today

Between this and that lifes been busy.... Yup that is the "offical" wedding room... and that is what I see everytime I look down.. Maizy has this obsession with balls... specifically ones with broken squeekers and little nubbies on them...

I am now the proud owner of a pair of silver peep toe shoes and 4 .... yes four dresses for Amandas wedding.. am I keeping them? Nope I think at this point they may all be going back... I might just be the one sitting in the back with jeans on... sadly I just can't find what I want to wear--- who knew it would be this hard... (besides of course my mother who did warn me!) ah well back to the drawing board...

Countdown to Nascar

With only hours left until the first offical race of the season its time to start thinking about your driver

Cat bathing 101

I have never seen a cat get a bath before.... but in preparation for Ferbies new living accomodations Christopher wanted to pretty her up... and that entailed a bath.... Something he said he has done before... and apparently they had... Ferbie didn't fuss half as much as I had expected.. no blood was shed-- no fur flying and not even a hiss.... toward the end she was talking to him... but all and all it was an amazing sight to be witnessed...

Ferbie's ready now to go live with Aunt Jackie... our fingers are crossed that she brings Jackie as much joy as she has brought Christopher.

Its a dogs life

The last two nights we have sat watching some riviting tv... ok maybe not riviting but it was something different.. The Westminister Kennel Club dog show... Hello Pet lover... its a mecca for seeing exactly what all these dogs are supposed to look like if we had the time to groom them... The winner was a surprise... a 10 year old dog.. YES 10!! Stump

In the toy group (we were keenly watching this group) the Pug came in second... although we did not find him as cute as our own Maizy... I really don't understand the whole judging process... I have read the books on what makes a prize winning pug (dog) and from what I could see this winner didn't exhibit some of those traits... but then I am not a judge I am just an owner...

So I know you are asking... Did Maizy watch??? nope she was much to busy (self centered) playing fetch with her soccerball....

This is the look we get when we dress our Maizy... none too happy.... and yes that is a trashbag of clothes she has decided to pout on...

So after getting alittle rest on Sunday it was back into the daily grind... Mike helped Chrisopher pack up his life and get alot of it into his truck. A few more trips and Christopher will be all moved in. And I hit the ground getting laundry caught up and went back to working on taxes... You know they want to pass an economic stimulas plan.... maybe they could reduce our tax burden??? Its totally out of control the amount of money our government requires... and if they keep bailing out businesses that aren't smart enough to be fiscally responsbile our taxes will only continue to climb...
Perhaps the Auto manufacturers should go to the bank to get a loan???? ohh wait they wouldn't qualify because their business model is dated... and then theres that little thing of the banks closing down because they gave money out to people who don't work.... and can't pay it back... its all shameful.....

This week we get back on the wedding bandwagon... not too much left to do... but there is a list!

Amandas Shower

I can't begin to tell you how tired I am right now... but its a good tired we had Amandas Bridal Shower yesterday and it was wonderful! I can't even tell you how wonderful Amandas Bridesmaids are -- They did a fantastic job of putting together the best bridal shower ever. And even though Amanda knew it was coming I think even she was surprised at how much fun it was. Does she not have the prettiest Bridesmaids ever??? From left to right Heather (her new sister in law to be, Jenny (Sorority sister), Erin (college roomie), Amanda, Natalie (sorority sister) and Sara (sorority sister) )

She even had a few cute boys to help out with the details.... Uncle Robin outdid himself by providing valet parking for the girls , and Dad played chauffeur to make sure she got to the party-They both did so many wonderful things that made the day sooo special- No these are not gang signs... its a sign of the crown... we all got a good giggle in as they chanted their Zeta song... I couldn't be more thankful that Amanda has these wonderful girls in her life.We couldn't have had such a wonderful day without the hospitality of Aunt Toni--She opened her home and provided the perfect place to have make lasting memories... doesn't the table look wonderful???

And as if the day wasn't just perfect with sunny skies and good friends watching Amandas face when she realized her grandmother had flown in made it priceless...

I can't help but think if the shower was this much fun and soo perfect how wonderful will the wedding be??? With less than 50 days left it gets more exciting every day!! I can't wait to have all of our friends and family in one big location. But we are all so tired after just the shower how tired will we be after the wedding???

Maizy gets a snow day

Sure we have had flurries this winter but this was Maizys first real time playing in the snow!! Once she got over her fear of walking off the deck she hit the snow a million miles an hour!! Running as fast as she could in big old circles!! And of course tasting it all on her way!!

The white dress

So there has been lots of talk of late about the White dress... Amanda had her first real fitting this weekend... Seems the dress is alittle too big because the seamstress really had to use alot of pins to take it in... Which is a good thing.. means all that dieting wasn't for nothing.. And she got to see her dress with "the shoes"... who knew finding shoes would be just as hard as finding the dress...

Since I can't show you her dress I thought I would give you a peak of another white dress.... Leelas-- Just as fancy and so darn cute....

Hi Dad!

So my Dad mentioned that according to my blog Hell had frozen over.... yea I guess I have been alittle slack at updating.. but beleive me its not because I haven't been busy!!! So for now... I just drop this little note that I am here... I am alive and yes I am counting down the days until spring-- because I am tired of boots, fleece and gloves....

Hell has frozen over.

So I found out today that one of favorite magazines is going under. Simple Scrapbooks is yet another tragedy in our struggling economy.. Subscription base isn't enough when advertising just isn't out there. Its a shame.. and to be honest its just another indicator how bad it is out there in the real world. The radio station I listen to announce less commercials this week... not to be nice to us but because they can't sell the radio slots... its a shame ....

Did I mention how freaking cold it is out there??? so cold that you feel like your fingertips will just fall off if you forget your gloves...
Yea its inauguration week here in the nations capitol... and yes Virginia-- Hell has frozen over... See what happens when you vote someone in who doesn't deserve to be our president... we all suffer... Hope he has little hand warmers in his mittens or he won't have fingers to sign off on all his promises---

Mike has the priviledge of being "essential personnel" this weekend that treat allows him to work all day Saturday and then stay Monday -Tuesday... sleeping in a chair to ensure communications are A-OK for the "event"-- me I will use my time to finish up wedding details...
I think we are almost done and can sit back and enjoy.... if only the darn stamps would come in for the invites....

Weekend update

So while you were recovering from New Years Eve, we did infact start tiling the basement floor. And have spent the greater part of the weekend finishing it up. Messy, Dusty and down right inconvenient. But it does look better, and it is forcing us to once again down size the amount of junk we store down there. Hopefully when all is said and down we will have a laundry area that you might actually want to work in....

The remainder of the weekend was spent "playing wedding" Amanda came over yesterday and we worked on invitations and centerpiece decorations. We even got the boys to help--Matthew folded placecards and Corey jumped in to pull stars off the flower girl basket.... The more hands the merrier!

Happy New Years!

Enjoyed a wonderful New Years Eve with Mike-- We drove a quick 6 miles to a customer/friends house and rung in the new year... and as the trend seems to be now... there were probably just as many dogs invited as people!.. poor Maizy got left at home and was full of puppy energy when we drug ourselves home at 2:30am... needless to say no one got alot of sleep last night.

Today Mike is on a mission to start the new year out working.... he has these great plans of tiling the basement floor... why? not sure but I am sure it will require my "help". Maybe this will make doing laundry that much more enjoyable???

Happiest of New Years to you!

shopping

It was a long day of shopping... whatever made me think it was a good day to schedule anything with Amanda? We started out driving down to Dulles to look at tableclothes. Who knew ivory tableclothes were so elusive? When we said ivory the ladies face kinda scrunched up and said yes we have one color of ivory...SERIOUSLY???? no choices???? luckily it will do if we don't find someone with a better price...

And then we went to Potomac Mills to find me a dress. for a country with a bad economy you wouldn't be able to tell from the amount of people at the mall... no parking anywhere and seriously you could barely walk.. now I have listened to my mother tell me the woes of how hard it is to find a dress for the last week... it was my turn to scour the mall... While the selection was limited it wasn't too bad... the problem was size... apparently I have turned into an elephant without my knowledge... dieting is a serious new years resolution... I found a few dress I liked but they were not all that flattering... and then the question is do I go with a Mother of the Bride style (very conservative ) or do I go with something I like... Amanda is anti conservative she wants me to wear something "fun".... hmm... the next trip will be over to Davids Bridal-- affordable, every dress comes in multiple colors and a decent selection...

Christmas 2008

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring...not even the the four dogs and 2 cats.....

We awoke in the morning to hear such a clatter, me in my reindeer pants and Christopher in his sweats-- what did Santa leave?? not one but two stockings for Christopher!!

And a bone ohhh so big for Cooper!!

Maizy was dressed in her sweater and not so very happy to have a new bed....
But wait maybe Santa was tricking her with the wrapped little things in her bed-- oh me oh my new Babies for Maizy --tumbling out of her bed

Week in review

So what I've learned this week--

1) You have sinus cavitities in the base of your head... which when filled (ewww) can mimic a brain tumor and make you wish for a labotomy.

2) That because your daughter is a scientist that doesn't make her mathamatian, but coming up 50 sheets of paper short for the wedding invites doesn't cause as much stress as you would think.

3) No matter how hard you plan to be done with Christmas shopping you still have to make one more run to the store.

4) Belguim waffles are better then frozen waffles

5) That boys will pee in the toilet before scrubbing the blue cleanser out that you left soaking in said toilet and look at you like it was your fault that you have to start all over.

6) That standing water in the basement is not a high priorty on my husbands list of things to worry about.

7) That trying to mop up a whole (costco sized) container of liquid laundry soap from the floor is a never ending battle.

8) Puppies can't ice skate

9) That gaining weight does make your shirts shorter

10) That coming up with lists is a great way to avoid housework.

wrapping

So after two weekends at the mall and dealing with holiday traffic I am not so sure about the old adage of its better to give than recieve.... shopping just makes the giving part hard!!! Christopher and I tried to finish up our shopping yesterday. Shopping with him isn't easy as he wants a plan.. no wandering the stores, no stopping to window shop he wants to know in advance where we are going and doesn't want to deviate from the plan... But you know me... I deviate... I putz around, I gotta compare prices, and I gotta look, touch and talk to strangers... he survived... and even made "one last stop" on the way home... Am I done... heck no there are two gifts that I can't seem to find... So yes I have to do this yet again...

Today I spent most of my day wrapping-- as punishment for yesterdays excursion Christopher talked me into doing his wrapping too.... and Mike --well he saw me and just dumped his pile of gifts into the mix.... I actually think gifts should come pre-wrapped...

With the clock ticking I think its time to start making lists... things to do, things to buy, things to clean, things to cook.... hmmm wonder if I can mix my wedding lists with my holiday lists.... I think I need more paper...

Have your cake and eat it too....

This past weekend may have seemed like it was all about turkey but it was also a blurr with wedding planning.. Having Amanda in the same state for four days in a row meant the calendar was full of vendor visits, computer time to proof invites, and discussions on all the the little details that we have put off for months... But in the end I got the reward!! the leftovers.. see one of the vendors that she and Corey met with was the bakery... MMMM can you say cake tasting??? After they had tasted, decided and discussed they brought all the leftovers home to MOM-- I won't tell you what they decided on but I can tell you that after 3 days the cake still tastes darn good... Can't wait til the wedding when I can have a big ol piece all to myself!

Because 2 times is not enough

So while most of you dined once for Thanksgiving we hit an all time high with three times!! Once in Florida with the folks, and then again on Thanksgiving with Mikes Sisters and then the next day at home... seems my family loves Turkey Day whole whole lot... Needless to say we have been eating Turkey sandwiches for three days straight now... and I don't see an end in sight!!

After dinner Maizy found someone who enjoyed holding her bone... Cooper was actually sleeping with the bone in his mouth and Maizy was chewing the other end...

And of course this is what the family looks like after multiple thanksgiving meals... hahaha... lots of couch napping over the 4 day holiday!!!

More Vacation

Ok so You saw Maizys vacation and I am sure you are wondering about mine!! It was just as wonderful as Maizys and I am happy with our decision to take Maizy with us. It all worked out.

It was so nice to spend time with the family and go down to Key West.

There are so many stories to be told... Mike and his coconut adventure... yes my husband stole coconuts and then learned to open them.... we did eat alot of coconut! And while fishing for Grouper he instead caught alot of Sharks. And of course we played tourists and saw Trumans whitehouse, the aquarium and Hemingways home and more bars then I care to count. The ocean is bluer than blue and the sunshine was just what we needed!

Maizys vacation

After a short Hiatis I am back... sort of-- Vacation was wonderful but sadly I came back with a horrible cold. Seriously I can't remember feeling this bad in a long time. We have been back since Tuesday and yesterday I finally opened all that mail... if that tells you how sick I have been.... Anyway today will be another day of sleep and medication... since I feel so bad I thought maybe We could start out with Maizy's vacation... because it is all about her in the end...right? hahaha

Maizy took her first plane ride to go to FLORIDA-- and really it was easier taking her on a plane then it was taking the kids... We bought her a little bag to sit in and essentially she was my carry on. She sat under the seat in front of me and literally slept the whole trip. I must say that when we boarded the plane and the stewardess peeked at her.. mentioning how cute and then asked if I had sedated her I was alittle taken back... was I supposed to? Was this going to be a nightmare trip?? but then reality set in and I remembered she is virtually a silent dog --she just learned to bark two weeks ago and even at her most frenzied shes pretty darn quiet.

Maizys first stop was my Mom and Dad's house... the first of many challenges-- white carpet and doors everywhere... nothing like a puppy honing their potty training skills and being thrown into a new enviroment. Here she swam in the pool, met the big blue birds (who scared her) and went to the beach.

This just wasn't any beach this was a doggie beach.. The Brohard Paw Park... Every gigantic dog in Florida must have been at the beach!! And they all loved it... except Maizy-- she wanted nothing to do with the ocean... although she found digging in the sand an enjoyable way to pass the time!! Apparently she ate alot of sand too because later that day she was making sand castles of her own in my parents yard... And of course she had lots of attention.. Always someone to play with!

Maizys next stop on her vacation was over to Mikes mom's house... another challenge with oriental rugs and again doors. So hard for puppies to figure out which door to go to! But again she was treated like a queen.. and we all learned exactly how much she like ice cream! Nothing like a trip to a home made ice cream store!

And she made a new friend! (kinda) Randal-- Randal wasn't too sure what Maizy was doing in his house and certainly wasn't fond of the fact that Maizy took all his toys.. but they did enjoy a few hours of fun!

Then it was on to Key West.. it was a long drive although I don't think Maizy knew it because she slept the whole way.... we stopped on one of the Keys to streach our legs and walk the beach Maizy pooped on the boardwalk... ehhh shit happens... hahaha and again refused to go in the ocean. But for Maizy this was probably the best part of her vacation because in Key West she got to stay with Baxter and Bendict... and she fell in love... She spent countless hours running, chasing and kissing Bendict.... for Maizy it will be a vacation to remember.