Month of May, 2008

The Dogs

I'm spending lots and lots of time thinking about our dogs right now. As of March, Chris and I now have three dogs, which means the dogs outnumber the humans. I've been feeling like the house is somewhat out of control and have instigated some changes. Credit should go to Cesar Milan who wrote an awesome book and has an awesome show. I've learned so much about dogs and am better able to do the right thing with my dogs.

If you've ever watched The Dog Whisperer, you'll know that Cesar preaches three things.

1. Exercise
2. Discipline
3. Affection

He says that most dogs don't get enough exercise or discipline and way too much affection. I know that's how our dogs were. Now we're trying to tip the scales into the correct balance.

The biggest impact on the dogs' behavior has been exercising them to exhaustion. Chris and I haven't been able to give the dogs enough exercise until we started riding bikes with them. Now we ride our bikes between 8 and 10 mph with the dogs running beside us. We find they can run for about 1.5 miles and then they begin to tire out. Luckily it's only a 15 - 20 minute ride, which is easy for us to do each morning.

Now that the dogs have been getting this consistent exercise for the past week, the energy around the house is significantly lower. The dogs are more relaxed which in turn makes me more relaxed. They listen and behave better. Plus they seem really happy! I'm quite pleased with the improvements.

The only thing we're still struggling with is Stewie's desire to steal things while we're out of the house. He likes to grab dish towels, pillows and blankets off the couch and drag them through the dog door. When we come home, we typically find these items on the porch. They're not chewed up, but they're outside. I'm at a loss as to how to make him stop this behavior. If anyone has advice, I'd love it!

In the meantime, we'll keep making sure the dogs have enough exercise so they can be more relaxed when we're not there.

The Mustache is in Full Effect

Chris' mustache is in full effect. It's only been growing for 13 days. I can't image what it's going to look like by the 30th!

Remember, we're trying to raise $500 for AASK, a great charity that works with children in foster care in Arizona. If we don't raise $500, Chris will wear the mustache for our wedding! Even if Chris has the mustache in the wedding pictures, I'll be fine. It's for a good cause and we're definitely having fun! Fundastache has already raised over $7,000 for all sorts of great charities!

To donate (or just to see more pictures) go to http://chrisaltman.fundastache.org/

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Parents' Vacation Update

Mom and Dad are on vacation. With all the Internet cafes around the world, my sisters and I occasionally get updates. Today's update was awesome.

We're spending the afternoon in Salerno, walking around, seeing sights. The cruise is going great, but we only came in 3rd in the dance contest last night. Personally, I think they favored the Italians and we should have come in Second.

I can't wait to hear the full story about the dance contest!

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Movie Critics Are Not News

Dear NPR,

In the past week, I've heard two stories from you about the recent layoffs of movie critics from a number of papers (here and here). I realize that you think this is news and requires multiple segments of coverage, but it's not. It's navel gazing. You and the entire news industry needs to get over yourself. The tide is turning and while it freaks you out a lot, it doesn't bother me. Because I've found something better. It's called the Internet.

I've never (ever! ever!) cared what a movie critic in the paper has said. And as harsh as this sounds, I don't care that 28 of them have been laid off recently. I care about them as people and I feel horrible that they suddenly can't pay their bills. But I don't care about their jobs. It's basic business. It's the law of supply and demand. If there's no demand for your services, then you're out of business.

So as scary as this is to you and the entire news industry, remember this is how the world works. You have to keep providing valuable services that people demand. When you stop doing it, you're toast. While that's truth and interesting to those of us in business, it's not news. So please find something better to report on.

I promise that if you give me one more segment about movie critics losing their jobs, I swear I will never (ever!) give you another dollar. Which is a shame becuase normally I think you use my money well and provide a very, very valuable service.

Yours truly.
Erica

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Sick

I'm sick. It sucks. I must have caught a stomach flu. Yesterday morning before work, my stomach was in all sorts of knots. After breakfast I felt a bit better. Later in the afternoon I started getting a backache. It progressed to chills and I decided to head home. When I finally got home, I was freezing despite it being 77 degrees inside and I was under three blankets. I immediately fell asleep for a couple hours. Last night I just laid around and took it slow. Today I'm not much better. I've got a lot of stomach cramping but the body aches aren't as bad as yesterday. I sure hope this passes quickly and I get back to normal. Health is so much better than sickness and something I definitely take forgranted.

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Mustache for Charity

Chris decided to join Fund-a-stache and grow a mustache for the month of May. He's raising money for my favorite charity, AASK - Aid for the Adoption of Special Kids. It's fun and a great way to help kids in Arizona!

The only catch is that the money raising event lasts the entire month of May. And we're getting married on May 30th. In order to excuse Chris for shaving the mustache early, he's set the goal of raising $500 before the wedding. If he doesn't get $500 he keeps the mustache. It's a little nerve wracking to think I might have a 70's 'stache in my wedding pictures, but I'm confident my friends and family will start feeling more and more generous the bigger his mustache gets!

So keep an eye on Chris at his blog or at Fund-a-stache!

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Talking in the Elevator

The new job is going well. I really like the clients and the work I get to do with them. I enjoy working in downtown and riding the bus to work a couple days a week. However, this is something I'm unsure of.

It's the elevator. My office in on the 10th floor of the building so I ride the elevator. It's not a big deal except that sometimes people in the elevator want to talk. I am NOT one of these people. I'm uncomfortable sharing such a small space with total strangers. Plus, I'm bad at small talk and it's always small talk.

I wish I could take the stairs just to avoid these awkward conversations, but the stairs are for emergencies only and are locked. I guess I'd better find the elevator-talking mindset so I can come up with appropriate responses. I think elevator meditation is in my future.

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