Blame it on the snow...and comcast

I haven't been blogging much lately because, for some ridiculous reason, whenever there is a blizzard, we lose our Comcast signal. Brian's called them no less than 5 times and gets the run around. They were supposed to come out on a service call a few weeks ago, so we hung around that Saturday. They never showed. When he called to ask what happened, they said they'd done some outside work a few days earlier, so they didn't need to come. It'd be nice if they'd have informed us of that! What was their compensation, well they said they wouldn't charge us for the service call. Excuse me! Charge us for something that's your problem?! What a rip off!

Moving on, this past weekend was a quiet and cold one. We took Maggie to the Harbor Humane Society for their Valentine's Day adopt-a-thon. They were offering microchipping for $10, so we went ahead and did it. Poor Maggie, but it didn't hurt me one bit! Now if she is ever lost or stolen, she can be scanned and identified through her tiny microchip. The chip is the size of a grain of rice and between her shoulderblades. As much as I try, I can't feel it.

While we were at the Humane Society, we took a look at their dogs. One of the employees told us they get a lot of beagles there. That was shocking to me. Apparently hunters give them up after they lose their hunting ability and new families decide they don't want a dog who runs away. She said they're hard to adopt out because people see them howling in their crates and don't want to take home a loud dog. I was moved to tears when we found an old beagle in the kennel. He had a husky howl and a sweet face. I hope he finds a home someday...a nice farm with room to roam.

Here's Maggie at the dog park on Saturday. She just loves taunting the big dogs. It's hard to catch her on camera as anything more than a blur.

The day she made a name for herself....

As you all know, Maggie is now a Thursday regular at Camp Bow Wow. Today was the day that will go down in the books. It's the day the employees will all talk about, "Do you remember when Maggie...." It's the day Maggie received a free bath while Campground 1 was shut down. All the dogs from that camp were shifted to the next room over while the floors were scrubbed down. Why was Maggie getting a bath while the others were playing? Well you see, she is now not only in love with eating poop, she's in love with rolling around in it. She rolled in it outside and then came inside to roll all over the floors and leave a nice brown coating everywhere. The worker was checking in on her thinking "Oh, that's nice, look at how much fun Maggie is having rolling...around.....oh my god what is all of that shit doing on our floor?!"
Do you think all of the other dogs were disgusted by her. Now they speak in hushed voices behind her back, saying "Don't get too near that beagle. Word on the street is that she lathers herself in feces. She's so unrefined."

What to expect from an 8 month old puppy...

Maggie is officially 8 months old today. If most puppies are like her, I would say having an 8 month old puppy is a pleasant challenge. She is now consistently housebroken and now only has to pee about twice per evening. That's a definite change from the overactive bladder that demanded an outing every 45 minutes just a few months ago. She has become our constant shadow, always underfoot or trying to steal our seat on the couch. She follows me upstairs and down, but still refuses to go more than 1/2 way down to the basement. Perhaps she has a sixth sense. She rarely bites now other than mouthing during play and has lost all but one of her milkteeth. She loves to make new friends at the dog park (even if it's a snarling pitbull). She has stopped eating our carpet and my knitting, but has since moved on to eating her poop and our plants. I'll settle for latter, since my plants know how to regenerate and freshen her breath. She is warm and bright and the best puppy that Brian and I could ask for.

Crafting

This weekend has been devoted to several craft projects:

Tuesday is our Valentine's Day party with the after school program at GRYC.  I'm heading up the craft room and have planned tissue paper carnations.  They're simple and fun.  I want to change it up a little by having the kids attach little tags with IOUs.  It will be good to expose them to gift giving that comes from the heart as opposed to the wallet.

I also spent some creative energy on invites for my sister's upcoming baby shower.  I think they turned out cute...

I have a few other things still in the works, including a gift basket I'm donating to a silent auction for the Junior League's endowment fund.  The basket includes a bunch of baby items, including a knit teddy bear.

I have to get back to the Super Bowl commercials now!

Product of the Week

For all of the dog lovers out there who haven't discovered this wonderful distraction, I highly recommend Frosty Paws. Carrie was the first one to turn Maggie on to these. These "ice cream" cups come in original and peanut butter flavor, cost about $1 each, and keep your pup busy for about 20 minutes. I have only been able to find them at D&W in West Michigan after searching many a freezer case high and low. I try to save them for the times when I really can't keep an eye on her and need to save her from destroying my books, coffee table, knitting, pillow....well, pretty much the whole house.

Hangin' Tough

Could it be true? I caught a teaser on the Today show this morning that said there is talk of a New Kids on the Block reunion. I remember going to one of their concerts as a tween. I think the parents enjoyed those studly men just as much as the little girls did. I might just have to break out the old cassette tapes and the pillowcase imprinted with their photo to get myself prepared for another tour. Let's hope they've aged nicely. Would anyone like to go with me? But you can't have Jordan, he's all mine.

Slumber Party

Last night was a slumber party at our house. We yanked out the bed in our couch, drug the duvet cover downstairs, and snuggled with Maggie while watching Eight Below.



This is an older movie which I've been dying to watch on one of these wintery nights. The acting by the humans is a bit lackluster, but the dogs are precious. My eyes welled with tears as I watched the eight sled dogs try to survive on their own for 160 days in an Antartica winter. Their barking kept Maggie's attention for most of the movie, too.

No one messes with my puppy

Maggie had her first day in doggy day care today and it could result in me being reprimanded by my boss. Why? Because I spent any spare minute loading the web cam to watch her play with other puppies in choppy segmented camera feed. I even forced co-workers to watch. They were polite enough to act like they cared. I'm sure the novelty will wear off eventually.
I watched her run outside, run back in, chase other dogs, probably eat their poop. She played the day away. Then at about 5:15, all the other dogs disappeared and there Maggie was left. She sat alone in the middle of the cold cement floor. Her back was to the camera as she faced the gate door, wondering if her poppa was ever going to come to get her. I called Brian to see when he would get there to pick her up. Not for 1 1/2 more hours. He was getting drinks with co-workers! Oh my poor lonely Maggie! Of course, she did fine. She's now asleep within minutes of getting home. I'm going to take advantage of that and go do some more reading. (I'm reading a book on Fertility Awareness, everything you never wanted to know about cervical mucus.)

Snow as high as a beagle's eye

We have bountiful snow in Holland today. I'd take a picture if I had any idea where my camera charger is hiding. There are over 250 school closings. I'd like to go outside and roll around in it if it weren't so frickin' cold. I'll leave the rolling to Maggie. I'm trying to get a meeting in GR rescheduled because it took Brian 3x longer to get to work this morning. What I'd really like to do is make some fresh chocolate chip cookies and snuggle under a blanket. MMm, maybe a little comfort food for dinner. How does Macaroni and Three Cheeses sound?



Also, interesting and upsetting news on caffeine and pregnancy. Brian forced me to drink decaf for breakfast today in a push to start me in the right direction. I guess I better buy some herbal teas. I may have to enjoy just one last Coke Zero before I give it up completely.

I don't mind the snow...

because I have no reason to do anything other than stay inside and knit. Well, I guess one reason not to knit would be that my upperback/neck has been screaming with muscle cramps for days. I can't look down for more than 3 seconds without an instant burning knot forming. But nothing a few hundred milligrams of naproxen, tylenol, and two ThermaHeat patches won't take the edge off....

I'm working on a few gifts right now, so I won't spoil the details. Here is a glimpse of each.

This is my first "illusion" project. I can't wait to show you the finished product (it's a little PG-13).



Another baby project. Sort of reminds me of an ocean right now.



I've also started another teddy bear that I'll use for a fundraising donation for the Junior League.

On another note, for those inquiring minds, another month goes by in which I am not pregnant. I was disappointed because my body was trying to give me symptoms to convince me otherwise. I'm trying to make the best of it to keep my spirits high. On the positive side of things, it was the first perfect 28 day cycle I've had. So I feel quite normal in that aspect. On another good note, I was allowed to drink a large margarita last night guilt-free.



Hopefully we'll have better luck next time. Until then, bottom's up!

Sweet tooth

We met the cutest puppy at the dog park last Saturday. Warning, this dog is so sweet, she may give you a cavity.



It's a Bernese mountain dog. The one we met was named Mackinaw and only 15 weeks old. She looked like a fluffy teddy. The owner already had her full attention and obedience. She obeyed to "come" and "sit" like it was old hack. When Maggie is at the dog park, she interprets "Come" as "Run away from me and go play with the other dogs." He said this breed is known for being especially calm and well behaved beyond their years. His puppy was acting like a 4 year old dog. They grow to be about 125 pounds. I would recommend that anyone looking for an easy maintenance large dog checks out this breed.

Sucky Dance Wars

Disappointment. That's how I've felt the last two Monday nights after sitting through Dance Wars. Carrie Ann and Bruno seem to be trying hard to be charismatic, but their acting jobs are fair to poor. Carrie Ann acts like an excited teenager and Bruno tries to pull off the macho man. The contestants are supposedly "dancers who can sing and singers who can dance." It seems that is a very difficult person to find, because out of their top selections, there are less than a handful of worthwhile singers. I will give the show one more week because they just now divided into Team Bruno and Team Carrie Ann. I'd like to see how the concept works out. But if next week is just as boring, I think I'll move to re-runs of How I Met Your Mother. Plus, American Idol is starting up again!

Knitting and cooking

Tonight we are having friends over for dinner. I think I'll make a turkey lasagna. I love having dinner guests in the winter. It's a nice time to catch up before the hustle of summer and share some comfort foods. I want to find some time to begin a scarf for my friend, since I finally received the necessary yarn from Webs. This will be my first project in shadow stitching, so I just have to cross my fingers and hope it works out. I also want to finish my hand spun cabled hat now that I've come up with several yards more of yarn.

Yesterday I had a mental breakdown as a comedy of (other people's) errors at work ate off a chunk of my lunch hours. Wednesday and Friday's I'm responsible for going home and letting Maggie out for her bathroom break. Now that my office has moved roughly 15 minutes away, I struggle to make it. It generally turns me into a witch that morning as I sweat whether I'll make it home and back on time for my next patient and feel like I provided Maggie quality time. I called Brian in tears as I sped home. He decided it'd be worth it to bite the bullet and hire a dog walker for those remaining days rather than have me feeling like that. He's a very supportive husband.

We're also going to check out a doggy daycare (called Camp Bow Wow, how cute) for one day/week. She has to be vaccinated for kennel cough and go through a three hour interview with the other dogs to rule out aggression. The daycare may sound extreme to some, but it will wear her out towards the end of the week and save us a manic puppy at 9 pm. We're usually winding down when she's winding up. Plus, it's only twice the cost of the dog-walker. A whole day vs. 20 minutes seems like a deal. The saying stands true, "A good dog is a tired dog."

Peek-a-boo!

"It's my second birthday today! Do you want to come over and share my Cars birthday cake?! I promise I won't stick my fingers in your frosting."



Happy Birthday Nolan!

Cloudy Day

Today is a quiet day off for me. I celebrated this morning when I did my check-out weight for our "Hold it for the Holidays" program at work. I not only maintained, but surprisingly, lost a couple pounds. I immediately celebrated by going to the gym :) I receive a $25 gift card to Meijer for my accomplishment and get entered for another $50 g.c. for losing weight. I'd like to buy a baby gate to put in the entryway of the kitchen. That should give Maggie a safe place to romp when we can't keep an eye on her. Right now she's howling at a quilt. Funny dog.

I made a delicious fruit smoothie for breakfast. 6 frozen peach slices, 1 cup o.j. and a banana mixed quickly with a stick blender. 10 am and my 3-5 servings of fruit/veggie are done for the day.

Later I'll walk Maggie in the rain and find time to spin some more yarn.

Luxuries

Every Christmas I look forward to one especially terrific honor. My college friend Amber travels home from wherever Air Force life has taken her and her family. I haven't seen her since Meredith's wedding in June. We are lucky that her parents still live on the west side of Michigan. There has been talk of them moving to Florida, but at least Amber's in-laws will still be here.

This year, for Amber's visit, the core group of friends was able to gather (along with our dear husband's) in Grand Haven for a nice dinner. We shared stories, laughs and Christmas gifts.
Here she is (looking adorable) with her husband.



Amber surprised me with a great new knitting book. It's so new, I hadn't even heard it reviewed yet on any of the (many) podcasts I listen to. It is Louisa Harding's Knitting Little Luxuries.



The book has classy patterns for purses, mittens, scarves and cardigans. I love the purse on the cover and the Cecily Beanie has actually been featured in the popular blog, Knitting Daily. You can get a free copy here.



Thank you Amber!

Finally...

I finally committed my handspun yarn to a project. I decided to make myself a cabled hat. One big problem was that I had no idea how many yards of yarn I'd made, but I just crossed my fingers and turned this...



into this.



Looks pretty good, eh? Only problem is looks can be deceiving. I ran out of yarn and it really looks like this off the head.



I have a little bit of one ply that I've spun left on a single bobbin. The other bobbin had run out and I wasn't sure what to do with the leftover. Apparently there is a technique called Andean plying that I can use to turn that into more two ply yarn. I'll just have to hope that will get me enough yarn to finish my hat because I love it so!

All in one piece

Brian and I just came back from an excellent holiday in Elk Rapids. We stayed with friends, Carrie and Matt, at her parent's beautiful lakehouse. We played a lot of Wii (including Guitar Hero, DDR, and DWTS), skied at Shanty Creek, gambled at Turtle Creek Casino, and ate until we could eat no more! Maggie played her heart out with her buddy Scout and has done nothing but sleep since we came back yesterday. We came home yesterday to much snow here on the lakeside. I might have to use my new snowpants to go out and build a snowman.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip. You can see them all over at Flickr.

"Scout, I've missed you. I have so much to tell you."



Snow bunnies



Beautiful scenery on the "mountain"



"I'm a wordsmith"



Happy New Year!

2008

I'll be away from posting until the New Year.  I hope everyone has planned time for fun and relaxation this weekend.  Brian and I have plans to travel with good friends, eat plenty of yummy food, ski, shop, and perhaps visit some wineries.  Of course, I'll squeeze in some time to knit.  I'll share more when we return.

Let's raise a cybernet glass to a toast for 2008.  May our wishes be fulfilled and our hearts content, may we find time to enjoy our friends and family, and find our jobs stable and rewarding.  Any one have anything to add?

For all of the dog lover's out there...

a call for a prayer. 

Jeff and Jacqueline, our brother and sister-in-law, brought home a special puppy last weekend.  They found a German shepherd which they named Addison (the Grey's Anatomy fans out there should get that) and quickly fell in love.  We met her for Christmas last week and had such a great time with her.  She was a very sweet puppy and as puffy as a teddy bear.  Maggie rolled and tumbled with her all over my in-laws.  They were fast friends.  I intended to post some pics of them and their puppy antics, but left my camera at my parents home on Tuesday.  Here's a photo of Jacqueline's.

We just received news that Addison has a very serious heart murmur and Jeff and Jacqueline will be returning her to the breeder.  You can read more here.  Anyone with a pet of their own can probably feel their pain.  

Merry Christmas to All!

From my family to yours,
I hope you have a warm and merry Christmas! May Santa bring you all that you dream of and may 2008 be a year of health, happiness and success.

Sincerely,
Brian, Angie and Maggie

Picture this...

You're in the gym locker room. You look left and see a lady with a braided sweatband, mullet and stretchy pants with the leotard over top. You double check your calendar, and no, it's not 1984.

No kidding

This is a real conversation that I had with a patient today. No specifics will be made as to maintain anonymity. Anyway, I've probably had this same conversation with about 50 other people, so I highly doubt it could be traced. Those of you in health care will understand the following.

Patient: What can you do to help me lose weight?
Me: Tell me the kinds of food you eat.
Patient: In the morning I snack on carrots, celery, crackers, peanut butter and Jello cups. Then I don't eat until dinner.
Me: Do you eat out a lot?
Patient: No. Today I had two double cheeseburgers and a fry, but that's all I'll eat all day.
Me: If you're going to eat out, at least try to minimize your portions.
Patient: I did. I had a small fry. It's the fries that are bad for you.
Me: What about the cheeseburgers?!
Patient: Those aren't that bad for you.
Me: You're kidding me, right? Let's move on. How about exercise?
Patient: That would take willpower. I can't make myself exercise. Don't you have a pill you could give me?

And this is why so many obese people cannot lose weight. It actually takes willpower and stick-to-it-tiveness. That's right. I made up a word.

What happens

when I drink too much caffeine before bed time.

I lie awake trying to think of the theme song from Growing Pains.

Show me that smile again. (Oh show me that smile)
Don't waste another minute on your cryin'.

Then I dream about trying to make Neil Patrick Harris like me (Barney, not Doogie). Even though I know he's gay.

In honor of the snow...

Yeah or Neh?

I found this pattern in the Winter issue of Knitty. Who thinks I should make it? Of course, it was perfect that they pictured a beagle for the model.



I always wanted to knit a cute shrug for my future daughter. Now there's nothing stopping me from making one for my current "child."



(Brian thinks this last dog looks like a pig.)

A Good Hurt

Sunday I did a lot of this



which turned into this.



And now I'm feeling a lot of this.



But didn't my first handspun turn out beautifully?! (This is where you lavish me with compliments even if you've never seen another skein of handspun to compare it to.) It was worth all the pain.

Love of all things ornamental

My mom has had me hooked on ornaments since I was a small child. It started with sparkly Rainbow Brite bulbs, to scenes with movement and lights, and on to classic Hallmark keepsakes. I still purchase myself some Hallmark Keepsake ornaments - especially the Frosty Friends series. Brian and I also try to pick up an ornament souvenir on each of our vacations.

Here is a burro from our trip to Las Vegas this year. He is no nonsense and ready to carry your load.



My mom purchased this for me last year - It's a S'mores knitting a scarf. Hurry man! Knit before somebody eats you.



And one of my new creations - a mini-sweater. The sheep is made with angora, so he's realistically fuzzy. I love it right down to it's tiny little hangar. And unlike most sweaters I knit, the tree won't be complaining that the arm holes are too tight.



It's a great tree - a definite keepsake.

"Always look on the bright side of life"

Brian and I treated ourselves for Christmas and went to E. Lansing to see Spamalot at the Wharton Center. This is the broadway take-off of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  Many people know this cult-classic with favorites like the Knights that say "ni," the legless fighting knight, and the killer rabbit. I don't know if I ever sat through the movie straight through - but I'm sure I would now. Brian and I laughed the whole way through. I would dare to say we even guffawed. I especially liked the scene with the French tower guards taunting King Arthur with insults such as "I will fart in your general direction! I will burst my pimples on you!"

If anyone is looking for a good laugh and some fun music - I highly recommend this show!

Linkage

This is too funny - and so true.
Brian, if you're reading this, of course I don't mean you.


hattip to Dooce

These photos were found on the Yarn Harlot's site. No trick photography here - just beautiful snowflakes and yarn.



And closer up...



Unbelievable.

Yes it is fair

Mamins gave me and Brian a little chocolate treat this weekend.



As this clearly states, marital bliss occurs when the 50/50 division of chocolate really becomes 60/40. Brian opened the bar and ate 1/2 of it. We must need marriage counseling.

Knitting Cheer from the Postman

The post office is starting to catch on to the new coolness!

Proud Mary

(Okay, first get the song going in your head - now here's my interpretation)

"Big wheels keep on spinning.  Proud Angie keeps on knitting.  I said Rollin'...Rollin'....Rollin with a spinning wheel."

My favorite man of the week, Kyle ("TOK"), talked his mom into loaning me her spinning wheel.  We brought it home last night.  It's a beautiful single treadle Louet.  It's even built in Holland.  It looks a lot like this one.

I have my spinning group tonight, so I can get a short lesson to get myself started.  I'm sure my first skein of yarn will come out uneven and chunky, so I have plans for a hat.  I can't wait!

As the weekend dwindles...

This weekend has been quiet and calm. It's nice to have those kinds of weekends once in a while, but without the busy weekends, I wouldn't realize their worth.
Before the snow and slush hit yesterday, we had the chance to take Maggie to the local dog park. She loved running around with the large dogs and did her best to keep up. She chased after them, pitifully barking as if to say, "Wait up for me guys!"



I just had to photograph this pitiful face of hers. This is how she looked after we took her away from her dog park friends so we could shop for a Christmas tree.



We went to a Christmas tree farm in Fennville. This year we bought a Fraser Fir. I usually lean towards blue spruce due to their strong and numerous branches, but Brian was tired of the thousands of needle punctures he ends up with after moving the tree and stringing lights. This tree is beautiful with its soft up-turned needles.



Our blonde moment of the day was that the tree was 1 1/2 ft too tall for it's space....nothing a bit of sawing couldn't fix, but still a bit of a waste of money when you pay $5/foot.

The highlight of the weekend was a dinner with Chuck and Patty. Chuck celebrates his birthday on Monday, so we wanted to take them out for some dinner. We had some Japanese food (with sushi) at the Wild Chef here in Holland. They were also kind enough to brave the storm and bring us our new couch. Isn't it lovely? It's a sleeper sofa, so we'll always have a place for guests! (hint hint) We picked it up for "half off" at a liquidation sale at Bells in Rockford. It's a Christmas present to ourselves...so much for a spinning wheel :) 



Now off to enjoy what's left of this Sunday!