Zeus the Moose

It has arrived! I’ve been so excited about this “work of art” ever since I found it online. It’s the perfect compromise piece.

Here’s how it all started…Erik is a hunter and has grown up in a house with dead animal heads/horns on the wall. Now if it went with my décor, that would be one thing, but deer heads don’t really look right in a vintage/modern style bungalow house. I felt bad because I know our house is a little on the girly side. I lived there alone first, so I did what I wanted. By the time Erik moved in, there was no turning back. I had already gotten the hot pink rug, sparkly lamps, purple bedding, zig zag curtains, and had the walls painted turquoise. Poor guy. He’s been such a good sport about it. So when I found a white lacquered moose head, I knew it was the perfect “hunting” piece to compliment my style. Lulu didn’t know what to think about him at first. She had to growl and bark a little, but then she was fine.  

I don’t know if Erik agrees, but I think Zeus is the perfect solution to making our house a little more man-friendly!

Zeus the Moose has arrived!

Very masculine...

What man wouldn't love this?

Lulu loves my style!

Smarty Pants

I have been told by all the goldendoole owners/breeders I’ve met how smart their dogs are. Apparently the poodle golden retriever mix USUALLY produces highly intelligent dogs. Somehow Lulu missed the boat. My sweet girt, bless her heart, is a bit of an airhead. I can throw a toy while she’s watching me, it will land a few feet in front of us, and she still can’t find it! She’ll sniff around and I’ll have to walk right up to it before she sees it. Erik and I were throwing her squeaky in the backyard and she grabbed it to bring back to us, dropped it, got confused and came back empty handed. She looked at us and had a “duh” moment, and went back for the toy. Silly girl. She also has trouble figuring out which way doors open…doors that she goes in and out of everyday. She always stands on the wrong side so she has to do a little scoot dance when we’re trying to go through. Sometimes I’ll walk in the backyard with her, point to a squirrel or bird, and she’ll always run the opposite direction. I laugh every time. She knows what I’m saying and that I’m trying to show her something, she just can’t put it all together.

Now, when it comes to being sneaky, she’s practically Einstein. She will hide backyard contraband in her mouth, trot in like nothing is going on, and then she’ll disappear to her hiding spot to munch on whatever she’s not supposed to have. One day she was under my dresser and I bent down to pet her and she turned her head. I thought something was wrong. I got down and tried to see if she was ok and discovered she was hiding a ponytail holder in her mouth. 

When I try to give her pills, I’ll wrap them up in cheese or turkey, but she somehow manages to eat the food and spit out the pill.  She’ll even go so far as to pretend she ate her pill, run in the living room, and then spit it out when I’m not watching her. She’s also impossible to catch when she doesn’t want to come inside. My mom can call her lab and she’ll come like a good girl 90% of the time. Lulu will look at you when you say her name and make her “I’ll come in when I’m good and ready” face. This is not fun when it’s cold and rainy outside.

I guess she uses all her brain power to be mischievous. If she wasn’t so cute I would do a better job of getting on to her!

How can I get mad at this face?

Lulu, don't chew my uggs!

Lulu, get off the table!

Lulu, don't take that monkey outside!

Lulu, magazines aren't toys!

My dog listens so well!

Happy Birthday Dede!

Yesterday was my mom’s birthday, so we celebrated with dinner at Mike’s Place in Conway. My mom went by and picked up Lulu in the afternoon so she could enjoy a day of playing with her cousin Claire. They had a great time and were both sleepy dogs by the time we finished dinner. Thanks mom! Oh and good news…Lulu no longer has massive gas. She is back to her normal gas level and all healthy (minus the ear infection). If the weather is nice tomorrow, I think we will take a little trip to the dog park. She loves it there. She’s usually the smallest dog in the big dog area, but she gets along with everyone just fine!

Presents!

Lulu has no rules

Warning: Gas Mask Needed

If you are planning on stopping by my house, you may want to invest in a gas mask. Lulu Mitchell, bless her heart, must have eaten something nasty because her flatulence is out of control! I had a few friends over the other night and as soon as everyone walked in, what does she do? Rips a big one. It smelled awful. I'm trying not to be a hypochondriac mom and take her to the vet about it yet (we've already been once this week for an ear infection), but if she keeps this up something will have to be done! She's acting normal and we haven't changed her diet, so who knows what the culprit could be. It was so bad last night Erik and I had to pause American Idol and leave the room. Our house is pretty small, so it was hard to get away from the stench. My little baby sure knows how to clear a room!

It wasn't me, I swear!

Oops! Did I do that?

Lupo Ain’t Got Nothin’ on Lulu

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that William and Kate have adopted a black cocker spaniel puppy. They named him Lupo, which is the Latin word for Wolf. So that got me thinking, what does the name Lulu mean? After a brief google search, I can tell you that Lulu’s name is a diminutive of names beginning with Lu, most commonly, Luise, which comes from the French form of blah blah blah…the long and short of it, her name means “famous warrior”.  Stupid, I know. So I did another google search and found that Lulu means “Pearl” in Arabic. I like that much better! 

Back to Lupo- I know he’s the royal dog and all, but I bet Lulu has more toys than he does. And I doubt Wills and Katie let Lupo sleep in bed with them. He may get to take nicer vacations and he probably has a bigger security team than my girl, but she will always be treated like royalty while she's under my roof. 

Lupo

My little "Pearl"

The Royal Highness Riding in her Chariot 

The Return of Chicken

He’s baaack. A little while ago, my mom had gotten Lulu a rubber chicken toy that she absolutely loved. Naturally, we called him “chicken” (very creative name). She played with him all the time, so when his squeaker broke and his stuffing came out, she was very upset to say the least. Yesterday when we went to Conway for a visit, my mom had a big surprise for Lu…a brand new chicken! Lulu was so tired when we got home yesterday, she didn’t get a chance to play with him much. That all changed early this morning. I had forgotten the crazy noise he makes, but Lulu reminded me bright and early when she pounced on the bed with chicken in her mouth. As Erik said, it’s like waking up to a rooster crowing. I even made a video so everyone can hear what I got to hear at 6:45 a.m. Thanks mom!

The Gifts Just Keep Pouring In

If you know me at all, you know I make a big deal out of holidays. Birthday celebrations last at least a week, usually a month. I will never be too old to hunt Easter eggs (yes, I still do this), and my mom will never be too old to hide them for me. This will be Lulu's first Easter, so she will be hunting eggs too. I'll have to video that because I know it will be hilarious. Back to the point-my dad has always been a good gift giver, but since he married Sondi, he's mysteriously gotten a lot better. When I came home for lunch yesterday, I found a box waiting at the door with this inside:

Yep, that's our face on M&M's

What a lovely jar!

Lulu loves the holidays too! Just ask her monkey.

Thanks dad and Sondi! We love them. I'd also like to mention the card from my nephew Cole, the puzzle from Jessica and the wonderful surprises from my mom and Erik. Love you all! Thanks for making my Valentine's Day full of fun gifts, just the way I like it. Oh and if anyone is feeling left out, I'm still accepting presents!

Snow Dog

The weather in Arkansas is always weird, so I really wasn’t surprised when it was 60 degrees one day and snowed the next. Lulu, however, was super pumped! She thinks because the deck is covered in snow that it’s ok to just go ahead and pee on it. She’s a funny little thing. She also thinks she has to hurry and eat all the snow she can before it melts. That makes for some long walks! I wish it would snow again so I could take some more pictures.  I hope this post isn’t too boring. It’s kinda hard to follow up the “hump day” story.    

Hump Day! (pun intended)

It’s Wednesday (thus the hump day reference), but Lulu took the saying quite literally. She decided she loved my Valentine’s monkey sooo much; she wanted to take their relationship to the next level. And boy did she ever. I couldn’t keep her off of him! I know it’s kind of gross, but I had to take a picture because it was so funny. She would drag him around, sling him on her blanket, and then go to town. I had to separate them when I left for work this morning. At least she’s a happy dog!

Monkey Business

my silly girl!

Happy Heart Day!

I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day! When I got to work this morning, my sweet husband had a big surprise waiting for me at my desk. And when I say big, I mean BIG (see below). Of course I couldn’t wait to bring it home and see how Lulu would react. She loved it! She carried it around with her then she shook it as hard as she could. She tried to take him outside with her, but I had to put my foot down. When toys cross the threshold to the backyard, they rarely make it back inside in one piece. 

We put the monkey to work!

Lulu's new friend

My sweet girl

A dog's thought process

My friend that I work with (Megan) sent me this funny chart about a dog’s thought process when they come in contact with a new object. It’s definitely true for Lulu!

Delish!

Want to make me happy? Tell me you read my blog. Want to make me REALLY happy? Work at a fabulous bakery in Austin and tell me you read my blog!

I was ordering some sweets for Lauren’s bachelorette party from a really cool bakery in Austin called Delish. I had been emailing back and forth with them working on a design and I guess they noticed the link to my blog in my email signature. When I called to place my order, they told me that had just looked at my blog AND they have a goldendoodle too! 

Apparently Delish is a pretty big deal. Fedex even made a commercial about them!  In my mind, that definitely makes them famous…so now I can say someone famous has read my blog : )

I can’t wait to see how my cupcakes turn out. Lulu wishes Delish made cupcakes for doggies too! For now she’ll have to make due with her toy one. 

My sweet little cupcake

Super Husband

I figure it's about time I give a shout out to my wonderful husband. He puts up with my crazy obsession with our dog, my online shopping addiction, my laid-back attitude towards housekeeping, my mood swings and nagging...and he rarely complains (I sound like a real dream, don't I?)! He always takes good care of Lu and I, and he gets up early to walk her every morning so I can sleep in. Thanks babe, you're the best!

"My pack"

Sitting at her daddy's feet as usual

R.I.P. Hedgie

Hedgie the hedgehog has seen his final days. Lu got him for Christmas, and he was an instant favorite. He had the weirdest sounding squeaker and he was almost too big for Lu to fit in her mouth (she loves a challenge). Lu always brought Hedgie to the door when I got home, and she always carried him outside with her on potty breaks. Some mornings we would wake up and Hedgie would be in the bed with us. He was a good toy. After she chewed a tiny hole in his back, it was over. Stuffing was everywhere. I even tried to pull most of it out so she wouldn't eat it, but she could still manage to find more. I swear there was enough stuffing in him to make 5 pillows! I'm not going to tell you how much I paid for him, because I know it's ridiculous to spend that much on dog toys. The only reason I bought him is because Lu was with me at PetCo when I spotted him, and she said she had to have him. What kind of mother would I be if I told her no? (Obviously I should never have kids.)

Now he's just an empty shell.

"Who me? I didn't do it"

Super Bowl Sunday

I planned a big party for the Super Bowl with themed food and everything. We had a gourmet hot dog station, cheese fondue, a few other dips and I even attempted to make deviled eggs*. Only one problem…I forgot to tell anyone! I had been planning the party for weeks, and never really got around to inviting any of my friends until it was too late. Luckily, my husband had passed the word along to his friends, so my hard work didn’t completely go to waste.

Lulu loves it when all the boys come over. Everyone gives her lots of attention. She’s not shy either. I think she sat in everyone’s lap at one point during the evening, whether they wanted her there or not! Of course all the excitement wore her out, so she had to take a little break during the game. She was not being very ladylike, as you’ll see in the pictures below!

*my mother misinformed me as to the amount of mustard that one should use when making deviled eggs. Let me just tell you, ½ tbsp. is a lot different that ½ cup. Thanks mom! 

At least they looked pretty!

She has no shame!

I just figured out how to add captions to pictures! Yay!

Bad Dog

Every time I leave the house in the morning, my perfect little angel looks at me and promises she'll be good. Then I come home at lunch and find this:

She also punishes me if I leave anything out in her area while I'm gone. Yesterday, my new Ugg house shoes were the victims. I can't say I blame her because the fur on them does look and feel a lot like the stuffing in her toys. Luckily, she didn't mess them up too badly (or I caught her before she could do more damage)! 

Hipstamatic

If you're like me, this is exactly how you feel about buying apps:

Love it! I really only download the free apps. HOWEVER, for Hipstamatic, I made an exception. It was a good call. Any app that can help a horrible photographer like me take beautiful pictures like these is well worth $1.99: