Puppy Photo of the Week

New Year's Day it rained and rained and rained.  Thus far, Milt has not taken too much of an interest in our backyard, but when he discovered how muddy our yard can get, his interest was definitely piqued.  He was digging deep down in the muck and racing circles around himself for no particular reason at all.  This does not make for an easy cleanup, as you can see.

Milt plays hard.

The bath water reminded me of the Augustus Gloop and the chocolate river scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  Disappointingly our water is simply dirty dirt and not luscious chocolate.  We thought about rinsing the Milt off with a hose outside, but we deemed the water temperature just too cold for him.  If his grime starts clogging our bathtub though, he will just need to tough it out!

A Dollop of Humor!

Before I began blogging, I used to read a lot, a lot of blogs.  Everyday after school, I would sit in our recliner and catch up on the different happenings: food, style, or home related.  Now, due to a supreme lack of time, I just work on my own blog and on weekends, holidays, etc. try to catch up on all my missed news.  One blog that I do read is Joey the Goldendoodle about a dood who was born in Pennsylvania but now resides in New York City.  The blog tends to post cute photo updates of Joey, which I certainly enjoy reading.  During the massive snowstorm that hit the Northeast over the holidays, the below link was posted.

How to Poop During a Nor'easter

I hope you get as much of a kick out of it as I did.  Happy Friday!

Milt's Childhood Home

As many of you know, we recently moved into our first house.  Did we lock the door to our apartment and simply walk away?  No.  We needed to do a bit of "spring cleaning" first.  When you vacate an apartment, you need to whjp it into tip top, immaculate shape otherwise management is going to charge you for anything and everything.  Example, nail holes cost $1 each and a brand new rug, if yours is deemed beyond repair, can cost you up to $700.  So what were we to do but mop, sweep, and scrub everything?

Just to clarify, our apartment was quite filthy, especially since our goldendoodle is reminiscent of Pigpen from Charlie Brown, and I stopped cleaning the apartment at the end of November when we closed on our house.  Why clean when you are moving out?  You need to pack!  Now I am reconsidering that stance because it probably would make this clean up just a little bit easier if there wasn't a solid month of grime stuck to absolutely everything.  So, I spent about three hours on Monday, New Year's Eve, at our old place, and Jeff joined me for another three on New Year's Day; that's quite the way to ring in 2013, huh?  Well, somebody's got to do it, and I don't think anyone else would volunteer.  This is just a glimpse of what we were dealing with:

Us and rust

Nothing must be left undone...

                                  

The bathtub that was Milton's

Lots of crumbs and remnants of an orange juice disaster

Got to get that dust between the banisters

While working throughout, the famous quote from the musical Annie kept ringing in my ears, "You'll stay up until this floor shines like the top of the Chrysler Building!", and we did.

Milt had a penchant for doorstops, so off they went and now back on!

Milt joined us during the two bouts of cleaning, but at times we were forced to restrict his enthusiasm.

He looks like a bear at the circus.

At least we brought some toys along for him, and it was a terribly rainy day, so not much was missed.

Final time our boy would signal from the stairs for potty time

Don't worry.  We put an awful lot of elbow grease into the deep cleanse, and we came out victorious in our walk through, although one bathtub had a little mildew problem.  Of course, Jeff is adamant that we re-clean the tub, ourselves, to avoid the $20 charge.  I was adamant that he would be doing the second scrubbing!    A thrifty husband can be both a blessing and a curse. 

Jeff, the Milt, and I certainly have a lot of fond memories at our apartment.  It was perfect for us for the past two years with an upstairs/downstairs, view of the Katy Trail, and spacious grounds with pool/hot tub.  I will definitely miss our time spent there.  Hopefully our new abode will be equally enjoyable, if not more.

Belated Puppy Photo of the Week

Happy New Year to all!  I hope last night was a delight for everyone.  This Puppy Photo of the Week was pushed from yesterday because I had to give the Milton Memories of 2012!  Below showcases one of Jeff's stocking stuffers gifted to me from my mom and re-gifted to Jeff!  Goldendoodle socks might not be in style on the street, but in our family they are pretty hip.

Best Christmas Present

Our socks were bought at a little local shop in New York, which does not appear to have a website.  If you want a pair for yourself, at $9.95 (what we paid) check them out here:

http://www.dogstuff.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=f10b51f5890584d1deb132b72f8a2fec&keyword=goldendoodle+socks

 The website offers a lot of other breed socks too, so it is well worth a visit.  You can start accumulating stocking stuffers for next year nice and early!

Goodbye 2012 AND Hello 2013!

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and I certainly have never been a big fan of this holiday.  As a school kid, college student, and now as a teacher, I have always come to associate the beginning and end of the year with the school term, so the holiday has never really impacted me that much.  If it is not full of glitz and glam, then it seems like something of a disappointment.  For all of you out there who feel the same way, do not worry because someone else (me!) shares your sentiments. 

On carefully reviewing my New Year's resolutions from last year, some did not come to fruition.  I started out strong reading three books per month, but that eventually tapered off with the rigors of student papers.  Although I remain diligent writing cards for all the big holidays (Christmas, Easter) and the small as well (Halloween, Valentine's Day), I did fall off in writing one "just because" card a month.  The yoga headstand, my prized resolution, simply never took off despite some really good intentions.  My main achievement was scoring a new job that I love.  Funny enough, the dog, subsequent blog, and the house were nowhere to be found on last year's list.  So, sometimes life just happens.

2012 was the Year of the Milt for Jeff and me, so here are some of our fondest Milton memories.  Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

Momma bonding with "Drake," soon to be Milton, at the puppy pick

Daddy bringing the Milt home for the very first time



Milton making himself feel right at home

First bath

Potty training disaster

Making friends

Taking trips

Taking risks

Being naughty

Naughty again

Getting dirty

New friendships

And some more



Lotsa Doodles Calendar Mr. May

Mr. Frog

Daycare Days

Cone Head



Bed Head

Milton the Black-Nosed Reindeer

Some doods never learn

Momma's boy since April 7, 2012, and onward!

Kong PW1 Wobbler (Google Affiliate Ad)

A Dollop of Humor!

Equinophobia.  Has anyone ever heard of that before?  Translated from Latin it means "fear of horses," and our goldendoodle has it!  Jeff and I first discovered this fear when we visited the local White Rock Lake dog park, and we decided to take a walk on the trail encompassing the lake.  Everything was going as smoothly as can be expected, when walking the Milt, when all of a sudden a  black stallion trotted over the bridge.  The horse was massive and astride the horse was a very tall, thin man also decked out in all black complete with a cowboy hat.  The thundering of the horse's hooves scared Milton to death.  He immediately began raucously barking and cowering with his tail between his legs.  He was very, very frightened by this "Big Dog."  It was awfully difficult to coax him back into walking mode, so home we went. 

Reminiscent of the brand I wore in middle school

Well, I thought we would not see a horse again for a long, long time except I did not factor in that we live near the Highland Park neighborhood.  During the holidays, this lavish neighborhood is resplendent with horse and carriage rides to view the overabundance of fantastic, and pricey, Christmas lights.  Last week, nearing the end of the Katy Trail, Milton and I ran into a dilemma as he watched a horse and carriage traverse the cross walk up ahead.  After that Milton refused, absolutely refused to walk in that direction.  I actually pulled his collar off twice trying to get him to move.  So, we backtracked, and I tried to take him through a restaurant and shop parking lot area to take him to the car.  Once again, Milton dug in his heels, and this time he refused to move even an inch in spite of all my cajoling and begging.  At times I hugged him to calm his frayed nerves, and at other times I dragged him scolding all the while. 

How did we finally get home?  Milton parked himself, quite literally, next to a parked car and refused to move just as the owners, a very lovely couple, walked up.  I quite awkwardly asked them if they would hold his leash while I ran and got the car.  They agreed but first, very politely, asked what his name was!  I was off like a shot and back within minutes to collect my troublesome little boy.  The couple was extremely gracious and insisted that he was no trouble at all.  The Milt shook for a little bit in the car but soon settled down.  Thank goodness the holidays are now officially over, and the carriage rides will finally cease.  Milton might have been born out in rural Oklahoma, complete with "Big Dogs," but he is now a Dallas city boy through and through.

Officially Demoted from the Nice List

During the month of December, Milton was trying really, really hard to be on the "Nice" list for Santa.  Jeff and I thought he was giving it some valiant effort which is why we bundled up all his Christmas presents, along with his stocking, and sent him off to his grandparents' house.  We did not anticipate any problems.  Yesterday we received a report that Milton has been quite obstinate - tugging on his walks, refusing to walk, and insistently pestering people to play tug-of-war.  I just want to remind Milton of this little picture that we took a week prior to Christmas.

Santa and the Milt

Our goldendoodle might not realize this, but Santa Claus has already begun watching for Christmas 2013.  Milt needs to stay on his best behavior all year long and not just ramp it up after Thanksgiving.  Likewise, if you can tell from this photograph,  Santa and Milton are not the bestest of buddies.  After I hauled Milton up into Santa's lap, Milt tried to crawl off over Santa's shoulder, subsequently yanking down Santa's beard and glasses, which was traumatizing for all the other young puppies waiting to sit on the big man's lap.  That's why his Momma, in her sweatpants, is in the picture holding him and half of Santa's head is cut off. 

As we all know, a lot of a dog's "problems" stem from his owners.  Since we are approaching 2013 and leaving 2012 behind us, one big New Year's resolution looming over us is:  Train Milton!  Hopefully that resolution will be accomplished in 2013 and will not be shifted over into 2014 like a few others of mine will be...!  Our boy needs us, so we must rise to the occasion.