For Love of the Dog

I was reading about dogs (always on my quest for more knowledge to make Fenway a well-mannered dog) on the Internet and came across this list today.

If a dog were the teacher you would learn stuff like:

• When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
  
• Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
  
• Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
  
• When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.
  
• Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
  
• Take naps.
  
• Stretch before rising.
  
• Run, romp, and play daily.
  
• Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
  
• Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
  
• On warm days, stop to lie on your back in the grass.
  
• On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
  
• When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
  
• No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout.
  
• Run right back and make friends.
  
• Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
  
• Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
  
• Stop when you have had enough.
  
• Be loyal.
  
• Never pretend to be something you're not.
  
• If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
  
• When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

Isn't this a great thought? It would be nice to be able to let all that STUFF we have to get done take a backseat every once in a while and enjoy life like a dog! I'm fairly good at letting some of that stuff slide, (mostly on the weekends) but I often forget to take it all in and enjoy the little things in life that make us so happy. I think I'll try to work on this for one of my other quests - trying to make myself a better person.

Life as a Mavs Fan

The Mavs won 67 games this regular season. Wow! And now it's time for the playoffs. WooHoo! Last year the Mavs made it to the playoffs as the number three seed (I think it was three) and easily blew through their first round against Memphis. I don't think this year's first round will be so easy, but I'm going to be optimistic. And I'll tell you a bit about the playoff season of 2006:

We had our 1/2 season tickets for the first time so were able to go to two games per round, which was a LOT of basketball. Matt and Kelsey got married on April 30th right in the middle of that first round against Memphis. Luckily, they didn't miss any home games while they were on their honeymoon, and I think they were a little too busy to be too worried about it anyway. :)

Brian and I moved during the second round against the Spurs. We didn't have any furniture when we first moved into our house, because we decided to leave it all at our old house (that's a very long story for another time). So we didn't have anywhere to sit while we watched the Mavs on our TV which was set up on a moving box in the middle of our den. Luckily, we only lived this way for about three weeks and Matt and Kelsey were nice enough to invite us over to sit on their furniture and watch many of the games. I thought I was suffering horribly, but Brian didn't really seem to mind it at all.

I was in San Diego on a business trip for the last game of the Phoenix series, which we won to move on to the finals for the first time in team history! I was so excited about the game I abandoned my co-workers, found the closest place with TVs and margaritas and watched the game with a bunch of people who were cheering for Phoenix.

By the time we made it to the finals, we had furniture in our house and tickets to St. Thomas for a wedding. Unfortunately, we were flying out the same day as the last home game of the season. We give Mom and Nana our tickets and headed to the Caribbean with hopeful hearts. I was really glad we were in St. Thomas that week. I don't want to talk about the Miami series, but somehow it was much easier to handle lying on the beach with a Caribe in one hand and a book in the other.

What fun we had last season! I hope these playoffs are just as exciting (really two of those games against the Spurs should go down as the two best NBA games ever played!), and end with the win! Here's hoping the Mavs are ready because I know we are!

Red Sox, Easter and Family

We had a great Easter weekend! We took the day off on Friday, and Brian, Brian's brother Dan, Matt, Kelsey and I headed out to Arlington for the Rangers' opening day, or as it was called in our house, the Red Sox game. It took us a while to get there, but we were on time and enjoyed a great baseball game. The Red Sox lost, but I was a little happy that the Rangers got to win their home opener. It was cold, but not too bad when the sun came out. Everyone was excited to see baseball back in town!Brian and me at the game - it's a very cool stadium, even if it is all the way in Arlington! (Notice Brian's Red Sox gear?)


Matt and Kelsey enjoyed the game, too! (They were quietly rooting for the home team.)

Janet, Brian's mom, came to town on Saturday. She hadn't been to see us in a long time so it was so fun to have her here. Brian and I had a lot of work to do to get ready for our Easter lunch on Sunday, and Janet was so nice to help out! And she brought us the most beautiful spring bunny, which was just perfect for the centerpiece on our dining room table. It was to celebrate our first Easter in our house and was incredibly thoughtful! Thank you, thank you!

It was our first Easter service at Highland Park Methodist. They hold their Easter service at Moody Coliseum at SMU because it holds so many people. It was a little funny sitting in the place where we graduated, but it was such a beautiful service! The music was incredible and Mark Craig's sermon was just wonderful. He does such an amazing job. I felt very reenergized and uplifted (as you should feel on Easter) after his sermon.

Lunch was a bit disorganized as it was the first time I'd ever had that many people to feed at our house before (there were nine of us!). But the food was great and so was the company. Mom, Nana and Janet were all so helpful and Brian was amazing! He kept asking what he could do to help. He even blendered up the artichokes! :) Thank you all for your help!

Brian and I got to rest a bit on Sunday afternoon, and he even had the energy left to clean the garage! Not me - I just watched the Masters. It was sad to see everyone leave, but it was a wonderful weekend. Thanks for everything guys!

Sportscast Below

I'd never posted anything directly from YouTube to my blog so I wasn't sure how it would work.....

So I'll have to let you know why I posted this video in a separate post. This audio was on The Musers show on the Ticket this morning, and I was laughing so hard the people in the cars next to me kept staring at me. Absolutely hysterical! The poor guy was actually on TV like this for about four minutes. But it earned him a spot on Letterman back in 2005. So enjoy!

And yes, I'm going to post about our Easter weekend - I just haven't had time yet. Sorry!

Brian Collins Sportscast @ Ball State

Weekend Recap

We had a great time last weekend!

• Brian and I enjoyed a completely spontaneous, yummy and romantic dinner at Terilli's on Friday night complete with a pounding rain and thunderstorm. And we had their incredible coffee (mine with Frangelico!) to finish off the meal.
  
• Saturday morning started very early with Mom and Dad arriving at our house at 8:30AM with two huge suitcases. They were spending one night at the Fairmont downtown. But Dad was there to install our new bug spray systems with Matt and Brian. Yeah! I am so excited - we should have a mosquito free summer in our backyard! The boys worked hard all day while Mom, Kelsey and I took a class at SMU: Interior Design Workshop: From Basics to Beautiful. It was taught by Gerald Tomlin and was very interesting. I think we learned a thing or two. That night M&K and Brian and I watched the basketball games, played poker, ate dinner at Matt's Ranchero and sat by the fire. It was fun-filled day! We also managed to book our May trip to Vegas on Saturday, too!
  
• Went to church on Sunday and met Matt & Kelsey at Ozona's for brunch as planned. It was the most beautiful day we've had in Dallas in months! We waited for 45 minutes for a table outside, but it was soooo worth it! After brunch we decided it was too pretty to run errands or sit inside and watch the Mavs play. So Matt & Kelsey opened the doors on their patio so we could watch the game and sit outside at the same time. (They're so ingenious)! We played a few games of washers, had a few beers and enjoyed the weather. Fenway got to come play, too, and was very excited to get to explore a new backyard. By Sunday night he was absolutely filthy! Our little white dog was closer to brown than white. Brian and I ended the day with Little Miss Sunshine - very cute movie! So we didn't do anything overly productive on Sunday, but it was a great day! Of course I had to go to the grocery store on Monday after work, but it was worth it. Thanks for a fun weekend everyone! And thanks again, Dad, for the awesome bug system! We're going to enjoy our yard and patio much more this summer without the bugs!

  Kelsey and I after we'd been in the sun for a while. We were hot, but didn't get much sun.
  

  So Fenway doesn't look very brown here, but isn't he cute?? I promise, he was really dirty!