Why I LOVE my dog

1.) He is cute

2.) He is a good cuddler

3.) He smiles!

4.) He is klutzy- constantly running into things, bull in a china shop style.

5.) He thinks the coffee table is a bridge for his personal use.

6.) He thinks our things are his personal chew toys- nothing is safe, not even the tv remote. Still hate him for that- the tv is stuck on golf.

7.) He is afraid of things, specifically the dark and things in the dark. A flip flop fell from my shoe basket and was laying on the stairs, you would have thought it was an anaconda the way he reacted to it.

8.) He can catch food when you throw it to him (finally) it only took 3 months of cheese landing on and sticking to his head before he figured it out.

9.) He motivates me to run every day since he's less of a peckerhead when he's worn out. (see fitness report below)

10.) He likes to swim.

11.) He makes me laugh.

12.) He pukes when we go on rides, but likes getting in the car because the car takes him to Grandma's house and Grandma gives him graham crackers.

13.) He jumps and smiles and generally goes bananas when he sees his leash.

14.) He "yips" in his sleep and its really cute

15.) He thinks our picnic table is his own personal mountain to climb on

16.) When he's bored, he chases his tail- sometimes he falls down.

17.) He will, without hesitation, eat anything remotely consumable- and somethings that aren't.

18.) He is a 50 pound lap dog

19.) He looks so pathetic when he's laying on his bed and his bone rolls off, just out of reach.

20.) He loves me like crazy

The first pic, he was sleeping on my leg- the flash woke him up. The second was his assent to the top of Mt. Picnic. The third is a pic Bubble Gum took of him sleeping on her and D-Man... it was too funny not to post. Sorry they're dark, all from cell cameras!

Fitness Report: I'm going to start adding these to the bottoms of my blogs, mainly for my personal records. I had a skinny summer 2 summers ago and I want another one! I went to Illinois over Labor Day weekend that skinny summer to visit a friend from college and I wanted to look good- so I stopped eating fried stuff and started running. The only regrets I have about that weekend are 1.) I didn't take my running shoes and 2.) all we did was sit around watching House and eating naTOTsos- nachos except instead of chips they had tatertots. Amazing.

Anyhoo my bff Darla and I are 'training' for a 5k. She's got this training guide that's supposed to take you from couch potato to 5k in a few weeks. She's doing it right, I'm just kinda winging it. Here's been my week so far:

Sunday- Floyd and I ran to the pit, through the pit (off roadin!), then walked home. 1 mile

Monday- Ran to the neighbors pit, up our hill, down to our pit and back. 1 mile

Tuesday- Ran up the hill, past our pit, to the end of the road and back (my old route) 1 mile

Wednesday- Ran to the neighbors pit w/ Floyd, dropped him off, walked to our pit with Jena, swam one down, one back, walked back. Ran/walked 1 mile, swam quite a freakin bit (I was in bed by 8:30).

Thursday- Ran to the neighbors pit, doubled back past my house, down to past our pit, to the end of the road and back home 1.5 miles!

I wake up every day, look in the mirror and am disappointed because I'm not skinny yet. One day. Then I'm puttin that "Skinny Bitches Only" sign at the pit!

No Skinny Bitches Allowed

That's the sign we're going to make to take with us to the pit. Then if some miracle happens and we all get skinny, it's going to say "Only Skinny Bitches Allowed."

Today was Sunday, and it was cloudy and crappy and kinda rainy- until about 4:30- then it was beautiful. Which was great and all, but I'm really looking for hot and sunny before 11 am. Since the summer of 2004, we have spent hot, sunny Sundays at the pit in the summer. I don't know why we waited until '04- I guess things just never lined up before then. See Bro had just started working at the pit, and all of our friends were on a co-ed, adult softball team and we played on Sundays. After a particularly hot game Bro said, lets go to the pit, jump in and cool off. It quickly became our routine. We all bought pool floats and would just float and relax- when we weren't jumping off the 8' bank trying to make the biggest splashes. We also used to dive down to the bottom and try to bring up the biggest rock. We quit playing that game when our friend, Blondie, threw a particularly large rock back into the water, not realizing I was still under. Luckily it missed me- but everyone was pretty sure I'd be getting coloring books for Christmas for the rest of my life if it had hit me- so we quit that game.

There are quite a few ponds at the pit- I mean, they dig in the sand and the water table is pretty high around here, so eventually the holes fill up with clean, clear water. The water is filtered through the sand and gravel making it super clear. You can see your toes as far down as you can stretch them. Where we float there are two ponds side by side. We used to go in the front pond because it has easier access- but then we started the jumping thing, so we switched to the bottom pond because it had higher more sheer banks. Now we stick to the bottom pond because it's bigger.

Here's how a normal Sunday in the summer goes. I wake up, shave if boys are coming-otherwise I yam what I yam, slather on spf 15 or higher (these days its 30) put on a suit, put on some shorts, pack a cooler with beer, water, snackies, slip on my flip flops, grab my towel and head for my car where I keep my blown up raft in the back seat all summer long. I drive the 1/2 mile to the pit, open the gate and head down the hill. Park, get out my raft, flip flops and shorts come off, I put tanning oil on over the sun screen, wait until I'm good and hot then wrestle with my raft until I'm comfortable, re-arrange suit straps for ultimate sun tan experience, exhale and relax. To me, it's paradise.

Over the years we've formed our own little float-illa of friends and family. So sometimes its a surprise to see who shows up, but its always a good time. We tailgate with snacks and stuff, sometimes we'll bring a grill down or other times we'll head back to our house for a cook out. Sometimes it's a 'recovery' day so it's quiet and peaceful. Other times it's a free for all, jumping, laughing, yelling, splashing, mud wrestling, swimming races, sand dune challenges... Yes I said mud wrestling.

Our sand and gravel is washed- so the excess water that comes off the plant where they wash the sand and gravel forms a little gully, or wash, that flows out into the pond. The little 'canyon' that formed is actually our entrance point to the pond. Well one day, only my best friends from college, Darla, Lenny and Sneaky (it's always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for!) were the only ones going to the pit. Bro and his friends had something going, so they weren't coming. Well we decided to go on a little 'field trip' and follow the water to see where it came from. What we found was an amazing little gully full of thick, cool mud. So of course, one thing leads to another and someone got stiff armed into the mud. Besides being good 'clean' fun, it also kept the bugs off. We were probably gone for a half an hour or more, just horsing around. We had also found some blue clay, so of course we were drawing all over each other with it. Finally we were hungry or tired or something, so we headed back to the pond to rinse off. As we came to the edge of the pond I see Bro and about 7 of his friends on the far bank looking at us. I hear echoing over the water, "I didn't know Erin had black friends."

That was just one fun experience we've had- I can't even begin to try telling all the stories that have happened at the pit- some of them I'm not even allowed to tell, they're classified.

There's just something almost magical about being there. It's not so much the physical location, or who you're with or what you're doing- relaxing and enjoying the day- but a strange combination of all three. I can't describe it better than that. The only other thing I can say is sunny Sundays through September, we'll be on the water after noon- come on out and see for yourself.

Heart sick

Normally I'm all funny funny, jokey jokey. But today is not one of those days. I've been following the brave journey of Abby Sunderland since the 16 year old decided to try to circumnavigate the world a few months ago. This morning Abby manually activated her EPIRB satellite positioning device indicating she was in need of rescue. EPIRB's go off 1 of 2 ways; when they are submersed in water, or when manually activated. So if her ship sank, the EPIRB would go off automatically when it hit the water- an amazing safety feature if the sailor is incapable of setting it off manually. She is in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The nearest ship with the nearest help was 400 miles away. Since Abby set the EPIRB off manually, that's actually a good sign- she had the fortitude and the capabilities to activate the device herself. But as of 9:30 tonight, no one has gotten to her yet. She is just a girl, alone, lost in the ocean.

What upset me so much about the whole situation were the comments some "people" are leaving on the news sites reporting Abby's distress. I put people in quotations because in my mind, they aren't acting like humans, more like ignorant, evil, barbarians. For the most part, they are saying things like "stupid girl," "stupid parents," "stupid government," not sure exactly how the government got involved- but ok. The one that got me, really took my breath away at the absolute awfulness was someone said they hoped Abby was "kidnapped and brutally raped by Somali pirates."

This girl was living out her dream! Her parents helped her the best they could by preparing her and supporting her. Their older son had successfully completed the trip when he was a teenager. And honestly, they only would have been able to hold her back another two years, at 18 she would have done it with our without her parents blessing (at least I would have.) Abby is a hero, she took the initiative to fulfill a dream, follow in her brothers footsteps AND become one of- if not the youngest- females to circumnavigate the world. Not many people can say they've ever done that, had a dream or a lofty goal and actually followed through with it. If the absolute worst happens and she doesn't make it, at least those that know her can take comfort in the knowledge that she died doing what she loved and while trying to accomplish something few ever have. If she survives, and God willing, she will- I would be willing to bet this young lady tries her quest again in the future.

I know how difficult it is for me, a complete stranger who has only read about Abby thanks to Yahoo News, to read of her distress. I could not even begin to imagine what is running through the minds of her family or friends. Or of Abby herself. I don't know what's happening in the Indian Ocean right now, all I know is my thoughts and prayers are with Abby and her family tonight.

Bizzaro!

Ever have one of those days where you're talking about someone and they suddenly call you? Or you think man, I could really go for a peach milk shake and peach is the special shake flavor of the day at the local ice cream shop? I have a friend who has a friend who calls that a "Cosmic Coincidence." They happen to me often.

About a year ago, I was talking with my co-workers about death and dying. My question was, who was the first person to die? And what did his/her people do with him/her? When did we start burying our dead? Who came up with that crazy idea? I just kept asking unanswerable questions. Finally I gave up, we didn't know. Not twenty minutes later, the phone rang. I picked up the cordless phone and read the caller I.D. readout- it said "Saint Peter." It was actually a Catholic church, Saints Peter & Paul, but I did not answer that call. No way, no how. I wasn't ready to meet Saint Peter.

That was a good one, but it was a while ago- I've actually had two other Cosmic Coincidences in the last 24 hours.

The first was yesterday. Since I'm in a bathing suit so much of the summer (last summer excluded because it SUCKED) I generally try to buy nice suits. I also wear the same suit for like 7 years because 1.) I love it and 2.) I paid too much for it. My boss Mary (her name's not really Mary, she just tells sales people who call and annoy her that her name's Mary after she's rude to them. It's pretty funny actually), brought a catalog to work so my co-worker Victoria could check it out. (She's not really Victoria either- Victoria is a girl that sent me a really good resume, so we tease our girl when she screws up 'Victoria wouldn't have done that.' Conversely, when she does something really well, we say 'good thing Victoria wasn't here, we'd still be screwed!') So anyway, Mary brought Victoria a catalog. I found a suit I wanted. It was way too expensive, but I really wanted it. Mary mentioned the website often has sales, so to check it regularly. I wanted to look last night but could not, for the life of me, remember the name of the company.

I came up with Sag Harbor, Newport News, L.L. Bean... but I knew those weren't the one I was looking for. So I gave up and was sitting on my couch, cuddling with Floyd, trying not to remember. Because when you try to remember you never can, right? So I had the guide up on the tv and was searching for something decent to watch when I saw "The Birds 2: something something." I was mildly intrigued, I never knew they made a sequel to "The Birds." So I looked back and actually read the title- it was "The Birds 2: Land's End." Holy Crap, Land's End was the name of the company I had been trying to think of for the past half an hour! WHAT ARE THE FREAKIN ODDS?!

So that happened yesterday... then today! Today was a weird day at work, we had a lot of foot traffic at the shop. Some days it's all phone, some days it's actually quiet and we get shit done, other days there's a yahoo coming in the door every other second. Today was a yahoo day. We have a bunch of windows in the front of the shop so we watch people pull in and try to figure out who they are before they even get out of their car. That way 1.) we can have their stuff ready, 2.) we can pretend we've got their stuff ready or 3.) one or more of us can run and hide. I'm mostly kidding about that last one. Mostly. So this dude in a mini van with New York plates pulls in and he's rummaging around in the back of the van for like 10 minutes before he comes into the shop, Mary's husband J.J. (again, not his name- but dude loves Jimmy Johns subs, and we talked about it today) said "It's probably someone selling steaks out of the back of their car."

Actually it was a salesman who had a meeting scheduled for tomorrow but was in town today, so he stopped out. As the real salesman was finishing up his meeting with J.J., an old dude walked in the door with a red polo shirt on and asked me, "Is anyone here in need of some good meat? I've got some great steaks available." We all kind of looked at each other then I said, "Nope I think we're good." He shrugged then turned and left. I looked at them and said "Did that really just happen?"

No really, did that just happen?

Karma

Have you ever gotten that sick feeling when you've lost something you can't afford to replace? Definitely had that this weekend. Let me set the scene- I was visiting my engaged friends Bubble Gum and D-Man at their camper. Apparently the thing to do is go racing around in golf carts in the "Back 40" some uncleared land behind the campground. So here we were, it's dark, we're the only ones in the Back 40, there's a storm coming up- wind, lightning, the whole works- and I realize I had lost something. Yeah, D-Man and I lost Bubble Gum.

Now I've known Bubble Gum since high school- we figure we met New Years Eve 2001. Since then we've had our ups, downs and all arounds but here we are, almost 10 years later still friends. I'm even going to be a bridesmaid in the wedding. Or at least I was until the debacle this weekend!

So here's what happened- we had gone out in the golf cart earlier in the evening and all was fine. We went back to the camper, got a few snacks then chilled by their neighbors bonfire until it got dark. Once it was dark, we headed toward the Back 40. One of the last camp sites before the Back 40 belongs to D-Man & Bubble Gum's friends, so we stopped to chat for a few minutes before heading out again.

We had no sooner gotten in the golf cart to leave when Bubble Gum told us she had to pee. So we went til we were out of sight of the campers and D-Man stopped. Bubble Gum got off the back of the golf cart and began walking and singing her way down the trail to pee in privacy. She'd gone about 15 feet when I turned to D-Man and said "Lets leave her!" We were going to pull up the trail a few feet, have a good chuckle then swing back to get her. You know what they say about the best laid plans... well this one wasn't well laid at all.

We waited until she stopped before we took off, what we couldn't see though was the big mud puddle just ahead of our headlights. If D-Man had stopped we would have gotten stuck, so we powered through. Then there was another puddle, we made it through that one too. Then there was the mother ship of all mud puddles. We didn't make it through that one. We looked at each other and both said "Karma!" By this time I know Bubble Gum is PISSED so I jump off the golf cart and start pushing, yelling at D-Man to "Floor it!" I sank up to my ankles in swampy sewage-y smelling mud, I banged my head when I jumped back on the golf cart and I was pretty sure I was going to be out of the wedding at this point. Little did I know, it hadn't even gotten good yet.

We circle around back to where we had left Bubble Gum and WE CAN'T FIND HER. We had an Oh Shit Moment before we both started frantically yelling her name. After about 5 minutes of driving around, searching, yelling and still no Bubble Gum we decided to head back to their friend campsite 1.) to see if she was there and 2.) to recruit help if need be. When we pulled up she wasn't there, they said they hadn't seen her, the wished us luck and kept drinking beer by the fire. I was like "hey, thanks for all your help!" So the search continued. Neither of us had our phones, we didn't want to lose something that important in the Back 40. Huh, imagine that.

So at this point, I'm getting really worried. We see headlights coming up to us, one of their friends Uncle Jimmy came out to help with the search. Uncle Jimmy had his phone, so D-Man used it to call Bubble Gum... no answer. We both drive around for another minute or so when I start thinking like Bubble Gum. Love the girl to death, but she's a little on the sneaky side. So I told D-Man to drop me off at the edge of the woods, I was going to run down to the campsite and see if Bubble Gum was hiding out. He was going to circle around then come get me and keep searching if she wasn't. So here I am sneaking through the woods in my stinking, muddy, squishy tennis shoes trying to find my lost friend. I walk out of the woods, across a little clearing and down the hill to the camp site when I see the little jerk face put her beer down, jump out of a chair and run behind the camper.

She had been there the whole time. Apparently when we took off she fell over, in the mud. Her exact words were "I saw red!" That means we were in big BIG trouble. Then she RAN through the woods to the campsite. Uncle Jimmy was in on it the whole time. He just came out to laugh at D-Man and I. When he saw me jump off the golf cart, he turned his lights off and followed me. So about the time I was approaching the campsite, he was behind me flashing his lights warning Bubble Gum that we were coming.

So I hitch a ride with Uncle Jimmy and we head out to the Back 40 to find D-Man. When we get back to the campsite, everyone's laughing, but Bubble Gum still hadn't come out of hiding. Then we heard the golf cart start up. D-Man had left the keys in it, so Bubble Gum jumped on and took off- leaving us, oh about half a mile from their camper. As she pulled away, her brown hair flowing in the wind, her evil cackling laugh echoed back to us. We were screwed. And I was definitely out of the wedding.

So what started out as an innocent little prank went horribly wrong. Turned out the joke was on us the whole time. Uncle Jimmy let us hitch a ride to the other side of the park when he realized we were going to hoof it. We ended up finding Bubble Gum hanging out at another friends bonfire about halfway back to their camper. We laughed, we cried, eventually we made up. I'm back in the wedding at least, but I'm pretty sure she's sticking me with the short groomsman.

So the morals of the story are 1.) don't leave your friend in the middle of the woods and 2.) don't ever underestimate the sneaky-ness of a pissed off girl with a muddy butt.

Tick Magnet

Until we had Floyd, I had never even seen a tick. I mean I knew what it was as soon as I saw one- but I'd never had an up close and personal encounter with a tick before ol F-Bomb. Now it's an almost daily occurrence.

Last summer the boys went through a paintball kick. They would go in the Christmas tree field behind our place and play for hours. I would sit on my back porch with a book and a glass of wine and laugh at the girlie shrieks and cries of pain echoing out of the woods "OWWWWWWWWWW!" "Dammit!" "Enough already!" Hilarious. Eventually they would all wander out of the woods, hot, sweaty and covered in paint. One evening, I finished my wine and decided to swing by the garage to say hello and make fun of them for being pansy's and yelling "ow" so many times. What I saw however, was a bunch of half naked men picking ticks off each other. These were kids I'd known practically forever so there wasn't much embarrassment about me seeing them in their under-roos. Then one of the boneheads asked why I didn't play. My answer? "Who's going to pick ticks off me?" Yeah, still haven't played paintball.

So last night I fell asleep with the door for my room open. I woke up to the sound of someone or something in my room. I sat up super fast, ready for anything. All I succeeded in doing was scaring the crap out of my poor dog who just wanted to come cuddle with me. Well this morning I woke up with an itch on my belly. Half asleep I rolled over just enough to scratch it. It was a FREAKING TICK crawling on me. Can you tell me a worse way to wake up in the morning than by finding a tick on you? Yeah, there aren't many. My friend Lenny is a vet tech and says this is just a really bad year for ticks.

Well, her name isn't really Lenny. I just call her that after the character from Of Mice and Men. You know, the one that kills the mouse, the puppy and the woman because they are so soft and he just loves them too much? Yeah. We also have a friend I call Darla from Finding Nemo- the girl who was so excited to have a fish she shakes the hell out of the bag yelling "FISHY FISHY FISHY" and eventually kills the fish? Yup, those'r my friends.

So anyway, thanks to my Tick Magnet, I've gotten more intimate knowledge of ticks than I ever wanted or needed. Hands down, the worst part of owning a dog is picking ticks off him. The best part of owning a dog is my brother is also half owner- so I make him pick the ticks off. Its good for him, builds character.