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Labels: Happy Birthday Tas

And for your viewing pleasure, here's what happens in our house when the Vizsla brood comes over to play and it's treat time.
Riveting, isn't it! That's Tas, Rezi and their son, Gabby, trying to sit pretty for a treat.

On a side note - my wonderful husband just brought me home a Triple Chocolate Dream Milk Quake from Krystal's. Yes, I said Krystal's. He's a huge fan. I'm not, but that's what I get for not cooking dinner. I am, however, a huge fan of anything with the word chocolate. And I must say it's pretty yummy. Thank you, and I'll have another!

Totally just negated the hour of working out I did tonight. Oh well...there's always tomorrow.

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Labels: Vizsla's

Most of our friends are currently blogging about rugrats. Unfortunately, we're not quite there yet...give us a few more months! (Yes Mom, I said months...not years! Mom wants us to wait a year or so. We don't...) BUT...we can blog about rugs...and rats. Hopefully not really rats, but you never know! Sometimes I do forget to clean house! Cats you say?...yes, I can mention cats. We have one. Or at least he thinks he's a cat...

This is our 'cat' climbing on the back of our couch with his night vision goggles on. Then he decided to get comfy...

He's a weirdo. But we love him, and currently he is the rugrat/rat/cat that we have to blog about.

While Tas was climbing the furniture last night, I was 'Nesting.' No, not 'nesting' in the sense that I'm getting ready for baby (I wish!), but instead nesting in the sense that I'm constantly trying to make our house stay in touch with reality. For a while, our reality has been having our computer on an end table that we had no where else to put. So it became our computer desk. But come November, we'll have a new computer desk (it's on backorder) and a rug (the red one!) to boot!

Though they no longer have the little ottoman chair, so we'll have to stand. But at least we'll be standing on a pretty red rug!

See! We can blog about rugrats. Just not in the usual sense!

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Labels: Nesting Rugrats

This week's been a little hectic...I'm sure glad it's over! At least for me it is. O still has one more day. One day this week (it was so hectic I can't remember what day) I was eating a Laughing Cow mini cheese while driving. You know, the kind wrapped in the red wax. We heart them.

So I was on my way back to work from lunch, and I was snacking on one. When I got done, I inadvertently placed the red ball of wax in the little cubby thing in my car door.

Alabama in August is hot. Heat melts wax. I'm not the brightest! So on my way to lunch the next day, I noticed that there was something gooey stuck in my little cubby (I know it's not called that, but I can't think of what it's called!).

While sitting at a traffic light, waiting for the light to change, I decided to dig out as much of the wax as I could before Owen saw it.

As I was sitting there, minding my own waxy business, the lady behind me decided she wanted to play bumper cars. I wasn't in the mood, so I decided not to play along. Luckily she didn't bump me into the car in front of me, but she gave me a nice little tap. Being on Lorna Road, the HPD was near, so there was a Hoover PM there in two shakes of a lambs tail. A lazy policeman at that (I can say that b/c I married one!) He told us that if we could work it out ourselves, he wouldn't need to write a report.

Well, even though I'm married to the po-lice, I'm not too bright when it comes to all the rules. So I got the lady's insurance agent's name/number, and her name/number and we were on our way. I called O to share in my adventures, and he informed me that without a police report, you can't file an insurance claim. Yes, I know - I'm an insurance agent too (well I have my agent's license, I just don't practice)...I should know these things!

But the good news is, that upon examination when I got home, Owen determined that there was no damage done. All's well that end's well!

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Labels: Bad Week

Many of you have been introduced, or at least know of Tas, our Hungarian Vizsla. But just in case you aren't familiar..."Everyone, this is Piszkei Bator-Rendor Tas (Tas for short). Tas, this is everyone."

Ok, now that we have that out of the way. Tas is not just a dog. He's a Vizsla. He's not a rare-breed per se...in fact, they've become more popular in the States these days. But not really much in Alabama. We fell in love with the Vizsla breed after our friend Gray (see below) adopted his Vizsla, Rezi.

This is Gray and Rezi (guess who's who)

So we found a breeder from Hungary, yada yada yada...8 weeks later we picked up Tas at the Atlanta airport. So he's a true full blooded Hungarian Vizsla - every member of his little doggie family is Hungarian. Rezi is as well. Though she is first generation American, she speaks no English.

Vizsla's are like little humans. They have their own facial expressions, they make their own special "wookie" noises and they truly understand what you mean when you talk to them. Really! I'm serious!! They really do. I know you might say other dogs do this to, but trust me. Vizsla's are their own breed - no pun intended (well, maybe a little!).

Anyway, my point in this is to tell you about Tas' sleeping habits. He sleeps pretty much where ever there is a comfy spot - on the bed, on the couch, in the car...doesn't matter. And he sleeps on his back, with all 4 paws up in the air. He'll sleep like that all night long. Well last night, while Owen and I were enjoying our '1 month anniversary' dinner of Raisin Bran (for me) and a leftover Chipotle Burrito (for O), Tas decided he was tired.

There was no room on the couch we were on, so he jumped up onto the love seat. There wasn't much room there either, as Owen had folded some towels and put them on the love seat (yes, he's a bit domesticated!). But Tas made room...and fell fast asleep...

Please excuse his lack of modesty (and the blurry picture). So this is how he fell asleep. And as he got more comfortable, he rolled around a bit...

And eventually, all you could see was his nose...

He stayed like this for a few hours, before he got hot and had a sort of doggie panic attack and the towels went flying. And of course at that point I was asleep on the couch, without my camera handy.

And for those of you clean freaks like me, while those towels looked clean, they were not. I had put them in the wash...umm...I really don't know when...and forgot about them. Owen found them when he went to wash some shorts, and thought he'd be nice and put them in the dryer for me and then folded them. While folding them, he realized how rancid they smelled since they were left in the wash for who knows how long! So I didn't mind MoMo rolling all over them. I washed them in HOT HOT water this morning and they are clean again!

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Labels: Tas

Well it took me all day, but I got all of our gifts put away!! Now we have our "girl" guest bedroom back, along with our downstairs kitchen! You can actually see the floor! Now if trash day would hurry up and get here. Anyone need any boxes??

Tomorrow I just have to take back a few duplicate gifts (Crock Pots mostly!) and then the gifts will be taken care of. One month after our wedding isn't so bad, is it?

Now if I could only finish the thank you notes. I think now that the gifts are actually put away, it'll give me more incentive to write them. I hope! Either that or I'll forget about them!

Update - the "Crockery Cooking" recipe for Beef and Chipotle Burritos turned out to be a winner. Gray and Lee came over to be judges. And all 3 guys said it was definitely something to make again. Although I wouldn't put the 2 cans of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce - just use one. It was hot enough!!

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Labels: Mission Accomplished

This weekend I've really been working on getting our wedding gifts put away while I'm working on the 173 thank you notes I have to write. On a side note, if you or anyone you know is getting married anytime (ever), please take my advice. When you receive a gift, write a thank you note THAT DAY, and remember to PUT IT IN THE MAIL!!! In the beginning, I wrote some of the notes immediately, but I put in them - "can't wait to see you at the wedding!" - but then I forgot to mail them. So now I'm re-writing lots of them! Yes, I received that advice, but I chose not to listen...and now I'm paying for it!!

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Labels: Crockery Cooking

Since everyone has been asking us how are honeymoon went, I think it's appropriate to share our experience! We went to Hermitage Bay in Antigua. It's pronounced An-ti-GA...not An-ti-gwa. We were corrected many times while we were there. Something about it used to be pronounced An-ti-gwa, but then someone took over control of the island and they changed the name to be pronounced An-ti-Ga. It seemed like an important distinction to the locals, so we've started saying it differently.

Anyway - having both been to tropical islands before (O to the Caymans and me to St. John), we sort of knew what to expect, but I must say, we were not expecting the service we received from the staff at Hermitage. But first, let me warn you about flying to Antigua...

Apparently Delta has a straight flight from Atlanta to Antigua. But you have to fly on some obscure day, like a Tuesday, and I'm sure the times are limited. I wish we would've known that, because the flights were the only bad thing about our trip. Our trip there took 14 hours. 6 of them were spent in the San Juan airport. There's not much to do there. In case you're wondering. Owen read 3 books, I watched "27 Dresses" on my ipod, and we slept, played video games in the arcade (yes...there was an arcade). The trip back wasn't as bad. I think our layover in San Juan was only 2 or 3 hours. That was manageable. So if you go to Antigua and you leave from Atlanta, go on the obscure Tuesday at the odd time. You'll thank me later!

When we finally arrived in Antigua (at 10:30p) with a plane full of Sandals patrons, we were greeted by a lady dressed in a cute white with turquoise blue trim pants suit. She had a cold washcloth for us - to wipe off all the grime we acquired in the San Juan airport I guess - and a bottle of water. Everyone else was looking at us like...hey, where's our rag and water?!?! Apparently Sandals just loads you onto a bus with 800 other sweaty travelers. No thanks!

We were then escorted to a white Suburban, which Denley, our personal chauffeur, drove us to the resort. Antigua is a very poor island. And at night, it's rather scary looking. Especially when you drive by a giant sign that reads: "Rapist Information Center. If you have any information about THE RAPIST please contact xxx-xxx-xxx" That was a little disturbing. But we figured since there was only one, between the two of us, we could take him. As long as it wasn't Denley.

So we arrive at the resort and are escorted to the front desk...

I was confused because we were still outside. But we quickly checked in, and were escorted up a giant hill to our private cottage. Suite 32. It was probably a half mile hike straight up a hill. But once we got there, it was so worth the hike.

The first door of the cabin led you to the private plunge pool, sun deck and covered porch. Through another door was the air conditioned bedroom. Then through another door was the (non-a/c) bathroom - but it felt surprisingly good even though it was not air conditioned; and yet another door takes you to the outdoor shower - which you cannot use if it's windy. But there's a giant bathtub for that. It was a pretty big cabin. Waiting for us in our cabin (remember it was 11p by this point) was a plate of meats, fish, cheese and crackers....and a big bottle of Bubbly. Which we happily ate and drank all of before heading off to bed.

The next morning, we woke to this view...

For the next 6 days, we woke to this view, sometimes after lying in bed listening to the rain on our tin roof - and 5 minutes later it would look like this.

We would go down to breakfast (served from 6a to 10:30) and eat Antiguan Cinnamon Cashew Sandwich (fancy french toast) with Black Pineapples or Eggs Benedict with Potato Chop Up. There was fresh juice daily...stuff like watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple juice. All mixed together, totally fresh with no water added. It was like they took each one of those fruits and smashed them with a mortar & pestle. It was fabulous! Makes me want to buy one of those Ronco Juicers you see on infomercials in the middle of the night.

After breakfast we went to either the beach or pool every day. One day we went into St. Johns (the Capital) for some shopping and local entertainment...

She was dancing with the pineapple on her head for money. I think drugs are legal there.

One day we had a picnic on a private beach. Devon (the water sports guy) took us in his little boat over to "Queen's Beach." It is a beach that the Queen stopped at for a swim in the 1950's. It's very secluded, so that no one could watch her swim. Antigua is said to have 365 beaches. And we'd believe that. On the other side of Queen's Beach was another small beach that we walked over to.

Another day Devon took us on a tour of the side of the island that we were on. We went to Jolly Harbour and witnessed a sail boat race. The B-Mobile (local island cell phone company) boat won.

Lunch consisted of an appetizer (Owen got meat on a stick with excellent sauce almost every day), soup - which was totally smooth, but you could taste each ingredient perfectly. One day I had chilled watermelon and tarragon soup. One day it was cauliflower, sweet potato and plantain soup. Ahh...I can taste it now! Fabulous! And that's not even the main course of lunch. The best main course was the Deep Fried Sandwich. It was like a deluxe club sandwich, with breakfast ham, chicken, bacon, turkey and cheese. Battered and deep fried. Mmmm...heart attack on a stick, but we got it at least twice while we were there. After lunch we would go back to the beach or pool, where we were greeted with a drink as soon as we got comfortable. From 3-4:30 there was afternoon tea. Our new friends from south England (Waymouth) informed us that it's a giant misconception that the British have tea every afternoon. But I'll tell ya, after having our tea and mini sandwiches every afternoon, we came home and bought some! Owen liked the Earl Grey...me the Peppermint. After tea and more sun, we'd go to the room to the private plunge pool to watch the sunset. Often with our afternoon Mojitos...

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Labels: Honeymoon

At our Tool and Gadget Shower, Owen got an awesome Black & Decker cordless hedge trimmer...

Today he used it for the first time on the massive bushes we have in our front yard. If you've seen our house, you'll know that our yard is a work in progress. We've spent so much time on the inside, that we have neglected the outside. Slowly but surely, it's coming together.

So thanks a bunch for the hedge trimmer, Mom. It's one giant leap in the direction of our lawn becoming something less of an eye sore.

I on the other hand, am stuck inside with this mess...

This would be our laundry that I did the Tuesday we got back from our honeymoon. Rosie (my Jetson's robot) has taken the week off...

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So up until the wedding, mom and I went to get our nails done practically every Saturday. It became a rather expensive habit!! Today we began a much cheaper habit, and went to a Yogalates class at the Y.

Yogalates and coffee...do not mix. Apparently yogalates (a mix between yoga and pilates) is supposed to be very calming and relaxing. If you have 2 cups of Godiva coffee before hand, you're likely to not be very relaxed and calm.

Also, it was a very difficult class, don't get me wrong...but I was extremely BORED during it. We would hold poses for what seems like an eternity, and if I didn't collapse from my shaking muscles, by the time I got to the next pose, I was thinking..."Geez...when is this going to end! I'm bored!" At one point we were laying on the mat, relaxing, and I seriously thought the instructor had gone to sleep. I kept lifting up to see why it was so quiet and we weren't doing anything!

Of course now my body feels like a bowl of jello, and I won't be able to move in the morning. But I think next week I'll go to the class sans coffee and see if that helps.

Owen is working right now (6a to 6p) ...I have a plan to have the house clean and get some gifts put away before he gets home tonight. I had that plan last weekend too, and you see where it got me. Absolutely no where!!

Enjoy your Saturday!

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Labels: Yogalates

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Labels: Beyond the Wall

Ok, so tomorrow Owen and I will have been married for a whole 3 weeks! (Exciting, isn't it!) I decided it's high time I get to blogging, so you can know every little thing about our lives. That's what this is for, right...to share everything that's going on with us?? Because I know you're all just dying to know what we had for breakfast (Special K for O and a banana for me)...and that I killed our computer the other day because I forgot to turn off all the lights before running the microwave (more on that later) ....interesting stuff, right?

Well...good. Cause that's what's about to happen here! I figure I can let you in on our daily happenings. Well, maybe not daily. I doubt we're that interesting. But maybe every few days. Or weeks. I'm not sure. Or I could do this one post and then totally fizzle out on the whole blogging thing and never post again. Keeps you on the edge of your seat, doesn't it?

"Could be lunchmeat, could be peaches...who knows?! The point is this: even though it's free, don't mean it's no good. Am I right, Princess? *You're right, sugar. *Did I tell you we'd live like kings or what? * You sure did!" (Name that movie).

Stay tuned for more movie trivia and interesting facts about our microwave. You never know what you'll learn!

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Labels: Look Who's Blogging