Sunshines and Creeps

Sunshine to my parents coming today!!!

Creep to being super tired lately...Ross is coming to bed later and later, and if he keeps this up I will be kicking him out soon ;)

Sunshine to Sophie coming home TODAY!!!! AHHHH, I can't wait to snuggle my puppy baby! Not that she really snuggles, and I have vowed not to let her sleep with us anymore since we put on our new wedding bedding...but, time will tell...I do love a good Sophie snuggle. I also can't wait for her to play in her pool in our new fenced in back yard!

Creep to knowing that Miss Sophie will desperately need a bath and a good brushing. 4 months at the farm means she will be one dirty dog! She hates baths so this will be interesting!

Sunshine to my mom's commitment to helping me clean out our old house. I have definitely been putting it off and it is nice to know someone I trust not to judge me too harshly, is coming to help out!

Creep to this weather NEVER GETTING ANY COOLER. I am not one to complain about the summer typically but I am ready for temps in the 70s and low 80s NOT in the 90s everyday. ugh, unless it is a pool day I am just not interested!

Creep to Ross's vacation. I am getting sick of being stuck at work while he is off having a Ross-cation. Sadly, this is a sore spot for the two of us this week.

Sunshine to my baby bunnies we have living in our yard (probably not much longer but they aren't even the size of your palm, they're SO precious! I mean seriously you have no idea how flippin cute these guys are!

So much to be thankful for

I have so much to be thankful for this year.

I have a wonderful fiance who I love more and more everyday. He is more patient with me than I deserve and more generous than than I could ever ask for. To be a little corny, he completes my life.

I have the best family a girl could ever imagine.

I am also thankful for all my friends. You all make my life so colorful and each bring something unique to my life.

I also am thankful for my Sophie monster, she sure adds excitement to my life.

Pumpkin Hate and Halloween

I hate anything made with pumpkin. Gross. I have been reading blogs all month and every single one seems to have a pumpkin inspired baked good on it. Just not a fan for some reason. I do love pumpkin seeds though!

I guess it begs the question....

Am I the only one who hates pumpkin?

On a side note, Ross and I carved pumpkins on Monday. SUPER DUPER fun. But sadly we didn't get very many pumpkin seeds to bake. Mine had about 3/4 C of them and Ross's were rotten :(


Very sad.

Saturday Ross had his work Halloween party. It was at a local bowling alley. It was pretty fun! Sadly, we got no pictures together but I did get or two of him (pictures to come). I always feel like dark bowling alleys aren't the right place to take pictures. The flash goes off, ruins someone's game and then we have a fight on our hands. Just won't do it!

This year I got Sophie a Halloween costume. I wanted one of the fun costumes, like a banana or jailbird but Ross wouldn't let me do it. So I got her a T-shirt instead. But I thought it was fun anyway!

I am very much looking forward to the little trick or treators that come on Sunday. Although we usually only get one or two. Maybe this year we will get more, who knows. Today is a VERY cold, rainy (soon to be snowy) and WINDY here in the upper tundra. So I hope it gets nicer by Sunday for the big day.

Peace out lovlies!

Top Two Tuesday

I have been up to SO MUCH in the last month (three months really) but haven't really had time to blog. It's horrible I know, but I'm back!

Top 2 favorite things about fall

The thing that I love most about fall is the return of

THESE

I love love love sweaters (and sweatshirts for that matter) and fall is just the best time to wear them. After all the heat in the summer it is nice to have a little more options as far as the wardrobe goes. An honorable mention also goes for vests, which are just wonderful on top of a great sweatshirt.

Not necessarily these but they are kind of fun to reminisce about.

The second thing I like about fall is the leaves changing and all the piles of leaves.

I love running through piles of leaves and watching as all of the trees change color and fall to the ground. It is also more fun to play with Sophie outside when she is not slobbering all over the place and dying of heat. However, I will miss watching her play in her pool.

On a side note I finally got my puppy back after a month with her grand-pup-parents. Ross seems to be getting annoyed and claims I am giving her googly eyes. But how could you resist her? She is the best pup ever!

Top 2 Tuesday

Top Two Tuesday: Simple Pleasures

So Today is Tuesday. That means it is time for another Top Two Tuesday over at The Undomestic Momma.

I must say that my number one simple pleasure is snuggling with my man on the couch after a long day. There is nothing more relaxing or more comforting than getting to snuggle on the couch in his warm loving arms. It's my favorite part of the day BY FAR!
(I will also give an honorable mention to snuggling with Sophie in the morning. She is a cuddle hound in the morning and when it is time to get up she starts what I call alligator death rolls. She starts rolling over like no ones business, I love it. It is a wonderful way to start the morning when Ross isn't there.)

Second simple pleasure is really one of my most favorite things to do on the whole planet (honestly probably second ONLY to the snuggling). It's sitting by the pool (on hot or cool days really). I can't think of anything more satisfying than reading a good trashy novel while sitting in the warm sun and if you add a delicious beverage into the mix you really have made my day! I have always dreamed of having a pool of my own in my back yard, in ND that is one crazy dream (for the 3 months a year you could use it, and the mosquito breeding ground it would be). Still, maybe one day...

I would give another honorable mention to warm towels fresh out of the dryer (and on that note, freshly washed sheets).
Also curling my hair, I love taking the time to curl my hair which is a luxury I rarely have.

P.S. I have been a very bad blogger. I have been up to a ton of things this summer and I haven't posted a one of them. They will come eventually. Promise.

Second reason I know I've been a bad blogger, my background had been taken down and I didn't even know it!! Oh goodness, what a bad blogger I am.

Dogs, dogs, dogs

This week Ross and I have my parents' dog Breega. She is the sweetest chocolate lab. However, she is incredibly spoiled and very jealous when you give attention to anything other than her. She whines and barks like crazy any time you do.

So we have:

Sophie

Sophie is an obsessive ball chaser. She would love nothing more than to play with a tennis ball all. day. long. seriously. I think it is borderline (maybe not so borderline) OCD.

Cooper

What do I say about Cooper, he may be one of the most annoying dogs on the face of the planet. He weighs 90 lbs and thinks he is a lap dog. He barks non-stop and licks, licks, licks. When he is done drinking water he goes toward the nearest person (sometimes Sophie's head can substitute) licking the air until he can make skin contact. Sigh.

Breega

Like I said, Breega is spoiled rotten. I have already had at least one call per day per parent about her. They believe she cannot adjust to my lifestyle because she "hasn't been around dogs" and needs attention. Well, she is getting plenty of attention... from the dogs! Duh M & D!

We're having a great time so far. Breega is a very well behaved dog and very loving. I'm glad to have her here for awhile, even if it kind of feels like we are running a dog zoo. I was talking to my dad and contemplating taking her to the dog park but then we decided that we have our own dog park at home.

Sophie's Sad Face

Over Christmas my dog, Sophie, stayed at my parent's house. It was kind of a zoo, there were 6 dogs there. At some point Sophie got bit in the face and it started swelling and swelling more and more over the next couple days. I ended up having to take her to the vet and getting her on some antibiotics and she was fine. The funniest part was that they had to shave half her face and her bottom lip. Oh they joys of having a dog.

Sad Sophie pictures.

Blue like Jazz: Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality

Blue like Jazz is my favorite book. I usually come back to it when I am overwhelmed by my life and that is exactly where I've been at these last couple days. I come back to it again and again because I take something new away from it each and every time I read it. It always gives me what I need. I don't think I have ever said this about a book before, but the Author's Note is my favorite part of the book. It certainly isn't long but it is the part of the book that I get the most from almost every time I read the book. I read it over and over and just let myself be enveloped by it like a warm bubble bath absorbs you when you get into the bathtub.



Here is the Note:


I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Baghdad Theatre one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes and he never opened his eyes.

After that I liked jazz music.

Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.

I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened.

Lately, I have been wondering where my life is going, what do I want my life to be remembered for and what kind of person am I really? I can at times be selfless but more often than not I find myself being selfish. I find myself taking things personally when I know they are not meant to be personal attacks. And I really don't like that about myself. So. How do I change that? What do I have to work on about myself to get to where I want to be? This is why I came back to BLJ.

Yesterday should have been a great day but I found myself making it all about me and as a result missing out on some things that probably would've ended up a little differently had I given them a chance. On my way home I started crying in the car, something I very rarely do. So I called my friend Jenn. She let me cry and get out some of the frustrations I had been feeling over the last couple days. It was after her call that brought me back to reality just by letting me talk about it, that I was able to just let it all go and enjoy the rest of the night, which was a great night! We decorated our tree, took next year's Christmas card photo and had a fun night of dancing to the sugar plum fairy.

This is why I came back to Blue Like Jazz. This book makes me realize that things aren't always all about me, and aren't always what they seem. It teaches me to look a little deeper, try a bit harder, give up to God the things that hurt and sometimes to be upset when I need to be upset.

BLJ has a whimsical way to make you think about the serious things in your life. With Chapters called, Penguin Sex, the Sexy Carrots, and Meeting Girls is Easy, how could you not have fun reading it? However, the message in each of these chapters is far more self-reflective than he would lead you to believe. Donald Miller's writing style is effortless, it is like you are having a conversation with an old and familiar friend who is telling you his take on life, which is always more interesting than mine.

I look forward to reading it over the next couple nights and bringing my life back in focus which is always the result of reading this book. Please check it out, you won't be disappointed.