A Wild Adventure

Today we followed doctor's orders to walk, walk, walk. Where better to walk than San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. We spent a beautifully warm winter day among the greatest of animals. Here are a few pictures from our fun....

I Feel Pretty....Oh So Pretty

Today was grooming day at our house...literally....ALL of us. First, Prinnie and Digby had their turns with our mobile groomer, and later Shar and I got new highlights, cuts and quaffs. We couldn't resist sharing some of the pictures of our babies with their new do's!

Prinnie and her Whale

Prinnie has been one that never really plays with toys. She prefers to get lovin's and snuggle up with her family, or run around like a crazy woman outside as she tells the world that she is sure her space ship is coming for her. She also is great at announcing to the whole neighborhood when we come home from a short outing.

Yesterday, and then again today though, she has been absolutely adorable with her favorite toy, a stuffed whale. After we came home from taking care of some medical stuff and stopping at a store today, we offered both she and Digby the chance to go out to go "potty" as soon as we got in the house. Prinnie decided that her whale had to go "potty" really badly, so she scooped him up in her mouth and took him outside with her as she sped up to a full dash. Once outside, feeling the warm Santa Ana breezes running through her now -grown winter coat, she made two complete laps of the yard with Whale in her mouth. She dropped Whale and let him potty as she ran for a favorite spot of her own.

When they both were done, Prinnie picked up Whale and brought him to the back door (Mommy carried him in the rest of the way). This may not sound like much, but it's a big deal for a little dog that historically has shown no interest in any type of toy. Here she is, proud as can be with her Whale....

Shake, Rattle & Roll

"I felt the earth move.....under my feet.....I felt the sky a tumblin', tumblin' down......"

All right - enough of the tunes, but we did have an earthquake tonight that had us getting up as if we were struck with a taser gun on our back sides!!! It was initially reported at a 5.0, with the epicenter just north of us by about 20 miles, but later downgraded following some aftershocks to a 4.5. Who needs numbers, though.

Shar ran for a doorway, Digby and Prinnie barked and cried. All very responsible or at least reasonable responses. The first thing I did when I popped up from our comfy couch was to run to the TV as if to hold it from tipping over! Our neighbors called to see if we were ok, (something we all do anytime we have a quake - neighborhood check-in) and when I told them that I was poised in front of the TV, they gently reminded me of my weight limitations, and asked me what on earth I was thinking to assume that I could hold up a large TV while being not far out of surgery.

My response? "Oh crap, I didn't even think about that!" Brilliant - just brilliant!!!

A Very Expensive Cholcolate Bar

We ended 2008 with a little drama, which is always good to make sure the heart gets a good cardio workout!

We were out in the dining room area (who know's doing what), when we decided to walk to the garage area. On our way through, we saw a paper wrapper on the living room floor. Shar went over to pick it up and found that it was a perfectly consumed, 3 0z chocolate bar wrapper. The guilty party?? Digby. The little bugger had jumped up to the desk and taken off (in perfect silence, of course) a really, really good dark cholcolate bar that had yet to be opened! I guess he figured that he needed it more than we did. He literally had to have eaten it in seconds, leaving only about half of the paper and aluminum wrapper.

Shar immediately called our vet, who said that we needed to take him to the emergency room, and Pronto! Since I had to stay home with a healing Tiki Boy, Shar harnessed and leashed Digby and off they went. Within 15 minutes, Shar called to say that as soon as she walked in the door, the nursing staff had immediately taken Digby to the back area, while asking as many details about the chocolate bar as possible.

A few minutes later, the vet came in to a private room to tell Shar (and me, since I was on her cell's speaker phone) that they were making Digby vomit and giving him charcoal to absorb any remnants of his "treat". He went on to say that due to Digby's size, a lethal dose of chocolate would be 5 ounces. Thank god - Digby only ate 3 ounces!

Fear turned to laughter and then to thoughts of disbelief. At least Digby would be ok. Then came the bill. For the whole hour and a half he was there, that chocolate bar costs us $250.00. He better have enjoyed it.....ALOT!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.....

We'd like to wish you all a very, merry Christmas tomorrow. We hope you are safe in your travels, and welcome in the new year with love, peace, family and open arms.

We count this past year as the best of our lives, and are grateful to each and every one of you for being a part of our "family".

Too Cute

We just got this picture in an e-mail of adorable picture of toddlers with their pets (Thanks Bud!)......this was our favorite!!!

New Member of the Family

Yep, we've been HORRIBLE at keeping up with this blog for the past few weeks. Our apologies. We can use the excuse of getting ready for Christmas, work and tons of other things that have occupied our time (all of which are true), but the bottom line is that we just haven't taken the time to sit down and write anything.

My work schedule has been crazy, to say the least, the past few weeks. I've been busy working some nights until late in the evening, or coming home too tired to look at another computer until my weary eyes can rest for a few hours.

All in all, it's been a good past few weeks. Today, we were trying to finish up our Christmas shopping, and ran into this cute little pup. We named him KAS, and in the cart he went! Once home, we introduced KAS to the "kids". Digby sniffed all over, and accepted him pretty easily (of course with treats), but little Prinnie was scared to death of him. She would barely be in the same room as him, but wouldn't come within 5 feet of him OR her treat! The picture below is the closest she came, and you can tell by her look that she wasn't all too happy about it.

We were just talking about how it's been nearly a year since we adopted Prinnie, what a joy she has been and how happy we are to have her. One thing we have really come to learn is that she LOVES routine, direction and consistency. She is a dog of habit, and does best when she knows exactly what is expected of her, and what will come next (Don't we all!). When her routine is altered, she gets scared, which for her means tons of barking and running around in what most would call psychotic circles.

We tried to tell her that KAS won't hurt her, but he is something new, and new for Prinnie is like jumping out of a plane for most of us. The best part about KAS????????? I was able to convince S that KAS is a GREAT addition - no pooping in the house, no barking, and no shedding! Phew! I think I made it through this year with no more live critters!!!

A True Gift...

We received an incredible gift today from our friends in New Mexico. The package was sent as part of a "Pay it Forward" surprise. We, as anyone, love to get surprises at our door. This one was special. This box was for our whole family, and each one of us knew it.

We scurried to the dining room where Shar placed the box on the floor. Prinnie, Digby and Peanut Butter huddled around to see what was inside. As she began to unwrap the box, the kids assisted with their snouts and paws, as if to say that she wasn't opening it fast enough. Once opened, they each took a turn poking their head inside and grabbing a perfectly wrapped gift with their name on it.

Digby found a pouch of treats, and as if he knew they were for him and Prinnie, took off with the bag in his mouth for a mad dash to the living room. Prinnie, with help from mommy, grabbed a gift and began to paw at it, hoping it would magically open.

By now, Peanut Butter was off batting around her new mousey, as Digby had taken his new squeaky bone to another room to play. Prinnie began to roll her new ball around the floor, chasing it with a vengeance!

Shar and I were able to have a brief moment to open an incredible CD on Hot Air Balloons - one of our favorite things, and read the accompanying letter from our friends. We looked around at our little family, and I swear everyone had a smile from ear to ear. Such kindness, such thoughtfulness went into these gifts. There was even a special new tradition started for us by our givers - a "Places" leash with the first of what we hope will be many, many pins from all of the places we hope to visit. Our first pin was that of a hot air balloon from New Mexico. Prinnie, as if knowing it would fit her perfectly, begged for a walk on the new leash, to which we had to oblige.

Today was a gift....a gift of knowing that we are worthy of a special friendship with very special people. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts Siku, Susan and Steve.

We are already preparing our "Pay It Forward" surprise!

TGIF

It's great getting back to our blog, and knowing that we are helping a few of you live vicariously through our crazy antics. Poor things, but we'll do our best to make your lives full and exciting!! :)

I'm afraid we don't have anything really exciting for today. See, we bought a flat screen TV about 3 weeks ago. At the same time, we also bought a new entertainment center for the TV to sit on. We brought the TV home that night, but the entertainment center had to be ordered, and was scheduled for delivery today! YEA! Finally we would have both items together instead of the "pretend" table we had the new TV on until now.

Just as we were getting all excited that our living room would return to a fully furnished space, THEY called! THEY said that the entertainment center was being loaded on the truck for delivery, and was damaged! Not just slightly damaged, but kaput damaged! When asked how long it would be before we could get a new one delivered, they quickly responded that we can expect to get it in early 2010! CRAP!!! OK, only kidding, but it really will be another week or two.

We also spent the day frustrated as heck with our medical insurance company and health care providers (one in the same, of course) after ping-ponging phone calls. It's really a hard place to be in when you don't want to tick off your surgeon BEFORE they rip your guts out, but really want some answers and feel you aren't anything more than a number on their schedule.

So see, those of you who say you lead very boring lives, you really aren't any different than us on a typical day. Maybe we flop out of kayaks a little more than you, but a day in our life is pretty boring at times too.

Speaking of a typical day, Prinnie was having her after dinner cuddle time with mommy tonight. This picture was too cute not to share. Brother Digby felt left out, so we snapped a pic of him so that he could be "part of" too!