The Friday before Christmas was the date of the long-awaited Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus concert at the DCU Center in Worcester. After listening to Aliya and Victoria’s constant bickering on the ride to Worcester and throughout dinner, I for one was wondering why Karen and I didn’t spend the $300 on a spa day for ourselves. We arrived during the Jonas Brothers warm-up act, and at that point I realized that I had never attended the performance of a pop idol. The squealing and screaming each time one of the brothers executed a karate kick or half-split were deafening. Our seats were directly under the platform for the spotlights – centered right on the stage. The seats in that area are so steep that there were no heads in front of us and the girls could stand up without obscuring the view of the people behind us. One negative was that my head was on the same level as the boot of the kid behind me so I got quite a few kicks to the skull.

After a few Jonas Brothers songs there was a 20-minute intermission while the crew set up for the headliner. We were back in our seats just in time for Hannah to drop down in a box from the ceiling while the crowd went wild (this review accurately describes the noise level in the DCU Center as “the kind of squealing rarely heard outside of a pig farm” http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2007/12/24/miley_cyrus_delights_fans_of_hannah_montana/). Cigarette lighters have been replaced with lit cell phone screens and multi-colored lightsticks…the effect was very cool and likely resulted in less blistered thumbs and singed hair. I have to admit, I’m now a 40-year-old fan of the “product” that the Disney Channel has created. She’s cute, she can sing, she seems like a nice kid (from what I saw on Oprah), so as long as Billy Ray keeps her away from the fast girls over on Nickelodeon, she should continue to be a hot ticket.

I’ve been obsessed with getting this year’s photo book completed in time to give it to the grandparents for Christmas. It turned out really nice!

To view it, just click on the link, then scroll down and click on “View Photo Book”. You don’t need to enter a user name and password.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/project/8AZtHDJmzbNmED/landing

When we lost Zoe I didn’t think we’d be ready for another dog anytime soon. But then I started having an email conversation with our dog trainer and she told me about the dogs and puppies from the Buxton (Maine) puppy mill that were going to be available for adoption because the breeder had been closed down by the state. While I was researching the puppy mill situation, I discovered that there’s a miniature version of an Australian Shepherd. I LOVE Australian Shepherds, but they’re fairly big and pretty hairy. The Mini Aussie seemed perfect for us!

I contacted the shelters but they couldn’t tell me where or when the different breeds of puppies would be available. The first few puppies that went up for adoption got a lot of attention because of all the media coverage, so I started to think that even if I drove to Maine/New Hampshire to get a puppy, I might be waiting in line. Plus, I had my doubts about adopting a puppy that had been in state custody since birth.

So I went online and started looking for Mini Aussie puppies. I narrowed it down to one adorable puppy that was the right gender, the right age, and the right price. Coincidentally, her name was Zoe. Zoe lived on a horse and cattle ranch in Oklahoma (www.rocking2r.com), and within a few days she was on a plane bound for Logan Airport, and renamed Annie. Since Aliya had asked Santa for a puppy for me for Christmas, he sent her a note in the mail (left).

Annie was a little freaked out from her trip but she recovered quickly. She’s the GREATEST!! She’s very playful with the kids but she also loves to just lay on the lap of anyone who sits down. I’ve heard at least 4 people proclaim, “This dog loves me!” Actually, she loves everyone! She’s incredibly smart and already housetrained. Considering that I remember passing the 100th day of accidents with Zoe (UGH!!), I was thrilled when she scratched at the door her first day here. She has learned a couple of commands and I’m sure she’ll do well in her Puppy Kindergarten class next month. She will have no problem earning her Therapy Dog certification when she gets a little older. We’re all very excited to have her in our family!!

As always, we had a fabulous breakfast with Santa at one of my customers’ offices (http://www.pasek.com/). There were craft projects for the kids, face painting, bagels & donuts, and of course, a visit from “the REAL Santa”. Adlani had a scare when he was one of the last few kids to receive his gift (see below), but Santa came through.

Remember when your mother told you not to tip in your chair? Well, Adlani didn’t heed my warning and tipped over in his chair during breakfast a few weeks ago. He complained that his foot hurt so I took him to the school nurse who poked, prodded, and proclaimed him “fine”. She called me a couple of hours later and said that she didn’t think he was going to be fine after all. I had a meeting that afternoon which had already been rescheduled due to the color and quantity of Norah’s snot, so I sent Ben on the health care odyssey that I usually have to deal with on my own. After a visit to Framingham Pediatrics and x-rays at the hospital which confirmed a broken bone in his foot, I caught up with them at Framingham Orthopedics in time for the cast color selection and bathing instructions. It hasn’t slowed him down at all. Two days later he was on the balance beam at Griffin’s birthday party, insisting that he didn’t need any help. The cast is coming off January 2nd – not a moment too soon because I think I smell something dead in there.