It's Like Missing A Limb

So it seems as if I have lost my cell phone, *sigh*. I've never lost a cell in the 10 or so years that I've had one and, I have to say, it's not very nice. I lost it on Sun. night and I think it's officially gone now. I checked my Cingular account yesterday after work and someone had found it and made calls all through the night and morning and most of yesterday as well. Oh well, at least they were local calls! They even listened to the cell phone message that I left (where I gave our home phone number 3 times and asked the person to please call it if they found my phone) but decided not to turn it in for whatever reason. So, my service is suspended and I'm waiting to hear if I'm up for an upgrade now (which I think I am). And I've got the manager of The Porch (where we ate on Sun. night w/ friends) helping me out as well since I think it was probably a busboy or valet guy who took it. He had me fax over the phone numbers list to see if he could track down someone and he was going to talk to the supervisor of the valets. All in all, I think I've done all I can. Oh, and I'm going to file a police report--not b/c I want anything done, just to have on file. This stinks.

Anniversary Pics

My Gorgeous Anniversary Earrings

(not to scale, lol)

My Beautiful Surprise Flowers

Mini-Vacay, Part Deux

So, overall our mini-vacay was great! We went to a Trivia Night on Sat. to help fund an inner-city school (which, btw, they were hoping to raise $8,000 and they made $13,000--pretty good for their first Trivia Night ever!). This was not the kind of trivia we were used to. First of all, there were TONS of questions about StL that I would have had to have been born 40+ years ago to even consider knowing. Plus, they had a Jelly Belly round where you had to taste aforementioned Jelly Bellies and pick which flavor they were from a supplied list. Jelly beans aren't my favorite anyway, so this was hard. But the money was for such a good cause (sidebar: my parent's really good friends' son teaches there) that you couldn't really get help but feel good!

Let's see..what else? Oh, Sun. was Father's Day so we hung out around the house and played Bags (which I'm not going to explain here but it's kind of like Tic Tac Do (the kind where you throw beanbags) or washers, if you've ever played either of those), while listening to some music and being happy for Shiner on a hot day. AND we met John's new girlfriend, Angie, who I really like! She's the kind of girl who seems like she'd be up for anything and she's really, really nice. She's a dance teacher and super skinny and cute. We'll see how it goes... And yes, we ate the ubiquitous Father's Day bbq.

On Mon. we played some Scrabble with John and Dad (I got my butt kicked) and left around 4:30pm to make a 6:50pm flight. We almost didn't make it. Even though it's never taken me longer than 45 min., max, to get to the airport, traffic was backed up as soon as we got on the highway and didn't stop until we got the rental car place, 90 min. later. Thankfully, our shuttle driver flew to the airport, we ran through the terminal (which I absolutely hate) and made it with about 5 min. to spare. Well, 5 min. if our flight had left on time, that is. God must have been looking out for us b/c the incoming flight didn't show up until about 7:15pm so we didn't start boarding until 7:30pm-ish. So, we were made it after all. I'm just glad I had the foresight to ask Steph to pick up Sam and Max on her way home since our flight didn't even get in until 8:45pm and there was no way in the world we could have made it by 9pm. Thanks, Stephsie, we love you!!!!

That's our trip in a nutshell. We had a good time and my parents will be here to visit in 17 days (hooray for great StL to DAL fares!) and I think fake mom will be here too, right about the same time. :D Max is getting some private training lessons for socialization, as well as learning basic commands, and he already knows Sit and Down, such a smart boy! In late Aug./early Sept. we'll be taking our real vacation (i.e. longer than 4 days) to San Francisco, Carmel and Monterey and if anyone knows of a good (and safe) hotel to stay in in SF, please let me know. Thanks for reading!

Mini-Vacay

So, we're in St. Louis now! We arrived yesterday morning at the godforsaken time of 8am. I say godforsaken because do you know what it means when you've arrived in StL after a 90 min. flight? That's right, it means you've had to get up at 3:30am so that you could leave by 4:30am so that you could get to the airport by 5am to make a 6:30am flight. Ugh. Thank goodness for free doughnuts provided by Southwest since McD's didn't open until 6am and we were already boarded by then.

We went to the Art Museum yesterday which was great (and free!). I thought we were going to be able to see this cool Napolean exhibit for free (free on Fri.'s) but, yeah, it doesn't open until tomorrow. Bummer. We were also going to go to the Zoo (also free!) but it closed at 2pm (we think for a private party) and since we had just arrived at Forest Park at noon (after making a lovely detour to Mom's Deli, hooray!!) and still had to eat said sandwiches a la picnic style AND since it was 93 degrees out, we had to forego the Zoo. But that's ok, since we went today! We were there at 9:15am (though it opened at 8am) and didn't leave until 1:45! It was great! We always see things that we've never seen before. This time, apparently, the mating scene was upon us (i.e. wild asses, tortoises and dwarf mongooses--mongeese? I don't know). It was very...interesting...to see all this frolicking. Anyway, we had a good time. I think I got some sun on my shoulders. It's all good. Now we're just waiting for my parents to get home so we can go to Trivia Night and you KNOW we love our trivia!! More StL trip blogging to come later, I'm sure.

Oh also, we had our 4th wedding anniversary on Thurs.!!! It's hard to believe it's been 4 years already but there you go! I'll post pics later of the earrings and flowers Michael got me. They're all gorgeous. I still have the most wonderful guy in the world!

And I adopted a warthog in his name from the Dallas Zoo as my present to him. I'm so thoughtful.

Maxwell Seymour Emerson

Well, Max finally got groomed today (BIG hooray)!!! He was supposed to go last Fri. but circumstances were tricky. Firstly, the groomers required Max to have a rabies shot. This was no big deal since he was supposed to get his rabies shot that Tues. before. Instead of his rabies shot, though, he got an upper respiratory infection. And a mild ear infection. And he was licking his neutering area which meant no rabies shot for Max (really, the cold was the main culprit), only antibiotics and another check-up appt. for this past Mon, 5/14. So, he went and saw Dr. Pedone (LOVE her!) this Mon. and even though he's not completely well, he was well enough to get both his distemper and rabies shots! I wanted to get him groomed yesterday but the groomers said they were required to wait 48 hours after the shot was given. So I dropped him off before work and then picked him up when I was done--he looks like a completely different puppy--and who knew he had so many spots?! Anyway, he's still got the sniffles and is sneezing a bit but his ear infection is all gone and his neuter site is almost completely healed. Both puppies are on antibiotics until next Mon., just to be safe (and b/c Sam was starting to wheeze).

Oh, I also wanted to explain Max's middle name, Seymour. In the tv show Futurama, the main character, Fry, gets accidentally sent 1,000 years into the future, leaving all of his friends and family, including his beloved dog, Seymour, behind. Seymour sits outside the pizza parlour where Fry worked and waits and waits and waits for Fry to return but he never does and Seymour dies without ever seeing him again. A faithful friend to the end. It seemed appropriate.

I'm going to enjoy the beautiful, cool weather now. Later!

Meet Max!

Max Emerson

This is our new puppy, Max! (I use the term "puppy" loosely, he's actually just over a year old.) We're getting him from Operation Kindness later this week (he has to be fixed first--yikes) and he's just as sweet as can be! Sam and Max had an hour long meet & greet yesterday and everything went VERY well! There was much "doggy handshaking" as the woman called it and Sam wasn't a bit aggressive. Max is an incredibly shy dog, which makes me think that he wasn't given much love at his previous owner's house. He was an owner surrender and the reasoning was, "too many pets". Poor thing! Well, I have the time, love and TLC to give him so he should be good with us! The OK worker noticed how calm Sam was and said that he, more than the 2 of us, would really bring Max out of his shell because he'll imitate Sam. Good thing Sam's such a good dog!

Strangely enough, while we were at the meet and greet, some professional photographers came over and asked me if they were brothers/siblings (no checking of the undercarriage was involved, obviously). They were they taking pictures of shelter dogs for a book they're writing--what a great idea! Sam and Max were both quite photogenic and I had to sign a waiver for Sam, SO funny!!

Anyway, so this is Max and I'm sure I'll have many more pictures to come soon! Have a good day!

Why Sometimes I Really Hate Being A Responsible Adult

First there was the house thing and now there's the car thing. So, in order for you to understand the forthcoming information, you must understand that my brakes squeak really badly. Not just kind of badly, REALLY badly. It's this horrible, high-pitched squealing noise and people are always looking whenever I'm stopping or slowing down. At least, I think they are. It could just be my hotness. Or something. Anyway, so this problem has been bugging me for about a month or so and I finally decided to do something about it today: I went to Just Brakes and got them partially fixed. I saw partially because $300+ dollars was all I was willing to part with today. I got the major stuff (brake pads and shoes, leaking braking fluid) fixed, I'll go back another day and get the rest done. When it's not such a major blow to my wallet.

On a better note, Sylisha (Michael's cousin's wife) graduated from culinary school on Monday--hooray, Sylisha!!! We're all SO proud of her (plus, now I know we'll have amazingly good food at all family holidays), she's worked very hard for 2 years and she graduated with honors! PLUS, she's opening her own business--that takes a lot of guts and determination but I know she can do it! Congrats again to her!

Oh, I also found out that my friend Kristin in Kansas is having a baby girl! I swear, everyone's having baby girls these days--we'll see what my time brings at some unknown point in the future! :D Later!

Sad News

You may have noticed the post about the house and all the pics are gone. There's a reason for this: we decided not to buy a house at this time. It wasn't financially responsible of us to do so right now. And even though we could have afforded it, we wouldn't have been able to enjoy it what with all the subsequent scrimping and saving rather than the fun decorating and furnishing. So, we'll see where we are in a year or so. We're both very sad about this major decision that we've had to make but we're happy that we're responsible enough to see past the emotional ties and we'll get through it together and with our friends and family. Thank you for all of your wonderful support and maybe our dreams will come true someday. C'est la vie.

It's Been A Long Time

I didn't realize how long it's been since I've lasted posted! Not that much has happened in my life, mind you. Here's a quick rundown: birthday was great & Cheesecake Factory was muy delicioso, Valentine's Day was lovely (I got pajamas--and if you know my obsession, that's a good thing) and Michael took me to this FABulous little Italian place called Adelmo's in downtown Dallas--I think you could blink and miss it.

D.C. was GREAT! My feet and knee didn't hurt as much this time (thank goodness!) and we got to spend a lot more time doing what we wanted to do instead of whisking through all of it (though that was kind of fun too). The weather went from cold and windy to cold and windy and SNOWY (we're talking approx. 3-4 inches in about 2 and 1/2 hours and it was the good kind too, perfect for snowmen, big flakes, wet and heavy) and, as a result, we got stranded in good ol' D.C. a day longer than planned. Thank goodness I always bring extra clothes! I'll upload pics later since my computer is being cranky right now.

This weekend I'm St. Louis bound! I'm excited since I haven't seen my mom since Christmas and I haven't seen dad and John since mid-Jan. The roundtrip airfare was less than $100, so I couldn't very well pass that up! Our friend Tyler is taking me to the airport (my hero!) since Michael's also leaving on Fri. (from a different airport, of course!) to go to a bachelor party in Vegas. I figure the timing's good too since he'll be gone all weekend anyway (and I'll be gone until Tues.), plus it's my dad's 60th bday on the 14th so I'm a early present! I feel badly for leaving Sam again since we just picked him up on Mon. but he'll be staying with his girlfriend and BFF this weekend (thanks again, Stephanie!!!).

That's all for now--loving this warm, sunny weather!

Of Birthdays and Quality Time

So, today's my birthday! Actually, it's not that big of a deal. 27 isn't a big milestone, it's just another reminder that 30 is creeping closer and closer. Not that I mind 30, mind you. It doesn't make me feel old or anything like that...my point is, it's a milestone birthday and 27 is not. That's it. The end. Anyway, it's my birthday. Michael's present to me was taking the day off!!! Well, that and giving me a GORGEOUS bouquet of flowers!!! AND I got flowers from my friends Brooke and Jen. It's a very floral kind of day. We ate copious amounts of Indian food for lunch. Gosh, I love chicken tikka masala!! And now we're getting sushi to balance out said copious amounts of Indian food and all will be well in my world. So that's it. I'm 27. TA-DA!

Happy New Year!

We hope all of our friends and family have a safe, happy and blessed new year and for years to come!! Stay in touch!

Merry Christmas!

I hope this blog finds you and yours happy and safe. Please have a wonderfuly, blessed and joyous Christmas and New Year. To all of my friends and family, near and far: I LOVE YOU!! And thanks for everything you've done this year and for being a special part of my life. God truly is great.

Happy Thanksgiving!

May everyone have a safe, happy and food-filled Turkey Day! Love to all!!!

It's Official!

Michael's an attorney now!!!

New Aranda Pics

Hooray!!!

Michael passed the Bar exam!!!! Cheers all around!!!!!!!

Kitchen Wonders

This week I've tried cooking several new dishes and the results have been excellent both times! Last week, I made pork with a mustard sauce. Doesn't sound like a big deal except here's the thing: I don't eat pork. Bacon, yes, maybe even the occasional ham but I rarely eat pork and I've never made it before. So I made pork tenderloin pieces in a white wine-stone ground mustard sauce with egg noodles (Cooking Light, of course). Accompanied by roasted asparagus and baked apples. Delicious!

Last night I was more adventerous and made chicken tikka masala. Let me back up: when we were at The Fair a couple of weeks ago, Clay Pit (a local Indian restaurant) was there giving a cooking demo and the dish they were making was chicken tikka masala. Now, I love chicken tikka masala. It's really one of the few Indian dishes I've tried but I say stick with what you like. Problem is, it's in this really rich tomato-cream sauce. Not so healthy. But I looked at the recipe they handed out and they said you could substitute the heavy cream with plain, nonfat yogurt. So that's what I did! Granted, it wasn't quite as creamy as in the restaurant but it was still delicious and flavorful (at least, that's what Michael and Stephanie told me)! So really, it was chicken, yogurt, tomato sauce, only 2 T. of butter and spices. The spices were courtesey of Central Market, thank goodness! Did you know that WalMart wants $3.58 for a bottle of ground coriander?? I don't think so! I bought mine at the spice bar section at CM and only paid $0.13 and I still have more than enough for another round of cooking, maybe even two rounds! I bought all my weird spices (tumeric, garam masala, fenugreek) there--it's not so wasteful of money or spices this way!

That's my story for today. Michael's in DC until tomorrow night for work training so it's me and my little fuzzy boy. Cheers!

Puppies of Cuteness!

These are my friend Ashley Rae's dogs, Ellie and Lucy. They're shih tzu/pomeranian mixes. How cute are they?!?!

My Space

I'm totally addicted to My Space. At first, it was just a passing fancy, I thought I'd check it out, see what it was like...and I wasn't very impressed, mainly because it took about 30 miilion years for my old dial-up to upload one, single, solitary picture for me. So, I forgot about it for a while. Left it on a dusty shelf, if you will. Then Steph started harrowing me about my "closet" My Space account, which it really wasn't since the only thing on the entire page was my picture and basic info.: name, age, location, etc. I decided, therfore, that after I got high speed 'net, I would try this whole "My Space" thing again. Now I can't get enough. I've put up the maximum of allotted pictures, changed my background several times, updated my interests, set my slideshow and have now begun finding old college friends. I probably spend at least an hour a day working on this thing. I love My Space.

http://www.myspace.com/sunnyhuny1

Sick Puppy

I took Sam to the vet on Thurs. b/c he had this scary-looking bump on his side that started looking worse as the week progressed, so, of course, I wanted to get it checked out. I took him to the Banfield (in Petsmart) near me, where Stephanie takes her Liberty and Oliver. Dr. Rachel was very nice, as were all the technicians and they drew some cells to have them analyzed. I also signed up for a wellness plan from them that covers vaccinations, dental cleaning, routine check-ups, office visits, etc. and they said, "hey, why don't you get these 4 shots since he hasn't had them and they're covered under your new wellness plan?" And I said, "sure, why not? It can't hurt him, right?" I was wrong. Not only did he cry and whine in pain when he actually got the shots but he also had an allergic reaction. At first, he was just lethargic and shaky but then he started whining when I picked him up and he wouldn't put any weight on one of his legs. So, I took him back that same afternoon. They said, "that's normal. Only worry about him if he starts vomiting or has diarrhea." Ok, so, I took him back home.


Fri. morning he had some diarrhea but I thought, "well, I DID give him wet food yesterday, I'm not too worried." So, I'm getting ready for work, putting my lipstick on and about to walk out the door, when he throws up on the bathroom floor. That freaks me out b/c it's all chunky and he's only ever vomited that foamy-looking stuff before (and even that's very rarely), so I call the vet, they tell me to bring him in. I bring Sam in for the 3rd time in 24 hours. They tell me he's having an allergic reaction and give him a shot for the nausea (which didn't really work, btw, since he threw up all over the bed about an hour later and then on the couch and floor again that night) and that I should give him Benadryl and Imodium and if he's still acting like this in 24 hours, to bring him in again.


Great, now I'm a basket case. I give him the meds but he throws up, so I'm not sure if they're in his system or not and I decide to wait a few hours to give him another dosage, since I don't want to over-medicate my dog! I put the Benadryl in peanut butter later--no dice. He doesn't want it. I put it in bread, turkey, a tortilla, cheese, yogurt--nothing. I call the vet; I have no idea what to do. They tell me to throw it in the back of his throat. That doesn't work out so well. He keeps spitting it out. And then he refuses to even open his mouth for me...now I can't pry his jaws open at all! I call Michael at work and tell him to come home ASAP, I'm at my wits end. He gets it in without many problems and we go buy some liquid children's Benadryl and a needle-less syringe, just in case (I didn't know that was an option since the vet's kept telling me to give him half a tablet, but whatever.)


Sam's fine now but I hardly ate or slept for 3 days b/c I was so worried about him. And he gets to get his boosters in 3 weeks. Lucky us. Oh, the god news is that his cyst is benign. Hooray!