Kelly's Korner: It's a Dog's Life

http://brantashleywilliams.blogspot.com/2008/12/its-dog-day.html

Its a Dog Day!

Hey guys - It's DAX!!! Dawson over at Kelly's Korner is having this dog day and Dawson said that any one is totally loved and spoiled by their mom and dad should post, so here I am! This is one of those me-me's that you tell 6 random things about yourself...so here goes!

1. My favorite place to sleep is in my mom and dad's bed! At night I sleep in my crate, but I enjoy Sunday afternoon naps in their bed because it is the most comfortable place!

However, Mom got a new recliner and it is pretty comfy too!

2. I LOVE to take walks in the park! There are so many fun things to do there: play catch with my dad, run around and chase my mom, and I can even go play in the fountain! I like to make friends with everyone there!

3. My favorite toy is my blankie! I have had my blue blankie since the day I came home with mom and dad. I sleep with it, play with it...its the BEST!

4. I LOVE to take car rides! Anytime the door is open, I hop it because I love going places and meeting new friends.

5. You may not know this, but I have a big sister named Kai. She is a Tabby cat, and she pretty sweet. I like to chase her around, but she doesn't think it so funny! This is a picture of her hiding from me under the Christmas tree!

6. I am SPOILED ROTTEN! My mom and dad love me so much that they spoil me all the time, but I love my mom and dad just as much as they love me. I love to cuddle with my dad, and play with my mom. They are truly the best!!!

So now any of you other dogs out there that have a mom and dad as great as mine need to post too and tell the rest of us your 6 random things!!!

I've been Tagged...

...by Melissa so here goes!

8 Favorite TV shows ( I don't think I watch 8 shows)
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Lost (when it comes back on)
3. Desperate Housewives (every now and then)
4. Jon & Kate Plus 8
5. Designers Challenge
6. Life
7. ummmmm
8. ummmmm

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Chipotle
2. PF Changs
3. Texas Roadhouse
4. Olive Garden
5. Pappadeauxs
6. Abuelos
7. Hibatchi 97
8. Beni Hana

8 things that Happened to me Today (although its only 1 in the afternoon, so nothing that important has happened today)
1. Woke up grumpy because I went to bed late and DID NOT want to come back to work after a long weekend
2. Got some delicious coffee
3. Filled up with gas for only $1.32 a gallon!
4. Had very little traffic coming into the office today
5. God incredibly busy with work "stuff"
6. Had a delicious Greek Salad for lunch
7. Read blog updates from the weekend
8. Wrote a not-so-nicely worded email to the seller on Amazon that STILL haven't mailed me the gift I bought for my sister on DECEMBER 15TH!!!!

8 Things I look forward to;
1. Doing absolutely nothing tonight when I get home from work
2. Paying off our 1 credit card - soon!
3. Getting my laptop back from the laptop ER
4. Spending New Year's Eve with our friends
5. Having another long weekend
6. Going shopping with Christmas money this weekend
7. Having children
8. Making special Christmas traditions with those children

8 Things I wish for:
1. Children
2. A huge jetted tub
3. A new, organized closet
4. For a job that allows me to work part time and still be able to raise my children
5. A laundry fairy (just like Melissa)
6. A maid to clean my house
7. To lose 30 lbs. - which yes, I am working on
8. Not so sure about this one........

8 People I tag;
1. Sister (Rollin' with the Rooneys)
2. Tricia Nae
3. Caroline (Caroline in Texas)
4. Nicole (The Woods)
5. Melissa
6. Kristina (Houge)
7. Kristen (at Home with the Hemphills)
8. Janelle

A Baby Changes Everything

If you have been listening to the radio lately, you might have heard Faith Hill's new song, "A Baby Changed Everything." If you haven't heard it, I encourage you to listen here and remember that a tiny little baby changed everything for a teenage girl...for you and for me...for the entire world.



Praise the Lord for this tiny baby who came to save our lives, to be a Father to the fatherless, to be shelter for the homeless and strength for weary.

Merry Christmas!

I'm a slacker...

But I've just been so busy. So yesterday, I actually took some time to sit back and relax!

This was our house yesterday! The significance...OUR FIRST REAL FIRE IN OUR HOME!!!! Yes, We have lived in this house over a year and a half, and never had a fire...so we decided to change that yesterday! We actually have to go to Home Depot and buy a fire set...which is the reason you see the box for it off to the right! But nonetheless, it was a fabulous fire and went very well with our James Bond movie marathon!

And no, I haven't forgotten the past week either. Last Friday, (the 12th), was my birthday and I turned the ripe-ole' age of 27! For those of you younger than I am, yes, I am old!!! For those of you older; I know, I'm such a youngster!

For my birthday Brant got me an awesome 500GB portable pocket hard drive!!! WOOHOO!!!!!! For you digital scrapbooker - you know what an awesome present this was. For those of you who have no idea how to edit your pictures digitally, don't worry because you won't understand the grand gift that this truly is!!! Brant actually gave me my gift on Thursday evening so that I could have some time playing on my computer, then sent these beautiful roses to my office on Friday.

On Saturday, Sister, Kate and I all went to get manicures and pedicures. It was heavenly. This is a picture of Kate proving that size doesn't keep her from gettin' pampered! Notice how her tiny feet just barely touch the top of the water!!!

On Friday night (the 12th), we went out to Suzushi...one of my most favorite sushi restaurants. Sister and Michael took the kids to Holiday in the Park, and because it was so cold, Ethan came to dinner with us! Jon, Melissa and Baby Cade; Jessica, Butch and Riley also came with us.

Me and Brant

Baby Cade

Brant feeding Ethan fried rice!

Jessica feeding E Green Tea Ice Cream

Our table - photo taken courtesy of Ms. Riley Mae Walker!!!

Jess and E!

After dinner, we went next door for Brant to look at Blu-ray players, so Ethan and I played some Rock Band!!!

Holiday Eating Tips

I just received this email from my sister-in-law, Kristie, and it had me rolling with laughter!

Holiday Eating Tips

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet
table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see
carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving
divinity balls and fudge with nuts.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare... You
cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares
that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to
turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it.
Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of
gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out
of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk
or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control
your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat
other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's... You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position
yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before
becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of
shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin... Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with all the
mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: if you don't feel terrible when you leave the party
or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read
tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention
of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, and body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO-HOO!!! What a ride!"

Christmas Card Carousel

Today at Walk with me by Faith is the Christmas Card Carousel.

This is the card I designed for Brant and I.

These pictures were taken by my bestie, Jessica. She is AWESOME! She will actually have a photography blog up and running shortly, so come back and look for the link.

Weigh in Wednesday

I lost 7 lbs!!!!! - Ok, no not really, but I am 7 lbs lighter than I thought!!! I was getting on my scale this morning and when I looked down, I realized the weight indicator was at 5lbs...so I adjusted it back to "0" and then stepped on! Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was 7 lbs lower than last week - which means........

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

I lost (literally lost) 2 pounds!!!!

Christmas Tour of Homes

Our home may not be fit for the cover of Better Homes and Gardens, but it is the perfect fit for us!

Weigh in Wednesday

Well - today is NOT a good weigh in! One week dieting and two pounds GAINED! So T (start weight) PLUS 2!!! This is not a good start - Enough said!!!

Kind of Reminds me...

This morning, Dax came and got me out of bed, so I hopped in the shower. When I got out, this is what I found!

It reminded me of this commercial!
Trail Mix Crunch Commercial

In Full Swing

Well you know the holidays are in full swing when you don't have a moment to spare. This past week was nuts! I, literally, have something going on EVERY night last week!

Monday - babysit for sister
Tuesday - Basketball game at DBU
Wednesday - Take dinner to Jon and Melissa
Thursday - Office Christmas party
Friday - Crossroads Women's Christmas banquet
Saturday - Neiman Marcus Adolphus Christmas Parade

So I am finally sitting down to post - but no pictures here, but I promise they are coming! On November 25th (Brant's birthday), our dear friends Jon and Melissa Grimes had their first precious baby, Cade Michael Grimes. He is the most adorable thing. So on Wednesday night, Brant and I took dinner over to them, and got to spend some great time loving on Cade - which, by the way, is not good when you are trying NOT to have baby fever!

On Thursday, we have our office Christmas party at one of the partner's homes. It was MAGNIFICENT! Servers to wait on us, a string quartet playing in the living room - they wined and dined us to the hilt! It was so nice being able to just mingle and get to know people outside of the office. I have some co-workers that are hilarious, but you would never know it in the office. I was so thankful just to get to know a different side of people.

On Friday, I went with mom, sister and Jessica to the Women's Christmas banquet at Crossroad Christian Church (where mom and sister go to church). The speaker was the amazing Sheila Walsh from Women of Faith. It was an AMAZING evening of laughter, tears, and absolute joy! One of the things that she said this year touched me so deeply...

"You have never lived a moment in this lifetime unloved."

We have a Father who loves his children so deeply that there has never been a moment in time where we were unloved! We have been loved out entire lives! What truth! If you have never had the opportunity to hear Sheila's testimony, or hear her sing, you need to! This woman has an amazing gift and her testimony will touch your heart in ways you never thought possible.

On Saturday, Jessica and I took Riley (Jessica's 4 year old daughter) and Kate (my 4 year old niece) to the Neiman Marcus Adolphus Children's Parade! It was FANTASTIC! Jessica and I met up and were in Dallas by 7am - and the parade didn't start until 10 - but we had AWESOME seats. We borrowed a side-by-side jogging stroller from sister's friend Collette and bundled the girls up with sleeping bags and blankets. It was chilly, but praise the Lord there really wasn't any wind blowing - so we just drank our hot chocolate and let the girls play with their barbie dolls until the parade started. I have tons of pictures, so I am going to make a collage of them, then I will post it.

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and is getting in the holiday-mood!!! Only 18 more days!!!

Weigh in Wednesday

Ok - so it is Thursday now, but I needed to post for our new Weigh-in Wednesday! Melissa posted yesterday about working on losing weight with a Weigh In Wednesday! So we decided to make it official and do this together!

So get ready for some accountability - because WE NEED IT!!! I'm starting my life-change officially today, so hopefully we'll have some progress by next week for my first official "WEIGH IN WEDNESDAY"!!!

Extreme Home Makeover

I just read this saying that ABC and Ty Pennington's hit show Extreme Home Makeover is coming here - to North Texas!!! How EXCITING!!!

Go Place, Settle

This is the new command we are trying teach precious Dax. Remember this post? Well we are in this place again.

On Friday, Dax went outside to play with Saddie and Reese, the neighbors labs. On Saturday, I noticed he was limping again, and it was much worse on Sunday. However, this time, it wasn't his right front leg, it was his back right leg. So we took him to the vet on Tuesday and were given the bad news...another strained ACL. Unfortunately, we believe that this might be a genetic problem since Dax is such a large lab.

Ou vet, Dr. England whom we just adore, said that torn and sprained ACL's in labs are becomming more prominant that Hip Displasia. So, we have a 6-8 week recovery time - strict instructions that he is either in his kennel, or on a leash! Well I feel like a horrible mom when I'm at home and my "baby" is locked in his kennel. So last night had me thinking about an article I read just a week or so ago about the command "Go Place, Settle".

The article from our AKC magazine talks about dogs having a special place in a main room, or even a portalbe "place" that can go with them (the "place" being a blanket, a bed or pillow). This command is perect when you have a big family gathering and want your pup to be a part of it, but not in it...or when company comes over and you don't want him jumping all over them!

Well Dax already has a blanket, so we are designating that his "place". So "go place" obviously teached the dog to know their "place" and to go to it when commanded. The second part of the command is to "settle". The article said that the "stay" command teaches dog to "not move a muscle", but when commanded to "settle" the dog can be trained to lay down, and relax.

All of this to say that since I can't stand for Dax to be locked in his kennel when we are home, we are teacking him the "Go place, Settle" command so that he can still be in the living room or around the house with us, but still rest his leg.

A Troubled Economy

I know this is a subject we have all been talking about, and are probably tired of hearing about...but I thought I would slip in a little hint for the holidays. One of my favorite "Bargain" ladies is Elllie Kay, of Half Price Living. She recently posted on her blog about a hot holiday gift item that may not be so great this year - THE GIFT CARD!

Gift cards have been one of hte biggest gifts for years now, but this year, so many stores are closing that gift cards may be useless. Ellie Kay has the list of stores that are either closing their doors - or at least some of them. You might be surprise with whose on the list!

Garland - Inspirations from the Nesting Place

Well a few weeks ago, Nester, at the Nesting Place posted about her garland! She gave me great inspiration, so I decided to try it out! Sister and I went to Michael's at 6:00 on Thursday night for their super Thanksgiving Day sale! They were open from 6-9 PM, so I was able to get some great garland-making bargains!

I started with one pre-lit strand, and one plain strand. You can see that one strand is actually a bit greener than then other, but they blend very well together.

To get them to stay together, I simple twisted a few strands together - just a few here and there through the langth of the garland.

Then, I took my plaid ribbon and wrapped it around the garland...and not perfectly either - it just helps to add a little personality. As soon as that was finished, I hung the garland on the mantle.

I bought a sting of holly berries to lace between the garland strands.

However, the strand was too small, so, I simple cut the strand into small pieces, then just stuck them in the garland.

Then I added some ornaments, poinsettia blooms, and pine cones.

TA-DA!!! My beautiful garland.

Thank you, Nester, for all of your wonderful decorating advise!!!