how i spent my holiday break

cuddled up. by the fire. and zola sitting on my lap. waiting for santa. she is getting so big. 88 lbs. but i think she is done growing.

wink

happy monday. i found this picture of baby zola. when downloading others from mother's camera. i thought it was the funniest thing. helped brighten up my case of the mondays.

meow

i have opened my heart to a kitty. yes. yes. as many times as i repeat on here. that i do not like cats. i will admit there are a few that i have learned to love. i am an animal lover after all. the kitty is chairman mao. and he only deserves to be called by his full name. he is very active. yet innocent. he likes to play. and entertains himself for hours with a small piece of paper. i think what has always turned me off about cats. is that they act like they dont care if you are there or not. they will survive on their own. and of course they hiss. ick. but chairman mao. he likes me. lets me pick him up. he is very soft. and only has sweet little meows. but the one thing i dont understand. is the purring thing. he sleeps on the pillows above my head. and it sounds like a motor. if he rotates or moves from one side to the other. i can hear the motor move. it is very odd. i was a little worried how i would be able to handle ten days sitting for a new kitty at one of my usual houses. it has turned out to be a-okay.

i still prefer his older brother. bibo, the nutty doberman. he is a goofy, loveable dog. just like zola. or zolita. who wouldnt love a face like this (see picture below). when i saw her over the weekend. after our greeting time. she sat on my lap for awhile. so happy and content. mother says its because i carried her around when she was a puppy. just like a baby she says. i replied back. its because she was a baby. duh. (chairman mao is not as photogenic. as shown below).



the iphone is going great. thanks for asking. i admit. it was a bit whelming. when the apple guy told me i was a rock star. handed me a box. and i was alone. standing there. with this new. fancy. schmacy phone. and little knowledge on what to do next. i of course spent all afternoon. evening. (until joj arrived. and we found her a wedding dress the next day. whoot!) and the rest of the weekend. familiarizing myself. i have found that i think my little mac laptop is on the fritz. i cant upgrade my itunes to be compatible with the iphone. without upgrading my whole system. this seems to not be something the computer likes. so i am letting smart people take a look. and give me a verdict. fingers crossed.

hair, hair everywhere

with the nice weather. seeming here to stay. i hope. i drove with the sunroof open. (i love sunroofs. i dont want to ever own a car without). ingrid michaelson blaring. to visit the beloved parents. and zola suh. she now has an official middle name. it happened awhile back. during college football season. after our favorite husker player. Ndamukong Suh. he is a true. bad. and ass. and so after a defensive touchdown. where he shoved the quarterback into the grass while trying to tackle suh. it seemed only right. to keep the tradition of naming her after suh. cory was named after cory schlesinger. and have i ever mentioned that the family really are huskerfanatics. why yes. yes we are.

as soon as i walked in. zola went crazy. tail wagging. body wiggling. and jumping. she then jumps into my arms. and wants me to hold her. although its mainly holding her upper body. and is content for seconds, while i pet her belly. and she gives me kisses. while there i cleaned out my vehicle. and captured these gems below. she was tired from her long morning walk. and insisted on sitting on all my seats. while i tried to clean. and vacuum. out my car. it still has dog hair in it. but with all my other doggies that i let ride. i dont think the hair will ever leave. she is calming down some. still very petite. and likes me to sit with her on the floor while she chews her bones.

first christmas

zola loved christmas. not only did she get a new baby lamb named ba-ba. that did in fact make baaaing noises. (she cried the first couple of times the lamb made noises. zola was trying her best to comfort the lamb. while chewing and tearing off her wool. ba-ba after two days. no longer makes noises.). santa also brought her a long doggy. like the one from the petsmart commercials. this is her second. the first i named bruno. (granny's husband). and the new one is skip. (his son - or bruno jr.). the head and the bum make noises. so it is best when zola can put both in her mouth to squeek.

the best part of christmas for zola was of course. what everyone else got. all the paper to tear. boxes to chew. ribbons to run with. new slippers to steal. it was an evening of paradise.

after one of her naps. when she is still sleepy. and sweet. before the demon comes out fully. i tied a bow around her little neck. and let her into the room with the tree. for a photo opp. as featured below. it is normally off limits. with a baby gate. just like the stairs to my bedroom. i like to think she sings stairway to heaven. when she sits at the bottom. and barks. and cries for me to come get her. we tried having her sleep with me. but with all the new scents. and items to inspect. in the dark. it was too much. so trotted back to mom and dad. only to wake me in the morning. with little puppy kisses. followed by nibbles. and then paws.

superstar

the weekend began with a trip to the sprint center arena. i was invited and extended a free ticket to the janet jackson concert. and i gladly accepted. i was a little worried about knowing her new songs. most of my favorites are from her early albums. control. rhythm nation. and my all time favorite janet. it was a 2 hour long. non stop. high energy. show. well until the uncomfortable s&m section. no details as this is a family suitable blog. and its monday morning. cant start the week off with such things. my favorite was actually the end. she played 'if' and 'rhythm nation'. back to back. i was so excited. and happy. and it was pretty amazing. we then went across the street. to a bar where they played janet songs all night. i danced a lot. and even with a second string back-up dancer for ms. jackson. he pretty much asked me why i didnt join the tour.

i needed a day to recover. watch football. and then prepare for my mini me's 5th bday party. when i asked her what she wanted last week. her response. a guitar. i found one. it was perfect. down fall. it was hannah montana. that little slut. i really try not to support things like that. but i guess i am realizing. it is hard to not. its purple. and i got the one that didnt have hm's name plastered on it. well not as big. but madeline loved it. and i know she will use it to become a little superstar. as thats what she wants to be. and her mom gave me permission to be her stage mom. so i can live vicariously in the stands. and do all the routines. and mouth the words.

the party was a success. it was cowgirl/western themed. so i wore my boots. and canadian tuxedo. with a nice flannel top. i was in charge of game time. with 11 little cowgirls. and one cowboy. i made a cowboy face/head out of construction paper for the bean bag toss. the children did not stay at the invisible start line. and by the end were just standing at the end of the wood. throwing the bags as hard as their little arms could toss. it was out at a farm. so in between. snacks. games. cake. opening presents. they also found throwing and playing in the free leaves was just as fun. it was very windy. and bit chilly. but we luckily had a coral/table area in the sun. the second game was a pinata. i started off spinning the kids. but this only resulted in them getting dizzy and coming toward me with the bat. that stopped. then the kids werent hitting as hard with the bandanna over their eyes. so we ditched that. left them swinging away. no success. so i had to take over. the horse was stubborn. i even kicked it with my cowgirl boots. i finally just ripped it open with my man hands. and the kids went crazy. except for the one difficult child. who didnt like the chips earlier. she only likes sunchips. and didnt want any of the candy. because it wasnt her favorite. she went home empty handed. her choice.

and now. for my own little super star. zola. the wonder dog. i went for my weekly visit. to play. and see how much she has grown. she still loves sitting on my lap. and likes to be held. zola also likes biting my face. and chewing anything i have on my feet. or even sweatshirts. i think she is finally responding to her name. either that or she knows to listen to my mom. one of her favorite things is to just sit out in the front yard and watch. watch the neighbors. and listen. luckily they live on a squar-desac. although it is not fenced in. she doesnt run off. and scratches at the door when she wants to come back in. i tried my hardest to have some good shots with the pumpkins. but she was being awnry during that time. so the shot below is through the glass front door.

growin'

zola is growing like a weed. or a puppy. i got to visit her twice this weekend. and i love the feeling. when i do see her. she remembers me. and its like i never left. although she is getting so big. that my favorite past time with her. when she lays on my lap while chewing a rawhide. or my fingers. is becoming a little difficult. she is too big. she falls off after a few minutes. and can usually only have one half of her little body on my legs.

her adventures continue. she is now staying out in the backyard all day long. the igloo home that cory snubbed majority of the time. zola has taken a liking to. that or she found it a good hiding place for loud noises. she is very sacred of lawn mowers. motorcycles. possibly her own shadow.

we washed my car. and zola had a battle with the hose. it was a game to bite the water. and then flip her body around mid air. and run around like a crazy girl. i think the water won. she was soaked at the end. we also went for a car ride. a little difficult with my stick shift. but i managed to hold on. as she likes to basically hang all the way out the window. and i dont trust her. she is still too daring to not jump. no pictures from our real adventures. but here are some of her during 'sweet time'. i staged the pig. the three legged pig. it was her first baby. i should have started this earlier. to help capture her growth. and yes. pat lets her on the sofa. (i didnt think this was going to happen. thats what she said.) zola is a little spoiled puppy. but well behaved i might add. she already knows how to sit. working on more commands soon. and her name.

z-girl

zola is growing. and growing. every weekend when i go to visit. she just surprises me on how much she has changed. one nice thing. she wasnt biting near as much as last week. she is slowly realizing my fingers. toes. arms. pretty much any body part. is not as much fun as her toys. i bought her a fun new baby monkey. that makes noises. like monkey noises. it scares her a little. then she attacks!

she likes to grab her toys. and then curl up on my lap and chew. or if i am laying down. its usually butt in the face. while she lays on me to chew her toy. this can go array. and then she finds my face or something. her other favorite thing. usually of the moment. until something new catches her attention. are ice cubes. if someone is at the refrigerator. she sits and waits for a cube. then chases it around the kitchen. thats what she is doing in the pic of her and i. only she wanted to curl up under my chin. to then chew on the ice cube.

my nose was a victim of her puppy teeth. but that was because i was holding her. and her kisses turned into. bites. which means. let me down. its only a matter of time. before she will be too big to carry. we tried walking on a leash. she only liked it when the leash was in her mouth. and then only went one house down the block. before she tugged. and decided this was not fun anymore.

zola rolli polli

this past weekend. my family decided it was time for a new puppy. although i dont know if that is a true statement. i dont know if you ever fully feel it is time. it was a happy day. but then on the car ride to meet them. to then pick her out. i got upset. it was just a reminder that cory really was gone. but i know the new little girl will bring just as much joy and love into our lives just as cory continues.

zola. turns 8 weeks today. her birthday is july 8. we are still working on a middle name. and then possibly a third. her mother was a golden lab. named daisy. zola had 5 sisters and 3 brothers. she was the chunkiest of the group. with her rolli polli little pot belly. it was her beautiful blue eyes. and short snout. with a big wet nose that helped us to pick her out. with 6 little pups. running at your feet. its hard to decide on just one. it was either her. or the swimmer.

i spent all day with zola yesterday. she is already doing very well at potty training. loves to eat. and take naps. perfect. i picked out a busy bee toy. along with piggy. she likes to take her toys onto her princess bed and chew. i am excited to watch her grow. she also likes to go under the coffee table. and hide out. as my dad says - her cave instincts. ha. we gave her a nice warm bath. so she smells like lavendar. and gives lots of puppy kisses.