The Beginning of Forever

Mayhem

2011-10-20T10:15:00.000-04:00

This morning Hubs and I were awaken from our warm, comfy bed to Buerly vomiting. Great way to start the day, right?! The morning got better......

My check engine light had popped on last night on our way home from dinner. Hubs suggested that we start the Tahoe a couple times and wait until the morning to see if the light was still on. I got into my SUV this morning, turned the key and the light was still on. {FAIL} So I called my mom to see if she could meet me at Goodyear.

As I was finishing getting ready this morning I heard a weird sound in our bathroom. I figured that Rooney was getting into something, as usual, and yelled at him to knock it off. The sound did not stop so I yelled at Rooney again. That is when I realized that Rooney was sitting behind me, quietly giving me that, "What the hell, mom?!?" look. I ran into the bedroom to see if it was Buerly making the noise but he was just sitting there giving me the, "Mom has officially lost it" look. So, I started investigating. It turns out that the noise was coming from our closet. As I listened my heart sank into my stomach. It sounded like water dripping in the attic above our closet. I ran from room to room to see if there were any wet spots on the ceilings......I saw nothing.

My mind was racing. What do I do?!? I just kept staring at the entrance to the attic in our closet like it was one of those creepy, scary, distant attic entrances you see in the horror movies......

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Do I grab a ladder and see what is going on up there?!? I instantly had a visual pop into my mind that made me decide that I sure as hell did not want to peak my head into that scary attic.

I have seen this commercial one too many times. While I used to think it was hysterical, the thought of actually finding something up in the attic left me terrified. So, I did what any sensible, terrified wife would do.....I called my husband.

As we speak, my husband is on his way home to go investigate the attic since this wife is too big of a chick shit to do it herself. Thanks Hubs! :-)

Saying prayers that the dripping sound was just a figment of my imagination. Oh and hoping that Goodyear calls and says that it was just a minor issue with the check engine light.

73 Days and Counting

2011-10-18T15:28:00.000-04:00

In 73 days this happy girl will be flying down to here......

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To board this......

The Oasis of the Seas

And celebrate.....

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I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am for this vacation!!! {happy dance as I think about it} My parents go on a New Years cruise Every.Single.Year. When I was in high school and college they would always take me and a friend with them on these cruises {spoiled, I know}. Once I married Hubs the free vacations and cruises suddenly ended. Okay, they didn't totally end and I guess I shouldn't dump all the blame on Hubs.....the free vacays and cruises started dwindling when I entered the "real" world {cue evil sounding music}. Another reason to never grow up! That damn giraffe from Toys R' Us was really on to something! I should have listened to him about these growing up shenanigans.

Only......there is a slight problem! As I sit here, ~~stuffing my face with junk food~~, I realized.......holy 73 short days until I have to squeeze into a swimsuit batman! There is NO WAY I want to attempt to put on a swimsuit in the privacy of my own home, let alone in front of thousands of strangers right now. So, I guess I had better get my butt in shape {literally} and start running or doing something of some sort of physical nature. So that leads me to ask- what is your favorite way of getting back into shape? The weather has been rainy and cold so I am afraid that I won't be able to run outdoors as much as I would like. So I need to find another way to get into decent physical form before it is bon voyage for this girl! Thanks for the help in advance! :-)

Have a wonderful afternoon! :-)

What I Love.......

2011-10-14T15:39:00.000-04:00

I know that What I Love is usually reserved for Wednesday but I am just going to break all the rules and do it on Friday. Also, it makes sense to do WIL today because I love Friday! :-)

I love all the fall colors and decorations (oh how I wish my front porch looked like this.....GORGEOUS)

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I especially love that fall brings back the Pumpkin Spice Latte (my hips and ass don't love it as much.....)

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Even though summer has ended, I still love my Sperry Boat shoes and will wear them until it is too cold out

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Since the weather is starting to turn colder I cannot wait to break out these babies (birthday present a la mom)

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Of course, I love these two squishy faces. It doesn't matter how bad my day is, these two always make me laugh so hard. And with colder weather comes more snuggling. Rooney sits in his bed in front of the fireplace and growls until someone turns it on. Once the fireplace is going he is sleeping and happy as can be with his tongue sticking out.

I am loving anything and everything deco poly mesh. How did it take me so long to jump on the deco mesh wreath bandwagon?! Better late then never, I guess. I made two wreaths last night and already have a shopping list together for a few more. Of course, my wreath looks no where near as pretty as the one below.....maybe someday with some practice!

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If you haven't noticed, I am stuck on a fall them when it comes to the things I love today. It would be tragic if I forgot to mention apple cider slushies. Mmmmmm......so yummy!!!!

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I love that I finally got rid of EVERY.SINGLE.BUSH that the builder planted!!! The plants/bushes they plant are AWFUL. Talk about a pain in the butt! I have already planted a burning bush and a red prince weigela and plan to really go to town next spring.

Red Prince Weigela

Dwarf Burning Bush

This is what they look like in the fall. During the spring and summer their leaves are green.

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)

The Hunt for Women's Sporting Apparel.......

2011-09-24T10:00:00.001-04:00

..........specifically, Manchester United apparel. I bring this up because as we speak I will be sitting at a soccer pub with my United scarf, drinking a pint of beer and cheering on my team! Gotta love scheduled posts. :-)

Back to my team apparel problem.....let me just show you the AWESOME selection women have to choose from on their website {eyes rolling}. I don't mean to sound snotty, stuck-up or mean but what woman wants to wear this....

or this.....

or especially these.....

And, I suppose, if I want my boobs to be hanging out all over the place I could wear one of these.....

All pictures compliments of Manchester United Megastore.

After seeing the ~~selection~~ slim pickings offered to women I was about to completely give up all faith (as well as send some hate mail to the United Club telling them that their women's clothing is a joke). Of course, I could always browse through the kids clothing section for XL's but their darn clothing is always too short through the torso and never fits right.

Well, Hubs came to the rescue with a BRILLIANT idea.......create my own United apparel. Pure genius!!! For example:

1. Purchase this sweet track jacket from Nike (I can get this in black or white)

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2. Hop on over to Ebay and pick out a few of these:

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3. Call up my mother, the sewing queen guru......beg and plead for her to help.....

And VOILA!!! I will have my very own, stylish Manchester United track jacket. Hubs also suggested that I buy a few patches so that I can create a cute polo. And because Hubs is just full of fabulous ideas he suggested I design some t-shirts and have them made at the Teeki Hut T-Shirt store. Isn't he the smartest?! I am so excited about the idea of making my own track jacket and creating a few t-shirts to wear when I support my team.

**- While somewhat cute, I cannot stand team apparel that is in colors other than the teams colors. Manchester United is red, white, black and gold.....NOT pink and black. Just because I am a woman doesn't mean that I want to look like I threw up a bottle of pepto bismal all over my shirt.

Happy Saturday and GOOOOO UNITED!!!! :-)

7 Months.......

2011-09-23T14:45:00.001-04:00

Holy 7 months batman! I cannot believe that it was SEVEN months ago that I last updated this poor neglected blog. Is anyone still out there reading?!?

Of course, I can give you the typical excuses.....I have been WAY TOO busy at work......I have writers block......I lead a boring life......etc, etc, etc. Honestly, I would have to say my absence has been from all of the above so I guess they aren't complete excuses.

So what exactly have I been doing over the past seven months that tore me away from this little ol' blog of mine?!

I went to Houston to watch my Bulldogs play in the Final Four. I was sad about the outcome but extremely grateful to watch my school play for the chance at a Final Four championship two years in a row. Not many can say that!

The Butler pre-game party at the Hard Rock in Houston

Catching up with great friends while in Houston. My friend (former Butler player and my former housemate) and his girlfriend traveled all the way from Slovakia to cheer on the Bulldogs. That is dedication!

I stained the deck. Yes ladies, you heard me correctly! One random, hot day I decided that our deck looked like crap and needed to be stained. It looks great but I told Hubs that in 2-3 years when our deck needs to be re-stained we will either A.) rip out the deck and have a composite deck with a lifetime stain/color guarantee installed or B.) hire someone to stain the darn thing! Pictures to come.....

Speaking of home projects, I finally mustered up enough courage to rip out all those AWFUL, cheap bushes that home-builders just love to litter the front of your house with. There are still three bushes that the builder planted that I kept but after staring at them all summer long I have decided that those have to go in the spring (who knows, I may get overly ambitious and ripe them out this fall).

Hubs and I and Hubs' parents went to Orlando in June. It was a wonderful getaway and of course we spent a lot of time at Disney......mostly Epcot. Love that place!

At the Rose and Crown in Epcot. Favorite place!

My Hubs has turned me into a soccer hooligan! I went to watch Manchester United vs the Chicago Fire in July of this year. Hubs is a United FREAK!!! So, I surprised him with front row tickets as his anniversary gift. Wife of the Century! I think I actually saw a tear run down his cheek when we sat down in our seats. Needless to say, after seeing these players he has watched on TV for so long up close.....he is now utterly obsessed!

Tailgating with friends prior to the game at Soldier Field. I have TONS of pictures from the actual game but have yet to load them.....oops!

The leader board at our favorite place to watch soccer on Saturdays/Sundays - Chatham Tap. Notice who tops that leader board. ;-)

Even Buerly is turning into a soccer hooligan and showing his support for soccer, especially the USA National Team.

And of course, I couldn't post a picture of Buerly without including a picture of Rooney.

Who's the cutest ~~little~~ round bumblebee?!? I was cleaning out our basement and stumbled across the bee costume. I am sure he is thinking, "I really don't like you one bit, Mom!"

Well, in a nutshell, that is some of the things that have kept me busy. I promise, I will not disappear for another 7 months!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Training for the Big Event!!!!

2011-03-22T08:46:00.001-04:00

My Butler Bulldogs are making a Sweet Sixteen appearance again which has this blogger VERY happy and excited!!!!

Butler will face-off against the Wisconsin Badgers on Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 9:57 ET. Buerly and Rooney (friends and fans of Butler Blue II, our mascot) are geared up and ready to cheer on the Bulldogs. But Buerly decided that he needed to get in some extra training to be ready for Thursday nights big showdown.

(Pardon the quality.....it is dark in our basement and I took the video on my phone)

So much for my work out on the treadmill! lol

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Lunch of Champions

2011-03-07T13:18:00.000-05:00

Would you all like to know how you can take a semi-unhealthy lunch and turn it into a completely unhealthy lunch?!

Step 1:

Take a Stouffer's Tuna Noodle Casserole and microwave for 6 minutes

(450 calories, 180 calories from fat, 20 g of fat, 990 mg of sodium......etc)

Can you all taste the healthiness oozing from this meal?! Oh just you wait because it is only going to get "healthier"!!

Step 2:

Crush up a handful of Ruffles Potato Chips and sprinkle on top

(12 chips = 160 calories, 90 calories from fat, 10 g fat, 160 mg of sodium.....etc)

Are your arteries clogging up just reading this because I feel like mine are....

Step 3 (oh yes, there is most definitely a third step):

Sprinkle Sargento Cheddar Jack Cheese (Reduced Fat, just to be on the healthy side since we are obviously counting calories) on top of casserole concoction and nuke for 15 seconds.

And Bon Appetit! You officially have an unhealthy meal that has been made even unhealthier but tastes oh so good! I am sure that I will be thinking how great this lunch was when I try on the new bikini that I purchased over the weekend.

Note: I RARELY make this because of the crazy amount of calories, fat and sodium but every once and a while a girl has to splurge!

Have a fabulous Monday!

Wanted: A Pair of Reasonably Priced Boots

2011-02-23T13:06:00.000-05:00

Okay blogger-land friends, I need your help! We all know that I have a ~~slight~~ serious shoe addiction, an addiction that I LOVE to feed often.

Hunter Boots from Nodstrom

Meet my fabulous birthday present from back in September. I absolutely LOVED these Hunter boots, that is, until I tried them on. Between the stiff rubber and the placement of the seams in the sock inserts they killed my heels. It would have been blister central people.

So, finally, I decided to give up on these lovely boots and return them. {sigh}

Of course, I already had a back-up shoe in mind......

Frye Melissa Button Boots

.......riding boots. Well, until I saw the price tag of these beauties {$318.00.....ummmm, no thank you). I think if I spent $318 on these Hubs might divorce me or commit me to a mental hospital for my addiction. So, I started browsing around trying to find a similar pair that I like that has a much more reasonable price tag but unfortunately I always come back to these.

So, my friends, do any of you have any suggestions for a pretty pair of boots that are a.) reasonably priced, b.) comfy, and c.) fabulous?! Help a girl out!

Thanks and have a wonderful day!

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T13:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

The day of love.......

........shouldn't everyday be a day of love?!

Honestly, I find it hard to get into Valentine's Day. It just seems like another day of the week to me. Hubs isn't sure whether he should believe me when I say this or if I am just testing him. I promise, I truly do mean it when I say that Valentine's Day isn't that big of a deal to me.

So, instead of going out to some packed restaurant we will be getting take-out from Johnny Carinos and eating dinner at home with our two bullies! Now, that sounds like the perfect evening!!! I can throw on a pair of sweatpants, I don't have to cook or clean up after cooking, we don't have to leave the house feeling guilty because Buerly and Rooney gave us the "Woe as me" look, and we don't have to deal with trying to get a last minute reservation.

Hubs and I did exchange Valentine's Day gifts yesterday (hypocrite, I know). But we kind of cheated and just used the holiday as an excuse to go shopping to buy what we ~~needed~~ wanted. So technically it really wasn't even a Valentine's gift. Haha!

Hubs had promised to get me a fun/fashionable watch for Christmas but wanted me to pick it out. Thanks to several gift cards and Valentine's Day {cough, cough} I ended up getting two watches! :-)

Michael Kors - White

Michael Kors - Tortoise

Oh how I LOVE these two watches!!! I have a really nice watch from my parents that I wear everyday but have never had a fun/fashionable watch before.......until now!!

And for Hubs.......well, he needed a new pair of dress shoes so we ordered the shoes that he wanted from Cole Haan and hopefully they will arrive soon!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!!!!! :-)

Post Surgery

2011-01-19T09:52:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday my little Rooney had his eye surgery.

Rooney attempted to sleep in and take it easy the morning of his surgery. Poor little guy had no idea what was about to happen!

This would be his last picture sans the cone of shame.

Hubs and I took Rooney to the specialty hospital early that morning. Buerly was not happy that we were taking his brother on a car ride without him. The minute we walked into the hospital Rooney was ready to leave. My poor little guy just sat there shaking like a leaf and crying. Every once and a while he would attempt to make a mad dash towards the door. Eventually the nurse came out to take our little guy back.

After we left Hubs and I grabbed breakfast and then headed home to wait for the phone call letting us know that he was out of surgery.

Around 2pm we finally received the call from the ophthalmologist letting us know that he was out of surgery and had done great! She told us that he was a good boy, that his eyes turned out great and that we could pick him up between 3:00pm and 4:00pm.

Of course, I was ready to hit the road to get my little one. Once we arrived, I sat in the waiting room with Hubs anxiously waiting to see Rooney. I was so nervous to see what he would look like. When he finally walked into the room I about burst into tears. My poor little puppy looked so unbelievably sad and pathetic!!! I instantly felt horrible! We were told that his stitches would look like little, dark eye lashes. Wrong!!!! He had these thick, black stitches under both of his eyes {the first look made me want to throw up a little} and this HUGE cone around his neck.

Hubs loaded Rooney into the SUV and I climbed into the back seat to hold him on the drive home. The minute we walked into the house Buerly came running to check his brother out. Poor Rooney spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the house and crying. We tried to get him to lay down and take a nap until the effects of the morphine wore off but we had no luck at all.

Rooney and the "cone of shame"! This was taken right after he got home from the animal hospital.

Rooney had his own little pharmacy going on our kitchen counter. Every 8 hours we had to give him an antibiotic, every 8-12 hours we gave him pain medication, once a day we gave him a steroid and four times a day we had to put eye drops in both of his eyes. The eye drops were/are no easy feat! He fights us every time we try to give him the eye drops.

Rooney FINALLY laying down.

I remember Hubs looking down at Rooney and telling him, "I am so sorry buddy" over and over while he rubbed his neck. We both felt pretty awful for the little guy but knew that in the end he would be better off.

Each day Rooney becomes more and more like his normal self. The only difference is he has this ginormous cone around his neck. Amazingly it seems like he has adapted to it. Granted, he is a pretty go with the flow kind of pup!

As much as Buerly acts like he dislikes his brother this picture proves otherwise.

Rooney is still awkward with his cone. He is constantly clipping/catching the cone on walls and furniture. Going up the stairs is hilarious because he catches the bottom of the cone and falls up the stairs. When he jumps off our bed he has to be careful not to catch the bottom of the cone otherwise he goes head over heels.

Now that Rooney is pretty much back to normal we have to watch our shins. Rooney has figured out that he can use his cone like a battering ram. I cannot tell you how many times he has ran into our legs with that darn cone and it hurts! His brother, Buerly, has it even worse. Rooney will take toys away from Buerly and when Buerly attempts to take them back Rooney puts the cone down over the toy on the floor so that Buerly can't get it. He also uses his cone to herd Buerly around. My sad, pathetic little boogie has turned back into his mischievous, rambunctious old self.

Rooney goes back to the vet next Wednesday for a recheck. Hopefully he will get to ditch the cone after that appointment as long as everything looks good. Once the cone is gone it will be time for us to repair the walls/furniture that he has scratched up with that stupid, plastic cone. But we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This has been a difficult, expensive process but will be worth it in the end.

Have a fabulous Wednesday!

New Years Resolutions {Better Late Than Never}

2011-01-07T10:16:00.000-05:00

I will just dive right in with my list!

Run a 10k - Last year I ran two 5k's (Dick Lugar 5k - 4th in my age group, Turkey Trot 5k - 6th in my age group). I had also signed up to do a 4.5 mile Drumstick Dash (didn't run in it b/c we went out of town last minute for Thanksgiving) and a 5 mile Popcorn Dash (didn't run in that one b/c it was raining cats and dogs the entire morning). I would have ran the 5 mile Popcorn Dash had it been a drizzle or a mist but it was POURING! Fair weather runner over here! So, this year I would like to keep improving on 5k's but also jump up to the next level......the 10K!!!

Compete in a Sprint Triathlon - Okay, I may completely off my rocker but it is definitely something I would like to accomplish. One of my best friends and I decided one night after ~~a few~~ several adult beverages that we should do a Sprint Triathlon. Unlucky for me - I am a terrible swimmer. Can we say doggie paddle?! But lucky for me - my best friend's husband and his friend were on their college swim team. Yay for not sinking!

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Become more organized - How the heck do two people acquire so much crap?! This is a question that I ask myself constantly. So this year I hope to start going through all of our closets, cleaning them out and organizing the remaining items. Oh, and our basement needs some major TLC too......that and a giant dumpster! So, hopefully this is the year that I take control and get organized.

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Knit a scarf - Hubs laughs at me anytime I break out the knitting needles. Typically his laughs are followed by comments like "Where's your rocking chair?" and "Knitting.....REALLY?!" But I love crafts! My mom is a crocheter. She crochets baby blankets all the time. I, on the other hand, suck at crocheting so I decided that I would try to conquer knitting. Holy slowness batman. It takes me FOREVER just to complete a row. It probably will take me all year to knit one scarf. lol

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Go to church more - this was on my list last year and was a complete fail. SHAME ON ME!!!!

Cook more - I go through spurts. There are weeks where I will cook almost every single night and then there are weeks where I don't cook a single night. So, in order to eat healthier I think I need to cook a little more. I don't think I am going to find the level of healthy eating that I want in a frozen entree or a bag. I also want to try out new recipes. I get complacent and stick with what I know. I need to try new things and not be afraid to fail at them.

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Take more pride in my appearance - I cannot tell you how often I just don't care what I look like (okay, not completely true). There are days where I will just scruff by and not really give a damn. I want to look cute, not grungy. I have noticed that I tend to take more pride in my appearance when I am in shape and feeling good about myself. So I guess taking pride in appearance and working out can some what go hand in hand. When I feel flubby I match my attitude with sweatshirts and clothing to cover that feeling. No more! Time to break out the cute clothes, painted nails, hair done and makeup on look! (Thanks Jess for letting me steal this resolution) :-)

Be more aware of spending - It is so easy to walk into Target and spend $100+. It happens often to me. I need to curtail this and start only buying what we need. In order to do this I need to start making better grocery lists and following them. Along with better grocery lists I need to clip coupons more often but only for items that we need.

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There you have it! These are my New Year's resolutions. I am one of those people who tend to break off more than I can chew so I am trying to keep my list a little shorter this year. Also, all of these "resolutions" that I have come up with shouldn't just be for one year either, they should be life goals.

What are some of your resolutions this year?!

Have a wonderful day!

Rooney Update

2011-01-06T07:59:00.001-05:00

Thanks for all the comments that you left yesterday! Rooney is scheduled to have entropion surgery next Thursday on both of his eyes. I wasn't surprised with the prognosis but I still feel bad for the little guy. I know that when it is all said and done he will feel so much better but the time period right after the surgery is going to be tough on him. The ophthalmologist told us that it would be a 13 day recovery and during that time period he would have to wear an e-collar. I know the "cone of shame" is going to go over REALLY well with him.

Luckily, the cost of the surgery isn't awful. It is higher than I had hoped for but I don't think I was being realistic or reasonable in my hopes. Needless to say, our wonderful escrow refund check that we just received will now be going towards his surgery.

Oh, and my big bad bulldog was the biggest baby yesterday!!!! Rooney and I went to the consultation while Hubs stayed at home with Buerly. The minute we walked into the lobby of the animal hospital Rooney started crying his eyes out and shaking like a leaf! Poor guy was terrified! So, now we know - Rooney is Mr. Billy Badass when his brother is around but when Buerly isn't with him he is a scaredy cat! lol

Have a wonderful day!

Poor Rooney

2011-01-05T08:58:00.001-05:00

My poor baby, Rooney, has been having a lot of problems with his eyes for the past several months. He has had two eye infections and scratched lenses in less than a year. The vet had mentioned the last time that we were in for a routine check-up that he had entropion in both of his eyes. But she wanted to recheck his eyes in the winter months to make sure that it wasn't allergies that were causing the entropion.

Right before Christmas we had to take Rooney back to the vet due to his eye issues. It was evident that allergies were not causing his entropion. Our vet informed us that he would need surgery on both eyes to correct the problem. My good friend/Rooney's breeder told me to ask for a referral from our vet to see an ophthalmologist.

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Entropion is a medical condition in which the eyelid (usually the lower lid) folds inward. It is very uncomfortable, as the eyelashes constantly rub against the cornea. (Thank you Wikipedia) Rooney has entropion in both lower eyelids.

So, that brings me to the present. Today is the day that we take Rooney to his consultation appointment with the ophthalmologist to find out what needs to be done and how much it is going to cost (probably a lot). I feel so bad for the little booger because you can tell that he is uncomfortable and in pain.

My poor little puppy! As you can see, he doesn't want to open his right eye.

Oh, and I already know that the little booger will be sporting one of these if surgery is required-

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An E-Collar also know as "The Cone of Shame"

He will definitely be one pissed off, miserable puppy in one of these babies!

Well, as much as I would love for him not to have surgery, I don't think that is an option anymore. So, fingers crossed that the ophthalmologist recommends the most minimal amount of surgery and that it doesn't cost an arm and a leg! In the end, I just want the problem fixed and for Rooney to feel better!!

Have a great day!

Happy New Year!!!!!

2011-01-03T15:44:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year and a belated Merry Christmas!!!! Things were so crazy around the holidays that I decided to take a minor blogging hiatus (unintentionally). My plans for returning to blogging last week were interrupted by an awful cold. Of course I would wait until the last week of 2010 to get sick. C'et la vie! I am feeling much better but unfortunately I have shared my nasty sickness with Hubs. Poor guy!

Needless to say, we were pretty boring for New Years. Hubs and I stayed in with Buerly and Rooney and had our own little party. Hubs made his AWESOME Wisconsin-Trio Fondue! Seriously, Melting Pot has nothing on Hubs! Honestly I think I could have eaten 3 lbs of that delicious concoction! Cheese and chocolate are the way to this girls heart (not together though). By the time we made it to the main entree we were stuffed. Just in case you were curious, the main entree was steak, shrimp, mushrooms and broccoli all cooked in a mojo broth. We had planned on doing chocolate fondue for dessert but I don't think we could look at food after our enormous feast.

We spent the rest of the evening leading up to the New Year watching Season 1 of How I Met Your Mother/dazed in a food coma. That show is freaking hilarious! I cannot believe we just started watching this! At midnight we watched the ball drop, kissed and toasted champagne. Afterward we resumed watching How I Met Your Mother. I know, pretty darn boring! lol

Oh, but there were two little monsters that apparently celebrated the New Year a little to hard!

You know Buerly is EXHAUSTED when his tongue is sticking out. But he seems to love the new bed he got for Christmas!

Rooney looks like he had one too many! Granted, we did feed him bread, steak, granny smith apples (seedless) and carrots (spoiled, I know). Poor guy was out for the count! Once it was time for bed it was all that he could do to lift his head and give us the look like, "I know you want to carry my fat a** upstairs and tuck me in.....right?!"

Have a fabulous day!

Back to Blogging

2011-01-03T12:15:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!! I hope that EVERYONE had a fabulous holiday season! Sorry to be gone for so long. Hectic time of year + Sickness = Blogging Hiatus for me but I am back and feeling much better!

There was definitely a theme to some of my Christmas presents this year. I had an AWFUL time coming up with Christmas ideas but one theme kept coming to mind. Let's see if we can see the trend.......lol

Vision Fitness T9600 with the Deluxe Console

Hubs spoils me so much! He kept asking me what I wanted for Christmas and the only thing I could think of was a treadmill. At first he felt weird/bad about buying me a piece of "fitness equipment" but eventually I convinced him that it was what I really wanted. Of course, he one upped it and bought me a SPECTACULAR treadmill! LOVES IT!

Garmin Forerunner 110

My mom and dad gave me the Garmin Forerunner 110.....of course I wanted the girlie gray/pink one! lol

Under Armor Cold Gear in black and white

These shirts are AWESOME during the winter. I wore one of these babies during the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot and I definitely stayed warm despite the cold/rainy weather!

PS3 Zumba Fitness and the PS3 Move

Hubs knew how much I wanted to do Zumba so he got me this fun game! I tried it out Christmas morning and man was I sweating. Oh and I look like a COMPLETE idiot when I "attempt" to do Zumba. I am pretty sure that I am partially dyslexic and VERY uncoordinated.

So, do you all see a trend going on with my Christmas gifts?!? lol So I am sure you can all guess what one of my New Years resolutions is for 2011! ;-)

Have a wonderful day!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!!!

2010-12-14T11:14:00.000-05:00

It is amazing how quickly an open week with nothing to do gets completely jam-packed, booked solid. But I guess that is to be expected around the holidays. Normally I am not one to utilize the calendar on my phone much. Sad, I know, but I like to think that I can keep everything straight in that little ol' brain of mine. But the craziness of this week has forced me to input everything into my calendar so that I can keep times and places straight. And just to be sure that Hubs ~~can't claim that I didn't tell him~~ knows exactly what is going on, I input everything into his phone calendar as well! :-) No excuses! lol

Pretty sure that this is how I will feel by next Monday......

Tuesday - Dinner with Hubs, my parents, Aunt, Uncle, cousin, and cousin's bf. I the past we all got together Christmas Day but because my Grandpa passed away this year and my Grandma is in a nursing home we decided to do dinner and drinks instead!

Wednesday - Dinner with Hubs, my parents, and college roomie, K! VERY excited to see K! It is so hard to get together with her during the holidays due to her crazy work schedule.

Thursday - My annual shop-til-you-drop shopping day with my dad. Granted, I think he would prefer the day to be a one stop shop at the jewelry store.......too easy Dad......too easy! I look forward to this tradition EVERY.SINGLE.YEAR! I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun my dad and I have while shopping. Of course we always take a breather and grab lunch and a brewski.

Friday - Christmas get together with friends of the family. Our friends have three kids that are all around my age (and are either married or have significant others). So between their schedules and our schedules it is quite difficult to orchestrate this get together. Sadly, last year we were never able to find a time that worked for everyone so we weren't able to get together. So we have some making up to do this year!

Saturday - Dinner at one of my best friend's houses. I haven't seen A in what seems like FOREVER! Oh wait, it has been forever. Not only do I get to see A and her husband but I also get to meet their new puppy!

Sunday - Colts vs Jacksonville. This is a must win for my Colts!!!!! And of course, dinner at the Claddaugh after the game with Hubs and my parents. Mmmmmmm......Irish food!

Phew! I am worn out just going through our schedule for this week. Oh, and to top it off......work has been very hectic! I still have some vacation time left that I need to use so I thought I would try to take a day off today or tomorrow but since the CPA's are coming in to do fieldwork today and tomorrow that is a MAJOR no go. :-( C'est la vie!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! Try to stay warm!

Playtime in the Snow

2010-12-13T14:53:00.000-05:00

It snowed in my neck of the woods over the weekend. Now, we didn't get anything like Minnesota or Michigan saw but we did get enough to have some fun!

Rooney was resting up for all the fun that was about to be had.

Buerly LOVES snow! He loves to chase it, eat it, bite it, run around in it and just go crazy.

Attacking the snow.....nothing new

Rooney, on the other hand, was not very impressed. We think he was scared of the shovels so he chose to hang out in the garage and watch from a safe distance.

Buerly cracks me up! The dog has ups!

This picture completely sums up Rich and Rooney's relationship. Rooney is ALWAYS chewing on Rich so Rich messes with him......it is a vicious cycle!

"Mama! Mama! Mama!!!! It is far too cold out here! Let me back into the house so I can go lay in my bed next to the fireplace!"

Not only did the boys have fun playing in the snow (all three of them), I also had a blast playing with my camera and capturing their antics. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!!!

Exercise.....or lack there of

2010-12-10T09:53:00.000-05:00

It is FREEZING here!!!! And sadly, it is only going to get colder. I am talking, single digits, zero and even negative degrees people......and not windchill......actual temperature!!!!! Gross!

That being said, I need to find some other way to exercise because there is no way in hell I am going to attempt to run outside in those temperatures.

Hubs and I were both ~~whining~~ discussing the other night about how inactive we have been lately.
Hubs: I seriously need to start exercising again. I felt so much better when I exercised daily.
Me: I agree. I am starting to get a little fluffy around the mid-section. But there is no way in hell I am going to run in the cold weather.
Hubs: Well, the other night I saw an infomerical on this exercise called Zumba. Have you ever tried it?
Me: {laughing} No, but I have always heard great things about it.
Hubs: Well, I did some research and they say that you can burn up to 1,000 calories an hour. And it looks like all they do is dance like crazy. I think we should try it, it looks like fun.
Me: {bewildered, amused look on my face} Ooooookay......are you sure?!

Source

So, here is where I need your help my blogger friends:

What are your thoughts on Zumba? Love it, hate it!? Give the good, the bad and the ugly please.

Since we don't have a gym membership, taking a class is out of the question. Is there a good Zumba dvd out there that any of you would recommend?!

Thanks in advance! :-) Have a fabulous day!

Oh Rooney.......

2010-11-22T10:01:00.000-05:00

"Patience is a Virtue"

My father is ALWAYS preaching this phrase. And my response is typically- "A virtue that I do not have!" So, it comes as no surprise that I have already pulled my Christmas decor out. I lost all patience with Thanksgiving and was ready to start seeing holiday cheer.

Much like Santa, I had my own set of helpers while decorating. Okay, more like two furballs constantly in the way/nosing through EVERY box and tub. One decoration, in particular, had Rooney in complete meltdown mode. Being the ~~wonderful~~ evil mommy that I am, I videotaped his battle with the mean old bobble Santa and Snowman.

After several minutes of Rooney carrying on I moved the Santa to where it belongs which resulted in this-

After a good half hour of Rooney crying/barking/shrieking/yodeling/chirping/growling/whining/obsessing he finally gave up {more like, he gave up after I yelled at him to give it up}.

Bobble Santa/Snowman - 1, Rooney - 0

Happy Monday!

Brrrrrrrr!!!!!!

2010-11-16T08:45:00.000-05:00

It is ~~COLD~~ FREEZING outside which means perfect soup weather! My all time favorite soup to get when I am at Olive Garden is the Pasta E Fagioli. Mmmmmmmm.......breadsticks and soup. Sadly, we do not live that close to an Olive Garden so I took to the internet to find the perfect recipe.

Pasta E Fagioli
Recipe from Food.com

3 tsp Oil
2 lbs Ground Beef
12 oz Onion, chopped
14 oz Carrot, slivered
14 oz Celery, diced
48 oz Tomatoes; canned, diced
2 c. cooked Red Kidney Beans
2 c. cooked White Kidney Beans
88 oz. Beef Stock
3 tsp. Oregano
2 1/2 tsp. Pepper
5 tsp. Parsley, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. Tabasco Sauce
48 oz. Spaghetti Sauce
16 oz. Ditali Pasta

Saute beef in oil in large 10-qt stock pot. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse beans and add to the pot. Also ad beef stock, oregano, pepper, Tabasco, spaghetti sauce and noodles. Add chopped parsley. Simmer for 45 minutes.

Recommendations-

Cut this recipe in at least half unless you want to eat Pasta E Fagioli for two weeks straight (not even kidding.....this recipe makes 9 quarts when all said and done).

Wait to add the noodles until the last 15 minutes otherwise they become soggy.

Serve with Marzetti's New York Brand Garlic Breadsticks (so yummy)

Hubs and I LOVED this recipe! It tasted so much like the Olive Garden version. Of course, since we followed the quantities in the recipe we had LOTS of leftovers. I am pretty sure my co-workers loved me the next day and the day after that.....lol.

Sorry, I forgot to capture a picture of the finished product but I can safely say that it looked like the Olive Garden version. I even bought fresh Parmesan and used my Pampered Chef Cheese Grater (just like they use at Olive Garden). All in all, I give this recipe two thumbs up!

Have a FABULOUS day!

Cold Natured

2010-11-01T10:17:00.002-04:00

Good morning! Sorry for the long, unscheduled hiatus. Things at work have been CRAZY so by the time I get home the last thing I really want to do is look at a computer. But no fears.....I am back!

I cannot believe how cold it has gotten! We finally turned our AC off but have been too ~~stupid~~ stubborn to turn our heat on. So you can bet that we are utilizing our fireplace, blankets and warm clothing a lot. As cold natured of a person as I am, I prefer that our house be on the cold side. I would much rather bundle up than be hot, especially when I am sleeping at night.

Last night I was snuggled under all of my blankets, comfy as can be when Rooney decided that he was going to jump into bed to snuggle with me. When Rooney snuggles he turns into a furnace. Seriously, if I could choose one thing to be stranded in freezing cold temperatures with it would have to be Rooney. Sorry Hubs! Oddly, Rooney is just as cold natured as me. Crazy for a bulldog, I know!

After awhile I kicked Rooney out of bed. Not even five minutes later he was back in bed so I kicked him our for a second time. This little game went on throughout the night. Normally after kicking him out twice he gives up and sleeps in his own bed under his fleece blanket but not last night. I couldn't figure it out. FINALLY at 5 am the game stopped. So, I went back to sleep thinking nothing of it.

After the alarm went off I managed to crawl out of bed to go turn the shower on. As I walked towards the bathroom I noticed that our nice comforter and decorative pillows that had been stacked neatly in the corner was no longer in a neat pile. Baffled, I grabbed the corner of the comforter to pull it back in place when suddenly the pillows started to move. Boy did I jump! Next thing I know I see this precious little face peak out from his pillow/comforter cave. I just stood there and laughed (and of course took a picture of it).

"MOM!!!! You woke me up!"

It then dawned on me that I had put Rooney's fleece blanket in the closet because we had had company earlier. Poor little guy was freezing!!!! Eventually he resurfaced only long enough to jump into our bed and burrow underneath all of my blankets.

Note to self: Christmas gift for Rooney this year will be another fleece blanket! lol

Have a fabulous Monday!

Fun New Gadget!

2010-10-20T09:16:00.000-04:00

Well, my Blackberry Storm finally bit the dust. As of yesterday I could only use half of the QWERTY touch screen and considering the phone doesn't have an actual keypad.......that is an issue. So, I sucked it up and went to Verizon to find my new companion.

I present to you......

Source

The Samsung Fascinate

Now, I have only owned the phone for a day or so but so far I LOVE it!!!! It is such a fun toy!

Perks to this lovely new device:

Gorgeously crystal clear screen (thanks to the AMOLED touch screen)
Tons of apps
Very fast (especially when utilizing WiFi at home)
User friendly
Swype (the COOLEST thing EVER)
Takes great pictures and video
Call quality is good
Lightweight
Animated wallpaper.....not a big deal functionally speaking but very awesome
The internet package is $20 cheaper/month than Blackberry
Skype capable

The not so good:

Bing is the programmed search engine (I am a Bing hater....Google lover)
You have to charge your phone pretty much everyday if you are utilizing several of the apps (but that is how most smartphones are these days)

But, like I said, the jury is still out on this new toy of mine. As of day 1.....I still love it......which is more than I could say for my Blackberry Storm. :-)

Have a fabulous day!

Bill Maher is a Joke!

2010-10-19T09:37:00.002-04:00

I will let this article do all the talking........

On Friday night, October 16, Bill Maher went on a rant about legendary NFL quarterback and perpetual teenager Brett Favre's recent troubles regarding his alleged “sexting” to a female employee of the New York Jets.

But before too long he turned it into a disgustingly filthy diatribe against “white men” and the type of women they like. It eventually came down to an attack on his favorite target, Sarah Palin and other conservative women. He pompously posited that white men like these women saying, “my theory is that these women represent something those men miss dearly: the traditional idiot housewife.”

And it got me to thinking what kind of “housewife” the never-married Maher might like?

Perhaps it would be the phony ones on television.

I am referring to the series of shows completely mislabeled as the “Real Housewives of...New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, D.C. and the OC and Beverly Hills.”

These women have about as much in common with the real everyday lives of housewives as Bill Maher does with real everyday lives of ordinary Americans.

They are rich urbanites and sub-urbanites complete with lavish homes, fancy cars, closets full of designer clothes and shoes, boxes of jewelry and very bad breast implants. You’d think with all that money they could afford better plastic surgeons.

And that Salahi woman on the D.C. version is so dang skinny, I’ll bet she has to run around in the shower to get wet.

We get to see them scream and yell and argue with each other over nothing of importance. They spend money on extravagant shopping sprees, constantly flaunting their material possessions at the rest of us.

Their husbands are either weak-kneed metrosexuals or adolescent adults who the wives treat as ATMs—that is until they declare bankruptcy.

Their bratty kids are spoiled rotten and appear to have no discernible skills that will get them through life.

They drink wine in the middle of the day and then whine to each other about how difficult their lives of privilege are.

Well pardon me if I don’t feel sorry for them. And for your benefit Mr. Maher let me tell you about the lives of the traditional housewives you so despise and denigrate.

Recently I was in Idaho visiting with my good friends who are cowboys and ranchers. This time of year is for gathering their herds of cattle off the range in preparation for the hard winter that is to come.Work on the ranch is a family affair and everybody works—men, women and children.

But no disrespect or offense to the men, the hardest-working folks are the women. I call them the "Real Housewives of Idaho." Their names are Jenn, Jayme, Kassy, D.J. and Janis.

I knew these women before I even met them, since I was raised by someone just like them.

They don’t have their own TV show although it would be a helluva lot more interesting than watching the other “real” housewives and definitely better than watching Maher’s weekly ego fest.

They don’t wildly spend money on frivolous things at high-tone stores. They shop at Costco to feed the family and during gathering feed the crew. They are partners with their husbands. Their children are taught the lessons of work, faith and family from the time they can walk and as soon as they can walk they are in the saddle working right alongside their parents.

You don’t hear a lot of whining about how tough their lives are. They know life is tough but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

They don’t have weekends. Saturday and Sunday are just two more days to get the work done.

They don’t stab their female friends in the back when they aren’t around. They pitch-in to help each other and treat each other’s children as if they were their own.

They don’t hang out at Starbucks because they aren’t dumb enough to pay $5 for a cup of coffee and don’t have the time or the inclination to sit around and be neurotic and catty.

And they face adversity everyday and meet it head-on.

Last year we hadn’t been out gathering cows more than an hour when someone spotted a bull used for breeding stuck in mud wallow. It had died struggling to get out. I was riding with my friend Jenn whose bull it was.

As we sat there on our horses she calmly said, “Well, there goes $5,000." When the young cowboy who had found it asked, “Should we pull it out?,” she said, “Nope. No time. We’ll come back later to see what happened. We’ve got to keep going and gather the rest.”

No crying. No whining. No pointing fingers of blame. It happened and the only thing to do was keep going. And that pretty well sums up their lives—keep going.

These are the “mama grizzlies” Sarah Palin is talking about. They identify with her because she is one of them.

I think that Maher belittles them and makes fun of their lifestyle because he is afraid of them and what they represent.

They represent an America that is in resurgence vastly different from his warped and cynical view of the nation and its people. An America that has finally had enough of being ruled by a bunch of elite coastal snobs who push their version of what this country stands for at the expense of traditional values and morals. An America that still prays to God asking for spiritual guidance, unlike Maher who openly mocks religion. Maher better hope he’s right about there being no God or come Judgment Day he is going to be one sorry fella.

It is also an America that is tired of the cattle crap Maher would call entertainment, polluting the minds of their children. And an America that stubbornly believes that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are not just meaningless words from our past but meaningful words to guide our future.

When I got home from my trip, I saw a Facebook posting from one of "the Real Housewives of Idaho." Yes, they have computers and Facebook.

Jayme and one of her sons were helping Jenn and her family and her husband Matt and other son were working at their ranch. She wrote the following:

“Jackson and I have been gathering cows in Soda for Ellis ranch....just got back, now there is laundry to do, house to clean and back to school tomorrow, and driving bus again. Matt and Mattson were gathering cows on our place...its funny how life keeps us all happy and healthy...Great life we live!”

These are the women Bill Maher refers to as the “traditional idiot housewives.” They live on ranches and farms, work on factory floors, raise children and hold down two jobs and they sit around the kitchen table with their husbands each month worrying if they can pay the bills. And somehow they not only survive but thrive.

That is reality, not “reality” TV.

Here’s a piece of friendly advice, Bill. I would stay out of certain parts of America. These women would kick your ass from hell to Sunday, not to mention what their husbands might do.

Better stay in Hollywood with the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills like Arianna Huffington!

Patrick Dorinson blogs at The Cowboy Libertarian. He lives in California and is just back from a trip to Idaho.

Original Source

All politics aside, I thought this was a very well written piece. I thought Bill Maher's rant was incredibly offensive to the majority of American women. I don't care if you are a SAHM, a career oriented woman, a working mom, etc; all are tough jobs that take a lot of work, time, and selflessness.

Screw you Bill Maher! No wonder you have never been married! You probably think that child birth is a joke too! (I know, not nice but that is how I feel).

Sorry, his comments about women made my blood boil!!!!

Side note- Sadly, I do watch the Real Housewives shows purely for entertainment purposes only. I do not for one moment think that their lives are the norm for American's or even begin to reflect the normal American woman. In fact, I think Bravo has found some of the most crazy, dysfunctional people to create the entertainment. I highly doubt that these RH women are even viewed as "normal" amongst the rest of the rich, wealthy society.

Lions and Tigers and.......Bulldogs?!

2010-10-15T14:07:00.000-04:00

I am sure that you all have an idea what Rooney's personality is like from some of my posts. But just in case you need a better idea of what he is like I have posted a video from the Today show. No, Rooney is not famous (well, he is famous in my mind). But the bulldog in this video reminds me of Rooney's personality soooooo much! Plus, it is an adorable video! :-)

Oh, and when the bulldog attacks the lion cub for looking at his ball wrong.....that would be Buerly. The bulldozing, taking on anything no matter how big or small, and acting like a rotten lil shit......that TOTALLY defines Rooney! :-)

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

A Tale of Two Bulldogs

2010-10-13T09:53:00.002-04:00

Source

When Buerly was a puppy one of his all time favorite things to do was play underneath our bed. If we couldn't find Buerly the first place we would look was under the bed. I should also mention that if there was an item (bra, wallet, etc) that we couldn't find you could almost count on it being somewhere under the bed.

The bed, to Buerly, was his cave, his safe spot. He ran under there if he was in trouble (which was often), if there was a storm, to take a nap, or just to play. We had our very own living, breathing, farting monster that lived under our bed.

As cute as hiding/sleeping/playing under the bed sounds there were two things that Buerly would do that were not so cute. After taking a peek under the bed we realized that the little demon child had ripped out all of the lining of the box spring. Definitely not cute.

The other not so cute thing he would do........attack our feet. If you even came within 3 feet of the bed he would shoot out from underneath, pounce on your feet with those puppy needle sharp teeth, and then dive back under the bed before you could even register what had just happened. It never failed. Eventually Hubs and I learned that we had to take a running leap to avoid being attacked while getting into bed. Of course, this would make Buerly mad and we would pay for it later when we least expected it**.

See those sharp needle teeth?! They hurt! Don't let this adorable, innocent, squishy face fool you!

Now imagine falling asleep on the couch on a lazy Sunday. Your husband wakes you up to go to bed. Mumbling and half asleep you manage to pull yourself off the couch and make your way back into the bedroom only be ambushed and get the bejeebus scared out of you! Still sound cute?!? I think not!

Putting laundry away was a nightmare!!!! I constantly had the ankle biter diving out and back under the bed for sweep attacks. Buerly would catch us off guard quite often even though we knew that he was under there just waiting to pounce. There is nothing like the feeling of sharp needle teeth sinking into your foot/ankle. And catching that little booger once he attacked your feet was impossible. Once he was under that bed he would move from side to side to avoid your reach. Hubs would take one side of the bed while I took the other and Buerly would sit in the middle, just out of arms reach, proud as could be. The minute you came close to grabbing him he would scoot to the other corner and remain just out of arms reach. The only way to get him out was to bribe him with a ball or a treat. He was such a stinker!

Always ready for the attack!!!!!

**Buerly was too little at this time to jump into bed on his own. So once you were in bed you were safe.
Just pray that you didn't forget anything once you were in bed.

{YAWN}

2010-10-11T09:40:00.000-04:00

This is me today:

Source

I cannot stop yawning! What I wouldn't give for my pillow, blanket and bed! Crazy, busy weekends make for a very LONG work week; especially when you spend majority of the week trying to catch up on rest.

Here was our weekend in a nutshell:
Friday- Picked Hubs up after work and drove straight up to his parents house. Ate dinner with family and then sat around the bonfire until time to finally go to bed.

Saturday- Went to watch niece cheer for pop warner football team. Swung by Bass Proshop on way home to pick up grill, propane, and inverter. Showered quickly and then loaded SUV with cooler, TV, grill, etc. Drove up to Chicago to tailgate for USA vs Poland soccer match. Soccer match started at 7pm and ended around 9-ish. Spent what seemed like eons in Chicago traffic. Got home after midnight.

Sunday- Woke up EARLY to get ready and pack the car up to drive back home. Dropped dogs off at home and drove straight to parents house to leave for the Colts game. Watched the Colts beat KC. Drove home from game. Immediately changed into sweat pants and sweat shirt before finding my permanent Sunday position on the couch. Hubs attempted to keep me awake so that I would be able to fall asleep come bed time. Major fail. Woke up and ate some dinner. Managed to crawl upstairs and into bed.

Monday- Alarm clock screaming at us WAY TOO early. Hit snooze a million times just praying that it was all a dream. Eventually pulled myself out of bed to get ready for work. All I want to do is lay my head on my desk and take a little nipper napper. I wonder if my boss would notice if I shut my door, crawled under my desk and napped for an hour or two.

Lesson learned: Never plan multi-city events and try to cram them all in in one weekend!

Oh, and today I have a 4pm appointment to meet with the orthopedic surgeon to find out the results of my MRI. Fingers crossed!!!

Hope you all have a great day!

Lots of Football in All Forms

2010-10-08T15:25:00.000-04:00

I am off for the weekend to watch these sexy studs play what us American's refer to as soccer. For all of you across the pond, I will be watching some football! GO USA!!!!

Source

And on Sunday I will be watching some American Football at Lucas Oil! GO COLTS!!!!

Source

Have a fabulous weekend!

Definitely Not a Walk in the Park

2010-10-07T09:28:00.001-04:00

Today I get to have two of these.......

one to numb and the other to be shoved in my.......

So that I can go lay perfectly still in one of these bad boys for 1 1/2 hours.......

Hello claustrophobia! Obviously I am going to be having TONS of fun today! {dripping with sarcasm} I have to go get an MRI Arthrogram of my shoulder. I am not really sweating the MRI but the giant needle that will be shoved into my shoulder is not really my cup of tea. Oh how I hate needles!!!!! Wish me luck {and that I don't see the needle because I may pass out}!!!!

UPDATE: EEKS!!!!! As the minutes and hours get closer, I get more and more nervous! Please 3:00PM just hurry up so that I can get this over with!

A Tale of Two Bulldogs

2010-10-06T05:00:00.001-04:00

A while back I had asked what you wanted to hear more of on this blog and several of you responded that you would like to hear more stories about our two mischevious pups! Trust me, I could write books about all the stories and trouble that those two get into. Plus, I love talking about our babies.

So, where better to start than the beginning.

Background: I never had a dog growing up but desperately wanted one. I always told my parents that as soon as I moved out on my own I would get a dog. I originally always wanted a Boxer or a Great Dane until I met Hubs. Hubs owned the cutest English Bulldog puppy named Zeus. You could kind of say that Zeus brought Hubs and I together. Sadly, the fraternity changed their rules so Zeus had to go back home and live with Hubs' parents.

Meet Zeus - The first bulldog love of my life! This picture pretty much sums up his personality. Love that dog!

After graduation Hubs and I moved into an apartment together. We dove head first into finding our first dog/family member. It definitely was a long process searching out good, reputable breeders who had litters on the ground. After going on a wild goose chase we finally found a breeder out of Ohio who had one puppy left. Originally they had planned on keeping him but due to timing decided it would be best to find him a loving home. His name was Bandit. He was the CUTEST little squishy thing ever. The only problem?!? We only had ONE day to decide if we wanted him, to round up the funds to purchase him and to drive to Ohio to pick up the little stinky bundle of joy. The breeders were leaving town for the summer so we had to make a quick decision.

After talking all night we decided to make our final decision after we met him. Hubs and I drove 3+ hours through terrible weather to meet the breeders at a Cracker Barrel off the interstate. Bandit did not disappoint! He immediately attacked Hubs' shoe laces which instantly had Hubs sold! And he was incredibly cuddly which immediately won me over. I don't think we could have forked the money over any quicker. I just remember starring at him the entire drive home. He was so sweet and snugly! He slept in my lap most of the drive home except during the storms we drove through. I swore we drove through a tornado at one point.

Meet Buerly, formerly known as Bandit

It was so exciting to get the little guy home and let him explore his new home! While we played with him we started discussing names. We weren't overly crazy about the name Bandit so we started coming up with different names. A White Sox game was on that night and the name Buerhle instantly popped into my mind. Mark Buerhle was our favorite pitcher but even better his name was perfect for a bulldog - stocky and burly! We didn't want to spell it the same way as the pitcher so we decided on Buerly.

Buerly loved this squeaky baseball......that is until he destroyed it

Buerly and Hubs

Kisses! Or attacking the nose......either was possible with Buerly

As much praise as I give Buerly for being such a good boy, he was a TERROR as a puppy! Complete TERROR!!!!

Does that face not scream terror to you?!? And look at all the wrinkles!

This picture really shows how little he was when we brought him home. I miss being able to just pick him up and carry him around! Now if I pick him up I would probably throw out my back.

This was his toy basket. He quickly learned how to help himself to it.

Hubs and I would often find Buerly sleeping in the oddest, most uncomfortable positions we had ever seen!

Example #1 - Sleeping half in his crate, half out

Example #2 - Curled around in a ball

Example #3 - Sleeping in the spot where his toy basket belonged

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the story of how Buerly became our owner. And no, you did not read that incorrectly.....pretty sure the darn dog owns us.

Have a fabulous day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBS!!!!

2010-10-05T15:29:00.001-04:00

To my best friend and the most amazing husband ever I wish you the happiest of birthdays!

Hubs and I @ the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Great times!

Hubs and I on an ATV tour in Hawaii

Hubs will kill me for posting this picture but this was from Halloween my senior year of college. He came up with the idea to go as a dog catcher so we spent all day getting all the things needed to make the perfect costume. I have never had so much fun putting together a costume. I still have his costume!

Hubs and I at the "Happiest Place on Earth". Well, technically Hubs says that Epcot is the "Happiest Place on Earth" because they serve beer. Close enough.

Rehearsal dinner for a friend's Florida wedding

Hubs and I at the Manning Bowl this year.

I love you so much babe! I hope you are having a FABULOUS day! Here's to many more fun and exciting memories! Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Perfect Outfit for a Chilly Fall Day

2010-10-05T08:58:00.001-04:00

I was actually excited to wake up freezing cold the past two mornings {okay, maybe not excited about the being cold part}. As soon as I surfaced from deep underneath the covers I knew that it would be perfect sweater days! So, I give you my first two official fall outfits of the season!

Day 1-

Cinch Collar Sweater from WHBM

Tweed-Patterned Pencil Skirt and Black Leggings from WHBM

Style & Company Boots from Macys

Day 2-

Faux Fur Vest and Cotton Thermal V-Neck Sweater from VS

Skinny Jeans from Express

Naughty Monkey D-Ring Boots from Von Maur

The only thing that would compliment these outfits even better would be a venti Pumpkin Spice Latte in my hand! lol Oh how I love the fall!!!! Next item to break out- scarves!

Have a wonderful day!

Time Flies

2010-10-01T15:24:00.001-04:00

I CANNOT believe that it is already October! It seems like each year flies by faster and faster......not always a good thing! Before I know it, Christmas will be approaching. Sadly, I haven't even pulled all my fall decor out yet. I better get moving on that pronto!

Other things going on in the random brain of moi:

Tomorrow I am playing in a charity golf outing for my high school with Hubs, my dad and my brother. I am excited to play golf but not sure how I feel about seeing people from the high school I attended. There is a good reason why I only stayed in touch with a few people from my high school. Oh, and putting on a fake smile and reminiscing about the "glory days" that many people are still trying to relive is not my idea of fun.
I made myself promise not to get any fall decor out until our downstairs is COMPLETELY 100% clean. I am beginning to think at this rate I won't even be able to get Christmas out. I need to stop starting new projects and just get down to business and finish cleaning.
My grammar sucks and I am a sucky writer. I read so many blogs that are written so well and then I look at my writing style and cringe. Thank God I never desired to be in an industry that requires lots of writing. My brain knows exactly what it wants to say but somewhere between thinking through my thoughts and typing them out things get a little jumbled.
Once again, a weekend that was supposed to be relaxing is now fully booked. I don't think we know how to relax anymore. There was a time not too long ago that we hardly ever had anything to do. We always complained that we were such losers. Now we complain that we have too much to do. It is a never ending battle I tell you!
I loathe WebMD! Long story short, I was having some problems so I did a search. WebMD concluded that I was either having a heart attack, a stroke, gout, etc. Seriously?!? Telling a borderline hypochondriac that she her symptoms indicate a heart attack or stroke is just asking for anxiety and panic attacks to be added to that list of medical conditions. Oh, and maybe some hyperventilating!
Speaking of hypochondriac......whenever I get a headache or the occasional shooting pain in my head I immediately start thinking that I am a.) having a stroke, b.) having an aneurysm, or c.) dying of a brain tumor. I know.....such the optimist! Seriously, I am not right in the head......and not because of the headaches.....lol
I always wonder what it would be like if our dogs could speak. Hubs and I will sometimes have full out conversations of what Buerly and Rooney would say if they could talk to us. It is so funny how their personalities influence how they would sound and what they would say. Yes, we are strangely weird.
Currently there is potential for some change in our lives, good change, really good change. I am trying my hardest to not get overly excited because this change is not guaranteed. I wish I could share but for now I have to keep it a secret. So, if you don't mind, please say a little prayer that this change happens!
No, we are not pregnant nor are we trying at the moment. Sorry, didn't want the secret change comment mentioned above to start any rumors.

Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!

GO COLTS!

We Agree to Disagree on Fashion

2010-09-30T10:07:00.000-04:00

I do not consider myself to be a fashion guru at all, but I do like to think that I am somewhat fashionable. There are definitely some trends out there that I am just not brave enough to wear but others that I dive head first into. I have noticed lately that Hubs ~~gives me weird looks~~ questions some of the things I wear.

Example #1:

Black Nina Ruffle Pumps

I wore these beauties out to dinner the weekend of our anniversary.
Hubs: What the heck are you wearing?! Those are.......ummmmmm......interesting.

Me: Aren't they ADORABLE?!?

Hubs: Adorable would probably be the last word that I would use to describe them.

Me: Well, they are totally in style and I love them.

Hubs: Are you sure?!?

Me: Yes

As we were walking to dinner Hubs saw another girl wearing a similar pair of shoes.

Hubs: Hmmmm......I guess they are in style.

Me: Seriously?!? {Glaring at Hubs} It took you seeing another girl in a similar pair of shoes for you to trust my fashion sense. Why the hell do you think I buy all those magazines?!?

Hubs: {With a sheepish look on his face} I'm sorry. I know you are fashionable.

Example #2:

Hunter Boots

I received these wonderful, warm boots as a birthday present from my momma this year! The howls of laughter that came from my dad and Hubs when I opened these up can not be described. Hubs asked if I was planning on frolicking along the meadows of England's countryside. In between shaking his head and laughing he went on to inform me that these are cute on small children but not grown adults. Once again, these are practical and totally in style so I do not care what he thinks. Hubs, on the other hand, begged that I not wear these out in public when I am with him. So of course you know I will be wearing these out in public with him the first chance I get! lol

Example #3:

Victoria's Secret- Faux Fur Vest

Once again, I received looks of bewilderment from Hubs on this one. I am sure you can all imagine the comments he made about this one!

Other articles of clothing/accessories that don't make Hubs "Favorite Things for Laura to Wear" List would be-

Ballet Flats- pretty sure Hubs would feed these to Rooney if given the chance
Skinny pants- he does like some skinny jeans but is picky
Tall scrunch boots- he thinks that I should be an elf in Zelda or Lord of the Rings with these boots

Hubs definitely knows what he likes and what he does not like when it comes to my clothing/accessories. I am willing to take into consideration some of his requests but in the end I still wear what I want. He always puts up with it but may tease me a little in the process. Do you have any clothing/accessories that your husband/significant other dislikes or teases you about?

Have a fabulous Thursday! One more day!

One Year Older

2010-09-27T09:51:00.000-04:00

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........and so much wiser! lol

Today is this girls birthday! :-) Normally I wake up and say that I don't feel any older but thanks to a pulled muscle in my neck compliments of painting all weekend......I definitely feel older. Nothing that a shopping trip won't make feel better! :-)

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Simple Math Equation

2010-09-24T10:11:00.000-04:00

This ~~precious~~ EVIL demon child......

(Don't be fooled by that cute face)

One of the chairs that goes with my beautiful kitchen set (wedding gift from Hubs' parents)

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Either Rooney's mom was bred with a beaver or Rooney decided that he needed more fiber in his diet. Regardless, I was PISSED!!!!! When I walked into the house and saw the destruction I dropped everything that had been in my hands. I went from rage to hysterical tears in 2.5 seconds flat. Needless to say......my wood working bulldog will now be spending his days in his cozy crate.

Thank goodness for a handy Hubs and father-in-law. They both reassured me that they could fix the damage. That or they said that just to calm down the hysterical, crazy lady.

Have a wonderful Friday and a fabulous weekend!

Oktoberfest is tonight! Yay!!! :-)

I Did It!!!

2010-09-21T10:28:00.000-04:00

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One of my New Years Resolutions for 2010 was to run in a 5k race or longer. Seeing as though we are quickly approaching winter I figured I should probably hurry up and sign up for something. I was supposed to run in a 5 mile race on September 11, 2010 but unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans. The morning of the race I was up at 5:45 am to get ready, grab breakfast and get over to the registration tent. While grabbing breakfast I looked out the window only to discover that it was pouring down rain. Naturally I said "Screw the rain, I can still run." Well, until I walked outside to 45 degree weather {brrrrr}. I got past my stubbornness and admitted that it was not worth contracting pneumonia just to fulfill my New Years Resolution.

Hubs knew that I was really bummed out so he told me to get online and see if there were any other races coming up. It just so happened that there was going to be a 5k at my alma mateur. So, I signed up!

I am happy to announce that I successfully completed my first 5k on Saturday, September 18, 2010!

YAY! I actually can check something off of my New Years Resolution list for once! :-)

The uber competitive side in me showed its ugly head when I didn't run as well as I had hoped. I was so worried that I would run out of steam at the end that I paced myself slower than I would have liked. By the end of the race I was in a full out sprint trying to make up time. I know I should be proud of my finish, especially since I finished 4th in my age group, but that pesky competitive side knows that I could have finished a lot faster! C'est la vie! I am just happy to have one 5k under my belt. :-)

Oh, and I am totally addicted to running in races now! I am tossing around the idea of signing up for a race this weekend and plan on signing up for the 4.5 mile Drumstick Dash on Thanksgiving morning with my cousin. Hubs thinks that I should train for the mini but 13.1 miles is a LOT of running. Not sure if I am up for that challenge. Has anyone else ran a mini? Any tips?!

Have a fabulous day!

Glee is on tonight! YIPPEE!!!!!

Squishy Faced Bulldogs

2010-09-20T14:59:00.000-04:00

Okay, it has been awhile since I posted pictures of our boys. Buerly and Rooney turned into my muses as I tested out my new camera a couple weeks ago. Buerly was the perfect model......Rooney, on the other hand, didn't like to sit still. So, here are some recent pictures of our smooshy faced bulldogs!

Rooney eagerly awaiting a treat.....aka- the bribe to sit still for a second

Buerly checking out Rooney

It doesn't matter how often I pick up all their toys.....they always end up pulling EVERYTHING out of the basket right after I put everything away. They are just like kids!

Buerly chilling by the back door. I think I could Windex our back door glass twice a day and you would still see streaks and snot from about 2 feet and lower. Darn dogs and their snotty noses! Doesn't help that we have a family of chipmunks that like to sit on our deck and tease the boys.

Rooney is king of the mountain. Shortly after he was dethroned and got his little butt into trouble for standing on the arm of the chair.

Outside playing

Buerly attempting to play keep away with the blue ball

He looks so happy in this picture! :-)

"Hurry up and give us the treat mom!!!!"

Sitting, patiently waiting on their treat

Just chilling

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Have a great day!!!! :-)

Another Pair Bites the Dust

2010-09-15T10:57:00.001-04:00

Hubs facebook post from yesterday-

Gotta love my husband! He makes me laugh! Can you tell that he hates my ballerina flats?! lol

And just in case you were wondering, yes, Rooney ate ANOTHER pair of my shoes. Damn demon child! Time to go shopping! :-) I think God made puppies so cute and adorable so that when they do bad things we won't kill them. Seriously!

Happy Hump Day

Fall Baking

2010-09-14T08:29:00.001-04:00

Have I mentioned that I love the fall?!? :-) I ventured to the apple orchard on Labor Day to purchase a gallon of fresh apple cider, a bag of apples and an apple cider slushy. Well, last night that peck of apples was still sitting in my kitchen just waiting to be made into something delicious. So I grabbed our family cookbook and got to work on making my mom's french apple pie recipe.

One of the gifts that I had received at my bridal shower from my mom ended up being the BEST tool ever when it comes to slicing/peeling apples.

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Seriously, best gadget ever! Jam the apple on the prongs and then start turning the handle. Before you know if you have a perfectly peeled, cored, and sliced apple. I could not believe how quick it was. Hubs was even amused/intrigued by my handy dandy gadget!

In fact, it was so fast that I decided to make two apple pies....one for home and one for work. Can we say breakfast and lunch?! lol

TA DA!!!!

Pardon the crappy pictures.....had to take pictures with my stupid Blackberry. Oh and the topping looks a little out of whack because I covered it while it was still hot and then dropped my notebook on top of it on my way into work. Oops! lol But I promise, it tastes super yummy!!!!

My Mom's French Apple Pie

Pie:

6 cups of sliced apples (I usually use tart, tangy apples like Granny Smith)

3/4 c Sugar

1/4 c Flour

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust (found in the refrigerator aisle)

Pie Topping:

1 c Flour

1/2 c Brown Sugar (packed)

1/2 c Butter (or margarine)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Unroll pie crust and place into pie dish. Place sliced apples into a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. After dry contents are thoroughly mixed, pour over the apples. Toss (or mix with spoon/hands) until all apples are coated with dry mixture. Pour the sliced apples into the pie dish (it will be a heaping pile of apples). In the small bowl (that was used for the dry ingredients) add flour, brown sugar and butter. Use a pastry blender (or a fork) and mash until contents resemble dry crumbs. Pour crumb mixture over the top of the pie. Cover crust with aluminum foil so the crust does not burn. Bake at 425 degrees for 50 minutes. With 10 minutes left cover the top of the pie with foil so the top does not burn.

Voila! Be sure you steal a slice while the apple pie is still hot! And if you are like Hubs, top with a big scoop of ice cream. :-)

Have a fabulous day!

My Day in a Nutshell

2010-09-09T15:05:00.000-04:00

I woke up at 3:00am feeling like my face was going to explode. Thank you allergies! Your presence is unwelcome.

When I moved downstairs to sleep on the couch I discovered that I had cut the bottom of my foot. Just perfect.....right before a 5 mile race on Saturday.

After I struggled to wake up this morning I went into a sneezing fit and pulled a muscle in my back. Aforementioned pulled muscle hurts anytime I breathe deeply. Running 5 miles on Saturday should feel glorious. I may not survive.

Dropped Hubs car off at Goodyear for an oil change. Received a call from Goodyear an hour later letting me know that he needed new tires. Adios $900.

Talk about a shitty day! But, oddly enough, I am in a pretty darn good mood (despite being in pain, $900 poorer and my nose acting like the flood gates of Hoover Dam just opened wide). I think the fact that I am grabbing some brewskis and wings tonight with Hubs and my college roomie, K, is keeping me going. You hear me craptastic day?!? You will NOT keep me down! lol

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

A Little Behind

2010-09-08T09:12:00.000-04:00

Sadly, my life has been rather boring lately so I don't really have much to report. After my Grandpa's funeral we kind of laid low and I attempted to catch up on a lot of sleep. Labor Day weekend consisted of zero labor in our household which was good and bad. Good because I needed a fun weekend and bad because I really do have a lot that needs to be done around the house. C'est la vie!

Oh and because I am lazy I left my camera at home all weekend......

Friday- Thanks to the dirty carpets in the office area at work I was forced to leave at 11am on Friday. Sooooooo, what does one daughter and her mother do when forced to leave work half day?!? We go shopping and out to lunch. :-) My mom and I went shopping all day and found some great buys (mostly decor for the house). Later that night I managed to convince my friend, A, that she should skip studying and grab drinks. After begging her for at least 5 minutes she still stood her ground, declining drinks. Not even 2 minutes after I hung up the phone she called back and said to meet her, her husband and friend at BW3's at 8pm. Good food, great company and drinks made for a late night for Hubs and I.

Saturday- Hubs and I woke up early to go play golf. It was FREEZING outside! It wouldn't have been so bad except the darn wind left me shaking. Pretty sure all the other male golfers on the course were laughing at me because I had on a polo, long sleeve polo, and my North Face jacket in the attempts to stay warm while they walked around in shorts and a short sleeve polo. I take after my dad, I'm cold natured. After golf we just bummed around the house and did absolutely nothing.

Sunday- After a great night of sleep we woke up ready and raring to go! We took Buerly and Rooney on a walk. They actually made it a lot farther than Hubs and I ever guessed they would make it. Bulldogs are not running/long distance walking dogs......more like make it to the end of the cul-de-sac kind of dogs. They had a blast! Afterward we met my parents for a round of golf. It was rather disastrous and pretty shameful how pathetic we played. Once again, c'est la vie! We drowned our sorrows from our pathetic round of golf with a couple brewskis and some excellent food. Later that night we headed over to my BIL and SIL's house for a bonfire and some hot tubbing. It was the PERFECT night!

Monday- My friend, A, and I headed over to the local apple orchard hoping to score some fresh apple cider, apples for pies, and of course an apple cider slushy. Sadly, the apple press was broken so they were out of apple cider. :-( We were definitely bummed! But we still were able to get a bag of apples and a large apple cider slushy to go so not all was lost. After I dropped A off at home I found my afternoon resting spot on the couch and snoozed on and off the rest of the afternoon. Definitely a lazy Labor Day!

And that, in a nutshell, was my long weekend. Have a wonderful day! :-)

Fall is Fabulous!

2010-09-03T08:31:00.000-04:00

I LOVE THE FALL!!!!

Ever since I entered the adult world (aka....a 9-5 jibber jobber) the fall is my favorite season! Summer used to be my favorite back when I had no job and could lounge by a pool with a girlie cocktail in hand all day. Sadly, those days are long gone! So, now my favorite season is fall.

Of course there are some major reasons as to why it is my favorite season:

The Decor

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Pumpkin Spiced Lattes from Starbucks

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Football

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Boots, Boots, and more Boots

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Warm Apple Cider

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Fun Scarves

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Bonfires - Sitting around them and the smell (I swear I am not a pyro)

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S'mores around the bonfire

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The leaves turning beautiful colors

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Homemade Pumpkin Bread

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Sweaters

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Candles - especially my two favoritist scents

Leaves from Bath and Body Works and Autumn Wreath from Yankee Candle

I also love the fall because the air smells so crisp and clean and the temperatures are a lot more comfortable. All in all, I cannot wait for fall to get here!

Of course, I cannot wait to drag all of my fall decor out to start decorating the house in all the warm colors that fall brings. Unfortunately Hubs and I do not see eye to eye on the timing of when the fall decor should come out. I like to start decorating right after labor day weekend whereas Hubs thinks I should wait until October. Are you kidding me?!? October is WAY too late to start getting fall decor out!!!!! That would mean that I would have less than two months of my favorite season's decor before Christmas decor gets dragged out......not enough time! Luckily, he works later than me so he might just come home one day to a fabulous fall fairyland (sorry, had to keep the "f" theme going). Sorry Hubs, don't mess with my giddiness for fall! ;-)

Have a WONDERFUL holiday weekend!!! Be safe!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!

2010-09-02T08:18:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for your kind words! It really meant a lot to me! This week has definitely been rough but one thing is clear- my support system is nothing short of amazing! So thank you all!!!! :-)

Things are starting to get back to somewhat normal around here, which is good. I discovered something awesome on my way into work this morning (though you all may think I am crazy)- I can clearly see the cemetery where my Grandpa has been laid to rest from the interstate on my way into work. The sun was shining down on the cemetery this morning so I smiled and told Grandpa "good morning". I dunno, it makes me feel closer to him in a way. Is that weird?!

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Saying Goodbye

2010-08-31T07:39:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my family and I had to say goodbye to my Grandpa as he was laid to rest. It was one of the hardest days of my life. I miss him terribly but I know that he is in a much better place right now.

I love you Grandpa and will miss you so much!!!!! I know you are looking down from Heaven smiling!

???????????????

2010-08-25T13:06:00.001-04:00

I am officially in a blogging rut! There are several things going on right now which means that my mind is in 5,473,847 different directions (okay, maybe I am being a tad bit dramatic). Sadly, this makes it VERY hard for me to focus on coming up with a blog post right now. So, I thought this would be the PERFECT opportunity for all my friends out there in blogger land to ask me anything!!!

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So, leave me a comment or shoot me an email with anything you would like to know about me, Hubs, our puppies, my life, etc. :-) Ask away!

Have a wonderful day!

Weekend Recap

2010-08-24T12:08:00.001-04:00

Thanks everyone for the happy anniversary wishes! Hubs and I had a WONDERFUL time! Hubs was in charge of planning the weekend and he did a perfect job planning a fun-filled weekend that also allowed for some relaxation.

{WARNING} - Picture overload

Hubs picked out the perfect gift for me! Something that I have always wanted-

Pardon the picture quality, took this picture with my phone

A DSLR!!!! And not just any old DSLR......the Nikon D90. This baby has all the bells and whistles. I think it is going to take me at least a year just to figure it all out. Right now I can take some pretty mean pictures on the "auto" setting but eventually I want to be able to fully maximize the use of this camera. The picture quality is RIDICULOUS! I love this camera and took it EVERYWHERE with me over the weekend.

Hubs was pretty impressed by his gift-

Just look at the excitement on his face

Getting a closer look

Hubs is the lucky new owner of a 200-2007 Manchester United Jersey signed by the 2006-2007 team (stating that Manchester United is his favo. This gift definitely took some searching and a lot of research on the web to find but the look on his face was so worth every minute! For the FIRST time since we started dating I was able to 100% surprise him with a gift. Normally he at least has an idea of what he is getting but this time he had no clue. He even told me that he would have never guessed in a hundred years! Not to brag, but I am definitely patting myself on the back on this one!

Beautiful flowers from my mom and dad

Our view from our room

Friday night Hubs took me to St. Elmo's for dinner and then we hit up Tastings Wine Bar in the Conrad.

This is one of the places we took pictures at on the day of our wedding

Hubs and I at dinner

The Conrad

The gorgeous chandelier in the lobby of the Conrad

The next day we woke up early and ordered room service for breakfast. Holy expensive breakfast batman! Our order consisted of: belgian waffles, eggs benedict, a side of bacon, and two orange juices which came to a grand total of $86. YIKES!!!! Don't get me wrong, the breakfast was great but not $86 great. But you can be sure we ate every bite of that expensive breakfast. lol

Shortly after breakfast I headed out for my massage. One word: Glorious! Okay, one more word: Relaxing!

After my massage I headed back to the Conrad to get showered up and ready for the rest of the day. Hubs and I headed over to Chatham Tap to watch some soccer.

After watching the game we went next door

The Flying Cupcake

Red Velvet Cupcake, Ebony and Ivory Cupcake

SOOOOOO YUMMY!!!!!

After our snack we started walking in hopes of finding a cab. No dice. We ended up walking until Hubs announced that he needed to find a place to use the facilities. Conveniently enough, this is where we made a pit stop:

Hubs would kill me if he knew that I posted this picture. I think the only reason he agreed to even take the picture was to shut me up so he could run inside to use the facilities.

Now it would have just been plain rude to use the facilities without purchasing anything and since we had already walked ~~3 blocks~~ forever we were quite thirsty.

Hello beautiful!

The Biergarten

This sign makes me giggle

Downtown

Saturday night Hubs took me to Oceanaire to continue celebrating our 1 year anniversary. Oceanaire is where Hubs took me on our first date and where we ate the night he proposed. So the restaurant definitely holds some meaning to us. I was in 7th heaven when I saw that they had steamed crab legs on the menu! YUM!

Our waiter wasn't exactly stellar with a camera. When I handed him my camera he looked at me like I had just handed him some foreign object. Oh well

Overall the weekend was PERFECT!!!! I think Hubs was so sick of me constantly lugging my camera around and making him stop to take pictures by the end of the weekend. Actually, I think he started to get embarrassed. He told me I looked like a tourist or the paparazzi. But one thing is for sure, he can never yell at me for not using that camera! :-) I had over 100 pictures from the weekend and probably would have had more if Hubs hadn't rolled his eyes every time I pulled my camera out of my purse. Ha!

I have to say that Hubs planned the perfect weekend! It was a nice, close getaway for us. We relaxed and had a lot of fun.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Have a great day! :-)

One Amazing Year

2010-08-22T08:00:00.002-04:00

Today Hubs and I celebrate our 1 year anniversary. One year ago today I was nervously getting ready to walk down the aisle to marry my best friend and the man of my dreams. After our first year of marriage I still feel the same way. If anything, I am even more in love with Hubs than I was a year ago(if that's possible).

Hubs-

When you love someone, you'll do anything

You'll do all the crazy things that you can't explain

You'll shoot the moon, put out the sun

When you love someone

You'll deny the truth, believe a lie

There'll be times that you'll believe, that you can really fly

But your lonely nights have just begun

When you love someone

When you love someone, you'll feel it deep inside
And nothing else can ever change your mind
When you want someone, when you need someone
When you need someone...

When you love someone, you'll sacrifice
You'd give it everything you got and you won't think twice
You'd risk it all, no matter what may come
When you love someone
You'll shoot the moon, put out the sun
When you love someone.....

Bryan Adams - When You Love Someone (Our first dance)

One year ago today I stood at the altar hand-in-hand with you. I professed my love for you and took an oath in front of God, our families and our friends to love and cherish you forever.

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

Now I'm just rolling home
Into my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you.

Rascal Flatts - God Bless the Broken Road (Unity Candle Song)

Looking back on our first year of marriage I can honestly say that I have never been more in love with you and am the happiest I have ever been. You are my best friend in life. I love that I can talk to you about anything or just sit in complete silence next to you. I love you more than life and am so blessed to have you as my husband.

Happy 1 year anniversary baby! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Get Away Weekend

2010-08-20T14:53:00.000-04:00

Hubs has taken control and planned our anniversary weekend. I can't believe that we are celebrating 1 year of marriage this weekend!!!! One thing that Hubs has planned for me is to go get a massage! I cannot tell you how excited I am to go get pampered!!!

Yesterday I called the spa to make an appointment for this Saturday. Amazingly the spa was able to make it happen. Shamefully, I did pull the "It's my 1 year anniversary" card when they first told me that the spa was completely booked up. After those magic little words came out of my mouth the girl told me that she would see what she could do after she congratulated me. When she came back on the phone she informed me that I would have a 10am appointment on Saturday. SCORE!!!!

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Fast forward to this morning. I receive a call from the corporate headquarters of the spa. They quickly inform me that they have canceled my spa appointment.

WHAT?!?!?!? WHY?!?!?!?!

She informed me that as of this morning the spa was closing its doors and that they had filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. They were calling anyone who had a future appointment to inform them of this matter.

Seriously!!!! Chapter 7 Bankruptcy the day before my scheduled massage! Talk about timing!!! Thank God Hubs didn't buy me a gift card to that spa!!!

Soooooooo.....luckily the hotel that the spa is located in has been fabulous to work with. I called the concierge desk and she was able to set me up with a new appointment for Saturday at a spa located one block from the hotel. I even received a call from the manager of the hotel apologizing for the inconvenience! So far the hotel is getting two thumbs up for service from me and we haven't even checked in yet!

So my lovely blogger friends, I am off to spend the weekend celebrating my 1 year anniversary with Hubs! I am so excited to just relax and spend time with Hubs! Have a marvelous weekend! :-)

Technology Kiss of Death

2010-08-17T10:16:00.000-04:00

RIP Sony Vaio Desktop PC

2002 - 2010

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Seriously, I think I am cursed when it comes to technology. Don't believe me?!

Exhibit A: First it was my cell phone

Which you can read about here

Exhibit B: Then my camera

Which you can read about here

Exhibit C: And now our computer

BUUUUUUUUUT.................

I would be lying if I said I was devastated over the loss of our beloved Sony Vaio. The computer has served us well but after 8 years I think it is time for an upgrade. Hubs and I have already had a computer repair company fix the darn thing twice so we decided we were not going to put any more money into it. So, on to bigger better things!!!!

Say hello to the newest member of our family!

iMac All-In-One Desktop

Saying that I love her is a complete understatement! This computer is freaking AH-MAZING!!!! The screen is HUGE and crystal clear. The computer itself is so incredibly fast! I don't think I have EVER owned a computer that ran so fast. And the best part?! Even though it is a desktop it is still very mobile since the hard drive is in the screen. The computer itself connects to our internet through Wi-Fi so we don't even have to worry about internet cables. So Hubs loves it because he can set it up in family room, plug in the power cord, and watch games on the computer while watching a different game on the TV. Though this may be VERY VERY VERY bad come football season. I may lose Hubs! Hmmmm.....if he is lost in his football games then he won't notice if I leave, go shopping and come in with lots of bags. I could sneak upstairs, put everything away, throw away the bags and he will never know! This could be a good thing for me. lol

No matter, I am so happy that we took the plunge and went with the iMac over the PC. Unfortunately (Hubs may say fortunately) one of our home DIY projects is now getting put on the back burner after this little purchase. But I am okay with that because we needed a computer and our home project can wait a bit.

Oh, and those Mac people aren't lying when they say "once you go Mac, you never go back." I don't think I will ever go back to a PC, or rather, be able to convince Hubs to go back to a PC.

All I have to say is.......this technology kiss of death is starting to get expensive. Next on my list of replacements......my cell phone! My plan is officially up so now all I have to do is pick out my next phone. My plan is through Verizon so I am thinking I might get one of the Droid phones. If any of you own a Droid please let me know the good, the bad and the ugly on these phones. :-)

Have a wonderful day!

Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T13:23:00.002-04:00

Hubs and I are going golfing after work today. Here was our conversation via blackberry messenger earlier today-

Hubs: It's Friday the 13th

Me: OOOOHHHHHH!!!!! SPOOOOOOOKY!!!! Maybe we'll see a ghost on the golf course tonight!

Hubs: That's Halloween
Hubs: LOL

Me: Oh! Friday the 13th.......then maybe we will see Jason or Freddy Krueger......OR BOTH!!!!!

Hubs: LMAO
Hubs: God, I love you!

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Ditzy Moment # 5,376,254 for moi! :-)

Have a fabulous Friday, a wonderful weekend and a safe Friday the 13th! Watch out for Jason and his chainsaw! lol

PS- I HATE scary movies! I don't care how hokey they are they still scare me! lol

Thursday Ramblings

2010-08-12T09:33:00.001-04:00

I am in a very random mood today which means that I have a lot of random things running through my head right now. So I shall share! :-)

I have always wanted to run in a 5K (even though I loathe running.....makes sense.....right?!). I even put it on my list of New Year resolutions that I swore I was going to conquer this year. Is it bad to put "Complete New Years resolutions" as a resolution on your New Years resolutions list?! Well, I finally took the plunge and signed Hubs and I up for our first race. The event takes place in the town that his family lives in (his dad and uncle are going to do the 5k walk). Here's the issue- the run is not a 5k. {EEKS} We are signed up for a 5 mile run! What the hell was I thinking?!? We are EXACTLY 30 days away from the race and I haven't been able to run much lately thanks to the darn heat advisories (105+ heat index....no thank you). Hopefully it will cool off a bit in the next couple of days so that I can start running again to see if I have a chance in hell of completing this 5 mile run without dying. This could be a major fail!

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This is how I may look during the race unless I get my butt in gear!

Thanks to not running lately I have noticed that certain areas are starting to turn softy and mushy again. Major dislike! Must start running again (plus I will cry if I can't fit into the new skinny jeans that I purchased from Express).
I have zero motivation to do anything when I get home from work lately. I make all these grand, detailed to-do lists while I am at work and daydream about how much I am going to get done when I get out of work. I promise myself that I am going to hit the ground running the second I pull into the garage but then I walk into the house and see two sweet bullies sleeping on that beautiful, comfy couch. The couch just calls my name and teases me until I finally cave in and grab a seat. Before you know it I am laying on the couch, under a blanket, determined not to move. So much for getting things done! :-/

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I can honestly say that I relate to this picture! lol

Hello Bachelor Pad! Oh how I enjoy watching your drama! Personally, I think I am going to like this show so much better than the Bachelor or the Bachelorette. More room for scandal and drama!

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I already have picked out my favs and those I want booted immediately!

The new skinny jeans at Express are fabulous! They are the stretch jean material and are oh so comfy.
I wonder what Buerly and Rooney do while we are at work. I wish we could wire the downstairs with a video camera so I could watch and see what they were up to during the day. If I had to guess, I would say that they play right after I leave and then sleep. Well, except for the days that Rooney decides that he is going to get into trouble and destroy something.

This is how I find Rooney when I come home from work. Buerly is usually on the other couch, passed out. Rooney always manages to position the pillow so that he can sleep on it. Lazy dog!

Speaking of Rooney and destroying things- he ate my book. Luckily I had finished reading the book the night before but the little stinker pulled the book off the end table and destroyed it. Maybe he feels like he is getting an insufficient amount of fiber in his diet?! I sent a pic to my mom and she texted me back with "Bad Dog." haha

My Pretty Little Liar's book. Don't you judge me! After a long day at work all I can go for is easy reading (plus I am addicted to the TV serious and want to see how they differentiate).

I cannot believe that Hubs and I's 1 year anniversary is next weekend! CRAZINESS!!!!! It doesn't feel like it has been a year but I guess that is a good thing. It probably wouldn't be a good thing if I said, "Gosh! It seems like it has been an eternity! Feels like we have been married for 10 years!" lol In all seriousness, I cannot WAIT for him to open his present! I also can't wait to see the look on his face. For once he actually has no clue what I am giving him. Usually he at least partially figures it out.
I honestly can say that I think I could eat Mexican food at least 4-5 times a week and be perfectly happy. Hmmmmmmm.......Aroz Con Pollo!!!! YUM!
Is it fall yet?!

Hope you all have a fabulous Thursday! :-)

Pranksters

2010-08-11T08:50:00.001-04:00

Hubs showed me a YouTube video of this couple, Nikki and John, who constantly pull pranks on each other. They live in California and are high school sweet hearts who are now engaged. I about peed my pants watching some of the pranks that they pull on each other. I have to say, I would be PISSED beyond belief if Hubs did any of this stuff to me (and vice versa). But apparently, this couple LOVES pranking each other.

and.....

Even if this stuff is staged it is still too freaking funny! There are TONS of other pranks that they have captured on video. Hubs asked me the other day, after seeing the videos, if he should expect to be pranked in the near future. My response, "Hell no! Because a.) I don't want you to get revenge on me and b.) I don't want to have a mess to clean up!"

Have a great Wednesday! Half way to the weekend!

Retail Therapy

2010-08-10T10:16:00.000-04:00

I really, really would love to just skip work and go shopping today. The sky outside is Blah and my mood is Blah, so I think a good shopping trip could at least get me out of my funk!

But since I can't skip work to go shopping I will just have to dream about it. If I were to go shopping these are a couple things I would seriously look at:

Express

Sequin-Front Tank, Black Motto Jacket, Jean Legging

Wouldn't this make a hot fall outfit?! Now if only it would stop be 90+ degrees outside so I can wear this without having a heat stroke or have people give me odd looks.

Express

Black High-Waist Pencil Skirt, Wide Stretch Belt, and Ruffled Front Shirt

Hmmmm.....loving all this stuff together!

Sparkle Sexy Basic Tank (Express)

A girl can always use a cute tank

Infinity Scarf in Black (Express)

I have a slight obsession with scarves! If I could, I would accessorize every outfit with one. Okay, maybe not every outfit.

Off-the-shoulder tee (Boston Proper)

Doesn't this look incredibly comfy?! Throw this on with a pair of skinny jeans and some boots.....perrrrrfect for fall!

Slouch-toe Boot (Victoria's Secret - Colin Stewart)

How hot are these?!? Enough said.....

Faux Sheep-Skin Throw (Pottery Barn)

Two of these please! Our family room furniture is the same dark brown, leather as seen in the photo above. I think I would spend every extra moment underneath these soft looking throws! I am also guessing I would have a furry, four-legged friend joining me for a snuggle.

Kavari Entryway Bench (Crate and Barrel)

I love love love this entryway bench. Perfect for storage. Now I just need to convince Hubs that the price is right!

My shopping list could continue for days but I will just stick with this for now! :-)

Hope you all have a wonderful day!!! Try to stay cool!

My Little Visitor

2010-08-06T09:07:00.001-04:00

When I got home last night I noticed that my beautiful flowering pot in front of the house was starting to wilt from all the heat. I was catching up with my room-mate from college on the phone so I grabbed my watering can while I continued to ~~talk~~ blab on and on. Multi-tasking at its finest!

As I tilted the watering can into the pot, out of the corner of my eye I saw something move. My initial reaction was to let out a scream (jumpy much?!). My room-mate, who was startled by my mid-conversation scream, asked if I had gotten into a car accident or something. I reassured her that I was fine and that I wasn't in my car any more.

Of course curiosity got the best of me so I started peaking around the pot to see what mystery thing had just scared the living crap out of me. Meet my little visitor:

Isn't he cute?! He is a Plestiodon (a skink). This little booger was fast and seemed to love hiding in my potted planter! I am guessing that he was once someone's pet because he looks awfully brightly colored to be an Indiana native (most of our animals are brown to blend in). I decided to name my little visitor, Skank the Skink. Haha!

Skank-

Welcome to our planter! We hope you find your arrangements to be comfortable. Hopefully the crickets you find will suit your taste. But please do not tease my doggies and give them a false hope of catching you because they are loud, clumsy and have no chance of ever catching anything unless it is already dead. They may even destroy your new home in the attempt to catch you. Do watch out for the birds and hawks......they can catch you and would probably love you for dinner. Lastly, please don't startle me when I am watering your new home. Hope to see you again!

The Homeowner/Owner of the Planter

Have a fabulous weekend!

I Love a Good Pedicure

2010-08-05T10:30:00.000-04:00

but my skin crawls when I see one of these:

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The Callus Shaver aka The Foot Butcher

These tools make me SOOOOOO incredibly nervous when a pedicurist pulls it out and starts going to town on my feet. I have heard absolute HORROR stories of people getting their heels cut by this evil contraption. And the worst part, half the time when a pedicurist would use one of these on me they would be talking to someone else and not really paying attention. Excuse me! Please watch what you are doing when using a razor on my feet!!!!

So, I quit letting people use these callus shavers on my feet because my anxiety would go through the roof. I would rather have rough, cut-free feet then a bloody, infected mess! And isn't the point of a pedicure to not only make your tootsies pretty but to also relax?!

Fast forward:

I now get my pedicures from the same salon that does my hair. The first time I went in for a pedicure I was so relieved when the pedicurist pulled out a scrubbing stone instead of that dreaded torture device. I let out the biggest sigh of relief. Of course she looked at me kind of weird so I quickly explained to her how much I hated the callus shavers. What she said to me next left me in shock.

Callus shavers are ILLEGAL in MANY jurisdictions but since there really isn't much of a regulatory body to enforce these laws a lot of cheap salons continue to use them. The reason they are banned is because they can spread diseases and cause nasty infections if not sterilized properly.

My pedicurist also informed me about other issues/red flags to look for when checking out a nail salon. Let's just say that I will continue to stick with her and never ever set foot in another one of those cheap nail places again. This website gives a lot of good tips when checking out a new nail salon.

NOTE: My pedicurist went to my high school and would not just feed me a load of garbage to gain my business.

One more day til the weekend! Have a fabulous day!

Facing Off

2010-08-04T10:15:00.000-04:00

Anytime a celebrity (or wanna-be celebrity) faces off against another celebrity the media always labels it as Team A versus Team B. Team Aniston vs Team Brangelina, Team Jake vs Team Vienna (aka the wanna-be's that I was referring to), etc. So, this post is going to be about which team you side with when it comes to different products, stores, etc. It is funny how strong brand loyalty can be and why we support the brands that we support (ie- parents always purchased that brand, bad experience with competitor, etc).

So here we go.......

Team Peter Pan -VS- Team Jif

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Team Pepsi -VS- Team Coke

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Team Nikon -VS- Team Canon

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Team MAC -VS- Team PC

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Team Ford -VS- Team GM -VS- Team Chrsyler

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Team Target -VS- Team Walmart

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Team McDonald's -VS- Team Burger King -VS- Team Wendys

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Team OC -VS- Team New York - VS- Team Jersey -VS- Team Atlanta

Team Gretchen -VS- Team Tamra

(for all you OC fans)

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Team Cats -Vs- Team Dogs

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Team Fall -VS- Team Winter -VS- Team Spring -VS- Team Summer

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Team Football -VS- Team Basketball -VS- Team Baseball

-VS- Team Soccer

(Watching)

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Shall I reveal my personal answers?!

Peter Pan - I grew up using Peter Pan peanut butter so I just stick with it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Tie - This is tricky! I prefer Pepsi out of a can and Coke out of a fountain. So I guess I could say that I side with both!
Nikon - Both are great manufacturers when it comes to cameras but my loyalty is with Nikon.
MAC - We own a PC but if the money were there I would switch to a MAC in a heartbeat.
GM - That is all I have ever owned and I don't really have any complaints (plus the supplier's discount my family gets is pretty nice too).
Target - I LOVE Target and loathe Walmart with a passion. I just feel like Walmart is so cluttered and unorganized whenever I go in there. I get easily frustrated and turn into a hot mess when shopping at Wally World so I tend to stick with Target.
Depends - I like McD's fries and hamburgers but prefer Wendy's chicken sandwiches.
Hmmmmm.....this is tough - I LOVE the drama on Jersey! But I also love all the girls on OC. So I would have to say it is a toss up between OC and Jersey. Though I cannot wait to see the new DC series!
Gretchen - enough said.
Dogs - nothing against cats (other than being severely allergic to them) but I am a dog-lover! Hence my two spoiled brats, Buerly and Rooney.
Fall - I love football season, Pumpkin Spiced Lattes, the turning of the leaves, sweaters, scarves, Ugg boots (any boots for that matter), bonfires, pumpkins, the decor.....basically all things fall!
Football - I love watching college and professional football. Beer, cookouts, football games, and tailgating make for perfect Saturday and Sunday afternoons. GO COLTS!

So which teams do you side with?!

Have a wonderful Wednesday! Half way to the weekend!!!! :-D

Technology + Me = Disaster

2010-08-02T08:30:00.000-04:00

Sooooo......remember how I posted a couple weeks ago about my poor cell phone?!? If you don't remember you can read about it here. As a refresher I will show you all what happens to technology in the hands of this girl:

Cell Phone + Me + Tile Floor = FAIL

Well, my ~~bad luck~~ clumsiness with technology struck again yesterday, only this time it was far more devastating in my eyes!

RIP Digital Olympus Camera

August 2008 - August 2010

{tear, tear}

My poor camera!!!!! I had my camera with me yesterday to capture some pictures of the Brickyard Crossing and the Motor Speedway. Well, before we could even get to the first hole to tee off my camera went flying out of the golf cart and tried to take on the asphalt. Sadly, the asphalt won. :-(

So, now the only camera that I have is the crappy one on my broken Blackberry. Grrrrrrrrrrr! Luckily, I am still able to pull all the pictures off of my camera. I can still sort of take pictures but I have no clue what I am taking a picture of and whether the picture turned out. Meh

But at least I decided to break my camera right before some pretty major dates: Anniversary, Birthday and Christmas!!! {hint, hint} Timing is everything people! lol

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Hitting the Links

2010-08-01T11:57:00.001-04:00

I am so excited because this is where Hubs, myself and my parents are playing golf today:

I will give you a hint: 4 of the 18 holes are played inside the "Greatest Race Course in the World".

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If you guessed the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course then you are correct! 4 of the 18 holes are played inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's oval track. I am so excited to play this course because a.) I have never played it before and I love a new challenge, b.) it is a very prestigious, award-winning public course and c.) it was designed by Pete Dye, one of the most famous course designers in the world (TPC Sawgrass, The Pete Dye Golf Course, Crooked Stick, Harbour Town Golf Links, The Westin Mission Hills, etc.). I have been fortunate enough to play The Pete Dye Golf Course down in French Lick. That guy is a genius when it comes to course design!

Well, as we speak I am teeing off so wish me luck and hopefully I will hit long, straight shots all day! But regardless of how great or terrible I play I know I will have fun since I am playing on a beautiful course with my family! :-)

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Latest Obsessions

2010-07-30T08:50:00.000-04:00

I figured I would do a post on the things that I have been obsessed with lately. Anyone who knows me knows that this list changes frequently (some may even say daily.....lol).

San Pellegrino Sparkling Water

I have been obsessed with sparkling water ever since I cut pop out of my diet. I still sometimes crave the taste of a carbonated beverage and this allows me to have that with zero calories!

Baking

I love to bake and have been on a huge baking kick lately! I blame my mother for this obsession. Luckily I have a company FULL of people who just love sweet treats! I know if I left them at home Hubs and I would devour everything (no bueno). Baking kicks aren't always good for the diet!

Our Best Bites

This website has been a go to source for trying out new recipes when baking. LOVE this blog!!! I also have been utilizing my Penzys Spices catalogs for new recipes to try out.

Playing Golf

Hubs and I have been trying to get out on a course at least once a week. It is so much fun having a hobby that both Hubs and I enjoy!

New Countertops and Tile Backsplash in Kitchens

Hubs has agreed that we can start a fund for new counter tops and backsplash for our kitchen. Oh how this girl dreams of beautiful counter tops and a perfect backsplash to boot! Now if only that fund would fill itself up! :-)

Manchester United Football Club

I don't know how Hubs did it but somehow he turned me into a big fan. Craziest part?! I didn't even like soccer!!!! lol

Fall

Shhhhhhh!!!! A lot of people would smack me for wishing away summer but I LOVE the fall! I love wearing light sweaters, my Uggs and cute scarves all while not requiring a coat. I love the smell of a good bonfire, how beautiful the trees look, pumpkins, warm apple cider, candied apples, etc. Other than my Christmas decor, I love my fall decor the best! And my FAVORITE sport ever kicks off the fall..........FOOTBALL!!!! :-)

Snickers Bars (and not the mini ones, the regular or king-size bars only)

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I may or may not eat ~~two~~ one of these delicious bars every day. I am addicted!!! I think I need to go get a Snickers now after blogging about it.;-)

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Oh this obsession is pretty bad too! I like watching all the Real Housewives, Jerseylicious, Jersey Shore, Big Brother, Bethenny Getting Married, The Hills, The City, Teen Mom, Sixteen and Pregnant, etc. If it is trashy, full of drama or good for a laugh I will watch it! I think Hubs hates this obsession because he hates all reality TV. Sorry baby! lol

My list could probably go on and on but I will stop there so I don't bore you to death! What are a few things you are currently obsessed with?!

Have a fabulous day!

My Attempt.....

2010-07-29T08:30:00.000-04:00

.........at making our driveway/garage/front of the house look a bit more fabulous:

Note: I am TERRIBLE at visualizing and putting plants together in planters. I suck at decorating and at landscaping so I was pretty happy with how this turned out.

I was so worried about finding the perfect planter. It had to be pretty and go with the house. I ended up going to 5 or 6 different places during my search. As you can see, I could have bought a plastic, crappy pot and no one would have noticed. The ceramic pot I purchased is sooooo pretty and was only $23!

I planted purple sweet potato plants, pink hibiscus, and fountain grass

Pardon the crooked picture and all the water, I had just watered the planter before I took this picture. Now when I pull into the driveway I just smile because it looks so pretty!

Even though I am very happy with how my planter turned out I still have major doubts about my ability to landscape. I desperately need to find a landscaper to help me do the rest of my flower beds, especially the one in front of our house. I HATE the plants/bushes that the builder planted and would love to just tie a rope around all of them and yank them out with my SUV. Trust me, there are days that I have been very tempted to do this. I have used several different landscaping software/plant encyclopedia's to come up with ideas but am still at a loss. Seriously, it is so hard to visualize how everything will come together and how it will look once it grows and matures!

If only a landscaper could just show up and offer to help me out for next to nothing out of the kindness of his heart/sympathy at my pathetic attempts at landscaping. Hmmmmmmm........where is Yard Crashers when I need them?! Too bad they don't come to the Midwest! Would anyone like to nominate me for Desperate Landscapes?!? lol

Have a great day! One more day until the weekend!

Out with the old and in with the new!

2010-07-28T09:50:00.000-04:00

Adios, Auf Wiedersehen, Au Revoir, Arrivederci, and Farewell!

So long TaylorMade Burner Utility Club! You have sat in my bag for over a year and I never really could hit you very well {I am sure most of it was operator error but confidence is everything in golf people}. So, with my best interests in mind, I decided that it was time for us to part ways! I hope that you find a new owner who loves you and hits you long and straight. I am sure there is someone out there who will like your 19-degree club face.

With that being said, please welcome.......

My new favoritist club in my bag {besides my driver because, not toot my own horn, but I can knock the crap out of the ball with that club}.......the Cobra Baffler Rail H. I know, it looks a lot like the Burner but it is sooooo different......23 degree club face is one of the biggest differences. So let me tell ya about my best friend {now that song is stuck in my head....lol}. This club and I compliment each other perfectly! For the first time ever I can actually hit a utility club** and the ball doesn't just dribble 20 feet ahead of me. The first time I pulled you out of my bag I was skeptical but you proved me wrong*. That first shot soared through the air! So, welcome and make yourself right at home in my golf bag! Like I said......confidence in a club is everything.....if you hate the club, you won't be able to hit it worth a hoot.

I know, it is sad that I get so excited about a new golf club but I am addicted to the darn sport. Hubs and I have been playing almost every single weekend this summer. I definitely am so thankful that my dad insisted that I learn how to play golf when I was little. It is a sport that I can play the rest of my life. And a lot of business deals are done on the golf course! And the best part?! It is something that Hubs and I can enjoy together! :-)

* - Hubs would be mad if I didn't include this- when shopping for a new utility club the employee at the store picked out a Ping G-15 for me to try but Hubs insisted that I also try the Cobra Baffler Rail H. I agreed to test out the Baffler just to appease Hubs. Who knew that it would be the club that I would pick and love! So, good job Hubs! lol

** - A utility club (also called a hybrid club) is a club that combines elements of a fairway wood and an iron. Utility clubs are designed to replace a golfers long irons (typically 2, 3, 4-iron depending on the club face degree of the utility club). People tend to say that the utility club is easier to hit than their long irons and their fairway woods. These clubs also offer more forgiveness than a typical fairway wood or iron does. Since I HATE my 4-iron, don't own a 3-iron, and I can't hit a fairway wood this club is perfect for me.

Have a fabulous Wednesday!

True Colors

2010-07-26T07:53:00.000-04:00

Sadly, my Grandpa is now in the nursing home after falling a couple weeks ago. :-( Our family is still coming to terms with the fact that he will not be able to go back home to the farm. On a lighter note, his new roommate in the physical therapy wing of the nursing home just so happens to be none other than............

his wife aka my Grandma! They are such cute roomies and loving it! :-)

Our family has had to start the difficult task of cleaning the house out. As if going through everything isn't hard enough, my mom and my aunt have had to deal with my uncle. We shall refer to my uncle as Oh Greedy One from here on out (you will see why he has earned his nickname VERY soon).

My mom and my aunt have been taking care of my grandparents for the past several years so that they could continue to live on the farm- taking them to doctor's appointments, buying groceries, picking up prescriptions, cooking them dinner, etc. Meanwhile, Oh Greedy One has been completely MIA. He would use every excuse in the book as to why he couldn't be there, or even better, he would agree to help and then never show up. At one point my Grandpa took a turn for the worse and Oh Greedy One asked if he really needed to go up to the nursing home because he was at the casino. REALLY?!? Are you kidding me?!? If my dad was not doing well I would be driving 90 mph to get there to be by his bedside!

My mom and my aunt prayed that things would go smoothly while cleaning out the house. They are physically and emotionally drained. They have zero fight left. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, my aunt's daughter and I have plenty of fight in us.

{I will warn you now that the rest of this post is going to get ugly because I am beyond furious and need to get this off of my chest.}

Of course Oh Greedy One turned the event into a royal shit show! He showed up with a Budget moving truck (the size just under a full-size semi) and just started grabbing whatever he could get his grubby little hands on. He had zero consideration for the rest of the family and just acted like he was entitled to everything. He even had the audacity to go up to my mom and give her crap about the Winthrop desk that Grandpa and Grandma had promised her, one of the few items that she really wanted. He told her, "So, I hear that you are going to take the Winthrop desk that belonged to MY mother." WTF?!? Since when is my mom some illegitimate bastard child?!? Pretty sure they both have the same mother (though now I wonder how such an evil, greedy person could have the same blood as my mom and my aunt).

My mom, my aunt, my cousin and I are not upset about Oh Greedy One taking anything/everything, we are upset at how he went about it. Everyone was trying to divide things up evenly to make sure that people received the items that had sentimental value to them. This was hard enough, we did not need him acting like it was a free for all. Oh and he is not taking items for sentimental purposes, he is taking items to pawn for money*. This makes me want to rip my hair out and scream!

Oh Greedy One didn't even ask my mom or my aunt if there were certain items that they wanted, he just took them. For example, my Grandfather has an old tool box that has all of his old wood working tools. Instead of splitting them up or asking if anyone else wanted a tool or two he just took the entire box.....end of discussion. There were some old couches in the house that nobody wanted. My cousin is currently living in the house and asked that if no one wanted the couches that they stay with the house for now. Oh Greedy One's response was, "Well, you can put money in Grandpa's checking account or make a donation to the church for the couches." He basically told her that she had to purchase the couches and needed to put the money in the bank (towards his inheritance) or donate it even though he didn't want/need them. Un-freaking believable! My poor cousin had tears running down her face because she was so angry.

He had the ENTIRE moving truck packed to the brim and his wife's SUV stuffed beyond capacity. Oh Greedy One informed my mom and my aunt that he would be back another day to go through the rest of the stuff.

The point is......he doesn't give a rats ass about my Grandparents. It's sad, very sad. All he cares about is his inheritance and how much money he is going to get. Well, sadly, he will have to live the rest of his life knowing that he wasn't around when my Grandparents needed help. He turned his back on them and the rest of the family. In the end I will probably never see or hear from them again and I am perfectly fine with that. He has put my mom and my aunt through hell and back.

I was not present thanks to an untimely ear infection/sinus infection. I probably would have gotten in trouble had I been there. I did, however, go over to the house after hearing my mom crying on the phone and witnessed the after mass. When I walked in I found my mom, my aunt and my cousin all in tears. My heart broke from them and what they had just been through. I was furious!

* - My Grandpa fought in World War II. He has several medals and patches from the war as well as his rifle. He even has his uniform! Well, Oh Greedy One is taking it all and feels that as the only boy he deserves it. I just hope and pray that he hangs those medals up proudly and displays them because there is so much to be proud of. I am praying that he doesn't try to pawn them but I am not going to hold my breath. Grandpa earned those medals and they should be kept in the family. They should be passed down so that future generations can see what he did for our country.

If you are still reading- thank you for listening and letting me get all of that off of my chest. This entire situation just breaks my heart and makes me so mad all at the same time. Greed has a very ugly face and tends to always show its true colors.

Something is Missing

2010-07-21T11:16:00.000-04:00

What is missing in the picture below?

Please excuse all the stir stick/spill stoppers from Starbucks. I have a ~~slight~~ serious addiction to Starbucks hot tea. You never know when you might need one! lol

Any guesses?!?

Well, if you guessed my wedding rings/engagement ring then you are correct!

You can even seen my tan line from ALWAYS wearing my ring even when I lay out, play golf, work in the yard, etc. So you can only imagine how "naked" I feel without my ring today. I have panicked a few times when I looked down and didn't see it. I have to constantly remind myself that I left it at home and didn't lose it. Not a good feeling people, not a good feeling!

Sadly, I somehow managed to remember to put on my earrings and watch but not my ring (which sits right next to my earrings and watch at night). I am such a hot mess in the mornings! At least I remembered to take out the trash today.........

Getting ready for the day today: Fail

"5 More Minutes Mom!"

2010-07-21T08:53:00.000-04:00

That is exactly what I was thinking when the alarm went off this morning. This morning was a MAJOR struggle to get out of bed! Why is it that your bed feels the warmest/coziest when it is time to get up?!?

Hubs: I don't want to get up!
Me: {sound asleep, trying to make the most out of those last few minutes}
Hubs: I'm going to slowly work on getting up. I can put my contacts in while laying in bed.

{Hubs looks over at me......somewhat in and out of sleep.........snuggling with Buerly, who is snoring away}

Hubs: Well, I see your version of getting up slowly is getting your heart rate up from sleeping state.
Me: MmmHmmmmm......5 more minutes please.....{words turn to jibberish as I try to go back to sleep}

Pretty sure Buerly would have preferred that I stayed in bed and snuggled with him all day. I think I would have preferred that too! Oh and Rooney could be found buried underneath our comforter at the foot of the bed snoozing away. At least it is Wednesday. Have a great day!

Womens Sporting Apparel

2010-07-19T08:47:00.000-04:00

This is a sore subject for me. I am an AVID sports fan! Come football season I am sitting in front of that TV with a beer in hand, typically screaming louder than the guys. Butler Basketball is just as bad. I don't take my sports lightly people!

You can find me rooting for teams like: The Indianapolis Colts, Butler Basketball, Manchester United Football Club, White Sox, and Notre Dame Football (granted, ND is more of Hubs' team....I also like to root for Purdue, my dad's alma mater)

Now when rooting on my favorite teams (especially when attending the game) I prefer to wear something that shows my team spirit. Not a new concept. Here is where I get frustrated:

You can find TONS and TONS of clothing/gear for guys but heaven forbid that a girl actually be a fan of a sport!!! And if you do find fashionable womens apparel it is often in the color pink. I have also tried youth apparel but most shirts are too short through the torso area.

Example #1- Before the World Cup I searched high and low for womens USA apparel. No dice! All I could find was kids apparel or some ugly t-shirt that no one would be caught dead wearing. Don't believe me?

Say hello to "The Dude". {Hello} Apparently he is some sort of weird mascot that Nike created for the US National Soccer team. What the eff does this ogre looking thing have to do with the USA?!? Give me a damn Eagle! At least that would represent this country better.

Hubs, on the other hand, ordered 5 different shirts that were all pretty bad-ass! And if I had not limited him to 5 shirts he probably would have ordered more. Blame my bad attitude since I couldn't find anything! Finally I found a decent Nike fitted polo that I paid WAY too much money for but at least it was representing the US National Soccer team. I was desperate! Oh and I purchased a US National Soccer team scarf. I rocked my US polo, white shorts and US scarf in 98 degrees!!! {too bad they lost against Ghana.....meh}.

Example #2- Apparently sports apparel companies think that all women would prefer their fan gear to be in pink. Seriously?!? I am not a pink kind of girl when it comes to sports (no offense to women who like pink apparel, my personal preference). I prefer to wear my teams' colors no matter how ugly they might be {my high school's team colors were maroon and gold.....it doesn't get much uglier}. If I am cheering on Manchester United I will wear red, black and gold. If I am watching the Colts I will be in blue and white. You get my drift. I don't care if the manufacturers make all the pink t-shirts and jerseys but at least offer them in the appropriate team colors too!

Ummmmm......last time I checked, Manchester United's colors were red, black and gold not pink.

Example #3- Come on sporting goods industry! Let's at least try to make things more fashionable! Most women that I know want things that fit properly. I know I don't want to wear a jersey that hangs down to my knees and looks like I could be hiding popcorn, a friend and my dog underneath it.

Okay, I will cut some of the industry a slight break because it does appear that they are making an honest effort to create things that allure to women but I still think they could do better. A baggy t-shirt won't do it for this girl. I want something cute and fashionable {I know, I hate pink sporting apparel but want something fashionable.....call me picky}. One company that has really catered to women sports fans has been Victoria's Secret. They now offer select collegiate (sadly Butler is not part of that select group) and MLB apparel that is absolutely adorable! Now if only VS could produce apparel for all sports (NFL, EPL, etc).

Good job VS on the cute sporting apparel! Pretty sure I need to order this shirt and these sweat pants ASAP!

The market for women's apparel has made leaps and bounds compared to what it was several years ago but I still think they have a long way to go. Offering a selection of 3 t-shirts for your team is a travesty! Has the sporting world not figured out that women are the shoppers?!? Wave something cute in front of our faces and we just have to have it! We are the ones who will go out and purchase the same cute shirt in several different colors, we are the ones who will compulsively buy clothing whether we need it or not and we are the ones who are always looking for someway to be cute/fashionable at all functions.

Okay, my rant is over! Phew! Sorry, just frustrated as I am trying to find apparel for the upcoming seasons. Anyone else have issues with this?

Have a wonderful Monday! :-)

Move Over Betty!

2010-07-16T11:44:00.000-04:00

I was in a MAJOR baking mood last night! I ran to the grocery store after work to pick up the necessary ingredients for dinner and baking.

For dinner we had a salad and homemade macaroni and cheese:

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture before we dove in! It was VERY yummy!

Recipe*:
8 oz       elbow macaroni (dry) - I use the large elbow macaroni
4 TB      butter, divided
3/4 c.    bread crumbs
1 TB      flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/8 tsp   ground pepper
1 1/2 c   milk
8 oz       shredded cheddar cheese

Cook the macaroni in a pot. Drain well and place back into pot to dry. Make sure that the macaroni is dry otherwise the sauce won't be thick.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish and place the dried macaroni into casserole dish. In a small sauce pan, heat 2 TB of butter over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs and toss until all bread crumbs are coated. Set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, melt remaining 2 TB of butter over medium heat. Add the flour, salt, mustard powder and pepper. Stir constantly. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Cook until the mixture thickens slightly and is smooth. Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni. Top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown.

Hubs and I LOVED this recipe! Here are a few changes we made/will make:

We mixed cayenne pepper in with the bread crumbs to give it a kick (loved it)
Next time we might add a dash of the cayenne pepper to the actual sauce but didn't think of this until after we had poured the sauce over the macaroni
Next time we will grate our own combination of cheese (maybe throw some pepper jack cheese into the mix). I think it will enhance the dish by using fresh cheese versus packaged shredded cheese.
We ran out of bread crumbs so we used panko bread crumbs. It was good but maybe a little too crunchy.

Overall this was a very scrumptious dish that we will make again. I am sure you can all tell by the changes that we would make to the recipe that we love spicy foods! lol

Next I made homemade cinnamon rolls! While ~~stalking~~ catching up on my favorite blogs I came across this recipe that Stephanie over at Live.Laugh.Love had posted. The recipe is from Our Best Bites and holy moly are these heavenly rolls delicious! The best part about this recipe- it is very easy!!!!

Ready to go into the oven

After they came out of the oven

Hot, gooey and iced......ready to eat! Of course, since these little beauties are calorie free {I wish}I felt the need to double the recipe for icing. You only live once!

If you have not tried this recipe I HIGHLY recommend you go now over to Our Best Bites and get this recipe!** Super easy and soooooo yummy! I took these beauties into work this morning and have received so many compliments on them. Several guys have asked for the recipe to give to their wives. lol Oh and since it is Friday it would be perfect for the weekend! Saturday or Sunday breakfast anyone?!

Lastly, my Hubs requested some chocolate chip cookies. Of course I couldn't say no to that request! Would you all like to know my super secret chocolate chip cookie recipe!? Are you in suspense yet?!?

Go purchase a bag of Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips. Turn the bag over and follow the recipe on the back of the bag (leave out the salt, leave out the nuts and substitute Crisco Shortening for the butter). TA DA!!!!! Super yummy, gooey chocolate chip cookies!

Hubs asked for BIG chocolate chip cookies. Apparently the first batch weren't big enough.

Attempts #2 and #3 at making BIG chocolate chip cookies! The third attempt seemed to satisfy him. He might as well have asked for a cookie pie. Oh and then that little stinker complained that he needed a bigger ~~bowl~~ glass for his milk because he couldn't fit his cookie in the glass to dunk it! He's lucky I love him! lol

Well, that concludes Laura's Baking Extravaganza! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!! :-)

* Recipe is from Penzeys Spices Summer Catalog (unfortunately they are no longer showing the summer catalog)

** Be sure to follow her tip on using dental floss to score and cut the cinnamon rolls. It really works and makes life so much easier!!!

Trouble with a Capital "T"

2010-07-15T08:48:00.000-04:00

........or with a capital "R". DEEP, DEEP, DEEP TROUBLE!!!! {dun, dun, DUNNNNN}

This is what I came home to yesterday:

Rooney decided to remodel the wall. Not sure I agree with his vision. Maybe he doesn't like the wall color. Who knows!? Thank God Hubs is now a pro at fixing dry wall!

Apparently he has it out for my brand new shag rug. If he doesn't stop chewing up my rug I am going to use him as my next rug!

Oh and he must really hate rugs with a passion! Not only did he chew on the rug but he also destroyed the skid stopper underneath. Classic Rooney, classic!

Soooooooo, in light of the events from yesterday my little ~~demon child~~ chewer will be losing his freedom and spending his days in this until further notice:

Kiss your freedom good bye Stinks!

Rooney's new "crib" where he will be spending his time while we are at work. The second I pulled that crate out Rooney ran and hid. Pretty sure he knew what was coming.

I'm sorry Mama! I won't do it again! I PROMISE! Please don't put me in jail!

HALLELUJAH!!!! The little brat won't be pestering me while I sleep during the day! Put him in jail and throw away the key! Now I have the couch all to myself! I am living the good life!

Just another day in the world of owning bulldogs! No matter how mad I get at Rooney I can never stay mad at him for long. :-)

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Needing Some Change

2010-07-13T09:46:00.000-04:00

While I was getting ready for work this morning I looked at Hubs and asked, "Would you care if I repainted the downstairs bathroom? And if that is okay do you care what color I paint the room and/or the hardware that I replace the old with? Basically do you want to have any input on the bathroom remodel that I would to do?!?"

His response, "You do whatever your little heart's desire!"

Good answer Hubs, good answer! :-)

Over the past month or two I came to the conclusion that I hated our downstairs bathroom. It is painted a burnt orange color which isn't so bad but there is zero natural light so the bathroom is very dark. If I had my way I would rip out the sink too but that is a little too expensive right now (especially for what I want to do). So the next best thing I can do is to repaint the bathroom and replace all the hardware (ie- toilet paper holder, towel rack, lighting, and mirror).

Here are my choices for paint color so far:

Blue Cloud

Clear Blue Sky

Sea Spray

Tropical Surf

White Lagoon

I would love to go with a fun bright color like:

Pool Party

.......but since my bathroom is already dark due to zero natural light I am afraid that this color will make it feel dark. And since that is the entire reason I am repainting the bathroom I probably should stay away. Plus, they always say that a color will go on darker than the sample card. Sooooooo......I will stick to lighter colors in the blue/green families.

So what do you all think?!? Which one would you vote for?

All paint samples are from Home Depot.

Accidental Hiatus

2010-07-12T15:05:00.000-04:00

I did not intend on taking a small hiatus but I guess that is what it turned into. I am at a loss for words lately. I just don't really have much to share nor do I have the drive to blog. Sad, I know!

I will apologize right now for the randomness of this post.

Hubs and I were on a cleaning binge last week. We have come to the conclusion that we have WAY too much clothing and should probably start sorting it out. Sadly, it is not just clothing that we have way too much of either. How the heck do two people acquire so much stuff?!? I seriously feel like I should be on hoarders. Okay, my house is not that bad but if we don't do something about it I feel like it will become bad news bears.
My rotten stinky dog, Rooney {surprise, surprise}, now enjoys taking naps in my flower beds. Hubs discovered him outside the other day sound asleep in the middle of my hostas. He was sound asleep with his tongue sticking out. Good thing I pulled all the poison ivy out of that flower bed the other day. Sometimes having your house in what used to be a heavily wooded area has its downfalls.
My dogs freak out at change. The other night I set a necklace box on the ledge of the window and Rooney decided that he didn't like the fact that things were out of place. He growled and barked at it for at least 10 minutes before I got out of bed to show him that it wasn't going to hurt him. Are other breeds as neurotic?!?
What the heck does improving Muslim relations have to do with NASA?!? Not to get all political on you all but seriously!
I am glad that Lindsay Lohan is going to jail. I am sick of celebrities thinking that they are above the law.
Jake and Vienna are both fame whores who need to just leave Hollywood. So sick of the "he said, she said" BS.
I really wish my dogs could talk. I would love to know what was going through their mind.
Why is it that the nights you are extremely exhausted are the nights you can't sleep?!?

Okay, enough rambling for this girl! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

One day down, four more to go until the weekend! :-)