Ugly babies

Why sometimes do the most attractive people have the ugliest babies??  I don't understand how that happens.  Do these people realize their babies are ugly?  Probably not, as a parent I imagine you find your child beautiful no matter what.

I suck at blogging!

Ok, I am officially the worst blogger on earth.  I haven't written anything in 5 months.  I guess I just haven't been motivated or inspired to write anything.  Not sure why.  I haven't been taking a lot of pictures lately either.  I don't feel artistically inspired at all these days.  So I am going to try and change that.

As far as what's new...not much really.  Mills got a promotion about a month ago or so.  It has been going really good and the transition has been pretty smooth.  He is actually working closer to home, which is good too!  We have just been hanging out with our new friends down here a lot.  I am STILL looking for a job and interviewing.  :(  Have had several interviews with one company lately and hopefully I will hear back this week about it.  I am soooo hoping I get it!!  I am so tired of not having a job.  I feel like a loser!  And I want to have money again!

I went to Las Vegas a few weeks ago to visit my friend Sara.  I was there 6 days but it went by so fast and I wish I could have stayed longer!  I had so much fun and I had kind of forgot how much I love Vegas!!  It is kind of like New Orleans in the sense that there is so much drinking and partying going on and there is always something fun to do.  Actually getting to spend time with one of my true friends was nice too.  I haven't got to spend that much time with a friend in a long time.  I really miss that since I have moved to New Orleans.  However, I did miss Penny dog and Mills a lot.  I don't like being away from them for very long.

Speaking of Penny, she hurt her back last week really bad.  I thought she was sick or had a stomach ache for about a day and then I realized that she was hurt b/c I would try and pick her up and she would squeal with pain!  Wednesday night I realized it was her lower back and then she started acting really weird and pretty much wouldn't move.  Then I tried to lift her off the couch and she howled and cried and wouldn't move her back legs and was sort of dragging them behind her.  I started panicking.  Mills got up and we ended up taking her into the 24 hour Vet Emergency Clinic.  They told us that she definitely had a lower back injury.  They kept her overnight and she has to take pain killers and muscle relaxers for a week or two.  I have been sooo worried about her!!  She is my baby and it kills when she is in pain.  She is truly part of our little family and I can't imagine life without her.  I hope she gets better soon b/c I hate her being all drugged up and just laying around.  It is so sad. :(

Ok, I know this blog was boring, but I can't think of anything interesting to write about at the moment and I just wanted to write something...so this is all you get for now!  I promise to try and be better and write something interesting soon.

Famous doxie's and their artist owners

Here are two interesting articles I found about two of my favorite artists and their beloved dachshunds.

Dachshunds in Pop Culture: Andy Warhol

Famous Dachshund Owner? Pop Culture? Our Hero! Andrew Warhola (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987), better known as Andy Warhol, was an American artist who was a central figure in the movement known as Pop art. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, an avant-garde filmmaker, a record producer, an author, and a public figure known for his presence in wildly diverse social circles that included bohemian street people, distinguished intellectuals, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy aristocrats. A controversial figure during his lifetime (his work was often derided by critics as a hoax or "put-on"), Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books and documentary films since his death in 1987. He is generally acknowledged as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.

His dachshunds were 'Amos' and 'Archie.' The above photo of Warhol and Archie was taken in 1973 by photographer Jack Mitchell.

Dachshund (Archie), 1976, synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas

Excerpt from artnet: In the early 1970’s the era of Andy’s cats ends and Andy’s dogs begins. In 1973 Jed Johnson, Andy’s boyfriend, convinced him they should get a dog. Through a friend’s recommendation, Jed decided on a dark brown, shorthaired dachshund puppy. Jed and Andy named him Archie. It was definitely the beginning of a wonderful relationship. Andy and Jed adored Archie. Andy took Archie to his studio, to art openings, and Ballato’s Restaurant on Houston Street. The wife of the owner, John Ballato, had a toy poodle named Muffy and Andy was encouraged to bring Archie so he could be Muffy’s companion. I do not remember the dogs ever playing together because Archie was always on Andy’s lap, eating bits of food that he was handed. Archie was carefully hidden under Andy’s napkin just case a restaurant health inspector would happen to come by. John’s restaurant was very exclusive and he only allowed people he knew and liked to sit at one of his tables for lunch or dinner. It was a hangout for the emerging art world, those who were settling into New York City’s SoHo area in the early 1970’s. Andy was so attached to Archie that he would not travel to London because he could not bare leaving Archie at home or in quarantine for six months. Archie became Andy’s alter ego. Andy would hold Archie when being photographed by the press and would deflect questions to him that he did not want to answer. The artist Jamie Wyeth did a portrait of Andy with Archie being held under Andy’s arm looking like the sophisticated and regal dog that he was.
Two or three years after getting Archie, Andy and Jed got a second dachshund, this time a light brown, shorthaired puppy they named Amos. Unlike Archie who enjoyed the company of people and was very social, Amos was more like a regular dog. Archie and Amos kept each other entertained in Andy’s townhouse barking and chasing each other. Archie’s days of going out on the town with Andy ended.
During his last years, Warhol lived alone in a five-storey building with his two miniature dachshunds, surrounded by antiques, art and about 175 cookie jars.

 
Portrait of Maurice, 1976, commissioned portrait for Gabrielle Keiller, synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas. To create this screenprinted image, he worked from Polaroids of Maurice, taken at Keiller's London home.
 

Andy Warhol and Archie sit for a press photo in New York.

Andy Warhol, Archie, and friends at Brooks Brothers, New York, 1975

Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, Archie

 

 
Traveling Wiener Dog in a Mercedes Benz



This lens is about a little brown dachshund that came to live with the famous artist Pablo Picasso.


Lump (German for 'rascal' and pronounced loomp) was born in Stuttgart and lived in Rome for a year. He shared an apartment with a very large,very jealous afghan hound. One day, he decided he just had enough.


Adios!


Lump traveled with the well known photographer David Douglas Duncan. David was often visiting Picasso and had become fast friends with the painter, and his companion Jacqueline. One spring day, David pulled up the gravel walk of La Californie, Picasso's villa. Beside him, was Lump,riding shotgun in the Mercedes Benz Gullwing.


As David and Picasso chatted, Lump explored the grounds, learning the hard way, what was a sculpture, and what was alive.


Then it was time to go home. But Lump, in his stubborn wiener dog fashion, decided that he would make Picasso's home, his home...and that was that.
 

 
So Special
 
Yan a large boxer was already in residence at La Californie.He didn't seem to mind this little walking wiener coming to live there. Many dogs,in fact had come and gone, and still were on the the grounds of the villa. But only this little dachshund found a place in Picasso's heart to be held, played with and painted.

A Real Dog in a Surreal World



Learning the World of Picasso


Lump, like all wiener dogs, had a very curious streak. Of course the fantastic world of Picasso was a constantly changing landscape of curiosities.


Esmerelda the resident goat was already immortalized in bronze on the grounds. Lump found out very quickly...not all goats were so immobile.


He also got into the artwork,literally. When he appeared on the terrace with oil paint from head to bum, a rather undignified cleaning ensued. No wiener dog, regardless of how famous, hates to be put through such embarrassment.


Lump spent the rest of the day sulking, in Jacqueline's arms.


Lump learned to read Picasso, knowing when it was time to play, and when to back away. If a few thunks with his favourite stone on the studio floor failed to get the artist's attention, then it was time to find amusement elsewhere. While Lump also had the persistence of all wiener dogs, he knew when to give artistic genius room to take flight.


Immortalized


In Picasso's version of Velazquez's "Las Meninas", the large mastiff was replaced by Lump. However, I couldn't figure out why the painter never painted Lump's ears downward. They stick up and make him look like a long fox.


He was also painted on a lunch plate...every conceivable collector of Picasso would love to get their hands on that!

Picasso also did a sketch depicting two wiener dogs...but I'm unsure whether he did that sketch before Lump arrived or after.This was a print Ikea sold in their stores over five years ago(see below).

Picasso's version of "Las Meninas". Lump is in the front,on the right side.

The Coveted Lunch Plate 

Picasso Print from Ikea.

Forever Together



Lump actually came to live with David again when he wasn't able to roam La Californie. The vet Picasso took him to was incompetent, so David took matters into his own hands.


Even though Lump was now back in Rome, Picasso still asked about the dog that shared his life for so many years.

In 1973 both Picasso and Lump passed away, leaving a little known legacy.But when it is told, it never fails to warm the hearts of those who hear about it.

Another Saturday like that

Ryan and I flew home last month for his grandpa's funeral. I ended up staying back at home for a week and got to hang out and see some friends. My friend Carrie and her hubby Shane had a party on Friday night in which we drank large quantities of alcohol, flailed, danced and sang our lungs out. It was glorious and fun as always. But the next day is what I am thinking about today. Carrie, Shane and I woke up hungover as hell the next morning but we layed around all day talking about funny things and watching funny videos online. We laughed so hard we all cried for hours. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard. Carrie said "I don't want you to go home. Today reminds me of old times!" Yes, she was right...it was just like old times. It was so fun. I never laugh like that anymore and I miss it. We used to have so much fun and do such funny things. I need to start doing funny things again.


Ok, now I have to go outside and kill some fire ants and wasps and rake some leaves.  I am absolutely terrified of wasps now after getting stung last fall and going to the hospital.  I couldn't sleep last night and was having anxiety thinking about getting stung by a wasp.  Uhh!

Love this quote

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."


— Marilyn Monroe

Animals

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.


- Mahatma Gandhi

I am officially the worst blogger ever!

I suck at blogging.  I don't know why but I just never make time to do it.  I think of it as a chore and put it off all the time.  Oh well, so here's what's been going on!  Mardi Gras was yesterday!!!!!!!!  Woot Woot!  We have been partying and parading for weeks now so I am kind of glad it is over.  I mean, don't get me wrong it was super fun but I am sort of tired of partying at the moment.  We went to a big dog parade called Barkus and saw lots of people and their dogs dressed up.  We took Penny and I think she had fun but I think she was pooped when we got home.  She got her first real taste of Bourbon Street!  We even went to Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop.  We also went to a "promiscuous" parade where there were big penis and vagina floats and people wearing dominatrix outfits and men in thongs, etc.  We also went to a toilet themed parade where people rode on big toilet floats and threw out rolls of toilet paper, plastic toilets and sunglasses that looked like toilet lids.  Oooh so many parades, so little time.  We probably went to about 10 but didn't even see a fraction of them.  Oh well, there's always next year!  The official numbers haven't been released yet but they are saying about a million people came to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras this year.  Crazy!!

Now, I must get ready for the big St. Patty's Day parade this weekend!  WooHoo!  And my good friend Sara will be flying in to visit me next Tuesday!  I can't wait for her to get her.  She will be here for St. Patrick's Day and the Irish/Italian Parade! 

Not much else going on.  No good news on the job front.  Have only had one interview since the beginning of the year and it went good but they hired someone internally and told me to keep in touch b/c they may have another opening soon but I haven't heard anything back yet.  I have been volunteering at a Food Pantry and The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  It is sort of like the Human Society.  I really like volunteering.  It makes me feel good.

It is starting to get HOT out!  It was in the mid-eighties about two weeks ago but then cooled down a little and has been raining a lot the past week.  The humidity has started to pick up as well.  I hope it holds off for a while.  I am not ready for the blistering heat and humidity!  The lizards and bugs are back out in full force.  Today I was standing outside our back door and counted 10 lizards in a 3 sq. foot area!  Yikes!

New Year!

Once again, it has been WEEKS since I have last blogged so I will recap a bit.  A month ago, my best friend's house burned down to the ground.  Her, her fiance and their children barely got out with their lives.  I panicked when I first heard the news with sheer horror running through my mind.  After I spoke to her and found out everyone was safe I was so relieved.  But I still can not stop thinking about the whole thing.  Their lives have been turned upside down as they try to make it from day to day.  They are doing exceptionally well, considering the circumstances.  I am amazed by her strength and resilience everyday.  I can not believe how well she is doing and how strong she is being.  I am pretty sure I would be a complete and total wreck.  But they are slowly rebuilding their lives and I have a feeling 2011 will be their year.

Mills' parents came down the weekend before Christmas and stayed for 4 days and that was awesome.  Mills was so happy to finally get to spend some time with his parents.  He had only seen them twice since last January and both times were very short.  I however, have got to spend a lot of time with his parents over the past year.  They are good people!  They have done so many favors for me I will never be able to repay them.  Anyways I rode back with them to Indiana the Wednesday before Christmas.

I am so grateful I got to go home for Christmas and spend time with my family (especially my grandma).  I stayed 5 nights at her house.  I have always been very close with my grandma and enjoy spending time with her.  I treasure these times even more now than ever before.  Even though I am so happy I got to go home and spend Christmas with my family, this certainly wasn't the best Christmas I have ever had.  Since I just talked about my friends house burning down a few weeks before Christmas, I don't really have much reason to complain. I mean, it wasn't terrible but it wasn't GREAT either.  I missed Ryan and was sad that we had to spend our first Christmas married...apart.  We haven't been apart on Christmas in probably 6 years.  Then I had a few other small mishaps (car troubles, injuries and family squabbles).  I lost the keys to Ryan's parents car and ended up spending two days and $300+ trying to get a new key made.  Note I said "trying" because they were not able to make a new key.  That's another story in and of itself.  Anyways I was totally bummed b/c I had to spend all of my Christmas money on that stupid ass car.  I borrowed the car to save money and ended up spending way more money that it would have cost to rent a car and I sent the car back to his parents all jacked up! 

I am sort of glad Christmas is over.  It always stresses me out.  It has since I was 8 years old and my parents got divorced.  In the few years I remember before the divorce, Christmas was the best day of the year.  I can still remember a few of those perfect Christmas' and the toys I got and the feelings I had.  But after the divorce, my Christmas' were split spending half the day with my mom and half the day with my dad.  I didn't like Christmas anymore.  It just sort of made me sad.  The worst was probably when I got my license and I had to drive myself back and forth on Christmas Day throughout High School and College.  I remember spending those lonely moments in the car driving from once place to another thinking that no one should have to do this on Christmas Day.  Anyways, I still have to split my time around the Holidays between my mom's family and my dad's house and it still stresses me out.  I am relieved when it is over.  That is sad.  I wish I didn't feel that way, but I do.  My family in general sort of stresses me out.  Sometimes I feel like I have the most disfunctional family in the world.  I know that I don't, but it feels like that at times.

Anyways, I am glad it is a new year.  2010 was a tough year.  Getting married was definitely the highlight!  But I sure had some challenges and hard times.  I am ready to start a new!  Start fresh!  I hope 2011 has great things in store for me.  It hasn't exactly started out as planned.  I have spent the past few days in bed sick with the flu/cold.  Yuck!  Just my luck!  I hope to get healthier in 2011.  I feel miserable right now with my weight and my general heath.  I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.  And I am going to do something about it!  I hope to find a job that I love and that makes me happy in 2011.  I hope to do more volunteering in 2011.  I hope to do more traveling in 2011.  I hope to become a better photographer in 2011.  I am going to make all of these things happen. 

Ok, time to go to bed.  Nite, nite! ;-)