Happy Thanksgiving

Rusty and I went for a walk around campus and took a couple pictures, I don't think I've ever seen an actual holly bush (is that even the right name?)

Thought I'd also include some of my Christmas/ Thanksgiving decorations...

Couldn't think of a good title

I got Rusty a couple new toys today, he played with each of them for about 30 seconds and then hid them under the bed. I was trying to find a squirrel- since he loves them so much- the closest thing I could find was a hedgehog. But he seems to like it anyway.

We went for a walk around Colonial Williamsburg- Rusty loves it. He has discovered horses, cows, and sheep. He likes sheep the most (maybe because he looks like one). I should say he likes them until three of them turn around, gather at the fence, and stare at him- then he runs away. Here are some pictures from around town.

Sadly, our walk did not end well, I was listening to my ipod and one of my earbuds fell out and somehow got tangled in Rusty's leash and... well look at the picture below. And I've only had them a couple weeks :(

100th post

It's hard to believe that this is the 100th post- who knew I could say so much about so little? I pondered what to include in such a monumental post- and decided to share some of the cards my nieces have sent me- here are some of my favorites...

And of course I had to include a picture of Rusty (with some of my homework) I think he was cold and was trying to burrow under the blanket- snuggling with my DVD player.

I bet you can't wait for the 200th post.

A dog named Rusty

Which is what I'm beginning to think I should have named this blog. But seriously, how cute is Rusty?

Poop

A while ago my sister sent me this text message...

(It will help to know- Bella is my 4 year old niece and Mila is my 7 year old niece)

"Bella just said, 'poop is a funny word,' Mila and I laughed- Bella said- 'see I told you.'"

Fall Leaves

I've been promising to post some pictures of the beautiful fall leaves and now I'm finally getting around o it. I haven't yet taken a picture that does it justice but here are some of my attempts...

Rusty has discovered squirrels...

Yippee!!!

I'm sure you can guess how I feel about the campaign results.

I was worried that Virginia might go red and I felt like I had let you down somehow- but it didn't- we're blue!!! This is the first time I've voted with the majority in my state and all I had to do to accomplish it was move across the country.

Laura- I wish I was there to celebrate with you! 

I voted!!!

It was surprisingly emotional. 

Early this morning I drove past my polling place- the line was insane! It was exciting but since I had Rusty in the car I decided to come back later. So I headed over at 9- there was still a line, much shorter than earlier, but it was longer than any line I've ever had to wait in at a polling place. 

I was surprised that they didn't have electronic voting- instead we had to fill in a circle next to the candidate's name, I flashed back to all the scantron tests I took in high school. 

All in all it took only 15 minutes- and that includes being stopped in the parking lot to fill out an exit questionnaire. 

I'm still worried about the outcome but I feel much better now that I've voted. And for the first time I feel like my vote actually counted, it's kind of exciting living in a state that could go either way- although maybe that's why I'm stressed! 

still one day left...

Laura said www.isobamapresidentyet.com made her feel better.

But this worked better for me.

1 day left

I'm completely freaking out over the election. I just want it to be Wednesday so I can stop having nightmares about McCain and Palin in the white house.

So I thought I'd give you another reason to vote for Obama- read this article- we need change. 

I've been meaning to post about this for a while but wasn't sure what to say. The article is written by Colby Buzzell about getting recalled to the Army to go back to Iraq. I've posted about Buzzell before, he wrote the book My War: Killing Time in Iraq which I wrote about here and here. The article is heartbreaking.

Traveling with a dog

Last weekend I went to the WHA Conference which just happened to be in my home state so I got to visit with family and friends while I was there. It was a lovely visit- but way too short especially considering how long it takes to get there and come back. After much debate and weighting of options I decided to take my dog with me. It was freaking expensive and stressful. Airlines like to gouge pet owners. 

Leading up to the trip I tried to prepare Rusty by shoving (I know it's not nice to shove but he gave me little choice) him into his carrier. He hated (hates) his carrier. When we first tried it he completely freaked out and panicked. Over the course of several weeks I finally got him into the carrier (still by force- gentle force) without causing him to panic. He would lay in there quietly, if not happily, and only occasionally tried to escape. (I rewarded him with treats- so it wasn't all bad).

Next we went to the vet to get sedatives for the trip. (Vets also like to gouge pet owners- although less so than airlines and to be fair his new vet is very nice- if expensive). My advisor suggested that I test out the sedatives before the trip because he might have a strange reaction to them. So a week before the trip I gave him a pill- it worked and didn't seem to freak him out.

After all our preparation I wasn't too worried about the trip but my anxiety grew as we drove to the airport. Rusty was used to the carrier but he still hated it and hated it even more when being carried because he gets jostled around. We arrived at the airport 2 hours early and got in the LONG line to the check-in desk. Once in line I began overhearing other people talking about my flight being delayed- by an hour- which meant making my connection would be less likely- but not impossible. By the time I got to the front of the line (an HOUR later) the flight was being delayed by 2 hours- meaning that I would completely miss the connection. Mind you, this whole time Rusty is freaking out in his carrier, he was shaking and jumping around trying to escape. I tried to calm him down and he bit me through the mesh, he had his nails stuck through the sides, and was trying to open the zippers by working his nose into the corners. It was a very stressful hour. We ended up taking a different flight through a different city and got home 4 hours later than planned. Which meant a very late night right before a very early morning- I had to be downtown (about 45 minutes away) at 8 the next morning. Rusty didn't care- he was just happy to be out of his bag. That first hour in line was by far the most stressful (for me at least- Rusty also hated going through security).

The trip back was much better- I think both of us had gotten used to it and I was careful to only move the carrier when necessary so that Rusty didn't get jostled too much and he tried to get comfortable and sleep the whole way which was nice. By the way, the sedatives worked when I tested them out but did not work on the trip- I'm not sure why- maybe it was his stress level. 

The two days spent at home were very nice- it was great seeing everyone but I am looking forward to a longer visit. And I've decided to get Rusty a new carrier (since he hates this one so much and has already made a hole in it) so I went online and ordered one with wheels-hopefully he will like that more.