This just in!!!!

Raindrops keep falling on my head

Wow, two posts in one day. Its crazy. I was moved to post again because I just dropped Matt off at his lab get together. It literally started pouring cats and dogs outside. There has been a ton of lightning and thunder all over the place. When I was a kid we used to "calculated" the distance of the lightning by counting Mississippi's from the flash until we heard the thunder. In our scientifically derived method, one Mississippi equaled one mile. Now by these ultra sophisticated methods I believe that just before I got out of the car when I returned home, the lightning must have been in the parking lot because I didn't even finish saying one before the thunder sounded. eeeeee!!!! Needless to say the short walk back to the apartment got me totally soaked but it was fun.

What's new pussycat?

Its Thursday and Dave has gone to the Wnt meeting in DC for the next four days.  Which means, I'm all alone in the Maroni Lab.  *sigh*  At least nobody is here to hear me talking to myself.  Its is 23 days until Zelda comes home.  I've been badgering her caretaker to send another picture because its been too long since we've seen her.  Scariely enough, I think we have gotten almost everything we'll need when she comes home and a couple that she doesn't *need*.  The main thing thats lacking is her food but we're waiting on that so it doesn't get funky before she gets here. The only really big job left is to get a list of questions that we want to ask the vet as first time parents and finish puppy proofing the house.  The upstairs minus spare 'oom is almost ready.  There are a few more tidying/blocking from puppy's reach things that still need to be done.  The downstairs is another matter altogether.  There are quite a few things that won't be able to be moved so we're going to have to watch her all the time.  Its not bad, we're supposed to be doing that so potty train her anyways.  Matt and I have decided that she's going to spend her first week or so only upstairs.  The puppy book and the messege boards I've read have said to keep the puppy confined to a small room or room for a while so she doesn't get overwhelmed.
On other non-puppy related news.  Matt is going out tonight with his lab.  They're celebrating a paper.  I'm going to drop him off and then go back home and watch So You Thing You Can Dance.  Its kind of a bummer because two nights in a row we won't hang out together.  Tomorrow is Doug's last day and we're going to He's Not to celebrate his time in the lab with a few blue cups.  Or if it rains, some fried pickles and garlic fries at PT's.  Matt won't be joining us because he's reviewing a paper and it needs to be finished by Monday.  Which brings me to my next topic.  Saturday is our first D&D game.  Yipee!!!!  My character was the last to be finished and she still needs a last name and I need to write out her background story.  She is a half-elf bard named Laeriel, which means "daughter of song" in Tolkein elvish.  Because I'm a nerd like that.

This is the end...

Or more like a beginning of the end and the soon the beginning of a new beginning. Or something like that, Mark and I looked over my figures today and we'll do it again tomorrow in detail. He actually liked the pictures that I chose which is crazy. We're still not sure about a date yet but we're emailing my committee tomorrow to see when they can meet. He also said I could stay until the end of the last summer session if I wanted to incase I didn't have something planned or lined-up or something. It was and continues to be a lot of thinking and I'm going to have to figure it out soon. *bleh* Being a grown-up sucks sometimes.
On a happier note, Matt and I decided on a date...for the puppy to come home. Yay! We're going to pick her up on July 5th. I even confirmed it with the breeder this morning. She also said, "She is the most loving little girl. I cannot seem to put her down. It's hard to resist all that lovin." teehee! She's going to be such a little cuddle bug, I can hardly wait. We also finalized her name and we ordered her tags today. Zelda. I think it'll be perfect. She already has a little pile of things waiting for her here. Most of them are essentials but there are a few frivolous things. We made her first vet appointment this morning. We have to make sure she's healthy when we bring her home. EEEEP! I'm getting a little nervous.
Finally, if you try to reach me I won't be able to answer as I lost my phone and am still in the process of getting a new one. email me or call Matt if you need something.

EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Well, we're back from Eastern North Carolina. It was a wonderous morning. Matt and I met our puppy this morning. So much to say about it. First, as I was hoping, Matt fell in love with her as soon as she came into the room. He liked her so much he let her knibble on his fingers. I knew she was tiny but I guess not having anything for a size reference I didn't realize just how small. As you can see in the pictures she's a tiny little thing. Don't let the pictures fool you either, she does not stay still for more than a couple of seconds at a time. She loved the taste of my shirt but she loved Matt's watch even more. At some point she figured out that she could "dig through" Matt's shirt and was trying to wiggle her way around his back. Mary (her surrogate mom) told us that she's the most rambuncious of her litter. Boy did she show it. Normally pups are a little shy and stay still for a couple of minutes with people they don't know but she took to us right away. She also has a little cowlick on the back of her head. It was worse a couple of weeks ago but apparently its gotten better, I think its pretty darn cute. I wish we could have brought her home today but she needs more time to grow before we can do that. We did manage to pick a date though, July 5th. Thats the day she'll come to her foever-home. I'm a little exhausted from all the excitement so I'm going to take a little nap but I leave you with a few pictures of our darling little girl. Enjoy.

Excited about tomorrow!

I'm super excited about tomorrow. We're driving to Washington, NC to meet our little girl in the morning. I should have a ton of pictures of her when we get home. Matt and I have been shopping and learning and getting things ready for when she comes home. I think we're going to wait until she's about eleven weeks old before we bring her home. That way she has more time to socialize and learn good puppy manners from her mom. Plus she so tiny its good for her to stay with the litter a little bit longer. Of course I wish I could bring her home right now. So far we have gotten her a collar, leash, toothbrush, two different puppy Kongs for teething puppies, two little dolls to cozy with, a little chew toy that can go in the freezer for soothing teething gums, a puppy gate (the one for large dogs since doxies can jump like nobody's business), and a set of puppy stairs so she learns early not to jump on and off the furniture. We don't want her to hurt her delicate back. She still needs a crate and some blankies, doxies LOVE blankies. According to the myirad of websites I've been to and the book we have, we're supposed to let her sleep in her crate for the first week so she gets used to her new surroundings and in case she has problems with her potty trips. I'm going to make a valient effort. I know Matt will not melt as quickly as I will once she starts crying. Of course, after the first week all bets are off. I've been trying to explain to Matt that we don't really have a choice about her sleeping with us. Its what they do. I haven't found a person yet on the tubes whose doxie hasn't managed to worm their way into the human's bed. It sure is lovely in the winter though, like having a hotwater bottle on your toes. Well, considering my eyes are still hurting from my idiotic escapde yesterday and the doctor said not to use my eyes too much today. (I'm an idiot and strained my eyes wearing my contacts, because I'm that cool) I should probably sign off. I'll leave you with a five week old photo.

Hullo!

Its been almost a month since my last post, oops. On the bright side, I have been getting loads done in the meantime. My thesis writing is going swimmingly, I'm now working on the figures and Mark and I are going to talk about pictures tomorrow.
My darling friends Archie and Keiko were here visiting for the weekend. We didn't do a whole lot but we did eat quite a bit. We took them to Buns and Mama Dip's this weekend. Then this morning they tagged along to a Maroni Lab breakfast at the Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen. If Keiko doesn't gain weight from all that it is beyond me to help. We had a nice peaceful day yesterday. Lots of lounging around, lots of napping. This is the first time in three years that I've seen Archie. I'm sad to say that her accent is almost gone. No more "ber-gers" or "al-ooh-min-ium". I did fun have asking her opinion as a future doctor about all sorts of stuff. I made cheesecake for everyone on Saturday and while serving some yesterday Keiko cut her finger. I'm not really sure why she was using the giant knife to cut cheesecake but we've come to a consenus. The knife, now named Audry, has gotten a taste for blood and might be sentient. Just a warning to anyone who comes over and tries to cut stuff. The ladies were a big help this weekend with the cutting up bags. I've found that the rate limiting step to making the bag of bags is the making of the plastic yarn. They thought my giant plastic ball was very amusing.
Now, last but most certainly not least. I thought I would leave you with a picture. I should have lots more to put up on Saturday but until then you can adore this one.