Tag Archives: Morgan

Doggie Happy Ending

07 Tuesday Jan 2014

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Bob

Bob

I got myself into a real pickle during the holidays.  My goal was to wake up really early on Dec. 24th and head out to my folks.  I was stopping at my friend’s house on the way to drop off Morgan (poodle).  He had been with me but my friend’s neighbor was going to watch him for the next couple of days.  To get to my friend’s house I have to drive down a pretty busy street.  I was at a stoplight when a little dog came darting out into traffic and happily strolled to the other side.  He looked like he was in good spirits and stopped at everyone waiting at the bus stop and on the street to say hi.  I told myself that someone else would help him and then knew they wouldn’t so did a u-turn and headed back.

I knelt down a few feet away from the black and white scruffy terrier mix and he came right up to me.  Happy as can be.  While I looked around to see if anyone close knew him a mom and daughter came up to me.

Sparky

Sparky

“Do you like dogs?” the daughter asked.  It was hard to say no since I had two in my car and another in my arms.  “Yes.” I replied.  “Do you want ours?” she asked.  What????  Turns out the grandpa had gotten the family a chihuahua and pets weren’t allowed where they rented.  I gave them my card and told them if they still needed help after Christmas to call me and I would help find their dog a new home.

Meanwhile, I popped the scruffy dude, who I started calling Bob, into the car and drove toward my friend’s house.  Without much open during the holiday and not many options I left the stranded dog in my friends backyard with food and water.  I figured it was a better location than the street and I would come pick him up on my way home the next evening.  Of course Bob wasn’t happy about this and caused such a ruckus that my friends neighbor took him in for the night.

The evening of the 25th I picked up Bob and started a search for his family.  On the 26th I picked up Sparky, the homeless chihuahua.  Now I had two homeless dogs in my house plus my own and those I was sitting.  Bob was a charmer and was no problem at all.  He got along with everyone and was happy to hang out with me.  Unfortunately he had no collar, no chip, no one knew him, and there were no signs for him up in the neighborhood or online.  Luckily, he was so good at being a loving dude that the family who had watched him Christmas eve fell in love and ended up adopting him.  Whew … one down.

Sparky with friends

Sparky with friends

Sparky was another story.  That dude was trouble with a capital T.  He hated me and all the other dogs and would be really happy to kill us with his itty bitty sharp little teeth.  My first night with Sparky I was at my wit’s end.  He was a devil dog and I had no faith that he would ever be adopted.  He had never been to a vet so had no shots and was not fixed.  As a 6 month old he was still a puppy that could learn to socialize if he just wasn’t such an ass.  I sat down at the computer and pleaded my case to any and every pet rescue group that was out there.  I learned pretty fast that no one would touch him.  I was told over and over that I would have to get him fixed and foster him.  Given his current attitude and my lack of income this was just impossible.  I was really scared that I might have to bring Sparky to the shelter.  I knew he was screwed if that happened since he wasn’t really adoption material.  Who wants a tiny monster that wants to rip you to pieces living in their house?

I kept him in a crate in the hallway where he could see the action.  Then I ignored him except for a couple torturous bathroom breaks.  Chihuahuas like attention so ignoring them usually is not okay with them at all.  24 hours Sparky stayed in that crate with the door closed and locked.  Then I opened the door and he stayed in it for another 12 hours or so growling at anyone who dared come near him.  Dragon was pretty happy with the “let’s piss off Sparky” game which consisted of him slowly getting closer until Sparky reacted and then gleefully running back and starting all over again.  I continued to ignore him.  That evening Sparky very slowly came out of his cage and carefully came up on my lap.  After that he was my BFF and loved me and all the dogs in the house.  He figured out playing with other dogs was big fun and, unlike the others, he was small enough to fit under the bed for sneak attacks.

Jack

Jack

At the same time a few groups finally gave me some hope.  By working directly with one of their volunteers that was a friend of a friend Dogs Without Borders offered to get Sparky fixed.  That was a huge win and raised my spirits.  LUXE Paws actually found a foster for him but it was no longer necessary since I had gotten a call from a woman who was Sparky’s savior!  Sheila Choi of the Fuzzy Pet Foundation had contacted me and her group was willing to take Sparky on.  They would get him fixed, get his shots up to date, foster him and get him socialized so he would be ready to find his forever home.  They also do an extensive home check on any folks looking to adopt.  Their goal is to get the dog into a home where he/she will live the rest of their lives.  That is exactly what Sparky needed!  Since talking to Sheila I’ve done more research on her group and I’m extremely impressed with the work they do.  I highly suggest you check them out and, of course, donate to them if you are able.  I’m confident any donations will go to a good cause.  Something I can’t be so sure of for some of the other groups I contacted.

Baby

Baby

At some point during all this I took on two more dogs that needed homes.  This sweet brother and sister pair were orphaned as their human parents had passed away.  As a favor to my very good friend I took them in and kept them while we all worked on getting them homes.  Jack, a yorkipoo, ended up being adopted by Morgan’s folks.  Morgan’s human dad is named Jack and he melted when Jack dog jumped into his lap.  Baby, an Alaskan husky mix, is going to be heading to San Diego to live with a friend.  Until she is picked up she is hanging with my gang and enjoying her daily hikes with her new temporary pack.

Baby with friends

Baby with friends

At one point I had 7 dogs in my house.  1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6, 7 (I feel like the count from Sesame Street should be laughing after that).  In case you were wondering that is waaaaay too many dogs to have in your house.  A couple of days ago I was driving down Mulholland on the way to the Laurel Canyon Dog Park and saw a dog walking toward me on the side of the road.  “NO!” I thought.  “NO NO NO NO NO.  I CAN’T DO IT.  NOT ANOTHER ONE.  NOT RIGHT NOW.  PLEASE.  NO.”  Lucky for me it was a coyote and I was able to leave him in his home … outdoors!

Just a note: Sheila of The Fuzzy Pet Foundation would be unhappy with me if I didn’t mention that you should never just hand over a pet that you found to someone.  Bad people who use the dogs for backyard breeding and/or bait dogs troll Craigslist, Facebook, and other places to find victims.  If you have a dog that has lost his home finding his/her original family should be the goal.  If this is not possible make sure the group or person you are giving the dog to will be (or will be the group to find) the perfect forever home for that specific dog and his/her specific needs.

The Great Escape

25 Friday Oct 2013

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I apologize for being MIA this week.  I’ve been recouping from the MOST STRESSFUL WEEKEND OF ALL TIME.  Let me tell you all about it …

Miles

Miles

This past weekend I had 3 dogs plus Riggins.  Chief an adorable and loving chocolate lab, Lulu a one year old energetic ball of crazy, and Miles the two-year old lab/golden mix aka “the runner.”  Friday night was like a battle ground.  Riggins and I were curled up in the bed in combat “hit the deck” positions trying to snooze while Miles and Lulu ran around wrestling each other ALL NIGHT LONG.  Saturday morning Chief showed up and we meet Giovanna, her husband and poodle Morgan at Runyon Canyon.  Everyone was pretty pooped out by the time we got home.  I had just enough time to shower and get dressed up for a fabulous music/comedy festival with my friend Dee Dee and her husband Jason.  The afternoon/evening was spent drinking Honey Badger shots (delicious) and listening to the genius of the friends of Tenacious D.  I tell you all this back story so you can understand that by this point of my day I was too pooped to pop!  Upon coming home I opened the back door and like a bullet from a cannon Miles was gone.  When I say gone I mean GONE.  Out the door, down the street, out of sight … GONE.

Dee Dee and I ran down the street like crazy people and she spotted him on a side street.  I came frantically running to get him (mistake I know) and he zoomed right past me and, once again, out of sight.  We did not see that little dude again for about 19 hours.

I ran.  I ran and ran and ran.  AND RAN.  Up and down the side streets of my neighborhood calling Miles name and suggesting we go get some food, dinner, snacks, treats, and any other food related word I could think of to make him pop his little head out again.  Dee Dee jumped in her car and started cruising the hood.  At one point she passed me and I yelled, “call Giovanna.”  Minutes later Giovanna and her husband Jack joined the search.  I was seconds … SECONDS … from loosing my shit.  I actually think I spent the next 24 hours in a state of shock.  How could this happen?????  How??????  I was mortified, terrified, and all other ifieds you can think of.

At one point I went back to my car and started cruising too.  At this time I knew I had to move forward with turning myself into the bad doggie watcher police.  I’m not one to shy away from taking blame and fessing up and it was time to do just that.  I called the DogVacay people who put me in touch with Natalie the Sane (I call her that because whenever I read a message from her or she talked to me she was the voice of sanity and reason).  Natalie’s title is “Trust and Safety Specialists.”  Can you imagine how stressful that job must be?  I have not been shy in saying I love DogVacay and would be happy to work for them beyond just being a host, but there is NOT ENOUGH MONEY ON THIS PLANET to do Natalie’s job.  I sent pictures of Miles to her for a flyer and brought Miles bed, blanket, and stuffed rabbit toy outside per her instructions.  I then covered the entire area with chicken.  Something Chief was happy of every time he walked by.  That damn bunny friggin’ mocked me for 24 hours.  Every single time I came home to grab more flyers or go to the restroom or check on the other dogs I would plead with the universe to have Miles sitting there cuddling with his bunny.  Nope.  Never happened.  That bunny just sat there perched on his fluffy dog bed staring at me.

Natalie the Sane emailed me over a “Lost Dog” flyer which I started printing.  I printed 40 at a time and anytime I came home clicked on “print” and picked up the ones that were ready.  I estimate that my friends and I hung about 160 signs and handed out about 20.  Aaaaaahhhh!  It was all so unnerving.

I had to get a hold of Miles mom.  Unfortunately she was out of the US and did not have cell coverage.  This meant not only could I not call her anyone that got a hold of Miles and read his doggie tags couldn’t call her!  Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!  I sent her a message via Viber (app that allows you to text and send pics to folks all over the world at no cost) and held my breath.  I couldn’t even imagine what I would have done if I had received that message.  Probably forced the poor soul with me to cash out on all his assets so we could afford to fly back to LA STAT!

Eventually my poor friends had to go home and to bed.  Jason was starting a new job on Monday and needed to prepare.  Giovanna was running 20 miles at 5 am the next day to get ready for her upcoming marathon.  Jack was falling asleep at the wheel.  That left me and the dogs to continue the search party.  I swapped out Lulu and Chief and walked the streets.  Around 3 AM Chief and I saw cops trying to settle down an agitated hooker eating her ice cream cone across from the local McDonalds.  I saw two cars in full “bust” mode with driver on the sidewalk and cops going through their vehicles.  Everything was pretty shut down about that time except for Jack in the Box.  I have a real problem with their new stoner commercials but they sure do know their customer base!

Around 3:30 AM I emailed Natalie and Miles Mom to tell them I had to go lie down.  I don’t know why I even tried.  I constantly thought I heard something in the backyard and just wanted it to be Miles so bad.  I may have slept for about 1/2 hour.   Giovanna texted me about 4:30 and asked how I was and my answer was “terrible.”  She cancelled her run and came back over to search with me.

The Search Party (the human participants). Jack, Giovanna, Martha & Dee Dee

The Search Party (the human participants). Jack, Giovanna, Martha & Dee Dee

And that is what we did … searched.  We walked up and down and up and down for miles then we got in the car and drove for miles.  Then we walked some more.  Her husband came to help.  My friend Dee Dee came back (she does not live close) and helped.  My friend, Martha, came over straight from the Getty where she had taken her art students earlier that day.  Even Asscher’s dad got in the car and drove around looking while Asschers mom kept checking the Pasadena Humane Society website for dogs that were turned in.  There was even another friend on her way to take up the night shift with me.  I can’t explain how lucky I am/was to have the support of so many great people.  I joke a lot that I hate people and love dogs.  These folks are definitely the exception to that rule!  I LOVE THEM!  They stepped up and every single one forfeited their time, energy and something important they had to do just so they could be there for me.

Dee Dee was the worker bee.  She would get it done come hell or high water.  Signs hung, signs walked into businesses, anything I asked she was on it in a heartbeat.  Her presence also stopped me from being arrested.  At one point we were in the car together and we pulled up beside a cop car.  She handed him a flyer and asked him to keep his eyes open.  The policeman was a douche.  He didn’t want to help at all and his only response (beyond telling us to go to the Pasadena Humane Society — yah yah genius we got that) was that the picture on the flyer was distorted.  I wanted to tell him if he wanted to see distortion I could ball up the flyer and shove it up his ass.  Luckily Dee Dee was there, more in control than me, and instead of going off in handcuffs we just drove away.  That guy is an asshat.  He was probably unhappy he didn’t have the night, ice cream hooker eating shift.

Jack was the lieutenant grinding away behind the wheel for miles further than I dared even think to drive.

Giovanna was my go to gal.  Giovanna let’s put signs in front of the church because people will be going there in a few hours.  Giovanna let’s put signs in front of McDonald’s because people will be going there in a few hours.  Giovanna let’s put signs by the parks because people will be going there in a few hours.  Giovanna let’s put 5 more signs on that pole that already has 3 just to be safe.  Whatever I said her answer was, “LET’S DO IT.”  She never once told me I was insane.  Which I, obviously, was.

Martha was my voice of reason and stabilizer.   Martha is a very good friend of mine and lives in Philadelphia.  She just happened to be here for this huge crisis and I am so thankful she was.  I had a one track mind … FIND MILES … FIND MILES … FIND MILES.  Everyone tried to stop me to take care of myself and all I could think was FIND MILES.  I refused to come home when they asked me to and refused to think clearly when they asked me to until Martha showed up.  Martha’s voice could cut through my crazy.  Not totally.  But a little bit!  Enough to stabilize me.

At one point the sun was just starting to go down Giovanna, Dee Dee, and I were driving around putting up signs.  At that point I was told that I wasn’t allowed to drive and we were all getting beyond pooped.  It was the first time we were all together in one car and then Dee Dee said, “there he …” AND WE ALL SAW HIM.  Lightening.  Running like a crazy dog.  Giovanna and I jumped out of the car and tried to calmly call him until we couldn’t see him anymore (which took about 5 seconds) and then he was gone again.

It was on now!!!  There was NO WAY I was stopping this search.  We had been amazed that in the HOURS of searching we constantly crossed over each other but none of us had even seen the dog.  Now we had seen him.  We just needed him to stop running so we could coax him home.

Sweet as sugar and as fast as a bullet!

Sweet as sugar and as fast as a bullet!

During this search Miles mom’s friend had been looking as well.  I alerted everyone, Natalie, Miles Mom, Asscher’s Mom, etc that we had seen him.  We all then focused on that one area.  I walked around in circles dropping piles of food in the hopes of keeping him close.  I’m sure the neighborhood skunks enjoyed that later in the night.  Circles walked and walked and walked by all of us.  Then I got a text from Miles friend “I found him.”  At the time Dee Dee and I was heading back to my car to charge up my phone and had just waved to Martha so we were all there.  I started to type back but then looked up and THERE HE WAS … ON LEASH!!!!!!!!!  I almost fell to my knees.  I’d say I was happy but I think I was just deep in shock.  The friends dog, Lola had found Miles.  They are friends and Miles was happy to come talk to her!  I scooped him up, controlled myself from kissing the poor friend and her dog, and ran him to the nearest emergency vet.

20+ hour of running had taken their toll on Miles paws.  All four were blistered and in bad shape.  The vet was wonderful and held him for a few hours to fix him up.  I picked him up at 1:30 AM Sunday night/Monday morning and brought him home.  His front paws were wrapped for a day and then I took the bandages off to heal.  He is still walking a little funny but all in all is back to normal.  He is his happy, loving, wiggle butt self again.

Miles isn’t allowed on the bed or sofa.  I made him sleep by me for the rest of the night on Sunday, cuddle on the sofa during the day Monday and nap on the bed with me.  I wasn’t allowing that little guy out of my sight!  I totally ignored the no bed/sofa rule!

I really can’t explain how horrible that entire event was.  To have a dog lost is heart wrenching to be in charge of someone else’s dog and have him go missing is unthinkable.  I can’t even imagine if he was a human child that I was watching.  Although I have yet to see a toddler who could outrun me let alone a locomotive like darling Miles can.  I’m so happy he is safe and I love him to pieces.  That being said I’ll be happy to hand him over to his mom tomorrow!  He stressed me out!

A couple of notes on this whole ordeal:

As usual DogVacay is amazing.  I am so happy they are always so helpful and thoughtful when I need them.

Signs work.  I had my doubts but we only knew the general area Miles was in because of the 3 calls we got.  2 of the folks said they saw a black dog running 100 miles an hour down the street with a smile on his face …. .THAT’S MILES!

If Miles would have lived here I have a feeling putting his bed and food outside could have worked.  It is something I would not have thought of.

If this happens to you I hope you have a group of brilliant and supportive friends like I do to help you!

All my guest dogs now have another tag with my name and number on it.

I called Miles vet (old and new), where he was adopted from (their info is on his chip) and Miles mom reported him as missing on a dog site whose web address Miles has on a tag on his collar.  Natalie called every vet/shelter in the area and faxed over our “lost dog” flyer.  Although these things didn’t actually help get Miles home they didn’t hurt.  I actually got calls from Miles vet and adoption agency checking on him.

 

 

 

Please Send Soap

20 Friday Sep 2013

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image (22)I really wish this was a smell-o-vision blog post.  I really need you to fully understand how badly I stink (or stank, to be more specific).  Last night after Bar Method class (where I sweat like it’s my job) I came home and did some chores.  Finally I drug myself into the shower only to find I was out of body wash.  Kind of a relief really.  I had taken a shower earlier in the day and how clean can a person be?  I did a quick rinse and got ready for bed.  This morning I woke up and put on my hiking gear and headed up Runyon with the dogs.  Looking back I realize I missed the step where you put on deodorant.  When Dragon showed up he immediately peed on me.  I guess he owns me now.  I changed my hiking pants but really just toweled off the pee.  I was going to Runyon where the entire hill smells like dog pee.  I’d fit right in.  After a long and sweaty hike, which included me getting down on my knees in dirt and filth to get pictures of the puppers I headed back to the car.  Instead of immediately heading home to take a shower I went downtown to the Paws/LA headquarters to drop off some donated art for their fundraiser.  When I was finally heading back home it hit me.  I smelled.  Not good.  I smelled BAD.  It was somewhat amazing.  I’m shocked the dogs would even come near me.  Once home I ran in and took a shower using shampoo as body wash.  A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.  I rarely use perfume and never do if I’m just at home alone, but I felt it necessary to spray a mist of vanilla scent on before getting dressed again.  Whooo weeeee.  Smeeeellly.

Since I can’t take pictures of my smell and technology has yet to allow me to send a horrific scent to you via blog post you will have to settle of adorable pictures of the dogs from this week.  Enjoy!  Pictured:  Riggins (you know him), Asscher (golden retriever), Morgan (poodle), and Dragon (schnauzer)

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Poop Happens

04 Wednesday Sep 2013

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image (7)I think all my shoes have poop on them.  I’m not complaining.  I’m just passing on this observation I had yesterday while getting ready to go to Bar Method class.

If you doggie sit you pick up a lot of poop.  More than you would expect.

I had an ex-boyfriend who stepped in dog poop and was such a whiny weirdo about it he tossed his, not so inexpensive shoes, out the car door and left them by the curb.  If I was such a wimp I’d have to purchase shoes daily.

Sometimes I wish I could just poop wherever I wanted like the dogs do.  They have it so easy.

Don’t you think it is somewhat unfair that you have to pick up dog poop but horses and coyotes can carelessly poop up the trails all they want?  Coyotes should be held accountablephoto (5) for their poop.  With all it’s delicious 1/2 digested berries it is a huge distraction for dogs who are casually walking along and decide they are hungry.

I still believe it when Dr. Drew says dogs mouths are cleaner than humans.  I’ve been on paths with “delicious” coyote poop and dogs and have seen what happens.  STILL I believe him.  THAT is how much I believe in Dr. Drew.  Today is Dr. Drew’s birthday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Please enjoy these adorable pictures of Riggins, Morgan, Asscher, Dexter and Dragon on your special day.

Stolen Sangria Wine Spitzer

29 Monday Jul 2013

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ry=4001My good friend Giovanna is super-duper fit.  That means when you hang out with her you tend to lean over to the super-duper fit side of life.  I don’t do it very well, but I give it a shot!  When I have dinner with her and her dog, Morgan, I usually want a glass of wine.  I like wine.  I like wine with dinner.  I like wine when I have dinner with a friend. Sue me. Unless she ran 20-50 miles (seriously) that day Giovanna tends to shy away from caloric beverages.  That includes wine.  On the other hand she is a fun chick so wants to partake. Honestly, I also think she wants to slow down my wine consumption.  To achieve these goals she designed what she calls a wine spritzer.  It’s a simple concoction of 1/2 red wine and 1/2 sparkling water.

It takes no genius to see this is just bubbly watered down wine.  As I drink from my glass I top off from the wine bottle and as Giovanna drinks from her glass she tops off with more sparkling water.  Either way we are both happy!

Giovanna purchases giant bottles of sparkling water by the case.  No doubt wherever she is right now she has a giant bottle in her purse ready to be consumed. I can’t commit to such a huge bottle.  I am a loyal fan of LaCroix canned water. Years and years ago while traveling for work United Airlines would offer LaCroix sparking water as a beverage option. That’s where I first got hooked.  United no longer offers it but you can buy it at grocery stores and your local Target.  It’s always on sale at my Ralphs.  I assume this is because I’m the only one who purchases it.  I enjoy the no flavor variety the best.  The lemon and lime flavors are pretty tasty too.  Giovanna recently purchased the grapefruit (to be fancy they use the French word “pample-mouse”) flavor and it is divine.  Not all are winners though.  The coconut flavor tastes like ass and I pushed it on my friend/hairdresser.  She demands I’m crazy and it is delicious.  The cran-rasberry tastes like it was mixed by the devil but Giovanna disagrees and happily drank the ones I had purchased.

This past weekend Giovanna came over and made her spritzer with LaCroix and red wine. As usual it was delicious and I admit a better summer drink choice than white wine.  We happily sipped our cocktails on the porch with our wide brim summer hats on with Riggins and Morgan at our feet.  Ok … we drank them in my living room but that doesn’t seem as nice.

Last night I was looking through Pinterest and found this …

WHAT???? SOMEONE ACTUALLY MADE THAT A LEGIT DRINK RECIPE???  Apparently if you add strawberries you can call the watered down wine a skinny sangria. I immediately emailed Giovanna telling her they stole her famous (at least in my house) recipe.  Hmmmm …. I have strawberries … I think I’m going to make myself some skinny sangria right now!

(The LaCroix web site actually has a number of cocktail recipes for you to enjoy.  Take a look.)

OMG – GOT

30 Tuesday Apr 2013

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Sir Riggins, first of his name, lord of the Isle of Squirrel, and son of Wendy the Amazing.

Sir Riggins, first of his name, lord of the Isle of Squirrel, and son of Wendy the Amazing.

(I suppose I should warn that there may be Game of Thrones season 1 and 2 spoilers in here. Although if you haven’t watched those yet that’s on you.)

I’m a huge fan of TV in so much as I watch a lot of it but I’m not a fanatic fan of any show. There is nothing that I “must see” as it airs. Frankly there isn’t anything that I can’t have sit on the DVR for a day or two. I blame Lost for this lack of enthusiasm. That show destroyed my TV soul. It was so aggravating. I remember reading an interview with one of the creators that it wasn’t their job to answer all the questions. Really? Then whose job is it? You need to at least answer a majority of the questions. That last episode made me so furious I could feel my blood pressure rising. Stupid Lost.

Riggins is not amused by me. I, on the other hand, find myself hilarious.

Riggins is not amused by me. I, on the other hand, find myself hilarious.

Most of the shows I have loved, Boston Legal, The Big Bang Theory, NCIS have been forced on me by others. I am drawn to them kicking and screaming that I didn’t need another TV show to follow and that I just don’t have enough time to give up to more boob tube action. Then I settle down and realize that the shows are brilliant and add them to my DVR schedule. Last year when I was very unhappy I was drawn to sitcoms. I didn’t care what sitcom it was as long as it was 22 minutes of easy to digest “humor” with a solid beginning, middle, and end, I was happy. This year I’ve been drawn more toward the hour-long dramas. Things I can settle in and get involved with but not so much that I can’t check Facebook or flip through Pinterest while I’m watching.

The Gogreve girls with Morgan. Cassie, Giovanna, and Shelby

The Gogreve girls with Morgan. Cassie, Giovanna, and Shelby

When my friends the Gogreves (better known to you as Morgan’s folks) told me that I NEEDED to watch Games of Thrones I tossed their suggest aside. They were brought into the GoT fold by their daughters and were mesmerized by the series. One day last week I went to pick up Giovanna and Morgan for some dog park time and she handed me season 1 on disc demanding I watch it. Here is the thing, Giovanna doesn’t watch TV. The ONLY series she watches are Nurse Jackie (she is constantly asking when it will be premiering) and Shameless. The fact that Giovanna had sat down and carved out enough time to watch not only season 1 but season 2 was not just amazing. It was as close to a miracle as I’ve ever come. That was what persuaded me to pop in disc number one.

Now I can’t stop! Darn those Gogreve girls and their dark magical powers of persuasion. It wasn’t enough they had to take down their parents with the series. Now they had me too! I can’t stop watching the show. I’ve given up my life and dedicated it to kings, queens, dragons, and wolves. I’ve NEVER watched a series one episode after another but I just can’t stop. It’s addictive.

No surprise the wolves are my favorite! In the first two seasons they are originally played by dogs but in season three become CGI, making them bigger and badder than ever. It’s my understanding that the wolves’ characters are much more important in the books. Giovanna’s mother is ashamed of us all that we dare waste our time on the TV series when the books are a million times better. She is probably right. 1. Because she is a mom and mom’s are always right. 2. Books are almost always better.

My favorite character is by far Tyrion Lannister. I’m madly in love with him. Sure he isn’t perfect but who is? He lives in a land where chopping off someones head is common place. In fact that normal argument of, “they won’t kill him off he is a main character” means nothing to the writers of The Game of Thrones. Tyrion is a charming bad boy with trouble written all over him which is, after all, my type (Sad but true. Admitting it is the first step to a cure.) It also helps that the actor who plays Tyrion is crazy good. Peter Dinklage can act circles around any cast member of Lost.

It’s only a matter of time before Tyrion comes up against Daenerys Targaryen (the character every man who watches the show falls in love with) and turns into dragon charcoal. The woman owns dragons. Come on. She wins! (I’m only up to season 3 episode 3 so this may have already happened and I don’t even know it.)

This entire blog is a really long way to tell you if you haven’t watched the series you should. It is worth your time. You can thank me by buying me a dire wolf or a dragon.

The Call of the (Urban) Wild

29 Monday Apr 2013

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Riggins harmonizes with sirens.  Not all sirens.  They have to be a specific pitch, but if they are he joins in as they zoom past.  This often happens in the car which amuses those around us.  You can’t make him stop even if you wanted to and why would you?  He is helping out our brave fire fighters, cops, and paramedics.  Here he is yesterday afternoon.  Note that Morgan and Miles (more on him in a second) think Riggins has lost his marbles.  Isn’t he the sweetest boy in the entire world?  I like the moment when he stops and snaps back to being Riggins.  It’s like he goes from Superman to Clark Kent in a blink of an eye.

Riggins and Miles fight for Wendy snuggle time.

Riggins and Miles fight for Wendy snuggle time.

Now the promised scoop on Miles.  Miles hung out with us on Sunday.  I nicknamed him Miles the Sweet because that is what he was … sweet.  He is part golden retriever, chow, and something else I can’t remember.  A true loveable mutt.  His fur is like silk so you can’t stop petting him which is a-okay with him.  He also smiles when he is happy (aka panting) which means if you look at him during a smiling moment, he will burrow his way into your heart.

Morgan, a notorious other dog hater, was mean at first but warmed up fast to Miles.  The two of them ran an uncountable number of circles around the backyard.  Morgan would follow Miles to the end of the earth … air humping him the entire way.  Morgan doesn’t know how to hump right.  This is a good thing as I never have to pull him off a dog … since he is never on one.  He skips the “mount” part and just stands behind the dog humping the air.  It is pretty darn funny.

Miles face looks a lot like Riggins did when he was a puppy.  It made me love him even more.  When looking at the pictures how do you tell Riggins and Miles apart?

  1. image (8)Miles has dark brown/black eyes while Riggins has pumpkin colored.
  2. Riggins has white on his chest and paws while Miles is all black.
  3. Miles face is tinier and younger looking than Riggins sharp angled snout.
  4. Miles has long flowing fur while Riggins‘ fur is shorter and lays close to his body.
  5. Miles is tinier than Riggins.

Miles, Riggins, and Morgan were the Three Musketeers yesterday.  Minus the time Riggins was howling and the other two thought he was bonkers.

Ignorance & KT Tape

26 Friday Apr 2013

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photo (3)I’m not an athlete (not the first time I’ve said this to you).  Just because I do athletic things sometimes does not mean I’m an athlete.  In high school I was that kid that did well in archery … and that’s it.  My sister was on the long distance running team but at that time you couldn’t get me to run longer than a mile if my life depended on it.  I recently attended my friend’s daughter’s (college) softball game.  I was mesmerized by the speed of the balls being whipped around.  As my friend’s daughter fearlessly ran, jumped, reached, leapt, and fell to get to the ball screaming past her, I turned to my dad, who was with me, and said “no way!”  No way would I EVER put myself inline with that speeding projectile!  If that thing was coming toward me I’d duck screaming my lungs off.  Not an athlete.

Later as an adult, as I got submerged into real life, I turned to exercise to help relieve stress.  Fitness was a welcome and happy side effect.  I now try to work out 6 days a week.  Again I’d like to point out working out on a regular basis does not make me an athlete so it seems completely unfair that I should sustain injuries like they do.

2 or 3 years ago I managed to get a stress fracture on the top of my left foot.  It’s a fairly common injury for runners and, at the time, I was running a lot.  Alas I didn’t land wrong while running around the Rose Bowl.  Nope.  I landed wrong when I misjudged the steps in the jacuzzi at Burke Williams (a local spa chain).  The doctor had me off my feet for 6 weeks and in one of those ugly black stabilizing shoes.  It was a drag.  Once you have had a stress fracture you are kinda screwed.  It tends to be recurring which explains why my foot has been hurting lately.  Pisses me off.  The correct thing to do would be to keep off of it, stop exercising, and pull out that ugly shoe from the back of my closet.  It just sounds so annoying and boring I don’t want to do it.  Instead I’ve been slapping some KT Tape on it and relying on the magic I know it possesses (btw – KT Tape doesn’t stick as well if you useimage (8) coconut oil as a moisturizer.  Even after washing a few times and pouring rubbing alcohol on your foot it still contains traces of coconut oil and causes the magic tape not to stick.).   Then I can continue to hike with the dogs and stay on tippy toe during Bar Method thigh exercises.  I can compromise and ditch the little running I’ve been doing.  Lately my shoulder has been bothering me too.   Completely unfair since I haven’t been swimming (sniff — I miss swimming).  So if someone could come over here and tape that up for me I’d appreciate it!  Just don’t make me wear that ugly shoe!

Have a Great Weekend!

My Hatred of the Job Hunt Joke

08 Monday Apr 2013

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If you read my blog regularly you know I took a leap earlier this year and quit my job without having another one in place.  Although I’m madly in love with not working every day and I adore babysitting dogs when I can, mama’s gotta pay the bills.  Unless Riggins and I want to be on the street with a cardboard sign I need to dedicate part of my life to finding a new job.  This task is made harder by my wanting to take a different career path and move out of pure sales.  If I wanted to just have a job I could have easily gotten one that was just like the last, and the one before that, and the one before that.  I’m sure I would be successful and make good money, just like before, but I can’t guarantee I would be happy and I’m really into trying to be happy.

You know what really harshes my happy?  Job hunting online.  Let’s bypass networking in person and all that and just concentrate on how ridiculous electronic job hunting is.  Everyday I check three specific job listing sites to see what is new and if anything looks like a good match to me.  Then I move on to a list of companies and I check their individual web sites for new openings.  I rotate which companies I check each day and end up looking at all at least once a week.

Now let’s ignore that these resumes are going to a computer or someone in HR that simply scans for keywords and specific past titles.  If you don’t make the buzz word cut you won’t be hearing from them no matter how good you are.  That isn’t even my issue today.  Today my main issue is that applying online is a joke.  Why you ask?  Well I’ll be happy to tell you.  It’s OBVIOUS that most companies don’t care about any resumes that come in online.  They are looking at promotions from within and/or word of mouth from those they know.  They post the job to the general public because … well … they kinda have to.  Makes me want to sob into my 1/2 full glass of Cabernet.

How do I know this?  Well besides common sense let me just go over some of the things I’ve dealt with today while trying to apply to jobs online:

* A major consumer products company career website just isn’t working.  This isn’t something out of the ordinary.  It rarely works.  I’ve emailed their hr dept. about it and sent my resume directly to them in the past.  The site still rarely works.

* A major movie studio web site that surprisingly works a majority of the time, didn’t work well today.  I wanted to apply to 2 jobs and each one I had to restart the entire process 3 times for it to fully submit.  The site just stopped responding part way through the very very long questionnaire.

* Another major studio web site has a search option that just doesn’t work.  On the front page it shows most recent job openings, many of which are located in LA.  When you do a search for jobs in CA you get a message saying there are none.  Doesn’t make sense to me either.

* This didn’t happen today but another example. … On LinkedIn a non-profit company had a really interesting job listed.  To apply it linked you to their site.  Where THERE WAS NO PLACE TO FIND ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR OPEN POSITION(S).  I emailed them and was told to go to their site.  Someone didn’t read my entire email … did they?  So I responded to say that I had done that, that I still was unable to locate it, and requested additional help.  They told me the link was at the top of the page.  It wasn’t.  I’m not a moron.  I know my way around a website.  It wasn’t there.  Heaven forbid they just give me the direct link.  I gave up.  I’m sure that was their goal in the first place.

* I attempted to apply to a position at another entertainment studio today.  The listing stated that you MUST include a cover letter with your resume.  You could only send your resume electronically through their complicated online system.  That system did not allow you to include cover letters.  So there you go.  Set up to fail from the start.  I still turned in my application without the cover letter.  Well at least I think I did.  That was an hour or so ago and the website still says it’s thinking, so who knows if it was processed or not.

Come on people.  I know it’s a waste of time and you know it’s a waste of time but can we please just pretend for my sanity?  At least just a little?  Sigh … I’m going to go take a bath with the chamomile epson salts I bought from Target this weekend.  That should bring my blood pressure down a bit … maybe.

On a happier note — Pictures of Riggins and Morgan playing at the dog park this weekend:photo

Bad Hair Day

05 Friday Apr 2013

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You know how sometimes you have a bad hair day?  There is nothing you can do that can make you happy about what is happening on the top of your head.  When that happens to me I just pop on a hat and go about my business but I understand it can really screw up someones day.

image (8)Morgan is hanging out with Riggins and me this weekend.  When his dad dropped him off I started laughing … and had a hard time stopping.  His mom had told me she wanted to get him shaved down before seeing me.  We usually go hiking and it’s safer for Morgan to have his feet and face hair short.  It’s foxtail season and foxtails are NOT GOOD for dogs.  They can get caught in their paws, ears, eyes, really anywhere and once they go in their natural design causes them to keep going further and makes it very hard for them to come out.  They can be deadly for dogs.  Morgan’s fuzzy hair is a perfect place for foxtails to get stuck and cause problems.  So … he was shaved!  All over … poodle cut shaved.  I’m confident they would have poofed his feet too but his mom had already trimmed them down so they didn’t have anything to work with.  Look at him.  The mouth, the ears, the eyes … it kills me!

Morgan’s mom HATES the poodle cut.  HATES IT.  She still hasn’t seen him in person.  I thought I’d be nice and cut down the poof on his tail but I think she needs to see the entire visual from top to bottom!

On the plus side it was less work for me on the hill today.  Everyone believes Morgan is aphoto (12) labordoodle (his normal cut is very labordoodle-ish).  I get constant comments from people about loving my labordoodle.  I use to correct them that he was just a poodle (and not mine) but they never really believed me so I gave up.  Now I just say, “thank you.”  Today when Morgan got out of the car a woman immediately said, “Oh my goodness.  That is a beautiful poodle.”  There is no mistaken with this hair cut.  The kid is a poodle!

Riggins and Morgan hiked Runyon unaware that I continued to giggle at Morgan’s look.  As usual they strutted up and down ruling the hill and getting the respect they think they deserve.  Our hike was peppered with people admiring Morgan’s unique poodle color and Riggins spotted feet.  They were in heaven!

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND — with lots of good hair days!