Ahh, friends...

Okay...it has been brought to my attention that I have once again neglected my blog.  It's shameful really, but since I don't exactly have an army of followers I thought it would go unnoticed.  Apparently I was wrong.  The good news is that I've been MIA because life is going rather well and I haven't had any gripes to share.  One thing that I have struggled with a bit is figuring out how to mesh my group of friends with my boyfriend's group of friends.  To date, that hasn't been a very successful endeavor.

Let me start by saying that I was always a big fan of shows like Friends.  I think that was because I really liked the idea of a tight-knit group of friends that are always there for each other.  They spend tons of time together and yet somehow manage to get along and have a great time.  The group of friends is small and they don't always take kindly to outsiders trying to get in, but they're all good people.  When I went away to college I had visions of what my life would be like in the dorms or in my first apartment.  It was supposed to be like my own version of Friends and it was supposed to be amazing.  Reality squashed that idea pretty quickly.

In the dorms during my first 2 years of college, I had a single room, but shared the bathroom with half the girls on my floor (about 60 of us or so) - not exactly the embodiment of fun, especially when only one of the five showers actually worked well!  Despite the bathroom predicament, life in the dorms wasn't so bad.  It was a co-ed dorm (by floor) and I ended up making several good friends in my first and second years.

When I transferred schools and got my very first apartment, it was one of those places where you have a couple roommates but you all have your own room and bathroom while sharing the common areas.  Roommate matching is an interesting thing.  The first year I was there I had one sweet roommate, but she never liked to go anywhere.  I also had one very selfish roommate, who actually caused me to say "f*ck you!" to someone for the first time ever.  Needless to say, it wasn't quite the "Friends experience" I was hoping for.  My second year in the apartment was slightly better, but I still wasn't very close with either of the girls I lived with.

Law school was the closest I came to the "Friends experience."  I lived by myself, but about 95% of the people that lived in my building were law students too.  Some of my best friends ever lived in the same building and we were constantly hanging out.  It was an amazing few years...until we all had to graduate and go our separate ways.  Since law school, I haven't really found that core group of friends again.  The people I do spend time with are often married, or have kids, or have other obligations, so it's an infrequent affair.  But when I do get a chance to reconnect with my law school friends, I'm reminded of how lucky I was to meet such a great group of people.

I'd definitely like to be more social these days, but now there's the added issue of trying to mix two friend groups.  My friends and my boyfriend's friends are very different people.  We've tried to combine the two groups on a couple different occasions but it ends up being like a high school dance with the groups divided down the middle and G and I flitting from side to side trying to include everyone.  It's exhausting!  Now, we typically end up just hanging out with "my friends" or "his friends" instead of all together.  It's not ideal, but at least it's not awkward that way.  Any suggestions for combining friend groups are more than welcome!

This weekend will be a night out with "my friends" for a Halloween party.  I never used to be a big fan of this holiday, but the last few years have changed my mind.  This year both G and I will be going as pirates.  I have a pirate costume for my dog, Oreo, too, but I don't think we'll take her along.  Speaking of Oreo though, I'll finish the post with this picture...her in her costume last weekend for Dogtoberfest at Metro Park.  It was a blast!!!  Notice how excited she looks to be wearing the costume.

Does that make me a bad dog owner???  :)

Weird Creature, That One

Sometimes my dog completely freaks me out...case in point, I was checking my email a moment ago and Oreo had taken her normal place on my lap.  Then she sat up quickly, began a series of mini-growls, and has been staring intently at the same spot ever since.

My first thought was that my house is haunted, but seeing that I'm the first person to live here, it's highly unlikely that someone passed on in this house and is overstaying their welcome.  My next thought was that my dog is simply odd...and this is quite possibly the answer I'm looking for.  Finally though, I think I identified what still continues to have her completely mesmerized.  I have all of my Christmas (not "holiday" - it's CHRISTMAS) cards taped along my counter on display.  Several of them have photos of babies, families, and even animals.  The particular picture that seems to have attracted her attention is of my friend's dog.  That would explain the growling - I would growl at a floating dog too!

Anyway, in the spirit of the season, I give to you a picture of my dog, Oreo, in her Santa outfit.  If that's not adorable, then I don't know what is!

 Merry Christmas, everyone!

Warning: Graphic (Canine) Content

So this post will probably be classifiable as a rant, but that's okay.  Here's the thing...I am a HUGE animal lover.  I only have a dog right now, but over the years I have owned everything from cats and dogs to rabbits, birds, horses, fish, hamsters, and even a wild duck we helped rehab once.  Allergies developed through the years though so I prefer dogs these days.  But this post is not about my previous pet ownership or my allergies...

No, this post is about the rude, inconsiderate, obnoxious, etc. people that allow their dogs to defecate in their neighbors' yards and don't clean it up.  I don't even let MY OWN dog go in MY OWN yard without picking up after it...for several reasons.  Aside from the aesthetic look I'm going for, I also know that there are kids that run around barefoot in my neighborhood and looking out for dog poop shouldn't be something they have to do.  For a bit of cuteness before what's to come, here is a picture of my dog...she likes to control the remote. :)

Every pet owner should consider several things before getting their new best friend.  I know that when I selected Oreo, I chose her for several reasons (aside from her uber cute-ness).  First, I wanted a dog that wouldn't shed.  Check.  Second, I wanted a cute dog that wouldn't shed.  Check.  Finally, I wanted a small dog because we all know that small dogs = small messes.  Check.

There have been several occasions since moving into my house a year and a half ago that I have found the "leftovers" from other dogs in my yard.  And while it is always an annoyance, they were usually at least small annoyances.  Today was another matter entirely...

I was running a little late this morning (perhaps the result of Cinco de Mayo) and when I was taking Oreo for her second walk before I left for work, I couldn't help but notice that there was a new addition to my lawn since our first walk about an hour earlier.  The reason I couldn't help but notice?  Oh, that would be because the excrement soiling my lawn was literally baby elephant-sized (Oh, dear God, how I wish that were an exaggeration)!  Seriously.  The poop was about 1/2 as big as Oreo's entire body.  So gross!!!

At this point, I had two choices.  (1) I could leave it there and wait for weeks of rain and sprinklers and lawn care to slowly get rid of it (likely while allowing the grass to die beneath it because there's no way anything was penetrating that crap) or (2) I could clean it up (I'm gagging just thinking about it now).  I chose option #2 and again, I wish I was exaggerating when I say that after getting my thickest, most durable plastic bag from the house it took me BOTH hands to pick up the ginormous poop while suppressing my gag reflex.

WTF?!?  First of all, I'm actually mildly concerned about whoever's dog left such filth on my lawn because that's simply NOT natural.  I can't even imagine how large the dog must have been to have done that.  Does someone in the neighborhood have Clifford the Big Red Dog as their pet for real?  And second, if your dog does leave those things around, clean that shit up.  Seriously.  What's wrong with people?!?

Fin de rant