Carol of the Dogs

I've finally gone off of the deep end. I'm just forewarning you before you actually click the video below...

This started as Brenda's joke since she spent the weekend in Kansas City with me and she's really to blame for originally giving a voice to Remy. Clearly things have gotten out of hand since then. She made River sing the first line of Carol of the Bells about 600 times... with new words, of course. It got stuck in my head. I sang it 600 more times.

Occasionally we would add more words or different lines. Most of the time it was just "ham egg and cheese" over and over again. Tonight, as I should be packing, I made the video that we joked about doing all weekend. There were many different ideas and versions floating around, but this is what I settled upon. (For ease = one camera shooting without any editing.)

True, it would have been funnier to have the dogs more animated as they sang, but they were trying to nap as I... er, they... put on this performance for you.

Congrats, Nikki. You're not even 30 yet and you are already the crazy dog lady. This is why I shouldn't be left alone very often.

Aren't you glad to know me? If you think this is crazy, remember, I have to drive to Texas tomorrow... with only these dogs for company. Thank goodness they are so talkative.

To sing along, here are the words: (Forgive me, Mykola Leontovych, I know you never intended for the song to end up like this.)

River:
Ham, egg and cheese
Give me some peas
Corn dogs and beers
Dill pickle spears
Turkey and rice
Gravy's so nice
Fire grilled steak
A piece of cake

What's on your dish?
How about fish?
Hand me the bread
Oh, what a spread

Remy:
I would like some crispy bacon!
I would like some crispy bacon!

River:
To my dearest friend,
I highly recommend
That you have some wine
The last bite is mine

Remy:
Bacon! Bacon!



PS, River doesn't even like all the foods she's singing about!

Merry Christmas, everyone!


End Blog.

Christmas Wishlist

Here is a list of things that would be cool presents for a person like me. Or exactly me. So, if you're looking for something to give me because of the upcoming holiday, this is your suggestion list, or a great jumping off point if you'd rather be more creative.

I love this tee shirt. They sell it here. (I'm a medium in a guys style.)

I've been drinking tea recently. I'm not sure why, but it's something that I've gotten into. I think that I'd like to start brewing loose leaf tea, as it's 'supposed to be better'. And I'd love to make Thai iced tea because it's super amazing. So, these are the things I've been thinking about buying for myself, although since it's gift giving season, I was told I'm not allowed to buy things for myself. I've had all these things in a shopping cart recently and held back on pushing the purchase button.

Teavana Perfect TeaMaker
Earl Grey Creme Black Tea
Cha Yen Thai Black Tea
Instant Hot Water Dispenser (or any other similar model, really)

I like this wall graphic for the wall right behind/beside my desk in the living room. In the bright kiwi color because I think it would look really neat. There are a bunch of other ones that I like as well, but I've had my eye on this one for several months.


Xbox 360 games, although don't pay full price for them, because I wouldn't if I was buying them myself. Get them used. Gamestop is awesome for that kind of thing.

Borderlands
Bioshock 2
Dragon's Age
Mass Effect

Books are also good. Have you read a good book recently? I'd like to read it, too! Honestly, I'm not sure what I'd like to get to read right now, but am open to suggestions. Or gift cards. Actually, I think I'd like to read Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. I like fiction and science fiction and anything that makes more brain wrinkles happen.

I also want a Roomba, or someone to do my vacuuming for me, but I doubt either of those things are going to happen anytime soon.

Other than that, I'd like a new pair of eyelids that work properly and don't get infected every single November.


So, next time I go to buy something else on the internet, I'll let you know... it's usually the only way I realize that I want something.


End Blog.

Christmas in Dogtown

Having dogs at Christmas is very much like having kids at Christmas. Sure, they don't stay up all night waiting for Santa's arrival, but they are just as impatient opening gifts in the morning as any five year old.

Of course, since I've grown up, we haven't had to start Christmas at the crack of dawn. We can relax, eat breakfast first if we wanted to, watch the Disney Christmas parade. Except, we have Savvy. Surprisingly the oldest dog, and argueably the most well behaved of the pack, was the one to start Christmas by opening one of Dad's presents before I even woke up.

She ripped off the side of the package so that he knew what it was, and since it wasn't really destructable, let all of them finish opening it for him. (Except for Remy, she knew that it was inherently wrong to shred paper and therefore refused to participate in any of their reindeer games.)

This used to be the bow on that present.

After opening a present that was not theirs, Dad gave all the dogs thier gifts right away. Even with paper and toys and ropes and squeakers, they still came back to help open the rest of the presents. Apparently it's their only joy all year long, and the most stressful day, ever, for the Remster. She did not open her own gift, but Rudy had no problem opening his own and helping her out.

Here is Savvy opening her gift. It's a pink gorilla from clearance after Valentine's Day last year. We only give them the very best.

It was a pretty quiet Christmas beyond the dog's antics, but they were so entertaining. We are definitely dog people. After the Christmas fun, we had a nice dinner and then went out and saw Marley & Me. I had gotten the book for Mom a few Christmases ago. It was pretty great, although I have to say, bring tissues to this movie if you go see it. It wasn't a surprise ending, I knew exactly what was going to happen after reading the book, but being a dog owner makes it that much worse.

Besides all that, I read a bunch and found a House marathon on TV. A TV marathon! My kryptonite!


End Blog.

PS, Here are some more dog pictures because they make me happy... and you can't stop me.

Doesn't Qulia always look like she's up to no good?

Sleeping Savvy. She was the last of my parent's dogs that I would blame anything on. She fooled me with the early present opening. I blamed Rudy and Quila for it.

Remy stole Savvy's present from Quila. This was her victory photo. At least they are sharing.

Poor Savvy. Who could ever blame that face for anything? Not me.

End Blog two.

Ghetto Christmas

This blog was supposed to have pictures of the house with its lights up and a picture of my fancy borrowed Christmas tree, except the batteries in my camera are dead and my computer won't read my camera's memory card. So, you'll have to settle for this picture taken with my cell phone. I know, lame.


Also lame is the string of lights making their way to the wall socket. Originally I had the tree in front of that wall socket, but I thought it would be cooler to put it in my window.

You can't see the string of lights going to the wall from the street. I'm only ghetto fabulous from the inside.

That last sentence is a total lie. When I put my lights up this year they were a little more droopy in spots than last. It looked nice, kinda this little swag thing going on. Well, I'll tell you why this is a bad idea.

It's windy in Kansas City. Therefore all of the lights across the front of my house are no longer in a cool swag pattern, they are inside my plastic gutters. This gives them a 'diffuse' look that will likely cause a 'char' look to my house once it's burned down.

I need to fix it, I know... but it's cold outside, and I'd like to figure out a way to do it without a ladder. Because the one I borrowed has already been returned. Besides, it's been below freezing for the last million eons here, so the heat from the lights it practically nonexistent and therefore utterly fireproof. Those seem like good excuses for the insurance agency to me.


End Blog.

Merry Spring

Happy first day of spring, y'all. We had a lovely day today. So lovely in fact, I swindled my friend into holding the base of her own ladder for me while I finally took down my Christmas lights. Yes, you read that right. I finally undecorated the house. What? They were only up since the day after Thanksgiving...

That can't be right. Man... four months? That's like a third of the year! I'm a horrible homeowner.

You know what I need? A tenant... who pays rent... and has a ladder.

Wanted:
Quiet, unobtrusive dog lover seeking home filled with dirty dishes, dog hair, and obnoxiously large video game equipment for the few games actually owned. Must own ladder, garden hose, and install own window coverings in available room. Large DVD collection and ability to cook a plus. No cats, smokers, drug users, snorers, light sleepers, felons, mental health patients, vegetarians, hypochondriacs, or generally freaky people need apply. I reserve the right to evict from premises without notice, at any time. And I'm not kidding about the ladder.


End Blog.