Life at the Funny Farm

Kindergarten Land

2011-09-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

Well since my lovely friend Brittany is the ONLY person who reads this blog, these pictures are really for you my dear. I told you I would try to post classroom pics and I'm finally getting around to it. I was blessed to inherit a FABULOUS Kindergarten room this year. A veteran teacher moved to Australia and I was next in line for her room! It is amazing because this year I have 29 students...a far cry from 19 just 2 years ago. Let's just say, I am EXHAUSTED every single day.

This is the view from the door!

Free choice area where the Kitchen is....hot spot...let me tell you!

The Rainbow word club and Letter board.

My soup can is awesome! An original creation!

It is now covered with ladybugs (my kiddos) to show their jobs for the week!

So fun!

Calendar time!

The view from my office!

And there you have it! Hopefully you can now get a sense of where I am everyday! It's a lot messier now that the kiddos are here all the time, but it wouldn't be a real kinder room without a little mess!!

Just stoppin' by for a quick post...

2011-08-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

I realize I have not blogged in close to a year. I like to do an annual post. :) But seriously, I never blog on here because I don't have a lot of blogging friends and with Facebook, everyone stays caught up there.

Let's see. This past year lots happened. But let's fast forward to now. School starts back in a week. I report to work this week but I have already been back "unofficially" to start working on my classroom. This was the very first year I did NOT recieve a pink slip! Yay! So I got to enjoy my summer without the panic of not having a job in the fall and what we would do for my share of the income. A great teacher who had been at Discovery for as long as it has been opened actually moved to Australia this summer so I was blessed by not only being able to stay in Kindergarten (I have never been able to stay in the same grade 2 years in a row!) but I also was given the chance to move into her room! Exciting! Her room is an actual Kindergarten room whereas mine was a regular room. Her room is much bigger and equipped better for Kindergarten. It is also attached to the other Kindergarten teachers which is SO nice. The best part is there is a bathroom in the classroom. Those of you who know me well know how often I pee! So I moved in at the beginning of summer and now I am arranging everything and getting ready for the new batch of sweet Kindergarteners in a week! I'm actually really glad to get back to work. It's some needed structure and routine! Perhaps I will take a picture of my new room when it's all ready and post it on here. That would require me to post more than once this year though....Hmm....

I thought I would share some recent pics of my sweet kids.

My sweet Scooter. Fresh out of the pool. That guy is a swimmer! He's had a rough summer but hasn't let it get him down! We are hoping his nerve damage in his back will heal over time and the numbness in his hind leg will go away. But for now he is happy and not in pain.

My happy Baxter bear. He sure is a happy boy. He still has a "puppy brain" and I love it. Well, sometimes I don't because he is almost 4. He hates the water so he was enjoying the shade on the patio.

Diva Penelope. Penny was being a model for a photoshoot this day. I was trying to get a good shot of her and she was NOT cooperating. She insisted on lying down for most pictures on her side. I swear, she is a floozy. But we love her to pieces!

So I am still making signs. I have a blog for my signs but since I haven't been updating it regularly I want to make it private so I can do some clean up on it. But school is starting and I honestly don't see that happening! I thought I would share some of my recent signs on here!

For a teacher friend for her classroom. Super cute! I think one day I might make one for myself....

GAK is an acronym or something. I don't know...I just take orders and make what they want! Anyway, I designed this entire board. The client just said it was for a garden and to fly free. So this was the result and I really LOVE it. It was extremely time consuming but it was for a great client who has bought 5 signs from me so she gets the best!!

I think that is all for now. Let's see how long it takes before I post again.....

Alot can happen in a YEAR!

2010-11-06T23:06:00.000-07:00

So I thought it would be fun to post a blog since it's been well over a YEAR since my last post. See, my problem with this is that I only have 2 people who read my blog. Not that I don't care about updating you Brittany and Kelsie, but it seems like so much work for 2 people who see my posts on Facebook on a daily basis. Regardless here I am posting. But literally as I type this, I realize I have nothing to post about. Hmm...let's see what I can drudge up.

Yeah...I got nothin....

New Discoveries

2009-08-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

Well I know it's been awhile since my last post. I doubt I will post very often anymore. I figure for the two people who actually read my blog, they can find out these updates on my Facebook. Anyway, school started this week. I was called on the Wednesday afternoon before and told I would be teaching at Discovery Elementary. So I moved all of my stuff back there on Thursday morning. I was assigned First Grade. Although I was sad to not be in Kindergarten, I was happy it was still the little kids. My class is interesting this year. It's still early so I will have to see how it goes. I did get to have one of my cute girls from last year. She moved over the summer and enrolled at Discovery. She ended up in my class and I'm very excited!!

We are starting the wedding planning. We are close to setting a date. Things are going well. The pups are crazy as ever!

That is all for now!

Just a bump in the road...

2009-07-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

So I had the wonderful intentions of posting more regular for the 2 people who actually read this, but as the title states, I hit a bump in the road. I had moved my classroom and unpacked at Discovery which was to be my new home next year. I was actually really excited about this new adventure as mentioned in the last post. But because our California government continues to dig deeper into debt, they decided to cut education EVEN MORE. Over half of the cuts in California have been made to education. I guess they figure, we don't need smart people in our state. Maybe it's because it might be easier for our government officials just to leave the state when it gets really bad!! Unfortunately, those of us with homes, family, friends, jobs, etc. don't have that luxury. Anyhow, enough of my venting. My district did not do layoffs in March like everyone else. It seemed like a dream come true. More like, too good to be true. They decided it would be necessary to do layoffs in June though. So I recieved my pink slip and am merely waiting until the final decision is made. It's not how I intended to spend my summer, nor is it fair that I have to play this waiting game. So my bump in the road of life has prompted me not to post any updates. It's been a bit depressing.

However, life does go on. I was in Las Vegas for our national dance competition earlier this month. Although the competition was smaller than ever, we still had fun. Our girls did really well. My little girls did fabulous! They won 2 times in different categories. They also won in the Platinum competition. My little sleeper dance though, Classroom Chaos, did really good too. I was shocked when they announced it had won 1st place in the Platinum competition out of 68 numbers. Coincidentally, we tied ourselves for that place. Anyway, it was a good week. I was ready to come home!!
My little girls

Lauren and Kya

The four of us.

Me and Kassi before the banquet.

Until next time...whenever that will be.

It feels good to be back!

2009-05-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am aware it has been awhile. Now that school is officially out, I can begin to unwind...well sort of. There are still some busy things ahead, but the one obstacle that is school is done for now. :)

Let's see. School is out and I am super sad to see SOME of my Kindergarteners go. I got really attached to a few. I found out in late April that although my district blessed me with not cutting my job, my school (Endeavour) was one teacher over for next year's enrollment numbers. What does this mean you ask? It means I was bumped to another school to be determined at a later date. Well I waited for around a month. It was agonizing. I was so grateful to have a job but at the same time it was depressing to be leaving my school as well as my grade level. My assignment was looking like 6th grade which anyone who knows me will tell you, is my biggest fear!! Then it looked like 4th grade which calmed me down a bit. But the wonderful day I was informed of my final assignment was a happy one. I will be teaching Kindergarten at Discovery next year. Although I am sad to leave Endeavour, Discovery is a fabulous school, close to my house, and most importantly, I get to stay in Kindergarten. I am in the process of moving my classroom over there and am excited to see what next year holds for me. Wish me luck!!

This is my class from this year. I will miss seeing them next year as big First Graders!!

Things at home are going well. Many people keep asking about our wedding plans. Well as you know, the state of California has a temporary seat in the toilet. Education has taken a huge hit. I was able to avoid the first round layoffs in my district, however, there is a such thing as 2nd round ("last minute") layoffs which can occur Aug. 15th. This is terrifying. Plus even if I pass this round there is the fact that the following year will be worse. Basically we are worried that I will lose my job and we will have spent a great deal of money on a wedding. So the planning has stayed at a stand still. My fabulous friend Heidi has given me lots of ideas to save money, so I am hoping to figure something out.

This is my cute little family.

We officially began the summer of swimming!! Our pool is great and the dogs love it too! Scooter is a great swimmer and will jump in for virtually any toy!

Penny is just too cute. I had to take a picture with her!!

Hopefully I can keep up with blogging on a more regular basis. Until next time...

The Promise

2009-04-17T17:39:00.001-07:00

So yes I am aware it has been quite some time since my last post. But in all honesty, I don't have much to post right now. However, I am saving up some stuff to post and soon I will have enough to warrant a decent blog. So this is my promise.

Scout's honor!

January is a good month...

2009-02-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

So many wonderful things happened in the month of January! For starters, my birthday was January 19th. I was given the day off of work thanks to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was a nice break and birthday!

Next we bought a house. I waited to mention anything until escrow actually closed. I know how things can happen and I didn't want to jinx it. But escrow closed on January 26th and John and I are now the proud owners of a new home! I took some pictures this weekend of the outside. I wanted to wait on the inside pictures until we have done more work.

The front.

The backyard

John's favorite part...the built in BBQ

My favorite part...the pool

And the final wonderful thing that happened in January....John asked me to marry him and I said yes of course! Unfortunately I tried to take pictures of my beautiful ring, but it's so sparkly that all the picture does is glare. So no pictures. If you want to see it, you will just have to see it in person. It's prettier that way anyway!

Well, we will be busy working on the new house in the coming weeks. I will post pictures when I can. Until then....

More cute Kindergarten quotes...

2008-12-19T17:16:00.000-08:00

So I just have a few more quotes from the Kindergarteners at school. They say the funniest things!

*One of my girls yesterday told me she got me a present for Christmas. Then she proceeded to tell me "you can put it on your fridgadator!" Yes, I said fridg-a-dator!! That is how she says refrigerator. Too funny!

*Today at school, Santa made surprise stop in the classroom. There were 3 classes in one room at the time watching The Polar Express. When Santa came in all the kids started talking and shouting things to Santa. One of the hilarious girls in my friend Dana's class said, "Santa I texted you yesterday. Did you get it?" A 5 year old told Santa she sent him a text with her wish list!! I guess writing letters is out..texting is in! Santa also told the kids his reindeer were in Alaska. One of my kids said..."Miss Clanahan, Santa's reindeer are at the North Pole." Ah yes, Santa..get your geography right!

*We have to test the kids on a variety of things. Like stating the days of the week, saying the flag salute, counting, etc. Well my friend Heidi was testing one of her boys on the flag salute. When he got to "one nation under God," his version was "100 dalmations under God." That is definitely one that I haven't heard!!

*This next one isn't really a quote. But it is a thing they do. So I have this one boy...I mentioned him in previous posts. He loves to play in the sand box at recess. So after lunch the other day, he is like "Miss Clanahan I have sand in my shoe." So I told him to stand by the door and dump his shoe. This is a common thing and I didn't think anything of it. But then he started to take his gloves off. His gloves were FULL of sand...with his hands in them!! Then he takes off his shoes and I kid you not, he dumps enough sand to build a small castle! Then he takes his hoodie off and dumps sand from his hood! I asked him what in the world do you do at recess? And of course his answer was plain and simple..."play in the sand box." Well there you have it. Why did I even bother to ask?! So today they got to wear pajamas to school. I told them to be careful at recess not to get their nice jammies dirty. This same boy raises his hand and says "we shouldn't play in the sandbox!!" And what happened after recess...covered in sand! So much for his great idea!

Well that is all for now. When I have some really good ones, I will post again!

2008-12-07T18:56:00.000-08:00

Wow. I really feel productive! I managed to upload tons of pictures AND update my photos on Myspace...apparently it has been several months since I did that! So that made me happy.

Anyway, this will just mainly be a posting of pictures. That's what everyone wants anyway isn't it? Anyway, a week ago was my dog, Snoopy's 17th birthday party! Yes that is right...17 and birthday party. I got Snoopy when I was 10 years old. He is the reason I am in love with daschunds. He is a unique dog. Not only has he managed to live longer than most dogs, but he is the smallest daschund ever! Keep in mind he was born before the "mini" dog craze. Before people were breeding to be small. In fact, when he was born, my grandma didn't want him because he was the runt. His brother was three times his size. She wanted the big one because that is what they were supposed to look like! I am so happy she "had" to take the runt. Snoopy is getting old and he can barely see anymore. I think my Dad realizes he doesn't have much time left. So he proposed the idea of a birthday party complete with cake. So we went over there and celebrated my dog's birthday. You will see it is a real cake complete with candles. Scrappy (the much larger dog) actually started taking large bites of the cake before we had to take it away from them. This is my favorite.

The doctor's office I used to work at for many years and just prior to my teaching job had their annual Christmas party. Naturally I went. I worked the majority of the year there...and even if I hadn't I would have gone anyway! :) I miss my people!! Anyway, it was "Black and White" and I had a lot of fun.

Before we left...

John and I at our table!

And of course...Natalee and I. It wouldn't be a party without Natalee!!

The other day I took this picture with Baxter. He is such a sweet boy. Sometimes he drives me absolutely crazy though!!

That is about all for now. We have 2 more weeks of school left! YES!! I am counting down!! I can't wait to have 2 weeks off from work!! Until next time...

Oh the things they say...

2008-11-11T17:13:00.000-08:00

So my kids are full of funny stuff. On a daily basis they say things that crack me up. I thought I would share a few on here.

So I have a student who I was testing. I was showing him letter flashcards and I wanted to know the sound for each letter. Each letter he replied with the same sound of "eh." So I was thinking, okay, he doesn't know his sounds. So I kept testing hoping he would know some. Well about halfway through he looked at me and said, "Miss Clanahan, this is easy." And he was dead serious. He believed he was doing an awesome job!!! It was all I could do not to laugh. He was so adorable! Good news..he has progressed and knows more sounds now.

Another student I have took an item from my classroom. She told her parents who in turn told me at Back to School Night. They said she was going to return it tomorrow and apologize. So the next morning sure thing, she popped on over and said, "Miss Clanahan, I'm sorry I took your bunny. I hear you are very disappointed in me." -I am NOT lying. Those were her EXACT words. I about died. I remained serious and told her I was very sad that she stole from me.

This same little girl also calls hand sanitizer, "hanitizer." I don't correct her because it's absolutely adorable!

The student from earlier who said "this is easy" also did another funny thing. I was giving out candy as a reward for knowing their number. Anyway, I kept calling it candy or treat. Well about 10 min later when we were outside at parent pick-up he told me, "Miss Clanahan, I gotta tell you something. This isn't a candy. It's a Starbusrt." Once again he was very matter-of-factly. I smiled and said thank you for telling me!!!

And one of my sweet little boys had the hardest time saying my name. So he was calling me Miss Hanaclan. I thought it was so cute that I didn't want to correct him. His mother later told me that she worked with him every night to get it right. He now says it right and I am a bit sad because it was so cute!

I'm sure there are a million other things but for now that is all I can think of. When more arise, I will post them.

Until then...

Happy Halloween!!

2008-11-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

I realize that it has been awhile since my last post. However, this post will be full of pictures!! So hopefully that makes up for it just a little...

Things have been going well in our life. School is keeping me busy, but of course I am having a great time as well! John is still working at KSI and doing a great job! Halloween in Kindergarten is an interesting time...and by interesting I really mean INSANE!! The kids were soooo excited! Here are some pictures.

I dressed as Dorothy! This is me before I left the house. It was supposed to rain and I wanted one decent picture in case it DID rain.

I happened to have a couple of twins in my class. We had to take a picture!!

This is my class after the parade on Friday. Aren't we cute?

Earlier in the week my class went to the Pumpkin Patch.

And of course...it wouldn't be Halloween without pup pictures!!

The first picture I found on my camera. John had put poor little Socks in that shirt and she wasn't too happy. Needless to say, Scout stayed in hiding during that time!

That's pretty much all I have to post right now. Until next time....

The Kindergarten Update...

2008-09-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

Life in Kindergarten...is well... SUPER FUN! I can honestly say I am having a lot of fun with my class. I have 19...however, I lose one student tomorrow and my new count will be 18..exactly 9 girls and 9 boys. Makes same sex groups of 3 quite nice. I was exhausted everyday after school, but this week I have gotten a better system and am not AS tired as I was. I think I can really get the hang of this. I'm a slacker and haven't taken pictures of my classroom. I have pictures of my students, but well, that isn't very fun to look at 18 kids that you don't know. I love Endeavour (my school). It is absolutely wonderful. Everyone has been really nice to me and is making me feel like it is home.

As for dance, I have been teaching my same two classes on Thursday nights. My new batch of girls isn't what I'm used to. I have a lot of new girls who just aren't at the level they should be. It makes my choreography a bit more difficult but I can manage. I am enjoying whipping their butts into shape! But then again, that's my forte! Company will start next week with a meeting and officially the following week. I am excited because I can do more work this year, but we lost a lot of girls this last year and so I'm bummed about that. Brittany (after baby) and Kelsie (when in the state) I am leaving this as an open invitation to come take my tap and/or jazz classes on Thursday nights. It would definitely liven things up!! I think Desiree will even come take when she is in town!!

Anyway, that is pretty much all I have to update right now. I hope to have some classroom pictures up soon!!

So Much to Post...So Little Time...

2008-08-30T21:15:00.001-07:00

Okay, so yes I am back. I know it has been awhile, but it has also been quite eventful. Let's begin with Las Vegas. This was in July. The girls did great and I have pictures from banquet night!!

This is actually the night before banquet. Kassi and I went to N9ne Steakhouse at the Palms that night. It was a fabulous night, but I really hate being photographed next to Kassi! She is such a pretty girl!

Me, Kassi, and Aunt Jenny on banquet night.

Kassi and I on banquet night!

All the older girls!

And Brooklyn is just too cute not to include! She asked to take a picture with me. She is so little! I love it!!

Moving on...next we went to our friend Brent's wedding. We know Brent from both Original Mike's and La Cave (the restaurants we worked at in Orange County). We had a lot of fun and got to see our La Cave friends! We miss them tons!!

Our dear friend Josh. He is angry we haven't move back to Orange County yet. He keeps offering to help us move. It's really quite sweet.

John and I

Which brings us to NOW. So, I started my school year off as a sub again for Kristen Neuman's 5th grade class. However, the budget caused so many cuts that the districts had over enrollment in many places. This forced them to hire more teachers the first week of school. So, if you hadn't heard yet, THAT is exactly what happened to me!! I interviewed the Friday school came back with Fruitvale and on Monday was hired to teach Kindergarten at Endeavour Elementary!! It's a dream job and I'm so excited!! I got to set up my classroom this week and on Tuesday I start with my full class! I'm nervous and excited!! I miss my 5th graders, but Kindergarten is one of my favorite grades!! I love it!

Here is John and I celebrating the night I was hired! I chose Tahoe Joe's! YUM!!

My classroom is super cute! I will take some pictures and post them eventually. I have already been so busy and it's just going to get busier for me! I promise to post as often as I can. But hey, I got like 3 good events in this post. :) Let's give me some credit!

Until next time....

The biggest post of all time!

2008-07-12T20:52:00.001-07:00

Wow. I didn't realize it had been the end of May since my last post. I guess I have really been slacking. It's been really busy around here. Let's see...where to start.

There is a stray cat who was taunting Scooter months back and she would run around our yard. Well back in April she decided to have kittens in the yard behind ours. That house is abandoned and so the "mom-cat" decided that is where her and her kittens would live. We actually saw them the day they were born. They were so tiny. The reason we saw them is because she gave birth to them right on the other side of the fence and Scooter was barking insanely. Anyhow, John started hopping over the fence every night to feed mom-cat. I'm not a cat fan, but I felt bad for the kittens. It wasn't their fault their mom got knocked up. So anyway, this is them a few weeks later...

Because I got tired of calling them by color etc, I gave them all names. I know...it was the beginning of the end. I started getting attached. Well we still feed them everyday...but now they come over into our side yard to eat so John doesn't have to hop the fence. Sometimes he plays with them too. One day John decided to kitty nap 2 of them. The mom cat was pretty mad at John. These are our new little kitties.

Meet Socks...she is John's favorite.

Meet Scout...he is my favorite.

So now we have 2 kitties. Have no fear though...they will be outside cats...because all though they are cute right now, they WILL become cats and I am not cool with cats running around my house. But for now, they are hanging out in the office in my house until they get bigger.

Next...we had the dance recital and sadly I didn't even have one picture on my camera. Oh well...I have danced in plenty of them. No worries. The week after recital we went to a Dodger game. Before you freak out...it was a Dodger vs. ANGELS game. Dr. Ahmed (who I work for in the summer) has season tickets and I got to use them on June 28th. We took Allison and Matt who are Dodger fans. Our seats were on field level between 1st base and right field/outfield. Here was our view and a cute picture of John and I.

We went to Orange County over the 4th of July. I don't have pictures from our fireworks show as I was sick. You see...we went on John's uncle's yacht out in Long Beach. We went out to the Queen Mary where they have a fireworks show. I, however, was sea sick. Yes...it sucked. Well I watched the fireworks...but from the couch inside the yacht. So I didn't take pictures. Anyhow, we took the dogs over to his uncle's the next day to play with Penelope. She and Penny got in the pool to play. Well Penelope decided to roll around in the dirt and so I had to take pictures. This is another reason my dogs are short hair dogs!!!

I still don't have a job for the school year. I have pretty much just accepted the fact that I will be subbing again next year. I have taken a job subbing for Kristen Neuman again in 5th grade when school starts. It will last for 10 weeks. If on the off chance I do get hired before school then they will just find another sub. In the meantime I am still working at the doctor's office. They have been really great there.

I guess I will wrap this post up. I will leave you with a cute picture of Scooter. He made the pup bed into a sleeping bag. What a cutie!!

My dance girls have DEA nationals coming up. I will be in Vegas with them. Hopefully I get some pictures!! Until next time...

Just a quickie!

2008-05-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

So school is officially out for the summer! My last day with kids was yesterday and I had to go back today to close down the classroom. It's a little sad for me. I said goodbye to the teachers/staff I have gotten to know this school year at Patriot. I have no idea where I will be next fall and so there is a possibility it may be the last time I see many of them. Everyone was so nice and wished me well in my job hunt! I can only wait and see what positions open up after enrollment changes. On a good note, the kids in my 2nd long term (5th grade) were really sweet! I got a few presents and a lot of hugs! I hope I get to see many of those students again someday!

Anyway, no pictures as this is just a quick post. Hopefully my next post will be good news of a job. We shall see!

Until then...

The big one!

2008-05-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

So as promised, I have downloaded my pictures onto my computer. I forget about doing it because they have to go on my laptop which I have stopped using because it is ridiculously slow now.

So as mentioned, Scooter had an incident with a bumblebee. He unfortunatly lost and was stung right on the nose area. He swelled up really fast (didn't get a picture of this unfortunately) and we rushed him to the vet. They gave him some shots and said he would be fine. Well he was not and the sting swelled into an abscess. He had to go under for a drainage since it was close to his eye. Anyway, here is Scooter with his "space dog" cone on that he actually loved wearing!

If you look closely, you can see the puncture of where his abscess was drained. This isn't where he was stung but rather where they went in to drain. Poor Scooter.

In other news, the 5th grade assignment I took is going well. We only have 3.5 weeks left of school and that makes me super happy! I can't wait to have a mini break and find out if I'm going to get a job teaching or move on to something else. I hate being in limbo. It gives me anxiety. Anyway, I got a cute hair cut too thanks to Kassi. She attempted her first "bob" and I think it came out quite nice.

As for John, things are still going well for him at his job. His company is a huge sponsor for Cancer research and all year they raise money for Relay for Life. The owner's daughter died of a rare bone cancer in 2005. KSI (John's employer) has raised a lot of money for this cause. John signed up to walk in the Relay for Life and I decided to tag along. I had never attended this event which is held every year (for all you non-Bakersfield people who aren't aware). I must say, I was blown away. It was a very emotional place. So many survivors and so many deaths. The booths were all raising money for this cause. The amount of support there was awesome. I plan to go back each year to walk. John's company was a Gold Team which meant their team raised an average of $517 per person. We saw teams who raised almost $1000 per person! If you have never gone, I encourage you to do so. It's 24 hours so you can go anytime and walk. It really made me think about the people in my life who have lost their battle with Cancer, as well as the people currently fighting this disease. I love my grandma and each day I pray her leukemia can be beat!

Whew, on a lighter note I took a few pictures of Penny and Baxter which I thought were adorable. Baxter is really getting big. He is so long. Much longer than we thought he would be. He is still pretty skinny, which I'm happy about. It's coming up for that time when he needs to get "fixed." I'm sure he won't be happy about this day when it comes....

I got Penny a new shirt. It truly fits her personality.

John and Penny. She has such a crush on him. Seriously.

Just a couple of Baxter.

Well, I think that about covers it for this post. Unfortunately because I just used a ton of pictures for this post, I may not have anything interesting to talk about for awhile. Oh well. Something will probably come up!

Until next time....

To be in 5th grade again....

2008-04-23T22:01:00.001-07:00

So I actually have a lot to post about and pictures, however they are not off my camera yet and it's late. So I will just do a short post tonight. On Friday it was my last day in 4th grade. I was so excited. I had plans to sleep in the following Monday. It was looking great. WELL by afternoon recess that day I had been asked to take over the GATE 5th grade class at Patriot because Kristen Neuman (formally Kristen Martin for those DW people) just got word from her doctor that she had to go on early maternity leave because of some complications. SO now I am in 5th grade for the rest of the school year. The plus is, steady income and I really like the class, but it still doesn't look good for me as far as an actual job. The district is looking slim and all my eggs are in their basket, so to speak. So we will just have to see how it goes. Either way, I start full time at the office right after school gets out. Gotta keep myself busy and my options open!

Anyway, I have some great pictures of Scooter and his newest adventure with a bumblebee. I will leave you with this...he got in a fight and didn't win. More on that later! Until then....wish me luck in 5th grade!

Super Pup!

2008-03-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

So, I'm still in 4th grade and I am still alive! I survived the infamous "Mission Field Trip" which, by the way, consumed 11 hours of my day! Wow. That's just too much time. Anyway, the teacher who went out on maternity is scheduled to come back right on schedule. So I'm happy about that. I actually really like my class and I'm enjoying 4th grade alot. It's just not as fun when you don't get to start the class off at the beginning of the year. I'm stuck trying to catch up and figure things out in short periods of time. So although I love my class and am actually having fun...I am also excited for the teacher to return.

On another note, I was looking at pictures on my camera and found some pictures I had forgotten all about. When we went to Orange County a month or so ago, we found these outfits at the pet store on HUGE clearance. So of course, I HAD to buy them!

Penny looks so cute in her baseball shirt! We love baseball in our house, so it was very fitting!

Baxter will have to grow into his shirt! But he is still cute!

All 3 of my babies together. Not the best picture but well you try getting all 3 of them to sit still for a picture!!!

I'm sorry but this HAS to be the funniest ever! Ever since we got Scooter I wanted to get him a cape. He runs around the house and flies off the couch like Super Pup! I could NOT believe I found this!

To get the full effect. It really does have the Superman emblem on his chest!
Scooter the Super Pup!!

Well that's about all for now. I hope to post with some more pictures soon, but well, let's be honest...I am a little busy. I will get to it when I can! Until then!!!!

To be in 4th grade again....

2008-03-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. I am in 4th grade again. But it's not what you think. I'm a long term substitute for a teacher who went on maternity leave. I survived my first week and I must say I did okay. There were no major problems, and that HAS to be a good thing right? I'm already excited for spring break though. It starts the 17th of March which by the way is way too early in the year to be celebrating Easter. But I will take it because I am ready for a break! I am "lucky" enough to have the mission report and projects during my time in 4th grade, as well as the infamous Mission field trip. So, things should be very educational for me! I will tell you how it all plays out. I'm scheduled to be finished April 18th, but as we know, pregnancy can be unpredictable. As of now, I have not heard word that she has even had the baby, and well, she is only taking the minimum of 6 weeks off (excluding spring break). So if she hasn't had the baby or there are any complications, she could be out longer.

As for teaching jobs, it doesn't look good. Most likely if I do get hired, it won't be until just before school starts or right after. So I stay in limbo until that time. I'm possibly pursuing the idea of working full time at the office I work at right now part time. I would get benefits and a steady paycheck. I'm going to give it a whirl in the summer and go from there. If a teaching job presents itself, then I will make my decision. I just can't stand not having a "career" by now. It's not what I had in the plans for myself. So, I will keep you posted on how that develops.

No pictures this time. The pups and John have been pretty normal lately. Nothing really to report. I will try to take some pictures soon but I am so crazed most of the time it is unlikely!

Until then....

As promised

2008-02-17T18:49:00.000-08:00

So here I am full of info and pictures. I just downloaded a TON of pictures from my camera. I had like 90 pictures just hanging out on there. And the sad part is, the majority of them were from Christmas time! Gosh, I guess I have been busy!

Well let's see. There has been a lot going on around here. The dogs of course are doing fabulously. Baxter is almost potty trained and I am sooo excited about that. I can't tell you happy it makes me! That puppy poops more than either of our other dogs did when they were little! And I don't even have carpet this time...thank goodness! I took some pictures the other day because my grandma requested some pictures.

I wasn't even trying for this pose and it turned out great! This is our favorite picture of all 3 dogs! It's so hard to get them to sit still. John is holding a treat above their heads which is why they are all looking in the same direction.

This picture is my new favorite of Baxter. I know it is only his face, but he has beautiful markings and this picture shows that!

John is loving his job. He was officially hired on as a full time employee. I can't remember if I mentioned that part yet. So it means he doesn't work for the temp agency anymore. He served his 90 days with them and then KSI (his employer) was able to hire him away from them. So, on May 1st he will be done with his official 90 days and get benefits and all that good stuff. He really likes his job and that makes me so happy. I asked him the other day if he wanted to move back to Orange County. When we made the decision to move here, I told him if he gave it a year, then we could do whatever he wanted; either stay or move back. He told me he wanted to stay. That made me feel really good.

As for me...things have changed. The main reason we moved here was so I could hired as a teacher. I couldn't get a job in Orange County and the growth in Bakersfield has been really large. So new schools have been opened and jobs were plentiful. So we moved. I have been subbing pretty much everyday and it looked promising. I am starting a long term sub job that will last 7 weeks for a fourth grade teacher who is having a baby. So the principal liked me there and it was looking good for me to get hired in the Rosedale district. WELL now the state of California has once again slammed education with a big hit! When I was in the OC, budget cuts were happening and teachers were getting laid off. That made it virtually impossible to get hired. Now it appears to be happening again, only in Bakersfield. I can't seem to catch a break. Rosedale, the district I have been subbing for, has announced the possibility of laying off 30 teachers at the end of the year!! Well, great. That's just great. The other districts are getting hit too. It's just unknown how hard yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and am going to apply anyway as planned. We will just have to see what happens. It's just frustrating because I worked so hard this year to make good contacts and to do a good job to get noticed. It seemed to work and now this road bump. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Enough about all that. Back to pictures! Here is our Christmas picture. Usually we send out Christmas cards but this year I just didn't get around to it. This picture is the one we printed and framed for our families...but John was able to photo shop the dogs' creepy eyes. So this isn't the final one. But rather the one on my camera!

So that is pretty much all for now. I have still been subbing and working at the office and dance studio. I choreographed a trio for company and Jennifer Skiby's solo this year. Both of those dances will compete in March and April. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I did a good job!

I hope to have some more pictures to post soon. This has already taken me forever tonight. Until next time....

Here I Am

2008-02-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

Well a few people have asked that I update my blog. This is funny to me because well only a few people actually read the thing...AND they ask me to update it while they are on my myspace page!! Sooooo that makes me laugh seeing as how my myspace page pretty much keeps you updated and whatnot too.

Anyway, there are a few things to post but I am compiling pictures and notes and so far it's not ready. Well, I haven't started so that might hinder the readiness. Anyway, I wanted to let you all (few) know that an update is on the way. I'm sure you are all (few) so excited you can hardly stand it!! I know...I would be too!

Until then...

Baxter Pup!

2008-01-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

Well things around here have been moving at full speed! I don't have much time to post right now, but we have a new addition to our family...well we got him the day after Thanksgiving. Anyway, because it was a surprise, I couldn't post pictures until John's Dad and Step-mom saw him in person! And now it's been awhile since that and I thought I should at least post some pictures for those of you who haven't seen him on my Myspace page.

This is Baxter Maximus Wagsley!

As you can see he didn't waste any time playing with his new brother and sister. Little secret...Scooter doesn't like Baxter. Hopefully that will change!

Well that is all for now. I will repost soon with updates on the lives of John and I. But for now enjoy my lil boy Baxter!

All dressed up

2007-12-08T22:19:00.000-08:00

So last night was my office Christmas party. Despite the catering disaster which Renee and the gang handled superbly, it was a nice night! Seriously though, props to them for whipping up appetizers in like 30 minutes for over 100 people!

So John and I got all dressed up for the party. I found a cute dress at Kohl's believe it or not and I wanted a certain hairstyle. I have been really into the show "Samantha Who?" with Christina Applegate and her hair is flippin' cute! So I requested assistance from my dear pal Kassi who colors and cuts my hair normally. She whipped up the perfect do and I was so pleased! Of course I had John take some pictures to document this fabulous look! Anyway, that's all this blog is about...the pictures from last night!

My long shot showing my cute dress!

The hair close up..thanks Kassi!

John and I at the party. I got him a cute tie to match me!

The very cute Corinne. Didn't she do the 40's well?

My carpool buddy....only a few people understand that one!

I will probably post some more pictures soon! Until then...

Just a little update

2007-12-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

So I realized it's been a month since my last post. I feel as though I am slacking but there just hasn't been much to post. Things have been going pretty well here. Scooter has been on his medication but has had 4 seizures in the first 3 weeks of taking the potassium bromide. This past week we have been seizure free!! So we are hoping it's starting to take effect. That would be so spectacular if the seizures stopped. I can't stand to see my baby during one of those. He had one the day after Thanksgiving and Trish and Jamie were there to see it. They were freaked out too. It's hard because there is nothing you can do but hold him until it passes. But let's keep our fingers crossed that the medication is working! Oh and on another note, Scooter has conjunctivitis right now and is NOT happy. I have to keep wiping his eyes and he gets so mad! That should go away in a couple of days though. If not, back to the vet we go.

For Thanksgiving we made the trek down to Orange County. We left Wednesday night and were pretty worried about traffic. Surprisingly though we made great time and saw minimal traffic. We were quite pleased, especially because we opted to bring the pups along for the trip. We were having Turkey Day at John's uncle John's house and he has 2 pups and we wanted our dogs to meet each other. Funny thing is Uncle John has a puppy named Penelope too. Total coincidence because we got our pups around the same time. Anyway, we stayed at Trish's house (John's moms) and had a great time. The dogs were pretty crazy and we decided that would probably be their last trip to Orange County for awhile. It's just too hard to keep an eye on them. While he was outside in the back yard, Scooter got into a fight with a cat!! Sigh...poor Scooter.

So that's pretty much all I have to talk about right now. My office Christmas party is coming up this Friday so I should have some fancy pics of John and I to post. And then John has his party the following week. And Christmas morning will be full of pictures this year again! Scooter opened all his presents last year and this year we have to teach Penny!

Until the next post....

Busy

2007-11-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

So, this is really the first chance I have had to sit down and write in quite awhile. Things have been pretty busy around here. John is working full time at KSI and up until last weekend was still working every Saturday and Sunday at Red Robin. I'm so glad he is done there!! I have been subbing pretty much everyday. I have been lucky to get sub jobs at Patriot for most of my days, but occasionally I am at Centennial as well. Next week I will work at Endeavor for the first time. I'm a little nervous about that, but I'm sure it will be fine. And of course, I am still working at the office everyday after school as well. Subbing doesn't pay well here and I can't afford not to work at the office. My classes at dance are going well too. I was nervous before the year started, but now I'm feeling okay about it. So that's a good thing.

On other news...aka...PUP news! We had a bit of a scare with our oldest child, Scooter. Scooter was having random seizures recently. We weren't really sure what to make of them or even what to do about them. All we knew was that they were getting worse and scarier. So after a really bad one on Tuesday night, I got him right in at the vet's on Wednesday morning. They ran some blood work and on Thursday informed us that it doesn't look neurological (meaing we didn't have to go to LA and have an MRI). So that was GREAT news. Basically Scooter has to be on Potassium Bromide for the rest of his life. Hopefully it is effective and minimizes the seizures. It's not too pricy which is also a plus. If the Potassium isn't effective, he has to take Phenobarbotal which will destroy his liver over time. So we DON'T want to have that road be our option. So keep your fingers crossed for our little guy. He has had such a rough time in his short little life. He is such a good boy too. It breaks my heart when he is sick. Today was his first day on the meds, so we won't know if they are working for a couple of weeks. I will update though.

Well, that's about all for now. We went to Orange County last weekend to visit some family and friends. We went to La Cave for the Halloween whatnot. Anyway, here are some pictures from that night. Sorry no pictures of the dogs this time!!

This one is of John and me. Can you tell he didn't really have a costume?!

Me and Torie (my old gym buddy)...I like this one because I'm finally starting to look skinny!!! Yay! Thanks Torie for all your help and inspiration!

Our La Cave friends. Josh (dressed as a "cholo") and Dave (from "Blades of Glory")We really miss them!

Anyway, I promise more pictures of the pups soon!

Slightly Ridiculous!

2007-10-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

Yes it's been awhile since my last post. Things have been going great here. John finally got a job! Go John! It's a really good one too. He should be leaving Red Robin shortly. It's just not worth it having no days off...which is what is happening. Anyway, now the stress level has decreased tremendously and that is great! I have been subbing almost everyday. There is a possibility that I could have a long term assignment during the second half of the year. That would be great! Then I could really get my foot in the door!

Anyway, we should be coming to the OC for a visit in the coming weeks. Once John is done at Red Robin we will have weekends free. Expect visits soon!

Most importantly and the REAL reason for this post is the addition of MORE pup pictures! I thought we weren't gonna get Halloween costumes for the dogs UNTIL I saw these! I know, we are awful parents...subjecting our dogs to this torture, but it was just too cute to pass up!

Scooter makes a great jailpup!! The hat was the greatest part...don't worry he only had it on for the picture!

Penny is a little witch!!

Blame John. He enables me and my madness!!!

So that's it for now! Hope you enjoy my cute pups!!

Pumpkin Pie

2007-09-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

So it hasn't been TOO long since my last post. We are staying pretty busy now. I am subbing usually 3-4 days a week now which is nice. Dance is going well. It's so refreshing to be back. My body feels better...in a strange way, because although I'm sore and ache, I wouldn't have it any other way!! My Thursday night classes are going well. I don't think I have scared any girls away and as far as I can tell, none of them hate me. So that's a plus! The last two weeks I totally worked them and they were major spazzes!! It was great! We had a lot of fun. :)

John is still on the job hunt. He has been working a few days a week at the restaurant and he recently got set up with 2 temp agencies. Hopefully something will open up with that. We are trying really hard to be patient. In the meanwhile, I am working extra hard to make money to pay the bills.

On a super cute note, many of you know we have a Halloween costume for Scooter that he wore last year! But Penny is so tiny in even Scooter's clothes, that we can't really find much for her that doesn't hang off and bother her. BUT last night at Target I saw an EXTRA SMALL pumpkin t-shirt! I grabbed it up! So Penelope is a pumpkin and I posted Scooter's picture from last year! Because Penny's middle name is Pie, we have a little Pumpkin Pie!!!

Care Bear Stare!

2007-09-08T22:53:00.001-07:00

This post is pointless but I had to post this picture. I can't explain the Care Bear...but what's important is my dog's love for the stuffed animal!

Our OC Visit!

2007-09-08T22:29:00.001-07:00

Well I feel like a blog slacker cuz we went to the baseball game on Labor Day and it has taken me 5 days to post this blog. I guess it's better late than never.

Anyway, last weekend we dropped the dogs off at my Dad's and drove down to Orange County for a short visit. We had fun just laying low. I did some shopping while I was there. That is one thing that I REALLY miss...shopping! It's soo much better there. And since I lost so much weight, none of my clothes fit anymore for work. So I had to break down and spend some money for clothes.

Anyway, we went to the Angel game on Monday. I was excited because they had fireworks after the game and I had yet to go to a game with fireworks. So I was looking forward to that. I was also hoping they would win. See, every game I have gone to, they have lost! I was starting to feel like a curse. It was sad. But on Monday they came through for me and beat the Oakland Athletics! We had great seats too! We took John's best friend Eric along (he's an A's fan). He wasn't too happy during the game (A's were losing) but all in all we had a great time!

As you can see, Eric isn't having too much fun watching his team lose!

This is how close we were. We were on the 3rd base line. Front row seats...sadly no foul balls were in our area.

I love Garrett Anderson! He kicks butt!

It was SO hot that day. I was sweating!

This one is a good one. I personally like the conflicting teams!

We're pretty cute!

Well, our visit was short but sweet. We are hoping to come back soon! So to all our friends at OM and La Cave, we will make a stop by to see you all!

School Days

2007-08-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

So it has been awhile since my last post. I haven't had too much new to add but I thought I would post a tiny update on life here. So school started for us here in Bakersfield back on the 20th. We start a bit earlier here...Orange County doesn't even start until after Labor Day! Well I will be subbing at a few districts this year in hopes to get a permanent teaching job. But because not too many teachers call out during the first two weeks, I haven't had a sub job. I wasn't expecting to though. So instead I have been working back at the office (where I worked before I left Bakersfield). They have been really great. I have just been helping out wherever they need me. They have been flexible with all my school stuff...meetings, orientations, etc. I might even work some days here and there once subbing picks up. Every little bit helps! Dance starts next week and I will be teaching 2 classes. I'm a bit nervous because I haven't TAKEN a class in 3 years...so teaching will be interesting. So we will see how that goes. I'm also taking 2 classes. I'm excited about that. The extra exercise will be nice! I get bored on that treadmill everyday! This will add some variety!

As for John he is still on the job hunt. He got a part time job at a restaurant here though. It should be good for him just to give him something to do. I think he was getting quite bored. But we are optimistic about him finding a job in the next month or so!

The kids, Penny and Scooter are doing well. They spend most of their day running around the backyard and jumping in the little swimming pool. Scooter has a permanent spot out by the back fence. He has a friend from the house behind us. He just loves sitting there and staring at that dog over there. Most of the time the dog doesn't even come to the fence. Silly Scooter. I don't know if it's a girl or boy. I'm guessing girl and he has a crush on her!

Oh well, no pictures to post right now. We are going to Orange County this weekend to see an Angel game! I'm sure I will have pictures to post then! Until next time....

Water Dogs

2007-08-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

I know it seems a little ridiculous that all I post are blogs about my dogs. But, they DO consume a great deal of my time. Especially since school hasn't started which means no work for me. So as I mentioned in an earlier post, Scooter has to go swimming for "physical therapy." Well he isn't really all that interested in being in the water. Unless his ball is in there and then he just jumps out. Well NOT Penny. At first she wasn't interested, but now she jumps in even when we aren't outside. This poses as a problem because she then tracks her wet little self back into the house and onto the furniture. Well if we are gone, this can go very badly! Anyway, I snapped a couple of pictures of my water dogs!

This is a picture I took the first time we caught her in the pool unsupervised. The water is really low because we were planning on draining it that night.

As you can see Scooter is only in there for his ball.

My cute lil guy!

This is just a funny one I had to throw in. Penny was barking like crazy while I was getting ready in another room and I just figured she was being silly like usual. NOPE. She got herself tangled in John's baseball bag. She was barking for help! It was quite entertaining watching her drag it around the house.

And this ends yet another blog about my dogs! Hope you enjoyed! Until next time...

Job Search Progress

2007-08-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

So, we have been in Bakersfield for a little over a month now. We are all settled in of course. John is getting used to things here and is actually pretty good about finding his way around...well at least in the Northwest part of town. School starts here in a week and I wasn't hired for a full time position. That means I will be subbing for the next year. Things happen and teachers get hired mid year and what not, so that is always a possibility, but for now I'm just planning on subbing. Right now I'm signed up with 2 districts. I plan to get on 2 more lists as well. That should keep me busy, from what I hear. I will also be teaching a couple of classes at my dance studio. I'm excited to get back into dance. I'm so out of shape, but it will be fun!

As for John, he is still seaching. He has been checking online since we got here and applying to any kind of accounting/finance job. No bites yet. It's a little discouraging, but it's only been a month. He has also applied to a bunch of restaurants. He is hoping to get a bartending job while he keeps looking for a day job. If anyone knows of any openings in a restaurant or office, let me know. He just needs to get his foot in the door and get a start here. He's pretty open.

Anyway, not much else to update. I will keep posting any new things that come along!

Swimming Pup

2007-08-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

So, as promised, I am updating Scooter's condition. We went to the vet on Friday to have Dr. Hamilton check Scooter's leg. She said it looked much better. He was still sensitive and guarding his leg. But, she said it was a great improvement. She gave us a "physical therapy" assignment for him. He has to go swimming at least twice a day for the next 2 weeks. If he does that, he should be strong enough to regain normal behavior. Well, we have been letting him run around the house and yard but he isn't allowed to get "crazy." No playing ball or jumping around. And he's been doing pretty good with that. We don't have a swimming pool, so we had to go buy a little one. Well apparently in August stores stop carrying pools. We were lucky enough to find one on clearance. Scooter loves to swim! I didn't get any pictures taken, but I will soon. It's really cute to see him in the pool. Penny doesn't like to swim but can't help but be curious enough to keep getting in.

So hopefully in 2 more weeks, Scooter will be as good as new. Thanks to everyone for all their nice thoughts and comments! I'm sure Scooter will give you a BIG kiss (or lick) when he sees you!

Scooter Update

2007-08-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well, there isn't much to update with regard to Scooter but some people have been asking how he is doing. Well, he is doing great. He is still in his kennel or as I like to call it, his "house." He has to remain there until Friday. That is when we see the vet and she can tell us what to do next. But in the meanwhile Scooter is ready to play! He hates being locked up...as anyone would, I imagine. And I feel so bad for him. But it's better than a surgery that would cost thousands of dollars!

So we are keeping our fingers crossed for good news on Friday after the vet does some tests on his leg! Then hopefully he can come out and play, even if it's just a lil bit!

It's Here!!

2007-08-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Our dining room table and server arrived today! We are so excited. I promised I would post some pictures for a couple of special people! So here they are!

This one is a bit dark, but its the view from the entrance to the kitchen.

This is the server BEFORE John put everything inside.

This is the server AFTER John put everything inside AND on top!

This is the top view of the table! Isn't it great?!

I still need to find a centerpiece of some sort. But other than that, WE both LOVE our new table and server. We can't wait to use it! I love to cook, so I'm sure it will get great use!

I'm in LOVE

2007-07-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

So, those of you know that I LOVE daschunds (aka weenie dogs). Anyway, I have two and that is all John says we can have. It's perfectly rational, but I still get these puppy bugs!! Scooter came from a kennel in Iowa and they have a website. I frequent it to see the new puppies and oh goodness right now they have some really cute ones!! I sometimes wish I could have another one, but I know it's not a good idea. The two I have are crazy enough. Not to mention expensive! But they are totally worth it!

Anyway, if you want to see some really adorable puppies, click here:

http://dachshunddoxies.com/babydachshunds.html

Hopefully it works! Enjoy!

Pretty Penny

2007-07-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

I had to post this picture of Penny. She looks absolutely adorable! I found this little shirt at Build a Bear. I call it her pretty princess dress!

I can honestly say she HATES this dress! I rarely put it on her. She just chews on it! But I WAS able to snap this picture!

Poor Scooter (WARNING: very long)

2007-07-28T09:08:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm sure most people reading this blog (if very many at all) don't really want to hear about my dogs everyday. But I don't care. The pups grandparents (John's Dad and step-mom) like to keep up with the kids this way. And since John doesn't relay info that great, they rely on me! And I have some sad news to report.

On Wednesday we took Scooter and Penny to the vet because Penny had some stiches left over from her spay that we needed removed. Even though we had to pay for an office visit here, it was still cheaper than paying for gas to drive down to the OC and have it done for free at our previous vet. So while we were there we had Scooter tested for Heartworm (which he was negative for) and got both he and Penny started on Interceptor (heartworm preventative). Scooter has vaccine allergies so I wasn't sure if this would bother him or not. It's pretty powerful stuff you are giving to a dog. Anyway, he was fine. Then Thursday (yesterday) he started acting strange. He didn't want to play ball which is unheard of for him. He wouldn't play with Penny. He wouldn't even run. And he even went pee pee in the house which he also NEVER does. So I knew something was up. I thought it was a reaction to the Interceptor. It says they can get lethargic. Well later that night he started yelping like he was in pain. So we thought he had hurt his back somehow. Doxies have problems with their backs. So I was stressing. Poor Scooter slept on his back last night and was shaking and looked like he was in pain.

First thing this morning I called the vet. They were able to squeeze him into their full schedule. The vet did some pressure tests on his back and he didn't cry. She had him walk around the room. Then she tested the reflexes in his legs. Turns out poor little scooter tore part of a ligament in his back left leg. This is bad news. This usually requires surgery...a $5000.00 surgery. Yikes. But the vet said it didn't look too bad and we could probably get off without surgery IF......

this is where it gets sad. She gave Scooter pain meds which make him think nothing is even wrong. He was ready to play in a couple of hours after. BUT the vet has assigned Scooter to strict bedrest for at least 2 weeks! This means locking my very active and exciteable dog in his crate all the time!!! This has already been a difficult day and it's only the beginning. Sometimes it takes as long as 6 weeks for the ligament to heal. He has to be on a leash to go potty so he doesn't try to run. We have been letting him sit on the couch in our laps while we watch TV or whatnot. But otherwise he has to be in the crate. Poor Scooter. He thinks he is in trouble cuz Penny isn't locked up.

Well that's our sad Scooter story. I know it was long, but seeing as how Greg and Karen are probably the only ones reading this, I don't feel too bad! They need to be informed about their Grandpup! So on Monday when you guys visit (greg and karen) Scooter won't even get to really be out of his crate. Bummer. Hopefully after 2 weeks he can resume regular activity. Keep your fingers crossed!

A little down time

2007-07-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

So things are slowing down quite a bit lately. Now that we are all settled in, we have much more time. A couple of days ago it was overcast and not as hot as usual, so we took the dogs out in the back yard to play a little bit. I snapped some pictures of course.

Things started out well. We had a racquetball and a frisbee.

Penny doesn't really stand a chance with Scooter when a ball is involved. Although she likes to think she does. The only reason she is even this close to the ball without Scooter in the picture is because John is holding Scooter's collar.

This is what happens when Penny wants to pick a fight with Scooter. She goes right for the butt!

I got a couple of great shots of them though. Scooter has gotten back into the habit of posing for pictures, which is hilarious!

So that's it for now. As you can see, I have nothing better to do than spoil my pups and take tons of pictures of them!

The House

2007-07-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

So I have a little more time now. We are finally all moved in. Granted, there are TONS of boxes in the garage that still have to be sorted through, but the important things are all unpacked! I took a few pictures of some of the house. Keep in mind, it's still a bit messy.

This is the backyard. John is working on the canopy. The pups are helping!

A better angle of the backyard. It's actually a decent size.

This is the living room. It's really big so I had to take it from a couple different angles.

This is the kitchen. We are getting a dining room table soon. We obviously have plenty of space for one!

This is the view coming in from the backyard.

So now you have a better idea of where I "live" now.

2007-07-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

Apparantly my blogger won't let me title this one. Oh well.

Well, we are here in Bakersfield. Not quite settled, but getting closer each day. Unpacking is worse than packing. I just look around and want it all done NOW. The dogs are actually adjusting well. We only had one accident on the floor (tile I might add, so no problem there). They just run through their doggy door out into a big yard. They are quite happy.

I will post some pictures later when the place is picture worthy. My next goal is to help find John a job. Any ideas? We can use as many as possible. He is an accounting and finance business major. So, anything like that would probably work.

Okay that's all for now. Back to unpacking.

Next Week

2007-06-28T00:52:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah. Next week on the 5th of July we are heading up to Bakersfield to sign the lease papers and pick up the keys to the house! It's happening very quickly. We reserved a U-Haul truck. It's becoming real. I'm getting more nervous each day. There are things I will miss here. We will most likely be moving on the 7th of July. Thank you to all of you who volunteered to help us with the move. I'm not sure but I think we will have a group coming up with us from the OC as well as my Dad. Most likely we won't need the extra help. Besides, I'm weird about people seeing my living space all a mess. So once we are all settled, I will have you over! Sound good? Thanks again for all the well wishes. I'm looking forward to spending time with my old friends again....and some hopefully new ones!

The Sighting

2007-06-28T00:39:00.000-07:00

So, as many of you know, I work at a restaurant in Costa Mesa/Newport Beach called La Cave. It's underground and cave-like, hence the name. Anyway, we have gotten our share of celebrities in for dinner or entertainment. Dennis Rodman, Nikky Hilton, Leif Garret, etc. etc. Anyway, I was just mentioning to John how I had yet to see one of these "celebrities." WELL, wouldn't you know...I saw one tonight. I don't normally work on Wednesday nights, but I was filling in for Jesse as the hostess. I was told the owner was coming in for dinner with a few friends. I didn't really believe who he said he was coming in with, cuz, well, he was a celebrity. Anyway, later on, I turn around and the elevator opens at about 8:30 tonight and out strolls the "guest." It was none other than Jaleel White...to those of you who don't know him by his real name...it was STEVE URKEL from Family Matters! Anyway, because I was the hostess I got to chat a bit with him and his friends while they waited for their table to be ready. It was very strange. Nobody noticed him except employees...its pretty dark down there. He was a very nice guy...super polite. I was bummed cuz I couldn't be all cheesy and ask for a picture because:

1. He was eating dinner...its kinda fancy.
2. He was at the table with the owner...not a good idea for pictures.

So there ya go. I have three days left at La Cave and I finally see my celebrity. Hey, its Orange County...it's not L.A. It's not like we have celebrities on every corner. So it's pretty cool when you get to see someone you watched every week on TV in the flesh!

So yes, I'm a cheeseball. I was excited to meet him. I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Wicked!

2007-06-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

Ahh! John took me to see Wicked last night! He gave me tickets for Christmas this year. I was so surprised because we saw it 2 years ago and when it came back to the Pantages, I said I wanted to see it again. He said that I had to see the other ones on my list before I started repeating. So that made sense and I didn't think about it anymore. But then SURPRISE! He got me tickets! So we went last night and it was SPECTACULAR!! I noticed things even more this time around. If you haven't seen Wicked, I seriously suggest it. I know its super expensive, but it is soooo worth it!

Moving

2007-06-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

So our moving date is approaching quickly and it's starting to set in a bit. I'm getting nervous and excited...but mostly nervous. I think John is excited only for the reason of not having to work. I think moving will be more difficult for him than he thinks. Anyway, we are still waiting for the final word from the rental office about our actual moving date. They are going to give us a date when we can move in, but most likely we will actually move in on a later date. Right now we are tentatively planning on Saturday July 7th. Hopefully nothing happens to push that date back because then we would be pushing it with our apartment here.

The packing has begun. John brought me around 20 boxes from the T-shirt outlet. They always have the best boxes! Anyway, I pretty much packed up the spare bedroom a week or so ago. Now the packing has stalled. I am feeling overwhelmed. I like having boxes for each room/area filled. I don't like mixing rooms. But there are so many things we are still using, it is becoming frustrating. I can't pack a lot of things. I'm going to figure something out this week so I can pack a couple more boxes. There HAS to be something for me to pack around here!

On another note, I will be in Bakersfield on Thursday for the dress rehearsal for the dance recital. I will be leaving early on Sunday morning though because of course I have another wedding to attend...but this one is in Orange County. This year has actually been a relatively quiet one for weddings and that pleases me. Those things can get expensive and tiresome with traveling.

So, I just might see a few of you while I'm in town. If not, no worries...I will be back for good before you know it!

Yay for us!

2007-06-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

So we finally heard back today that we were approved for the house! So now we don't have to worry about getting a storage unit or anything. And the best of all, Scooter and Penny will have a yard to play in! That should make them VERY happy! We won't be moving until July. The rental office website has a front view picture of the house and I thought I would post it for your viewing pleasure. The only difference is there are no longer trees in the front. At some point they must have chopped those suckers down! I think it looks better without.

The little things...

2007-06-10T18:06:00.001-07:00

Hello. Just a quick blog today. Many of you do not know that I have been dieting and exercising like a crazy person...crazy for ME, that is. Anyway, my gym buddy Torie and I started going to the gym twice a week. That soon progressed to 4 times a week. I also got a treadmill and have been walking at least 2 miles each day...sometimes I run, but that hurts my large boobs! haha! I cut out soda from my regular diet...which let me tell you, was EXTREMELY difficult. Right away I lost 5 pounds. Now I have worked soda back into my diet but not nearly as much and only DIET..I know it's hard to believe. I usually drink at least 2 bottles of water a day. If I don't drink a soda, its more like 4 bottles of water.

Anyway, Torie has been losing a lot of weight really quickly because she is actually on a diet plan/program and is sticking to it great. I on the other hand, have just been watching what I eat and making my portions smaller. The other day I flipped over the bread pacakge and to my disgust realized that my slice of bread was 120 calories PER PIECE!! Everything I eat pretty much has to have a label for me to read now. It's crazy because I have NEVER been like this in my life. I gained ALOT of weight after I stopped dancing and moved to Orange County. I didn't feel good about myself at all. I had to buy all new LARGER clothes which is NEVER fun. So THAT is what has inspired me to start losing weight. Well that and the looks I get from the dance girls and some family members when I come home. And even some small comments here and there in the negative direction. I didn't appreciate it but realized the only thing I could do was to lose the weight. I am doing this to feel better and to be healthier. It's important to do things for yourself.

So to wrap this nice little blog up...today I went to the gym and weighed myself. My new weight has me at a total loss of 12 pounds! This may not seem like a lot to most people, but to me its incredible! I am so excited! And the best part of all...I came home and tried on my size 8 jeans which I have not worn in about 2 years! They FINALLY fit!!! I'm hoping to lose a few more pounds before I come home for the recital. But now I have to spend a few bucks and buy some smaller clothes. All my pants are falling off me!! Yay!

The only down side to this is once I move home to Bakersfield I won't have my gym buddy Torie! I will need a new buddy! Any takers?

12 pounds...it's the little things in life that make me happy!

Go Angels!

2007-06-06T23:17:00.001-07:00

First, a quick update. We went to Bakersfield on Monday and looked at a few places to live. We put 2 applications in. One for an apartment and one for a house. The house is our bigger hope! We already got approved for the apartment. But if the house comes through, that will be GREAT! I will let you know when we know!

Tomorrow is John's birthday! Yay! The big 2-6! Because we both have to work tomorrow night we decided to go to the Angel game today. They had a DAY game so it worked out perfectly! I am pretty sure that I'm a bad luck charm for the Angels. Every game I have attended, they have lost..including today. So that part isn't fun. But the game was fun. We had pretty good seats. We were up high but right above first base so we could see everything. We both got a little sunburned, so now I'm paying the price tonight. Gotta love Aloe Vera.

John wants to go to a few more games before we move away. Hopefully I can see the Angels win one of those times!

We got the stadium attendant to take our picture. It was so bright I ended up looking even more pale than I already am!!

I LOVE these hats! I can't even tell you why!

Happy Early Birthday John!

It wouldn't be me if I didn't post a picture of My Kids! And yes Scooter is wearing an Angels jersey and Penny has on an Angels T-shirt!

This picture makes me laugh. They ran up on the stairs and were perfectly aligned for the picture. I couldn't have planned it better...except for maybe flipping Penny's ears forward. But when her ears flip back, it makes me laugh!! Plus look at her expression! It's great!

Feedback, poop, and graduation!

2007-05-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile since my last post. A few things have changed. I finished up at Original Mike's on Tuesday. And in true fashion, my power in my office was shut off that day on accident. Sigh, oh how ridiculous the OM is. It's strange really, because although I spent a large amount of time there, it hasn't really set in completely that I am free!! I have been able to sleep in the last two days...well sleep in until Penny and Scooter are ready to eat at 8am! It has been nice.

The feedback from the news of "the move" has been okay. I think most of our friends understand why we are leaving, but many of them still don't understand why we are choosing Bakersfield. I will miss a lot of things about Orange County, including many of the people I have met here. Ever since I moved here in August 2004, I have wished for the best of both worlds. But I had to make a choice and Bakersfield is going to have to be it...for now. I don't know what is in store for us, but I'm hoping it's something great. We are taking a small day trip up there on Monday to check out places to live. We have 3 places lined up. It doesn't seem like a lot, but when you have dogs, the choices are LIMITED. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed that one of those places works!

On other news, Penny has a new fun little habit. I know it is gross to talk about, but in a way it's kind of funny too. Only funny now that I can look back on it! Well the other day I came home and saw some poop on the carpet in the living room. I knew Penny had an "accident." She is still learning, so I wasn't that mad. But then I noticed it wasn't fresh AT ALL. So, I thought, that's weird. Then looked over and saw more poop. Then I saw some on the couch! At this point I was completely disgusted and reaching for the disinfectant! It seems as though Miss Penelope Pie Puplington enjoys the occasional piece of poop! How gross is that? Why oh why would she want to eat that? Well it hasn't stopped there. I have to constantly watch her. She hasn't brought any more inside yet but we are pooper scooping as soon as a deposit has been made! Today I found her "stash" and disposed of it! So gross.

Enough about that. Hopefully I will have some more pictures up. We went to John's sister, Jamie's graduation last night. I of course took no pictures with MY camera! She graduated with her BA in Business Marketing from CSU Long Beach. It made me really glad I didn't walk at my college graduation. She only had 800 grads or so...mine had like a couple thousand. So not interested!! But seeing Jamie graduate was pretty cool. What a great accomplishment. The speaker said something like they were in the top 25th percentile of the country's population because they graduated. Most people clapped. I just thought, wow, how sad. So many people don't go to college, let alone graduate. Although its a great thing, it's really sad that they are ONLY the top 25th percentile. Shouldn't there be MORE people going to college and graduating!? Our country has no educational values. And it's just getting worse. Instead of focusing on educating our kids, who by the way are the future of this country, we are more focused on updating the status of Paris Hilton's jail sentence or whether Lindsay Lohan is in rehab AGAIN at the age of 20. It's ridiculous and exhausting.

I have said my piece for the night! Maybe next time there will be more pictures and less ranting! We shall see! Congrats to Jamie Horn! She's all done with college...bring on the real world!

The News

2007-05-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

So...I finally posted "the blog" on my myspace that announces THE MOVE. It was actually a bit difficult to figure out what I wanted to say. People are finding out that we are leaving Orange County and just about every single person has something negative to say about BAKERSFIELD. But strangely enough, none of them have even ever been there. DRIVING THROUGH DOES NOT COUNT. Anyway, I got tired of explaining WHY. And mind you, I have plenty of negatives about Orange County but I will only name two:

1. Expensive.
2. Traffic.

I don't really even have to go past that. If you are the type of person who likes to go to bars and nightclubs every night and just party all the time, then of course Bakersfield is NOT for you. It isn't exactly known for the night life. However, if you are just looking to buy a house, start a career, get married, and start a family...then Bakersfield IS for you. And I think that's where I am heading...much of a surprise to me and YOU! I never thought I would be this person I have become. But I like it.

And don't even get me started on it being HOT! Dude at least in Bakersfield everyone has a pool AND air conditioning. I am still shocked that people in Orange County don't have air conditioning! It reaches 100 here too! Geez. And nobody has a big enough yard for a pool, so forget that. And besides, Bakersfield is only really hot for maybe 3 months. Then its perfectly fine!

Hopefully between this blog and the myspace blog, people will at least stop asking "why?" I am starting to feel like a broken record...and its only been 3 days since the news broke! AH!!!

Lessons Unlearned...

2007-05-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

So, as you might remember, my sweet puppy Penny decided to break into the food bag one night and eat herself to sleep. Well as a remedy we put the Beneful bags (Scooter and Penny have different bags of food) in the pantry. Well the pantry is pretty tiny. They were both about 3 days away from running out of food so I bought 2 new bags. Well there just wasn't enough space in the pantry so I decided to put one bag behind the refrigerator again. I thought, well its sealed so she can't knock it over and climb in. WRONG!!! Today I come home to find the little princess has torn a hole in the bag and chowed!! She looks huge! You can totally see the extra food in her tummy! And of course she just wants to lie down cuz she doesn't feel well.

So morals of this story:

1.Penny is smarter than I thought.
2.Never leave a bag of dog food within reach of Penny.
3.Don't eat so much you want to barf...which I'm waiting for her to do!

This is the hole she chewed in the bag.

Doesn't she look miserable? This is how she looked when I found her.

A blog of few words

2007-05-09T18:52:00.000-07:00

I don't have too much to say today. But I did snap a few super cute pictures of my kids. I decided that everyone else must want to see them too!!

Penny loves the sunshine! She goes outside every day and lays out! I think she hates being so "white." Maybe she wants a tan!

I was able to get this one of Penny playing in the Pup Tent! She usually runs out too quick! Not this time.

Last but not least...my handsome pup Scooter. He poses for pictures. It's actually quite funny how much he likes to have his picture taken!

Two Hotdog

2007-05-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday we were in Bakersfield (we as in John, Scooter, Penny and myself). It was a very quick trip. The main reason I was going home was to get my hair done. Kassi Bolinger does my hair and she did a super cute job yesterday too! I really like the new do! Anyway, while I was home I had to get in some family time. Well, the grandma and grandpa came over and with them was the adorable Jaden. I couldn't believe how big she had gotten in just the 2 months since I last saw her! Well she immediately wanted to play with the dogs. Many of you don't know that Scooter is TERRIFIED of children...well small people in general. She kept trying to play with him and he was running for his life! Meanwhile Penny wanted to play with everyone! So I was talking to Jaden which is mainly me talking as she has a limited vocabulary. I asked her how old she was and her response is quite possibly the cutest answer to ever come out of a child's mouth with regard to their age. She said "Two hotdog." I kid you not. "Two hotdog" was her response. I thought it was just her being silly so I said SHOW me how old you are. She took her two index fingers and held them up while saying "two hotdog." My grandma explained that on her birthday this year she got to have a hotdog for lunch. So now she associates her age/birthday with hotdogs. Very strange but VERY cute! I wish I had a picture of her yesterday, but I was having too much fun to grab the camera.

To all those I did not get to see during my 8 hour stay in Bakersfield...I say to you...soon friends...soon.

It's begun!

2007-05-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

Well, this may not be good news to any of you, but its GREAT to me! Miss Penelope or as we call her sometimes, Penny, started going potty outside! Yay! She is going out the dog door all by herself and making pee pee and poo poo!! She is quite funny about it. The way we got her to start doing it was by shoving her out the dog door when she started sniffing and we wouldn't let her back in until she went potty. Once she did that we would give her treats. Everytime she got a treat, we had to give one to Scooter too so he wouldn't feel left out! But then that little puppy got smart. She literally went outside 15 times on Monday to go pee pee. Then she would run inside and put her paws up on the table where the treats were. So, I realized both her and Scooter would get so fat so fast with all those treats, that we started giving them crunch (dog food) each time. That seemed to do the trick. Now she pretty much just goes when she really has to. The really exciting part about it for me is that she is only 12 weeks old! We got Scooter when he was about 15-16 weeks old and it took him close to a month to be trained. Yay for Penny!

Just missing "home"

2007-04-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

As sad as it may sound, I really miss Bakersfield. For those of you who still live in Bakersfield, you think I am insane. And if you would have told me before I moved here that in 3 years I would want to go back, I would have said you were insane. But alas, I really do miss Bako.

It is so flippin expensive to live here. Yeah there is tons to do, but I don't have very much free time because I have to work 2 jobs to pay my bills. It's a Catch 22. There is so much traffic...I would kill to drive on Rosedale Highway during rushour. It would be a breeze compared to the 405 and 55. And I'm only in Orange County. It could be worse=Los Angeles.

One good thing that I am definitely happy about is meeting John. If I hadn't moved here, I would never have met him. He is best. So, Orange County isn't all THAT bad!

I guess I'm just venting. I wish there was a way to have the best of both worlds. The weather here. The prices there. My family. Dance. You know. Things that aren't possible. Oh well.

"The Baby"

2007-04-23T16:57:00.000-07:00

So many of you might not know about "the baby" my grandparents adopted. Yes my retired grandparents adopted a baby. Her name is Jaden and she was about 6 months when they got her. She is now 2 years old and officially my grandparent's. She is actually my cousin Matt's baby daughter. Because of circumstances that are quite tramatizing, the mother was stripped of her parental rights and well, Matt has no business raising a child...I'm glad the court saw that! So, my grandparents being the noble people that they are were overjoyed at the thought of having a little girl around the house. So, now Jaden is their world. I'm pretty happy about that. She is such a joy. Despite her mother's bad habits before, during, and after her pregnancy, Jaden was born with no problems...thank the Lord. She is well adjusted and quite a smart little cookie! We were so lucky!

So now because I have never really had a girl cousin besides Krissy, I am going crazy! Everytime we are in Target I HAVE to go to the kids section and buy something for Jaden. It drives John crazy! I think he is worried I will be a bit like this when we have kids of our own. But he doesn't realize its so much FUN...especially when the kid doesn't belong to you! But because my grandparents have had relative success during their lives they are able to provide Jaden with virtually anything she needs and/or wants. So, what can you get a kid who has everything? Well I usually buy her clothes. But my grandma recently told me that Jaden LOVES books! I couldn't be more excited! How great is that?! She loves to be read to! That is so awesome! Hopefully it will develop into something she continues to love when she is older! So now everytime we are at the store, I want to buy her books! I have already mailed my grandma books for Jaden because I couldn't wait until the next time I went home for her to have them.

So, now if you hear me talk about Jaden or see a bizarre picture of a small child on my page, you will know who she is! She is such a cutie! I think she looks a little like me when I was little.

Piggy Penny

2007-04-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Penny is the biggest piggy pup EVER! She goes crazy for her food. We call it "crunch." So when it's "crunch" time she starts freaking out! Well she broke into the bag of food one night and ate so much she passed out literally in the food. She was a blimp the next day...no joke! Anyway, we had to put the food in the closet after that and this is what I caught her doing today....

Sure, she looks sweet...and she is. BUT she is also VERY sneaky!

Crazy Kids

2007-04-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

So, my pups have gone a little crazier...I didn't think that was possible! But we have noticed that Penny has grown a bit in the 3 weeks we have had her. She was always fiesty and able to scrap with Scooter, but now she is getting braver! Last night they were rolling around and play fighting on the couch and they rolled right off the couch! Of course I'm thinking Penny got hurt, so I come running and I see them continuing with their rolling around and tackling each other!! I'm not even sure they noticed the fact that they fell off the couch! Silly Pups!

Finally, a picture of my crazy "kids!" It's an old one...I'm in the process of getting some newer ones!

Pictures

2007-04-20T10:57:00.001-07:00

And I tried to post pictures. All that showed up was a little box with an "x" in it. What am I doing wrong here?

Oh Britney...

2007-04-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Because I have nothing better to do (apparently) than sit on the computer and look on websites such as TMZ and perezhilton, I have this fascination with celebrities. I live so close to all of this drama, yet it doesn't seem to even phase me. I'm just like all the millions of other people buying US magazine and watching the E! True Hollywood Story. But today, while I was browsing TMZ because of the recent release of the Alec Baldwin story...(if you haven't heard, he's a ridiculous excuse for a man AND a father) I found this nice article where Britney Spears claims it's her family's fault for her recent downward spiral. What?! Are you kidding me? You are married with 2 children. You are 25 years old. You have all the control over your OWN life. YET, you blame your panty-less days and cause for rehab on your parents! I just don't get it. Do you blame them too for your marrying K-loser? I mean come on here! Nobody forced you down that white trash aisle! It is sad for me to have these harsh feelings for Britney Spears. Many of you know my love for Britney. I don't care what people say. I absolutely own every one of her CDs. And if she makes another one, I'll buy that too! BUT...I just don't know how much more of this crap I can handle. What the hell is wrong with these celebrities? Take responsibility for your own actions! The paparazzi sucks. The constant cameras in your face suck. But guess what? You CHOSE that life and career. Nobody is making you continue. Britney my dear, YOU make the decisions for your own life. Straighten yourself out before it's too late! And P.S. please grow that hair out ASAP!

Finally

2007-04-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well thanks to Miss Brittany I was able to log into my blog. I was having some difficulty with my browser. She helped me out and turned me toward the wonderful Firefox.

For those of you who know my dog Scooter, you know he is insane! We wanted to find a friend for him to help keep him occupied. So we recently brought a puppy home for Scooter. Her name is Penelope...but we just like to call her Penny. She is also a doxie. Her color and markings are different but I just love how cute she is.

Anyway, Penny is about 3 pounds and Scooter is 10 pounds. Scooter is relatively a small dog but Penny can actually walk underneath Scooter. We are finding out that Penny is just as crazy as Scooter. So it's actually quite a good match. We are so happy with our pups!

Scooter is incredibly smart. He always finds a way out of being locked in the kitchen or a way around the blockade on the stairs. Penny is just as smart we are finding out. We put a large piece of cardboard up on the stairs because she is so small she could get hurt playing on the stairs. Well Scooter just hops up on the chair by the stairs and jumps onto the step behind the cardboard. He has always done this. Well we have had Penny for about 2 weeks now and she has seen Scooter do this. Well today, she decided she was going to do the same thing. I'm not sure how she even got on the chair, but I turned around and she was up the stairs! She is quite the character!!

Well that is enough about the pups for today. Most people think we are ridiculous for the amount of attention we give our dogs and about how much we talk about them. But John and I see them as our kids. They are a huge part of our lives. So you will be hearing more and more about them. Hey if Brit can talk all about Andi then I can about my dogs! Love ya Brit! So, when I figure out how to post pictures, I will put some cute ones up of the "kids."

Until next time....

I feel left out!

2007-04-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

So, many of my friends have these blogs on blogspot and I started feeling left out. But who wants to read about me anyway? Then I got to thinkin'...well I read about them...so why not? So, here I am. I'm new at this so I will probably have a lame looking page for awhile, but that's okay. It took me FOREVER to figure out how to change stuff on myspace. So, you will have to wait until I am more blog savy!