after a few days in covina for work, i got back last night to my snuggly dog and sweetie. now i'm doing my best to catch up on like, 3 weeks of the jersey shore.

my days at home before i head off to germany are dwindling, and i'm really not prepared.

camilles (8:57pm, 1.22.10)

it's been 5 months since we brought leilani home from the san diego humane society.

there are always a lot of questions, when you adopt an older dog from a shelter. not that 2 years is old, but it was enough time for her to learn and develop.

the paperwork that we got with her said that she'd been kept only outside. she had a tendency to dig holes under the fence to go visit with neighbors. when her owner surrendered her to the shelter, she had fleas and patches of fur that were falling out. she had a hernia and hadn't been fixed. we have a pretty good feeling that she probably had at least one litter of puppies.

when we first got her, she was definitely stand-offish. there was no picking her up. if jeff or i would lean down to pet her, she would sometimes crouch away out of our reach. she had a few accidents in the house.

but right at this moment, she is lying on my belly as i sit on the couch, snoring away.

when we get home, she is usually either waking up from a nap on the couch, making the *smack*smack* sound of a dog with a dry sleepy mouth, or at the door on her two back legs, dancing and dancing. she'll run under our feet as we walk to drop off our keys or put the mail down, and as soon as we stop, she'll be back up on her back legs, waving her front paws and making funny noises.

she loves to sit with us on the couch. if we are outside doing yardwork, she'll sit on one of the lounge chairs and watch us or nap. she follows us from room to room. and after about a month of making her first sleep in a crate, and then in a doggie bed, she's now welcomed onto our bed every night. there have been a few mornings where i've rolled towards jeff and opened my eyes, and found leilani resting her head on the pillow, right between us.

i don't have a particularly strong history of growing very attached to pets. after our very first goldfish died when i was about 5 and i was so devastated, i think i understood the fleeting nature of the lives of pets. but...i'll admit that i love our little dog.

as much as a person of my nature could possibly love a dog.

:)

camilles (7:34pm, 1.13.10)

did you have a nice time ringing in the new year?

we certainly did.

once we got back home after celebrating christmas, we were super busy hosting out-of-town friends, family, and taking care of all sorts of chores around the house. we had originally talked about taking a trip during all the time we had off, but now that i'm going to be in germany for so long next month, we decided it would be wise to take advantage of the time to do projects.

we've now got a new roof on the patio AND a new dishwasher.

once we got through our chores, we packed up the jeep and the dog and headed east into the desert. our friends are the proud owners of a new-to-them camping trailer that has been permanently parked at the RV park we've visited at thanksgiving a few times over the years. the new year was a perfect opportunity to get into some desert shenanigans and enjoy the company of our friends.

you can see all the photos here.

this month is packed with activities. friends/coworkers will be in town. bridesmaid dress shopping. a banquet that will include go kart racing. 4 separate birthday parties. a media conference. and then...i'm on my way to germany.

i wish i could be more enthusiastic about having the opportunity to spend 19 days abroad, with all my expenses paid...but i'm nervous. REALLY nervous. worried about not understanding the culture or the language. worried about driving myself around in a foreign country all alone. worried i will miss hot sauce and burritos.

but i'm sure it won't kill me, and it will be a wonderful learning experience, right?

camilles (5:04pm, 1.10.10)