Simple Pleasures (for a dog)

Today's photo montage is designed to celebrate one of the simple pleasures in the life of a dog...namely, fun with a garden hose. While Daniel enjoyed 'business drinks and dinner' last night, Bailey, Sophie and I watered all of our trees, plants, gardens, etc. The crew moved from tree to tree with me, but Bailey definitely had the best time when I was soaking the crepe myrtle. Happy Friday and Enjoy!

It starts with a simple garden hose.

Throw in a thirsty dog.

Scope out the enemy.(check out the evil eye she's giving that water)

Wait for the opportune moment to strike.

And then go in for the kill! (doesn't she look vicious?)

Quick Post

Daniel and I have both been extremely busy the last few weeks. Between softball games, social events, the dog, the house, the yard, our jobs, and weekend trips, we are running on empty. Having Bailey has been a huge adjustment. I can't wait for her to be able to make it the whole night without having to go outside. If we are lucky she only wakes us up at around 5:30 am. If we are not so lucky (which is most nights it seems like) she wakes us up about every two hours. We are trying to go for really long walks at night to wear her out, but even that doesn't always do the trick. She is very cute and is learning sit, down, heel, and, of course, NO! We haven't had much luck with stay yet, but hopefully she'll get it eventually. For anyone considering getting a puppy, as all my friends have told me AFTER I got Bailey, you might as well have a baby cause it's just as much work. Oh well. We love her and hope to raise her to be a wonderful addition to our family.

We are heading to Cleveland this weekend for a 'Brady Bunch Reunion'. In other words, my 3 step brothers and then us girls. Sherri and family won't be there since they just moved to Mobile, but Anna and I will be representin'. We are going to have a house full of people and Bailey, but I'm looking forward to it! Especially the fish fry Saturday night!

Below are some pics from the QA bowling/going away party for Joe and some pics of Bailey. Enjoy!




Don't I look like a Pro-Bowler?


Daniel is really good. People kept asking if he was in a league. Look how far back he starts. My ball wouldn't make it past the half way point if i started that far back.


Bailey with her duck.

Garden Update #....something and Sad Cat

Above is my first full grown vegetable! This zucchini grew like 5 inches in the last week. Last night I finally plucked it! Now, I just have to figure out what glorious dish to use it in!


No, I didn't take my zucchini to the Sears portrait center! But I did want to display it in all it's glory with nothing else to distract your eye. It is actually sitting on our grill (cover). I'm going to ignore any obvious jokes about what this zucchini resembles.


These are just one bunch of daisies my Aunt Beth gave me. They are so incredibly sunny and happy. The butterflies love them, and I love being able to see them through the blinds in our bedroom. My Aunt says they grow like wildfire, so I hope next year I have a whole row of them on that side of our house!


Lovely Zinnias! I remember having these planted at our 'yellow house' in C'land. I love the surprise of color when these open. They remind me of those cheesy dancing flowers from the 80's. They are so tall they bob and sway in the breeze.


Look at all my 'maters! These will be served with salt and pepper on the side of every meal shortly!


Herbs are doing pretty good. My cilantro got a little dry and yellow from thirst this weekend, but is doing better now. I have used all of my herbs for cooking except Thyme. I think the only recipe I typically use thyme for is my oven fried chicken. I'm open to other thyme recipes.


This is black and white cat, aka sad cat, aka skanky cat. This poor thing showed up at our house at the end of last week. It was so skinny, had only one eye, it's back legs didn't work well, and it could barely meow. We truly thought this cat had been tortured and starved by someone. I even talked to a friend about getting her picked up by the animal rescue 'cat lady'. Much to my surprise, as I attempted to walk Bailey, a couple walking their dog asked if I had seen a lost cat. She said, 'A black and white cat?'. I said, 'yes'. She said, 'with one eye sewn shut?'. I said, 'yeah, sort of' (doesn't look sewn shut anymore, but i didn't tell her that). She said, 'really skinny?'. I said, 'yeah, she's hanging out on my back patio.' At first I was a little wary- Daniel and I had been discussing what kind of people could abuse their cat so. But then the woman started tearing up and was so happy, I knew she loved her kitty. It seems they have been out of state for 2 weeks and their 21 year old daughter was supposed to come out to the house to look after the cat. I'm not sure how the cat got out or whatever, but the daughter had been unable to find her. Turns out this poor cat was 17 years old, half blind, and senile. It's house was just two houses down, but it couldn't find it's way back. The lady had been out walking expecting to find the cat dead and just wanted to bury her. She was so thankful that we had fed and 'cared' for her cat. She couldn't wait to get home and call all her kids to tell them their childhood cat was ok. Good thing I didn't let Daniel or Corinne put it out of it's misery...

Family, New Additions, New Hair

For having such a boring life, I certainly have alot to report lately. And for any of you non-gardening types, there will be no pics of flowers or veggies today.

Last weekend Sherri, Madeline, and Avery came to stay! The weekend consisted mainly of eating and visiting. Friday night I made shrimp scampi with linguini, salad, french bread. It was yummy! Madeline even cleaned her plate! Saturday morning we had waffles for breakfast, watched some cartoons, played in the yard a bit.

*Those are magic wands (aka Oby's straws) in their hands. Apparently, my house is full of monsters so we had to say 'Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo' everytime Madeline saw one. Gotta love that imagination!

GiGi and Daddy Tim came to town and took all of us to lunch at Obys. They also brought wonderful strawberry shortcake makings for us to enjoy after lunch. We had a wonderful visit with them until late in the afternoon.


Saturday night I made some pesto and some bacon and white bean bruschetta. I made the pesto out of basil in my yard! It was amazing. The bacon and white bean topping was pretty good, but not quite like L & M's. Sherri made some great Cosmos to go with our appetizers. We turned on some jazz and had our own mini cocktail hour. We followed this with filets (with steak sauce that shall remain nameless), salad, and asparagus. Unfortunately, not long after dinner Sherri realized Avery had a fever. They both spent a long night on the couch.

Sunday morning I took Madeline for a walk down the hill to see the geese that live on one of our lakes. Not being a mother, I didn't consider that Madeline's flip flops might not have been the best choice for a walk. Needless to say, I got my exercise carrying Madeline on my back all the way back up the massive hill to our house when she got a big blister on her foot. I'm sure it was very amusing to watch me (also in flip flops and a dress) carrying a 3 year old on my back as I struggle up this hill. All in all, it was a very nice weekend. Went by entirely too quickly though. They will be moving to Mobile in 2 weeks though, so I'm very thankful to have had this visit.

Daniel celebrated his 29th birthday this week. His (obviously not very intelligent) wife surprised him with a chocolate lab puppy. She has no name as of yet, but is VERY cute and sweet. My friend Rachel warned me not to get a puppy if i was really just wanting a baby. I don't think I got the puppy for that reason, but good lord, that puppy is just like having a baby. We have been taking turns getting up every 2 hours or so to take her out to potty. Daniel has the magic touch and can get her to go back to sleep in her crate. I, on the other hand, give up and put her in the bed with us. it's so hard not to when she sleeps like a rock in bed with us. We are getting her invisible fence this weekend, so she shouldn't be inside too much longer.


My hair. I have been growing my hair out to donate to locks of love for 2 years now. My mom blames it on 'new mommy' syndrome, but yesterday I decided it had to go NOW. I am so tired of it taking forever to fix and still looking like crap. I called to make an appointment thinking it would take a least a few days to get in, but alas, they got me in at noon yesterday.


Eleven inches later...I'm a new woman. I'm still getting used to my new cut and haven't a clue how to make it look cute, but it definitely feels better in this heat!
So far I've been told I now look younger, skinnier, and more like Sherri! I will graciously except all of those compliments!!