anne's chit chat

Last night, while watching Kathy Griffin My Life on the D-List, I had an awful feeling that Judy was not in the backyard. That she had escaped.

I yelled at Jake that I think Judy is out, so we both ran out to the backyard and whistled for her.

She was NOT in her usual top of the stairs spot.
She did NOT come running from around the side yard.
She did NOT come running from over by the garage.

I just knew that she was not in our yard.

I remembered that earlier I had opened the white gate in the side yard to have her run around the front yard. I had also propped open the front porch door for her to run inside. She didn’t want to come inside so we both ran to the backyard and I played with her for 15 minutes.

It was hard to remember the exact sequence for everything but I thought I had left her outside and I came inside.

As Jake runs into the backyard to go looking for her in the back alley, I sprinted to the front of the house, out the front door to check the white gate and look for her in the front.

As I ran through the propped open porch door and onto the side yard – the white gate was shut! This was good but it meant that maybe the back gate was open! Oh no!

I ran into the backyard and Judy comes running to me!!!!! JUDY!!!!!

As Jake ran to the back gate (which was closed as well!) Judy was standing there wagging her tail at him!! She had somehow gotten out and looked like she was just waiting for us!

Turns out, after we played in the backyard we BOTH came back inside. I had forgotten to shut the porch door and apparently she just walked outside and had about 15 minutes of FREEDOM.

Where did she go? What did she do? She has sorta done this before.

All I know is that she is the most wonderful dog ever and I love her.

I mean, she saves Max on Christmas Day and now she is taking trips around the block by herself!

She is so good — she didn’t run around the neighborhood, or to Hamline Avenue, or get hurt. She somehow made her way to the back alley (found the one house that doesn’t have a fence around their yard) and just waited for us to come and play with her.

Of course she could have just walked back through the front door, but that is totally not as exciting!

New Danish style love seat in porch! Bought some foam and fabric – currently trying to figure out how to ACTUALLY make the cushions instead of just wrapping fabric around the foam. Jake cut the foam with our new electric knife!

Old photo of us, circa 2002. or 2001. Little yellow vase. Cute!

Polar Bear print hung up in bedroom. Just in case you were wondering if I had forgotten about it.

Pretty peonies. Mom and I hosted a bridal shower for my cousin Abby on Sunday — peonies are over my house right now and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

New table runner. I have never used a table runner before but I saw this one at Patina and thought I would give it a chance. I like it.

Every time I walk by the dining room table I give those peonies a little hug.

I just walked up from the basement.

The basement that I am de-cluttering.

What else is new.

Jake says, “Want to watch these videos of Ben and Travis doing ‘The Nose’ in a day?”

Yes, yes, I do.

It is exactly these moments that I just don’t know what the hell I am doing with my life. I mean, Ben and Travis are climbing a fucking mountain. IN A DAY.

Because that is what they do. They climb mountains. For FUN.

But then I remember that even though Ben is in the best shape of his life and I still can’t make it to LA Fitness three times a week — I am still related to him!

I am an INGMAN now.

And that makes me just a little bit more of a bad ass.
And cool.
Oh yes, so very cool.

Thank you Ben for making me feel better about myself.

Watch all of Ben and Travis’s videos by clicking the photo above (definitely start with Bears! Part 1).