Our adorable little bed hog...

Chanel has been spending quite a bit of time at home by herself lately. My working arrangements have changed and I'm not able to take her to work with me every day anymore. Consequently I think Chanel is having to get used to a new routine and she seems to have become more cling-y. Normally she only hangs out on our bed when we're not on it. If one of us goes to bed she'll hang out for a few minutes before departing the room. Yes the room, not just the bed. If both of us climb into bed at the same time she's gone before we have a chance to even settle in. And if we try to coax her to join us on the bed she manages to suddenly go either completely deaf or completely daft, (or both). Pat the bed, call her name, she anxiously makes her way to the other side of the bed looking like she'll jump up any moment and then usually vacates the room rather abruptly shortly after, never once attempting to climb on up.

And then there other night came along...

I snuggled in under the covers. Jon was brushing his teeth and then would be joining me soon. Chanel wonders into the room and looking ever so adorable I succumb to her spell. Gently and very non-committaly I pat the bed and say "You can come up" confident she'll look at me blankly and then go lie down in the living room. Before the sentence was even remotely finished she was making her way onto the bed next to me. Jon comes in to go to bed but it's too late. Chanel has successfully taken over his entire side of the bed. Not because she's spread out, (yet), but because she's just a big dog.

Feeling bad that I invited her up, and she actually came, I didn't have the heart to kick her off. On the other hand, I wasn't about to ask my husband to sleep on the couch because I felt bad for our dog... We tried to coax her down to the bottom of the bed, though still between us and that's when she took the opportunity to stretch out. She didn't roll over on her side, she just stretched out on her stomach now taking up more bed. Somehow we managed to get her a little bit farther down the bed and that was sufficient for a bit. Eventually, after our phones were plugged in, alarms set, and tomorrow's agenda discussed, we turned out the lights and then tried to figure out how to snuggle with a giant fluff ball still solidly wedged between us.

Upon decided that her vacating the bed was really the best option for all of us Chanel did not feel the same way. She was dead weight. Didn't budge, didn't want to get up, didn't even appear to acknowledge that we were asking her to do something. We gave up for a moment thinking, "We're smart. We should be able to figure out how to snuggle in spite of our live stuffed animal"... Well we're not that smart. Somehow we managed to get her off the bed and after we finally settled in for the night and Chanel found a tolerable spot on the floor, we heard a long heavy, (what I imagine to be) irritated, put out, exasperated sigh expelled from our adorable little dethroned bed hog.

Hello Mr. Moose!

One may think it's dead... one would be wrong...

Chanel actually ingeniously didn't "destroy" her moose, rather she created TWO toys from one! Our dog is brilliant!!!

Shmooshy Face...

About a month ago Chanel was at Concorida University with me as we were building one of the sets for an upcoming show in the theatre. It was just me, Tim and Haley (one of our students) setting stuff up. Chanel had long since worn herself out chasing her tail and had crashed out in the shop. She successfully found one of the largest piles of sawdust and bedded down in that. A short time later admissions brought a tour through. The theatre is just one stop on the campus tour and for those of you who don't know Chanel, she's one of the most social Akita's I've even known. The tour (of about two dozen people) walks in and Chanel doesn't budget. She's out cold. Tim softly calls her name... still nothing... he calls her again and her ear twitches. So he calls her again and she sits up. There's sawdust ALL over her face looking very much like what we look like with pillow lines on our face after a long nap. She staggers to her feet to reveal sawdust all down her side. And now she starts to make her way to the waiting crowd.

She doesn't look quite awake yet and the sawdust shmooshy face just makes her look that much more ridiculous. I was laughing pretty hard at this point. Two steps before she rounds the corner and all will be able to see her she shakes and surprisingly all the sawdust falls off. Looking pristine and clean and with a big smile plaster on her face, (yes, I really do think dogs can smile), you can hear the instant she comes into view as the entire tour says "Awwwww! So cute!"

Chanel, in true fashion makes the rounds to each and every person, though I think she was doing some recruiting of her own as she lingered at someone little brother who was only about 8" taller than her. After she made the rounds she quickly returned to her sawdust bed and was snoring, (yes snoring) soundly once more.

A moment of crazy...

A year ago today Jon and I were married. And not to sound too clichéd but it's been marital bliss ever since. I think one of the things that has made it work so well is that I have moments of crazy. I admit I'm crazy. Jon lovingly accepts my crazy and either embraces me through it, or hides in the other room. Both are usually equally affective.

Then there are those times we both have a moment of crazy. We had talked about getting a puppy this coming summer. We both really wanted a dog but agreed that we'd like at least a year of just the two of us before we add another living thing into the mix. We hadn't even bought fish for the fish tank yet. So many big changes already... single to married, living alone or with roommates to living with a spouse, once driving 5 minutes between home and work, now it's 30 minutes... Yea, definitely gonna wait on that whole dog idea till we get more settled. Or at least until we have a back yard.

And then June 23rd came along and Jon and I executed our moment of crazy. With a postage stamp 2nd story condo for a home, no backyard, (or front yard), no extra time in our lives to devote to one more thing, and only 8 months into our marriage we gleefully (and maybe just a little apprehensively) drove home with our brand new adorable puppy... who was actually three and a half years old, but we still refer to her as a puppy. Moment of crazy? Oh yea! But as I sit here as our anniversary day comes to a close, and think back over the last year of adventure, change and excitement and welcoming Chanel into our lives with open arms definitely sticks out as one of the highlights. Don't get me wrong, marrying my best friend certainly makes the cut as well!

Some may say that marrying someone you've known less than a year is crazy. Buying a condo in this economy is crazy. Beginning the process of remodeling when you know you won't have the money to complete the process for years is crazy. Adopting a dog and taking on all the responsibilities, (financial, emotional and practical) that go along with that while still newlyweds is crazy... And maybe it is. But maybe that's why Jon and I fit so well together - we both have moments of crazy, but usually at different times and in different areas and because of that we can balance each other out. We don't demand the other to stop being crazy, but rather step into the craziness and either join the fun, or lovingly invite reality into the mix.

It's been a great year and we're looking forward to many more and having Chanel as part of our family has been a moment of crazy that we wouldn't trade for the world!

 

Happy Birthday Chanel!!!

Oh my goodness... has it really been 67 days since we last posted anything...? So much has happened since then! We left Chanel home by herself for the first time and she helped us redecorate the binds in one of the windows... The three of us experienced 4th of July together for the first time and we discovered that she could fall asleep to the loud pounding of the fireworks exploding over the lake across the street, but the little fluffy dog walking by puts her in a tizzy... she went to her first day of school and didn't steel anybody’s lunch money (and by school I mean training)... she went to her first day of school and made all sorts of new friends (and by school I mean Concordia University in Irvine)... she has fallen in love with a stuffed moose... she had a long weekend sleepover at the trainers when Jon and I attended a wedding down in Escondido... and she continually keeps us entertained on a daily basis!!!

Today we celebrate 4 years! This birthday is especially exciting as it's the first one we get to share with her! We got little cookies that she'll take with her on Friday to share with Taicho and Suki. They almost look like people cookies with frosting, but I promise, they came from PetsMart and said they were specifically for dogs. Enjoy them now Chanel, 'cause you're only gettin' 'em on your birthday!

And she got a new stuffed dragon that has been a really big hit most of the night. Which is especially great, because the squeaker doesn't really squeak as much as honk... can't wait for the night she discovers it at 2a in the morning...

 

And tomorrow she'll get to play with a brand new stuffed octopus! The other one has slowly been destroyed by both her, Taicho and Suki. It's de-stuffed and limp-less back at Gothic Moon.

We also got her some pretty special treats just for her birthday...

...but the birthday girl was a little pooped out so we'll have to wait till tomorrow for those.

When I first walked into the bedroom she was crashed out and twitching - clearly in the middle of a dream. I even turned on the light and she didn't move. I thought, "maybe I stand a chance to grab my camera and capture this fairly hysterical shot..." However, by the time I went to get the camera she had rolled over and was posing... alright fine birthday girl... but next time I may not brush it off just because you're so cute and adorable... (though chances are I will... even when it's not your birthday...)

Chanel has been a real treat these last few months and we feel continually blessed to have her. We're excited to see what the next year of her life has in store for both her and us! Keep the adventures coming!

 

Family Camp 2012

Here are a few pictures from Family Camp at Pismo. Chanel did so good, and met lots of new people.

Rasta Pup :-)

Sitting in the GMP shop talking with Tim and Tina. I put Chanel's purple octopus on her head, makes her look like a Rasta pup :)