foxinthesnow

camping at lake cachuma was pretty great. we ended up staying one less night than we planned on because bucky got a little too freaked out at night, but other than that it was great! we plan on taking more trips closer to home to get him used to camping before we take our big trip in august to big sur. we stayed with a decent sized group and the little girl that camped with us loved bucky so much. when we were leaving she said "okay, you stand here and i'll stand there and whoever he goes to is who he's going home with. bucky! come here! i love you, bucky!" it was pretty adorable.


the view from our campsite

Lake Cachuma, originally uploaded by ToKissTheCook.

this time next week we will be on our way to lake cachuma, near santa barbara. i'm really excited because it will be the first time franky goes camping! and bucky, too! i hope they have fun. we're staying from fri-sun and aren't too far away from home so it's a good starter place.

it was really cute... franky was afraid he was going to have to go poop behind a tree or something! it will be quite an adventure for him. and i can't wait to take bucky on his first boating trip!

this past weekend was one of the most sad and frustrating times for me in a while. it started out great. we thought we found a good match for bucky! we took him at 10am to the pasadena animal shelter and introduced him to a pitbill mix around his age. they were nervous at first and took a long walk together. then by the end of the walk, they were best buddies. they were playing and licking each other and running around. it was pretty much the happiest i've ever seen him because he could really play with her rough and she'd play back. it was pretty heartwarming to see. so, of course, we snatched her up! her name was honey, but we changed it to eleanor (ellie for short, because it sounded similar to honey)



things went downhill fast. we put them in the car together and they had a little spat. i put bucky on the floor in the front seat and made him calm down and the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. they were great when we got out of the car, but she was really wary being in the house. she found a corner in the bedroom and wouldn't move from it. bucky was happy and hyper and bouncing all over the bed and we tried to get her to come up with him, but he'd get in her face and freak her out. he wasn't being outwardly aggressive or snarling at her, but he still freaked her out. she curled up on the ground and they both fell asleep. then bucky woke up and pounced on her (wanting to play) and she FLIPPED out and they got into the first of many scary fights.

she is so sweet with people, but she is really a shell of a dog. you reach down to touch her and she automatically sinks down to the ground. she warms up eventually, but it takes a lot of time and she regresses very quickly back to being totally timid and shy at the slightest sounds/movements. if i was living alone and didn't have another dog i know i could really help her come out of her shell and be a great dog. but i really don't think it's fair to her or to bucky to try to rehabilitate her in this kind of environment. i am pretty much decided at this point that we have to return her. i fought to keep her all weekend, but she's just getting worse. i feel awful seeing her so stressed out and clingy. i have to do the right thing, no matter how much it hurts.



i always get kind of ahead of myself, so i already bought tons of stuff for her (collar, leash, walking harness, bed, toys) and when we take her back i plan on giving them all to the shelter to hopefully make her more adoptable. she looks so cute in her collar and maybe that will make her stand out. i just feel like i really have to do the right thing for everyone here, but i still feel like i'm giving up on her, which hurts. sigh.

the shelter is closed today, so we can't take her back until tuesday. if anyone locally is looking for a dog and doesn't currently have one, she would be a great pet. she is not aggressive at all towards other dogs outside, walks really well with her harness and is pretty much the cuddliest thing you will ever meet. she just needs someone who can give her a lot of time and love and undivided attention. please let me know if you know of anyone!

i've been on a medically-required diet for over a week now and it's pretty much the greatest thing, ever. my boyfriend was teasing me last night about how much i'm enjoying it. it really stressed me out at first and felt like this impossible task i would never complete. plus, i became very insecure of my own cooking skills over the last few years and didn't think i could make things i would enjoy eating.

there have been hits and misses, but mostly hits! and i can feel myself getting better already. the process is just so slow, though. i'm far too obsessed with instant gratification and have a hard time when things move at a slower pace. but i'm learning. and i'm so routine-driven now. it's something i'm not used to at all! but the house (the kitchen, at least) is so clean and together. i cook dinner and my lunch for the next day every night and go to bed with an empty sink, which only used to happen if we went out. we go out for sushi once a week and eat at home the rest of the time.

it's been a nice change and i just hope i can keep up with it.

it rained a TON last month and this month and the usually brown hills where i live are so, so green!



this guy loves it!



we've been talking about moving to new york some day, but i honestly don't know if i could handle it. i love los angeles so much and never want to leave. we are 5 minutes away from dodger stadium and 15 minutes from downtown and we get to live in a little hilly hideaway! i would miss it too much.

also, it was 80 degrees out this weekend. i cannot handle cold or snow or the rest of that bullshit. i get pouty when it drops below 65. yeah, no thanks!

sorry livejournal, i'm kinda cheating on you.

from now on, all quilt-related stuff can be found here: http://elevenquilts.squarespace.com

unfortunately, that means my posts will probably become even more sporadic here. but know that i'm still around and i still read your journals and love you all!

if you use an rss reader for blogs, here's my feed: http://elevenquilts.squarespace.com/main-page/rss.xml

it's going to be tough to give this one up!

- make at least one quilt a month
- master making macarons and truffles
- work on producing some short comedy sketches with my boyfriend
- take more pictures
- knit a pair of socks
- become a better housekeeper
- read more books
- take more trips
- trade in my current car for a hybrid/electric car
- spend less time on the internet