A Story About A Pup That Licks Everything

Yes - everything. Maya (see picture to the right) is a lovely little year old pup who has become the apple of our eyes. Well, one of them. She is filled with so much love that sometimes she just can't contain it in her tiny little body. One way of showing her love is by licking. But it doesn't just stop with the hubby and I. Shame on us for being bad dog parents. We thought it was so endearing that we didn't curb it when we should have. She now licks just about anything she comes across and it's usually when she's pretty excited. From the floor to our legs, the couch to the front door, even my laptop screen. I have had many a nose print and some doggy drool to whip off my screen. Gross. I know.  So now we're trying to train her not to lick everything that's in front of her face. Wish us luck. In the meantime, see the evidence of The Incredible Licking Dog!

See the worn off spot? 

But we forgive her. Because, really - how can you not love this face?

Why TV Commercial Songs Are {Mostly} Evil

Most of us would agree that 90% of TV commercial songs or jingles annoy the ever-living daylights out of us. Don't get me wrong - they can be quite catchy. But then the 'catchy' burrows a little hole in your brain and stays in there for an undisclosed amount of time. All of a sudden the commercial comes on - BAM! Your brain shorts out for a second with irritability.

I woke up with this one stuck in my head and I actually don't mind. It's called 'Don't Hide Your Shine' by Matthew Ray from the new Old Navy dress commercial. There's something about it that is more 'song-on-the-radio' than 'cheesy-TV-jingle'. I would like to know if the kid in the commercial is the one singing or if he's just an actor lip-syncing. Either way, who ever is singing isn't half bad. It's regular Top 40's stuff but I like that sometimes. If he put out music other than commercials, I might be interested in downloading it.

Just a moment...

"Your real friends don't have to be the ones you spend the most time with - just the ones you have the best memories with."

Came across this quote and not sure who it's by. It made me think of my best friend, Michelle. We've known each other for over 10 years now. We may go weeks without speaking, years without seeing each other but we have remained the best of friends. We always seem to pick up where we left off. Life has been far more fun and interesting with her in it. Thought I'd give a little shout out to one of the best girls I know. :)

Book Review: 'Palaces & Calluses' by Rebecca Woodhead

Rebecca Woodhead's debut novel 'Palaces & Calluses' is in one word - amazing. That's right. I said it. Amazing. Her writing has this easy way about it. Her words make you feel as if you're listening to a dear friend tell a story over a cup of tea. So comfortable and at home.

She wastes no time throwing you into the story of a young woman coming into her own. Finding her inner strength with the help and support of family, friends, a protective and lovable border collie named Rock, and some unexpected people - both good and bad. It is a book you'll never want to put down until the end and then leaves you wanting more. Fear not. 'Palaces & Calluses' is the first book in the 'Cotswold Chronicles' series. If her first book is this amazing, you can only imagine what she has in store for us next.

Purchase her book here. On sale for £2.99 - roughly $5 converted - until April 20th! After, it will be £4.99 or approx. a little over $8.

I'm ba-ack!

No, really. I am. For real this time.

This is only a little post as I am saving my first "real post" for something & someone special. This one is special, too but the other one ranks higher.

For anyone who is still following I pose a question. The blog needs to be renamed. It needs an overhaul really and I believe a name is near the top of that list. I have exhausted my pretty, little brain about it and nothing I can come up with sounds interesting.

So... any ideas?

MIA

Wow, I can't seem to get to my computer lately. I've been so busy I haven't been able to get a look at the computer much less turn it on. It's only been 17 days since my last day of worked and it has flown by! There has been so much going on, it's truly unbelievable. We'll start at the beginning and make it in bullets so we don't have a ridiculously long post.

- Unpacking! Tons and tons of unpacking and organizing and I'm still not done. There has been so much to do and it's been nice taking my time doing it. I've always hated moving and trying to fit things in the couple hours at night or the short weekend.


- Trip to the Jersey Shore. We went to Ocean Grove, NJ with my family the Sunday after the Fourth of July and had so much fun. Hubby had never been there before but I spent my summers growing up here. It was nice to show him where some of my childhood memories were made.

- Camping trip with his family. It was mostly cousins but some of the aunts and uncles came as well as his parents and we had a blast. The weather was great - no bugs! Nice and warm (but not too warm) during the day and chilly enough at night to put on a sweatshirt and sit around the campfire. We made s'mores, played games and swam in the lake. Great memories were made and we plan on doing it again next year.

Here comes a big one...


-We're opening up a salon! Hubby is a master stylist for many years now but took a five year hiatus. He's been interested in getting back into it but nothing seemed like the right time. We over the past few months everything has fallen into place. We found a great little store two blocks from our house in a perfect intersection that we have been remodeling now for about a week. It was completely empty when we signed the lease but a lot needs to be done. I've been taking pictures along the way and will create a post to show everyone the transformation process. We're so excited and this is what has been taking up a great deal of my time. That and finally getting some QT with hubby. It's nice that we're on the same sleeping schedule again :)


-Trip to Florida. Which is where I am now. Probably the reason why I have the time now to finally get a post out. It's been nice spending some time with my family even if drama has ensued occasionally. Well that person is gone now and we can all have fun! I have a couple more days (leaving on Sunday) with my dad, step-mom and two step-brothers (that are like my own) here in St. Petersburg before I head down to Naples/Ft. Myers area to visit my mom and my grandparents and the rest of the family. I'll be there until next Wed. when I head home. I'm actually really looking forward to going home (sad, I know) since we have so much to do wth the business. I'm going to try and get some work done from here next week - lots of phone calls to make!

I'm pretty sure that's it for now. I've been taking tons of pictures from everything we do, I just have to fnd a little time to get everything in order. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!!!

P.S. Athena is doing great! Definitely enjoying her summer and new home. She's very excited to have Mommy home more often to play and lounge around with. She wasn't able to come down with my, she's at home with the hubby (who also couldn't come down either. Some on had to stay and work :P). I miss her so much!

Summer Vacation To Do List

I will be taking the month of July off before going back to work. Or job hunting is more like it. Here are the things that have, so far, found their way on my list of things to do over vacation.

1. Unpack! We're moving this weekend and my first day off will be filled with copious amounts of unpacking, organizing and telling my husband he's not allowed to put away/organize my kitchen stuff because he just can't seem to get it right. In my brain, he's not organized enough. Could be my OCD.
2. Begin writing my first novel. I've written many short stories and some poetry along the way, but I feel the need to challenge myself to a full fledged novel. Still debating on whether to start my idea or co-write with a family member on the games & imagination of our childhood.
3. Finally finish scrapbooking my wedding/honeymoon albums. It's horrible that we've been married almost two years now and I'm less than halfway through the wedding album. It takes me so long to choose the "right" pictures to go in there. I always feel like I'll be leaving something out. Not to mention, they only have so many wedding scrapbook decorations and I've probably used them all!
4. Trip to the Jersey Shore! I will be taking a one and a half day trip to the Jersey shore. This quaint little Victorian town is where I spent every first week in August during my childhood. So many great memories and some of the family will be going back. We've changed it to the weekend of July 4th to coincide with: 1) missing jellyfish season and 2) most of the extended family will be there as well. Last year was the first time we've been back in about 10 years.
5. Trip to Tampa, Naples & Ft. Myers, FL. Very excited to go down to FL and see my family. I haven't seen them since the beginning of April and it's been far too long. I'm so excited to see my new baby cousin Avery and be able to spend much more time down there. I will not be looking forward to the heat and humidity though. But it will be nice to see some sunshine and listen to the ocean.
6. Camping trip with my husband's cousins. I guess they used to take these great camping trips together (as did my family) and we all want to do that again this year. I'm looking forward to it. I always have such a great time with his cousins and again haven't been camping here in NE since childhood.
7. Trip to Cape Cod. My husband and I will be visiting some friends and having a little bit of a romantic trip to the beach. We need a little time for ourselves :P

I'm seeing a trend here...lots of trips!

I think this is about it...so far. We're very spontaneous people and love a good adventure. Not sure if we'll have time for more but if it's something we want to do - we'll make it work.

What are your plans for the summer?