How can I be mad when its so cute!

Puppy has a thing for shoes. She does not chew them, well except for the occasional shoe lace, but she has not ruined any yet. I know its only a matter of time. She only gathers them when left alone. I think they smell like us and she just wants us close to her. Its kind of endearing... but not really a habit I'd like her to keep.

I work from home and Puppy pretty much sits on the couch in front of the window either sleeping or watching the comings and goings on the street. Usually about every hour or 30 mins or so she will come into the office and make sure I am still there. It had been a while since she came and checked in on me, so I went and made sure she was not into anything she's not suppose to be in. As I rounded the corner I noticed the top of one of my boots on the couch. I was about to scold puppy and tell her no when I noticed it was not just one boot, but both.... and she had them lined up so perfectly. How could I yell at my little puppy's organizational skills!

Gotta love the holidays...

Man life has gotten a little hectic again. At least its not too crazy. Puppy and I are currently laying on the couch taking a break. Its been a long day. She's been helping me mix up cookie batter tonight. Well helping if you call being underfoot and licking up all the flour I spill helping.

I'm putting all the bake ware that I got for the wedding to work this year and making tons of Christmas cookies. Since I'm rapidly running out of time I figured I would mix up and freeze what I can. Oh and plus I made my sister some triple ginger cookies for hosting thanksgiving this weekend. Shoot, I was suppose to take a picture of them all boxed up. Oops... Guess you all will have to use your imagination. =)

I also had to finish up my invites for our family holiday weekend. We are having our family down in December for a holiday dinner. I figured we could make them drive to us one of these times! Not to mention I had 2 birthday gifts to wrap and a wedding gift. I swear I am going to have at least 3 bags for our 3 day thanksgiving trip up north to Michigan. Oh wait... that's not even counting Puppy's bag. Its probably a good thing we are taking the pickup truck. I don't think it would all fit in my jeep.

Well, I've still got gifts to wrap. One of the ladies at work always organizes gift tags for the Goodfellows. I'm not sure if that is a local Detroit thing or not. They basically help under privileged kids. Each tag is for a kid. I got two of them this year. Two boys.... Hubby was pretty funny. Apparently I have no idea what boys would like... go figure!

Guess I should stop rambling and procrastinating and get to it. Tomorrow I get to work all day and then make stuffing, pack, clean the house some, and god knows what else. My puppy is out cold all curled up next to me. It would be so unfair to get up and disturb her.. maybe those toys can wait a little longer to be wrapped...

I still have my job, and that is a good thing.

We have been in limbo at work for the last couple of days. On Tuesday our CEO sent a lovely email to everyone telling us that staff cuts are needed in order to cut our expenses. He said that they should be done with the cuts by the end of the week. So we have all been on pins and needles worrying about it for the last two days. Note to any CEO in this position... just make the announcement when you are ready to actually lay the people off. Don't leave your employees hanging like that. Its not nice.

They finally announced the lay offs this morning. My Boss and I are the only ones in my group who work remotely. So my one friend sent me an email at like 9 saying that Boss was in the office and was going to talk to us all in a few mins. So then I'm sitting there for like 20 mins figuring they were in their meeting and wondering why he did not conference me in. Let me just say I was getting nervous. Then my phone rings and its Boss, not on his work phone, but on his cell phone. SO he wants to have a private conversation. Man my heart sank. He was just calling to keep me in the loop. Thank god!

We did lose one of the girls on Boss's other team, not any of the ones I work with regularly or know very well, but its still going to be quite an adjustment. I pray that she will be able to recover and it will all work out for her... though I know times are not exactly getting any better any time soon. So we will all probably have some shuffling and re-org stuff to deal with... but not as bad as the poor girl who is now unemployed.... and the others I have yet to hear about.

arrrgggghhhhhh!

OK I totally just typed a lovely, witty, and humorous update post...... just to have it lost when I hit the publish post button.

So not in the mood to re-type it.... I am at work and as I said in my clever lost post, my boss does not pay me to blog... but how cool would that be if he did?

I will however promise to catch up later this afternoon... if the computer survives that long!

Puppy's trip to the salon

I know I'm a dork.... but my puppy went to the groomers yesterday and got her hair and nails done. I even bought her a new shirt to wear in the house to keep her warm. She has a very short coat and no body fat to keep her warm. So its not just for the fashion statement! haha

Check out her nails.. they painted them pink to match the new outfit! How cute! Hubby said I had to get a pic of her with her coat on too... Puppy has her hair and nails done and is all dressed up to hit the town!

Too bad the "town" consists of her going in the back yard to do her business! =)

Lesson for Today

If you see an odd brown spot on your carpet, DO NOT rub your fingers in it to see what it is. Just go and get the carpet cleaner.

Actually I guess I learned two lessons today - dogs are not always that great at being able to avoid their own piles of poop, especially when you have a dog who runs around like the devil is chasing her and loving every minute of it. I guess I just always assumed they would have an built in sense to at least keep out of their own old piles of poop. Hey, there's another lesson: mommy and daddy dog owner should be better at picking up the pile in the back yard.

Any ways, back to the carpet.... I turn around and notice this weird spot. Since puppy is fully house trained and had not had an accident in a while... I was wondering what the heck I spilled and when. So there I was rubbing my finger in it and then smelling. Oh yeah it was poop. So then I was all ewwww when I looked at the rest of the carpet. There was a nice little foot path from the back door all through the dining room and living room ending ( or course ) on the couch.

All I have to say is thank goodness for the Bissel Little Green Machine. It does work wonders on both carpet and upholstery! Puppy and I are now learning a new trick. Its called "Sit and Stay on the door mat until I can check your feet!" I have a feeling my dog thinks that I have finally and completely lost my mind!

I'll never understand...

Every time I scroll down this blog and see those pictures of me on my honeymoon it kind of shocks me. I guess its actually seeing how I look. You know how we all have way better pictures in our heads of what we look like than what we actually do look like. I feel like I'm 20 pounds lighter than I look in those pictures. I know, it does not really matter... but still... it shocks me.

You would think it would shock me into finally re-starting that diet and losing those last 20 (ha, ok more like 40) pounds... no its really just pushing me further into that apple pie I baked this weekend and the Halloween candy that we still have left over. So not a good thing! Perhaps I will have a yogurt first... that's got to be better than polishing off half an apple pie! heehee Oh and the rest of the candy is going to work with hubby tomorrow!

Just wanted to share a really cool idea from Lotta over at her Mom-O-Matic blog. I hope everyone reads Lotta musing over raising kids and life in general. She's great and has a terrific idea to help easy the Christmas pain some of us may be feeling this year! Let her know if there is anything you can do to help with the give aways!


http://mom-o-matic.blogspot.com/2008/11/hunting-and-gathering.html#links

Honeymoon Pictures - Maui

Most of these pictures are from our drive on the road to Hanna. Maui is a really pretty island. Most of it is filled with locals. There is a resort area.. but Hubby and I only stayed there for one night. We drove around the entire island. There are some beautiful spots. I had to laugh because it seemed like every 15 mins I was saying "oh look how pretty". Hubby just kept saying "yep".

The best part of the island though was spending time with Hubby's cousin. He's lived on Maui for some time now. Since hubby is an only child, it was fun hanging out with them and hearing all their little kid stories. Plus my new cousin is a fun guy. Easy going and kind. I forgot my camera though that day... so no pictures. We did go on a great hike. I kept teasing Cousin that he was trying to kill off Hubby's old lady already. It was quite an adventurous hike through a "rain forest" looking for a swimming hole. We finally did find the swimming hole and the boys had fun jumping off the rocks. I just walked in and tried not to scream each time a minnow nibbled at my toes! I'm not exactly the adventurous girl! =)

Wedding Pictures

I don't have too many pictures of the wedding on my computer. Most of them are hard copies people have given me, but here is what I do have.....

Me and Sweetie waiting for the ceremony to start

Ceremony Spot... The weather could really not have been any better. It was chilly taking our pictures early... but by the time we got out there to make our vows it was perfectly warm and beautiful!

The cake.... there was also a groom's cake, but since it was a surprise for my groom they did not put it out until we were walking down the isle.

The reception hall. The guys ended up running around and setting up all the center pieces. They did a pretty good job!

Here are our place cards... they were apples.

Here my new hubby and I are opening a gift from my sister and her hubby. They gave us a cute "just married" tote bag to take on our honeymoon and some luggage tags. The bag was a hit everywhere we went!

as promissed...

here's my new hair and puppy's halloween costume.....