We're goin' to Grandma's!

We're leaving today (hopefully nice and early this afternoon) to head to Toledo to introduce Delilah to her paternal grandparents....ha. They're the only members of the immediate family that have yet to meet her. I think they're going to love her just as much as the rest of us. She's really had a great week this week. She's really starting to get into our work routine and knows what's expected of her at night, too....she's been making a habit of going into her cage by herself when it's bedtime, which is awesome--we just tell her to go to bed, and she climbs into her little den and plays with some of her toys until she falls asleep--no more whining at night! It's great! She also has discovered two things around the house that amuse her--the doorstops, which she loves to swat with her paws and then follow with her eyes, and the registers by the front door and the back door. Whenever the heat is coming out, she loves to go lay on top of them to get warm. It's quite funny, actually. She came with me last night to pick Gary up from work, so she got to meet some of our co-workers. That was pretty fun. I hope she does as well on the five hour car ride tonight as she did when we were traveling during the holidays. I'll post an update next week.

In other news, we actually got to see a Purdue basketball game last night! I found out they were playing Minnesota and that it was going to be broadcast on ESPN2, so Gary and I had a dinner date at WEGZ, the sports bar that's really close to our house. It's not just a sports bar, it is the mecca of all sports bars, complete with a ticker running around the bar with all of the up-to-the-minute news and scores, off-track betting, indoor golf simulators, an area to play RockBand, great food, huge screens everywhere, and a TV in every booth that can be tuned to nearly any sporting event imaginable. We asked if they had the game, and they special ordered it to our TV. We got to see it and hear Bobby Knight announcing, which Gary got a huge kick out of, especially when he took his headset off and started yelling at the infamous Ed Hightower for a bad call! Now THAT'S entertainment. It was a great game, and a huge win for my Boilers! Yahoo!!

Check out this article from the Washington Post regarding the trash created at the inauguration...I found it fascinating! There are so many elements that aren't thought about when a crowd of 1.8 million gathers for something historic--trash being one of them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012103900.html

If you're in the area, check out this bar: http://www.wegz.com/

Oh, yeah--congrats to our new first family!!

Isn't it ironic.....?

That Martin Luther King, Jr. Day falls on the eve of the inauguration of our first black president? Ok, so I bashed the whole inauguration process yesterday because I think it's way too extravagant, but if all of that is set aside and you really stop and think about what is going to happen tomorrow at 11:59AM.....it's kind of amazing. In a way, it represents pretty much everything that MLK stood for, and I can only imagine the pride and excitement he would have felt if he were alive to see what will happen tomorrow.....will you be watching?

This picture was done by a street artist named Shepard Fairey. It is going on display in the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery this week. I think it's a very relevant picture to post today.

Happy MLK Day, everyone.

PS: If you get a chance, you really should check out Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport. It is a picture biography (illustrated by Bryan Collier, who is AMAZING--the picture above is the front cover---just a picture, no words) of MLK and was great when I read it to my third grade class in my former teaching life. It won many awards, and rightfully so. It tells his story well and in a way that people of all ages can understand. It highlights the "I Have a Dream" speech, as well as other memorable quotes, and sends out a great message about MLK's legacy. READ IT! :)

Does this bewilder anyone but me?

An article from Yahoo News published on Saturday, January 17, 2009:

"As the recession continues to wreak havoc on the U.S. economy and inauguration celebrations ramp up, a lot of people are asking: "How much will this shindig cost?"

The short answer? More than $150 million — and yep, that's the most expensive ever. (By comparison, George W. Bush's 2005 inauguration cost $42.3 million. Bill Clinton managed with $33 million in 1993.)

For the first time, President Bush has declared an emergency in Washington, D.C. to supplement the $15 million Congress has already allotted for security measures. It's no surprise that security costs are sky-high — Barack Obama received Secret Service protection very early in his presidential run and record crowds (likely anywhere from 1.5 to 3 million people) are expected for the record number of events. In fact, the Secret Service will be in charge of security not just for inauguration day, but for four days, starting Saturday with Obama's train ride from Philadelphia.

Obama's much-discussed (and very cool-looking) custom Cadillac limo certainly couldn't come cheap, though we'll never really know how much it cost. Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell said the car's exact specifications are a big secret, including the safety features and production cost."

Wanna know my opinion on the whole thing? Yes, it's exciting that we're electing our first African-American president, yes, it's great that he's got the support of so many celebrities and so many Americans (myself being one), and I guess this inauguration is a once-in-lifetime thing, but WOW....isn't that a big extravagant? I don't remember there ever being huge concerts and rallies and "inauguration tours" like there have been for this one. I just think that with all of the recession stuff going on and the major economical issues the U.S. is in the middle of, and the fact that we owe pretty much every nation on the planet some money, I think the money could be used in a more sensible fashion. There are supposedly funds set up for all of this, ok, fine.....but it still just seems a little bit crazy to me. Am I wrong in thinking this? A lot of the money is going towards security, but I still can't understand how 150 million dollars can be spent like that over the course of a few days and nothing is thought of it. 150 million is a lot of money. Oh well, I'll never understand why some things are the way they are or how some things can be justified when there is so much stuff going wrong.

It snowed JUST a little bit last night....

And it's still going! We've had to shovel out a spot for our poor dog three times, and she went out earlier today to check out the neighbors shoveling, and the snow went up over her neck! At least today it's 31 degrees and not -10!! Keep snowing, keep snowing!

PS: As you can see in the pictures above, our houses are pretty close together, EH?

The mystery of the flipped ear---solved!

The ears of Boston Terriers are supposed to stand up on their own as they get a little older....around the 3-4 month time frame. Delilah's are starting to stand up more often, usually when she's listening for something or we're talking to her, but even when they stand, her left ear, as I mentioned previously, won't stand up all the way. I've heard horror stories of people taping their dogs' ears up if they wouldn't stand--NO THANK YOU--, and I wanted to see if there was a reason why Delilah's ear was a little floppy. Well, as it turns out, when Boston puppies are teething (right around now for Delilah), their ears sometimes won't stand up completely. As soon as the teething process is done, her ears should be super straight. It didn't explain what the link is between their ears and their teeth....I wonder what it is? I just thought that was pretty interesting.



Considering how cold it has been here over the past couple days, (-9 F was the low!!!!) she's doing great about going outside. When she does get cold, though, I can tell right away because she starts doing a little dance--she alternates which paws she stands on with one or two in the air because her feet are so cold! A friend from work is supposed to be hooking us up with some dog booties that his Shih Tzu won't wear....(Gary is thrilled about that, HA...he already hates when I put her in her cute little sweater!)

Update: Now they're both flipped!! She looks like a goof, but it's kinda cute!

She's growing up so fast!

New pictures to illustrate the cuteness that is our little Delilah...she's getting so big! She was at the vet on Monday for booster shots and her kennel cough vaccine, and they weighed her, and she's up to 10.5 pounds already! She's gained almost 2 pounds since Christmas Day! I guess she's eating well. Her ears are starting to stand up a lot more (not in these pictures though). The tip of her left ear still likes to flip backwards. When her ears are standing up, she doesn't look like a puppy anymore. She's trying to adjust to being in her crate for 4 hours at a time while we're at work, and she's doing quite well. We're very proud parents, as if you couldn't tell! :)

Concert season is approaching....YAY!

As you may or may not know, I have a very eclectic taste in music. I'll listen to anything from Mozart to Ozzy Osbourne to Johnny Cash to New Kids on the Block...there are very few artists that I haven't heard of or don't like. Music is so refreshing to me, I love the creativity that musicians are capable of, especially the ones who are able to write their own music AND lyrics.

Next month is a big month for concerts for me....two in a month! As our Valentine's Day gift to each other, Gary and I got concert tickets for Brad Paisley (Dierks Bentley is opening!) for a show in Hamilton on February 13th. I've seen Brad before, at Purdue, and he was amazing! He is a wonderful guitar player. Gary really likes Dierks Bentley too, so hopefully it will be a good show.

Brad Paisley

Brett Dennen

On the following Monday, I got us tickets to Brett Dennen--he's playing downtown at the Mod Club. He's more of an acoustic musician...he sounds a lot like Tracy Chapman--and his lyrics are genius. He's not an artist that a lot of people have heard of, but he's been on the Noteworthy Artists lists on VH1 and in Rolling Stone magazine, and a couple of his songs have been on commercials and as background music on some TV shows. What I love about artists like him is that they aren't very well known but very talented, so they can play the really small and intimate venues where you can really hear their music, and the best part about it is that the tickets are dirt cheap. It was the same way when I saw Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles last February....although they've kinda made a names for themselves since then, so it will probably never be that way again.

Sara Bareilles

I'm super stoked because I just found out that Adele is going to be in Detroit in March, so I'm going to do the best I can to get to that show....I missed her when she was in TO in June because it was right around my wedding, so I'm hoping that I can get off work or something that day and go, because she's amazing. Guster's putting out a new album this year as well, and are supposedly going on tour, and they are my FAVORITE, so I'm hoping they come back to Toronto, because that was my favorite concert of all time! If you think I'm nuts and have never heard of any of the people I'm talking about, please please please do yourself a favor and check them out, they are so talented and their music really has the power to put you in a good mood!

Adele

Links to all of my faves:

http://www.bradpaisley.musiccitynetworks.com/

http://www.dierksbentley.com/

http://www.brettdennen.net/

http://www.ingridmichaelson.com/

http://www.sarabmusic.com/

http://www.adele.tv/

http://www.guster.com/

A new arrival!!

We've had an addition to our extended family!!

My cousin Cara and her husband Alex welcomed Aiden Gerald Selig on January 2nd. He weighed 7lbs 8oz and was 20in long. This is the best pic I have as of now, since Gary and I had already left Huntington when he was born! I was hoping Cara would have him Christmas Day or on my birthday, but I guess the 2nd works out too. From what I know, both mom and baby are doing fine, and I can't wait to meet him! Congrats to Cara and Alex!

I got my Christmas wish!

Happy New Year! Sorry it's been so long, but the holidays tend to get really busy!

First, the highlight of my break........

On December 23rd, much to my surprise, I was greeted by this little face after coming out of the bathroom at my parents' house.

I had been there for 15 minutes or so, and nothing seemed different, there was no sign of a dog, and then, all of a sudden, she just appeared. I was so surprised and her tail was wagging so fast and she was licking my face so vigorously that all I could do was cry. Her name is Delilah, she is the sweetest little thing, and even though we've only had her for a couple of weeks, she is already a part of the family. I'm sure this blog will be flooded with pictures of her cute little snorty mug from this day forward. She's still very much a puppy, but she is already learning to come when her name is called, she knows how to sit, and she is the master of playing fetch with any of her numerous toys. The only thing I don't like is when we have to leave her to go somewhere, especially to go to work, because we have to leave her for so long. I guess it's a good thing that we live so close, because we're able to go home for lunch on most days to let her out of her crate to do her business and release some of that never-ending puppy energy.

We had the most wonderful holiday. Our last day of work was the 19th of December, upon which we took off in a blizzard to go to Toledo for Ruppert Christmas at my sister-in-law Beth's house on Saturday morning. It was great to get the family together....we had a great time with the kids and experimenting with my father-in-law's Christmas present--A Nintendo Wii, complete with the Wii Fit. We had lots of laughs when we were trying to have a hula-hoop competition...that's tiring, let me assure you! We were there until the 23rd, just spending time with family---one of the highlights was when Gary and I took our nephew Luke bowling. He's only five, but with the help of some bumpers, he was able to beat his uncle and aunt in the first game we bowled. That made his day!

We spent from the 23rd to the 28th with my parents in Indiana. I got to see two of my best friends in the whole world, Jami and Abby on Christmas Eve Day. It was great to get a chance to catch up with them, especially because I got to see Abby's growing belly!

We had the usual Christmas Eve festivities with my dad's side of the family, went to midnight mass, and then spent Christmas Day at my grandma and grandpa's. We had a great time with everyone there, and I got one of the most meaningful birthday gifts EVER from my grandma--a painting of our barn Up North that she painted based on a picture that I took. It is something that I will treasure forever!! It looks just like the picture, and the fact that she had it framed in barn wood gives it even more character! We also had the chance to introduce Delilah to some of her cousins....Sydney had a great time holding Delilah while she slept.

After some other fun get-togethers, it was off to the cabin Up North for New Year's.....Delilah did great on her first long car ride and survived her first night in the cabin like a trooper, considering that there was NO POWER so we had to have fires to heat us and gas lamps for light! The Losees came up for a few days, and their friends Dan and Tracy came soon after with their two boys, which made for a cabin full, but it was fun. Everyone got along great and Delilah definitely enjoyed all of the company. We saw a lot of deer and had fun snowmobiling, even though some of the days were very cold!

We ended up coming back to Canada a couple days early to get Delilah acclamated to her new home, and so far, she's doing great! It was nice for Gary and I to have some time to catch up after constantly being on the road for almost three weeks. We made a big pot of chicken noodle soup and just vegged out in front of the TV while the laundry was being done (there's a LOT of laundry to do when you're gone that long, and I even did some at my parents' house!)

Now we're back to the real world......working all week, enjoying lazy weekends (hopefully, we haven't had our first weekend home yet!) I kind of like the winter for that reason...the weather makes us almost have to stay around here or avoid major traffic snarls. Once spring comes, I'm sure we'll be on the road again quite frequently!!