Who needs winter anyway?

Typically, one of my favorite things about living in Kansas is we get to experience 4 completely different seasons. Well ... this year, winter has hardly shown up. We had 2 days of very light snow, that quickly melted. The weather has been uncharacteristically warm, and sunny, and pleasant. By this time of year, I'm normally wearing my pajamas inside out, sleeping with a spoon under my pillow and doing all kind of praying for snow days. Not this year! If our district doesn't use any snow days, the students' last day is May 24th! Can you believe it? That would mean that my summer would actually start before Memorial Day. I don't remember the last time that happened!

Minnie and I've been enjoying many, many trips to the dog park this winter. Today, I rushed home from work so we could get a nice walk in at the park before dark. It was a beautiful day! See for yourself:

65 degrees. At 6:00pm. On February 22nd. I approve.

The sun makes everything look pretty out there.

Can you see the dogs in this one?

She's one happy girl!

A striped sunset through the trees.

I need your help. No more wishing we'd get some snow this winter. Keep crossing your fingers for more days exactly like today!

It's time ...

... for this year's annual Christmas/dog/shopping video. This one is really sweet ... and a tear-jerker, too!

Minners got her hair cut yesterday and when I was waiting to pick her up, I saw a group of 5 dogs that were there, looking for their forever homes. If you are looking for a dog to join your family this year, you should check out the adoption events at your local PetSmart. Such cute babies!

Don't let me go here ...

I might come back with everything I see!

Ha!

P.S. That baby in the drawer looks exactly like Minners when she was a puppy! So cute!

P.P.S. I laughed out loud at the saleswoman taping the tissue paper around that pug! Go back & watch again ... you'll laugh, too!

Woof, Woof!

Remember when I was shopping at the Mission Road Antique Mall and found those adorably cute doggie bookends back in March?

Then, one day my Aunt Susan called to say that she had called the Antique Mall to have them pull the terrier bookends to reserve them for me. She was going to get them for me as an early birthday present.

I drove over to the Antique Mall and they had pulled 3 other sets of bookends, but none of them were as cute as the ones I had picked out a month earlier. I purchased & immediately went home to find the perfect spot for them.

Here they are ... looking very cute in my loft with some great reads AND a lot of other books that I have yet to read.

Thanks, Aunt Susan! You're the BEST :) I love you to pieces.

If I had an extra $98 in my bank account ...

... I would TOTALLY buy these cute terrier book ends from the Mission Road Antique Mall.

Unfortunately, I have lots of other things in my world that could use that $98, so they are still there. If any of YOU want to buy them (aren't they cute?), then could I at least puppy sit for you sometimes? Tee hee!

Canine Instincts

I think it's so funny to see dogs (that have NEVER been wild) show their canine instincts. Just a few weeks ago, I shared a video of Minnie howling, which I had never really heard her do. What was she howling at? A fire-truck driving by. Seriously.

One of the other things she does is pretend bury things in blankets or comforters. When I have my phone laying on my bed, Minnie finds it immediately and starts burying it with my covers. Where did she learn this? She has NEVER buried anything ... we don't even have a yard!

I was quick enough to grab my camera tonight to take a short video of the latest treat she was burying. Do any of your dogs do this?

P.S. If you listen close enough, you can hear when I was doing on my kick-ass Saturday night. Yes, that's SNL playing in the background. I decided it was too cold to go out ... AND ... I have from now until January 4th to enjoy my break!

So, a dog & his owner walk into a bar.

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If only I could teach Minnie to do this ... I'd probably be a very rich lady :)

It's been so long since I was visiting Julie ...

... that she's even come home to visit for a week and gone back to Ohio! That means that I'm WAY behind on my blogging about my trip to Columbus.

The trip started with a v.e.r.y.l.o.n.g. day at the airport in Kansas City, Tampa &

finally Columbus and then ended with two tired friends, an exhausted dog and lots of pictures to share the weekend.

Here are my survival supplies for waiting in the KC airport for 4+ hours, then traveling to Florida and then up north to Ohio. Originally I was supposed to get into Columbus around 4pm on Thursday, but I didn't get to Mike & Julie's house until 10:30. I was exhausted that night and we pretty much went straight to bed.

I did get to meet Hayes Thursday night, but we got to spend a lot of time playing on Friday. I left with TONS of photos of the little girl, but this is one of my favorites. I think she looks a lot like Minners :)

Julie & I had a semi-successful day of shopping at the outlet malls. It was a good thing that my suitcase expands.

We walked past Huntington Park baseball field on our way to dinner. I got some great pics!

Here are Devan, Katie, Mike & Julie walking across the street to Boston's. We headed to dinner in the Arena district and there was a lot going on down there that weekend.

My GIANT beer! It took me quite a while to get through it :)

Julie & Me waiting for our food.

After dinner we walked a bit to get to an outdoor festival that had a rap cover band playing (that was actually really good), tons of food & drink tents and we had a GREAT time doing some people watching. Last time I was visiting during the summer, we went to a wine tasting festival there. The girls were getting tired of just standing around and we had to make a decision. Go home to bed, or keep moving & do something else.

On our way to dinner, we had walked past The Big Bang Dueling Pianos bar. We weren't sure if we could get it, but we did ... and we actually got tables right up next to the stage. I've only been to see dueling pianos twice (in New Orleans during the Final Four weekend, and here in KC on the Plaza), but it is always a good time. Instead of just 2 pianos, they also had someone that would play the drums or guitar if the song could use it. There were about 6 musicians that rotated through and all of them were AMAZING! We stayed until they closed and heard every song you could ever think of to request. I would definitely go back next time I'm visiting!

Katie, me & Julie enjoying the show.

The boys performing in their own (air) band!

The next day, we slept in since we didn't get home until 3:15am. Julie & I took advantage of the BEAUTIFUL day and went to the pool. Mike got up early to golf with neighbors and then came home to work in the yard. Here he is relaxing after a VERY long day of making his yard AND the neighbor's yard look nice.

That night, we couldn't really make a decision of what to do, so I suggested that we just continue our lazy afternoon by staying in and enjoying the patio. Mike went to the grocery store and Mike & Julie prepared a super yummy meal for me. They were so nice and wouldn't even let me step in the kitchen to help. So, I sat outside and enjoyed a cool beer and continued to work on my photography with Hayes as my model!

Hayes is such a lucky girl to have a HUGE yard to run & play in. Minnie would be totally jealous if she saw it. I wish that I could have brought Minnie with me, because I know she would have enjoyed playing with Hayes. If only her plane ticket wouldn't be as expensive as mine ... maybe I would travel with her.

Here is Mike grilling up some great BBQ chicken for us.

And Julie setting the table. We had BBQ chicken, salad, corn on the cob, pineapple, rolls and maybe more. We were all very full ...

... but not too full to miss out on a trip to Graeter's Ice Cream! Graeter's has THE BEST ice cream around! I got a chocolate/peanut butter flavor this time, but in the past I've had their chocolate chip and the black raspberry chip (they are known for their French Pot ice cream & big chocolate chips)!

Sunday was another good day. Julie & I did some work on our 10-year reunion and we also ran a few errands. Here is another pic of Miss Hayes looking very cute!

Sunday night for dinner, we took Erik's foodie advice and headed to The Thurman Cafe in German Village. This place is TINY (I counted only 11 tables) and is such a dive & local favorite that it was featured on Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel this year. Erik assured me that our 1hr 40min wait for a table would be well worth it.

He was right! Check out this burger! :) I got just a simple (if you can call a 3/4 lb burger simple) cheeseburger, but they have about 20 different types of burgers and I'm sure they are all amazing! Mike & I were both members of the clean burger plate club and Julie had some great grilled chicken on a salad. I don't think you can go wrong at a restaurant like this.

I must have been in such a food coma that I didn't get any pictures taken of the last few hours of my trip. I left Monday around noon and got home around 2:30, so the traveling home was MUCH nicer. I even had front door service going to and from the airport. Thanks to Dad for taking me and to both Mom & Dad for watching Minnie while I was gone.

It was a great trip and it was very nice to see Mike & Julie and all their friends in their hometown again! Thanks for letting me come play! :)

A View (from) Across Town

Okay, here are the pics that I promised last night. I decided to put them in a slideshow so they didn't take up the entire front page of my blog. Lemme know which ones you like. I'm constantly working on my photography, and I never know what looks good and what doesn't.

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I never knew!

Tonight, I was exiting the highway and was sitting next to a police car while waiting at the light. I knew where he was headed and slowly followed along side. While we were waiting, I noticed that this choke-chain was hanging from the spotlight in the front dashboard. I thought it was very strange ... then I looked towards the back seat!

The police car was a Canine Unit! I've never seen the police cars that have the K-9 dogs with them. Clearly, there was a reason for the giant choke-chain.

Good, old Cezar was sitting in the back seat and kept turning around while we were waiting to turn. I don't know if you can see him in this picture, but he IS in there!

Once we finally turned, the car went exactly where I thought it was. Here's a little note to all you driving around in Overland Park: Police cars sit right off the 435 & Antioch exit on the Northeast corner all the time! It is illegal to turn right on red at either of the Antioch exits and drivers do it all the time! Since my condo is right at that intersection, I see red & blue lights just about every day. Watch out ... and drive safe!

A day late,

but it is still cute!

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Minnie was asked to be in this video, but she had prior engagements that kept her from the rehearsals. :)

Minnie's long-lost family?

Over the weekend, Molly & I went shopping. While she was trying on clothes, I was waiting patiently and watching the TV that was on. Lucky for me, the Agility Dog Competition was showing on ESPN.

I LOVE watching this! I liked watching before I even had Minnie, but when I first got her and I realized she was so smart ... I thought for a split-second that I would try and do some agility training with her. That dream has since come and gone, but it is still fun.

Anyhoo ... when I was watching the obstacle course, a cute Pyrenees Shepherd won. I don't remember the pup's name, but I do remember that he looked so much like a long-haired schnoodle! I came home to look these dogs up and I found some great pics to compare to pictures of Minnie.

Can you tell which pictures are Minnie and which are the Pyrenees?

If only Minnie would bring the toys back ...

... I'd let her get this toy for Christmas.

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Even after many, many trips to the dog park she hadn't learned. She would go to fetch a tennis ball, but once she found it, she would either leave it there, or run with the ball, but not back to you so you could throw it again.

Jenny, if you are reading this, I KNOW that Peanut would LOVE this! Don't you have a place for this at Rob's house?

Who needs a TV when you can watch Shiba Inu Puppy Cam!?!?!

I saw that a friend has posted a link to this website on his FB page. How in the world did I NOT know about a website that has a live feed of 6 puppies sleeping, eating, playing and being cute??

The website apparently started a few weeks ago, and after I googled to find out more, I realized that the whole nation is watching! There is sound to go with the live feed. For some reason, my sound kind of went in and out, but when Minnie heard the dogs barking & whining at one point, she jumped up on my lap to figure out where it was coming from. I wish you could have seen her standing on my lap with her front paws on the edge of the table, watching the moving pups on my laptop screen! It was priceless.

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This is almost as great as the Puppy Bowl that Animal Planet shows during the Super Bowl for people like me who could care less about football!

I love what Gawker had to say about the site:
It's been a week, and the voyeuristic viral puppycam live-feed is still rolling and we can't tear ourselves away. (It may be the most popular live streaming video of all time, reports Alley Insider.) It's not just that they're so darn cute—it's the economy, stupid! The puppycam is a fantasty that cures us of our free-floating anxiety in an uncertain world. We all want to be those puppies: the Shiba Inu fluffballs don't have to worry about losing their jobs, or making money. They are completely provided for in their little box, their mom comes in and nurses them, and they have human caretakers who play with them as well. They've got it made.

Also, we all know that Obama is about to get his kids a new puppy. That new-puppy feeling that rushed over the country wasn't about the love of dogs: we want to be the Obamas' puppy. We want him to be a paternal figure who will swoop into office and take care of us. We want him to provide for us and feed us and to make our lives safer.

That's also why the people who are running the puppycam have become objects of speculation. All we ever see is the bottom of the man's legs, who comes in to feed them. "Puppies, you want your toys?" you can hear him saying. He's like Curious George's Man in the Yellow Hat, whose character is so sparsely sketched that the reader can project whatever they want onto him. Why did they decide to start a puppycam? How long will it last? Where do they live? WTF is going on?

Meanwhile, Gabriel Delahaye of Videogum thinks the puppycam is ruining the Internet: "Don't even get me started on the livefeed puppy cam and the threat it poses to the rest of the internet... because who cares about any other site? Puppies!"

Quick! Leave my blog! Check out the live feed and then bookmark the page. We don't know how long the site will last, so get your puppy fill while you can! I wonder if I can get to the site from my classroom computer. My kids might like to watch the cam for a few minutes as a reward for good behavior! :)

The real truth about cats & dogs

No, this isn't a re-post that Jill had of the boxing match between Betty & Minnie last year ... it's a good story. No fighting animals involved at all!

My Aunt Dinah sent me this video to share on my blog.


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There is something about inter-species niceness that makes me tear up. CuteOverload even has a whole section of the site devoted to what they call Interspecies Snorgling. Go check out the posts they have under that label!

How about it, America?

I agree 110%.

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See more Natalie Portman videos at Funny or Die

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Hands Down - Best Dog Costume, Ever!

Check out these cute pups that I saw on CuteOverload today! The month of October is always full of great pet costumes, but I think these are my favorite.

Watch dogs!

Minnie saw this picture and asked if this could be her Halloween costume this year. How long do we think she would let a large clock be tied around her belly? My vote is for about 2 minutes, and only that long if she is distracted with treats!

A schnoodle reunion!

Jenny brought Peanut over last night for a play date! It had been a long time since the siblings got together, and even though the evening started with Minnie barking at Peanut for intruding in her home and stealing her chews ... but then a few hours later, they were wrestling and chasing each other around the condo just like old times!

Here they are once I got them settled down long enough to sit still for a picture. Peanut was getting his wedding haircut today so he'll be all cute for Jenny & Rob's wedding in November! Can you believe that they are litter-mates?

Minnie likes to bite his fluffy ears!

And then they like to wrestle and she'll bite his legs so he can't get away!

Here's little Peanut. I like to call him "Bag O Bones". You would never know it with all his curls, but this boy is so skinny & weighs probably 5 pounds less than my little girl!

And here's my girl! Panting away. She gets so worked up when she gets to play like that, that she immediately passed out afterward. I had to carry her upstairs to her kennel later last night because she could barely move off the couch!

Doggy Dance Recital

Found this one on CuteOverload today! Pretty cute!

My little darling used to prance and dance like this too. Now she just sits around on the back of the couch like a cat!

Speaking of ... I don't think I ever shared before and after pictures of the girl and her new haircut. Here she is BEFORE lounging on her favorite spot. She's quite furry and fluffy. Her Aunt and Uncle Chittum told her that she looked a little chunky with this 'do.

And here she is AFTER. She's enjoying her chew, but she's super alert because she heard the dog downstairs barking at something. Doesn't she look thinner?

How hard do you think she'd bite me?

I saw pictures for some of these doggy wigs on Cute Overload today.

I've seen and posted some pretty funny pictures of yorkies from CO, but this one might take the cake! This is one in a collection of many wigs for dogs called Wiggles Wigs for Dogs. I went to see if they had any fun, gray wigs for Miss Minners. I assume there aren't any gray wigs, because what fashionable girl wants to have gray hair by choice??? I think my favorite of the whole line is the "doll face" wig. Check it out!

Don't worry ... for you cat people, there are Kitty Wigs out there, too! They are even more ridiculous, if that's possible! :)