My Favorite Dawgs

With Molly growing up. We had to get rid of her due to allergies though. She made her debut on Pets on Parade on TV and ended up in a good home. 

Second dog growing up was Libby. Here is her glamour shot sporting some extension hair pieces I had. 

Poor Liberty Bell is getting old. Hopefully  she has a couple more years in her. 

Ben and Chantal's beagle Max was a little sweetheart. We got to see him at Thanksgiving and then a few weeks later he died from being sick. Poor little Maximus. He was a good dog. 


Aunt Rosie and Uncle Steve's dog Baseball. She has the best personality you can't help but fall in love with her. She is blind in both eyes, but her mom and dad help her get around. 

Buster the chihuahua whose owner was the man I used to take care of. Technically he is Buster the 3rd, because there were two Busters before him, but that was only name his owner could remember. Buster loved to snuggle more then any dog I've ever seen! He was in heaven on your lap. 

Moxie taking it easy on the couch the she just had mastered how to jump up on. 

I found this poem and it couldn't say it any better what life has been life with a puppy the last few months. I can't even imagine what caring for kids must be like. We get up at the crack of dawn to take Ms. Moxie out when she starts groaning and grunting in her crate insisting it's time for us to get out of bed, our daily conversations now seem to start with how many poops she had that day, we have to put up with her sbd's (silent but deadly) while we are watching tv and trust me they can make your eyes water!, and her little puppy teeth are more like little shredders. You name it she'll put it in her mouth and chew it to shreds. A lady told Matt that's why God made puppies so stinkin cute so that you don't kill them when chew up all your stuff. How true.


This morning, I woke up & kissed my dad's head.
I peed on the carpet, then went back to bed.
"The life of a puppy, oh my, this is great."
Then I thought about breakfast," I hope it's not late."
Mom took me outside, we walked for a while.
This never fails to make Mama smile.
I sniffed of everything, that we did pass,
I ate something weird - it gave me gas.

I'm sure God loves me, I know that is true.
He gave me so many great things to chew.
Rugs, plants or rocks, I really don't care.
What I truly like best, is Dad's underwear.

I made streamers of T. P., while running at full speed.
Mom is pretty quick -- but I was still in the lead.
I flew under the bed, and Mom flew past,
She stopped-shook her head, and breathed,
"You're too fast."

Mama later phoned Daddy, and said, "It was frightening!"
That afternoon, she was sure I'd pooped lightning.
She'd sat at the computer, while I chewed the cord,
She thought I was mad, but I was just bored.

When Mama had enough, couldn't take anymore,
That's when my tushy got shoved out the door.
I love it inside, but outside is best.
Lay in the cool grass, and had a good rest.

That didn't last long, there was too much to do--
Can't quite remember where I hid Daddy's shoe.
I found an old bone, and scratched at a flea,
I watched the dumb squirrels as they jumped in a tree.

I barked at the kids, when they got off the bus.
I can't figure out why this makes Mama fuss.
I barked at the neighbor, I barked at the wind.
I barked and barked, till Mom yelled, "COME IN."
-Author unkown

Stearns Wharf

Today around one-ish we decided to drive up the coast to Santa Barbara to play for a couple hours. The sun was out, but the wind was stirring things up, one of which was my hair. 

We saw many spectacular things on our day trip like the noted California state bird: THE PIGEON. They were frolicking about and leaving their mark all over the place. 

At one point in the afternoon I was nearly attacked by one lone octupus (er....octupi?) but managed to escape it's tentacles. 

However Matt was so shook up by the experience he had to take a breather out on the edge of the wharf to collect himself. 

But wouldn't you know there were be some not so friendly pelicans standing a foot away. They had a gleam in their eyes that said they were about to make a run for it and push Matt over the edge and into the icy waters below.  

Push me in, I dare you. These boots were made for walking....and kicking. 

In the end we decided it would be much safer to stand somewhere with a railing.

The best find of the day was the cool Retro store we discovered off the main street and I found the kitchen of my dreams!!! They are all totally modern type appliances, but look like they are from the 50's. We are so going to decorate our kitchen this way when have our own home! (check them out here)
And finally, my favorite photo of the day.  I think it looks neat although it does make you go cross eyed from the blurriness. Our pasty skin from this long winter must have reflected the flash. 

Introducing.....

My amazingly talented running partner. She is so handy and very useful on my treks. You see, these are all the nice things she does for me....she counts how many calories I'm burning, tracks my distance and maps out where I've ran, tells me my heart rate and beeps when it is too high or too low, and lets me know my average pace. We've been out running together 3x so far since she came into my life Christmas morning and I am happy to say that this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.  Half marathon here I come! And also to keep me motivated and to motivate other runners out there read this incredible story about a guy who has been running EVERY DAY for 30 years! There's a  club you can join called United States Running Streak Association that you qualify for if you run at least 1 mile every day for a year. You can check it out here.  I'm tempted to give it a shot. Who's with me???

P.S. My incredible running buddy can be found at Costco for $150. It's normally sold at other places for between $200 and $300. I call her Carmen the Garmin since we've become so close, but her full name is the Garmin Forerunner 305. 

P.P.S. Another cool weight loss and fitness tool is at My Fitness Pal which is a free on-line website where you can keep track of your exercise, food intake and measurements. It's pretty cool and did I mention it's FREEEEEEEE?!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

My talented Madre

This year on my side of the family we drew names instead of buying Christmas presents for everyone individually. Matt and I got to buy gifts for Ben and Chantal and my parents got Matt and I. After spending Christmas Eve with Matt's parents and his brother Greg eating deeeliscious food and playing Bingo to win even more deeeliscious goodies, we came home to open our presents under our tree that had been taunting me to open them since they came in the mail. I was under strict orders not to open them until Christmas day, which technically it was since it was after midnight when we got home.  So I commenced the opening of gifts with fervor!

And this is what was inside! A bee-yoo-tiful quilt made with lots of xoxo's by my mom! It is the perfect size as you can see and the perfect colors too! 

Right now it sits on our couch and has been used numerous times already since it's been in the 50's. That's f-f-f-f-freezing here in southern california! I'm thinking of having Moxie sleep on our bed for a few nights and maybe she and her razor sharp puppy teeth will chew a hole in our perfectly good brown comforter so then I have a reason to get rid of that one and then the quilt can take residence on our bed, but until then we will enjoy snuggling in it in the living room. Thanks mom and dad for the awesome handmade gift!