Life Lately

Spring is finally here and I'm so happy! I got some new summer shoes and our lilac bush and dogwood tree are KILLING it right now. It has still been cold at night and in the mornings, but I know I'll be in the pool soon!

Last week I was in the backyard with the dogs and saw something moving....it was this possum! At first I thought it was really puffy and weirdly shaped, but then I saw she had SEVEN babies clinging to her back! I put the dogs back inside real quick (not that they even noticed the possum) and took some photos of her. She trundled around the yard for a while and I tried not to scream out loud because it was SO CUTE. I've been keeping an eye out for this little family but haven't seen them again. The babies were about as pig as russet potatoes and I wanted to kiss their little faces!

I have been dog sitting up a storm lately! First I spent several days with my friends new puppy Bowie, then we had Cooper (a 14 year old blind pug gentleman) as a houseguest for six days, and now I'm watching my Aunt's dachshunds while she is on vacation. I'm actually there right now, sitting on the couch with two dachshunds and my two pugs. We're watching Catfish and they are loving it.

Look at how cute Bowie is! I was with him from 6:30 to 3:30 for several days because he is being crate trained and they weren't ready to leave him alone all day yet. It was wonderful, I mostly played with him, then read while he napped. They have a great backyard with a little deck by a creek so I spent many hours reading on the deck, listening to the birds. So relaxing! You can see Bowie helping me read.

This past weekend Nashville had it's first Vegfest! I didn't get any photos because it was SO CROWDED! They had almost 5,000 people show up! Double what they expected. Above you can see all the stuff we brought home. I was so stoked that there were so many vegans and veg curious people in Nashville! And we're getting two new vegan restaurants by the end of May!

Retro Sno, one of my favorite food trucks is back out! I try to talk Travis into going to find them as often as I can. I love a good Snoball!

My good friend Marc drew this photo of me being carried by Spock! I LOVE it and it makes me laugh. Look at that sultry pose! He made a pin up of Kimmie from That Girl in the Wheelchair that I love! Crystal made me a 2.5 inch pin of this so I can wear it all the time. Spock!

Speaking of Spock, I'm trying these straight across bangs again. Getting closer and closer to the everyday Vulcan look I want. (I'm so excited for the new movie this summer! I'm planning a little casual Kirk/Spock cosplay for Travis and I). Also, I might go to Knoxville to meet William Shatner. We'll see....we'll see.

My birthday is coming up and my friend Aubrey gave me my gift early. It is an Amazing Kreskin ESP game! We tried it last night and non of us seem to have the gift. It was fun to try through!

The weather means there has been a lot of patio sitting lately (and way to much going out to eat!). We took Phyllis to a Warby Parker dog event recently, then ended up at a bar with a fire pit with her. I think she loved it.

I'm still loving working at the vegan kitchen. I'm trying to get in a habit of taking breaks, even if it is just to sit in the parking lot for a few minutes. I have some other job stuff going on, exploring some possibilities, waiting for calls. Waiting is the hardest!

The pugs are doing well! Priscilla had her yearly exam just last week and everything looks as good as expected. We are going to try some medication for her dizziness. Phyllis hasn't had a coughing spell in about two months, so fingers crossed! We're hoping for no medical emergencies this year!

That's it for me I guess! I hope you are having a nice spring. Summah is coming!

What's In My Bag

Remember when bloggers were always posting about what they carried in their bags? I always liked that, and I don't think I ever did it. So today, you get the thrill of seeing what I carry around with me on the daily!

I switch bags all the time but lately I have been loving this one that my friend Marc made me for my birthday many moons ago. It is little and kind of weird with that woodpecker fabric, just how I like things. He makes cute Ouija board purses now.

These two buttons have also been on this bag for years! That dog one was on a wedding gift card and used to be fuzzy. And I always like to support my favorite wizard rock group, Harry and the Potters.

1. planner by Orange Circle Studios to keep all my jobs in order
2. Jane Eyre pencil pouch from Out of Print
3. my house keys with a keychain reminder from With Care Jewelry
5. my car keys with an alley cat gouger from Goblinko Mega Mall to keep me safe in parking lots
4. the cutest little bagpiper change purse (got it at an estate sale)
5. some snacks like a sumo tangerine or some jolly ranchers
6. my favorite hand cream from Andalou naturals
7. ear plugs since I am old now and sometimes things are just too loud
8. my custom Space Husbands wallet from Olivia Frankenstein
9. a stack of Olivia Frankenstein business cards to hand out when someone compliments my shirt or my bag or one of my many Olivia Frankenstein items! my best friends run that shop and I am for sure a fan girl.

Speaking of Olivia Frankenstein, she gave me this little pouch. I keep my ipod in there, and I use that cute cat thing to keep my ear buds in order. I bought it at Daiso in Seattle! It came with a cute puppy one too.

Inside my Jane Eyre bag is a selection of cute pens, washi tape and some little post its. I like my planner to look neat so I write things in on post its until they are confirmed. These little kitty ones are my favorite!

Last but not least the Totoro power bank I bought from Amazon and my Kindle simple touch. That power bank is a life saver and so cute! You press his nose and his teeth light up to show you how much power is left. I bought my Kindle used and I really love it. I always have a few library books lined up to read. I used to say I would never give up reading physical copies of books, but I'll admit I'm totally team e-reader now.

Nashville Pug Meetup!

Travis and I we able to go the Nashville Pug meetup a couple weekends ago! If you have been around for a few years you might remember we used to go to Pugs in the Park, but that group slowly died after the picnic shelter we usually used was under construction for months and months. I recently found the Nashville pugs group on facebook, which is a fun place to post photos and see everyone's little darlings. Here are some of the photos I took this month:

This first one was taken by Tobias Turner and posted on the group page. Look at poor Priscilla! This might be her last event out. I think her sight has deteriorated to a point that it is too overwhelming for her to be around lots of dogs coming at her. She cuddled up close to me and hid her face for most of the time we were there. Poor thing. 

Phyllis on the other hand LOVED it. Not the other dogs, she could take or leave them, but she loved making the rounds and getting picked up. That girl loves anyone who will hold her.

Now for some pugs that aren't mine. I remember some names....

Several pugs made themselves at home on our blanket. Into it.

I didn't even mean to wear pugs socks for the occasion. 

Look at those ears!

This meet up was at the Centennial Park small dog park so there were many non pugs there. I THINK this little dude belonged to one of the pug people, but I'm not sure. He was so tiny and cute! I picked him up a few times.

Phyllis waiting for someone to pick her up.

Poor Priscilla, nervously waiting for some strange dog to come get in her personal space.

Lookit him!

Behind Travis you can see that one gate of the small dog park us up a little bit of a hill. We came in that way, set Priscilla down and she almost rolled down the hill! Thankfully I was close and grabbed her really quick. Next time we'll park at the bottom of the hill I think.

Here is Phyllis looking for more new friends.

Awwwwwwww tongue. (And yes Travis got a meme tattoo.)

This is Roxanne! Her dad took tons of photos too. I was glad  because it made me feel less weird about pulling my camera out!

The theme was "pug birthday party". 

That little angel is Mr. Kitty! He is a silver pug puppy and one of the cutest things I've ever seen! He just wanted to run and play but he got scooped up by everyone he ran by! So precious!

Someone brought a dog birthday cake so there was a bit of a feeding frenzy!

Hiding. 

We were there about an hour and a half then it got a little too hot! There is talk about some members hosting in the future so pugs can get inside if the temps get too high. That would be fun! I can't wait for the next one.

When I got home I left my two in the car while I went to unlock the house door. When I turned around this little bit had tried to follow me. Those ears kill me!

Priscilla actually has a check up this Friday. Send her some good thoughts! These senior exams always have me crossing my fingers hoping nothing new has popped up!

Fun in the Cabin

It's finally here, my last post about our trip to Gatlinburg. Like I mentioned a few days ago we rented the most amazing cabin! When we go to the Smoky Mountains a great cabin is key because we're going to spend most of our time there. Here are some photos of what we got up too.

One morning Aubrey gave us makeovers on the porch and Kimmie taught us all about the wonders of fiber lash! The best part was Aubrey did mine in the bright sun, so the base was WHITE when I went inside. Like, mime white! It was a good look.

Our combined supplies. 

It was a very exciting time for the boys. 

Especially Kabuki. 

Turns out we are all huge Office fans! So we played this game. I got to be Phyllis.

Look at all those Schrute Bucks! We never finished the game because I was hangry and we had to go get lunch.

Kabuki is so cute! He cuddled up under every blanket. 

Again, I loved the little bar by the stove in the kitchen. It made it so easy to hang out while someone was making dinner. Aubrey suggested we do a baked potato bar and I think it is going to be a new staple! It was so fun and it makes it easy for all of us with different diets to eat together!

Oh yeah!

Crystal hiding her face because she wasn't wearing eyeliner, haha!

Yum! Potatoes with Earth Balance and broccoli and fake chicken strips and hot sauce. Perfect.

We brought tons of games as usual, but only ended up playing two. This was our Kigurumi night.

We played Heartthrob. Have you taken my advice and found this yet? It is SO FUN. We laughed the whole time we played it. We have big plans for our own version of it, coming soon.

Kimmie was a cute panda. She is drinking our signature trip drink, the Hot Tub Club! It was sprite, vodka, grenadine, vodka soaked gummy bears, and strawberries. Very fancy.

Jamie was a devil, I was Totoro, and Travis was a dinosaur. I wish we had gotten a big group photo!

Marc doesn't have one, but Crystal has a Rilakkuma one. Marc is probably laughing at one of my jokes. Maybe.

I posted this on facebook and someone commented that Beiser was praying for Jamie to go away, and now that is all I can see. Hahaha. The devil one was so cute!

And last but not least, here is us being creepy in the tiny room. This is moments before we turned the lights out and tried to scare Travis. It didn't work.
What a great weekend! We are hoping to make it an annual thing. And I can't wait to get back to that cabin!