Whisky's new friend!

Well, friend would be pushing it. Tonight, for the first time, Whisky met my sister's cat Maggie. Whisky LOVED Maggie and wanted soo badly to play with her. Maggie did not LOVE Whisky and wanted soo badly to put a paw into his snout. Luckily, both walked away uninjured!!

I know you are out there!

I've always kind of wondered how many people read this blog. Sometimes I think I'm just typing for myself, but then someone will come along and comment on something and I think, "Wow...there are readers!" I heard some of my fellow Sac Mafia ladies talking about blog stat counters and I knew right away I was jumping on board. I added this feature to my blog yesterday and discovered that yesterday the blog got hit 26 times by 26 different individuals! That freakin rocks!! I thought maybe there were three, or four. I go to other blogs and people get over 100 comments daily which just blows my mind. I'm content knowing that there are readers...they are just a little on the quiet side. I've decided that when the day the Stat Counter shows 100 hits by 100 different individuals I will have a HUGE contest and give away something that is worth $100! How's that for motivation to keep on reading!!

Wowza!

Tonight was the season finale of Lost and it was great! I think there have been better ones, but still exciting. I was really surprised by who was in the coffin, and won't say it here cause some of you readers may not have watched yet and I don't want to give you a spoiler! Speaking of coffins...have you ever googled that word and looked at the images? Probably not because it sounds morbid and somewhat scary to think of what you will see. On the other hand, I highly recommend it! There are some amazingly crafty coffins out there for those that want to go out with a bit of flair. I'm not a coffin girl myself, but if I were I would want to be buried in this, only it would have to be diet.

It's crafty out there for a pimp!

Four of my fellow Craft Mafia sister have developed a new website called Pimp Stitch! Pimp Stitch is a way to keep your "stitch hand strong" with adorable embroidery and sewing patterns. The website is still under construction, but the blog is open to the public. You can read about the four ladies and see a bit of what you have in store to look forward to. Pimp Stitch is the creation of Missy Ballance, Tamie Snow, Lauren Brandy and Amy Cluck. Stay tuned and keep on stitchin!

A growing boy.....

I see Whisky everyday, so although I do know he is getting bigger...it is hard for me to judge by how much. When we took him to Davis this weekend a comment was made on how big he is getting. I decided to go through the photo archives to try and find two photos that would capture his growth.

Here is our little Whisky the day we got him, when he still had the name "puppy."

And this is Whisky now (sorry for the blurry picture-it was a super zoom shot!)

What a big boy! His snout is getting a bit longer and his coloring is deeper now. He's gorgeous! I sure wish I would have bottled some of that puppy breath though!

Nephews are great!

Why? Because you can get them to put on ridiculous head gear while you take pictures!!

Pond Dweller

I know I have mentioned before that Whisky seems to be drawn to the water. He definitely will wade around in his pool and has run through the occasional sprinkler. Yesterday while we were out in Davis I walked across Bill's parents yard to MaryAnn and Jeff's house. Jeff was wading around in the pond, cleaning out gunk and putting in new plants. Whisky was on the bridge of the pond, checking out said gunk and trying to eat it of course. Now when Whisky has something that he knows he's not supposed to eat he takes one look at me and runs the other direction. This time he was on a bridge and I was on one end and MaryAnn was on the other, so his next best option was to jump in the pond! He slithered right in, went completely under and then popped up paddling away to the other side. It was funny and terrifying all at the same time. I knew he could swim, I was more worried about the fish he was disturbing and the lily that he swam right over. It was pretty great though and now I can't wait to take him to the water!!!

Mark Your Calendars!!!

One of my brilliant Sac Craft Mafia sisters is actually pretty famous. I talk alot about knowing famous people and I wouldn't want you think I'm lying! Tamie is the developer of Roxy Craft where she designs adorable Amigurumi patterns. Her items are amazing, so amazing in fact that she has a book coming out! Yes, I know...she's famous! Her book releases August 5th, but I know more of you out there want to meet this famous and crafty chica, so I highly suggest that you come to her book signing event! It's going to be held at Border's Books at 2339 Fair Oaks Blvd, August 7th at 7pm. You better write that down, you better come and you better buy a book. If you can't make it to the signing, then make sure you buy one online at Amazon! If you don't buy one online, well then you suck and shouldn't read this blog! Congrats Tamie on this HUGE accomplishment!!

Thank you Pink Petunia!!!

I recently got my "Pay It Forward" prize in the mail and boy is it cute!! Debie from Pink Petunia Designs made me a special breast cancer awareness Petunia's Peeps called "Heroes In Pink." She did it in tribute to the breast cancer walk that I completed last year. Yeah, remember that...last year when I used to be able to walk 26 miles! These peeps are soo cute. It's fun to get art from Debie again...I wish I kept all the drawings that she made for me in highschool cause I bet they will be worth millions someday!!

Let's just say....

that a particular someone was driving home from a trip to the craft store. Then let's say that particular someone decided to stop and get a delicious lunch at the In N Out Burger. Of course the line at the In N Out Burger can be ridiculously long, so that particular someone decides to start working on an easy craft while inching up car by car. Then let's say suddenly that particular someone realizes that they are one car away from the pay window....and never placed their order! That particular someone was paying such close attention to their craft that they missed out on the order station entirely. Guess what that particular someone's actions would be called? No, not idiotic...I mean in "In N Out" terms. It apparently would be called a HOMERUN! This is all just hearsay of course.

I miss heels!

Tonight some co-workers (or the people that I used to work with) and I got together to say goodbye to our friend Lisa. While sitting on the patio we noticed this big red thing in the parking lot that looked to be a giant hotdog. As I was leaving I noticed that this wasn't a hotdog but actually a giant red high heel shoe! Not only that, it was a motorcycle! Super cute. Here you thought I was the only one with a shoe problem

Rag and Bone Rummage Sale

Rather eat healthy?

Lately I have been bombarding you with recipes of the not so good for you nature. Although they are delicious and we should have them sometimes, unless you want to be 500lbs I would not recommend them all the time! I have been a subscriber to the Hungry Girl daily emails for some time now and the recipes on there are always delicious. The book just came out so I picked it up today at Target. I haven't made anything yet, but flipping through it looks great! Lots of Weight Watcher friendly recipes and the most excellent thing is that most items are set up as a single serving recipe. I absolutely love this. I mean, it's great to look through a recipe book and be able to make enough servings for 8 people, but when there are only two I would rather follow a recipe for one and double it. I think you all should check this book out and if you aren't ready to buy it just yet then go subscribe to the Hungry Girl emails! What are you doing still reading this? I said go!

Jingle Jangle

I have a little pet peeve, it's ridiculous I'll admit. I absolutely can't stand the jingling of tags on a dog collar. It's like nails on a chalk board. I can handle it for a couple minutes but after a good run around session I loose my mind. I think this is partially why I've never been big about putting collars on my dogs. I know Whisky has to get used to a collar though and I know he will be outside enough to require collars and chains so I've been biting my tongue and putting the collar on him.

Years ago on a trip to Bend, Oregon I found this great thing called "The Quiet Spot." It was a neoprene pouch that you put the tags in. It transformed jingling into peace and quiet. I've looked for these all over town, but no luck! I did find them online, but I'd have to pay just as much to ship it as the item is. Don't you hate that? So, I knew the next best thing was to try to make one myself. Guess what? It worked! My "test" version is just made of felt, but I'm going to try and get some neoprene and make one that will be ok in the water. I'm pleased with myself though, even if it is a simple design. I even used some little vintage buttons! Just look how happy Whisky is to have some peace and quiet in his life.

Sometimes you just need a tissue....

I really try to keep the blogging chipper and upbeat, but sometimes it just can't be done. Today I'm in the dumps. There won't be any picture for this, so you will just have to visualize me in the dumps yourself. Sometimes, the knee just gets the better of me. It hurts, it's been hurting lately and it drags me down. I do fine with stuff, but when it hurts that is when I tend to be in the dumps. I have pain meds I can take, but I feel like that only makes it worse for me. Makes me want to stay in pj's all day and not shower or brush my teeth.

I haven't given a knee update in a while so here you go. It's not a whole lot better. Yes I can walk, but I thought by now I might be walking without pain. A limp I can handle, pain I am over. I'm stuck in the 90's as far as bending is concerned, luckily not as far as fashion is concerned. Lately I've had a bit more pain and instability and have been wrapping the knee up to give it some support. I have another Dr.'s appointment in a week and a half and I know there is going to be another procedure. Not surgical, but procedure that will of course bring more pain. I'm over it!

In just 4 days it will 7 months since this all happened. That means that when I have to count out how long ago this all started I am now firmly on two hands of fingers. If I get to the point that I have to use toes I may have to be shot. Tomorrow I will probably be fine, but today I'm going to sit here and wallow in my self pity. I want this to be over with. I want to be "normal."

Here is a list of things I really want to be able to do again:
1. Walk without pain
2. Walk without a limp
3. Put my shoe and/or sock on easily
4. Wear any type of sexy high heel shoe
5. Join the workforce again
6. Squat down to pick something up
7. Dance
8. Run
9. Hop
10. Sit cross legged
11. Stand for longer than 2 hours without swelling
12. Kick with my right leg
13. Sit comfortably in the back seat of a car
14. Paint my own toenails
15. Stand on one leg (being my right leg)

Well, that ought to do it for now. There are definitely more things. Some I can't think of, some I don't feel like sharing, some that are necessarily PG13. Sorry for the downer post, just keeping it real for today.

Just a Grant!

For the past year I have been going back and forth about my hair. I've known that I wanted to keep it longer but aside from that I can't settle on anything. The biggest dilema for me is the price that it is to get my hair done. I LOVE my hairdresser, but I hate paying that kind of money. I know that it is something I wear everyday and should be worth it...but at the same time I wear it everyday and it expires in 8 weeks! Plus, if I wear it up sometimes does it count?

I finally got the nerve up to move on and try out something new. Something that I was sure would be cheap and I hoped would be quality. I was looking around on Yelp and found a bunch of positive reviews for the Paul Mitchell School. Yep, this means that my hair would be done by a student. On the other hand, the prices were fantastic! I made the appointment.

I went on Wednesday for a cut and color. We did a full head color job, solid color on the bottom and two colors foiled on the top. In addition I got a cut. This entire process, with tip, cost me $50!!! Guess what? I love it! Stephanie, my cute little 20 year old stylist, did a fantastic job and I will definitely go again. There are two drawbacks to this...it takes a bit longer than a normal hair salon and you have to change stylists every 6 or so months cause the program is only a year. I watched many many people walk out of there with amazing hair though so I'm not concerned at all. Plus, if I can stop having to pay over $200 to have my hair done I'm all for it. Yes, I was spending over $200 to have my hair done! Crazy! I will miss my old stylist though, he is such a sweetheart!

What's in a name?

Tonight Bill and I were flipping around on TV and stopped a couple times on the big night time Price is Right. It's basically just like the morning version with bigger and better prizes. Tonight there was a contestant...one that was told to "Come On Down!" Her name was....

Deeleshia Hore

What the heck were her parents thinking? I mean, you know you read that and the first thing that came to mind was Delicious Whore! If it didn't, well then I guess my mind is in the gutter and you probably are reading the wrong type of blog. All I know is these ladies parents had really high career aspirations for her!

Let's Go Camping!

REI was having their big sale a week ago so Bill and I decided that it was time to go and get a new tent. We have a good tent now, but it's a small two man tent and was more designed for hike in camping vs. car camping. It's been great for us, but now we realize that we have a dog. A dog that is going to be BIG. A dog that pretty much will be the size of another person. That said, we realized that we didn't want to squeeze him in the two man tent! We got a new one at REI on and awesome deal. I set it up in the house today so I could show it off and it took up the whole room. I can't wait to camp in it now!! Can I just say, there is nothing like a tent that you can actually stand in!!

Kill me now...

because I have eaten and gone to heaven! Yet again I decided to try another recipe on The Pioneer Woman website. This delectable delight is called the Apple Dumplings. They were just about the easiest thing I've ever made and just about the most delicious thing I've ever made! I cannot even describe to you what these tasted like warm with some vanilla ice cream. All I know is I've decided that I'm moving to the country to marry this Pioneer Woman. Someone please tell Bill that I'm sorry and I loved him! Also please ignore my ugly photos and go directly to The PW website because the photos that she takes of her food are amazing and mine are well just plain ugly.

Some things are soo perfect!

This is exactly what my Mother's Day card should look like this year. I mean, doesn't the cartoon even look like Bill and I?! Too funny!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! Sorry that I couldn't fly out there to Florida to hang out on the beach with you. Maybe next year when I don't walk with a gangster limp and have a deep seeded fear of blood clots. I love you and miss you dearly!

My 12th shoe!

You read that and were probably about to send help huh? You figured I went back to Shoefly and bought yet another pair of shoes. You were calling the number for retail therapy so you could sign me up. Well, don't get the wrong idea, I mean 12 pairs of shoes would just be flat out ridiculous.

Today I went to Ikea and got a shoe for Whisky! They had these cute dog toys that were stuffed shoes. I of course went for the bright pink boot. I haven't purchased a stuffed toy for him yet because well, they are expensive and with my previous experience they would get chewed up in 10 seconds. The ones at Ikea were CHEAP though and they were shoes! Can I just say that Whisky loves this toy above all others! He will fetch it and bring it right back, he will play tug with it and he will sleep with it. Wow, this really is a dog after my own heart!

What the F&%K?!

Ok, I'm about to blow my lid and bust a cap in someone's.......ok, let's stop the ghetto talk. Last week Bill and I were out in Davis with his family and decided to order some Chinese food. When it came I thought, "Hm..that's odd this place doesn't give you any rice." I've never ordered Chinese food from this place in Davis before though so I didn't think anything of it. Then, last night Bill and I ordered Chinese food from the same place that we always get it and guess what......no freaking rice!!!! Is that even allowed? I mean, I know I heard that we are in some sort of rice shortage, but isn't it a rule that Chinese food comes with rice? Wouldn't that be like ordering pancakes and not getting any syrup? Ordering a margarita and not getting any ice? I'm absolutely baffled. I will not be ordering any Chinese food until these rice schnanigans stop! Jeez, I have to pay $4 for fuel and now I'm not going to be served rice either? What the heck is this world coming to?

Shoefly shoe!

I have a favorite store in Sac called Shoefly. I've been going there for quite some time now and always seems to walk out with the most amazing shoes. In fact, I try to limit my trips there to one a year so I don't walk out with too many amazing shoes. I was super sad to find out that Shoefly was closing their doors. On the other hand I was super excited to find out that all their shoes would be clearanced up to 80% off!! I showed up at opening and fought through the madness to walk out with 6 wonderful pairs of shoes. I know I know, but they are closing! Plus, one of those pairs were for Bill and one of the pairs didn't fit so I will be passing them onto someone else. I didn't try anything on because it was so nutso in there.

So, I decided to go back today. I know, I know, but they are closing! I wanted to try and get Bill a couple more pairs of shoes and pick up a pair for my pops for Father's Day. I also wanted to try on a pair for myself before I invested in them. Today, I walked out with 5 more pairs! I know I know, but they are closing!

Prepare yourself for a beautiful photo montage of the shoes that I am keeping for myself. Keep in mind that I now have an attack dog that will cause harm to you if you try to come and steal my shoes.

Ok, you think you've had enough? I decided to save the best for last. Although I have to say these little flat strappy red numbers were hard to beat. Now for the pair that I had to go back for today just to try on. The pair that will require at least two pictures to represent their beauty. The pair that I will be wearing with shorts, dresses, sweats.....ok...maybe just jeans!

Ok, now you have had enough cause these boots were made for walkin!

Horndog!

Oh puffy blue pillow, how I love thee. When we first met you were a tad too big for my liking, but now that I have grown I have no shame. I'm in love. I'm in lust. I see you and I want to sneak up on you and slowly take you in my mouth and then hump away like there is no tomorrow. I know sometimes I get a little rough my blue puffy lover, but it is all in good puppy fun. I may seem young for you, but I am wise beyond my years. Just remember, in dog years, I'm much older!

Love - Whisky

Favorite Treats!

Whisky definitely has a favorite treat, well two actually. Matt and Kristi! Ha, no I'm just kidding. Matt and Kristi came by and met Whisky right after we got him and they brought all sorts of goodies. One of them was a brand of treats called Smokehouse Duck and Sweet Potato. They basically look like a piece of dehydrated sweet potato wrapped up with a piece of duck.....and actually they are a piece of dehydrated sweet potato wrapped up with a piece of duck. When you read the ingredients it reads : Duck, Sweet Potato! I totally dig how natural they are so when I went to Petsmart I looked for more goodies. The new favorite are the Chicken Poppers. Ingredients on that are: Chicken, Rice! If I get daring enough I'll try one myself and let you know how good they taste. For now, you'll just have to take it from Whisky that they are delish!

Pup in pool!

Today I got Whisky a pool for the backyard. He went in it immediately, but just kind of wandered around curiously. I think with time he's going to romp around in it like crazy. Today he went through moments of picking up toys, drinking the water and eating the pool. Oh...the life of a pup! You can see more pictures on Flickr.

Good boy!

I have to say that Whisky is being partially crate trained. I put him in the crate a couple times during the day to get him used to it, and he definitely chills out in there when I leave the house. At bedtime though, I don't crate him. He just cried to darn much! Instead I created a little den for him next to my side of the bed by blocking off a space with a suitcase. He sleeps like a baby in his den, well except for the waking up in the middle of the night to go out.

This weekend I moved the suitcase during the day so I could wash the bedding. We found out that when Whisky gets tired, he just goes right in and puts himself to bed. Sooo cute! He took quite a few naps in there in the peace and quiet and in fact is in there right now. Guess this has become his little safe place. I just love having a dog in the house again!

Clover-failed!!!

I don't think I really expected "Cloverfield" to be a good movie, but with all the advertisements I was sucked in and had to watch it. This movie is terrible! There is no real plot, I mean, unless just running around town is a plot. It is an awful awful movie. That will teach me to be sucked in my an overly advertised movie! Boy I can't wait for "I Hate Sarah Marshall" to come out on DVD.

Another Giveaway!!!

My friend Melissa is involved with a company called Baby Call Tree and has been generous enough to donate 5 gift cards! Baby Call Tree is a way to make baby annoucing a little easier. With this service, you create an account and then input up to 30 phone numbers and emails so that when the big day arrives, you just have to make one phone call and record a personal message about the baby's arrival. You can announce the birth of the baby, all the vital statistics, what hospital you are in, how the mother is doing, visiting hours, etc. Baby Call Tree will then send that information onto those you have programmed!

Not pregnant yourself? Well, this would make a great gift fo that person in your life that is. I feel right now that I always know someone that is having a baby! Each gift card has a $10 value and will alert up to 12 people. This is an EASY contest. All you have to do is be one of the first 5 people to comment! So start commenting people! Tell me how much you want this gift card, tell me how much you love this blog, tell me how much you love me. See, easy!

Scarfette, not to be confused with Smurfette!

Becki found this cute little scarf online and I played around and made one for her to take on her Tahoe weekend. It was super fun figuring out how to make it and then in addition I played around with a little felt button brooch as well to give it some more pizzazz! I definitely have to make more of these but I'll have to make them a bit shorter next time. I know in one of the pics Becks doesn't look to happy to be wearing Scarfette, but trust me...she loved it!