September 30, 2007 by samantha.

The other day, a friend of mine asked me why I only share pictures of Ophelia asleep. The only time I can take pictures of her is when she is sleeping! She is on the go all the time and moves too fast. And she is so cute when she is sleeping!!! So far, she has been pretty easy. I have had to clean up a few messes and redirect her to toys that she can chew on. Val and Ophelia are getting along great. They share a bed every night for their pre-bedtime nap. They are constantly playing and Val puts Ophelia in her place when it is needed. I think Ophelia has learned that Val is top dog. I hope for Ophelia’s sake that she has!

Ophelia went in for her second set of shots on Saturday and she is in good health. She weighs a whopping 28lbs. Val only weighs 50lbs. I think dear sweet Ophelia is going to be a big girl! Once again, I think the size of her feet will back me up!

On a non-dog note, I had a great weekend. I took it easy and slow. It was what I needed to regroup and revitalize myself. I watched the season premiers of my favorite shows. Did any of you watch House? Oh my god! I love that show! It has to be the best show on TV.

Finally, I had to share this picture of my puppy. She slept this way for a half-hour or so. I am going to go out on a limb and say she feels very comfortable with her new family!

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September 20, 2007 by samantha.

Life with Ophelia has been fair from boring or ordinary. As a matter of fact, I cannot remember a time that she was not in our lives. She has added a spark to our daily and somewhat mundane routine. But I would not change it for the world.

I think Val is happy. I hope she is happy. I would be crushed if she were not. I know that she is a dog, but you know how I am about her. I am more concerned about her happiness than mine. What can I say? I am crazy. But at least I have a great dog to be crazy about. Val will always hold a very special place in my heart. Too show what I dork I am, as I write this I have tears in my eyes!

Back to Ophelia, she is learning her name. I love calling her because she gets so excited when I call her. Her ears perk up, she smiles, and runs at full speed toward me. She eats as much as an elephant. The puppy cannot get enough food! Ophelia is going to eat me out of house and home! She loves her toys, especially her rope toy. She chews on that thing for minutes… and when it comes to puppy time that is forever! Ophelia is getting used to sleeping in her crate at night. As a matter of fact she slept seven hours straight last night. It was wonderful.

My biggest concern is that she is teething. I am trying to find toys for her to chew on that are just as much fun as the coffee table. So far, we have done well. I keep a close eye on her. She is not out of my sight often. Ophelia enjoys being outside, so that helps. Val and her spend the day outside when I am at work and that works out great. It means very few accidents in the house!!!

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September 16, 2007 by samantha.

It did not take long for Ophelia to realize that I am a sucker. She has already made herself comfortable on the couch. As a matter of fact, most of her naps today were on the couch.

She went for two walks, made some friends, rode in the car, and attempted to beat up Val. When I ran my errands, I left both dogs outside and they survived. Last night was interesting. Ophelia whimpered every time I left her in her crate. I tried taking her on my bed so that she would fall asleep so I could put her back in the crate.

No luck. After 1am, I decided to just let her whimper. She finally fell asleep until around 3am. We all trooped outside, they did their business, and went back to bed. Around 7am, I woke up and we all started our day.

So far, things have not been too bad. Ophelia is teething and wants to chew everything. I give her some toys to chew on and so far it has distracted her. I think her favorite toys are a cardboard box and a paper bag. She walks on a leash very well and has not fussed about her collar.

I was most worried about Val, but she seems to be handling the change very well. I think that Val enjoys having a buddy around. They tussle and play chase. Ophelia follows Val everywhere. If Ophelia cries, Val runs to her and gives her a kiss. I think we are going to be one, small, happy family.

Of course, ask me if I still feel the same way in a few weeks!

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September 15, 2007 by samantha.

She made it… and now she is fast asleep. As a matter of fact, Ophelia is sitting next to me on the couch and in the middle of a dream. She had a heck of a flight, but you would never know it. Ophelia made herself right at home. And I am so proud of Val. She immediately wanted to play with Ophelia. Ophelia was a little tired, so Val just licked her and went away. Every once in awhile, Val comes to check on the new addition to our family. After a lick or two, Val goes and lies down. I have taken a few pictures and you know that I will be taking a million more. I am proud new momma! She is beautiful! She has ten fingers and ten toes. She is perfect! I could go on, but I will wait!

Check out that pink tummy!!!! And those paws!!! Oy Vay!! She is going to be big!

Posted in Ophelia, Val | 5 Comments »

September 15, 2007 by samantha.

She should be here in about seven hours. Val and I are going to go Ophelia shopping. We need to get a long list of items. I am so excited! I am trying to make sure that I am 100% prepared, but I know that I am far from it. Once I have a few pictures, I will post them. Maybe I should take the week off of school? We need some bonding time. Val cannot have all the fun! Have I mentioned that I excited!?!?!

Posted in Ophelia, Val, Weekends | 2 Comments »

September 10, 2007 by samantha.

I cannot sleep. I have not had a night like this in a long time, but it stinks. I want to sleep, but I cannot. I cannot think of any major reason why. Of course, I am running through every possible reason why I cannot sleep. Here is what I have come up with.

School is a little bit stressful. I am not organized and that stresses me out. Hopefully that will come to an end soon. This week is going to bring about some big changes. But the changes will be good ones. These changes will ease the stress and get me on track. I know that I will not be 100% organized any time soon, but anything is better than how things are now!

I see some of my friendships evolving in ways that I am not sure that I like. And then I look back on them and I realize that they never were what I thought they were. That I find troublesome. I now recognize that some friendships that I thought were strong never were. I think I am okay with that. Maybe it has run its course and now it is time to move on. The friendship is not coming to an end, but just moving to the next stage. On the flip side, a friendship that I never really appreciated is stronger than I thought. It is balanced and fair. No one is giving more than the other and no one is feeling uncomfortable. We are not afraid to put each other in their place. It is amazing what happens when you step back and open your eyes!

Ophelia should hopefully be arriving this week. I called the airlines and have her on a tentative flight out on Friday. The flight is tentative since it all depends on the weather on the day of her flight. I am so excited, but a bit nervous. I do not worry about Val and her getting along. I know that there will be some bumps, but all will work out in the end. I am worried about the potty training for one. I think that it will probably be easier than I think, but I am not looking forward to it. I am really looking forward to her arrival and I know that it is going to be great. I hope that once she is out here, new worries will replace my current worries!

Now that I have gotten all of this off my chest, maybe I can sleep. If not, Monday is going to be a very long day! What am I to do!?!?!? Get over it and move on!

Before I forget, Insomnia is a great song by a group called Faithless. You should check it out! They are a bearable techno band and that is saying a lot. Dido got her start with them!

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September 2, 2007 by samantha.

Every once in awhile, I like to read a silly book. I think people call it Chick Lit. Usually, it is a dumb book that you cannot put down. It is not a great work of literature, but a fun little departure from thinking. Most of the time I browse through the book and concentrate mostly on the dialogue. That is exactly how I read How Nancy Drew Saved My Life by Lauren Baratz-Logsted. I picked it up early this morning (2am to be exact) and finished it just a few minutes ago.

I found the book walking in through a bookstore and the title caught my eye. I never could be into the original Nancy Drew series, but I always wanted to. Unfortunately, this book was just as ridiculous as I had expected. The story is about a young girl that falls in love with her boss and, of course, her life falls apart. She needs to get away from everything, so she takes a nanny assignment in Iceland. See what I mean about this being a ridiculous book!?!??! I did enjoy learning a little bit about Icelandic culture and the supporting characters were cute. But the story itself was so farfetched. I think my students could have written a better book with a more believable plot.

The one silver lining is that while I was reading the book, my grandmother turned on the air! Thank goodness! I would have melted if she had not. It is still hot inside the house, but at least it is bearable… if you sit right next the fan!

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September 2, 2007 by samantha.

I cannot remember the last time I was so happy that it was a weekend! It is sad to day that after only eight days of school, but I mean it! I have no spectacular plans for this three-day weekend. I had thought of going to the beach or the Wild Animal Park while in San Diego, but it is too damn hot! I keep saying that I shouldn’t be complaining since it was a cool summer, but I cannot help it. And as crazy as it sounds, it is humid! Not Florida humid, but California humid. For some reason it seems worse. Maybe it is because I am not used to the humidity anymore. Who knows! I am thankful for air conditioning! How did people survive without it?!?!?

Tonight I watched Adaptation. It was different, but good. At first I was all confused about what was going on, but I soon caught on and was hooked. It was about adapting the book The Orchid Thief into a movie. It was actually pretty funny. Nicholas Cage’s character has this inner monologue running throughout the movie that is hilarious.

I was supposed to go to bed early, but I got sucked into my book. I just finished Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. It is a teeny-bopper book that caught my eye. I had read a review saying that it was a bit controversial, so I of course had to read it! It is about a teenager named Liz that dies and what happens to her after her death. She learns that there is no Heaven or Hell, there is just a place called Elsewhere. In Elsewhere people do not get older. Instead, they get younger. Eventually, they make it back to Earth as a newborn and have no recollection of Elsewhere. It was kind of a different take on the afterlife. I really enjoyed the book and I am a little sad that I finished it. It was an easy, light read that I would highly recommend!

Posted in Weekends, Books, Rants | 1 Comment »