Equal Opportunity Pet Owner

You've got your self-proclaimed "cat people" and your self-proclaimed "dog people".  I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity pet owner, giving equal love to all my species, and being just simply, an "animal person".  I enjoy the company of dogs and cats for different reasons.  Sometimes I love it that Pete and Rigby (dogs) are needy and up in my face, but other times it's completely annoying.  I love that Spencer (cat) lays on my lap all night because he wants to, and not because I've called him over to me and he obeys. I love that I never get any privacy in the bathroom because Fergie (cat) just loves to tag along because she knows that's her designated belly rub time.  Cats and dogs are very different and I don't think I could imagine life without either one.  Statistics show that there are more cats living as pets in the United States, but more dog owners.  This means more people have multiple cats in one household, versus just owning one dog per household.  Makes sense to me as cats are much more low maintenance!  I got these statistics from The Humane Society.org's website, and I thought they were interesting:

Dogs:

• There are approximately 78.2 million owned dogs in the United States
• Thirty-nine percent of U.S. households own at least one dog
• Most owners (60 percent) own one dog
• Twenty-eight percent of owners own two dogs
• Twelve percent of owners own three or more dogs
• On average, owners have almost two dogs (1.69 percent)
• The proportion of male to female dogs is even
• Twenty-one percent of owned dogs were adopted from an animal shelter
• On average, dog owners spent $248 on veterinary visits (vaccine, well visits) annually
• Seventy-eight percent of owned dogs are spayed or neutered

Cats:

• There are approximately 86.4 million owned cats in the United States
• Thirty-three percent of U.S. households own at least one cat
• Fifty-two percent of owners own more than one cat
• On average, owners have two cats (2.2)
• More female cats are owned than male cats (80 percent vs. 65 percent respectively)
• Twenty-one percent of owned cats were adopted from an animal shelter
• Cat owners spent an average of $219 on routine veterinary visits
• Eighty-eight percent of owned cats are spayed or neutered

Pets offer so many benefits to us and enrich our lives.  Yeah, they can be a pain in the rear when it comes to pet hair, boarding costs, the occasional "mistake" in the house.  But what we yield in return is priceless!  Lower blood pressure, exposure at a young age actually reduces allergies, and unconditional love!  

Our Brood

 I like to link to this once a year, just in case someone has missed it.  This Dog vs. Cat Diary has been around for years, but it still makes me laugh every time I read it.  

 The Dog's Diary

•   8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
•   9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
•   9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing! 
• 10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
• 12:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
•   1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
•   3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
•   5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!
•   7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
•   8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
• 11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

The Cat's Diary

Day 983 of My Captivity

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Bastards!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now ...

A Little Mountain Air

Ever heard of Mountain Air Country Club?  Me neither, but I'm so glad that Michael's sister and her fiance invited us to go this past weekend!  What they said was true, no false advertising here:

"Atop the placid Blue Ridge Mountains, just 35 minutes from Asheville – "North Carolina's most vibrant and charming city" – resides a community that embodies the soaring spirit of the mountain beneath its feet and the divine beauty of the forests that surround it.

We welcome you to browse our website and discover why Mountain Air was named "America's Best Community".

Video I took of the sunrise.

It also just happened to be Asheville's "Bele Chere" Festival which hosted music, art, food vendors, and of course a little bit of beer.  We decided to beat the heat and camp out at Wedge Brewery which turned out to be a very cool place.  The beer was good, the atmosphere was unique with metal art throughout, and the best part was that I got to meet up with my cousin, Kevin, whom I never get to see.

Hole right outside the cabin.  

We headed out for North Carolina on Friday evening and arrived to an absolutely amazing mountain view, complete with a stunning golf course and some of the most beautiful "cabins" I've ever seen.  Read:  these weren't cabins.  This gated community is one of the most immaculate I've had the pleasure of going to.  The landscaping was perfect, the view unmatched and it was a great weekend with perfect weather and company.  The dogs didn't mind it too much either.  Pete was right at home on the balcony and didn't seem to want to leave it!  Rigby was a little anxious at first but she eventually settled.  Cousin pup, Neko, wasn't a huge fan of the balcony but had fun playing with our dogs when they'd come inside.  I woke up each morning to see the sunrise and beautiful clouds roll over the mountains.  I snapped some pictures and returned to bed, but didn't want to miss the scene.  I'm glad I didn't!  It's pretty during the day, but you can't beat the fog rolling in each morning.

Mountain Dogs

O hai!

We also ran into some "locals" on our way back from Bele Chere on Saturday... two baby black bears and their Momma!  They were just casually crossing the street and when we pulled closer to take some photos the babies ran up the tree as fast as their little legs would take them.  Momma waited on the ground to make sure we weren't going to do anything.  Pretty cool.  It's the closest I've ever been to a bear in the wild.  I was surprised how small they were, even the mother.

Whit and I at Palomino

After my trip to Indy last week for a conference, I'm beat.  I was so happy to spend some time with Whitney and say hello to my former residence, but I'm fine with not going anywhere for a while!  Next up is a conference in Denver in which I return five days before we depart for Europe.  Oy Vey!  It's gonna be a busy Fall!!!  Have I mentioned, I'm ready for Fall?

They grow up so fast.

First day home! 1-23-11

It seems like yesterday our roly poly little puppy, Rigby, came home for the first day. It's hard to believe that she was 6.8 pounds, and about 1/3 the size of her big brother Pete.  She is now 45 pounds and about three times his size.  She's now 10 months old and I'm hoping she has finished growing!  It's crazy to look back at how very teeny tiny she was!  She was a very smart little puppy that made less than a handful of accidents in the house, and started going to the door on her own after about a week.  Pretty amazing for a 7 week old puppy.  I was looking back at some videos of her today "sitting" and "laying" at 7-8 weeks of age.  I'm positive we had a little genius on our hands.  She turns 1 year old on November 12th this year here is a look at her first 10 months!

Before and after.  January 2011 and September 2011.

Starting to catch up.

Her Gene Simmons phase.

 

 

The bows didn't stick.  

 

Playing with big bro Pete on the farm.

Exact same dog bed.  No more room for sharing!

A few "BEFORE'S"...and we've got fish! (Shy fish)

Lillies!!!

Michael has been working so hard on getting the koi pond up and running.  We've both always wanted a water feature in the back yard and luckily we already had the basics laid out when we moved in.  We learned from the landscaper (who has been doing the yard work for the past year) that the koi pond hadn't actually been operational for over 3 years.  No wonder it was funky.  I'm surprised it wasn't funkier.  We've been skimming and cleaning out the debris regularly and cycling out with all new water.  We had no idea until after we put pea gravel in to make it look nicer that this is in fact a bad idea.  Whoops.  Oh well, live and learn.  I got the lovely surprise last night of coming home to beautiful water lillies and....fish!  We now have four koi!  I think.  They won't come out from under one of the rocks so I've only actually seen some fleeting moments of them so far.  A tail here or there.  The waterfall was made to look just right, Michael patched the hole in the liner with a repair kit, and now we're in business!  The dogs have discovered the fish and Pete just had to do his Godfather impression....thanks Whitney for the great caption! 

Pete meeting the fish and pretending he's Marlon Brando

We got a taste of the Amish lifestyle this past weekend.  A crazy storm came out of nowhere Saturday evening and left us without power until Monday at 9:45pm!  Not cool.  We were just lucky it was such a beautiful weekend and could have the windows open.  For a storm that lasted maybe 10 minutes, the damage was insane.  Over 150,000 LG&E customers were without power, the last of which were just restored as of yesterday.  There were trees down everywhere and the wind damage cost a great number of people some homeowners claims!  Luckily no damage was done to the house and all of the falling limbs from the trees landed in the yard and not on our vehicles.


The house is coming along great and the only two rooms that need finished are the "drum room" in the basement and the spare bedroom.  I've made some headway in the spare room but there are still some boxes to be put away and things hung on the walls.  We've got some priority projects that are needing attention such as the deck seriously needs to be power washed and stained, and the gutters are as full as they can get.  I took some "before" pictures of the landscaping so you'll be able to see the transition in the upcoming weeks.  It's all very overgrown in the front and I can't wait until we're able to actually see the front of the house.  I'm thinking of building another mound on the other side of the driveway mirroring the one on the right.  Everything else is pretty much just maintenance.  So far so good and I can't wait to showcase some more projects! 

A "BEFORE" picture of the front landscaping

"BEFORE" sidewalk - out of control Crape Myrtle

Making a mirror mound directly across from this one

Tighter shot of landscape overgrowth

 

New Begonia for the sun room, and Ferg

A little hiccup, but we are back on track.

The residence in question.

This house stuff is all so very stressful!  The appraiser came out yesterday and determined that there is no access to the crawl space under a portion of the house.  This, this seemingly minute little detail deemed the house unable to be financed.  I opened my email and low and behold - "Inelgibile Property".  Uh.....what?  Come again?  Sorry?  Enter heart attack, stage left.  After a pretty stressful afternoon and going back and forth with our (amazing) realtor, the seller is going to get things fixed this weekend...putting us back on track with hopefully no delays on our original close date.  See, my neurotic nature of having all of my ducks in a row way ahead of time still has us on track, even with this week setback.  There is something to be said for being neurotic. Michael makes fun of my House Binder, complete with a spiffy cover, labels, three hole punched papers and tabs.  Let's not forget the tabs.  It's just how I stay sane. 

Future site of destruction

I've been having conversations with the pets about their new house.  I think they're pretty excited about it too.  Well, except for Spencer.  Last time I moved he was under the bed for about 3 months.  Poor little guy...doesn't really take change well.  He must get that from me.  Probably gets his OCD from me too...if something is new, an inch out of place, has a new smell on it, or is foreign to the house he is all over it.  Sniffing, pawing, rubbing all over it.  I guess it just to have his personal stamp of approval.  Fergie is very excited about the sun room.  She is planning major cat naps back there in the warm sun rays.  I know this because she told me.  Rigby is happy anywhere and has intentions of messing with my koi fish out back...I can see it in her beady little eyes.  She's so clumsy she'll probably fall in.  Then there is Pete.  As long as he has his dog bed, he most likely won't even realize we've moved. 

O hai.  I can haz sunroom 'stead of dis box?

Whut iz dis ting?  Wuz not heer before.

I dun't care if we moves, as long as I haz mah bedz. 

And there you have an update on the house process.  I am expecting more hiccups, and still trying not to be too excited.  Anything can happen to make something else fall through.  Just gotta stay positive!

Memorial Day 2011 and good news!



Abbey Road 2011



Memorial Day kicked off with its usual bang of Abbey Road on the River.  A 5 year running tradition that Dad and I have to celebrate none other than the worlds greatest band.  This year we  had some colder weather...which was unusual since it's typically so hot you can't drink the beers fast enough.  I was bundled up in multiple layers, but still had a great time listening to Beatles tunes from various bands from around the world.  It's always such a great time.  This year a first timer to the festival was a band out of Nashville, Tennessee called Sixty-Four.  They were amazing.  Their lead vocalist/guitarist did a solo at the end of "Come Together" that brought the entire crowd to our feet.  Great stuff. 



The "Pond Prowler"



The next day we headed up to the farm for some fun in the sun.  Mom and Mike purchased a new boat for their pond (small lake? what's the difference?) and Michael was pretty excited to try that out and do some fishing.  I was just along for the ride.  It turned out being a scorcher but I was happy to relax, read a bit and catch some rays.  I don't think Australian Shepherds were cut out for the heat because Rigby was all too eager to remain in the A/C.  Have I mentioned she's ginormous?  Because she is.  She is listening much better and actually coming when called instead of just looking at  you and thoroughly testing your patience.  She's growin' up!  She and Pete still managed to do their fair share of running around.  Pete always does  his "big laps" which he basically just takes off and runs in huge circles all over the yard and she chases him.  She is quicker on the straightaways, but has nothing on the little guy when it comes to agility!  Pete can corner like he's on rails!  Here is a video I caught of the action. (It wouldn't upload the video, so here is the YouTube link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mdiTi54CYE

Well....home inspection over and we've received some great news!  Nothing major!  A few minor fixes, and older A/C than we'd like, but nothing preventing us from moving forward with the house.  We'll just ask for some repairs and hopefully be on our way to closing pretty soon!  Still cautiously optimistic...but feeling much better now.  Now the realization of having to pack and move again has set in.  Oh well, moving is always a great opportunity to ditch all of the stuff you don't need.  I'll try and clear some closet space for Michael, but no promises!



On the "yacht"



View from boat



Clematis and Koi Pond







An Excellent Derby Weekend.





Allyson and I



At the track



This Kentucky Derby weekend was non-stop!  From Oaks on Friday, to Derby, to Mother's Day it was indeed an action packed weekend.  We attended Oaks on Friday and had an amazing time.  Despite the weather forecast it truly turned out to be an amazing day.  We kicked off the day at a pre-Oaks party filled with Mimosa's and shrimp cocktail...does it really get better than that?  The mint juleps and lady oaks ran plentiful at the track, and the people watching was phenomenal.  I just love the pageantry of it all...everyone is dressed in their best and the creativity of the hats is an entity all itself.  I got my hat from Macy's, however spiced it up with a vintage broach I purchased the day before (and my first experience with the clip on earrings that matched - ouch!) and some feathers I picked out at Dee's Crafts.  That place was a madhouse to say the least.  I guess that's what I get for going the day before.  After Oaks we returned home, let the doggies out, and then headed to Cafe Lou Lou for some Jambalaya.  We closed the day with a fire in the fire pit and drinks on the patio.  It was a pretty great day!





Twin Spires!



Irises along the house

Saturday was full of recovery and an all out Euchre brawl with Mom and Mike.  (For those non-Indiana folks, Euchre is a game similar to Spades, but way better)  I'm so proud to report the ladies pulled through with a 4-1 victory!  It was heated and lots of fun. 



Roaming Rigby

Mother's Day itself was full of good old fashion farm fun.  Fishing - I caught two!  Soaking up some rays outside, and letting the dogs stretch their legs with plenty of fetch.  Rigby only fell in the pond once this time...about an hour after she'd had a full bath.  Why can't she be prissy?  I even bought her pink bows for her hair.  I guess I'll never get my foo foo dog. 

















Gone Fishin'.



Pete taking in the scenery.



Rigby meets her first fish.

Pink fishing pole, pink shoes, pink aviators.  Check.

Long time no blog.

For any of you iPad/iPhone owners, my good friend Sara turned me onto a new app.  It's like Words With Friends, but pictionary!  It's called We Doodle, it's free (even the HD version) and I'm addicted.  You draw, then someone gets three guesses per drawing.  I love it.  But seriously, some of these people I'm questioning how they passed Kindergarten Art class.  Tip:  Turn off the Doodle help mode, and it gets rid of all of those weird squiggly lines.  It took me longer to figure that out than I'd like to admit. 






"Yes, I destroyed her collar, and the bows are next!" - Pete



Rigby has been exploring her femine side with a brand spankin' new pink bow I picked up this week during a Feeder's Supply run.  It's pretty cute.  She has the perfect floppy, fuzzy ears to wear cute bows.  They don't even seem to bother her, so it's win/win.  Her awesome Bark Avenue (yes, Bark Avenue I love that) pink leather collar bit the dust last week when apparently Pete needed a chew toy when they were in their crate.  Thanks, Pete. 



We started watching the new HBO series, Game of Thrones last Sunday.  Hmmm.  I'm not quite raving about it yet.  Critics who have seen the first six episodes do claim the first was the weakest, so given my love for the genre I'm thinking of seeing where it goes.  If you're into fantasy/medieval/with some Sci-Fi thrown in...watch it on Sunday nights.  (I'm still holding my breath for TrueBlood to return!)  Warning though, as with any and all HBO shows, gratutitous nudity runs amok.  And is it just me, or does the platinum blonde chick look exactly like the star of Coyote Ugly?  They have to be sisters right?  Is it just me?  I need to IMDB that right away. 

Elton John.  Quite the performer!  We saw him on tax day evening at the Yum! Center.  Amazing!  There is a reason the dude is a legend.  He sounds absolutely amazing live.  Studio quality.  I've always loved his music and am fortunate enough to say I've seen him live now.  It wasn't the grand "show" I might've been expecting, however the setlist and sheer talent more than made up for that.  Next on the list...Oaks and Derby.  I've got the dress, the shoes, and most importantly, the hat! 

Vegas Vacation!!!





Inside Love Theatre



Dressed up for a night on the town!



Our big Vegas adventure has came and went.  It was an awesome 4 days in Sin City.  We couldn't have asked for better weather, it was amazing.  Mid-Upper 80s everyday, even stayed warm at night.  Perfect.  I have to say that the highlight for the trip for me was most definitely The Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil.  Were the tickets crazy expensive?  Yes.  Was it totally worth it?  Also yes.  Any Beatles fan must see this show!  They incorporate actual candid audio from their studio sessions, making a huge extravagent show seem much more intimate.  There truly isn't a bad seat in the house, however we had amazing seats.  Dead center, less than halfway up.  They really brought the songs to life, and the abilities of the performers were amazing!  I think "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" was my favorite part.  Very simple, there was a trapeze performer on a white trapeze with a diamond leotard on, and everything was so graceful and well done.  My favorite part. 

In front of Treasure Island

We did enjoy some very fine dining at Bobby Flay's "Mesa" restaurant in Caesar's Palace.  The food and service were both definitely 5 star.  I'd recommend this place to anyone wanting a great meal in Vegas.  I had the tuna steak with capers, and Michael had the pork tenderloin cut into medallions.  Both amazing!  We did lots of walking around, window shopping, and laying by the pool.  Not too much gambling.  I did end up winning $15, which paid for a cab ride.   We saw a pretty cheesy free show at Treasure Island starring scantily clad pirate men and women.  I love it when pirates break out into song and dance amidst a huge cannon battle.  Love it!  Although, can't complain about a free show, right? 



At last...



Speaking of "fine dining", we also made not one, but TWO trips to In-N-Out Burger.  Something entirely new to me.  It was pretty good.  I already got reemed for saying so, but the closest thing I can compare it to is Steak N Shake.  It's better, don't get me wrong, but that's the closest thing.  I got mine animal style with grilled onions.  Michael got two, yes TWO double double's  on our first trip.  I seriously don't know how he ate all of that.  Insane.  Our second trip was on the way to the airport...snuck one more trip in. 



Pool time at Paris (where we stayed)



Other than that, very happy to be back home.  That's what vacations are great for, appreciating the comfort of your own bed.  We went to pick up Pete from Mom's yesterday and ended up spending the entire day there.  They got a couple of 4-wheelers so we had to try those out.  It was actually a gorgeous day here so we didn't have to give up the sunshine so soon!   Michael got Rigby from boarding around lunchtime, and boy was she sure glad to be home!  They said she was an angel and one of the only puppies to not ever mess in her kennel!  We already knew she was a puppy prodigy!  Anywho, last week was a great week and today is back to reality. 

Rigby, so glad to be home!!!