10,000 Steps

At the urging of Hallie’s good friend with the red-hair, Hallie bought a pedomter.   She wants to walk 10,000 steps every day.  Apparently that is the suggested amount of steps that all humans should take every day. Well, of course, I’m proud of Hallie that she cares so much about her health. Unfortunately for me, she takes at least 5,000 of these steps with me.   For instance, this past weekend, every time that I would settle down in one of my many comfy spots all over the house, there was Hallie yelling, “Miles, let’s go for a walk.”  She knows that I can’t resist that.  But I must admit, by Sunday night I was pooped.  I had barely any energy to bark and scrape the window sill as I watched people and dogs go by our house.  Maybe it’s true what they say that a “good dog is a tired dog?”  B’s friend, the Cantor, just came over and he asked, “has Miles lost weight?”  It’s not like I am fat or anything, but maybe I do have a little more “skootch” in my rear.  I may be willing to walk 5,000 steps a day, but I just heard that the red hair lady told Hallie that active people should really walk 13,000 steps a day.  That would mean 6,500 steps just for me.  I’ll do it because I just love being near my Hallie.

Happy Mother’s Day

Can it honestly be more than a month since I have written?  Well, truth be told, many of my loyal readers may not know this, but Hallie actually does the typing for this blog.  Being a dog, of course, I have trouble typing – it’s something to do with my thumbs – they aren’t  as flexible as humans.  So, I surf the net, listen to NPR, think of stuff to write about and Hallie does the typing from my dictation.

So, for those of you who know Hallie, you surely know that she has been extremely busy at her work.  She works at the new Holocaust Museum in Skokie, IL.  The museum officially opened on April 19, 2009. Bill Clinton,  Elie Wiesel, Governor Quinn, the German Ambassador and a whole host of others spoke at the opening.  (Please note that no dogs were on the dais).  That girl was working like a mad woman – practically day and night.  B and the boys took care of everything on the home front – but I just felt uncomfortable asking them to take my dictation.

Well, Hallie is slowly coming back to the family – her workload and stress, while still quite big, is shrinking.  Today, Mother’s Day is the day she returns and takes care of my needs.  So, welcome back Hallie.  You are the best Mom a dog could have – you are my alpha dog and I would do anything for you except stop barking at other dogs that pass by our house.  Have a great day and thanks for the nice walk this morning.

Spring Is In the Air?

Was it really just two weeks ago that I wrote a post about warm weather and long walks?  Well, this morning I woke up to cold, sticking-to-the-ground snowy weather.  What’s up with that?    Here I am laying on a warm radiator, Hallie’s drinking her coffee and reading the New York Times, and B wants to go for a walk?  Did he even take one look out there?  I wanted to go for a walk like I wanted a cat to play with – NOT!  But alas, I am a dog – and dogs need their walks for more than exercise – if you know what I mean.  So B donned his winter coat and put on his boots.  I wore my usual fur coat and no boots and out we went.  Brrrrr it was cold.  Luckily I did my business pretty quickly so that we could cut through the alley and head back home.  No need to walk all the way around the block on a day like today.  So, after I write this, I’m spendiing the rest of the day, on the radiator, occasionally looking out the window, but mostly lounging and sleeping – Ahhh nirvana!

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

Aaaaahh – it’s mid-March and the living is easy.  The weather was beautiful this weekend.  I looked out my many windows and saw that it was sunny without a cloud in the sky.  I had no idea that it was warmer outside, but it was.  On Saturday Hallie took me for a really long walk to return some movies at Blockbuster.  It was great.  True to form she let me sniff all of the goodies I could find on the  ground.

Today, Hallie and Lil Joe took me for a long walk too.  Hallie also took me to Petco for a full fledge beauty treatment.  I had the works – a bath, conditioner, my teeth brushed, my nails cut and my ears cleaned.  They used some cucumber smelling soap which sounds kind of gross, but it actually smelled quite yummy.  My old friend Suzi no longer works at Petco.  I kind of miss her.  The last time I went to Petco for my treatment, I didn’t behave so well and they couldn’t even cut my nails.  Today, I behaved much better.  I think that I really prefer the ladies giving me my beauty treatments.  Hallie bought me a new toy and some yummy chews.  I would say that this was a perfect weekend for this lucky dog.

On My Mind

You may be wondering what I think about all day.  Here are the top 50 things that I think about during any given day:

1. Food

2. Food

3. Food

4. Are you going to eat that?

5. When are we going for a walk?

6.  Boy is it cold out here.

7. That smells good.

8.  Hmm, that smells good too.

9.  Why is My G yelling at Hallie?

10. Food

11. I’m tired.

12.  I wish that I could get that dog that is outside.

13. Food.

14.  I wonder what Peepers is doing?

15.  Oooh, is that a crumb?

16. Food.

17. Where’s Hallie – I need to write my blog.

18.  Food.

19.  What’s for dinner?

20.  Do you think it is OK to lick the dishes in the dishwasher?

21.  Oh goody, Talk of the Nation is on.

22.  Food.

23.  When is Bark Obama going to get that dog for his girls?

24.  Why does Lil Joe yell at Hallie?

25.  Hallie is sooo sweet.

26.  When is B going to feed me?

27.  Let’s go outside.

28. Let’s go inside.

29.  Is that fish I smell?

30. Where’s my loofa?

31.  Food.

32.  What’s for breakfast?

33.  I’m thirsty.

34.  I have to “go pee pee.”

35.  My nails need to be trimmed.

36.  Food.

37.  B should pick me up and give me some lov’in.

38.  When is Sam coming over – I need someone to bark at.

39.  Food.

40. ZZZZzzzzzz

41.  Slurp, slurp, slurp

42.  Food.

43.  Hmmm what’s in the garbage under the sink?

44.  Hmmm what’s in the pantry?

45.  Those rubber bands make it so hard to get into the pantry.

46.  Food.

47.  I want some turkey.

48.  Is that my loofa under the bed?

49.  Are you going to eat that?

50.  I love Hallie!!!!!

Maybe They are Really Dogs

Happy New Year!  It is 10:30  in the morning and B, me and Hallie just woke up.  We were all snuggled in bed sleeping like, some would say babies, but I, of course would say, like dogs.  Lil Joe and My G are still asleep.  Could it be that the family is really a family of dogs and not really a family of humans?  Nah! They would be really ugly dogs if they were dogs.

Anyway, I’m wishing everyone evrywhere a year filled with peace, happiness, food and walks.  Can you believe that in only 20 more days, there can very well be a new dog in the White House.  Go Obama – the girls and dogs everywhere  are counting on you.

FaceBook

Hallie has really been into Face Book lately.  First My G got on Face Book, then B, then Lil Joe and now Hallie does it too.  It is really bumming me out because Hallie used to be such a help to me in writing this blog.  As you know, because I am a dog, I do not have opposable thumbs.  This means I have to rely on Hallie to help me with my writing.  During the day, if she leaves the computer on, I can surf around using my nose.   I usually do this to get some ideas and then when we go for our daily walks, I think about what to write and so does Hallie.  She used to help me all of the time, but now that she has to check her Face Book page at least a hundred times a day, she doesn’t help me as much as I would like.  And she has 86 friends including that other dog, Barclay Obama.  Why doesn’t Hallie help me get a Face Book page?  I would be  her friend in a second and then she would have 87 friends.  My feelings are so hurt.  Maybe I’m not such a lucky dog afterall.  I wonder who will want to come to my pity party?

Baby It’s Cold Outside

Some of you may know that B is in Iran for the next week.  He certainly picks interesting places to travel to.  The rest of the family is here though they just took a brief holiday to visit Hallie’s brother and his family in Indiana.  Peepers and I were left at home once again.  Frankly, I understand why the family would leave Peepers at home, but why leave me too?  I fear that perhaps they were visiting another dog or two.  I happened to look at Hallie’s Facebook and noticed that she is now friends with a dog named Barclay Obama.  Who is that?

A dogwalker came by and walked and fed me three times a day.  The dogwalkers were very friendly.  Of course I was happiest when Hallie came home and walked me.  But alas it was freezing outside!  Bbrrr.  There was a cold rain and Hallie went into the garage to get a shovel.  Can that mean it is going to snow?  Oh, I hate cold weather.  Maybe I need a pair of doggie Uggs?

Lovely Morning

My pal Hal just took me for the nicest walk.  You know she is very busy during the week and sometimes we don’t get to walk as long as I would like.  This morning she took me to the arboretum and then we walked through the neighborhood.  As usual, Hallie let me sniff and smell and drag her wherever I wanted to go.  It was a lovely way to start the day.

Something is going on at the house.  All of the grandparents are here.  I wonder if it is my Bar Mitzvah and nobody told me.  Funny, I don’t really remember sending invitations for my big day.  Who knows, my long term memory is not too great.

Everybody had Shabbat dinner here at the house.  Hallie made some yummy smelling food and nobody gave me any.  A piece of pineapple fell on the floor and then Lil Joe stepped on it, so even I didn’t really want to eat it.  It was also Halloween, so trick or treaters interrupted our festivities.  It was nice to be together as a big family.  I would have to bark every so often so that nobody would forget that I was here – as if that is even possible!

Happy November!

Where Does the Time Go?

Alas, where did this month go?  It seems like only yesterday that I was celebrating the Jewish New Year and now all of the Jewish holidays (and there are a lot) are over.  I’m sure that B is happy about that.  As a rabbi, those holidays mean he is one busy guy.

Maybe I haven’t written that much because there really has not been too much to report.  One day Hallie took me to visit Suzi, who gives me a bath and cuts my nails.  It’s always a fun outing.  This time was particularly nice because I was the only dog there and Suzi gave me all of her attention – which you know I love.

That very same day Hallie took me to the doctor.  I wasn’t sick or anything, but they nearly made me sick to my stomach.  I was so nervous I had an accident in the waiting room.  I weigh 23.5 pounds.  The doctor said I look very fit and in good health.  Then she gave me 3 shots!  Ouch!  She also took some blood.  Hallie was very kind to hold my paw when the doctor did that.  I passed all of my tests with flying colors (and I didn’t even study).

The weather is getting colder which can only mean one thing – winter!  That means my walks will be shorter.  I’m really trying to enjoy myself when I go out for a walk these days.  There is so much to sniff and smell.  My G and Lil Joe almost never take me for walks anymore.  Hallie still takes me for the longest walks.  Gotta love that girl.  I would never say this to Hallie, but lately B has been particularly nice in the petting and holding department.  Together they are a perfect match (for me).