Layla had her first true full grooming last week Thursday. Below are the before and after photos. She definitely looks more "poodle-like" with shorter hair. It's so much easier to take care of when it's short...whew!

Before:






After:

"Alright men....20,000 XP if we can slay the ravenous Boozilla"

So I hope what I have is just food poisoning...means it'll be done with in a day and I'll feel better tomorrow. If not it's another bought of the stomach flu and I don't want to think how long it may last since I had issues this summer as well. My stomach felt a little icky on the way to bed last night and I hoped that sleeping it off would make it all better. Not so much...at 3 AM I woke up with the worst abdominal cramps and had to make a run to the bathroom. I haven't thrown up in a long time and I wish that throwing up was all my digestive system had in store. Every half hour or sometimes more frequently I was running to the bathroom. Thank god I was just "on call" today and no one needed me as emergency coverage. Means I can call in sick and no one really misses me. I picked a great day to get sick.

So I brushed Boo with the ShedEnder comb after a 3 month brushing hiatus. I normally try to do it once a month since it seems to really keep her shedding down quite a bit, but the last few months have been crazy and I couldn't seem to remember. Either way...the amount of fur I got considering she is a short haired cat...insane. So insane I felt the need to post a picture of the event. Here is Boo and her sister.

Because I recently placed an order with an online pet website, Gmail was so kind as to put a link in their ads for me to silly dog toys....and this was one of them. Granted, they couldn't name it Mr. Hankey for copyright reasons...but I'm sure that's the idea. I couldn't imagine letting my dog run around with a toy Poo in it's mouth.
http://www.vipproducts.com/retail/files/index.php?cPath=200_281
*sigh* what will they come up with next?

So I haven't posted anything lately. A lot has happened....mostly visiting friends and family around the holidays. Too bad the only time I think to post is midnight when I need to get going to bed. Here are some updated pictures of the doggie. She's still growing...now around 28 lbs.

Layla got her 2nd bath today. Just in time for guests around the holidays. Here are some wet doggie pics.

So here are a few newer pictures of the pup. She's growing quickly...and is NOT easy to take a picture of when you don't have a person to help distract her from the camera or from the photographer...
( Layla 11 weeks old )

So here she is. A few photos from our first day. She's smaller than I thought...but it's been so long since I've seen such a young puppy my memory is fuzzy. She's definitely adorable, and very much loves to bite feet and pants legs....so be careful if you stop by.

Well, my beta fish that I've had for 4 years now seems to be going downhill. He's looked more gray lately than his normal vibrant colors. He's also resting a lot more....on the bottom of the tank, or on plants...on his side. He still has his appetite, but I think he's going to die within the next month or so. No big deal...he's had a happy life for 4 years as the only fishy resident in my 5 gallon tank (the only other inhabitant is my little dwarf frog). But still, kinda sad to see him this way. I was hoping the frog would go first because the frog is the one who is a PAIN to feed. The fish was easy. Hopefully he's just sick for the time being and he'll recoup soon, but I have a feeling it's just old age closing in.

Well, as I'd hoped wouldn't happen, the puppies are going to be ready to "go home" with new owners this weekend. The breeder wanted to know if we were available saturday for pickup. *sigh* Sometimes it really sucks only having every other weekend off since now it means another 2 weeks before we can get her. Bummer.
*EDIT*
So apparently since next weekend we aren't available for puppy pickup, and the following weekend the breeder isn't available, we're going to do it this weekend and just forego the previously planned camping.

yay....I got a new car. Finally! It's an 09 Civic Hybrid. Initially I wasn't looking at getting the hybrid since the waiting list was several months long and I needed to get a car within the next month or two. We were looking at the EX-L because we wanted a Civic with the vehicle stability assist and that was going to set us back around 22K. The day we were going to test drive and put in an order for the car, the salesman called me and asked if I was still interested in the hybrid. Apparently they rolled one off the truck that day and the guy that had initially put in the order for it decided he didn't really want it for whatever reason. I told him I might be interested, depending on the color, interior, etc. He said it was black....which I could live with....and that it had a beige interior. Initially I thought beige interior?? EW. But, it's a pretty gray toned beige and looked pretty nice once I saw it. He was trying to get me to leave work early and get over to test drive it because apparently he was afraid it would sell that night. Rob got to the dealer before I did and while they were waiting for me to arrive (around 20 minutes) apparently there were a few other salesmen that wanted the keys to let other people test drive it. Our guy kept saying "it's sold"...even though we hadn't signed anything yet...and they didn't believe him. I wasn't totally sure about it but knowing it was only 2K more expensive than the model we were already going to buy, I figured the improved gas mileage would be worth the additional cost. At that rate, if I drive at least 12,000 miles a year at $4 per gallon of gas, I should recoup the additional cost in around 2.5 years. And that's only if gas costs don't go up. Well worth it (hopefully). Either way, I have a new car, and I sold my old one to Carmax (for a measly amount....but it's now out of my hair). Hooray! Here are a couple pics.

Here is the puppy at 5 weeks.....only a couple more weeks til D-day. Again, she's the one on the right.

Here is our pup at 4 weeks. She is the darker puppy on the right. She's a bit wet....they are outdoor kennels and the puppies were playing outside in the wet grass.

So Rob and I are getting a puppy. We're still stewing over a name, but here are pictures from ages 2 and 3 weeks. I'll keep posting every time I get a new pic cuz everyone likes cute puppy pictures right?







Ours is the one on the right....

Yay! the law exam score is posted and I passed. Only a week or so away from being a licensed pharmacist. Woohoo!

Yay,
All of you who said I had nothing to worry about can say one big collective "I TOLD YOU SO" because I just found out tonight that I passed the pharmacy board exam!. Yay!!! I still don't know the results of the Law exam, but I didn't think I did too poorly on it. So hopefully in a few weeks I'll be a licensed pharmacist. Yay!

So Tomorrow and Wednesday I take my licensing exams...the pharmacy portion on monday (it's 5 hours long) and the law portion on wednesday (3 hours I think). I'm scared out of my mind. Everyone keeps saying "you'll be fine" and "everyone passes it(the pharmacy portion...not the law...that's a hit or miss for some people)"....but that just makes me think, dear god...what if I don't pass it...then I'm the one huge idiot that doesn't know enough to pass an easy exam. Plus not passing it would jeopardize my job that I have lined up as well and I'd owe Osco a chunk of money back that they gave me as an early sign on bonus.
I'm so nervous because I don't even know some of the basics that I've learned in the past. It's like everything I try to review just leaks right out of my head. I can't recall basic brand/generic names, dosages, first-line therapies, drug interactions...etc. I don't feel ready to be a pharmacist. I don't know enough stuff yet. My biggest problem is that I didn't actually start studying seriously until a month and a half ago. I should've really hankered down back in May and studied hardcore all the way until now. I just couldn't focus and found other things to distract me. Of course now, in retrospect, I can say "shoulda, woulda, coulda"....I just wish I had taken things seriously so I'd be prepared for this and for my future job.
Hopefully, if I don't pass the first time, it'll be a huge wake-up-call and I'll study my ass off so I pass it the 2nd time around. At least then I'd know what types of questions to expect and what I should focus on for the 2nd attempt. And hopefully they don't fire me if I don't get licensed the first time around (I signed an agreement that I'd be licensed 90 days after starting)...hopefully they need me enough to let me wait another 90 days to re-take the exam (you have to wait 3 months to retake it if you fail the first time).
Wish me luck!

today I am 26. Too bad I feel like I"m 40.

so wolf #2 is finished as well. The pack leader (#3) is yet to be painted. I think he'll end up being a black wolf with a slightly silvery gray highlights in his fur. Maybe it'll make him look more powerful and distinguished compared to his two goons (#1 and 2). Any thoughts on colors for the alpha male??
( wolf 2 )