Puppies!

Ok, not tiny puppies per se, but puppies nonetheless! We had visitors last weekend... Piper and Titan (oh, and my sister!!!).

Sloppy puppies are not allowed to slurp and drip water all over my floor, this was our compromise... puppy fountain!
Belle was ALL kinds of excited that her best friend Titan was coming! I don't know WHAT is up with her ears but this was too funny not to post!

She would RUN downstairs in the mornings to see if Titan was still here! Wonder how long I can use him to get her out of bed in the mornings? She is one lazy girl!

Circus Puppy - LIVE!

One morning last week my big girl was WILD at 7am and it was so random that I stopped getting ready for a while to play with her. She was being so funny that I decided to take advantage of her early morning flip out.

Hoop jumping!!! (Arms, hoop...same thing!)

This is HUGE for her because we had to quit agility due to her fear of going through the hoops. She is really fast and can jump high so I was really bummed that we had to stop - now I'm thinking about trying it again because she can clearly do it - and she loves it!

She is the BEST circus puppy EVER!

(Did anyone else watch the Duggars tonight? I hope Josie can come home soon - she's been in the hospital for months!)

Veteran's Day

Happy veteran's day!

Enjoy the sweetness... (click)

My Dog Nola

Did you know that Nola Belle has her own blog??? She does... and she won a very cute collar she'd like to share with you!

Check it out!

We're going to try and update her blog a little more frequently. Be sure to add her to your reader because you won't want to miss out on all she has to say!

Happy Birthday Sister!

Sister had her eyes closed in the picture of her with the cake and I'd never hear the end of it if I posted that picture so... the most adorable Baskin Robbins cake ever made...

Is Bells not the cutest child ever?!

Oh! There's her cuteness again... hands down she is the best dog ever. If only I could snap my fingers and turn her into a human child. Sweet Nola Belle. LOVE HER!!!

...and then, there's this beast. She had surgery yesterday. I think I woud like her better if she was always doped up on pain meds. Poor little humongous Cady.

Happy Birthday SISTER!!!

The Watermelon and the beast

Last weekend, this BEAST invaded my house....

Some people call her Kaidy, but it's clear she's a beast.

She came so my sister could man the MAGDRL tent at the Watermelon fest...

I stopped by to visit the tent and met up with my friend M (no judging the camo neck tie, it's a cooling thing that was absolutely necessary in the 100-degree heat; and my [Jim's] purchase helped save the dogs] ...

...but most of the day entailed babysitting the other beast (Titan). He and Bells had a very FUN day and ended up like this until evening.

Fun was had by all... and thankfully, no home items were destroyed by Kaidy beast. I only wish I could say the same for the toy Titan managed to rip apart during some part of the day. Sigh...

Thank You Loyal Biscuit!!!

Dear Loyal Biscuit - (and Lauren and Orli and Eider and all of our Maine friends!) - thank you SO much for my wizzle! I was SO excited when I helped check the mailbox and saw a piece of mail just for me! It smelled so good I could hardly wait to open it...

Mom made me wait and it was so hard to sit still because I was soooo excited!

The first bite is always the best!

Thank you for my special treat!!! I loved it so, so much!!! We wish we could shop online because we live so far away. Maybe one day we can come and visit.

Thanks again, my tummy felt so much better after my wizzle!!!

Love, Nola Belle

Check out Loyal Biscuit!

"Say cheese... or kibble!"

A couple months ago Nola, Titan, and Roxy had a photo shoot with Brittany Wright. She's a local photog working on a book that features rescue dogs and she's been collecting stories and photos of dogs in our area. She was SO awesome and we got some great shots of the pups. Nola was super nervous and had her freak-out face on most of the time but towards the end of the afternoon she started to settle. If helped that B-dub brought a bag of kibble treats. I caught sly Belly with her head in the bag a few too many times!!!

Best picture of Roxy.... ever.

Belly's nervous smile, but a smile no less!

Brittany (we call her B-dub to differentiate between the Britts since they spell their names the same way and have the same last name initial) is still in need of rescue dogs for her book project. If you're local -- check out her site, she has a blog too!

If you're not local but are interested in having your dog featured in her book, still contact her! We think she's pretty awesome and D and I have already booked her for engagement pics.... we're hoping she'll be able to shoot the wedding next year too!

Oh! Be sure to ask her about her dog Scarlett, she might sing a song for you! (Tony! Toni! Tone! 'nuff said.)

Also be sure to check out MyleStone Gallery that she and her sister run -- they have some incredibly neat finds that are mostly local and/or handmade. I bought a bracelet and a soy candle when I was last there and feel the need to stop back by and check out the new stuff!

Nature Girl, the Warthog, and the Hyena

My sister and her dogs came for a sleep over this weekend... we had SO much fun! Saturday we decided to take the dogs out for a short hike since the weather was great and we needed some pictures.

Blogger is being difficult tonight so only a few pictures uploaded and for some reason I can't change their order, grr!!!
Titan really didn't die. But he was SO tired! Neither he nor Roxy (aka Fluffy, aka Leigh Ann, aka the Hyena) are used to much exercise so they were completely worn out by the afternoon!

I know it sounds crazy, but Nola really seemed excited to have Titan and Roxy at the park with her. She always gets excited about going but she was super pumped this time!

Is Nature Girl not the cutest? I picked on her the entire morning but we had a fun time. I LOVE this picture of her with Roxy!

...will try to post more pics tomorrow.

Random Friday

If you invite me to your house, and we plan to eat, this is what I'm bringing. YUM....

Aside from sewing 20 or so bags this weekend, I plan to play with this baby! Scott let me borrow one of his monster pro cameras to take some pics of the pups...

...and so of course I had to play around with it tonight. The lighting was awful so 'scuse that, but I'm diggin' the twiga crown. I'm sure there will be LOTS of fun pictures tomorrow!!!

Britt is bringing Titan and Roxy and they're all going to be here for a sleepover tomorrow - it's going to be GOOD times!!!

Best of Craigslist

Please help! After two long years of being on a waiting list for a dog, we have been notified by breed rescue that, at long last, our number has come up and ... WE ARE HAVING A PUPPY!

We must get rid of our children IMMEDIATELY because we just know how time consuming our new little puppy is going to be and it just wouldn't be fair to the children.

Since our little puppy will be arriving on Monday we MUST place the children up for adoption this weekend!

They are described as: One male -- his name is Tommy, Caucasian (English/Irish mix), light blonde hair, blue eyes. Four years old. Excellent disposition. He doesn't bite. Temperament tested. Does have problems with peeing directly in the toilet. Has had chicken Pox and is current on all shots. Tonsils have already been removed. Tommy eats everything, is very clean, house trained and gets along well with others. Does not run with scissors and with a little training he should be able to read soon.

One female -- her name is Lexie, Caucasian (English/Irish mix), strawberry blonde hair, green eyes quite freckled. Two years old. Can be surly at times. Non-biter, thumb sucker. Has been temperament tested but needs a little attitude adjusting occasionally. She is current on all shots, tonsils out, and is very healthy and can be affectionate. Gets along well with other little girls and little boys but does not like to share her toys and therefore would do best in a one child household. She is a very quick learner and is currently working on her house training. Shouldn't take long at all.

We really do LOVE our children so much and want to do what's right for them. That is why we contacted a rescue group. But we simply can no longer keep them. Also, we are afraid that they may hurt our new puppy.

I hope you understand that ours is a UNIQUE situation and we have a real emergency here! They MUST be placed into your rescue by Sunday night at the latest or we will be forced to drop them off at the orphanage or along some dark, country road. Our priority now has to be our new puppy.

ht: Allyson... (Nola's boyfriend's mom)

...It's Tuesday...

Some things...

-Tshirt project is going rocky... I went by today to spread some sparkle news and check in on arrival and they'd not been ordered because I changed the quantity and they forgot what the new number was. Boo. Delay on that for another week. (I will talk to my partner in crime and see if we can reveal the design though!)

-D's interview was cancelled on Thursday b/c one of the interviewers can't make it. He was planning to have a phone interview. When they let him know about the cancellation they said "oh, maybe now you can come in person." Bleh. Ok. So he's flying down to VA on Sunday, has an afternoon interview the following day the will fly back up to Boston Monday evening. What a tiring trip. Poor Chandler.

-My sister is coming to spend the night on Saturday and my friend S from work is going to let us use his awesome camera to take some puppy pics. Can't wait to for that!!! Speaking of... I have cool puppy pics to share, gotta check with our photog to see how to go about doing that. BW-T, if you're reading this, check your email! :)

-Got bunches more fabric in yesterday. I love fabric days! They are all so pretty!!!

-I've finally set up my Etsy shop! Will wait to post the link b/c there's one test picture up right now.... I'm hoping B can help me get some bags made this weekend so I'll have more to post in the shop. (Shop or shoppe?)

I leave you with more from Gerry Straub...

Christ’s Friends
If you are poor or needy,
if you are despised by all,
if you are a sinner,
then Christ considers you to be his friend
and he welcomes you to his banquet table.

If you are looking for Jesus,
you’ll find Him in the midst of those
who are being crucified, rejected, alienated and oppressed.
He is in the dark corners of your neighborhood,
waiting for you to help Him.

Unless we stand shoulder to shoulder
with the poorest of the poor,
we will not find the crucified Christ,
nor experience the richness of His resurrection.

Picture Post

Last week at work we had a baby shower... (why do my eyes look Asian when I smile?)

I made the banner...

...and Lisa made this awesome watermelon (copy it, it's adorable!).

Sleepover time! I can't believe we ALL fit in the bed! We had SUCH a good time!!!

Everyone got a bath! Roxy wasn't thrilled...

Britt's dog attack...

This is the messy closet before the cleaning...

(Blogger hates me tonight and just deleted the full shot picture and because I'm cranky over the computer already I'm not going to reload it. Just know that the top looked just like the bottom!)

...AND... here's the after closet! SO much better!

(and you can see the floor!!!)

To D

Dear love, you asked what I would like for my birthday. I've made my decision. Please find the options below, however be advised that Nola will need final approval.

(ANY of these ones!)



This is Nala... she's actually in NC and would like a home... look at that sweet face! "Hi Dave, pick me!"
Honey is in NC too... and needs a home...

Or we could always look for a boy dog to help you chase the wild pigs. I know you were excited to go and hunt them down at the pond. Either way, this is what I've decided I need for my birthday. It's in two days, by the way. I'll see if I can find a boy dog for your consideration. Nola would be okay with a brother too.

Hmm...

I've had some thoughts on things to write about... but I'm unmotivated. That's not really a word, but I like it. It makes sense.


A few random things...


-Compassion recently added its 1,000,000th sponsored child! Wow. I'm honored to be part of such an organization. I've been sponsoring children through Compassion since 1994. Watch this video, One Child.


-The Future Hope Project is really catching on! We've gotten quite a few packages from wonderfully kind people from all over the US! When we told David, HAI's country director, he asked if we could also include mosquito nets, so we're going to start a separate campaign for that. The ever amazing Abbie has designed some killer tshirts that I simply cannot wait to add to the blog side bar! I LOVE the shirts and can't wait to sport one! You need one too!


-Lots of people at work are having babies. Or just had babies. There's a lot of baby talk. That's fine. I like babies. Almost everyone who knows me, knows I want to adopt. Recently, my boss asked me why I wanted to do that. This really deserves its own blog post, but I'm not ready to write it. I am ready, but I don't feel like it's my place, more honestly. I feel like a lot of people who ARE adopting would judge the fact that I'm writing it when I'm not "in process" of adopting. Anyway... the short answer to my boss' question though, is why not adopt. It's a no brainer for me. And to be completely honest, I often wonder why more people don't adopt. But again, another post.

-My sister came over on Saturday to help me go through my closet, to say it was a disaster is an understatement. I could have NEVER gotten it done without her. Seriously. (Thanks girl!!!) We had SO much fun! She even surprised me with a really cool birthday scrapbook (I LOVE my birthday!) and cake at mom's later that afternoon. The closet was tabled time and time again during the course of the day... how did I NOT mention yet that she was attacked by a dog?! She was going to evaluate a great dane for his chances of getting into rescue and he bit her hand pretty bad. She went to the Dr and is on antibiotics, pain meds, etc... Oh... been there, done that. I felt really bad for her. That was a traumatic thing for us... Anyway, so she ended up spending the night and we had a BLAST! We all camped in the front bedroom b/c the bed is really big and we ALL fit... us + Titan, Roxy and Nola!

-D is coming back to town for July 4th. I wish he could just stay :( Maybe next time!!! I'll take what I can get until then. Any guesses on when he'll get a job down here? We could make a betting pool, that could get interesting...

-I think that's it for random bits of information. Maybe later I'll get around to posting some pictures of the summer so far....

Catching up...photoblog style (Part II)

Memorial Day cookout... and cheesy pictures!

Nola's new collar from Oliver's Collars! We love Oliver... and his collars... and his mom... because they're just THAT awesome!!! Nola thinks she's pretty stylish in the zebra print. I doubt you can see from the picture, but it's got pink thread and is SO cute!

Catching up... photolog style (Part I)

My sister brought her latest foster, Rory, 5 months, to visit. He's going to be HUGE! They had a great time playing, although he's pretty clumsy and is into everything! I don't know how she does it!
His feet are HUGE!

One of my best friends, Essi, came to visit!!! She moved to DC area a couple of years ago and I haven't seen her since our Shenandoah cabin trip last year.

Midesha, Essi, me, and Sarah...

Scoville, Sarah, Midesha... we're about to chow down on some strawberry shortcake, Mmm!