We have a mouse problem

We have a mouse problem...  A mouse that is wily enough to wait until we've left the house before it appears. A mouse that dirties the couch & leaves it undesirable to sit on.  A mouse that only seems to like one area of the house.

Every morning when we leave for work, our two-seater couch looks something like this:

 The mouse really loves the top of the couch.

These things hurt.  We've experienced a few incidences of snapped thumbnails getting them ready, resulting in a loud cacophony of shouting, stomping around the room, thumb-sucking, & generally descriptive adult language ("F*&@!  I will KILL that thing if I catch it!  My thumb is going to FALL OFF!  $@&*%!@*^$#+*&#$%^&#@!!##%%^&&%$#)

It's not a good way to start the day.

But we have a picture.  We know what it looks like.  Finding it is not the problem.  It's catching it.  The mouse traps are laid in hopes of providing a permanent deterrence.  The mouse has black fur.  And she's awfully cute.

GUILTY!!

She likes to sit on the back of the couch, looking out our window.  Like a damn cat.  Typically leaving behind a trail of dog hair that inevitably ends up on your clothes.  And we don't let our dogs up on couches.  It's a bad habit - if they jump on your couch, chances are they'll jump on your friend's couch when you visit their house.

The jury is still out if the mouse traps are working.  Next option is putting on the shock collar, leaving the house & sneaking around the side to see if she jumps up on the couch...**ZAP** 

What do you do when you lose motivation to run?

Why, you sign up for another marathon.

Race plans thus far:
3/26/11: Napa Valley Trail Marathon
6/18/11: Grandma's Marathon

There will most definitely be a mixture of local 5K's & 10K's, but these are the Big Kahunas that we've signed up for...& paid.  Steve's also looking into some ultras in Montana - I'll cheer him on from the side for those.  I'm having recurring flashbacks & nightmares to my marathon experience at the Nike Womens Marathon, so what better than to sign up for two marathons to beat down those painful memories?

On a side note, I'm almost positive I suffer from SAD.  Ok, suffer is a heavy word.  More like I'm "affected."  Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Winter rolls in & I turn into an unhappy, unmotivated little ball of antisocial irritability.  Let's not get into the validity of psych issues, because I'm well aware those are often scoffed at by normal functioning members of society, but winter is not happy time for me.

Smorgasboard

Some recent happenings in Casa Lipetzky...

Steve taking the dogs for a trail run at Acme

Enlarge the photo...can you see the deer silhouette??  Hint, it's by the tree on the right.

Happy (& tired) dog

Sunset looking out our front door

We had a recent visit by a huge swarm of birds - there were so many of them, it sounded like a jet engine every time they flew from the trees.  They were very skittish & hopped tree-to-tree for about 20 min before taking off for a different part of town.  We watched them from the windows for awhile - their song was fun to listen to, especially with the number of birds.  It made me think Spring!

A close-up (they were hard buggers to catch because they moved so fast)

Holiday Wrap-Up

Ah, well, the holidays are over.  Back to regular programming.  No more eating that extra cookie "just because it's Christmas" & you "can't let it go to waste."  The holidays are wonderful & it's bittersweet they're over - sad to see them go, but I feel like we can catch up on regular activities.  Although they're supposed to be a time to slow down, it always seems to be the complete opposite.  Holiday parties to go to, baking to be done, gifts to buy & wrap...it's exhausting!

If only Mother Nature would catch on - the cold air & white stuff on the ground is certainly nice during holiday season, but its time to move on.  I want sun & green grass!  *Sigh*  Wishful thinking.

Two pictures to wrap up our holiday fun times:

"I'm only wearing the damn hat because you're petting me."

Who needs a mantle when you have an elk skull on your wall?  Our latest elk addition from Steve's Hunting Expeditions 2010, on the left, provided perfect hanging space for our stockings.  (Our poor tree...it looks like it's struggling to hold up a not-so-heavy star)

Happy Holidays to all & cheers to 2011!