New Stuff!

I've just added some new features to the blog, which you will conveniently see on the left side bar of the screen.  These include the ability to be notified by email of any new blog postings (which you all better want!) and a link to my Flickr site, which shows many random pictures from the iphone and my camera that are just too cute too ignore.  Pass clicking on this if you absolutely hate cute, adorable, wrinkly puggle mug shots... :)

Also, you'll find a new list over there, called Our California To-Do List.  I've already named a few things we are looking forward to, but we are definitely looking for your input!! So if you know of any random adventures or wacky things you know we would like, comment and let me know!! :)

Lastly, I KNOW people are reading this, yet, for some reason, my mother is the only one brave enough to show the world she is interested in what we are doing....Thanks Mom! :)

The move is coming up quick, but the most important thing this next weekend is our very own Thomas "Rondo" "America" Jefferson's birthday!! (March 27)  Let's all wish him a wonderful day!  And if you're wondering about the middle names we've blessed him with, let me explain.  I encourage you to google "Rajan Rondo" of the Boston Celtics and tell me if that's not the closest resemblence of a puggle to an NBA basketball player you have ever seen.  "America" just sounds patriotic. :)

Little baby Thomas when we first brought him home....

And after last night's exciting game....GO COUGS! :) I may not be an alumni, but I'm almost there by default!

Still enjoying.... :)

So yes, it has come to my attention that my ever-faithful blog readers were possibly a bit disappointed in the number of posts I have been writing, especially considering I am currently unemployed and surely have nothing else to do......  Well, that is only partly true.  Sure, I have ample amounts of time to paint, cook, and play with the dogs, but who really wants to read about that?!  The problem has been, we haven't been doing anything very blog worthy, but here is an update nonetheless.

Medford blessed us with rain the entire 7 days we were there, so I was basically stuck in the hotel room with the dogs, so nothing much went on there, except plenty of adorable dog pics....enjoy!

These guys are such good buddies :) Until Thomas gets pumped up and chews on Dudley's neck......

What a precious little face to wake up to every morning :)

We also took the dogs to a dog park while we were down there and Thomas had soooo much fun running around with a few labs.  Their owner would through a tennis ball out into a field and Tom would run after it with the other dogs, of course, he was a tad bit slower, but that didn't stop him from running as fast as his little puggle legs would carry him!

Today, I can just feel my mood increasing from good to great as I look out the window and finally see a clear blue sky!!!! Amazing how the weather can affect moods...sometimes when it's dreary, I am just in a bad mood for no good reason at all...thus another reason why sunny California is calling our names!

Last weekend, we made a stop in Kahlotus on Good-Bye Tour 2011.  We bowled, ONE of us hunted for snipes, we stuffed ourselves with pizza and a late night McDonald's run, and had a great time!!!  We also sampled the delectable deliciousness of the new 20 piece chicken nuggets for $4.99.  What a deal, people!!!! And they come in two separate little boxes so it feels like you are walking away with so much more for your money! :) Insert sarcastic tone for those last two sentences, as the nugget I chose to munch on tasted like it was made in a batch of probably 1,000 at 8 AM, and believe me, there was a little bit more nugget than chicken on that baby......I'm sure you're salivating already....

Speaking of deeeeelish food.....I have been doing a little research on something called "green smoothies."  It's basically fruit and greens (spinach, romaine, celery, cilantro, etc, only one per smoothie) blended together.  The fruit masks the taste of the greens, and before you know it, you get a heaping serving of healthy greens and it's basically already pre-digested for you, allowing your body to absorb all of the good stuff! I know it's probably not for everyone, but I have been loving them! Even Adam drinks some, although he adds sugar and lemonade :)

Before blending, oranges, bananas, and spinach.

So what's coming up for the future? Lots of basketball, time with friends and family, and packing!!! We are set to head down south the first week of April, but I'm sure I'll have updates before then.  I think Kitty may miss the excellent fishing opportunities of our current backyard, though....

P.S.  I'm sure many of you have probably wondered how the dogs travel in the car.  Usually, if they are both with us, they will fall asleep together in the back seat, however, if Thomas is by himself, he is extremely persistent about sitting in the front...staring at us until I give in.  And when I give in (and I always do) he sits in my lap, attentively looking out the window, until I decided to take a picture of him, and the camera was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen :)

Two Dogs, One Brittney, Zero Hotel Room Keys

It has been a few days since we arrived in Medford, OR.  The weather has been pretty dreary, so my days have consisted of playing the guitar, surfing the net, and (although I hate to admit it) watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians and their various spin-offs, however, seeing Kris Jenner successfully execute a keg stand was slightly more entertaining than Kathy Lee and Hoda....

Getting used to having dogs in a hotel room has quite the learning curve to it.  Keeping an eye on these guys can be difficult, but I thought I had started to get the hang of it, especially the carefully planned potty trips to the very specific doggy outdoor area.  I had gotten it down to a precise science, as follows....

1. Attract Thomas's attention long enough with kissy noises in order to accessorize him with his bright red, full body collar. See following picture, as Tom very handsomely models the contraption....

2. Very quickly put on Dudley's collar, while Thomas jumps around like a wild jack rabbit, while simultaneously praying that Dudley just stays silent and doesn't alert the ENTIRE HOTEL that he's ready to pee by a single bark.

3. Grab my jacket, doggy treats, and hotel key as fast as possible so we can get out the door.....

These steps usually work well and I don't have many issues.....until this morning.

The first steps went smooth as butter, treats in pocket, hotel key in pocket from earlier, and we were off. We had made it out to the lawn area and both dogs decided they needed to do their number 2 doggy business at the EXACT SAME TIME, which usually wouldn't be a problem for an experienced dog person, such as myself, however, trying to grab two poop baggies to clean it up, while both dogs (who are now much more spirited :) ) are running in circles in opposite directions was quite a challenge.... but somehow the poop was cleaned up and I was ready to get back in the room.

As I reached the outside door to the hotel, I went to grab what I thought was the hotel key.....but it wasn't, it was my driver's license from the bar we had gone to last night to catch the WSU game (because for some reason, I STILL get carded...I'm nearly 23 people!!) .... perfect!  So I tried to gracefully walk to the front lobby with two hyper dogs.  Good in theory, until I came to find out that they were repainting the walls, which led to even more excited dogs, because "omg, omg, omg, new people to pet me, new smells, new everythings!!!!!! weeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!"  I explained to the attendant that I left my key in the room and needed a new one, hoping that she would notice the two hyper, four-legged creatures wrapping both their leashes around my ankles and not ask any questions.  Luckily, she was able to make the key quickly and I was on my way back to the room.

"Phew, crisis averted, time to relax again, hopefully I didn't miss any E! news," I thought as I inserted the freshly made key into the door lock....RED.  "What??  RED!? This key was just made!!!!!"  Not wanting to deal with the fiasco of the front lobby painting crew again, I came up with a brilliant plan.... I'll just ask the maid two rooms down if she can just let me in real quick so I don't have to go all the way back to the lobby with the dogs, etc. Well, turns out it's a rarity to find a maid that speaks English.  Since my Espanol consists of "gracias" and "un poquito," the only answer the maid could give me was "front desk, front desk, sorry, front desk."  Could it get worse, you ask? Yes. Apparently Dudley is taking lessons from Houdini and was able to slip right out of his collar, so I'm sure you can imagine me holding Dudley, trying to explain my situation to the maid, all while keeping Thomas from barking.  Chaos, pure chaos....back to the front desk.....

Turns out the second time is charm and I was finally able to get back into the room with both dogs attached and business done....and there sat the key :)

As much as I enjoyed this little fiasco, I count my lucky stars I'm not in charge of the alternative duty....the 5 AM potty run :) That's a man's job :)

Looking forward to the weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S.  This is how you know it's been a good day.... note the synchronized sleeping positions....

Getting used to the life...

So I thought for sure I would run out of things to do not having to go to work for 8 hours, but, surprise! I could totally get used to this non-work thing :) Although I have been staying busy packing for a week on the road, cleaning up the never-ending supply of aged beagle hair, and continually throwing more stuff away. yay! The less to pack to California, the better!

I was able to get lots more done today because Thomas went on a little play date over to see his great friend Dino.  He will sleep soooo good tonight, and I'm hopping that puppy exhaustion will carry over to tomorrow.

We are off on the road tomorrow headed for Oregon! 

I'll leave you all with a vision you'll really enjoy.....

If Thomas keeps this look up, no doubt he'll be in a motorcycle gang for Halloween :)

P.S.  Someone please tell me that California has no scorpions....because I found another one....at 2am...on the bathroom floor right next to my bare feet.....SCARY!!!!!!! Can you believe Tom lets those things in the house?? :)

Day 1

Good Afternoon!!

It's the first day of my 2 month unemployment stint, and I must say, I'm enjoying the silence..my phone has never been so quiet!

For those of you who are not quite up to speed on what has been going on with us, here is a quick update.  Last month, I traveled to California to interview with a firm located in Valenica.  Some of you might recognize this city as the home of Magic Mountain, yay!! The firm, of course, could not say no to my application, and last week, I officially accepted their offer. 

So....I put in my two weeks and as of yesterday, I am on a career break! woo-hoo!! Although, I don't think I'll have time to get bored....

Adam has also given his notice and we will both be traveling to California mid April to start a new chapter in a new state. Adam already has interviews lined up in Los Angeles, so knock on wood, we are in good shape. 

As for other excited things we have planned, we are traveling to Medford, OR, Yuma, AZ and Las Vegas in the next 2 months, not to mention the big move to California, so we will have lots to update on and hopefully plenty of entertaining stories as we travel the great American highway system, look for apartments in LA with 2 dogs and a kitty, and ultimately get used to a big new city. :)

Don't forget to vote on the monthly poll in Thomas's Corner :)

As you can see, Thomas is ready to party, Dudley is praying for 1 more year.