Hell Has Frozen Over

This is the post I never thought I'd write. We got a dog. Me. A dog owner. I swore it would never happen. I am not an animal person. I am definitely not an animal-owning kind of person. I think the best pet is a neighbor pet. And even then it's iffy because they can still bark and crap on your lawn.

But AJ begged - for years. She and Craig would take trips to the local shelter to visit. And on one particular visit in September, we found a great dog and I relented {gasp!} And now I have to admit, she has even charmed me. The non-animal-loving-semi-germaphobe-I-am-not-picking-THAT-up me. And I love her.

Her name is Dixie. She's a long-haired Chihuahua. She is just over a year old. She fits in my purse. (Although I'm not the crazy carry-your-dog-in-your-purse-lady...yet)

The first night we brought her home, she snuggled up with AJ and slept with her all night. AWWWWWW...


In the morning AJ was anxious to give her a mini-makeover. Baths are easy since she fits so nicely in the kitchen sink:



And of course, what makeover is complete without a manicure?



Notice the matching polish...


I really can't complain. She's not a yapper, as most little dogs are. She just wants to sleep on your lap all the time. And she lets AJ drag her around like a stuffed animal - poor thing. But I have to say, I'm glad the newness hasn't worn off for AJ as it often tends to do. She still can't wait to get home from school and see her and wants to play with her all the time. I think that little dog was just the extra dose of love we needed around here.

Costume Caper

Dressing up is AJ's number one favorite thing to do. We don't buy her toys, we buy costumes. But what I find so funny is that she will put on a costume, and then go about her day as if nothing's out of the ordinary. Here are a few things I've caught her doing:

Dusting as Batman (I think?):

Working on the Computer as "Spiderman":


Crocodile browning hamburger for dinner:


And just so CPS doesn't come a knockin', she LIKES to do all those things. I am not a child slave driver. Maybe if I could figure out a way to have her take a bath with a costume on, it wouldn't be such a chore!

Happy Tunesday: Hereafter

I thought the movie was OK, but the soundtrack is beautiful. Very relaxing and great background music. The acoustic guitar is fab.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend; we sure did. Rochelle fed us dinner (athankya) and on Friday, we avoided the shopping crowds and took AJ to see Tangled.

She has been watching the trailer everyday for almost 6 months (note the barely-containable excitement on her face)


and I must say, it did not disappoint. It was sweet and funny and Craig and I may or may not have cried at the end.
We enjoyed some yumminess at j.raes bakery. Cupcake frosting is INSANE...

We also just happened to be downtown for the Parade of Lights.

We took in the festivities for a while and then spent the night at the Omni Hotel.

We got the hookup with a corner room which had floor to ceiling windows on two walls which gave us an amazing view of downtown. We didn't take any pics, but we also stayed there last year at Christmas time and I don't think I ever posted those pics, so now seems like a good time.

Nice hotels are most famous for:

super-bouncy beds, right? (Hey AJ - crack kills!)


Pristine game-playing surfaces:


Wrestling matches:


And spa robes. AJ made herself comfortable for her favorite part - milk and warm cookies sent up at turndown.



Thanksgiving was great - Bring on Christmas!!!

Nice.

Just what every parent hopes their daughter will wear to her 18th birthday party.

It's time

I have missed you blog. It will take me a while to catch you up. It's been a busy 7 months. Let's just start from here on out, with the occasional backdated post.

Halloween Recap

Decorating Cookies:
A.J. swears she wasn't snitching the icing. I guess those black teeth are from all the tobacco she's been chewing.


Fun at the school carnival:


We attacked her with silly string. We thought it was much funnier than she did.


Dressed up as "Pinkalicious" for school Storybook Character Day:



Trick-or-Treating with best friend Kenzi:



Craig and I went to our friends' annual Halloween Party. It gets a little crazy trying to come up with funny adult costumes each year. This year, we went as the Geico Caveman and Flo from Progressive.

My costume was pretty easy, but for Craig we ordered a facial prosthetic online. It was quite the experience, both the application and the removal. But it was a hit - we even won the costume contest!

Jailbreak - Not your average date

Last year, Craig ran in the Warrior Dash and has so much fun, he talked me into joining him for the Jailbreak. It is a 3.8 mile mud run and obstacle course. And I mean mud - you wade through it, crawl through it, slide down it and into the river. No way around it, you're gonna get dirty. All proceeds go to charity, so he tried to appeal to my conscience as well. Can't believe I said yes. Can't believe I did it. Can't believe I actually had a great time.

We parked at Texas Motor Speedway and then they bussed us into the race site, "prison style". Notice how nice and clean we are?


This is us after the finish:



So much for my manicure:


'xcuse me mam? You have something on your face...


Once upon a time, these were white socks:


Your shoes are pretty much trashed after an event like this, but you can donate them and they clean them up and send them to countries where they are desperately needed. There were three other piles like this, and it was only the first day of the race:


Doing some good in the world, getting a little exercise, and breaking out of the dinner-and-a-movie routine. Not a bad date after all!

Easter Countdown Days 5-1

Day 5: Visit the Easter Bunny (I have this, instead of a picture of AJ with the Easter Bunny. Criminal! Our cheapness won out.)


Day 4: Color an Easter Picture


Day 3: Have An Egg Hunt






Day 2: Color Easter Eggs





Day 1: Jerusalem Dinner (We doctored the menu a bit. I think someday we may even do an actual passover dinner, but for now we wanted food that AJ would actually eat. I quite enjoyed it myself.)




Her favorite was the olives.)




Menu: Gyro Meet
Flatbread
Hummus
Cheese
Olives
Dates
Apricots
Pistachios
Raisins
Grapes
Pomogranate Soda (Which turned out to be white instead of red - bummer!)