Shih Tzu Whisperer Wanted

Back in the day, I used to watch "The Dog Whisperer" and be ever so thankful that I had such a mellow, well-behaved dog.  Then Tommy, the Shih Tzu puppy from the wrong side of the tracks, entered our lives.  Don't get me wrong, I love him.  He's super cute and playful, but I've just been noticing some things.  I don't know if he will eventually grow out of these behaviors, but if he doesn't I will soon be putting in my request with Cesar Millan!

I mean, I've been trying the "SHH" poke, but......nothing.  My puppy just kind of looks at me in amusement and then goes right back to what I was trying to get him to stop doing.  My main issue is that he's a bit possessive and aggressive - two not so bueno traits he should have.  Jerry is super relaxed and chill.  It takes a lot for him to get upset, so Tommy just jumps on him at every opportunity.  They are both fed the same food, given the same treats, and play with the same toys, but Tommy always steals Jerry's stuff.  I mean, he literally took a treat from Jerry's mouth and swallowed it - and he's half Jerry's size!  And lately his playfulness has turned towards a more mean direction.  He's all over Jerry, but the second Jerry sticks up for himself, Tommy immediately gets angry and indignant.

SIGH - I can already tell he's more of the alpha dog.  This little five-month old puppy.  Cesar, I know you're mostly in California, but is there a Florida episode coming soon??  Pretty please??  Are you accepting applications for new dog students at the Dog Psychology Center?  That would be a sight...this tiny monster among all of those pit bulls.  He certainly acts like a pit bull in a super tiny body.

New Beginnings

It's definitely time for a new blog post!  Speaking of new, I have a new job and career.  While I very much enjoyed what I did before, it was time to seek out new opportunities.  My last day was weird...on one hand, I was so excited to start on my new path, but then on the other hand I was sad to leave my coworkers/friends behind.  It was going to be so difficult.  I mean, come on, I was moving an unbearable two miles away, at the same institution no less!!  How would we ever survive without seeing each other every day??  The goodbyes only got harder when I was surprised with - wait for it......................the Hello Kitty party of my dreams! Hahahaha - it was super cute and very sweet.

But now I am in a new place and really enjoying my fresh start.  Everyone is really cool, friendly, and passionate about what they do.  Who would have ever thought I would get up and kinda SING in front of everybody during a staff meeting?  That usually would have embarassed me really easily but I felt just fine about it today during our funny ice-breaker where we had to hum or sing one of our favorite songs.  I tried humming "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls, but eventually had to bust out in "And I don't want the world to see me....Cuz I don't think that they'd understand.....When everything's made to be broken.....I just want you to know who I am."  I've always loved that song, though I guess those lyrics probably had some thinking what's wrong with me.  LOL.  I learned that a lot of people have some awesome singing and dancing talents (me not so much). 

I'm already in office-decorating mode though it is taking me some time.  But it's getting there...I'm a stealth decorator, sneaking in my decorative pieces a little bit at a time.  All in all, I'm just super excited and wanted to share the good news.  To new beginnings in 2011!  Cheers!

Civility

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to attend a one-day conference at UCF sponsored by the Florida Diversity Council.  It actually was an event I had not ever intended on attending but the invitation was extended so I went. 

And I'm so glad I did.  The keynote speaker was Donna Brazile.  Her credentials and experience are long and varied, but she basically has great knowledge in the area of politics and the inner workings of Washington, D.C.  She is a political correspondent and regularly appears on news channels like CNN. 

It was a very somber moment when we all shared in a moment of silence in honor of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords who was shot in the head at an event in Arizona.  Ms. Brazile knew her personally and stated what so many in the media have already said about her.  She was kind, smart, and wanted to make a difference, and most importantly - she is strong enough to pull through this.  Each day looks better and better for her and I hope that everything ends up well and that she is okay.  It's going to be a tough and long road for her, but it is possible.

Her speech was funny, but also quite touching.  I know that I have watched political news hours and shows with people from each party battling back and forth.  I, of course, have my own political views just like anyone else and am prone to disagree and argue with my TV.  However, at the end of the day, we are all human.  We are U.S. citizens that have the freedom to make our own choices and express them.  It seems so often that Republicans and Democrats hate each other so much, which is scary since we all need them to work together to help our nation.  I wonder if after appearing on such shows together if they just turn their backs and toss out a few personal insults off the air.  But Donna said that is not the case.

In her many years, she has fostered great friendships and relationships with people who have shared completely opposite political opinions.  These are people she has invited to her home, that know her family, that truly care about her.  These are the kinds of things that the people need to know about and actually witness.  Not the nasty mud-slinging we see day to day.  There is goodness there.  There is civility there.  Please take this from behind the scenes and let us see it.  I still do not know if there was any political motivation for the shootings that took place in Arizona, but I do think that the political rhetoric that is out there can be potentially dangerous.  We should be careful of the 'us vs. them' mentality that turns ordinary people into enemies just because they have a different opinion than you.  Be passionate, but respectful.

She ended with letting us know that there was a potential move to get all of the members of Congress to sit wherever they wanted - not this whole 'Democrats on one side of the room, and Republicans on the other.'  I think that would be a pretty powerful show of unity.  Unity - I think Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be proud.

Meet my new puppy!

Happy New Year!  Shame on me for not introducing my new puppy back when we first got him in December.  His name is Tommy - yes, Jerry and now Tommy!  Ahh, I would have much preferred something like Wheezy since he had this funny little sniffle he was doing.  But isn't he cute?  I feel like I have a matching set of Shih Tzu.

More pictures to come!

I See Snowmen!!

Well, not real ones anyways, but they are still super sweet!  Check out my little snowmen face cupcakes.  I was supposed to use some sort of coarse decorating sugar to make the top look like snow, but I couldn't find any in the grocery store.  So I instead decided to add some tropical flavor and dip the cupcakes in coconut.  They were quite yummy if I do say so myself.  I used chocolate chips for the eyes and mouth and an orange slice for the nose.  The hat was just an oreo cookie I jammed into the cake. 

My Timeless Joy

Sigh...

I must confess that I am a major Hello Kitty fanatic.  To anyone that already knows me, this is not a secret by any means.  But...I just love her.  I don't know what it is about that cute simple face with no mouth, but I adore it on anything from a duffel bag to....whatever you can imagine!  Any possible product you can imagine, there is probably a Hello Kitty version of it.  Don't believe me?  Then check out this website - on SECOND THOUGHT, omg, I'll pass on posting it for now.  There was some Hello Kitty drug paraphanalia that came up first on the list!  No, no, no, I like my Hello Kitty harmless.  Excuse me while I laugh at myself.  I was just thinking to myself before I went to check the link, "I've seen military tanks, I've seen Hello Kitty rifles, I would hate to see some illegal Hello Kitty type products" and bam, there's a cocaine straw! 

Some argue that Hello Kitty actually is a bad role model because she has no mouth.  This is supposed to symbolize that girls should remain quiet and passive.  While I did find that interesting when I read it, I just don't know.  I don't think she would be as cute if she had a mouth.  If anything, I always liked the fact that Hello Kitty doesn't force her emotions on anyone.  For all I know, she could be happy, sad, pissed off.  Damn, if she only had eyebrows!  Now it is just a mystery forever...though I am assuming that when she's a ballerina, schoolgirl, rocker, or dolphin trainer that she's pretty happy.  One would think at least.  I don't know if she's happy when her hot face is toasted onto my bread, but I sure am!

So, to combine my love of cupcakes and Hello Kitty, I attempted to make these cupcakes.  They were a pain in the butt and not nearly like I wanted them to turn out, but I think they still came out cute.  And to throw in an extra one, I made an American flag with cupcakes to celebrate one of my coworkers becoming a U.S. citizen.  Yum!

Beauty and the Beast.....wait a minute!

Image via Wikipedia.  I love this scene! <3

So I was watching my favorite Disney movie "Beauty and the Beast" today, just relaxing and singing my songs.  A scene comes up with Cogsworth talking to the rest of his enchanted clan and I'm thinking, "Hmmm, I don't really remember this part, but maybe I just forgot."  It has been awhile, but yet I have seen this film a million times so it definitely threw me off.  But then they busted into a brand new song!!!  I'll have to look up the title of it but I want to say it was called "Human Again" or something.

Don't get me wrong, it was super cute and catchy.  Dear Disney, you tried to be sneaky but I caught that.  You can't fool me!  Don't you realize that I spent many days during elementary school remembering all of the songs, especially my favorite "Be Our Guest"!?!

It will take some time, but I will get past the shock and learn to accept this new addition to my favorite Disney film....who am I kidding?  I'll probably know all the words by tomorrow...