Name Game

We've narrowed down our top names to the following:

 

Cosmo (Kramer) - Origin: Seinfeld

Thorin (Oakenshield)- Origin: Lord of the Rings *bonus points for the duality of nickname 'Thor'

Hubcap- Origin: This is his "birth" name

Loki- Origin: Norse Mythology, God of Mischief

 

Honorable Mentions:

Yoshi- Origin: Super Mario Bros

Yoda- Origin: Star Wars

 

But what will we name him... what indeed. T-minus 48 hrs until the Imes condo is puppy-central!

Glamour Shots for Puppies

Meet our new puppy.

We don't actually have him yet, as he still lives with his owner in Arkansas.

She sends us pictures of him every 2 weeks- apparently she is really into pictures of puppies in buckets. I mean, there is no denying it, a puppy in a bucket is pretty darn cute.

   Here's the little guy at three weeks. 

Here he is at 5 weeks, only 3 lbs 2 oz!

Here he is at 8 weeks... only 9 more days until he comes on home to us!

This picture reminds me of those internet memes that say, "go home puppy, you are drunk." LOL

Look at that little tummy!

Happy Mother's Day!

To the best mom, mother-in-law and grandmas in the world!

Glitterin' Grad

As you probably know, I’ve been a graduate student in the Applied Economics program at the University of Minnesota the past two years. I entered with a cohort of twelve, representing several different countries.  I’ll admit, the road was very long and I can’t say I’m at all sad to put it behind me.

While I have yet to defend my thesis, I was able to walk for commencement last Friday. Bonnie recently graduated with a Master’s in Technology Education from Texas State. At her commencement, most of the girls decorated their caps. Bonnie felt a little left out that she hadn’t thought to decorate her cap, and being the loving sister that she is, she didn’t want me to make the same mistake. So she decorated my cap with glitter, the letter “M” for Minnesota, a “π” representing profit in economic equations and a check symbol, meaning, “grad school, check!” Katrina added some googley eyes and a peace sign.

I have to admit, I was a little embarrassed about wearing the hat. I was planning to just blend into the crowd. I was going to wear my plain-jane black hat for the ceremony and throw on the glitter cap for some fun pictures after.

I arrived at Mariucci Arena, checked in and was about to find my cohort when I saw a girl crying and explaining to one of the coordinators that she had forgotten her hat. Before I even really knew what I was doing, I went up and handed her the black cap.

I went off in search of my cohort. Economists tend to be a rather serious type, and as such they found my cap both perplexing and amusing. They said things like, “wow, you are really brave” and “it’s not that noticeable.”

I was feeling more and more excited and soon forgot about the cap. As I walked out, I spotted my family amongst the huge crowd almost immediately. They were waving and cheering, and soon they began signaling that my cap was on upside down so the “M” looked like  a “W” (!) Of 1,000 graduate and Ph.D. students, I was the only one that wore a glitter cap, but at the end of the day, it was the perfect way to march across that stage.

My poor sister had to listen to so many phone calls about how I thought I failed a test or couldn’t finish my thesis, wearing that hat allowed me to honor my family and their support.

It was a great day, and I’m so thankful to have a family that has supported me through nearly 21 years of schooling.  They’ve proofread papers and offered words of encouragement time and again. Probably most importantly, they listened to me complain and put up with me when I was cranky and stand-offish.

Now I'm excited to move on with my life. School- you were fun (well sometimes fun), but I won’t miss you. At all. Like not even one tiny bit. (Family, force me to re-read this if I ever decide to go back for a Ph.D.)

Bonnie made a super awesome video montage of the day, check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5yBmpOIlmA

Merry Sprinter

The snow missed St Paul, but my parents woke up to over a foot of snow yesterday. Normally we're in the field by April 15, but not this year!

Bosco

On Monday, Drew and I went to two movies. The cool, dark movie theatre distracted us from our new reality of life without Bosco.

Afterward, not wanting to go home, yet not having anywhere to go, we found ourselves aimlessly wandering around Barnes and Noble. We passed through the aisle of kits and projects and contemplated taking on new hobbies like painting rocks or building model airplanes. We stared at the puzzles for at least thirty minutes, considering whether we should take on a 3,000 piece puzzle. We split up, and I found myself cross-legged in the pet section, crying over a book titled “Goodbye, Friend.”

When it comes to dogs, we all think our dog is the best dog that ever lived. Of course, they can’t all be the best dog. They can’t all be the best dog because, in fact, Bosco was the best dog in the entire world.

His crooked little tail, his love for popcorn, his hatred of the vacuum cleaner, his particularities regarding the proper placement of his food and water bowls are the little things that bring tears to our eyes now, but that someday will bring a smile to our face once again.

The absence of his paws clickity-clacking across our cement floors is louder than any sound I can remember.

Never let it be said that Bosco wasn’t popular. Our friends and family have been overwhelmingly supportive.  For that, we thank you, we love you & we know you miss the Boz too.

I have done mostly what most men do,

And pushed it out of my mind;

But I can’t forget, if I wanted to,

Four-Feet trotting behind.

Day after day, the whole day through—

Wherever my road inclined—

Four-feet said, “I am coming with you!”

And trotted along behind.

Now I must go by some other round, --

Which I shall never find –

Somewhere that does not carry the sound

Of Four-Feet trotting behind.

Rudyard Kipling

Farm Girl in the Office

Classy cow, milk carton robot and a bouncy pig keep me company in my cubicle. You know what they say, you can take a girl out of the country...