I recently finished reading the book, The Last Playboy by Shawn Levy. It's about a jet setting gentleman named Portfirio Rubirosa and the book tells his life story. It's an okay book if you want to read something on the beach. Mostly, it taught me that people like Paris Hilton are not a new phenomoneon. There are some interesting characters in his life. He dated Zsa Zsa Gabor and Eartha Kitt. In addition, he was married to some of the richest women in the world at the time, Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton. What is surprising about those two is that neither were very happy when they married him and they had to have known that he was only marrying them for their money (Portfirio was not really in business and was not independantly wealthy - he primarily relied on the dictator from the Dominican Republic (former father in law of his) for some money and dimplomatic posts) Portfirio comes from the Dominican Republic and the relatively brief history of the dictatorship at the time is interesting to read. I had not really known much about that country. All in all, I cannot highly recommend it unless you are looking for something that is strictly entertaining.  

We got a puppy! He's a boxer\lab mix and we picked him up from a rescue group on November 4th. Supposedly his mom was a boxer and dad was a black lab. He has a docked tail which puzzles us because we can't figure out why someone would pay to have that done (it's done when they are three days old) and then give him up. The vet thinks he is about 11 weeks old but check back with us in another two weeks. He has to go back for more shots and if his baby teeth are seperating, it may mean he is a little older than originally thought. All I know is that he is teething like crazy! Chewing on chew toys, good. Chewing on Bethany, bad! He had his first puppy class last week Thursday (until he gets up to date on all his shots, he can't go to regular puppy school so right now he is in pre puppy class which is one on one with the trainer) and he learned SIT. All in all, he is pretty well behaved for a puppy. We went three days in a row with no accidents but when Doug came home last Sunday, our schedule got a little out of whack. So, today is a new day and no accidents.

 

We are keeping Shackleton and Lilliputian seperated until Shackleton is up to date on all his shots (dec 13) and he has learned the leave it command. However, keeping Lilli out of the kitchen is getting to be a challenge. Shackleton sits and plays with his toys nicely but Lilli has learned how to climb the 42' gate and is eager to investigate the newest addition to the household. In any event, my days are spent walking Shackleton and trying to teach him to go to the bathroom outside while at the same time, taking Lilliputian for walks. We have had some really beautiful weather lately and she has been itching to go out. Walking them at the same time is not an option so, I've been getting quite a bit of exercise lately. Which is a good thing! The whole puppy thing has been keeping me very busy. He gets walked about ten times a day plus I've been reading all the various puppy training books and researching food online. Who knew it could be so complicated?

 

Doug wrapped up his last weekend of school. Yeah! They went to the Eastern Shore of Maryland for the weekend and it sounded like it was a good experience. It will be weird to have Doug at home and available going forward. What will we do with ourselves? Most of his family is coming out in December for the graduation ceremony and we are both looking forward to that.

 

I've been enjoying my horse riding lessons twice a week. I've been given a challenging horse lately. Her name is Thistle and not only is she the first mare I've ridden, she is more advanced than the horses I have been riding. She has taught me that even though I think my thighs are strong and my balance good, I still have a ways to go. Rythm, Relaxation, Balance. I got to ride her for an hour today on my own with just the instructor. It was a lot of fun and now my legs are burning! The other thing that I really like about my lessons is that it has taught me that even when you are scared to death and are trying to remeber; back straight, head up, sit deep, legs long, nudge, check your diagonal, reins short, etc, - you need to relax! If you don't relax your muscles and breath, it's very difficult to get the horse to do what you want it to do. The same is true in life. I may have fifty million things that need doing but you know what? There are only 24 hours in a day and I only have 2 hands. I multi task well but it's okay if it doesn't all get done and if I just breathe - it will be okay. I'll be less stressed and I'll probably get more done.  So, that's my lesson for the past few months. It's okay to be stressed\scared - just remember to relax at the same time.

 

The Wednesday before last - Doug took me back to the running club where we met. It was a lot of fun. I hadn't realized just how much I had missed it. The exercise was great (even if I was second to last to finish) and it was good to be with old friends again. Now that Doug is done with school, hopefully we will be able to go more often. Plus, when Shackelton gets old enough, I know it will be great fun for him as well.

 

This weekend will be busy. Friday night, Doug and I are going to a formal party with some of his friends and then Saturday we are having our annual open house. It's always fun to see friends and neighbors cut loose and relax. Sunday, I'm meeting with one of my friends for brunch in Old Towne. I'm going to try to stay away from the Silver Parrot while on King St. ;)