Hailey, the drama queen

Can I just tell you that I my dog has become a brat? She cries to get on the couch, she cries to turn the fireplace on, she spend minutes making her bed perfect. She doesn't like it when we are on the phone. I kid you not, the dog knows and she barks.

Her latest stunt is to sneak on to the bed when I am getting ready. I'll have a perfectly made bed and then realize that the dog is nowhere to be found. Then I look a little closer and realize that she is not just on the bed, but on top of all the pillows on the bed. Could it get any cushier?

I try to ignore her as much as possible, but her bark is really annoying. Another goal for 2009, unspoil the dog.

I'm Back, Baby

I don't think anyone reads this blog, so it probably doesn't matter that I have not posted in over a year. That said, for 2009, I am resolving to get back into blogging.

The new love of my life...

No, Hailey hasn't been replaced, but I do have a tender spot in my heart for her cousin Petey. He is an adorable bull dog. I wish I could keep him. Unfortunately my brother-in-law likes him as well. Here is a picture of Petey helping me pack after a recent trip to Michigan.



Here is another picture of Petey in his life jacket. The dog is definitely a boating-enthusiast, but unfortunately he can't swim.

TICKS!

This weekend, Hailey spent the night at my parents while I was at a friend's all night bridal shower. It wasn't your typical bridal shower, but it was fun! Anyway, so I took the dog for a quick walk out to the edge of their property and then last night my husband found a deer tick on her!

Luckily with a little rubbing alcohol and a pair of tweezers the tick came off with no problem. Thank you K-9 Advantix! Hailey's like the dog in this commercial now.

New Hailey Pictures

Here are some new Hailey pictures that my husband took.

Notice how speedy she is!
Here Hailey longs for her tennis ball

And I thought she was sooooo smart

So I have a secret love for shows on Animal Planet, including a show called Breed All About It. Shameful, yes. Anyway, today they were talking about how smart this one breed was.

Now Hailey was never at the top of her class, but she wasn't lowest either. I thought she was pretty smart. Well, I searched for Dog Breed Intelligence List and found my answer. Hailey ranks number 49 out 79! That is so sad, especially considering a lot of numbers have several breeds listed after them

This is what the website has to say about Hailey:

Ranks 40 to 54
Average Working/Obedience Intelligence

Understanding of New Commands: 25 to 40 repetitions.

Obey First Command: 50% of the time or better.

I guess that's a pretty accurate description of Hailey's ability to do things. It took her at least 25 repetitions to learn lay down. I was disappointed however to learn that Hailey is the least intelligent of all her friends. Her border collie buddies are #1, my parents dog is #6 and even her new friend Hero, a westie ranks at #47. Although, I know how she feels. My above average ACT score was the lowest of all my friends, but they all got near perfect scores.

Yeah, Your Back Was Really Tight

I had a massage today. I debated getting a massage. I hadn't had one in four years and my last experience wasn't so hot. The massage therapist kept telling me to relax, and I thought I was relaxed or that that's why I was going to see her! Since then, I haven't wanted to get another one, until today.

Anyway, so i went today for a massage. I had my option of having an all-over one done or having her focus on my upper back. I chose the latter. In retrospect, I think I chose wrong. She worked my back for at least 30 minutes. All those familiar aches and pains were worked out. I just kept thinking, this WILL FEEL GOOD WHEN YOU ARE DONE. Just breathe deeply.

I finally finished and I joked about how it went. The massage therapist said it was good I'd chosen to focus on my back becuase it was so tight and she had lost track of time. She told me to drink lots of water and warned me I might be sore on Sunday. Not the words I was hoping for.

I came home, took some advil, took a long hot bath and went to bed early. In retrospect, maybe I should've opted for a pedicure instead.

A pointless revelation

So I started Hailey on her K9 Advantix this weekend and then I decided to put the cool reminder stickers in my calendar. On the stickers is a place for the dog's name. Now, I only have one dog, so it's not like I'm going to forget who the K9 Advantix is for, but I thought it'd be fun to write her name in anyway.

Then I discovered that when I write her name it looks like crap. I don't think I want to name my chidren a name that ends in "ey" unless I work on my penmanship.

Girl Scout Cookie Time

It's that time of year folks, when the girl scout cookies are for sale. YUM! My only issue with girl scouts, and no I'm not going to go off on a rant like Andy Rooney of 20/20 did.

Why the different names? Where I grew up, the chocolate covered peanut butter cookies were Peanut Butter Patties. Where I live now (a whopping 25 miles away) they are Tag Alongs. Last night I was at a business 20 miles away (NW of my current home and N of my childhood home) and there the called them Peanut Butter Patties too. Just when I thought I'd gotten the whole name thing right and ask for Tag ALongs, the guys says "you mean Peanut Butter Patties?" DOH!


Here are the varieties:
Thin Mints (A Universal Name and loved by all)
Samoas/Carmel de Lites
Tag-Alongs/Peanut Butter Patties
Trefoils/Shortbread
Do-si-dos/Peanut Butter Sandwiches
All Abouts
Thanks-A-Lot
Cafe Cookies
Brownies
Cartwheels
Lemondaes

I understand that different bakeries make them, but in different names in the same metro area? I do have to admit Trefoils and Samoas are much more creative names that Shortbread Cookie and Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookie. Anyway, I still love them and am excited to eat them!

VALENTINR

Get your own valentinr

The One Campaign

At church yesterday, instead of a sermon from our pastor, we watched an interview of Bono done by Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church. It was very cool, I mean how often do you get to listen to U2 during church? The message was very thought-provoking and really made you want to get more involved. It really spurred me on to find more local opportunities to give my time and resources to. Here's part of the interview we watched.




The interview is part of a larger study on William Wilburforce and serving others. I really like my church, it really challenges me to be a better person.

My Rules/Goals/Guidelines for 2007

I meant to post this over a week ago, but I've been busy. Instead of resolutions, I wanted to come up with something more concrete. So, I made a list of goals, guideslines and personal rules for the new year. Here they are!

10 Goals/Rules/Guidelines for 2007

1. Read my daily devotional (on a daily basis)
2. Count my points (WW ones that is)
3. Only watch TV shows that have been recorded to the DVR (this is tough and meant
to be a way to keep me from watching useless crap on TV)
4. Learn to sew (my mom bought me a sewing machine, so I need to learn how to use it)
5. Have a date night with my husband once a week
6. Have a date night/outing with a friend once a week
7. Work out 5 times a week (This would a goal as 5 times a week is a bit ambitious!)
8. Finish up all my projects I've started in 2006
9. Read at least one book a month (and try to alternate between fun chick lit and
real educational books)
10. Don't get mad at my husband just because he gets upset with me.

I have to comment on #10. Usually fights between my husband and I go something like this: I do something that upsets him, he gets upset, I get upset that he's upset with me. He gets mad at me. I cry.
So, I am trying to be better at this, because when I get upset with my husband, he just takes it in stride and not so personally. Plus, crying really sucks. Well, I did this the other night. It was amazing! Not only did I not cry, but DH felt really bad about getting mad at me and for several days told me (more so than usual)how much he appreciates me!

Skinny Jeans and other horrible trends

So this fall when I first heard that leggings were in, I thought oh dear! Then there was all this talk about skinny jeans. Then there were these mini skirts that people were wearing over leggins. To top it all off, there were oversized sweaters meant to be worn with pants that appeared so tight they just might cut off your circulation *Shudders* What horrible, horrible ideas, right?

Well, I judged to quickly. I'd like to confess that I not only bought a pair of skinny jeans from Banana Republic (which are awesome, btw), but a pair of leggings that I wear with dresses or skirts.

I'm a slave to fashion

What Am I, 13 Again?

I think I may be having some weird quarter life crisis (see my current obsession). Seriously, I don't know what is wrong with me. My husband got me tickets to the Christina Aguilera, PCD, and Danity Kane concert and I am SOO excited. His bosses' 13 and 11 year old daughters are going to the same concert.

Also in line with the concert would be my two new favorite songs. Fergalicious by Fergie and Wind it Up by Gwen Stefani.

I need help.

Current Obsession: Juicy Couture

I don't know what my problem is, but I'm obsessed with this line. It's ridiculously expensive, but I don't care! I recently purchased my first Juicy tracksuit. Of course I can't find a picture of it online, but it is cute. It is dark blue with pink writing. On the back of the hoodie it says cupcake couture. It's cute, but ridiculous!
I also found a juicy tee at TJ Maxx. It says Juicy Prep! Here is a picture of the shirt I bought.


Somebody stop me.

Dangit!

So, this weekend has been hectic. We painted two rooms in our house, I went into work on Friday and had to come in early today. It's only 10 am and I'm exhausted. Plus, I forgot to take my stoopid thyroid medicine AGAIN! To top it all off, I was moving furniture this morning (at work) and tore my dress. GRRR!

Hailey fought the cat and the cat won....

Hailey went with us to my Grandparents yesterday. The farm is a very stimulating place for her, maybe too stimulating. I didn't want to bring her, but we were going to be gone too long, and felt like I had too. Anyway, Hailey played with the horses and did really well. She never sat down, which is a good thing today. She's very tired.

The day was going well, until Hailey caught a glimpse of my Aunt's cat. (My aunt lives with my grandparents) Hailey went nuts, the cat went nuts and my aunt freaked out. Luckily we got Hailey and the cat out in one piece. But she couldn't leave well enough alone, could she? Nope, the first chance Hailey had she was back upstairs looking for the cat. This time the cat was ready and scraped up Hailey pretty well. There was blood, people. Blood.

Luckily the cat was fine, so everybody wins. It was a very stressful event to an otherwise nice day.