Bubbaganoosh

That's his new name lately. Bubbaganoosh, bubba, bubbs...he'll come to just about anything.

It started with Murphy, and has slowly drifted to Haley and Jay. It's just a thing right now...everyone is bubbaganoosh.

[For anyone who noticed, I will retire this shirt shortly. It must be the one that I grab while running out of the house in a hurry, as I was this morning.]

We took these pictures as a mobile groomer was at our house last night after Murphy was groomed & while Haley in the van. I was trying to save time by having the groomer come to us. The unfortunate part was that as soon as Murphy saw the van (they came once before), he started clawing at the cement and running away from them while whining profusely. It took three of us to get him in there. I have never seen him react like that to anything. I had terrible guilt the entire time he was being groomed - he undoubtedly was afraid and hated it. So Jay and I sat on the steps and watched through the window to ensure it was legit. They were less gentle with him than I would have been but we didn't see anything suspicious. I will never, ever, ever force him to do it again. Poor bubba.

Haley was peeking out the window at us, as we were looking back at her. She seemed to do ok, but I doubt she would ever run and jump in the van again with curiosity as she did today.

If he could talk he would say, "Let me in!!" I'm sorry, bubba.

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Daily Blackberry Photos

Jay and I have always sent pictures to each other throughout the day so that we can be involved in what each other is doing. Not in a check up kind of way, in a come with me sort of way.

Today Jay went golfing with his boss and a vendor at Bear's Best in Suwanee, GA. They have a great time together when they get to do *out of the office* types of activities. Here are a few of the pics he sent to me today:

A house on the course (he knew I would enjoy this one):

I was in Buckhead for a little while, getting my hair colored. Side note, I recently switched to DAAS at Lenox mall for my color. I now go to Milana, who used to work for Vogue in NYC and goes back for fashion week in spring and fall...she has worked for Versace, and some other designers. (I didn't recognize the names - just not in that world.) If I ask for something she doesn't agree with, she'll always let me know...and I love that. She thinks I would look good with a few more highlights for summer and we're slowly going that direction....

And because he didn't send me any pictures of himself today, I took this when he got home.

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Congratulations to me

I went shopping for work clothes at the outlets today...and came home with a few goodies for the house.

First, I bought the Ashland tripod lamp for $103 at the PotteryBarn outlet in Dawsonville, which is now discontinued. It's listed on eBay for $180. I'm wondering if I should get one more in case I need it to balance the room...



I also picked up this little guy. Actually it is quite heavy. I still love it from weeks ago when I saw it and just had to have it:


I stopped myself from making more purchases other than work clothes today - the outlets are having some serious sales right now. (PB had a pretty cream 5x8 rug on sale for $150.) Back to work clothes and thinking about w.o.r.k....

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Grateful & Outside moments

I've been so worried about my dad lately. He had surgery yesterday morning to fix a problem with his foot. It had become so bad that he was having a hard time walking and he was in a lot of pain. I'll spare the details of what the surgeon did, but it involved pins and plates. My mom called yesterday after the surgery (10:30 a.m.) and said that dad was up and about drinking coffee. She handed over the phone to him so I could say hello...he sounded like he just got back from a night out. Everything was "just great, the doctors were wonderful and it went really well." He was also trying to send work emails and surf the internet. Mom finally had to take the computer away. I wonder if he knows that he is supposed to sleep after surgery? I'll check on him again today, because I'm sure that the pain meds from the surgery hadn't worn off yet when I talked to him. I'm so grateful that the procedure went well. We're always so used to dad taking care of the rest of us and I know I wasn't the only one extremely worried about him. If I see him on Facebook, then I'll know he got his computer back.

Last night we spent some time enjoying the spring weather.

Haley sat out in the middle of the yard for a good part of the night - she would sit out there all day if we let her. I usually pull her inside after an hour so she doesn't get too much sun.

Jay mowed the lawn, which he is always good at keeping up with...and he has been especially diligent since our house is for sale. Haley held her ground as he mowed all the way around her.

I had to eventually call her out of the way of the mower to the back of the house where it was safe.

The best part of working on the yard is always when Jay's finished and we spend some time enjoying the shade of the back porch.

65 degrees and sunny, sitting on the back porch...I think these are my favorite moments.

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Rainy Saturday

Jay and I were both outside this weekend at different events....while I was outside during a monsoon, Jay squeaked through with a less than rainy day as usual.

I wonder sometimes how it is that Jay is SO lucky because I am sooo NOT lucky. It's a good thing that we're married, because he balances out my luck.

Saturday morning I volunteered at the March of Dimes March for Babies in Marietta. I was there by 7:00 a.m., and it was raining.

And when I left at 10:30 a.m., it was raining.

Jay, on the other hand, had a Pike golf tournament at 1:00 p.m.

They had a slight rain delay for a couple of hours.

But during the tournament, while the rest of Atlanta was under water, this is what the golf tournament weather looked like. It was held in Carrollton. Notice that is where there isn't any rain.

They were able to finish all 18 holes. He has the best luck of anyone I know!

This is Jay's friend & fraternity brother Jacob. Jay sent me an email during the tournament with this picture with just the message "Pants = Green." The only picture they got of the whole tournament was Jacob's lucky green pants. I think I will try to be there next year, if not just to take pictures so the guys can remember their event. Nice pants!

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News!

I'm so happy to be writing this post. Over the past few weeks, I have been interviewing in the accounting department at a company in Alpharetta. We've been thinking about moving over that way for a while. I sent my resume over back in November, started interviewing three weeks ago and today and I just accepted a position!!

Those who know about my job search know that I have turned down a few offers. I was beginning to feel Goldie locks - every job was too hot or too cold. One was with an accounting firm and the travel just wasn't right for me, one was with a major Atlanta corp and the money just wasn't right. I almost started to question myself and my "gut" feeling, which is all I had to go off of but I'm glad I held out for what was just right!!

I had a quick phone call with the recruiter this morning to accept the offer as I was out running errands this morning (luckily he called my mobile!). I drove home, picked up Jay (who works from home on Fridays) and we went to the closest mexican restaurant for lunch.

This is how I celebrated..

Of course Jay drove me home, and he was perfectly happy to do so!

I will try to keep up with our blog posts as I start this new position, but they may fall off slightly for the first couple of weeks. It's for a good reason though! Woo hoo! :)

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Frozen Cuisine

Since the house has been for sale, we have eaten out a lot. I mean a lot. If I eat one more fry I will absolutely go nuts! So yesterday I went to the grocery store and stocked up on frozen meals. Not exactly home cookin', but much better than fast food.

I'm pleasantly surprised by this one:
.


It's the Lean Cuisine Apple Cranberry Chicken meal. I was happy to read "no preservatives, and no additives" on the box.

Here are the nutrition basics:

Calories 300
Fat 4g
Fiber 6g
Protein 14g
Sodium 500mg
Carbohydrates 54g
Diet Exchange: 1 1/2 Lean Meat,2 1/2 Starch,1/2 Fruit,1 Vegetable

I could do without 54g of carbs per meal, but I just kept it in mind and had a lower carb meal for dinner. Overall it is filling and a nicely tasty meal for lunch! You should try it sometime!

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Just Because

credit: it's mary ruffle

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Afghanistan

My cousin Adam is in Afghanistan right now. Occasionally my uncle Gregg sends over little bits of information about his life over there to keep us informed. Uncle Gregg sent the picture below a couple of weeks ago and he forwarded over an article about him last night. It took me back slightly to read about my once "little" cousin in the thick of things on the ground. I'm praying for safety for him and strength for his family, please, if you don't mind, please do the same. I would appreciate it.

Check out the article.

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Dinnertime

We have been eating out a lot recently in an effort to keep the house clean while it's for sale. Last night, I couldn't take one more fast food meal and decided to make something easy. Spaghetti it was! We got our plates and this is how Jay fixed his dinner.

I can't help but laugh every time I see it!

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Morning Blogger

I'm a morning blogger. I think there's something so fresh and beautiful about the time of day and I'm usually in the most positive frame of mind.

This weekend my sleep finally became regulated. I'm relieved that I can sleep more than 4 hours per night. Due to the green pollen everywhere (and Jay at the doctor getting allergy shots) I took a benadryl on Friday. Just the one pill readjusted my sleep pattern and I'm finally back to normal!

We showed our house a couple of times this weekend, which was a great time to work on photography. All of the lessons are due on Sunday, and with all of the housework I was pretty behind!

A quick update on the photography class: It's going great. In my first post about the class, I was really freaked out that I was way under qualified to take it! Some students had already copyrighted their work. However, the copyright that I saw on other students' photos turned out to be an optional watermark that can be added to each photo as it is uploaded to the Better Photo.

The professor is very helpful. He has amazing photos posted from his experience shooting animals and people all over the world, which is really inspiring. He critiques each photo that is submitted and usually starts with the aspects that he really likes. Then he says what could make it better. For example, he recommended that I adjust my white balance in outdoor photos (and told me how) to provide a warmer tone to my photos. All other students' photo critiques are available so I can read through their critiques and not make the same mistakes. I'm really enjoying having an instructor's insight.

Here are a few of my favorite photos that I took this weekend as people were touring our house.

The calls for this weekend's showings came 30 minutes before the buyers wanted to walk-through the house. It really isn't much time to straighten up and get everyone (dogs, dog beds, dog bowls & toys) out the door. I'm off to clean our house from top to bottom so that I'm prepared for the day.

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May I recommend?

When I told my mom that I was dreading cleaning the shower due to weeks of soap scum build-up on the shower door, she quickly told me of a solution. She recommended the Magic Eraser by Mr Clean. I don't know if there are lot of chemicals in this pad (there probably are), but they aren't shooting out in the air as some sprays do for you to inhale. It took one wipe over the shower door with the pad and presto! We have a perfectly clear door. I would recommend this to anyone who ends up spraying the shower two and three times to get it clean, like me. This little eraser really works.

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