Vote for Taquito

http://www.competico.com/come-vote-for-me/1c6b61e0666c9948e8b9ff89916dfbcf

I entered a little contest that should be no contest because Taquito is obviously the cutest!

Kids

So... I picked three children up Sunday evening and I'll have them until Saturday evening. They are two boys and a girl ages 9, 6 and 4 respectively. They're all staying in my tiny one bedroom apartment. We've been to a couple of parks to play on toys, learned how to take care of Taquito (who loves having kids around) and went to Northwest Trek. Tomorrow we're going to the zoo, Friday is our day for swimming and I'm pretty sure that Saturday will hold all the wonders of Chuck E. Cheese. I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous last week. When you're in a single's ward (or are avoiding a single's ward) and live alone one might forget how delightful kids can be. I almost forgot how much I loved them. Some might think that being a middle school teacher would be a constant reminder of how much I love kids. They would be wrong. But... I do. I do love kids. A lot! A lot, a lot actually! Really... real.

Finally!

I'm so happy!! Disney has finally released on DVD the original Winnie the Pooh movie. You know the one... Winnie the Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit's door, Pooh pretends to be a little black rain cloud to get honey, Piglet gets swept away in a flood, Tigger bounces so high he gets stuck in a tree, etc. It's the BEST! I watched the tape so many times as a kid that I wore it out. I bought it today and I'm watching it right now. And it's just as good as I remember it! Genius.

Not Much Better

There's not much that can beat summer break. It's sunny outside. My responsibilities are at a low. I have a cute puppy to play with. I don't have to pack a lunch. I'm not worried about any pending deadlines. I'm just so... happy.

School's Out for Summer... almost.

School's out for summer in just a day and a half and I couldn't be happier. Really. I'm ecstatic! And nervous. Extremely nervous. Because I have a ton of paperwork that's due before I leave at noon on Friday. And I have to pack up my whole room and get it ready to be moved to a portable. And the staff and family party that's happening after work on Friday is at my house. And I'm not ready. And because my summer job fell through. But even with all of that stress, I still feel okay because by Friday afternoon it'll all be over. Over! I love summer!

El Nino is Spanish for... Taquito

I accidentally left my dog in the bathroom for almost 12 hours today. I know... I know... I feel like a horrible person but it really was a mistake. If I knew I was going to be gone that long I would have asked my dad to come down and let him out... but I didn't know. Either way, I got what was coming to me. My bathroom doesn't usually look like that...

...also, I promise that this is my last post about Taquito for a little while. I understand that not everybody is quite as obsessed with him as I am.

Vote for Taquito

http://www.cutestdoggy.com/index.cfm?dogid=2638

My Dog is Famous

Taquito was on TV yesterday a couple of times. He was part of a commercial for KIRO, a news station here. He's still on their web page at http://www.kirotv.com/index.html. You can see a little thumbnail picture of him in the right hand column which will lead you to this week's pet pictures. I submitted his picture, knew he'd probably make it onto the web page but had no idea he'd be on television. It's official. I have the cutest pup ever! The whole of Seattle agrees.

One Year

My grandmother passed away one year ago today. The grief still catches me sometimes making it hard to breathe. I hope she knows how much I loved her. And how much I love her still.

Exhausted

I am so tired today! And so was Taquito. He takes plenty of puppy power naps.

Quito's First Bath

Puppy Here!

Taquito Bonito Chihuahua has arrived! And he's gorgeous! And remarkably well behaved. I can't find my cord to hook in my digital camera but as soon as I do I'll post plenty of pictures. Because I'm obsessing.

China

This is China.

He always looked ticked.

Because he always was.

In One Phone Call...

I learned that my cat, China, of 15 years died today and that I'll be able to pick up my new puppy, Taquito, at 9am on Saturday.

A Day in the Life of the Cursed

I watched these two videos on Saturday. Each sent to me by different people. I laughed because they're funny, closed the window and moved on.





This morning, I woke up with both of these songs running interchangeably through my head. One annoying, humorous song traded for the other and then finally (by the time I hit the shower) they were one song. It was terrifying. And amusing.

Today was also the first day of the WASL. For those of you who aren't in WA and therefore have not been hearing this acronym being used as if it were a real word (pronounced wossle) all year long, it's our statewide assessment to monitor students' progress, hold teachers accountable and add anxiety to small children worrying about passing the 3rd grade. It's also boring. I sat and watched five sixth graders take the test today. Then left at noon because I had to go to the doctor.

A funny thing happens when you wait too long to see a doctor. They make you come back for additional tests. Or, if you're me, they make you go to the hospital for some outpatient procedures. First, they want to slice my eyelid open because I have a blocked thingamajiggy. Then they want to shove a video camera down my throat to see why I might be gagging on things... by making me gag on a camera. Then they want to do an ultrasound on my belly but they're not looking for babies. They're looking for ulcers. Also, she sent in the guy that draws blood. And he was gorgeous and funny and went to Harvard. Everything was going well until I asked him if I had to remove my cardigan in order to get to my arm.
"Hahaha! What did you say?"
"I asked you if I had to remove my cardigan."
"Cardigan? Did you really just use the word cardigan? It's not just a sweater. Wow, a cardigan."
"Haha... ha... huh..."
He laughed for five minutes. And I did too. Hopefully convincingly. Because I didn't get it. Then he stabbed me with a needle and took lots of blood. But right before he did I told him that I would be looking away because I don't like needles. Or blood. Even on TV. So he felt compelled to tell me, while he was drawing my blood, about some guy he treated a few years ago as a resident who had tried to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head but wasn't successful and so he was living with half of a face and exactly what that looked like and I tried my best to look interested instead of terrified all the while thinking to myself, "Why is he telling me this?! Didn't I just get done saying that I don't like blood?!" But then he changed topic to another guy he treated who also was unsuccessful in the suicide department who had jumped out of a third story window. I almost hurled. But it did take my mind off of the needle in my arm.

Also, my tabs are expired. And since I had UT plates I had to get an emissions test and then go to the DMV to get new WA plates and tabs. But on the way to the emissions place, I got into another car accident. This time my dad was driving. My dad hasn't gotten in an accident in... well... never. My dad has never been in a car accident. But suddenly he's behind the wheel of my VooDoo car and boom! Literally. We got rear-ended. It sucked. But I still passed my emissions test. $15. And was able to get my license plate and tabs. $88.

On a side note, I've been planting things lately. I suddenly have a desire to watch seeds grow. I'm growing several types of flowers and vegetables. It's not easy considering I have only a small windowsill where small plants can receive sunlight and because I don't actually have a yard to plant them in once they grow out of their tiny starter pots. So, it looks like my parents are getting a garden this year. Because I'll be going up this weekend to dig up part of their backyard to transplant my tiny plants.

Tiny seeds growing. Like my heart.

Taquito Bonito Chihuahua

One of these two baby boys is my very own Taquito Bonito Chihuahua. In a little over a week I'll be going to meet them and choose which one is most deserving of the name.



I plan on sitting on the floor and calling out the name and whichever one props up an ear or head first is coming home with me. Some people choose a dog and then pick a name that suits him. I choose a name and then pick a dog that fits the description. It's just how I roll.

Already I have more than any dog would need sitting in my living room including a dog bed, a carrier, a kennel, puppy training pads, receiving blankets, a leash, a collar, and half a dozen toys. I'm lacking only puppy food (which will be decided by the breeder and the vet) and a doggie sweater (which I have learned is necessary because Chihuahuas are unable to regulate their body temperature in even mildly cool weather... and I thought people just dressed their dogs for torture!) and some grooming necessities.

I'm also preparing myself by reading "Chihuahuas for Dummies" (not "Chihuahuas for Dumbers") which has let me know that my puppy's teeth may be so small that he may be unable to eat hard food for several weeks after I get him and I may need to make a puppy mush. Gross. But still cute. Kind of.

Comin' To Provo!

At 3pm something wonderful happened. School was let out and Spring Break began! Yahoo!!! I'll be renting a car and leaving Monday morning for Provo. It's the kind of news that makes my heart want to swell and burst! :)

Poodle Man

I went to the Humane Society on Monday. I want a dog. I want a dog so bad it hurts. I need a dog. So I went to the Humane Society to see if they had a small dog about a year old that was reasonably well-mannered and would respond to the name Taquito. What I found instead was a lump in my throat and a sudden desire to buy a small house on a large piece of property so I could adopt every single dog and let them run free. I found the throat lump and the plantation desire but no Taquito. I left feeling sad and somehow much lonlier than before, as if I had somehow lost a dog I'd never had. Oh, Taquito, where are you?!

As I drove home feeling a bit sorry for myself and contemplating Plan B on my "Find Taquito 2007" Plan, I passed three cars with dogs in the back seat. And I felt even more sorry for myself. "Everybody has a dog but me... sigh." I started to come up behind a fourth car with a canine companion. It looked like a large poodle with thick, tight, black curls and a blue bandana (wow... only one letter away from banana... be careful!) around his neck. The car was also going kind of slow so I veered into the right lane and as I passed it I got a closer view. The poodle wasn't a poodle at all. It was a man.

I laughed so hard I cried. And as the tears rolled down my face and blurred my vision I learned two great lessons. 1. You have to be extra careful while driving with blurred vision and 2. Even though I don't currently have a dog, I need to be grateful that I at least don't have a Poodle Man. He must be so high maitenance! And it'd be hard to find a vet.

The Pineapple Express

Apparently there's an annual storm that hits the Pacific Northwest called "The Pineapple Express" that I just learned about today. It consists of rain from Hawaii that picks up momentum as it crosses the Pacific Ocean. And it hits us EVERY YEAR and it results in flooding everywhere and heavy snowfall in the mountains EVERY YEAR. I just found out about it TODAY. And some people made fun of me. But honestly... how's a girl supposed to notice an annual rain storm IN SEATTLE? Like I'm supposed to differentiate Pineapple Express rain (it's supposedly warmer?) from the rain that comes down EVERY OTHER DAY?! That's all.

P.S. I got in another car accident yesterday. :(

Spring Break!

I can't wait! I cannot wait for Spring Break! The 30th is my last day of work before nine days of workless bliss! During which, I'll be making a trip to little Provo, Utah in my rickety car to visit my non-rickety friends! But the upcoming days off are not the only reason why I'm happy. I'm also happy because the sun shines through my window in the morning now. And because I can hear birds and other animals in the afternoon. And because it's getting warmer every day. And also because this evening as I stepped outside after an exceptionally long day, I took a deep breath and could smell new flowers, evergreen trees, freshly cut grass and northwest rain all in one whiff. That was a good whiff.