A five Dog Christmas!

When Christmas is gonna suck a little cause most of your friends and family are far away what do most people do?  Make the most of it and pet sit for a person you hardly know.  Well, that's what I do.  I love mutts and these two were no exception.  Greg dropped them off mid way through the conference call with the family and the dog heaven set in:) The white one is Indy and the gray older girl is Hailee.  Hailee was dominant but quiet Indy was hyper, loved to hump Odin, and jumped on me mid snore wanting to cuddle.  The Christmas was a tad bit cheerier with the eight extra legs about.  Merry late Christmas!

One year of being engaged!

Smoosh!  This is what happens when he is 7 inches taller than me! 

Most people would not usually be engaged this long or celebrate that yay!  we aren't married yet. We are not most people.  Eric took off work we ate at our favorite restaurant, BJ's, napped, and played mini golf.  This is our idea of 'celebrating'.  We are happily engaged and yes do have a date.  9-26-2009.  We got engaged on St. Nicohlas' day last year and exchanged gifts again this year.  We have started our own tradition and I enjoy it very much.  I only have pics of the mini golf. 

Eric through this odd cave hole with a water fall..

You can see that I am a pro

cute butt!

The girl behind the counter stereotyped our colors.

 

The result of two genders communicating in their own language is this...

A clean room? Why, you may ask, is this a result of communication melt down? The result of an off handed comment I made when I arrived home from work. I usually crave a bit of Eric time when I distress from the day. This afternoon Eric was on the computer so I took my coupons from the mail pile, sat on the floor, and started to clip while Eric did his gaming thing. Usually amiable silence or idle chat fills the air. Today however I sat down on the floor next to one of our incredibly annoying outlets to which the light is plugged into. The outlet is loose and there fore every time I moved the light either flickered or went out completely. Out of frustration I got a bit tense at the plug in. Eric simple solved it by "just move over" my frustrated simple phrase was "I can't cause there is stuff all over the place." I did move the basketball and file box and moved over. Later as I sat listening to Grandpa on the phone and watching Ugly Betty Eric tidied up the computer/man room. After finally getting Grandpa away from farm life talk Eric emerged with his information of a cleaned room, very very proud of himself for "showing me that he loved me". (I found this out later) My off handed comment of "I can't cause there is stuff all over the place."that I don't even hardly remember, is what he picked up on. Why do they always pick up on and complete things you don't really give one way or another about? He is so sweet about crazy little stuff... I gotta get better at just saying "Thank you". And of course of all the rooms in the house this one is my least worry about being clean... it has a door and I can close the mess off:) I started laughing and he didn't understand and got a little upset. I then explained a little of my thinking, how it doesn't come close to matching his, since I blanked out my statement 2 seconds after I said it and he took it deeply to heart. I laughed a lot more, talked, listened and then we understood each other. (this only took about 5 or 6 minutes, the phone bill conversation last year took us about 20... I think we're making headway) I am still trying to figure out why I found this so funny that I cried but who knows. I'm not sure if he really understood that I WANT FLOWERS SOMETIME THIS CENTURY! but one can only hope :)

My iMac and i were made for each other...

Odin got in on the iMac action

... the manual says so!  It also says "Keep your computer away from sources of liquid, such as drinks, washbasins, bathtubs, shower stalls, and so on".  Thank you iMac manual maker... I had just thought of taking a shower while checking my email.  At least they made it idiot proof.

A little history on why this iMac is now in my possession.  About a month ago a friend sent me (unaware to him) a virus over Facebook.  I in a moment of dumb glory opened the link... duh how many of these dumb things have I gotten over the years.  Neways my POS laptop from college had issues already and this just made it worse.  My antivirus software expired and all pop up hell broke loose.  I couldn't get to websites due to spyware and frankly I was just trying to make due.  I have four friends that are good with computers and had hoped one could help... nope no help for my sad little outdated laptop.  This AM the damn thing shut down completely.  Won't start, goes black, then goes blue.  $200 dollars to the geek squad and we would be back in business... nope Eric and I continue to make crazy decisions and he wanted a desk top so we forked over our left feet and now have this amazing machine!! I am in love.  I'm bummed cause all of my data that is on the laptop is currently inaccessible but in a month or two I'll pull it out and let the geeks do their work.  One thing about the iMac is that I have not used one since I was ten.  It is quite different but there are so many bells and whistles that it makes me giddy and I have gotten the hang of it quite well after only an hour.  It also rocks cause there is no tower at all!  Everything is in the screen except the keyboard and "mighty mouse".    Two things so far that are gonna take some time to get used to are one, the screen.  It is HUGE and I squint at it and it doesn't help at all I think it needs to be a bit further away from my face.  Two, my memory card from the camera doesn't have a slot in this computer and I had to dig for the USB cord.  Luckily it was found and you will get to see a picture of our awesome new iMac and I.   We are in love.  I especially enjoy that with our new relationship I can use a remote on it.  side note: Eric came and fixed the hard to look at screen by removing the protective plastic from it... blond moment.  Now, now my life is perfect... *sigh*  

In all its glory... please excuse our mess and the temporary paper "mighty mouse" pad

Can you tell I am super excited... well I am!

Hat Party!

I was invited to a friends birthday party and we were all required to wear a hat. Nice idea.. but I don't really own any hats unless you call a skiing thermal hat something to wear to a party. I wanted to have something either granny stylish or festive. I found both of those and more at the local garage sale weekend bonanza at The Lakes. I not only found what I was looking for but so much more! Construction hats, veils, granny, plain, rhinestone cowboy hat, and what I ended up buying for $.50 was a sombrero or something resembling one. I also found that you can make your own assumptions of people based on their hat selections which is fun for me.

The home made variety I apologize for not having a picture with it being worn.

One of three or just two that Michelle brought

My find along with a little karaoke

The most useful category

The birthday Girl!!

Radio!

I am going to be on the radio and I am excited and a little paranoid about how I will sound. At my current job I am doing outreach for the Lifespan Respite Care Program. I need to serve 120 people by December 31st, 2008 or I will die... Now there are other factors in this death that might be near like how exactly do you reach the people who fall through the cracks and don't come out of their homes.... I am working on it. Since I DO NOT technically have training in marketing or outreach and am self taught some days this is harder than others. Part of this outreach is a radio show that my boss and I did. I will be the one without the Bosnian accent. This is a prerecorded show so I can listen with as much criticizim as I want to myself and hope I don't sound like an Oaf. If you would also like to listen and criticize along with me it is airing at 9am this Sunday the 8th on 960AM KKNT. I am also gonna email my mom and make her listen to it over the internet! She'll be so proud. Also, if you know someone who fits the requirements of this program (hyperlink above) please pass along the information!!! Remember.... death...

Leaving Fido with strangers

<------ Juliet first day home at 4 months:D

I have never boarded a dog before. We have always been lucky to have family or friends who are able to take the dogs. Now we have three, and like children you can't leave them alone over night and then for a full day. They get bored, hungry, and really really need to pee after a while. Our two small fluffy ones, Buster and Odin will be fine. They won't chew the house apart and the neighbor girls can get used to earning money as we are going to pay them $10 each to feed, play, walk, and make sure the dogs get a chance to relieve themselves. Friend and Neighbor Mom Ginger will make sure it is a good time for all:) Juliet is the mutt that poses a problem. We are still kenneling her when we leave and it is not fair for her to be in a kennel for soooooo long. The neighbors have three very very small Chihuahuas and for their safety the dogs can't stay with the Manchas. Juliet is still chewing clothes, rugs, pillows at 8 months but is fully house trained. I have been researching Pet Hotels. There are quite a few and a majority of them are good. Some are more appropriate for certain dogs than others. Some don't let them play together which I find extremely weird. I like that I can take their own food and toys for Fido. Some have cameras and TVs for the dogs... not to take pictures but so owners or guardians (whichever you prefer) can watch their pets from the Internet! I am not that obsessive. Petsmart sounds good cause they have doggie day care but isn't cause they are one of the most expensive I have found so far. I am a little irritated as we are coming home on Thanksgiving day and no one will let me pick her up that day... i know a holiday but I am the millennial generation and everything should be at my finger tips and ultra convenient. Ugh... I hate not being able to pick her up and leaving her in a strange place a second night and since Petsmart sucks cause they also can't go outside! I think I'm gonna go with Hound House in Gilbert. If she is gonna be boarded it might as well be luxury:) Cheap luxury too!! This means for Juliet that she gets to be outside 70% of the time, play with other dogs, and sleep when she wants. Lord, I hope this goes well...