#18 in the top 50

Travel and Leisure says it's so.     The world's top family hotels and cruises is in our own backyard.   They call it "Lost Pines".   We call it Bastrop.    Hyatt Lost Pines is where the pups are traveling for a post New Year's overnighter.   It helps that the Amex points make it more joyous on our leader's pocketbook.
The sheriff  lives two doors down in case you were thinking of visiting while we're gone.     A DPS trooper lives up and 5 houses away in case you were thinking I left my Nelson traveling sprinkler outside again. (love that thing)
Anyway, doggies are allowed at Hyatt Lost Pines and after apologizing  for leaving them briefly for the  movie/dinner celebration, we'll take off tomorrow for Lockhart bar-b-que, black eyed peas  and then on over to the fancy schmancy Hyatt.    Those new stylish collars will come in handy, but I don't think Mattie can chase the wildlife at this place.

blurry flash of shiny white snappers

aimed at the last truly innocent creature on planet earth.
a black pug puppy who wants his toy back.
big girl bully!!

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WTF!!!!!

That was mine! Give it!

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My new collar

Santa brought me a new collar. It looks nice on my neck while I nap.

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CLOSE UP

Tried to get him to move to his side. He thinks its all his side.

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405

405 is the number of photographs on my phone that I uploaded to flickr this morning.   It took a long long long long time.   I'm not really skilled at moving them from flickr to Mattie's blog, but it seemed time to get them off the phone.
I'll share, not all 405, but some; Once I find them all again.  

the nook

curl up w/ a blanket and she will come

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Petco is like Toys R Us for doggies

I knew we were in trouble at the Petco when I noticed we both were walking around with our hands full.    We split the bill...pretending like it really doesn't all come out of the same place in the end anyway. 
They like toys.   Bought 4 toys.
Stevie chewed up Mattie's bowl.  Fiestaware is filling in temporarily.
Stevie's bowl is Ollie's old bowl and he carries it around and we can't find it a few times a week.  Bought 2  bowls
Stevie's leash is nice, green and not as long as his sister's so he bites her back legs and neck and is constantly pulling.
Bought 1 long leash.  Pending...one doctor visit for chief walker and alpha male.
Mattie is a star and Stevie is her brother.   They have their pictures taken frequently.   Style is important.
Bought 2 new collars.

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No Good Deed

OK..so I did something I do often.  I write letters and email when I can't sleep.
I quit feeling guilty about letter writing when my loved one told me he wrote the coffee supplier.
I wrote a local leader a note to share why I thought he might want to do a good deed for a dear dear friend.    I used my best persuasive voice, told stories with a personal connection and ended with the big wowie of  dear friend's latest selfless act.
I accomplished my task,good deed got done and  sent him a thank you Xmas card w/ the doggies and then got a shout out on a wide scale from him.
For someone who prefers books, dogs and little children...that kind of shout out is not good for me.
I'll end now as loved one is singing to Mattie or Stevie  (really) and I have to go watch.   Singing confuses Mattie and makes Stevie twist his head in strange ways.

Merry Christmas

IMAG0429_edit0
Originally uploaded by memyrcscunningham

Should he?

We are caretakers of dogs.   So  I want to ask (rhetorically); should the football player Vick be allowed to own a dog.    It is all over the news that his little girl wants a dog and he is rehabilitated so should that be enough to change his fate with dogs? 
 http://www.ohmidog.com/tag/richard-hunter/

This  story of  one  Vick abused dog is enough to forever answer the question, in my mind at least.

Ode to u know who.

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Ode to Stevie

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Ode to Stevie...(aka Happy Together by The Turtles)

Imagine me and you, I do
I think about you day and night, it's only right
To think about the pug I love and hold him tight
So happy together



If I should call him  up, invest a dime
And tell you that you belong to me and not THAT guy
Imagine how the world could be, so very fine
So happy together



I can't see me lovin' nobody but you
For all my life
When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue
For all my life



Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together



I can't see me lovin' nobody but you
For all my life
When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue
For all my life



Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together



Ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba
Ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba



Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together

So happy together
How is the weather
So happy together
We're happy together
So happy together
Happy together
So happy together

So happy together (ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba)

Hide and Seek

Not really a friend of Mattie, however this little guy was on my laundry this morning. Clean unfolded laundry lands on college girl's bed. Mister said, "leave it alone...he found his way in and he'll find his way out." Okie...so now we live with two dogs, one lizard and a squirrel in the atic and a sporadically visiting college girl who might not want to share her room with a reptile.

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Happy Together........

Dog Heaven

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Bunny guts

If it HAD been real, this is what it would have looked like. It was the stuffed doggie bunny and it is now dead. The darkness of the pre dawn light is less embarrassing than full light of day.
Dear neighbors,
I'm picking it up tonight.
s

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We don't like cold

fayetteveille hike
Originally uploaded by memyrcscunningham

Texas people w/ Texas dogs don't like cold. Moderate cold...50 or so is good for winter. Below 50 and we behave strangely. The dogs lie and I have to close the dog door to get them to stay outside and do their "stuff".
I don't own enough cold weather gear to be comfortable cold and then my nose runs and with gloves on that creates another problem.
College girl is now our hero.
Missouri is close to the North Pole.

A comparison

Swim parents and angry dogs....a comparison

SP                                                                                     
sit in groups and attack successful swimmers
AD
travel in packs and attack rabbits and small children
SP
coordinate their clothing
AD
coordinate breakfast opportunities
SP
have a leader...usually dressed to indicate they are the leader
AD
have a leader....he/she growls louder than the rest
SP
dine together in groups determined by leader
AD
dine together after the leader is full
SP
discuss everyone's business
AD
take care of their own business
SP
often pretend support of team
AD
must support team/pack or be left to hunt alone
SP
often "appear"  one way and act another
AD
look and act  exactly like angry dogs


Angry dogs...for me.   Except for the eat small children part.  That's not good.
s

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Dear Mattie,

I know you wait all day for us.    I know you are the best wild dog a mom could ever hope to have.
However, you chewed my pillow.  Not once, but twice.   I know it is a sign you are angry.   I know there are far worse things you could choose to nibble....BUT it's Thanksgiving.     I ignored the tiny hole you put in the pillow you drug out into the backyard.    I brushed it off and put it back on the couch and was thankful for being your mom.   I even briefly blamed Stevie.   I hoped the tiny hole was I.T.   Hoped the chewing was a temporary  set back.  BUT NO.   We were home talking and playing and then your dad came home and we had to go shopping for groceries.    I even skipped getting my nails done so you could have dinner on time.   BUT NO.   We returned from  HEB to find stuffing and the second pillow with a bigger hole and you looked at me and wagged your tail.   You wagged your tail while I said "No Mattie"   "No chewing".    You did have your head lowered as  a sign you knew you were naughty.   Then you went and sat by Dad and he scratched your tummy and you ignored me.  Ignored me like I was the naughty one.
Hello....It's Thanksgiving.    Are you thankful for your squirrel walks?   The dinner time that comes every day around 5pm?    What about sleeping in the big bed and no more trips to the kennel when we leave town?    And what about that nice place you get to sit on road trips?   Head in dad's lap and me scrunched up in my seat never saying a word?   I move Stevie for you, keep his puppy teeth off your legs when you look desperate and then you CHEWED MY PILLOWS.   What do you have to say for yourself?  Seriously now.   I want to know how you can defend your actions.
I have something to say too.   
"Sorry I yelled at you."    "I should have kept the pillows in the closet."   "I don't need a soft place for my head....really I don't."

Love,
Mom

Mattie Played

Here's how it usually goes.
Throw a ball her way...she thinks you're trying to hurt her so she runs away.
Try to play tug and she lets you have it.
Peek a boo sends her walking away ears pinned to her head which is her first indicator of I'm scared and you did it so please stop now.

Prior to last night the only play type activity we've seen was her pinning down her brother or the two of them stealing the bone and running.   She hadn't played with us.  She comes to us for love, food and walks.    

One of Stevie's fav games is "footsie".   He's on the bed,  perched on the edge and you grab at his feet and he barks and plays keep away.
Last night when Stevie was playing....Mattie decided to play with her dad.   We had to hold Stevie down to keep him from ruining the first ever moment when Mattie joined the game too.

We think Mattie missed out on the playing stage of development  that puppies have with humans.   She didn't get much help in that area from Bart or Ollie either.   Walking to the sunny window to sleep for 5 hours and snore was their activity.   

So, one year and a couple of months after joining our family, she is confident enough to play.  
I think it's still to early for the Frisbee.  But I'm hopeful.

Back to the drawing board

Stevie tried to fly out the window of the parked Yaris.
Stevie almost had his head crushed by the door of the parked Yaris.
Stevie leaped out of the back of the parked Yaris, ran across a hotel parking lot and then stared down his parents.
Stevie stood on top of his crate and decided it was time for someone to hold him so he leaped into the front seat shifted us into neutral and was held.
With this,  one could wonder why the stupid parents didn't put the dog into the crate.   This stupid parent has no answer.   Slightly reminiscent of us  giving cars to the driver in the house  who kept wrecking them.
We're slow.
I think it's simply not going to be enough to hope that Mattie's perfectly charming goodness is going to rub off  on her brother. 
One of the parents needs to be better with "NO STEVIE".  The other is taking the walk of shame back to dog school.

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Home

Three days of traveling around have us all tired. Seeing college girl swim was a gift and therefore the fact I can't breathe is a mild inconvenience. I am, however allergic to Arkansas.

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Fayetteville Trees

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Oklahoma or bust!

Rory,Sandra,Mattie, and Stevie are going to see Cassie.

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More Pillows Please.

Last year I  bought some lovely mustard colored pillows for my couch.   Lovely mustard colored pillows lasted less than a month with new dog who had sharp white teeth and attachment issues.
I thought it was safe to buy new pillows.   I waited a year .  Our heads are not comfortable when we stretch out to watch TV.   The couch lacks color.   I bought two new pillows at Target.   I found one new pillow by the dog door on Monday.   I talked to her about it.   I told her she had pillows and cushions outside.   I told her she had a new fun playmate named Stevie who loved her.   I told her we loved her.   I reminded her we walk her almost daily.   I also reminded her she gets to eat Royal Canin Puppy 33 and she isn't really a puppy, but we continue buying it because she loves it.   I added that we brought her ribs (with meat on) from Salt Lick so she could enjoy her first bone.  ( we know she has already enjoyed rabbit bones).  
She didn't listen.
Tuesday afternoon I came home to find both Mattie and Stevie chasing and playing in the backyard and both new pillows were now on the floor by the doggie door.   I called and Stevie came fast and happy.   Mattie....not quite so fast.   But very happy.
We'll talk more.

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Enter here please.

Before candy could be dispersed I had to remove the 3 pair of sneakers from the top of the table, another pair from the ground,  the swim gear bag left from August, the dead plants, leaves and cobwebs.   The bushes blocked the step so Leader cut the sides of the bushes,  add a few flowers and presto we are ready.    Then it started.    The lookout would bark, both would run to the window to see who was coming, then both would go to the door and wait, wiggle and growl.   All was good until one of the last visitors decided to lunge into the doorway with a big BOO.   This was a bigger middle school size visitor.    If I hadn't held Mattie's collar she would have lunged to protect her leader.  
We don't lunge or BOO the leader.     I don't remember last Halloween with Mattie.   We had been her home for just over a month.   I would imagine we put her into the crate that now sits dust covered in the back of the garage.      This Halloween  she knew to watch and run to the door and look.   This Halloween she had Stevie to help keep watch.   This Halloween she guarded her home and  Leader and I think for the first time I saw that she would indeed bite to keep him safe.   Good thing she likes me a lot too.   

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Good Morning

Aren't we wonderful?

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BONES!!!!!

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Ribs anyone?

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Dog on Alert

At 4:30 a.m. I watch last night's shows or scan Facebook for postings and pics of college girl doing something fun or new.   At 4:30 a.m. everyone else sleeps except the people who work night shifts and we used to be one of those families but we are not any longer. (a run on I'm sure, but I'm working on stopping my use of....... dot dot dot dot).
Mattie will hear me make coffee and  stroll down the hall yawning and stretching.     Stevie doesn't budge.  If I turn on the light and stumble into a chair leaving the bedroom, he still doesn't budge.
So Mattie comes in and sits down beside me this morning and is suggling up in her (mine) blanket.    A bit later she sits up and growls low growls.   She chirps low barks.   She paces back and forth from the front window but she won't go out the back which is odd because she loves the cool dark.    Sometimes you'll find her out in the yard in the cool dark chewing a bone or looking around, kind of like she's waiting for a show to begin.
This morning her growl and chirp time lasted 20 minutes so I woke up the leader and told him the girl was wonky and needed his guidance.    What I really said was put on your pants and shoes and  take her outside to see if there is danger.     Mattie thought there was danger and I thought he should investigate because he is the leader of the dogs and the one who stole my pug's love  so he should go, not me.
They didn't find anything.   She seemed happy.  I finished watching NCIS. 
Pugs don't go on alert.   Ever.

Dogtoberfest

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Dogtoberfest

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Dogtoberfest

Stevie has no endurance.   He simply can't hold up to the fun of the moment.  And there was fun with a capital F.   We met a banana, a bee, a pirate and rainbow poodles....yet, his enthusiasm waned.   Mattie greeted and sniffed and whined for a nudge from the friends at Dogtoberfest.   We went for fun and Stevie was carried back to the car by his momma.  Mattie...well Mattie was again a perfect participant.   Excited, but not jerking the leash.    Happy tail wagging, but no lunging at new friends.    Whining and sniffing, but no aggression or fear.

But what an unusual place to hold a dog event.   Outside Nieman Marcus you could find beagles/hounds of varying sizes and mixtures.   I don't think those inside shopping would want a knock off/mixture of beagle.       And outside Tiffany's the doggies were peeing on the plants.   One owner of a humongous dog left a humongous prize right outside a clothing specialty shop and shortly thereafter came the volunteers asking "do you have/need poop bags?"   I tapped my purse and told her they were right here.  She said "good girl" and I was transported back to my early school  years when the teacher praises you for doing something like not eating the glue.  I ate the paste in Kindergarten.   It was green and smelled yummy.

And then came Pug Rescue.   We sat there and watched a senior fawn male bark at us and I wondered if we should.    RC said he wouldn't tell me no.    We just finished a year where we lost both our seniors and I was thinking Mattie looked awfully happy to see a senior fawn pug...like her Ollie.    It was a moment.   Then we had to move away or I would have been carrying Stevie and the senior to my car.    We were good parents to our senior boys.   And while chewed magazines and nightly walks are part of the new regime....I don't think it's time to add to the family just yet.    But I do know which one he was on the Pug Rescue website.  I'm keeping an eye on him for now.

Huh?

Woke her up so she would move over.

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My life in dogs

Sam, a beagle Herman, a daschound who stuck his head under our fence and stayed
Fred, a Weimerainer they bought in Dallas
Greta, another Weim found wandering the streets close to my school in 6th grade
she was my childhood counterpart to Bart...a standout among dogs.
Rosy, a mutt who bit people and was really really mean..
Clyde,  an Irish Setter that was about as mellow as a dog could ever be...but did bite the tail off a squirrel once

Once I moved out, married  there first was:
Luder, a Boston Terrier who growled at me regularly when I came to bed  and he found a good country home when we moved to the big city
Sissy, a rescue who jumped fences and  wandered and sadly who lost her life trying to come back home after an escape
Elvis, another Boston who lived and jumped for 10 happy years
and then came the PUGS
Ollie...well documented and much loved fawn pug who gave us 14 years of wonderful pugness.
Bart ..two years later a  sort of rescue and the final stop on his merry go round of living arrangements.  In 5 months approx. 4 different locations (some repeated) he kind of had some issues with bonding and nothing was sticking. (some people were not very nice to him either)  He moved in with us...terrorized Ollie for about 2 months and then we were all good to go.   He went to dog heaven last Jan.
I'll just add...caring for two senior dogs and sending your last kid off to college IS NOT highly recommended.   However...it is what it is.  If you love dogs...there is no other choice but to care for them as they age and fall apart in front of you.  It kind of gives you an idea of what 75 might be like when you get there.

The new generation  is young and full of energy and is shaping up nicely.

Loving Dogs

came upon this poem.......

First of all, it's a big responsibility,
especially in a city like New York,
So think long and hard before deciding on love,
On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security:
when you're walking down the street late at night
and you have a leash on love
ain't no one going to mess with you.
because crooks and muggers think love is unpredictable.
who know what love could do in its own defense?
On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breathes
and makes funny noises.
Love wakes up all hours of the night with its needs,
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.
Love doesn't like being left alone for long.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.
Is love good all the time? No! No!
Love can be bad, love, bad! Very bad love.
Love makes messes.
Love leaves you little surprises here and there.
Love needs lots of cleaning up after.
sometimes you just want to get love fixed.
Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper
and swat love on the nose,
not so much to cause pain,
just to let love know Don't you ever do that again!
Sometimes love just wants to go for a nice long walk.
Because love loves exercise.
It runs you around the block and leaves you panting.
It pulls you in several different directions at  once,
or winds around and around you
until you're all wound up and can't move.
but loves makes you meet people wherever you go.
People who have nothing in common but love
stop and talk to each other on the street.
Throw things away and love will bring them back,
again, and again, and again.
But most of all love needs love, lots of it.
And in return, love loves you and never stops.
by Taylor Mali

Football Saturday

or who will get the last bite of Pumpkin cake.

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Holiday wear #2

"get away from me"

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Holiday wear

Understated

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Dogtoberfest is coming at The Domain

The Domain in Austin is holding a dog event next weekend.    I visited the website and now I'm thinking that the pumpkin outfit for Stevie and the orange Halloween bandanna for Mattie are not going to turn a single head in their direction.      

It's been a few years since we participated in any type of group dog activity, but once upon a time we used to do the Mighty Texas Dog Walk (pugs in wagons was what it really looked like)  that benefited the Texas Hearing and Service Dogs group.   Pug Rescue and Hound Rescue, Little Paws and Small Chance Rescue are just half of the 8 rescue groups benefiting from this year's event.
I saw the pug CHUNK on their rescue page.    He used to be 60 something pounds and now he needs a home.  :)

I'm not a bit afraid to take Mattie out to a gathering of this type.   She always makes her parents proud.   She has almost fully conquered her fears of EVERYTHING.   Especially if we  are all there together as a group.      Stevie has the cute factor, but he behaves like a puppy, always.      His big selling point is he isn't afraid of anything.   It brings out a side in Mattie that we love.    She wanted to play with Ollie and Bart when she first became ours...but senior pugs sleep, not play.   She and Stevie are a pair now.  Brother and Sister.    Our first dog themed event as a family.

Black and white...fur with orange Halloween bandannas and black and white.....clothes with orange Halloween bandannas.     Maybe understated is the way to go. 

Spoiled dogs

I completely understand picky eating.    I don't like cheese;  gravy and sauces are not allowed on my plate.   But come on.   This stuff is 43 dollars a bag.   The bag is 15 pounds.  A 17 pound bag of Kibbles and Bits, Ollie and Bart's favorite, was around 20.00.   The new dogs are eating the steak version of dog food and it's Stevie's fault.     If you try to mix brands and wean the new crew off of it...they pick it out and leave the Kibbles and Bits.  Seriously.. I have dog bowls left with Kibbles and a mess on the floor where they played around with it in their mouths, found the steak and spit out the Kibbles.   I haven't tasted the stuff, but either it has addictive qualities  or Mattie and Stevie are ganging up on us because we no longer have to pay teenage boy car insurance or repairs.  

5-6 bags of the stuff will buy a plane ticket to Missouri.   One bag is dinner for two at Z Tejas and a good margarita.   We're the adults here.   We can choose not to buy the stuff.......they were so happy  with the new bag last night.    Stevie arrived from Oklahoma with instructions for feeding and his diet included this stuff.  The high priced food was supposed to hide that his momma was probably his great aunt and his daddy was probably his brother.   My best new pug who doesn't love me has bottom fangs, jazz paws and plays like a cat.   We kept thinking we would stop, we kept complaining about the cost, Mattie kept looking at the different food and sneaking bites, Ollie RIP liked the tiny pieces too.  

 We are doomed to Puppy 33.





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paws/feet

If  the paws or feet hurt, you should give them a rest.    My doggies give their paws plenty  of rest, but when hiking @ lake Quachita last month I definitely noticed a slower pace towards the end of 4.5 miles.   Stevie has documented proof he didn't walk the whole way.   Riding in a backpack carried by  dad was the alternative to dragging, which I'm sure is banned in all corners of the globe.   Dog dragging would just never be an acceptable option.

Dogs don't care if their nails are too long, but they do care if you grab their paw and won't let go.   We care if their nails are too long because they hurt.   We're off to get nail trims this afternoon.    I'm thinking if I write it down, I'll get it done.

On the human side, if your feet hurt you must figure out how to make it stop or the quality of your life suffers tremendously.     After  hefty doses of time, money and patience, I have achieved almost pain free walking again.    Included were  2 doc visits, 3 new pairs of shoes, two weeks of hideous taping, two pairs of orthotics insoles for both athletic and every day shoes and on a side note who would have ever thought your could spend THAT kind of money on shoes (which are not really all that attractive) and STILL need orthotic inserts.  
Paws are low maintenance and until August I though my feet were too.
Falling off the  high healed funeral shoes in a parking lot did much to hasten what probably had been coming, but now I place paw care up there with the biggies like teeth and eyes.
I feel heart broken for the woman who came into my favorite store (for years I've worn Dansko clogs from In Step in Austin)  for shoes for her hurting feet.    She said they were all ugly shoes and she would not wear them and she left.    I thought she might be late 60 something, had hair salon hair, a trim figure with blazer and slacks.   I wanted to run after her and tell her she could be pain free....if she'll only  wear the ugly shoes too.  I make my heart happy by having pretty toes inside my ugly shoes.   I am going to do that today too.

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Dog Friendly

I spent 2 hours this morning finishing what I should have finished when I first started making plane/hotel reservations back in August.    I spent a  couple of hours then and did a lot, patted myself on the back and took a break.   My break lasted until this morning.

We're driving to Arkansas, Fayetteville, to be specific, to see the Tigers swim.   I love that 8 hours is shorter than 12 or 13, but it's still a long long way to go.
One lesson learned from taking the doggies on a road trip would be,  forget spending extra dollars on a bigger ride and take the Yaris.   Both dogs spent the entire trip jockeying for the middle ride between the parents and of course the big girl won every time.    I pulled Stevie out of the gear shifter a lot because he never gave up trying to claim that spot for his own.

So...in the world of "dog friendly" hotels in small town Arkansas you can choose between Econolodge yep...just the name is scary or La Quinta (our standard go to for clean dog friendly sleep) and the high point was Embassy Suites in Hot Springs but then they charged a 35.00 pet fee per night.   Eases the mind a bit when you know that they are sleeping with mom and dad instead of at  the cement floor  kennel  full of strange barking pups who might have a contagious thing.  And now I sound ridiculous.
Anyway...Best Western and Springhill Suites seems to be what we're left with on this trip.     They are in the cities halfway and our final destination.   I  like that when the leader of this pack takes me away by myself, he let's me pick pretty much any place I want.    We've stayed in some beautiful inns, resorts and B&B's.  But not so  when you travel with the dogs.    The choices are always very limited and if you are traveling through more rural type communities the choices are fewer.     This trip we're even going to try and pass Mattie off as a "small dog".    If these people only knew.   She is a gem.   She is perfect.   She might be a tad larger than "small dog", but she has the manners so that no one would even care.   She is angelic.     I'll let you know how it all goes.   BTW it was our leader who declared almost a year ago this October, "I'll never leave "my girl" in one of those places ever again."   He happened to be the one who had to take and pick up the old pugs and our 1 month new Mattie girl to the Dog Resort where they had reservations for 3 days.      We were taking our first trip away to MO to see the college girl swim.  He didn't like it one bit...she (mattie)  didn't like it one bit...and we're not one bit closer to ever going back.


 I booked my plane ride for December to see our Tiger girl swim minus the dogs and dad, booked college girl's rides in the sky for the remaining holidays and learned a valuable lesson.
If you create a folder titled Missouri in your email box..you should go ahead and put those Missouri email in it and then you will always have the information you need.      I let them stay in the email box that filled to a number in the thousand or so range, frustration was high, so I hit delete.    I'll be paying for that mistake for a bit to  come.

Car napping

Low man on the food chain had to ride in the back.

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Randomness

Random #1  " hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard"   googled  for the author, and a basketball player was credited.

Random #2   "tigerwear" defined as any item of jewelry or clothing or accessory that is black/gold or covered in some form of tiger.     I am severely lacking in "tigerwear".  

Random #3  I love NCIS   Sad, but true.   The only explanation I can give  is I like the problem, solution, happily ever happy thing a lot.

Random #4  Small children should not be required to take standardized tests and the people who force this issue have long left the classroom or were never a part of it in the first place.   I gave one today because it was in the job description.

Random #5  If your youngster can touch their knees with their fingertips, you might have a swimmer on your hands.  Or a gorilla just walked into your presence.

Random #6  If you sit in the stands as a parent of an aspiring swimmer, make it a point to NOT know their times.    Just buy the suits, goggles and pay the coach with money and Outback Steaks.

Random #5  Remember to be on time to parent conferences.

Random #6  Take time to pack a good lunch and the day seems lighter and brighter than when you forget to pack a good lunch.

Random #7   Vern Yip rocks...the designer and the one who lives here at my house.

Random #8   You CAN have too much HGTV.

Random #9   I think swimming fast is an oxymoron.

Random#10  Make sure one of your dogs is a good dog if you own more than one.   The bad dog (does anyone remember the dog expert, woman with white hair and accent who said "there are no bad dogs?" ) will notice and eventually come through for you.   Thank you Mattie and Ollie for all your hard work.

Random #11  I like Mad Men.   I had a hairdo like Sally when I was little.

Random #12  Every person who is sad their last child has left the house should get themselves a Stevie of their very own.

Random #13  I remember saying to EVERYONE I wasn't one of "those" mothers.   Turns out I was WRONG.

Random #14   If you are going to have children, their future teachers would appreciate it if you could talk to them.   Anything is OK.   Just put down your gadgets and talk to them.   TV is OK too....but you can't skip the talking part.    There are these little synapses in their brains that won't connect if you don't talk.

Random #15  Sunscreen, Sunscreen, Sunscreen

Random #16  There is a chance there won't be a new James Bond movie for some time.     I read it somewhere.

Random #17  I believe in hair color.  I believe in pedicures. 

Random #18  If your feet aren't happy you aren't happy.

Random #18b  Buy good shoes. 

Random #19   "UP" is a great  movie.   It has everything...a kid, a grandpa, a great house that flies, a dog, squirrels, more dogs, a great love, a great sadness...simply everything is in "UP".

Random #20  Sugar is excellent,possibly a food group...but I'm cutting back.   Mattie loves candy.

COMO (short for Columbia, Missouri)

I had a plan.   The plan did not unfold the way I had hoped.    It was an exciting weekend with the college girl, swimming, and the doggies and my brain wasn't exactly thinking..."post pictures on blog".

Stevie leaned how to be a hamster this weekend, college girl swam well and while Vern Yip did a great job in August setting up the college girl's room in the house she now shares with   three other swimmer girls)...there was definitely room for improvement.    We added a cushy orange sale chair...the kind a college kid should not have because it is really  really nice..but a leg was cracked and the store was practically giving it away... it was the huge bargain of the weekend, new curtains (even though Vern tried....he should have been at Target and not Walmart)
a headboard (Vern's wife would have bought it when Vern bought bed last May, but Vern's wife had to stay home because this was VERN's trip to MO alone to attend End Of Year swimmer banquet...and VERN's WIFE is not still BITTER. Really.)
More pillows, lamps, and a rug made the room feel homey and complete.  Now college/swimmer girl is ready to entertain her incoming recruit from Austin this weekend!       Which brings back shivers because there was nothing more stressful than that  high school senior year recruiting business!  UGH.
 
Enough with the room....Stevie is part hamster.    Mattie is perfect and is N.E.V.E.R. crated in a hotel.   Stevie...not so much.   Took the pop up crate and popped him inside and went off to watch swimming.   Returned...he had collapsed the thing and was laying flat inside.   Round 2.   Apparently flat inside was not an option and getting out was the plan... so we popped him back inside and went off to watch swimming for the afternoon session.   Returned...he was o.u.t. out.  Door a little scratched...but no other damage.   Remember Mattie is sitting on the  bed throughout all of this looking queen like and superior.  Round 3.  Popped him inside the next morning to go watch swimming and we're going to tie the zipper shut...before we get that far he starts climbing up the side of the nylon crate and flips it over...climbs up the same side and flips it again...and off he goes flipping the crate around the room making desperate squeaking noises.  I proclaim he will be traumatized, must be released and Mattie will ensure his safety and good behavior while we are away.   VERN says I care nothing for his sanity and the charges he will be billed for destruction and we drive away to the pool.

Finally...we attended no tiger parent gatherings.    VERN likes them.  He is always popular and smiling and joking.   VERN's wife is grumpy and hugs the wall and counts the articles of "tigerwear" in the room.   I have a few items of "tigerwear" and increased my count by  adding two new baseball caps.    VERN said I have only one head and college girl was shocked when I hollered Vern's name to come to the other end of the bookstore to the empty registers and to view the new food area that wasn't there the last time I was there.   Forgot that Vern had seen it in August (again when I wasn't there) and sulked until college girl said we could walk her to class.    She proclaimed there was nothing  we could do that embarrassed her even after I hollered in the bookstore.    So we walked college girl to her class and said goodbye until lunch.   (these events are out of order).

And then I cried.  I cried when the last event of the last evening was finished.    I didn't mean to cry, it just sort of started.   I warned the girl it was coming in case she wanted to flee...but she hugged me instead and started crying too.   I felt bad for starting her tears and then turned to a complete stranger man wearing his own "tigerwear" and said "I don't want to go home."
That pretty much sums up our trip and since no one who is the boss of me reads this I'll add that I'm going to Arkansas in November with Vern and the dogs and  to a three day meet in Missouri in  December  minus Vern and the dogs.  
The End.
BTW... i only know how to post pics as individual posts.   just keep scrolling on down.

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she won't let me ride in front

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told u he loved dad more

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third from left

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