Angela Law

animal lover, gardener, knitter, and gourmet cook
 
motorcycles

party in the valley

I guess it was more of a party on the hill kind of day, but whatever–the title goes better with this weekend’s theme. We were invited to two parties today. We must be popular. Or something.

Our first party of the day was thunder-themed. Jake’s babysitter and her husband throw a Thunder in the Valley party each year. The husband is a biker and they have the party so that all of their biker friends can have a good meal before going downtown to enjoy the festivities (rather than having to buy the overpriced food downtown). We hung out there for a few hours and then headed home to feed the dogs and let them out before our next party.

The next party was at my boss’s house. He’s thrown quite a few parties in the past few years and they’re always a blast. It doesn’t matter what time you show up–you’re guaranteed to have some fun. Unfortunately, I was this evening’s designated driver, so I didn’t have as much fun as I sometimes do, but it was still a good time. He made a couple of recipes from my repertoire this evening and I even helped with some of the cooking.

After that party, we came home and walked the dogs (exercise, exercise, each and every day) and then got ready to go downtown to check out a band. Unfortunately, the band we went to see wasn’t playing (as it turns out, Brian had the wrong stage earmarked for the event), but we still had a good time checking out all of the people and bikes. Then we headed home because it was time for a drink.

motorcycles

thunder in the valley

Brian and I took the day off so we could spend the afternoon downtown. We mostly walked around and checked out the bikes. We also watched the Balls of Steel Stunt Team do their stuff. Jake really enjoyed that. There was supposed to be an Orange County Choppers display in the War Memorial, but it was quite disappointing because they only had one bike on display. There were a bunch of other vendors set up there, but nothing particularly interesting. On our way out we caught the beginning of the Purrfect Angelz show. I could’ve done without that.

pets, work

jobs & dogs

I’ve been full-time for a little over a week and already it sucks. Actually, the days I work at home aren’t too bad because I get off at 3:30, which is only 30 minutes later than I used to get off work, but the days I go to the office, I’m there till 5:00 and that really sucks. I know I’m not going to get any sympathy from anyone, but I feel better for having complained. Plus, I’m freaking tired all of the time because I have to get up an hour earlier. It’s like I moved to another time zone or something. I guess I’ll adjust to it sooner or later. To top things off, I’m technically only working 32 hours a week for the first four weeks of my foray into full-time because I’ve (coincidentally) scheduled a day off for the first three weeks and then there’s the 4th of July… So, I guess this is a good way to ease into things, though it doesn’t feel like I’m easing into anything, even with the days off.

The dogs are doing pretty well. Lizzy finally stopped her constant sneering at Alice. And, you can tell that Lizzy is more relaxed around her, so I’m no longer worrying about whether they’ll get along or not. Lizzy was still pretty crabby on Saturday. Unfortunately for her, I started watching the Dog Whisperer a few weeks ago, so I picked up some tips. I wouldn’t say she’s the perfect dog, but she’s much improved since I started using his techniques. I’m truly amazed. Plus, I’ve been exercising the crap out of them. Daily walks for everyone. I’m sure this was a key to my success. Brian is not always available to walk the dogs with me, so a lot of times, I have to take one of the dogs for a walk, then the other. I wasn’t counting on all of this exercise. I suppose it won’t hurt me, though it might be a contributing factor to my exhaustion. All in all, I’m pretty pleased with the new addition to our family.

weekend updates

father’s day

Despite the heat, it was a nice afternoon. My parents came over for a cookout today (Brian’s parents spent the weekend in New York at his sister’s place). I made a ton of food. Well, I got a bunch of food ready, and Brian grilled it. (that’s what Dads are supposed to do on Father’s Day, right?) We had lamb chops, bacon-wrapped chicken, and sweet Italian sausages for the main course. Everything was pretty good. I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it, so I guess it’s about time for supper.

After my parents left, Brian went for a short ride on his bike because today is Father’s Day and that’s what he wanted to do. He worked in the woodshop for a little bit after he got home from his ride and now he’s at the usual Sunday band practice. After practice is over, we’ll walk the dogs, I’ll hang outside in the garden for a bit and then get ready for tonight’s tv viewing of Deadwood and Entourage. Then, that’ll be it for the weekend. Where did it go?

pets

dogs

It’s been a doggy kind of week. I ended up taking yesterday off because I couldn’t get an appointment with the groomer and the vet at a decent time. Not that I’m complaining. But, at least the house doesn’t stink anymore. And, it doesn’t take much to twist my arm into taking a day off.

Even though Alice snores like a drunk guy who smokes, we’ve been letting her sleep in our bedroom (Lizzy sleeps in Jake’s room). At first, the snoring kept me up, but then I learned to live with it.

The thing I like about her the most is that I have to wake her up in the mornings. That’s a new experience for me. This is what she looks like when she sleeps. How cute is that? Too bad I can’t attach a sound file, then you could experience the snoring for yourself. It’s so loud, I can barely think to type…

Alice is turning out to be my first good dog decision. Not only is she housetrained, she is probably the sweetest dog on the planet. She walks better on a leash than any of the other dogs we have owned. She already follows the “where do you go when we’re eating” rule. She gets along with every creature in the house. She likes Asiago cheese, but not Fontina (there’s no accounting for taste). I just can’t believe that she was at the shelter for a couple of months. Everyone who passed her up was evidently nuts.

Not unexpectedly, Lizzy was less than thrilled with her new sister. She hasn’t been that bad, but I’ve been keeping a close eye on things because Lizzy and Ripley had the occasional fracas and that is something I’d rather not repeat. We’ve been exercising the dogs daily because a tired dog is a good dog. I’ll take this as a good sign.