Thursday, May 24th, 2012

Hello, hello.  As per advice from the vet I won't be going to Central Park for long walks with Sofie for about 7-10 days.  A suture fell out and caused some minor swelling and soreness of her healing.  No big deal - no reason to fret or worry!  She is doing just fine, but because it's a little bit open, the vet doesn't want her running around through tall grasses/rolling in dirt because of the potential for infection.  

Due to all of this coupled with the fact that finals are coming up in 2 weeks and I'll be picking a lab soon, I've decided to suspend Little Dog Big Park for about 10 days.  When I get back, I promise lots of new pictures of the park and stories to accompany :) 

In the meanwhile, here are the new pictures of the 6wk old pups!  Enjoy yourself and Sofie & I will see you again, soon. 

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
Central Park East - 8:15am

Good morning!  Sorry for the late post today.  In my current rotation lab I only have a key to the outside door, so if nobody is there, I can only access the lab hallway.  It's resulted in sitting around the library and checking back in until people get there (usually around 9:30) so that I can get into the lab.  This morning I thought - what the hell - I'll sleep in rather than sit in the library all morning reading blogs (I always tell myself I'll study or something). 

One of the pluses to going to the Park a little later are the impromptu dog parks that crop up (see above).  Impromptu dog parks are great - Sofie gets to run around with the other dogs and I get to socialize with the coffee-drinking gossipers trying to put off going to work. 

Sofie humped my leg again this morning when we were crossing the street. I was confused.  I guess you can take the ovaries out of the dog but you can't take the dog out of the ovaries (or something like that....). 

Have a great day!

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
The House - 7:30am

Good morning.  You are looking at the face of pure, unadulterated evil.  Like usual, last night I dutifully set my alarm clock for 6am so that I could take my beloved dog to Central Park.  The weather report will give you a bit of a preview for what was to follow. 

Yes, it was raining out.  I looked out of my window, thought, "No matter, I'll take her anyway, it's warm out."  She had other plans.  She would not leave the bed.  I left and she just snuggled up with Brian, not even bothering to look at me.  When I had finished getting ready and came to pick her up, she rolled onto her back wanting her belly scratched.  I obliged for a few seconds, then picked her limp little body up to take her outside.  She resisted the entire way.  When we got out of the elevator, she wouldn't budge.  I dragged her out of the door, determined to get her exercise.  When we got to the end of the apartment awning, she flopped onto her side, so that I would have to drag her on her side if we were going to go anywhere.  Ultimately, I got her around the block to do her business, before turning back and going back to bed.  Now - on the other hand - she's romping around the apartment wanting to go outside. 

I don't think so.

The other picture you see posted is the homemade dark chocolate mousse Brian and I made this weekend.  I had to share it b/c it was so good.  We finished up the leftovers last night but they weren't quite as good since we had used up all of the fresh raspberries.  Soooooo good!

Have a great day!!

Monday, May 21st, 2012
Central Park East - 6:25am

Good morning!  Here she is!  Looking for squirrels & birds to chase.  Sorry about my recent complete absence from the blog.  Thursday of last week was pretty crazy with getting her spayed (primarily because she was spayed in Brooklyn and so the commute is a total pain in the ass).  I'll give you an idea how much of a pain in the ass....2 subway changes and 10 blocks of walking with a dog whose just undergone surgery.  I can't actually take credit for the trip home - Brian took care of that one.  No joke, though - door to door it's about an hour and 15 minutes and it was during rush hour - that beautiful time of day in NYC when the subway is a sardine can full of irritated people.

The first night she was totally out of it.  She was panting a lot, sleepy, and very disoriented.  The next morning she was ok - but didn't want to walk more than about half a block.  Saturday morning - forget about it.  She was ready to get back at it.   This weekend was beautiful by the way - high 70's, sunny both days. 

This morning was ridiculous - she was bursting with energy.  I felt bad keeping her on leash in Central Park but I'm guessing that frantically chasing every squirrel she sees isn't the vet's idea of "keeping her without excessive activity."  When we got home, she raced through the living room and into the bedroom and jumped on and off of the bed not once, but TWICE (she's not supposed to be jumping at all).  She hasn't been yelping so I figure it doesn't really matter too much.  Her incision is healed up nicely - skin is knitted together and there's no redness or swelling at all. 

15 days on leash?  We are at 4 down, 12 to go.....I have a feeling that we won't make it to day 15....

Have a great day!

Friday, May 18th, 2012

Good morning!  Sofie was spayed yesterday morning, which was why you had no blog post.  I'm happy to report that she's on the mend but looks extremely pathetic with her little cone head.

Have a great day!

Wednesday - May 16th, 2012
Central Park East - 6:35am

Good morning!  As you can see....it was a bit of an overcast, rainy day.  This picture doesn't even do justice to the gloom that was this morning.  It wouldn't have been so bad but for the humidity! 

The bright side is that the rest of the week + weekend looks beautiful!!!  This morning when I got back from our walk, we had gotten the new 5 week pictures of the puppies!  I'll post a few of them for you.  It was their first day outside. 

 

In the above photo I think the one we are getting is on the left :) (but don't know yet for sure)

Hope you enjoyed!  Have a great day!

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
Central Park East - 7:10am

Good morning!  Today was one of those mornings where the sky just looks like it's going to open up and downpour every second.  We saw everybody today.  We even met some new friends.  Betty, the Cairn Terrier is one of them.  Not sure Betty would see it that way, though.  She was hunting squirrels, and Sofie kept clumsily tipping them off that Betty was coming.  When I got back to the apartment, the rain came down - literally the minute I walked under the awning. 

In other news I'm not sure I like where this week is going.  I feel.....bored with it.  Nothing exciting is happening and I'm on the brink of feeling responsible for starting to study for finals (week of June 7).  I don't like having that hang over my head. 

Anyway, have a great day!

Monday, May 14th, 2012
Central Park East - 7:01am

Good morning!  I kind of can't believe it's halfway through May already.  March/April just flew by.  We had a great weekend with my parents and Brian's Mom, sister, and sister's bf.  Parent's arrived on Friday evening following a very laid-back day for me.  By the time they arrived at 7pm, I'd already run 5 miles and walked Sofie 2 mi.  When they arrived, we proceeded to have some good drinks and munch on some appetizers (my idea of appetizers consists of chocolate, cocktail peanuts, and hummus) and catch up.  I ate so much I couldn't eat dinner.  For dinner we ordered Indian takeout from Brian and my favorite place (Om).  I think it's safe to say my parents are deprived of good Indian in Gettysburg ;) 

The next day we got up and walked Sofie, then met Edna, Maggie, and James at Fulton Pub for a pre-Mother's Day brunch followed by a trip to the Natural History Museum.  We spent about 2 hours looking at the Dinosaurs and early Mammals, then saw the Bioluminesence exhibit.  I actually enjoyed the dinosaurs more than the bioluminesence - more interesting for me.  After that we walked through Central Park back to our place to say bye to Brian's family.  A fantastic day if you ask me!  For dinner, Brian made some DELICIOUS tacos with home-made salsa, black beans, and corn.  We also finished off a bottle of champagne and some chocolate cake Brian brought from Gracie's Market. 

Sunday morning we got up early enough to walk Sofie in Central Park leash-less so she could romp about.  After that, my parents took me to Bed Bath & Beyond to get some things for our place that we desperately needed.  (Our towels in particular needed an upgrade).  Then they went home and I ran 5 miles in the 80 degree sunshine (don't worry - slathered in sunscreen)!  Brian and I did 100 pushups (non-girly of course), watched Avatar, and made homemade bruschetta with fresh mozzarella (so so so delicious). 

Instead of pictures for the puppies, Liz sent us a video.  I'll link to it on you-tube if you'd like to watch it!  They are so cute! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfMXXtU9v-s&list=UUOxOiiTYcE7inECeG9IehEg&index=1&feature=plcp

Have a great day!

Happy Friday!

Friday, May 11th, 2012
Central Park East - 6:45am

Good morning & Happy Friday!  My parents are coming today, so Brian and I are very excited.  Yesterday we bathed Sofie - so she wouldn't stink during the obligatory doggie greetings.  We also cleaned up the place, did the laundry (since we wouldn't be able to do it this weekend), and went food shopping.  The place is stocked!  Brooklyn lager, wine, nuts, Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate (on sale 2 for 6 - had to go for it), hummus, ice cream, and all sorts of other good things.  I think Brian's Mom may be coming down on Saturday, too, so it will be a parent's weekend of sorts.

http://ez-www.amnh.org/creatures-of-light

We'll hopefully be going to the Museum of Natural History on Saturday to see their Bioluminesence (making of light by a living being) exhibit on Saturday afternoon and then I'd also like to stop by LaDuree on 5th Ave for Macaroons. There's also a bakery up in the 80's called 2 Little Red Hens, that I've heard wonderful things about. 
http://www.twolittleredhens.com/  (sorry Dad - just b/c you don't eat carbs doesn't mean Mom & I can't still stuff our faces w/ them). 

Aside from that, I'm sure there will be good dinners/lunches/brunches - what have you and the weather's supposed to be incredible on Saturday.  Sunday should be nice, too, just a bit more cloudy. 

Aside from all that, today was a fantastic, beautiful day in the Park.  I braved days of rain this week and, quite frankly, the entire winter for days like this.  It was cool, almost chilly, breezy, sunny, and the Park is just so green from all of the precipitation.  It was just stunning.  I could have stayed out all day.  Sofie tried to roll in something but I went running at her like a crazy person  (b/c she's actually clean right now), and she jumped away from the object of interest (dead field mouse - looked as though it'd been killed by a housecat).  She stood about 15 feet away from me, tail wagging nervously as if to say, "I thought we had a good thing going....are you going to kill me now?"

Off to a day I'm woefully unprepared for. 

Have a great one. 

Thursday, May 10th, 2012
Central Park East - 6:35am

Good morning!  Another rainy day here in NYC.  Looks like it's supposed to be relatively nice Fri, Sat, and a bit cloudy Sunday. 

Then more rain again early next week.  It's not so bad - like I've mentioned before, it's sometimes nice in the rain.  Much quieter and more serene in the Park.  Weirdly enough, I saw two really nasty dog interactions this morning - both involving non-neutered, male, Standard poodles.  Both of them were on-leash when it happened.  In the first one, a friendly but really BIG yellow lab named Tebow ran up to the poodle to sniff it (butt first = good dog manners) - and the poodle FREAKED out.  Barking, growling, lunging, teeth bared.  Tebow ran off with his tail between his legs.  Then it happened again right in front of me on my walk back to the apartment.  Right at 3rd & 71st, a lady (she's weird - I see her every day and she's just weird), was walking her 3 poodles (1 standard, the other two are miniature - all are assholes), when an older boxer on-leash approached cautiously to sniff.  Again - unprovoked complete and utter freakout by all 3 (instigated by the big one).  Pretty unusual morning in that sense - usually the dogs in the Park are quite friendly with one another and there are very rarely fights.  Sofie was off leash in the first case but steered clear of that poodle. 

She's become a pretty good gauge of character.  She'll run up to some people - and completely ignore others.  There's one door man who always pets her too rough and she doesn't like him (it's embarrassing for me b/c he's such a nice guy).  There's also a nice boy who is mentally disabled who works unpacking the trucks up at Grace's Market.  He always tries to say hello to Sofie but she cowers, runs under my legs, and puts her tail between her legs. She's even more discriminating when it comes to dogs.  The other day a big, handsome, Rhodesian Ridgeback was just standing stark still in the middle of one of the lawns.  Sofie ran up at first as if to greet him, but then stopped about 15 feet away.  She looked nervously at the dog, wagged her tail, and then layed down on her belly.  The dog just stood stark still and stared her down (definitely aggression).  Sofie turned and, keeping her belly close to the ground, ran away.  She does this with dogs on the street, too.  Some dogs she tries to greet, some she pays no attention to.  She always tries to greet puppies, though.  She loves puppies (only dogs she can be dominant over). 

No new puppy pictures yesterday - Liz must have forgotten to send them.  I feel fairly certain she'll send out more this week, though, so I'll post them when she does. 

Have a great day!

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
Central Park East - 7:00am

Good morning!  Neither Sofie nor my most flattering shots but what the hell - it's indicative of the morning. 

Warm and humid when we left today.  Well - I suppose I should start even earlier than this.  When my alarm went off at 6am, I immediately turned over and reset it for 6:45am.  "Just 45 more minutes!  So tired!  I don't have to be at lab by 8:30! What's so bad about 9 or 9:30??"  Then Ben Franklin's old adage that my Dad always used to say to Sarah and I popped into my head, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a [wo]man healthy, wealthy, and wise."  Get up.  

Like I mentioned, it was humid and warm.  Sky was dark & ominous.  "Oh it'll just drizzle."  At first, it was a pleasant, refreshing rain.  Not a drizzle - actual raindrops - small & charming.  Nobody was out.  I was very much enjoying it until the apex of the walk (the point on the backside of the Great Lawn - far as possible away from the entrance I come in at).  Downpour.  "Well, I can't turn back now - might as well just enjoy it."  Enjoy it I did, until my pants got so soaked that they were dragging down.  Sofie was loving it - running into the tall grass - rubbing her face around in it.  Darting here and there chasing birds & squirrels.  The rain gets her very rambunctious.  I kind of get why, too.  There's something about the rain that always makes me kind of giddy.  I feel the same way about snow & sleet. 

Some of my best runs have been in the middle of summertime thunder-boomers, and one particular one I loved was during a sleeting mess at around 9pm in January.  There's something about the chaos and the elements that make you feel more alive.  Hands down the most beautiful run I ever went on was last summer - right before we left Manayunk to come here to NYC.  Early August.  HOT.  Left around 7pm.  As I ran, the sky became green, blue, black, yellow, purple - I watched it over the Skyulkill River.  Churning clouds.  Huge crashes of thunder.  Stripes of lightening - you know, that East Coast summer lightening that comes in veins instead of flashes.  Then it absolutely downpoured - and cooled me the hell off.  Sometimes I feel a little crazy running in rainstorms - sort of like when Lieutenant Dan came to visit Forrest Gump on the shrimpin' boat and went up to the top of the mast during the Hurricane and hooted & hollered until it was over.

Anyway....time to get ready for work now.  We should get 4 week pictures of the puppies today, so hopefully I'll be able to post them tomorrow. 

Have a great day!

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
Central Park East - 7:05am

Good morning!  My cell bio test yesterday went really well (in contrast to my last one - which almost gave me a nervous breakdown).  Sofie and I saw lots of friends in the Park today, despite the fact that it was on the brink of raining the whole time, blustery, and cool.  We met Logan, the flat-coated retriever, whom we hadn't seen in quite some time.  His lady, Susan has been going a different route to change things up.  He gave Sofie so many licks on her head that she looked drenched.  We also saw Isaac, the black miniature poodle,  Lacey, the tan french bulldog, and Hudson, the fat chocolate lab. 

Big day today - lab work, 2 classes, and lunch at Fatty Fish with my fellow first years - one of them has a boyfriend visiting from California that we all want to meet.  It's also his birthday so we got a cake.  Will be a good day today, I can feel it. 

Hope you have a great one, too. 

Monday, May 7th, 2012
Central Park East - 6:55am

Good morning!  Sorry about last Friday.  I had to skip out again because Friday morning was literally downpouring rain, thunder, and lightning.  In the top pic, Brian captured Sofie in her favorite new spot to sleep.  Aside from that I've got my big second Cell Bio test today so I'll leave this post brief and get off to work so I can have my Monday morning meeting w/ Carl - my PI before I leave for the test!

More to come this week :)

Have a great one!

Oh, and I forgot to post pictures of the little ones:  here is their 3 week picture!

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
Central Park East - 7:05am

Good morning!  The past week of rain has been getting a little old, but it was worth it this morning.  Central Park is absolutely so lush and green right now.  The trees, flowers, bushes, and grass are SO happy.  All of the lawns were closed for the winter - they don't like people running around on the grass when it's snowy and wet because it ruins the lawns for the rest of the year.  This week marked the first week that ALL of the lawns on my route were open for business - Sofie's pretty psyched about it.  It dramatically expands her squirrel and bird hunting territory.  She was doing the grossest thing today.  All the earthworms were out because it's so wet....you can see where I'm going with this.  So I look over and she's sort of pawing this thing and picking it up, dropping it, chomping a bit.  I go over to see what it is and it's this mangled, fat earthworm!  So gross!

In other news, our breeder is sending more pictures today - the pups are 3 weeks old now and eyes are fully open.  I'm excited to see.  Will post them tomorrow if she sends them. 

Have a great day!

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
Central Park East - 6:58am

Good morning!  Strangely dead in the Park this morning despite being pretty nice out - maybe the threat of rain?  It was glorious for me, though.  Didn't see one person until I crossed over to the backside of the Great Lawn. 

Enjoy the day!

The Blog Gods

Good Morning!  The Blog Gods were against me today.  In addition to the technology woes of today, I think we had a weather first.  Truly.  Unless I'm mistaken.

I woke up at 6am this morning and it was POURING.  Now I've said before that I like the rain.  It's true - I do like the rain.  It's nice - makes the air feel all nice and fresh.  Nobody is usually out in the Park so it's all quiet and you get some good zone-out time.  That type of rain does not include the downpour that was this morning.  So...I reluctantly went back to bed.  Now I'm not sure I've ever had bad enough weather to send me back to bed.  I've been sick, busy, overslept, etc...but I don't think weather has ever sent me back to bed.  That's actually pretty surprising considering I started this blog in September. 

So.....I
got up again at 7:15.  Made coffee, got oatmeal fixings out, showered, said goodbye to Brian and then walked Sofie her pitiful 2 laps round the block.  It was ok because it was still raining and she doesn't like hard rain, either.  She likes soft drizzle.  I still feel guilty when I have to do that because it's her only real time to run around off her leash during the day. 

I took a picture of the gloominess to post, but unfortunately I can't post it because I can't find my camera cord.  It's around here somewhere.  I was cleaning recently so I probably moved it somewhere thinking it was the iPod cord.  Blog Gods #2 = my computer was completely out of juice and I left the charger in lab.  So I'm typing this from Brian's computer now. 

I have class at 9:30 (the last class before I have my next Cell Bio test...eeek!).  However, I need my computer charger to plug in and take notes during clas (you may be rolling your eyes at my tech dependence.  It's true, I could just take handwritten notes.  The thing is, I type way faster than I write).  Who takes hand-written notes anymore???  So I somehow have to get into the lab before class, which is harder than it sounds.  For one, I have a key to the outer door, but not a key to the inner door.  That's great for when I want to get in the lab and stand in the hallway!  Not so good if I want to accomplish anything more than stare at the bulletin board and have a conical cup of water from the water cooler.  Hoping that someone is in before 9. (Unlikely since the boss is out of town). I then have a meeting at 11:45, work, then class again from 3:30-5. 

In addition to all that I'm feeling a little gross today.  I think it might have something to do with the fact that I had THREE adult beverages last night, coupled with absolutely no workout, and a massive delicious dinner. 

I think today is just a roll-with-the-punches type day. 

Here's to rainy days!