Last night, my wife jokingly asked me if I was "on strike" regarding my blog. I didn't really know what to say. I realize that I have been doing poorly. My sickness stretched into a ten-day affair, and since then I've been busy with this basement remodeling. I need to dump some Christmas trip photos on here before they become over a month old. Here is the stuff from Georgia. They are not edited.. they are not even white balanced. Most were taken on December 25, 2010.

ps--sorry for killing your internet

Remember last year when I made a post about Zenyatta and the Breeders' Cup Classic? This was the come-from-behind victory that had me screaming and my five month old crying as a result. Before the race, everyone thought her owners were crazy for racing her in the main race instead of the Ladies' Classic. Well, this horse was considered slightly "over the hill" a year ago, but she's continued racing and she is still undefeated. 19-0 heading into the Breeders' Cup Classic this weekend (the wiki page is inaccurate, as it still says 14-0). If she wins the Breeders Cup two years in a row and goes to 20-0, she will easily be one of the top 5 race horses of all time.

I am so excited for this! I love it when there is a good mare or filly. Horse racing is the ultimate hurry up and wait event, but for some reason I don't mind the pomp and circumstance. I just leave it on the tv for hours leading up to the race.

For more information on what is probably the premier horse racing event worldwide (November 5&6, 2010), one may visit the official website.

I live in fear when the grounds maintenance guys come through here. Stephen is asleep and there are mowers, blowers, edgers, and guys yelling to each other over the noise. He sleeps through it every time though. Today it was the lawnmowers, the recycle truck, and someone knocking on the door. When someone knocks on my front door during Stephen's nap, I want to kill them. Murder crosses my mind for just an instant until I snap out of it. Davis barks uncontrollably no matter how much I yell at him.

Today it was my veterinarian. We use a mobile vet clinic for the dogs. Today, she showed up at 11:30 for our appointment. So, when I went to the front door to check who was knocking, I saw the big mobile vet bus out front. I had completely forgotten about the appointment, but it doesn't matter when the vet comes to you. Just grab the leashes and take the dogs out one at a time.

Normally there is nothing notable in a visit from the veterinarian, but when Chloe stepped on that scale... my goodness. Between August 2009 and October 2010, Chloe went from 49 pounds to 63 pounds. That's over a 22% weight gain! That's like a 200lb man gaining 45 pounds in one year. Ouch. Chloe was holding steady at 49, but she has been enjoying the baby's snacks for quite some time now. I don't know who enjoys it more, Chloe or Stephen. Stephen loves to give Chloe food, and she loves to take it (of course). So, now I have to go about trying to feed my food-obsessed dog less. Sigh.