Paw-ty

 
 
 
 

Q: What do you get when you mix 11 dogs, a fenced in yard, balloons and a birthday cake?

A: A puppy party, of course!

Today we celebrated Sadie's third birthday! Mike and Jess graciously offered their yard to be the stomping grounds for the celebration, which was a blast. We invited some dog-owner friends over and celebrated in true birthday style - complete with ballons, hot dogs, and cake! The dogs got to play and romp around the yard, they had tons of treats, and even enjoyed a peanut butter-flavored birthday cake (quite a hit with all the dogs)! There were dogs of all sizes and ages - ranging from 13 weeks to 9 years old! They all got along and it was pretty amusing to see the different antics of each dog, like the Boston Terrier who was a maniac when chasing after a sopping wet tennis ball. Then there was Maya, the smallest IG, who ran around with a pit bull mix and a mastiff mix! She was so funny! Sadie couldn't decide between visiting with her human friends or playing with the other poochies, so she toggled back and forth between both. We all had fun visiting, talking about our furry friends, and watching them play. It was definitely a fun time for all! 

My "New" Life

Sadly, my sister had to leave to fly back to New Hampshire today. We had a great time together and I sent her back with a good sunburn to show off to her friends. I'm usually pretty bummed when I have to say good-bye to family, but I've noticed that today is especially hard. I think that knowing I won't really see much of my family before we head off to Japan is taking it's toll. We are going to make a final trip up north to say our good-byes to family and friends in July. Still, knowing that we are doing that has not made this good-bye easier. I already miss them.

Now, I'm getting adjusted to my "new" life without school. Grad school has dominated my time and energy for the past year and a half. I almost don't know how to live me life without it. I'll still be working at B&N part time, but I've decided to tackle all those things I said I'd work on "when school is over" and now, that time has come. Some things on the list:
-organize an IG playdate/fundraiser (currently in the works! Woohoo!)
-organize, file, and put all photos in albums (as opposed to the usual shoebox)
-organize online/computer photos
-organize school binders & books, keep what's relevant, toss what's not

Gee, can you tell I have a thing for organization? Looking at this list, I am again reminded of how much of a dork I really am. 

Family Weekend

Just thought I'd share a few pics from the weekend with my mom and sister here. We've had a blast!


Mom with Gunnar. She's used to a docile cat back home, so having my two around were definitely a change. Gunnar gets so excited around guests and wants to be with them and kiss them over and over. Even though Mom doesn't like dog kisses, she let them get her one time before leaving.



This pic was taken in St. Augustine. We went there on Saturday for some lunch and shopping. We were going to visit the old fort, but never made it - the little shops were so inviting. We loved the ones that had back patios and gardens like this one.



Noa displays his "medal" from the marathon. I'm so proud of him - he did it in 3 hours and 45 minutes with Mike. They are such superstars.



The "Jesus van" sighted in St. Augustine. No offense to this guy, but why would you put "the Lord kills" on the back tire? That doesn't seem like a very effective method of evangelism.

Graduation Day

Yesterday was graduation day. I can finally say that I did it and that I'm a "master" of elementary education (although I still don't feel like I am). My mom was able to come down, so I had a little cheering crowd in attendance between her, Anoli, and Noa. We were blessed with a beautiful day - perfect for photos. Of course, the ceremony was your traditional graduation ceremony - kinda long and boring. We did walk across a stage to shake hands with officials I've never met and receive our empty diploma folders (that's not ready until late May). Overall, it wasn't too painful.*

After the ceremony, we raced over to Jess' house. Noa and Jess were both scheduled to fly out of Jacksonville to go to Nashville, TN for the Country Music Marathon. Originally, it was supposed to be a road trip in which the Apostles and Hammers would drive to Nashville together and spend a weekend there. The boys would run the marathon and Jess and I would be the cheering section and check out the local shopping (he he he...). However, with graduation falling on the same weekend, our plans changed. Right now, as I write this, Noa and Mike and running in the marathon, and I'm praying that all goes well for them. I'm sure I'll get a full report in a few hours.


On a completely different note, I was so busy yesterday with graduation and family that I wasn't able to blog, but yesterday was also an important day for someone else too. Traci was the birthday girl yesterday! I'm bummed that she doesn't live in Florida anymore, because I know we would have had some major celebrating going on. Well, I guess I'll have to celebrate without her, but she's definitely a major reason for celebration. Happy Birthday, Traci - hope it was a great one. Know that I'm celebrating you today - oh, and as usual, your gift is in the mail! Ha ha! Love you!







* Except for the ridiculous sleeves on the graduation gown. Come to find out, all the students receiving master's degrees wore these robes. The undergrad students had on the more tradition sleeves.

Anoli

My sister made it into town on Monday night and we've been having a blast hanging out and reminiscing about old times. She's been bonding with the furkids and they love her, especially Gunnar. Every morning he waits by her door for her to get up. We got our toes done (notice the above photo) and enjoyed some time for ourselves. In all this chaotic running around before graduation, Noa's marathon, and other things, it's nice to sit back, relax, and be pampered.




On a random note, I picked up my cap and gown yesterday and in my excitement to check it out, I noticed an unusual change in the usual graduation attire. I put on the gown and noticed that the sleeves, which I recall as normally resembling the look of a choir robe, had this long flap, instead of a wide opening that gradually comes to a point. What the heck? I think it looks dumb. The flaps look ridiculous and I feel like I have something hanging off my sleeve. As if I didn't already look ridiculous enough wearing a pointy-board hat, complete with tassel, now I have to wear this hot, scratchy gown with stupid sleeves. I thought I would feel distinguished getting my Master's Degree, but I'm feeling like the biggest dork in the room. 

Iggy Days

Thought ya'll might enjoy some photos from an all IG playdate I attended with Bettina on Sunday down in Melbourne. It was a beautiful day and it was great to catch up with friends from our little "IG Community" down here. We'll be seeing most of these people again in May for the big playdate/fundraiser. Here is a small sample of some of the IGs we got to see and play with.

Vet Rant

I took Gunnar in to the vet today to get his allergy testing done. The process is pretty simple actually. The vet draws some blood and sends it to a lab. The lab does the actual testing and then sends the results back to the vet. Here's why it wasn't such a good visit:

-The vet was unfriendly. Here's the deal with the vet: we go to a low-cost clinic that is associated with our local humane society. Since the services are a little cheaper than usual, there are some other things that are different than the average vet's office. For instance, the vets rotate - you don't necessarily get the same vet each time you go. I've liked each vet we've seen over the course of 3 years. Today's vet isn't one of the regulars - I guess he's like a substitute or moonlighting at this clinic. He was not social at all. I mean, how could you resist a cute little dog who wags his tail and gets excited when you walk into a room? This vet didn't even crack a smile.

-The vet kept discouraging us from getting the test done. Yes, the test is very expensive and follow-up vaccines can add up too, but I want to know what's causing Gunnar to be having all the symptoms he's having. I had to tell this guy numerous times that I wanted the test done. Yes, I tried medicine. Yes, I tried an elimination diet. Yes, I've done all the traditional things, so now it's time to try something else. Just let him get the test - geez!

-After Gunnar had his blood drawn, we waited in the room (felt more like a freezer) for 45 minutes. They forgot about us. I ended up going out and asking if we were okay to check out. I could barely feel my toes and Gunnar was shivering.

-The bill was more than I was quoted over the phone. Go figure.

Now I have to wait a month to find out the results. They also told me that if he needs any vaccines after the results return, in order to treat him, they would be very costly. To be honest - I don't care - whatever will make Gunns feel better. Plus, now I will know what's causing him to be itchy, sneezy, gaggy, and watery (eyes, that is) - ha ha, this makes me think of the seven dwarfs. Imagine if they were named after medical symptoms.....sneezy, itchy, runny, smelly, scabby, bloody.....I'll stop now, it's getting gross.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Countdown!

Our alarm clock is dying in a bad way. Currently, we have a back up travel clock sitting next to our regular alarm clock - just in case. Noa and I are thinking about getting one of these babies. But, we haven't commited yet. Although I love my iPod, we both hate the fact that you can only use iTunes with the iPod. Talk about a monopoly. Before I got my iPod, we had a ton of songs on our computer for our old MP3 players from Napster (we paid for these songs, by the way). Now, we have songs on both Napster and iTunes. I can only put the iTunes songs on my iPod, while Noa cannot use the songs from iTunes on his MP3 player (since it's not an iPod). It looks like France* actually understands about this whole monopoly on the file-sharing music biz. Not that that any legislation from them will change anything, but at least they are willing to try something. But, I digress....

The point is, we need to get something soon, or we may end up missing something by sleeping in late. We've got a lot going on right now and we can't afford to miss anything!


Here are the recent stats:
10 days until Noa runs the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN
9 days until my graduation from UNF
8 days until my mom (& hopefully my dad) arrives
7 days before my sister and I get to catch up on our tans**
6 days until our 1st official meeting about our upcoming international move
5 days until my sister arrives
4 days until an IG playdate (still not sure if I can go)
3 days until my last final
2 days until Noa is on call - again this week :(
1 day until Gunnar gets his allergy test

For those who don't know, my second IG, Gunnar, has had allergy symptoms for as long as we've had him. I never had him tested because I thought it was something we could just deal with. I did try to relieve his symptoms with medicine and new food, but he still sneezes all the time, has watery eyes, coughs, gags, and itches. The other day I came home and noticed that his "eye juice" (gross, I know...) was a whitish color. Not a good sign. So, he's off to the vet to find out what is going on. And I will fight this thing head on - even if it takes me getting a $400 vaccuum***.

I guess everything else is self-explanatory. Having a countdown defintely makes each day a little more exciting. I should do this more often.




*Here's a radio article about how France is trying to get legislation passed against this practice from Apple: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5293175
**Okay, so this isn't very exciting - unless you are from the cold, northern country, like my sister is!
***Check out this baby: http://www.dyson.com/range/feature_frame.asp?model=DC07-ANIMAL
Noa says I look at these things like guys look at sports cars.

Sarge-sitting & Easter Sunday

Wow - what a funny looking Easter bunny....oh, whoops, it's Sarge (nice tongue, buddy.....). Noa and I got to "Sarge-sit" on Saturday night so that Mike and Jess could have a date night. We brought Sadie and Gunnar over to play and all the dogs wore each other out. Sarge is still in the housetraining stage and needs to be monitored when he's out and about outside or in the house (he has a special potty area to use outside, so it's not a free-for-all in the yard). He also seems to be getting bigger by the moment. He won't be able to be held much longer, so hopefully, he'll get the don't-pee/poo-in-the-house concept down soon. It'll be difficult to swipe up a 40-lb dog starting to squat. Although, he is a smart little guy - he already sits for all his treats and toys and seems to be recognizing his name as well. I won't be surprised if Mike and Jess have him doing some complicated recall work soon, but first things first - get that housetraining down, Sarge!

Meanwhile, the Easter weekend is not very exciting for the Hammers. In fact, Noa is on call at the hospital today and I am home working on my final project for my ESOL class (2 weeks to go until graduation!). Since moving away from family, Easter has lost some of that family feel that it had while I was growing up. Jess and I were reminiscing about how when each of us were little, we'd get a brand new Easter dress every year. I even remember shopping for the dresses with my mom at the JCPenny factory store. They would be the girliest dresses, with flowers, bows, lace - the works. The whole outfit would be complete with new shoes and a purse. My mom must have oodles of photos from each Easter with Anoli and I standing out in the yard with our new spring dresses on. Our decked out family would head over to church and as kids we'd meet up with the other girls to admire each others dresses. Each year the church would be stocked with huge, fragrant Easter lilies and the colorful tulips. Church would always be followed by a family dinner either at our house or my grandfather's and my sister and I would anticipate some Necco candy in our near future (my grandfather used to work for the Necco candy company).

This year I met up with Mike and Jess at church - with some of my regular clothes, no Easter dress for me anymore - and we had lunch at a local pizza joint. Don't get me wrong, it was a great morning; I always treasure my time with M&J, it's just that Easter has changed over the years. I guess that someday that Easter dress-church-dinner-like holiday will return when Noa and I have children (which will be a long ways away, I might add) and I'm okay with that. Sure, I loved the dress, the candy, and all the excitement leading up to the day - it's never truly been about that and for that, I am thankful. How meaningless would Easter be if that's what it's all about year after year? Even if I am spending this year's Easter at home on the computer, writing about effective teaching methods, the significance of the day has not been lost on me. In fact, I am glad that it doesn't take a specific day for me to acknowledge the real meaning behind such a commercialized holiday. I'll always love the candy and the little girls in their froo-froo dresses, but it'll never compare to the real occasion for celebration today.

So - Happy Easter all. May the meaning behind today be real to you.


--------------------------------------Matthew 28:5-7--------------------------------------

Stone

This is "Stone" - he's not ours, actually. We are just hanging on to him until the IG playdate/fundraiser in May. He's one of the raffle items. When I put him in the office today, Gunnar didn't know what to think. So, with his ferocious little bark, he tried to scare "Stone" off. It didn't work - he's still here. Ha ha.

I know I've been lax about blogging. I have been swamped with the final papers and projects for school. These next two weeks will be so busy for me in regards to schoolwork, so blogging is low on the priority list (sorry). However, after that, my sister comes into town for a little over a week, I graduate, and Noa runs his marathon - so there's lots of blogging opportunities in the immediate future.

Vote for Blue

This cutie pictured above is Blue. Blue was turned into Chicago IG rescue with a pretty amazing story (Meet Blue) and he's kinda the new poster boy for Italian Greyhound rescue. The folks that are fostering this adorable little one have entered this photo in an online contest. The winner of the contest receives $1000.00! If Blue wins, the foster parents will donate all the money to IG rescue!

So, here's your chance to help. First, follow the link to read about Blue. Then use this link to give him top marks for this contest: Pet Med Photo Contest. Pretty simple. Oh, and I heard that the judging is not just based on the ending marks, but also the number of people voting, so I suggest not voting for other dogs, but you are free to do so if you want to.

Go Blue!! 

Stranger Danger

Yesterday, I spent a good part of the day at school, since the semester is winding down and I have a TON of work to finish up in order to graduate (yes - in 3 weeks!!). Anyway, after I had finished some computer work at the library, I headed out to the beautiful Florida sunshine to go find my friend who is working on a project with me. It was a gorgeous day - I think the temps hit 80 degrees! Anyway, as I was walking I noticed a girl walking in my direction, while talking on her cell phone. I realized that this was a friend of mine, who I had not seen since last semester, since she and I didn't have any classes together. It was kinda random to just run into her at school, since our schedules are now so different. Nonetheless, I was happy to see her. She seemed a little distracted, since she was on the phone, so I smiled and enthusiastically waved at her. I reached up to remove my sunglasses, so she sould see my face, and then I suddenly realized that she was not my friend. In fact, I didn't even know her - she simply resembled my friend from a distance. But, now I had already smiled, waved, and was looking directly at her. She continued talking on the phone, but it was obvious she saw me and she had that "where do I know her from?" look on her face. As she walked by I struggled to keep the smile on my face and decided to see what her move would be.

She looked over (while still keeping the cell phone to her face), smiled and said, "Hey! How are you?"

I enthusiastically replied, "Great! Good to see you!" as I hurried by.

Then I headed to the nearest group of bushes to hide in. I was so embarrased.

All Over Cyberspace

So, in an effort to keep in touch with my family (mostly my sister-in-laws) and re-connect with friends from grad school, college, and high school, I've jumped on the myspace.com bandwagon. No, don't worry - this blog isn't going anywhere. I prefer this site anyway - I won't be blogging on myspace. It'll mostly be for quick catch-up messages to long lost buddies. If you feel like checking it out*, here's the link: http://myspace.com/hijulie


*You have to be a member of MySpace.com to look at the page - sorry.

Better Than Ice Cream?

Yesterday, after a long, rowdy, and dirty (we were covered in dirt from head to toe!!) visit to the dog park, Jess and I decided that we all needed a cool treat. So, we headed to McD's for some vanilla ice cream. As you can see the dogs LOVED it! We all enjoyed hanging out and enjoying our extra hour of sunshine. Best of all, I think we found Sarge's new favorite treat! Just look at that face!?!

A Fuzzy Baby

Mike and Jess brought home their "baby" today. Sarge is 8 weeks old and a little furball. He runs like a bear, loves to play with his fleece rope, and is not sure what to make of Sadie and Gunnar (although he keeps trying to chew on their tails!). Here are some photos of the little cutie:

Like A Chicken with My Head Cut Off

My mom used to use the phrase, "I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off."

She knew what that looked like. I was told that my grandfather would purchase like chickens when my mom was young. He'd take them onto the porch and chop off their heads. I guess it took a little while before the body realized that the head was no longer attached and then the chicken died. Gross.

Anyway - I haven't blogged in awhile because I've been so busy with school (one month to go until I graduate!), getting the dogs ready for Japan (vaccinations, vet appointments, paperwork), and other random things (like working at the bookstore). One of the many things I have to do today is meet up with Mike and Jess later. Today is the day that they pick up Sarge - yahoo!! I can't wait to finally meet the little rascal. If you looked on their blog, you've already seen how cute he is, but I'll be sure to take some pictures tonight and post them. We're already planning our first playdate with Sarge, Sadie, and Gunnar (M & J also had a fence recently installed at their house). He's going to be their best friend. I'm excited too because when he gets bigger, he can protect them from invasive and pushy dogs at the dog park.

It's very handy having a rottweiler as your best friend.

"Kids"

May Play Day

Bettina and I are hosting this year's IG playdate/fundraiser at Dogwood Park in May. Here's the flyer we hope to be sending out this week. Sadie is on the bottom right of the picture section, running with a tennis ball in her mouth.

Technical Difficulties

Spring Break has brought on a bunch of problems in the last 48 hours. Here are a few:

1 - My cell phone is completely dead. It doesn't turn on and does not charge. It's dead as a doornail.

2 - Our fridge is on the fritz. It's decided that we prefer our milk lukewarm as opposed to cold.

3 - I spent 30 minutes on Monday typing up a huge blog entry about our trip to Orlando and when I hit the "publish" button, it disappeared. The whole thing was gone. That's why it took me so long to put that entry up. Thanks, Blogger.

4 - Sadie's digestive system is acting up. I think she ate something she shouldn't have while being boarded. I won't go into details, but let's just say that I've had to wash her bedding - twice.

And here's the worst one yet:

5 - In order to describe this last one, I have to give some background info. Back in December, I got off work early and decided to do some Christmas shopping. I hopped in my car, blasted some Christmas music and as I was cruising along, I noticed police light behind me. The cop ticketed me for speeding. Bummer - but that's history now. So, one of the options in Florida when you get a ticket is that you can pay a reduced fine and then elect to attend traffic school (I did an online course), which will erase the points off your record. My completion date for this was coming up at the end of this week, so I completed the course and went to the traffic office to hand in my completion certificate. I also brought along a letter that I had received in the mail on Monday stating that my license was going to be suspended due to not showing up for court regarding two traffic citations. First off, this didn't make any sense, since I only recieved one citation and I chose to pay the fine and go to traffic school, thus declining the court option. After waiting in the ridiculously long line at the traffic office, I explained the situation to the girl behind the desk. The rest of our conversation went something like this:

Me: So, I'm not really sure what this letter is about, since I only received one citation, paid the fine and elected to attend traffic school.
Girl: Well, this says that you have 2 citations: one for speeding and one for not having proof of insurance.
Me: What?! That's not what my citation ( I pull out my copy of the ticket) says - it's just for speeding. And I do have insurance.
Girl: (looks at my copy) This is a different citation. So, you have 3 citations. You need to take care of these other two.
Me: Whoa. Wait. I only recieved one citation and that was for speeding. I've paid for that already. I have no idea what these other 2 are.
Girl: (Prints out a copy of the other 2 citations. She hands them to me.) Is this your signature?
Me: No, my signature looks like this (I show her a copy of the signed check I sent). Yes, that's my name and address info at the top, but these are not mine. These say I have a 2006 Civic, which I don't; mine is a 2005.
Girl: (After studying the 3 citations for a few minutes) Let me go talk with my manager.

After waiting about 20 minutes, she comes back to tell me that the officer who issued my citation didn't clear my information from her computer when she pulled the next person over. So, that person was issued 2 citations with my information on them. I was cleared of these citations (thank you very much). But now, I'm nervous that some stranger has my info - thankfully my SS# wasn't included. Then, I'd have to do something drastic like change my identity.

Ugh, that would be a process......

Orlando Escape

This past weekend Mike, Jess, Noa and I traveled to Orlando to celebrate Jess' birthday. Although her birthday was technically the weekend before, we had to bump the trip to a different weekend since the three of them were running in the Gate River Run. Last year we also made a trip to Orlando for Jess' birthday and stayed at the Carib Royale. Since we liked it so much last year, we decided to stay there again. However, our first night there was quite different from our experience from last year. At 2:30 am, Mike hears a pounding on the door. Apparently, room service got mixed up on where to deliver some extra towels and decided our door would be the best guess. Then there were the calls back and forth with the front desk explaining the situation (now I'm awake from the phone ringing right next to my ear). Then, Mike has to unplug the ice machine in the hallway sine it was making enough noise to compete with a truck derby. All in all, none of us slept well.
Saturday morning the guys got up early to put in a 15-mile run. The girls decided actually relax during the weekend away (ha ha ha - just teasing Noa and Mike - they are training for a marathon, so they gotta run!) and slept in. After lunch we headed over to Islands of Adventure to brave the crowds and catch some coasters. We parked, paid for the overpriced tickets and made our way to coaster number one: The Hulk. This massive green coaster is impressive: lots of upside-down loops, the track goes under a bridge, and it's coaster in which the passengers are seated the whole time. Knowing this was the most popular ride, we decided to tackle this one first. According to the time board, the wait was about 50 minutes. It was a long wait and hot. I don't really understand why they (the people who designed this ride) would create a winding maze for people to wait in line in FLORIDA and only put fans in the outside part. Once we actually entered the building, it was so stuffy and hot and it's not even the summer yet (just a warning to anyone who goes to IOA in the summer!). Finally, we made it to the last stretch of the line and we notice that they are exiting the people off the ride - who had just been seated. A loud female voice starts to boom overhead: Attention park guests! We are experiencing technical difficulties.... They closed the ride and all of us just stood there. Of course, they won't tell us what is going on, how long the wait might be, or any other important information, so after waiting another 20 minutes, we decide to abort "The Hulk."
Realizing that we only have about 3 1/2 more hours until the park closes and can maybe get in a total of 4 more rides, we decide to try our luck at getting our money back and doing something other that spend the day at IOA. So, with some clever persuasion from Mike and Noa, we got our non-refundable tickets refunded and headed out.
For us, the day was still young, so we headed to a local mini-golf place for some friendly competition and ice cream. We took our time at each hole and took some really funny and goofy pictures along the way. I guess you can say we are all easily amused. Then we went to one of the local outlet malls where we all snagged some goodies (I got some darling Nine West shoes!). After that, it was back to Carib Royale for some hot tubbing, pizza, drinks, and games.
Sunday morning brought some pool time and sunning before we had to check out. The hotel has a beautiful pool area with a huge pool, complete with waterslide, 2 hot tubs, some canvas tents (for those who prefer shade), a bar, and a colorful parrot who hangs out with the guests. The boys decided to play the sweet cards for their waives (Jess and I) and come out with us for an afternoon of shopping. We hit a few stores at the Mall of Millenia and then Petco for some last minute things for Sarge (8 more days until he comes home!!). Overall, it was a great trip. Although the intinerary may not sound very impressive, it was a great time of hanging out together and just enjoying our time away from life in Jacksonville. I, like many, have trouble relaxing at home, since I have so many pressing things on my mind, but to go away, even just for the weekend, I feel a sense of escape from reality and all the responsibilities at home.
I picked up Sadie and Gunnar from the boarding place on Monday. I can tell they had a blast since they spent the entire day sleeping.

What a great way to begin my spring break week. If only every weekend were this much fun!

Boarding Blues

This weekend Mike, Jess, Noa, and I are headed to Orlando for the weekend to celebrate Jess' birthday. So, we have to have someone care for the dogs. Usually, I have some IG-experienced friends that can take them, but neither are available this weekend. Plan B in a situation like this is to book the dogs at a boarding facility. Thankfully we have several great boarding places in the Jacksonville area.

Yesterday afternoon I called every boarding facilty in the northeast quadrant of the state. ALL were booked!! Panic crept in as I crossed the names off the list and time was running out (I had to go to class). The only other option would be to book the dogs at a facility that outside of the Jacksonville area, such as a place on the way to Orlando. That way, we could drop the dogs off on our trip down there. After getting the OK from the crew, I did just that. The ironic (I think, I never really understand irony, Noa always has to help me figure out if something is just funny or ironic) thing is that while I was placing their reservation at a facility about 2 hours away from here, my phone was beeping with another caller. Since this was during my class break and I was taking long-distance, I ignored the beep. After class I check my messages, only to hear that one of the boarding places was calling me back saying they could fit Sadie and Gunnar in. Ugh....

All is well this morning. I cancelled their reservation at the facility far away and booked them at the local place. Now, I have to gather all their paperwork , food, etc. I get so nervous and worked up when I leave them somewhere. I'm sure it's a familiar feeling that parents get when they leave their kids at school for the first time. I know they'll love it (playtime every 2 hours!!), but it's hard to hand your "babies" over to someone else. I guess it's a vacation for them too. Besides, you know they'll be spoiled once the workers there are charmed by Gunnar's playfulness and Sadie's kisses. I'll probably have to bribe them to come home with me on Monday.

Animal Crackers

Here are some photos from Sunday's visit to the zoo with Noa's sisters, Amy & Anya, our nephew, Matthew, and Mike & Jess. It was a beautiful and warm day - perfect for the zoo. Some of the days' favorites were the jaguars, leopard, squirrel monkeys, lemurs, and an animal called a capybara (which I later found out is actually the world's largest rodent!!).

I also had the opportunity to go with Mike and Jess to visit a rottie breeder near Gainesville. I went along to be the "outside opinion" who can look at the puppies, dogs, and breeder without the emotional tie to the puppies. Frankly, I was impressed. The puppies were adorable, of course, but I was really interested in the breeder's older dogs, who were just great. The dam, Jane, was super friendly and affectionate, as were her pups. The breeder was very informative and I liked his perspective and attitude toward the breed. So it has been decided that in a couple of weeks, the Apostles will be picking out one of the little furballs to call their own. I'll be anxously awaiting that day and until then, I'm reading up all I can on rotties and puppy care. I gotta be ready since I will, afterall, be the dog's aunt; actually, I'll be the dog's favorite aunt.