Operation MAT Experiment

In celebration of my recently acquired NEW JOB I plan on trying a new journey on Monday. I am going to attempt to take Omaha public transportation downtown. This, of course is a trial run. My anxiety cannot take the possible issues on a first day. After research on this possibility I discovered the I would only have to take one bus, it would drop me off right in front of my new workplace and it wouldn't take me two days to get downtown...at least that is what the schedule says. Yes, I will have to leave earlier for work than my driving working self, but think of the things I could do. Read the paper, do my make-up, read a book, watch Grey's Anatomy, and just wake up. All of these things would be really difficult while driving, although I have seen most of them while observing other drivers. Not to mention the fact my car will sit idle in my garage, I will spend less on fuel, and the earth may like me a bit more.

The issues I am looking for while testing my experiment. Do I feel like I am going to puke? In case you do not know I get motion sickness easily. I have been sick in cars, boats, buses, planes and trolleys (no kidding). All my ambition for what I could get done depends on what I can do without getting sick. I would also like to see how close the buses run on schedule. Considering nearly no one rides them I am not worried about getting a seat.

Wish me luck...

Internet Marketplace

I have officially entered the internet marketplace. You are looking at my book sales from the past three days. Sunday night I opened shop at Half.com and within minutes I sold my first book. Although there is a small commission on each book I sell that goes to the company it is a pretty good deal. There is a shipping allowance given and media mail is cheap. If you have Harry Potter books lying around and you aren't attached I recommend selling. I had the last five books and all sold in a few days. Ok, gotta go. I need to find more books to sell.

On the Waterfront vs. Devil Wears Prada

Marriage is a series of compromises over the smallest details. Example: Christian and I have had several weeks of over scheduled family outing weekends. We love our family, but between the two of us we have four sets of parents so it can get a bit hectic. This weekend we had no scheduled birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, going away parties, family in town, celebrate your learning to drive a stick, or congrats on learning to braid your hair gatherings which is was quite exciting. This was so exciting to us we decided to spend two straight days watching movies we own, cooking food in our kitchen and going to Target. Our compromise for the weekend was watching On the Waterfront on Friday (Christian's pick) and The Devil Wears Prada on Saturday. I had already seen The Devil Wears Prada and truly there is not a lot to say about the film. It is a guilty pleasure with some excellent lines. My favorite..."I am on a new diet. It is French...basically I don't eat and when I feel like I am going to faint I eat a piece of cheese. However, On the Waterfront there is lots to say...I am not a movie reviewer and prefer to keep my comments short.

On the Waterfront

• Marlon Brando was actually cute?
• How have I lived almost 30 years without seeing the scene, "I could have been a contender...I could've been somebody."
  
• I love the romantic narratives in old movies.
  
• There is a monologue the priest gives halfway through the movie that is unbelievable.
  
• I really need to re-think my feelings on black and white movies.
  

Petiquette

Everyone has their pet peeves, but mine are directly associated with actual pets. I apologize for my soapbox rant in advance.

To All Pet Owners:

• Leashes are the law. I know we all want to live in a world where our dogs can frolic off-leash, but that is called a dog park. My neighbors reasons for not using a leash will not work with me, "He was close to me," "You don't expect to run into people this late at night (it was 9:30 and what the hell does that mean?)" and "He was on leash (uh, ok expect it was invisible)."
• Respect property right, period. In case you didn't know, not all people like dogs. Many families choose not to have pets and this is their choice. These people should not have to deal with your dog running all over their yard and peeing on every vertical object.
  
• Pick up the crap. Invest in some poop bags. Dogs poop and if you don't pick it up you set a bad example for all dog owners everywhere.
  
• Flexi leashes suck. You may be thinking, "Oh I love being able to let my dog roam and have more freedom." Sorry, but I refuse to use a leash that comes with warnings that involve amputations. On a side note, these leashes never ask your dog to comply with any rules regarding pulling on leash. This is why many of my students get drug around the training room. The dog has no regard for the person attached to the leash.
• Correction in dog world is perfectly normal. I understand my knowledge of dog body language is larger than most of the general public, however one of my biggest annoyances is people not understanding normal dog behavior. Dogs use aggression as normal behavior to convey to other dogs very important messages. For example, a young goofy dog may approach an older more mature dog in a very rude manner (think young inexperienced boy trying to hit on a woman). The mature dog has every right in this situation to correct the young dog. If effect, the older dog is saying "that is rude and this is what happens to rude dogs." Usually this correction is loud and showy, but the intent is not to injure the other dog. These correction can be incredibly important to the development of a young dog. This type of aggression happens on a regular basis in human language. A child does something wrong and the mother has "that look" that ends the interact immediately. Of course if the mother was mad at the child and decided that beating him was appropriate we would consider this abnormal behavior. In the dog world there are abnormal forms of dog aggression. In these cases dog behavior is ways that are outside the bounds of normal dog communication. Suzanne Clothier's article "He Just Wants to Say Hi!" explains this more in depth.

Well, that is enough of my soapbox for a bit. Hope everyone had an exciting weekend. Mine was pretty uneventful: work, family dinners and a little more work. Christian and I did see The Bourne Ultimatum. If you want to watch a thrilling movie full of abnormal aggression this is the one for you. It is great!

Hot, Hot, Hot!

In case you don't live in Omaha or surrounding areas and haven't checked the weather lately, it is friggin' hot here. Christian calls me "Junior Meteorologist" when he asks for the weather updates, which is a good nickname because I read weather blogs about fronts and air masses. Maybe I missed my true calling.

Anyway, today when coming back from the groomer (for the dog, not me) I noticed our True Green Man was lying on our steps. At first I thought he was sitting, but no he was sitting/laying back on the next step. I put my car in park and raced up to him, frantically trying to retrieve my cell phone. These large purses make an emergency call difficult because they tend to "eat" my phone. If you ever call me it will ring several times and just envision me saying, "crap, crap, where is my phone." Back to the story...I was just about ready to dump my whole purse on the ground when the man sat up. I sort of jumped and said "you need water, don't move." Let me tell you he looked terrible. I was really worried and brought out two huge glasses of ice water. After giving him a long winded lecture on heat stroke and water intake I realized he probably thought I was crazy.

Not much else going on other than the heat. Stay inside and sit in front of a fan.

Later

The Need to Read

In the last 6 months I have reacquired my need to read. When I was a kid my mom used to sneak into my room to catch me reading late which she always said was a hard thing to punish. My dad would complain about the Waldenbooks purchases and my mom would tell him she couldn't get me books fast enough. He said to take me to the library. This is a great idea, but I had read almost all the books in my age range at the neighborhood library. I would search the shelves for a new young adult fiction book. Sometime between junior high and high school this need to read evaporated. Well, it is back with a vengeance. The problem is I have a difficulty putting a book down once I am hooked.

My current recommendations:

On Beauty by Zadie Smith
If you liked Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections you will enjoy this novel looks at academia through the feuding Kipps and Belsey family. Full of flawed characters you will love to hate.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
For years I have said I don't like science fiction. When this was selected for my book club I was a little hesitant, but wow is it amazing. A story of an expedition led by a Jesuit priest to an alien land is full of suspense. The details in the alien culture are amazing. The narrative is difficult for some readers because it jumps from present day to the past, but hang tight because it will start to make sense. Russell asked questions about religion without preaching. Her characters wonder how can one can live in a world where God cannot be trusted to end pain. Along with the religious themes the book explored the concept of first contact with another land.

A Mighty Heart by Mariane Pearl
The story of kidnapping and killing of journalist Daniel Pearl was very difficult for me to read. The intense pain and lack of control Mariane captures in her writing is palpable. It is so unreal to me that in a country so filled with people they came so close to finding him. Her strength was and is still amazing to me.

Of course I cannot end this post without a shout out to Harry Potter. I have so enjoyed the story and will miss the anticipation of another. If you are one of few that hasn't read the books. Do it...

Obsession

I have always loved the end of a weeknight drama..."Next on." It creates the end of your seat suspense that everyone needs to stay tuned in. This is the reason that I should never be allowed to have access to an entire season of any show. I have had two such experiences (Grey's Anatomy Season Two and Weeds Season One) in the last year that have both confirmed my lame life and led to many a sleepy workday.

The most recent TV obsession: Brothers and Sisters
Days that it took me to watch the entire season on the ABC website: 4
Number of episodes: 16
Time of each episode: 42 minutes
Look on my face when alarm goes off in the morning after not enough sleep: priceless (actually this is pretty much everyday, but you will have to visit my husband's blog for any stories about my annoying snooze habits)

Now I have to give a shout out to ABC for the amazing ability to watch your show online with only three short commercial breaks, however, they should have thought about the hazard this may cause to people like me.

Description of such hazards:

• Trying to wash your hair with shaving cream.
• Feeding your dogs the wrong food or in some cases feeding one dog twice while the other dog says, "What the..."
• Sending emails to incorrect people on Microsoft Outlook. Remember, if there are two such people with the same first name it will send the email to the most recently send Tom instead of the one the Tom that you intended to send the email.
• Knocking over an entire 20 OZ bottle of Diet Mountain Dew on your keyboard and then trying to clean it up with a towel your office mate cleaned up urine with (I work with dogs, OK!).
• Wearing the wrong bra with the wrong shirt in a cold building. Gals, you know what I mean here.

As you can see, I would recommend against this obsession. I have seriously thought about attending my own twelve step program, but I think I will just stick to avoiding the free downloads and staying away from the TV rental section at the Blockbuster.

Sort of Sonnet

Not a lot of time because I am preparing to go out of town to Austin to visit my parents (Hooray!). I took a creative writing class at Metro this quarter to have something to do during the winter that didn't involve complaining about how I hate winter. I wrote several poems and thought I would share one with my readers...all four of them. The assignment was to write a "sort of sonnet." We didn't have to adhere to every rule, but just a few. For more on sonnets visit: Wikipedia. This sonnet materialized out of a journal page written about what was under my bed. Enjoy!

My Bed

There is an eddy under my bed

The swirling of dirt is like a tumbleweed; light and airy

The tent of poplin sheets contains the dread

The swing of the door pushes the particles and causes them to marry.

The socks trapped in the dirt are unwilling guests.

They would much rather do the jobs of warmth holder.

The dust clings to the chenille ripples to create a mess.

Retrieving these defacto swiffers is hard on the shoulders.

Newsprint, magazines and assorted papers fall victim to the suction

The papers are wrinkled and ready to meet the recycle bin.

The space heater brings in the winds and rustles up a disruption.

The papers rise off the ground, elevate and then drop like a fish fin.

The bed seems to breathe these objects in and out.

It is a breathing animal that will eat anything; a goat.

Will Work for Food

I spend a good portion of my day on the phone with pet owners looking for advice on how to peacefully co-exist with their furry friends. I talk to many dog owners with high drive breed under two years of age. I always ask how much exercise the dog gets and many people say a walk a few times a week. Lately(it has been freezing here), it has been common for them to say, "not much." For most high drive breeds a walk is an exercise hors devours.

My advice to everyone is your dog needs to work both mind and body everyday. If they do not get this enrichment dogs will find other ways on their own. A few suggestions to add enrichment to your dog's day. For physical exercise teach your dog a retrieve (fetch), an appropriate tug of war (it can be done), or socialize him with other dogs for play. Exercise your dog before you feed him. How do you feel after a big meal? Do you want to exercise?

After your dog has gotten physical exercise, provide him with mental stimulation by getting rid of his food bowl. That is right. Throw it away. We make the mistake with young adolescent high drive dogs by feeding them out of a bowl. It takes my young dog about 10.2 seconds to eat his food out of his dish. Instead, I make him work for it. There are several toys out on the market that can be stuffed with food. Premier makes has a great toy line called Busy Buddys. You can also use a Kong. These toys require the dog to work their jaws and use their brain to eat. If you are running short on time it is just as fun to just pour your dog's food into his kennel or scatter it all over your patio.

Have fun and look for more tips soon.

Save vs. Splurge

**Disclaimer: Because I have realized how much I enjoy it when other people actually post on their blog, I am going to try to make an effort as well. **

I am a magazine addict. There, I said it. The problem with this addiction is that it is not just one type of magazine. I can read Marie Claire, Glamour, People US Weekly, Family Circle, Time, No Depression, Interview, Entertainment Weekly, and the Economist to name a few. If someone went through our recycling on a regular basis they could get an update on make-up choices, who Britney is now dating and the current state of the war (in case you didn't know...it is not going well).

One of my pet peeves in fashion magazines is save vs. splurge. This is a regular feature of many women's mags. Here is the thing, when I think save vs. splurge I think Old Navy vs. Banana Republic or Target vs. Von Maur. It is always momentarily exciting to me to check this out until I remember that it is a big joke. Many of these features contain save fashions at roughly $250. I don't know about you, but to me that is definitely a splurge. The other night I went in search of an actual save vs. splurge site that was realistic and found Shop Happy. Check it out.

So here is my chance to see if anyone will read this posting. Readers: What was your favorite fashion save?

Every so often...

there is a dog at work that really sticks out. This big guy is the first in many months that caught my eye. He is a Labradoodle. If you are not familiar with this breed, don't be surprised. This pup is the new designer breed. Other doodle include the Dobradoodle, Goldendoodle, Saint Bernadoodle, and Boxerdoodle. A family in Omaha most likely paid several hundred dollars for this pup (the going rate for a Labradoodle is $800-$1000), but he was hanging out of 40th and Dodge (maybe he was at the 49'r). Just thought I would give him a shout out. Good luck buddy, you are a great dog.

A couple of non-related recommendations:

• Read Marley and Me- Nice easy read that is worth your time. If you have every had a dog you will laugh and cry.
• Listen to Jenny Lewis' Rabbit Fur Coat- The first time I heard this album I was dancing with my friend's 4 year old daughter. This woman has an amazing voice.
• Watch In Her Shoes- Rented a few movies this week because Christian went to see "Ghost Face Killah" at Sokol. Don't ask because I don't know. Didn't expect much from this movie, but was pleasantly surprised. The last movie that I saw with Toni Colette was Notting Hill and boy is she different.

Wow, is that me?

Yes, that is what I said when I was looking through some online pictures of the U2 concert. I know everyone is sick of hearing about "the night when Bono touched me," but I cannot believe that I actually found this picture. It is actually highlights my concert buddy, Cheryl much better than my hand obscured face. The girl in the black t-shirt, touching "the man"...is me. For those of you that are worried, no I am not going to get it tattooed on my body. Although, those guys on Miami Ink are pretty amazing.

My BCS Winter

B stands for Bono

I went to the U2 concert in December and Bono really touched me. No, really touched me, not just in a metaphorical way. Bono reached out and touched my hand. I don't know what else to say. I was reaching and my long arms paid off for once in my life. I don't know if it could have been much better, oh wait, I could have been the girl on stage during one of the greatest songs ever written. That would have been better, but I will take one touch.

This concert experience was so not me. Don't get me wrong, I love music. A good portion of the money that I have made in my lifetime has gone to a large collection of CD's now residing in rubbermaid containers (Thank you Steve Jobs!). The reality here is that I am kind of pessimistic. My thought is that I will stand in line for hours and I will still get screwed. So thank you to Cheryl for being my concert buddy. Even though we did not get into the inner circle I had a blast. Thank you to Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry for rockin' in the Big O'. My support for the the "K West" Center (Bono's name for the convention center) is huge. Never in my life did I think I would have been this close to Bono, ever. What a night.

C stands for Cash

Christian and I went to see the Man in Black in Walk the Line. I have seen many movies this year and many of them are better in a movie critic sense, but this movie was my favorite. Go and see the movie if you haven't and see it again if you did. Great story, music and Joaquin Phoenix isn't too bad on the eyes.

S stands for Surgery

My foot has been royally messed up for about ten years. Who knows why, but my doctor said it is because of ballet. So I went under the knife on December 28th. I don't have many complaints about the actual surgery. At the beginning I had to explain to my anesthesiologist that I did not want her to use the euphemism, "put to sleep." When you work with animals it is not comforting. I do know that if I ever am really rich I am going to buy one of those blanket warmers that they have at the hospital. It is instant comfort in a big silver box. I am now happy that I can take a shower like a normal person. Glad that my suture was removed Friday because I was tired of looking like Frankenfoot. I am also grateful to have a partner in crime who is willing to take time off work and help me recover. Thank you.

Smallest Change, Slightest Try

The clinician at a herding clinic this summer told us that with dog training it is important to acknowledge the smallest change, slightest try. I am learning that phrase applies to just about everything in life. This weekend Christian and I achieved a few house milestones.

• Christian cleaned gutters while Megan gawked and stated, "Please don't fall off the roof."
• Leaves, Leaves and more leaves. We now have a small city of yard refuse bags in our garage.
  
• I succeeded (with my mom's help) in dealing with the pink nightmare that we had been waking up to every morning (see pictures below).

So my advice to everyone is to recognize the smallest change, slightest try.

If anyone needs help my mom and I will be happy to install roman shades. We seem to work best when Nebraska is struggling to maintain a winning season. 

Who buys pink mini-blinds? 

Welcome Halloween Baby!

Elanor Redinbaugh
Born to Boyd and Emily Redinbaugh

When I was in high school it was very hard for me to imagine my guy friends as fathers. I know that everyone grows up, but these are guys that used to go steal signs and put them in people's front yards. Congratulations to Boyd and Emily. Elanor is a lucky little girl to have such cool parents. I can't wait to tell her all my stories about her dad when she is older, much older.

Happy Halloween!

My pumpkin carving skills are not super detailed, but I thought the Boo pumpkin turned out pretty cool. Hope everyone had a good day!

Last Burst of Color

I love fall. It is nature's last attempt to add color into the landscape. I took this picture in our backyard the other day. I just happened to be outside scooping poop (my favorite chore). It is amazing to me how this tree was one color the other day and then BAM it changes. I know the scientific principals of photosynthesis and chlorophyll that cause this change, but it is still is cool to me. It also makes me understand why people like my husband(really freakin' creative types) took entire classes on color. Just look at what colors nature gives us and it is proof.

The tree is not the only thing that is interesting to me in this picture. I really love the garage that is behind our house. It used to be a barn. I have always liked old barns. This infatuation probably started when I was young and my dad's idea of a cool father-daughter weekend was watching This Old House. I am not complaining because I actually got into the show. There was often a barn raising or an entire series of episodes devoted to turning a barn into a house. Of course as a child I would dream of having the bedroom in the loft area of the barn. Anyway, this childhood fascination stuck and now there is a barn behind my house. How cool is that...

Congratulations Gracie!

On Saturday, October 22nd Gracie one of our Katrina dogs gave birth to eight puppies. They are all healthy and doing well. It is no small miracle that this dog was able to carry puppies to term during a super stressful time in her life. What a great mom! I will post pictures later.