Nala's trial adoption

She's heading off to Cary on Saturday for a trial adoption with a lovely young woman. I will miss her (Zoe won't), but I hope she finds her forever home with Jen. Good luck Nala! xo

What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

That's what I thought of when I saw this picture:



Maybe for this one, too, but she looks more inquisitive than suspicious to me here:



Going hog wild in an attempt for a self-serve back scratch:

Sweet nap

Nala, snoozing on Bailey's bed in front of my gas fireplace on Sunday evening. She's been motionless for about 2 hours now.

Nala has at least two adoption applications pending for her. I'll miss her, but I'm psyched for her to find her forever home!

Sugar Unleashed!

This is Sugar - the first dog I helped to unchain with The Coalition to Unchain Dogs. You can see the video shot while we built his fence here. He is such a sweet boy!

Nala's ball

Nala is a huge tennis ball chaser - thank you Kathy for bringing her one!



Nala's BFPA page

Nala day 3

Here she is, settling in like a champ on her third day at Chez Glazener. Nala is a wonderful dog - so sweet and well-behaved - and check out that fabulously NON-cherry right eye!!! She so deserves a loving forever home. Cocker Spaniel fans should be taking notice for sure.

Support Unchain Dogs please!

I won't be able to participate in the Great Human Race this Saturday because I'll be taking Nala, my foster dog to an adopt-a-thon in Cary. But, The Coalition to Unchain Dogs is so close to their goal ($30,000: the amount that would provide 60 dogs with an exam/vaccination appointment, spay/neuter and a fence to free them from a painful chain). As of 10:30 pm 3-22-11, donations for Unchaindogs is 29,115.00.

If you go to youtube.com and search for "The Coalition to Unchain Dogs," you will find a ton of videos that prove what an amazing volunteer effort UCD is.

If you are able, please go to http://www.active.com/donate/ghr2011/cud2011 to make a donation. As a new volunteer, I can attest that the feeling of freeing a dog from a chain is amazing. Overwhelming. Inspiring. And that power stemmed from a handful of very determined animal advocates. Wonderful!

Snooooooooze

Taking a nap after a walk this afternoon. Nala didn't get much exercise in her original home, so she doesn't have a lot of endurance but we're working on it!



She LOVES rawhide bones (she's already demolished one of Bailey's) and she most certainly enjoys walks and all the SMELLS!

Meet Nala

My first foster dog - she's an 8-year-old purebred Cocker Spaniel and sweet as pie. Her dets:

Weight: 27 lbs;
Spayed & UTD on all shot and vaccines as well as heartworm and flea preventative;
SUPER sweet and affectionate;
Recovering very well from surgery for chronic cherry eye;
Loves her crate and does well in the car.

Read more about Nala here.

Camera shy:



Too many bones; too little time...

Doggie taxi duty

On behalf of the Coalition to Unchain Dogs, I transported Zach to and from the vet today to get a rabies shot. He was a very sweet dog, but also a very large dog.

It was quite a struggle getting him into my CR-V, and after discovering his weight I wasn't surprised. Zach weighs 84 pounds and I had to load him in my car by myself. Whew! But it was worth it - he's like a big teddy bear!

From wet nose to wiggly butt

I love this ad!

Bull City Pet Sitting

I participated in my first fence build with The Coalition to Unchain Dogs on Sunday and I had a great time. The dog to be unchained, Sugar, was a beautiful boy and absolutely the sweetest thing. I wish I'd brought my camera. If/when a video is posted from the director, I will post a link on this blog.

Also present at the build was one of the founders of Bull City Pet Sitting. Name: Heather, aka "treat lady."

Heather had Sugar sitting, shaking and staying in less than an hour of "training." Sugar's owner was amazed, but truthfully, Sugar (a 10-month old chow/? mix) is a very smart boy.

All of the people I met on Sunday are VERY passionate about dogs and their happiness and well-being. Despite my short interaction with them, I feel quite comfortable recommending Heather, and Bull City Pet Sitting, to all of my friends.

HA HA - knowing that many of my friends count on me to care for their pets - so when the "free girl" isn't available, try BCPS.

Unbearable Lightness

Just as Ellen DeGeneres states in the epilogue of Unbearable Lightness, Portia de Rossi was crazy. She was hands down batty and out of her mind, all the while portraying the epitome of control on TV as Ally McBeal's Nelle Porter.

Portia de Rossi is reportedly 5'7", and when she reached rock bottom she weighed 82 pounds. She reached that rock bottom after approximately fourteen years of starvation, bingeing and purging - with the latter years hovering in complete starvation mode.

Compulsive exercise, reclusive behavior and the severe effects of starvation began to take a toll on her mind, as well as all of her relationships with outsiders which were tenuous at best. She lost all perception of reality and thus retreated into her own deep private hell.

Then she made the reluctant decision to crawl out.

While whiney and overly self-loathing at times, I mostly sympathized with de Rossi as I followed her life of disordered eating. Most of the negative reviews I've read were likely penned by persons who've never been touched by an eating disorder - never had one or loved someone suffering from one. Eating disorders are never simple, and they're most often not taken on consciously.

When I presented a study on the presence of anorexia/bulimia on the internet while at graduate school, I was confronted with a few students who asked me, "But isn't it a choice? You could've just stopped. Seems more like a cry for attention or an act of rebellion."

I'm sure there are cases of the aforementioned in eating disorder history, but I strongly believe that those cases are very few and far between.

Of course anyone who knows who Portia de Rossi is knows that she is now married to Ellen DeGeneres. By revealing her true sexuality, I think de Rossi has finally let go of a great deal of her inner-hatred and come to peace with herself and her body.

I've never been a fan or non-fan of Portia de Rossi. I watched Ally McBeal for at least the first three seasons and enjoyed it - mainly because I found Lucy Liu hilarious. I have never judged anyone for their sexual preference. None of those things had anything to do with my enjoyment or lack thereof in reading this book. It's just a powerful story about loss, despair and ultimately triumph.

Dogs & their coats

I made a rash move two nights ago and basically shaved Zoe down to a minimal coat of hair. Her shedding was making me crazy and now that it's not as cold around here I don't feel bad for taking her coat away. She's adapting well. (Meaning she hasn't bitten or attacked me yet). She really is a sweet girl who is completely clueless.

I couldn't get any legitimate photos, but here she is with her "shorn" coat. :) I would guess her hair measures 3/4" length all around.

Wish I could keep her

But Zoe will certainly not allow it. BOO.

How cute is this girl?! Nevermind that her name is Willow - one of my brother's favorite names for his daughter who is now Abby.

Jack Russell mix in a balled up combination of cuteness!

True Romance

True Romance is definitely one of my favorite movies ever - if not my #1.

Hidden treasures: Brad Pitt as the total pot head and Bronson Pinchot as the biggest douche ever.

My dear boyfriend at the time of my first viewing indulged my love for the movie and the music and bought me the soundtrack. That was so long ago that I don't even know if it was a cd or cassette tape (no 8 tracks here).

I've unfortunately lost the soundtrack he bought me, but I've never forgotten the music! (or the fun we had enjoying the silliness of it).

The death of Dennis Hopper could put a damper on the memories tied to this film, but I choose instead to remember and cherish the talent that he drove into every role he played.

My favorite tune - entirely instrumental and the cutest little ditty I've ever heard. It has always managed to be my "cheer me up" music.

Lips best friend

I was introduced to the EOS smooth sphere by my friend Jen and I cannot thank her enough.

My lips perpetually crack, peel, bleed and generally piss me off no matter what I do - until I started using EOS. I swear it's a heavenly elixir, and the lemon balm with SPF 15 smells just like lemon meringue pie. I could eat it - I don't, but I could.



Sold at Wal-mart for $2.96, this stuff is the best thing you could ever put on your lips.

I prefer the lemon variety hands down over the "summer fruit" variety (those are the two available at my local Wal-mart), but both variations supply the same superb lip-loving benefits.

EOS is often also available at Walgreens, Kroger and CVS.

The Town

I rented this from redbox on Monday night, but the disk wouldn't play after about 40 minutes so I ended up buying it on pay-per-view. Smart choice since Time Warner Cable offers the extended cut (unedited, 2 hrs 30 min) for the same price as the theatrical version.

I really enjoyed this movie - even on an extended time frame. In fact, I found the extra scenes quite helpful in resolving the plot in my mind. I particularly enjoyed revisiting Ben Affleck's "BAHSTAN" accent from Good Will Hunting. I'm sure it's real and that he's just learned to speak differently since. I mean really - most talented actors are able to fake a realistic foreign accent - who's to know which one is real? (Must remove Penelope Cruz from consideration here).

While I have no problem watching 90+ minutes of Affleck on the screen, I feel he has a knack for directing, and it seems this role is where he plans to dig his heels in - at least for now. According to his cast from The Town he's quite good at both acting and directing, so in my opinion his future should be pretty bright.

Jeremy Renner and Blake Lively were fantastic - each depicted a Charlestown local to a tee - down to the accent and attitude. I'm not saying I've ever been to Charlestown, or that I even know anyone from there, but the information available to me confirms that the entire cast did a great job in bringing a genuine sense of the local atmosphere to the screen.

Small gripe: didn't love Rebecca Hall as Claire. I loved the character of Claire (her dedication to charity, tendency towards the lighter side of horrible situations and genuine concern for others in her personal stratosphere), but Hall came off as flat to me. I really wanted to like her, but I just didn't believe that she became Claire in the film. In the end I didn't care about her at all.

So as not to give away anything I'll just say that yes, HER CHARACTER made a gracious gift - but Rebecca Hall did nothing to make that act more powerful had it been given by a nameless Bart on anyone's street corner. I'm sure some might blame the director for that caveat, but her performance as a whole leads me to find fault on her shoulders.

Nevertheless, I found The Town to be a wonderful film - realistic, dramatic and powerful - and carried through by a very talented cast and director.

Shoe Fancy

I owned two pair of Skechers "shape-ups" when I found these at Costco for $40 - a TRUE steal! I paid $60-75 each for my other two pair. GRRR. You really can't predict the fab deals at Costco.

I have a long history with Skechers. I own a pair of their boots that I purchased before Clinton was in office. I still love those boots, and that pair is not the oldest I own. I guess my "plug" is that Skechers has never let me down. Skechers produces a quality product - one that has stayed with me, faithfully, since I was 18 years old.

I LOVE my latest Skechers purchase. Weird that I had to size up to 8.5, but WOW. LOVE these shoes. Most comfortable shoes ever, and they meet my quirky preference for predominately black or very dark-colored running shoes.

Had I not found them at Costco I'd have purchased at least two pair from wherever. Check 'em out. LOVE.