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things I miss part deaux...

lazy weekdays...

Since I didn't have school on Monday and John resigned from his job we decided to make the most of our day off and head over to the zoo, along with what seemed like every small child and their parents in the DC metro area. The mission was to see Tai shan, the adorable panda cub. After I spent an eternity photographing the little guy and listening to all the kids yell "PANDA" to get his attention, John and I took off to explore what other creatures the zoo had to offer, including:

Asian Elephants


Beavers


harbor Seals


Sea Lions


Brown Pelicans


Cows


prairie Dogs

and finally:

Scary Snake-Man John

Later that day, we headed over to Roosevelt Island which features this gigantic scary statue of Theodore Roosevelt:

We also saw a bunch of really cute dogs splashing around in the Potomac River:

All in all it was an absolutely wonderful day!

Live free...

This past week I was at home in Pittsburgh with my family. I spent most of my time with my puppers who is now 15 and she recently had surgery to remove some moles and cysts from her body. Its kinda gross stuff that happens to dogs with age, nothing to worry about and she is still in pretty good shape aside from a lot of hearing loss and arthritis. The worst part about the whole surgery is that most of the moles removed were on her face, including one on her lower eyelid. So to keep her from scratching her stiches out she has to wear this giant cone collar, you know the kind that makes any dog look 100% more crazy and 100% more like you should stay very far away from them. The collar is so big she keeps running into things with it and catching it on corners and it really is one of the most pathetic things I have ever seen. Here is my poor dog, limping around only to catch her collar on the corner of couch and in essence clothesline herself and not be able to get out of it on her own. Thankfully though, she only has to wear it for a few more days and then she'll be back to normal and mole free.
Because my little sister and I can't leave well enough alone we utilized my dad's beloved label maker to decorate the cone. I thought my label was funny, however my little sister beats me hands down with "live free." My poor dog. I love her little paws.



In other events this week I spent a lot of time with some very dear friends. Julia and I attempted to make soap very unsuccessfully. I also did not have any fun for one with a "Fun For One!" crochet kit purchased for $1.00. Aliza and I hit GrooveJuice it was alright if not a little boring and stinky, but good to see a few people there. We also hit up a bar in the North Hills, hilarity ensued. Wednesday I hung with Julia again, watched "Memoirs of a Geisha." Thursday I headed over to Paul and Holly's. Paul made us a tasty stir fry and much wine was consumed. Friday I ate sushi with Craig and Meghan. Saturday I headed home on the Greyhound and John met me at the station and I readied myself for school by going out drinking a lot and watching football on Sunday.

Back to Paul and Holly and Craig and Meghan for a moment, indulge me. Although I realize that I am the age my mother got engaged at, it is still excessively bizarre for me to even fathom that people I've know for a really long time are engaged. It is one thing when you meet a person and they are dating someone and they get engaged or they are engaged when you meet them, but Paul I've know for a long time and Craig even longer. Aside from the weirdness of that though, it is excessively nice to see two guys who I have the honor of calling friends find people that make them happy. And the happy is nice too, its not that crazy ridiculous feeling that people go through when they first start dating someone, it is a deeper, more settled, more profound and complete happiness with who they are with. They both wear it well.

And finally, the new Billy Mays (creator of OxyClean, Orange Glow, Ding King, etc) commercial for "The Ball" makes me snicker every time.