In Memory of "Daddy", Cesar's pitbull

Cesar Milan's right-hand "man" died of cancer. I am so sad. Joseph and I loved that dog. Why can't dogs live for ever and ever? Cesar has a memorial fund set up for medical emergencies for dogs that have been abused. If you would like to donate to the fund or just leave a comment for Cesar and his family (staff, too) go to the link:

http://www.cesarsway.com/news/daddy-memoriam

Sam's new best friend

Some friends of mine bought me a "flying pig" in Sweden several months ago. It's something you would see at the store, Spencer. It hangs from the ceiling and flies around in a circle. I have not screwed the pig into the ceiling, but have hung it in front of Sam's face for her enjoyment. Here is a short video clip. The pig reminds me of a flying cockroach, but it has provided Sam with lots of enjoyment, so I've become a fan of him.

Sony Handycam vs. Sony Bloggie

I am debating whether I should get a HD handheld camcorder with 25X zoom from Sony or get the new Sony Bloggie (the one with 5X zoom). From what I have been told the Sony Bloggie is good for uploading videos to Youtube and the CX150 or CX110 camcorder is great for viewing video in HD on your TV. You can upload the video to You Tube, but you have to condense it. The resolution difference is 1080 vs. 720, apparently a big difference. We've tried to take decent video of the dogs with our camera, but the quality isn't "there". Now that we have Samantha I'm wondering if we should just take the "camcorder plunge" and go with the Handycam. Please let us know what you think we should do and why. I know people who have the Flip Camcorder (it's itty-bitty) and love it. The regular handheld camcorders are so small these days, but a High Def one is expensive. I wonder how much time we would really spend watching the video we take. The HD handycam video is easy to use with IMovie from Mac, which is what I have....

More snow pictures

All four canines

Borrowing the neighbor's snowman

Ella & Bailey

Snow Storm

Jedi, Bailey, and Ella (front to back)

Joseph putting Sam's feet in the snow

Snow angel

last night

Self potrait

We got our first (and probably only) snow "storm" of the season.  We got about 3 inches of snow last night.  The dogs had a great time.  Bailey searched & ate frozen dog poop & chased Ella around for the squeaky ball.  Ella and Gracie ran around like lunatics and Jedi trotted around the yard, happy to be included in pack activities.  Jedi is still an odd "bird", but now that he has aged and has mellowed slightly he can run around the yard with the others without wearing his Hannibal Lector mask.  I am so proud of him!  It's the little things that make parents proud....

Samantha also enjoyed the snow and enjoyed watching the dogs run circles around her.  The temperature has warmed up significantly today and the snow will surely be gone by tomorrow. The dogs will be sad.

February 2010

Sally's highchair.

Sally and Samantha

Sam sitting in our nicest piece of furniture

Sally & Sam

Here are some recent pictures of Samantha.  She and I attempted to go to a music class today, offered at the library.  I thought the class was on Thursday, but it's on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We recently visited our friend, Sally, who had the coolest high chair.  She used the highchair when she was a baby and some how held on to it for many years!!