The Dog of Horror

You all have heard stories of Teil the Poop Eating Dog! Little do you know, she eats just about everything. Over the summer, Jeff was changing Emily's brakes and he left the lug nuts on the ground. I warned him to put them up on the table so the dog wouldn't get them but he didn't listen. He thought for sure that she wouldn't eat those. When he went to put the lug nuts back on the car, they were missing. Sure enough, the dog took them. She eats anything that she can get her teeth on! There were days when the backyard looked like a war zone - with the holes that she digs and the stuff that she tears up - there was carnage every where! A few weeks ago, we didn't close the door from the house to the garage all the way and her and Max pushed their way in the house. When I got home, there was socks, some towels, a blanket and some of Jeff's boxers out in the yard - all torn apart of course. At that point, Jeff and I made it a point to make sure the door was closed all the way. Well apparently, we were slacking a little bit on Christmas Eve. We left the house to go over to my sister's and then to his mom's house. We were gone probably a good 5 or 6 hours. When we got home and pulled in to the garage, we noticed some stuff in the middle of the floor and the door was open again. My first thought when I see that is Izzy! She is always trying to make a break for the great outdoors when we open the garage door so I am afraid she will actually run one of these days and we won't see her again. But as usual she was sitting on the chair looking at me like I was crazy for running in the house yelling her name. This time, the carnage was worse though! The dog got the following:

• a box of crayons (yummy!)
• 2-3 lia sophia catalogs (good thing I have PLENTY of those around the house)
• a bag of about 4 paperback books of Jeff's
• Jeff's Red Sox hoodie
  
• a pair of my lounge pants
• one of the Costco gift cards we got for Christmas (it was still usable - it just had to be keyed in instead of swiped - the cashier loved us!)
• a pair of Jeff's shorts
• Jeff's camo lounge pants that he got from me for Christmas
  
• and the gem of all gems - my dad's brand new pajamas that I had bought that morning for his Christmas gift!

Needless to say, the dog was lucky to have survived that night. And my mom wonders why I call the dog a pain in the butt most of the time. I was upset about everything but became absolutely irate when I saw my dad's Christmas gift torn up. He still got them anyway so that him and my mom could see what we had to deal with. Now I get to go shopping to replace the hoodie and the camo pants that she decided to shred.

Here's Our Christmas Card!

Jeff and I don't normally do Christmas cards and there is no reason why to start now. But one of Jeff's friends is trying to get her photography business up and running so she offered to take our pictures for free. The only catch was that we had to let her post our pictures on her blog! Jeff and I were totally okay with that. We had the pictures done on Sunday in the snow. It was absolutely freezing but very much worth it! To see the pictures, visit Rochelle's blog for All Seasons Photography.

She is still taking photos for free for those who are interested. And she will give you a CD with your pictures on them.

Thanks Rochelle!

Go Elf Yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Scrooge

I will admit it, I am kind of a scrooge when it comes to Christmas. For the longest time, I was the only one in my family without a significant other or kids so Christmas was really awkward for me. I would have one or two gifts to open while every one else in my family would have a crap load of gifts to open! Plus they had people to share their gifts with. It sucked. Last year was mine and Jeff's first Christmas together and while it didn't suck completely, I was still somewhat of a scrooge. This year doesn't seem to be much different at times. The weather so far this year hasn't really helped the situation any. I really don't have any of my shopping done yet and I just don't seem to be able to get into the Christmas spirit that much this year - and no it won't help if I decorate. I am hoping that the recent snow storm and the storms this weekend will help. Any suggestions on how to get in the spirit?

The Bar Will Be Open in About a Month

Last year for Christmas, I bought Jeff a home beer brewing kit. It was one of those gifts that I couldn't wait for him to open last year. He was so excited when he opened it and I was too. But since last Christmas it has sat in the corner of one part of the house or another. Over that past few days he has been talking about brewing some beer. All I could think was that it was about freaking time! Yesterday after he got off work, he finally went to The Beer Nut to get the goods to make the beer. Today he began the beer making process. Now we get to wait 7-10 days for the beer to ferment and then another 3-4 weeks after he bottles it before he can taste it. So the bar should be open in about a month. My dad will be the taste tester so if it passes his test, the bar may be open. Any requests?

Shit or Mouse? I would have preferred shit!

Yep, that's right...my cat is a killer - a mouse killer that is! Here is the story:

It was a lovely fall Saturday night in Utah. I sat at the computer doing my homework like I do every Saturday night. Jeff was sitting on the couch watching Good Fellas because nothing else was on TV (good movie by the way; highly recommend it but not for the kiddos). As we were sitting there enjoying our evening, I turned to look at the movie. When I did, I noticed that Teil and Izzy were both sniffing something on the floor. Knowing my crazy animals, I knew I better check and see what it was before whatever it was was either eaten or swallowed whole. So I got up from my chair and started to walk to the front room. The lights in the family room were on so I could kind of see what they were sniffing but not very well. I got closer and saw this dark grayish-brownish looking lump on the floor. My first thought was that it was a clump of shit. Gross - yes I know. But since Teil is a shit-eater (that's right - she even eats human poop. That is another story for another time though.) and all of the animals in the house seem to be in cahoots, it wouldn't surprise me if somehow shit made its way into our house. So I went and turned the light on and walked back over to the lump on the floor and saw a tail. Yes that is right - a tail. As I looked a little closer, I also saw eyes. Jeff asked what they had and at that point I realized what it was and freaked out! I mean FREAKED out! I started doing a little grossed out dance and ran and stood in the corner of the room. Jeff just started laughing. He came over and looked at it and started laughing even more. Both Teil and Izzy were looking at me like I was crazy and by all accounts at that point in time, I was acting like a crazy person. So Jeff grabbed a paper towel and went to pick it up at which I screamed "You put on some rubber gloves! That thing has hantavirus written all over it!" He went and grabbed a plastic bag - not quite the same as rubber gloves but I guess it works - and picked up the mouse with the paper towel and plastic bag. As he was picking it up, I asked if the mouse was fresh (stupid question, I know) to which his reply was "Yes. See? It is oozing because it was ripped apart right there." Right there happened to be its ass! As you imagine, I freaked out a little bit more because Izzy was the one that tore it apart which means she has hantavirus written all over her! Good thing she has her shots! So of course I called my sister and told her about it to which she replied "Good kitty!" For the rest of the night I was freaking out. Not only because she found a mouse in the house (hey that ryhmes!). How was it in the house you might ask? She is not allowed outside - that's how I know. And no my house is not dirty...it happens to all houses. Every time I walked into the kitchen and saw her staring at things like the fridge and the stove and the cabinets, I wondered where she would get the next one. Then I started freaking out because cats usually bring their owners either mice or birds as a sign of respect. So my fear jumped to waking up in the middle of the night with a dead mouse on my bed (that makes you sleep great at night).

Jeff blames it on the little play mice with catnip that we have laying around the house for her. She plays with those all the time but she has to make them move. This mouse was moving on its own so he says that she just got excited and wanted to play with it. At least I know we won't have mice running around the house! And yes, we praised her for her good work that night.

Now I know why she uses this so much...sharpening the claws for the kill!

Thankful for...

...my family!

Yes they may drive me crazy sometimes but I still love them. They are the reason that I am the person that I am today. My brothers taught me to be strong and stand up for myself. My sister is one of my best friends to this day...although we have had our ups and downs over the years. My parents are the best of all. There were times growing up when I didn't really like my parents but as I have gotten older, I know that everything they did was out of love and for the best. I realize now that my parents could have been worse. I don't know what I would do without them or my brothers and sister.

Thankful for...

Life has been so busy and hectic lately for me that I haven't really had time to post anything. Between work, lia sophia, school and every day life, I feel like I am losing it lately. Some days I feel like I am going crazy. So instead of blogging about how I am going crazy, I have decided to start blogging every day until Thanksgiving about things that I am thankful for. So here goes...

The first thing that I am thankful for is...Jeff! With my schedule this week, I haven't really had the time to just relax or even spend time with Jeff and I feel kind of bad about it in a way. There are times when him and I are both so busy (okay usually me, because I tend to overbook myself sometimes) that we don't really see each other except in passing sometimes. This has been one of those weeks. He is one of the best things in my life right now and has been for the past two years. Without him I think that I would really be crazy - more crazy than I already am! He puts up with my mood swings and my nagging and even my crazy family. He can sit there and have a conversation that is more then a couple seconds long with my dad and my brothers. He isn't afraid to be with my family if I am not there (and that is a HUGE thing!). He puts up with my crazy cat - although he secretly loves her and wouldn't know what to do without her in the house. He also manages to survive in the tornado that is lia sophia in the house! When I am having a really bad day, he does all that he can to make it better and to lift me up when I need it. Without him in my life I don't know what I would do. I am extremely thankful for him sticking around for as long as he has and I can't to grow old and crazy (yes it will happen - if you know my mom you would agree) with him! Thank you babe for everything that you have given me in my life. You have no idea how much you mean to me.

High School Tag

Just for you Emily!

1. DID YOU DATE SOMEONE FROM YOUR SCHOOL? Nope

2.WHAT KIND OF CAR DID YOU DRIVE? 1983 Chrysler E-Class and then a 1991 Ford Escort once the E-Class decided it was done with my family. It had been through all 4 of us kids.

3. DID YOU PASS YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE TEST YOUR FIRST TRY? yep!

4. WHERE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL? Not really. Most parties the kids from my school had got busted by the cops pretty fast.

5. WERE YOU CONSIDERED A FLIRT? Probably not.

6. WERE YOU IN BAND, ORCHESTRA, OR CHOIR? Nope

7. WERE YOU A NERD? a little bit - what can I say? I like Math and Science.

8. WERE YOU ON ANY VARSITY TEAMS? Cheerleading

9. DID YOU EVER GET SUSPENDED/EXPELLED? Nope but I did get put on probation for egging a fellow students house.

10. CAN YOU STILL SING THE FIGHT SONG? Once I heard it, probably.

11. WHO WERE YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS? Mrs. Simpson (love her chocolate chip cookies!), Mr. John (the coffee each morning was the best!) and Ms. Sawaya

12. WHERE DID YOU SIT FOR LUNCH? In the cafeteria or out on the beach if the weather was good.

13. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S FULL NAME? Judge Memorial Catholic High School

14. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S MASCOT AND COLORS? LBulldog and Red and Gold!

15. DID YOU GO TO HOMECOMING AND WITH WHO? Freshman, sophomore and junior years, I went with a group of friends. Senior year I went with one of the football players (there was a rule for senior cheerleaders and football players that if you didn't find your own date, the coaches would find one for you! So we decided to go together!)

16. IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN WOULD YOU? Yes because I would do somethings differently.

17. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT GRADUATION? My dad yelling his lungs out when they called my name.

18. WHERE DID YOU GO SENIOR SKIP DAY? We didn't do that. We would get in too much trouble.

19. WERE YOU IN ANY CLUBS? dance and cheer but those aren't really clubs

20. HAVE YOU GAINED SOME WEIGHT SINCE THEN? A little bit but it was for the better.

21. WHO WAS YOUR PROM DATE? never went to prom

22. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO YOUR 10 YEAR REUNION? It was this summer and I missed it.

23. DID YOU HAVE A JOB IN HIGH SCHOOL? for a couple of months - receptionist at Great Clips but my schedule was too crazy in school to have a job.

I tag any one who wants to reminisce about their high school days.

Couldn't Have Said It Better

Early Morning Wake-Up Call...by Firemen!

At 6:30 this morning, Jeff and I heard a noise. It took a couple of times for us to realize that it was someone pounding on the front door. Max being the good guard dog that he is, barked which confirmed that it was someone at the door. As Jeff and I got out of bed, the same thing crossed our mind. We thought that it was someone that we didn't want to see or talk to. I walked in front of Jeff because I was dressed a little more decently (he only sleeps in his boxers) and I saw a fire truck through the front window. At that point a lot of things went through my mind - there was a fire in the one of the houses next to us, there was a gas leak, etc. Nope...none of the above. It was a water main break in the circle behind our house...which means, yep you guessed it. The backyard was flooded again! This time though, the front yard was flooded too! For some reason, only our yard and our neighbors yard gets hit with the water. No one else does - just us! So for about 20 minutes this morning, Jeff and I walked around the outside of the house with the firemen and made sure everything was okay. They checked the crawl space and there was a little water under there but they put some dirt and rocks at the side of the house which slowed and eventually stopped the water. Now we have a myriad of city workers in the backyard trying to find a manhole (which apparently it takes about 10 of them to find) and poking holes in the yard to get some of the water to drain away. As I watched the worker walking through the yard, I noticed the water was up above his ankle in the yard. That is just too much water. There is talk now of them ripping up our driveway to put a drain in which Jeff and I are okay with because we'll get a new driveway. The downfall: they can have access to our driveway any time they need it - which as long as they let us know ahead of time we would be okay with it. With the backyard full of water, the dogs have to stay in the house which has resulted in me getting to listen to Teil whine for the past hour. It has been a lovely morning so far. Glad we don't live in the circle!

Best part: I got to see firemen!

I'm a Big Sister

That's right...I am a big sister. I applied to be a Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah. After passing a background check and a couple of references telling them I was a good person, I was matched with a little! I got the call Monday night to let me know. My little's name is Mia and I get to spend one hour a week with her after school. I am so excited! My first time with her will be next Thursday and I can't wait! I will keep you all updated.

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Happy Birthday to my best friend! I love you!

Thriller

Saturday night, Jeff and I had a date night. We went to dinner at Market Street Grill on some gift certificates (thanks Dad!) and then to see Odyssey Dance Theater's "Thriller." It was something that I had wanted to see for a couple of years now but never really had the chance the go. This year, I asked Jeff if he would want to go and he said yes. So I got the tickets and we made a date of it. We got there a little early and were waiting in the lobby for the doors to open. About 20 minutes before the doors opened and once the doors opened, some of the dancers walked around and were scaring the people waiting to see them dance. It was hilarious because they would get the same people over and over again. They would also just come sit next to you and not leave even if the people who were supposed to be sitting there showed up. We saw a lot of people trying to be tough when they saw them but it didn't work. Jeff and I had a great time. We were amazed at one of the dancers/choreographers, Tristan Gray. He is only 11 years old and absolutely amazing. He got the biggest cheers out of any dancer there. For being only 11, he was better then some older more professional dancers I have seen. I am really happy that I have someone who will go with me to this type of thing. Thanks Babe! Although, you don't have any idea what you may have gotten yourself in to!

Here are some pictures with some of the cast:

Zombie standing on the chair above Jeff

I was trying not to laugh because I was really thought she was going to lick me.

Jeff's new girlfriend! Can you say HOTTIE?

We had a Baby!

Introducing the newest member of our family...

Jeff "Sockman" Ludlow, JR

Born Thursday, October 23, 2008 at 5:55pm

To have your own baby, click here.

Photo Tag

I've been tagged!
This is a blog-tag, in the form of a Google Images survey. Each question of the survey must be answered with an image. (Because it's fun, that's why.) :)

My Favorite Vacation:
San Francisco, CA









My favorite color:
Green








My favorite treat:
Chocolate







My favorite fruit:
Strawberries and pineapple







A little known fact about me:
I am completely gray








Where I want to travel:
Italy







Hawaii







Alaska








Where I grew up:
Sandy, UT (for the most part)






Where I live now:
Salt Lake City, UT






My middle name:









My first name:





My Biggest Pet Peeve:
People who think the world revolves around them.










My favorite animal:
Cat









Weimeraner







Past Love:
Old friends






My greatest wish:








Your turn. I tag Genny, Mindi, Emily and Megan!(Participation optional, of course.)

My Family Through the Years

My family in 1980-1981


My family in 1985-1986


My family in 2007

Let the Pickling Begin!

Sunday was pickle making day for me and Jeff. That's right...PICKLES! His uncle makes pickles every year and we get a jar for Christmas. We also try to get our hands on jars any other times that we can...like when Faa accidentally leaves his jar in Jeff's truck! Thanks Faa! We also take the pickles as payment for watching his uncle's dog. That's right people - Jeff and I are obsessed with the pickles! I dated Jeff for a little over a year before he let me have a pickle. My family on the other hand got to try the pickles about 3 months after they met Jeff (that was just RUDE but I have forgiven him). This year we decided to try and make the pickles ourselves. His uncle was kind enough to give us the recipe and told us how to make the pickles. So we spent Sunday morning making the pickles. The house smelt like cucumbers that whole day and my fingers smelled like garlic for a couple of days but it was worth the 15 jars that we made. We'll let every one know how they taste in a couple of months. If family is lucky, they may get a jar for Christmas too! (Nothing like cheap gifts!)

Tagged by Megan!

8 T.V. shows I love to watch

Grey's Anatomy
Ugly Betty
Biggest Loser
Gossip Girl
One Tree Hill
Wipeout!
Family Guy
Bones

8 Favorite Restaurants

Cafe Rio
La Puente
Tsunami
Happy Sumo
Ginza
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Tepanyaki
Fratelli Ristorante

8 Things that happened yesterday

Did laundry
Went to work
Ate nachos with jalapenos
Picked Jeff up from Trax
Picked all the vegetables from my garden before they died from the cold this weekend
Made dinner with yummy zucchini and tomatoes (Thanks Melita!) and eggplants from my garden
Watched Baby Mama
Read part of my book

8 Things I am looking forward to

Warmer weather
This semester to be over
Rally next weekend
The floors to get finished
Jeff to get a new truck
A vacation
Making Pickles
Going to the gym

8 things I love about Fall

We missed it in Utah...again!

8 Things on my wish list

No snow this weekend!
A baby
Finish School
The remodeling to be finished
Vacation
Jeff to get a new truck
The country to get back to normal
Everyone safe and healthy this year

People I tag

Emily
Mindi
Genny

And People Think He Should Lead the Country?

Izzy's New Toy

The other day I was printing something on the computer. I heard the printer start and then I heard a "meow." So I looked down and this is what I saw...


Notice how her body gets further into the printer...


This was after I called her name and told her stop (her paws are still in the printer trying to get the paper!)


And yes...she does party tricks too! Book her now for your Christmas party before her calendar is full!

But I had Long Sleeves On!

Jeff and his new gun!

Yesterday was the Duck Hunt Season Opener, which means a day without Jeff and Teil. It also means that Teil gets to prove her worth with Jeff. We watched the weather all week to see what it was supposed to be like and Jeff was excited that it was supposed to storm because apparently hunting is good if the wind is blowing. All I know is that it rained while him and his Uncle Richard were out in the wetlands.

Teil was lucky that she got to go. On Friday, she had a visit with the vet where they determined that she had a urinary infection. Luckily, the doctor was really good and gave her some strong antibiotics and said as long as we started her on them that morning, she would be good to go on Saturday. So Saturday morning came bright and early and Teil and Jeff made their way to the swamp. The best thing about this time of year is that Teil is on her best behavior because she knows that if she isn't good, she won't get to go play with the ducks with daddy (which is good for the mommy because I have one less spazoid of an animal to deal with in the house!).

So how good was the hunt you ask? Excellent! Jeff and his uncle both caught their limit (which is 7). Jeff spoke to a ranger when they were leaving and he said that most of the people he had talked to that day had barely caught one or two so Jeff and Richard did great! This also meant that Jeff fixed dinner Saturday night...on the menu - duck ala Jeff!

How did Teil do you ask? Absolutely AMAZING! This is her second year hunting and Jeff said that she was totally amazing and she earned her keep! There was one duck that Jeff hit and was still alive when it landed in the water. Teil saw it, swam out to get it and still kept it in her mouth even with it flapping its wings trying to get loose! Most dogs wouldn't stand for that and would let the duck go. Not Teil though! Oh no...she wouldn't let that duck go.

Overall the hunt went really well. There was one little hitch...the bugs! If you notice in the picture above, there are some pink spots on Jeff's arms. The pictures below are the results of the bugs. Did he have bug spray on you ask? Yes - oh wait - not on his arms because he had long sleeves on. I hope he likes the color pink!

Picture Tag

One of my favorite soon to be sisters-in-law tagged me to do this.

You are supposed to pick the 4th file, and the 4th picture. So here is my first one (I have two places that I store pictures because I have my dad's old computer). This is a picture from my nephew Gabe's baptism in 2006. In the picture is Gabe (the baby - obviously), my favorite brother-in-law Kerry (he is my only brother-in-law!), my sister Consuela and my cousin Father Martin Diaz (he is over St. Therese Parish in Midvale - you may have heard of him, his church had a fire over this last Christmas holiday).

Here is my second one. This picture is from the day Max came home from the doggie hospital. No explanation needed here!

I now Tag Janice, Melita and Katie! I am sure y'all have some good pictures.

If It Costs That Much, It Better Perform Miracles

So I am in real need of a new purse and like any woman, I can't just get any purse. I need one that fits me and is just the perfect purse for me. It can't cost too much though...I am not one of those people that can spend a couple hundred dollars on a purse. I figure if a purse costs that much, it should throw my keys out at me when I am looking for them or organize my wallet or something magical. Jeff was a good husband this weekend and went shopping with me to find a new purse. We looked at a lot of places - the mall, Kohl's - a lot of places. In my search for a new purse, I noticed a trend - all of them are either really, really big or old lady looking. And despite the gray hair that makes an appearance on my head every couple of weeks, I am not an old lady! I am also afraid that if I get one that is too big, I would be able to fit a small child in it and then some. I am thinking about having a purse party but not sure who to go through.

So if any one has any suggestions on where I can get a cute purse for a small amount (I don't think Jeff will let me sale his kidney for a purse) or who I can book a purse party through, let me know! I am almost desperate at this point in time!

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Last Saturday, Jeff and I went to The Leonardo to see Body Worlds. All I have to say about the exhibit is that it was amazing! They have one similar to it in Vegas and I have wanted to go see that one but never found any one who wanted to see it too. So when I heard that it was coming to Utah, I sent Jeff the website and just told him that we were going whether he wanted to or not. At first I didn't think he would want to go. But after seeing more about it and hearing more about it, he was excited to go see it. We got our tickets online and then went downtown.

When we got upstairs to the exhibit, you could hear a beating heart. As we walked through the exhibit, that was all we could hear. They had the beating heart sound throughout the entire exhibit. It was absolutely amazing to see the human body that way. I have seen and even cut cadavers but they were nothing like the bodies in the Body Worlds exhibit. There were some parts of the exhibit that made me a cringe a little - like the black lung of a smoker. If I was a smoker, I would have quit then and there. Jeff liked the exhibit too which I must admit I was a little worried that he wouldn't.

I highly recommend going to see it if you have the chance. I just don't have the words to explain it. It was just amazing and very educational. If you decide to go though, it is better to get your tickets online because they only let so many people in each half hour and if you don't pre-purchase the tickets, you could be waiting for awhile before you can get in.

Oh yeah - while we were standing in line for the exhibit, we saw Matt from So You Think You Can Dance, Season 4.

But Mom...I am a BIG girl now!!

At first when we got Izzy, she would stay away from the doors and barely look out the window sometimes. But as time went on and she got more comfortable in the house and began to sit in the windows. Now she loves to sit in the windows and look outside. I knew at that point that it would only be a matter of time before she got gutsy enough to try and sneak out of the house. Well that time has come. Over the last couple of months, Izzy has tried harder and harder each time a door opens to sneak out of it. We have to be extra careful whenever we open any door to make sure that she doesn't get out especially because she is very very sneaky. A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I would try and let her out to see what she would do...but not without a leash on! Okay, so I am a little paranoid and am afraid that if I let her out on her own, unsupervised and unleashed, that something would happen. We live way to close to State Street and 5300 South to not be paranoid. Plus, the people that drive through the neighborhood don't always drive the 25 mph that they should in the neighborhood. So amid Jeff's laughter, I bought her a harness and a leash from PetSmart (and yes everyone...it is PINK!) The first time I put it on her turned into a wrestling match with me and her while Jeff sat there and laughed. Once I finally got the harness on her, I put the leash on her and took her outside. When we are in the house, she is not a big fan of them being on when we are inside but get her outside with them on and watch out!!!! You wouldn't even know that she didn't like them when we are outside. She walks all over the place and tries to crawl under the bushes. She actually does pretty good on the leash and it gives me a peace of mind knowing that she won't get run over by a car which I am not too worried about because the minute she hears a car, she bolts for the front door any way. But still, if she wants to go outside, she knows that she has to have her leash on. And yes, you can train cats to walk on a leash. I told Jeff that one day we will take her on a walk around the neighborhood with the dogs. He just laughed at that! (Do we see a pattern with him?)

Indiana Jones...aka Teil

So crazy, stinky butt Teil is a digger. The dirt at the side of our house looks like Indiana Jones has been there doing an archaelogical dig. Either she is looking for that bone that Max buried, digging for China or digging for oil. If she would only dig up the weeds, I probably wouldn't mind but the holes are getting to be too much for us. Last week, at the gym and on the way home from the gym, I was listening to the Morning Zoo on 97.1. Every other week, they have Ty the Dog Trainer on. He answers questions about dog behavior and how to fix it and all that stuff. I decided to send a text in that morning to ask what we could do to get Teil to stop digging in the dirt. I know that most people say that when dogs dig it is a sign of either boredom or anxiety. She doesn't dig at the gates or the fence so we don't think it is anxiety so we are thinking maybe it is boredom. Ty said to give her toys to play with but since Jeff is training her to be a duck hunting dog, we can't give her toys on her own yet. Why might you ask? Good question. If we give her toys now, she will tear them apart and then when Jeff goes out in to the great swamp lands to play Duck Hunt and takes her with, she may think that she can tear the ducks up too. And we wouldn't want that...she needs to go with him when he goes hunting (my sanity depends on it!). So the other option that Ty mentioned was to fill the holes with poop...yep that is right, POOP!...and then when she digs she will find a not so happy gift in the hole. So what did Jeff do today? Yep! He filled the holes with poop. Now we are taking bets on if it works. My bet is that it won't - I have after all, seen her eat Max's poop and cat poop in the front yard. That's right people, my dog eats POOP! So, who likes to gamble? Wanna place bets?

Tag...only for you Mindi!

3 Names you go by - T, Cricket, Babe
3 Things you are wearing right now -brown pants, blue shirt and my Doc Martin sandals
3 Restaurants I love - Cafe Rio, La Puente, Tsunami
3 Favorite things to do - Fishing, read, go to the gym
3 Trips to plan on this year - vacation with Jeff, vacation with Jeff, and vacation with Jeff
3 Things you want badly - new car, baby, lots of money
3 People who will do this - maybe Katie
3 Pets you have/had - Teil, Max and Izzy
3 Things you did yesterday - went to a lia sophia meeting, worked, slept in
3 Things you ate today - pancakes, strawberries and a Churro from Costco
3 goals - have a baby, get a new car, finish school
3 Fears - don't have any major ones right now
3 Things you plan on doing today - work, homework, Miracle Gro my garden
3 Things you plan on doing tomorrow - go to the gym, work, homework
3 Favorite Holidays - Thanksgiving, New Year's, Memorial Day
3 Favorite beverages - water, mini-cokes, iced tea

Two Years

Today is mine and Jeff's two year anniversary (it is actually the two year anniversary of our first date). Ask me how I know that? Because he reminded me. That's right...he knows when our anniversary is and I don't. I know birthdays though and he doesn't. About a month ago, we were talking about our anniversary with my family and they asked when it was. I told them it was sometime in September but honestly couldn't remember when it was. Jeff however, remembers the date we first went out. We celebrate the date of our first date because if you ask either of us, we couldn't tell you when we officially started being boyfriend and girlfriend. All I have to say is that it has been two years of ups and downs, tears and laughter, learning how to deal with each other and our quirky habits. But it has been two of the best years of my life.

Thank you babe for putting up with me and loving me for the past two years. And thank you for knowing me so well to get me chocolate covered strawberries and apples as my gift today! Now I will have to work extra hard at the gym this week but it is soooooo worth it.

A Weekend Of Firsts

This weekend was a weekend filled with firsts. On Saturday, Jeff and I went with my sister and her family to the Utah Greek Festival. I have gone to the festival at least 6 times now. Last year was Jeff's first time going (I have added a lot of new experiences to his life since we started dating). This year was the first year that my sister and her family went. I could not believe that they had never been before. They had a great time and so did we. The one bad thing about the festival is that I always get way more food than I can really eat. Jeff and I did the same thing last year and we were food zombies for the rest of the night. This year we got to watch the dancers longer than we were able to watch them last year. Next to the food, that is one of my favorite things about the festival. Gabe had a great time watching them too and his favorite thing of the night was the tyropites. He ate almost 2 of them by himself! It was a great time.

The second first of the weekend was Jeff's going to the Utah State Fair. He has never been so I decided to take him. There is nothing like going to see all the rednecks that come to the fair. Plus all the animals too! I made him try a deep fried Twinkie. He actually liked it. I am not a big fan of Twinkies but I love me a deep fried one! I have come to the conclusion though that any thing deep fried is tasty. He also went down the Big Yellow Slide for the first time too. When I first told him about the slide, he thought that it was some little slide like you would find at the park. When he saw it though, he knew that I wasn't joking when I said it was big. Skylar went down it a couple of times but we couldn't get Gabe to do it. He just wanted to sit there and watch every one else slide down. I also got my first ever Henna Tattoo. It is really cool and was much cheaper and quicker than my real tattoos. It is supposed to last for about 2-3 weeks.

I Always Wanted a Swimming Pool...Just Not THAT Big!

In great Utah fashion, the weather this holiday weekend went from nice and sunny to almost winter-like in a matter of a day. That is one thing that I don't like about Utah. Some years, we have all four seasons and they are distinct. And some years, we go from 90 degree summer weather to 50 degree weather in a matter of hours. Yep, that is what happened on Labor Day. Not only did the temperature drop, so did the water from the sky. On any other day, I would have been okay with the rain because we really need it. On this day though, it could have come a little slower and maybe over a couple days span.

Jeff and I woke up Monday morning to some sun in the sky. I had told him that if the sky stayed clear, we were going to go to Thanksgiving Point to walk around the gardens. I would deal with the cold weather that day - that is what jackets are for after all. After we got done eating some tasty pancakes for breakfast, I looked out the window and saw hail and lots of it! Our front yard quickly turned white. After the hail, came the rain. As we sat there looking out of our front window, we watched the street slowly start to flood with water. When we saw the street flood, we knew what was in store for us in the back yard. The great thing about our lovely yard is that it so bad that if it rains too hard - say hard enough to overflow storm drains (one of which happens to be in our neighbor's back yard), than the back yard gets flooded with water too. We are used to half of the yard being flooded with water but not the whole yard.

We walked out front to go look at the back yard and Teil comes running around the corner in the back yard, soaking wet from head to toe. She thought that it was fun and was running in the water. Max was the smart one who was trying to hide in the garage so he could stay dry.

As the sun came out later that day, the water started to evaporate. The bad thing about that is that once the water disappears, it leaves a big mud pit for the dogs to wrestle in for a day. Of course, Teil finds all the biggest mud pits in the yard and rolls in them while Max does his best to stay out of them. Oh how we love our kids!

The worst part of the day though...the hail ripped through the leaves on all of my plants in my garden and my lilies in the front yard. Hopefully, my plants will rebound though and still do okay.