Would You Like To Take A Survey?

As you all probably know, I like to read other people's blogs. A lot of these are written by strangers, so I don't comment and don't follow them publicly or list them in that pretty sidebar over there called "My Friends' Blogs". Everyone listed there is someone I know personally, ranging from my brother who never updates, to one of my oldest family friends whose blog about living in Italy makes me jealous every time I read it, to about a million different friends from college. (And if you have a blog and don't see it listed, tell me and I'll add it!)

Anyway, one of those blogs belongs to Ali, a classmate of mine from Hood. Her roommate was Tricia's little sis, and they both lived in the same dorm I did. Ali writes a spectacular blog about healthy eating. As you all know, I am a big giant carnivore, but if ever there was something to make me want to eat vegetables, it would be Ali's blog. Today, she had a fun survey posted in addition to talking about food. And now, I am stealing said survey, because surveys are fun and I have decided that I need to post more than just a million installments of The Entertainer. That, and this allows me to quote a movie and talk about zoo animals. So, here we go.

A. Age: 29

B. Bed size: Queen, although the full-sized one in the guest room is more comfortable

C. Chore you dislike: Most of them. I really hate dusting, as evidenced by the condition of the bookshelves in my living room. And, strangely, I really like doing dishes as long as no one tries to help me.

D. Dogs: Holly Bug. Who is mine even if she does live with my parents. And I want one to live with me.

E. Essential start to your day: Diet Coke. Breakfast of champions. I can also make a case for hot tea, because that's what I am - a hotty.

F. Favorite color: Green. Preferably hunter or kelly.

G. Gold or silver: Yellow gold. But silver jewelry's cheaper, so I wear a fair amount of that too. But my Hood ring is yellow gold, and it wins.

H. Height: 5'8". Which can go up to 6 feet depending upon which shoes I choose.

I. Instruments you play(ed): Cello, for five years voluntarily and two more involuntarily.

J. Job title: Regulatory Associate III. And according to my resume, also Aquatics Specialist, which is what Don let me call myself back when it was just him and me running the pool. I never updated it after I stopped doing everything except teaching.

K. Kids: Nope. I have a million of 'em at the pool, though.

L. Live: Frederick.

M. Mom’s name: Terri. Or Therese if you want to be fancy. But not Theresa. Unless you want to make her mad and get a lecture about St. Therese.

N. Nicknames: Le. Pronounced with a long E. Also LeahGia. And the wretched little beasts at the pool where I guarded in high school called me LeahTard, which was actually pretty clever, although I never would've told them that.

O. Overnight hospital stays: None.

P. Pet peeves: People who get in my way - especially at airports, on the highway, or in the aisles at Target - and then aren't considerate enough to realize and get out of my way. People who use improper grammar and/or spelling.

Q. Quote from a movie: “If you can’t laugh at yourself, life is going to seem a lot longer than you’d like,” from Natalie Portman’s character in Garden State. And I'm cheating and including my absolute favorite quote of all time, from my beloved Elaine Benes in Seinfeld: "Here's to those who wish us well, and those who don't can go to Hell." A good motto for all.

R. Righty or lefty: Left-handed people are the best handed people. Although I hate the words "righty" and "lefty."

S. Siblings: David, the aforementioned brother who never updates his blog. (Apologies for the sideways video.)

T. Time you wake up: 6:30.

U. Underwear: Victoria's Secret. And that's all I'm telling you.

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Bell peppers. I loathe bell peppers. And also celery, which is the stalk of the devil. Other than that, I'm not picky about them. Roasted cauliflower is one of my favorite things in the world.

W. What makes you run late: When Charlie Sheen's spewing crazy all over the Today Show and I want to watch but I have to go to work.

X. X-rays you’ve had: Teeth. And I think I've had a chest x-ray before.

Y. Yummy food you make: See above about the roasted cauliflower. Also, cupcakes. Many, many cupcakes. (I also hate the word "yummy," for what it's worth, but it fits with this letter, so it shall stay.)

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Prairie dogs. And otters, if they're swimming around and not just laying there tanning like The Situation.

So, there you go. And, fun for you! Steal the list and play with yourself! (That's what she said.) And, stealing from Ali's idea again - if you're bored but not so bored to do the whole survey, just post here with your favorite movie quote, because that will make me happy :-).

Who Let The Dogs Out?

For Memorial Day weekend, Ken and McKenna came to visit. Yay! My parents were out of town (in one of my favorite cities...and they got to see my best friend...which is entirely not fair...not that I'm bitter), so I was dogsitting for Holly at their house for the weekend. So we went on a mini-break, a la Bridget, to Mt. Airy for the weekend. Holly was a bit wary of McKenna's presence at first,

but quickly got used to it, and even allowed McKenna to help her flirt with the young stud next door. His alias is Benjamin, as he is young and Holly (a.k.a. Mrs. Robinson) is not.
Tricia and Kathy came for dinner. We had what I've started calling Lost-a (as I first made it for Carter and me during the Lost finale), as well as cider Ken brought from New York,

and some awesome cookies I made that turned out to be a bit more fluorescent than I intended.

Holly wanted very much to sit at the table with us, although she was none too pleased about being restrained to have her picture taken.

After dinner, we watched Music and Lyrics. We had planned to just fast forward through to the good parts (namely, any parts in which Hugh Grant dances and/or sings), but noticed Matthew Morrison's name in the opening credits. Therefore, we had to watch until we spotted him.

While we were watching, McKenna decided to camoflage herself into the sectional furniture using her chameleon-like skills, and a few throw pillows.

Once she unearthed herself, she let me try on her collar, since it matched my sweater.

Saturday was a very eventful day. We went to the first wine festival of the year, and Tricia graciously agreed to provide transportation. And entertainment, as we located a number of random items in the backseat of her car.

The wine festival is an interesting place...in addition to the tasting areas and the tour, they have tons of vendors. Some sell food, some sell hats, some sell crafts, and some sell random crap that we were scared to investigate.

People also make some interesting accessory choices at the wine festival. We were hoping that these people were using their umbrella as a parasol, as there was a very small chance of it going to rain.

After the wine festival, we returned to Tricia's house for dinner, where Kathy tried to tame the savage beast that is Lucy.

After dinner, we parted ways to prepare for the next day's activities.

Sunday, I decided to have a party. I had a number of good excuses (graduation, having a bigger yard for the weekend, Ken being in town), but really, I just wanted to play lawn games. The party started with food, which pleased Holly, who spent the better part of the evening playing her "I'm so pretty, don't you want to feed me human food?" game with people.

McKenna was also happy about the party, as there were many people there to pet her.

We also accomplished my goal of playing lawn games. We played Scatch, which may be one of the greatest games known to man,

as well as bocce ball.

As the night progressed, there were two very tired dogs in the house.

Monday morning, we decided to start our day with a bit of irony.

McKenna started her day by taking over Holly's bed and making her mad.

Highlights from Monday include eating our weight in party leftovers, and visiting Sara and Grant, who were visiting from New Jersey. Josh had gone home, as had Penny, so we didn't get to see them, but we had fun anyway.

On Tuesday, the highlight of the day was getting pedicures. We took our bright, shiny new pedicures to Tricia's for dinner again, too, where we set about tiring out Lucy the Beast.

We also made sure she didn't help herself to a sink snack.

After we returned to Mt Airy, Holly tried to lay claim to Ken's laptop while we watched Dynasty, so she couldn't leave the next day.

But, alas, she did, leaving McKenna behind to finish her vacation with me. We spent the week watching Will Ferrell movies,

and getting hair on furniture. McKenna was a bit forlorn when we returned to Frederick,

but brightened up when she saw Aunt Kathy that weekend.
The rest of the week went by rather quickly and uneventfully, with the exception of Friday night. But that, my dears, is a story for another day....

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

This past weekend, Tricia and I went on a day trip to Yorktown. As you most likely know if you know her, Tricia has been in the market for a new puppy for the past few months, since she moved into her new house. Last week, she learned of a puppy that needed a new home and sounded like she would be a good fit. The only problem was that the puppy, named Kira by the shelter, lived in Yorktown, VA - on the best of days, just under 3 hours away. So off we went to Yorktown on Saturday.

Despite my worries about traffic, we decided to take 270 to the Beltway. Luckily, I was wrong, and the road wasn't crowded at all. We did see quite a few interesting sights, though, including this company that I think Ken should use the next time she moves:

We also saw a truck pulling a truck through the Mixing Bowl, which was quite unnerving:

Finally, we reached our destination, in just under 3 hours:Kira was being housed at a local kennel, but the gentleman who was in charge of the Lab Rescue group in the area had brought her to his house to let her run around with his dogs. Kira greeted us at the fence as soon as we walked up, and was very eager to meet Tricia:
Kira looks to be a mix of Golden Retriever and Yellow Lab, and is a gorgeous color that the Lab Rescue guy called fox red. She's very svelte, and has a white spot on her chest that makes it look like cleavage.

She also has a beautiful smile,

and likes to pose for the camera.
I'm convinced she is a supermodel.

Kira decided that she liked Tricia, and wanted to live in Maryland, so we put her in the car and started the ride back.

It was on the ride back that Tricia officially changed her name to Lucy, which is a far better name than Kira, who was one of Barbie's friends. It's reminiscent of old sitcoms, loose seals, and other delightful things. Lucy seemed to take to it well.

Before we drove too far, we made a pit stop at the Williamsburg Winery. Lucy needed a drink,

and so did Aunt Leah.

Much happier, we set off for dinner.

Tricia and her fine observational skills spotted a Sonic off the side of 64, and the trusty GPS got us there despite having passed the exit.

For those of you who never been, Sonic is a glorious drive-up restaurant where you order food at an intercom, and then a lovely person on roller skates delivers it to your car. So in addition to being awesome, it was very convenient for two people traveling with a dog who didn't want to leave her in the car, but also didn't want to eat and drive at the same time. A win-win-win situation!

And best of all - they have tater tots!

Truer words than these have never been spoken:

And just as awesome is their dessert, including the creamslush, which is a combination of ice and ice cream and flavoring. Despite what Tricia tells you, watermelon and lime combine with the creamslush to make a glorious experience.
Having fortified ourselves, we set off for the ride home, which was uneventful and pictureless, as it soon got dark and boring. But stay tuned on Facebook for more pictures!

Isn't It Ironic?

Every year about this time, Target sells dog costumes. You may recall last year's purchase from the clearance rack in the days after Halloween; this year, I saw a couple of perfect costumes for Holly and didn't want to risk them disappearing. Holly was not too pleased with this idea.

The first costume I got was a princess dress - Holly's official name is Princess Holly (a long story), and she certainly believes that she should be treated like royalty, so I thought the dress was appropriate. She was curious why I had the camera out,

and investigated her costume thoroughly.

She was none too pleased when I started to put the costume on her, though. The sleeves of the dress went over her legs, which she did not care for. That, and the bodice was a bit tight.

Once the costume was on, she decided to pretend to be a starfish, sticking her legs out and flattening herself against the floor so she didn't have to move. (I wonder if Target makes starfish costumes...)Yeah...not a happy dog. I took the costume off of her after the photo shoot, but she still shunned me until I gave her a potato chip.After a bit of research, I determined that Target didn't make starfish costumes, but they made something much cooler - squirrel suits. I bought one later that week, and tried it on her this past weekend when I was there. Those of you who know Holly's obsession with squirrel-chasing will appreciate the irony of her being dressed as her prey. And surprisingly, she seemed to like this costume better than the princess dress. We started with the headpiece, which fastened under her neck like a collar (likely why she didn't freak out when I put it on).

Next, I put on the body part. This one fastened more like a cape and didn't restrict her legs, so she didn't seem to hate it nearly as much as the last one.
The costume was very cute - it had little squirrel arms on the front, holding an acorn,
and a fluffy, bushy tail.

No starfish-acting in this costume, although she did hide under the kitchen table after a few minutes. I think she thought she'd get steak if she did so.

After a few minutes, though, we took the costume off. But little does she know that it may make a reappearance when I'm there this weekend...perhaps I can get a picture of her with the costume and with a squirrel in the background. She'll be so excited!