Doing a little housecleaning around here!

-I have finally updated my ‘about‘ page- not entirely happy with it but it is better than what was there before.

-My links page is soooo out of date- people’s links are broken and so many are missing. I will get to that soon- it is super hard to keep it updated. Maybe I should just let it go?

-I have been trying to keep up with the books I am reading, on my books page- some good ones on there! I go through periods where I don’t read that much, only a little before bed… but then I get back into it and read a ton. Going though a reading streak at the moment.

Also, I have been using del.icio.us for about a week now. Casey has been using it for like 2 years now but I never really understood why it was cool until now. You could spend hours bouncing around people’s bookmarks. Me likey. If anyone is interested, here is the feed for my bookmarks.

Anybody else use del.icio.us?

I just realized that never posted Bob’s cone pictures right after he got the snip-snip. They are too funny not to share.

How can you do this to me?

So close, yet so far…

awwwww…yeahh.

This week has blown chunks… We left the interior light on in our car and woke up to a dead battery on Monday. Tuesday, our car was towed and I broke one of my favorite martini glasses.

To ignore the yucky, I am going to talk about my happy birthday stuff.

First I had a super nice celebration with my boys. Casey, as usual, bought me waaay too many presents and made me a fabulous cake.

The cake was too big for the dome to fit over it… SO BIG. It was super yummy too.

We went down to Westport Rivers Winery during the day and had a really fun time trying their wines and walking around their beautiful property. The wines were super good- I particularly liked their sparkling wines and the dessert wine. MMMM! It is just beautiful country down there- south shore of Mass.

Casey also organized a little birthday gathering for me with my brother, Kyle, and his girlfriend, Erica, Maya and Steve, Maureen and Maya’s friend Erin, who was visiting from Minnesota.

Here are a few cute pictures…

Maya and Bob making the same face.

There’s cutie Erin… we were trying really hard to get her drunk. Just kidding.

My poor little boy…

He seems to be doing okay so far- was uncomfortable in the cone so I took it off. (I am watching him while it is off, don’t worry!)

They said everything went smoothly- whew! So relieved!

I don’t usually let him have a pillow or anything- just so you don’t think I am nuts. He was having a hard time resting his head with the big cone so I put the heating pad under him. Now I don’t have the heart to move him- finally fell asleep…

Had a really nice pre- birthday visit with my parents this weekend. It was so great to have an apartment that can fit us all rather comfortably… so we could hang out and visit together without always going out. Casey and I also got the guest room mostly set up for them so they actually had a room of their own- a big deal for us.

My mom was a good sport when we went to Wrentham to go outlet shopping- she is not a big shopping fan. I got the cutest jacket ever and wore it to dinner and I felt pretty. I will take a picture the next time I wear it…

Went apple picking up in North Andover, which was fun. Bob liked finding all the rotten apples on the ground and meeting all the kids. We still haven’t found a great farm/ orchard to go to- we may have to go up to New Hampshire to find one. The orchards down here in Mass are all crazy crowded and seem more like an amusement park than a farm.

On Sunday, the whole family went over to Oleana in Cambridge for our special birthday dinner extravaganza. I tried pretty much everything everybody ordered and it all was really, really good. (I have a terrible habit of mooching off other people… just want a little taste!) I think we are going to have to go back there for the Baked Alaska alone. SO GOOD.

Mom also got to ride with Casey on our Vespa- how cute is that? Um and my husband is HOT.

She also came with me on my daily trip to the dog park with Bob. There is a dog park of sorts at the end of our street, where everyone in the neighborhood takes their dogs after work. It is nice to meet some local Charlestown people and their dogs.


Bob is on the right, with his harness, and the other two are other neighborhood Boston Terriers.

Bob is driving me a bit crazy at the park these days because he has a super crush on black pug named Sammy… He will not stop humping the poor guy! Sammy runs away but Bob is right at his heels… I have to keep correcting him so he doesn’t totally exhaust him- his little curly tongue is usually an inch out of his mouth by the end of it, panting for all he is worth.

Bob’s got an appointment for the big snip- snip tomorrow. Say a prayer for my baby, okay? I know it is a pretty straightforward procedure but they still have to put him under and it makes me nervous.

Going to work on my fingerless gloves and relax for a bit now. I am knitting the Pomatomus socks as fingerless gloves, following Craftoholic Steph’s example. I am calling them my HipHopopotamus gloves. hehe

Went on an unforeseen hiatus there for a bit… I am doing okay- haven’t dropped off the planet or anything. I have been going through a bit of a down period but hopefully am coming out of it now. Just didn’t really feel like putting negative energy out here on the web and turned into a hermit in real life as well.

You know what though? People help… at least they do for me. I went to knitting night with my friend Jenn for the first time in over a month and it felt like a breath of fresh air. I have also been trying to fight the stagnation by redoing my resume and looking for something to help us pay that new (ouch) mortgage.

So, I am back… Thanks to those of you who reached out to me. It meant a lot that people actually noticed that I was gone.

Just so this post is not totally depressing, here’s some cuteness:

I have knit my dog a sweater.

Please know that I am as appalled as you by this turn of events… but the poor guy is shivering in air conditioning, for goodness sakes.

Okay, he does look pretty darn cute in it.

greenie and kong munching action shots:

Being this cute is exhausting…

I modified the Penny pattern from Knitty- did it in the round instead and made the armholes much longer. I used one skein of Manos with size 5 needles.

Okay, I swear this isn’t going to become a dog blog…. but it is sorta all Bob, all the time around here right now.

We have been having so much fun! I have taught him to fetch and sit and we are working on ‘paw.’ He has at least 2 thumper spots- which is a requirement in a dog as far as I am concerned.

He has been doing pretty well on the house-training and has been sleeping in his bed in our bedroom at night, mess free. He snores when he sleeps but it is such a gentle snore that it doesn’t keep us up- whew.

He follows me around everywhere I go. I stop and look down and this is what I see:

(click on the pictures to make them bigger)

He is also obsessed with that crazy!! doggie!! in the mirror. He switches between playing with him, jumping around and snorting, and just staring into the mirror. Narcissistic much?

Casey and Bob are having fun together too… awww! My guys are the cutest!

We have gotten him to walk on his leash pretty well- at first he was running around with the buckle in his mouth (see below pic). It was so cute but not the best idea. Now holding the leash higher on his head, he is walking really well.

Haven’t had any yarn incidents- thank goodness! He is doing really well, just chewing his own toys and one houseplant that we are trying to discourage, of course. He especially loves his rope toy and his puppy squeaky toy.

He is also a great working companion… sits on my lap like a cat. Instead of purring though, he snorts.

Haven’t had a chance to knit in a bit- too busy going up and down the stairs, bringing the little piddler down to the yard. I can’t wait until he has all his shots and we can go to doggie meetups and parks for walks! I am bringing him to hang out with my friend Jenn and Carolynn and their kids tomorrow. He was raised with children and does well with them but want to keep him socialized. I am sure I will torture you with more pictures after that.

I am leaving him at home by himself for the first time in a few minutes. I feel awful but know it is good for him to learn to be by himself. Don’t want him to be a needy momma’s boy.

He has only been with us for 6 hours but I love him so much already!

Before I get questions, he is a Boston Terrier. But of course.

SOOOO HAAAAPPPYYYY!!!!