Bits of awesome

Life doesn't generally blow you away to get you in a great mood, but little bits of awesome will always be appreciated. This post is to document the little bits of awesome that make me think about all the great things in my life.

 Jen and I were two of the lucky few who snatched some tickets to a quickly sold out impromptu performance!

 Louloudi has a collar that has old Greek drachmas. We found this collar very, very randomly from a shirtless weird German guy selling street art in Berkeley. She is truly a Greek dog now!

 Louloudi is my constant companion as I work. We have 3-4 walks a day!

Louloudi completed basic training at SPCA and is a little pro with her recall now. NOT eating homeless people's litter is the next habit to correct. 

 Zoe just had cleft lip surgery 4 days ago from this picture, you wouldn't notice it a bit with her scab already gone and her amazing fortitude! Also, I got this dress for her and I think it's pretty rocking.

Athena had an amazing song recital for her kindergarten class and was super excited about her songs! 

Julie, the mother of 3 gorgeous children, never seems to have much luck getting them to focus come group picture time, but she is such a trooper for always trying!

There are a couple of winners that come from about two dozen attempts!

 Mimi rocks because she is about to embark on her first cross country trip!

 These girls are amazing with their constant intelligent banter, outrageous humor and never ending kindness. 

And to my special bond with Zoe who is the reason I came down to Bakersfield this week as a means of solace and comfort after her surgery. She is an inspiration to me for her ability to bounce back so fast and keep a good face (and even milk the situation to get unlimited Gogurts!

Sorry for the abundance of exclamation points! I think it's the awesome coffee!!!

Palm Springs with the boys

As many of you may know, Jen used to be a nanny to two great little English boys a while back. She has stayed in touch over the years and their friendship seems to move from different corners of the world. The young boys', Bryan and Gabriel, routinely move between homes in Madrid, London, Los Angeles, New York and the newest addition to the homes, Palm Springs. We were invited to join the family for a part of their Spring Break vacation and had a fantastic time. There were lazy days lounging by the pool, filled with lunches, dinners and games of football with the boys. It was nice to take it easy and disconnect for a bit, as I've been working like a mad man lately.

 Backyard garden with heated pool

 Beautiful living room

 The surrounding mountains with snow and desert like floor were a nice contrast.

Eager to reclaim a little of our Parian tans. 

 I could have stayed there all day.

 Lots of love for her little men

 Jen and Andrew take on the champs Bryan and Tony.

 Gabe was fond of the white horse

 Haven't been on a horse in close to a decade...

 Ole!

Jen and Gabe

Someone's having a bad day

Louloudi got bit by a pit bull at the park a few weeks ago. There was a little blood and a little whimpering, but we cleaned her up and put a little neosporin on it. It healed quickly and we didn't think much of it.

Turns out there was a little festering rash that Louloudi has been picking on at night, as she does not scratch herself during the day, and it has spread across the back of her legs. While barely visible unless you are an inch away, we took her to the vet to check it out just in case.

The vet said that she had an infection that hadn't healed fully from that bite, so she got a quick shave, a little ointment and is on doggy steroids to help with the itching and to gain a little weight. While the vet was down there, she mentioned that Loulou had backed up anal glands. Most dogs secrete this normally while doing their business, but not all, so Loulou got hers "activated," which equates to about a months worth of farting all at once. A little stinky to say the least...

Here's our little stinker sporting her new kicking head gear.

In lighter news, here is how I usually begin my mornings when Louloudi tells me it's time to take her to the park.

And here is how she usually comes back happy as can be until the inevitable thrice weekly baths.

Pretty sure both our mothers can see the resemblance....

Ketchup: Life with Liebels II

So, my blogging took a back seat to a frenetic pace of work lately, as well as, my inability to carry my camera around with me anywhere.

On March 11th, Jen, Louloudi and I took a trip to go down to my sister in Julie's in Bakersfield for little Jack's 2nd birthday. Although, he looks closer to 4, the little guy was surrounded by family and fun for a great weekend. My dad even flew in from Kentucky on Saturday and drove the 4 hours to Bakersfield. Jen anxiously awaited the little nieces attention and after a day had won them over with a series of fun games, pranks on Stu and plying them with treats to give Louloudi.

More great pictures for the related event on my sister's far superior blog. 

 Jack and Louloudi had a unique interest in each other.

 We never thought LL would cause any problems and she was super well behaved and accident free.

 Zoe and her favorite mode of transportation. I think she missed me a little. 

 Jen fit right in with the easy going nature of the weekend. 

 Athena actually took about 80% of the weekends photos. Just look for the shorter angle an more artistic flair in the following photos, which I whittled down from about 200 pictures. 

 Jen and the girls played girly games and even painted my toes. 

 The star of the weekend got his Batman jammies and Giants gear that he really wanted. 

 My favorite little comedian. 

 Having fun with the mood mustaches I brought for everyone. Zoe will never cease to amaze me with her humor. 

 Family shot

 The birthday breakfast tradition.

 Athena got a globe and world coloring book from me and we got to explore several new countries. 

 Later on, we took the girls to the park for some exercise. The girls loved taking turns walking LL.

 Jack's grandpa and my dad came for the festivities! He is very loved among the kids and LL. 

 There was a pinata!

 And a warm (not rainy) day, which was nice for a change. 

The festivities carried on in to the night as we made the pinata into excellent party hats and had a fantastic chicken tortilla soup and taco dinner. 

I'm truly lucky to have such a wonderfully close family that isn't too far away.