Copycat

Yup...I'm bringing it old school with the name calling :)
I know that imitation is suppose to be a form a flattery....but this is just getting... annoying...


We left out landscaping spotlights up after the Holiday's to make our house look bright for the outside...

Last Tuesday a neighoor decides to do the same.

Ok...no big deal. They had spotlight on there house for Christmas, then took them down and seem to put them up "randomly" on Wednesday.

Friday our gardeners come and take out our dead plants (thanks to the week long freeze...ugh). Planted cabbage looking plant (Kale I think?) and pansies in each planter. I liked it...really colorful and hardy plants.

Saturday...drive by above mentioned neighboors house and guess what...YUP....same plants, same configuration....

Ok...now I'm slightly peeved off.

Sunday we drive by and I nearly slam on my breaks.....

They now have topiary on our their porch framing their doorway.....you know....JUST LIKE OURS.

You have got to be kidding me....

At that point I just wanted to to take the rose garden, arbor, and statues and haul them all to their front yard.

Goeff just laughed and said they upped their game (there is a bunch of background I will get into in a later post...then this whole post will REALLY make sense).

But on the bright side...makes little old me feel quite honored that someone wants to copy my "style", specially when that someone is in the design profession.

And so the student is now the teacher.

Bittersweet day....

We got home yesterday from our DC trip where we met our friends Laura and Jared. I would have loved to stay for the ceramony today, but everyone else had work, presentations or class to go to.


Boy was it COLD this weekend (we were up there Friday-Sunday). And yes, I'm from Southern California where anything under 50 degrees is cold. But 12 degrees not counting the wind chill factor.....BRRRRRRR!!!! 

Today...well I'm already teary eyed. I don't know if it's because of the historical event taking place in a few minutes....or just missing my mom. Mixture of both. But really...the tears are happy. No sobbing or wallowing. Really wish my mom could have seen history today (even though she was a Republican...haha).

For the last 2 years...it seems like mom has been watching over me making sure today wouldn't be too hard on me. My birthday and mother's day are still the hardest I think.  But this is the day I "dread".  Today for sure there will be lots of tears of happiness and hope....maybe just a couple sad ones.

The cold group in front of the Mall (White House in Background)

Laura and I on the metro wearing LOTS of layers

Abe Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson at the Smithsonian (Abe looks so real it's almost CREEPY)

Abe Lincoln's real hat (I love how they rotate exhibits...never seen the real hat before)

A VERY cold couple who just missed the train and had to wait outdoors for 15 more minutes. 

Who's Your Daddy?

For the 4 years we've had Jake we get the same question "Awww....what is he?" Which gets the same answer "Ummm...we're not sure. We think corgi mix, but the vet put down sheltie/dachshund."

For 4 years we have seen his traits the ankle biting of other dogs (so he has some herding in him), the howling at the sirens (sounds sooo much like a beagle), his white paws and chest (when his coat is long, he looks like a sheltie or corgi). And let's not forget....his tail and top of his coat look eerily family to a fox (remember my whole "dox" theory). So in our minds....Jake could be ANYTHING.

Well this year from Christmas Jake got a super super gift. We went all "Maury Povich" on him and bought him a DNA test (minus all the baby daddy drama). Now this was a test from Petsmart. We followed the instructions VERY carefully (I'm talking washing EVERYTHING before we gave him the test, brushing teeth...no water from the bowl he shares with Charlotte, no food, no touching for 4 hours)!!!

The results arrived yesterday.

I called Jake into the room with me. Gave him a little pep talk. He seemed very excited (well...maybe excited that he was getting all the attention...lil attention whore).

We opened the envelope....

He had two Level 2 (meaning he's a mixed breed..duh).

The percentages were so high that they were the only two that could be found (anything that is smalled than 10% can't even be counted)

Meet Jakes Parents

Great Pyrenees in the United States, is a large breed of dog, used as a livestock guardian dog.

(For those of you who aren't dog freaks like me....you might not seemed too shocked at the results...lemme give you a visual and some info)

The Great Pyrenees is a very old breed, and has been used for millennia by the shepherds which includes Basque people, who inhabit parts of the region in and around the Pyrenees Mountains of southern France and northern Spain. During World War II the dogs were used to haul artillery over the Pyrenean Mountain range to and from Spain and France.

Males grow to between 110-120 pounds (50-55kg) and 27-32 inches (69-81cm), while females reach between 80-90 pounds (35-40kg) and 25-29 inches (64-74cm). They will live to between 10-12 years of age. Their coats are white and can have varying shades of gray, Red (rust) or tan around the face (including a full face mask), ears and sometimes on the body and tail; as a Great Pyrenees matures, their coats grow thicker and the longer colored hair of the coat often fades on those dogs that were not born completely white.
 

Yeah people....it gets better....

Parent #2 American Cocker Spaniel

 

 

So they are telling me at LEAST 35%  percent of this dog is one one of these breeds with the rest being the other.

Uhuh....my 25 pound Jake.   Here's a side by side.

Can't you see the resemblance?? And while I can account for where there might be cocker spaniel contamination (Charlotte)....that would then mean Charlotte has Great Pyrenees in her...umm nooooo!

Needless to say, a call to the lab has been made to the lab.  Jake starts puppy therapy tomorrow.

How not to start off your day.....

I usually sleep on my one side of the bed. Sine Geoff has been quarenteened to the guest room until he is better...I took full advantage of having the whole bed to myself.


Wake up this morning and notice the bed seems a bit "damp" near my foot. Hmmmm....I flip the covers and near feet I notice a YELLOW STAIN. WTF??!!! Seems that last night before they were put in thier crates...someone (if I was a betting woman I would bet CHARLOTTE) peed on the bed.

That same stain is on the top sheet, comforter and thank the Lord didn't get through the fluffy mattress cover. (I would have killed the dogs if it had soaked through the temperpedic matress!!)


Oh.... it gets better....I strip the sheets, comforter, cover ...everything...and use the sanitize cycle on my washer. I march back to the room...barefoot....and step in a cold puddle. UGHHH!! Guess marking the bed wasn't good enough.

Sooo....all morning been mopping and sanitizing EVERYthing (myself included).

Phone rings...OBGYN office....Hmmm why would they be calling?? My appointment was in December.

The lady on the phone tells me the results of my biospy are in and the cells are malignant.



WTF???!!!!!


After I collapse on my bed I asked told the lady "Ummmm...I didn't think I had a biopsy??" She read off the lab and then I heard Dec. 18th. I went in Dec 16th!!!!! She looked at my chart and saw my pap was normal and the Dr. never ordered a biopsy.

After a few minutes she figured out it was not me and apologized profusely.

Of course I was relived....I realized it was just a mistake. But still...look at a persons chart before you deliver bad news!!! And if you'd read it...you'd know this person has a family history of people dying young young with CANCER!!!


All this before 111 am....good grief. I need a good stiff drink.

HELL HAS FROZEN OVER

Goeff  has been  sick less than a handful of times (maybe 3 times, all because I got him sick and all lasting all but a couple days at most) in 5.5 YEARS of knowing him!!!!

Well Mr. "I NEVER GET SICK" got his first cold without me giving it to him!!!!!!

That's right people.  Madeline did not get him sick NOR is Madeline sick!!!!! You know, Madeline, the girl that in contrast to her husband, USED to get sick about 6 times a year for AT LEAST a week at a time...EVERY YEAR).  She has been sick once in almost 1 year since her surgery (and it sounded worse than I felt)!!!!!

Can I get a whoot whoot!!! 

PS: Already knocking on wood. I have been sick to EVERY major test I have ever taken.  SAT (2 times), LSAT (3 times), driving test....you name it...

I WILL NOT BE SICK ON SATURDAY

(I am not above kicking out the hubby from the bedroom until after Saturday night)

Show me the Money

While I should be studying for my test on Saturday...I spent the last hour playing with Bank of America's online "portfolio".


It takes all your expenses and puts them in a little graph so you know where your $$ is going! It also has a budget feature...and my favorite your "net worth" or lack of it...haha :) You can even plug in your credit cards (again to track where the $$ is being spent) and student loans. For a "visual" gal like me...to see the big chunk of the pie going towards dining out...it finally hit home :(

I'm a realist. I am never going to be Suze Orman's protege! I have expensive taste. It sucks. And it's not even on purpose. I don't go out thinking "let me find the most expensive plates possible" I just see something across the isle...fall in love with it...THEN look at the price. 9 out of ten times...I'll pick the most expensive item, not even trying to :( Grrrrrrrrr....   I try to make up for this bad habit, by being a coupon QUEEN.  It's like free money!  I try to dictate my shopping (lets say I know I have to buy something at Home Depot and they send me a $25 coupon....well I wait till that coupon is valid and then by my purchase.)  Or I use...Ebates online.  It's only 3% back , maybe 6% but every little bit helps!

Well the better half and I are TRYING to cut back on costs. We realized we pay for a lot of "fluff" that we don't really need to spend money on.

So far this month (this is not including the money we are going to save on eating at home. That is a whole 'nother post)

• Changing cable companies- Saving $80 bucks a month! (we changed to Dish Network. We only have 45 channels now. But they are all HD and all the channels we need. Plus we still get to keep the good old DVR!!)

• Goodbye blockbuster movies- Saving $18 a month (we still get to watch the latest movie in theaters and on video...just not the HD quality...I'll leave it at that)

• Goodbye fax line- Saving $24 a month

• Gardeners only coming once a month- Saving $150 a month

• Goodbye boat- Saving $250 a month in storage fees.

Total savings for an entire year.....gulp....$6264 bucks!!!!

(Yeah, it makes me sick to my stomach just looking at that )