Y’all, the House of Lulu has gone to the dogs.  And if our dogs continue to have costly health issues, the House of Lulu will be going to the vet…as in, please, Mr. Vet, take my house in exchange for the health care of my wildebeests.  No, really.  It’s okay.  I can’t afford the mortgage anyway.

To start with, Bindi Sue had this sharp, pointy baby tooth that refused to fall out and her adult tooth had grown in beside it.  It was not pretty.  And you’ll have to take my word for it, because I forgot to take pictures.  But, it’s not like I could hold Bindi down long enough to actually take a picture of it.  She can sit still for only seconds at a time.  I’m surprised that we even found the extra tooth.  But we did.

And after we found it, we started blaming all of her bad behavior on the extra tooth.  If she tinkled in the house, it was the extra tooth’s fault.  If she took something that was off-limits, it was due to the hostile tooth.  If she barked incessantly for no reason, we cursed the freaking tooth.  You get the picture.

So, week before last, we decided that it was time to get rid of the antagonizer.  The tooth, that is…not Bindi.  And after a trip to the vet (cha-ching!), the bane of our existence is gone!  Just like that.  Okay, so maybe not the entire bane of our existence.  She’s still a bad dog.  But, a very, very cute bad dog:  

And one more thing about my little Bindi-boodles, her birthday was Saturday…she’s a one-year old pup now!  Happy Birthday Boo-boo!

More tomorrow on Billy Ray’s vet excursion.  Which is not very good news, by the way…

Okay, so I know that my trip to Germany is like 3 months away (I’ll be leaving 12 weeks from today to be exact), but I’ll have you know that I have my itinerary planned out in complete minutiae detail.  If you ask me what I’m having for breakfast on October 13, I can probably tell you (cold cuts and hard rolls, if you really want to know).

Actually, through my diligent and painstaking research, I’ve discovered that Germans are big on cold cuts for breakfast.  Well, maybe not Germans per se, but definitely German inns and hotels.  Factoring in that along with all of the wienerschnitzel that I will be consuming, I’ve vowed to become a strict vegetarian when I return to the States.  One can only eat so much meat before turning into some kind of primal beast.

Anyhoo, because I’m now in full Germany travel-planning mode, I’ve decided to do a Thursday Thirteen for the first time in…well…a damn long time.  And I figured that there’s no better way to rejoin my once-loved blogging meme than to bore you all with what I’m planning to do while I’m in Germany.  Besides eat meat, that is.

1.  Tour Munich with Mike’s Bike Tours

Some of my longtime readers may remember my little biking episode in Mexico last year and wonder why Lulu is getting on another bike.  And for those of you who don’t remember, believe me, it wasn’t pretty.  And just to add a little something to the mix, this 4-hour biking tour stops at a biergarten halfway through the tour.  Nothing like getting the jet-lagged tourists all inebriated while riding bikes.  Can I get a BUI for that?  I’ll be sure to wear my helmet.  Knee and elbow pads may be an option, as well.  Pray for me.

2.  Tour the Salzbergwerk Salt Mines in Berchtesgaden

Going deep into the dark, salty earth is a bit scary to me.  But I think that there are miner clothes and a sliding chute involved, so all should be well.

3.  Take a boat tour on Lake Königssee in Berchtesgaden

Obviously, I’m going for depth here—deep, salty earth, deep, dark lake.  Lake Königssee is Bavaria’s deepest lake and is situated in the valley between the Watzmann, Jenner, and Hagen mountains.  I think that this could very well be the highlight of my trip.

4.  Visit Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden

From the depths of the earth to the heights of mountains…what a stunning place.  It’s highly unfortunate it was built for such an inhumane monster.

5.  Tour Salzburg, Austria

Even though Salzburg is best known for all things Mozart, during the month of October, the city will be overrun with visitors to celebrate the music of Bach—at Bachfest 2008.

6.  Go on a Sound of Music Tour

Assuming that I survive my drunken biking tour around Munich, I will be climbing every mountain and fording every stream on a tour that highlights many scenes from The Sound Music.

7.  Visit the town of Mittenwald

Mittenwald is a town famous for violin making and beautiful fresco paintings.

8.  Visit the town of Oberammergau

Oberammergau is another small village known for fresco paintings, as well as wood-carvings and The Passion Play, which takes place every ten years.

9.  Tour Neuschwanstein Castle

Mad King Ludwig’s built this castle in honor of his great obsession, Richard Wagner (a great opera composer).  The castle served as the inspiration for Disneyland’s, Sleeping Beauty castle.

10.  Visit The Abbey of Ettal

It’s a beautiful monastery, but I’m visiting mainly so that I can drink beer with a bunch of monks in their brewery, Kloster-Biere.

11.  Tour Rothenburg

This is a fairy-tale village that is known as the most well-preserved of all medieval towns.  But I’m more excited about the most awesome Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop than anything else!

12.  Go on the The Walk of the Night Watchman Tour in Rothenburg

The very famous evening tour of Rothenburg led by the Night Watchman.

13.  Take a boat ride on the Danube

So, I have no link for taking a boat ride on the Danube, because I can’t find any Web sites related to boat rides on the Danube.  How can I plan a boat ride on the Danube, when there are no official Web sites?!  This leaves me in deep planning distress.  Not a good thing for Lulu…

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It’s a mere two days into my new blogging routine and I’ve hit a complete writer’s block.  And as I said in my last post, not much has been happening in my life lately except for total morbidness, and I certainly refuse to write anything more about that.  So, I decided to check out my linky-love stats, and I found that Hottdog over at Sarcastic, Funny, and Brutally Honest had tagged me with a Crazy Eights meme a couple of weeks ago. 

And now, I will subject you to my list of eights.  No yawning, please.

Eight Things I Have a Passion For:

1.  Travel
2.  Suitcases and travel bags
3.  Cameras
4.  Writing
5.  Anderson Cooper
6.  Dogs
7.  Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap Supreme
8.  Planning and organizing

Eight Things I Would Like to do Before I Die:

1.  Pay off my house
2.  Drive something other than a Buick
3.  Meet Anderson Cooper (even though I would melt into a big puddle of blubbery goo)
4.  Work in the travel industry in some capacity
5.  See my son get married (although not anytime soon…please, not anytime soon)
6.  Travel to somewhere in India or Asia (T-Nut, please tell your hubby to start making those India plans!)
7.  See the Taj-Mahal
8.  Ride a camel in the desert

Eight Things I Say a Lot:

1.  Freak.
2.  GR, you’re driving me nuts.
3.  GR, do you have to be so loud?
4.  GR, you cannot wear that shirt with those shorts.
5.  GR, your fly is down.
6.  GR, you’re getting a beating when we get home.
7.  GR, isn’t it your bedtime?
8.  GR, please remember to <insert anything here>.
9.  GR, you’ve told me that five times already.
Oops, that was nine.  And the list is much longer, but we would be here all night.

Eight Books I Have Read Recently:

1.  Currently reading The Dream King: Ludwig II of Bavaria
2.  Eat, Pray, Love
3.  The Diary of Anne Frank
4.  Anne Frank Remembered
5.  Michelin’s Green Guide to Germany
6.  The Cuckoo’s Egg
7.  Nikon D40 Digital Field Guide
8.  Heidi

Eight Movies I Have Seen Eight Times:

1.  Titanic
2.  The Sound of Music
3.  Gone With the Wind
4.  Shrek
5.  Vegas Vacation
6.  Slingblade
7.  Pretty in Pink
8.  The Shawshank Redemption

And now I’m supposed to tag eight people.  But I’m thinking not.  I’m just crazy that way.

Y’all, it’s been a crazy time around here for ‘ol Lulu.  First off, I want to thank everyone for their condolences when my grandfather passed away last month.  The Dukester really was a great man, and I’m going to miss him terribly.  I’m especially going to miss writing tales of my trips to and from Florida with the Dukester and Nanny, but Nanny is still kicking a lively step so my trips with her will continue.  Actually, in August, GR and I will be traveling to my mom’s house in Tampa, and then driving Nanny back to her Georgia home.  Crackers and Mountain Dew stories are sure to continue.

As for the crazy part, I’ve had no less than five funerals/visitations to attend to this past month—and while all of them have been truly sad, none were as heartbreaking as the sudden death of my cousin’s 24-year old boyfriend.  That’s just way too young to be checking out and leaving behind a young girlfriend who is just devastated…not to mention parents and a brother.

But, on a happier note, I am back and hoping to start writing blog posts a regular basis again.  I’m only taking one class this semester due to it being Summer, and I decided that working on my tan is of the utmost priority at this time lest I do turn into Morticia Adams.  Funeral homes and pale skin seem to go hand-in-hand, so I’m hoping to ward off any more visits by obtaining a healthy glow.  Of course, there is the chance that I will end up with skin cancer, therefore, defeating the point.  But I’ll worry about that tomorrow.

Anyhow, just wanted to check in to say a quick hello and that I’ll be making my normal rounds on the blog circuit again!

Auf Wiedersehen for now!  I’m in total Germany mode now…only 3 months to go!