monday with magda (and her tongue)

I'm not sure this photo does justice to the length of Mag's tongue, but trust me when I tell you that she's part Vizsla, part lab and part Gene Simmons. Like, I'm starting to wonder if she won't just grow into her paws, but maybe into her tongue as well? It's kinda crazy.Anyway! Today I took her to the dog park in the middle of the afternoon because I was trying to work and she kept tackling me in my desk chair trying to lick my armpits. Believe it or not, this can be difficult to work through. So off to the dog park we went. The good part about visiting the dog park at 2 pm on a Monday is that there were some little girls there with their 8-week-old golden retriever, and omg I could not handle that amount of cuteness. Sooooooo adorable and fluffy. The bad part about going to the dog park at 2 pm on a Monday is the weirdo in athletic shorts and no shirt (mustache, of course) with his huge dog (balls still in tact and very interested in Ms Mags, who kept sitting in his presence, throwing him shady looks) talking about how all the "international" people in Minnesota are afraid of his dog. Then he leans over to whisper that he means the Somalis. Thanks. I thought you meant the Norwegians. Anyway, that was awkward.So what else is up with the pup? Well, she's getting a lot bigger. So much bigger that we're looking at a new crate for her because I don't think Memphis' old haunt is big enough for Magda now. Also, she has started eating CDs. We have a ton of them in the basement (what? They're all on our computers now anyway... or most of them are...) and she keeps bringing them upstairs and carefully tearing them apart (even the ones in plastic cases!). I keep catching her and using a very stern voice to express that this is Bad Girl behavior. Now, when I'm upstairs, I can hear her tearing into one, and when I get downstairs she has hidden from me under the table.At least she feels guilty.Now I gotta figure out how to capitalize on that guilt to get what I want. (See? Being a dog parent IS just like being a "real" parent!)Drumroll please for the third day in a row that I remembered the internet share of the day! Pretty soon it'll be habit, people! Oh, but before I forget, I want to thank everyone who voted for me in vita.mn's "List of Lists." Shuttersmack was one of the top 10 blogs in the city! So that was a super fun surprise. Thanks, guys :) Now, since yesterday I shared the glamorous, romantic side of international travel with my Pinterest boards, today I'll share the tough reality that we sometimes face when travelling abroad. Brought to you by one of my favorite bloggers, Ms. Maggie. Read it here.