Black Thumb, or Sabotage?

Ok, so I'm not known for my green thumb... I know it partially has to do with the fact that when I purchase plants, I usually tend to buy the saddest, most scraggly ones, because I feel sorry for them that nobody else will adopt them. However, over the last few months, Mom has started me a few herb plants that are perfectly healthy & alive when I get them, but are completely dead within a couple of weeks. I figured I wasn't watering them properly (too much or too little?), so I got some of the AquaGlobes to do that part for me. The last one she gave me, Molly the Mint, is technically still alive, but is in a pretty sorry state:



Then, the other night, I think I discovered the source of my black thumb!! I caught MAX eating the leaves!!! I haven't been able to catch him on camera, but there were a few white hairs left behind as evidence. Has he been eating all my plants, or do I really end up killing them all?

i simply cannot be a pagent mom anymore.

oops... somehow, i published this without writing anything on it... sry...

anyway.

No, I cannot be a pagent mom anymore.

Our first was the costume contest at Petsmart. I thought it was a bit dodgy to begin with, when they announced that the winners would be decided by an applause-o-meter, one guy being the meter. Now obviously, Caroline was the cutest one there, but I thought that we received applause ratings of about 2nd. The "Meter" didn't even think she was good enough to be a finalist. Later, he was patting her, and she peed on him. Good Girl.
The winners: 1) A boxer, wearing boxer shorts & boxing gloves hanging from his collar. (incredibly simple, but cute) 2) A chihuahua, wearing a tiny cowboy hat, bandana, and saddle with a cowboy riding him. (admittedly adorable- by applause, we were 2nd to him) and 3) a dragon costume from target. Cute, but same as the boxer- SO easy. We weren't the only contestant to get ripped off- a cat (!) on a leash (!!) dressed in a lobster costume (!!!) and sitting in a pot (lol).

The second contest was at the Pleasanton Public Library. Strangely, there was a little more competition here, but she was still the cutest. Caroline's category was "best homemade costume". The winner? A papillon terrier as "The Tin Man". The costume: A piece of foil wrapped around his belly. The owner: The LIBRARIAN. At a contest sponsored by the library. Did I mention she was a judge too? hmmm... RIGGED MUCH???

Grrrrr.... Oh well... I know my baby was the sweetest & cutest & most well behaved one at both events, and she had a lot of fun meeting the other doggies.

INTRODUCING:
CAROLINE, THE GYPSY GENIE BELLY DANCER!!!
(every time I put her down, she did a little shake that sent the beads on her pants twirling)

Thank you Mom for the idea & the hours of handstitching- I had fun!

You TwitFace

“In the year 3000
YouTube, Twitter & Facebook will merge
into one super time wasting website
called:
YouTwitFace.”

~Conan O'Brien

I'm afraid that's what's happened to my blog... Facebook. It's nice to not feel bad about wasting everyone's time with a little one sentence update, because EVERYONE'S wasting everyones time with one sentence updates! But, I suppose I don't ALWAYS have to post lengthy epistles... in fact, I'm sure most of you would thank me for shorter thoughts!

SO: Here's to shorter and (hopefully) more frequent blog updates from me! *clink*

Non-Transformers

Did you know that if you go to the store looking for a Transformer toy, you have to be careful & be sure to get one that actually transforms?? Most are "Fixed State/ Non-Transforming" Transformers. RIDICULOUS.

yup, I still hate tailgating...

... but this is my new favorite part:

Our little Miss Caroline was QUITE a hit... I expect she will be internet famous in no time :)

She had a ball last night and this afternoon... she is so personable, and just LOVES everyone. I was a little worried how she'd take all the action, just because she hasn't been around big crowds much before, but she did great! She posed for pictures right and left, and even got to eat some yummy ribs. :) After last night, she was so tired she slept til 10... I'm hoping for more of the same tomorrow morning.



PS: I made her dress :D

HighHeeled Hiking

I haven't forgotten the Ruidoso stories I promised I'd tell you!

The whole time we were there, James kept talking about an old fire watch station on a mountain that you could drive to. One evening, we were out driving around, and wound up there. We got out of the car, and I thought, "hmm... you can't do much looking out surrounded by trees..." This was when James informed me it was "just a short walk down a path" to the point. I happened to be wearing brand new heels, but he assured me it wasn't far. He lied. It ended up being about a half mile hike over rocky terrain, which I know isn't far, but it is when you're wearing heels. THEN, we had to climb 3 flights of stairs to get to the fire watchtower. By the time we got to the top, I was huffing & puffing, and had multiple blisters on my sore feet. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. James sweetly offered me his shoes, and said he'd walk down barefooted. Then he said, "Oh, come on... they can't be THAT bad," and put on my shoes. He took one step, fell off, and broke the strap. That brightened my mood considerably- it's hard to be grumpy when you're laughing your head off. :)

In all this, I learned a tip- If you have a pair of crocs, & the buckle thingie breaks, you can order replacement rivets from their website FOR FREE.

Name Decisions and the Renovations Begin Again!

Not only was the name "Caroline" the overwhelming favorite at the polls, but we could never remember any other name we tried calling her. Caroline it is. Here is our baby with her Aunt Jenny (Mom & Dad's dog). They are BFFs now, and Jenny even shared her bed with Caroline. She's wearing a sweater (sock with the foot & armholes cut out) because she got wet when she went outside, and she was shivering cold.

In other news, the remodeling has begun again! For some reason, we seem to wait until it is 8,000 degrees outside to do anything to the house... This time, we're doing our bedroom & bathroom. The first completed project, however, is in the kitchen.

See our old ugly acrylic sink, broken on the left corner (so that it snagged your shirt every time you got too close), and stained & cracked in both basins.



BEHOLD! our lovely shiny new stainless sink, complete with extra tall faucet with the pull out spray & built in soap dispenser. You may commence oohing & ahhing.

***and PS: James installed the new sink & faucet himself!