Green and Blue

Abby and I had fun trying to capture our eyes (one each) in a photograph. Hers are so exquisitely beautiful - blue with that touch of yellow around the pupil. Abby has eyes like her mom.

Knowing that green is the rarest eye color gives me just a tiny confidence boost. I like my green eyes.

Lobby-bound

Here were are, Jen and I, waiting out a heavy storm in Jamaica. We were supposed to be embarking on a snorkeling cruise, but Mother Nature nixed that. Not to worry, we hitched on to another cruise the following morning.

The photo was taken (by me) in the lobby, which was an open-air lobby, meaning the rain could easily blow inside and soak us. We got a kick out of watching the hotel staff pull down the plastic flaps with their extra-long hooks in order to keep us dry.

Most of the hotel restaurants, bars and seating areas were open-air. In fact, I think the only enclosed spaces were the guest rooms. I found it quite refreshing, except on that last morning when all I could concentrate on was not throwing up. I would've given up a kidney for some air conditioning then.

OUCH!

Our Mystery Trip* to Montego Bay was excellent, but after viewing my photos (many which were not taken by me), I fear I will have little to offer visually. I have a few I like, but they are people shots. However, I will likely upload some pics from our snorkeling cruise. They're not spectacular, but as I was there I can attest to the perfection of the voyage!

Below is the bruise I gained after taking far too much advantage of the "all-inclusive" benefits of the RIU resort. Thank goodness Jeni was there or I might've been even more black and blue.

That's my right hip photographed Thursday night. They always say it looks worse before it gets better. I can't imagine this bruise getting any more purple - or tender.

I also managed to scrape just over a 1/16" of skin off of my right ankle. Oh the dangers of island life!

The bruises and scrapes and hangovers were VERY worth it. Thanks again Jen and Jeni for calling me a dozen times or more to get me to the airport!!!



*I am employed by an advertising agency that plans an employee trip every year to an undisclosed location. We don't find out where we're going until we get to the airport on the day of departure. My favorite destination thus far: Reykjavik, Iceland (2004).

Mophead

I was out of the country on our company's annual Mystery Trip from the 22nd through the 25th, and upon my return came down with a nasty flu-like sickness. The trip was to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and I will post the minimal photos I managed to take as soon as I can. The trip was amazing - perhaps even too much fun given my current health.

In the meantime, Zoe says hi. She's sporting her mophead look here and holding on tight to one of her rawhide bones.

She was ridiculously excited to see me when I picked her up from Caroline's on Tuesday. Thanks to the Masons for taking such good care of her!

Bailey Flashback

I finished my Bailey photobook, and I hope to receive it next week! Below you'll find one of the puppy pics I acquired via my new spiffy scanner that allows me to scan slides. He's about 8 weeks here. I miss that face!

Tiny dog defender

The scenario that Zoe and I encountered moments ago was not a first time occurrence, but I remain impressed with her ability to deter others from doing harm.

I'm a night owl, so my late night dog walks are my own fault, but I don't see that as an open invitation for outsiders to violate me or my home. Neither does Zoe.

As we walked just outside the perimeter of our neighborhood, we were approached by two men who refused to heed my warnings that Zoe would strike to bite if they didn't move to the side. They bated her and she lunged (frighteningly with bared teeth, despite her disadvantage regarding teeth), but I was able to restrain her. Thankfully they were scared or put off enough to move on without incident.

Had she bitten one of them I would've fought to the death to prove she was trying to protect me. There's nothing I wouldn't do to prove she was right.

Quote of the day

I'm currently working on a Snapfish photo book in memory of Bailey, thanks to the suggestion from my brother who recently did the same for Casey. I've got dog books and calendars coming out of my ears, so I've been rummaging through them and found this quote last night that I liked.

"...Beauty without Vanity. Strength without Insolence. Courage without Ferocity."

-Lord Byron, on dogs

On the tube

Synopsis: I'm way behind on The Event. Watched the pilot and couldn't get passed Laura Innes' creepy yet unintriguing acting. I guess I still see her as a stuffy ER director.

Running Wilde is one of the dumbest shows I've ever watched in my life. I adore Keri Russell, but this show is begging to be cancelled.

I'm not embarrassed to say that I LOVE Hawaii Five-0. Alex O'Laughlin is hot eye candy, and though I've never cared for Scott Caan, he is really funny. Of course I love Daniel Dae Kim - he was one of my favorite characters on Lost.

While coming off as a poor man's Alias, Nikita is relatively holding my attention for now.

Supernatural started out REALLY bad, but last week's episode made up for it, if only for my new put-down thanks to Dean (Jensen Ackles), "Suck it ass clown."

No doubt Dexter is living up to expectations. Yes I'm having issues with certain characters, but the show remains stellar. As Dexter, Michael C. Hall is absolutely brilliant - truly acting at its best.

I've been occasionally catching reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Nip/Tuck (early seasons) on LOGO. I miss those shows!

If I'm missing something unmissable, please advise. :)

Doggie update

Here's a new, better quality photo of my brother's new pooch. Love those ears!

Todd sent me several text updates on Sunday - the first announcing that Lance plopped down in the main room of the house and didn't move for quite a while. At about 8:15 pm I got the following, "Heard the first bark, in response to the sprinkler. He's got the 'Timmy fell down the well' bark. Thinking he's more Collie than Sheltie."

I think he looks a lot more like Casey in this photo than the others I've shared.

Tar Heel toes

I loved Abby's Tar Heel pedicure, courtesy of Simply Sassy Kids Spa. I think she showed it to me last week, but I didn't think to take a photo. Of course the pedi is now a little worse for wear, but what do you expect from a nine-year-old?!

She's a true blue Tar Heel from head to toe.

Meet Lance

My brother and his family adopted this rescue Shetland Sheepdog this morning. His name is Lance, he's about 1.5 years old and he's described as quite shy. I'm sure he'll warm up to Todd, Maria and Abby in no time! They're not sure whether or not they'll be keeping his name - Maria mentioned changing it to Charlie. We'll see.

Hope you're enjoying your new forever home sweet dog!

Zoe clips

Zoe's new haircut, a la mom.





Tongue photo - always a necessity.

Quote of the day

"We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story."

-Mary McCarthy

All guarded on the Western front

Shortly after Bailey passed, Zoe dutifully took over guard duty at the back of the house. She spends hours under that curtain keeping watch on the sidewalk close by. I try not to scold her too much when she scares the crap out of me with a barking fit since I know I'm better off with a little doggie alarm.



It's very hard to catch Zoe under the curtain because she has bat ears - another great trait in truth. Here she is having caught me trying to catch her on guard duty.



This is what I usually see - just her hiney and fluffy tail. She's a superb watch dog!

Heels over Pirates

It was a great victory for the Heels yesterday - a perfect end to a perfect tailgating day.

We wound up being parked right next to one of Maria's friends, and her son and Abby entertained each other all afternoon. Lucas was quite the cornhole fan. He was actually really good at it, and VERY enthusiastic when he did well. High fives were in abundance.




Abby took this picture of her parents all by herself.




Abby hogged the binoculars for most of the game, except for when she shared with the five-year-old boy next to me (Theo). It took a while, but Theo eventually warmed up to us and kept me in stitches. Wish I had a pic because he was adorable!