Little Bugger

Is it just me, or has Romeo doubled in size?!? He was smaller than Minou not long ago.

He has seriously grown like a weed, and has a ferocious appetite. I thought that it would slow down after he left his litter mates but it hasn't wavered at all!

He's learning better manners now, he doesn't bounce off of my body repeatedly while I'm preparing his food anymore. He now sits, and has learned the wait command.

We've been spending time at Centennial Woods, since its so close, and have been to Angell Woods a couple of times now.

He plays well with all the dogs, and loves to bite tails. He got rolled by a giant Irish Setter and he squealed like a pig. I tried to feel sorry for him but he's so fearless that I think it did him some good. He was a lot more cautious after that.

The weather is improving a lot but the snow hasn't melted much despite the super sunny skies.

Marc is doing much better, and is recovering from his pneumonia. He is taking quite the cocktail of drugs. He's even taking two different inhalers!

It was scary because I've never seen him this sick for as long as I've known him.

I had a few symptoms but it never developped into anything major, thank goodness! Lots of sleep usually does the trick. It's funny 'cos neither of us have been truly sick in a very long time, and we get back to Mtl. and get sick!

Anywho, that's it for now, I'll keep you all posted!

Liver Treats

What better way to get your dog to do just about anything, than to slave over a batch of chewy liver biscuits? I made these tasty treats because you can cut them into small pieces for puppy kindergarten, or you can slice them into bigger ones for Confirmation class.

I've included a quick recipe for all you dog lovers...

_________________________________

1/2 lb. Pork or other Liver, (you can also use liquid from boiled pork hearts...gross!)

1 Egg beaten

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 Cup Corn Meal (Optional)

1 Cup Whole Oats

1 Cup Water (to obtain the consistency of a thick cake)

• Preheat oven to 350.

• Puree the dead animal organs, and try to keep down your breakfast. Blocking your nose helps. Attempt to ignore the salivating dog at your feet. Mix remaining ingredients.

• Pour mix into a lightly greased cake pan, and bake until desired consistency. Usually 30-45 min.

Treat away! Not too much or he'll get the poops!

Congrats to Marc! Paperwork- Case Closed

Marc has been waiting and waiting to get his "Pedigree Papers" taken care of.

With no help from the people that were supposed to help in the first place, he got them today.

It only took two visits, he was sworn in, and they were done. He is now an American citizen.

He didn't have to surrender his Canadian citizenship, and he is not considered a dual citizen. He is American, and Canadian.

Anywho, just a word of advice for anyone trying to get something done...do it yourself. If it involves legal issues, speak to a lawyer. We went through A LOT of heartache this past year,

and much of our frustration could have been avoided.

So for now, we will brave the insane weather conditions of the Great White North,

and see where the wind takes us. If we do venture south again, it will only be to a much warmer climate! :)

Congratulations Marc, on a job well done! You did it!!! Your Daddy would be very proud!

All is well in doggie land...

We're all hanging in there despite the freezing temps! It has snowed so much this past week, I believe everyone now, when they say that it's been the worst winter in years. We're expecting more snow on Sat. too!

Yesterday was beautiful, so Romeo and I played outside for awhile.

So far he has a great temperament with lots of feisty thrown in.

Ah (sigh), the joys of having a pain in the butt puppy again. ;)

Thankfully, we were able to get him in a puppy class with the Lakeshore Dog Training Association.
http://www.ldta.ca/

The class is held every Tues. night. There's plenty more classes in obedience if we want to get involved afterward, which is something that I'd love to do. So I think between Confirmation and Obedience, we're good to go. I'm not as crazy about agility but I will definetely look into it.

The first part of our class was socialization. All the pups ran around and played, then we were to call them away from their new friends. Romeo showed no fear, and was very eager to play with dogs that were much bigger than him. He was nice to all the pups. It scares me just a little that he has no fear whatsoever though! I can't wait to take him to the dog park, so he can get thrown around a bit by the bigger dogs! ;)

The rest of the class was about learning the basic commands... sit, down, come etc...and he also went through the tunnel. The hour went by quickly, and he slept like a rock afterward.

Can't wait till next week!

Where For Art Thou Romeo?

Guess who? Yep, it's baby Romeo! Marc and I brought this little bundle of hell home on Wednesday. He is actually quiet and very sweet.....so far. He is 9 weeks old. Ask me again next month. lol

I was a little worried about house breaking him because of the weather but so far so good, no accidents.

I open door, he hops out and goes to the bathroom, then he jumps back inside. He has no interest in playing out there, so he's associating going outside with going to the bathroom.

He slept through the night on both nights, with is a big relief too. We wake up around 6:30 with Marc, and he has breakfast at 7 am. I'm going to get him into a routine, so that it won't be an adjustment for when I go back to work.

Sunday we are going to Confirmation class, and we are also waiting to hear back from our vet for the enrollments dates etc...for the obedience classes.

That's it in a nutshell, I will post more pics later!

Loki A.K.A. Minou

We made it back in one piece, and just in time for another snow storm. It has been one the worst winters on record. I'm very happy that I missed the majority of it! Maybe we shouldn't have gone to Florida before coming home, it might not have been such a shock!

As you all know, I have missed my Minou a lot since moving. So it was great to see him again. My parents have been taking good care of him but have been feeding him lots of human food. He has turned into quite the demanding cat! He already talks a lot as it is, and now he'll follow you around until you give him a treat. He will not stop until he gets something!

I made some muffins the other day, and this is what we saw after coming home from a movie.

The little scavenger ate right through the plastic! He apparently really loves muffins.

What a bugger!

It's still great to see him again.

Florida Fun

Jeff invited us to his place in Clearwater Florida for a few days. We spent a lot of time relaxing on the beach, and even got a chance to see the Scientology center where TomKat & Co. visit.

The weather was beautiful but the water was too cold to swim in. The only ones that were in the water were from Canada! lol

We visited a lot of Wing Houses, which are the usual haunts of Marc and Jeff. Jeff knew all the girls a little too well! Among one of the restaus that we visited, was the Original Hooters. It was packed! Even parents bring their children there! I was pretty surprised to see that but apparently that's pretty normal. Quite a few of the girls are career waitresses too. They also end up doing a lot of calendar work.

We headed back to VA to wrap everything up, and to say our good-byes, and we made our way back to Montreal on Monday. The drive was good and the weather was perfect. Marc and I drove up both vehicles, and I managed to pull off driving 10 hours, with a couple of stops for gas. Marc is definetely a no nonsense driver!

I have more news so check back soon!

The Great White North

The biggest reason for not posting for awhile is because...we were packing!
Yep, Marc and I are moving back to Montreal! In a nutshell, my job got axed because the investors were not seeing enough profit, and all the "fat" was trimmed off the payroll.

Let's just say, I'm not upset about the decision. I will definetely miss the people that I have met, and don't regret the experience, as I have learned a lot about myself!

We are completely packed sauf our bed, tv, sofa...All of our things are on skids and will be taken back to Canada for us.

We are leaving for Tampa this coming Tues. and will be staying at Marc's boss' house for a few days and will be flying back to VA, to drive back to Montreal on the 24th.

I am taking some time off of work to get familiar with our new puppy. Marc will be going back to Procaps Mtl., and we will be staying with my parents until July.

Fort Knox and Lepers

I apologize to my readers who have to log in every time they want to read my blog.
It will most likely be a temporary thing, I just need to weed out a few unwanted readers, and keep the ones that I trust and are closest to. I shouldn't complain since my blog is on the web (lol) but I'd like to be as open as possible without worrying about particular people.

Other than that, my weekend has been great. I have been doing exactly what I wanted to do. Nothing!lol
My down time included lots of reading, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and playing Wii. I hooked up my Wii to the wireless network and it's great! I was reading news from all over the world. My dreams of a paperless world are finally coming true. ;)
I was also lucky enough to get a copy of Abobe Suite from a co-worker (which is pretty expensive if you actually buy it! LOL) and am learning about Photoshop CS2. I'm very excited about this :).

I stayed home Friday to recover from a very itchy rash on my upper body.
As far as I know, I'm not allergic to anything except penicillin but we all know that can change.
I'm feeling a lot less flea bitten after lots of Aveeno and Cortozone cream.
I hope you all had a great weekend!

Baby Romeo

What happens when a big brown boy dog takes advantage of a cute brown girl dog? A mommy who has to take care of the mess! The dog world is not too unlike the human world!

Hunter is a proud daddy and is an uber champion from PA with all the snotty titles.
Suzie Q is Vegas' momsies, who also holds some reputable titles and good bloodlines. AND since she was Vego's momsies, you know that the majority of good looks and smarts will be from her!

The 5 male 5 female litter, was born December 17, and they are all doing well. I can't wait to see them, and bite their little bums. The litter's theme name is of Shakesperean characters. Diane is keeping a female, who will be Juliet, and we will be getting a male that we chose the name Romeo for. Any famous quote suggestions are definetely welcome for his title name. ie. Where Art Thou Romeo? It's been awhile since I've had the displeasure of reading Shakespeare, so I was thinking of picking up the Cliff Notes (or googling it) to read through the memorable scenes and famous quotes...

We are embarking on a new adventure, again. I feel that I am ready to move on from the tragedy that happened with Vegas. I know that Vegas is irreplacable but I am looking forward to starting a relationship with a new friend.

Niki Barr at Sweet Caroline's

Saturday evening we all went bowling. I think I was a little overconfident after playing Wii Bowling! I bombed the first game but did a lot better the last two (I at least broke 100!).
We also headed to a place called Sweet Caroline's to see a regularly featured punk band, called Niki Barr.
We had a bunch of drinks and enjoyed the music a lot...We hope to head back soon because they have a regular 80's band there on Friday nights.
Hope everyone had a great and relaxing weekend!

Another Snow Day!

Well I must say that getting a snow day in VA is not too hard at all. The morning of the "snow storm", we made our way to work and saw dump trucks, tow trucks and sand trucks armed and ready for the first snow flake to fall. All the schools were closed, and the roads were dead.

We made it to work and then the snow started. It came down pretty heavily and we were let go at 1 p.m. to brave the roads. They were decent so we decided to make the best of our day off to enjoy the snow.

MB made a makeshift saucer out of a garbage lid and tied it to the "Gator". We tore around Andrea's property, and on the road by her house. I took lots of pics and videos but it got kinda dangerous when I almost fell out of the four wheeler!

It was decided that the garbage lid wasn't such a good idea, so we hooked up the old inner tube and everyone got a chance to race around her property.

No casualties this time, although MB did hit a tree! Well, I guess it was Marc's fault for driving near one but he's fine and that's what counts! :)

Bite of the Big Apple

Marc and I went to a PB tournament in NJ (for work) this past weekend. We decided to take the opportunity to head to NYC for a quick visit on Sunday. We knew that we only had about six hours, so we planned it out ahead of time. It turned out great and we felt like we got a good taste of NYC.

We parked the truck in a parking lot in Jersey, and hopped on a 10 minute bus ride that dropped us off two blocks from Times Square. Our first stop : Hooters! lol Marc collects the T-Shirts, and likes to look at boobies(which goes without saying). It was a nice one, and the food is always inexpensive and decent. We hailed a cab a la NYC, and headed to the American Museum of Natural History. Anyone visiting NYC MUST take the time to visit. It is also across from Central Park so we got to kill 2 birds with one stone, and got a quick peek of the impressive park. The museum had endless exhibits and shows. They had the standard stuffy exhibits with lots of dioramahs and really moderns approaches, like the Imax shows and the cool Dino displays. We spent a good chunk of our time there, and barely scratched the surface. We were definetely satisfied with the experience.

We grabbed a cab to our last stop...Times Square! Our cab driver was everything one would expect from a stereotypical NYC driver. Insane. Everytime the light changed, he would slam on the gas, and I would go flying around the cab laughing and rolling into Marc. I would NEVER drive in NYC! lol It's definetely a skill that would take some time to master! lol

Times Square was everything you'd expect, with tons of tourists snapping pics and loads of people everywhere...I was definetely surprised at how many ads were truly there. Imagine how much it would cost to put something up there!?!?! It was really fun to see, and even during the day it was pretty well lit up.

Pooped and ready to head back, we hopped back on the bus and made our way back to VA that night. We were really happy to get to go this weekend, and it barely cost us a dime! Can't wait to head back one day to see a broadway show!

Happy Christmas, Merry New Year!

...and what a happy time it was! We were at my parents for a week and had a fantastic time. We ate so much we were pooped!
The Blanchards had their customary incredible Christmas Eve dinner, and we got to see their new Bearded Dragon. He snuggled up right under my lapel to keep warm while he was out of his terrarium.
It was nice to see everyone and catch up too. Everyone looked great, and I couldn't get over how much the kids grew in the past six months!
We had our Christmas dinner at my Nanny's and opened up tons of gifts there. We laughed till our stomachs hurt and I was sorry to see the night come to an end. :)
Our little family outting was fun too. We went bowling and played some air hockey. I am still undefeated at Air Hockey! I welcome all challenges.
The trip was a success because we got to visit with everyone, friends and family, and got to a chance to kick back too.
If you're wondering who "Mac" is, he's a new member of the Paquette family. They are close friends to our family. He is the cutest dog and has endless amounts of energy.
I was so happy to see my Minou. We cuddled up together every night, I still can't believe he's 17! Even the vet doesn't believe me! :)
Upon our return, we exchanged gifts with Andrea, MB and the rest of the VA fam.
I had such a great time on New Year's Eve. We stayed in and played Wii. Sam and I played my new addiction, Mario Galaxy and then we all played Wii sports.
We ended the night with some shots = Alcohol and guns. Lovely mix indeed. When the ball dropped, we headed out to the back deck and shot off rounds of guns. Well, not me but I thought it was amusing. It was definetely a fantastic holiday!

Happy New Year to everyone, thank you for everything, it all meant so much!
xox

Icy Weather

We woke up this morning to lots of ice and high winds. The ice weighed down the power lines, and we lost power for part of the early hours on Sunday.
It warmed up again and large pieces fell from the trees. So we decided to stay inside for the majority of the day. What better way to spend the day than at the salon?
Andrea, Sam and I headed to Andrea's work to be pampered.
Andrea did our hair and I got a nice chair massage. Andrea was a trooper considering it was her Christmas party the night before, where she had one too many drinks!
The rest of our weekend was pretty relaxing. We played a lot of Wii Sports, and watched some movies. In all, it was a great weekend. I'm glad because this week will be very busy at work and then I'm off to Montreal!Yiiippeeee!

5 Memes

As promised from my last post, I would be more consistent with my blog and post pics from the party this past weekend. Well due to extenuating circumstances, I was unable to attend. I experienced my very first migrane on Saturday. I've been getting little headaches but this one was like no other that I have ever experienced. I am feeling much better now though! Yippee!

Someone sent me the meme below. For those who aren't familiar with memes here's a link to find out more about them...http://thedailymeme.com/what-is-a-meme/

People get tagged, and usually participate...

5 things on my to-do list for today...
1. Pick up the work mail which I have now begun to fear
2. Joke around with someone and laugh for real because I know that I haven’t in awhile
3. Update my blog, start a new blog because taking care of 1 just isn’t enough ;) I actually did! lol
4. Go to Target to pick up Christmas cards
5. Read more than two chapters of my book before falling asleep tonight

5 things I would do if I had 5 million dollars...
1. Phone my parents and tell them to retire
2. Volunteer in a study on primates or wolves in the wild
3. Design and build a modest cottage (probably 1 floor), with a GIGANTIC POOL and slide...plant a big garden too.
4. Have a rescue/rehabilitation sanctuary for animals. Volunteer only.
5. Invest

5 things that I'll never wear again...
1. Zebra pants like Brutus the Barber Beefcake. Did this in elementary when I was really into WWF wrestling
2. Neon/fluorescent clothes
3. Pants with safety pins in them
4. Cowboy boots...and I never have. I’m sticking to my guns.
5. I can only think of 3 ‘cos I’ve always been a pretty snappy dresser

5 things I'm glad that I never got into...
1. Drugs
2. Uggs
3. Scrapbooking
4. Food for comfort/crutch
5. Crocs

5 things that I miss...
1. Vegas
2. Being challenged by intelligent people, having insightful conversations
3. Saturday morning cartoons (when I was little)
4. Diversity
5. Mom

I'm adding another category...(I realize that I'm breaking the 5 rule of this one)

5 things that I am looking forward to in the near future...
1. The holidays-particularly my Christmas stocking
2. Being with my family and dancing around with Momsies
3. Seeing Minou and Belle again
4. Waking up before my brother on Christmas morning as I always have. I beat him every year.

If you read this...tag you're it!
As most of my readers do not have blogs, you can send it to me in an email as usual!
'Til next time!

Let It Snow!

Well my friends it finally happened! It got cold enough to snow! It was enough snow to grind most people to a halt! Even us! We woke up yesterday morning, only to find 4-5 inches of snow. That's it you say? Can't say that I thought so either but it's a lot when winter tires don't exist around here.

We attempted to go to work but only got about 10 miles in an hour. There were cars flipped over and others had smashed right into each other. We saw approximately 10 accidents in the short distance that we travelled. Anyone remember when I got hit last year and was in intensive treatment? Well I did. We decided we weren't as cool as all the dumb dumbs who risked their lives to go to work, and turned around to enjoy the guilt free (for the most part) snow day.

I answered all of my emails from my 3 work email accounts (this takes up a lot of my time at work), and was free to make snow angels for most of the day! Yiiippeeee!

I managed to capture some pics of the pretty snow, and laughed at how little snow it really was. I won't mention the ton of snow that Mtl. just got! It doesn't even compare!!! Everyone still makes it into work, then spends all day bragging about it! Canadians are true winter warriors. Well, at least they are better winter drivers.
I had a great time in the snow, I really missed it! I'm sure it will be gone very soon because the snow doesn't stay around for very long here, so it's a treat!

I've included some pics of the puppy that Andrea and MB will be getting. No the Mommy Lab is not Ellie Mae. They will be getting a black female lab a short time after Christmas.

If you're wondering about the last pic of the green Scion, it belongs to Steve's wife. Steve drove it to work this week, and the boys put out a VIP parking sign in front of it. He got made fun of pretty bad for driving it.

This weekend we are planning to go to a Christmas party at Steve & Sally's, so I'm looking forward to posting some more pics of our time there. I'm going to be more consistent with my blog, I promise!

Random Skeet Pics

The boys are always firing off their shotguns. As much as I don't care for guns, I can honestly say that they're pretty good at hitting moving targets, and that they are responsible.

Except for the time they carved up one of the very pricey pumpkins that we bought at the vineyard.

Marc and MB have fantastic shots. One of them releases the clay pigeon, while the other fires away. They usually do a round of five clays.

Marc and MB

Danny (Andrea's Bro)

Steve's first time, he sucked.

...and Samantha (Danny's g.friend), looking hot as always! She's got a great shot too!

No there aren't any pics of me. I shot it once and gave the gun back. It is SO loud.

I prefered shooting the handgun. I was able to hit the target (log) my first try. MB's a good coach. His sniper training came in handy.

All we need is some moonshine and we're all set.

Lately they haven't been able to shoot very often because it's hunting season, and the game warden will come and give you a fine. I don't really get the law because you're shooting on your property but I'm not complaining. Apparently, some hunters came up to the property and asked them to stop shooting because they were trying to hunt!

I still have a lot to get used to around here. I usually stay off the roads at night because of all the deer at this time of year. There are lots of dead deer and guts all over the roads right now. Whenever I see one, I pray that it won't run in front of me. They usually freeze by the side of the road or run around all confused, so it's hard to tell.

I think if it weren't for the deer, I'd fall asleep at the wheel! It's pretty tame around here for the most part.

I hope I find my camera (AGAIN), so I can show you how beautiful the trees are right now!

:)

Miss you all!

Ultimate Hunter

Foot managed to catch the little mouse that's been running around Andrea's house lately.

He came and dropped it at my feet and I did my best not to jump. Foot was nice enough to keep it alive so I could hear its little screams, and watch him tear around the room after the poor thing. I managed to get it away from him, and put it under a glass vase. Foot and Ratatouille had a little staring contest before I brought the

little guy to the forest, only to be eaten moments later by a big owl.

It's a cruel world my friends.

Baby Veg Painting

Yes, it's me again! My holiday was nice. I spent it at Steve's house with his big baby Diesel. It was nice and I got to poke around downtown Leesburg (very old) and the Leesbug Outlets. Black Friday (Boxing Day) was insane and I stayed away from most stores.

The absolute best part of the weekend was my visit to the Reign of Cats and Dogs. My painting was ready! :)

So I headed to Kim's new store, which was adorable, to pick up the picture.

We went though a couple of revisions before we reached the final product. It turned out just the way we wanted it. I took it to Michael's to get it framed, and found out that they were offering 50% off all framing! How great is that?!? I'm looking forward to seeing it all come together. The colors are so vivid, I'm going to have to do some serious redecorating in my bedroom!

Well as we all know, all good things come to an end (sounds negative but its true). Or how about with one end a chapter comes another...My great holiday ended on Sunday night, when my head started to hurt. Then I woke up on Monday morning, with a HUGE headache and a very sore nose. I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to go to work. So I tucked myself back into bed, feeling VERY guilty because I had already had 4 days off! I also developed a very nice fever which made me feel delirious. Tuesday wasn't much better until I took some great sinus medication. It's weird 'cos I don't even have a cold! This has been the strangest sickness ever. I'm feeling much better today, and plan on going in to work tomorrow morning.

Marc and I will be in Montreal for a full week this time! Yiippeee! I've started my shopping and am really, really, really looking forward to this trip! :)

I hope everyone is in good health and spirits for the upcoming holidays!