Al Gore would be proud

Here's an inconvenient truth for dog owners: Pups' cute little toys do not last long. At all. Before we brought home our first fuzzy bundle of joy (Dakota), we studied up on the amazing creation that is the golden retriever. We found "Golden Retrievers for Dummies" to be one of the best resources. I'm not kidding. (Funny side story: When Dakota was a puppy, he chewed up the book's cover while we were at the movies. Oh, the irony.)

Among the book's many jewels was the tip that empty plastic milk jugs make the best toys. (Not to mention the cheapest.) And since Christmas 2003, nearly every two-gallon jug we've emptied has been chewed up by a dog in our household before being picked up in curbside recycling. How do you like that, Al? Reuse and then recycle!

Fortunately for Dakota, we love our skim milk. Get it, Kody!

Notice Lilly playing with her orange Bad Cuz?

The damage has been done.

Hand wash only ...

... but do I put her with the lights or the darks?

Fruits of our labor

Before the rain hit Ta-town today, Brian and I mowed, pruned and harvested (we saved the best for last). We have so much herbs (especially oregano) that I'll be peddling bundles of it to my co-workers this week. We also have plenty of tomatoes and blackberries, as well as a few jalapeno peppers. We're planning a dinner of spaghetti and homemade fresh tomato marinara sauce for later this week. Yummo!

Our herb garden, after we spent about an hour pulling weeds and grass that had sprouted up uninvited.


More blackberries to enjoy later this season. They're getting sweeter by the week!


Our Sunday afternoon harvest.

Got pits?

Our newest kitchen toy is an OXO cherry pitter, which we've put to good use already. It has a cool splash guard and is just kind of fun to use. And sweet cherries are much easier to eat in cereal and in fruit salads without the pits.

We combined some today with a banana, peach and some raspberries.

Coffee & conversation

We decided to relocate our Sunday school class today to Panera. Mmm.

Ann, who's been married two weeks now, taught me a great new word: voluntell. Consider it in this sentence: I'd like to say that taking out the trash was my idea, but my wife voluntold me. Nice!

Christmas in July

During the heat of July, there's no better time to remember fun and freezing romps in the snow! Eggnog, anyone?

We are family ...

... I've got all of my sisters with me.

During the month of July, I celebrated one sister's wedding and another sister's move to a neighboring state for a new job. I was glad to be the sister with no major life changes. Here we are, from left: Amanda, Jen and me.

Cuz bathtime

After lots of weekend play, these dirty Cuz toys need a bath. It didn't take me too long to realize as the owner of two goldens that their toys need to be rinsed off and cleaned up nearly as often as the dogs themselves.

Strange sleep habits

It's bedtime, and each pet is up to something very silly*:

Kitty sleeping wherever she wants, case No. 5,758. Meow Meow has sweet digs: her very own kitty bed in our guest bedroom, no less. But where do I find her napping? Right in the middle of our freshly laundered camping bag.


Lilly loves sleeping in the bathtub. Brian often has to kick her out in the mornings when he's ready for his shower. Should I mention that she's usually the dirtiest pup, leaving us to deal daily with muddy paws and the likes? Ironic, don't you think?


Dakota is our resident sock thief. He loves sneaking into our hamper and gym bags to pull out the ripest ones he can find. (I know. Tasty.) But this is a first: holding one while he sleeps.

* Disclaimer: We did not pose any of these photos. Honest! Believe it or not, our pets are just that cute on their own!

Surprisingly socialable cats

In other pet-sitting news, meet Lucy (a.k.a. "Lucy-fur" when she's misbehaving, which is often) and Libby, whom I'm watching this weekend. They usually never come out to play, so I was shocked when they greeted me at the door today. Must be the whole relying-on-me-for-food thing. I've got the power!

Puppy party!

My sister Jen and Abigail, a yellow lab she's dog-sitting for her new in-laws, came over tonight for a puppy playdate and movie night. We somehow managed to corral all three dogs and get them to sit for a peanut butter biscuit for this photo. Then Abby and I played fetch during the entire two-hour movie.

Splish-splash

The Y was rockin' today. We lucked out and found lounge chairs in the shade, read for a while and then checked out the lazy river and slides. Perfect summer Saturday stuff!

On the kitty patrol

I caught Meow Meow inspecting my Gatorade and goggles, two things I can't leave home without now that I'm swimming laps at the YMCA for exercise. I've only been a few times so far, but each time I've managed to swim a mile! (It takes me at least an hour, but I'm just happy logging in my 35 laps!) It helps that Brian is a former swim team instructor because he gives me pointers on my technique. After the lap lanes today, we're going to check out the outdoor waterpark. Woo hoo!

Meet the "Cuz-ins"

Among our pups' favorite toys are these funny little balls with feet. The ones with horns are called Bad Cuz. The ones without (you guessed it) are Good Cuz. They're rubber toys that squeak when the dogs chew on them. (Sadly, in past hasty chews, they've ruined the squeakers on all but the green one.) We started with one, but Dakota & Lilly loved them so much that we kept buying more. They dogs have been happily playing with them all morning while we slept in, had breakfast and read the paper. God Bless those Cuz-ins!

Take the leap

Last weekend, Brian and I joined the young adult group Connect from our church, Aldersgate UMC, for a weekend at Camp Horizon in Arkansas City. One of our favorite things to do there is the high ropes course, which includes the infamous Leap of Faith. You just climb a telephone pole that's planted in the ground, stand on top, turn around and jump to an acrobatic swing hanging several feet away. It's a total mind trip. (Yes, that's really me up there. Now, on the count of three ... ) And I promise: It's not as easy as it looks. Brian's little brother Eric and several of our close friends went, too. Good times, good times. Now if my bug bites from that weekend will just stop itching already!

Off the beaten path

This photo, which I snapped during a hiking trip at Camp Horizon, reminds me of a favorite quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us."

Look who's here!

Welcome to Life is Golden, our just-born household blog dedicated to documenting some of the quirky, wonderful, crazy things life throws our way. (Translation: It's a fun and high-tech way to entertain ourselves, as well as any family and friends we can trick into dropping by.)

Helping us to welcome you is our alpha dog, Dakota, our sole male pet and a cute and fuzzy little guy who never fails to make us laugh. (OK, not so little. Big Red weighs in at a healthy 100 pounds.)

He's a constant source of jokes and stories, which we plan to post here often. We'll share some of our own musings and adventures while we're at it. Stay tuned!