Curiosity killed the what?!

   Kismet is definitely the picture of a curious sub-three-year-old kitty. If I light a candle, she absolutely won't leave it alone. And well she looks pretty in the soft glow, she's risking her fur going up in flames.

Here she's risking being shipped across the country. She won't get out of the box.

Here she's risking getting shut in the dryer, to chase the "dryer bunnies" that Sean gave me for my birthday.

Here she's stealing my seat, and risking being sat upon, or smothered by that fluffy down blanket.

Troublemaker!

Alternative to the Thundershirt

   This all started when Amy posted a picture of her dog Cisco, who is scared of thunderstorms, and he was sulking while wearing his Thundershirt. Another friend commented that her dog Rocky was sulking too.

   I asked if the shirts actually calm dogs, because Aki is afraid of storms too. Amy said, "Yes! Whether it's soothing, or it just breaks their spirit because they feel like they're wearing a training bra". So I couldn't help but do this (poor Aki was a great sport!). The girls' version:

   But, speaking of things that dogs DO like, anyone who knows dogs and cats will get a kick out of this:

Animal Olympics

   Taylor gold medalled in inverted stiff-legged couch surfing:

   Kismet is thinking of becoming a diver. Maybe. Maybe not. But perhaps. She's not sure really. Definitely curious though.

   For sure she's top of the podium for beauty and sweetness, in her extra-long winter-fur finery:

   Aki keeps bringing me the little plush moose that Sawako brought. It's her favorite.

   When I take it away and tease her, she makes it known that she is tops in the "awful demon face" race!

   Who will win the gold for maximum hibernation? It's going to be a close race... perhaps a four-way tie between us!

Get on the bus, Gus!

   Due to my snowboarding trip, I missed out on the chance to buy my monthly bus pass for February. I was so bummed when I realized it! So I was put in touch with the admin of our fleet department, and she had the bus driver bring a pass for me. Wow. This is what I left on her desk…. Hope it gave her a laugh and adequately expressed my sincere appreciation.

Laying it on thick

A little wobbly, drawn on the bus. Based on actual events.

Reunited and it feels so good

   Southwest airlines located my snowboard bag (with all my gear inside) and it was delivered at 1:30 AM. I know this because the courier left it on the front doorstep. The dogs heard his car in the drive, and barked up a storm. Let's just say I didn't get much sleep after that.

   Very glad to have my board back, as it's my first--the only one I've ridden, save the lessons I took on rentals. I think it's about time to retire it and hang it on the wall, and upgrade to a higher-grade board. A little treat for all the progress I've made. I can blame Brett for this idea; at Solitude he suggested that I'm hitting a point where my beginner board may impede further progress.

   And now that I'm watching night one of the Olympics featuring the slope style competition, I already can't wait to get back on my ride again. It's only been two days, but that's two days too long. My heart is definitely in the mountains!

Quite a team

   I never would have believed this, had I not seen it myself… I heard Kismet coming up through the door from the basement. I turned to see Aki sitting just outside the door. Kismet was carrying a live mouse in her mouth and just as she came through the door, she released it, Aki pounced on it and chomped it (almost) to death in one fell swoop.

   Horrified by what I had just witnessed, I ran to the mouse's rescue and scooped it up in an old towel that was nearby, used to wipe the dogs feet when they come in from the snow. I could tell the mouse was not much longer for this world... But at least it wouldn't be eaten by these two. These two who are now, apparently, partners in crimes against smaller mammals.

   With this new reality, I can only imagine how successful they will be as a team. Each has already caught their fair share of wildlife single-handedly. Lord help the little animals!

MacDo

   I eat fast food mayyyybe 6 times a year. And I am in Filet-o-Fake-Fish a and greasy delicious French fry heaven at the Denver airport right now. #preemptiveregret #slimyyetsatisfying

   On a similarly unhealthy note:

Hahahhahhahahahahaha!!!!!

Fruits of my imagination

   Cute + slightly disturbing = 

Double entendre

   Question: Someone asked me if, because my snowboard bag is bigger than me, it doubles as a sleeping bag when I arrive at my destination. Answer: if I had thought of that, I could have saved some major bucks on a condo!!! No indoor plumbing in the bag, though.

   However, it will be a moot point if I'm disallowed from departing...

Happy birthday, Becky "Badger"

#jenrareyart

Irony. I haz it.

   It usually takes me 1.5 hours to get ready in the morning. That's getting showered, dressed, hair & makeup, snuggling with Kizzy (as she rides around on my neck), feeding the dogs, and playing with them a bit.
   However, on those all-too-common days when my alarm has gone off for an hour and fifteen minutes before I've heard it once, somehow I am able to contract 90 minutes into 30, and dash to the bus stop just in time. A good illustration of how much I like riding, eh? If I went any faster, I'd be reversing time and scientists would be studying me.
   Another weird time thing: when I drive to work, I never get there as fast as I wish I could, and when I ride, it always goes too fast. That's the difference between swearing at traffic, and chilling out.
In other ironic news, twice this week my name has been printed as Rarely, which doesn't happen infrequently.

Taylor's evil twin

The dogs LOVE it when I throw a towel over them and rough them up. They snarl and bite and wheel around and throw it off... And then come back for more. It's quite funny. Particularly when you consider how much they HATE to have their wet feet toweled off when they come in from the rain.

Hot dog + Hot lemonade

   Sawako came over last night. She brought presents for the dogs & kitty, homemade croissants for us, and a giant cup of homemade Japanese hot lemonade for me! YUM!
   While we were sitting at the dining room table, eating and talking, all of a sudden Sawako felt something on her leg. She looked down to see this: The Hungriest Dog in the World strikes again!

"PSST! SAWAKO! Don't tell Jen, but I'm very hungry.
Please pass some food down to me."

   Sawako was kind enough to overlook Taylor's rudeness, and even kinder to share her recipe with me—in two languages!

ginger from Target; lemon juice from Whole Paycheck Foods

Badness is the Spice of Life!

      On Sunday I went grocery shopping, and bought a bunch of ingredients to take to a friend's house for dinner Monday night. I prepped as much as I could ahead of time, leaving a bag of spices, cooking spray, & other non-perishables pushed to the back of the kitchen counter. Safe, I thought...

   Taylor is notoriously hungry (as his dog tag, "Chow Hound" professes). So I should have known better. "But he's been so GOOD lately," I thought. I left for work Monday morning.

   At 3:00 pm I was sitting in a meeting, and my phone buzzed. I was getting a call from my own home phone, which I knew meant that my pet sitter had stopped by. She only calls when it's important. She informed me that she came into my house to find the bag of food dragged into the living room, with the spices' lids chewed off... garlic, salt & pepper, onion powder blends. Ugh.

Nothing like getting a call at work about how bad your dogs are being at home!

   Taylor may be a shorty, but I figured out how he gets on my countertops, because my oven door handle is scratched: he jumps up & does a chin-up to get up there.

   My friend Susan heard about this, and sent me a photo of a collie wearing a sign stating, "I eat trash". I thought it was so funny that I had to do my own version... here's MSIR Aki & Taylor, telling it like it is!

Sometimes a Horse is Just a Horse...

...and a kayak is just a kayak!

   My HR partner just called to tell me she had a dream last night, in which she was babysitting my chestnut-brown horse and my orange tabby, and she lost the horse. It turned out okay—she got him back. But she was worried for a bit! She said, "Jen, you're not thinking of adding a horse to your menagerie, are you?" I said, "Not right now, but you never know what's on the horizon!"

   Last week while staying at the hotel in Omaha, Allyson and Scott and I all reported having unusual, very-specific dreams such as this one. In one of my dreams, I was at the swim meet for Corporate Challenge, and before the meet we were all taken to a huge room (essentially a giant shower) and told that we all had to shower together prior to the meet. And no one wanted to compete, because we knew we had to look each other in the eyes and work together on Monday!
   I also had a dream that I had a date with a new guy, and we had only emailed each other so far, and when we met at dinner he informed me excitedly that he had just bought a brand-new kayak—the same kind I have from LL Bean. And it was a total turnoff because I felt like he was trying too hard and thought, "This guy doesn't even KNOW me yet—I'm not going to kayak with a guy on the FIRST DATE!" LOL
   The subconscious mind works in strange ways; who knows what all this could mean. I certainly don't want to know what Freud would make of it!!!

Omaha Zoo: Bear vs. Bear

   The polar bear. Handsome, charming, and a delight to all, with those big, furry paws and charming backstroke.

   And then there's the Malayan sun bear. I'm sure he has a... uh... nice personality.