Monthly Archives: March 2010

Three 3-Dog Nights

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This weekend I am hosting my friend B’s two chihuahuas, Diego and Rosie, which brings the dog total in my house up to a whopping three. Counting my horrible cat, the furry beast total is at an all-time high of four. It’s been a ton of fun to watch the little cuties hang out together.

Rosie: Not Yet a Fan of Egon

At first Rosie was not a big fan of Egon, but in the end they have wound up napping and playing together the entire time. Diego and Egon go way back as buds, so they’re always happy to hang out. Here are a few snaps from the weekend:

[84/365] Rosie the Chihuahua

Rosie on the Couch

Rosie: Chihuahua, one year old. Nervous and shy about new people and new dogs, but always feels safe inside her little crate. Luckily, she came out of the crate and ventured to a place of honor on the couch, perfect for snuggling and napping. She’s new to walking with a harness & leash, but since my neighborhood isn’t ideal for leash-free dog walking, she has had to adapt. Total champ.

Diego the Chihuahua

The Boys

Diego: Chihuahua, three (?) years old, handsome little dude. Loves to bark and wrestle and chase, exactly like my dog does. They are good friends.

My Handsome Buddy

Egon: Dachshund, four years old, sometimes ungracious host. He often tries to steal his guests’ food at mealtime and demands to be chased around and around and around the room. Like the others, however, loves to nap.

Um, EXSQUEEZE ME!

Egon, as the oldest, was quite the bad influence. In fact, he taught the other dogs how to steal a spot on the couch and make it impossible for The Person to sit down. Thanks for that, Eegs!

[86/365] Dinner Time Trio

Egon has also attempted to teach the others how to beg while The Person is eating dinner, but overall this was an unsuccessful mission. No one got any of my dinner. TOO BAD, SUCKAS.

TV Time

I will tell you, though (and please don’t be jealous), I had the best couch nap ever thanks to these three adorable puppies. Just me and a couch and a blanket and three small dogs and about two hours of blissful afternoon slumber. Now we are all comfy on said couch watching New Moon on DVD. Perfect Saturday.

The two little chihuahuas go home tomorrow night, though, so it’ll be back to a lean, two-pet household with just me and the dog and the cat. We’ll always have the memories, though!

Perfect Fridays, Perfection

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It really feels like spring lately, with warm weather in the 60s – 70s, sunshine, and blossoming trees. I have a new Friday tradition: a long bike ride after classes are done. Let me tell you, folks, this long bike ride is an experience so complete in its perfection that I don’t even know how to describe it to you.

[78/365] The Alysa Rides Again!

I think I mentioned a while back that I had signed up for a sprint-distance triathlon that is taking place in June — and, um, if I didn’t then now you know — so these rides are part of my training for that race. I’ve started out riding about 7-9 miles and I hope to work up to a point where riding 20 miles is no big deal. (The race only involves a 12-mile bike section, but obviously my endurance has to be greater than that.)

Once I get to the point where 20 miles is a regular ride for me, I can join the Saturday morning local bike ride — a group that goes on 15-25-mile rides through our county every week. The thought of riding around town in this glorious spring, or even of riding to the next town over or the town beyond that, is such a romantic thrill. Me! My bicycle! Spring flowers! Sunshine! The mixture of sunscreen and sweat and salt! It makes me feel all in love with the world.

Oh, readers, pardon me my excessive good cheer. I’m riding high on a mixture of post-exercise endorphins, sunny weather, and the first few sips of my Friday night Manhattan.

[57/365] The Notorious M.A.N.H.A.T.T.A.N.

I’ve also got two extra dogs staying with me this weekend — two adorable little chihuahuas by the names of Diego and Rosie, and my apartment is overbrimming with cuteness. I’ll have to regale you with dog stories next time, but until then you can check out the many iPhone snaps I posted to Twitter last night. Be warned: you may not be able to handle the cuteness.

I hope you have a lovely weekend in store, friends!

Seriously, WHAT Did I Do in a Past Life to Deserve Plumbing THIS BAD?

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There are so many things to say about Spring Break that I don’t even know where to start. Let’s begin with the fact that on Tuesday night, my plumbing messed up again. A drain in my water-heater closet backed up, flooding the (carpeted) closet with dirty water, and had to be snaked.

[82/365] The Closet of Doom

Well. They did not snake it well enough, apparently. The exact same thing happened again today. Let’s call it a Tuesday Tradition, shall we? Aren’t you jealous of my festive Tuesdays? Today’s smelly incident happened just after I came home from the gym (where I had done yoga class, lifted over 7,000 lbs in weights, and run three miles), and, due to having to wait on the maintenance guys and on the Roto-Rooter Dude they eventually called in, I did not get to shower or eat lunch for about four hours.

People, I have one thing to tell you about me: when I am that dangerously hungry — when I am as hungry as a person is who has done all that exercise while fueled only by an English muffin with almond butter and it is now 4:30 in the afternoon — it is best for people to stay the fuck away from me. Unless, I mean unless they want to be killed and eaten. People are organic and plant based, right?

Y’all, it was ugly. As soon as I was free to leave and procure lunch, I jetted over to the sandwich shop as soon as possible and then basically inhaled a foot-long veggie sub in, like, four minutes, hands all shaking and eyes glazed with fire. That sub was probably the best tasting thing I have ever eaten.

And because I am still recovering from the psychological trauma, I am making pizza for dinner. Yes, pizza, and it’s not even a long-run day, which means I am breaking my pizza tradition. I happen to think the (unwilled-by-me) institution of this new Tuesday Plumbing Tradition is reason enough for that, however.

It is time for me to sign off and work on some course prep for tomorrow, but I will come back and regale you with more fantastic tales of my week soon! In the mean time, how are you?

Spring Break!

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Here are some things I am not doing over the break: teaching, grading, prepping, researching, meeting with students, corresponding with students via email, traveling anywhere fabulous. I am happy about all of these items that are not on my to-do list, even the last one. After February, I am all traveled out for a while.

So what am I doing? So far my break has involved a lot of quality time at home and a little time out with friends. There has been plenty of time to hang aroung the house in my PJs, drinking coffee late into the morning.

[70/365] Breakfast

(As always, click the photo to go through to flickr for titles and descriptions if you want.)

But I haven’t been hiding at home the whole time. Saturday night a few of us went out for sushi and then cocktails at the jazz lounge again — this time there was an actual jazz band playing and everything, giving me flashbacks to my days in band with my saxomophone. (The word “saxomophone” is to be pronounced, always, in a full-on Homer Simpson fugue.)

Deluxe Veggie Roll

[72/365] The Gillespie

Hopefully I’ll soon be spending some time biking around town now that the weirdly wintry, windy, and rainy weather appears, at least temporarily, to have passed. In fact, spring really seems to be springing into business around here! Do you know what kind of tree this is? It’s not a cherry tree, right? It’s something else? I am no botanist, I admit.

Blossoms of a What Variety?

[74/365] Spring is Springing

For the first time since I have lived here, I am actually looking forward to spring and warmer weather with pleasure. It helps that I feel like we actually had a somewhat legitimate winter this year, but mostly I am eager to spend more time on the bike and in the pool, both of which are pretty unappealing in winter weather. I mean, if you’re already chilly in your jeans, do you really want to don a bathing suit and hop into the pool? Not so much, right?

The following pictures are unrelated to this post, but I just had to show you the pretty, pretty cupcakes I made to take to the Oscar party.

[66/365] Lemon-Vanilla with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Vanilla with Buttercream Frosting

By now they’ve all been eaten, but weren’t they grand? I got the recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which is full of wonderful looking recipes, only a few of which I have had the opportunity to try so far. Let me assure you, though, that cupcakes made without butter, milk, or eggs are just as delicious as any other type of cupcake, if not more. If I could prove this to you by posting some downloadable cupcakes here on this very blog, believe me, I would. Until technology makes such a thing possible, you’ll just have to trust me.

And now I must return to my re-watch-athon of season one of Alias, aka Best Show Ever. Hope you’re all feeling fab and lovely, people!

Things I Think Are Creepy, Some of Which I Have Explained

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In the spirit of audience participation, please tell me what you think is creepy in the comments!

1. Slow Walkers/Drivers/Bikers: If you are moving slowly, it looks like you have nowhere to go. Moving slowly is pretty much the same thing as lurking, especially if you are walking, driving, or cycling up my street, gazing around aimlessly, and half smiling. Speed the hell up and get out of my neighborhood, slow movers.

2. Lurkers: See above. Standing around outside? You had better be smoking or making a phone call, creep.

3. Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones

4. Students Who Make Too Many Visits to My Office: I think we’ve been over this one.

5. Elevator Riders Who Ride up Several Floors with You in Silence, Only to Wish You a Nice Day as They Exit: Is this some kind of passive-aggressive commentary on the fact that I did not speak to you the whole way? Well, you did not speak to me, either, until your final creepy declaration. Couldn’t we have ridden in silence the entire way, as the social contract indicates is proper? No?

6. Loud Yoga Breathers: No explanation needed here, but I would like to point out that these offenders are always men. Never fails. It’s because they want to be better at yoga than everyone else. Guys, yoga is not a competition. Please be quiet.

7. Pretty Much Any Movie by Tim Burton

8. Salesman-Style Introductions: You know, the old, “Hi, how are you?” conversation opener, followed by several questions they expect you to answer before they introduce themselves by name and/or tell you what it is they are doing calling you/stopping by your office/ringing your doorbell.

9. Male Gynecologists: I’m sorry, but there is no reason a man becomes a gynecologist other than that he likes to look at and/or touch a Lady’s Special Area. I mean think about it; think about the young medical student or resident or whatever, deciding on his specialty. What goes into this decision? I cannot even fathom a decent reason. Male gynecologists are the creepiest of the creepy. I accidentally saw one last year, after thinking I had made an appointment with a woman, and I was completely appalled and freaked out the entire time. How do male gynecologists possibly stay in business? There is a reason I call Lady Doctors “Lady Doctors.” It is not only because they doctor the ladies; it is also because they are LADIES who are doctors.