An Eventful Saturday

This morning was full of fun events! Woke up to see a text message that my brother sent at midnight, letting us know they were at the hospital waiting for their first born to make an appearance.

I told them we could help out by going to get their dog, Jackson, and bringing him with us to Jesse's trail race, since they had no idea when they would be able to let the little guy out to pee or get some exercise. So, we got our own dogs loaded, picked up Jackson, and headed toward the race.

About ten miles into the drive we heard a loud pop. Two minutes later we were on the side of the road with a flat tire. Of course, we were already running slightly behind schedule since we made the extra stop to get Jackson. None the less, my trusty handyman had the SUV well stocked for a situation just like this, and within 10 minutes, the spare tire was on and we were back in action.

Got to the race just in time and Jesse and Monkey (who was in bib complete with her own time chip) ran down to the start line. The siren sounded before I made it to the start line with Horton and Jackson to see off the runners. Oh well, Horton was looking so handsome in his backpack, I was probably just being distracted by his cuteness.

I spent the next hour and a half walking around the park with Horton and Jackson while we waited for Jesse and Monks to near the finish line. Jesse will probably blog about this, but the trail was incredibly muddy, so I think everyone's times were a bit slower than anticipated. People were coming out with their lower half completely caked in mud. It was awesome. (Though Monkey needs a very serious bath now.) I tried to get a self-photo of Horton, Jackson and I waiting, but Jackson was a) too small, b) too fast and c) too squirmy to make it in any of the shots without just looking like a gray ball of blur. I did get this one of little bud and I that I really like though.


Anyway, we watched Jesse and Monkey cross the finish line, but unfortunately weren't able to stick around terribly long since Jesse still had to make it to work on time. He basically had time to collect his race loot and leave. This photo actually makes he and Monkey look pretty clean, but I can assure you, our floors tell a different story. =) (By the way, look how buff Jesse's calves have gotten.)


Back home, Jesse showered while I made his lunch, then out the door to work he went! After that, I headed over to the hospital to meet my niece, Jada Elsie. She peacefully snoozed away, so I held her until my arm fell asleep. I was silly enough to leave my camera in the car, so I have no non-grainy photos to show. But, rest assured, she's a cutie pie!


All in all, a good day! When I was out walking around the park with Horton and Jackson I was thinking about how I wish I could start every day with a long walk in the woods. Plus, anytime someone comes home covered in mud, that automatically means you must have done something fun. =)

Good ol' Ralph

Came across this today and liked it -

To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; this is to have succeeded. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thirty!!

My favorite person ever turns 30 today!!! In honor of this, I give you my top thirty favorite Jesse memories/moments/admiration (in no particular order):

1. The way he told me he liked me, after having spent a looong day together. And I quote: I don't know about you, but I've never been able to spend 12 hours straight with just one person and not get REALLY annoyed.

2. Going to visit Jesse for the first time in Canada, and the way all the trees were in bloom in his mom's neighborhood. She has the prettiest trees ever!

3. Also on my first visit to Alberta, I had showered and gotten all ready for bed, and when I came out of the bathroom, I saw Jesse laying in his pj's snuggled up with Odie (his dog) waiting to say good night to me. I remember thinking at that moment that I had found the guy for me. (PJ's and a dog - does it get better!?)

4. I promised to never reveal this full story, but it involves eggs and our Dodge Aries in Texas. Makes me laugh every time I remember it.

5. The way he makes sure our dogs get a walk every single day, rain or shine.

6. The book/journal he kept for me while he was in Guatemala with Mercy Ships.

7. Valentine's Day when we were engaged - Jesse fell asleep while we watched the Wedding Singer, then woke up right after I turned the vcr off. Very angry, with sleepy eyes still half glazed, the conversation went like this:
J (very distraught): Are you going to let it run or shut it off!?
N: I turned it off.
J (even more upset): Are you going to let it run or SHUT IT OFF?
N (starting to laugh because he was making no sense): You're still sleepy, huh?
J: Big, heavy, frustrated sigh.
N (laughing): I don't know what you mean.
J (furrowed brows and declarative voice): YOU MUST BE TIRED!

8. The way he has a special chocolate chip cookie recipe, has memorized the cookbook page, and noted "good" on it.

9. Going to the Loose Moose when we were dating.

10. The first time Jesse showed me photos of his nephew, Trae. He was SO proud and could not wait to meet him in person. (We were in Kona when Trae was born).

11. How cute and fun he is on rides at Disney World. (In fact, I could probably throw every Disney memory of Jesse on my list of favorites.)

12. One trip back down from Canada, the border people took away our grapes. For the next three hours, I got to listen to Jesse sing a song about it. The best part? It was to the theme of Marcy Playground's "Sex and Candy".

13. Watching him open U2 tickets on his birthday.

14. The way he can fix anything without being shown how.

15. Getting to see him cross the line at his first marathon.

16. Upon hearing his first-born niece crying in the middle of the night a few months after she was born, Jesse wanted to comfort her. Yet, he has an I don't pick up babies rule. Sooooo....the obvious choice was for him to stick his pointer finger out, dangle it above her within arm's reach, and gently coo "It's okay, Hallie. It's okay."

17. Watching him ice skate or rollerblade. Gets me every time. He is so stinking good at it!

18. A nameless Colorado Sunday afternoon in our apartment. All I really remember is staring at our curtains while we were talking and laughing and thinking that it was a perfect moment/day.

19. The way he can think so critically and analytically; seeing every single angle of any debate and being able to find logic to back it up from any side.

20. The way he lets me decorate our house however I want. (And the way he repainted our living room all by himself as a surprise for me when I changed my mind about the color.)

21. The first day we spent with each of our dogs. For Horton, it was love at first sight, as he laid across Jesse and "claimed him". We felt like a family after getting Horton. For Abe, it was giving him Milk Bones at the Humane Society, introducing he and Horton, and gasping in awe as we brought him into our house and realized he was a BIG dog. And for Monkey it was a simple declaration from Jesse to me over the phone: "I have a dog and it's coming home with me."

22. The first meal he ever cooked for me - honey chicken. It was burned so bad, the pan was black, the condo smelled like smoke, and the chicken was nearly inedible. To this day, I remember it as a perfect meal.

23. The mental image of Jesse driving the Daytona from Denver to Fort Collins loaded down with 500 square foot of wooden floor planks.

24. Jesse introducing me to the wonders of Ikea.

25. The way he thinks all of my artwork is good, even when it's really not.

26. The way he thinks all of my cooking is good, even when it's really not.

27. The first time we met, he declared to me I don't care what you think of me. Three weeks from now I'll never see you again for the rest of my life!

28. The way he is compelled to put every food item in the freezer. I don't get it, but this is the way of Jesse.

29. Sitting on the King Kam stage late at night in Kona.

30. The way he has been willing to be adventurous with me, to move for silly dreams, to drive hours upon hours in a car with no a/c in the middle of summer, (or one with no heater in the middle of winter in Canada), and to explore all that life has to offer.

Cheers to the Birthday Boy!!

Book Review

I started reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer a couple days ago. I forgot what it's like to be so into a book you don't want to put it down. I haven't enjoyed a book this much since Anderson Cooper's Dispatches from the Edge. It's been a really easy and fast read so far - mind you, not always light reading, but fast and easy none the less.

Someone once told me that you should measure how good a book is by two things: Does it make you laugh out loud? Does it make you cry out loud? Eating Animals has done both for me. Two nights ago, I sat in bed laughing my way through a chapter. Last night, I sobbed my way through the one that followed. (Side note: My husband was kind enough to show me an impression of myself reading, in which he repeatedly gasped dramatically and clutched his chest.)

Eating Animals is, of course, a book about food ethics. Not a short supply of those these days...in fact, they seem to be quite the trend. Omnivore's Dilemma has been one of the most popular, and though I tried to read it, it never really gripped me. What I like about Foer's book is that it is two parts deeply human, one part fact. Maybe it's that I identify with his logic and his struggle, or maybe it's just that he is a darn good writer. Either way, the book is worth checking out.

I am a little more than half way, currently in the chapter "Slices of Paradise/Pieces of Shit". Things I have loved thus far:

1) Foer does a nice job of including voices from every angle in this discussion. He includes letters in this book - letters that are frank, that are moving, that are really beautiful. There's a factory farmer who is so honest and makes such solid points that even I, disdainer of factory farms, felt some tinge of compassion for him, a slaughter-house worker turned animal activist, a small "old-school" turkey farmer who writes beautifully of how he finds himself not thankful, but apologetic every year on Thanksgiving, a PETA worker, a meat producer... beautiful letters.

2) While it's plain to see which "side" Foer lands on, he is fair and logical. For instance, a good page plus is devoted to outlining why Americans would be wise to eat dogs.

3) He briefly, (yet frequently) banters back to Michael Pollan (author of Omnivore's Dilemma).

5) The book is essentially stories. It is framed as a dialogue, not a presentation.

6) I have read so many compelling paragraphs that I simply could not choose which one to post on here.

All in all, Foer is just plain witty. I plan to finish up the book today. If you are looking for a good read, add this to your shelf.

Simmering

I feel like ever since I started back to a normal 9-5 job, there isn't much to say, but at the same time, I don't know what I was saying before that I wouldn't say now. Maybe part of it is just that variety of life is always giving you new ideas and topics to chew on, and since the variety settled, the flurry of ideas has too.

I do miss school. I'm a nerd, I know. I have looked and looked and thought and thought about grad school right now. But, ultimately, this is Jesse's time to finish up his educational goals and my time to sit back and enjoy the ride along. Even with the decision about whether or not to accept the SFSU offer, it just seemed like it wasn't the right time. And our life seems to be a lot about timing right now. I still really want my PhD though, and think (hope) someday I will be able to get back to the books and eventually make it so that junk mail senders across the nation will be forced to address my envelope with "Dr. Nikkel". =)

Until that day, I will mull it all over and let it simmer in my brain. I feel like that is mostly what I do these days, and maybe that is why I lack posting much of anything besides photos of my dogs. I'm in the simmer stage of life... lots happening, but nothing is ready to be put on the table or eaten.

Snowy Adventures With the Pups

Yesterday the melting snow in our front yard unearthed Jesse's lost cell phone. Amazingly, it still works! I thought I'd post some photos from the day we lost it, as well as a few more we took today while we were out and about.

Jesse and Monkey taking a break from their cross-country skiing:

Always have to get at least one self-photo:

Horton and I were running behind Jesse and Monkey while they were skiing, and let me tell you, running in three feet of snow is much harder than running on a clear path! I was so tuckered out by the end, I flopped down in the snow, and my little snuggle bug Horton was quick to join me. He was being so snuggly, it was hard to get up and leave:

Monkey was more interested in skiing. I had to headlock her to get her to be in a photo with me. She is not really the snuggly type; more so the nibble-on-your-fingers-squirm-all-over-you-until-you-throw-my-ball-and-play-with-me type.

Today we were both off work and the weather was a little warmer, so we decided to go hiking with the dogs. It was fun, but very wet and muddy. Since everything was still covered in snow, it was impossible to know where (or what) you were stepping into. On a few occasions, Jesse and I discovered small creeks by stepping right into them. Very squishy, cold, socks by the end of our little adventure!

Notice here Monkey is sporting her new backpack! She carried most of our stuff for us today.

Yep, another self-photo. What family day would be complete without it?

My boys and the crazy girl:

Too bad every day can't be a "hiking with the dogs" day. Tomorrow it's back to business as usual.

Testing...Testing...One, Two, Three...

We sent our little camera in for repair since the sound was broken on the video. Got it back this week, and needed to do a test run to see if it was fixed. (Guess who my test subjects were!) Sound is still not amazing of course, but much better than before!

Truly How I Feel...

Credit goes to failblog.org

0910

Well, every one's doing it...so here is my homage to peer pressure:


Highlights of 2009:

Getting accepted into the master's program at SFSU.

Monkey madness.

Sing it with me: M-i-c-k-e-y M-o-u-s-e!

Going vegan.

Watching Jesse cross the finish line at his first marathon.

4 new nieces and nephews on the way - welcome Zeke, Kaysia, Jada, and baby no name!

Lots of healthy strides happening around here, including a collective loss of about 45lbs, (with little itch who is sliding in at a svelte 69lbs these days...way to go, old pup - you're looking better than ever!)


Lows of 2009:

Nothing stands out in my mind more than losing big Abe. I think my heart will forever ache for you.


And with that, what is left to say?

In this world that gives a tear for every laugh... cheers to the ride.

Happy New Year, my friends!

Brrrr.....

We have had a lot of snow! Yesterday morning we loaded up the dogs and went cross-country skiing. (Well, Jesse is the only one with skis, so he went, and what I did could probably be better described as breathing heavily and wheezing while running behind trying to keep up.) Both dogs got their turn skiing with Jesse. Monkey needs some practice. She has yet to realize that leash + human on the other end = clothesline when you run around a tree. Horton is much better, except that he likes to make frequent stops to pee on said trees. Regardless, we had a good time and even got some really cute photos on Jesse's phone. Unfortunately, that phone is quite possibly buried under a foot of snow on the trail. We have searched high and low with no luck. It may also be in the front yard, but with all of the snow, who knows. Bummer.

Otherwise, we have been enjoying the holiday. Since I have been home so much I have been cooking and baking like crazy. The extra time has given me a chance to try out some vegan recipes, which are always either surprisingly good, or really disgusting. The tempeh landed in the latter category unfortunately. The tomato basil tofu lasagna was a win. The banana pudding tastes good, but never fully set. The graham cracker cookies to go along with it are so-so. The morning glory muffins were a hit, and the soup was a win on a chilly night. Next on my list is a crock pot enchilada recipe, but I will have to drag myself out and to the grocery store before I can give it a whirl.

Jesse has been working a lot of extra hours with this crazy weather. He has had the privilege of being what we affectionately call "bucket boy" - the guy who gets in the bucket lift and sprays down the planes with de-icing fluid. I didn't realize this, but did you know that if a plane has any ice on its wings before taking off, it will probably crash? The ice interferes with the drag, which makes sense...but I had never really connected the two before. I just kind of thought it was done for the same reason we scrape our cars...you get some better visibility and it makes things warmer. Not so it turns out.

Anyway, speaking of scraping, my bucket boy has done a lot of that lately too. In fact, he's had to shovel our driveway and back deck twice now. And to boot, when I looked out this morning, he was over shoveling the neighbor's walk way! It made me think about what a good guy I married. It's not like our neighbor is elderly or anything. In fact, he's a guy about our age. Jesse was just doing it because we are pretty sure our neighbor is out of town right now and Jesse didn't want him to come home and not be able to get in his house easily. That is one thoughtful guy!

Charity

Over the last few years, I have thought a lot about "causes" and social justice issues. When there are so many things wrong in the world, how do you decide which one to put your effort into? There are many, many thing that tug on my heart, as I'm sure they do many others. But, the fact of the matter is that I don't have the time, money, or the energy to contribute to every cause that weighs on my heart. In the end, I have to choose.

After having spent a few years involved with various ministries, non-profit organizations, and even for-profit businesses with a "good twist", I decided my giving is maximized when I myself am maximized.

By that I mean, certain efforts I was involved in totally and completely drained me, left me frustrated, and became utterly un-enjoyable. The only reason I kept doing it is that I had committed to doing it, but often times, I was counting down the days until my commitment was over.

Eventually, I pretty much stopped doing all together. I was just burned out, tired, and frankly, pretty much a crabby, pissed off type of person.

Then, slowly the ache came back - I'd hear stories that stirred my heart, learn about causes that I desperately wanted to help with, and found myself really wanting to give back in some way. So, I did another long round of searching for a "fit", which resulted in me trying on a lot of "wrong fits" (and even one, year long wrong fit that I roped Jesse into doing with me...sorry babe.) Eventually, I started heading back to the exact same spot I was in, burned out and tired.

So, I decided to lay off of it all for a while again....but then that ache of wanting to be involved with something came back. With memories of the many failed attempts at "helping" fresh in my mind, I decided to approach things differently.

I decided to be 100% selfish. And it has been awesome.

That sounds bad at first, but it's actually a good thing. This time, when I approached "getting involved", I was highly selective. It had to be something that a) I looked forward to doing, b) I could easily afford, c) I felt extremely passionate about, and d) I could "test run" and easily bail on should I change my mind.

Thus enter a flyer I saw while walking to class one day a couple years ago. A local dog shelter needed people to walk dogs. Even though it got my interest, I didn't jump on it. In fact, months went by and I passed that same flyer dozens of times, each time thinking "maybe". After all, when I had intended to "give back", I was sort of thinking about people, not animals. Even so, I kept it tucked in the back of my mind, since it did fit my requirements: I love dogs, I had been wanting to get more exercise anyway, I was already passionate enough about the humane movement that I had given up meat, I could pick when I wanted to do it, and I could stop anytime I wanted.

Finally, months later, I bit the bullet and gave it a try. And now, nearly a year and a half later, I'm still doing it, and I still look forward to it, and I still believe in it, and I still get energized when I go, and I still regain perspective on my life when I go, and I laugh there, and I don't care how I look there, and my heart is still soft there, and I still cry when a particularly bad story of abuse or neglect comes my way, and I still rejoice when a particularly good story of success, health, and a happy, new home comes my way.

And finally, I feel like I caught of a glimpse of what God intended in our giving. It's a mutual exchange. I'm not giving and receiving nothing in return - thus immediately making it not about charity or about one side being "in need", but about community, about a shared sense of value. I have something to give, but I also have something to receive.

I'm not set up in a place of power or of "betterness", which can easily come when I'm giving without receiving. Instead, because I receive, the giving is made even better.

And that receiving piece is, in my opinion, what makes many charitable causes fail. We don't see that even in our giving, we must receive. I know that's backward from everything I ever learned, especially in Christian circles where it's all about "dying to self" and "giving without expecting anything in return", and yes, it's true that Jesus did do that...but you know what? I'm not Jesus.

I think someone who is God and human and the whole kit and caboodle probably has an upper hand in that he could probably find a way to give any way he pleases, and in a way that never belittles the "other side". But I don't know if us humans can do that, unless we are also willing, and expecting, to receive, because we are far dumber than God, far more self-centered than God, and even in our attempts to "be like God", we have a way of really jacking things up.

I'm beginning to think the most unselfish way of giving is actually seemingly quite selfish, where we do anticipate and expect something in return, for it is this expectation of receiving that expresses our attitude; an attitude in which we are essentially saying that we can learn and grow and be better because of what someone else can offer us. We see that it is not just "me" that has something to offer, but that everyone, no matter their walk of life, has something valuable to give this world, and something we can learn and grow from that can not be found within ourself.

So, all that to say... my conclusion from this is that while there are a million causes worth fighting for, things seem to click best when we choose those causes in which the giving comes easily. That is not to say that it is not a still a sacrifice, but that is to say that it comes easily because it truly is coming from the overflow of our heart.

A silly example of this is my vegan-ness. As Jesse could tell you, cheese was my absolute, most favorite food in the world. I love, love, love, a good sharp cheddar. Feta in my salad...oh a nice Parmesan... and I could tell you about the most amazing Amish cheese and the way it crumbled on the block, but slowly melted in your mouth...oh my goodness, amazing. I always wanted to go to Paris with Jesse and spend a week eating nothing but bread with every single different type of cheese the city could offer. I've never really been a foodie, but cheese was the one food that could literally just make me stop and take in the moment of the taste...

Needless to say, being vegan is a sacrifice for me. But, at the same time, I find it comes incredibly easy. And I can only assume that is because my heart is really full with a love and desire for "the cause". So, in that sense, my sacrifice is coming from the outflow of how I feel in my heart, and that is what I mean when I say giving should come easy. I don't mean that it's not without sacrifice or difficulty.

So now that I have written a load full.... funny, what I had originally intended for this post was to do a simple intro paragraph and then post what I'm getting ready to below. Instead, my intro became a post in and of itself! But, what sparked this was something I read on Wayne Pacelle's blog about charities.

He was asked to give the commencement address for a university in Georgia, and spoke on charities in American life. I thought his words were worth sharing:

Wherever there is some great need in this country, you will find groups devoted to meeting it. Wherever there is some great wrong in this country, you will find groups that are laboring to right it. And what keeps all of these groups going is the commitment of members, volunteers, and donors who could all be doing something else with their time.

The jobs we keep are just a part of who we are. The mark we leave in the world will be seen way beyond the places we go to work. People will see your character in the company you keep, the words you say, and the causes you serve.

I challenged every student in my audience to find something special that mattered to him or her, to find a meaningful calling to fulfill. We are all driven by different passions, but it is that pluralism of interests that, in the aggregate, creates a civil society. Some are passionate about fighting poverty or protecting the environment or combating disease. When we each pursue these passions, or multiple passions, we get closer to covering the whole. As someone who cares deeply about animals, I am so relieved that there are others who share a passion for correcting other social ills or problems.

Well said, Wayne.

A Few Photos

A few photos from the last couple days...

We celebrated Christmas early with my mom this year since she will be out of town for part of December. We had a little fondue party at her house, which was quite fun.

Sorry for the green cast in this next photo. (Fluorescent lights and the wrong camera settings.) Jesse got a technical shirt from one of the running blogs he reads. Clever little rhyme.

Monkey also got a present. Cesar says high energy dogs can benefit from a backpack weighted to fit their size and endurance level on walks. We've been wanting to get her one, but who knew - dog backpacks are pricey. So, when my mom saw one on clearance, she snatched it up for us and decided she could tweak it with her sewing skills if it didn't fit Monkey right. So, here's Monks and her first fitting!



We had a foghorn out because Monkey and Riley don't get along very well. We just honk it when there are potential fights brewing. Sounds odd, I know, but it gives peace of mind, and if you have ever had to break up a dog fight, you know it sure isn't easy.

Other than Christmas celebrations, we have also finally started hanging up some stuff in the office. Maybe by the new year it will be all cleaned up and finished. Doubtful, but maybe.



Jesse standing in front of the painting I did of his chin, to help me see how close I got it perhaps. =)

Birthday Fun

Jesse has the entire week off work. He had originally scheduled his vacation week for April, which is when he ended up having hernia surgery. That meant he was on medical leave the same week as his vacation week, so his union rep told him he could pick a new vacation week, and this week is it. Since he had so much time off, I decided to take Monday and Tuesday off so that we could have some time together. (Plus, it was nice to have the day off on my birthday.)

I am smack in the middle of an audit at work, so I guess it was good to get some time away from that as well. I'm not sure. Part of me just wants to get it over with, but I am sure the time away has given me some perspective, which I am really awesome at losing.

Anyway, for my birthday, I received the very cool composter that I blogged about a few weeks back. I'm pretty impressed with it. Only a couple days into it, and I can't even recognize what I put into it, which means it's all breaking down super fast. The irony of using electric resources to compost is not lost on me, and I do admit, it's a pretty luxurious way to go about the whole thing. But, in my defense, it uses extremely minimal power, and allows me to compost more food scraps than my traditional outdoor bin allowed me to. I like the idea of self-sufficiency in terms of food, and I like that I can follow much of what we eat the entire way through - from table to trash to turning it back into the soil.

Gardening is also good for my problematic loss of perspective syndrome. Seeds remind me how miraculous and ironic life is. One thing, that I can hold on the tip of my finger can feed my family all year. If I didn't know about gardening and someone told me that, I would laugh at them and tell them it was impossible. But, somehow, year after year, I put these tiny little specs in the ground, and suddenly, I have more food than I can eat. That is really stinking amazing. And it always makes me wonder, if this little itty bit thing can make so much, how can we have people starving? Obviously I know the answer is much more complicated than seeds, but still - something so simple and powerful that fits on my finger tip can literally sustain life...and for lack of it people die. Guess it's part of that cruel irony that the world is so wonderful at.

Though I'm about two seconds away from going all "circle of life" on you, I'm going to stop. I shall save the virtue of worms and respect for all life forms lecture for another day - perhaps this spring when I am inspecting my freshly composted gardens and clapping each time I find an earth worm.

Anyway, I also received some other very cool items, one of which was a homemade vegan birthday cake from my mom! And, since it came complete with candles, Jesse did the honors and sang the happy birthday song for me.



The cake was super yum, and unfortunately also came complete with 2 flavors of vegan ice cream that were also super yum...and we ate dinner out Friday night which was super yum, and Saturday night which was super yum, and Monday lunch which was super yum...oy. My tummy has had too much super yum!

Other than eating, which is apparently 90% of what we did over the weekend, we shopped a bit and rented a couple movies. I also got birthday snuggles from my "other favorite boy". All in all, I cannot complain!

Gift Idea

A year or so ago, I kept hearing this buzz about a book called The Daring Book for Girls. It came about because a year or so prior, a book called The Dangerous Book for Boys was published. Both books are meant to be nostalgic, in that they offer a "how to" guide for all of the essential boy or girl activities of childhood. Tying knots, chinese jump rope, paper airlines....things that a boy or girl should just know to have a wholesome childhood. Both books were quite popular, sucking in both young readers and older ones who just wanted to reminisce a bit.

In any case, when Jesse and I took our little day trip to Boulder last summer, I spotted what looked like the cover of one of the books. (They have a very distinctive, old school design.) When we got closer, I realized it was a spoof of the books, called The Dangerous Book for Dogs. We flipped through and it had us both laughing out loud in the store.

I didn't think much of it after we left, but now that Christmas time has rolled around and different people have been asking me for gift ideas, I thought about what a great gift this book would make, not just for myself, but for any dog lover/owner. The few pages I read in Boulder had me cracking up. Subject titles include: How to Make Your Owner Look Like an Idiot, Creative Pee Stains, The Formal Rules of Fetch, and if my memory of the book serves me correctly, a warning that mounting a bitch is never as easy as it seems.

In any case, though I don't own it and haven't read the entire book, I have to say, I would highly recommend it for any dog lover on your list!!

Thanksgiving Weekend Happenings

I have spent the morning touching up the paint on our walls and painting our dresser. I'm in between coats, and what better way to pass a few minutes than to blog?

Before Jesse left for work we put up a couple more of the ceiling panels. (The project that was started last spring... the hernia surgery and Abe's ordeal kind of threw us for a loop and house projects have generally been on the slow track ever since.) Anyway, anyone who has visited our little house will recall the ghetto popcorn ceiling in the office and bedrooms. It is no more (or at least will be no more by the end of the day), though we still need to get the moulding up around the edges.



Another project I finally finished a month or two ago is doing a painting for the bathroom. (The reddish orange border isn't really part of the painting, but I was apparently holding the camera crooked, so I couldn't crop out the wall. Whatever, you get the idea.)


It's good to finally catch up on some projects. I've been trying to stick around the house this weekend anyway to keep an eye on Horton. He tore his ACL, and is supposed to be kept as immobile as possible for 30 days. Depending on how he heals, he may or may not need surgery. I am really hoping for the not. I don't want to put him through that. It is a really major surgery, where they have to cut his tibia and everything to attach a metal plate. Very bad deal. Monkey doesn't fully understand why her buddy can't play anymore, so Jesse has been taking her with him on some longer runs to try to drain her energy. (Energy which has been put toward digging holes in the yard, annoying us, and trying to nibble Horton's ear off.)

Anyway, last weekend, besides making some trips to the emergency vet, we went to a wedding, and did our usual routine...Jesse to work...me to the shelter. Here's a shot from the wedding.



Otherwise, I guess I have nothing to say. I am going to see if my paint is dry yet!

Our Weekend

The weather has been insanely wonderful the last few days and we have done our best to take full advantage of it. Yesterday before Jesse headed to work, we gave the dogs a much needed bath in the backyard. Horton always loves it and Monkey always hates it.

This one didn't turn out quite like planned, but I had to post it anyway because Horton was so cute in his little towel when I was drying him. The Groomers: We grilled out for lunch and then I spent the afternoon cleaning. Maybe it was all the sunshine putting me in the mood for "spring cleaning". It was nice to have all the doors and windows open.

Anyway, this morning we loaded up the pups and headed to one of our favorite trails along the river. We took a slow 2.5 mile walk, during which Monkey did her very best to undo everything we had done yesterday during her bath. Note the doggie headlocks. They were not at all interested in stopping for photos, but the weather and everything was so nice, I wanted at least one of our little family. Shortly I am headed to the dog shelter. I was very excited when I saw the adoption list this week. One of the "regulars" got adopted out. There is a core group of dogs who are there week in, week out. In this case, the dog who got adopted has been at the shelter for 14 months....finally a happy family for her!! She deserves it, though I will miss seeing her around each week. Anyway, I will leave you with this video of our crazy one from earlier today -

Coveting

Going garden geek on you -

I found the coolest thing ever online today! Check out the Nature Mill Plus XE indoor composter. It basically eliminates all of the inconveniences of composting.

While we do use our current old-school outdoor composter, and I do like it a lot, we don't use it to its full potential due to the inconveniences. For instance, you have to walk out in the cold winter to dump your food scraps. (And actually, now that I think about it, that's not even convenient in the summer time when you are making a meal.) And since it has a lid and rain doesn't get in, you have to make sure the moisture level is correct. And it speeds things up if you turn your pile on a regular basis, but this is hard to do given the size and stability of our composter. Plus, it is a traditional method, so takes patience - as in give it a couple months before you can harvest anything.

By contrast, you can keep the Nature Mill inside, next to your regular trash can, or tucked away in a cabinet, which means you can dump your scraps in as you are cooking. And, genius - it provides heat to your pile, so you don't have to wait around for the microherds to do their thing and generate the heat for you. It also mixes for you, so it's always aerated...another key for composting. All of this means you can harvest compost in 14 days!

It says it can handle 120lbs per month, and I have no doubt we would max that out. When we first started composting, I was shocked at how small our weekly trash bag was. (And for the record - compost, when done the right way, should never smell. I think a lot of people are leery of composting because they think it stinks. If it stinks, that means there is too much nitrogen in the pile, which is really easy to correct by adding some carbons, like newspaper or dried leaves. So having this inside would not equate stinky house.)

I am SOLD! This is officially on my list of things to covet.

Shopping Just Got Deep.

I have gotten a jump start on the holiday shopping this year. A few names on my list, year after year, I always have a terrible time buying for and generally don't enjoy the gift giving experience at all. I think I am finally starting to realize why, besides just chalking it up to the fact that they are "hard to buy for".

I realized this year that it's unfun giving to people who are totally self-sufficient. It's not necessarily about wealth even, though certainly only some people can afford to be self-sufficient. But, maybe the real joy in giving and receiving gifts is the interpersonal symbolism behind it -

From the giver's viewpoint: I have something you might like. I can offer you something. I am valuable to you because of this.

From the receiver's viewpoint: I like what you give me. You have something to offer me. I value you because of this.

By that, I don't mean that the value is in the object, or that people only value each other based on what they can/can't get. It's more about the relationship exchange. When you think about it, generally our most fulfilling relationships are those in which we feel used to our full potential. We inherently want to give of ourselves and our resources.

I feel happy when I cook something that Jesse really likes. Why? Because I think it's something I can offer that fulfills a need or desire of his, which he accepts from me. And I imagine he probably likes it when he can fix our cars and save us hundreds of dollars in mechanic fees. Why? Because it's something he's good at, a part of himself, that he can offer to me.

Why do jobs suck and get boring? Often, it's because the employee feels she has more to offer than what the company will let her. He can do more than answer phones. She can do more than data entry. Or he has great ideas for marketing, but they won't be heard because he doesn't have the right title or whatever the reason. And the best jobs? They are fulfilling because the employee gets to use their skills to contribute to something greater than self - even if that something is a corporation -it's still something.

And why is it hard for parents to see their kids grow up? Because the parents know the child is growing closer to independence. Someday, the parent will no longer be a necessity for the child. And when the grand kids come along and Grandma won't shut up with her "advice" - she's probably doing it because she wants to give of her experiences. She offers a piece of her history, of herself.

In some sense, our sole fulfillment in life comes from this connection; some delicate balance of giving and receiving whereby what we offer is accepted with joy and what we receive is valued as unique and irreplaceable.

But, the key in making it work is that we have to be willing to do both. We have to give, and we have to receive. And the receiving part, I think a lot of us are a bit rusty on. After all, aren't we supposed to be self-sufficient?

I know the holidays and gift giving is all kind of just a silly obligation to consume in the name of "holiday spirit", but I think it still boils down to the connection. And when someone is self-sufficient, providing themself with their own heart's desire and not expressing any of their wishes, it really sucks the fun out of it all. They are, in some sense, withholding of themselves, refusing to let you in. You don't know what to get for them, because you really don't even know who they are. You don't know what they like, because they won't share that with you. So you are forced to come up with some offering, blindly hoping that perhaps maybe you stumbled upon something that may have some remote sense of value to them. Because the fact is, maybe what you are really hoping is that you yourself have value to them.

I am probably making gift giving way too deep, and obviously, this may not apply to baking a nut loaf for your neighbor or being forced to partake in the office secret santa party, but - at least for me - there are people on my list that I really care about, and I really wish I knew better, yet despite my best efforts, each year when jingle bells start playing, I find myself sighing and plastering on a smile while we exchange obligatory, extremely meaningless gifts. So why do I keep doing it every year? Why do I spend my money, money that is often very tight, on something so meaningless?

Well, it's because even if my gift is forgotten, at least I can say I offered something. I tried. I put some piece of myself out there, and I was still open to the possibility that someday, maybe I will have a gift that matters.

And until that day comes, I will let my heart be thankful for the exchanges that do work; the ones where I see something at the store, and I think of this or that person, not because it's a cool object, but because I know them.

I Heart Chipotle

I recently learned that Chipotle is test marketing a vegan burrito in one of their DC locations. It's called "Garden Blend". It's a mix of plant proteins, grains, and vegetables marinated in their Adobo sauce....mmmm....sounds so super yummy!!

I decided to e-mail them about it - representin' the meatless, ya know? Here is part of their response: We are getting rave reviews so hopefully we will be able to offer it nationwide someday.

Yeah for rave reviews....hope they keep pouring in and I can someday taste this yumminess.