Dog Day Afternoon

Happy Birthday Sadie!!!

We went to the 2nd annual Bark in the Park in Thousand Oaks on Saturday.  We went to the first one last year and enjoyed it so we made sure to catch it again this October.  Everyone brings their dogs and there are lots of activities and booths to explore.  The dogs got so many treats from the people running the booths and I walked away with a big bag full of samples of treats and dog foods.  Camp Bow Wow had a booth with a "Wheel of Fortune" type prize wheel.  I spun and won a free bath for Kanan and Jeff spun and one a free one hour training session fro Cooper.  Cooper could use some training to get him to stop pulling on his leash.  Not to be outdone, "The Barkley" had a spinning wheel and this time Jeff got a free day of doggie day care and I won a toothbrush.  That was our only booby prize.  The other 3 prizes are all quite valuable!  They had all kinds of contests like best howler, dog/owner look-alike and Halloween costume contest.  They had an obstacle course that we took Kanan and Cooper through.  There were even celebrity dogs you could take your photo with:  Beatrice from Modern Family and Aspen from Disney's Dog with a Blog.  All in all, a fun day!

From there, we went to Chris & Liz's for dinner and to meet their new English Springer Spaniel, Maverick or Ricky.  He's a rescue and a real sweetheart and got along fine with Cooper and Kanan.  It was unusually warm for their area which is closer to the ocean so we were able to sit outside and have a delicious dinner of BBQ leg of lamb!  

Piece of Cake

So far, this whole microdiscectomy surgery has been a piece of cake!  Far less than I had imagined.  Makes me mad that I wasted so much time (6 months) waiting for it to get better on it's own.  I haven't even needed to take any of the pain medication the doctor prescribed.  Even though I scoffed at the idea of wrapping my mid-section in saran wrap for my shower Sunday morning, I couldn't really think of a better way to keep the area dry especially since I wanted to wash my hair.  I don't know how they do it on Survivor but just waiting 2 days for a shower was about all I could take!  After my shower, Jeff was able to change the bandage on my back.  The incision is pretty small and vertical- probably 1 1/2 inches long.  It's down low on my back so if I was younger, a well-placed tramp stamp (tattoo) would cover it nicely.  Really need to go shopping and see if I can find a cute flowy sundress or loose tops to wear over my new best friend (back brace.)

Look what arrived over the weekend all the way from Jules in New York!  Isn't this a lovely, cheery bouquet?!  I have it on my console table in the living room and it smells so great every time I walk by. Thanks Jules, Michael and Shawn!

  

Boys Will Be Boys

Bet you thought this post was going to be about Ryan and Jacob.  Nope, no matter their age, boys like fast cars and dirty things.  Jeff, Justin and Chris went racing on Sunday at the track at Ventura Fairgrounds and Liz and I cheered them on from the stands.  We didn't realize the track was going to be dirt and the stands were covered in a layer of dirt and dirt chunks.  Went really well with my pristine white blouse I was wearing.  Here's a photo of the guys suited up in their racing gear.

The track is at the beach, hence the palm trees in the background.  I took a video of each of the guys racing around the track but they decided it looked way too slow to show anyone.  While speeding around the track, each of them thought they were surely breaking track records for speed.  I guess the sensation of actually being in the car seems a lot faster than it appears from the spectator point of view.  Here's a shot of Chris in the red car going around the track.

They all agreed it was a fun time and we capped it off with a trip to an Irish pub- Dargan's Pub- on Main Street in Ventura for lunch and a few brews and an exchange of war stories about their racing adventure.  Liz and I insisted on a nice lunch to reward us for sitting in those dirty bleachers!

Moore!

I was so concerned about my friend Sindee who lives in Moore, Oklahoma where the tornado struck.  We've been internet and blog friends since 2002 and she hosted Elliot during his Oklahoma visit.  We exchange Christmas cards so I had her exact address and I was google mapping the path of the tornado and saw that it was very close to her home.  In fact, the elementary school that was leveled and where children died was only 4 miles from her home according to what I saw on the map.  I knew she worked in an elementary school but didn't know which one.  She was finally able to post Monday evening to say that she and her family were safe.  She rode out the storm in the bathroom of her elementary school (a different one than the one that was leveled) with her scared little charges.  Her husband and son took refuge in their storm cellar.  Their house was not destroyed but suffered a lot of damage,  She posted quite a few photos of her house so I took just one to post here to show you.  (Hope you don't mind Sindee.)  I told Jeff that I think a brick house must've helped.  I don't know much about tornadoes but I know that much from "The Three Little Pigs!"

I have to say that between the shootings in Connecticut and the tornado in Oklahoma, I am very proud of teachers!  They are so brave and shelter the children as if they were their own!  They cover the children with their own bodies!  How brave is that!?!

Kim has started a meme called Wednesday Chatter.  I don't have the logo or the link, Kim, so if you could let me know about that I'll link it up properly.  In the meantime, I linked it to your blog.

Wednesday Chatter:  Decorating the Home. Do you have a favorite room? What style is your home/apartment/flat? Share!

My favorite room is our living room.  I'm very happy with the way it has come together.  I literally look at it every time I go up and down the stairs.  We rarely use that room so it stays pretty much like what you would see in a model home or magazine.  It's the room I change seasonally.  I have pillows for the sofa and loveseat from Pottery Barn and I change the covers for summer, autumn, Christmas and spring.  I also change things like candle centerpieces on the coffee table, console table, server and entryway organizer.  I'll see if I can find a photo that I've already posted... Here's a photo from fall.

I would say our style is traditional.  To me, that's like dressing classic.  Traditional things never go out of style unlike trends like Southwest for example.  The big Welsh Cupboard is English Country style and I mix that with more modern touches from places like Pottery Barn.