Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures Across the USA

I've been so tired lately. The last time I got a good night's sleep was...let's see...3 weeks ago? 4? I finally, finally scheduled an appointment to have a sleep study done. Hopefully, it will shed some light on my lifelong (yes, even as a baby) sleep troubles. Exhausted at work yesterday, helpful coworkers pointed out, "You look SO tired!" (I'd actually thought I looked pretty good.) Sexy Nerd was out of town on a business trip, so I decided to get to bed nice and early. No internet or TV, a comfy, cool room, despite the scorching heat wave we've been experiencing here in Albuquerque, and twice my usual sleeping pill dosage (don't freak out - I usually break the pills in half) meant I had a good chance of catching up on some desperately needed sleep. Or so I thought. Our dogs have a nightly routine which you must never  ever vary from, lest you destroy their little dog worlds. Even though I was getting to bed a bit earlier than usual, (like, an ...

Pica has been dreaming about the posh new bed she's going to win, leaving her nights on the cold, hard floor behind her. What a mean mom and dad she has! ;) Our little troublemaker is behind in the competition though. If you have a free moment, please pop over to my Instagram to like Pica's contest entry. I think she's beautiful . Thank you! Thank you! (One from me and one from Pica. She's very polite like that. We raised her well.) (Is it super obvious we don't have kids?) A photo posted by Kitty Deschanel (@kittydeschanel) on Jul 10, 2016 at 7:05pm PDT I know I'm biased, but just look at that face! She could be a model, that pup of mine. P.S. Don't tell Pica, but we're totally going to make her share her new bed with Biscuit. Mean parents, I tell ya. P.P.S. With this post titled "Sad Jack Russell", I'd hate for you to be disappointed to have clicked the link, only to find Pica beaming that mischievous smirk of...

Everything went so smoothly during our first week of construction, clearing trees and dirt faster than we'd imagined, that we began to expect the entire process would be much easier than everyone had said. People have been voicing their concerns to us ever since we purchased our lot. Clearly, though, everyone else was wrong. Ha! First, the good: (Keeping with the theme of our last two weeks of construction, this part is brief.) Five years in, we finally brought Pica and Biscuit to see their future home. After many attempts to get them both to look at the camera, this was our second best result. Small dogs = small attention spans. Close enough.  Thus ends the "good" portion of this construction update. On to the bad. Oh, it's so bad. GIANT ROCKS!!! (Oh no!)  There were barely any rocks found during the first week of construction, but with only a small section of earthwork to go, the crew hit rock, rock, and more rock. Special equip...

  We had a bit of a drama-filled afternoon today. I stepped out of the shower, only to discover the floor drenched in blood! Somehow, Pica had caught one of her toenails on her baby gate and ripped it right out. If she were a human baby, there'd surely be a lawsuit, right? Still, our poor little furbaby! One gigantic claw I held her steady as best I could. Jack Russell terriers don't really do "steady". There was always something twitching or shaking! Sexy Nerd applied styptic powder , which THANK GOODNESS we had on hand. If you have a pet, be sure to buy some of this. Ours came free with Pica's toenail clippers. In the 10+ years we've had her, we've used it only once before, when a nail was clipped a tad too short, and it stopped the bleeding almost instantly. This time, however.. ...it kept bleeding... ...and bleeding... ...AND BLEEDING... (Ack!) After more than an hour of using my best wresting moves on Pica, and with almost all o...

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments about my poor Britney. She was the best dog ever. Looking back on my memories of her, she wasn't the most ideal puppy for me though. At the time, we probably both would have been better off without the other. Right before I graduated from high school, my 26-year-old boyfriend and I rented a cheap, dilapidated duplex together in a terrible part of town. Here in Albuquerque, it's affectionately known as "the war zone". It was really bad - no heat, which is illegal, cockroaches spilling out of the sidewalk whenever we'd walk through the neighborhood, and a landlord who would show up late at night, drunk, when I was home alone and threaten to beat up my boyfriend for not paying the rent (which made me defensive at the time because I'd given him the rent money, but looking back, I'm sure my loser boyfriend had squandered my cash on something else and lied about it.) The house two doors down made it onto the news...

A special treat for a very special dog. (We've tried to stop her from doing this in the past, but Pica remembers and searches for them until next time!)

Quick tip: When writing, how can you remember the difference between "desert" and "dessert"? With "dessert", you go back for seconds! Okay, I'm ready to be serious now. My trip to Washington DC last week was the coldest I've ever been in my life. It was so cold, in fact, that when we were inside the conservatory of the US Botanic Garden and the ice on the roof cracked and slid down the glass, the sound made made me envision what it would be like if the glass and snow suddenly collapsed, trapping me underneath and ending my life. It meant I wouldn't have to go back out in the cold again. It sounded wonderful. Yes, Sexy Nerd thinks I'm nuts. On a more optimistic note, I knew we'd soon be back in sunny Albuquerque, where the winter has been mild and we've even had several days above 60 lately. I think you know where I'm going with this... The view from my bedroom window this morning.  Look how deep the snow on...

We've been making great progress on our custom floor plan. It's a bit better than the last one I shared, don't you think? In fact, there's a new feature I really love. Oh yes. Pica and Biscuit are getting their very own room! Almost 25 square feet all to themselves, with direct access to their own, private courtyard. Can you tell we don't have kids? We've nicknamed this the "Puppy Penthouse Room". Pica looks so happy in her new room. Or the "P.P. Room" for short. Kinda perfect, especially for a future puppy, wouldn't you agree?

The larger wet spot is drool from where Pica's head was laying.   And the smaller wet spot? It's from her other end. She's been chowing down on inedible berries in our backyard, resulting in some...leakage. Ew, Pica. Eeeewwwwwww!   Looking guilty. (Rightfully so!)

Pica decided to "help" us by taking down the Christmas tree herself...on Christmas day...while we weren't home. Yaaaaaay. Thank you, Pica! (And, in case you're wondering, our Jack Russell Terrier is exactly why there were no ornaments on the tree.)

Although SN and I started out in a long-distance relationship, with me in New Mexico and him in Michigan, drinking that famous Flint water, we haven't spent much time apart since before our wedding 6 years ago, when I took a family reunion trip to the Seychelles and Paris without him. (He "had to work", but I think the idea of 3 weeks nonstop with my mom terrified him. To be fair, it was pretty scary!) Now, he has been gone on a business trip for nearly 2 weeks and I'm kinda starting to miss him. He says he misses me too. So, I decided to have some fun and send him the following email: Subject: Here are some NAKED photos for you Message: Be sure to delete these after you look at them. The photos, one titled "hubba hubba" and the other "you know you love it": "I ain't afraid to show it, show it, show it, show it." "I'm sexy and I know it." Yep, that is a 100% collar-free, naked Pica . Sexy Nerd...

Jack Russell Terriers are known for their intelligence, and when Sexy Nerd left the house last week for a business trip, Pica knew exactly what his suitcase meant. She laid by the front door, whining, until I shooed her away. Even offering her a cookie did nothing to console the poor dog. I thought if I kept her away from the front door, she'd get distracted by something (a noise outside? a moth? a piece of dust?!) soon enough. Instead, she went straight to the garage door. Now, for my fellow South Park fans, you'll want to read this next part in the voice of Sexual Harassment Panda. I'm a saaaad Pica.

Sexy Nerd and I are so super smart. You see, with a mere 1 weekend to go before our house guests arrive for Thanksgiving, we had the genius idea to completely redo our upstairs flooring. Super smart! Now, with less than 24 hours before our company arrives, here is guest bedroom #1: You don't even want to see guest bedroom #2! What's that, you say? At least the new flooring is done? Ha! Sexy Nerd worked to a certain point, then decided to pile the already cut up/mangled/destroyed old carpet back onto the floor in several, duct-taped layers. I wish I were joking. Oh, and that damn green dolly has made its way back into the house. It's just going to sit in our loft, being a jerk, until I move it back into the garage. That's how the green dolly is. Very inconsiderate! Sexy Nerd put cardboard underneath his carpet layers. I don't know why. Speaking of jerks, check out what happened to the old carpet padding that was waiting to be loaded into Sex...

Update: Pica's memorial post Pica hates the train. She really, truly does. Pica hates the train so much. Me? I just hate the blue carpet.

Oh, the cuteness! Sorry, Pica and Biscuit. We couldn't resist! Pica was a pretty good sport about this. We're cheap frugal and keep our house at a toasty 50F. She probably wishes she could wear earmuffs all the time! Biscuit only put up with this for a few seconds, just long enough to capture her annoyed photo. Some dogs just can't pull off the earmuff look.

After she was spayed, Sexy Nerd and I requested that Pica be sent home wearing a cone (really, how much can you trust a Jack Russell not to chew her stitches?) The veterinarian thought it was unnecessary, but complied.  Post-surgery and drugged out of her little mind, we put Pica straight to bed. After she had rested, the real fun began... I love when she walks into the lamp. Bonk!