light at the end............

Well, after 4 weeks of travel for work the hubster is coming home on Saturday. I didn't know it was possible to miss someone so much. I have carried on just fine and accomplished a good deal of "stuff" while he was gone. But life just isn't the same. He's my best friend, the person I laugh with, share my day, my thoughts, my dreams with. He's the one I turn to when I am happy, sad, angry...........I know that I am lucky to be married to my best friend. I have girlfriends, don't get me wrong, and I love them dearly, it's just different with him. I guess because I share my life with him so completely.

I think this is the longest amount of time we have been apart in 12 years. We came close at 3 weeks when I was in Europe for work, but this is 4 and it's been way too long. He was only expecting to be gone less than two. Neither of us was prepared for him to be on this extended trip.

I have plenty to do that will keep me busy between now and then which is good. I really don't want to climb the walls for the next day and a half.

Switching completely, my little man is sleeping on the couch and he has to be running in his dreams. His little legs are just kicking like crazy. For those of you that remember me always talking about Caleb, he's our most skittish dog. The one that really doesn't know if trusting a human is a good idea. But in the four years we have had him he has made amazing progress.
He is so attached to us. He sticks to us closely and loves to be part of our family. He has even decided that snuggling with mom on the couch is ok. I can now get him to jump up into my lap. It's huge for him. He's become so loveable and playful. We get such a kick out of all the goofy things he likes to do. Every morning he and I play fetch. He's finally gotten to the point where he will bring the balls back to me so I can throw them again. He's gone from one messed up little dude to a total love sponge. It's awesome.

Lily is the other half of the adoption duo. And she is my princess. She's gotten to be so social and such a little love that our friend Kel has told us several times she plans to steal her. And to think when we got her she hid under the coffee table and barked non-stop at strangers. And if they got up and moved anywhere in the house she would charge them and try to bite their ankle. Yes, I am ashamed to admit, for a while there, I had an ankle biter. She has a small mouth, she can't really do any damage. And she never got more than pant cuff anyway. But those days are far behind her. Now she is social and loveable. Actually she has become something of an attention whore. She'll cuddle with anyone now a days.

Max and Sophie continue to be amazing dogs as well. Sophie is still the toddler that hubster and I adore. She makes us laugh so much. Not too long ago we imagined what she would be like if she was a human child. Weird, maybe, but it was the funniest conversation we have had in ages.
And when we told our friends about it they agreed 100%. They said that she would totally do those things.

Well, it's past my bedtime. Sadly, that is 10pm. Age will do that to you.

Today was my birthday and it was a good one.

WWC and Stuff

Thanks

Thanks Honey for the cool shoes!

Ok, this is probably not in the "spirit" of the intended words for WWC but you have to admit they are some sexy shoes :-)

ABUNDANCE
There is an abundance of love and cuteness in my house and I give THANKS for that every day.

(Ha! See, I can redeem my selfish "thanks")

Speaking of an abundance of Love in my house. My hubster sent me an email the other night.

It had a link to a video and lyrics to a song. We've been married 9 1/2 years and he still manages to take my breath away.

There's something that I can't quite explain

I'm so in love with you

You'll never take that away

And if I've said it a hundred times before

Expect a thousand more

You'll never take that away

So expect me to be

Calling you to see

If you're okay when I'm not around

Asking if you love me

I love the way you make it sound

Calling you to see

Do I try too hard to make you smile?

To make a smile

[Chorus]

I will keep calling you to see

If you're sleeping, are you dreaming

If you're dreaming, are you dreaming of me

I can't believe you actually picked me

I thought that the world had lost it's sway(It's so hard sometimes)

Then I fell in love with you(Then came you)

And you took that away

It's not so difficult

The world is not so difficult

You take away the old

Show me the new

And I feel like I can fly when I stand next to you

So while I'm on this phone

A hundred miles from home

I'll take the words you gave me and send them back to you

I only want to see

If you're okay when I'm not around

Asking if you love me

I love the way you make it sound

Calling you to see

Do I try too hard to make you smile?

To make a smile

Thursday Newt

Reason to love living in Minnesota #3:
The little towns that pop up on the lakes during winter. All the ice fishing huts erected on the lakes start to look like small villages.

Naughty Monkey of the day:




















Newt Photo of the day:
Looking up outside a church in downtown St. Augustine

Puppy Talk for the day:

Lily slept curled up in my lap last night for several hours. She usually doesn't stay that long. And if I stopped petting her she would look up at me sleepily, with eyes half closed, and stare at me till I started petting her again. Then the head would drop back down and the snoring would commence.

Newt on Entertainment:

Hubster and I watched Bladerunner last night. For a while the only version you could get was the "director's cut" which we didn't like. But now they have a DVD out that has the original theatrical release, the original international release, and the directors cut. Personally we loved the Harrison Ford voice overs.

Random Newt:

I listen to a lot of classical music. I am amazed at how many times Bugs Bunny cartoons run around in my head while I listen.

Wait..........What?............

The holidays are coming!

Holy crap!

The holidays are coming!

Where did the year go?

Anyone know?

Reason to love living in Minnesota #2:

Mama Maria's - best Italian food in the world. Ok, so it's in Wisconsin, but it's right across the river. It still counts. We got engaged there. We go there every year for our anniversary. And when Mom and Dad come to town they make that one of the must stop at places.

Naughty Monkey of the Day:

Newt Photo of the Day:

Puppy Talk for the Day:

We have to give our kitty Socs wet food. So every morning after I get his bowl ready I call in Caleb to lick the spoon clean. (He's our skinniest dog) This morning I turned around to call him into the kitchen and he was already standing right behind me waiting for his treat.

Newt on Entertainment:

I just started a new book. It's actually the 5th or 6th book in the Simon R. Green Deathstalker series. I love this author. His books are like putting on comfortable clothes.

I also got my co-worker hooked on Eureka. He and I were out in Dallas together to kick off training so each evening we sat down with a cold bottle of Shiner and watched an episode.

Random Newt:

This summer and fall I have had what I called my Daily Trifecta. First, in the morning while driving around an on-ramp there were these three Canada Geese always nibbling on grass. Their feathers would often reflect the colors of the rising sun and it was just a serene and beautiful scene. Secondly I would also see a turkey that I affectionately named Benny nibbling food by the side of the freeway. There are actually several wild turkeys that hang out together in that area but Benny had a broken feather that stuck out at the top of his back. So my buddy Benny was easy to spot every morning. And lastly, on the way home we had Young Hippie Surfer Dude hanging out at the freeway on-ramp holding up a sign that said "End the War" He was out there every night without fail. Holding up his sign, smiling and waving to all the cars that passed by. Wearing bermuda shorts, long sun bleached blond hair and wrap around sun glasses he looked so out of place for the prim and proper neighborhood he chose to express his views in. I adored him.

Alas, now that it is winter time my three friends are no longer around. They have gone elsewhere for the cold season. But I appreciate how much they would make me smile each and every day.

WWC and Some New Newt

WWC - courtesy of vacation in Florida:

Sunset from the Public lighthouse

Sunset from the Private country club

Ok, well, after a long and painfully lonely hiatus from blogging I have decided to start a-newt. I mean, there will still be WWC and plenty of puppy talk. But I want to add a few newt things.

Like, since it's winter, how about reasons I love Minnesota. Trust me folks, for the next umpteen months I NEED reasons to love living here. Or at least remind myself why I live here.

Ok, so

Reason to Love Living in Minnesota #1:

When I go grocery shopping during fall, winter, and spring my ice cream won't melt before I get it home.

I know you love the shoe pics but I can't always get a shot of my daily shoe choice. So, I have decided to have a little day dream section to cover my non-shoe days. I call it the

Naughty Monkey of the day:

Newt Photo of the day:

And here is a picture from my vacation in Florida:

Puppy Talk for the day: This morning Lily fell asleep in my lap while I was having my coffee and reading. She had her little head resting on my chest and she was just snoring away.

Newt on Entertainment:

Finally watched Spiderman 3. Wow, was that a slow moving movie. Not bad, just painfully slow.

Reading a book I found while killing time at the airport. It's called "The City of Dreaming Books" by Walter Moers. How have I never heard of this guy before? He's brilliant!

Random Newt:

I received this as an email:

I rescued a human today

author unknown

I rescued a human today.

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels.

I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.

I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.

I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today.

Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past.

I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.

She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.

I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.

Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.

A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well

Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.

I would promise to keep her safe.

I would promise to always be by her side.

I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.

I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to be saved.

At least I could save one.

I rescued a human today.

Happy Monday!

I finished Life of Pi. Good book. Didn't LOVE it. But it was an interesting tale. I don't regret reading it. Not at all. It just wasn't one of those life changing books.

But it deserves the hype and attention it has received. It is well written, creative, fascinating, and educational.

I started a book called The Nature of Monsters by Clare Clark. It was one of those impromptu purchases off the clearance rack at Barnes and Noble. I'll let ya know how it goes.

In other news, well, not a whole lot has been happening. The hubster and I had a nice weekend together. We went to Ikea for a meatball lunch. And went on a quest for a few new lawn ornaments since the builders broke a whole lot of mine last year when they fixed the garage. I love to find little creatures to hide under the plants we have growing. So as you look at all our flowers you'll notice a tiny frog, or a bird, or a turtle hidden amongst the growth. I'm not just all about the pink flamingo. I have a subtler side.

Well, after I get ready in the morning I have some time to have a cup of coffee and read a little. This is how I spent my morning: Lily makes life perfect.

Weekend Recap and a Welcome

Our very good friends from Milwaukee came to visit us on Wednesday. It was WONDERFUL to see them all again. D&K and their four girls ranging in age from 16-6.

The two oldest girls Mo and Mal stayed with us. And they are wonderful!

Mo and Mal accompanied me on my lunch with Nettie. And then we walked around downtown St. Paul for a while. Which was followed by a trip to the Mall of America. And boy did we have a great time.

We had a big get together for dinner Friday night and then Saturday everyone came to our house for breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and coffee cake. It was simply fabulous.

We have also discovered that Lily and Caleb have come a LONG LONG way. And they were SO good about having all the people in the house, and they were SO good with the little one that we know that D&K can stay with us the next time they visit. We only limited the number of people because we weren't sure how the puppies would do with a crowd and with a little one. But they were fantastic. So, good to know, we can have company!

And the BIG BIG news for my family: I am an Aunt! Ava Marlene was born on Friday. Isn't she beautiful????? I will have better pictures tomorrow. It was one of the funnier phone calls. My dad called in tears and all he choked out was "She's perfect" I think he also managed to tell me E was ok and he hung up. Only to call back about 10 minutes later: "Ok, let's try this again but with less emotion"

I love my dad. He's the proudest Grandpa ever.

Today it is snowing! We drove in to work in blizzard conditions. Oh goodie. What the heck happened to spring. This is SO wrong. So very very wrong. Sigh........................

Put on those BLue Suede Shoes and Listen for a change

So, be honest now, how many of you have had this kind of conversation?

Airport Security: "Oh, California eh? Nice to get out of the cold for a while.."

Newt: "It sure will be."

Airport Security: "Ok, well, you just need to keep out your boarding pass for the security line you can put your license away. Have a great flight."

Newt: "Yeah, you too."

I have become SO lazy in my listening skills. In my courtesy skills. And in putting some thought into what comes out of my mouth.

I hang my head in shame.

It's not a hard thing to do. Just slow down a bit. Actually listen. And actually put some thought into what we will say next.

Why don't I listen? I mean REALLY listen?

So, that folks is my new goal. I'm going to work on my listening skills. And I'm going to take an extra split second or three to formulate a truly polite and truly sincere courtesy response.

Cause right now, I'm a slacker and it's gotta stop.

***

OH OH OH - on a totally different topic.

We brought the girls home last night that will be staying with us. They walked into the house and got through the ENTIRE night without Caleb or Lily fear barking.

AND THEN - when their mom came to get them this morning there was complete silence in my house. Kelley actually got in the door. And even got to pet Lily. And not one peep, not one bark.

I can't begin to tell you how good that made me feel.

Puppies are making progress. Big progress. I was so proud of them I could've burst.

Chaos Reigns

The house that Newt built was turned on it's side yesterday. Ok, not literally but something new passed our threshold and let's just say that chaos is a mild description of our life right now.

Her name is Pearl. She's a 60+ pound black lab. She's well behaved, well trained, and sweet as pie.

My dogs are not. They are noisy, barky, territorial, and not well trained or well behaved.

I told my brother in law he was risking getting his dog "broken" but he brought her over anyway.

They put their house on the market today.

The hubster offered to house her while they try to sell their house.

So, she's trying to deal with all this strangeness. She's trying to cope with having four dogs barking at her, all of them capable of walking right under her.

She's trying to figure out what a cat is but they won't stick around long enough for her to find out. So they take off, and she gives chase.

As I said, chaos.

Before I head home I will take a couple or 10 of tylenol, I will grow some patience. And I will head into the house with a smile on my face. And if all goes well, no one will die tonight.

Ok, I kid. Honest. No dogs will die. Or cats for that matter.

We just need to adjust.

The following photograph is of Lily before her world got upended and Pearl came to stay.

So, I ask you, is she not the cutest puppy in the world????

Spring is here - NOT

So, I'm working from home today because we have snow. Blowing, gusting, falling snow. I tought I saw on the calendar that yesterday was the first day of spring. But someone forgot to mention that to Ol' Mother Nature.

So, needless to say my shoes are slippers and my company is dogs not co-workers.

If the weather gets better I'll be meeting Girl J later on today. But until then, I'll be working on some training materials and watching Dresden Files on DVD.

So first, the cute pictures, and then we'll follow it with some snow.

Before she flipped belly up they looked like a mirror image

Sleeping Beauty
Sophie being too cute
Awww mom, no more pictures.........
The snow is sticking to the screen

The front yard and houses across the street
Our backyard - snow is sticking to the power lines
Snow is sticking to the telephone pole out back in the alley
And snow is sticking to the neighbors fence - kinda pretty eh?

Photo Monday

The weekend was a quiet and relatively uneventful one. Went out with Girl J on Sunday. Helped us both get our minds off the sad stuff in life. Ok, so, my hubster being out of town isn't quite close to what she is dealing with, ok, not even in the same ballpark, but we are good therapy for each other.

The nice thing is that her son was given 2 weeks leave by the Army to come home and get his dad's funeral and estate taken care of. And I think she said the Red Cross helped to get him home.

One of the less pleasant parts of the weekend was the start of the annual spring poop scoop. Yuck! Every year I swear to myself I will go out with the dogs and pick up as it falls. But then as winter rolls around and it's 20 below I loose that urge to stay on top of things.

Oh well. Life goes on. And it only takes me a couple of weekends to get it all cleaned up. I can only get so much as not all the snow has melted and some of the ground is still too frozen.

This is what happens when I finally clean off a horizontal surface in my house:

And this is a lazy puppy enjoying the sun:

This is Lily doing her best superman impression:

And this is Lily with the waggly tail saying hello to Dad:

And this is Socs and Sophie having a snuggle:

Vomit and the price of bliss

Middle of the night Thursday:

2 am. A sleepy hubster and Newt suddenly come to the dawning realization that the weird noise is Sophie. And she's got the heaves. And she's about to throw something up that will probably not be pleasant. Bless the hubster for being awake enough to get her off the bed. Unfortunately, while trying to get her to a solid cleanable surface she tossed the cookies. Or should I say kibble. All over his shirt, the carpet, the stairs. So, he put her down in the kitchen and cleaned up the mess. He came back to bed snuggling our sick pup. But he was grumpy, oh was he grumpy. Not 10 minutes little baby girl was heaving again. So I took her back off the bed and more fluids came up all over my sweats and the floor.

"Cover your eyes honey"
"Groan"

So I got it cleaned up, grabbed my pillow and my book and headed down stairs.

And we camped out in the living room. She seemed to settle down and want to sleep. So this was good. But then, at 3:17 up comes more. And of course, like most animals she walked around as it came up. Under the coffee table, by the recliner, and then, my favorite place, right on the Christmas tree skirt and all over our stack of brand new dvd's.

Ok, the skirt is sort of hosed, it's going to be interesting cleaning up a felt skirt that has "spot clean only" instructions. And the DVD's were still covered in plastic. So that was good. But still, we have a whole lot of floor, why was under the tree so appealing?

Needless to say, Sophie and I were up most of the night. I gave up some time around 4 and read until it was time to get up, get the pups outside and feed the kitties. I worked from home Friday and she did great. I don't know what it was that got her but I think we are passed it.

*************

Every so often the coffee pot starts to poop out. And it's time to use the vinegar again. I sigh every time this happens. Because I can't shake the taste for several days. What makes the coffee pot such a remarkable invention is that when it brews your coffee it fills the house with that eye opening aroma. Unfortunately that same wafting effect also fills the room when you brew vinegar. And my eyes burn and my nose runs. And my skin feels icky.

I am not a fan of vinegar. I've never liked vinegar and oil. I can tolerate balsamic vinegar when it is dribbled in with a high quality olive oil and Parmesan cheese. But beyond that, vinegar is one of my least favorite kitchen smells. The only things that gross me out more are fish odors, cooking ground beef, and liver.

Friday I had to break down and clean the coffee pot. So all day I was coping with the vinegar smell. So, how do I try to get the smell out? I brew with that mornings used coffee grinds, then some old flavored coffee we have never finished, and then some cheap stuff we use on the weekdays. Usually after that I can brew a good cup of coffee and not gag.

It's life, I'll get over it. So many other things could be wrong. This one is no big deal. Really. But since I'm coping with the nose burning smells right this moment I had to share.

Its now Sunday ( I wrote this post on Friday) and I can still smell vinegar *sigh*

Monday Quickie

***Rockstar86 - if you are out there, say hello, email me! You left a nice note on my comments back in the summer but I don't know how to respond or get a hold of you.

***One more day. Just one more! And then I have a short couple of days off before the big new job! Which, by the way, I will officially announce the new digs: SAP Training Specialist for a medical device company in the TwinCities. I am SOOOO excited. I am leaving sales and joining the IT geek world. And I think it's where I belong.

PROJECT GOALS:
***I completed one project this weekend. A table runner that is sized to our coffee table. This is not an old project but it was still a project. And now I have a padded cover for the table. One of the pets managed to put some nice scratches in it. And its one of my favorite pieces of furniture in the house so I wanted to protect it better.

***Now on to a more long term buried project. Small cross-stitch I was going to make for a friend. I will start working on it again tonight. And I hope to have it done by end of October.

***Caleb made a big puppy progress this weekend. Two of them. First was the fact that it was raining on Sunday morning. I decided to capture the puppies the easy way and as they came in the back door I wiped their paws. Normally we let them all into the kitchen and then wipe their paws. If I do this at the door method Caleb never comes in the house. He stands in the yard and shakes. He won't come inside. But Sunday, for the first time ever he pushed his way through the door, let me wipe him off, and then happily trotted off into the house. His second HUGE moment came when I got up from my chair in the living room. Caleb and Lily were curled up in little puppy balls on the couch. Up until Sunday Caleb would have looked at me wearily, gotten up and went somewhere else for fear of me crossing his path. But yesterday he stayed in his puppy ball. And I leaned down and I got to pet both him and Lily. He even wanted belly rubs. This was huge. A huge moment for him. He never lets us approach him for love. He always does the approaching.

That's it, have a great day!!!!

Don't forget WWC tomorrow - Home and Autumn

Happy Doggiversary

One year ago today we brought you angels home.

And every day since then has been filled with joy and laughter. With progress and landmark moments.

You came to us as two puppies that wouldn't leave the safety of your kennel. You wouldn't let us touch you or come near you.

Now you leap into our laps. You paw at us for pets. You nudge us with your noses.

When we come home you are a fury of furry dancing paws, panting happy faces, and a frantic need to be touched and loved.

When we leave you sit at the door and wait for us to return.

You are our babies, you are our happiness.

WWC + Bonus Photographs

Common

Rare

Sleeping Babies

Sleeping Angel

Lily Licks
Crashed guest pet Lucy
Lucy saying Hello!
Max crashed

Thunder and Lily

Lily knows when a thunder clap is going to hit. We figured this out last night after she charged across the living room, dove under my chair and hid behind my feet. And then KABOOM!
We were rather impressed.

We couldn't figure out why she was having such a frantic scramble to get herself as hidden as possible. But then the thunder hit and it made perfect sense. We just didn't' realize she could hear it coming.

Here are a few pictures, I am not thrilled with the moon pictures but it was such a beutiful cloudy moon that I tried to at least capture the feel of it. And a few of my cuties.