Cricket and Lola

Saturday morning we woke up to a cool surprise - Lola featured on the Daily Puppy and Cricket featured on the Daily Kitten. I submitted their photos because I didn't want them to suffer from Second Child syndrome (like me). Crenshaw made his debut as Mr.October 3rd in the 2003 Edition of 365 Days of Kittens Calendar.**

To Top off the publicity, Our wedding is currently being featured in Brides Magazine's Receptions special addition*** - if you are in the supermarket take a peak, its a great spread of some fun details of the wedding (2 1/2 years later).

Hope everyone had a happy weekend!


** These guys have their purchasing model down - the parents of the kittens send in the photos. If the photo is selected the Calendar company sends out a letter congratulating the owners and encouraging them to buy calendars to send to family members to show off their kitten. You get a discount for buying in Bulk! Yes we fell for it.

*** I always wondered how these weddings got into the bridal magazines, now I know - its the photographer. They send out their photos hoping to get them published which ups their wedding prices even more.

Keystone!!

For Martin Luther King Jr. Day (three day weekend) we went skiing with Jessica and Yancey up at Keystone. This was our first ski outing since we have moved to Colorado and purchased our new ski gear at the SNIAGRAB (yes this is bargains spelled backwards) in August.

I decided it would be good to have a pink jacket to stick with my life color - but I need to remember to balance my love of pink, my commitment to my life color and my capacity to spill any thing I eat or drink.

The first day was warm (30's) and the mountain was packed - we headed over to the Outback Express area that allowed Mark and Jessica lots of access to moguls. After the first day of skiing we headed home to watch the Bronco's whoop the Patriots and sit in the hot tub - I was exhausted.



We also skied the next day. Yancey's business school buddy was also with us, and he headed up the next morning to get "first tracks" - we were still eating our full cooked breakfast - and chatted with some of the locals who recommended taking the Snow Cat up to the Bowl which was awesome. It wasn't crowded and the snow was great - if you are up at Keystone definitely do this! By the end of the day, I wasn't sure I could even feel my legs (I vowed to start exercising) so we dulled the pain with a beer. :)

We had surf and turf for dinner at the Condo and watch 24 - but sadly did not go through our expected wine consumption - another data point for Josh's drinking at altitude theory. We had a blast - Next stop Vail! :)

SUMO!!

Last night we visited Scott and Julie and met the newest, snuggliest little ball of love: SUMO!! He is just a perfect pug! Already he is potty trained and can play fetch. Unlike Lola, Sumo plays hard for a few minutes and then is ready for a nap in your lap, complete with little snores.



He was much smaller than I imagined and his fur is super soft like a baby seal. You can see more pictures of the snugglet on Scott's Flickr page. I can't wait to see him on the Daily Puppy.



Lola can't wait to meet Sumo - she could learn a few things about taking naps.
One thing they both have in common is posing for cameras - they are clearly trained to be runway dogs, now only if their dad's would let them wear clothes. :)

Flowering Plants for a Year

It's no secret that I have been wishing for the monthly flowering plants - I continued to drop hints to Mark with no luck. Last Month I got the sweetest card from Michael Sladden and a note that I would be receiving a whole year of flowering plants from Smith and Hawkin.

WOW!!

In December I received an amaryllis that was needing time to flower. Just this week it began to bloom.

Yesterday I received a HUGE cymbidium orchid in full bloom. It is amazing and making Mark quite jealous - he constantly tries to re-bloom orchids. We have yet to see a bloom, but we always have some new growth that gives Mark hope.

Thank you Michael for brightening each of my months!! and giving me a chance to try and turn my brown thumb green!! 

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to everyone! After Greg's Roof blew off of his loft we moved the New Years Party to our house. Chris, Saira and JB flew in for the event and we were able to test the French Flirt and the Bellini-tini were a hit - and by 8:30 pm Jonathan was lit up!! :) Fabulous! The drinks were served in martini glasses which mark started referring to as your "Drunk-ometer" because of the spillage through the night.



To spice up our night even Greg D drank - moving his "Fun-ometer" from "0" to "Cool" in no time flat.



We played Beer Pong through the night using a keg of Twisted Pine Hoppy Boy Pale ale - a local beer. As the night progressed Chris started using his martini glass as his Beer Pong Target - which turned out to be an easy target!!



We had too much food, including a chocolate Fondue fountain and crepes. We rang in the new years with party hats, more champagne and CONFETTI!! (just a note to all you homeowners - spilled drinks + confetti=stained hard wood floor - scrubbing will get it out, eventually). After the ball dropped we headed into the 80's music dancing - Kristin and Angela (Kristin's college Roomate) were dancing Queens!




Even a few games of Halo were tried - after 2/3 of the way through the game Chris's score was -1, and Mark was beating Jonathan. Even after Greg's begging the boys wouldn't play anymore.




We had a great night and wish you all the best for 2006!!

Merry Christmas

a little late...

We hosted Christmas this year and had a great time. I subjected my animals to a bit of torture. Cricket hated it the most - and Lola posed like she was on a runway.



The Christmas Jammie tradition continued with Bright polkadots.



And in true Richau fashion we overdid it on the presents - but it was so much fun. Mark and I got new push golf carts from my parents so we headed out to play a few holes after presents. We had a great holiday.

Go Broncos!!

Christmas Eve day the Richau's headed to see the Bronco's (Special Thanks to Denny Buscher for the Tickets!!). This was my first time EVER to see the Bronco's and the first time to Invesco Stadium for my parents and Josh. Mark and Amy decided to spend the day with their sisters while we were at the game.



We drove to the Game in my dad's truck and began looking for parking - the lots closest to the field were charging $40 to park for the game - My dad really wanted to get into the stadium so he said, "lets just do it" and in we pulled. We were waiting to pay the attendant when a guy walked up to our window and said - "Are you really going to pay $40 to park here". We said sadly - "Yes" and he said for $20 I will give you my lot pass to park next to the field. We paid the man (feeling a bit nervous about the validity of the pass) and headed down to Lot E - right next to the stadium with easy access to leave. Thanks Random Nice Guy!!



The bronco's were playing their long time rival the Oakland Raiders - Josh has a soft spot for the Raiders and Crenshaw was born in Oaktown so we were trying to be on our best behavior. We had a few bold Raider fans behind us - fortunately we were all in the Christmas spirit (including the "paint-your-face" fans.



Being Christmas Eve we saw lots of Santa Broncos - and many signs stating that "Even Santa was a Raider Hater" - of course my mom (after a couple of beers) continued to remind the Raider fans behind us that "we were not Raider Haters" - in case he forgot.



It was Fan Appreciation day so the whole stand was filled with orange pom-poms which my dad used as a pony tail. We were so enthusiastic that we kept dunking the end of the pom-poms into our beer and showering our neighbors - they didn't seem to mind. The Bronco's whooped the Raiders and we headed home for Maine Lobsters Direct Christmas Eve Dinner! What a day!!

Holiday Prep

Mark and I are getting ready for our first holiday's in Colorado. We put up two trees this year and I had mark hangin icicle lights outside in freezing weather (yes, I know Amy and Julie don't care for icicle lights). Turns out the wind in our area blows the lights into the gutter - very frustrating. This year our tree has red berries and poinsettias with our ornaments. And of course, decorations aren't complete without tons of bowls of Ikea ornaments!



When my parents were here my mom, a crabby mark and an excited Mandy created our sky skape on the wall of our fireplace. Poor Mark had to balance on a very tall ladder to install my curtain rod at the top and then hang all of the ornaments on clear fishing line. Everything was up and put away and while having a beer and admiring the wall, my mom and I realized we had an empty space - so out came the ladder and an even more crabby Mark. But it was worth it - the sky scape is a perfect addition to the red feather trees.



This is also the first year that I have my shopping done and wrapped - even stocking stuffers! Mark and I put in two good nights of wrapping - we of course were assisted by Lola and Cricket. While not nearly as helpful, they added lots of energy. Lola is totally freaked out by wrapping paper tubes and talking through them. BONKERS!



We have all enjoyed listening to a Classical Christmas on XM Radio (866 - for you directTV'ers). Happy Holidays!!

P.S. I know this blog is pretty Lola heavy - but Lola is a camera hog - when you turn it on, she sits and poses - its hard not to keep them coming. :)

Sick Pup

This one is for Martha Olbrys... Lola has suffered a pretty bad bout with Kennel Cough. Poor thing has had the shivers, an upset tummy (she, like her mom, can't take medicine on an empty stomach) and a hacking cough. She wouldn't eat so we found ourselves trying anything we could - including wet cat food and chicken noodle soup.

We were a bit out of sorts by the whole thing, so we would get up early in the morning and bring her into our bed for some cuddles (this is usually a no-no). Here she is looking pretty pathetic. :)

Yesterday she finally felt like her energetic self chasing the cats and chewing on random items, and hoping to sleep in bed and eat people food. I am a sucker for her eyes, so without Mark knowing I am letting Lola clean my plate - actually she would be a good dishwasher if you didn't mind dog drool.

We have finally kicked our 3 round with Kennel Cough - we will be avoiding Day care for the rest of the year. 

Mark and Mandy go to New York

We finally took our trip to New York City to see Mark's Dad and some old college friends. It's been over 3 years since our last trip, so the visit was long overdue.

We flew in Friday morning on a waaay too early flight (courtesy of Mark), and took a cab into a snow covered New York. Michael had been organizing a cocktail party for that evening so we just hung out and did a quick trip out to buy supplies.

The party was a great opportunity to get together all the people we hadn't seen in years in one place and it went fabulously. More evidence that hiring a bartender is the best money you can spend at a party. There were some of the usual suspects who we last saw at our wedding (see Martha Olbrys, Julie's Mum pictured with Mandy). In addition some of Mark's friends from Stanford came along (Harad, Kulman and Heysse), Greg D who was in NY for work, and even Reid MacLean, whom Mark went to school with in the first grade! After the party we all went out way too late to dinner at Docks and didn't get done until midnight... much later than we usually eat!

Saturday we woke up feeling a little the worse for wear and had a lovely relaxing morning with croissants and tea and then got ready to go to see Edith (Mark's nanny from long ago) who lives across town. Edith fed us some of her wonderful fried rice and we were serenaded by Justin, her 5 year old grandson who is quite the musician!

After catching up with Edith, the three M's (Michael, Mark and Mandy) went downtown to see Rockefeller Center and visit Kate's Paperie to look for some unlined journals - which turn out to be frustratingly hard to find! Rockefeller Center was an unbelievable crush of people, it took at least 10 minutes to walk three blocks down 5th Avenue to get there from where we left our taxi marooned in traffic! The tree was fantastic and we got a lovely photo of it that appears in our Christmas newsletter that is in the mail (no, honestly, it is).

Once we got home we had little time to relax and get ready to go out on the town. For weeks before the trip we had been discussing what to do for Saturday night with Guy, Todd and Matt. But with a week before we were to arrive, Todd heroically bit the bullet and booked us at Pepolinos, a lovely little (though recently expanded) italian trattoria in Tribeca.

We started our evening by touring Guy and Todd's lovely apartment on the upper west side (not too far from 500 West End Avenue). And we got to meet Lauren, Todd's long-time squeeze who we both agreed was a fantastic person (Todd traded up!) From there we went down to the Brandy Library, which was very civilized where we had a few martinis/gimlets/sidecars etc. before braving the cold for a 3 block walk to the restaurant. As I said, the restaurant was top notch and seemed quite inexpensive for a well-regarded New York eatery. We met Matt Harad there.

After dinner, we found our way to the east village where we took over a booth at the Hi-Fi bar and spent the evening playing Galaga and drinking more than we needed to. We had a guest appearance from Subbudh (Guy's freshman roommate) for the evening which was a wonderfully random element. Greg D even caught up with us at the bar for a fabulous evening. Of course, the next morning I was cursing the 4am bar closing time, but at the time, I would have wanted to be anywhere else.

Sunday morning rolled around somewhat cruelly, but Michael kindly volunteered to go wait for a table at GoodEnoughToEat a few blocks away, which was just what the doctor ordered. We spent the rest of the day taking it easy in the apartment. Mark set up the Airport Express and new multifunction printer and put some things up for free/sale on craigslist to start chipping away at some of the excess equipment currently filling up 500 WEA. We had dinner with Brooke and Norman and then went to be early as we had yet another stomach-churningly early flight (6am this time - Mark, will you never learn?).

We can't say we got much rest, but we did hit the city right and promised it wouldn't be another three years before we returned!

Time for Snow Boots

This morning we woke up to freezing temperatures - today's high is 8. Poor lola has to use the outdoors to do her "business" - she bounded in half way through (don't worry no mess) wimpering and not wanting to touch her paws to the ground. Brrr.

I had an early morning dentist appointment right next to "Struttin' Pup" a very fancy schmancy pet store. Now Lola is the proud owner of "Hot Dawgs Pet Boots". When I put them on she acted as though she couldn't walk, but they were very useful once we got outdoors.

The trick is to keep them on her! Here she is ready to pull a sled! 

Earth to Mars, This is Lola

Somebody has a skin owie on her leg and can't leave it alone! Lola doesn't seem to mind the collar, so we thought, but last night in her kennel she chewed it off. This morning she bounded out screaming "VICTORY!"

Still pretty cute! 

Lola Graduates!!

We have been taking Lola to Level 1 dog training after she was too old for Puppy Kindergarten. This class has a bit more structure and we learn commands like sit, down, stay, heel, walk pretty and wait. There were 3 other dogs in our class - Haley (Austrailian Sheepdog - you may have seen Lola romping with her in a previous blog), Izzy (a Cockapoo!!) and Ralfie (a standard poodle that just constantly barks). The best part about dog school is learning tips for keeping your dog out of trouble and occupied. For you dog owners here are a few:

1. Buy the Kong Konches, fill them with wet dog food and then FREEZE them. This buys you at least 20 minutes as they try to get every drop of food out - without freezing you might have 2 minutes.
2. Buy a dry food toy - you can put the dogs dry food in a toy that they have to roll around to get little nibbles. When lola is hungry she finds the toy and then rolls and rolls it around to eat - also time consuming for her.
3. Buy cheap fleece and braid it into tug-o-war toys - these will last about a day, but what fun (make sure to take it away once it starts to fall apart - we sadly found out what fleece looks like after being digested.
4. Finally - buy lots and lots of chewy's, always have something for your dog to chew on... Lola's graduation gift was two tennis balls connected by a blue roap. The roap lasted about 5 minutes - and then it was on to chewing up the tennis balls. Its amazing what little teeth can do.

Greg D Lights up our Life

On Sunday night Greg, Josh, Amy and my mom were here for dinner. Greg mentioned a cool trick about putting a burnt-out light bulb in the microwave in a cup of water and watching it glow. We absolutely had to see how it worked...

We took a light bulb and filled a coffee cup up with a bit of water to cover the metal portion of the bulb. We put the bulb in and started the microwave. We all gathered around patiently to watch - and what do you know the bulb instantly lit up. The colors changed from White, to green-ish white, to blue-ish white, to purple-ish white... we were cheering. In the middle of our cheer....KAAA-BOOOOOM...the ladies in the crowd scream. The bulb exploded into a Ga-gillion pieces (yes, this is a real number).

The Microwave is fine and Mark and Greg cleaned up the tiny extra sharp pieces of glass (lightbulb glass is some of the sharpest glass around) - it was honestly a fantastic experiment. If you are looking for a party trick this might be it.

We think that next time we might keep the microwave on low so we have more chance to view the glowing bulb. Definitely TRY this at home.

Flowers arrived today

We opened our door to a lovely vase of flowers this afternoon from Nate and Michelle.

Thanks guys, that European Flower shop does a great job! Even ex-Fiore arrangers would approve.

Brrrr (pt. 2)....

We had our first autumn storm yesterday and the flatirons got a nice powdering of snow to improve our view. Boulder valley also was covered in fog, creating this nice image of the flatirons pushing up out of the fog. Our weather is going to be back up in the 70's by the end of the week, so this just serves to remind us that winter is on its way.

Brrrr....

We got our first frost on Saturday - we took Lola out for her morning walk and she was cold, we and shivering. I finally convinced Mark to let me get her a fleece jacket - he still refuses to let me dress her up in any costumes. We found this cute blue pullover that makes her look like a little horse. Today we wore it on our walk in the rain with great success!



You may have noticed from other blog posts that Lola likes to pose for photo-shoots. She must be getting ready for her modeling career!

After today's walk, Mark agreed that she needed the warmth - so I will be looking for an argyle sweater for the holidays.

Squeaker-mania

My brother's best man, Spencer, owns and runs West Paw Design which makes pet products. While in Montana at Josh and Amy's wedding our babies received a box full of toys in a Halloween theme. The cats go crazy for the catnip, especially cricket, she spends hours rubbing her little chin on the toy and then throwing it up in the air. Crenshaw is much more reserved and prefers to drug himself on his own time.



Inside the box was a black stuffed bat for Lola - each wing has a squeaker in it - I dropped it on the ground and Lola instantly took off with the bat. She zoomed up the stairs and all we could hear is squeak, squeak, squeak. Spencer and West Paw pride themselves on how tough their squeakers are (kill us now) and we can now personally vouch for that - even our OCD Chew monster can't kill the squeaker.

A week away

While Mandy and I were away in Montana for Josh's wedding (photos to follow), our friends Dave and Kristen house sat for Josh and watched our cats. They both have a fabulous sense of humor and I do believe their journal conveys an accurate sense of events at our house that week. Click the pictures below to enlarge...

Lola Update

Lola is growing and growing and I thought I would give everyone an update. She is now 16 weeks old (almost ready for a rabies shot). We have been trying hard to get her as much socialization as possible - she goes to puppy daycare a couple times a week where she gets to play with all types of dogs. We have also started Puppy Kindergarten.



Most of the class is spent playing and romping with other dogs (yes that is lola beating up on an Austrailian Sheepdog - Haley is her name). But we are also learning basic commands - Sit, Down, Stay, No. We think she is such a smarty pants!!



She has also outgrown her puppy collar and has graduated into a bigger size XS instead of XXS. :) We had to get a matching leash - here she is showing off her stuff.



Each morning we take her for a walk to try and run some of her energy out of her. We have a great open space trail close to our house and as we walk on the trail she bounds through the tall grass. Mark calls it her "wherethefuckarewe" bounce.



She is quite a bundle of love and lives for validation. She will be heading to Montana this month - her first plane flight. We know she will do great. We are still learning what to be careful of... last weekend when were were out of the house for a couple of hours we came home to find the little devil happy to show us her art project.



How can you resist!!