Watching Sadie

I have always thought Corgies were cute dogs, but had never spent any time with one. I find their stubby legs, long bodies, and perky ears an adorable combination. They look like a cross between a fox and a bear.


We recently had the opportunity to watch a Corgie, named Sadie, who lives with a family friend. I picked up Sadie on a Friday afternoon and kept her until Monday morning. Our meeting was love at first site. She immediately licked me and begged me to pet her. I, of course, complied.


The ride back to our place was very pleasent. She politely got into the backseat and stayed put on the towel I put down for her. I think "polite" would be the best way to describe her. She seemed to understand the commands I gave to her and listened very well. She also would come up to me and make a little noise as if to say "excuse me, can I get a pet?" If I ignored her, she would do it again. It was very cute and almost sounded like we were having a conversation (maybe we were?).


Her politeness even extended to the mornings. She would walk over to where we were sleeping and make a low noise to wake us up to ask to go out. During her visit, I became sick with a cold and it was like she knew it because she went to John's side of the bed to ask to be let out. I spent an entire Saturday on the couch recovering from my cold/flu and she was next to me the whole day. I pet her every so often to thank her and give her a little praise.


When I was feeling better, we took her to the park to play frisbee and she was so obiedient off of the leash. She never ran away or wondered off. If we were concerned that she was walking to far away, we would call her name and offer her a treat. The promise of a treat would send her back in our direction.


We love all of the dogs that we watch because they touch us in different ways. Sadie's visit was the most polite and behaved visit we have ever had with a dog. We had such a nice weekend and cannot wait to spend time with her again.

Birthday Lunch at Thai Spices and Sushi

Sunday, March 1st was my Birthday with my friends at work was at Thai Spices and Sushi. I chose the restaurant because I love both Thai and Japanese food and find the place a nice getaway during the day. I usually get fresh rolls with tofu, salad with ginger dressing, and vegetable sushi. I was disappointed, at first, when I saw that they stopped serving sushi Tuesday-Thursday at lunch. Then I noticed that they added Bento boxes to their menu and was pleasantly surprised to see they had a vegetarian Bento box.

I was very enticed by the choices in the vegetarian Bento box and decided to order it. When it came, I chowed down on the yummy goodness in each compartment. The food was delicious and I even had leftovers. The box contained salad with ginger dressing, vegetable sushi, ginger, wasabi, edamame, spring roll rice, and tofu and vegetable curry.

I was so impressed with the presentation and the taste and cannot wait to go back! I am hungry just thinking about it!

Pullen Park Adventure

At work, several of us started a group to foster, promote, and share creativity. We all started by purchasing a book called “Wreck this Journal” by Keri Smith. The idea of this journal is exactly as the title sounds- you wreck the book. It is counter to everything we have done our entire lives. We generally preserve and make what we have pretty. The purpose of the journal is the opposite- Destroy the journal to pieces! Each page has directions, such as crumple the page; poke holes; draw all over; infuse with food or smells; etc.

(Diana, Shannon, and Jim at the Flying Biscuit)

(Alfonso and me)

Each month when we get together we swap journals and look at our destroyed progress. We also talk about ideas that we have to advance our creativity. During our first meeting, Alfonso came up with the idea to spend an afternoon going to a park and to take pictures.

On President’s day we decided to head to Pullen Park in Raleigh, NC and chronicle what we saw. We took pictures of the train and tracks, the budding flowers, the playground, the water and wildlife, the trees, the sky, and each other. Afterward, we went to Cameron Village and ate at the Flying Biscuit. Later we all downloaded and posted our pictures to our online group.

In addition to meeting monthly, we hope to spend more time partaking in the creative activities outside of the meetings. Some of us are good at picture taking, writing, drawing, painting, creating music, etc. This group is a way for us to showcase our talents and learn from the creativity that we each hold inside.