Good Pit Bull (Hell, DOG) Owners...

Stella at 5 months- hiding from paparazzi

1. DO NOT alter their animal's appearance for unnecessary reasons. This includes ear and tail docking.

2. Crate-train their animals. Veterinarians and trainers agree this is the easiest way to potty-train an animal, as well as prevent separation anxiety and destruction caused by teething and a puppy's natural chewing impulses, which often don't begin until a puppy is older.

3. DO NOT strike or otherwise physically punish a puppy. This is counterproductive and will eventually come back to make the puppy aggressive.

4. Socialize their animals early, and often- so they do not fear things. Before your puppy is 12 weeks old, make sure it has met other adults, children, and babies, as well as people of other races. Also make sure it has met dogs (that you know have had ALL VACCINATIONS) and cats, if possible. Take your pup for car rides and walks so they experience different sounds and smells.

5. DO NOT take their puppy to a dog park or dog "common area" before they've had all their vaccines (usually 3 months). This exposes them to parvo, a devastating virus that is often deadly.

6. Exercise their puppy regularly- one hour of walking/heavy play per day is important once the puppy is past three months of age unless there are health problems.

7. DO NOT give their puppy adult food before 6 months of age. Puppies need the extra vitamins and fats in puppy food. Make sure the puppy only eats the amount recommended. Do not feed dogs people food!

8. Spay/neuter their dog when their vet recommends. Breeding dogs should be left to licensed breeders, and fixing your pup means they will live longer and be less aggressive.

A happy dog is hard work but well worth it!



Originally posted on the Sugar Network

Last weekend.

There was a storm. Like few I've ever been in. The thunder was so bad I gave up sleeping at 5 am and laid down on the couch with Stella so she would stay calm. And the lightning! It was like there was a flash constantly going off outside the window. I actually turned on The Weather Channel to make sure there wasn't a tornado coming.

When I let Stella out around 6:30 it was foggy. At least that's what I thought at first. And then I smelled it and felt my eyes sting. Like I was at a big old bonfire. I had heard sirens earlier in the night but that's not uncommon- I live near a fire station and a highway. But the sirens got steadier and steadier... Stella was freaking from the noise so I thought I'd better take her for a walk. And I could see what was going on. As soon turned onto Keswick I knew something had happened.



As I started to walk up Keswick fire engines went by, one after the other. Then I realized they were just sitting there. From Field Street all the way up to 33rd. I kept waiting to see a house on fire, a person being loaded into be an ambulance, something. Then I got to the corner of 33rd and Keswick (about three blocks from my house).



The Mount Vernon United Methodist Church was on fire. More appropriately, it was smoking. You can't see the number of water jets aimed at it from my cameraphone picture but there were several. I watched the steam and smoke rise off the building in disbelief. It was apparently struck by lightning.

It's hard to stand still when big things are happening. I walked Stella up to Chestnut south of 34th street (also filled with fire engines). Standing with the other early-morning dogwalkers and other lookers-on, I watched people who had been evacuated from their homes, stand in fear and panic while firemen tried to keep them calm and make them comfortable. I saw shingles go flying off the roof as they were hit by enormous streams of water. I have never seen that many fire trucks in my life.



They took down the steeple soon after- it is boarded up and fenced off. Lots of people have stopped by to take a look, to snap a picture, to think. The church itself is stone, over 160 years old. But with the inside destroyed to the tune of $5.5 million, much history has been lost and a lot will be needed to restore this already-struggling little gem, site of weekend yard sales and corner chats.

Baltimore Sun coverage

fun with flickr

OK, so I found this on Queering Domesticity (a GREAT blog). She got it from Robyn of craft & found. It is so cool I wanted to pass it on! The idea is to make a flickr mosaic that represents you.

Here's mine:

1. For My Friend Jo Ann, 2. Shellfish symphony, 3. Spaulding Fibre, 4. Blue Sky and Clouds, 5. Russell Crowe DSC_6788, 6. Gin & Tonic, 7. Dublin City, Ireland, 8. Moonstruck chocolates, 9. I don't know the answer, 10. yiayia mom stella 1948, 11. Loyal North Lincoln Militia, Old Barracks, Burton Road, Lincoln, 12. blue steel

The idea is that you go to the Flickr search box and type in the answer to each of the following questions, find your favorite pic off the main page, and enter the url for the photo into the Mosaic Maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you attend?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10.What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your Flickr name.

Thanks, Meaghan!

Brooke Hogan said WHAT?

"You know what? I am actually not that much into voting. I think it’s kinda crazy that a woman is running, because I think that women deal with a lot of emotions and menopause and PMS and stuff. Like, I’m so moody all the time, I know I couldn’t be able to run a country, ‘cause I’d be crying one day and yelling at people the next day, ya know?"
—Brooke Hogan, when asked who she's voting for by a potential roommate on her series Brooke Knows Best.
-on E! Online

OK, where do I start with why this bothers me?

Is it the fact that we seem to celebrate stupidity by giving people like the unelectable Ms. Hogan, Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, etc. TV shows? Not to mention shows like The Hills or Krappy Kardashians or whatever it's called. I can't even keep track of them anymore.

Or is it because a 19-year old woman would actually think like that in this day and age? So, what- women are OK to raise the next generation of leaders, just not BE one of those leaders? Or men don't have emotions?

Or is it that this was even reported, and therefore pissed me off?

Don't worry, Brooke Hogan (or whatever your name is). You will never run a country. You will never run a borough, population 14! As long as you open your mouth and just let words come flying out without any thought, you will never run anything. NO ONE takes you seriously. And if you want to know why, just re-read what you said and realize that you know less that nothing. If you knew nothing, you would have kept your mouth SHUT.

Hampden has a killer Walk Score!

Another reason why I love Hampden-

It's WALKABLE! My address got a 74 out of 100 and I live on the south edge.

Not that I'm always taking advantage of that, of course. But I can. And I am going to even more now that I'm reminded of how lucky that is!

Now it's true, I'm still gonna drive to get groceries (too heavy) and prescriptions (I love my CVS) but I forget sometimes that most things are just so close and I get rushed. But soon my work will be moving to within walking distance and that will be EXCELLENT!

What's your Walk Score?

http://www.walkscore.com/