Bad Dog

Last night, Brian and I went out to dinner and a movie. Every time we leave, Riley gets excited and thinks he's invited to come along...EVERY TIME. He's so cute and anxious to get in the car and then I'm sure his world is crushed when we leave him. Yesterday, though, I spent 80% of my day with him playing and cuddling...so I thought he'd gotten enough attention....but apparently NOT.

When we got home at 11, we started to go up the stairs and one by one there was a chewed up, ruined mate to some of my FAVORITE pairs of shoes....as we discovered what he'd done, he ran back downstairs and refused to come back up. BAD DOG.

The evidence.

Pair 1: Not too big of a deal, these shoes gave me blisters, but they still are semi-new and weren't cheap.










Pair 2: I love these shoes. They are my "go to" black dressy-casual comfy wedges. Now they are gone.










Pair 3: My #1 favorite pair of shoes. So sad. I wasn't ready to say goodbye.

Blizzard (really?) 2K9

(Our front yard at about 5pm on 3/26/09)

Three Christmases ago we had a REAL Blizzard here in Denver. In fact, said blizzard almost ruined our trip home for Christmas.

So, you can imagine how my memory flashed back to 2006 when the news said that the Winter Storm Advisory on Thursday was now a Blizzard Warning....

Outside the windows by my cubicle, it looked a train full of cotton balls had exploded - that's how thick the snow was that was falling. I left work at 12:15 and got home at about 2:30 - the worst, said the news, was to come between 5 and midnight.

But, alas, the "blizzard" passed and we just had light snow for the rest of the night......oh well.

Happy Dog

I've heard that a dog can be called a happy dog if he plays by himself with his toys....

I must have the happiest dog in the world because he spent at least two hours this evening entertaining himself with his plethora of toys...

Tossing his ball

Throwing his tug-a-jug down the stairs (he put a dent in the wall)

Destroying his hide-a-treat football

Ripping his rope toy

Chewing his bone

Swinging his ball on a rope back and forth

Gnawing on his hurley

Nosing his huck around the carpet

Oh, how I love my Chicken McGee!

T Minus 2 Months

2 months from today, Brian and I will be in Rio de Janeiro on Copacabana Beach hopefully enjoying some sort of tropical drink and looking forward to a dinner of bbq'd meats galore.....

Our three vacation destinations while we're in Brazil...

Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro

Iguazu Falls (Brazil/Argentina)

The Amazon Jungle and River

Private Practice Fan?

I am a religious watcher of ABC's Private Practice but I did miss the episode on 3/12 due to a DVR miscommunication.....I was, however, able to catch this week's episode and when did Violet go from 3-days pregnant to ready-to-pop-7-months pregnant?

Spring is Here!

With the week from hell that I had at work, I knew I wanted a relaxing weekend and the weather forecast was going to work in my favor. On Saturday, I slept in, read my book, ran some errands, baked brownies, made Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Potatoes for Brian, ran to Nordstrom for the free gift with purchase from Kiehl's, read my book and went to bed.....

On Sunday, I slept in, ran to Petsmart for a new leash and then Brian, Riley and I embarked on a 4 mile walk from our house to the dog park and back....Riley had a dream day - a long walk, a swim in a pond and playtime at the dog park. The sun was shining, temperature in the low 80s and the sky was as clear as could be....

The views from our walk....

Brian's souvenir from our walk....a sweet wife-beater sunburn.

And now...it's time for laundry and Riley's bath...

Happy Birthday, Erin!

Happy Birthday, Erin!!!!!!!

Ever since as far back as I can remember, we sing the Sixteen Candles birthday song to each other......so here goes:

Duh nah nah nah nah you say it's your birthday.....duh nah nah nah nah it's my birthday, too!!!!

Happy Birthday, Stef!

Today, is my dear friend, Stefania's 27th birthday! I hope all of her birthday wishes come true!!!!!

Wish I was there to celebrate with you, Stef!

Busy Map

Today felt like the never ending day - so busy! I had some homework to take care of this evening from a process training last week on mapping out processes......got me thinking....why don't I map out my day?! Maybe I can find some ways to have more efficient days?

6:30am - Get up and get ready
7:15am - Throw the dog a bone, fill his water bowl, run out the door and head to work
8am - Arrive at work, on time, but barely (need to work on this)
5:30pm - Leave work, go to work Happy Hour
7:30pm - Leave work Happy Hour, go home
8pm - Arrive at home, chat with hubby, pet dog
8:15pm - Call hotel in Brazil and attempt to speak Portuguese (Oi. Fala Ingles? - Hi. Do you speak English?)
8:45pm - Give up on the hopes of getting a room at a 5star hotel in Rio for less than $350/nt and go upstairs to pack
9pm - Pack, try on dress for wedding on Saturday, discover spot, frantically clean spot, strap breaks in the process.....make new plan
9:10pm - Text 3 friends to ask if anyone will notice if I wear the dress I wore to the holiday party to the wedding
9:30pm - Decide to go with repeat dress, find all matching accessories, pack them
10pm - Done packing, pluck eyebrows
10:15pm - Discover spots on newly decided dress for wedding, clean spots
10:30pm - Stare at dress for a few minutes, spots are gone (I hope)
10:35pm - Do dishes, clean kitchen, pack the dog a bag for his weekend getaway, feed dog
11pm - Sit down to work and watch Grey's, get interrupted by hubby
11:15pm - Bring laptop to bed to work in bed because Brian "falls asleep better" when I'm there
11:20pm - Brush teeth, wash face, find 6 (UNREAL!) grey hairs on my head and pluck them
11:30pm - Get in bed, work
12:35am - Finish work, write blog, shut down, go to bed

I'm ready for the weekend.

Sick Day

Today, I didn't go to work. I have an awful head cold and I'm achy all over. I stayed home with my pooch (he sleeps a lot during the day), watched daytime television (who knew Rachel Ray launched her own dog food brand?!), researched Brazil hotels (Brazilian standards are soooo different than American standards), worked (shocking), and tried to rest.

Let's hope tomorrow I wake up and I've shaken the bug....I hope Brian doesn't get it, but if he does, I'll say to him what he said to me today....

"I'm not cooking, YOU are!"

2009 Vacay

Well, since violence and unrest are all over the news for Mexico, Brian and I decided to go all out and say "Screw Mexico, we've been there" and "HELLLOOOOO BRAZIL". Today, I booked our flights to Rio de Janeiro for May 20-31! I cannot wait for this trip!!!! Another stamp on the ol' passport and another continent checked off our list!

Snowman Ornament

When I moved into my first apartment with 5 of my closest girlfriends sophomore year at UCD, I had one of the most fun years of my life. A little something that contributed to that fun is the infamous SNOWMAN ORNAMENT.

You see, "someone" brought this thing to the apartment and we found it after we'd all unpacked. It's an ugly clay Christmas tree ornament that was/is kind of dingy. The popular vote said that Jess brought it....she hasn't fessed up. We used it hide it in each other's rooms, jackets, pillowcases, purses, suitcases, etc. It was always hilarious to be shuffling through your purse at Pluto's and pull out the ugly ornament and burst out laughing.....sure, no one thought we were crazy!

Anyway, these days, nearly 8 years later we're still sending this guy to and fro. He's been to Italy, Australia, New York, Denver, San Diego, New Mexico, etc. I got him most recently with my wedding gift from Jess - little sneaker.

Today, I stuck him in the mail.....WHO'S NEXT?!?!

Three Cheers for M&D!

WOOHOOOO! My parents have FINALLY decided to quit smoking. I am so proud of them for their efforts thus far - 2 days and no cancer sticks! Send them good thoughts so they can keep it up and kick the habit for good.

New Recipe

I am trying this new recipe for a Mexican Fiesta at my big boss's house tomorrow night. Food critics' (aka work peers) opinions to come later...

Chocolate Chipotle Brownies from Emeril


Ingredients
1 teaspoon plus 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 tablespoon plus 1 cup all-purpose flour
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
4 eggs
1 cup chopped Mexican chocolate or semisweet chocolate morsels


Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease and flour an 11 by 7-inch baking pan or dish with 1 teaspoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the flour. Heat the remaining butter and the unsweetened chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted. In a medium bowl, stir together remaining flour, sugar, cinnamon, and ground chipotle. Add sugar mixture to melted chocolate mixture, stirring to combine. Add eggs, mixing until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate morsels.
Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan or dish. Bake until the center is set, 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool completely and then cut into small squares.

Do Not Read

This book sucks. Do not read it unless you are into philosophy and/or supernatural and/or religious books. I hate it. I'm 3/4 of the way through - ALMOST DONE.

It's times like this I wish I could just toss a book, but I just can't NOT finish a book!

Parentals' Visit

Mom and Dad came this weekend - we had so much fun.


On Friday, we hung out at home, played with Riley, chatted, had Katie over for dinner, drank wine, etc.


On Saturday, we went and looked at puppies for fun at the North Washington Street Kennel, went on a quest for a fleece for my dad, grabbed a bite at Good Times (yum!) and then relaxed at home for a bit before heading to Black Hawk for gambling and a belated birthday dinner for ME.


Today, we slept in, took Riley to the dog park, went to the movies to see "The International" and then relaxed at home before heading to the airport.


I have to say, it was quite weird to bid our farewells without knowing when we'll see them next, but we'll be heading home sometime this summer for a visit.

Ghetto Fabulous

This weekend, Brian broke our faucet handle. He claims he didn't but I know I didn't and he's the one who breaks things all the time. However, I will give him credit where credit is due...

He tried to fix it, went to Lowe's to look into parts or potentially a new faucet, called the manufacturer and ordered parts, and even fixed it for the short-term, WT style, with a Vice Grip (see photo).

Our parts come on Tuesday....hopefully our ghetto fabulous sink is fixed by the end of this week!