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Business Travel Woes

Well, I wish I could say my first official business traveling went off without a hitch, but what fun would that be? I am currently sitting in the parking garage of Denver International Airport waiting for security because I came out to a dead battery. Thank goodness for laptops and wireless cards!

I took a pair of black slacks in last week to be altered for my trip this week. I fully intended to pick them up on Saturday so they would be ready for my trip, but I completely forgot. Of course, they aren't open on Sunday, so I elected to pick them up Monday morning before going to the airport. That was pretty stressful, because the tailor is about 30 minutes from our house in the opposite direction of the airport. But it worked out very nicely and traffic played nice to help me out!

When I was ready to leave on Monday morning, I couldn't find my car keys anywhere. Mind you, we have two sets, but I could not find either one. I called Jason in a panic and luckily found one set and headed out of our house in a tizzy. Of course that night, I found the second set--where else?--in my purse with the others.

Jason called me on in New Jersey Monday night to ask me if I needed the toiletries he found in the bathroom when he got home from work that afternoon. Of course! I had them all nicely packed and ready to go--and forgot to take them! I had a major melt down, because I use VERY specific products on this curly hair, and it can quickly become a mess, especially in humid climates (which NJ is). Everything worked out okay, but it wasn't an ideal situation. At least they had a toothbrush for me in the hotel.

So I went the next day to pick up some shampoo and conditioner at CVS. I am carrying it around the store, finding a few other things, and it proceeds to squirt green goop all over my nice suit jacket. Blech! It wiped off pretty well, and the day was almost over, so I was able to go back to the hotel and change.

Too much excitement for me! I hope I get better at this business travel stuff!

Happy Friday!

TGIF! Greetings from the Newark, NJ, airport! I have spent the past 4 1/2 days training for my new job in Princeton, NJ. It has been a great week, and I feel much more prepared to start working next week. The week has gone pretty quickly, but I am exhausted and ready to be home and relax for the weekend. This is my first time in the Northeast, and I wish I had time to hop over the NYC, but that will have to wait for another trip. Princeton was a great little town with lots of cute shops and restaurants, and the campus is so beautiful!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Amazing Gracie

Thank you all for entering my drawing! The drawing will take place Saturday, so I will let you know then who the winner is!

Last night, I finished a new book I purchased called Amazing Gracie. It was written by the guys who started Three Dog Bakery and is about their dog, Gracie. It is a very sweet, touching story that is guaranteed to make any dog lover cry. Despite that, I definitely recommend it, as it is an easy read and inspirational story!

Post #500! Giveaway

Happy 500th Post to me! In honor of my 500th post, I would like to host a giveaway. I am not sure what that giveaway will be or when it will be given, but I want to celebrate all of the fun people I have met through blogland! I would guess the gift may be something homemade (but no guarantees). If you are interested in being in the drawing, please leave a comment. The drawing will be held Saturday, July 26th, so you have several days to participate. Thanks for playing and for faithfully reading my blog!

Daisy and This Week's Project

Daisy got a pretty purple bandaid at the vet yesterday! Isn't she a pretty girl? I missed her yesterday--I was home all day, and it was too quiet with just me and Oscar!

One of my projects for this week was to set up my home office. I didn't have a desk or filing cabinet or anything, and I needed some things for my new job. I didn't want to spend a fortune but I didn't want to get anything that would just fall apart either. I looked and looked--office furniture can be really expensive! I ended up getting this set at Target, and I am really happy with it! It looks nice and is a good size for our office/scrapbooking room, plus it was super easy to put together. I was a little frustrated, though, because the package said "solid wood", and part of it is solid wood, but there is particle board as well. Also, the hutch portion of the desk said "fully assembled" on the box, but when I opened it up, there were lots of parts and pieces. Oh well, good thing I like Target so much, or I might be more upset!

Hope everyone has a great Friday and a wonderful weekend! Stay tuned for the next post--it will be post #500 for me!

Daisy's Okay!

Whew! The vet just called, and Daisy is doing great! She is awake and ready to go, so Oscar and I are going to head that way to pick her up. He did pull several teeth, so I will get the update when I get her and share with you guys!

Thanks so much for thinking of us today. I was starting to get REALLY worried because I hadn't heard anything. I am sure you all understand!

UPDATE! I am glad to report that Daisy is officially free of stinky breath! It really is wonderful but I am not sure it was really worth all of the anxiety I felt all afternoon. But she made it through just fine! The vet did pull at least 4 teeth, so the poor little girl is missing her 4 bottom front teeth. But the vet said it would not affect her eating, because she still has her molars, and she did scarf her dinner down like nothing happened. We now have strict orders to brush regularly, and you better believe we will do it! I don't want the poor little girl to lose all of her teeth!

Oscar

Doesn't Oscar look lonely today without another pug to cuddle with? I think he misses his little sister.

I do hope that he is never an only pug......I have given him about a million treats already today because I feel sorry for him (including about half the apple slices I had prepared for myself).

Oh, the life of a pug. It's pretty rough!

Daisy's at the Vet

Well, Oscar and I just arrived home after dropping Daisy off at the vet. She was so pathetic this morning when she couldn't eat. The pugs go crazy in the morning for their food and run downstairs for Jason to feed them. This morning, we had to shut Daisy in the bedroom with me while Jason fed Oscar. Daisy laid at the bedroom door and whined and scratched at the door, and then when I got up, she kept looking at me like "please feed me!" Oscar seems a little confused as to why Daisy isn't here, but I think he is secretly loving all the one-one-one attention he is getting.

I will let you all know later how things go. I am really hoping for stink-free breath when all is said and done!

Scrapbook Mania!

Well, I survived my first day of home training (actually, it was a pretty slow, quiet day. But I'll take it, because I have a feeling it won't be slow and quiet for long!).


During my few days off last week I did a LOT of scrapbooking! One of my goals for the week was to finish my Disney World scrapbook, and I did it! Here are a few samples from the book. It ended up being 48 pages long--we had a TON of pictures, and it was really hard to narrow them down! I kept the pages pretty simple for the sake of getting them done in a timely fashion. But I am pleased with how they turned out! Now I am decorating the actual album, which is something I haven't done before.

This is one of my favorites ways to display lots of pictures on one page--using circles

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it's a pretty big stack of pages!

Next project will be my Disney cruise scrapbook--we have tons of pictures of that, too, and it was just 3 days! That's what happens when you have 5 women taking pictures!

We've Been Tagged!

Our good friends over at Ladypug Mugs, Winston and Clementine, tagged us and gave us an award! Thanks, guys!

So here are the rules:
Show us a photo of the front of your Cold Box (or fridge, as it is known here)
tell us about at least one thing on it and
one thing you keep inside of it
Tag your friends and remember to stay COOL! And no fair cleaning it up first!!

Here is the front of our fridge (and I promise I didn't clean it up first!). Jason is very adament about the front of the fridge staying clean, so there are just two little pug magnets on the front. But on the side, I put all my fun stuff. We have magnets from some of our travels, coupons and a couple of pictures.
What's inside? I just went shopping at SuperTarget this morning (my FAVORITE store!) so there are all sorts of exciting things inside. I have really been in the mood for cheese lately, so I bought a block of sharp cheddar, grated sharp cheddar (I love sharp cheddar!), gorgonzola crumbles and string cheese.

And now the award!The rules for accepting the award are as follows:
1. Add the logo of the award to my site

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Add links to those blogs on your site

5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

My nominees are as follows:

1. Miko and Meimei

2. Willow, Belle and Turbo

3. Punchy

4. Ragus

5. Norman

6. Jemima Jones Beck

7. Weeny and Daisy

8. Miss Gayle

9. Sharla

If you don't have time to play, that's okay, we still think you guys are pretty cool!

Have a happy Saturday!

Back from the Vet

We (the pugs and I) just got back from their annual check up and boosters at the vet. Teeth problems seemed to be the problem today. Oscar had a loose tooth that had to be pulled (without anesthesia--what a tough guy!), but Daisy has to go in next week for a full-blown cleaning and probably extraction, too. She has some pretty icky teeth! I am already really nervous about putting her under anesthesia, but as Jason reminded me, she did okay with anesthesia when she was spayed. I am going to try and not worry throughout the next week. She goes in next Thursday, so your thoughts and prayers would be appreciated! The vet reassured me that this is a very routine procedure, but I have just heard too many horror stories about pugs having trouble with anesthesia. But the positive side is that her HORRIBLE breath should be better afterwards!

On To a New Chapter

Well, I am finished with my old job. Yesterday was actually my last day, and I went in today for my going away party. It was really touching--we had lunch and cake, and they even gave me gifts! I was totally blown away by that--it was so sweet! I have been blessed over the past 4 years to work with great girls whom (is it who or whom, Sharla?!) I can also call friends. They are incredible professionals who are so knowledeable about the field of diabetes and have taught me so much. I truly wouldn't be where I am today without them.

I am taking the next few days off and starting the new job on Monday. I am scared and excited all at the same time. I will keep you posted on how things go!

While I am off the next few days, I plan to do some scrapbooking, playing with pugs, reading, napping, and we are headed to Water World on Friday! I know it will go fast, but it should be a fun few days off!

Here it is!

Miss Gayle requested the recipe for my grandma's coconut pie, so I went through my recipes and found this one, which I think is my grandma's recipe.

Coconut Cream Pie
Filling:
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
2 3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup coconut
1 tbsp butter
Dash of salt

Meringue:
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 cup sugar
Extra coconut

Separate eggs, and set egg whites aside. In large saucepan, mix together sugar, egg yolks, flour, milk and salt. Over medium heat, stir constantly until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Remove from heat and add vanilla, butter and coconut. Pour mixture into prepared pie crust.

Beat egg whites on high until stiff. Continue whipping while gradually adding cream of tartar and 1/8 cup sugar. Top pie with meringue and sprinkle with coconut. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned on top.

(I don't have her crust recipe, but any crust works fine).

Enjoy!

Family Fun!

After Kadesh, my parents and brother picked me up in Abilene, and we headed to Bryson, TX, for our family reunion. The reunion is held there each summer, and we always have such a good time. It was a pretty small crowd this year, but we still had a wonderful time.

Josh with my grandma

Mom with my other grandma (her mommy!)

My grandma's famous coconut cream pie--it is SOOOOOO yummy!

Me with Joshybubba

Josh had been at drum major camp all week before, so he was worn out. He and I both went out in the hall and took a little nap

We headed to Wichita Falls Saturday afternoon, where I met the one last puppy that my parents have. They have one little black lab girl left. Anyone shopping for a female black lab puppy?!

Me and the parents

I had a great time at home, but as usual, it went too quick!

Abilene Fun!

Okay, so I was really bad and hardly took any pictures while I was at camp. The week was so busy and so intense that I didn't really think about taking pictures.

This is my favorite barbecue place ever. It is just a few miles from the ACU campus, and Jason and I went here frequently during college. We love it so much that we even had our rehearsal dinner here! It is SOOOO YUMMY, but while I was in Texas, I heard the rumor that Harold is retiring and will be closing the restaurant. So sad. :(

The yummy goodness!
When I graduated, I made a donation to ACU and got my name on a brick! This was the first time I had actually seen it.

They have made so many upgrades to campus since I graduated. This is a beautiful sculpture near the front of campus depicting Jacob's dream. It is really amazing--I didn't have much time to spent there, so I didn't really get many pictures!