Our daughter, Abigail Rose Bennett, was born this morning, February 28th, 2005 at 4:02am. She is 5 pounds, 14 ounces, happy, healthy, fully fingered and toed, and a joy to Mom and Dad already.

Mom was a champ, is doing well, and is resting at St. Joseph's Hospital in Stockton.

The first photos are in. Spread the news, and say a little prayer for our little one.

Daddy needs some sleep.

-p

Whenever our birthdays or holiday comes up, we're always at a loss when we're asked what we want. Now that it's Christmas, it's happening on a huge scale. So, by popular demand, and for our sanity, here's our wish list! Not that we don't already have everything we could ever want....

Thanks in advance! -p

As many of you know, I've been studying for my California Real Estate exam for several weeks. Most of my study consisted of watching a painfully boring video tape over and over and over. Well apparently some of the information must have stuck with me. I just found out that I passed the exam! Thank God... I don't ever have to watch that video tape again! -s

On our way home from a short vacation at Monterey Dunes, we got to pick up Jedi and bring him home! Pictures of his first romp in the yard, et al, can be found here in Jedi's Puppy Picture Album.

Yes, it's true. I've been lusting over the Honda Accord Coupe for several years now. In fact, when I purchased my Honda Civic Coupe in 1999, it was the Accord that I really wanted. Alas, it was not meant to be. :-(

Well, either Patrick is even sweeter than I thought, or he really got tired of my belly-aching. Here's the story... Towards the end of June, Patrick had to take his car into the service department at the local Honda dealership. While he was there he hunted down the salesman (Junior) that sold us the Element in February. He told Junior that we might be interested in buying a new Accord Coupe. So, being the good salesman that Junior is, he started showing Patrick around the lot. A few days later, Junior called Patrick on his cell phone while I was with him. The conversation sounded quite strange to me, so I asked Patrick who he was talking to. He just said, "It's a client." So I let it go. A couple of days after that, he got another strange phone call. This time he decided to tell me what he had been up to.

On the following weekend, I cleaned out my trusty Civic and we headed down to the Honda dealership. It took me only a few minutes to pick out a new Accord to test drive and it was one that Junior had shown Patrick before. After test driving it, I LOVED IT, of course. How could you not love a car that is San Marino Red with Tan Leather Interior and Wood Trim and Dual Climate Controls and Butt Warmers!! Need I go on?? So we worked out a deal with Junior and drove off the lot with the new car that same day... which has never happened to me before!! It seems that I've always had to wait a few days before I can pick up the car. So do I have the bestest husband ever??? I think so. :-) Thank you My Love. btw: for anyone that's taking notes... my next dream car is my father-in-law's 2003 Porsche! LOOOOOL -s

She's hiding from the world, so it is my duty to "out" her. Hopefully she'll swoop down in a day or two and tell everybody the story here... for now you'll have to be satisfied with the picture. -p

Or will it be "Logan"?! Hhhhhhhmmmmmm.... -p

We've collected many puppy pictures of K.C.'s litter by now and I've put them all together in a special photo album. You can find them here, or browse through all the photos for them (you'll find them in misc/doggie pics/K.C.'s Litter). -p

We're back from seeing the puppies. Oh my! What adorable little balls of velvet. {Sigh!}.

I was very good. Sarah was practically whipping out the checkbook before we were out of eye-shot of the pups, but I told the "puppy lady" that we'd sleep on it and call her tomorrow with a decision. As fate would have it, our friends William and Stacey went with us to see the puppies and meet the couple that bred them (Benny and Debbie Bozzelli)- I wanted to get an unbiased opinion from William and Stacey before we comitted to anything. So, after the four of us spent an hour and a half or so, we bid farewell to the puppy dawgs and the Bozzelli's for the evening.

We went in search of dinner. We drove around Lodi aimlessly looking for a restaurant and quite accidentally wound up at Strings. During the drive and over our soups and salads, I pumped Sarah, William, and Stacey, and every one thought we had a green light: this looked like a good litter of puppies! We'd call Debbie first thing in the morning. Or should we go back over after dinner? Damn! It just might be a little too late to drop by unannounced by the time we finished dinner.

No kidding now. I was not three bites into my entree when the Bozzelli's walked in to have dinner at Strings. This time I commanded Sarah to whip out the check book. We signed the puppy contract (yes, there is a puppy contract) and handed over the check right there on one knee in the middle of Strings.

K.C. is a delightful, attentive, and gorgeous dog. She has the deep red coat of a hunting golden, and the pedigree to match. When we arrived she greeted me by springing out of the box where her eleven progeny lay sqrwiggling around her belly. She wagged her rear a few times, smiled in my face, and layed at my feet until I'd had my fill of petting her. As soon as I'd stopped she scurried over to Sarah for the same routine. When one of the pups whined a little too loudly she hedged over toward the puppy box, then finally got in and snuggled with them all. K.C. comes from a long line of fine hunting dogs. There are some, but not a lot, of show dog "champions" in her lineage. She has many "GRC Outstanding Sires" and such, however, and her ancestors are just delicious. You can see several of them here: Sungold Kennels. Take a look at the link for the "foundation goldens" and keep your eyes open for K.C.'s grandpa "Howdy Pardner", , her great-grandpa's "Sidekick" and "Major Motion", and her great-great-grandpa, "Shilo".

The father is Ivan of Foxfire Goldens, the birth place of Liberty (the First Pet), and Jack Nicklaus' goldens. (Liberty was the pet of President Gerald Ford, and is largely responsible for the explosion of popularity for the golden retriever breed in the U.S.). Check the above link for info. about Ivan (a.k.a. "Foxfire's Name Your Poison") and his kennel, and pictures of him and his fellow Foxfire's. Ivan is himself a Canadian Champion and successful show dog. He has no less than 13 AKC champions in his lineage in just the last four generations.

After Benny and Debbie, we have pick of the litter! Oh no! That's going to be a tough decision. We'll be bringing our new puppy home on the week of July 13th. We're registered at PetsMart, PetCo, Target, and Macy's. No, just kidding, not really.

You'll be sure to get new pics as they are available. -p

Sadly, we will not be bringing a new puppy home on May 31st as planned. We received an email from the breeder last Friday informing us that the puppies were diagnosed with Cheyletiellosis which is caused by Cheyletiella Mites. Apparently this condition is not dangerous or life threatening but it is highly contagious and requires three weeks of treatment. :-( Instead of bringing home the puppy at 11 or 12 weeks of age (those goldens grow so fast!), Patrick & I decided to contact a breeder closer to home that had a litter born this past Monday. We are going to visit them tonight! I'll be sure to take the camera and hopefully have some pictures posted by tomorrow. -s

After hours of searching on the internet and tens of phone calls, we finally located a Golden Retriever breeder with puppies available to buy. On May 31st we will be bringing home a new baby brother for Sydney to pal around with. (Maybe having some company will keep her in our back yard when we are away... well, we can always hope!)

The name for the little fellow is still up in the air. I don't like any of the names that Patrick likes, and he doesn't like any of the names that I like. What will we do when we have children?? -s

[ Note: When can I bwing my widdle Jedi puppy home? :-( -p ]

On Monday April 28th Sarah and I made a heart wrenching choice to put down our deeply loved golden retriever, Daphne.

Daphne started having epileptic seizures not long after her first birthday; most dogs with epilepsy do not have a seizure until two years of age, so we knew right away we were dealing with an unusual case.


Two years and a ton of pills, bromides, and valium injections later, things were only getting worse for her. Over the prior 60 hours she had 13 seizures or more (it's hard to tell if she continued to have some while we were away from the house), despite being so sedated with medication that I often had to help her to her feet and guide her around the house. This was a losing battle for our sunny, stinky, comically clumsy, gorgeous companion.

Daphne was the fulfilment of a longing and love of goldens since I was an adolescent, and she was one of the greatest joys in our lives. -p

On Saturday, March 29th Sarah's cousin Frank Triglia and his fiance, Lisa, were married. As we drove off to the wedding in Escalon there was our old veteran Saturn parked in front of the house. We should have waived going by on our joy ride to the country, but we didn't.

The Element is, I've discovered, a bug magnet. I didn't know bugs had metal in them, but they do. So, my car is magnetized and as I drive along throughout the day bugs from a three block radius swoosh through the air toward my car and finally splat right on the windshield. .... Bird shit is magnetized too by the way. Thank goodness the shit actually leaves the birds ass before the magnetic pull kicks in.... Left without intervention, the Element grows a bug and bird shit carpet on the windshield, inpenetrable by the human eye, within three days. So, all this is to explain the first thing you won't believe: after sleeping off Frankie's reception, I got up and washed my car Sunday afternoon.

To do so I backed out Sarah's Civic from the driveway and parked it on the street so I wouldn't get it wet (you've already suspended belief enough to swallow that I was washing my car... by hand... on a beautiful Sunday afternoon instead of locked in the house with the blinds down, my face lit by nothing but the alien green glow of my monitor; I won't insult you by suggesting I had any intention of risking having to wash Sarah's car as well). Let's stop there for a second. That needs some explanation.

I moved into this house about three years ago, a bachelor letting a room to his cousin. After getting stuff moved in and organized, the garage was quite usable for parking cars and some storage. It also has a pretty convenient workbench, so it wasn't long before my computers crept out there for repairs and what not, and not long after that it was no longer habitable by automobiles. Three years and a move in of a wife from her apartment later, the garage was pretty stacked with computers (something like 12), monitors (something like 7), terminals ('bout 5 or 6), printers (at least 3), various components and parts (tons), the furniture we no longer needed after Sarah moved in and a recent new couch purchase, and the usual accumulated junk. Good thing we haven't had any kids yet, 'cause I don't think we could have parked a tricycle in there, let alone one of our cars.

So, now you understand why we have two Hondas in the driveway and a Saturn on the street. Or, at least, we did.

As I returned to the Element, picked up the brush wand and stroked on the first swipe of soapy beer suds to the tailgate a thought hit me- the way I parked the Civic, swooshing backward right out of the driveway into the spot on the street under our tree, why hadn't I crunched right into the nose of the Saturn?! I stopped swiping suds on the the Element and looked over my shoulder. Hrrrmmmph! Where did I park the Saturn? I put the wand down, turned the water off, popped my head in the door and asked Sarah, "Hey, where's the Saturn?"

In case it ever happens to you, be aware that the first resolution you make after getting off the phone with the Stolen Car Unit on a beautiful Sunday in spring is that from now on cars will be parked in the garage. Do yourself a favor and start now, a little bit at a time, slowly but surely, cleaning out that garage so when that day comes, if you have a car left, the garage is all ready for your resolutions. Because the second and naturally consequent resolution is that you will have the garage clean by the end of the next weekend.

If I haven't convinced you yet, let me make a list of what you'll need to do so that maybe you'll get started now rather than try to do it all over a single weekend like Sarah and I did.

The Numbers Game: What it Will Take to Clean Out Your Garage

1. truck loads to the dump: 2
2. phone calls to family and friends to find out if they want you to trash or return borrowed items: 2
3. truck loads to family and friends to return borrowed items: 1
4. trips to target and the hardware store for storage and organizational supplies: 2
5. trips to Goodwill and other charities to drop off donatable items: 4
6. man hours actually cleaning and organizing the garage: 15
7. arguments with spouse: 3
8. midnight runs for fast food: 2
9. full trashcans in the house, not able to be emptied because garbage bin is filled with stuff from garage: 5
10. boxes in side yard filled with trash that won't fit in garbage bin: 5
11. empty boxes in side yard: 37
12. man minutes in shower cleaning up: 120

After all of that, maybe you will also be lucky enough to have your stolen extra vehicle found and returned apparently unharmed. Leaving you with a car still in the driveway.

1. "For Sale" signs: 1

-p

On Friday my Saturn coupe, a trustworthy veteran, officially retired from active duty. We bought a Honda Element, and went on our first of what we hope will be many road trips.

I've set up special photo album in the gallery just for pics from our road trips, so to see us in our Element, as it were, keep up to date with it. You can already check out our first set of road trip pics from Portuguese Beach in Bodega Bay. -p

Wow... what a wonderful first anniversary! Patrick & I had a wonderful dinner at Le Bistro (the site of our wedding reception last year). We also enjoyed fighting over the full body massager that he gave me. (The key words being: "that he gave me" ...lol) Too bad our GIANTS lost. :( -s

Just got back from J.J. and Nicole's wedding... aahhh the memories. Sarah got to kick the tires on Ross Dobbins for only a few moments as Paul and Sabrina fled back to the hotel with him wailing for food. Tyler, on the other hand, was cute as a button and quiet as a lamb the whole time (ho hum!). Heh. Too bad our test drive was so short- still not sure which model we should get. -p