helloooo?.....

This pic has probably appeared on here before, but I love it and it's my blog so I can do what I want with it.

I seriously have the cutest puppy:

time for a Guido post

It's been awhile and Guido was being adorable today.   So of course I grabbed the camera and VOILA!  more cute puppy pics!

We started with some close-ups.

and then he jumped up on the couch to watch me upload the first set,

so I took some more.

I think he was getting tired of the game by now.

Then he relocated to my lap while I uploaded the newest set.

I guess I was taking too long cuz all of sudden,

this adorable little face was peeking at me from behind my laptop.

finally friday12 - the one with a tv and an engagement

the week is done and it's time for another "wrap it up and toss it out" post.....so here goes:

we bought a new tv and eventually will get the remote(s) all straightened out.  why did we buy a new tv? cuz it's football season and ours died in the middle of Monday Night Football.   Soooo NOT okay!  i had to listen to both games on my new 52" radio and football is not the same without the picture.   

on tuesday, after we bought the tv, we hiked over to Chili's and enjoyed another fabulous dinner.  not because Chili's has the greatest food in the world, but because all the family members living in california were there and it doesn't happen very often.  an evening of laughter and crazy stories..i treasure those moments.

i also got braces on tuesday which made dinner painful but i'm surviving.   46 yrs old with braces....what was i thinking?   oh! i remember! i was thinking --"man, when did my teeth get all cattywhompus? ewwwwww...fix those things..."

wednesday was a "clean the house and whine about how much my teeth hurt" day.

thursday...fiasco at the dog groomers.  but Guido now looks beautiful and it was 50% off.   and then the big ENGAGEMENT....so excited for girl1 and SIL2B

and it's FRIDAY!   lalalalalalalalala    gotta buy some dogfood and that's about it.

niece is coming to hang for a little bit tomorrow...haven't seen her for awhile.  and then dland on Sunday to celebrate girl1's 21st birthday.  such a big week for her!!!!  are we the only ones that think having your first legal drink at disneyland is a little funny?   acohol and disney just doesn't click in my brain but they make a decent margarita over in California Adventure.

have a fantastical weekend!!!!!

don't forget to hop on over to http://www.thumperawards.blogspot.com/ to check out the final Jungle Week picture.

it's June!

June 1st....wow....my brain was ready for that so quickly this year. In 10 days, boy1 and girl1 will graduate from college and boy2 will graduate from high school. In 6 weeks, boy1 will move halfway across the country to continue his education. In 3 months, boy2 will move to the mountains to work at a local ski resort. (Girl1 has to take a couple of more classes before moving on to her next college.)

For the first time in 14 years, I am not searching for next year's curriculum. For the first time in 14 years, I'm not looking for cool field trip ideas to supplement topics being studied. For the first time in 14 years, I will not be responsible for anyone's schooling. For the first time in 14 years, my office and dining room will not be not schoolrooms. It's a bittersweet time.

With all these graduations, a girlfriend coming to celebrate her 50th birthday (she's arriving June11th so will get to attend some graduations....sorry, friend), girl1 heading to Australia for 10 days, boy1 heading to Nashville for college placement stuff, and some photography stuff that needs to get done; I'm feeling a little bit rushed. But I'm excited about all the fun that's happening in the next few weeks. Such milestones and opportunities to see friends and families...should be awesome!

and, just because he's cute and i haven't posted a pic of him in awhile, here's Guido:

awwwwwwww

isn't he cute? and look at that pretty floor!

and for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

see ya soon!

hey! i know all the words, too

OMG! one of the best freakin' shows I have seen ever! Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal were FANTASTIC and, while the rest of the cast was weak in the dance department, the voices more than made up for it. Such a wonderful night at the theatre!

I love love love love love love musical theatre -- except for one, okay...maybe two things.

first: It should be legal to punch people who sing along in the mouth. seriously, do you think that ANYONE wants to hear YOU? No one is impressed that you know the words -- we ALL know the words. Do you think that the person in the suit next to you is an agent/producer who is going to whisk you away to stardom? Really? here's a hint: JUST SHUT UP!!!!!

second(ly?): Why are there concession stands at live theatre? I do not want to listen to candy being unwrapped during the show - the occasional cough drop is okay but digging in the bag to find the yellow candy is NOT okay. Sell water, coffee, drinks, and those humongous cookies ...but not twizzles, sour straws, skittles, m&m's or anything else that will be taken back into the show. At least there wasn't popcorn.

All in all, a wonderful way to spend a Tuesday. I'm not even too disappointed that I missed American Idol.


thanks to all who voted for Guido! he's holding his own in the cutest puppy world. here are the links, in case you have a couple of seconds to vote again. and, if you are feeling particularly generous, feel free to pass the links along to your friends. there's a $300 prize available in one of the contests and that'll get us to our next show. =D

You can vote once a day at: http://www.anamigo.com/photos/26269 and cast a one-time vote at: http://www.cutestpetcontest.com/view100349488.htm

like a kid at Christmas

I'm seeing RENT tonight (in 10 1/2 hours) WITH Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal!!!!! I bought the tickets last May and it has been a loooonnnnggggg wait for this show! Adam Pascal!!!! aaaaahhhhhh!!!!

in other news (like anything else matters today): Guido is in 2 (yes, two) cute puppy contests. You can help by voting once a day at: http://www.anamigo.com/photos/26269 and a one-time vote at: http://www.cutestpetcontest.com/view100349488.htm

a huge thanks to those who took the time to vote for him yesterday...you're the bestest!!!!!

vote for Guido

make Guido #1. vote for him by clicking on the "hahaha" button. you can vote once a day. There is cash on the line here, friends. Please help! =D




you can also vote by going here: http://www.anamigo.com/photos/26269

Guido's free!

after two weeks in solitary for poor little Guido, he is now free to roam the house with the other puppies. and what's the first thing on the agenda? a bath! and a brush out! 2 weeks makes for a very stinky and matted little shih tzu. but he's all beautiful now and sleeping on my feet while i type.

wanna see?

of course you do!

the other adorable puppy is Pixie....boy2 belongs to her.

I was holding treats by the camera....can you tell? and i dropped a crumb...

don't mess with me....

so i have a puppy. you all know this. His name is Guido and he's an adorable pain in the butt. Guido has developed an awful habit of running out the door and biting our guests and then running back inside to his bed. He then made the mistake of biting me....twice!....stupid dog.

I won't keep a dog that bites....but I will spend alot of time and effort to break him of the habit. Everyone suggested getting him "fixed" because that's suppose to stop aggressive behavior. So Monday morning, Guido went to the vet. Poor Guido. And the surgery didn't go well, so he had to spend the night. And then he wouldn't eat, so they wouldn't give him any pain medication. Poor, poor Guido.

I brought him home and got him to eat and gave him his meds, but he is so melancholy. poor Guido. He has to wear one of those satellite dish collars for 2 weeks. He keeps bumping into things and scaring himself. It took him all afternoon to figure out how to drink out of his water dish. Then he tripped jumping out of his bed and you just knew he hurt himself, because he turned around and got right back in bed.

He's more active this morning, but the vet said to keep him confined for 2 weeks. Do any of you have small dogs? Do you know how hard is to keep them confined? They want to run and play all day long.

I also have 2 sons. They are very sympathetic towards Guido. Boy2 checked out the stitches and exclaimed "you shouldn't mess with mom, stupid dog." Boy2 is being very obedient today.

when lists fail

i forgot that i have tickets to see "Phantom of the Opera" tonight. can you believe it?! me? forgetting about musical theatre tickets?

and i made some pretty detailed lists of things to get accomplished before leaving on Thursday. somehow I completely left off a trip to LA tonight. i guess you have to actually put everything on the list in order for the whole making lists thing to be helpful.

i was just casually working my way through the drudgery (bills, grooming Guido, dishes, laundry, etc) and just figuring i would throw the hair back with a headband and spend the day in sweats, when i remembered. CRAP! now i have to actually DO my hair AND find something to wear.

i never forget shows....i LIVE to go to the theater......and it's PHANTOM.....wow.....

i'm claiming vacationitis.

so i'm off to get ready and find something nice that isn't tagged for the trip.

and feel free to leave a movie quote on yesterday's blog while i'm gone......the youngsters over on facebook really kicked the blogland buddies' butts. they came up with some random stuff.

i got nothing

seriously......nothing......

great day of football yesterday. and the interesting fact that, for the third time, i have booked a cruise over super bowl sunday. and, for the third time, the steelers have made it to the super bowl when i'm cruising. considering that i book vacations at least 6 months in advance, i think the steelers should be paying to send me on cruises. and, yes, i will give up sitting by the pool to watch the game.

really.....nothing......

laughing at the uproar surrounding the Burger King/Facebook promotion. it was a stupid promotion but not a newsworthy story. and, on a side note, none of my friends deleted me to get their whopper...woohoo! lol

why are you still reading?......i got nothin'........

Guido is attacking his dogfood again. He takes one piece from the bowl --carries it to the carpet by the front door -- and then kills it. seriously, growling - biting - throwing it - makes sure it's not moving -- pounces on it again - for about 2 minutes and then eats it. then he goes and eats the rest of the food from the bowl. everytime. he won't eat until he has "killed" one piece. stupid dog.

and one more nothing before i leave.....

it's only suppose to be 78 here today. that's our "cooling" trend. hahahahahahaha a chance of rain by wednesday night -- a whopping 1/4" -- we'll be on "storm watch" again. gotta love it!

the world's best Christmas newsletter

yeah, right...

just because i feel obligated to do a 2008 recap does not mean that you should feel obligated to read it but there is going to be a really cute picture of Guido at the end so you should take the time to at least scroll down and now i feel like i'm writing sentences like the apostle Paul.

here's the short, sweet version.

2008 - another driver, some more birthdays, lots of disneyland trips, some snowboarding, some skydiving, someone went to Hawaii, new cars, white water rafting, and, of course, musicals

a little more detail:

boy2 got his license and a hot car

girl1 got a full time job and a hot car

boy1 focused on school and got a mini van (but he doesn't have to make monthy offerings to the car god)

hubby1 discovered skydiving and has his "a" license (i think it's "a"...i don't pay attention)

justme got a headache trying to keep track of everyone

still more detail:

all of the above plus a week snowboarding at Brian's Head

hubby1 and justme celebrated 24 years of weddingness with a weekend of white water rafting...they both returned......here's to 24 more years!

hubby1 went to Hawaii with his sisters and dad. it was good for them.

boy1 was in some musicals.

justme judged some musicals.

justme and girl1 took pictures of musicals.

justme sold tickets to musicals so she can afford to go see musicals.

justme, boy1 and girl1 saw some musicals.

and for the first time since 2005, no one was on tour or an extended missions trip so there was no major fundraising in 2008.

that's pretty much it..

we did make note that it's been 10 years since hubby1's car accident and 15 years since the fire...it doesn't seem possible

and my last holiday picture:

Have a great New Year's Eve!

However you choose to celebrate tonight, please be safe!

it's a dog's life

If there's a fire in the fireplace, you don't have to look very far for our puppies.

We finally moved their beds so they don't have to sleep on the hard floor.

Gosh, it's a tough life.

Just gazing at the roaring fire.

If you walk by Guido, he rolls over and begs for a belly rub.

Who could resist that cute little face?

still happy

carmi's happy theme has had me digging thru recent pics. thanks for making us focus on the good things in life....it's been a fun week of remembering. =D

at first, boy2 just was dancing thru the line and then, when he realized that i had caught him, he burst out in laughter. teenagers remembering how to have fun always make me happy.

having time to relax and enjoy the world around me always makes me happy. this picture was taken at Sea World, San Diego. The little boy who is holding the starfish was enthralled. He sat sooooo still. His parents didn't want us to take a picture of his face, but they gave permission for us to shoot this. [edit] girl1 took this pic with our olympus camera that is pretty much indestructable....she demands photo credit...cuz she's funny like that.

Who could resist smiling at this

adorable face? This is Guido....he's our

maltese/shihtzu puppy. Someday I'll

write a blog about him and his quirkiness.

and, finally, being able to enjoy boy1 perform is one of the things that always brings me joy. to see him getting to use his beautiful voice to bring joy to others is an amazing thing. here he performs "If I Can't Love Her" from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast."