you

you are 4 years old. you are a joy. you love to cuddle. you love to play with all of your toys. your stuffed blue lamb is still your favorite thing. you love to visit family. you love to take road trips. your best friend is your cousin, oreo. you love your back yard and could spend hours a day out there. you love cheese. you love new collars. you have to eat a dried chicken finger every night at dinner. you are a great guard dog and your bark is bigger than your bite. you love to sniff. you love rachel ray dog food. you bury your dog food all over the house in imaginary dirt,but would not dare dig in the dirt outside. you are a city dog. you hate the vet, but love the attention. you have sensitive ears. you are a joy. you are 4 years old.

the aftermath

The contractor came this morning to fix the pipe and survey the damage. When he was finished, we were left to start the clean up.



How does she manage to look cute when she is cleaning?




You will have to excuse the Afro I am sporting under that hat. It was some kind of cold in the garage!




All the bags of soggy, gooey, dripping wet ceiling and insulation.




Now we just have to wait for it to dry out.

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

We arrived home today to find that a pipe in the attic had burst. Leah opened the garage door and chunks of sheet rock fell to the ground. Water was gushing out of the ceiling and the side of the house. After what seemed like an eternity, two great friends showed up to help us turn the water off. They also helped with sweeping out all the water and were able to get the garage door closed now that is wet and has stopped working. Luckily, the water looks to be contained to the garage and our cars were not inside. Now, we wait for the contractor to come in the morning. Take a look...




If you look closely, you can see the leak where it all started.

traveling dog

Elliot loves to look out the car window when she's on a road trip. Most of the time she hops up into the back window. Last weekend we loaded up the car and hit the road. I happened to look back and this is what I saw.

getting old

I got a pair of what I consider way cute shoes for Christmas. I wanted a pair of black shoes that were not too dressy that I could wear on an ordinary day with things like my black Troy shirt. Obviously I picked out the wrong pair. Here are a few comments I got from work when I wore them:

"Those look comfortable, like bedroom slippers"
"You know you are getting old when you go for comfort over style"
"Where did you get those Indian shoes"
"Please tell me those aren't tassels"
"What are you wearing on your feet"

Well, I am getting old and they are comfortable. I happen to like them. They even have cute plaid on the inside. You be the judge.

I love him!

Merry Christmas all over again!

Leah and I went to Target today and discovered that all their Christmas stuff was 90% off. Yes, you read that right. So, here is a list of everything we got:
2 red & white rugs
2 tablecloths
1 way cute dog coat
1 pack of ornament hooks
4 boxes of outdoor icicle lights
2 boxes of light clips for all the icicle lights
1 Christmas tree candle
1 baby ornament
1 box of gold ornaments
6 packs of gold snowflake ornaments
1 wooden Christmas decoration
2 mini trees
1 random candy cane
1 present decoration

All for the amazing low price of $15.24...that's a savings of $127.53!

Did it look like Christmas threw up in our shopping cart? Did we have to listen to the annoyed people behind us in line laugh? Did we have to find a place to store all our "bargains" until next year in hopes that we don't forget everything we bought? Yes to all of the above. Was it worth it? Without a doubt.
Merry Christmas (again) to all and to all a good night!

Looking back

Well, it is a new year already. I thought I would take a minute to reflect on 2009. I am very happy to say that I didn't lose any loved ones this year. For a while, it seemed to be happening too often. I am blessed to still have a job that provides well, considering so many people do not right now. My family is doing well, the economy has made things hard, but they are all making it. I was able to kiss apartment living goodbye and now live in a house with a backyard in a safe neighborhood. I have taken up gardening. I was able to take some great trips this year, including New York City, Disney World, the beach, and Nashville. Two of my best friends had healthy, handsome baby boys. I have an amazing roommate that still puts up with me after all these years. I have a dog that still waits for me to come home from work, and is as happy to see me as she would be if I had been gone a month. And to close out the year, I got an amazing new camera that I can't wait to learn all about. And that is just the beginning. It is amazing that God chooses to bless a sinner like me. I wish you all a happy New Year.