one mega super epic walk!

this past saturday we went on our fourth big apple pittie pack walk.

pitbull butts on parade

we got dropped off at the wrong side of the park so we had to rush rush rush across to make it to the starting point. luckily the pack hadn't given up and started without us, so off we all went - right back in the direction we'd come from! well, we were just relieved we'd made it and could enjoy the gorgeous weather with a beautiful group of dogs.

after the walk carlos and i met up with a friend and her beautiful baby.  carlos made his usual first impression...fortunately this baby boy loves dogs and was not swayed by the squawking pitbull routine. after a few minutes we were past the stranger danger portion of the day and were able to relax in the grass near the boathouse.

two out of three looking at the camera? i'll take it!

to celebrate our successful first-ever baby playdate, we decided to WALK ALL THE WAY HOME.

our most glorious and epic route

we did some sightseeing along the way, stopping by the penn station post office building for a picture next to an ugly planter. i blame my poor photo choices at this point on heatstroke.

burning hot sunlight pouring into your lens = do-it-yourself hipstamatic

all in all we walked 8 freaking miles and carlos never missed a beat. even when i made him sit next to a half dead plant in a beat-up giant planter. what a champ!

another ugly planter shot for your bemusement

when we finally made it home carlos got his lunch and a well-deserved nap. i, however, had an appointment to pickup some cool vintage clothes. so i went right. back. uptown (although i did take the subway this time).  not only were the clothes super cool, so was the person i met when i picked them up - she clearly has great fashion taste, AND as it turns out, she loves pitbulls.  maybe we'll have a new person at the next central park pack walk??

totally worth the trip

i made it safely back home a second time, to a couple of happy & tired dogs, only a tiny bit worse for wear from their adventure.

this is what happens when you drool and dry

our first big adventure of 2012 - the big apple pittie pack walk

last week carlos went on his first pack walk with the big apple pittie pack walk group. we didn't want to be late and the starting point was so far away that i decided to take a cab uptown.

here we are on 59th street, walking toward the water

while we were waiting for the walk to start, carlos had a hard time suppressing his communication skills so we hid behind a trashcan until we could get moving.

we walked along the water on riverside park south up to 96th street and i got a couple of shots of the sights

like these stone dudes and a distant highway sign

and new jersey!

but since i was walking carlos, i wasn't able to get any good shots of him. this was the best i could do, once we decided to sit and rest in the sun for a second somewhere in the upper west side:

little bear upstages carlos AGAIN

luckily along the walk we got to talk to jennifer from That Touch of Pit. she wrote about the walk here and got a nice shot of carlos looking like a thoughtful and sensitive beast. check out the picture, it's awesome:

carlos and 1/4 of my left shoe are FAMOUS!

carlos was a bit nervous most of the walk, but it was still a great experience - it was good exercise and sometimes a little social stress is good for a dog to work though. i had a lot of fun and i think over time carlos will enjoy the pack walk as much as i do. besides, we need more fantastic shots of carlos for his portfolio.

silver towers

 a good decade ago, i had a tiny 1980 honda civic hatchback on campus and i discovered i could drive between and over most of the bollards. i was always scared crapless i would get caught breaking the rules. pathetic.

these days i use bollards as dog stands. they are rarely scared of the consequences...

uhhh....

pllllbbpt

winter fashions

we've had a mild winter this year, but when it dips below freezing i really have to come up with more than the camo snuggie style jackets carlos usually wears.

cashmere it is!

little b gets the same treatment

omg cute!

but she tolerates her 60's sweater well. as if you couldn't tell from the first photo, let me just say - carlos most definitely does NOT enjoy his winter ensemble

luckily this continues to be a very mild winter, so the lady sweater torture is at a minimum. although i admit i love watching him 'suffer' through this particular indignity. am i a bad person?????????? haha jk i don't care.

carlos looking handsome, sitting on a bench

a little excited and a lot handsome

thanksgiving dinner

tasty, tasty slop

i'd like to think the dogs were particularly alert tonight as i prepared and photographed our special dinner, but they always look that intense when there's food around.

laser eyes

too intent on getting fed to be all judgy about the ugly linoleum

still, dinner was delicious for being 80% previously frozen and/or freeze-dried.

afterwards we went to the courts and i threw the ball for carlos. he loves to eat, but sometimes i think he likes to chase his ball even more. which is great, because i love it when he sleeps at night. so thank you chuck-it brand, and thank you trader joe's.

the 3 minute workout

wrestling, snarling, ricocheting between couches, and a few freeze frames with butts in the air punctuated by scream barks, and absolutely NO BLINKING.

it all went by so quickly all i caught was 2 seconds of the aftermath when they had both collapsed on the floor. just imagine something like this very poor quality video from last summer (with its fantastic korean soap opera soundtrack), but cranked up to 11:

RIP Yucca Tree