Good, bad, ugly: round 2

I'm linking up with Kate and Kati again for the good, the bad, and the ugly of your weekend...and boy, do I have an ugly to share.

Good: I enjoyed the time change this weekend by cleaning up the patio and giving it a little face life. I also worked on plans and details for my graduation party which is in about three months and worked on training the puppy a little more. He really is intelligent and picks up on things so quickly. This practice included coming when called outside while not on leash. He did very well and it was super cute to see him tip-toe around our pollen covered driveway. Clearly, he is a little prince and cannot get his paws dirty.

Bad: Thanks to the ordeal I am about to explain that occurred this weekend, I was not as productive as I hoped to be. I will be busy this week with the presentations I have to finish for use at the middle school. I now have 3 to-do lists and one is just for today!

Ugly: A snake found it's way into my home Sunday evening. It was very much UNINVITED. I have never been more terrified than the moment I heard a noise unlike anything I had ever heard before, and turned to see my furbaby face-to-face with a snake. Granted, it was small (1.5-2 feet) but my mind instantly flipped on to anxious, I started screaming "get the dog, get the dog!" and then "Mom, stay away!" My mother is EXTREMELY terrified of snakes, I'm talking refuses to bring the newspaper into the house if she knows there is a picture of a snake somewhere in it. So, she hears my screaming and fears something is wrong with the dog and I'm telling her not to come because I'm worried and don't want her to see him injured, or whatever else. So she comes running and sees it and jumps right onto a dining room chair. My brother ushers the dog into his room and shuts his door to keep him away. So, the dog is scratching at the door and the 3 of us are just staring this thing down. I'm shaking/crying/half laughing because I don't know what to do. I wheel myself (in my desk chair) over to my bed, because even though the thing is nearly 10 feet away from me, I refuse to let my feet touch the ground. Mom brings a broom. So I'm standing on my bed reaching as far as I can with the broom to block it from coming further into my room as it's slipped out from under the two towels my brother threw on it and is partially wedged under my door. Meanwhile, the thought that comes to my mind is to get an empty storage bin from our garage, which has a lid, and we can sweep it into that, trap it with the lid, and carry it outside, but all I can put into words is "Get the Tupperware from the garage!" My family members are yelling at me cause they think this is the dumbest thing I have ever said. Finally, we encouraged my mother to get off the chair she was standing on to run down our road and find a neighbor who can help us get it out. All of this going on at 8 pm. She returned with our lawn guy and his son, who are also both terrified of them, and they managed to remove it from our house. The whole ordeal should have been video taped because it would have made for a winning entry into America's Funniest Home Videos.

Needless to say, I was only able to sleep about 5 hours last night, and now with three to-do lists each a mile long, I am having a rough start to my week. In case you considered, I do not recommend Googling anything snake-related in order to reassure yourself right before you fall asleep, because you will not be calmed by some things you read.


Hope everyone's week is off to a better start than mine. What was the best part of your weekend?

My kind of link-up: dogs are babies too

In the past two days I have started following quite a few blogs. I am really trying to get out there and meet people in "blogville" since I want this school assignment turned personal project to be a big deal. I was reading Kadi's latest post on her blog Sheer Serendipity  and I am so glad I did because she shared a link-up today with Laura, Kate and Kara titled Dogs Are Babies Too! I have to participate in this.

Below is the link if you want to join in on the fun and share about your fur baby. You don't have to have a dog, any pet will work.

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit but I think I take the cake when it comes to a babied pooch.

The guidelines according to Laura are: "Dogs are Babies Too: Tell me a story when you shamelessly babied your canine at great expense and/or effort." Think: overpriced doggie clothes, carrying a tired pup home during a walk, taking a sick day to be with him/her, that sort of thing."



I do not have just one story to share because life with my dog has been one big adventure and is comprised of a gazillion stories. Buster is the love of my life. My little furbaby just turned 2 years old a couple of weeks ago, and yes, he received birthday presents. A week before his birthday he also received a Valentine present. On Christmas, he had as many presents to open as my mom, my brother, and I did. To put it in simple terms, he is spoiled rotten! When people, especially my students, ask if I have children, my response is "yes, and he is covered in fur." I often look at Buster and wonder what he really is because to me, he is not a dog, he is a person covered in fur that walks around on four legs. He is my doggy soul mate.

First day with Buster and his car ride home!

I sometimes try to remember what life was like before Buster and it's hard to imagine. What did I spend my time doing? I literally cannot recall. Where did my money go? I spent most of it on me, but now most of it goes to his expenses such as food, toys, and doggy daycare.

Report card from doggy daycare

YES, I take him to doggy daycare at a wonderful place called The Dog Resort. He gets to play with his friends which is much better for him and me. Today, he was left at home during the time between my brother leaving for work and me returning home from my internship. Somehow, his foot tall, 9.5 lb self managed to get a loaf of bread off the kitchen counter and ripped the bag and bread to shreds. Buster has major separation anxiety since the first day we brought him home and cries even when he is left alone in the house for less than two minutes. So, shamelessly, I will send him to doggy daycare where he can be entertained and socialize with other dogs instead of rip our house, or what he hasn't yet ripped of our house, to pieces. A second round of training is on my to-do soon list when I have the time because I know my little baby needs some help.

"I wanna drive, Mom"

So, how did Buster come into my life? After I graduated from college in 2010, I begged my mother for a puppy. We had a family dog when I was younger and we had to give him away when I was in high school, after my father passed away, because we were unable to continue to care for him at that time. I always wanted to get another dog when the time was right. After I moved home and started working on my Masters degree, I felt that the time was better than ever for us to get a dog. Finally, after much begging and pleading on my part (I'll admit I was a little dramatic) we searched for the new member of our family. With my brother's allergies, a hypoallergenic dog was necessary. I really wanted a Yorkie but somehow my mom came across an ad online for a Morkie - a Maltese and Yorkie mix - and we contacted the person who was running the ad. We received pictures by email and fell in love with these cute little balls of fur. We had a male dog before so that is what we wanted to get this time around too. On Easter day in 2011, we went to "just look" at the male puppies from one litter. I knew going into it there was no "just looking" about it because we left that day saying "We want him" and thinking of possible names on the car ride home.

I choose this one!

 I am so lucky and thankful to have my little Buster. He certainly knows how to brighten my day. He is super goofy and very intelligent. He knows a handful or more of tricks and learned how to roll over in 30 minutes. He has 2 dog beds, a large wardrobe of clothes, at least 30 toys (though not all are in use because many have holes that need to be repaired) and is loved by my entire family and his doggy daycare family. I am more than happy to spoil my dog child because he has brought so much happiness to my life.


Enjoy these last few pictures $

This picture is enough proof that he is spoiled!

Snuggles with Mommy are the best, especially when you can just put your feet up

Happy and loved

Soul mate

I might be biased, but it doesn't get much cuter than that!

Happy Valentines Day!

I wrote this post a few days ago and made edits each day with all intentions of actually posting it on Valentine's Day. However, yesterday was one of the toughest internship days I have had and I ended up going to bed at 9:30 after falling asleep watching tv for a while.

Today will be a better day...

So, happy (belated) Valentines Day! I confess to being a total girl and loving this holiday, even though I have been single for it the past two years.


In honor of Valentines Day, I had my nails painted red in CND Shellac Wildfire.  I LOVE Shellac! For years and years I was a paint-my-nails-every-other-day type of person. I truly appreciate getting my nails done as a treat to myself every two weeks and not having to worry about chipping or ruining my mani when I am on the go. CND Shellac has over 30 colors in their line plus the company, and some nail techs, have come up with additional layering colors in which a single layer of one Shellac color marries with a single layer of another Shellac color to create an entirely new color! For example, I once layered a translucent white color with black to create a sparkly navy nail color. Anyways, the red nails really put me in the spirit for the holiday and I went into Valentines theme mode and bought bags of candy and planned girly outfits full of pink/red/purple.In addition to spirited nails, I wore heart covered socks most of the week. I once read that wearing socks at night helps for circulation and since reading that I have worn socks to bed every night of my life. I found this particular pair at Target and picked up a few more for $1.50 each. Occasionally they are on sale for $1 each so I scoop up a few more pairs at that time. I find that colored socks make life more interesting :)