I've lost my hairdresser! and other miscellaneous stuff.

My hairdresser (MJ) relocated recently. According to Craig we discussed receiving a postcard from her saying where to find her. I have no recollection of this discussion and can't find the postcard! MJ if you are out there reading this, please send another card or call me at the farm! I'm desperate for a cut and need my eyebrows waxed. I'll tip double if you call! :) Update: I found MJ and I'm making an appointment in the morning!

Yesterday, in honor of my new pedicure, I wore sandals to work. I got bit on the toe by a cricket! I've worked here 5 years and worn sandals every summer and never been bitten by a cricket. I didn't even know they bit. My co-worker T also got bit yesterday. Do we have some freak batch of nasty ones running around? Can I blame this somehow on global warming?

Last night we took the dogs for a w-a-l-k. It was perfect weather. About 76 degrees F and the sun was starting to set so it wasn't blazing down on us. Chew hasn't started shedding his winter coat and was just ROASTING. When we got home he got into the tub and waited for me to turn on the shower for him. He laid in the tub basking in the rain of cold water for several minutes. Then he got out and shook - all over me.

We get a second estimate for a fence tonight. Hopefully this one will be more reasonable, because the estimate from Lowe's was pretty obscene. Update: We had a local fence company come out tonight. He was extremely nice and helpful and he was shocked at the quote we got from Lowe's. We are awaiting his official quote, but he expects it to be 1/3 of the other one. Even if it weren't, we'd go with them because he was so helpful.

We finally broke down and special ordered a portable dishwasher. It arrives Friday. Yeay.

Have I mentioned recently that I LOVE my car? We've had the Prius back from the body shop for a little more than a week now and every time I get in I breathe a sigh of appreciation. I just love that car.

We are leaving next week on the Amtrak for St. Louis. I've been looking forward to this trip for months. I need a vacation. We're going to the zoo and the Gateway Arch for sure, not sure what else we will do.

That's all the "miscellany" I have for now.

The Moment of Truth.

We recently bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner (off of QVC, I hate to admit - they had flex-pay, so we could finally afford to buy one!). We've been in the market for a new vacuum for a while and wanted to get a Dyson because the old one was limping along and with 2 heavily shedding large dogs, we really needed a better cleaner. I also HATED dumping the canister of our old vacuum. It got crud all over the place, including my lungs, when you had to pull that stupid, filthy, filter out of the center of the canister.

Well, we are doing our Spring cleaning today and putting the Dyson to it's first major cleaning. I had the moment of truth a little while ago when I had to empty the canister for the first time. I LOVE THIS VACUUM! Push a button, squeeze a trigger, canister is empty. That alone makes this vacuum worth every penny! Plus (at the risk of sounding like a commercial) there are no filters to clean or replace, no belts to break, it is lighter, it's quieter. One drawback, it's purple and red and makes me feel like I'm pushing a little old Red Hat Society lady around my living room.

Oh, and, as an added bonus, I got a child sized vacuum with it too. Not that we have kids. I'm thinking of teaching Chewie to push the baby vacuum around the room.

It was a glorious day for fence running!

Woo Hoo!

Happy first day of Spring!! Time for spring cleaning, robins, worms, tulips, daffodils, cooking out, and new dog fences! Woo Hoo! My favorite season!

Canine Gastronome

Recently, we have been having some issues with dog eating disorders. Booker has always had issues with bulimia. It comes and goes. Right now we've (and by we, I mean Craig) been cleaning vomit up at least once a day for several weeks. You're probably yelling, "Why haven't you taken him to the vet!?" We know it is because he inhales his food sans mastication and then vomits it all up 15 minutes later. He's always had the problem. We think it is from his early life of living on the streets. We never yell at him for it, but recently he has started trying to hide it by covering it with whatever he can. The other day Craig found some under a washcloth and I saw him pulling a blanket and a towel over it.

Chewie, on the other hand, has never had issues with food. We got him much younger and he's always had the bin of food in the corner that he knows that he can get into in case of "emergency". He likes to graze rather than binge. However, he recently decided that he really doesn't care one way or another if he eats. He just sniffs at it, takes a kernel, drops the kernel, sniffs again, walks away. He'll eat when he's hungry but it makes it a challenge when Booker stakes out Chewies dish waiting for us to look away so he can steal a few gulps before we catch him.

In light of these issues, we decided to go to the pet store and browse the dog foods to find an allergy food for Booker. We read and compared the bags and finally decided on Natural Balance Potato and Duck Ultra Premium Dog Food. No soy, corn, wheat, rice, eggs, or dairy; especially for dogs with allergies or sensitive stomachs. You've never seen happier dogs! Booker hasn't hurled in 24 hours and Chewie picks thru the mix of old and new food for all the new food and then resigns to eat the rest. Then they beg for more. Apparently, our dogs are as big of food snobs as we are. Who'd've thought?

A Few Comments on Fingers

Yesterday at work my co-workers were comparing their manicures. Both had lovely, long, painted, filed nails. My nails, in contrast, are chewed stubs with torn cuticles. Even if I didn't chew off my nails, I couldn't have long nails. I've tried, but they interfere with my typing (75 wpm) and with making frames. As it is I slice the nails with the chopper blades when making cuts on the frames.

On another finger related note, I burned the daylights out of my thumb and fingers on my left hand last night. Never grab a metal handle just out of a 400* oven to hold your pizza stone while cutting your pizza. No blisters, I guess I got them under cold water fast enough. However, I had 150 frames to make last night and the burns were making that difficult. I sent Craig to the office supply store for some "finger condoms" (or whatever they are called) and in the meantime concocted some finger protectors out of rubber bands and duct-tape. It amused me so I thought I would share. They actually worked better than the finger condoms since those only came in Med-LG and didn't fit on anything but my thumb.