one more thing to add to the list of stuff porter has eaten.

POTD (playing catch-up a bit)

A few POTD posts since I've been slacking. I got five rolls of film developed at Walgreens. Here's a few of the shots I'm fairly happy with, and then there's a whole roll of Holga shots I need to scan in so you can see the spillover on the 35mm sprocketholes. They also LOST a roll and are supposed to call me when/if they find it. WTF? How did they "misplace" 1/5 of my rolls of film? Gah! So frustrating! [I'd like to note that I worked at Walgreens for like two years and don't ever remember "misplacing" someone's roll of film. What's worse - they knew it, but didn't tell me when I came in hoping that I wouldn't notice. They didn't mention it until I ran back in to get the missing roll. Needless to say, I won't be returning there.]

Anyway, POTD catch-up!

porter begging for food. you'd think he never eats, but in reality he eats EVERYTHING, whether it's food or not. he's growing on me, even though he's the naughtiest pug i've ever met. last night he somehow grabbed jeremy's glass of sweet tea off the bedside table and spilled it right in the middle of our mattress. the whole thing. i'm not sure how he managed it without dropping it in the floor, but he was unapologetic.

list of things porter has eaten/chewed up that he shouldn't have:

an entire pound bag of chicken jerky dog treats (all in one setting)
a box of valentine's chocolate
a pack of bubble gum
(this was all in one night. the next day was not so pretty.)

two more packs of gum
a half bag of chewy sweet tarts
a bag of taco doritos
part of an avacado
a curry cheese torte (that thing was so gross i wouldn't even eat it)
various food items stolen off of our plates on the coffee table
about 10 ponytail holders (swallowed and digested, not just chewed)
a roll of film
my bookmark
a painting from a friend (sorry, kandi. i still hung up what was left of it. he dug it out of my plastic art tote, which was also covered in clothes and boxes and upstairs in the bedroom while he was baby-gated downstairs. he jumped the gate somehow, went upstairs, got all the stuff off the tote, found the painting, and brought it downstairs to shred it. i think he knows exactly what to get to push my buttons, much like when Nocci shredded his registration papers in front of me after i had been looking all over our apartment for them for WEEKS. he was hiding them, i swear.)
magnets off of the fridge
several books on the bookshelf
my new shoes
several nails and thumbtacks
the leash handles
tubes of dried up glue (luckily they were all dried up and no harm was done. he got it out of the trash.)
once i found him carrying a knife around. no joke.
god knows how many pounds of rocks (he eats rocks when we take him on walks. we "short leash" him as much as possible, but he swoops down and eats any pebble he comes across and we have no idea why.)

we're thinking of starting a blog called something like "Will Porter Chew That?" because we have yet to find anything that he WON'T chew.

and i'm not just a horrible slob who leaves things like knives and bags of sweet tarts in the floor, people. he is a tricky little dog who has even gotten things off of our kitchen bar, which is like four feet off the ground.

luckily, we're laid back people, he hasn't eaten anything that would kill him, and we're working harder to keep things strategically hidden from him. it's almost like a sitcom, and every day i come home wondering what he's destroyed that day.

but, really, he is growing on me. he and nocci are learning how to interact better, they've only had one or two REAL fights over treats, and they seem to be calming down some. yay!

they're liking each other more every day! i've started leaving them together during the day instead of separating them. i haven't noticed any issues yet, so maybe they're past trying to dominate each other. they're still completely different personality wise, so that is definitely taking some getting used to. i think once it warms up and we can play outside more they'll like each other even more. i've been wondering how much it would be to get a little fenced in play area for them in our yard. nothing big, just something so they could get some sunshine without being leashed and without having to pull porter off of the other dogs at the dogpark. he's kind of yippy and slightly aggressive at the dog park, and i'm just too anxious for that to work.

i did my taxes and got that over with, and also filled out a fafsa for the 2009-2010 year. maybe i'll start the baking and pastry arts program a bit early. the economy is looking rough, and it might be a good time to start it. i don't think i'll really be able to afford it, but it's going to be one of those things where there's NEVER a good time to start it. i just need to jump in.

i'm going to be sending valentines out this week! i'm excited about it. i've already made a list of about 50 people who will be receiving them, and a select few are getting a mix cd as well. i don't have time to do one for everyone, and i'm sure not everyone would even want one.

i used to really hate winter and snow, then we moved here and it seemed more tolerable. the snow is fluffier, it actually accumulates instead of turning instantly into packed grey ice and sludge like in arkansas, and it's prettier here in the mountains than it was on the fields back home. i was a little happy when it started snowing the other night, but after two days of walking the dogs in the bitter cold with wind blowing snow and grit onto us, we're ready for it to warm up. i also think the salt on the road hurts the dogs' feet. they'll be walking and suddenly stop and flail their little paws around like something is stuck in it. i've had to alternate carrying them on our walks until their paws warm up. this is the kind of weather that makes me wonder why i couldn't be a cat person instead. it's supposed to be 60 degrees this weekend, so maybe me and the boys can hang out in the yard with a good book, some chew toys, and some sweet tea. yay!

This weekend we adopted a new pug, Porter. His name was Nick, but he told me his real name is Porter, so we're going with that. He's around 11 months old, and was found wandering the streets with a very messed up front leg. He's a very sweet boy who tries to do his best to please us. He and Nocci are still getting used to each other, but every day seems to be a little bit better. We're keeping them separated while we're at work so there won't be any huge scuffles, but hopefully in a week or so we won't have to do that. Nocci is obviously grumbled at having to share his bed, toys, parents, treats, etc., with a newcomer, but I think that eventually he'll be happy to have someone to play with.

It's funny because Porter and Nocci have completely different personalities. Nocci is shy and doesn't really care to play with other dogs at the dog park. Porter jumped right in and was chasing shephards, giant poodles, mastiff mixes and anyone else he could. Nocci refuses to eat crunchy treats or bones of any kind really, and Porter wolfed down an ENTIRE pork shin in about four minutes, which is crazy since he's so small. Nocci prefers to play with people over toys, and Porter seems to like playing with toys more than people. It's crazy how different they are, but hopefully that will work out and they'll have a lot to talk about. :)

I'll update as they reach new stages in their relationship, and hopefully all of those will be good developments.