catiecake.

No Questions Asked

Dear Kittens,

1. We got a puppy! Did I tell you that? Well I hope so because that's the whole reason I have not been posting. Well. maybe not the WHOLE reason, but at least a part of the reason. Oh, alright- the puppy has nothing to do with it, but the puppy takes up A Lot of space in my brain.

2. This puppy is the hardest thing I've ever taken on in my entire life. I understand this might not be true for everyone who has had a puppy, but for me this puppy is a tremendous amount of work. It doesn't help that we choose a breed who is known to be dominant and stubborn. We read a lot of books before and after the puppy got here, we've looked up various issues online, we've gotten loads of personal advice. Some of what we've learned has been extremely helpful, and some, well, not so much. Out of desperation for a consistent method for dealing with the dog we hired a dog trainer. Our official lessons begin February 7th. We're all so excited. Well, not Murray. Murray's plan for Anchev Domination was going so well and this really puts a damper on those plans. I hasten to add that Murray is really a pretty good dog. He's smart and sweet and fun. We still need help, though.

3. However hard it is, this puppy is also really cute. Here are some of my favorite things: He sleeps with his legs super straight when he sleeps. I joke that he does that so he can grow super tall. He likes to pick up newspapers. On our walk a couple days ago we were cruising along and I look down ad see that he has a newspaper. You know, not OUR newspaper. Thankfully, almost everyone in this neighborhood gets the paper- so I just backtracked until I found an empty driveway and put the paper there. The other great thing about Murray is that he loves to cozy up with you on the sofa. He switches position every 5-10 seconds, so it's not exactly relaxing, but it is super cute.

4. Sometimes people will say, what are you up to lately? And then I laff and laff because I HAVE A PUPPY. That's what I'm up to. My dear friend, Kate Musgrove, tells me that it will not always be like this and it will get better and look, I'm not saying Kate is a lying liar, but I will say I've never known someone name Musgrove that you could trust. AMIRITE?

5. This weekend my lady friends from the Internet are visiting. I'm looking forward to the fun and merriment and bourbon this weekend is sure to include. I'm taking my ladies to the flea market and I am super excited about that. Hopefully it won't be a lame month.

6. I went back to the salon I used to go to before my old hairstylist died. I was worried it would be weird to be there and not have Marcie there, but the owner (who is now my stylist) has changed things enough that it doesn't really feel weird. I am So Happy with my hair again. The haircut isn't perfect yet, but the color is spot on and the haircut will get there.

7. Oh, one more puppy thing. We wanted a dog because we were ready to shake up our lives, get our of our rut and find a new routine. We also wanted an undeniable reason to walk every single weekend. And finally we hoped that a dog would bring more people into our lives. Murray has hit every single mark. And despite my complaining- I do not regret getting Murray.

8. Before I stopped buying shoes I bought myself the cutest suede sneakers from Simple. They are grey with pink laces and I love them so much. They are horribly uncomfortable with socks, but otherwise I love wearing them. They make me feel sporty.

9. It's very late for a person like me, but I want to get another load of sheets into the washing machine before I go to bed.

Love,
Catie

Puppy Recipes

Dear Kittens,

1. Having a puppy is the absolute hardest thing I have ever done. I knew that dogs were a lot more work than cats, but I was not prepared AT ALL for how unrelenting this work would be. We're all (including Seamus) adjusting, but we've yet to find a groove that feels right. I'm hiring a dog trainer to do private training with us. We're so inexperienced and we really need help. (Cats are SO MUCH easier)

2. The other thing that is surprising the amazingly bad information available online. Yesterday I looked up advice on what to do about biting. The first three websites I looked at all said the same thing- have the older dog teach the puppy, the puppy's littermates will teach the puppy, you should not reprimand the puppy for biting and you must get biting under control. I wish Google had a feature that would allow you say if you wanted helpful advice or if you just wanted to waste some time reading words online.

3. Andy got me sick. We both have a cough and I've been saying that we have kennel cough. I wouldn't mind the cold so much, but my throat hurts and it makes me grouchy!

4. A very long time ago on a Martha Stewart show she suggested that a good idea was to get some dark colored washcloths and embroider the word "makeuo" on them and then you and your guests would use those washcloths to remove makeup. Well, after ruining all of our washcloths by using them to take off my makeup, I've finally bought 5 dark pink washcloths. I am not going to be crazy and embroider them, but I am going to use them to take off my makeup from now on.

5. So at the beginning of the month I started this deal where I decided I would not buy any clothing or accessories (including jewelry) unless something was completely worn out and did not have a replacement. I also said no to buying magazines from the newsstand, tiered serving trays (I'm guessing not many people have this same problem) and craft supplies. I've slipped a couple of times not because I actively decided to slip, but because I forgot. I returned the jewelry I bought and as for the magazines- they are my weakness in life and resisting them is proving more difficult than I anticipated. Overall, I'm doing well with this project and it's nice to realize how much money I'm NOT spending.

6. This puppy has totally overwhelmed us and we desperately need to do laundry and grocery shopping. Now we've got this cold and so we're both just completely wiped out. I hope tomorrow is a more energetic day (for us, not Murray). Also- thank goodness for our new giant washing machine. It makes very short work of laundry.

7. I am drinking so much water to soothe my throat. I hope I can pee this cold away.

8. Chinese food for dinner. My two most favorite things are potstickers and shrimp chow mein. If there is something better than greazy noodles, I have no idea what it is. Well, ice cream. And also oranges. I love oranges. I also love cheese and artichokes. Oh, artichokes are so good!

9. At Christmastime I bought some LED candles. Some of them are crap, but others are remarkably candle like and the thing that's great about them is you can use them in situations were candles would be completely unsafe. Each one of my candles gets about 100 hours of "burn time" per battery and the glow the put off is nice.

Love,

Catie

6 and a half

1. I got 6 and a half hours of sleep last night, which normally would leave me moany, but today feels like a triumph. I woke up a few times in the night, but I got right back to sleep, which was awesome.

2. I recommend to anyone who decides to get a puppy to create a Puppy Plan. In my case, I've been so tired that having a plan was very useful because I didn't need to think- I just followed what Andy and I agreed was the best course of action. I cannot imagine how hard this puppy thing is if someone cannot stay home with the dog.

3. So, Murray is super cute, but I am not in love right now. I like him, I don't regret getting him, but the love has not come in yet. Andy is 100% smitten, however. I love Seamus more than ever, though. He is so tolerant and patient and good with the puppy. He allows Murray to get close to him, but when Murray starts to lose his mind- the Seamus takes off for higher pastures.

4. Things we bring home from our walks: a domed lid from Starbucks (not mine), the newspaper, various leaves and one time a rock. The newspaper was the cutest, of course. He spied in the driveway and made a grab for it on our way for a walk, but I kept moving forward. On our way home, I said, "bring the newspaper home" and he picked it up and trotted it right up the walk and into the house. Of course his intention was then to shred it to bit in 45 seconds, but I pretended that he was being a super helpful dog.

5. My main goal this week is to leave the house once a day. Yesterday I was too tired to drive- I knew it was bad when I had my keys in my hand and I was standing at the front door looking for my keys, convinced I was locked out of the house. The second clue came when I turned on the bath faucet for Seamus and then forgot to turn it off and when I went back in the bathroom I was TOTALLY SHOCKED that the water was on.

6. I think there are other things I used to have going on in my life besides a puppy, but I cannot remember what they were.

7. I watched several episodes of Big Love yesterday. Having so many to watch felt like a little gift from sweet baby Jesus himself because I didn't need to concentrate, because I'd seen them already, but it allowed me some mental distraction.

8. Today is Day 5 of puppy. I knew this would be difficult, but of course I wasn't prepared for HOW difficult. Dealing with the dog isn't that hard, but the lack of sleep is really awful. I guess human babies also do not allow you to sleep, which means that all baby animals are assholes and not so secretly want to kill you.

9. Oh! The chewing. Here is what I hate, books who tell you that you simply distract the puppy from chewing what they want to chew (your rug, your coffee table, you) and give them a chew toy. HAHAHAHAHA. MORONS! Puppy has already chewed the chew toy and now wants to branch out to more fun things to chew. Seamus' tail got a chomp yesterday. Seamus ran away and then gave me a look that said- YOU'VE RUINED OUR LIVES. Sorry, Seamus.

Love,
Catie

Murray

Dear Kittens,

This is going to be short only because I am exhausted.

1. We got the puppy! He's a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. He was 10 weeks old on Saturday. His name is Murray. I've been toying with the idea that his middle name is Don Carlo, but maybe I change it to something else.

2. And here are some photos:

Love, Catie

Maybe 9 Becomes a Theme This Year.

Dear Kittens,

1. I have this great computer bag. Why I bought a computer bag is beyond me because my laptop computer is very large and heavy and not at all the sort of thing you want to lug around anywhere.Anyway, I have this bag and the other day I saw it and decided that I wanted to start using it and figured that spending 1 day a week out of the house in a Internet cafe could be a fun thing. As I was packing up my computer I asked Andy what sort of things a regular working person packed in the laptop bag. I have a notebook, stickers, notecards, pens, a small collage kit, another notebook and some markers. All of that seems VERY professional to me. 

2. I recently baked a bunch of cookies and today I shipped a bunch of them out to a friend. I'm so glad for these cookies to be out of the house. They were a lot of fun to make, but I'm really (and unusually) not in the mood for sweets, so I am glad they are going to a good home.

3. I've been making this effort to dress really cute whenever I go out. Skirts and boots, mary janes and cute socks, scarves, brooches, etc. Since I made the decision to not buy any new clothes this year (or shoes or bedding or jewelry or accessories of tiered serving trays) I've decided I want to use ALL my clothes. The fun part about this is that a lot of stuff has been packed away for a long time and so it's like getting new stuff!

4. All I'm reading right now are dog books. One after another by people who Really Know About Dogs. The great thing about this is that I'm learning a lot. I've decided to mostly follow Cesar Millan's method. For two reasons, the first being HE'S ON TV and everyone knows if you are TV you know what you are talking about. The second reason is that his philosophy on how dogs should be treated resonates with me. I don't think there is only one way to raise a dog, but I'm choosing to go with one method mostly so that I do not feel crazy.  (Puppy comes home in FOUR DAYS!!)

5. Last night we went out to have a sushi dinner. Unfortunately for us we sat next to a new couple on a date. So much smiling and giggling and information exchanging. I learned what both of them prefer to order from Taco Bell, In and Out Burger, McDonald's and how much they both loved peanut butter. The gal talked too much and the guy wore too much cologne. They both used chopsticks even though neither one knew how and the waitress finally took mercy on them and gave them forks. Andy and I talked about property taxes, painting the bathroom and discussed when we should plant out bulbs. I can tell you Kittens with 100% honesty that I would not go back to the beginning of a relationship for anything. The uncertainty, the trust building, the exhaustion from all the sex hahaha- I just don't have it in me. Give me this history, this comfort, the looking across the living room at a man who I KNOW? I wouldn't trade that for butterflies and first kisses.

6. For our next big trip, I would really love to drive across the country. I don't know that we'll do it this year, but I am very much in love with the idea.

7. Tomorrow I'm taking down all the Christmas stuff. I've decided that I'm going to go back to decorating our front window for the various seasons. The first year we lived here I decorated for Valentine's Day and Spring/Easter and so forth and so I'ma keep that up because it's nice. A lot of kids pass by our house everyday and it's nice to have them look over and see something fun.

8. In case I didn't mention it, I am spending this month CATCHING UP. I fell behind late 2007, thankfully, I know that it's entirely possible to be all caught up by the end of this month without even trying too hard. In the past, I would just start fresh and ignore the catching up part. And I think there are times when that's the right thing to do, but in my case the catching up has to do with things that I've promised people, so I don't want to ignore it.

9. Now is the time for laundry and a snack. I really love doing laundry since we got the new machines. Mostly because the new machines are so much bigger/more efficient than the old machines. A JOY. Okay, not a joy, but come on- anything that makes the endless job of laundry easier is a good thing.

Love,

Catie

Nine Things I Love.

Dear Kittens,

1. Andy. I just really like him a lot. He's super fun to hang out with and he slices oranges into eighths for me and he gives the best kisses and hugs.

2. You Kittens, of course. You were all so kind during my Time of Great Sadness. Some of you even went so far as to send me cards and you know what- that was lovely.

3. Oranges. I love oranges that are stored in the fridge so they are very cold. And I love them cut into eighths. I especially love how the corners of my mouth burn a wee bit from the orange oil from the peel.

4. Going for long walks in my neighborhood. I don't have to walk the same walk every time I go, but I often do because it's fun to see how things change during the season. What's in bloom, how people are decorating for various things and who just painted or got a delivery of bricks or whatever.

5. Seamus. Seamus is so plush this winter and so cute and he just kills me with his stripey, fat self. We've been joking that he is channeling Roo and Petey and now he is as annoying as three cats instead of just being 1 cat's worth of annoying.

6. Several ideas I have right now. One is to pack up my laptop one day a week and find some wifi cafe and spend a few hours just hanging out. Another idea is to teach our puppy all manner of tricks. When we had a dog when I was a kid I taught him a bunch of tricks and it was so much fun. A third idea is baking bread. I've never done it seriously before and now I really want to.

7. That our house is set up so that every single room gets some use. That's very satisfying. My next project is to paint both bathrooms, finish painting the parlor and pain the master bedroom. The kitchen needs paint too, but it's not on my radar right now.

8. Books. I love books and reading so much. I am super hopeful that Birthday Santa gets me a Kindle because however much I love books, I do not have the storage space for them and the Kindle seems like the perfect solution.

9. The outside of our house. It looks so great! I still cannot believe that it's our house because this place looked really dumpy since we bought it, but now it looks really nice. Every time I see the outside of the house I want to make out with it a little bit.

Love,
Catie