Surprise!

Today I had two surprises.

First, my work had an early dismissal today due to MLK Jr. day on Monday. This was great and I chose to spend the extra time getting my car serviced. w00t!

The second surprise of the day for me was not as wonderful. I can home from the car place, got the mail, put some dishes away in the kitchen, and then went to the bathroom. This is where the second surprise occurred - I know what you are thinking and don't worry I'm not going there :) The surprise was that a quarter of the toilet paper roll was missing! I realized right away this was something Chewy must have done. When he was a puppy we gave him the empty TP roll to play with and he LOVED that. I guess he's either trying to get the toy our of the wrapping, or he is protesting his new hairdo. Now he has been out and about while we are at work for a long time and this is the first I have ever had him get into trouble like this. He usually just eats a hole in a sock or a blanket - he has never touched the toilet paper.

Look at the guilt on that face!

Note the beautiful new hair do as well!

The scene of the crime.

So now we have to make sure the bathroom door is closed during the day before we both leave the house.

Chewy's new look

Chewy got his haircut a little early this year. Usually we'd cut his hair in the late winter/early spring, but we had to do it earlier this time since he was really matting. He kept licking the mats(i think because dirt and debris were in them) till his skin got irritated, so no more hair equals no more mats. We got a lot done this evening but we still have to tackle the head. So right now he has a BIG head and tiny body. Just like a supermodel or a lion.

Water

Have you ever tried drinking the 8 glasses of water a day? I'm trying to do that this year and I hope that my body adjusts to this change soon. I'm so tired of having to go to the bathroom all the time. I feel like I'm Jenna. :)

Jami's new place

Jami has moved to North Carolina and is settled into her house. Tom and Kris (her aunt and uncle) found a great house across the street for her to live in while she is going to school. Because of this she got to bring the dogs with her and that will help her feel more at home in NC.

Jenna had to ride with the dogs in the backseat on the way down. I appreciated this because I have a small allergy to Bailey's hair. It was tight quarters back there.

We all worked hard cleaning and unpacking the place so Jami could feel at home.

Jami really appreciated all the help because it would have taken her about 2 years to unpack all this stuff! We did it in 4 days (with 8 people).

Jenna and I made sure every box was emptied, and we ended up with a lot of empty boxes. This pile is only a third of the boxes we unpacked.
We had a kickoff breakfast Sunday morning with everyone.

Funny Video

Christmas Card Via the Blog

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Jason and me in front of Poulnabrone Dolmen in the Burren, Ireland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poulnabrone_dolmen

Let's see that again!

I was thinking about that great video we did to show off Chewy's learned tricks back in 2007. I decided to repost it because the quality of the video is superb. Enjoy!

FYI Todd's dog Sienna could roll over so I had to get Chewy to learn something even better since he has never learned the command "roll over."

Jason's Concert

Jason's Christmas concert was wonderful. He and some other trombone players had a special section in the concert where they played songs with only the trombones.

Hopefully if you missed this concert you can make it to a summer concert in 2009.

Ignore if you aren't interested

Wishlist - ignore this if you are not my family :)
I try to keep an updated wishlist on Amazon. I'm not saying it has to be purchased through the web, and some people (Shelly) asked me if I had one.

More Christmas Baking

We arrived just in time for the easy part of the Caldwell's and Sheldon's Christmas cookie making - the decorating and eating! It was a lot of fun and a great tradition.

And I'm going to throw in a picture of Chewy so you all can see how long his coat is getting.

This is his "winter do".

Corrine is 1 month old!

We visited Brook and Brett this weekend and their new baby girl Corrine. She is a beautiful girl and she behaved very well - such a sweet baby.

Happy Birthday Mom Duffy

We had a wonderful Duffy family meal thanks to Chef Jami!

Keith was there in spirit :) so he's not in the pics.

I am a Proud Auntie

I'm bragging about my niece/nephew already :) Whom (I read online) is about the size of a strawberry. I'm assuming a normal strawberry not the genetically altered giant ones they sell at the store.

Anyway, Jenna and Keith had a dr's appt today and listened to the baby's heartbeat - a strong one at that! I'm so proud of him/her already!

Pizzelles, Gnocchi, and Rolled Pizza - Oh My!

Beth C. had a party to teach those interested, how to make pizzelles, gnocchi and Rolled Pizza.

The gnocchi was very hard work in my opinion. Lots of kneading. The result is worth the workout, though. The pizzelles were very simple and make a bunch in one batch. I'll have to get a maker at Target or somewhere. The rolled pizza has a lot of waiting in the dough making process, but is very simple. That's really the surprise of the day for me. I couldn't imagine what it was when it was being explained to me, but once I saw and tasted it - what a great treat!

Here are some pictures from the day.

Aileen's making one of the rolled pizzas, while Lauren is watching the method.

Carrie is busy with her own mini rolled pizza.
Carol was able to teach us all the methods for creating this wonderful dish.

Beth C. is helping Carrie and Quin follow the steps.

While Lauren and Beth I look on.

Quin enjoyed the flour as much as she enjoyed the other foods.

Carrie decided to try flour too, but I don't think she liked it as well as Quin.

Psychic Party

We had a Psychic party with Marc Moody who was able to read our aura and sense the colors around us. The colors and where they are coming from have meanings and he was able to read this to each of us. Some of us also got a medical scan where he was able to sense stomach issues, dehydration tendencies, and sleep deprivation. All of which were accurate. This was a really fun time and we all were surprised with how dead on most of the stuff in his reading was.

Sara (told she is a giver) and Jenna (told there was pink light coming at her. Girl maybe?)

Kerri, Cathy (very much a healer) and Sara.

Zach and MacKenna enjoying some bananas.


Jami (told she is going to have sucess in NC), me, and Erin (discussed future career moves for her and her husband).

My reading was really cool. I was told I have a lot of peace ahead of me and financial worries behind me. He told me that I will have success with my career, but it may take me to another location in 4 years. He sense 2 children in my future (but not for another year and a half) and one of them will be a girl. He said that the feeling of wanting to gain more knowledge is there and that I should follow it and take classes to bone up my brain. He sensed that I'm a no nonsense kind of girl and I don't like when people piddle around a subject - just get to the point!
I really enjoyed this experience and I am so glad that Lisa set it up. Too bad I didn't get a picture of Lisa. I think Jami did, so check her blog soon.

Everyone brought a treat and the spread looked and tasted great!

Nat's back with pictures!

Here's a link to ALL the pictures from Natalie:

http://picasaweb.google.com/christineduffy/NatalieInHongKong#

Here's a link to another person's (that went on the trip with Natalie) pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=83292&l=0fd4a&id=524400357

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=83303&l=80964&id=524400357

Nat in Hong Kong

Natalie is in Hong Kong for the World Congress of Veterinary Dermatology. I sent my camera with her so hopefully I will have pictures when she comes back. Here is a picture from the web in case you need some visual stimulation.

Congrats Jenna and Keith!

Send Jenna and Keith a note of congratulations on their blog: http://keithplusjenna.blogspot.com/

Baby Rome

Brook and Brett had a baby on Friday!

Corinne Michaela Rome is the newest member of their family!

She is very beautiful and sleeps wonderfully.

Big News!

We just found out that Jenna and Keith are having a baby!

That's right. They are expecting a little one in July 2009!

I can't wait to watch them enjoy this experience!

Congrats you two!

Chewy and the Horses

Jason, Chewy and I went to visit Sue over the weekend.

Chewy got to meet Patchy (Sue's dog), Sundance and Ginger.

Salt was in my hand which the horses thought was deeeelish.

Chewy was very good, but curious.

Big size difference.

Big News

The Obamas will be getting a puppy dog next spring and it might be a Goldendoodle.

Chewy did not get to vote in this election because it is still illegal for dogs to vote, but he is super excited to hear this news. He is hoping it's a girl dog and that he might get to meet him/her some day. He has high hopes and dreams for visiting the white house.

Here's some info from an article I found:

The Obamas appear to being leaning toward a rescue dog in what could be the 44th president's first major appointment. President-elect Barack Obama announced Tuesday that he would fulfill a campaign promise to buy his daughters a puppy.

"Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine," Obama said in his Election Night address. "You have earned the puppy that is coming with us.

Throughout the campaign, the Obamas dropped hints about the dog, whose adoption was promised regardless of the campaign's outcome. Malia, 10, expressed a desire for a "goldendoodle," a golden retriever-poodle hybrid that isn't recognized as an official breed by the American Kennel Club. And Michelle Obama told reporters in October that the family would select a rescue dog from a shelter.

Any future pet, however, must be hypoallergenic because of Malia's allergies.
At the PAWS Chicago Adoption Center, officials said they would be able to find a designer puppy to meet both Malia's needs and her mother's prerequisites.

"Anyone who wants a hypoallergenic, designer dog will be able to get one from us," PAWS founder Paula Fasseas said. "If they want a puppy, it will take a little longer."

Here's the article:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/11/obamas-first-appointment-a-first-dog.html

I hit 100K

A couple weeks ago I hit 100,000 miles while driving to work. Hopefully I can make it to 200K. I think Hondas are usually long lasting cars if you take care of them. I like to think that I do!