Midterms Are Upon Us

If you asked Peanut, she would say that midterms are the worst time of year.  They are right up there with January in Vermont when it is negative 15 degrees an ice forms on her whiskers so we rarely go outside.  Midterms mean that we spend all day just as we are pictured above.  Occasionally we will emerge from this pile of knowledge to refill my coffee cup and to step outside for a potty break.  Once outside we stand in the sun blinking back the jumble of letters which had formed words in textbooks but are now imprinted on our eyes forming shadows across our vision.  Peanut makes the most of these brief outings, chasing the squirrels in the back yard, but unfortunately I have to call her back in after just a few blissful moments and she drags her heels all the way back to my bedroom where we settle back into our nest of books.

Do I Have Something on My Face?

Pit bulls are not bred for the snow.  Peanut is no exception.  Her belly is totally naked and although she loves to race through the woods, she is reluctant to plow through the snow as she cannot see what is below it.  When we snowshoe, she sticks to the trails running ahead in the compacted path, stopping to wait for us, shivering and taking turns lifting each paw from the snowy ground, relieving it from the cold surface.  On this day, I managed to capture her "can we PLEASE go home now look" when after spending 15 minutes at the park, she refused to chase the tennis ball any more and instead followed me as I retrieved it.

Please Don't Tell That Story....

We have a mouse problem.  For the most part, Peanut has been very helpful.  As I am allergic to cats, she knows it is up to her to eradicate the mouse problem and she does her best.  To date, she has caught one rat (although he hadn't made it into the house yet -- he was in the back yard, one mouse (which escaped) and one other mouse who suffered a broken back and was consequently euthanized by a begrudging roommate.  

On one occasion however, the sticky paper laid down by the maintenance men caught one!  Peanut found it first.  I watched her fish her paw under the kitchen counter and thought "what could it be?"  But even before the thought had fully formed Peanut lept from the floor as if yanked by the tail with both mouse and sticky paper firmly adhered to her paw.  Before I could blink the sticky paper was upside down, stuck to the floor -- mouse, peanut, and all.  In case you are wondering, sticky paper is very.... well.... sticky.

Fortunately, only the mouse suffered in this debacle.  Peanut was unstuck easily, although as she slunk from the kitchen, tail between her legs I'm pretty sure some of her enthusiasm for catching mice remained stuck to the paper with the dead mouse.

I'm Not So Sure About This....

I have been feeling some maternal guilt about how much time I spend studying and how little time I spend entertaining Peanut.  Like most bad-parent-afflictions there is a remedy..... enter the "Dog-Magic" boredom fighting toy!  This little miracle is a doggie puzzle -- you hide treats under the hard-to-bite bones and Peanut must figure out a way to rescue the treat.  It took her about 5 minutes, so this will not be the cure for my guilt or her boredom but in those 5 minutes I managed to capture this WTF is this face. 

Hard at Work

It is Monday so Peanut and I are back at it.  I wonder what she thinks about the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine -- A continuation of Manifest Destiny or a departure?

A Tennis Ball and a Sock

The weather in DC has taken a turn for the worse and school as picked up speed.  This perfect storm means that peanut spends long hours inside with little attention from me or my roommates.  Usually she passes her days sighing heavily while she stares at me from her bed, sometimes she tries to rest her head on my keyboard leaving a long line of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz on the page, still other times she will actually try to fit all 53 lbs of pitbull in my lap.  Today she came came frolicking into my room with a tennis ball and a sock, laid down in front of me and gave me this "what now" look.  Sometimes I'm just sure she is saying "It's not easy being Peanut."

Help!

This is a favorite toy, given to Peanut by my mother.  We could all learn a little from Peanut -- The pure ecstasy she has found in this simple thing. 

Penguins

Another favorite toy.  This Christmas penguin has never been torn apart, never been played with too roughly, and amazingly all 16 squeakers still squeak!  I wonder what makes this one so special, and the others she will devour in seconds?

Peanut's World

I am Peanut's person.  I am a graduate student, and much to Peanut's dismay, I spend most of my time (as pictured) in my PJs on the floor of my bedroom, surrounded by textbooks, and Peanut's toys.  Often Peanut joins the chaos.  Here she is doing her best to make sure I remain on task.  Once or twice a day Peanut takes me outside so we can have staring competitions with the squirrels.  When the weather is nice we go for a run and I try not to loose her as she flys through the trees.

Meet Peanut!

Meet Peanut, my 3 year old pitbull mix, who as I type this has her head in my lap staring up at the computer screen.  She is, no doubt, reading every word to make sure that I accurately portray her.  If she is to be an "internet sensation" she wants to make sure I get it right!  Each time I look down at her face in my lap she looks up at me with anxious eyebrows raised, "Did you tell them how well behaved I am?"  "Did you tell them that I would never ever hurt even the tinniest of flys (even though I scare the begezus out of the maintenance guys)?".... "Yes Peanut, I told them."