school update

I'm still alive! I promise! And I don't even feel ridiculously busy, but apparently I'm too busy to blog, which is something. But, I came all the way to this corner of cyberspace to say this:

I am on track to submit my research project to the IRB by Thanksgiving! Which would be spectacular, and make for a very relaxing holiday..

Security Camera Tornado Footage

Here's some footage of the tornado that came through South Minneapolis last week ... crazy stuff!

Security Camera Tornado Footage

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Mystery Solved!

This summer we have been investigating the Case of the Missing Cherry Tomatoes. We had two beautiful tomato plants in pots on our patio ... we waited eagerly while they ripened all summer and were really excited to eat them. We did think it was odd that they kept falling over (pots and all!) but, well, it has been a windy summer. But then - just when the tomatoes were at their peak of ripeness, the cherry tomatoes started disappearing! The regular ones were still going strong (and have been delicious!), but the cherry ones were just ... gone. We each thought the other was eating them, then we thought maybe a small animal was sneaking up to the plants? But we don't get a lot of animals in our yard because of the dogs. Which, of course, brings us to the answer to our mystery ...

That's right ... Bailey has been PICKING the tomatoes off the plant, just when they become ripe. He even sniffs past the green ones and only picks out the ripe ones ... he has good taste, at least.

Sven Circled My House!

So we finally had our first big storm of the season tonight. Sounds like no injuries so far, but several tornado touchdowns.

So when Sven the weatherman circled our house:

We corralled the animals into kennels in the basement ...

And waited out the storm. After it passed, we got some fantastic lightening pictures.

It was a cold day in July ...

When Uncle Rob came to visit!


We enjoyed some Wisconsin beer.

We took a lovely hike:

And the three Nelson children caused some trouble:

And OH MY GOD SUSAN ATE THE CAMERA!

Here are the things Ivy ate while I took a 45-minute nap:

1 sandal
1 pad of paper
1 spatula

Here are the things that Ivy ignored:

3 rawhides
3 tennis balls
2 kongs
2 chew / tug toys
2 random other dog toys

Introducing ... Ivy!

We got a new foster dog tonight! Her name is Ivy and she's a young female yellow lab mix (probably about a year old). She is a sweetheart, already house trained and beginning obedience trained (she knows "sit", and with some clicker training this weekend will probably learn more). She's very bright and energetic, and available for adoption through petfinder.com. Tell your friends!
Here's a shot of her sporting her very own Gentle Leader!

Bye-bye Teddy Bear

Sadly, we have decided that Teddy will do better in a foster home with more experience dealing with his issues (the list of issues has grown daily, and now includes 'play' biting when he doesn't get his way). We're really sad to see him go (well, except for Susan, who's never warmed up to him). He really did make a lot of progress while he was with us, but the play-biting thing was getting out of hand, and we didn't feel equipped to help him learn a better way to release anxiety. Here's one last picture of Teddy, on the very first day we had him. This is back when we had to bribe him with treats to come into the house:

Kennel Up!

Teddy has been making progress every day since he came to live with us! He has learned to sit and is well on his way to learning down, and loose leash walking. The biggest issue we have been dealing with is getting him to not nervous-pee whenever he's in his kennel. For some reason, being in the bare kennel w/ no blankets or towels is doing the trick. He even seems to like it! We're hoping to teach him to "kennel up" before too long, because dragging a 65-pound dog into a kennel every night is not my idea of a good time.

Introducing ... Teddy!

Teddy is our very first rescue dog through Second Chance rescue. He was picked up as a stray, so we don't have a lot of information about his background. He's about 5 years old and appears to be a lab / golden retriever mix. Our best guess is that he was kept outside in his prior home, as he has an extremely thick coat, is absolutely terrified of entering the house and isn't housebroken. He also seems to think that the cat is some sort of strange squirrel-like creature. :)

However, he has made fast friends with Bailey and has already learned to sit! He has a very sweet disposition and will make someone a great pet, once we can get him to walk through the front door...

Very Interesting ...

Here's a great article about how the brain perceives sounds differently coming from the right ear vs the left year. Maybe this explains why I never want to do what I'm told! :) 

In one ear... | News Cut | Minnesota Public Radio

One of the dogs is performing a wonderful sit / watch ... while the other has clearly discovered where mommy hides the treats during training sessions.

How To Make Dog Treats

This is a great recipe we just discovered for making homemade doggie treats. You can use all organic ingredients and still spend less than $1 for 40-50 treats ...

3/4 cup flour

1 egg

1 Tbs honey

1 tsp peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

Heat honey and peanut butter until runny (about 30 seconds in the microwave). Mix ingredients together and drop by 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for approx. 8 minutes.

It will look super dry before baking - you can add more honey and pb if you want, but you'll have to cook them longer.

When finished, they'll be about the size of a quarter and all toasty-looking.

And you will have some very very happy dogs!

The Murder Weapon

Just more evidence that the previous owner of our home had some very odd ideas ... it's a hand-held gardening tool that he taped to a long stick to avoid spending the $7.99 on a longer one. Of course, it's also a fabulous murder weapon if you're mad at your wife for making you help clean the garage!

Paws for Peace

Went to Paws for Peace today - easily the best dog fest we've ever been too. Lots of space, including an off-leash area, shade, yummy food samples - Bailey had a blast! We were having so much fun that I actually forgot to take pictures, so you'll just have to imagine all the fun that was had. The event also served as a fundraiser for Partners for Violence Prevention, a very worthy organization that deserves all the attention it can get. 

Then, when we got home Mike kicked my butt in Bocce Ball. Apparently it was payback for my epic Scrabble win the other day ...