Contest from Squeaky Books

Enna Isalee is hosting a contest on her blog Squeaky Books to win a copy of Lisa Mantchev's Eyes Like Stars (link to the contest page, not the book review). This looks like a very interesting book (it's about a world where characters from plays are alive and live together in a theatre....I just butchered that review, but hey, I haven't read it yet!). Anyway, it looks like it's right up my alley and Enna Isalee has declared that anyone who comments on her blog and links to their own blog post about it will get 2 entries into the contest, so here I am! Fingers crossed!

Things In My Life Today

1. I wish people would stop yelling at me over the phone. a) I'm not the one who offended you. b) It's not my fault you didn't read the fine print in your contract.

2. I realize that getting Lizzie to think fireworks are intruders and not acting any differently towards her is helping her to not be quite as freaked out as she has been. She's still terrified, but at least she's a little better.

3. Counting down the months until next May might not cut it.

4. I really need to get off my butt and go to the gym for an hour, but it's amazing the amount of willpower I'm lacking right now.

5. Wish I had more time to read, and wish I had a book that I just couldn't put down.

6. I really like the movie Benny & Joon. You should watch it. No excuses. It's on hulu.com.

Oh, Lizzie-Bears

The other night I was over at a friend's house to help celebrate the summer and the first month down of the med students' fourth year. When I arrived, who should I see but my dear puppy! Come to find out Keith and been borrowing a friend's shock collar and was testing how well Lizzie responded to it. We didn't have to use it to get her to stay within the boundaries of the backyard (which was not totally fenced in), but only when she would incessantly bark while playing (apparently their neighbors have called the cops due to barking dogs before...weird). It was difficult to find the right setting; she really is a tough dog. But it was also nice to have "the hand of God" discipline her instead of us, because she didn't see us as the bad guys. She just realized that what she was doing at that moment was wrong, and she stopped. To be honest, it was pretty awesome.


I was reluctant to the shock collar when she was a puppy because I just didn't trust it. How would she know what a shock meant? What would she do when it happened? Now I'm kind of interested in investing in one. Obviously I wouldn't use it all the time, nor would I let her off-leash most of the time, and I know she would understand when it was on or off her neck. But it was so amazing to have her off-leash, playing with other dogs in a mostly-enclosed space, without really having to worry about her. Things to think about.



Also, an update: she's still terrified of fireworks. Her safe place is the bathtub.



Right now we've closed off the tub area so she's just laying on the bathroom floor. Sigh.

Today is Take Your Dog to Work Day!

I love today. Not only is it Friday, but it's Take Your Dog to Work Day!!


Which photo do you like better? There's a contest at the official website, and I'm planning on entering Lizzie. I like the pose in the first one better, but I like her eyes in the second one better. And yes, I know my desk is a mess. I realize now that I should have cleaned it off before taking the picture. But she's a workin' dog!

There are a couple more pictures of Lizzie and me together, but my camera decided it had had enough of the batteries and quit working, so I have to wait for a coworker to email me the pictures she graciously let me take on her camera.

All in all, fun times are being had. Lizzie has found a new friend, and she's going to sleep well tonight!

Happy Birthday To Me!

So Saturday was my birthday (as if you didn't know - it should be a national holiday) and it was an absolutely wonderful day. I went out the night before with some friends, got up at a reasonable hour without feeling tired at all (which is pretty fantastic in and of itself), took Lizzie to the dog park where I just enjoyed watching her smiley face race around, and then promptly gave her a bath when we got home (she loves the kiddie pools and doesn't mind the mud around them). Then I spent the afternoon making my first ever strawberry shortcake:


It wasn't perfect, but it tasted great. It turns out I need some practice cutting the shortcake in half (when I make the top and bottom layers) so it doesn't fall apart.

Later in the day my parents drove down and took me out to dinner (it was delicious) and then my mom and I went to see Wicked.....I can't even begin to tell you how amazing that show was. I want to go again. Now. I was a bit apprehensive that the main actresses who play Elphaba and Galinda wouldn't come close to Idina Mendez and Kristin Chenoweth, but I've gotta say, they were both fantastic. And I loved how the woman who played Galinda did a lot of the same quirky things Kristin does, so it made it just that much more special for me.

All in all, a great day. :-)

In Love With All of These Vampires

So I'm thinking of adding more to this blog. I was doing a bit of reviews on here a while ago, and because I was doing so many (and I wanted to try out Wordpress) I started another blog just for my reviews. However, since I hardly update this blog on a regular basis, it's been even harder to update my second one in a timely manner. So I've thought about just adding reviews back to this one and seeing if I can keep up with it. Plus, it'll give you guys something more to read than just updates on my life (which I'm sure are thrilling). Maybe someday when I have more time I'll be able to keep two blogs going, but right now it's more of a chore than something I look forward to. So be looking for movie and book reviews here shortly!

By the way, have you seen the trailer for New Moon? I'm setting myself up for disappointment again, and I know this, but I just can't help myself. It looks really good. You have no idea how much I hope this one puts all my expectations to shame.

Real Life Adventures x 2

This goes along with my desire to say "Not really, but I guess it'll have to be" every time the credit card machine at a checkout counter asks me if the amount I'm about to pay is ok.