yes, there is a reason you cannot see his face. i was in the middle of a project involving a very long strand of twinkle lights. atlas was very unsure about it so i was trying to make him smile. it did not work.

i have decided that the definition for woebegone needs to include a picture of atlas wearing a t-shirt. doesn't he look miserable? i hated to do it, but he had a wound that needed to heal and would not stop licking it, and i finally got tired of shouting no at him.

if i ever wonder why i cannot get my dream bedding, i just need to look at this picture of muddy paw prints on the bed. (i feel like this photo does not even do the mud justice.) why is it that a) my brilliant rainy day ideas always involve a very wet and muddy dog and b) the same wet and muddy dog likes to dry himself off on my bed? i suspect that pre-atlas-me would think current-me has lost her sanity because current-me just looks at the paw prints and smiles because she is so happy that she has an atlas pup to track mud on the bed.

i feel like i had a funny atlas story i was going to tell you, only in this moment, i cannot for the life of me remember it. oh well. instead, i thought i'd share another atlas song, sung to the tune of "oh my darling clementine".

oh, my darling. oh, my darling. oh, my darling atlas pup.

you're so sweet, and how i love you. love you so much, atlas pup.

brown he was and very furry and his tail was very small.

smelly feet and a wet no-ose, ears like velvet, yes there was.

oh, my darling. oh, my darling. oh, my darling atlas pup.

you're so sweet, and how i love you. love you so much, atlas pup.

on tuesday, i took atlas for a walk at 7am because i needed to leave earlier than usual. he walked a few yards and went to the bathroom.

i continued on because, yay! a morning walk with my puppy!

atlas took a few steps. then, he stopped and gave me a look. the look said, "it is cold and dark and there is a still-warm bed calling my name. i already did what you wanted. why do you torment me so?"

i always put atlas’ bed on the rebounder while i vacuum the downstairs. i paused my vacuuming efforts yesterday to take a quick photo in the kitchen. while i was doing so, i heard a thump, and came out of the kitchen to see what was going on. this is the sight that greeted me.

i am pretty sure there is a rule that says no dogs on the rebounder. apparently that rule is rendered null and void if the dog’s bed is on the rebounder.

p.s. apparently atlas fell in love with a little white pug at the doggy ranch. they’re in the photo on the left, six rows down, surveying their doggy ranch-dom. don’t they look cute?

"there are people who do this sort of thing, you know. they're called models. maybe you need to hire one.

i can hear you thinking that you don't want a picture of a model; you want a picture of me. you don't need a picture of me. you can just look at me. you can look at me 24/7 if you want, and yet you actually choose to leave me behind sometimes. someone who leaves the house without me definitely doesn't need a picture of me.

i can also hear you thinking that this only ever takes a minute. a minute is 60 whole seconds of my life that i'll never get back. there are things to be sniffed, lady. the outdoors is not meant to sit still in."

(a very disgruntled elizabeth says: "i left out the photo where i asked him to stay and instead he moved and peed on the pretty ivy.")

p.s. in case you missed monday's post, there's a celebration going on through saturday!

you know your dog is an angel when you leave him alone in the car with a hamburger and sweet potato fries while you run into the post office and then wait in line to mail your packages and you come back to find the food where you left it – completely untouched.

yes. that was atlas yesterday. i was so impressed with his cuteness and angelic-ness. as we drove home, i told him how angelic he was and fed him most of my sweet potato fries as a reward.

except that all of a sudden, it occurred to me that if i had come back to find that he had eaten the hamburger and sweet potato fries, i would have been impressed with his cuteness and cleverness.

either he eats the hamburger and sweet potato fries on his own, or i feed most of them to him as a reward for good behavior. either he is cute and angelic, or cute and clever.

clearly he wins no matter what he does.

(it is at this moment that i realize – yet again – how very well trained i am.)

if you were there with us, the next thing you'd see would be atlas wandering off.

"oh. wait. it's misty. she doesn't like me. we can go now."

p.s. there's still time to enter the giveaway!

whenever i come across this series of photos in my photo library, i like to flip through them quickly. it makes me laugh. it also makes me wonder how on earth i ever get a good photo of the pup. whenever i want to take a picture, he will not stay still. if his body actually stays in one place, his head moves a mile a minute instead.

do you know what atlas thinks is one of the strangest things ever? people actually throw bread to ducks when he is nearby and they could be giving it to him. who on earth would want to feed a duck when they could feed him, he would say.

do you know that as of today, atlas has been with me for eight years? eight years! i cannot believe it.

in some ways, it feels like he's always been here. in other ways, it feels like i've hardly had any time with him and need at least eight more years. (at least.)

i was thinking about atlas and nature the other day and i realized that they elicit similar feelings in me.

there are moments when i look at atlas and i feel so much love and gratitude and joy that i can hardly stand it. my entire body wells up with feeling. he is full of sweetness and love and joy and a zest for life and he has been one of my greatest teachers. i cannot believe how lucky i am to have him in my life.

there are moments when i am in nature (particularly in the forest or by the ocean or when i see a bluebird) and i am so overcome by love and joy and beauty and wonder that i can hardly stand it. my entire body wells up with feeling. the best way i can describe it is to say that it feels like my soul is singing. i cannot believe how beautiful the world is and how lucky i am to be living in it.

so today, i will take atlas for a run on our favorite trail in the woods, and i will offer up a prayer of thanks for this moment, this puppy, this life. i wouldn't trade him (or it) for anything.