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another day, another blog...

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http://braverthanyoubelieve.wordpress.com/

We've moved!

Ha. I wish! I wish we had moved!

But really, this blog has moved. It's the end of Kick Your Boots and the beginning of a brand new, grown up blog.

Check me out at braver than you believe. See you there!

Two Dogs and One Cat FOR SALE!

Ain't that the truth?

Last week, the cat puked on the bed. So at 9:00 at night I had to wash the comforter, sheets and mattress pad. And the comforter is so big it won't fit in the washing machine and I don't want to pay for dry cleaning (this is the THIRD time he has puked on the bed) so I wash it by hand in the bathtub and then hang it up in the shower to dry. Oy. Why must he always throw up on the bed?! He never even sleeps on the bed. He's hardly up there at all. Except when he feels the need to get sick.

Not two days later, we come home and one of the dogs has peed in the hallway, on the carpet. Argggh. We've been leaving the dogs inside every day this summer since it is 107 outside. They are (usually) very good about staying off of all carpet in the house. This has been the rule for years. But I guess when they have to go to the bathroom they just can't go on any of the tile. That would make too much sense. They have to go on the CARPET. Ahhhhh!

THEN. Later that same week, we come home from work and I walk in the house and smell something. Uh oh. I was for real too scared to look. I made Mark walk around the house and find the source of the smell. Yeah. Dog poop, on the carpet, in our bedroom.

The animals are trying to run me out. I keep telling them, "you're lucky you're cute." Or YOU would be out of here!

Sunday Fun Day and Two Special Pups Turn Ten

I've spent some serious time this morning cleaning out my closet(s) and attempting to clear some space in them so I can actually see my clothes. I have waaaay too much stuff. And not because I shop a lot (although I do kind of shop a lot) but because I am so bad about parting with clothes. I always think I might still wear something, even if I haven't worn in in the past four years. But I did manage to fill up two large shopping bags full of clothes to donate. I sorted out the still nice/not so old/in good condition clothes from the very worn/faded/super out of date stuff, and I'm going to try my hand at some buy-back stores later today. If I walk away with 20 bucks in my pocket, I will be happy!

While I've been digging through closets, Mark did indeed start the retiling project this weekend. We (I mean HE) are ripping out the linoleum in the two bathrooms and laundry room, and today he is going to start laying the tile in the laundry room. So our washer and dryer are currently in the entry way to the house, so I guess I won't have to worry about laundry for a few days!

Today our two labs, Maggie and Jordan, turn TEN years old! We took them swimming at the lake early this morning (before it got TOO hot!), then Mark gave them both baths so they could be fresh and clean for their big day. Still on the agenda for this afternoon is a trip to Petsmart to pick out some new birthday toys, and I think I'll either make them some sort of dog friendly treat (oatmeal cookies?) or else just give them a big scoop of peanut butter tonight.

I don't have too many pictures on my computer right now, but here's a shot of the Birthday Girls and their two cousins (Finn and Stella the German Shepherds) earlier this summer. They are sitting up on hay bales at my parent's house! Happy Birthday Maggie and Jordan! You are seventy years old today. Old Ladies.

Cousin dogs!

Just for fun: Laura, Kristen and me in San Antonio a couple weeks ago.

Where did the summer go, Grad School, and WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT IS ONLY 93 DEGREES OUTSIDE?!

Life is rushing past at a pretty rapid speed these days. This week is my first full week back at school, which means (gasp!) I have to work tomorrow and I have to stay all the way until 4:00 each day. It's pretty brutal. But my new boss started yesterday, and I think she is going to be a great addition to our team. So with some new changes around school, it feels almost like a whole new job. Which is nice and refreshing.

My grad school classes start in a few weeks, which is also going to be an exciting new change. I'm still meeting every few weeks with the head of our Lower School, who is serving as a mentor to me this year. She is such a great resource and is going to be such a valuable contact for me this next year. I am both excited and nervous-slash-borderline-nauseous at the idea of getting in the classroom sometime soon to teach some real, full day classes. Hooray!

Let's make this a totally random blog post and bounce around a lot, shall we? If you live in Dallas or Texas or anywhere in the entire middle of the country, you know that it's pretty hot outside. And I pretty much hate the heat with a passion larger than life. Well, I do LOVE going to the pool, but otherwise, I'll stay out of the heat thankyouverymuch. Well, I am a bit of a weather bug and like obsessively watch the local news every day to find out what the weather is going to be like each day (see also: Pete Delkus is my old(er) man crush). So I have gotten pretty into this whole When Will We Break the Record Streak of Most 100+ Days In A Row and Overtake the Dreaded Summer of 1980 (for which I was not even alive). And you guys, we are going to tie the record tomorrow and break it on Saturday! I've been watching this countdown play out on the news every morning, evening and night for the past 2 weeks! It is so! exciting! Every seven day forecast since like July 4 has been sure that we'll beat this record and go down in the books as the longest, hottest, most horrible summer in Dallas EVER and I was going to tell my kids and my grandkids and my great-grandkids that I lived through it.

But then. Out of nowhere. Clouds! We haven't seen clouds around here since May and they just blew in out of nowhere today and bam. We haven't hit 100 degrees yet today and it's not looking good that we'll get there at all. ONE DAY SHY of tying the record. Whahhhhhaat? We've suffered through 109 degree days and we can't even set a record?

Tragic.

Ok. The cat is bugging me to feed him and I've got dinner plans across town, so I'll end this rant for now. But, since you've read this far, I will sneak in a little surprise wedding photo, for no reason at all.

Just before making our big entrance in the Grand Centennial Hall of Lindsay, Texas. Holla!

Snapshots