Survivor

In two days I ran out of a brand new box of Hello Kitty Band-Aids.

Bleu is teething, and apparently I'm a tasty treat.

We stopped yelling and started walking out of the room when he begins to play rough.

It seems to work.

He gets sad and paces around. But he's nicer when he wants attention next time.

~

I know I have a rich intellectual life. But I just don't feel like it's there right now. Everything I do or say right now seems to involve Bleu. And when I have time to myself, my mind wanders to him. I like it, but I don't.

I can't imagine what it's like to have a kid.

I know it's different, but still it has to feel the same in some regards...

~

Lost returns this week. I'm all over that.

~

And this week I will be thinking about somethings other than Bleu: AWP in NY. My best wishes are with Car and her panel. You rock their worlds, girl. Represent the Why and Later!

Also, I'm thinking of my grandfather and the family...

~

Back to work. While sometimes thinking about Bleu...and a lot of other things I'm not articulating well.

My Bro Knows How to Take Some Bomb-Ass Pictures

View more of My Bro's pics on his Flickr page. And favorite these ones of Bleu.

!

Perhaps the closest to Inside the Actor's Studio I will ever get.

Props to Terence and the folks at IDEAL for choosing me as the feature interview this month!

Sad

Bleu's turning into a lap dog. From 6-11 every night for the past 3 weeks he's been sleeping in my lap.

Can you imagine an 80 lb lap dog?

Me neither.

Tonight I begin the slow break in this habit.

It's hell.

For me and him.

Thank God I only have 18 minutes left.

I just want to snuggle.

I can't imagine how he feels.

Oh, and btw, wtf, Heath Ledger? Dude, not cool. You'll be missed.

Triptych

Morning
























Afternoon
















Night

Waiting...For News

Mama Katherine and Daddy Ben

(dear friends from my days in Kent who are beyond amazing peeps!),

I'm waiting for the baby news.

C'mon, baby, make a break for it. Your mama is tired and needs her body back.

Plus, I'm dying to hear what it's like to be a mama. Well, a baby mama, not puppy mama.

Love you guys.

ps There's another mother-to-be I'm thinking of.

Oh, all these mamas gets me thinkin' about mamas...

OMG, How could I miss all this Britney?

I can't tell yet if I'm happy or sad about not having a clue what BS has been up to...

I really miss my Fafa time...Seriously, why must I work?

But soon enough I'll be back, supporting the paparazzi, while Bleu sleeps at my feet.

What How-To-Raise-A-Puppy Books Fail to Mention

10.) You will not have the rich online life you once had. No longer will be able to post several times to your blog in one day and have time to update your Twitter via IM or Text. And you won't be able to check Facebook 50 times a day. In other words, you'll learn how selfish you really are about your time, which may make you feel like a very horrible person for about a week. Then you learn you can make time for someone else and it's all good, and then you feel better again.

9.) Once you learn how selfish you are, you might cry. A LOT. Especially the first two days. I cried for about 24 hours straight. Sometimes because I was frustrated. Other times because I was so full of love I couldn't cope. During a crying fit, your puppy may look at you like you're crazy, but he will always come over to comfort you, which will make you cry more.

8.) Wear layers (I'm talking boxers, flannel pants, a tank, a T, a thermal, and a hoodie) to bed if you get a puppy in the middle of winter. This way at 3 a.m. when you forget to put on your coat when you take him out to pee, poop, or pee and poop you won't freeze your ass off. And always wear socks because you never know what you are going to step in...

7.) Read up on parasites. Especially if you are getting a pure breed dog from a kennel. Then ready yourself for the poop, which may be hard, soft, totally runny or a combo. Maybe it will have blood. In that case, don't panic. That's the sign of the parasite. Go to vet ASAP for meds. But just know that you will be thinking about poop for weeks.

6.) Get good at multitasking. For example, a puppy may fall asleep in your lap and you want him to sleep so you can take a break from the poop. Therefore, keep your laptop close as well as any other readings or work you must complete. If you need to move around, crate the puppy and work quickly. Chances are after an hour in the crate he will have to pee, poop, or pee and poop.

5.) Be calm and assertive as Cesar Millan says. The moment you panic about an accident and get upset and drag your puppy outside while you are screaming at the top of lungs, that could be the moment your puppy hates going outside. And the moment you baby talk instead of giving an order, the moment you lose control of your house. Trust me, I can't have either one of these things happen, and calm and assertive seems to be working. And be patient--I'm still learning this one...But every day I'm getting better.

4.) You'll learn more about your marriage from a puppy than ever before. For instance, I fell in love with FD all over again the night he cleaned up an accident while talking me down from a crying fit and calming Bleu down from a crazy-energy fit. I realized how patient and loving FD and I really are with each other, and what a great team we make. And how having a puppy has brought us together; we now go for walks and play as a family whereas before he'd work in his office and I'd work (or play on Facebook) in mine and we'd hang out when we were done.

3.) Create a Schedule. Puppies love routines, so get in one ASAP! I drew one up, so he'd be crated at the same time in the morning and afternoon so I can actually get shit done around the house. Needless to say, I'm loving it.

2.) Give commands while you are working in the kitchen or doing laundry. When you give your puppy something do while you are doing something you need to do, then it is less likely he will get into trouble.

1.) The moment you hold your puppy in your arms when you take him home, the moment you form an unconditional bond with him. I love Bleu so much I feel like a crazy person. Seriously, I would totally jack up anyone who hurt my pup. And every day I'm amazed at how smart and sweet he is. And how much he loves me, even when I have a "mad" moment. When he cuddles in my lap, I'm overwhelmed by love--love that I've never felt before. Love that makes me bawl like a baby.

I wasn't ready for all this love.

But I'm totally getting used to it.

Amendment to Resolutions

My life is still Puppy.

My escape is my campus office.

It's amazing how fast I can work when I get a full hour to work.

~

Does underwear and tights count as clothing? I think not. But just in case, I'm going to make an amendment to my resolution to be a better consumer and not buy "new" clothes. The amendment is I can by garments I need (ie underwear) and homemade/independent products like those found on Etsy.

How I love to create loopholes.

~

Back to work before I teach and then return home to the Puppy.

Why I'm MIA

For the past 4 days my life is Puppy.

I have a feeling I'm going to look at my students tomorrow and wonder why on earth they don't look like a litter of black lab puppies.

As of this moment in my life, adjusting to life with a puppy and training a puppy is one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences.

I'm learning so much about dogs, FD, and myself.

More on that soon. Probably after Bleu has mastered potty and crate training.

Plus, my precious-little-monster-moose is bound to wake up any minute...

Pilgrimage

Happy New Year from us to you!

And God bless Revolver Restaurant in Findlay, Ohio.

FD and I made the pilgrimage (a very quick 25 minute drive) down there for a very special New Year's Eve dinner. And I couldn't be happier about it.

Seriously, I'm going through Revolver withdrawal as I write this.

Some of you may remember my review of Revolver and its fantastic bathroom when FD and I went there for our 2nd wedding anniversary.

We loved it so much we HAD TO go back for New Year's Eve. Like I called the week before Thanksgiving to make reservations and they had to call me back because they hadn't figured out the NYE dinner services yet. Now that's LOVE!

The whole experience was heavenly. I recently wrote a Facebook friend, "A Revolver meal is love in food form."

First, it was Beatles night, which meant that we heard the Beatles the entire 3 hours we were dining. If you were raised on the Beatles and heart the Beatles like I do, then you can imagine how rad it was to eat such delicious food while listening to "Here Comes the Sun," "Something," "Two of Us," "I've Got A Feeling," and many, many other rad hits.

FD started the meal with a Barrel House Brewing Co. "Red Legg" Ale, a home-run from a Cincinnati brewing company.

One of the boatload of things I adore about Revolver: They use local products--produce and meats from local farms and beers brewed in Ohio. See what I mean when I say God Bless them?!

I started the night with the tastiest Cosmo ever made. Yum.

We spent quite a few moments talking to Debi, co-owner of Revolver. She knew who I was because she came across my review of Revolver and my post declaring my undying love for Revolver's bathroom. Which, may I mention, Debi and her staff sterilized and wiped down SEVERAL times WHILE we were there on NYE. Seriously, can I get another God Bless?!

The food on New Year's Eve was even better than our summer visit. I trust restaurants where they out-do themselves consistently, not just blow your mind the first time--like, sadly, Cohen and Cooke when they were on Main Street in Bowling Green.

For a complete photo journal of the eight course New Year's Eve Dinner, visit Flickr. But I'll give you a little teaser.

Amuse Bouche: American Sturgeon caviar with banana, avocado, cucumber, and creme fraiche. Imagine a small salty, sweet fruity party in your mouth, then multiply it by a billion of fun. That's this dish.

Course 1: Fois gras with golden raisins, currants, grapes, and toasted brioche. It was my first time tasting fois gras. I was scared. I am no longer scared. Instead I am addicted.

Course 2: Sea scallop with braised oxtail and orange-ginger reduction. OK, I'm totally allergic-will-die-from-shelled-seafood, so Chef Micheal made me special truffle-butter raviolis with braised oxtail. I'm special and very lucky. This was purely winter comfort food. Think pot roast but waywayway tastier.

Course 3: Duck consomme with sage and rutabega noodles. So delectable we used our rolls to help lick our bowls clean. Without our rolls, I think we would have for-real licked our bowls with our tongues. Gorgeous presentation too.

Course 4: Roasted monkfish with veal sweetbreads and celery root-apple puree. Monkfish is my new favorite fish--so moist and mild but completely perfect with the sweetbreads, which tasted like a crispy, juicy chicken wing pumped with crack. I was scared of sweetbreads before too. Right now I'm totally craving them. Most people are really scared of these delicacies like sweetbreads, but I firmly believe that's because they haven't had them served correctly. My philosophy is if I'm going to go big and eat at sweet restaurants like Revolver, I must be willing to try new things. Otherwise, I should be eating at Applebee's or the wretched Reverend Chico's. (Yuck.) (Sidenote: I wasn't really crazy about the puree. It just didn't seem like part of the dish like all the components in the other dishes. It seemed more like an after-thought. But I'm no Gordon Ramsay...)

Course 5: Lamb with homemade merguez sausage, calypso beans and roasted red peppers. This dish was my favorite. The absolute perfect winter comfort food. The lamb was cooked perfectly, and with the sausage, beans, and pepper, it had all the seasoning it needed. (Yes, I loved it so much I forgot to take a picture of it before I started eating. Ooops...)

Course 6: Fiddlehead tomme with pancetta and apple crumble. Imagine a rich salty and sweet almost dessert with the tang of Swiss cheese. Mmmmmm....

Course 7: Angel food bread pudding with tangerine ice cream and eggnog served warm. Exactly what I imagine the food in heaven tasting like. Absolutely perfect.

If after reading the menu, you're still not convinced, then I guess you're just going to have to go to Revolver and taste it for yourself. Seriously, if you live in Northwestern Ohio or anywhere in the vicinity (hell, if you would travel anywhere for food), you MUST go to Revolver. The prices are beyond affordable for the priceless food and the phenomenal customer service. At least experience a meal there once on a really special occasion. I know for sure if you do, you'll go back again and again. And if you go, tell them "the girl who wrote a blog post about the bathroom" sent you.

One last thing I just can't overlook:

Dear Jack-ass-Who-Sat-At-The-4-Top-Next-to-Us, next time you go to a "nice" restaurant act your age, not a fool, and drink some water in-between your one-too-many beers. You were grossly rude to the staff and inconsiderate of the diners around you as well as your obviously-embarrassed girlfriend, who should dump your f'-ing ass ASAP.

Love, Revolver's-#1-Fans.

I'm Dedicated

After much thought, I've come up with 5 realistic resolutions for 2008.

1.) Be a good doggy-mama. Tomorrow we pick up our boy Bleu, and our journey with him will be begin. Being that this is my first time being a doggy-mama, I'm excited and nervous. No matter what, though, I want to train him to be a fabulous dog, which is something I know I can do with much work and commitment.

2.) Be a better consumer. I LOVE shopping. Too much. This year I resolve to think before spending. First, I'm not going to purchase any brand-new clothes--only resale clothes, which will be easy considering I don't have any worthwhile resale shops around me. I really want to learn to recycle clothing (albeit still designer clothes only) more instead of buying something on a whim or buying something to "feel" better. Plus, I want to see how much of my clothes I really wear. Second, once the Farmers Markets open in the Spring, I'm going to really try to buy as many groceries from them rather than the grocery store. More and more I'm disgusted by the processed foods we eat, the high costs for the little value, and the unnatural cycle of consumerism when we simply could be supporting our local farms. I firmly believe by reevaluating what I spend money on, I can control the amount of "crap" in my life and faithfully practice the valuable lesson of "want not, need not."

3.) Limit eating out to ONE meal a week and save up for a meal at Revolver during each season. After reading the post about our New Year's Eve dinner, you can see why I would make this one of my resolutions.

4.) Drink 45 fl. oz. of water a day with the goal to strengthen my bladder, cleanse my system, and control my diet.

5.) Continue my daily and weekly class yoga practice.

These are do-able. Totally. And challenging. Totally.

Here we go 2008. I'm excited to see what this year has in store.