a free screen clean

Does your monitor need a cleaning?

live free or die hard

We saw this movie last weekend (David had seen it in the theater with some guy friends when it came out) and I totally loved it. Great action sequences, and I thought the Mac ad guy did awesome. And, I have to admit, I think Bruce Willis is kind of a hottie. There is this funny music video on the DVD (it does swear a bit, so you may not want to watch it with your kids) Die Hard Tribute Music Video. I've never seen the other Die Hard movies, but I give this one two thumbs up.

today's funny

stuff white people like

the Rudy Tootster

He's ours!!

So we went and met Rudy tonight, and brought him home with us. He is a WONDERFUL dog! He's very submissive to Daisy and he likes to play. He's met the cats and seems interested but not at all hostile. And, unlike a number of bassets, he's pretty quick to learn. I just took him & Daisy out for a walk and he was pulling quite a lot, so I did the whole "stop every time the leash gets taut" bit and he caught on. Pretty good!

very cool prank

in honor of Lincoln's Birthday...

Yes, it's tomorrow, but I'm sharing this today. It's all made of pennies. The artist said, "
I used 1,702 pennies to make a portrait of Lincoln. Sorting the coins took about seven hours, and making the image took about six. Clay Bavor - May 2005"

soybean dreams

Happy New Year!

It's The Year of the RAT!!!

In honor of the New Year, might I suggest viewing one of the following movies:

Charlotte's Web
The Secret of Nimh
Ratatouille
Willard (this is for you scary movie fans)
Flushed Away
Dr. Doolittle (the Eddie Murphy one)
Babe (okay, so they're mice, but pretty close)


The Rat is the first sign of the Chinese Zodiac 12 year cycle. Mythology has it that the Emperor told the animals that there would be a race to his palace to see who would be honored with a place in the zodiac. Both the cat and the rat, being poor swimmers (though in fact, rats are quite good swimmers) hitched a ride on the back of the ox/water buffalo to cross the river. The Rat knew he had to do something to increase his advantage, so he shoved the cat into the water. When they reached the other side, the rat hopped off the ox and ran to the palace, claiming first place. The cat ended up making it to the palace in 13th place, too late to secure a year in the calendar. And that's why cats hate both rats and the water.

I was born in the Year of the Horse, as was Noodle.

HORSE
People born in the Year of the Horse are very popular. They like to be entertained and like being around large crowds. They are wise, talented, and very good with their hands. They are cheerful, skillful with money, and perceptive, although they sometimes talk way too much for their own good. They are very independent and don’t listen to others advice. They are most compatible with Tigers, Dogs, and Sheep.

I especially like the part about not listening to others' advice. It's good to be me.

Look up your Chinese Zodiac Sign here

P.S. The Rat in the photo is my boy Finny. Happily, he's still with us.

out of his shell..er, cage

So I think Jake, our rabbit, has finally decided he likes us. He really truly likes us. A while back I put a small rug outside of his cage door so he could hop out without slipping on the vinyl flooring. He liked his rug a lot, and would hop in and out of his cage, but rarely leave the rug. So on Monday I bought him a LONGER rug (a 6' x 2' runner-type) and put it outside his cage. Thinking that if nothing else, he now had a bit more room that he felt comfortable hopping around on. Well, give him an inch and he takes a mile! He has now decided that he looooves hopping around the family room (adjacent to the kitchen and a few feet away from his cage. He hops around, up on the sofas, under the ottoman, on Daisy's bed, everywhere! And tonight he has, several times, turned into a rabbit blob due to ecstasy while we've been scritching his head.

We're pretty happy that he has decided to officially join the family now.

maybe...

We have been in touch with Utah Friends of Basset Hounds about this super cutie named Rudy. He's 2 years old. Here's his "bio":

I'm a sweet energetic eager-to-please boy! I love pig hooves, fetch, walking, running, and lots of play! I am great with kids and other dogs. I am very small compared to other basset hounds, but I might fill out with time. I would do best in an active home preferably with other dogs, kids, or both! I am crate trained and would thrive in a home that would maintain this practice. (If left uncrated when alone, I will make up games to play with all your stuff! I'm creative that way!) I am full of love and would be a great addition to any active family! Can I enjoy my second puppyhood with you?



We're having our "home check" this weekend to see if we are a suitable basset family, and then we'll get to meet him and see if he'd be a good fit for us. I think he's beautiful, and I do like that he is on the smaller side for a basset hound. They can get to be quite large. David's family had a basset hound named Nestle for a long time. She died a couple years ago. My brother has a basset hound named "di-oh-gee," who is about 6 1/2 years old. Unfortunately they aren't "house dog" people, so their basset lives in the backyard.

farewell to two little friends...

So in the past week we've said goodbye to two of our rats, Quito & Loki. Quito, our youngest at about 21 months -- which is still fairly old for a rat -- died rather suddenly last week. He was fine, then one day he seemed a bit sluggish but no other symptoms, and then he passed the next day. The picture is of him as a young rat. He was kind of a runt, which made him Noodle's favorite.



Loki, one of our old boys (28 months) has been losing weight for a while and then about 9 days ago got some sort of infection. We debated whether to give him a course of antibiotics, but it generally kills their appetites, and since he is so old we didn't think it would be the best choice. He was still eating (quite enthusiastically), so we just let him stay with the other two rats and gave him lots of yummy food. Today when we came home from errands, he had passed away.



So now we're down to two rats. We have Tully & Finny left. Finny is Loki's brother, so he's the same age, but he is in better shape for now. Tully is Quito's slightly older brother (by 3-4 weeks). We haven't had so few since we started keeping rats five years ago.

Farewell little guys. See you on the other side.

learn something new every day

Today I learned that, according to myth/legend/superstition, you can bury a statue of Saint Joseph aka San Jose in your yard upside down to help your house sell faster. I told this to David and he knew it already. I think it must be his Mexican half that has some sort of internal Saint dictionary.

dogs in the news

So I've loosely followed the Michael Vick dogfighting story and have been interested in the fates of the dogs who were rescued. Twenty-two of them went to Best Friends in Kanab, UT, where my niece works as a Vet Tech Assistant, and twelve (or 13?) more were taken to BAD RAP in San Francisco, CA. The stories of some of these dogs are heart wrenching. Or rather I should say the likely stories, as we'll never know for sure. But the dogs are, on the whole, doing really well and enjoying their chance at regular lives. It makes me sick to think of the people in the world who can so inhumanely brutalize animals. Right now in Utah we are trying to get a more strict animal torture bill passed. I've collected signatures and sent emails. I hope it passes this year.

The NYTimes did a front page article today about the "Viktory Dogs" at Best Friends. Check it out!

this is cool