1st Anniversary of 29

Just a few days ago, on December 25, John turned 30.

John doesn't seem to be too affected by this seemingly monumental occasion, which is good. You are as young as you feel and act, and judging by John's birthday plans and gifts (paintball with the guys, and PS3 & XBox games) I'd say he's definitely still in his teens! But seriously, John is a great Man, a great Husband, and a great Dad to the fur babies (and I'm sure he will be a great Dad to a real baby someday too). We had dinner tonight to celebrate at The Oasis with friends.

Happy Birthday Dear, I love you!

Is there a Meatball in there?

Friday was a busy day for us. After work (I had to work, John is off the rest of December) we got ready and went to the Downtown Round Rock Holiday festivities with Pinky, Val and her two boys. We had free hotdogs and walked around among the masses of people. We watched a little play, the boys got foam rockets, we saw the horse drawn carriages go by, and we stood by the fire for a bit. It was great fun for us. Then I changed clothes and we came to downtown Austin for my work Christmas party at the Blanton Art Museum . We got there really late, but we had fun mingling with the people that were still there. We stayed until it was over and walked out with a couple of my co-workers. We discovered an "Exhibit" of what looked very much like a bunch of hanging noodles!! We all ran through them and hung and swung on them and just had the best time! What fun... we might need one installed in our back yard!

John Rocks Before Christmas

Last week John got our Christmas decorations down from the attic and put out all the decorations that go inside the house. We were really hoping to get a black tree from Garden Ridge this year, but both stores in Austin are sold out (if you happen to find a 7 foot black tree at a Garden Ridge near you... please let us know!!). Anyway, John did a fabulous job putting everything out. We are going to the Paramount Theatre today to watch It's a Wonderful Life and really kick off the Christmas Season!!

John also Rocked yesterday by spending time with me doing a little Merry Christmas to Myself clothes shopping. It was fun - I found two pairs of shoes, and 5 new shirts (all on sale)! Woo Hoo!

Thanksgiving

We have successfully hosted our first large gathering at our new house! We had 19 people here total for Thanksgiving (plus the 2 dogs and 2 cats, and the rest of the zoo). We did not attempt to cook the turkey this time though... fortunately my Dad cooked one on his grill for us and it was wonderful!! John baked pumpkin and pecan pies and I made a apple/Snickers dish that is very easy, yet very tasty. Everyone brought other dishes and it was all fabulous!! We still have lots of leftovers in our fridge. It was very exciting for us to get to use our new big table. We were specially pleased to have John's family and my family all together. We hadn't all been together since our wedding three years ago! Here are some pics of the feast!

John Rocks

So my friend Angela has a husband named Aaron (also known as ATB). Actually, he is the only husband she has, so I guess I could have just said her husband's name is Aaron. Anyway... on her blog she has started posting a new ATB Rocks blog each week to show him gratitude for the many helpful things he does. I think this is a fabulous idea, and I've decided that John deserves some public appreciation too!


John actually has two projects he has recently completed that both turned out spectacular!







These are the can lights he installed in the Man Room. You actually have to cut holes in the ceiling to do this! Yikes! But he did a marvelous job. He even installed a separate dimmer light switch for them.







The other project was constructing a pool cue rack. He bought wood and trim and paint and ta-da, a masterpiece.







Fine job Dear, You Rock!!!

Brain Buster

Last weekend John & I went to the mall to take a copy of our marriage license to Kay Jewelry so my name could be changed on my account. (Yes, I know... we've been married for over three years now - but they are one of the only places that won't let you change your name by phone or online.) So anyway, after that was done we had some free time, so we went to the game store. These game stores are one of John's favorite places to go. But this time it was me who found a fun new game to get!

I like puzzles and thinking games. Sudoku is one of my favorites, and this fancy Brain Buster Puzzle Pak seemed like hours of fun! So I bought it (the used version of course). I set up my profile and added my little character picture to my name (and I made one for John too) then I played for two whole hours! It was great fun for me and got my brain wheels really turning. Slitherlink is my least favorite of the games, but I haven't really picked a favorite yet.

Note to self (and others) - Don't play this for very long right before bed, or you will not be able to fall asleep. You will be too busy trying to figure out what combination of numbers equals 16.

Random

We finally have a full dining room set! Since this picture was taken, John has assembled the other two chairs as well. So we have a big table, 8 chairs and enough plates and silverware for all to eat off of! YEAH!

Here's a picture of Skinny, Tina, and Moose this afternoon. I think there was a flying bug outside the window that Skinny & Moose were watching, and of course Tina had to come check it out too!

Here are John & Pinky on Halloween. They dressed up as two of the characters from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog John is Captain Hammer and Pinky is Dr. Horrible.

Enchanting

This past weekend we went to Enchanted Rock. This was our second trip there, with the first being when John proposed to me! That was quite a few years ago now (where has the time gone?!). The weather was wonderful this weekend - as opposed to the last time when it was REALLY cold, drizzling, windy, and even started hailing! Needless to say, I don't think it was the situation John had envisioned proposing to me in, but I said yes anyway! We had a much more pleasant trip this time.

I love this guy!! =)

The Final Kung Fu Fido

Dog who falls out of boat never without paddle.

Resting Babies

It's Magic

Our friends Pinky and Val both have birthdays in August. We decided that since they had never been to the Magic Time Machine it was a good opportunity for us to take them there. However, we didn't actually make it there until October! Oh well, better late then never! We all had a fabulous time; great food and great friends!!

Kung Fu For You

Here are two more Kung Fu Fido fortunes (there are only two cookies left after these):

Rollovers are easier eaten than performed.

Confucius say, dog who run behind car get exhausted. (heeheehee)

Now Serving One

I have had a heck of a time finding a black dining room table that seats eight. But alas, we actually have one in our house!! I really wanted to see one up close and touch it before I bought it, but no one had them in their showrooms. So we blindly ordered the table and waited a few weeks. Yesterday we picked it up and... it's perfect!!! YEAH!!! We couldn't be happier! It even matches with the chairs (chair for now) we ordered. I ordered one chair to make sure we liked it, and we do, so I have seven more on order now. I love it when a plan comes together!

And we are still loving the new couches as well! After some trials and rearranging, I think we have settled on this layout.

Photos

This is the Desert Dome at the zoo in Omaha.

And this is the fabulous Pink Vespa with Sidecar.

Fido Fortunes Continue

Here are two more Fido Fortunes:

Sticks can be quite fetching.

When in doubt, tell the truth... the cat did it!

We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto

Last week we went on a fabulous family vacation!! John and I went to Mom & Dad's house Friday night, then we all got up EARLY Saturday morning (all in the car at 4:45am) and headed to Oklahoma City where we picked up my brother, Brian at the airport (he flew in from Boston). Our next stop was Wichita where we saw my parents' college friends, Ed & Carol, and also my cousin Jeri and her family. Jeri's family happens to include a very cute 4 month old little boy, Jace, who I got to meet and squeeze for the first time!

Then we headed to Pratt, KS and stayed with my Aunt Jeri, Uncle Larry and my cousins - Lindsey & Haley. Their newest toy is a pink Vespa with a side car!! How fun is that?! After that we stopped in Lyons and saw my Dad's aunt, Doris Mae, then on to McPherson to my Aunt Linda & Uncle Mike's. They have the cutest little dog, Tasha. We had planned to see my cousin Michelle and her family, but she had to have some wisdom teeth removed that morning so she wasn't up for much visiting. We did get to meet her children though, Kyra is 5, Kaven is 2, and Krayton is 4 months old. Krayton is quite shy and not too sure of strangers, but I was determined to hold and squeeze him too. It took a while, but eventually I wore him down and was able to hold him!! It was great fun for me! All of her children were very beautiful and precious.

Next stop was Omaha! None of us had ever been to Nebraska before. My Aunt Yvonne & Uncle Dale moved there a little over a year ago. We stayed with them and got to go to the Omaha Zoo. The zoo was amazing, but it closed pretty early so we didn't get to go through it all. We went through the Desert Dome, the Aquarium, and the Cat Complex. Everything we saw was fantastic, we'll have to go back again I guess to see the rest!!

Our last stop before heading back was Chetopa, KS to see my Grandma Wilson. She is doing good and looking great! John & Dad did a few household projects for her including putting an antenna on the roof so she can still watch tv in February when digital tv kicks in. She lives on a farm... a real farm with a barn and cows! It's a fun place to go visit.

Then back on the road to Oklahoma City to drop Brian back off at the airport and head back to Texas. The whole trip was just over 2000 miles (Dad drove the whole way!) It was such a wonderful trip, the weather was great, everything went right along as scheduled, and we got to see a bunch of my family all in one week!! I did miss our babies, but they all did just fine at the Pet Resort. In fact, they all gained a bit of weight while we were away!

I will work on getting some pictures of our travels posted soon. Here is a map of our route though!

In Case of Emergency

So with the impending arrival of Hurricane Ike likely late this week/weekend, I was thinking... "Man, we couldn't have picked a better time to go on our vacation to Kansas." Then, within the same few seconds of having that thought, my thoughts shifted to my Babies, who will be left at Premier Pet Resort and Spa while we are gone. My thoughts got a little irrational as I started to imagine them all alone in a strange place with water coming in all around them.


I had to calm these thoughts, and quickly! I called the Resort and asked what their procedures were in case of a weather emergency. I was a bit shocked when the girl who answered didn't have an answer. But she was very friendly, and said she was meeting with the owner in about an hour, and would call me back with an answer. The place is very new, and granted we don't have very many weather emergencies, so I was ok that she didn't have an immediate answer.


As promised, she called me back after her meeting and here's what I found out:


*They are a FEMA approved facility (which means they can actually take in pets during emergencies)
*They have onsite generators
*The building is in a 100 year flood plain
*The building is all concrete
*The pets are housed on the bottom floor, so even if something were to happen to the roof, the pets would still be protected


After receiving this news I was able to finish my day relaxed and comfortable that my Babies will be ok while we are gone next week. When I got home I told John what I had found out, and though he didn't directly say it, I know he was thinking "Geez, my Wife is neurotic."

Rock On!!

This weekend we tackled digging a hole for the new pond. This first six inches went quite well. We even saved the grass to replant in other spots.

Then we (John) hit rock, solid rock! We were pretty sure this was going to happen, as we had been warned by the previous owners of the house that they ran into it while trying to plant a tree in the backyard. John picked away at it for a while with a sledge hammer and a railroad tie, and eventually we gave in and rented a jackhammer. (which is what the previous owners had to do also)

Four hours with that and John was spent. And rightfully so, but he did a fabulous job! Just look how handsome & strong he is!

This morning Blake needed John's help to get a large piece of furniture from IKEA to his house, so he agreed to help John dig the rest of the dirt portions out for the shallow parts of the pond around the edges. John was thrilled with the exchange!! After just a couple hours they were done. We still have to put some of the big rock chunks around the edges and figure out what to do with the excess piles of rock, dirt and grass, but the turtles are in their new location and the hard part is done!! The puppies have checked it out and given it their approval.

To be a Fly on This Wall

Pocket Taser Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife.. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Taser for their anniversary submitted this:

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized taser. The effects of the taser were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety....??


WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. AWESOME!!!


Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right? There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.


I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised.


Am I wrong?


So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and taser in another.


The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5' long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, 'no possible way!'


What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best...? I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, 'don't do it dummy,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and...


HOLY MOTHER OF GOD . . . WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . . . WHAT THE HECK!!!


I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, 'man parts' nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs?


The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room. Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself!


You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. A three second burst would be considered conservative?


THAT HURT LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT!!!


A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling. Apparently I did lose my bodily function control, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my man parts and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!!


P. S. My wife loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it!


If you think Education is expensive, try being stupid.

The Man Room

John's Man Room is coming along nicely. He has big dreams for that room. He has painted the walls a blue color (quite a dark color if you ask me, but my opinion has no bearing on the Man Room!). I'm told eventually the trim will be painted black (oh boy, I can't wait for that either {insert eye roll}). Our black couch from the living room will be going into his room once our new couch arrives. And except for when he was hanging some of his cabinets and ran a screw into an electrical wire and stopped power to half the outlets on that side of the house, I must say he has done quite a good job in getting it all painted and arranged!

Houston, We have a problem

So, last weekend, as I was vacuuming and cleaning, I kept getting hotter and hotter as the day went on. I figured it was just my feverish cleaning skills, but turns out... the air conditioner wasn't working!!! So it got to be about 87 degrees in our house for two and a half days! The home warranty people couldn't get anyone out until Tuesday afternoon. Joy. Once the fix-it guy was here, he just switched out a little capacitor or something, and all is well again. Happy Pets once again (and a happy Husband & Wife).

And then yesterday, I get in the car to go to work, and it barely starts! It seemed the battery was dying. I headed to work anyway, and drove around the parking garage on my lunch break to make sure it would start then and charge it a bit more. On the way home I stopped at Sears to get a new battery, and find out that they don't carry the battery for my car! Just great, now I have to go to the dealership (which is closed already at this point). So this morning I sent John out to finish my quest. He went to the dealership where we bought the car and they didn't have it in stock!! Luckily the GMC dealership just up the road from them had one, so John headed over there.

One of these days we might have a whole weekend where we don't have to fix or replace anything... my guess is that will be around October of 2011!

A Decision Has Been Made

We have been looking for a formal dining room table and chairs and also a new couch. This process has been much harder than I expected. First of all it is hard to find any furniture in all black (found lots with brown wood & black - but that will NOT work for us). We found a few pieces we liked but all were either the wrong size, too expensive, or John & I just couldn't agree on them. But, alas, we have found a couch in colors we like and that we both agree on!! Now we can really focus our efforts on a table!!

Fido's Fortune

Here are two more fortunes from Kung Fu Fido.

Man's best friend is a dog.
Dog's best friend is a man with food.

Confucius say, short-haired dog shed light on subject.

Rack `Em Up

We finally have a fully assembled Pool Table!!
YEAH!! It was delivered two weeks ago in pieces and it was supposed to be assembled last Friday. The installer had an "emergency" out of town though and couldn't do it until yesterday. But none the less, it is done now. Pinky came over right after it was done and they played a few games. Sometimes I wonder if they really do have jobs!! =)

Squawk

I have been trying to spend more "quality" time with our cockatoo, Cela. Right now she is out in the front living room where nothing really goes on, and I think she is getting lonely. So as I was playing with her the other night I decided to take some videos of her. One is of her eating a peanut, which still to this day amazes me that she is able to do so precisely. The other is of a not so pleasant new habit she has of picking the newspaper up of the bottom of her cage and playing with it.

Cat Nap

I assure you that when we left for work the morning this photo was taken, all three pillows were standing up... hhhhmmm, wonder what happened? I guess Skinny has claimed this end of the couch, as that is where she can be found most of the time. Happy napping, Skinners.

New Neighbors

John spotted a family of deer right across the street from us the other day! Two big ones and three babies. We see deer all the time out here, and they aren't eating any of our plants, so we love them!! What a happy little deer family! =)

Kung Fu Fido

One of the things in my birthday basket from my co-workers was Kung Fu Fido - Fortune Cookie for Dogs. I just love it! It's one of the cutest pet items I've seen in a long time! I've given a few to the puppies already and they love them (like that is a suprise though). The fortunes are just hilarious, so I've decided I will share them with you as we open new ones! Here are the first three:

• Some day you will find yourself barking up the right tree.

• It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and certainly not desirable as your tongue keeps hitting you in the face.

• Confucius say mad dog with flea collar get ticked off.

Home Sweet Home

Here are some pictures of the new house! It's coming together quite nicely.

We also ordered our pool table yesterday! It will go in the front living room (where the zebra carpet is in the picture above). We are still searching for a formal dining room table, we have found a couple that we like though.

RUN!

Here is a short video of the Babies in the back yard. It doesn't capture the full excitement that they usually have (there are no instances of them running together with Einstein's tail in Tina's mouth!) but it is fun none the less. I will have to work on my video taking skills a bit more. Stay tuned!

We're Still Here

John & I are still alive... just very busy. That's why I haven't been as diligent about posting anything on here in a while. Both of the house closings went just as planned and we are getting settled in to the new house. The kitchen, bathrooms and main living room are fairly well complete, we just haven't hung any pictures yet and both our offices are in a great state of dissarray. The garage is still quite cluttered as well, but everything is coming along nicely (one box at a time). The puppies love the new house and the new big back yard! They just run and play all the time. I'm so proud of them, you never quite know how they will react to new situtations, but they have been the best Babies ever! And the rest of the critters are doing fine as well. We didn't lose ANY fish during the move, which I think is quite impressive. We drained the tanks down to almost empty and loaded them in the back of John's truck to transport them. It was HOT outside too that day. Actually I think we only broke three things during all the moving. The globe of my Garfield gum machine, the glass door to one of the tv stands, and a support board from our headboard came unglued. Nothing that we really needed or that can't be fixed so I'd say that's a success! I must also mention that we did have lots of good help moving. Blake, Carlos and Val were all wonderful and very dedicated to our cause. We have such good friends! Couldn't have done it with out them.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today was just about the best birthday ever!! We picked up the puppies last night so my alarm clock this morning was a cute little Einstein nose to the arm. I did have to work, but it was still a great day. My boss got me a blueberry muffin for breakfast, then a bunch of co-workers & I all went to Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch. I had the four cheese manicotti and it was excellent! Another co-worker also rounded up about a dozen empty boxes for me (we still have packing to do!) Then, the best news of the day... we got our statement showing how much money we have to bring to closing on our new house on Monday, and it was about half of what we expected! Woo Hoo!! I also got a great gift basket from my accounting co-workers with several house warming items that are fabulous and just my style! And when I got home John had left a vase of Sunflowers for me on the table! Just about a perfect day!! Now... off to fill those empty boxes!

Vacation!

John and I spent a few days on vacation near Tyler, Texas this past week. We had a great time, and it was definitely good to have some relaxing time before our big house move! We ate lots of good food, played shuffleboard and mini golf, and went to the Tyler Zoo also. We even rode paddle boats around for a bit. Ours seemed to be defective though... we couldn't turn right! There were two hammocks nearby - one pink and one orange. (Bet you can't guess who got which) After the paddle boat excursion, we decided to rest in the hammocks. After about 10 minutes or so, I hear a **thud** and look over to see John flat on the ground! After checking to make sure he was ok of course, it was a bit comical. And since that's about the worst thing to happen the whole trip, I'd say we did pretty well! Good Times!!

All Grown Up

Probably not too long after I bought this house, some birds starting making a nest on our front porch. It took them close to two years to get the nest built! And during different seasons, different birds would come and claim squatters rights and live there for a while. But last year Mommy & Daddy bird had some babies. Four in fact. And we watched them grow and eventually fly away. They are so amazing to watch! And they must be really good parents, because this year they came back and had four more babies!! Our real estate agent tried to get us to take down the nest before we listed the house, but I had to politely refuse. How could I take down their four year old house that had four babies inside?!?! Not an option. Just yesterday all four babies took flight. They are so cute, I get distracted everytime I walk by the window, I have to peek out and check on them. The babies still come back to rest during the day, and the whole family (Mom, Dad & all four babies) come back and sleep at night. Mom & Dad stay on the ledge next to the nest and the babies squeeze in together. It just amazes me at what good parents these birds are. I'm kind of sad that soon the babies won't need to come back anymore, as they will all go out and make new houses for their own families. Perhaps at least one will fly five miles up the road to our new house!