the life.

So when Max was a wee pup
He went to two daycares in Bloomington...
One was close
And one was far....
I loved the far away one.
I'd pick Max up and they'd say,
"Oh, Max had so much fun. He's a fireball"
I HATED the close one...
whenever I picked him up
they'd look at me disdainfully and say things like....
"You KNOW Max eats pooooo, right????????"
and I would say, ummm, he's 6 months old, he'll grow out of it....
But at the same time-- I felt deeply mortified.
I mean... it's like telling a parent their kid eats paste...
... or doesn't play well w/ others.
Needless to say...
Max has grown out of eating poo...
Unless there's a cat around.
In which case, there's no telling what will get eaten.
So sometimes it's nice to hear that he's a real growed up dog....
... that he plays well with others...
OK, and that he gets snack time.
What?
Seriously?
Can I have his life for just one day???
Ah yes.... it is the life the Max leads.
Oh yes it is.

Happy weekends, all.
Hope they are filled with basking in the sun, morning snacks, and playtime with your favorite friends.
xoxo,
g
(p.s. yes.... each time I typed poo in this email, I said it like Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs in my head... poo!)

party in a box.

I am so not a gamer.
Seriously.
I can't even play MarioBrothers....
But then my sister in law decided we needed this....
And suddenly???
I get home at night and ask Mikey when we can play.
I'm addicted.
I have my own band.
Even *e* likes it.
Jack would like us to bring it back the next time we come.
Jared's convinced he's the best of all of us....
(ahem)
Max, however, is not a fan.
But I am.
Rock out.
Surrender is stuck in my head. Katie and I just jammed out to some 15 minute-long song called Jessica or something like that. I don't even know. It is just good times. Mad good times. Who needs scrapping when there's Guitar Hero to be played?!
xoxo,
g

tgif.

Remember in the late 80s
(OK, and early 90s)
When TGIF meant watching Full House and Urkel (what was that show?! I can only think of Urkel)?!
Yeah. Mad good times.
Make me want to tease my bangs and go find a poster of John Stamos.

It is just a happy day. Other good things on this Friday:

• This article (OK, more the ensuing comment section) is making me giggle hysterically. I'd almost forgotten how bad those LFO lyrics were for Summer Girls. When you take a sip you buzz like a hornet/ Billy Shakespeare wrote a whole bunch of sonnets. Seriously?! I must confess that I am singing that song right now.
• The sweet nectar of the gods that is the Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Fully the hardest Starbucks drink for me to turn down.
• Downloading the "John Tucker Must Die" soundtrack (funny movie, not hilarious-- sorta like a funny afterschool special?).... dancing around my cube to the 80s-pop-ish strains of Stefy. Note to self: when Missy makes a music recommendation, listen to her. She is wise, young grasshoppers.
• The fact that this whole fam is still an hour and a half away for one more weekend. That really is the best part of my whole week. Hands down.
• Katie here for work next week (and that work sometimes rocks).
• Bacon, advocado, and tomato sandwiches at lunch today. Does it sound disgusting? It is not. I swears. So delish.
• No ice this morning. Thankful for that.
• The hilarity that is The Office. I was doubled over during the pinata scene. Poor Oscar.
• .... and speaking of TV-- sweet mother of mercy, Veronica Mars is finally back on Wednesday. Watch it. Please.

And that is all she wrote.
Happy weekends, my lovelies.
xoxo,
g

actin' stankin'

Hee.
In the words of Gwen (Missy is to thank for this one)... I've been actin' stankin'. Was reminded of this when we went to get Coley's bike this weekend and Jack was not happy. Jack wants a bike, too. Kinda like me. Wanting a baby. But its not time for Jack's bike. Or for me. So I'm going to stop acting like sour milk fell on the floor and buck up. Everything in time. And I know this, I really do.... it's not in my hands when this happens. Hee. Well. In some ways.
And now I have the giggles.

On a completely unrelated note
(lard and green beans, anyone?)
we have SNOW.
Max was thrilled until he remembered it makes him wet.
I'm still thrilled.

And unrelated note #2...
You can see Coley's new bike here, where my sisser demonstrates that she is a much better blogger than I can ever hope to be....

Back to work.
xoxox,
g

lard and green beans

70 degrees again here today.
Saw Oliver, our favorite husky show dog (his real name is some blahdity blah blah Sir Oliver Twist. hee. too much name for a floppy big ol' ball of fluff), and he was miserable.
Ready to move to somewhere that actually has a semblance of normal weather right now.
Max doesn't so much mind.
Tried to engage Oliver in playing.... Oli just wanted to sit by my feet and pant, unfortunately.

On a non-dog related note
(yes, I do have a few of those)
(but not many)
We're not pregnant again this month.
I feel like that is becoming a near constant refrain in my head... so I just wanted to put that out there. Missy's honesty always inspires me... But this whole-- what shall I call it?-- adventure in attempting to make a baby... makes me angry. And bitter. Makes me think and feel things I don't want to feel.... jealousy whenever I see a pregnant woman. I cannot do what my ob wants me to.... think about what every expectant mother's been through to get to that point. Nope. I see everyone else in the world having it easy. And I know that's not fair to me-- or to them. The green-eyed monster is strong within me. Faith less so. But I'm working on it. I really am...

Hung out with Jess this weekend. She always inspires me... even when I make two cards and then spend the rest of the night curled up under the card table reading idea books (we're two for two in "crops" at her house when this occurs). AND her husband had made homemade Godiva chocolate ice cream... ummmm. I am without words for how good that was.

More obsessed than usual with my crockpot. And beef. Hee. Hi, my name is Gabby and I'm obsessed with beef. Pretty sure the Mikey doesn't so much mind... and hey, ovaries! I have lots of iron.. shouldn't that count for something?!

Speaking of Mikey... I got those MM wall cling thingies for Valentine's day. One says "be mine." It's hanging on the wall, obviously, to which Mike says-- "Isn't the wall already ours?"

Bah bah ching!
On that note... In my parents' house, whenever we make an abrupt change of topic, we say "need any lard or green beans?"-- which is a really long story that doesn't need explaining. But this has been a very lard and green beans sort of post.
Hope everyone's having a wonderful start to their new year.
xoxox,
g

sweetness

Mike just got home from the mountains-- he was there today for work.
It snowed there.
I was jealous.
We never get snow HERE.
Who came home with a cooler full of snow?
That's my boy.
xoxo,
g

overheard today

While on our walk....

Me (to Max): Sheesh, it's like 70 degrees out here.
Max (to me): .............
(but I did get a funny look from him. I swear.)
Me: I definitely don't need a sweatshirt on.
Max: (more silence)
Me: So... what do you think about global warming now?
I'm pretty sure that Max went on and on about an Inconvenient Truth and industry self-regulation and the lack of national climate change legislation and our reliance on personal automobiles and whatnot. In his head, I mean. He just couldn't tell me. I stopped talking to him after this exchange, realizing that we were not the only people on the trail.
Yeah.
I just said people.

Happy 2007, dears.
xox,
g