New Blog Address

My life has changed so drastically that I don't feel right about using this blog address anymore. My new blog can be found at www.complicatedidealist.blogspot.com.

Happy Birthday Molly!

Molly, Brett and Matt

Jay and Sadie

Happy (belated) Birthday to my best friend Molly!!!!! She has caught up to me once again! Molly is a fantastic mom to Jay and Brett! They are lucky to have her! These pictures were taken in early July. Don't Jay and Sadie look like they're up to something?

A Great Weekend

Dad at the barbeque.

Mom at the barbeque.

Zoe leaps for joy after chasing a rabbit.

The girls playing.

My mom and dad joined Joey and me for a good old-fashioned bbq at my house on Saturday. After the bbq we went to the art show that was on the courthouse lawn. There are some very talented artists in Corvallis! After trying to convince my parents to come to the Benton County Fair with Joey and me, they declined. My parents are not "fair" people. I think that they would have rather poked needles in their eyes than come to the fair with us. But I am telling you, the fair was AWESOME!!!! It was awesome for two reasons: the lion and the funnel cake. There was a booth that allowed people to hold a baby lion for a mere $10.00!!!!! Of course, I jumped at the chance. Joey and I sat down and they asked who wanted to hold her. Naturally, I raised my hand and Joey pointed to me. She was adorable and a bit wiley. I think that she was getting a little cranky. I held her like a baby and she tried to bite me. I actually wanted her to bite me because how many people can say that they have been bitten by a lion? Alas the helper got to her mouth just milliseconds before the bite. Oh well, maybe next time. After thoroughly washing our hands (I think that Joey did more washing than me even though I was the one holding her), we got the most amazing funnel cake ever. It was delicious. It was a caramel supreme, but we added chocolate. Then there was whipped cream piled on top of it. It was to die for. I completely forgot my camera so I don't have a picture of the funnel cake. A picture of Joey and I with the lion cub was taken by the people at the booth, but I'm not sure how to post a picture that's not on a disk. Any ideas anyone? The bottom two photos were taken Sunday night at the girls favorite park. Zoe loves the dog park as much as Sadie loves the beach.

The Uninvited Guest

A smiling Sam.

Amy and her boys.

Best friends - John and Charlie.

I returned to Amy's house unannounced last night. On Tuesday, Amy told me to stop by anytime. I think that she might live to regret those words! Amy's house is on my way home from work since I take Kings Valley Highway to get from Salem to Philomath.

Meet Alice!

Alice checking out her new home.

A very tire Alice hits the hay.

I got Alice on July 9th. She is extremely cute and feisty! She and my one year-old cat Emma play together constantly. I think that watching kittens play should be the prescribed therapy for people who are overly stressed.

Lunch With My Idol

Carla

Carla's view from her Palm Springs home.

This is the second year that all of us girls went down there.

I went to lunch with Carla today. Carla is the person whom I most aspire to be like. She is in one word, exquisite. A lot of people would probably assume that I admire her for her possessions. This is not the case. It is true that she has all of the worldly possessions that we all strive for, but what I admire most about her is her intelligence and fantastic personality. She is the an excellent attorney and everyone that knows her respects her. A lot of powerful women are known as being cut-throat and female dogs (you know what I mean). Carla has the reputation of knowing what she wants and then works her tail off to get it. She is always prepared for court and speaks in such a way that emotes confidence and trust. I often ask her for advise on some of my cases. I am so lucky to have someone like her in my life.

"The Girls"

A very sandy and happy Sadie

Sadie Swimming in the bay.

Zoe at the beach.

Sadie and Zoe at Bayshore.

Although I don't have any children, I do have "the girls." As most of you already know "the girls" consist of my golden retriever Sadie and my standard poodle Zoe. They are my pride and joy. They go practically everywhere with me and are quite spoiled. I try to take them on at least one fun trip every month. A couple of weekends ago I took them to one of our favorite places - the Bayshore Beach in Waldport. {When I was growing up we had a beach house in Bayshore and going there brings back a lot of fond memories.}

It was a gorgeously sunny day, but it was a little windy. Sadie, in particular, loves the beach. Zoe likes it well enough because she gets to run after sea gulls and meet other dogs, but Sadie absolutely lives for the beach. I think it's because she knows that she gets to do two of her most favorite things - swim and play with her ball. You see, she and I have a routine. I dig a hole in the sand, Sadie sticks her ball in the hole, I cover the hole up with sand, Sadie digs the ball out of the sand and gives it to me, I throw the ball in the water, Sadie swims out and gets the ball, comes back to me and sticks the ball in the hole, I then cover the ball, etc. It's very amusing. You should see her reaction when I break the routine! It's as if she's saying, "what are you doing? That's not how it goes!" One of my favorite things about the beach that we go to is how many sea lions are there to greet us. When Sadie swims out to retrieve her ball, often times there are sea lions popping up around her eyeing her with immense curiousity.