In loving memory...

"Gran"

June 9, 1915 - February 28, 2008

We had the hardest time yesterday trying to sum this man's life up in 3 lines, each line being no longer than 16 characters. A near impossible task. He was an inventor, an eternal optimist, a true family man, and a child of God. But to me, he was everything a grandfather should be.

Heading out...

Well, the news just isn't good, so we've decided to pack up and head to Chattanooga to see my gpa. The hub already left work and is getting the dogs taken care of. Gertie is going to a friend's house and Belly and Charlie are going here. They totally love it there, so I know they'll be having fun. And our friends' 3 year old is Gertie's best friend, so I know those two will have a ball. Keep gpa in your prayers, please! And safe travels for all the fam trying to get to him. He's in ICU now but is being moved to a private room at some point today. The doctor doesn't expect him to make it past another day or two. He has been unresponsive thus far, but hopefully he'll be able to recognize us - we'll see. I'm just so glad we got to see him a couple of weeks ago on a really good day. Here's a pic my dad took just this past Monday of him in his favorite place - Wal-mart. (OK, second favorite - Golden Corral takes #1.) How cute is he?

Gran

Thanks again for all your sweet comments. I'll be in touch!

Birthday Boy.

Phew... I finally stole a second to sit down and blog! It's been a busy few days. I've got to get my cake pics off of the hub's camera. OMG it was awesome - it looked like a 5-year old made it. Let's just say I chose the wrong day to experiment with food coloring. It was yummy though!

The birthday shindig went great. The hub had a great time, and that's of course all that mattered. My eyes widened though when I saw him doing tequila shots. Oh dear... he never does those. Needless to say, he was pretty worthless the next day. Although I have to give him props because we did make it to the 9 o'clock church service the next morning! And then immediately back to the couch afterwards...

Monday was his actual birthday. Now we are big birthday people. We like to make a big deal out of birthdays and we also like to drag them out as long as possible. A week-long birthday is about par. So it started Saturday and our final birthday festivity for the hub will be this Saturday when we celebrate here with my parents. My mom's birthday is in early March, so we always do a combo-birthday dinner out. So we didn't have any major plans for Monday since we had the dinner party this past Saturday. (And I can hardly call that a dinner party - it was so not that sophisticated.) We were just going to take it easy Monday and have a casual dinner out or something. Well I had to find a way to work in a few surprises and make it fun, so at lunch on Monday I ran home and left some goodies in the kitchen for the hub (who would surely beat me home that evening).

We don't go crazy with gifts $$ wise, but we like to do goofy things like this. The big brown thing is a body pillow from the doggies. And then there are 4 rolled up spring polo's from me from Old Navy. They have some really cute polo's this season - and SO cheap. Hubby is so bad about getting crap on his shirts so I hate to spend a lot on them. Oh and Gertie is terrified of the balloon "monsters," by the way. Last night the hub tied one to her so it was "chasing" her around the house. Poor girl was traumatized. Aren't we horrible? We felt so bad... but it was rather hilarious.

I'll have to get the cake pics on here so you can see my work of art!

In other news... not preggers. Guess my mental issues are due to age. Aunt Flo dropped in over the weekend and set up camp. That bitch.

Also... and update on my gpa - he is not doing well. He was rushed to the hospital yesterday and is very sick. My parents went up yesterday afternoon, so we are just kind of hanging tight to hear what happens. Please keep him in your prayers!

An impromptu birthday gathering...

The hub's 34th birthday is Monday. And what was going to be me cooking a fun dinner for him tonight, somehow turned into me cooking for 15 people. We had a date at Costco last night. Got a bunch of stuff for tonight and had our $3.00 hot-dog-and-coke dinner (can't beat that!). It was a crazy night in Buford!

I'm making my list for Publix right now and I'm about to run out the door. I'm also baking him a cake today. That should be interesting. I consider myself pretty crafty, but cake decorating is NOT one of my talents. So I imagine it's gonna look real nice. I was telling bestest all about my cake plans and she was like oh, just do something from a box - those are actually good. And I was like, um... what made you think I was considering anything else? Bake it from scratch? Puhleeez... I always knew boxes would be involved. Hehehehe! I *wish* I had bestest's baking skills.

Alright, I've got a to-do list a mile long. Better run!

Happy Birthday, Bestest!

My bestest is celebrating a very special birthday today, and I'm sure she'll bring no attention to the fact. So I'll do it for her!

Happy Birthday, bestest! I know you don't like cake - Josh Groban is actually inside this one. You know I love you and miss you SO much. You are one of the most caring, generous, loving, thoughtful, creative, talented, selfless, and encouraging people I've ever known. There's no one like you and I'm truly blessed to have you as my best friend. May all your birthday wishes come true!

Long distance hugs & kisses,

B.B.

For Audrey Hepburn lovers...

How CUTE is this? I found this at Black Wagon and immediately sent a link to my friend who has a 2 year old daughter named after Audrey Hepburn. I mean, she NEEDS this shirt!

Again?

So this morning I got in my car to leave for work. I glanced in my rearview mirror... no eye makeup. OMG. Seriously? I was running late to begin with and now this?! I left the car running and ran back upstairs to throw my eye makeup on. What is wrong with me???? Well on the slightest chance that I'm pregnant (and I mean slight - I'm in no way getting my hopes up - I gave that up months and months ago), I had decaf coffee this morning. I don't drink much coffee anyway, but I just like the taste of it in the morning. There really are no major symptoms that I'm preggers, nothing that couldn't be attributed to anything else... so I'm definitely not convinced that's the reason for my mental shortcomings of late. Apparently none of you found my brain though. So keep looking.

Has anyone seen my brain?

So the weekend didn't quite go as planned. My action-packed Sunday turned into a day at home with one trip out to the grocery. Oh and we did drop by to see some of our friends who just had a baby, but other than that, nada. The baptism didn't go down because one of the three girls got sick the day before. So I guess that's been postponed. And dinner with my HS girfriends got cancelled after the first girl bailed... then the second... and then it was like stormy as crap outside, so the remaining two of us decided to say to-hell-with-it and pick another date. The hub and I actually ended up staying in and cooking EVERY night this past weekend - which has got to be a record for us. Not that we're ever opposed to chilling at home and cooking, but usually we have some sort of plans at least one night each weekend - even if they're last minute. I felt uber domestic and frugal - it's a good thing.

But the real drama happened earlier in the weekend... I mentioned my parents were going out of town for the weekend for a Valentine get-away. They usually only go to cabins or B&B's that take dogs, but I guess this one didn't. So we of course were going to keep their dog, Bailey, for them. He's a 120 lb golden retriever that thinks he's a 15 lb miniature poodle. Anyway, the plan was for me to pick him up at my parents' house after work on Friday (they live 5 minutes from my office). Mom and Dad left for the mountains around lunchtime Friday and just left Bailey for me to pick up later that day. I talked to my mom at least twice that day going over their babysitter instructions (a way longer list than they ever left for one of my sitters - it's seriously ridiculous, but I guess we'd be the same way!). Yep, yep, not a problem, he'll be fine, I got him, y'all have fun, etc, etc...

So Friday night we just stayed in and made tacos. The hub actually went to bed early because he wasn't feeling great (remember our fondue didn't sit too well with him). I played on the 'puter a while but soon joined him in bed. So the next morning I wake up around 6am and I'm staring at the alarm clock thinking, I really should get up and go into work (I work some on Saturdays this time of year). Should I go? Should I sleep? Should I go? I should go. I want to sleep. I should definitely sleep. A few minutes later the hub is playing with his blackberry - I think the alarm went off. Then I hear him scrolling through messages and he reads one aloud in a half-asleep voice, "Did y'all get Bailey?" OMG. OMG. O.M.G.!!! I FORGOT BAILEY!

I leapt out of bed and just stood there paralyzed in the middle of our room saying "oh my gosh, oh my gosh" over and over and over until the hub was like, "stop saying oh my gosh and drive!" So I threw my contacts in and brushed my teeth. Grabbed my uggs and ran for it. I was shaking and on the verge of vomiting the entire trip down there (which is only like 15 minutes - but it felt like freaking forever). OMG what if he hurt himself... what if he has a blatter infection since the poor guy didn't get let out for 18 HOURS... what if he ate something and choked... what if someone broke in after I should've been there and hurt him? All these thoughts are running through my head. But of course I get there (at 6:25 am) and he greets me at the door, teddy bear in mouth, ready to play.

I checked all around the house to see if he had any accidents since the poor guy was locked up for 18 HOURS. No trace of anything. He's such a good boy... he knows he's not supposed to go potty in the house. Over and over in my head I can hear my mom saying, "Bailey was so sad when we left but I told him you were coming and he was SO excited." So I'm picturing him just waiting by the door, looking out the window and wondering where I am as it starts to get dark. I know, right? I'm the most horrible momma EVER!

Well I got him to our house and of course he was fine and all was well, but I was just guilt ridden all weekend. I didn't want to break the news to my mom while they were on vaca because my mom's the type that would let it ruin her trip. And I had to tell them. Could I have gotten away with it? Sure. But it would've eaten at me and I'm just a horrible liar anyway - it was no use. So as soon as they came by on Sunday to pick him up, we spilled the beans. My dad kinda laughed and my mom did that awkward laugh where she's attempting to appear cool, calm, and collected, but inside she's thinking O...M....G... But either way - I fell soooooooooo much better having it off my chest.

The thing that just kills me though is the fact that I can totally and completely forget something like that. That has never happened to me before - nothing that major anyway. And I know you non-dog people are like, seriously what is the freaking big deal? But like our babies, my parents' dog is their baby too. The idea of any of my babies being left alone at night without dinner and without someone taking care of them makes me tear up. And reminds me of what a horrible momma I am!!!! Anyway... it scares the crap outta me that I could completely blank on something like that - when I had thought about it multiple times earlier in the day. I mean I never gave it a single thought after leaving work. Not one. The ONLY thing that made me think of it was the darn text message from my dad! I mean, how long would I have gone before remembering on my own? So is this what being 30 is all about? You forget important stuff that you don't need to be forgetting? Is this going to become a problem? Well take me back to 29, thank you very much. I don't like this. I was joking with the hub earlier... maybe I'm pregnant. I hear all the time that pregos and mommas are totally absent-minded - "mommy-brain" they call it. Hmm... Well I know my mom would forgive me if that could be my excuse. Hahaha... a girl can dream. (And then hopefully remember the dream.)

Good Eats.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Valentine's Day! We had a wonderful fondue dinner - though I don't think it settled too well with the hub. He left work early with a tummy ache. Poor guy... guess it'll be an evening at home tonight! Well all I can say is TGIF!!!!! I love me a Friday.

We don't have much on tap for the weekend. I'll be working some tomorrow - a little tax stuff, and a little invite stuff. No Saturday night plans right now - which is actually refreshing. Our Sunday is going to be busy though... our friends have 3 daughters, all of whom are getting baptized on Sunday morning. They are (I'm guessing here) 8, 9, and 11 -ish. Something like that. Anyway, so we're going to their church for that. Then Sunday evening I'm heading down to the Highlands to have dinner with my high school girlfriends.

So speaking of good dinners, I've been taking advantage of Buckhead Life Group's gift card promotion. Atlanta blog pals, you may want to check this out! Every year they run a special where they'll tack on an additional 20% to your gift card purchase. So if you buy a $50 gift card, the value is $60. It's really a great deal... I mean 20% is a lot. If they're ever running that promotion at a time when I know I'm going to be hitting one of their restaurants, I buy a gift card to get the bonus bucks. So anyway, I got an email recently saying they were going to continue running this promotion through the end of April. Wow, that's like 3 months. So though I have no real plans to dine at one of their establishments anytime soon, I decided to get a $25 card. I bought it online and it came in the mail a few days later. Now they also honor the 20% promotion on recharges to your card. And even when there's no promotion going, they always add an extra 10% to card recharges. Shoot, that's reason enough to have one right there! So... every payday I'm logging on to their site and adding $25 (which is really $30) to my card. It's my own little fine dining savings plan. And you thought I was just a spender! Now if only J. Crew had a similar program... *Sigh.*

Alrighty, y'all have a fabu weekend! T-minus 5 minutes till I can blow this joint...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you all have a happy heart day filled with lotsa love! XOXO!

Lori - I brought the truffles to work today and they are a HIT! Thanks again for the great recipe!

*Blush*

Aww... I was just in the middle of crunching some massive numbers when, to my surprise, a beautiful bouquet of gerbera daisies (one of my faves) arrived! Hehehehe... I had told the hub not to spend any money on Valentine's Day (and let's just do cards), so he sent flowers today. So sneaky. He's the best. :-)

Come and get it!

So my crockpot chicken was sooooooo good last night. There was no real thinking involved, so it totally could've been hit or miss. I just grabbed stuff out of the pantry that I thought might work. A definite hit, though! Here's what I threw in the pot before running out the door yesterday morning...

- 2 frozen boneless chicken breasts
- 1 can of Progresso's Carb monitor Chicken Cheese Enchilada Soup
- 1 can of Rotel, drained (Mexican blend with lime & cilantro)

The soup was quite tasty - I'd never had it before. And the dish had a great kick to it. Doing it over again, I'd add a cup of uncooked rice I think. Didn't think about that at the time. The chicken was so yummy... just fell apart.

I'm going to the grocery tonight to get the goods for our Valentine fondue dinner. And I think I'll get the stuff to make Lori's truffles to bring into the office - those look so good! And I'm totally not a big sweets person - but those have few enough ingredients that I think I could like them. I don't like desserts with too many "ingredients" - including ice cream. My limit is 2 really with ice cream. Mint chocolate chip - fine. But I can't handle like Rocky Road or Turtle Tracks or whatever - WAY too much going on. So anyway, I'll be playing in the kitchen tonight. I just hope I have enough energy. I always make these optomistic to-do lists during the day, but when I get home, I'm just worthless and don't want to do anything!

Still cracking up over this...

Confused.

OK I am over these damn ovulation tests! Something is off... I attributed last month's miss to being on Clomid. I figured I must've ovulated earlier than usual (and before I started testing). But I'm not on Clomid this cycle and now I'm going on day 8 of no LH surge reading. I'm very regular - and it so should've happened by now. And of course we're doing these tests because we're trying to get prego, but I also have to track my ovulation because one of my medications is taken only in the 2nd half of my cycle - so I need to know when I ovulate.

This is just uber annoying - and damn expensive. I've never ever had a problem with the pee-on-a-stick ovulation kits. My doctor said some people have a hard time getting a clear reading on them, but I've always gotten one - until these last two months. What the heck? Only other thing I can think of is that I've been drinking more water the last few months. Could that be affecting the readings? Since I have to go potty like all the freaking time now? Maybe. Well I know there are other methods of tracking this... so please give me your suggestions!

In other news, we went to visit my gpa yesterday in Chattanooga and he looked great. He was having a good day. He treated us all to lunch at his favorite (and everyday) lunch spot - the glorious Golden Corral. Thank God I had eaten a burrito on the way up. If you've never been to one - no need to start now. My dad calls these places pig troffs. I'm not even sure how you'd spell "troff" - but that's my guess. "A lot of pigs at the troff today," he said. Yes, yes there were. But my gpa thinks it's the greatest place on earth.

I'm counting down the hours till I get to leave. I'm tired from staying up and watching the Grammy's last night (even though I did fall asleep at the end). I've got yoga tonight - and I can't wait! And then I've got some chicken in the crockpot - can't wait to dig into that when I get home. Nothing better than walking through your door and being hit with that yummy smell! Mmmm... I'll let you know how it turns out - I just threw some random stuff in there this morning.

Cutting costs... Groceries.

I saw this great message board post on Spark People recently on cutting corners on grocery costs. There were a lot of great tips on there, and I also realized I knew some good tips that others didn't know about. So I thought I'd give my rundown of money-saving tips on grocery shopping, since it's something we all gotta do. If you have any fabulous tips of your own, please share! This list is a combination of things I do plus a couple of things I probably should do (a.k.a. suggestions I stole from other people)...

1. Take advantage of places like Costco and Sam's. Y'all know by now that I'm a freaking poster child for Costco. When it comes to groceries, we use Costco for most of our meat. They sell lean ground beef in 6 lb packages for way cheaper than your standard grocery. We get it home and divide it up into 1 lb packages and freeze them. Same with their chicken breasts. They actually have them already packaged up and ready to freeze - 2 breasts in one freezer pack (perfect!). They also have really REALLY good prices on fish, but I don't really like the taste of fish after I've personally frozen it (but that's just me being weird)... So we buy fish there if we know we'll go through it fast enough. They also have tons of great deals on other items - it just depends on what you personally are after. A lot of stuff is not necessarily that much better of a deal, but a lof of it is. My spaghetti sauce... not a better deal there. But microwave popcorn - an insanely better deal there. And as a member you'll get coupons in the mail periodically. I have a love-hate relationship with coupons, but their coupons can be REALLY good - so pay attention.

2. Use local growers for veggies and fruit. One of my friends turned me on to this. You can get locally grown veggies direct from the growers. They're flash frozen and shipped right to your door! And the prices are great. I'm sure you can find one that delivers to your area by doing a web search. Here's one we use that has online ordering - Southwestern Produce - love it! They also have specials sometimes. We're big on frozen veggies in our house, so I love this. Plus, I like knowing where my produce is coming from. So much of the produce in stores comes from overseas - especially China - where they don't have the same regulations that we do. Um, scary!

3. Check out Amazon's new Suscribe & Save program. I mentioned this new discovery recently. Amazon is one of my favorite sites, for many reasons. But this program is just super cool. They have a lot of grocery items at Amazon, so if you have a constant on your list that you're always replenishing - see if Amazon has it. Their prices are competitive to begin with - but with the Subscribe & Save program, you save an additional 15% off every shipment - PLUS free shipping and no sales tax in most (if not all) states. And you set it up for automatic delivery, so you don't even have to think about it! You can choose how much you want and how often. And you can log on anytime and adjust your shipments. There's absolutely no catch to it - I love it. I use it for my Luna bars (which I typically eat everyday).

4. Plant an herb garden. Now I am no green thumb - nor do I really get into gardening type stuff (I leave that to the hub), but I love, love, love my little herb garden in the spring and summer. I'll pick up a small herb plant at Publix in the spring - they're seriously like $2.50 at the most. I get it home and transfer it to a bigger pot and set it up on our back deck. Basil is my favorite - and basil plants grow like MAD. After a few weeks our little mini basil plant blossoms into this ginormous bush of basil. It's awesome. I mean think about how much they charge at the grocery for a little bag of basil or cilantro or whatever... $2 or $3 and it goes bad in less than a week! So find your favorite herbs and start your own little garden - you'll save tons.

5. Ditch the bottled water. OK I really had a hard time with this at first, but the hub convinced me. We would always get huge crates of bottled water (another item on the Costco list). I'd grab one on my way out every morning and just refill it throughout the day at the office. But we have a filtered water tab in our fridge... and one at work too for my refills... so why do we really need to buy our water? Plus now they have all those studies out saying the bottles are like bacteria infested and bad for the environment. So in trying to be more green and save some cash in the process, we stopped buying bottled water. We just use our own reusable bottles and fill them up on our own. It's another step, but I'm getting used to it. And I don't really miss the bottles like I thought I would.

6. Avoid the center aisles at the grocery. This is a combo money-saving and healthy eating tip... I thought it was a good one. But I'm a must-go-down-every-aisle shopper, so this will be a challenge for me. The thing is that all of the processed foods are going to be in the center of the store - and all those impulse buys. So stick to the perimeter where the fresh produce and meats are, and only venture to the center aisles for specific items on your list.

7. Leave the husband and kids at home. OMG if this one isn't a money-saver, I don't know what is. Having company on a grocery run is fun, but we end up spending twice as much if the hub comes with me! He just throws all kinds of nonsense in the cart - not to mention running off with the damn cart, leaving me wandering the store with an armfull of random groceries trying to track him down. It's just never a good idea. I know the kid part can't be avoided at times - but I can only imagine the crap kids try to sneak in the cart!

8. Pay attention to sales and use coupons. I really struggle with the coupon thing - I know people swear by them, but I think I'm just lazy. And the times when I have sat down and cut out a bunch, I end up at the counter forgetting to pull them out or I've left them at home... hence my love-hate feelings toward them. Plus, we don't get the paper, so... But I do pay attention to sales. If something I get a lot is buy-one-get-one-free, I totally stock up. Publix had my Crystal Light On-the-go packs on sale last week and I wiped out half their stock. And I do compare prices. I have to say Wal-mart has great grocery prices - sometimes substantially better. You do have to pay attention to their packaging though. Wal-mart has such control over the market - I can tell that certain things are packaged just for them. So while the price may be lower, make sure you're buying the same size box, etc that you normally buy - look closely. They also will price-match (not just on groceries) at Wal-mart. You can bring in any store's coupon and they'll honor it. Plus - and this is more for non-food items I guess - they will also honor mail-in rebates from other stores but will give it to you instantly. I'm generally not a big fan of Wally World, as bestest calls it, but I can't deny the savings. Plus they just opened up a new one right by our house that is a lot less ghetto than the other one nearby.

9. Pay attention when checking out. Keep your eye on the screen at the register instead of reading tabloid covers or gawking at the cart contents of the weird chick behind you. It's not too uncommon for items to ring up at the wrong price - but you gotta catch it because the cashier won't. They probably do this at most stores, but I know Publix will give you the item free if it rings up incorrectly and you call them out on it.

10. Pay with cash. I've mentioned our cash system we use. It just makes you watch your spending in general, but I really notice it at the grocery. Make a list, set a budget, and stick to it. When I use my debit card, I just don't pay attention to what I'm spending. I swipe my card and forget about it. But I sure as hell am paying attention if I'm counting bills to hand over. It's psychological - it just hurts more. It works.

There you go - my ingenius grocery shopping tips. I have to laugh at myself though because as much as I try to cut corners in one area, I succumb to pricy marketing scams in others... for instance, the 100 calorie packs that have taken over grocery aisles. I am a total sucker for these. I can just picture the original idea being presented in a staff meeting... "OK what if we took our same product, divided it up into smaller packages, market it as a *healthy* snack, and charge more for it?!" Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?

Countdown to Valentine's...

I know there are a lot of cynics out there that hate this day... but I freaking love it! And I always have - not just when I've been in a relationship. I think it's also a fun time to send sweet nothings to family and friends. No, I really do get why some people loathe it - I was atually DUMPED on Valentine's once and the guy had the nerve to give me a bag of Valentine Hershey kisses. Seriously? "I don't wanna be with you, but have some chocolate." Whatev... I met the hub that following April. I even have married friends who "veto" the holiday because they think it's just a ridiculous commercial ploy. (Um, actually I'm thinking your husband brainwashed you to believe that so he doesn't have to buy you flowers.)

Anyway, yes, I love any reason to celebrate anything, so I love Valentine's Day! After each holiday, I look for the next one on the calendar. So after Christmas and New Year's, I look forward to Valentine's. And it's not that the hub and I do anything over the top for it... I just think it's fun. We used to always go out somewhere swanky, but one year we decided to stay in for whatever reason and do fondue. We put on jammies and just chilled out together over a fondue pot. It was so much fun that we've done it every year since. It's kind of become our little Valentine's Day tradition (and really the only time we break out the fondue pot). The really dorky part is that we put on Valentine PJ's. The hub has this great white pair with big red hearts all over them. I'm sure he'd die if his friends ever saw him in those... haha! So I'm totally counting down the days till our fondue evening next week. We'll probably go shopping Wednesday night and get all the meat and veggies and cut them up ahead of time. All the time is in the prep work - so we like to have it all ready come heart day. We usually do filet, chicken, shrimp, and sometimes pork. And some veggies - usually just mushrooms I think. Oh and my favorite - cheese fondue with bread and apples to start. We also make some yummy dipping sauces for everything. I totally model the whole thing after my usual feast at Dante's. Mmmm...

So it'll be a cozy evening at home for us. It actually works better that way this time of year - unless V-day falls on a weekend. My work schedule wears me out during tax season - so getting dolled up to go into town to a restaurant will have my head on the table before the second course. Do any of y'all have any fun Valentine traditions? Or maybe just some exciting plans? My dad is taking my mom to the mountains for the weekend. It was so sweet - he arranged the whole thing back in December and told her about it over Christmas. She's SO excited. My dad can be such a romantic. Tell me your plans!

Easily entertained.

I bought these cute heart-shaped ramekins last weekend for our Valentine's dinner next week (more on that later). This morning I was loading up the dishwasher, so I pulled those out and started tearing off the price stickers. There were seriously like four different labels or stickers on each of these things, but my favorite read, "Visual imperfections will not alter performance." Now that would make a great T-shirt.

Violated.

I think my Kate Spade sunglasses were stolen. And I am PISSED. Do you know how picky I am about my sunglasses? OMG. I've been retracing my steps the last couple of days and the only thing I can come up with is that I left them out Monday night when I left the office. I'm usually really good about putting them in their case and in my bag... but I ran out at lunch on Monday and wore them then. It's not totally off the wall for me to just throw my keys and sunglasses down by my bag on my shelf. When I left that afternoon I must've left them. Because I know I didn't have them on when I was driving home from yoga (I go straight to yoga from work on Mondays and Wednesdays) because it was dark. I didn't discover they were missing till I went to grab them yesterday at lunch on my way to my brow wax. OMG. I feel violated! And some dumbass kid is running around wearing my Kate Spade's! Or pawning them or something. OMG. I hate to accuse anyone when I'm not totally sure they were left and stolen... but seriously, I cannot think of any other explanation. So I'm in mourning right now.

But at the same time, I feel totally foolish for worrying about a stupid pair of sunglasses after hearing about all the devastation brought on by those tornados in TN and other states. How awful! My heart goes out to all those affected! You're in my prayers.

By the way, the hub and I got out to vote yesterday and the line was only like 3 people deep. Yay! We were in and out in no time. We didn't end up walking because it was starting to rain. It was a very exciting Super Tuesday. I love when everyone's predictions are totally off.

OK um... literally 2 minutes ago the hub called and said he found my sunglasses on our dining room table. I'm a total dumbass. Hahahhahhahaha! I nearly deleted this whole post... but then I realized you might be entertained by my stupidity. :-)

Picnic Politik.

Ugh. I'm having one of those "I don't like my job" days. I could say *hate* but hate's a strong word. I don't hate it... I just rather be paid to do something way more fun. Or hell - just not work period. I can busy myself with other things! Like my mom always says, "Why couldn't we have been born rich instead of so darn good looking?!"

Anyway, what keeps me going is having fun things to look forward to... and today's fun thing is my voting date with the hub tonight. Our precinct is literally across the street from our 'hood, so we are going to make sammies and walk over there tonight. I know it will be total high traffic time, but it's really the only time we can do it and not take too much time off of work. Neither of us work super close to home. Not far, but not like I-can-run-home-for-lunch close. Anyway, so that will be fun.

So get out and vote everybody (OK those in states that are voting today...)! Georgians, if you're registered to vote but not sure where your precinct is, you can look it up here. I feel all patriotic today. I think I'll go home and watch Legally Blonde 2 after casting my vote.

Political Peas Part II

More cutie items from Barney's for your little patriots...

Crewmutts?!

OMG!!!!!!

You've gotta be kidding me...

I just got a call from one of the doctors at the Humane Society... apparently our little girl has already been spayed. OMG. I feel like a total dummy. The vets that did her hip surgery last summer indicated that she hadn't been yet. We haven't seen her go into heat (and I know we'd know if she did), but we thought maybe her girly parts were injured when she was hit by the car or something. Anyway, for all we knew, she still needed to be spayed. Especially so she could play with other doggies at the park and go to doggie day care with her brother and sister. Well, at least she got her rabies shot and microchip. I just hate that she had to get all nervous over... nothing. OK lots of love and treats for her this weekend!

I'm so not being productive today at work... as evidenced by my multiple posts! I've totally got Friday fever. And I'm meeting a couple of girlfriends here tonight. Fish tacos and 'ritas are calling my name! How fast can 5 o'clock get here?!

Have a great weekend, all!

Political Peas.

OK had to pop on here to show you these new prego tops from NOM. I'm not big on message tees, but these are pretty darn cute with the upcoming election...

Gertie Bo Bertie!

Guess who's finally getting spayed today?


Poor girl was sooooo nervous. Gertie's never aggressive, but she was growling at the male handler. Men sometimes make her nervous - especially at the vet. We had to muzzle her just in case. She's probably in surgery right about now. I hate when they get so nervous - I wish I could explain it all to her, but she was just scared out of her mind. And I am COVERED in dog hair.

The Atlanta Humane Society has been doing free spay and neuturing because they got some kind of huge grant late last year or something. So we only had to pay for her rabies shot and her micro chip - $35 total! With three dogs, any little break we can catch is great. They are all on pet insurance policies, so our monthly expenses on them are a little absurd. Anyway, I'm not sure how long they'll be doing this, but give them a call if you have a pup that needs to be spayed or neutured. It's a great facility and very easy to get to.

I think grandma will be picking her up - she or the hub... so I will be the "bad mom" who took her to the vet to have her girly goods removed, and they'll be the heroes that rescued her. I wonder how long she'll be pissed at me...