Bonne année!

Well, that was an interesting year.........wasn't it? Kind of wacky I think......
For me personally, it felt like one of those times when you are painfully forced to figure things out, like kindergarten............
That moment after the dust settles..... and it sinks in..... things are never going to be the same.

There didn't seem to be enough time to get everything done, or so it seemed. Of course I read somewhere that the Chilean Earthquake that struck back in March, actually knocked the earth off it's axis by 3 inches, causing our days to be shorter.
Great. I can barely time manage myself as it is, and now forces of nature are stealing time from me too.

But it's nice to end a year with few regrets, and begin a new one without too many expectations.


Things I figured out 2010....

-I can not work 80+  hrs a week. It's simply crazy to even think about, and it can make you sick.

-Egos are like "Death Stars", and must be over come using the "Force"

-Fear is a terrible place to be motivated from. Try love first, then passion.....

-Better to regret something you have done, than something you haven't...... One of the happiest days I have ever had was the day we opened the store, and the second happiest day of my life was the day we closed it.

-I don't have to do everything myself, it's ok to ask for help, or accept help when someone offers it.

-Don't take the first offer......

-Don't hesitate.......at all.

-Beauty really is, in the eye of the beholder......

-Keep Calm and Carry On, really is a good message. (but I'm sick of that poster)

-It might not look like how you thought it was going to, but that's ok. Sometimes, it turns out better than you ever imagined!

-Just keep breathing.

may the force be with you in 2011!

bunnies & puppies

After 10 hours of the big "Close Out" sale....I needed a Xanax and a visit to the happy place, which for me, when I'm at the store is the back computer, where I can look at pictures of poodle puppies and bunnies on-line.

I distracted my self quite nicely with a good eighteen pages of poodles........
Then three to four solid pages of baby rabbits..........
Then I found this picture of Herman, a giant German Rabbit. Seriously, I can not stop staring at his feet, look at his toes. Needless to say I have added Giant Rabbits to my fantasy retirement farm, which so far includes poodles (duh), an alpaca, a petite monkey, and mini pig.

Curious how one gets a bunny of such large proportions, I  search google some more and discover Robert......

An award winning giant German bunny, who unfortunately, with a bunch of other Giant Rabbits was sold to North Korea for breeding, in an attempt to create a food source program for the poor. Instead they were believed to be eaten, at the birthday party of North Korean Communist dictator Kim Jong Il.
Huh? The story is so weird on so many levels, I was boggled (and slightly disturbed).

But then I found this...................... a giant Angora Bunny.

Completely ridunkulous and cute, the angora bunny settled me down and I no longer needed a pill.
The power of cute is mighty.

Day 2 of the "BIG" sale is officially OVER! 

Poodle Break

Stop it cuteness, I can't take it.

Laughing Out Loud

Lately I am all about doing anything to make myself laugh or feel good....
Which excludes pretty much everything related to Mercado, my house, my bank account and the interior of my car.
While reading one of my favorite blogs I stumbled across this

I restricted my self to only reading one page a day. So I won't O.D on sarcasm and mockery before lunch.

Not only is July 4Th, Independence Day.....
But it's W and mines anniversary. 9Th to be exact
9 years.
In straight time that's 9 years, but in homo years it's more like 27.
WOW, right?

W and I and were acquaintances for many years, then 9 years ago, I had the mother of all 4Th of July parties.
Keeping my options open, I invited not only W but pretty much every person I thought was even remotely cute and single.....
(it was, by the way, later deemed 'The Summer Of Fun" for many reasons.....)

A few days later W and I ended up going on a date, we 'hung out" most of the summer, then by good gay standards, she moved in....

Someone told me a long time ago, that you should feel like you won a prize when thinking of your mate. Back then I wasn't really sure what they meant, but now I do.
I wake up everyday feeling like I won the LOTTERY OF LOVE!

Don't get me wrong, we fight, argue, roll our eyes at each other, take things out on each other, blame each other for lame shit..... etc.
But we laugh, smile, hug, kiss and support each other WAY more and somehow it works.

I ALWAYS feel like I won the best prize in the WORLD!!


Cheers to 9 years!

Happy 4Th of July!

Extreme Poodles

Oh my gawd!
Awhile ago I posted these super silly pictures of poodles that had been groomed into fantastical creatures and other animals, such as a panda, or camel.......

Last night on TLC, they aired the back story reality show about this poodle pagent and the groomers who created their doos!

So two things;

1. W and I aren't the only crazy poodle obsessed freaks who think their poodle is human.

2. Poodles ARE the best dog EVER! I don't care what you say.....

W and are are constantly coiffing pepe and putting hats on him, and I squeal with delight almost every time I walk into Pepe's groomers which is usually FULL of poodles, all sizes all colors, I forget how happy it makes me every time, until I get there.

The show is actually similar to "Toddlers & Tiaras" except less creepy, cause it's poodles who are cute and fluffy, not evil white trash children and their hideous parents.

Extreme Poodles, is more about the crazy poodle owners than the actual poodles. All of whom are actual "Dog Groomers" by trade, who are all obsessed with their poodles.

As much as I loved the woman from Oklahoma who coiffed her standard poodle named"Falcor" in to a lion...
My favorite poodle was "Jet", who was carefully coiffed in to a female "Roller Derby" player, complete with helmet and skates. Unfortunately Jet's Roller Derby Drag doo didn't get him a trophy, he definately should have won "Best Personality"
Jet's human is bat shit crazy, but you could tell she loves that dog more than anything else on the planet, and I secretly loved her for that.
The best part of the whole show is the finale where the dogs and their owners present their finished masterpieces with music, dance and costumes. It was better than most performance art for sure!

My other favorite was 2 poodles who's fur was carved into HR Geiger-esque like alien creatures.

And of course the judges are groce and weird, but thats par for the course.
The best part is this "Extreme Poodle" contest is that it's held every year in Pasadena! Holla!!

The Poodle Trainer

In this intimate portrait of destiny, passion, and loss, Irina Markova, a solitary Russian poodle trainer, reveals her transcendent relationship with her dogs, the childhood tragedy that sparked a lifetime of working with animals, and the welcome isolation behind the red velvet curtains of the circus.




Russian circus costumes and poodles....... genius!

in memory

So, it's Memorial Day Weekend. Did you know that the holiday was actually started in the south, by newly emancipated slaves, who felt that the fallen Union Soldiers, who had been buried in mass graves at a temporary Confederate prison camp, deserved a proper burial.

"In 1865, immediately after the cessation of hostilities, formerly enslaved people exhumed the bodies from the mass grave and reentered them properly with individual graves. They built a fence around the graveyard with an entry arch and declared it a Union graveyard. The work was completed in only ten days. On May 1, 1865, the Charleston newspaper reported that a crowd of up to ten thousand, mainly black residents, including 2800 children, proceeded to the location for included sermons, singing, and a picnic on the grounds, thereby creating the first Decoration Day."
Later Watreloo N.Y was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson, in 1966."

I either completely forgot this interesting piece of history, or was never taught it, I'd bet cash it's the later.....




2 years ago this week end we officially opened our doors, Which has nothing to do with Memorial Day.......
Happy Berfday to us!!