Smorgasbord Post (all dog related of course)

Did you know that Smörgåsbord [ˌsmœrɡɔsˈbuːɖ] is a Swedish language word which refers to a type of Scandinavian meal served buffet-style with multiple dishes of various foods on a table? My parents used to use that word from time to time, but I had no idea it was really one word. I really like figuring out the origin and propper use of phrases like smorgasbord- this website satisfies a lot of that curiousity http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors

I want to know when the pilot period for Shoreview park starts? That sucker is only 11 minutes from our house!! We would be in dog heaven- and not even have to pay taxes to support it. Yeah for making other people pay the taxes for us.

And on a slightly less exciting (but still important because it means we will be here to enjoy the new dog parks) I got an email today officially announcing my acceptance into a PhD program at UW. I am going to be studying the effects of urbanization on small song birds. The project is not yet well defined because it depends on the amount of funding we recieve. Bottom line is that I am going to be capturing and holding little birds in my hands for the next few years- CUTE! Its not exactly clear where the funding will come from at this point, but anything is better than "looking" for a job- in light of the current economic situation that is. It also means we don't have to worry about what to do with the house, that our flyball team might field a division 1 team, and that we don't have to move crosscountry during our action packed summer. After I get done I plan to get a prestigious faculty position in a quaint little college town.

And finally, here are some pictures of Teal. Even though she has a demon inside her, she is such a cute and good little puppy. Turns out I only have a few funny ones to add. I will take some soon that represent her better. She didn't want to go into the bag at first, but then she caught the sent of food. She will do almost anything for food, including putting herself in her kennel unbidden.
I think she stayed in the bag for about 3 minutes licking up all the tiny crumbs of food she could find.