No more lady parts for Lola

Now I don't want to be one of those moms who only talks about their chil....I mean dog. But I'm still adjusting to the all consuming aspect of thinking about another being besides myself, so you'll have to bear with me for awhile. As we speak, Miss Lola is at the vet recovering from the removal of her lady parts. Knowing that I can't bathe or groom her for at least 2 weeks, it was bath time Sunday night. You'll notice she looks kinda mad at me below. While I was there dropping her off, I asked the vet tech if this would cut down on the amount she humps things, legs, other dogs, etc, and she said, "well it depends. If its a dominance thing, then probably no."

Well of course its a dominance thing. I somehow ended up with the dog who wants to control the world. Why else would girlie dogs do it? Its not anatomically correct, so it can't be instinct. We had a playdate with 2 other dog friends on Saturday (yes, my main goal in life now is to exhaust my dog) and most of our time was spent pulling Lola off of her friends.

hahahaha

Escape Artist

pretty self explanatory.

graduation from puppy kindergarten

I don't know how it happened, but despite my most firm determination to have the most well behaved puppy in the world, I somehow have quite possibly the naughtiest, sassiest dog in the world. I keep hearing these stories of people who love the challenge of a strong willed dog. Who are these people, and why do they feel this way?! Lola and I just finished the 8 week puppy class at Pet Smart. Lola knows every command. Every one. Smart as a whip and when she feels like it, obeys like she's supposed to. And she has been socialized almost daily with other dogs and people since she was 8 weeks 4 days (Oh yes, I know to the day). And yet why is it that every dog in the neighborhood is mild mannered and polite and I have the tornado of the townhouse complex?

Our trainer said to me, "Oh I love dogs with attitude. Lola is hilarious." Well I told Sarah she was welcome to come live here, because Lola worships the ground she walks on. Lola sits at Sarah's feet the entire class and gazes adoringly up at her while she talks. Sarah says she has that effect on all dogs because she's the fun treat lady, but no other dogs hang on her every word like Lola.

She is 5 months. 5 months. Just 5 months, Whitney. It will get better.

baby Lola

I didn't even have the motivation to go find a camera when when she first came home, so all her "baby pictures" are with my cell phone. woops. :o) No mother awards there, huh.

Introducing Lola

This is Lola. Lola is my new cockapoo (cocker spaniel/poodle) baby. She is now 5 months. I have actually had Lola for 3 months now, and probably should have introduced ages ago, but frankly, I was a little worried about my ability to handle a puppy. And actually, I was pretty much right. I'd also like to take a quick moment for a psa and say I do not recommend bringing home an 8 week puppy. Anything older than 8 weeks. ANYTHING.

But anyway, its time to show her off a little. This is after her 1st haircut, hee hee. Couldn't resist taking pics with BOWS in her hair.

with her octopus

not chewing on the toys, but on the box that *holds* the toys.

Our first private party

So on Monday March 31st, Roxi and I drove up to Jewell, Iowa, the lovely hometown of Megan and Taylor. We were going to play at the Jewell Country Club Saturday April 5th, and this was our first party where we had to bring in and set up all our equipment. Because of that, we decided to meet the Monday prior to do a test run. This first picture is from the front seat of my car towards the back. We managed to pack my beautiful little Yaris FULL of equipment. Go Yaris.

Here is Megan and Taylor's practice area. Its actually a garage, but they have it all set up with equipment and furniture, which makes it a cool little practice hangout.

And here is one of the pictures we took of the wires. It took so long to figure it out we needed clear documentation, ha.

pics from March

Dane, Tim and me:

This one's funny enough I felt it was worth posting. Keely, Lacey and Chelsea:

Emerson Drive concert

I look a little tired here because I was at the end of a nasty nasty bug. But it was so worth seeing these guys. A) They're beautiful, B) They're amazing, C) we got to stand backstage thanks to Keely's friend. And had we not left after the concert, we could have hung out with them afterwards in their bus with Keely's friends. Talk about kicking ourselves!!!

Thursdays with Oliver

Thursdays are the highlight of my week these days, because Oliver comes to Ankeny and spends the day with me. I wasn't going to get him this week because my mom is not teaching (and therefore did not need my babysitting services); however, she was feeling generous and decided to send him in anyway with my dad to surprise me. The below picture says it all I think.

SATC the movie

ahhh my guilty, guilty pleasure.....

hee hee

DOG DIARY

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!

9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!

7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with my people! My favorite thing!

11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!


CAT DIARY

Day 983 of my captivity.

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Bastards! There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage. Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.

For now...

Our first weekend at the bistro

Whew! We made it. And we are done with firsts for awhile, so I will turn my blogging attention to something else now. :o) All in all though it was an absolute ball. Here are some pics from Saturday night.

We have: Andy, Keely and Dane:

Tim and me,

Lacey, Tim and me involved in what looks to be a rather odd conversation.

looking for laptop recommendations

So if I may, I will continue my computer saga for a bit longer. Last Friday I picked up an almost fully functioning laptop. They restored all of my information and reinstalled any lost programs. They did notice that my optical drive (I think that's the part that reads CDs or DVD's) was acting fussy, but they had successfully used it to reinstall stuff so it should be okay. Got home, spent some time on my laptop, all was good. Tried to import a CD into itunes and was not able to get it to work, so I started wondering if I now needed to get a stupid new optical drive. Well, there is one way to get around a simple repair like that. And that is to create the need for a bigger repair. Which is what I did the very. next. morning, when the laptop crashed to the floor (hard, laminate floor) from a high bar stool. Needless to say, it doesn't work at all now.

Oh and my tivo broke too. So they're sending me (i.e. I am paying for) a new one. WHAT are the chances?!?!?

pics from Thursday night

so here we are before our first night as a trio:

sis and me:

Roxi and Megan:

deep in thought apparently:

the leaning tower of Whitney, along with Dane and Lacey:

the news is in....

and it's not good. For anyone who is feeling sympathy to spare, send it my way would ya. Found out that I need a new hard drive and operating system on the laptop. Less than 2 years old. 2 years!!! I decided to bite the bullet and have it repaired though because the cost is less than a new laptop, and according to the computer doctor, it will run better than new. And they were able to recover 16 gigs worth of files. No way of telling which files of course. That's helpful. Makes me think of some sort of twisted game show. Guess which files I still have and which are lost forever?!? In other news, I forgot my camera Thursday and am waiting for some pics, but all in all, the evening was a success. This week all 3 of us will be there, so that should be fun too.

And while I have your attention, I have another thing on my mind. What is with the Weight Watchers Carrot Cake deals worth 1 point?! I was feeling especially carb binge-y the other day and was wandering the pastry section of Target. Came away with a big plastic tub of gingerbread cookies and then started feeling guilty so I picked up a Weight Watchers dessert right next to it. I love how they have them next to each other. Who wants a Weight Watchers dessert when 4 rows of real desserts are right there? Well me obviously because I did come away with some carrot cake. Now I don't do Weight Watchers, but crimeny....of course they're one point. They're one bite. So I had 4 or 5 points worth of carrot cake tonight. I lost track somewhere after 3.

hmmm

So I bought a flash drive for the first time ever, in an attempt to start thinking about backing up my laptop. First time I'd *ever* intended to back up. Seriously, I was so proud. Anyway, so get this.... later that day, I got a suspicious message saying I had an infected file. Then the next morning, I got a message about having a corrupt user profile or something, and I could not log on. Could that be any more ironic?!? And do you think I had backed up before that happened? Of course not, I was too busy shopping online. So my laptop is at the computer doctor now and I am just waiting for the diagnosis. sigh. In other news, it is the start of Thursdays nights with 'the ladyfingers', and Megan and I are gearing up for our show tonight! Roxi is out of town, so its just the 2 of us for this show. Will be back with an update after its over. I've been singing all the live long day, so I am now being silent and drinking my 'throat coat' tea. (best stuff ever)

Otherwise, I have attached some random pics of Megan's birthday, and the shot we may use for our promo poster.