The List

Here is a fun new blog game. All you do is fill in the blanks. Behold...
* Maybe I should... eat less peanut butter.
* I love the smell of... anything Christmasy, cotton or "fresh laundry" scented candles
* People would say that I... am obsessed with my babies Maddie and Suggie-bear...and they would be right.
* I don’t understand why... people don't unite for Ron Paul.
* When I wake up in the morning... my routine is as follows: quietly curse the world and all who inhabit it, take a showie, disarm the security system, let the doggies out, eat raisin bran while watching the Today show. I love Meredith Vieira!
* I lost my will power to… avoid the Oreos. I inhaled those b*tches.
* Life is wonderful with... a sweet handsome husband and furry snuggly dogs.
* My past has made me... unpretentious.
* I get annoyed when... celebrities talk politics.
* Parties are not... parties until the keg rolls in.
* Dogs are... (like Napoleon Dynamite stated about the Liger,) "probably my favorite animal."
* Cats are … creepy, evasive, toxic, allergen producing, and prone to plotting and hatching sinister plans for world and curtain destruction.
* Tomorrow I am going to… travel to Gainesville for a wedding and super fun reception. I hope the band knows how to play "We are Family" - that always gets the crowd going.
* I have a low tolerance for... income taxes and the current price of crude.
* I'm totally terrified of... deadly viruses like Ebola, and natural disasters, including but not limited to tornadoes, hurricanes, and Socialism.
* Never in my life... have I seen a scorpion close-up.
* High school was something that... was stupid. It was. Don’t believe all the shows (Dawson’s Creek) or movies (Juno) that try to portray high schoolers as well-read, articulate, witty adults, always quickly coming up with clever, pithy retorts. We were pretty much all stammering assholes back then, saying things like "Guess what? Chicken butt."
* Take my advice... don’t go to the grocery store hungry. You’ll stuff your face when you get back and then wonder where all this new and unusual food came from.
* I'm addicted to… . raisin bran. Intervention!

Back!

Hey - sorry I haven't posted in a while, gang. Nothing new or interesting has really gone on in my life since we decided to buy a bark collar for Maddie except..... today we GOT the bark collar!!! I think we're going to try it on Maddie this weekend. She is going to freak out. It will be interesting to see how she reacts to the spray. I'll take some pics to share with the world... I feel like I might feel guilty about Maddie getting sprayed in the face but I also feel like I'll get over it and learn to love silence.

Another exciting thing: tomorrow I go see the Sex and the City movie! I'm so pumped. I was thinking this morning about why I am so excited about this. I think it's because the show was in its heyday during a very fun and memorable time in my life: college and law school. The memories I have of the show consist of me sitting on couches with girlfriends in Auburn and FSU apartments watching the new episodes and the dvd's. It's kind of like, now that there's a movie, it makes me feel like those days aren't as "over" as I thought they were. The movie is keeping them alive. Cheesy, I know, but it's my blog and I can cheese if I want to. Keep an eye out for a movie review!!!

The Bark Stops Here

Well, Gavin and I have finally reached our limit and have decided to get Maddie a Bark collar. Six years overdue.

Now, I don't have to tell you people how much I love that furry little a-hole. It's evident from the multiple posts devoted completely to her and her lovable antics. However, she is now going on 7 years old and the barking is just as bad or worse than ever. It's embarrassing when we let her out in the morning - I'm pretty sure we're "those neighbors" with the loud-ass barking dog that won't ever shut up. We try to bring her in quickly when she gets going, but we're usually not fast enough to avoid pissing off the whole neighborhood.

So, here's the deal. Basically, every time the dog barks, the collar sprays citronella into the dog's face. It doesn't hurt the dog, but the dog gets annoyed and avoids the activity that causes it to be sprayed. I'm thinking this is great - no barking and no bugs either... just in time for summer! It's about time Maddie started pulling some weight around here.

We haven't ordered it yet but probably will this week. Here's a picture of what the collar does. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on the progress!

I'm over it.

Definitely ate chicken on my salad today, so I guess chicken and I are back on track. Things were rough for a few days though. I guess you could say my feathers were ruffled.

Anyway, back to work for another big week at the offy. Going down to Maitland (by Orlando) for a marketing event later this week, so that should be interesting. Another rental car adventure.

SPEAKING OF CARS, Gavin and I got tired of putting copious amounts of obscenely expensive gas in our huge truck, so we traded it in for something more economical and environmentally friendly. A 2005 Pontiac Vibe! We love it! Here's a pic. Same color and everything.

We also love having no car payments, which we have not had for six months now. Having two paid-for cars is great for the budget. If you can live without buying or leasing brand new cars every few years, I definitely recommend it. The dogs fit in the back, so this will work out great. Yay for economically sound decision-making! Ta!

Chicken Betrayal.

So I think I may have experienced a first this week: food poisoning. Picture it: Monday night, I'm toiling away, chopping up raw chicken tenderloins to make delicious chicken and rice. The next day at work I'm feeling a little weird. Next thing I know I'm wretching and running a fever, with chills and night sweats. It was terrible! I actually had to call in sick to work on Wednesday. After googling my symptoms and the timing of their onset, I have concluded that it was from handling the raw chicken.

This is quite the betrayal, because I was very careful about washing my hands and the cutting board, disinfecting everything after I was done, and cooking the chicken very thoroughly. Gavin, who only ate the cooked chicken, was fine. I played by the rules. We had a pact, and chicken broke it. And that's unfortunate, because now my relationship with chicken is damaged. To what extent? Well that I just don't know. Too soon to tell. I'm pretty sure I won't be purchasing raw chicken for a while. Our relationship may rekindle with Chik-fil-a in a few weeks.

Anyway, this weekend I'm heading to P'cola to see the fam! Yay! Should be fun - hopefully I will have some good pics to post. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Taco haunts my dreams

I swear Mary deliberately taunts me with photos of Taco cuteness. Check this one out.... I want him! Yo quiero Taco Calcote!

Out on the town with Buddha

So last night Gavin and I went out to dinner with my BFF from high school, Mary Grace, and her baby, Bryant (aka Buddha). We had a great time - isn't he cute? Thanks for coming to town, guys!!! See you soon!

Mary Grace in the Hass

Hey friends! Well, my first week back to work went just fine. It's good to be back in a routine and litigating away once again. Things are busy at the office, so that's good - I guess a sagging economy doesn't stop people from suing each other. So today I will probably clean. Believe it or not I still have some unpacking to do.

Exciting news! My best pal from high school, Mary Grace, is in town for a wedding! We are having dinner tonight and it will be great to catch up. She is such a great lifelong friend, and she has the most adorable baby so I will probably cuddle up with him most of the night - yay! I love it when people come to the Hass.

Here's a fave pic of mine. We are tailgating before the Troy-FSU football game in '06. That's Mary Grace on the left, next to me, followed by my bro-in-law Jodie, holding Ella-Boo, Gavin, and MG's hubby Daniel. Great times!! Hope to be doing that again this fall!

Memories of Roma

So, a few months before a started this blog, Gavin and I went to Rome! We were there for one week and it was an unbelievable experience. We hit all the high points in Rome, Pompeii, and Florence. Since I took the trip before I started the blog, I haven't posted anything about it. Allow me to rectify that by posting some of my favorite pics from the trip.

This first one is the Roman Forum. To give you an idea of how huge that arch is, that's me at the bottom looking up at it.

This is a statue in the courtyard of the Italian Capitol Building..... is that a cornucopia in your toga, or are you just happy to see me?

Collosseo!


Here we are in the Frescati wine region outside of Rome, attending a wine tasting at a 600 year old vineyard. Great tour - beautiful countryside, great wine, and Americans to talk to!

St. Peter's Square!

And finally, the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

I feel better now, having given a shout out to our Rome trip. I definitely recommend going if you ever get the opportunity. Ciao!

Fun link

Has anyone ever heard of a "photobomber" ? These are the people (usually guys) who hide or lay low as a group photo is being arranged and then pop in the frame whilst doing something hilarious. Mooning is popular. You get the idea. Anyway, this guy compiled a bunch of funny ones, so enjoy!

http://listoftheday.blogspot.com/2008/04/photobombers-of-day.html

Pics!

Well, I promised some pics of my trip, and I know you are all atingle with anticipation for said photos, so I chose some of my faves.

This one is a pic of Gavin and I while on our bike tour in St. Peter Port, Guernsey Island. It is an island in the English Channel just off the coast of France. It's a really beautiful place I'd never heard of before this trip!

A pint of Guinness with the Mom-in-law in Belfast!

Gav and I on the shores of Loch Ness. No monster.

This one is all of us (except Gav, who was taking the pic) on the ferry from the ship to Edinburgh. As you can see, it was way cold. They should call it Edinbrrrrrrr.

This is me explaining the significance of a mural in Belfast. This particular mural was created by Protestant Loyalists to depict Catholic members of the IRA.

A nice scenic view of Edinburgh Castle at a distance...

More Edinburgh....
And finally, Gav and I at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.

Well I hope you liked the pics - we had such a great time. Yay for vacations!

We're Back!!!

Heyyyyy! We are officially BACK from our world travels. We just got back today - looooong day of flying - but we had a fantastic time on this trip. As I blog, I am wearing an I heart Belfast t-shirt to prove it.

Anyway, sorry I've been missing in action, but the cruise ship internet cost $0.65 per minute (WTF???!!!) AND was super duper slow, because it was a satellite uplink connection. So, once I checked my work email to make sure my work ducks were in a row, and my personal email to make sure my dogs were still alive, I had already run up a decent sized bill. My commitment to blogging and my legendary frugality were at war on the high seas, and well, the cheapness armada won out, as usual.

So I have to take this opportunity to give my pal Mary a HUGE shout out. She not only took us to the airport and picked us up, but she fed our fish AND acted as our emergency vet contact. This turned out to be very important because Sugarbear had some actual health problems while we were gone and Mary had to authorize some medication. Then, she went and picked up both my babies a few days early so she could care for them herself. Anyone who has ridden in the car with Maddie realizes now that Mary seriously took one for the team here. Three cheers! I am going to do something special for her but haven't decided what quite yet. Suggestions?

Ok, well I'm exhausted and prob going to hit the sack soon, but check back for pics soon!!! Pip pip and cheerio.