Puppy Class Begins

We were rained our last Saturday, so yesterday was our first Dog Obedience Class, (aka Puppy class). There are a lot of people in the class so they split us up into "puppy" and "adult", but there were still too many puppies so we got to learn with the big kids.

All in all Joey did really well. Most of her errors were due to "handler ineptitude" or fear. She is still shy around people (but getting SO much better) and she tends to growl, bark and leap at dogs. It seems to be play drive, and that's what the trainers thought too, but still an inappropriate behavior. Roy came with the camera and the video camera to document the day. Joey has "Sit" down better than any other student. She did really well with "Heel", "Down" and "Stay". I was very proud of her to be so brave in a park full of people and dogs and still be able focus on her studies.

It's only a Matter of Time

As advertised, Joey is VERY interested in water. An much to my dismay, the weather around here has turned cold so our pool is, well, cold. I was hoping that I could get her interested in water while actually in the pool too. So such luck and I don't think I'll have the luxury of waiting 'til next spring when we heat the pool up again.

So we did the responsible thing, we bought a life vest for Joey. She loves to chase the buckles on it which results in many, many Joey circles and a dizzy stumble at the end. When I can finally Velcro and clip her in, she isn't thrilled about the vest, but she is excited about what it means - running in the back yard!

Call me Snagletooth

Joey is quite the enthusiastic pup. She has a signature waggle when she is excited or happy that is too cute for words. It is akin to a full body wag, but it's much more. It's an expressive dance really. The Big Finale is the Leap of Love where she leaps at you in order to plant a kiss or nudge on your lips. As cute as that is, I don't want her leaping at people, nor do I want her trying to put her mouth on others (without being invited to do so - it's a lesson for you too).

This morning the waggle-leap was in full bloom. I've been pushing her off me and correcting her by stating ferociously "Off" and then rewarding her when all 4 paws are on the floor with the love she so desperately wants and deserves. Well, this time we met in the middle. I was on my way down to her level and she was on her way up. As a result, my front left tooth is a little smaller than it was moments before. I'm sure my parents are pleased they spent thousands of dollars on orthodontics only to have and exuberant puppy mar my perfect smile in one fell swoop.



You anticipate and expect injuries when you get a puppy. It is assumed and understood that there will be skinned knees, scratches and leash burn. But black eyes and broken teeth is more than I was able to imagine.

If she weren't so cute, I'd....

Joey has Arrived

As many of you know, Roy and I were crushed by Sammy's departure last year (notice I didn't say Sophie was crushed). Off and on over the last year we have talked about getting another dog, what type of dog, what age, what breed, etc.

We went through the process of adopting a puppy that was rescued off the streets in Mexico City, which didn't work out because she was part pit bull. We found a miniature border collie one weekend that we thought might be staying for the long term, but she bit Sophie and her parents eventually claimed her. I called the number I got off a flier at The Pet Place in Menlo Park for a 6 year old male Vizsla who, it turned out, had already found an outstanding home. A few weeks ago I found a beautiful chocolate lab on Petfinder.com that had a "very manageable medical condition" which turned out to be Addison's disease (requiring very expensive medical treatment).

A few weeks ago, we were up at Sancho's enjoying a tasty fish taco and decided to walk through the Emerald Market across the parking lot. I saw the flier at 50 paces. Pure Labrador puppies and there was one left, a girl and she was black. I tore off a tag and took a picture of the flier with my phone. I didn't want to bug Roy with being too excited since we had just said we needed to stop torturing ourselves. But Roy said the minute we got in the car, "So are you going to call them or what?". I made him call.

Angela and Dan and their beautiful dog Sierra had created a wonderful litter of 9 labs, 5 yellow, 4 black. They are keeping two (which will bring their total to four - not to forget Amy their 8 year old lab). When we met them they were all a crazy bunch of wags. Joey, then known as Turq (short for turquoise, the color of her collar), was a sweet, joyous participant. Angela was kind enough to bring her to our house for Sophie to offer her approval, and on their second meeting she did.

Joey is a sweet, smart, fun little 20 week old girl who loves water (oh no). She loves Sophie already, but realizes that she needs her space too. She is fantastic walking on a leash, and hilarious discovering all her toys. Sophie had long since forgotten how fun many of those toys could be.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome, Joey!
Click photo to enlarge.

A Kiss is not a Contract

Foux Da Fa Fa

Like Puzzles?

Business Time

20 Years Later

I attended my 20th high school reunion this past weekend. I had a BLAST. If any of you are facing down an upcoming reunion don't think twice about sending in your registration form and payment. Go. Even if you are thinking "why would I want to see those people? I didn't even like them back then.", GO. It is a mind bender to be in a room with, in my case, 200 people that you know so well, yet don't know at all. It is as if all of you walked into a time machine together.

From the first moment when Justine Coates ran up to me and screamed "Oh my god! Kit Bramble!" before folding me into a hug, to the middle when my high school boyfriend asked me if I remembered my father interrupting a "heavy petting" session, to the last moment watching Kevin Mathieu and a female classmate in a serious make out session, it was nothing but unbelievable fun. And I really mean unbelievable.

As a group, I think our class has held up really well. Most of the men have "swelled", which isn't much of a surprise since they were all scarecrows when we graduated. Nearly all of the women were gorgeous and more than half were professionals and mothers - many were professional mothers. Very few brought spouses, but those who came were very brave and, frankly, very fun.

I do have some advice for attending a reunion...

First, go alone. Don't make your spouse sit through hours of "remember when". It will only bore them and send you home early.

Second, find a "wing man" early. You will need a friend from back in the day to come check on you every 30 minutes or so to pull you away from conversations you don't even remember how you got entrenched in. Plus, two of you can cover more ground/gather more information which you can share at every reconnection. (Thank you Sean Sullivan and Sam Player)

Finally, don't drink too much - which might be against your instincts. You may think you need a little help getting loosened up but stop or slow up when you are loose. You don't want to be the name showing up in someone's blog having been caught in a "serious make out session with What's Her Name".

Owen Floats at Windemere

Owen came to California for a good long visit. He enjoyed a nice time at the beach and the Monterey Aquarium. He spent quality time with his Grandpa Peter and MHP and Grandpa Joe (who helped him build, start and stoke a fire in the fireplace). Hopefully one of the highlights was a pair of trips to Auntie Egg's and Uncle Roy's house (Windemere) for a float/swim.

If That's What You're Into

More from Flight of the Conchords... KoKo is Bret's girlfriend. I just can not get enough of these guys.

Flight of the Conchords

The Rhyme-noceroses and Hippo-pop-otamus


Flight of the Conchords is a new'ish show on HBO about a couple of Kiwi musicians trying to make it in the Big Apple. Have a look at Mel's Vlog, the Conchords #1 Fan.

Fighter Pilot for a Day

Dr. Joe had a big birthday this year (we won't say which one to protect the elderly ego involved) and he was given an experience gift: Fighter Pilot for a Day. We took him down to the Monterey Airport (who knew?) on Thursday. They fit him in a flight suit and helmet, gave him and hour of "training" and let him shake the hand of his opponent before take off.

The whole experience lasted most of the afternoon including the post flight debriefing. He was in the plane for a hour, maybe a bit longer. Of the six dogfights, "Doc" showed his courage early by "killing" his opponent in the first two bouts before finding himself caught in the cross hairs. Overall, "Doc" had a great time and would recommend the experience to anyone.

I put together a slide show (3:47 min), you may have to download a plug-in to view it. I found success watching it in Internet Explorer - I had trouble with Firefox and I don't own a Mac. This is the first time I've used this software so I would be interested how the show worked (or didn't work for you). When you watch it, there are videos taken from inside the plane... watch the horizon...

Sophie Turns Eleven

You many have wondered why there was so much traffic and why so many businesses had shut down on July 15th. Now you know. Sophie had her 11th birthday and I can hardly believe it. Seems like just yesterday that Sophie entered my life as a little black bean who's eye had not yet open to look soulfully into her new mom's heart.

Sophie spent the day doing the things she loves to do, eating, swimming and visiting her favorite places. She took her parents to lunch and picked out a special toy at the Bow-Wow for later (a round toy you will all be surprised to read).

Miracle Mouse

I believe in miracles! Mouse movie.

Reno 911 on The Adam Carolla Show

Caveman Dance

Don't have drink in your hand when you watch this. It will come out your nose.

Help an Author Get Published

I have an old friend who has written her first novel! The publishing world is a tough nut to crack and I applaud her for attacking it from a different angle. Below read her email to me, then read chapter one and rate it a 10!

~~~
Many of you know that I've written a novel, and many of you have been very supportive of my ongoing efforts to get it published before I turn 90. Now I need your help! I’ve entered it into a contest that is sponsored by Borders and is sort of like American Idol. The first chapter of each entry is posted online for 14 days for voting by the public (scale of 1 to 10), and the entries that receive the highest scores go to the next round, where the second chapter is posted. I believe there are three rounds total, and the winner gets a publishing contract.

I know the chances of winning are tiny, but I figured this would be a great way to get my writing out there. And who knows? Maybe someone in cyberspace will like what they read, and maybe that will lead to something.

Anyhow, I would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to read the first chapter and score the book. And please leave comments so others will be encouraged to read the chapter as well! And if you could please send the link to your friends who might enjoy it, that would be great. All of you have so many funny, smart, connected friends, so maybe once my book gets into those networks it will take off like the “Di** in a box” video.

To vote you need to sign up for gather.com (free) here. Then you can click on this link to read the first chapter and vote.

By the way, the book is called PERFECT ON PAPER. PLEASE VOTE BY FEBRUARY 8. And please leave comments to get others to read it!!

Thanks so much for helping. Waverly and I sincerely appreciate it.

Maria :)
~~~

45 Life Lessons

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
11. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
12. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
14. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
15. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
16. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
17. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you, and no one else.
18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
22. The most important sex organ is the brain.
23. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
25. Always choose life.
26. Forgive everyone everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
31. Believe in miracles.
32. Whatever doesn't kill you, really does make you stronger.
33. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
34. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
35. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
36. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
37. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
38. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
39. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Take a deep breath. Relax, it calms the mind.
44. If you don't ask, you don't get.
45. Yield, don't stop.

Rumpus Update