Boo

I'm pretty sure I could have paid half of what these cost me to make, had I just opted for store-bought decorations. I'm hoping once I finish stringing the lights underneath, they'll look cute for Halloween. Right now, I'm not so sure...

Marathon #2

Alan ran in his second marathon yesterday, the West Texas Crossroads Marathon in Odessa. He beat his 4 hour goal with a time of 3:39:07. But you know with Alan there's always a story...something always happens.

A little background...we're sitting on the sidelines yesterday (me, Naomi, Addison and Austen) waiting for Alan's finish, when we see this runner coming with a police SUV tailing right behind him. As he gets closer to the finish line, he sort of stops and grabs at his leg, so we think he's really having trouble with cramps. But he keeps on and actually speeds up and hauls butt across the finish. As he passes us, we notice his shoulder blade on one side is red and really scraped up. It looked like he may have been bleeding. He crosses the line and practically collapses into the arms of a couple people.

So just a couple minutes later here comes Alan, and as soon as he finishes and sits down he says, "have I got a story for you." Turns out, when Alan was at about mile 22, he's trucking along and hears this loud "whomp!" behind him. He turns around to see a guy rolling on top of the hood of a car, falling off, and rolling on the ground. This guy gets up and keeps on going. The funny part of the story is how Alan, although truly sorry for the poor guy who got hit by a car, is PISSED that he then got passed by this guy!

But all in all it was a good morning and fun to be there. Thanks to Addison (it was her birthday yesterday!) and Austen who came out to cheer Alan on:



Wow, check out that gorgeous West Texas scenery!

Domestic Violence

Every bite Junior gets from another animal he fully deserves, I'm sure. But what he doesn't know is that those bites are expensive. The last time he was bitten ended in a $250 vet visit by the time all was said and done. For most pets, it probably would have been a third that much. But with Junior, it requires sedation due to his "demeanor." To translate, that means he's an asshole.

So this time we're a little wiser. Alan called the vet and explained what was going on. They remember Junior. They were more than happy to provide us with all the medications we'd need to take care of the problem AT HOME. So here we go again - oral meds twice a day to a cat who aspires to stalk, attack, and draw blood on his victims (that would be us) about every other day. On top of that, we get to insert ointment into his abscessed wound. Good times!

And regardless of the fighting and hissing and dodging of razor sharp fangs, we'll do whatever it takes to keep him around. I love my Junior Lou.

Please don't see me, please don't see me!

Poor Junior. Sometimes he just needs to get away.

Puppy adventures

Every day Duke finds something new to play with (destroy), and today was no exception. We don't know where the ads came from, but leave it to Duke to find something that will make a huge mess. He had some fun with the water hose and sprinkler, too.



His inside manners have been really atrocious, especially when someone comes over. But we recently discovered the training tool that gets him to stop jumping, biting, and barking without having to lay a hand on him - a spray bottle! It works wonders, and I don't have to feel bad. Even with all the messes, he's been an awesome puppy and such a sweet companion. And just look at that face.

Morning Glory

Once again this crazy vine grew up through the rotted out seat of this old chair. It's thicker this year and seems to take the shape of the chair. I wish I was a good enough gardener to plan something like this! And it's the only plant Duke hasn't dug up.

Serenity now, serenity now

Earlier this morning I spent a half hour ranting and raving about the "disappearance" of one of my new shirts. I woke up Bailey and rooted through her room and closet, assuming she tried it on and then threw it on the floor or stuffed it in a drawer (which occasionally happens). I silently accused Alan of taking it to the cleaners by mistake with his clothes (thankfully he wasn't here or I would have questioned him). I considered maybe the dog took it, or that someone snuck in the garage and stole some clothes, or that it fell behind the washer and dryer. I mean, how do you lose a shirt? A sock, yes. A shirt, no.

I looked EVERYWHERE. Three times. During this time I had been doing laundry and had carefully checked the load of clothes that I put in the washer. Still nothing. I looked some more, and all the while I am absolutely fuming. You see, this has happened before - sometime last year right after buying some new clothes for school, I lost a shirt. I liked that shirt so much that I went back to the store and bought another one. And here I was again, the shirt I liked the most was missing.

So as I'm considering getting dressed and going to Target to buy the shirt again (I really liked this shirt - Bailey said it made my boobs look big!), I notice the washer has stopped and decide to check that load again. I take the load out piece by piece to place in the dryer, and there it is - in the washer. How I missed it the three previous times I looked through the clothes, is a mystery. Or is it? Sometimes you just gotta wonder if someone's trying to tell you something.

Something like, "CALM THE HELL DOWN!"