happy happy 2010.

2010. Sometimes it felt like it was flying by and others where it was positively dragging itself as though it's legs were broken. But when I look back at pictures, it's only the flying bits—which I am incredibly grateful for. I'm fortunate, in many ways. But what I remember most about 2010 is how fortunate I am for the amazing people I have in my life.

There were a few firsts this year. First high school reunion, first trip to Denver (and first professional-type convention). I had my first try-out for roller derby and thusly my first knee injury (meniscus tear). Still, I got my first derby name (Frankie Dee Bruisevelt)—and my first time out as a non-skating official. With the obvious exceptions, firsts are fun.





Then there are the things that happen every year. Holidays, birthdays, sunny days in San Diego in the middle of July. For the third year, Comic Con week was the thing I looked forward to the most and was not disappointed—a week in my favorite city with my favorite people surrounded by our favorite things. There are few things better than that.



We had True Blood Sundays and a game night here and there. Shenanigans abound. These are the people I know I can count on.




It was also the summer (or year) of Scott Pilgrim. I don't think a movie has quite dominated my life in such a way. Jason Schwartzman signed my phone and I got to meet Edgar Wright outside a classy old theatre before the sneak preview.

And as far as the furry friends? It was a year of first there too for the smaller one. Clark had his first therapy visit, his first agility trial and a bunch of first place ribbons. And Maggie's had her best year yet. Coming from a neglectful home, learning to be a dog and relax and play has been a process. But this year she's come out of her shell. It's nice to be able to take her more places. I think she enjoys it too.

Happy, happy, near year and here's to a lovely 2011.

sick puppy.

There's nothing sadder than a sick dog. Especially one who gets so congested he snorts and then scares himself into a shaking stupor.

I don't know where he picked it up, but Clark got a cold. While I knew they existed, I never had a dog actually catch a cold before.

Little dogs with short, squat, little faces can have a cold turn into something real nasty, real quick. So after a trip to the vet, he's on antibiotics. He loves being on medicine. To him, he's thrilled to get a piece of cheese twice a day—who cares if it's stuffed with pills?

you're gonna be huge, kid.

Well, it's official. Clark is a Canine Good Citizen.
He passed his test tonight at Lollypop Farm and by doing so is now able to move on to the next round of class/testing for the Delta Society. I'm super excited about this.

For anyone keeping score, since this is an AKC title, it gets tagged onto his fancy AKC name. You're looking at Clark Mosef Moetallica Kent, CGC.

my dog fails at cinema.

As a goof, I stopped on one of the movie channels that had Beverly Hills Chihuahua on to see if Clark would pay attention.


He didn't just pay attention, that little asshole called my bluff —he watched the whole damn movie while I cooked dinner.

bark to the park.

Okay, I remembered to bring my camera this time. Can I tell you how bummed out I am that it gets so dark so early now?


I love having a dog who I can trust off leash. Clark will toddle ahead, then check back to make sure I'm still with him. Then when he sees another dog, he looks back to see if it's okay to go say hello.


Ellison is absolutely gorgeous this time of year. I can't believe the colors.



So much to do, so much to see.


The moon's already out.



Time to head home.


When we left the dog park area, it looked like this.


When we got to the car, it looked like this. Redonkulous.

fall days, dog days.

Matt and I took the fuzz balls down to the park today. Matt fell in love with the idea of getting an Airedale Terrier as our next dog and was even looking up info on the breed on his iPhone while we were there. I think we have "next dogs" lined up for years —since we're not going to be a three dog household. Also on the waiting list, dog names. I still want to call a dog Spiderman and we are definitely having a dog named ASBO at some point. But Matt pointed out that people names for dogs are pretty awesome and I agree. I see an Airedale named Charlie in our future somewhere.

Maggie stayed on-leash, but did better this time than previous ones while being around a lot of other dogs. Maggie's kind of a work in progress. I don't know what her previous owners did to her, but I can tell you that they didn't work on socializing her AT ALL. So it's been a slow and steady process just getting her to the point where she's not flipping out when she sees another dog she doesn't know. The headcollar helps.

I need to remember to bring my camera the next time I go to Ellison (which might just be tomorrow afternoon). Not only are the trees gorgeous in their fall colors, but I'd love to have some photos of my little social butterfly running around with the other dogs down there.

In other canine news, Clark needs to lose a few pounds: so sayeth the vet as well as the agility instructor. He's not morbidly obese, but on a little dog, two or three pounds can make all the difference. So, that means I just finished cooking dinner for the dog. Hah. It's nothing ornate, I'm just cutting his dog food intake by half and replacing that with cooked veggies. Tonight I learned that cooked carrots, peas and spinach are awesome —a sprinkling of uncooked celery... not so much.

With both Matt and I getting on the eating right and exercise wagon, it's kinda funny/weird to have Clark jumping on board. Maggie... well, Maggie has a goddamn hummingbird metabolism.

cute overload at home.

We have foofy, long-haired dogs because of Matt's allergies.

I grew up with rough-and-tumble labs and dals and he grew up in a dog-less house. Now we have two dogs, Maggie (who we adopted from Lollypop as an adult) and Clark (who we got from a breeder as a puppy). Matt claims that Maggie is his favorite, because he saw her first -- but now that Clark's settling down out of crazy.. well.. puppy-ness; they're finding more in common with each other.

Clark adores Matt. He'll sneak attack him in the morning by creeping up to wake him up by licking his face, loses his damn mind when Matt gets home and then there are moments like this where I'm glad to have any kind of picture-taking device nearby.

They're just two guys chilling out for an evening at home.

Also, please note the amazing combination of the Black Cross shirt with polar bear PJ pants. Someone is totally punk rock right now.

what i did on my summer vacation.

The good news: I got a job. Starting Monday, I will be joining the team at Dixon Schwabl. I'm excited as my two-day test drive gave me a taste of what it's like to work there and I had a great time.

The bad news: this is my last week of what I've come to call my summer vacation. It's been great, I couldn't have been laid off at a better time of year. I had plenty of time to get things in order for the wedding and I also had some time to just unwind and enjoy my life.

While I still have my week in August with the family, it still feels like that final week before school resumed. So here's the rundown of what I did on my summer vacation.

• Just Married - This one deserves an entry of its own. I promise. One will come.
  

• Shenanigans with Laura - Partners in unemployment, Laura and I spent the first few weeks of vacation enjoying all that was denied to us in the working world. Matinee movies, long lunches and daytime television. In the ultimate shenanigan, we took a roadtrip to Boston when Laura got her new job. I rode shotgun while Laura looked at apartments and had a fun, whirlwind trip in Beantown.

• Puppy Time - One of the best things about being home during the day is spending time with the dogs. I don't know who will be more upset when I rejoin the workforce, me or Clark. Maggie, like always, is relatively indifferent to me being home. Activities like going to Ellison today while everyone else is in neckties and khakis have been some of my favorites. Also over the break, Clark graduated from sleeping in his kennel to earning his bedroom privileges.

• The Grass Is Always Greener - This is mundane, but it was a big deal to me. I repaired the dead spot in the lawn! This is my first house and therefore, my first time dealing with yard work. Leaves covered by snow all winter long had killed a spot in the yard and I nursed it back to life. I've also planted flowers, re-mulched the front garden and planned more green-thumb activities for the summer.

• A Rose By Any Other Name - With looking for work and dealing with a change of name I had to update not only my resume but EVERY PIECE OF PAPER OR PLASTIC with my name on it. Also, my website. It's weird to sign something new after the "Kara" bit, but I'm getting used to it.

• Created Life - NOT WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. I downloaded the Spore creature creator and have been creating critters with Anna.