Thursday, May 12, 2005

early morning

Body-for-LIFE Challenge

Leigh-Ann and I have decided to take the plunge and attempt to win a million bucks in the Body-for-LIFE Challenge.  No, we don’t really expect to win, but it sure would be nice.  We’re not starting until next month - after Auntie Hilda’s 90th birthday party at N9NE (she’s hip, doncha know?), my brother’s birthday, ZOOperstars at the 51s game and CoffeeFest.  So, we’ll probably be starting somewhere around June 6 and finishing up our twelve weeks on August 29, with our fabulous new bodies.  Unless I win, no one is seeing my “before” picture, and I may not even show my “after” picture either.  I plan to stick to it for the whole twelve weeks though.  I like the idea of one day off every week.  It appeals to the Papa John’s lover in me.  And hey, if you come across my blog and plan on doing it too, leave a comment.  The more the merrier.

It’s Day 3 of the Doggie Pheromone experiment on Cricket’s hyper terrier anxiety issue.  I’m shocked to admit that it’s working.  Today, when we went out, she didn’t bark…at all!  I’m the biggest skeptic of things like this, but I’m seriously impressed so far.  I don’t much like the cost, but it’s worth it for the silence we’re enjoying at breakfast every morning.  No more yipping.  It’s remarkable.  I hope I’m not jinxing it.

Today we also bought the Kitty Pheromone spray to see if it would help the cats mellow the heck out.  Cats are so damned weird.  Frank is so sweet, yet Jackson is such a butthead with him.  Even Derek, who is a cat in dog’s body (he likes having his belly rubbed) is sucky with Frank.  Chelsea just hides, so she isn’t much of a problem.  She did have a funny standoff with Eli,  the German Shepherd, the other night.  First, a stare down.  Then, she kept coming out from behind the bar, walking in front of Eli, and then going back behind the bar.  She seemed to be daring Eli to do something about it.  Eli whimpered a bit, but since she likes cats, remained well-behaved.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

early morning

Waiting To See The Veronica Mars & Amazing Race Finales

Hey, hamsters are no different than people.  They’re parked inside their tv, waiting for one of the best nights of television ever - the finale of the first season of Veronica Mars (if you’re not watching it, you really should) and The Amazing Race 7.  Both shows did not disappoint, so I hope the hamsters were rooting for Uchenna & Joyce, because they seem really nice.  All that great tv and we still have Gilmore Girls and The Daily Show saved for tomorrow.  Yum!

(forgive the lousy image, I took it with my phone at PetsMart)

terribly early in the morning

Could Pheromones Be The Answer?

Sure, sure, you’re wondering what the question is, I suppose.  Cricket’s loud yippy anxious moments.  Certainly, this morning was worse than yesterday, but the yippy times seemed much shorter and when we actually left the house, she did pretty well.  So, Day 2 of Operation Happy Cricket is going well, thanks to the Comfort Zone Plug-in for Dogs.  Since the cats aren’t all totally in love with each other yet, we’re going to try the cat version for them.  It can’t arrive in the mail any time too soon.  Really.  They’re all lovely cats in their own right, but boy cats just seem to have issues with other boys.  Hmm, not completely unlike regular boys who need to prove how manly they are, only we try not to have snarling and hissing in our house.  To be honest, they’ve been pretty good with each other, but we’d like if they were actually friends.  So, this is on our way to us.  I can’t wait to see if it works wonders on the cats.  Pheromones are obviously very funny things.  Heck, if it works half as well as the catnip does, I’ll be happy.  Man, those kitty drugs are impressive.  They especially like Little Pink Sock from the Mutts Comics.  They must use super premium catnip because the cats go nuts even before we can get them out of the bag.  Uh, the socks, not the cats.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

the wee hours

The Solution to Cricket’s Separation Anxiety - Could it Be True?

Farnam Comfort Zone Plug-in for Dogs   Since Cricket’s last knee surgery, she’s been excessively needy.  We’re home on an average of 23 hours a day, every day.  She isn’t left alone, she’s left with calm and sleepy Phoenix to keep her company.  I figured it was time to see I could get her to stop acting nuts every single time I showered and dared to put clothes on.  Because, sometimes, I’m even so bold as to put SHOES on…and leave the house.  I plugged the ionizer in the wall in her room (aka the master bedroom) last night, to get a jumpstart on the morning.  Today, I showered, got dressed, put my shoes on and walked to the babygate (in normal houses, it’s referred to as the doorway) and nary a yelp or whine or bark.  She followed me, but silently.  I’m not prepared to think she’s cured after one day, but she was watching me put my shoes on, the biggest betrayal of any decent pet parent.  We’ll see how it goes when I leave, but I think she’s already looking good for today.  Tomorrow we need to test her with both Leigh-Ann and I leaving at the same time.  Two people showering, getting dressed and putting their ghastly house leaving shoes on.

Stayed tuned for tomorrow’s eipsode of “As Cricket Monster Drops a Moniker” - we hope.  If it works, I’m going to buy one of these for the cats in the other room who don’t like Frank Enstein, the stray we’re fostering.  Wouldn’t it be great if they all ended up cuddling?  And then we could get it for Eli, so she wouldn’t be afraid of fireworks and thunderstorms.  If so, then I want to make bold highly-paid statements on informercials about this product - Farnam Comfort Zone Plug-in for Dogs

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

early morning

Girls, Girls, Girls

What’s a dog mom to do?  Cricket enjoys it, Phoenix ignores it.  I make Cricket stop, but I admit, I find it slightly amusing, if a tad sick.  Or is it just sick that I took the picture?