We're on YouTube

It may not be a Stallone montage, but the dogs are on YouTube.



Click here to see.

Sorry [Dave] for the Lag!

We went to Las Vegas to Tim's aunt and uncle's house for Thanksgiving. Pete stayed behind with Chris and his fiancé Jody, and little Ella came with us - she wasn't terribly happy to be alone. You could tell that she was upset that Pete wasn't around.

Anyway, the drive ended up being about ten hours each way. Once we got past Phoenix, the scenery ended up being like a giant flashback of our drive across Texas on I-10 last year - brown foothills dotted with little scrubs, and occasionally some rocks were thrown in for variety. We stopped at the most enormous truck stop we'd ever seen for breakfast - there must have been over 150 tractor trailer trucks there (the photo at left shows barely a fraction of them). Eddy, I thought of you! The stop had a cute little restaurant that had possibly the best breakfast buffet ever, The Iron Skillet, where Tim indulged his Atkins fantasy with Western Omelettes, sausage, and enough bacon to make my blood pressure rise ten points. And the general store there had all sorts of things for truckers, including these weird weaponlike things called Tire Thumpers. I think they sell these same things under a different moniker at VIP...can anyone confirm? LOL.

But we did get to see the Hoover Dam up close and personal (from the safety of our vehicle, since heights and I don't really get along). It was sort of ironic because everyone asked if we were going to see the dam whilst on our honeymoon last year, and since our flight flew over the dam, we said yes, but now we can really say we saw it since we had to drive through it. Actually it was really impressive up close - like the Las Vegas strip, it makes you feel really small and insignificant. What's next - the Grand Canyon??

Tim's Uncle Connie (Cornelius) and Aunt Eileen (Tim's mom Breda's older sister) are two of the most delightful people I've had the pleasure of meeting. They're both from Ireland, and since they both moved here when they were young adults, still have their accents, which make everyday stories they tell sound so much cooler. Of course Ella took a day to get used to them, but before we knew it she was following them both around begging for food, helping Eileen with laundry, and marching around the neighborhood with Connie on his walks (although he made it very clear he would not take her out if she were wearing her pink sweater - his neighbors would never let him hear the end of it!!!).

One night Tim and I went to our favorite Vegas haunt, The Cheesecake Factory, the haven of all things fattening and fried. The crowning glory? Deep Fried Macaroni & Cheese. Yeah, it sounds like the one of the most filthy trailer-trash thing out there, but we were really surprised when it arrived at our table. Instead of being a big breaded grease-oozing mass, it was four balls which looked almost like big hushpuppies. They were mini penne pastas in a rich alfredo-like sauce that were balled up, tossed in breadcrumbs, then lightly fried, so that when you dug in with your fork, the cheeses were perfectly melted. And the most surprising thing was that they weren't greasy at all! If any of you faithful readers get a chance to go to a Cheesecake Factory soon, definitely try them. YUM.

But they weren't nearly as good as the Mango Margaritas - Gil I definitely think you'd like those.

Tombstone Has Awesome Pizza

My mom and dad came to visit this weekend! I haven't seen them since we left, so it's so wonderful to have them here, if only for the weekend. Last night we went to the Daisy Mae steakhouse for dinner - yummy! Today Tim and I showed them around Tombstone, which is always an interesting place to go. We toured the Shaft at Big Nose Kate's Saloon (if you're unfamiliar with the story, check out her history here.)

For some reason, Tim ordered a pizza at the saloon. Why - I have no idea, since we're from the pizza capital of the country (Pepe's, Sally's, Modern....). Yes, that crust is crimped and fluted just like an apple pie. And Dave, they had plenty of sauce on that pizza - no need to ask for extra!We toured the mine shaft below the saloon, and the gift shop carried the best accessory ever, perhaps only appreciated by myself and Jessica. Yes, Jess, I actually saw a satin jacket - oh where is Satin Jacket Man now?

After lunch, we had fun going through the numerous gift shops - Mom and I tried on some interesting hats. Tim looked especially nice in the pink cowboy hat (insert Brokeback Mountain joke here.).

But the best part of the day was seeing my favorite little mountain, Buttchin Mountain.

Christmas Preparations

Tim and I were in Target today and we came across some Christmas costumes for pets. They're so ridiculous that of course we had to buy some for Pete and Ella. So we came home with a Santa suit for Pete and a Mrs. Claus dress for Ella.

Pete's really good about letting you put stuff on her (afro wig, biker vest, etc.) but she doesn't really enjoy it - she just sort of sits there with a grumpy expression on her face. Ella hates having stuff on her, and she hates having her feet touched, so that makes getting her into a costume that much more difficult.

But here's the results. Pete's costume was a little too small, so I'll exchange it, but the hat from Ella's costume fit her fine. Sorry the last pic is a little blurry; Ella was trying desperately to escape us.

Pete is already anticipating Christmas cookies...

Ella thought the hat was a new toy.

"Stop touching me, dammit!!!"


She wasn't too thrilled about the costume.

Apartment neighbors...just like your college dorm!

Tim and I have been really spoiled since we live in our own house back in Connecticut. Which roughly means that we don't have neighbors above us or immediately next door to us, so there's no noise in the house except ours.

So it's a huge shock to live with someone else above us, and next door to us. I just don't get it: we've been here for nine days now, and only yesterday the freak living upstairs decides to blast music starting about 4pm and lasting until bedtime. So yeah I know I sound snarky, but seriously, I feel like I'm back in college. (Jess, remember us banging on the wall when Gimpy refused to turn the bass down???) How old are we when we have to blast poor musical choices (Vanilla Ice....I am SO NOT KIDDING) in order to feel hip and cool? And the horrible thing is that I have no clue how to handle this idiot because if I go and ask nicely to turn down the freaking music will it make him be a complete ass and refuse to turn it down just to spite me??? Maybe he'll be like that moron next door to me during my sophomore year, whose idea of a good time was to hook up as many subwoofers as humanly possible and try to shake the dorm down at all hours of the day or night, even during midterms or finals.

Seriously. The bass is shaking the walls.

I'm afraid that if I go up and attempt to make nice, I'm just going to lose my temper and make the problem even worse because you know how incredibly patient I am.



That last bit was meant to be heavily drenched in sarcasm, by the way.

New Place!

well on 11/1 we moved into our new apartments. tim wasn't around due to class, so i had to do the whole thing myself, which was no easy task considering that tim doesn't like to use suitcases to pack his stuff. and the two dogs made things a little bit difficult, but i managed fine.

the apartment is pretty nice. it's 2 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms, with a small [and i mean small!] patio off of the living room. the great thing is that all utilities and cable are included, and the apartment came with brand new appliances, including washer and dryer. it's also gated, which is pretty sweet, and parking is all assigned and covered. next week we get a garage that is like right next to our building, so that's pretty nice too.

so here are some pictures - these aren't of our apartment, but from a website.

BeheMOTH

The other night I brought Ella out for her final toilet trip before bed. All was well until we were at the door to go back inside, when Ella spotted something horrifying on the ground: a giant pink-and-gray moth. This sucker was the biggest moth I've ever seen - it was at the same time both fascinating and repulsive. Like watching a trainwreck in slow motion (Britney Spears???), I just couldn't tear my eyes away.

Now most of you know I loathe moths; they're like the retarded, deformed, drunken rejects of the butterfly world. They somehow manage to sneak their way into the house and find the light on my nightstand and continuously bash themselves into the bulb, making not only an annoying clacking sound, but they really stink when they finally burn up from the hot light bulb. And don't even get me started when they actually fly into me.

This moth knew that Ella wanted to do battle. It puffed itself up and spread its wings and reared back like a threatened crayfish - trying to scare Ella off with its imposing wingspan (dude, I was totally freaked out so it made me back off!). Ella accepted its challenge by sniffing it, sneezing on it, then sniffing it again. The two foes slowly circled each other like valiant Roman gladiators (Russell Crowe vs. Joaquin Phoenx in Gladiator) before making their attacks. The moth, too heavy to take full flight, fluttered drunkenly at Ella's feet, while Ella continued to taunt it by sniffing and licking.

The battle raged on. Frankenmoth had obviously miscalculated its opponent and was in full retreat mode, but Ella was relentless. She picked the moth up in her mouth and shook her head back and forth, and the nasty moth would fling out of her mouth and land on the ground, where it would be picked up and flung around some more. She batted it around between her paws like a cat. She ripped off its legs, one at a time. Finally she dropped it at my feet like a gift. But the thing wouldn't die, no matter how hard Ella shook it around or how many of its appendages she peeled off. So we left the creature and it scuttled off to the body shop for some very necessary repairs.

Last night Ella actually managed to sneak a giant locust into the hotel room (what is it with this dog and giant bugs?) - the thing was about four inches long before it was systematically dismembered, its body parts strewn about the hotel room like empty beer cans at a frat party. (Sorry, we watched "Old School" last night so I had to throw in the frat party reference) I don't have any pictures of this carnage...just use your imagination.

And this post wouldn't be complete without some random funny pictures of the girls.

Methinks these glasses give me an intelligent appearance.
Or at least an excuse to use “methinks.”


Too bad these aren't poppies…

Long time...sorry for the lag

Hi all....sorry it's been a little bit since the last post. It's been pretty busy around here - not with anything I've been doing, but Tim's the one who's been really busy. He's doing well and is really enjoying the class.

Pete, Ella, and I have been taking advantage of the amazing weather and walking every day. It's been consistently in the 80's this week, and today it's supposed to get up to 91-92. Not bad for October, eh? Especially to you New Englanders out there! We do miss the fall foliage since all of the trees around here are still green.

Last weekend we were able to lie out by the pool for some nice R&R. It still blows my mind that it's late in October and we can still lie out by the pool. And people are still wearing summer clothes.

And as always, here are some funny pics of the girls, actin' a fool. Did I get that right? Can more than one person "act a fool" - or would it be "actin' fools"? Okay, my brain hurts and I can't believe I actually seriously thought over such nonsense for more than three seconds.

"Dude, I'm checking my MySpace…"

And for those of you wondering, here's the link to Pete's MySpace page.

"I'll start my diet on Monday…no really, I'll start on Monday!"

Pete's Surgery

So yesterday Tim and I noticed that it looked like Pete had a small bee sting or mosquito bite on her, uh, butt hole. It got progressively bigger and more swollen as day turned to night, until it looked like the picture at the right of the page.

We googled it and came up with this little lovely health problem in doggies: Anal Sac Disease. Pete's right anal sac failed to empty itself so all of the yummy fluid backed up and the gland finally ruptured this morning, resembling a hemorrhoid (don't click if you're easily grossed out. Don't worry, that's not Pete's butt, it's a Google image).

I brought Pete to a walk-in vet and luckily they could take her immediately, but she'd require a surgical flushing of the anal gland, which apparently is really painful so the vet had to put her under general anesthesia. But luckily Pete is in excellent health so she made it through quickly and with flying colors, and she's recovering right now. Tim and I will pick her up today around 5:45 pm.



The moral of the story: if your dog scoots its butt across the floor, it could be more than just a stray dingleberry.

The Girls....a picture post

Rock out with your, uh, tongue out!

Soy mexicana?

Ella took the Activia challenge.

My buddy....or Mini Me???

Ultimate Fighter!

Dammi I chipped a nail!

Headlock

Another headlock
Playing tuckers these pups out!

Napping

Hiking by Car

Two days ago we went up for a little drive-by hiking. More specifically, we drove up a neat little hiking trail that takes you halfway up a mountain. As you can see, the views are breathtaking - you can see all of Sierra Vista from here.

Can you spot the aerostat?

Pete and Ella are getting used to the change in altitude. At first they were fatigued easily, but now they're doing much better. Right by our hotel is a great walking path that's about 1.75 miles long each way - we're going to try to walk that every day.

Day 4: Las Cruces to Sierra Vista

The drive was pretty good but moved really slowly because our destination was right around the corner. It seemed like we couldn't get to Sierra Vista fast enough, even with the 70 mph speed limits. We stopped a little bit outside of Sierra Vista to let the dogs out and ooh and ahh (lol) at the weird space rock formations.

Finding place proved to be the biggest challenge. Now I know you're all thinking, What kind of idiot would relocate without having a place to relocate to??? Everything about this move was very last-minute, so it would have been very risky (and possibly foolish) to put down a deposit only to find out that we didn't have to move at all. But we figured that the sooner we arrived in Arizona, the more time we had to find suitable housing.

We wound up with this great condo in a brand-new community - unfortunately it's not open until November 1, so in the meantime we're staying at a corporate extended stay hotel suite in a hotel that's also brand-new hotel. It's got granite countertops, stainless appliances, and other nice upscale amenities.

Here's the link to our condo: Oakwood.
So it should be awesome, once we move in.

Day Three: Texas is Killer

Now I like Texas for two reasons: Matthew McConaghey and beef brisket. But those two reasons are eclipsed by the fact that driving across Texas is the most taxing, boring thing ever, if you don't count waiting at the DMV or DEERS office.

We drove from Texarkana, Arkansas to Las Cruces, New Mexico. The drive on Interstate 20 through Texas was SO MUCH BETTER than the drive through Interstate 10 - at least there's a slight improvement in the scenery. We stopped in Fort Worth for lunch at Angelo's Bbq, which was the best beef brisket I've ever had. They also are famous for their smoked turkey and chicken, and wow, they were definitely drool-worthy. We got the meals to go and ate at this charming little park that had a pretty pond and lots of shade, since it was over 100 degrees and sunny that day.

The dogs loved hanging out at the park for a little bit and definitely enjoyed the scraps of barbecue that we gave them.

We were going to stop for the night in El Paso, but I read reviews for numerous hotels and the area just seemed pretty, well, ghetto. The whole city is just too huge and since Mexico is like right there I didn't feel too comfortable staying there. Plus the reviews said that most of the hotels are in bad areas, and since we were schlepping most of our wardrobes with us, we didn't feel comfortable leaving our stuff in the car ovenight. So we decided to continue on to Las Cruces, which is only about 40 minutes outside of El Paso (most of those 40 minutes is spent driving through El Paso since the city is so damn big). Oh yeah, and if you ever get the opportunity to drive through El Paso, there's a bunch of lights on a mountainside on the Mexico side that someone artfully arranged to look like a, uh, weiner and balls, in the throes of passion. Quite an amusing sense of humor, those Mexicans.

When we were about fifteen minutes outside of El Paso, we were stopped to get gas at this rundown gas station and all of a sudden we saw this wild pig trot out in the middle of the gas station, and then it was followed by another one, which was running full speed ahead. That one was immediately followed by a guy with a shotgun who tried unsuccessfully to shoot at it. Then we saw a praying mantis hanging out on the window of the car. Those Texans know how to put some excitement in their lives.

Day Two: Tennessee to Texarkana

Tennessee isn't a terribly big state, but when you cross it diagonally, it seemed to be almost as big as Texas. We lucked out with the scenery since we were driving through the Smoky Mountains - home of Loretta Lynn. Of course Tim was singing "Coal Miner's Daughter."

We drove from Knoxville to Texarkana, Arkansas - about 490 miles. Not too bad. It took us most of the day but we had enough time and energy to stop at a great restaurant in Texarkana. We pulled into the parking lot and let the dogs out, and we noticed that the restaurant across the street had a packed parking lot whereas the restaurant we stopped at had maybe two cars at most. So we drove across the street to The Ole Feed House.

GREAT PLACE if you ever stop in Texarkana. The place was larger than we thought and ridiculously clean - the decor was dated but that gave the place charm, not cheesiness. The selection of the buffet (it's buffet only) was small as well, but everything smelled delicious and totally homemade. The manager of the place told us that yes, nearly everything on the menu is made from scratch, save for the breaded okra and onion rings. Everything was awesome, especially the chicken and dumplings (the only gravy better than that is my own) and the ribs - you could totally taste the smokiness. The best thing though were the rolls and cinnamon buns - oh my god, they blow Cinnabon out of the water. John the manager said that people come just for the cinnamon buns and I believe him 100%. The rest of the staff was so friendly, and that made our dinner that much nicer.

We stayed at a La Quinta for the evening - definitely recommend that hotel chain as well, as we had great luck with them throughout the trip. It's much much much nicer than HoJo's.