OMG!

I worked the last three days in southern NM on a film with Jk Blk (guess or ask me - I'm not typing his funny-ass name because some doof will search for it...), the setting of which was approximately the year zero. Looks like it'll be a funny one, of course - but the best part for me was hanging out with the animal trainers! Here's me with a couple gibbons (the one who I'm holding most is the least amiable of the two gibbons and everyone was shocked she climbed up on me and hugged and hugged me and wouldn't let me go!)

Sweet Nothings

New Pets!

I was deciding between a reptile of some kind, or a bird. I've always kind of wanted a snake, or a bearded dragon, but I decided on a bird. So one day I walked into Petco empty handed and walked out with a new - beautiful - pet!

Here it is!

Ha ha... they put it in a tiny box for the ride home so I seatbelted it in. Safety first!

I got one blue parakeet first, with plan to hand train it before getting another. But as I was hand-training on the third day and was becoming tired of getting bitten (it actually broke the skin) - I decided birds are to look at, not play with. So I took Tim to Petco and we picked out another one! We just LOVE them! So beautiful and fun! Did you know they are also super cheap and easy to care for?!

Even though we had Sydney, Maddie still stares anxiously at the birds and whines a little - is she wishing they were free so she could hunt them? Hmmm...

Everyone should have parakeets!

Just for Karolina

This is for my Swedish friend, Karolina. :)

Fun Friends

Not much to talk about since last time... I've been working and also having lots of fun! It seems every weekend, and often during the week (I love my job) I am out with friends - parties, mountain biking, shopping, etc...
In the photos below, a bunch of us went to the Bosque del Apache, a wildlife refuge area that is famous for the cranes and other birds (bald eagles, ducks, etc) that pass through. It is south of Albuquerque.

Here I am (below) with Kelly's little dog Henry. He weighs a whopping 4 pounds, but he keeps up with us hiking all day! The photos below are a trail not far from the Bosque - cool rock formations. It was winter, so we wore layers and went from full coats to t-shirts throughout the day.

These (below) are my two friends Kelly (left) and Betsey with me at the Lazy Lizard Grill up here one night when Kelly's husband was playing in a blues band. We had a great time, as you can see! This week it's a trip to the zoo - hoping the weather will be warm enough for our summer dresses.

These are a few of my favorite things...

http://www.realestateshows.com/247640

Dogs and Cold

It is SOOOOO cold here in New Mexico. I know, you're sitting in Minnesota thinking, "Sure." But we are freezing. Since we get Maddie practically shaved on a regular basis, it becomes necessary then to bundle her up in the winter. However, lately even her fleece and corduroy coat hasn't been enough - even inside the house (wimp!!). So one evening when she seemed cold, we draped her in a blanket, which she left on until morning.

Meanwhile, while I was getting Maddie groomed recently, I wondered how Oscar would look in a mohawk and goatee.I was going to color the mohawk blue, but changed my mind and decided that his having a mohawk made him seem less "cuddly" and "sweet", so I think I'll get rid of it. I had plans (maybe this summer) of a blue mohawk, a goatee, a black leather collar, a pair of "doggles" and him on the back of my motorcycle. :) What do you think?

Maddie's Life

This shouldn't even be a post, but I couldn't resist commenting that Maddie's only chance to chew on any kind of toy or bone, is when Oscar is trying to hump her. [There may be 6 chew toys in a 3 ft square space, but once Maddie gets one, Oscar is under some kind of instinctual compunction to take it from her] That makes my mind go off in strange places - it's like she's a doggie prostitute. Her payment is the honor of having a half a minute occasionally with one of a dozen chew toys strewn around the room. Does that make you feel sad? Are you laughing?

Men, Babies, Puppies

Is there anything better? Thought I'd put up a few shots with my dear hubby. :)

In this photo Oscar isn't sure he wants to give up his valuable lap space...

Rachel tries sheer force to win her advantage...

She eventually wins, and all are happy (except Oscar I'm sure).

More pics, but scroll down more!!

Rachel on her birthday wearing a Happy New Year... thing. :) Try not to imagine her when it's both New Year's Eve AND her 21st birthday! Watch out world!!! (ha ha! It'll go by fast!) Me and Rachel sitting at our little party on her birthday.

Family visits New Mexico!

From Dec 29 thru Jan 4, my sister and Jeremy and Rachel came to visit me and Tim here in New Mexico! It was so fun to have them here, for my friends here to meet my family and my family to meet my friends! Actually, the 31st was Rachel's FIRST birthday (!!) so we had a nice family party in the evening following a larger party I hosted for my friends that day. All in all, it was a great week!

Here's Rachel digging into her home-made cake (she started taking off her own shirt before we brought the cake to her, so we thought we'd go with that - she enjoyed destroying and eating that cake!)

My puppies and Rachel spent a lot of time together - I'm sure they miss all the Cheerios she provided! Here is my new little guy, Oscar, helping to clean up the cake - it was like a bomb went off in the cake. :)

Below, I am offering Rachel a beer at the party. Just so you know, she didn't say "No". That concerns me a little. I think I'll have to have a chat with Rachel once she starts talking.

I Ate It

Hi, it's Oscar again.
Remember that nice new coat I told you about? Yesterday I ate it. It was grrreaat. Mom didn't think I could jump that high! (It was high on a nail in my room). Boy what a surprise when she got home last night!
Thing is, now she got a crate, a big old crate. And since I eat my bedding, I have to sleep on that cold hard plastic floor! The outrage!!
Plus mom takes me outside sometimes with my NECK attached to a ROPE like she's trying to HANG ME!!!
Someone help.
(Note, I really only ate off the cool accoutrements from the coat, and then dutifully puked them up. Awesome.)

Hi, my name is Oscar - or "No" or "Drop It", depending... I just came to this new household where I have an older sister named Maddie (she's kind of a dominatrix) and a mom and dad. They're pretty cool. My favorite activities are jumping and chewing on anything. (When I say anything, I mean anything). If it's on the floor, or the coffee tables, it's game. Mom says that picking up my poop is like a treasure hunt. The other day I ate the tag off of some linen for my bed, and she could still read it! I amaze myself. My mom calls me a "corker" (she's into English, Irish and Scottish stuff lately - especially the whiskey!), or a "little shit". But I know she loves me. She bought me a nice collar and tag, and even a new coat which she says is like my cousin Max's. I don't know what a cousin is. I don't know what Max is. But it's a nice coat. She also bought me a stupid reindeer headress - she is harboring a fantasy that Maddie will run around with her Santa hat on, and I will be her reindeer. She has another think coming. But I have to humor her a little since she doesn't have other kids.
I am trying to type this letter, but she says I'm not a very good typist, so mostly I just sit here and try to crawl on the laptop.
I gotta' go, time for some training I think. I mostly have "sit" down, but you know, "sit", "lie down" - whatever!!

Sarah visits, Halloween Rocks

My bestest friend Sarah came out for a long weekend visit recently and almost fell off a mountain!

When we went to Sandia Man Cave (I believe this is the oldest known inhabited cave in North America - the cavemen were up here escaping large animals that no longer exist, and they left behind evidence of their habitation), we had to climb a tall scary metal spiral staircase. It freaked Sarah out, so I pretended to climb over the edge.

New Mexico has a lot of ruins dating to the 1600's and earlier. This is an old pueblo church ruin not far from my house. Pretty awesome!

This is me (right of course, all painted as an "80's Alien") and my friends Kelly (center) and Betsey on Halloween night at the Martini Grill. We partied and had a blast!!! Who says Halloween is just for kids??

My hubby Tim (l) and Kelly's hubby Tim (r) went as the Wild and Crazy Guys from SNL. They pulled it off quite well. My Tim wanted to wear the pants and hat for real though. I let him wear the hat, we keep the pants for another Halloween or other scary event.

Jumping Bean

So this is our new dog. Scooter. Rufus. Rex. Baxter. Oscar. Well, we think we decided on Oscar now, after three days of having him. We came home to this and just died laughing. So cruel. ;) He's about 6 months old and so far he's a really good, smart boy.

Life continues on here - I am keeping (somewhat) busy in real estate and also able to do studio teaching. Tim works on the vehicles and on his efficiency designs, which is all generally moving along.

Life is good, no complaints - none that are worth getting into here anyway! ;)