Most annoying dog

Yesterday I worked from home to let my poison ivy-ridden body heal. And because I was actually working and not taking a day to spend with Barry, he got a little lonely.

When he gets bored and I'm not paying attention, he does things to get my attention.

Like climbing on to my closet shelf.

Or tossing things out of boxes to sit in them.

Or trying to squeeze in really tight spots.

I bet I can get up here...

Oh, hai!

Umph, just gotta turn around...

Ooh.. balance...

Ta Da! Hey Mom, look at me!

He climbed my stack of boxes like a mountain goat.

And got all nosey in my stuff.

So I yelled at him finally and made him go outside.

Where he sulked.

My dog is an asshole.

Barry's Theme

Breakfast

I woke up this morning, made some breakfast (swiss cheese omelet with salsa, toast and coffee) and ate it on my patio.

It was a perfect morning. Cool enough to wear a sweatshirt and shorts, but with the promise of getting warmer later.

Barry kept me company as we watched the day wake up. I saw a cardinal flip about from branch to branch. I heard other birds say hello. The train whistled in the distance and Barry kept a very close eye on the squirrels.

It was one of those moments where I was keenly aware of my surroundings, who I was and what it took to get me here. And I liked it.

It had the makings of a very good day.

A walk in the park

I love that I have nearby access to wonderful parks. So many trails for Barry and I to explore and pine cones to stomp on. There's nothing quite as satisfying to me as to hear their crunch under my feet.

The Happiness Project

I am reading a book called "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. She also has an accompanying blog.

In it she chronicles a year-long project where she tries to bring more happiness into her life by test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. This is not to say that she was unhappy in her life.

In it I've found some pearls of wisdom that got me thinking.

Research shows that regularly having fun is a key factor in having a happy life; people who have fun are twenty times as likely to feel happy.

Having fun is one of the things that Charles accused me of. Of always wanting to have fun. As ridiculous as I thought it was when he texted that to me, I think its absolutely absurd now.

Now, I'm not bringing this up to place blame on Charles. I forgive him, I'm not angry at him and even though now I see that we are not a long-term match, there are qualities of his that I will miss very much.

But I believe that when an opportunity is there to have fun, to appreciate the lightness and joy that an activity can bring, that you need to take full advantage of it. Because when you're faced with something heavy and definitely not fun, you're going to need those happy reserves to get you through.

I had my share of non-fun times with Charles. I thought that in order to restore the balance, we needed a lot of catching up to do on fun. At least I did. I don't have control over what he feels or what he does; I can only control me.

I am sorry that we didn't get that chance. He also accused me of wanting to be friends. Again, I don't understand that argument. But I told him, "isn't that where we need to begin?"

So on this gorgeous, 80F, sunny, North Carolina day, I can enjoy the simplicity -- the fun -- of sitting on my porch drinking a beer, watching my dog lounge in the grass as I read my book.

And smile.

2010 Christmas Card

This year's Christmas card!

Oh What Fun Christmas 5x7 folded card

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Barry mouse hunting

Barry is doing what he loves, hunting for field mice.

Barry in the wild

There is a mystery in my house.


That was finally solved.

What's that noise

A mystery solved.

A clean dog

Maybe I'm not the only one who likes my shower curtain. Barry seems to have taken a liking to it, too.

I don't know what's so appealing about sitting in the bathtub for him.

But it's obviously something he enjoys.

Bad Dog

Barry has not been a good house guest. While I was in NJ 2 weeks ago, I got a text from Charles with this picture.

Charles was on the receiving end of Barry's mouth and got a puncture wound. (!) Needless to say that Charles was not happy and Barry became an outside dog from that point on. Actually, he's no longer invited to stay here.

This is crushing to me. Imagine picking up your life and starting over in a new place and the only constant thing, your dog who has been your best friend for 5 years is now no longer the family pet who gets to hang out on the edge of the bed. But he's the invited house guest who has to live outside, like an animal, until I can bring him back to New Jersey to my parents' house.

I won't lie. I cried a lot knowing that my friend fucked up his chances of living with me in my new home. I don't know what will be the ending to this chapter of the story. My parent's won't keep him forever. I will likely have to find him a new home.

Home sweet home

Barry seems to be adjusting to his new home quite nicely.

Scardy dog

This is what happens when it's thundering outside.

I really poop, too!

This is my response to Skim and her tweet.

Getting woken up for sex is one thing...

...but this is ridiculous!


Every morning, I'm woken up by the same thing. A furry pounding against an arm or a leg by my horny dog.

He starts off innocently enough: a nuzzle, a lick. But then he nonchalantly straddles the exposed appendage and just sits. Then his hips start rocking back and forth, slowly at first, until he's in full thrusting mode and I hear the tags on his collar jingling away.

This will continue until he get's a flick in his wiener or a kick in the side of his head. He is from the school of 'no means yes'.

Favorite part of my day

...is coming home to see my furry guy waiting for me.

Hide and Seek

Barry has this new thing going. He looks for impossible places to fit his body to hide from everyone. He's been doing this for a few weeks and I don't understand why.

This morning I was getting ready to leave for work. I yelled out to Barry to say goodbye and there was no response.

Hmm, that's strange.

I went into the bedrooms and looked under the bed. No dog.

I went into the bathrooms and looked in the bathtubs. No dog.

I opened closet doors all over the house. Maybe he got stuck in there? No dog.

By this time I looked in his known hiding spots and I couldn't find him anywhere. I started to wonder, "did I leave him outside? Could he have unlocked the door and take himself for another walk? Nah, he doesn't have opposable thumbs."

So I had to revert to the only known trick that could root Barry out from where ever he was hiding.

"Do you want to go for a ride to Mommy's house?"

In the kitchen I heard the jingle of his collar. A heard a cabinet door open and shut. And Barry came happily trotting around the corner into the living room where I was.

I couldn't help but laugh. Barry can now nose my kitchen cabinets open and nudge his way inside just so he could sit in a dark, enclosed space.

I have a weird dog.

Barry vs. the Bus

What I do when no one is listening

Barry is my friend. And being my friend, he gets special treats that only a real friend would get. He gets his own songs sung for him in his honor.

My made-up songs are usually sung to the tune of commonly-known diddies, often using variations of Barry's name (Barry Fuzznoze, Barry Dog) and some activity, usually smelling his butt.

So today I will enlighten you with some more songs to get stuck in your head.

(Sung to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine")

You are my fuzznose, my Barry Fuzznose
You are so fuzzy, I like your nose
You never know, nose
How much I know, nose
How you like to smell your butt.

(Sung to the tune of the "Oscar Mayer Bologna" song)

My Barry has a first name, it's B-A-R-R-Y
My Barry has a second name it's F-U-Z-Z-nose
I like to squish him every day
And if you ask me why I'll say
That Barry Fuzznose has a way
Of smelling his butt every day

(sung to the tune of the "Lone Ranger Theme")

Barry dog, Barry dog, Barry dog dog dog
Barry dog, Barry dog, Barry dog dog dog
Barry dog, Barry dog, Barry dog dog dog
Yooou are a Barry dog.

Canine infedility

I love Dooce's dog!
I can never get Barry to wear things on his feet or balance things on his head.

Silly dog.