Gizmo

People always react to our dog's name in one of two ways - they get the joke and think it's hilarious, or they stare blankly because they've never heard the word before.

However, today something popped into my Google Reader that made me think perhaps Leonidas is a misnomer - perhaps it should really be Gizmo!

He's got the ears and cuts fuzzy face for it! What do you think?

Back by popular demand

So I completely missed marking 8 months of married life with a blog post, but today is 10 months, so I'll try to make up for it with extra useful marital advice - the theme is traveling together, something we've been doing a lot of lately!

1 - Packing for "the family" makes me feel like a real adult. Right now, "family stuff" only includes toothpaste, dental floss, and the dog's bag (he counts as part of the family), but someday it'll mean packing up the kids' toys, sack lunches for car trips, and a million other little details I'll try to keep straight with long packing lists. It makes me feel a little bit like my mom, who always had everything we needed, whether we'd thought of it in advance or not.

2 - It's helpful if both spouses are fully briefed on the travel plans. I found this out the hard way. We were traveling to see friends in Washington DC, and we had an early morning flight to catch. I had booked the tickets, planned for the trip, and got us to the airport just in time to catch a 6:00AM flight...only to discover that the flight was at 7:00AM. Alex was a good sport though, and we used the extra time to get a delicious breakfast.

3 - I like having a husband to help with bags. I hate checking a bag when I fly, which means for years, I've been heaving my own over stuffed roller board suitcase into the overhead bins by myself - a feat for my 5'4", noodle-armed self and potentially life-threatening to all passengers seated nearby. Now, Alex just tosses it up there for me like all I packed inside was a fluffy pillow, instead of a hairdryer and 4 pairs of shoes shoved in with all my clothes.

4 - We have different tastes when it comes to car snacks. Whenever my family went on road trips, we always packed a generous snack bag (as I would imagine most families do), but unfortunately for Alex and I, we don't really like the same car snacks. Namely, he likes beef jerky and the smell of beef jerky makes me nauseous - not good in a contained space like, say, a car. Between plugging my nose and cracking the windows, we've managed so far, but eventually we may just need to make a permanent switch to trail mix, or something else less...potent.

5 - The best part of traveling is spending quality time together. You get the chance to spend time together without the distraction of TV or chores or work obligations. It provides a shared experience, a set of memories just for us. There is a great sense of "together-ness"that comes from planning and going on a trip, no matter where you go or who you're with, and it is something to be treasured.

Tune in in August as we celebrate our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Daily dose of cute and cuddley

This is the cutest video I have seen in a long time...maybe ever. If you're looking for your Friday dose of cute, check out this video of a mama cat hugging her sleeping kitten.

Take the dog to work day

For me, lots of days are "take the dog to work" days - it's one of the best things about this job. Other people get smoke breaks - I get dog walking breaks, and in the spring, he provides a welcome excuse to enjoy the nice weather (when we occasionally have nice weather). As you can see, he does a lot to contribute around here:

Although apparently he does not appreciate having his picture taken:

He didn't actually make any effort to get up and avoid the pictures, but I think those eyes show plenty of disapproval.

The best summer beauty tip

I know everyone loves summer - the warm weather means more to do outside, more chances to sit poolside, and longer daylight hours. However, summer also means more humidity, and if you're like me, that means more frizzy hair and more oily/shiny skin.

Well, last summer the makeup artist I used for our wedding introduced me to the BEST product for oily skin that I have ever encountered: MAC Pressed Blot Powder.
This stuff works miracles. No joke. Simply roll the pad around your finger, roll it on the powder, and roll the powder off on your skin - no more shine. It doesn't smear or remove your make up like oil blotting sheets do. It saved our photos on our wedding day, and it's saved me for many afternoon meetings and evening events.

It's more $ than I usually invest in make up (about $25 as I recall) but it's worth it - I've used it all year and barely made a dent in it, so I know it will last. If you're looking for a way to tackle summer's oily skin, I would highly recommend it!

we must have terrible taste...

in TV shows! I just found out this morning that one of our new favorite shows is getting canceled - The Chicago Code. It was a cop show about Chicago and I thought it was pretty good. It wasn't a procedural, so each show was related to the ones before it, and the characters were more unique/less cheesy than a lot of other cop shows. Plus, it's always fun to see my home town get some air time.

But alas, after next week's two hour season finale, The Chicago Code will be no more. Sadly, this is the 3rd show we started watching this year that has subsequently been canceled (the other two were Lights Out on FX about a boxer, and Detroit 187, another cop show). Since most of our man-approved shows are gone, we're going to have to figure out something new to watch in the fall. Hopefully we can break our streak of bad luck and find a show that will stick around!

PS sorry for the extreme blogging lapse. I'll try to be better this month :)

Our national budget crisis

I know not everyone's lives revolve around the political scene like mine does, but if you've been watching the news at all this week, you've probably seen that our country is debating two major budget issues right now.

The first is the budget for the remainder of 2011, often referred to as the Continuing Resolution, or CR. The current CR funds the government through this Friday, and if the Senate does not take action and an agreement is not reached, the government will shut down. Lots of federal employees will stop getting paid, including our troops. Bad news.

However, to be quite honest, that is not the biggest issue on the table right now. Yesterday Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee and Republican Congressman from Wisconsin, released his much-anticipated 2012 budget, a document he's calling the "Pathway to Prosperity". For the first time, someone is proposing a plan to start paying off our national debt by reforming the major entitlement programs: Medicare and Medicaid.

But Ryan's budget does much more than address our debt - it proposes a way to save these entitlement programs for future generations, including us. People currently receiving benefits from these programs would not be affected - seniors need not fear. Instead, this is a chance for seniors to get behind a plan that will save these programs not only for their children, but their grandchildren as well.

If you want to read/watch/hear more about Ryan's plan, here are a few good links:

Full Budget, Summary, Key Facts, and a video from Ryan

Ryan's Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal

Politco Op-Ed focusing on Medicare

Radio Interview with Roskam on both budget issues

I don't usually post political stuff on here because politics can be a sensitive issue for a lot of people, but this is too important not to pass along for discussion. Just imagine a future where international debates over the security of the dollar are over, our country is paying off it's national debt, and you and I would actually see benefits in our old age. Without reforms like these, that future is impossible.