Coming Soon!

I know, I stink at blogging lately. There are so many things I need to get on here like Drew's 11th birthday, Christmas, some zany Vizsla tales and one Vizsla birthday. I have thought about it but then when it came time to actually sit down and post, well, other things have gotten in the way. I have been a little preoccupied with my actual life and that big time suck also known as Christmas.

So, in the coming days there will be at least one post about something listed above. Promise.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Happiness flowchart

If only it were that simple. Although, maybe it is and we humans over complicate the entire process.

Yesterday, I listened to a podcast of a conversation between the Dalai Lama and three other religious scholars talking about happiness and what you can learn about happiness through suffering. Something that has been on my mind as of late. The whole conversation was really interesting and I highly recommend listening but a few things really stood out to me.

Rabbi Sacks, one of the panelists, was asked his opinion about whether happiness is something we can pursue. He related a little story which effectively said that by pursuing or chasing after happiness, we are assuming it is out in front of us when maybe what we need to do is stop and let it catch up to us or recognize that it is already around us.

The other thing I liked from this discussion was that when asked how he stays happy during suffering, the Dalai Lama said that he believes every tragedy has some positive thing in it even if it is only that it brings new and different opportunities.

The whole discussion gave me some things to chew on as I am in the midst of trying to sort some things out in my life and to figure out how to be happy within myself.

I May Never Graduate from Parenting 101

A few nights ago I was thinking about how Drew is going to turn 11 in December. I cannot believe I have been at this parenting gig for 11 years! As a parent, the days can seem never ending but somehow the years fly by. How that works I don't know.

Even though 11 years seems like a considerable amount of time I am constantly amazed at how much I still have to learn and how many things I haven't quite nailed down yet. If I had to grade myself, I would say there are several areas that would be marked "needs improvement" but I have managed to learn a few things along the way and here are some of the highlights:

- Check little boy pockets before throwing things in the wash. I should know better on this one but still manage to fall prey to it quite regularly. I have washed countless tissues, wrappers, papers, sticks, rocks, toys, markers, crayons, and recently one iPod shuffle that is now sparkly clean but can only be used as a fetching belt accessory. Should've checked the pockets.

- When a small child is having a meltdown, the adult yelling, slamming something or doing anything that constitutes 12 year old behavior, never helps dial down the situation.

- If you hear strange sounds and ask, "what are you doing?" and the question is followed with a, "nothing", investigate immediately. "Nothing" is almost always something like a hogtied dog or the excavation of a putting green in the backyard. Both of those things have actually happened in our house.

- When walking into the mall with two small males, always exaggerate the number of stores that need to be visited so that they will either think you are a rock star when you are done early or not harangue you when you want to pop into a store without it being on the itinerary.

- Never, and I repeat, never commit to anything without leaving yourself an out. Do not agree to go to Chuck E. Cheese without throwing an exit clause into the contract. Something like, "we can go to Chuck E. Cheese if I get x, y, or z done AND if I am sure going will not cause me to have an aneurysm." Something along those lines.

There you have it. About all of the wisdom I have gleaned in these almost 11 years. The rest I am still trying to figure out and this is certainly a job that is ever changing and that challenges on a regular basis but all of that is balanced by one really good hug or an "I love you" from those little people.

Whew!!!

Do you ever have one of those days? One of those days where there is just a lot going on and you feel like you never get a second to process even one of those things going on? Well, that was yesterday for me. I was basically on the go from the minute I woke up. I had coffee for lunch, THAT busy!

In the midst of all of that, I got some new information yesterday about my crappy body and some decisions are going to have to be made. I was feeling a bit bereft about the situation and frustrated. Then the husband comes home with a bit of a dilemma which has no quick and easy answer. And to top things off we were up to our eyeballs in one special needs child having a meltdown over nerves about a field trip scheduled for the next day. You could just feel the crazy in the air. Kevin and I were trying to talk in code about all of this during dinner but gave up and later ended up in our bedroom plopped down across the bed talking about the various things going on.

Not long into our stolen quiet moment, two dogs wandered in and started wrestling, complete with growling sounds. A few minutes later I see a head peeking around the door and in comes Ethan, who jumps on the bed and snuggles up to us. And then Drew shows up with a construction book asking if he can have a real bulldozer for Christmas. (Soooooo not going to happen). For a moment I was disappointed that our little reverie was broken but then at the same time the growling, jumping dogs, the little boy pressed up against me and Kevin, and the boy dreaming about Christmas all felt so right and made me feel like everything else will get figured out in due time.

My Little Thinker

About a week ago, I was standing in the kitchen cleaning up dinner dishes and Ethan came in and said to me out of nowhere, "there are just a lot of things I don't understand about the world." My first thought was, that makes two of us but then I asked him, "like what?"

He said, "how did the English language start and who made it up?" I smiled a bit at the question and at him puzzling over such a thing. I was like, "uuuuuuuhhhhhhh, no one made it up and it gradually came about."

Later that week he hit me with, "what is Asia like?" and "why do some people think money is so important?" Both good questions and honestly I was surprised about him picking up on money thing at such a young age.

He is such a thinker and has been challenging me with questions from an early age. A few years ago, he was the king of questions like, "what if the sun were the moon and the moon the sun?" or, and this one cracked me up, "if you dug a hole to China, you dig down so when you get there are you going to come up out of your hole or fall out of it?"

I love this about him; that he doesn't just take the world at face value but wonders about it all.

My Crisis Kit Essentials

I love books and am an avid reader so naturally, when I have a problem or need information, I read a book that deals with my current question or issue. That is how over the years I have wound up reading some real page turners like a book about special education law (useful knowledge and can also double as a sleep aide), a book on the history of mental retardation in America (not happy reading for a mother of a developmentally disabled child - I still have nightmares about that book), and more recently books on back issues. Riveting stuff I know.

Just recently I picked up a book about persistent pain called "The Pain Chronicles". Let's face it, I would much rather be reading something like "What to Do When You Win the Mega-zillionaire Jackpot", but unfortunately, pain chronicles is where I find myself right now.

Reading the book has made me think a lot about how I deal with the pain issues I have had the last year and the things that I tell myself about it all. Some methods I have are pretty decent and healthy and some are a bit self defeating. Among my two favorite and long time coping strategies are music and chocolate.

I love music almost as much as I love books. My kids can attest to the fact that there is often music playing in our house or even better, I am frequently found walking around the house with my ipod on, ear buds in and sometimes singing at the top of my lungs (mostly just to make my audience of two laugh). What I listen to often depends on my mood. My go-to I am sad music would be anything from REM's Automatic For the People or from The National's latest album, which is so melancholy that it would turn the happiest person somber after one chorus. If you hear me listening to Tool or Perfect Circle, know that I am probably pissed about something or at someone and it would be best to back away and not make eye contact. If I am happy, well, anything goes but right now Arcade Fire's, The Suburbs does the job. All of it evokes some emotion in me and can definitely help me cope with whatever is going on in my life.

My other trying to cope friend is chocolate. Preferably dark chocolate in some sort of baked form like a brownie, molton chocolate babycake, or my new love, the brewer's malt blondie. If I am stressed about something, you can be sure there will be a dessert in my near future. Not the healthiest strategy but I figure it beats hard drinking and street drugs.

Yes, I also have more meaningful ways to cope like talking to my husband, a man who deserves some sort of medal for patiently listening to all the complaining over the past year, or my parents but the music and the chocolate, while a bit superficial, are always available in a pinch and I think will always be a part of my coping toolbox.

Wow, 9 Years Old!!

Yesterday was Ethan's 9th birthday. I cannot believe my baby is 9 years old! It doesn't seem that long ago that I was sitting in the hospital waiting for him to come. That day was such an odd mix of emotions. The whole 9/11 thing had happened the day before and I just felt sad and upset about that but then I was excited to meet this new person coming to our family.

In honor of Ethan's birthday, here is a short list of some of the things I absolutely adore about him.

* I love that he is a total foodie and has been from birth. Literally minutes out of the womb, that kid wanted to eat. When he was a toddler if you were eating anything near him, he would come over, pudgy hand outstretched and say, "some, some" over and over until you fed him. His nickname is Munchee because he is such a food man.

* I love his zany sense of humor and how he sees humor in the world around him. I also love that if you get him laughing, his laugh turns into this cackle that is just hilarious to listen to.

* I love how even now at 9 years old when he is asleep he makes this sound with his mouth that he has made since he was a baby.

* I love his very strict sense of right and wrong. He is a rule follower and is incensed when someone else doesn't follow the rules.

* I love how compassionate he is toward other people. Every teacher or leader he has ever had has commented on how he is always concerned if anyone in the group is upset and how he tries to make it better.

* I love how he treats his brother. Having an older brother who needs you to read things for him or who asks for your help all the time has to be annoying but Ethan is always so sweet about helping Drew with things.

* I love his spirit of adventure. He loves to do and see new things. When we hike, he explores every nook, cranny and boulder that we pass. After travelling this summer, he is already asking where we are going next.

Happy 9th birthday Ethan! I love you so much and am so proud to be your mother.

World's Slobbiest Vizsla

We recently bought some new dog food that has pieces of shredded chicken mixed in with the kibble. Ella has decided that those chicken bits are the best thing ever. Her new method of eating is to take a mouthful of food from the bowl, spit the entire mouthful out onto the floor and eat out the only the chicken bits.

One of my personal favorite techniques is when she decides to eat while we are eating. Her food is in the dining room and we are eating at the kitchen table. She will transport her mouthful of dog food to the kitchen, spit it on the floor and then eat her chicken bits. I am then left with bits of dog food strewn all about the house.

Uncool is the New Cool

I knew this day would come, I just didn't know it would be so soon. About a week ago, Drew, my 5th grader, came downstairs dressed for school wearing a pirate kerchief from a birthday party around his neck. I looked at the ensemble and said, "maybe you shouldn't wear that because it looks a little strange."

Drew looked at me for a moment and said, "this is just cool. You wouldn't know that because YOU are not cool!"

And there you have it, alert the media, it is official, I am no longer cool. (Of course, it is questionable if I was ever cool).

I Feel the Kneed, the Kneed For........

....did you think I was going to say "speed"?

Nah, I wish it was something that exciting.

Ready for it? More PT!!!!! Cause I love it so much and my life is not complete if I don't visit a PT office at least quarterly.

The ol' knees have been bugging me for the past 4 or 5 months. I was hoping the simple exercises I was given by the orthopedic Dr would work but alas, they are still bugging me. I kind of wonder if they were jealous of all the attention the back was getting and are now maliciously acting up? If so, STOP IT!!! Saw the doctor again last week who said I have some patellafemoral syndrome and quad tendinitis and suggested PT.

Amazingly, the dumb knees felt pretty decent hiking around Europe but have been killing me since getting home. Seems loading the dishwasher, cleaning house, and doing laundry are all more of a burden for the knees than walking/hiking. I told Kevin that all signs are pointing to me needing to go back to Switzerland indefinitely. For medical reasons of course. Has nothing, whatsoever, to do with the cheese and chocolate and bakeries. MEDICAL REASONS. He just laughed.

I am pretty darn frustrated with all of it because after a year of nursing my back, doing PT, the chiro, injections and anything else anyone could come up with, the back is finally feeling much better. Not totally pain free but much more functional and lots of chunks of time where it doesn't hurt at all. YAY!!! But then now the knees. Those bastards. (Sorry mom)

What I don't get is that a little over a year ago, my body felt invincible. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Now, not so much. The other night when the knees were just throbbing I came up with what I thought was a brilliant solution. We could amputate both legs like at mid thigh, thereby ridding me of knee pain AND cellulite in one fell swoop. So genius right?! Kevin, the old spoilsport, thought maybe PT would be a better first step. (I told him he could call me stumpy but still it was a no go).

So back I go tomorrow. Crossing my fingers that this little issue doesn't take a whole year to heal like someone else I know (that's right, I am talking to you lumbar spine).

**btw, took like 40 pictures of my knees to go with this post and can I just say, knees, in isolation are ugly little buggers.**

The "well cooked" Vizsla connundrum

Last year sometime, I wrote a blog post called, "I Like My Vizsla Well Cooked" (http://coloradocovingtons.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-like-my-vizsla-well-cooked.html). It had a picture of Ella splayed out on the deck baking in the sun. A common occurence around here during warmer weather.

Recently I have noticed an odd trend. At the bottom of the blog page I have a little Feedjit tracker thingy. It tells me where people are from who look at the blog and will also tell if they arrive at the main blog page or if they have come to a specific post. About two months ago, I noticed that there are a lot of people showing up in the traffic feed who are coming straight to the well cooked vizsla posting. Upon looking more, I noticed there is almost one every day and several throughout the week.

I was little perplexed about how these people were ending up on my blog so I went to Google and google searched various terms and, voila, after I searched "cooked vizsla", there was my blog post, number 3 in the list.

Which begs the question, are these people really wanting to cook a vizsla? Ewwwww. Aside from being wonderful dogs, they are also extremely active and I am quite sure would be gamey and tough. Please don't eat vizsla people! They are for snuggling with not eating!

Week 3: Italy and Austria

After our wonderful week in Switzerland, we hit the bakery one last time and then drove south to Lake Como in Italy. To get to our rental, we had to drive some distance around the lake and let me say, my dad deserves a special award for piloting our rental van around the narrow, windy streets of Como's towns. Glad I didn't have to do it.

The boys in Menaggio. While we were in Italy, we ate some amazing pasta and gelato. The boys were both over the moon about the gelato and Drew just kept saying, "I just can't forget about that gelato!"

Kevin and the boys walking up the street in Bellagio, a town that is not for the weak in the knees.

Drew watching Bellagio disappear into the distance.

One day, we arrived back at our villa to discover we had locked ourselves out. My dad had left one of the 2nd floor terrace doors open so Kevin hoisted Ethan up onto the roof to break us in. Ethan was so thrilled that he was able to come to the rescue and was so thrilled to break us in. I probably should be worried about that.

After a few days in Como, we headed north to Pinswang, Austria (near Reutte and Fussen, Germany). We stayed in a wonderful hotel that felt more like staying with family friends. A very charming country hotel which had ponies and bunnies for the kids to feed and pet as well as a play area for the kids. One of the coolest things about the hotel was that it was located directly across from a hiking trail that takes you right to Neuschwanstein castle. The hike was so much fun and a much more charming way to approach the castle instead of pulling up in a tour bus with the other tourists. Here, the boys are climbing a hunting blind we passed on the hike to the castle.

The boys walking through the German forest.

On the trail is the old border station where you cross from Austria into Germany.

The next day, we went to the medieval Ehrenberg Castle in nearby Reutte Austria. The castle is from the 13th century and after a short hike up to the ruins, you are free to explore every nook and cranny on your own. The kids absolutely loved it!

Ethan exploring the castle.

Ethan and I pretending to fall off one of the castle walls. You can't tell from the picture but there was a pretty steep drop off behind us so I am clutching his arm during the pretending to ensure no real falling went on.

Ehrenberg castle had a wonderful museum full of all kinds of items relating to medieval life. It was a really nice museum for kids as they had plenty of interactive exhibits. Here is Drew trying on a knight's mask and glove.
Ethan testing out the chain mail, complete with sword. The sword was really heavy so I had to snap the picture fast. I think he makes a very handsome knight.
Drew finding gold in the old fort at Ehrenberg.

Week 2: Switzerland - Land of Cheese and Chocolate

Did I mention the chocolate and the cheese? I have to just pause for a minute while I remember........okay, so after a week in Dusseldorf, we flew to Zurich where we met up with Kevin and my dad and drove on to Grindewald, nestled in the Swiss alps. We spent a lovely week there hiking, sampling a million different alpen cheeses, eating chocolate and visiting the bakery on a daily basis. So wonderful!

I loved this old church on the far end of town. I got plenty of chances to look at it too since it was positioned right across the street from what extensive research on my part revealed to be the best bakery in Grindewald.

The boys on what had to be the worst hike ever! I love this picture because it looks almost sinister. Like Drew is about to club an unsuspecting Ethan over the head on the mysterious moors or something of that sort. Really Drew was just waving at me.

Woke up to a cloud sitting on the mountains. We thought it would blow off or burn off but no, stayed all day. Basically we hiked 3 hours only able to see a few feet in front of us. Apparently there were some gorgeous views and even a lake. Hmph, wouldn't know it.

Kevin and the boys rolling around in the meadow.

One of about 500 attempts at a good family picture.

Me and Drew (and Peezy tucked in Drew's shirt) on the alpine slide. It was both boys first time and they both loved it although we couldn't convince Drew to go it alone.

Ethan was a pro at the alpine slide after his first trial run.

On one of the many train rides up the mountain, the conductor let Drew sit up in his cabin with him. Drew was in heaven!

Drew on his first gondola ride up the mountain. Not to sure about it but quickly got used to it.

Ethan and I up at Mannlichen where the views of the Eiger and Jungfrau were stunning.

Me on the trail near Kleine Scheidig. Kevin and I planned to hike across the ridge from where the train deposited us to the tram station at the other end of the trail and then ride the tram back down the mountain. The sign said 1 hour 40 minute hike but when we started we realized we had only 40 minutes until the last tram left to go down the mountain. So, this was the world's fastest hike and this the one and only picture we bothered to take. Arrived in a record 30 minutes. Made the tram and realized the times posted on the sign must assume that you crawl the trail or something. Little bit overstated on the times.

Have you ever seen anything more beautiful. I defy you to find anything ugly in the Swiss alps.

Kevin and I at First relaxing after dinner of brats and roschti, a local potato dish.

We had a wonderful time during our week in Switzerland and the boys both say that being there was their favorite part of the trip. I would happily go back anytime.

Week 1: Germany

*Since there were 3 weeks to this trip and since blogspot is a pain in the you know what when it comes to uploading pictures, I am going to break my posts about our trip into parts to avoid the mind numbing boredom that sets in uploading picture after picture.*

Getting there

I was unsure how the boys would do with the 13 hours of flying and then the 8 hour time difference. Well, these two acted like seasoned world travelers. Both of them were really well behaved on the plane even though we arrived in Germany at what was for us, the middle of the night. When we arrived, it was around 8 am Germany time and Drew kept cracking me and my mom up by asking, "when are we having dinner?", "what day is it?". Over and over again. I was like, "let's go over this AGAIN, it is morning here, it is Saturday".

Once we got to the hotel, we unpacked and while doing this, Ethan fell asleep on us. Now, the best way to acclimatize to a different time zone is to sleep and eat at the times the local people sleep and eat. My mom and I woke him up to go into town and he was not happy. Once in the altstadt, I told him I was buying him a Coke and he was going to drink it all. Definitely a first.

Germany

Our 2nd day there, we took the train (illegally as it turns out - accidentally got on the ICE, which we did not have tickets for but got us stowaways to Cologne in record time) to Cologne to see the famous Dom there. One of the biggest Gothic cathedrals in the world. We climbed 510 steps to the top of one of the spires, which was really cool but given the 95 degree heat and humidity, also really hot. We also happened to be there the same day as the Gay Pride parade which brought out a colorful crowd and provided a whole different kind of education for the boys. I think I will be laughing for months over the look on Ethan's face after passing some men, in mini skirts and heels who, ehem, had some enhancements. One had his new Pam Anderson chest covered only with pasties.

Drew was so excited about riding the trains and subways. Excitement that dissipated after a whole week of subwaying everywhere.

The guys at Konigsalle in Dusseldorf. Basically a fancy shopping street but it did have a very pretty canal and bridges in the middle.

Both boys, but Drew in particular, loved watching the barges going up and down the Rhine river. Drew made both my mom and I take several pictures of the barges.

We went down to the river one night after dinner and the guys had fun throwing rocks in the river and watching the barge traffic.

Here are the guys at a park north of Dusseldorf. It was a really pretty park and had a fun children's play area. It was super hot out so both guys were beet red in the face and pretty droopy after playing there for awhile.

On our last day in Dusseldorf, we were sick of the big city and decided to rent a car to drive south to Burg Elz, the castle. It is an 800 year old castle that has amazingly been in the same family all that time. They still live in one part of the castle. Unfortunately, midway through our trip down there, Drew got horribly sick. Painful headache, vomiting, telling me he thought he was going to pass out and looking like he might make good on that statement.

I decided we would turn around and head back to the city. Yeah right. Every autobahn exit I passed had no way to get back on the freeway and armed only with directions to the castle and a crappy rental car map and not wanting to get us lost in middle Germany, we decided to drive the remaining 20 minutes to the castle, let Ethan look at it but not tour it and then go back. Also adding to the fun was the fact that it was 100 degrees out and about 85% humidity. The castle looked amazing but all in all, it was a stressful and rough day that had both kids crying at one point and a certain blond woman driving a minicar on the autobahn wanting to cry too.

Back to reality

After 3 weeks of travel, we arrived back home on Saturday. The kids were happy to see their beds, their toys, our dogs and to have t.v. in English once again. We had a fabulous time on our trip and I will put some pictures up here in the next day or two.

Outta here!

The boys and I leave tomorrow in the a.m. for Europe. So, for the next 3 weeks, it will be pretty quiet around here. I will try and post some pictures every now and then so Grandma and Grandpa C. can see what the squirts are up to.

After a week of running around like a woman with her pants on fire, I can finally say, we are ready. I have run every errand that you could possibly imagine, some twice, crossed items off a million different to do lists, cleaned the house, spent a fortune on things to keep the boys occupied during the 12 hours of flying, and I think we are set.

I am very excited to see what the kids think of being in a foreign country. The different language, different food, castles and all of that. Drew asked me a few weeks ago, "what kind of Spanish am I going to have to speak in Germany?" Totally cracked me up. He also keeps asking things like, "do they have strawberries in Switzerland?" Ethan, my adventurous one, has been wanting to leave for the past week now and is very excited to try all the different food (he is so my child).

I will be crossing my fingers that tomorrow, both flights leave on time, that the boys are happy en route and that we arrive unscathed by the adventure. Fortunately, my kids are pretty darn good travelers. Oh, and hoping the stupid back manages to not freak out on the long flight. If so, I will be armed with my arsenal of painkillers/muscle relaxers but I am really hoping to not have to be THAT person on the plane. The one slurring their speech and falling asleep mid sentence. I have already told my mom that she can pretend she doesn't know me.

Wish us luck!!!

St. Mary's Glacier and Lake

Last weekend we got out of the heat and went up to the mountains. We went up to St. Mary's glacier and lake for a little hike, lunch, and just some fun hanging out. The lake is at almost 11,000 feet but there is only a short, but rocky, 1 mile hike to get up there. Most of the altitude is gained in the drive. It was gorgeous up there and the kids got a big kick out of seeing people hiking the trail with snowboards strapped to their back so they could ride down the glacier.

Drew wasn't too interested in walking on the glacier but Ethan had fun hiking up it with Kevin and the dogs and then sliding down.

It was pretty busy up there and Kevin and I got a good laugh when during lunch the boys both said they had to pee. We told them to go off in the trees somewhere to go to the bathroom. They walk off and a few seconds later I look and they are barely off the trail, pants down and peeing with their bare bottoms in plain sight. Silly kids.

Long weekend in Utah

A few weekends ago, we went down to Moab and then on to Capitol Reef National park where we met up with Kevin's parents, siblings, their spouses and children. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and my boys had a blast playing with their cousins.

Here is Drew and Ethan by the Colorado River on our way to Moab. It was so incredibly gorgeous there!

When we were in Moab, we hiked up to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. It was a fun hike and the arch itself was amazing. If you look very closely, that is Ethan and me underneath the Delicate Arch.

Once we arrived down in Torrey, we met up with all of Kevin's family. We were excited to meet our new niece, Amelia. Ethan fell in love with her and was so interested in what the baby was doing. He was also very excited to get to hold her.

While in Torrey, we visited Capitol Reef National Park and did some hiking there. The weather was unusually cool which is why we are all bundled up here despite it being mid-June. While Drew went to Goblin Valley with the cousins, Kevin and I dragged Ethan on the Chimney Rock hike. The hike was marked "strenuous" in the guide and I would have to agree. Ethan was a trooper and afterwards we hit the local burger joint for some replenishing burgers and shakes.

All in all, it was a fun weekend away and I was happy with how great the ol' back felt both on the drive there and back and with all the hiking. Definitely an improvement over last summer's gimpiness.

One Year of Vizsla Mania!

May 31st was our one year anniversary of having Ms. Ella in our house. One year ago we drove to Kansas to pick her up from her foster mom's house. We arranged to adopt her from Colorado/Wyoming Vizsla Rescue (http://www.coloradovizsla.org/) after deciding we wanted a second dog and thinking that a Vizsla would meet our lifestyle. When her foster mom called me to give me some information about her, I remember asking her, "what is Ella like?" Polly, her foster mom, just kind of chuckled and said, "oooohhhh, what can I say about Ella". At the time, I wasn't sure what that meant.

After some thought we decided to go get her and bring her home (really seeing her picture sealed the deal for me. How could I not go?). So Kevin and I hopped in the car and drove to the middle of nowhere Kansas. The kind of area where there is more than one farm tractor on the road and everyone you pass waves assuming if you are on that road, you must be part of the community.

We picked her up and then spent 4 hours with her in the car driving back to Colorado. She seemed so quiet at the time and we both thought it was hilarious how she sat up in the seat like a person would.

The past year with her has been so much fun and I can't imagine life without her in our house. She makes me laugh pretty much everyday with her antics and I now know what Polly meant with that chuckle. She is the only dog I have ever met who will hike up one butt cheek and plant it on the couch and then stand there, with 3 legs on the ground and a back hip resting on the couch with the 4th foot dangling. Like she is perching there. When I took her to the vet, she had the vet cracking up as she sat, like a person, in the exam room chair.

She is also super vocal. We are always laughing at her "talking" and all the funny sounds she makes when she is having one of her Vizsla fits, as we call it, laying on her side on her dogbed, kicking her legs and making the funniest of sounds.

She loves to go outside every morning and hunt and I love nothing more than to stand at the kitchen window with my cereal watching her get into her point and then creeping every so slowly toward some squirrel or bird who has dared to infiltrate the yard. What I don't love so much are the dead birds that come back into the house in her mouth.

It cracks me up how every morning I move her dog bed that is in our family room back its spot in the corner and every night, she takes it with her teeth and drags it between both of the couches and closer to us. Every night.

I love the wrinkly skin under her chin and the way her lips bunch up sometimes. Always makes me laugh.

What can I say, I love that dog. Here is video of her showing off her twisty, I am listening to you, head and a small bunchy lip.

An update

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I have had a bit of blogger's block lately and have also been really busy. So, here is just a brief update of the going's on in our house recently.

• On Friday, Drew participated in the school talent show. He told 4 knock knock jokes and did an awesome job. We were so proud of him.

• I realized just the other day that it has officially been 1 year since I last ran. Feel a bit blue about that but I am doing all I can to recover from my injury and that is all I can do.

• The neighbors installed a chicken coop in their backyard which they put right up against our fence. As you can imagine, a certain red bird-dog is going nuts about that. Obsessing over that spot on the fence, scratching at the fence, and, my personal favorite, yipping like there is no tomorrow. Going to have to have a conversation with the neighbor I think.

• I am enjoying doing my Children's Hospital volunteer work every Wednesday morning although last week did a number on me. I was asked to go down to the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) to play with one of our oncology patients who was getting a dangerous chemo that necessitated him being in the PICU for monitoring. All the rooms in the PICU are glass walled so the nurses can see the very sick patients at all times. My supervisor told me to try not to look in the rooms. The room I was going to happened to be at the end of the unit and in walking through and turning a corner, well, I saw some things no parent would ever want to see. Totally threw me and at the same time made me really thankful to have two whole and healthy children.

• Kevin turned 40 last week and I can now tease him about being officially middle aged.

• My parents took the kids to San Diego when they were off track last month. They both had a blast but after a week of eating out for every meal, Ethan was getting sick of the food. My mom said he kept telling her, "my mom's food is way better than this!" At Legoland one day, they got him a slushy and he took one sip and put it aside. My mom asked him if he was going to eat it and he said, serious as can be, "grandma, I have had tons of slushies in my life and THIS is one terrible slushy!" Apparently all those high faluting 7-11 slushies have made him a bit of a slushy diva.

And, there you have it. A brief recap of our activities for the past several weeks.

Honorary Golden Girl???

My body hasn't been too cooperative as of late. I won't bore you all with the all the details but things have been painful the last few weeks. Over the course of all this physical gunk, I have had people tell me that I should try pool running as a way to stay in shape. I haven't pursued that much because I don't love having to drag myself somewhere to work out and I hate reeking like chlorine afterwards.

Friday, I thought I would finally go give it a try. Maybe things would hurt less. I slapped on some self tanner, grabbed my bathing suit and towel and drove down to my neighborhood recreation center. There are a few pools to choose from and when I got there there I immediately noticed there was about 30 years between me and the next youngest person there. The pool I chose had a few people in it who, with the assistance of their canes, got out soon after I arrived. After they left, it was just me and the requisite life guard staring at me from her chair. Can you say conspicuous feeling? Nothing like having someone watch you run like a ninny back and forth. I wanted to tell her to just please leave and that if I somehow moronically managed to drown myself while running in 4 feet of water than I probably deserved to die. After 25 minutes of running around in the quiet pool I couldn't take the boredom any longer and left. It was an okay workout but nothing amazing.

When I walked into the women's locker room straight in front of me, sitting on the bench was a 70ish year old woman. She was in the process of changing and had a towel over her lap but still managed to flash me a la Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. Yuck! When I got to my locker, sitting to the left were two older, somewhat plump women who were changing out of their bathing suits. They were pulling on their underwear, the kind you could literally pull up to your chin, and I had a brief moment of sadness thinking "THIS is the crowd I roll with now? Someone just shoot me please" Is this what I am destined for? Water aerobics, bathing suits with skirts, and discussions with my exercise peers about whether Sass or Rockport makes the better shoe? Yikes!

No more pool running. However, being in the water felt good and I may try some lap swimming but next time I will go to the rec center that has the cold pool where all the triathletes swim. I would much rather hang with that crowd.

A Vizsla/Lab Cocktail

Last week we dogsat my parent's 3 year old Lab, Lola, while they were away in Sedona. Ella loves having Lola to stay because she provides the perfect partner to run with, wrestle with and chew on. Both of them are slightly nuts and both are either going full tilt or they are asleep, there is no middle speed.

One night after dinner, Lola, who had been laying under the table while we ate, got up and was wet. I checked and she had peed all over while she was laying on the floor. I was a bit concerned but then thought maybe it was a fluke. The next night, same thing. I called the vet and couldn't get her in until after my parents would be home. She was also walking around dribbling a bit.

In the interest of saving my floors from urine dribbles, I went to Petsmart to buy some doggie diapers. I have to admit, it took all my self control to not bust out laughing when I had to ask the Petsmart employee which aisle had the dog diapers. There was some serious laughing when I came home and put the diaper on the dog. Nothing like a 75 lb dog in a diaper.

When my parents returned, they took Lola in to the vet. My dad was explaining what had happened and how none of those things have ever happened when she is at their house. The vet asked about what my house is like. My dad said, "well, they have 2 dogs, a 12 year old Dalmatian and a 2 year old Vizsla".

At the mention of the word Vizsla, the vet stopped him right there and said, "I think I know what the problem is". Basically, my wacky Vizsla so wears out my parent's Lab that she collapses, exhausted and no longer has any muscle control and pees. Lola, living in a one dog, no kid house apparently doesn't have the stamina for the Vizsla workout. Kind of like putting a couch potato into a Special Forces taught boot camp. It is also probably why Ella eats like it is Thanksgiving but still resembles a Brazilian supermodel.