33

Today I am 33.
For my birthday I took the day off.
Besides chasing Maxi,cleaning puppy potty (still working on the potty training) and washing dishes..
 I drank coffee in bed and watched TV until sometime around 1pm.
Then I took a long hot shower and allowed myself to use a lot of hot water.
I deep conditioned my hair,pampered my feet and shaved and scrubbed 32 away.
Ahh,a new woman!
I put on a comfortable outfit and a bit of make up.
Vern cooked an amazing steak dinner and bought me a very cute cake!
Trevor and my friend Tara joined us,it was a mellow fun time.
Just as I wanted :)
We talked,laughed and ate until we were too full for words.
Our entertainment was watching Chipper and Maxine learn to play together.
Chipper is such a patient big brother,I am so proud of him!
I spent the rest of the evening with the man I love more than words.
Then,I gave Maxine her first bath here at home in the kitchen sink.
She didn't really like it much but she smells better ha ha
 We all snuggled in bed and watched TV.
Perfect ending to a perfect day :)
If this is how 33 will be,
I'll take it.

Welcome Home Maxine!

We are proud to announce the arrival of Maxine to our home!

We brought her home Friday and spent a long weekend snuggling with her and introducing her to her new family.

She is fluffy little bit of Heaven.

We love her so much!

Everything about her is perfect from her tiny black heart shaped nose to her little curly tail.

At 11 weeks old she is already potty pad trained,such a smart girl!

Last night she cried at bedtime,so I took her out of her crate and let her sleep with us.

I swore I wouldn't..I caved after 30 seconds.

It went great,she slept on my head and in the crook of my neck...

 until I woke up at 4:30 am to feel her trying to play with my hair.

OK more like eat my hair.

Then Vern woke up at 5:50 am to take her potty.

THEN,guess who thought it was playtime?! ha ha

Thankfully she humored us until 7:30am.

Mommy left for work and Daddy stayed home with the kids.

Our sweet little snuggle baby had turned into a playful toddler overnight!

I think she's starting to feel at home :)

Tomorrow is the real test.

She will be left alone for the first time (besides a little practice).

In her crate and no humans for an hour.

THEN her first day getting "babysat" by "Uncle Del".

Yes,I am leaving my new baby with a legally blind man.

No really..she'll be fine

.......

right?

Lol

Welcome Maxine,Maxi,Max.

Thank you for coming and completing our family

:)

Nesting

Today I cleaned out 2 closets.

I took out 3 bags of my old clothes,1 bag of men's clothes and 3 bags of garbage.

I stored everything else neatly in the closets.

"Hello closet floors!

I have missed you!"

I have finally arranged the house to accommodate Maxine.

Her pink crate is filled with a soft cushy bed and pillow (all Care bear theme of course).

I found a pink shoulder bag I got in Hawaii a few years ago. It's pink and is the perfect size for toting her around with me. Baby slings are $30-60! I am so glad I avoided that purchase!

The office has been rearranged to make her a "potty spot" until she learns to go outside like her big brother.

(Right now she is potty pad trained and hasn't been outside much.)

Now to vacuum up any last minute bits of choke hazard that I might have missed..

and we're ready.....?

Not quite.

We still needed a few supplies.

Off to Walmart we went,

my oh so patient and supportive boyfriend and I.

Potty pads-check

Food bowls-check

Dog brush-check

Dog stairs (she will be too small to get on and off the bed and furniture without them)-check

Pink fuzzy baby blanket-check

Puppy hair bows and accessories (found in the baby hair stuff for super cheap)-check

Mini pink hot glue gun and glue sticks for future accessory making-check.

OK now we're ready.

:)

It's A Girl!

We have finally found our puppy! We will bring little Maxine home this Friday! She is an 11 week old Maltese female.

My prayers were answered when I found the nicest woman with a litter of puppies for adoption in a near by town!
Vern and I went  to meet the owner and puppy a few days after Christmas and we fell immediately in love. This puppy is the sweetest little snuggle baby I have ever seen. It didn't take us long to decide. ha ha
We all felt it was best that we leave Maxine with her doggy Mom for a few more weeks. She still had a little growing up to do and we had a house to puppy proof! The Christmas tree has now been put away,our bedroom has been rearranged to accommodate her pink crate,Vern painted the kitchen and hung the new light/fan fixture and we have removed/vacuumed and dusted every inch of the house for any possible choke hazards or disasters. Today I visited the local doggy boutique and bought her a pink striped hand knit sweater and a light pink coat made of the snuggly-est fabric you have ever felt. It feels ssoooo gooood to finally have a little girl to spoil with pink and girlyness! I am anxiously counting down the days until Friday...3 1/2 to be exact. Here are some of the pictures from our first meeting with Maxine and her owner.

Many more pictures to come! Plus, I will be sure to catch up about the holidays and show off my new kitchen :)

3 Days Til' Christmas

3 days til' Christmas and here I sit.

The wind outside has blown for weeks and the gusts have gotten up to almost 60 mph.

Tonight is no exception.

I had a fun and busy weekend!

Jessica came to visit from Idaho and we did a little pre holiday celebrating.

We stayed up late talking and catching up.

We went to Zoo Lights at the Point Defiance Zoo with Tara and her kids.

It was amazing but so busy and full of overstimulated children!

Oh good times.

Then we had a Scentsy/work Christmas party at my house on Saturday.

It wasn't a huge money making success but it was fun to hang out with my girlfriends.

We ate,drank and exchanged gifts until almost 9 pm.

I was sad to see Jessica go on Sunday but it was time to return to work..

2 busy days of work and I was EXHAUSTED!

I fell asleep last night at 8:30 and didn't wake up until 10:30 this morning.

I guess I really was tired!

Jessica got me a tea pot and loose leaf tea to try.

Very yummy looking tea but I have yet to try it.

I will report more on this later..

She also got me started on Scentsy.

It's a flame less wax warmer.

I love that it turns on and off with a switch and no hassling with messy tea lights anymore!

The scents are amazing and the variety is surprising.

My house smells like a fresh Christmas tree with a hint of cinnamon.

It's heavenly.

Last but not least..

Tonight we brought home our "new"car.

It's replacing Vern's Jetta that has become high maintenance.

It's a 97' Toyota Camry.

Despite needing a few repairs it's in great condition.

We will be selling the Jetta and the Caravan eventually.

1 truck,1 van,2 cars,a camper and a boat is too much!

One last thing..

My resolution for 2011 is to "grow up".

Time to make our house a home.

Time to concentrate on savings.

Time to work more and play harder.

Time to face health issues.

Time to face Cancer...again.

Time to...but it's so hard to say it....

Quit. Smoking.

Time to prepare for a long healthy future with my soul mate.

If I don't get  back on here in time...

Blogger Friends,

Thanks for reading

:)

Maxine

I think it is safe to say...the holidays are here! Now,where did we leave off? Oh yeah,puppies! Well in the last week I have made a ton of progress. We have decided to wait a few months and save our money for a puppy. We started a "Puppy Fund" and I am hoping it will grow faster after the holiday spending...I have also found a million new websites with the CUTEST puppy clothes and accessories you have ever seen! Laugh at me if you will..but I have gone puppy crazy and I have no shame! LOL! At the risk of sounding like a lunatic,let me explain.

"Her" name is going to be Maxine. Named after an elderly lady I have mentioned before. Maxine adores Chipper and we would love the honor of her sharing her name with our new little girl :) It was Vern's idea,yes,he's brilliant AND handsome :)
Since 2 dogs is my limit and I have always wanted a little girl,Maxine is it and I am going to have some fun with this!

• I have plans for a "Puppy Shower" to welcome and introduce Maxine to her new Aunties,Grandmas and friends!
• I will put bows in her hair and dress her like the little princess she'll be.
• I will own a puppy shoulder sling and be seen in public proudly wearing it with her inside.
• She will make it that much easier to toss out my biological clock.

Win win folks! I will restart my hunt for Maxine again in February..and I'm totally OK with that :)

Christmas is quickly approaching..i yi yi! My friend Jessica will be here tomorrow for an exciting weekend of Zoo Lights and a candle/work party and my house. I am hoping this weekend helps jump start me into the holiday spirit! I am sure next week will be crazy and we will have rooms full of family before we know it. I pretend that I am not stressing but inside I kinda am! I have quite a few last minute gifts to buy and 2 huge dinners to contribute to! Christmas Eve with my family at my sister's and then Christmas Day with Vern's family AND THEN back to work on Sunday...whew! I guess it just wouldn't feel like the holidays if it wasn't a little chaotic ;o)

I will try to keep up the blog but I will make no promises the next few weeks. I will do my best at taking pictures and hopefully keep you posted :)

Blame It On Estrogen

 A few months ago I starting considering adding another dog to our home. It took much thought but sometime last week the need for a puppy hit me like a ton of bricks.
 I started searching,researching,emailing..it grew into a crazy obsession. I am blaming it all on my biological clock and a hefty dose of PMS but this time I even shocked myself. I narrowed my decision down to a female Maltese. Chipper is half Maltese and doesn't shed and is also hypoallergenic. He was also free. I had no idea what a Maltese really cost.Until now. They range from $350-$5,000+!! I kept hitting dead end after dead end after dead end trying to afford or find one. Puppies were all I thought about and all I wanted to talk about. It. Was. Ridiculous!
So here we are to today. I did the best thing I know to do in these situations. I called my Mom. I told her what was going on and told her I needed a reality check or a loan for $300. I got what I asked for. My usually loving and sympathetic Mother lectured me like I brought home a failing report card! "You have your hands full with one dog.. " "Dogs shouldn't be that expensive..." "You have medical bills to pay...""This is not a good idea.."Whoa. I thanked her for the sound advice and did my best to pretend I wasn't upset. I hung up the phone and cried. I had to admit that what she said was true...I just wasn't as ready for it as I thought. Soon after Vern got home and I cried again and explained how totally broken and crazy I had become over a puppy. Vern being the always loving and supportive boyfriend he is, said and did all the right things. He understands how much it means to me yet he keeps me grounded with the faith that the right puppy will come along when the time is right.
 I sound insane right? As I have said before " I am a 33 year old childless woman with a ringing biological clock,cut me some slack!" In my world,after a few failed pregnancies in my 20's,2 rounds of cervical cancer (awaiting surgery for 2nd time as we speak),2 1/2 years with a foster son and finally the decision of permanent contraception...adding another puppy is like deciding to have a 2nd baby. Not the same,but emotionally similar for me.
By this evening I felt a lot better. I guess I just needed a good cry. I think I even needed that harsh reality check from my Mom. I am backing the search off to a healthy level. I have friends and family looking all over 3 states for "her". The support has been amazing from Vern AND Del,my sister Missy and my bestie Jessica. Somehow those people just knew how important this was to me without me saying...OK well Del took a little convincing but now he's excited. I am so grateful :) By blogging this, I realize all the good things that have come from this process. How lucky I am to have a support system of people who love me so much! I am willing to wait for the right dog. It won't be easy but I assume that if "she" is this hard to find it only means "she" is worth the wait :)

P.S.- Would it be appropriate to have a baby shower for the puppy? he he
Perhaps she will be a Valentine's Day puppy and we could have a fun, light hearted pink party in the spring?
Am I crazy?
Never mind. Don't answer the last question :0) I already know the answer! LOL!