My first ghost walk

I went on my first ghost walk this past Friday night. Back in Chicago this was always something I talked about doing but just never got around to and then one of my meetup groups here decided to go on one. It was in Ellicot City (which come to find out is not particularly close to me). Ellicot City has a historic downtown which was kind of neat to see, but the ghost tour itself really wasn't particularly ghostly. I think this was in part due to the fact that we were on a main street and constantly had loud cars driving past, people heading to the bars walking by, etc. It could have also been because the meetup group was laughing hysterically and heckling the tour guide (nicely) the majority of the time. I think I would try another walk in say, Gettysburg, or somewhere more off the beaten path, but probably won't be back on this one.

Regardless, we had a really good time and I particularly enjoyed getting to know more people at the bar after the walk.

Some of the crew - with severe red eye.
(Left to right: Vince, me, Ryan, Beth, and.... a girl who's name I can't remember.)

Our ghostly guide. She was actually pretty good.

There was absolutely no mist around us when this picture was taken. None of us have any idea (except for camera malfunction) why it shows up like this. Oooooo.

Little dipper

Lily loves to dip her food in just about anything. For lunch today we were having Papa John's pizza with garlic dipping sauce and Lily was still working on her donut from earlier in the day. She decided that the donut would be even better if it was dipped in the garlic sauce. I'll give her credit - she seemed to enjoy it and went back for several more dips and bites. No accounting for the taste of two-year-olds. :-)

Welcome to the Baltimore Public School System

I've held off on writing this post because I wanted to give myself a little bit of time to digest all that's occurred this week.

Monday marked my first day at my new job. As I've mentioned before, I went into it with a bit of trepidation - mostly because I wasn't feeling particularly prepared, but I was also excited and ready to start.

So, I show up, go over to the cafeteria where snack was being served and begin to round up my first graders. On day one, I had about 9 of them. We walk (and I use this term VERY loosely) over to the classroom and get settled into the new room. I introduce myself and the program, the kind of stuff we're going to be doing and take attendance. So far, so good. I pass out some paper and crayons and ask them to draw a picture of something they're good at. Now, this is lesson #1 for me. I meant, draw a picture of something you believe your good at doing - trying to get at their strengths, interests, etc. They (of course) think I mean draw something that they're good at drawing. But hey, that works too. This kept most of their attention for, oh, let's say 10 minutes. Great, only 2.5 more hours to go.

Suddenly, all h-e-double hockey-sticks breaks loose. I've got two kids chasing a third around the classroom. I've got one punching the crap out of another. I've got one crying. I have one pulling on my arm pleading with me, "I want to do my homework!"

Using the loudest voice I have, I announce we're going to play "Simon Says." This is met with mostly cheers and the majority of the kids join me on the carpet. There are still a few running a muck, but hey, I'm doing what I can. Simon Says worked for maybe 5 minutes until the kids in the back decided that piling all their coats on the floor and jumping into them was way more fun.

Oh, and I've still got the one kid attached to me crying about wanting to do his homework. I tell him he's welcome to do his homework, but of course he can't do it on his own.

And so the day goes. We played every game I could come up with, but mostly the kids just ran wild. I yelled, I begged, I pleaded, I reasoned - all to no real avail. Mostly at 5:45 I was just glad they were all still alive and mostly in one piece.

I left that night thinking, "Yeah, this is not gonna work." But I was assured there would be a teacher with me the next day, so I came back on Tuesday. This may have been a big mistake.

Somehow on Tuesday I ended up with 32 kids. But having learned a few things, I managed to get them over to the school in a little bit more of an orderly fashion (well, until we were halfway there and they all broke into a run.) At this point I was still hopeful I would have a teacher waiting for us in the classroom, but... not so much. However, I did get all of them into seats and get test booklets passed out. (That's right, on day 2 after a full day of school, we wanted 32 first graders to take a math and reading placement test. Right....) But no sooner had I gotten the tests passed out then I realize, we don't have any sharpened pencils (as had been promised.) In the 20 minutes it took to manually sharpen 32 pencils, I had lost complete control of the classroom.

I had kids jumping off of desks. I had kids escaping into the hallway. I had kids jumping on each other. All in all, I think I sent 5 kids down to the office for medical attention (2 busted lips, two poked eyes, and 1 broken open scab.) Oh, yeah, and the kid that was being bounced on that puked.

I take full responsibility for obviously not having control over my classroom, but c'mon! I'm not a certified teacher. I really don't even have that much experience with this age group. I asked for help at least three times and was basically told that I needed to get stricter. I seriously spent 3/4 of the time threatening, yelling and sending kids to the principals office. I'm really not sure how much stricter I could be.

At the end of the night I pulled the site manager aside and said that if something didn't change I wasn't coming back the next day. We talked for a long time and I finally agreed to stay with the program if I could assist a teacher in a classroom rather than be the teacher. So I'm now helping out in a class of 6th and 7th graders.

All in all, it's going much better now. My first graders still run up to me in the cafeteria to give me hugs and tell me they want me to be their teacher. My 6th and 7th graders are slowly warming up to me. They're harder to win over, but easier to control. I actually got to help a few kids figure out one of their assignments yesterday and that felt good. Definitely more what I was looking for.

It's still not the best place ever, but I'm willing to keep giving it a try and see how it works out.

Monday I'm in charge of leading a drama class. Hmmm. We'll see how that goes. Wish me luck - I think I'll need it.

Oh Christmas Tree

I went on a very fun date last night which included touring this little block of row houses in Baltimore that go a little Christmas crazy. The camera phone doesn't quite do them justice, but it's the best I could do. :-) I think it was mostly impressive because there really aren't any other decorations around - just this block. Quite the eye-sore! It reminds me a little of my old neighborhood with the halloween decorations.

This is what Thanksgiving is all about!

Lily was serious about her turkey this year.

The whole nine yards

Where to start? It seems like it's been a long time since I've given any real updates on my new life out east.

Picking up where I believe I last left off... I had the house to myself for a few weeks (well, the dogs were here too.) Those few weeks went very quickly and were, for the most part, good. I got a little bored and stir-crazy here and there, but it pushed me to take a little more active initiative to meet some new people which has worked out nicely.

Carl, Kathleen and Lily all returned to Baltimore about two weeks ago, and the last two weeks have been, well, a whirlwind. Carl's been flying out for interviews, studying 12 hours a day for this big test he took today. Kathleen has, of course, been working everyday and somehow squeezed a day trip to Kansas City in. Lily turned two and is, well, busy like a two year old. I've been enjoying all the action, but I will admit, it was a bit like a tornado hit after having two pretty quiet weeks of basic solitude.

After 1.5 weeks of trying to be really helpful with the baby, house and dog, I decided I wanted to take a little break, so I took off this past Saturday for a pub crawl in Canton (a nearby part of Baltimore county.) This pub crawl started at noon and I just couldn't fathom beginning to drink that early and being able to stay out very long. I left the house saying, "I can't imagine I'll be gone longer than a few hours." 8 hours later, my big brother finally called to check up on me. :-)

It really turned out to be a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The group of people that were having the pub crawl is called "Meet 4 Fun Maryland" and has an age range of about 22 - 62. Now sometimes this can be a bad thing, but I have to say, this was fun. It was so entertaining to hang out with people from so many different age groups, so many different walks of life. There's just something that will forever seem entertaining to me about watching 50 year olds flirting. With two single parents some might think I'd be used to this, but I guess I just don't get the opportunity to see it so close up usually!

Anyway, the day turned out to be a lot of fun and I think it was just what I needed to feel a little more in touch with my less... homemaker side. I think I also gave Carl a bit of a "what did I get myself into when I agreed to let her move in" scare, but I don't really intend to make it a habit. I'm still working on the balance of family time and going out time, but I think it will kind of work itself out - especially once I start my other job next week.

So, speaking of that other job, many of you know I ended up moving out here in a bit of a rush, because the job I really wanted to take started on October 13th. When I was fully packed up and halfway out the door (on about October 11th), I found out that the position wouldn't be starting until the end of October or possibly even until November. I decided to go ahead and move as planned, because I a) didn't have anything left in my apartment, b) had already rented my apartment and c) knew Kathleen needed some help with Carl being in St. Louis.

As luck, and the Baltimore public school system, would have it, the program got even more delayed and is now not starting until next Monday. The nice thing is this gave me some time to get settled in, get into a bit of a routine with my DBSA job, and just relax. I think this is particularly good because I have a feeling this new job is going to bring a lot of stress to my life. At least for the first few weeks.

When I first found out about the position and the organization I was completely excited. It's an afterschool program that focuses on schools who are below proficiency rates in reading and math. The program has an awesome curriculum and really goes beyond your standard book learning.

After going through training, orientation and a month of back and forth with the office here in Baltimore I'm still psyched about the curriculum, but the organization.... not so much.

I know I'm someone who likes to have a little more structure in life than most. I like to know what I'm walking in to - I like to have things planned out. But this is just crazy. Pretty much every question I've asked has been answered with, "In a perfect world, this is what would happen...." Hmmm. Well, I can understand that this isn't a perfect world, but I would like to have some basic, little tiny idea of what I'm walking into on Monday. Instead of telling me what it would be like in a perfect world, let's try, say, this world.

If for no other reason than - I'm working with 1st graders. I need to have some idea of how the afternoon is structured. I need to have a few plans in place so they don't eat me alive. First impressions with kids are sooooo important. Yes, I'm confident I can win them back, but, man, wouldn't it be easier if I could just look like I kind of knew what I'm supposed to be doing off the bat? There's nothing like trying to keep 1st graders focused when you have no idea what you're doing.

Regardless though, I know this is going to be a good learning experience and I am excited to get started and see what it's really going to be like.

In other news, Grandma Murphy and my mom got here Monday night, immediately broke open a bottle of wine and we've all been having a grand time ever since. Lily is most impressed by the idea that this is me and Carl's mommy and her mommy. She just gives us this look like.... "hmmm, I don't know what you're trying to pull over on me here...." But we're all definitely enjoying each other and looking forward to turkey day tomorrow! Gobble gobble.

Drivers get younger every day

I had the pleasure of picking Lily up from school today and she decided she wanted to do the driving. She had it down too. But the best part was when she looked at me and said, "Climb in carseat, Inrin. Lily's driving."

A day at the park

Lily and I went to the park yesterday while Carl and Kathleen caught a movie. Lily had just aquired a new baby doll, so of course the baby had to go with us. Normally this wouldn't even catch my eye, but the thing is - this baby she picked out is UGLY. To be fair, it's really not that ugly until you take off the hat and then.... ugh. I just don't understand the designers of this doll. They created one chunk of long stringy hair coming out of the baby's head. and there's these weird wrinkles like something happened in the manufacturing of the doll.

Now, Lily clearly loves this doll, so apparently the designers know something I don't. I'm afraid we may have another Zander on our hands. As a little kid, he was always big on picking out the ugliest items as well. Like shriveled up, gnarly pumpkins. Guess it's just that underdog mentality. Someone has to love these things I guess.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the park and the ugly doll. :-)

Lily loved sending the baby down the slide and then following it down.

"Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy."
When I got a little bored and started wiggling the teeter-totter back and forth I was told, "No, Inrin. Bouncy, bouncy." Guess she told me.

Lily wasn't all about the swing when we first got to the playground, but before long she wanted to and then we spent a good 1/2 hour just swinging. She kept telling me, "Lily's baby swing! Whee!" This is a shot of her giving the ugly baby a kiss.

See the chunk of hair hanging down the doll's face? I mean come on... why?

Irie's learning how to share - kind of

Rain rain go away

This is day three of gross, rainy weather here in Baltimore. My head has been killing me for the past two days and I'm really getting tired of it. In part I'm glad that I'm working from home and don't really have to be out in the elements, but I'm also feeling a bit stir-crazy. Mostly I'd just like to be able to get outside a little (and have this headache go away - which I think is related to the rain as well, by the way.)

The good news is I've got several different activities planned this weekend, which I think will help with the stir-crazy factor. Tonight I'm supposed to go to Fed Hill (hot spot in Baltimore) to meet up with some potential new friends for a few drinks and a (get this) magic show. I'm very intrigued by this.

Tomorrow morning (weather permitting), I've got a morning hike scheduled with the dogs (and more people I met earlier this week) and an invitation to a party Saturday night (though I'm not sure I'm actually going to do that one - I don't have a costume!)

Sunday morning is another dog meet-up and then a people meet-up at a local winery.

Where am I finding all these activities you may ask... at meetup.com of course. If you're ever interested in making new friends, or finding people to participate in special interests with you - this is the place to go. It's basically just an online forum for every club or group you could ever think of based on your geographic location. You search for groups by your area and interests, sign up and then get emails about upcoming events. I love it.

Of course, you're not really guaranteed to meet wonderful people or anything, but it does give you stuff to do and you never know who you'll meet, right?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what all the weekend has in store. At the very least it's supposed to stop raining by Sunday!

My own Meerkat Manor

I've been putting Irie in the basement with Terra when I leave lately and when I get home and open the doors to the basement stairs, this is what I see. It's not a great picture, but she reminds me so much of the meerkats on TV. She stays like this until I get all the way downstairs. Cracks me up. :-)

Terra update

Lily and Kathleen left on Saturday to go join Carl in St. Louis for a few weeks, so now it's just me and the pups in the house. And other than it being a little strange that I have no real reason to leave the house or interact with people on a daily basis, it's going pretty well.

Sleeping has been a little challenging - mostly because Irie's a brat and doesn't want Terra to jump up on "her" bed. I've found that if I get Terra up there before Irie it all goes a little smoother though. And once they've both settled down, it's ok. The only other problem has been that I kind of like to move around a bit at night and Terra very much wants to sleep between my legs under the covers. Since my legs are often not under the covers this creates some problems. :-)

We've also been spending a lot of time at the dog parks. So far we've been to the regular dog park, a small dog beach and a new dog park about 20 minutes north of the house. I'm really enjoying the new park - mostly because it's bigger and all grass. And the drive up there is a nice one - through a more wooded area.

Dog parks have also been interesting because Irie believes that all balls that are thrown are for her to go retrieve, and Terra doesn't really believe in fighting for a ball. But, I've gotten smart and have figured out that if I throw Irie a ball all the way across the field, in the time it takes her to go get it, I can toss another one in the opposite direction for Terra. It works pretty well, but does give me more of a workout!

Today, Terra found an oversized tennis ball that she decided was the best toy ever. We spent nearly an hour playing soccer while Irie chased the pop-ups I kept throwing. Terra was so excited about her toy she even snubbed the treats I was giving out. :-)

That is one serious tongue!

The prized possession.

Irie was more taken with the horse in the field next door.

Our first solo outing

Kathleen had a teacher institute day on Friday so Lily and I were left on our own for the whole day! It was kind of a rainy day so I decided to take her on a little adventure to the Baltimore Aquarium. I haven't been there in years and I thought she'd enjoy seeing all the "fishies and turtles."

We had a good time and I think Lily really did enjoy seeing everything. She especially enjoyed jumping in the puddles that had formed on the "rain forest" floor and riding all the escalators up and down. I could hardly pull her away from the big sting-ray tank or watching the divers swim around as they fed the sharks. She ran from wall to wall so she could continue to see him. Every tank we went up to she'd look at me and say, "Open?" I think she really did understand that you can't "open" the tanks, because before long she was asking me with this sly smile on her face that she uses for asking for things like donuts for dinner.

However, I did learn/was reminded how truly difficult it is to take a toddler to a place like an aquarium on your own. We did pretty well until we grabbed lunch at the cafeteria. Carrying Lily, a bottle of chocolate milk and a cup of french fries (yes, that's what I let her eat for lunch - I'm terrible, I know.) was extraordinarily difficult. Especially because she was hungry and tired by then and wasn't too thrilled to wait in line. But other than losing a few fries along the way, we did pretty well. I did get lots of dirty looks from the parents with their more "balanced" meals. I fessed up to the family at our table that I was her aunt and that's why I could get away with this kind of lunch, which softened their opinions, I think.

All in all, it was a fun day. Here are a few pictures of our day (note the "pash-u" in her mouth in all of them!)

Hey you, with the camera... come look at this lizard!

Checking out the turtles.

Leaning up against the tanks and sliding down them was a particular favorite!

Long lost cousins

Despite Irie's bratty tendencies, Terra is a good sport and for the most part these pups are certainly enjoying each other.

These boots are made for walkin'

Kathleen has been trying to get Lily to put on these boots, but Lily's refrain has been, "No boots, shoes!" She was in a good mood tonight though so I actually got her to put them on. Once she had them on, she thought she was pretty cool stuff!

First post from Baltimore

13 hours, a few tanks of gas, multiple potty breaks, and lots of fast food later... Irie and I have arrived in Baltimore. As always Irie was a dream to travel with and spent the vast majority of the trip snoozing in the passenger's seat. She was, however, full of energy when we got here.

The last few days have been a bit hectic, but everything is going really well. I under-estimated the time it takes to "settle" and, in hind-sight, I probably would have taken a few days off from my remote working. I know, I know - it sounds ridiculous that I somehow couldn't quite seem to manage a 1/2 time schedule, but it was harder than I thought.

In large part this was due to all my computer issues when I first arrived. My trusty ol' laptop has slowly but surely been falling apart. Granted I have had it over 4 years, but I was hoping to get another year out of it. But as more things went wrong and as slow as it's running - I just decided it wasn't worth putting money into it to fix it. So, yesterday, I bought myself a new laptop, so I am now the proud owner of a Toshiba Satellite. My favorite feature - how little it is! I'm still getting used to the new Vista software - I'm not totally psyched by it, but I'm figuring it out. I'm still having a few problems with my connection to the office, but still a lot better than it was.

I still need to unpack the majority of my stuff and I still have a handful of move related stuff I need to do, but I think by next week I should be pretty much on schedule. (I hope!)

All in all, I don't really think the realization of moving has actually set in yet. I think I still feel like I'm on "vacation" or something. Lily and Kathleen are leaving for a few weeks to spend time with family in St. Louis this weekend, so after Saturday it will be just me and the dogs. I'm guessing the reality will set in a bit more then. I still think it was a good decision and am not sorry to be here at all - even if I do miss having friends around a little! :-)

So far the things that have struck me as the most odd have been 1) realizing I need to reset all my radio presets in my car. It's strange when you've been listening to the same morning show for years. and 2) there's no Jamba Juice in Baltimore. Jamba Juice is a recent addiction of mine and I absolutely love their "cold buster", but apparently that is just something I'm going to have to live without for awhile.

Otherwise, life is good and I'm enjoying my susie homemaker way of life for the moment. (Though on my first night I did accidentally light the chicken container on fire - whoops!)

I'll post some pictures soon.

From gainful employment to indentured servitude

Big things are definitely happening in my world.

First (and possibly most importantly) - the Cubs. Who would've thought that they'd get this far? Let's just hope Bartman stays home this time.

Secondly (and maybe equally shockingly) - I'm moving! Now, if you're a consistent reader of this blog, you've certainly heard me say that I'm not sure Chicago is really the place for me. I certainly love stuff about it, and it's most definitely home right now, but I've always been drawn to the smaller towns of my youth. So am I moving to Bloomington? Madison? back to Carbondale? No.... I'm moving to Baltimore.

I know, I know - that doesn't exactly fit, but hear me out!

Baltimore, obviously, is where Carl, Kathleen and (the love-of-my-life) Lily live. :-) I've missed having family nearby. I miss seeing them regularly. And, well, I just need a change. I really feel like I've been living in my cozy little comfort zone for the last... let's say 5 years and I need to push myself a little. I need to take a risk. I need to leave the familiarity of Chicago, my steady job, my fail-proof friends and just see what else is out there.

I'm certainly going to miss a lot about Chicago. I don't think I'll really even fully understand how much until I'm gone. But, barring a targeted nuclear attack, it'll still be here if I ever want to come back. And I know I'll visit.

And I'll miss parts of my job. It's been a steady-force in my entire adult life. (Granted my entire adult life is not really that long.)

And, I'll really, really miss my friends. I was telling Nicole last night that while I'll miss her and the rest of my "regulars", I know I will stay tight with them despite the distance. The more acquaintance type friends, the friends of circumstance, friends of friends, etc... it'll be much harder to stay in touch and remain close. And that's hard to walk away from.

I'll also miss being close enough to a lot of my family to drive over for the weekend and see them. Even though I'm not able to do it that frequently, it's nice to know I can meet mom for lunch on the weekend, drive over to either one of my grandparents' houses for an overnight, etc. I've liked having that option! But I know, in reality, the amount I see everyone is not going to change that much.

And I also know this move is not forever. The plan (or as much of one as I've got at the moment) is to live in Baltimore until next May or possibly June. Then, as Carl and Kathleen move on to wherever they go next, I'll move on to wherever I go next as well. What does that mean? Well, I'm not entirely sure. It will likely mean coming back to the midwest. Perhaps to remain close to Carl and Kathleen, or perhaps to check out some new place that seems to fit.

What will I do in the meantime, you ask? Well, I'm fortunate to have found a part-time position in Baltimore in a field I've always wanted to try out. I'll be working at an after-school program in a K-6 school, helping kids get up to proficiency levels in literacy and math. From what I know, it's not a homework help program or a baby-sitting service. They appear to have a very structured curriculum that has been proven to help students reach the levels they need to be at to progress to the next grade. It's very part-time and not a position I would be able to take on if it weren't for my awesome brother and sister-in-law who have agreed to take me in for the next 8 months. But, my hope is, it will help me get a better sense of whether this is a field I'm really interested in pursuing. And if it is, I hope the position will give me some of the "hands-on" experience that every organization in this field is looking for.

As it so happens, my current employer has offered to keep me on part-time to work remotely for a few more months to help make the transition here a little smoother. I'm not 100% sure how that will end up working out, but I've agreed to do it for awhile and see how it goes. This also allows me a little more time to get more of my work-world organized before I'm officially gone.

I'm, understandably, a little sad for all the changes and things I will miss, but ultimately I'm really excited about what's next. I don't know that I'm someone that always needs to be looking for the greener pasture, but I do think it's invigorating to just change everything around and start fresh now and again.

The other day, I was telling Carl all the things I'm planning on doing when I'm there - like walking the dogs, babysitting, cleaning, cooking.... He laughed and said, "You're not an indentured servant!"

And I guess that's true, but I am eternally grateful that I have such a loving and supportive brother (and sister-in-law!). And, besides, I love taking care of people - I'm honestly looking forward to playing susie-homemaker a little bit. Mostly I don't want to be a nuisance and instead help out wherever I can.

I'll do my best to keep you all in the loop as everything progresses. Wish me luck!

Argggh matie

Irie and I spent a good portion of our beautiful Saturday cheering on the kickball teams in the end of season tournament. Irie even showed her Pirate spirit.

Time to PARTY!

All this kickball madness makes a pirate pooch thirsty!
(Check out those dreds!)

The need for education...

Mom and I were out in the NW suburbs yesterday and drove past this sign. We thought it was so funny we had to turn around and go back to take a picture.

Perhaps they really meant "We're for mental health."

Who knows. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share...

One year ago today....

I picked up my new wriggly little puppy!

She was slightly smaller, a few pounds lighter, nameless, scared of Maverick, and quiet as a mouse.

My how things have changed!

Happy 1st anniversary, Irie!

Space issues

Irie has become pretty much unbearable on our walks in Chicago these past few months.

If she sees a squirrel it results in her attacking the nearest tree and giving an ear-splitting yowl which makes people look out their windows at us in disbelief.

If she sees another dog, there's lunging and growling and general chaos.

And don't even get me started on what happens when she sees someone riding a bicycle.

I was about at my wits end and had actually started looking into doggie boot camps. But before I shelled out the big bucks for a long term program, I decided to try my luck with a personal trainer.

Irie and I had our first appointment this past Thursday and have already made some great progress.

What did I learn? First, that all the harnesses I've been using to try to keep Irie walking nicely next to me and not lunging aren't helping. Our trainer said the real problem is that I can't get Irie's attention when she's in "attack mode" and the harnesses make it even harder because they pull from the center of her chest rather than her head. So, despite all my best efforts to find a good control harness for her, he said the best one to use on walks is the prong collar. Now, I have a prong collar and have tried to use it in the past, but it really hadn't worked. He took one look at it, decided it was much too large and resized it to actually fit Irie's little neck. Low and behold - a whole different experience! She is now not lunging and it gives me much more control. I'm not really a huge fan of using prong collars because they look a bit harsh, but I've been assured by many people they're much better than choke chains and they don't hurt the dog. They just remind them to not pull ahead or get too crazy.

So, when Irie decides she needs to attack something he's got me calling her name and walking backwards until Irie finally turns to look at me to see why it is I'm walking backwards. Once she does that I'm supposed to put her into a sit and give her treats. While this results in a very strange sight I'm sure, it actually does seem to work. At any rate it's much better than scolding her to no avail or giving her treats constantly to try to keep her attention which I think actually just reinforces that barking at something deserves a treat.

The trainer also has me working on sit-maintain which is basically means that the dog has to remain sitting until the owner gives the release cue. And that the dog's focus is on me rather than the food or whatever it is they really want.

I was working on this with Irie yesterday morning and much to my surprise (and admiration) she actually remained seated even when Maverick came up to investigate the treats on the floor which would normally send her into a frenzie. So, we're making progress there to.

I went into the training feeling like I had an incredibly agressive dog, but the trainer simply laughed at me when I said this. He said, "Ingrid, Irie is not agressive. I've seen agressive. If she was aggressive, you couldn't have walked her through all the other dogs out there in the other room without her lunging or attacking someone. This dog just has space issues. She's little and she feels threatened when she's on her leash so she does her best to let others know not to mess with her."

So, my pup has space issues - and maybe a bit of an inferiority complex. But she's not overly aggressive which makes me feel better.

We're going to work on these suggestions for a few weeks and then probably go back for another session to work on some other issue areas.

It seriously makes me wonder why we don't have children trainers in the world. I guess we do, they're just not called children trainers - they're called psychologists. And the best part (and oh, how true) dog trainers really do very little dog training - instead they do a ton of people training on how to respond to dogs. Exactly the same concept I believe in for child training - it's all about training the parents.

Irie's rendition of bobbing for apples

I give her a 10

I've been accused often of my blog being all about Lily (and since last fall, Irie). And well, yeah, there's a little truth in that. I am head-over-heels crazy about my niece. I admit it. I accept it as my fate in life. But in my defense, let me tell you - the girl is phenomenal.

I know, I know, I'm biased. But as Kathleen would say, "she is objectively cute." Virtually everyone I've ever shown pictures to thinks that. Of course, they may say this just to appease me, but I don't really think so. Often the remarks are unsolicited. And I always hear that she looks like me (which I don't 100% agree with), but come on, let's face it - I was a cute baby. Just kidding.

But really, it's not even about how she looks - though the little curls and sweet face do certainly help. It's really more her personality. And really... it's more just how much personality she has. She's just full of it!

I love her tantrums. (Especially when Irie howls along - they're quite the pair.)

And her not so "tantrumy" way of shaking her head and backing away with arms in front of her when she says (in a very concerned tone), "noooooo."

And how she can't say "yes" without a smile on her face. Or the way she says, "please."

And how smart she is. I mean, come on, the kid isn't even two years old yet and within five minutes of my being there this weekend she was upstairs with me and looked at Irie and Terra playing on the bed and said, "Two doggies on the bed." And she can count to ten. Granted 5-10 is said so quickly you have to really listen to understand it, but it's so cute the way she does it, "5, 6, 789n10."

She's very opinionated and quite adept at selecting her own meals, clothes, etc. And determined. I about cracked up when she was carrying a dog toy over to Terra which Irie promptly grabbed out of her hands. She looked shocked for a split second and then started yelling, "No no, Irie. Ra-ra's toy." And when Irie paid her no attention, she turned to me and with a highly pitched pleading kind of tone, "I had it! I had it!" Which I could only take as the reasoning coming from classroom sharing - I had it first, in other words.

Alright, alright, I'll stop now. She's awesome. That was the point. :-)

Sandy dog

This is a picture of Irie after our romp at the beach this morning.

The best dog park ever

Through one of my doggie playgroups I found out about this amazing dog park in the north suburbs of Chicago. It's actually a huge forest preserve where they've designated a big portion of it to the dogs. There are trails, a big pond, prairie grass, open fields... and it's all fenced in! It was an absolutely fabulous place to spend our first nice day in a long time this Saturday. Irie loved being able to run for miles, jump into the pond, and wrangle her way through the underbrush. She was one pooped (and muddy) puppy by the end of the day, as you can see.

The aftermath....

Chicago got hit by a pretty major storm yesterday. It was a little creepy. It hit downtown around 3:45pm and suddenly the skies turned black and the rain started swirling around - it actually looked like it was snowing.

On my way home I was kept entertained by all the branches, debris, etc littering the streets. Thankfully my apartment and car were both fine. Here are some pictures of my neighborhood and a few from the Chicago Tribune.

We're supposed to get hit again tonight so we'll see what happens. A lot of people still don't have electricity and a ton of the street signals are out. Making traffic a lot of fun around here!

A little of this and a little of that

It's been a long time since I've posted. Most of what's been on the forefront of my mind these past weeks is generally inappropriate blogging material. It's unfortunate - there are a lot of highly entertaining stories there, but, still I think careful blogging is in my best interest. So instead, I will offer you some tidbits and hope that my life will eventually go back to its "OK to share with the public" way of being.

First, let me share with you all that I am now 100% debt free. As of the first week in July, I have officially paid off my car. It was kind of funny to get the title in the mail - I sat there and looked at it for a minute and thought, "Now, what am I supposed to do with this?" Don't worry, it's in a safe place now. But since I paid off college loans awhile ago and credit card debt has never been my thing... I don't owe anyone anything. It's kind of a strange sensation. But a good one.

Secondly, we've been having a lot of rain storms here lately and due to this, I've found something that really makes me laugh. Whenever there is a big storm coming, the Chicago stations will run the ticker-tape across the screen announcing warnings. And guess what... Chicago has a fun catch phrase they like to use. "Turn around. Don't drown." For awhile there I only seemed to tune into the warning when it said "don't drown" and I was just convinced someone at the TV station was having a good ol' time putting silly stuff on the ticker. But, no, come to find out, it's an actual saying. Kind of like, "Arrive alive. Don't drink and drive." I have to say I really think the "Turn around. Don't drown" one is more a stretch though. Maybe the difference between a positive and negative outcome. At any rate, it's one of my new joys in life to watch for this warning to come across the screen.

I have also recently decided to throw myself into enjoying all that Chicago offers for the next few months. It's been awhile since I've done any of the touristy things and I think it might be time to give them another whirl. It's easy to treat Chicago like just another place to live, but I figure I'm not going to live here forever, so I should take advantage while I can. It's a piece of a larger plan that is formulating as I go, but not quite ready for public consumption yet.

OK, so now you have some little pieces of information to tide you over perhaps. I'll do my best to keep my eyes open for entertaining things that are blog-worthy.

If I went goth...

These are some pictures of Beth and I dressed up like "Kiss" for a kickball party. I was dubbed "mean Ingrid" for the night. Guess goth isn't my thing.

Harry Potter Mania

July 20th, 2007. A date that shall live in all Harry Potter fans memories forever.

It's been a big month for us "Potterites" (as I hear we're called.) On July 11th, the 5th movie (Order of the Phoenix) was released. I purposefully did not re-read the book before I saw the movie so that I wouldn't be so in-tune to things they left out of changed which proved to be a smart move. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, the movies will never come close to the richness of the books, but it was good. Even better I got to see it at the IMAX so the last twenty minutes were in 3D. Cool. :-)

And then this past Friday, it was mass "potter"monium. The 7th (and final) Harry Potter book was released at midnight Friday night. I've never taken part in the release parties before, but since this was the last book, I felt it was an experience I should have. Oh, and it was an experience.

First I had to arrive at the bookstore at 6pm to get a bracelet. The number on the bracelet indicated what "buying group" I would be in when the book actually went on sale at midnight. Even the line to get the bracelet snaked around the store. So I spent a good 45 minutes waiting in line with some pretty entertaining people trading theories on what would happen in book 7. The best part was honestly to look around the store at everyone in line and find that a good 80% were over the age of 25. Just made me laugh.

With a few hours to kill before the "midnight madness" party started at 10pm, I went and grabbed dinner and went to see "Hairspray" at the theater next door. (Hysterical, by the way!)

At 10, I returned to the bookstore and was met with magic potion demonstrations, the sorting hat, costume contests. It was hilarious. I think I spent the majority of the next two hours just watching people.

I think my favorite quote from the evening was from a little girl (probably about 8 years old) who was there with her slightly over-excited mother. The little girl looks up at her mom who's jabbering away about how exciting this all is and says, "Can I lay down for a little while?"

Luckily I was in the 2nd group to get called to buy books, so I was actually out of the store by 1am and at home reading by 1:30!

While I was intending the weekend to be devoted to reading, I actually didn't end up getting much in. I still have a good 3/4 of the book left, and I'm already stunned by what all has happened. I actually had some nightmares last night. It's crazy! I'm not sure how all the younger kids out there are going to deal with this, but man, JK Rowlings sure didn't waste any time diving into the meat of this book.

So, now I'm anxiously counting the hours until I can go home and get back to reading - and hoping that I don't run into any "spoilers" along the way!

Here are a few pictures I took of "Midnight Madness."

This was my favorite little Harry Potter. His dad (who was a big guy) was dressed up like Hagrid. It was hysterical. This kid was in the costume contest and when they called him to the stage, he pulled out his wand and yelled, "Expecto Patronum!" Hehehe.

Luna, Harry, Harry #2 and Hermione

Oooh... those summer nights

Perfecting the doggy paddle.

There are days when having a dog is a burden. Days where I just want to go out with friends or something but I know Irie's been cooped up all day and I need to get home and play with her. And today was kind of one of those days.

Work is stressful right now, life in general is feeling pretty stressful.... And, well, I just didn't really feel like going home to a hyper puppy tonight.

But on my way home I had a bit of inspiration. It was a beautiful night outside - perfect to take Irie on her first visit to the local dog beach.

It was a blast! As you all know, I love the beach anyway, so I had that going for me. But even more so, it was just a great time to watch Irie play in the sand, romp through the water, run away from the little lapping waves. She was amazed by it all.

We both came home tired and dirty, but I think it was well worth it. I'm sure it is the first of what will become many evening trips to the dog beach.

This is just another example of something Irie gives me an excuse to do. If it were just me, I would talk myself out of heading over to the beach just to hang out for an hour, but Irie gives me the perfect reason to head over. And there's no being bored sitting around with Irie there!

And, wha-la, I'm happy to have a dog again! :-)

Free wi-fi is neat

I'm sitting in the Little Rock airport killing time before my 7:45pm flight back home at the moment. Once I land in Chicago, the plan is to hop in the car and drive over to the farm (aka, my grandparent's place.) This will get me there at approximately 2am. Am I crazy? Yeah, probably a little - but it's the only way I'll get a chance to see my dad and little brother before they take off on their wild summer trips - dad to Italy and Zander to Nicaragua. Their lives are so much more exciting than mine!

I've been a little disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to be at the family reunion this weekend, because I had to be out of town for work, but I think this weekend has been good for me to refresh my enjoyment in my job.

It's never fun to have to miss out on things I want to do in order to work, but at the same time, I'm always just so amazed by the people we have all across the country who are doing such great things and it's always a shot in the arm to remember who I'm serving in my job. They were unbelievably friendly and receptive. Positive beyond belief and just so ready to learn anything that was thrown their way.

But regardless, I am excited to get out to the farm to see the family who is still there and just get to spend some time at one of my favorite places. There's just something magical about my grandparent's place to me. I actually think all of us grand-kids feel that way to an extent. It's the surroundings and the family for sure, but it's also just somehow relaxing to me. Maybe just because it's so far removed from the city! I'm really not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to take the city.... I love it, but... I think I'm just about ready to move on and get back to my roots. :-)

However, being in Arkansas this weekend has reminded me what real humidity feels like and I'm not sure I'm quite ready for a return to Carbondale summers. :-) It's amazing to me that you can still feel humidity in a room that's 67 degrees, but you can. Humid enough that it was even a little hard to sleep. Weird. Chicago can get humid, but not like this. As I type this, there's water dripping from the ceiling of the airport. It's that humid. Hehehe.

Alright, off to find something entertaining to do for the next hour! :-)