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! 

Well slap me around and call me Sally.

Peyton Manning, my favorite professional athlete and wife Ashley had twins...and no one knew about it!  Crazy.  When I worked at the animal hospital several years back, Ashley and Peyton brought their pets to us.  Ashley was always SO nice, and SO very down to earth.  It was a little exciting to know that you're petting Peyton Mannings dogs.  Kind of like, he pets his dogs, so technically I've touched Peyton Manning.  Ok, not really I know that's delusional.  Anyway, Olivia Manning confirmed it today via her hometown newspaper.  For more info, go here.  Congrats to the Mannings!  Oh, and if you're curious, their dogs were Colt and Rookie.  Two labs, one chocolate, one black.



Derby Disco Dog in Training!

 In other news it's Friday and pretty gorgeous outside.  Rigby and I played a little frisbee after work this week...as we're trying desperately to make her a frisbee dog.  We are attending Derby City Disco Dogs tomorrow to watch some real pro's.  A lot of these dogs are Aussie's like her, but as you might imagine the majority are Border Collie's.  I did learn through their website that they have "Miniature" Aussies too!  Who knew.  Sure wish we could miniaturize the Rigster...she's starting to be a menace with that tail wagging at coffee table height!!! 

I'm ready for a quiet weekend with no plans.  We've just been on the go too much between vacation and traveling for work.  I think I'm ready to vegetate for a while.  I'd also like to give a shout out to my favorite blogger in the world, and also a very talented author.  If you're not reading Jennsylvania, you need to be!  This woman kills me.  Her pet related and Twilight blogs are my favorite.  (Don't worry, the Twilight ones are few and far between)  She's a riot and any woman will appreciate her writing.  She's the preppier Chelsea Handler, with much less vulgarity.   Not taking away from my other love, Chelsea of course!  I hope everybody has a great weekend and gets to enjoy some fun in the sun.  I've been sprucing things up around the house by planting several pots of pansies...a shout out to my Kappa Alpha Theta sista's!  (Pansies were our flower for you non-Greek folk)

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!!!

Bye bye 20's.

It finally happened.  After months of dread, reflection and searching for the perfect anti-aging cream.  It finally happened.  Saturday I turned 30.  3-0.  My 20s were such an amazing decade.  Honestly, one that seemed to span forever!  College, starting a career, going back to school for minute, so many life lessons and growth.  The good news is that I didn't turn into a pumpkin or instantly get grey hair.  Michael and I spent a pretty relaxing weekend up at the farm with the dogs, and then had a nice birthday dinner with Dad and Sharon yesterday.  All in all, nothing to complain about!  Now the real party begins this Wednesday when we take off for Vegas to "soften the blow".  I'm looking forward to seeing Sara, and ringing in 30 together!  (She turns 30 Saturday...glad to know someone isn't far behind) 

Pete sunning himself

Rigby is still getting some pretty severe motion sickness.  Although this time it was contained ahead of time.  We'll be so happy when she grows out of this.  We've read that puppies ears aren't fully developed and can cause this for up to one year of age.  We left Pete with Mom and Mike for the week since we'll be gone.  Something tells me he'll be spoiled rotten and not want to come home!  Rigby is going to be boarded since a 4 month old Aussie is a bit too much to handle for them right now. 

2 inches of snow Sunday



80 degrees last week



I'm not sure what exactly is happening with this weather.  Last week it was 80, this weekend it snowed 2 inches.  No wonder everyone is sick!  I'm more than ready for Spring and already have 6 pots of pansies planted.  Nothing like that first day that you can drive around with your sunroof open and the windows down. 

Rigby and Pete, out of their urban elements.

Rigby "helping".

This past weekend was Rigby and Pete's first adventure to Mom and Mike's new farm in southern Indiana.  I mentioned the bout with motion sickness she had last attempt...and while she at least waited until she was out of the car this trip to barf up her entire dinner, it wasn't completely without folly.  Michael had read online that if you give a puppy something sweet prior to a trip it will help with the sickness.  I suppose it sort of worked.  Pete never wanting to be given the short end of the gummy worm...had to have one too.  Well, apparently gummy worms aren't on his Zagat's Doggie Guide to Food because he made a huge mess in Michael's back seat.  This poor Acura...it's been through so much in the month he's had it.  At least leather cleans up nicely :)

Once we got there all was well in the world again and we snuck in some fishing, the dogs got to run off leash, and we dined on seafood I brought back from Washington.  It was a beautiful spring day and we got to enjoy some fun in the sun.  The house is shaping up and most boxes are unpacked after just a week.  I suppose when you're retired you can do those sorts of things.  Rigby did try to jump off the dock a few times, but was quickly caught and detained with a leash.  Pete's new nickname is "Dora the Explorer" because he has this new sense of automony I haven't seen before.  He even jumped in the pond!  After we returned home the dogs were absolutely exhausted.  I'm sure they will have plenty more farm adventures this coming summer.  

We are just gearing up for our Vegas trip next week, and hoping to win big!  Yeah, right.  At least I can ring in 30 in style.  Ugh, 30.  Anyway, I have 4 good days left in my 20s...going to make the best of them!    

Top O' the Mornin' to ya!

Michael and I at my friend Ginger's St. Patty's party.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  It's so nice to be back home and more importantly, see some sunshine!  Seattle was great, and I got to spend some time with my friend Dee that moved away five years ago.  I even brought a little of Seattle back to the midwest!  I purchased some Jumbo Grillable Scampi, and Jumbo Scallops for us to take up to the farm this weekend and grill out.  I have to admit I was little hesitant about traveling back with seafood...especially when that seafood was in the same suitcase as my clothes.  However, they wrap it up quite nicely in dry ice and guarantee it will be fine for 72 hours.  It's safely at home in our fridge now.  I even did a little bit of work when I was out there.  Learning House had a great conference and I spoke with several great schools. 

"Hi, I'm going to barf in t minus 2 minutes." - Rigby

Rigby looked about twice as big as she did when I left.  I swear she's going to end up the size of a small horse!  She's so clumsy right now, she has no idea how big she's gotten.  We've also discovered she has some serious car sickness.  We drove up to the farm last weekend to see Mom and Mike on their second night back in the Hoosier state, and were hoping to successfully take the dogs with us.  That didn't go as planned.  Poor thing.  I looked back at her several times and she started to drool quite a lot, ulitimately getting that "shoe string" drool coming out of both sides.  I knew we were in trouble.  She looked at me with those big, sad eyes.  About 2 minutes later all the food she had for dinner was now in Michael's brand new back seat.  We were stuck in rush hour traffic, and had absolutely nothing to clean it up with.  And...the smell.  Poor Michael had to take his shirt off and we used his undershirt to clean up the mess.  It's kind of funny looking back on it now...but I can assure you neither of us were laughing at the time.  We had to exit the interstate, clean the car up, and head back to Indiana...sans the dogs this time.  Ahhhh, adventures in pet ownership.