All Growed Up

Right now my sister Brittany is at a very exciting time in her life! She just graduated from college and begins her first job next week. It's fun to see all the stuff she has to do as a new Texas resident and remember back to 5 years ago when Phil and I landed in Austin. Our experience was a little different.

[Insert the wavy lines on the screen from Scooby Doo.... taking you back in time to 2003]

• On July 26, we were married in Nesbit, Mississippi.
• On August 2, our honeymoon (a 7-day Royal Caribbean cruise) ended when we pulled into the port in Galveston. I was actually excited to leave the ship because I really, really, really wanted to get started setting up our apartment in Austin. We took a shuttle from Galveston to the airport in Houston, and Phil's parents picked us up and drove us to their house in The Woodlands where we had left our first car, a 1999 Ford Explorer named Larry. That evening we drove 3 hours to Austin.
• The first month in Austin was kind of a blur. It was so fun to "play house" in our apartment and set up all our new things. I remember feeling kind of giddy at the grocery store. I loved it!!!
• We had to do all the administrative stuff and then some - first thing was to change my name. I stood in line at the Social Security place for HOURS. Then I also had a get a Texas drivers' license. We had to update our insurance with our new address. We also had to go to the bank and make Phil's checking/savings account into a joint account. Then we had to set up internet, cable, phone service, and get cell phones. (Why did we waste our money on a home phone and cable TV? Ugh.)
• Jobs? Oh yeah, employment. Now that you mention it, that is kind of a critical part of living on your own and being an adult. Unlike smarty pants Brittany, neither one of us had jobs yet.
• After a couple of frustrating weeks of commission-only door-to-door phone sales, Phil took a job as an assistant manager at OfficeMax because we needed a paycheck. A couple of weeks later, I found an hourly job as an accounting clerk at a small company.
• In the end, though, the job thing worked out. Phil only had to work at OfficeMax for a few months before he found a position with his current employer, and my hourly position turned into a salaried one. A year later, when I enrolled in the masters of professional accounting program at UT, I was able to convince my boss to let me work part-time (back to hourly, but at a much higher rate).

And that's our story. We've made a lot of progress in 5 years. I love you baby!

("Baby" inserted on purpose. The term seems to annoy Brittany... ha! I guess I'll be using it a lot!)

Dogs vs. Cats

The Dog's Diary

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 PM - Treats! My favorite thing!
1:00 PM - Played all day at Camp Bow Wow! My favorite thing!
3:00 PM - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 PM - Dinner! My favorite thing!
7:00 PM - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 PM - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 PM - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

The Cat's Diary

• Day 983 of my captivity.
  
• My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.
  
• They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.
  
• Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
  
• The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. 
  
• Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities.
  
• However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. Jerks!
  
• There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage. 
  
• Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.
  
• I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously challenged.
  
• The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicating with the Guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an Elevated Cell, so he is safe . . . . . for now.
  

Backyard visitor

We're on the List!!

Grand Prairie placed #96 on the list of 100 best small cities in the US. Not so bad for a place that gets made fun of a lot by the uppity Dallasites!


See how Grand Prairie Barbie is made fun of??? Click on metroplex barbies.

Unexplained hatred of the medicine ball

We have had this medicine ball since before we got Ruby and Dora, and both of them have always hated it. It's impossible to try to use it in their presence! You might want to turn down the volume before viewing these videos... Ruby's barking is really shrill!

Fort Worth Stockyards

This post is a week late, but last Saturday we went to the stockyards with Mom, Dad, Brittany, Trey, and Trey's parents, Rick and Debbie. Even though we've lived here 2.5 years, Phil and I had never been to the stockyards before. It was so much fun!

We got there at 4:00 just in time to see "the herd". Actually, only Mom and I got a chance to see it. What cute, sweet longhorns... as I was taking these pictures, I started feeling uneasy about eating dinner at a steakhouse later that night! 

Later we wandered around through some stores. I decided against buying a $1400 pair of cowgirl boots... ha! Then we had dinner at Cattlemen's. It was pretty good, albeit no Nick & Sam's! ;)

Finally we got to the best part of the evening, the rodeo! I had been to one other rodeo before an Alan Jackson concert at the AA center. I didn't really pay much attention to it because our seats were kind of far away from the action. 

THIS rodeo was so fun! Our seats were really close and I could see all the action. I felt a little bit like an ancient Roman watching the gladiators. During the bull riding, one guy got his arm stuck and was being flopped all over the place by a crazy bull. And there was another guy who got bucked off and then trampled a little bit. I kept covering my eyes during those parts, but then I'd peek a little out of fascination! 

I felt really sorry for the little calves who had to get roped. That looks painful to get lassoed around your neck, flipped on your back, and have three legs tied together. I'm sure they just want their mommies... so I cheered whenever a calf got away!  :)

The other fun thing that happened at the rodeo was that we met some people from Dusseldorf - what a small world! I was sitting next to Phil, and on Phil's other side was a little boy maybe 7 or 8 years old. Phil tried to make small talk but the boy never responded, and finally his mother leaned over with a smile and explained that he only spoke German. After a little conversation Phil learned that they were from Dusseldorf, so I made Phil pull out his iPhone so that I could bring up Kristen and David's blog. I told her I'd been there and showed her the pictures of the apartment they were living in when I visited last fall. She didn't recognize the area (it's not exactly a small town, I guess...) but it was still a very fun connection to make, particularly at a rodeo in Fort Worth, Texas! 

By the way, speaking of Kristen and David, I have added a link to their blog on the left. Kristen is my cousin; she and her husband David are serving in Germany as missionaries. In case you have not been reading my blog for very long, I had a chance to visit them last fall on my way home from India and there are pictures if you navigate back to November 2007 in the blog archives. Please keep them in your prayers!

Roscoe strikes again

Today he destroyed - and ate some of - the dog toy basket!!! Arggggghhh! It was the cutest basket that my friend Kristin made for me a long time ago right after Phil and I got married (it even had the letters "M - O - S - E - R" painted across the handle). That darn dog. At least we found a new foster family for him. He was evicted from our house TONIGHT!

My Angels

I am my father's daughter

This is what happens when I try to "trim" the bushes in the front yard. Oops.

Bad Dog!

Yeah... Roscoe's gotta go.


He has some good points. He is very energetic and enjoys going for walks, runs, and playing at the dog park. He is good with verbal commands and obeys "sit" better than Ruby and Dora. Whenever he gets too playful in the house, he can be easily controlled with a squirt gun.

When we're NOT home, however, he turns into a very bad dog. Here are just some of the things he's "worked on":

• Ate two pairs of my flip flops and "tasted" two other pairs.


• Pulled the cushion off our hand-me-down rocking chair and ate a bunch of foam out of it.


• Chewed a couple areas of woodwork before I was able to spray everything with bitter apple.


• Chewed/broke the baby gate we purchased to keep him out of the upstairs.


• Ate my lap desk (pictured below).


• Quickly destroyed the tug-of-war toy I bought to distract him (pictured below when it was new... 15 minutes later he had pulled all the stuffing out of it!)

I emailed the pug rescue and let them know that this just isn't working. Unfortunately, he is going through "separation anxiety" according to the rescue folks. Sorry, I don't like the fancy terminology, I think he's just a bad dog who can't stay here anymore!!!