The Wet Corgi Dance

You might think it's strange to post a video of someone else's dog doing something funny, but this video is just so typically corgi that I had to post it.



Gotta love a Corgi!!

A Post Only a Mother Could Love?

There's something you should know: as much as I love him, I have to admit that Austen's not a brainiac. He has mostly mastered sit, and he definitely knows his name, but other than that. . . notsomuch. I like to think that he's not unable to learn, just unwilling, but we are talking about a dog that attempted to poop while lifting his leg the other day.

It didn't work as well as he thought it would.

I've attempted to work with what he does naturally and try to attach a command to it. It's how I taught Scout to give me a high five and it was the most incredibly adorable thing ever (if I do say so myself). The problem is, when I attempt to give Austen any command he puts his ears back as if I'm screaming at him and climbs into my lap so that he can't do whatever it is I'm asking of him.

Every day when I come home from work Austen is so excited that he goes through an elaborate set of welcome home noises that range from "grumpy old man" to "purring kitten" with a little "Copper from the Fox and the Hound hound dog howl" thrown in for good measure. It is seriously so cute it makes me weak, but until today whenever I've turned on the camera he's put his ears back and crawled into my lap (maybe I should just call THAT his trick)

So, I've finally (kinda) succeeded in getting Austen to make some of his cute growly noises on camera. Sadly, in order to do so I've also recorded my impressions of his cute growly noises....which aren't so much cute as pathetic. So here you go:

ENJOY(or at least pretend like you did for that movie of your friend's one year old eating spaghetti)!

Au Revoir House Princess...

Tonight the world is a little darker for me and my family. My sister's wonderful dog Alyx died today, and I'm so sad I can hardly see to write. Alyx was, like all beloved dogs, absolutely worthy of every single bit of love and affection that was showered upon her, and I know that I am not alone in saying that she will be missed.

Alyx wasn't flashy or in your face, and if you didn't take the time to get to know her you might have considered her boring or aloof. But, this first impression could not have been more incorrect. Alyx was a quiet little dog, always waiting for you to notice her, never forcing the issue. When you did notice her, she cuddled as close as she could and looked up into your eyes with an almost palpable expression of love.

But, what made Alyx more than just a sweet dog was that she had a hidden dark side. One of the reasons she'd cuddle up to you when you pet her was so that she could wipe her almost constant eye boogers on your leg. We called her the House Princess because she KNEW that she was in charge of her house and everything and everyone in it. She didn't like to play with toys and would go so far as to bite the other dogs if they dared to play. She liked to tell on her brother Gunner if he did anything wrong (or even if he didn't), and bloodied my little Scout's eye twice when she displeased Alyx (which she accomplished by merely existing. She was NOT a big fan of Scout's). She killed birds in the back yard (a feat Christy still can't explain considering her two inch long legs and chubby body), and a baby bunny, and her fearless nature caused Christy a lot of worry over the years.

Alyx loved her mom and would wait patiently by the front door for her to return home, even if that meant sitting my the door for several days at a time. That kind of loyalty doesn't come along every day or even with every dog. I know that my Scout loved me, but she didn't wait by the door for me.

Alyx,our house princess, you are loved, and you will be missed.

And now for something completely different...

Austen's First Day at the Cabin

I HAD to get out of Vegas this past weekend. It was hot, I was tired, and I couldn't stomach the thought of spending the weekend huddled in my apartment trying to avoid the heat.

Plan #1: Go to the cabin. Unfortunately, this plan had its flaws. My parents don't spend weekends at the cabin as a matter of course, so I thought I'd be all alone. I've done that before, and it was lovely, but I wasn't sure if that would be the best thing. Then, I found out that my brother would be there with 5 or 6 12-year old Boy Scouts. NO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Plan #2: Go to visit Mom and Dad in Toquerville. Of course, it's still hot there, but at least 10 degrees cooler than Vegas and Mom, Dad, and Matthew's family would be there. Also, it's NOT Vegas.

I went with plan #2, and got to my mom's on Friday at about 3 pm. We got to hang out with my nieces Friday evening and ate delicious steaks. My dad was supposed to come home from the cabin that evening for the weekend.

I slept in the world's most comfortable bed in the cool basement, which meant that I slept in until about 9 am (which is a miracle for an insomniac like me)to find that my father had gone back to the cabin to work ('cause when it comes to the cabin he's a man possessed.), and my mom wanted to go up for the day to help him.

So, I actually got a combination of my first two plans, and was excited to introduce Austen to the cabin.

It was love at first sniff for Austen, like it's been for every single dog in the family. We went for a walk and he dug himself a little hole in the cool dark earth.





Of course, by the end of the day he was a completely red dog rather than the red and white one that went up the mountain that morning. Also, he slept the entire way home. Anything that wears that little troublemaker out is a good thing in my book.

The Way of the Corgi

When I got Austen, he looked like this:


and didn't know that I wanted him to pee outside.

Then, he looked like this:



See how his ears are coming up? I called this the flying nun stage. At this point he started to realize that if he peed inside he got yelled at, and when he peed outside he got a treat. He also realized that he liked to bite my neck when I carried him down the stairs to go outside.

Now he looks like this:



His ears are now up (albeit a bit floppy)! Those of you not well versed in the ways of the Corgi might not know it, but this is an exciting day. Seriously. Two of the best things about a corgi and are their alert, expressive ears. Corgis who's ears don't come up get mocked by all of the other corgis. Really. Junior high corgis are known to give swirlies to the floppy eared ones.

Other wonderful features of corgis are their adorable fluffy hineys (dubbed "bummy feathers" by my siblings and I when we were very very young), devious dispositions, and the phenomenally cute way they lay down with their legs stretched out behind them.

However, there's another feature of the corgi that isn't quite as endearing:



AT TI TUDE! This is Austen saying, "Screw you! I'll pee where I want, woman!"

And this one:



is him saying "You're not the boss of me!"

And this:



is me saying, "Oh yes, I am!"

So, yeah, house breaking and training is going GREAT!!

Again, with the cute.

I'm sorry. It's a disease, really.

This is what cute looks like

Just say no?

Why do I do these things to myself? Huh? Why? haven't I learned anything from my Labor Day visit to the emergency room a few years ago?

I have a problem. I can't say no.

How did this happen to me? I mean, I'm a child of the 80's. I watched Nancy Reagan tell Arnold Drummond to "Just Say No!" Somehow, the message didn't take. I say yes to too many things. I mistakenly thought I'd learned how a few years ago, but I seem to have relapsed. How else can you explain the week I'm having?

Can you be AVID Site Coordinator? "Yes." Will you complete your master's degree while teaching full time? "Yes" Will you design and teach a class for my school district? "Yes." Want a new puppy? "Yes!" Oh yeah, and will you teach another class for the district at the last minute? "Yes." By the way, for that class that I asked you to take on at the last minute, and out of the goodness of your heart, will you make 10,000 copies of student notes and make sure that you find high, medium, and low examples? Oh yeah and can you find a video clip that we can use for this presentation that we promised you was "ready to go"? Oh, and can you do that RIGHT NOW? "uhhhhhhhh. . . yeah?" Can you meet with me, your principal, and let me tell you what I think about your teaching? "Yes." Can you meet with the district AVID leadership so they can tell you if you've done a decent job at all? "yes." Oh, and one last thing, can you create and present a powerpoint on Deng Xiaoping’s Three Fors for class tonight? "Yes."

My week has been and will continue to be a really stressful one. I know that in the long run saying yes to these things will be a good thing, but right now I just want to scream "NO!!!", run home, close the curtains, crawl into bed, cry, and suck my thumb.

The Planned Man. . .

I finally decided to take this whole Man Plan thing into my own hands. . .

Here he is, my main man......



AUSTEN!! (As in Jane, not as in "If this is Austin, I still love you...")

I know, I know, it's not one of the names I had you chime in on. It's not that I don't value your opinions, it's just that all of the names I had come up with at that point weren't right. It's the reason why I couldn't decide on one and had to ask your opinions in the first place.

My sister Christy and I were mulling over some name options through email, and she suggested Austen. It was a name I'd considered MONTHS ago and discarded, thinking it was too common, but when Christy suggested it to me it was just right. So, I will have a boy that makes me not only think of my boyfriend Mr. Darcy, but also Captain Fredrick Wentworth and all of the other delicious Jane Austen heroes.

Let's have another look, shall we?



Isn't he darling? I haven't brought him home yet (he's still too little), but it was fun to see his open eyes and chubby little body as he played with his brothers and sisters. He's a mellow little guy, and I think I need mellow in my life right now.



But check out that cheeky little look on his face. . . I think he might have enough snark to fit into this family. We like a little edge in our corgis.

Na na na na na na na na It's Puppy Time!

Hey everyone. I'm getting a puppy! Yep. I real live, Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppy. He's a boy. (I first typed "goy" and although it is accurate that he's NOT Jewish, I didn't think it fully expressed what I was trying to convey) Right now he looks more like an alien than a corgi:



But will one day look more like this:



Here's my dilemma, and I need your help. This isn't JUST a shameless plea for comments, I really need your help. I cannot decide on a name for this boy. Here are the current options:

1. Dr. Jack Shepherd "Jack"
2. Toby Stephens "Toby"
3. Atticus Finch "Atticus"
4. Mr. Rochester "Chester"
5. Nicholas Ryan "Nick"

HELP!! If you have any additional suggestions for names, please share. Remember, I'm an English teacher and prefer literary ones.

Scouter Remembered

Today is the one year anniversary of my sweet Scouter's death. I'm not going to get overly in this post, don't worry. I just feel like remembering my wonderful girl and marking this day.

One reason why you don't need to ask if my next dog will be a corgi. . .

Alyx: quite possibly the best dog in the world

Seriously. I am babysitting my sister Christy's dog Alyx for the next two weeks. We are one day in and I must say, Alyx is perfect. Seriously. She won't be winning any beauty contests or anything, but she is sweet, cuddly (when she misses Christy), is happy to see you when you come through the door, and pees and poops almost on command. The only problem that I've had so far is that she won't eat her food, or her jerky treats, or GREENIES. GREENIES! This may be the first time in the history of Alyx that Greenies have been turned down. She seems happy enough and has stopped her vigil at the front door, but no eating. Of course, Christy has left me with the challenge to help Alyx to lose weight. This might make it easier. . .

Dead Dogs and Writers. . .

Well, this Saturday was what would have been my sweet little Scout's seventh birthday. It was a rather tough day. That's understating quite a bit. It was at times bittersweet, full of tear filled laughter, and at others, guilt ridden and remorseful. I feel privileged to have been able to have her in my life for those six and a half short years, and while normally I know that she wasn't perfect, Saturday she became a near sainted being. Added to this was the fact that I was watching David and Jena's two dogs who are, let's face it, alive, and therefore imperfect. My mom called midday and that was the first time I allowed myself to cry about Scout, but it was a good cry. She admonished me to "go and do something fun" so I decided to go to Deseret Industries and then to a movie.

I know. I'm weird, but I love a good trip to a thrift store. I love finding great deals, and I'd already been to the Goodwill in my neighborhood. Let me tell you one thing about us Mormons. We don't give anything away until it's no longer of any use or beauty. Really. The prices at D. I. were MUCH better than those at Goodwill, but the goods. . .ain't good. I was looking for picture frames in particular, and those at DI were hideous, banged up, or contained a cross-stitch saying "Families are Forever" in dusty blue, mauve, or any other color popular in the 80's. I'm not kidding. Had I been in the market for a collage of such cross stitches, I would have been able to fill a wall. That being said, I'd like to now personally apologize to any and all people for whom I made one of these for in the late 80's and early 90's, a time I like to refer to as my "Cross Stitch Period" which was followed by my "Crocheting Crooked Afghan's" period, then came the "Scrap booking without Stickers" and now I'm currently in the "Geesh! What do you want from me, I don't have time for crafts! Period." Like Pablo Picasso, you can date my crafts by medium.

I then went to the Goodwill Superstore (yeah, they called it that.) it wasn't overly super, but it did have a brand new frame from Target for $2.50, and that made me happy.

I then drove across town to catch a viewing of "Becoming Jane" a film about the early life of Jane Austen. I was really excited to see this as I LOOOOOOOVE me some Jane, until as the theater darkened I thought about everything I knew about J. A.: she was in love with a young man early in life but never married and died in her early 40's of what I think was tuberculosis. Hmmmmmmm maybe this wasn't the right choice in the "do something to make me happy" plan. I sobbed, yes SOBBED through the ending (which didn't get to the coughing up blood clots into a hanky part, but did include the love of her life introducing her to his DAUGHTER. EEEKKK!!), which wasn't really called for, and then drove home to walk two dogs that had the gall to be alive.

This was a low point for me as I walked the dogs crying and when Bo wouldn't poop informed him, "You've had enough chances! We are going home!" only to turn around and see one of my new neighbors smiling at me the way you do to an escapee from a mental institution. Oh well.

Luckily, my lovely sister Christy called me and allowed me to tell her about my day, which helped me see the humor in the situation. Bless my sister Christy.

Now, I'm in my classroom and in 15 minutes will have a meeting with my AVID site team about our presentation to the staff tomorrow.

Oh, by the way, a friend of mine (without hearing the story of my sad Saturday, mind you.) told me that the plan for the year was to get me "a nice fella." I said, "Sure, why not." With my track record I figure a Lutheran lesbian has a better shot at finding me a nice Mormon boy to marry than I do. On that note. . .Good Day!