Vacation Recap

I realized that I never gave the rundown of our two Christmases, similar to the movie Four Christmases but not quite.  Jeff and I flew up to New York while Milton was whisked away to Louisiana.  We enjoyed equally happy but quite separate vacations.  Next year hopefully we will all be together.

In New York, Jeff did a little of this:

The real snow actually hit after Jeff flew home.  That's just fluff.

I did a lot of this:

You just can't beat the holiday feast, especially at your mom's house.  In this shot, I am scraping out, mouthful by mouthful, tasty scallop potatoes.

On Milt's vacation, he did a whole lot of all this:

Wrestling with Bhula, Jeff's sister's Siberian husky

Digging for vegetables in the garden

Family bonding - Jeff's younger brother, Jeremy, is not the best at sharing

Guarding Jeff's little niece while she swings, in case she falls

Some little girl, who nicknamed Milt "Fluffy Tail" stole Milt dog's heart

That little girl likes the Milt dog too.  As you can see, she made him a bed and read him a goodnight story.

Sometimes it is good for family members to take a brief respite from each other.  It certainly makes us appreciate all we have even more when we are back together again!     

Guard Dog Extraordinaire

Before we moved into our house, we spent many a morning, noon, and night over here painting.  On one such occasion, we met one of our new neighbors who informed us about the "state of affairs" in our little corner of the city.  We were told that our neighborhood has been home to a few burglaries, and potential crooks had been known to drive by jiggling door handles in the middle of the night.  The sweet treat to follow that mouthful was to not leave our dog in the backyard because he could be stolen for bait in a dog fight.  We all know what a pretty boy Milt is, so I can only imagine.  Jeff and I, an enthusiastic, young couple wielding paintbrushes, slumped down a few inches and our grins turned to frowns.  News of the lack of security is enough to dampen one's spirits for not just the day but weeks and months following.

Since that day, I have been apprehensive when entering the house at night, and Jeff has trouble sleeping.  When Jeff and Milt leave for a hunting weekend, I lock the doors and sit tight.  Should we be forced to feel this way in our own home?  No, certainly not, but we have not yet reached a solid comfort level.  Everyday we feel better with the more homey touches we add around the house.  Curtains certainly help too.  So we start to feel at ease, and then I witness a man out walking, early morning, with a face mask on.  Granted it has been cold in Dallas but not that cold... 

This is why I insist that we do not gate the Milt into a certain portion of the house on days when he is left home.  He is our first line of defense, and it is imperative that he has free movement between the front and the backdoor, so he can adequately guard both.  He takes his job very, very seriously.

Vicious

Guarding the front

Keeping watch in the back

Are we overreacting?  Probably.  Websites like this:  21 Things Your Burglar Won't Tell You  fuel our fear too.  Oh, and this one:  10 Things to Do When a Stranger Knocks on Your Door  Remember to keep it all in perspective though, and please don't read these websites at nighttime when you are sitting by yourself because they are written from the burglar's point-of-view, and they will creep you out.  When Milton found his deep, scary voice (his bark), as a mom I was proud, and now I am thrilled.  When our doodle barks, I congratulate him and know that he is protecting his family around the clock.

Puppy Photo of the Week

New Year's Day it rained and rained and rained.  Thus far, Milt has not taken too much of an interest in our backyard, but when he discovered how muddy our yard can get, his interest was definitely piqued.  He was digging deep down in the muck and racing circles around himself for no particular reason at all.  This does not make for an easy cleanup, as you can see.

Milt plays hard.

The bath water reminded me of the Augustus Gloop and the chocolate river scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  Disappointingly our water is simply dirty dirt and not luscious chocolate.  We thought about rinsing the Milt off with a hose outside, but we deemed the water temperature just too cold for him.  If his grime starts clogging our bathtub though, he will just need to tough it out!

A Dollop of Humor!

Before I began blogging, I used to read a lot, a lot of blogs.  Everyday after school, I would sit in our recliner and catch up on the different happenings: food, style, or home related.  Now, due to a supreme lack of time, I just work on my own blog and on weekends, holidays, etc. try to catch up on all my missed news.  One blog that I do read is Joey the Goldendoodle about a dood who was born in Pennsylvania but now resides in New York City.  The blog tends to post cute photo updates of Joey, which I certainly enjoy reading.  During the massive snowstorm that hit the Northeast over the holidays, the below link was posted.

How to Poop During a Nor'easter

I hope you get as much of a kick out of it as I did.  Happy Friday!

Milt's Childhood Home

As many of you know, we recently moved into our first house.  Did we lock the door to our apartment and simply walk away?  No.  We needed to do a bit of "spring cleaning" first.  When you vacate an apartment, you need to whjp it into tip top, immaculate shape otherwise management is going to charge you for anything and everything.  Example, nail holes cost $1 each and a brand new rug, if yours is deemed beyond repair, can cost you up to $700.  So what were we to do but mop, sweep, and scrub everything?

Just to clarify, our apartment was quite filthy, especially since our goldendoodle is reminiscent of Pigpen from Charlie Brown, and I stopped cleaning the apartment at the end of November when we closed on our house.  Why clean when you are moving out?  You need to pack!  Now I am reconsidering that stance because it probably would make this clean up just a little bit easier if there wasn't a solid month of grime stuck to absolutely everything.  So, I spent about three hours on Monday, New Year's Eve, at our old place, and Jeff joined me for another three on New Year's Day; that's quite the way to ring in 2013, huh?  Well, somebody's got to do it, and I don't think anyone else would volunteer.  This is just a glimpse of what we were dealing with:

Us and rust

Nothing must be left undone...

                                  

The bathtub that was Milton's

Lots of crumbs and remnants of an orange juice disaster

Got to get that dust between the banisters

While working throughout, the famous quote from the musical Annie kept ringing in my ears, "You'll stay up until this floor shines like the top of the Chrysler Building!", and we did.

Milt had a penchant for doorstops, so off they went and now back on!

Milt joined us during the two bouts of cleaning, but at times we were forced to restrict his enthusiasm.

He looks like a bear at the circus.

At least we brought some toys along for him, and it was a terribly rainy day, so not much was missed.

Final time our boy would signal from the stairs for potty time

Don't worry.  We put an awful lot of elbow grease into the deep cleanse, and we came out victorious in our walk through, although one bathtub had a little mildew problem.  Of course, Jeff is adamant that we re-clean the tub, ourselves, to avoid the $20 charge.  I was adamant that he would be doing the second scrubbing!    A thrifty husband can be both a blessing and a curse. 

Jeff, the Milt, and I certainly have a lot of fond memories at our apartment.  It was perfect for us for the past two years with an upstairs/downstairs, view of the Katy Trail, and spacious grounds with pool/hot tub.  I will definitely miss our time spent there.  Hopefully our new abode will be equally enjoyable, if not more.

Belated Puppy Photo of the Week

Happy New Year to all!  I hope last night was a delight for everyone.  This Puppy Photo of the Week was pushed from yesterday because I had to give the Milton Memories of 2012!  Below showcases one of Jeff's stocking stuffers gifted to me from my mom and re-gifted to Jeff!  Goldendoodle socks might not be in style on the street, but in our family they are pretty hip.

Best Christmas Present

Our socks were bought at a little local shop in New York, which does not appear to have a website.  If you want a pair for yourself, at $9.95 (what we paid) check them out here:

http://www.dogstuff.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=f10b51f5890584d1deb132b72f8a2fec&keyword=goldendoodle+socks

 The website offers a lot of other breed socks too, so it is well worth a visit.  You can start accumulating stocking stuffers for next year nice and early!

Goodbye 2012 AND Hello 2013!

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and I certainly have never been a big fan of this holiday.  As a school kid, college student, and now as a teacher, I have always come to associate the beginning and end of the year with the school term, so the holiday has never really impacted me that much.  If it is not full of glitz and glam, then it seems like something of a disappointment.  For all of you out there who feel the same way, do not worry because someone else (me!) shares your sentiments. 

On carefully reviewing my New Year's resolutions from last year, some did not come to fruition.  I started out strong reading three books per month, but that eventually tapered off with the rigors of student papers.  Although I remain diligent writing cards for all the big holidays (Christmas, Easter) and the small as well (Halloween, Valentine's Day), I did fall off in writing one "just because" card a month.  The yoga headstand, my prized resolution, simply never took off despite some really good intentions.  My main achievement was scoring a new job that I love.  Funny enough, the dog, subsequent blog, and the house were nowhere to be found on last year's list.  So, sometimes life just happens.

2012 was the Year of the Milt for Jeff and me, so here are some of our fondest Milton memories.  Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

Momma bonding with "Drake," soon to be Milton, at the puppy pick

Daddy bringing the Milt home for the very first time



Milton making himself feel right at home

First bath

Potty training disaster

Making friends

Taking trips

Taking risks

Being naughty

Naughty again

Getting dirty

New friendships

And some more



Lotsa Doodles Calendar Mr. May

Mr. Frog

Daycare Days

Cone Head



Bed Head

Milton the Black-Nosed Reindeer

Some doods never learn

Momma's boy since April 7, 2012, and onward!

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