Pug babies and MORE pug babies!

Well, I'm back home in my lovely tiny apartment, and I'm definitely overdue on a post. So here it is.

After enduring a not-so-bad plane ride home (as I get older, I start to hate the discomfort of plane rides more and more), we drove to pick up my pug baby and see what he was up to. Now, I should probably let you know that we left him with some family friends who happen to have 3 dogs, one of which is the Energizer Bunny in disguise. I swear, that dog does NOT have an OFF button. And Babar is sorta like that, except for the fact that he's overweight, so he eventually gets tired and dozes it off for a bit. Now, I knew that they'd get along great, but I didn't suspect the extent of her influence on him. So we open the door, and out runs this skinny little rodent that somewhat resembles a pug - my first thought being, "OMFG! They killed my pug and replaced him with this rat!" But alas, it really was my baby boy (minus what I lovingly term his "baby fat"). I'd only been gone for a bit more than 2 weeks, and he's lost more weight than I've been able to this entire summer (and believe me, that's another story that will be told). It was that damn Energizer Bunny dog's fault - even the Boyfriend remarked, "That's not a PUG! Where's all the fat?!" So, alas, it's time for a chicken/ham/meat only diet from now on - to get him back to his glorious puffy state. :)

And that was on Friday.

On Tuesday, I went and fell in love with my new baby, Celeste. Like I've mentioned before, I'm getting a pal for the Pug, a girl this time, and her name MUST be Celeste (Babar & Celeste - the old Babar the Elephant stories? Look it up.) And I'd finally been invited by the breeder to come down and pick out my girl (and put down the deposit, of course). So I went with the Boyfriend and the Pug, to hopefully see whether he prefers one. There were only two girls, but...oh my...I fell in love with the first one handed to me. She was just so precious - I picked her up and she covered my face with kisses and wagged her tail so hard her butt was moving from side to side. I...MUST...HAVE...HER. To hell with Babar's wishes. Now, Babar has been changed forever by his time with the Energizer Bunny - he now believes that all dogs like to play and chase him around and play-bite his legs and ears. So when they don't, he gets miffed and starts barking his discontent. So when he saw that the other girl puppy wasn't quite interested in chasing him around, he started whining. So I put down MY girl and she immediately proceeds to chase him around the living room. Ah, it was meant to be. I was so delighted that I had to stop myself from grabbing her and running out the door, screaming, "Mine!! My precious!! Mine!" And the puppy breath? I LOVE the puppy breath. I've reminded the Boyfriend to NEVER EVER EVER let me breed any dog - I will not let ANY of the puppies leave the house. And then we'll end up with 50 dogs running around and I'll be labelled the crazy dog lady. And we don't want that.
So yes, we paid the deposit and decided to pick her up the 14th of September - just two days after my birthday. She'll be my little present. I can't wait! I've gotten used to the whole puppy housebreaking thing, and the house is more than pug proofed, so it shouldn't be a problem this time. I feel like dancing around and shaking my booty to Peaches & Herb's "Shake Your Groove Thing". Couldn't take any pictures - well, we did, but they ended up all fuzzy because the babies were running around too quickly. Oh, well. Next time. :)

Back...in the USA

Soooo, yes. I'm back. In Miami. With broadband internet access at 30%. Meaning this post might not even go up. Just wanted to let you know I'm alive, and I loved Ecuador. I got tummy sick my last day, but considering the food I was eating, I'm shocked it didn't happen before. But I'm better now. I'm posting one pic for you - ever since I was six years old, this has been a family tradition. We eat at this little dirty restaurant (we bring our own utensils - that's how dirty it is), and then we go outside and shoot gum. Makes for fun childhood memories.

Vacation Time!

Okay, I'm taking two minutes here to let you all know that I'll be leaving for vacation tomorrow and won't be back until the 23rd of this month. I will not have internet access (well, reliable internet access), so there will most likely not be any posts. However, I'll catch you all up when I return. Sorry for not commenting on your blogs lately - I've tried to keep up, but this week has been Crazy Central for me. Today I've been running around like my butt has flames on it, trying to get everything packed and bought and stored and cleaned. I hate the whole process that happens the days before (or day before) a trip - although I'm always glad I managed to clean the house a LITTLE when I get back. Nothing is as bad as coming home to a messy, smelly apartment.
Regardless, I'm still only half done, and I have a little work to finish (as in, job work, not clean work) - so I'd better get back to it. For those of you wondering, I (and the bf) will be in Quito, Ecuador for the next two weeks (where some of my family lives), and then I'm flying to Miami to visit the bf's family. So yay - I love vacations. Way more than I should. Toodles, all!

Poor Ol' Sensitive Me.

Due to my troubles with sleeping these weeks, I've been up exploring new sites and reading about things online - and today I spent some time going over success stories for my local pug rescue group. Some of the background stories of rescued pugs are so sad - I honestly cannot begin to comprehend how anyone could be so cruel to an animal. Especially one as sweet and loving as a pug. Just thinking about the things these poor fellas go through brings tears to my eyes, and yet I realize that this is not even the tip of the iceberg for the immense animal cruelty that occurs every day in our world. That's one of the reasons why I'm a vegetarian - I can't possibly enjoy the taste of animals when I know most of them were treated inhumanely from birth until death. Many people tell me that it's not a big deal - it's just an animal that can't feel or rationalize like us, and therefore, we as the superior species at the top of the food chain, are allowed to do whatever we wish. And I know that animals can't suffer to the degree a human could, but they do feel, and they do suffer to whatever extent their species is capable of. I can't help but put myself in their place, and ask whether I still wish visit the local KFC knowing what I know. And the answer is, no, I don't. I'm not one of those crazy PETA people - I don't hate, or even judge, people who buy mass-produced, cheap chicken over organic, farm raised. I understand that a lot of us just can't afford to pay the difference, and some of us don't even have a choice (at least, my old tiny town in Michigan certainly didn't know the meaning of the word "organic"). However, thankfully I have a choice, and I do my best to remember that my choices impact the world around me, and I can decide whether it's for better or worse. I'm hardly perfect - I'm utterly horrible at recycling, I take baths regularly and don't feel a smidgen of guilt over wasted water, and I can't give up ice cream even if I was threatened with prolonged death. But I try, and really, when it comes down to it, it's not what you accomplish that matters, but your mindframe and your eagerness to be a better person. At least, that's what I believe. All right, I'm done ranting for now, and I'll try to get myself a bit of sleep. Tomorrow I'm getting my hair cut and having a waxing session, so I'm beyond excited. Short hair, here I come!