I am the Owl.

Let's face it... my dog's cute, and I'm broke.

2009-08-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

So this works! Just click the cute button and I might be able to get the $500 PetSmart card or something, which would be nice because frankly, I could use a little help, and Sebastian deserves a reward for rocking peoples' worlds.

This dog makes me laugh.

2009-06-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

So, Sebastian has become increasingly liked around our house (mainly because now he doesn't try and kill my dad so much, although he did bite Grandpa because he thought he was hitting me... apparently men shouldn't smack me on the back!) and lately has been pretty funny. For example, he has now decided that he likes watching Spongebob with the kids (yes, he really does watch it) and his favorite place to sit is with Josh... or rather, on him. Another example, Lydia brought home a tennis ball the other day, which is, literally, the same size as Sebastian's skull, but he's determined to play with it. He has this system where he wedges his mouth around it, and it looks like he's a snake eating a chicken egg or something. He's really weird. I love him.

Another thing I love? Going down to the horses with my best friend Mallie. We have enough inside jokes to use at least five per situation. Pretty awesome, right? I am helping her break her dad's colt, Deuce (named after the hotrod magazine) who is a gorgeous black and white two year old gelding. Yesterday I was able to saddle him up and ride him-- and he behaved perfectly! I love that horse. I also love that Mallie and I are still goofy enough to make jokes about what it looks like from behind when she waters the horses... we're silly kids.

Very nice.

It's only eight more blocks

2009-06-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

So a few days ago, I went to Salt Lake with a buddy of mine to see our friend's band. After we saw their band (it's called Victoria, they actually are pretty good-- they sounded good even in the crappy accoustics of Kilby Court) we stopped to fill up the gas tank. My friend noticed an old man shuffling by who looked pretty exhausted. My friend asked him if he needed any help, where he was going. In response, the old man answered, "Oh, I'm just walking to my old army pal's house. It's okay though, it's only eight more blocks." And then he gave us this huge grin. We offered him a ride and he accepted. In the car I asked him if he lived in Utah or if he was visiting. He told us about how he had come here to get his second hip replaced at the VA hospital in Salt Lake. The doctor had apparently not drilled the hole big enough for the prosthetic to fit in, and had subsequently cracked his pelvis. The doctor "fixed" it by simply wrapping a wire around it. So put this together-- two bad hips (one of them only two months post op), a hot day, and a fourteen block walk to an old friend's apartment. Most people would've been a little grumpier answering my friend's original question, but no-- this man simply smiled and said, "It's only eight more blocks." This made me want to change my own attitude about life. Even when it's not fun or comfortable, every day is only twenty four hours and the only way you can change how it ends is by changing your attitude. I loved his gratitude, no matter his circumstances. The moral of this story? Love life- it's only eight more blocks.

These are two perfect examples of how attitude changes everything. First, we'll talk about Sebastian-- I know he's just a dog, but he's amazing. He was born in terrible conditions (a puppy mill in Hawaii), and then went to a terrible home (abusive man) for a year and a half, and yet now that he's with me, he's been so fun. In the mornings, his silly behavior makes me laugh, he is always so excited to start the day. He knows when someone needs some extra love, and he's the first to give it. In the picture here, he's sitting with Josh watching TV, even though Josh isn't always the gentlest with him. Josh had had a rough day, and there he is, sitting quietly with Josh's arms around him.
The other example I have here is Josh. You all know how much Josh teaches everyone around him. Josh always finds a reason to smile, and he usually comes up with a reason to make us laugh along with him. He's the sweetest kid, even though he's been through so much, and even though he has so much to struggle with every day. He's pretty much awesome.

Now for things that made me smile yesterday: First off, my best friend Mallie. And her reaction to one of the most hideous bridesmaid dresses ever. When she pulled it out of the box, she showed it to me with a pretty dark look. It's a cerulean blue satin dress, with no sleeves, and four symmetrical pinches in the skirt, along with a very puckered seam down the back. It made Mallie look overweight with a badonkadonk butt. She thought it was hysterical. We tried a lot of different ways to make her NOT look like an immodest cup-cake, but it was so much fun mocking it that it took us about two hours just to find a suitable cover-up (suggestions ranging from a poncho to a trash bag to a Muslim outfit). Here's her "modest cup-cake" face. I love her to death.

Another thing that made me smile is that I got to hold a hummingbird!!! It flew into our house and got stuck in a windowsill, so he let me pick him up. He rested in my hand for about five or six minutes, catching his breath and calming down. When he was calmed down, he flitted off- but not before I could snap one picture! Life is a miracle, in all sizes.

Things that, just recently, made me laugh.

2009-06-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

I'll start out with these two gems. First off, while searching for the right dog for a friend of mine and her husband, I came across this:

So, I was curious. What made them think this name would make their dog more appealing? Why can't they just say, "I'm a backyard breeder and the first male dog I found to breed to my girl was a shit zu, so these are more mixes." Or, to shorten that, come up with something clever like all those, ahem, "DESIGNER BREEDS" are being called (notice the air quotes and slightly distainful tone). Anyway, it cracked me up.

My boyfriend Alex just recently went and helped clean up a YMCA kids' summer camp grounds, and on his way there, right next to the summer camp grounds, he saw this and snapped a shot to send to me.

Anybody else questioning the location of this "ranch"? That must be one memorable summer camp for those kids.

Lastly, I've got a few of the Famous Josh Quotes for you. I've recently been working on a portait of Josh, and part of my experimenting on this portrait included a storm happening in the back ground. Josh's first reaction upon seeing it? "Woah. I look like I rule the world!"

Later on, during the same car ride, Josh was trying to explain to me what the doctor had told him about his headaches and what was causing them. He thought hard for a minute to remember exactly what was said, and then said, "Oh yeah! She said I had an inside-us affection." Translation? Sinus infection. Josh just has a way of making everything sound like a good thing.

3 more things I love about my family.

2009-05-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

1. Lydia's insane love of cereal, and grumpiness in the morning. She poured a Pyrex serving dish full of Cheerios and sat up to eat. When I laughed and busted out the camera phone... she got a little perturbed. Hence, the blurry but brilliant picture. Classic.

2. My dad tolerates my love of X-Men. Just before he went to get his long winter hair pared down to a shorter cut, he allowed me to experiment with his hair... so that I could turn him into Wolverine. This is his Wolverine pose.

3. I have a dog who does this with his ears for no apparent reason.

Stickers are no match for him.

2009-05-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

Just recently, the home-dwellers of my family (meaning, those who are not either too grown up to come or are not in Denver for the summer) were able to take a much-needed and much-deserved break. We went on vacation for a week to Escondido, California, which is a lovely place! Having loved so many things about this trip, I thought I'd share a few points. You ready for this? Wait for it.... wait... wait.... okay NOW!

Escondido (and surrounding area), California-- May 2009

-We saw a few pods of dolphins having an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet just off of the Oceanside Pier.
-Josh's comment about "The Phantom Rider", a roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm: "That freaked the hell out of me!" (Don't worry, I waited to laugh until after he was scolded and I was out of sight)
-Another thing about "The Phantom Rider"-- I, singlehandedly, convinced Lydia to ride it. And she only cried a little.
-I got asked five times if Lydia was my daughter. One genius admitted this reason to asking said question- "Oh wow, but you guys look so much alike!" Uhh... no.
-Josh said "seashell" correctly for about ten whole minutes. But it sort of slipped back into "she-shells". I'm okay with that for a little longer, it's pretty cute.
-I thought I caused an earthquake by kicking the cupboard doors while chatting on the phone. Nope, it wasn't just loud noises. Turns out it really was an earthquake.
-I read a book cover to cover in two days. I haven't had that kind of time in... well, at least over a year and a half. Usually all I have time for is a chapter here or there.
-I finished my self portrait, a portrait of Lydia, and began one of Josh.
-I thought I was going to die because I thought I had swine flu. Turns out it was exhaustion. Whew, dodged that one.
-Some random old lady in a purple wide-brimmed hat with a red feather (she was even from the Bronx... how much cooler can a random old lady get?) stopped me in the grocery store to tell me I should get Lydia's hair cut shorter, because it was too pretty and hence unfair to Lydia because she had to be more careful because of it.
-I went a whole week without CSI.
-I went a whole week with only three TV shows- either A) Spongebob (if the kids had the remote... what's new?), B) some crapumentary about Kobe Bryant (if Dad had the remote), or C) HGTV (if Mom had the remote... nothing new there either, so maybe the only difference here was that I never got control of the remote, or all three of these things are constantly on).
-I held a bunny again. I haven't held a bunny since Sweet Pea died. Sweet Pea was Lauren's rabbit, who died because she was too traumatized to eat (good job Josh and Lydia... oh boy.). When she started to go downhill, Lauren insisted on me helping her, and since the bunny wouldn't chew, I had to chew for her and spit it out and then put it in her mouth... then Lauren had a dentist's appointment but didn't want the bunny to die alone, so we took the bunny with us to the dentist's, where it, yes, died. I forgot how cute they are when they're not dying and can chew for themselves.
-Lydia saw a heavier lady who was wearing a tube-top, and so had a spare tire, and she made this comment: "Does she have... four?"
-I slept (or rather, made valiant attempts to sleep) on a grid of metal bars with a two and a half inch thick pad on top of it. It was supposed to be a hide-away bed.
-Josh got a geode and a guy with a lapidary saw cut it for him. He was the first person to ever touch the crystals inside of it, and he thought that was pretty cool.
-Josh ran ahead of us to inspect the restaurant we were about to eat at. To decide if he was for or against the dining decision, he examined the food. With his face about two or three inches away from it. While a couple on a date was eating it. Lydia was mortified.
-I massacred three little boys with the water-gun we had with us... they were picking on Josh in the pool. They ended up swallowing a lot of poolwater, because I shot it into their mouths every time they opened them.
-I caught the biggest sand-crabs I have ever seen. There were two, and they had to have been at least an inch and a half long. That is huge, for something that's usually the size of a potato bug.
-I realized how much I love and missed the ocean.
-I realized how small I am compared to said ocean.
-I got purple Converse high-tops. (Their sheer existence is proof of divinity)
-I overheard Josh in the Gymboree outlet watching the kids' show on their little TV. There was a memory game segment, and after it shows you the correct match, it says, "Great job! You're very smart!" Well, apparently Josh had chosen the wrong match. His response to the narrator was, "You're a horrible woman!"
-Josh was sleep talking in the car: "Stickers are no match for me!"
-We were given a free copy of the Harlequin romance novel, "Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch" (by B.J. Daniels) because, and I quote from the back of the book, "Harlequin is celebrating 60 years of providing women with pure reading pleasure. To mark this occasion, we're giving you this FREE BOOK from the Harlequin Intrigue® line..... Harlequin has a romance for every mood!" This gorgeous piece of intellectual treasure was waiting for us in our hotel room, along with samples of Splenda and Pepto-Bismol. That's hot.
-Did I mention that I got purple Converse?
-I fell in love, on accident of course.
-Actually got a sort of tan. Miracle of miracles.
-I won my dad in a bet (about whether or not pigeons and doves were the same species or just the same genus... yep, we live on the edge around here).
-I almost peed my pants. St. George couldn't have appeared soon enough.
-I decided to apply to UVU... well, that was a long time in the making, but I wasn't sure until our trip.
-I figured out who Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka reminds me of: a Carol Burnett/ Michael Jackson lovechild.
-I realized that In-n-Out has the most divine burgers ever... I sorta forgot. Also they have cool giant safety pins as part of their uniforms, but they won't sell one to you.
-Josh found an Indiana Jones-ish hat, and promptly found one for Dad that looked like Indiana Jones' dad would wear.
-Lydia decided she loves Keropi.
-I matched a carousel.
-I got butterflies because I am so excited for the second Transformers.

And last but not least...
-I got purple Converse.

These pictures are all from my cell, so pardon the crappiness. Also, I have higher-class pictures from a real camera to come. So keep checking back. I'm resurrecting my blog.

I'm stealing Amy's "Love and Hate" tradition

2009-03-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

So I have decided having a blog is like having a potted plant- even if you don't want to carry the stupid thing upstairs to water it, you have to in order to keep it alive. Then at random moments, you notice your green plant and say, "Hey, that's a good-looking plant. Good thing I water it and keep it alive." So I'm watering my blog, even though I have nothing to say. Because I have nothing to say, I stole Amy's jumping off place- her love/hate posts. So here goes.

Today's hate:

Stupid College Boys.
Let's admit it. There are three kinds of guys in college. One, the kind that is genuinely nice and sweet and is also confident enough to ask you out, and he won't be the subject of jokes in your family for the next year. Two, the kind that is nice and sweet, but too shy to ask you out. Or three, The kind that are total morons, but they're brave enough and gutsy enough to ask you out (and they'll pretend to be nice almost the whole time). Unfortunately, there seems to be a great abundance of the third kind. And a bit of the second kind too, but they aren't much help if they refuse to make eye contact when you speak to them. Oh dear. This proves to be a bit of a predicament.

Today's Love:

Thanks to Brand New, I have not decided to bite down on the cyanide pill just yet while riding the train (it is quite the ordeal, and it takes a very long time, and it's really boring). Lucky for me I have Deja Entendu to listen to while I ride the Public Transit from Hell, and it makes it livable. Heaven blessed me with Guernica. I love music. The end.

So how was that watering?

Reasons I love family dinner: Weiner dogs, Babies, and Old Pictures.

2009-03-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

So today, we had family dinner at my house (complete with the leaves in the table to make it long enough to fit everyone- I'll have you know that our table is pretty imperiously huge). Tonight for me was a particularly awesome night, because my family just makes me happy like no one else can. There were three things tonight, though, that made me really happy. We'll start with this.

That, my friends, happens to be my sister and brother-in-law's new puppy, who happens to be among THE coolest dogs I've ever encountered. And that is saying something, because I have worked at the vet's, a dog daycare, and the animal shelter, so I've worked with quite a few dogs in my day. This little dog is a piebald miniature dachshund, with gorgeous green eyes. Her name is Magda, and I can't help but think that I might have to steal her. That being said, Amy and Jon, I promise I will give her back when you ask me to puppysit, but just know it's very tempting. The next awesome thing about tonight was this.

This is Jack, my 2 month old nephew. He weighs in, currently, at 13 lb. What a little chunker!! He is so cute though, and today was a huge milestone for my aunthood- I made Jack smile. Not just one of those weird newborn muscle-spasm smiles that disappear within seconds, but a prolonged, huge, gummy smile. And it was adorable and it melted my heart. Remember how I'm an aunt? Me too. Then, this:

Lauren, my big sister, was looking for pictures to put in Brian and Ali's wedding slideshow, and discovered this gem. Yes, that is me and Lauren, and yes, she is, as a matter of fact, holding my head like a football. For most of our growing up years, Lauren and I shared a room, and in that room, we shared a queen sized bed. Inevitably, it led to some pretty strange night-time antics, such as "steam-rolling" (the objective of this game is to roll on top of, and consequently squish, the other person), me reading scary stories to Lauren before we fell asleep (I thought it was funny that I could terrify my older sister), "THE CLAW!!" (just don't even ask), Power-Ranger Gymnastics ("The splits, the splits, how does she do it?"), and a whole variety of other oddities. By the end of this, we were pretty exhausted, and that resulted in some funny (and in my mind, cute) pictures in the mornings. The thing I love about this photo is that it makes me think of all the times that Lauren would hold my hand or calm me down when I'd had a bad dream, all the stupid jokes we split our sides with, all the random pranks I pulled on her. It makes me remember how lucky I am that she's my sister. So the moral of this story?

I love family dinners.

I am now a protege.

2009-03-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

So this past week, I was officially accepted to the partnership program at the Art Acess Gallery. Which means, I get to tag along and bother a really good artist for seven months, and then at the end, we get to show the pictures we made. My reaction to this? Joy. I am so excited! My artist's name is Erica Houston. She is an INCREDIBLY talented woman, and we're going to explore mixing mediums, interpretive portraiture, etc. One of the big bonuses of being in this program is that I get a $500 grant for art supplies! Do you know how many Prismacolors that will buy?? I am a little bit happy inside. :)

This is a picture I did about five months ago. I have room to improve.
If you'd like to see any of Erica's art, or her husband, Blue Critchfield (who shares a studio with her) go to either http://www.myspace.com/ericaehouston or to http://www.myspace.com/mothmind

I love my little brother.

2009-03-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

My little brother Josh is quite possibly the most amazing person I have ever met in my life. When I first met him, he didn't know any english, he was severely undersized, and he hardly knew how to smile. Every smile we got we had to coax out of him. Now, his smile is the biggest brightest smile in the world, and his hugs are the best thing in the world. He has to deal with so many difficulties every day, but somehow he knows how to find the joy in each day. He teaches me to be a stronger and better person, and I can't wait for him to come home from the hospital. In short? Josh is my hero.

...And I'm back.

2008-10-25T17:45:00.000-07:00

So remember how I'm not dead? Me too. Here's what I have to say right now:
School is an angry creature. It devours life. Help?
But also, I love little breaks from school, IE, the fishing trip with my family to the Green River. It was beyond beautiful, and Josh finally got more than 1000 in the dice game.

Yeah, I work for that guy.

2008-08-09T21:10:00.001-07:00

Just thought I'd share this with you- This is Gerry, my seventy eight year old boss, showing one of the missionaries that lives upstairs from our shop how the Alpine Horn is played. He just carried it outside onto the grass strip on the side of Main Street and played it for a good twenty minutes. He also gave me a bunch of carrots from his garden along with my paycheck one time. Needless to say, I love this guy!

It's a land of sweets and joy and... joyness!

2008-08-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

So this past week, my dad's work had the annual Lagoon party. I hadn't been in a pretty long time, mainly because I don't have thiry bucks to spend on a mediocre theme park with manic-depressive tigers and malnourished camels caged in dog runs as part of their "Safari Train" exhibits. Forget that I just said that, that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is, that as I watched Josh and Lydia work up the courage to go on the rides, and, depending on the ride, either laugh their heads off or look terrified and refuse to let go of the lap bar, I remembered how magical a place this filthy, sex-predator swamp had been to me (don't let your kids out of your sight at Lagoon... creepy fourteen year olds are the only people they employ). By the time we were riding our two last rides, the carousel and the swings, I had slipped into a strangely nostalgic mood, and I decided to take about a million pictures with my camera-phone. By this time, Lydia had stopped screeching every time we decided to go on a new ride (she couldn't bring herself to ride even the swings the first time around, we ultimately just started forcing her on the rides) and so she looked happy and she was actually smiling as we went on the rides, so she looked good in the pictures. Josh just looked happy the whole time, including when we rode the new rollercoaster called Wicked (he rode every ride I rode). He was doing the bird-calls he does when he's excited, and Lydia stood by watching and weeping at what she was sure was our impending doom (she looked a little surprised when we came back forty seconds later in one piece, mostly, excluding the fact that Josh was verbally unresponsive and somewhat wobbly for a good two minutes after, though when he regained speech he wanted to go again). Anyway, I just wanted to share the sweetness of my family having a day off. I love them, and those them who are in Texas or Poland right now- I miss you and I'm excited for you to come home!

Something I love and something I hate.

2008-07-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today's something I love happens to be the Foo Fighters. I adore them. Particularly Dave Grohl. How can you not adore the man?? My favorite song by them is probably Come Alive. Listen to it- it's beautiful.

Something I hate? Missing Dan. While I obviously hope he's having an awesome time, there's that little selfish part of me that wants him here. At the moment, he's on Orcas Island with his mom, and just really miss him. The ironic thing is, today's thing that I love makes the thing that I hate even worse, because when I listen to the Foo Fighters I think of Dan, which makes it worse. It's a vicious circle. Long story short? I want my redhead back!

Miracles Among Herd Animals (aka, Us.)

2008-06-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

I went a little wild with the pictures. But I just wanted to illustrate my point of how amazing people are.

This is my grandpa, one of the studliest guys alive. He's just unavoidably awesome.

My mom and dad are superheroes, hands down.
My sister Lauren and I have the quirkiest relationship ever, but I'll be the first to say I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Lauren and Mike are just meant to be.
This is me and my big brother on Amy's wedding day. Honestly I am so blessed to have the family I do- Bubba looks out for me.

This is Mallie and me. We've been best friends since the summer before kindergarten.

This is my boyfriend Dan- he's definitely been through a lot, but he is such a good example and he's always there for you when you need him.

This is me, Brandon, and Jessica. Jessica is one of those people that you're proud to even know their name. I'll talk a little about her in a minute. For now, just admire the fact that she is the person that introduced me to the British comedy, "The IT Crowd".

This is Amy and Jon, my sister and brother-in-law, about a year ago. I look up to them so much.

This is Josh and Lydia, my two little siblings. They are great teachers in my life, and I love them to death! (ignore the white space please, this picture's from a film negative and I scanned it into the school computer, and sent it to my email, and then the PS on my home computer refuses to crop anything... sooo... yeah...)

So, for some reason today, for a few minutes, I felt rather existential. I think it may have been the fact that I was lying on the floor in the sun and almost asleep (it was too cold on the couch and too hot outside so I compromised and found a spot of sun on the carpet), but as I was observing the interactions between my family, I kind of wondered- what the heck?

Humans are weird. I mean, other creatures contain elements of human psychology- like chimps and crows make and use tools, and dogs understand point of view, and elephants and dolphins and great apes can recognize themselves in the mirror- but only snatches of it. There are even examples of animals showing compassion to other species- elephants in particular, they're known to help out a wildebeest or a giraffe that has become mired, and dolphins have a reputation for protecting humans from danger in the wild (not just the trained ones at SeaWorld)- but never on such a large scale. Squirrells don't pool some of their winter storage together so that a debilitated squirrell can make it through the winter along with them, do they? We are a purely unique species.

Do you know how intense that is? I learned a bit about biology when I worked at the zoo, and it was interesting to realize what a miracle life is, let alone human life. And for all the sadness and ugliness and filth that happens among us, so much primitive anger, there is so much more compassion and beauty. Like the girl that I graduated with that became an RN simultaneous with her highschool graduation, so that she could earn enough money to help take care of her dad who is sick with kidney failure, and then also know enough when she was home that a respite nurse didn't have to stay there all the time. And my friend's mom, who has fostered fourteen kids to date while their families were healing, even though when she first started fostering, was a single mom. A very close friend of mine lost her dad to cancer, which he contracted while working as a fire-fighter, and to the end, this man was one of the most giving, kind people I'd ever met. It's rubbed off on every member of their family, and I'm proud to say that I even know them. The even simpler acts of kindness seem to make an imperceptible but huge difference- just things like acknowledging someone you went to school with when paths cross in the grocery store, or taking the time to ACTUALLY LISTEN to the old lady at church that tells the same story every week. I guess all I'm trying to say in this post is that I'm glad we're human, because there is so much beauty in our species that goes unnoticed- and since I'm lucky enough to be a part of this whole thing, I get to witness those little miracles. Keep your eye out for the best in people- you might be surprised where (and how often) you find it.

I am anti death penalty.

2008-06-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

She didn't make it.

But these guys can.

Those of you who know me, know that I try to volunteer some of my time to animals in some way. At one point it was even at the zoo. Now, I volunteer by writing ads for shelter dogs that are going to get put down if they aren't adopted. It's so rewarding when these dogs get adopted- I was lucky enough to have my cousins adopt one, so I get to see the joy that their little rescued westie brings to their lives. The part that isn't so rewarding, however, is the part that is inevitible- some of these dogs don't get adopted. One of my favorites got put down yesterday, and so I thought I would dedicate this post to him, and all the shelter pets.

There are purepred, mixed bred, "designer" bred, and mystery bred dogs and cats at the shelter right now. These animals aren't there through any fault of their own- they are there because their owners moved and didn't want to take the time to find them a new home, or family member developed an allergy, because the landlord suddenly decided "no pets" (some of these I think are just jerks that are too self-absorbed to think before they get a pet, "Hey, can I really commit to this animal?"). I'm not even lying, you type in a breed you're looking for and there will be matches of all ages and locations. If you're thinking of bringing a pet into your life, please go to PetFinder.com and put in your search info. I can promise you- shelter dogs have more love to give.

If you drop a penny from the Empire State Building it actually never makes it to the ground.

2008-06-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

That penny actually ends up on an outcrop about 20 feet down, where you can't see it, and an old lady named Gladys cleans it off ever other day. So your dreams of either running to the sidewalk below and finding a faceless penny OR running to the sidewalk and finding that you have inadvertantly killed a pedestrian with a penny are both now shattered. Leave it to me to be the level-headed one. Also, according to MythBusters, neither of those things happen even if you can get it past the outcrop 20 feet below. If it does hit someone in the head, it just leaves a mark and really pisses them off.

As it turns out... I bought a small lap-deer. (plus other random thoughts about my dogs)

2008-06-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

Asleep in his bag on the way to a workshop today.

He covers his eyes when he sleeps sometimes.

It just so happens that my dogs are amazing. Probably cooler than your kid. Especially if your kid is ugly. Then my dogs would win hands down.
Holy crap. Freaking prime.
See the deer resemblence?

Boy do I feel like an idiot... I dunno how to remove the duplicate...

So I got this new dog, right? He's freaking cute. He's the atypical chihuahua- no buggy eyes or squashed nose for him, and none of the squatty-body shape either. He is a freaking deer. A lap-deer, as I like to refer to him. He is on my lap right now, with his spike collar on (I just got him fixed and I figured, poor guy, he's just got fixed, he's a chihuahua, and his last owner was flamboyantly gay... might as well let him keep what little masculinity he has and nix the bling collars) and shaking because his sweater is in the wash. Yes, he has a sweater. A grey argyle sweater, nonetheless. Turns out pet stores sell pretty girly dog clothes, so if you ever want to make me really, really happy with you, go to punkypuppy.com and buy him the Ramones shirt or the Skull and Crossbones hoodie... so cute. Anyway. Boy am I ADHD. As I was saying, he is a deer dog. A six pound deer. He's still pretty skinny now, because he wasn't adequately cared for when he was younger, but we're working on that one. He comes with me everywhere now, and he kind of worships me, which I don't mind. He's figured out that he has the whole agility thing going for him when he wrestles with Lincoln, my mom's one year old mini dachshund (pronounced dox hund, NOT doshund... Lydia's little friend berated me the other day for pronouncing it correctly. Little kids can be poops) and so poor Lincoln just surrenders and rolls over and lets Sebastian (my deer dog) chew on his giant floppy ears. Chadwick, the family mascot (he's a fifteen year old weiner dog who is probably the most awesome dog upon the face of the earth, bar none, and don't even argue because Chadwick is old AND hot-dog shaped and you can't beat that), has not succumbed so easily, though. Their has been an uneasy relationship between the two since day one, where Sebastian tried to dominate and I took Chadwick's side. There has been a great deal of squint-glares from Sebastian to Chadwick since then. And no joke, my dog really does glare. He even smiles and sometimes will raise one eyebrow. A friend of mine doesn't like sitting by me when I hold him because he raises the one eyebrow and smiles and it really does give off the impression that he is hitting on her. Anyway (sorry, my train of thought derails frequently...) today, I was sitting on the couch, and for the first time since ever, Sebastian and Chadwick CUDDLED. As in, didn't even try to assert dominance by starting an orgy (I hate it so bad when they do that, it so weirds me out). So I had to brag in this post about that accomplishment. Peace has been established. I would say "All Quiet on the Western Front," but that just depresses me and I think it doesn't really apply very well. Just pretend it did though. Also, Sebastian falls asleep in funny positions, ie, covering his eyes with his paws. And wanna hear the best tidbit of today? I took a writing workshop from a guy named Chauncey Secrist, and he isn't British but has a really long ponytail and a nose-ring, and one of my fellow students wrote a hate poem to me. Turns out my joking earlier about being vegetarian was no bueno... she's a vegan.

Oh The Places You'll Go!

2008-06-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

This year, during our non-existant spring break (this year, they decided to nix it, and then decided to restore it again next year... in ninth grade we got jipped out of our zoo fieldtrip, too- the class of 2008 just got ripped off like a roll of TP) my A'Cappella choir class got to go to San Francisco. I will not hesitate in saying that I really, really loved it, and would not mind living there, were it not for the abundance of drug deals going on in front of one of the cathedrals. And the creepy drunk clown that followed us around and asked us personal questions. I digress. For the most part, I enjoyed it immensely. It was definitely worth the eleven hour bus ride (should have been eight, but our busdriver got us lost, and also went over speed bumps so fast it made you wonder if you had just hit a small, beached orca rather than a speed bump, because the jarring made you hit your head and split open your shin on the foot rest bar) and the gummy fruits melting to my jeans. As it turns out, I kind of love SanFran.

One of my favorite parts was the pearl place. They have a huge tank of these oysters, and you pick one, and then they let you pry it open and poke out the pearl (but not before knocking the table or ringing the bell and yelling "ALOHA!" at the pearl, because apparently, pearls need a birthing ceremony or something) and then you clean up the pearl and you get to pick the setting you put it in and everything. I kind of went overboard and bought three pearls. All went to good use though! One for me, one for my mom, and one for my little sister's eighth birthday. I was lucky, and none of them were plain white or flawed, some of the people there didn't get a pearl in their first oyster, and if they did, alot of them were ugly and/or plain white. Mine were blue, pink, and cream.

Another fond experience there was the A's game. We sang the national anthem there, and also got to see Ludicris throw the opening pitch. He had to pitch two because the first one ended up very far away from its intended destination. There is a reason he is a rapper and not an athlete. As it turns out though, baseball games are only entertaining for so long. The Oakland Athletics lost by one point and I became very, very bored. That is probably going to be my last baseball game. Then we had quite the contrast of experience by going straight to visit the Oakland LDS temple. Can I just inform you that it is lovely?

Then there was Brian the firedancer guy. He was pretty cool. He asked me and my two friends if we wanted to go clubbing with him at some place called Crimson Sky or Red Sky or something like that, but we didn't think that would be the best idea.

Singing in the Grace Cathedral was also an awesome experience. It took me back to Europe for a little bit.

So what is the point of this entire post? Nothing really. I just wanted to show my pictures.

"Hey Owl? Can I have some cookies?"

2008-06-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

My name, as it happens, is Ali. So I thought I would explain to you, in this first little part, why I chose "Hey Owl" as my blog address.

I am one of the middle kids out of 6 children (not counting my brothers-in-law, Mike and Jon), so obviously I have younger siblings. One of these two younger siblings is the very famous Josh, who has said such famous lines as, "I hope it's something good... like CASH." (that about a Mother's Day gift yet to be opened). My nickname, as given by Josh, has become Owl. I don't think he really means it to sound like Owl, but the way he pronounces "Al" comes out "Owl", and sometimes I mistake his "OW!" for my name and he gets irritated. Anyways. The name came from him. An addition to his famous quotes, and sometimes scenes- he sang Viva Viagra as loudly as he could at the grocery store on Wednesday. Yes, I just let him. The little boy above? Yep, that's him. The other one is me. But I'm on a boat, so my hair is going nuts. My hair + Humidity + Tons of Wind = Oh boy, bad hair day.

So I graduated from highschool as of Friday, May 30th. And as the corny reader's theatre was being presented, complete with the organ music in the background (yes, dinosaurs, your predecessor is still here, she still writes the reader's theatres, and her name is Mrs. Drake), I realized that if I don't want to, I never have to go back to the corridors of Hell ever again. I'm knocking on the desk just to keep myself from being cursed. But yeah, unless I choose to, I never have to revisit my high school ever again! Just for your information, by the way, I graduated to the theme song of Harry Potter. I was crossing my fingers for the organist to play Lord of the Rings again, but that was way back when the Cs had been walking, so I was out of luck. I think the Harry Potter may show up Amy's commencement to the Pink Panther.