Holiday Spirit and Dog Snatchers don't mix in my world

It's a few minutes before 8am, Apollo and I are sleepily occupying the dining room, and I can't believe its already December 1st...I've got candy cane socks on, our very different themed stockings are hung above the fireplace, and I've plugged in our Christmas tree to see if the lights make me feel anymore in the holiday spirit. This time last year, I was eagerly awaiting my trip home to Iowa to see family, the few friends from HS that I still have, and (of course) most of all- Chase. This year however, is a different story. Chase is here with me in Seattle and as some of you know, it sometimes takes more than a few months to become financially stable in a new city before you can do everything and go everywhere you want. In OCTOBER, plane tickets to fly from Seattle to DesMoines were $600-$700 on every travel website I found. Take that x2 plus boarding costs for Apollo, on top of Christmas present, & shipping costs :-( Back in 2008, I wasn't able to go home for Christmas and I spent Christmas Eve on the phone with my Dad crying about it...literally. This Christmas will be Chase & I's official 1 year anniversary! Hopefully we can think of something to do to get our minds off of not being home for the holidays. We plan to Skype with our families as we open our presents from them and they open theirs from us. Chase & I's presents to eachother are as follows:

#1- Main Awesomeness

#2- Something under $1.00

#3- Something the other can READ

#4- Something the other can EAT

#5- Something the other can WEAR

So far, I have #1. I'm about to go & wrap it as soon as I'm done here so we'll have at least one present under our $10 Goodwill tree :) Speaking of, I couldn't believe it was only $10!! Granted it's only 4 feet tall, but as you can see from the photos I will be attaching below, it's a good-lookin tree! I'm not sure what to get Apollo...I'm thinking a nice, huge dog bed so he'll stop taking up the entire couch!

Chase's car started acting up last Friday, so I've been taking him to/picking him up from work this past week meaning getting up at 7am as opposed to lying in bed while he gets up then going back to sleep after he leaves. Seattle traffic SUCKS. To go the 12 miles it takes to get to his work, it normally takes 40-45 minutes on I5 (as well as getting back). I've been bringing Apollo with me so we can stop at Greenlake Park and go for our 3mile walk early rather than around our neighborhood in the afternoons. I normally don't worry about Apollo if I tie his leash up outside a bathroom, or a Starbucks...but that has all changed since he almost got taken on Monday at Greenlake.
We were about halfway through our walk when I stopped at the only bathroom that is available on the trail around the lake. I tied his leash up to a railing, went in & as I was stepping out of the stall, heard him barking/growling. I know he doesn't become vocal unless he feels threatened, so I ran out to see what was wrong. Upon coming outside I heard someone say, "She's coming back..." and then saw an asian man about to unhook his leash. I said, "UHHHH, EXCUSE ME?! THAT'S MY DOG!" Then he backed up & started mumbling, "Oh, dis a Great Dane? He so beautiful..." I replied, "yes, he is. Can I help you?" To which he replied "no" then took off. Apollo was growling low the entire time & for the rest of the walk I had to process the fact that I can no longer leave my dog tied up outside a public place, for fear that someone will want to take him!! On Tuesday, I took him into Starbucks with me when we took our walk around U Village, & yesterday I took him into the bathroom stall with me when I used the restroom at Greenlake. (The handicapped stall, because lets face it...a regular stall would NOT be possible with both of us.)