A love letter to my Phoebekins

You may think it's silly for me to profess my love for my four-legged friend as much as I do, but I love her that much and I'm not ashamed of it. For you to really appreciate how I can love a dog as much as I do, you have to know a little history....

You see, I've wanted a dog like her my entire life. I remember begging my parents relentlessly for a dog, wanting a furry friend to cuddle with, talk to, and play with.  I even brought home a turtle from the pond beside our house in desperation after they continued to refuse me of my one and only wish (Ok, I probably asked for a few more things, once in a while). Mom and Kelly have always had allergies, so having a dog or cat in the house was out of the question. I wanted a pet I could interact with so badly, I even attempted to talk them into letting me have a bird! (Thank goodness they said no.)

Finally, one day, I thought my wish was coming true. We got a little puppy named Scooter, who was going to stay outside in Daddy's shop. Scooter was great and all, but my little 8 year old self soon lost interest after I discovered how stinky and rough an outside dog was (not to mention extremely uncomfortable to cuddle with on concrete).  We went through a few outside dogs over the years and they were all good dogs, but they were really Dad's dogs- not at all what I had been wanting.

When I moved to Memphis to start pharmacy school, I was living by myself and decided it was time for my dream to come true. I found Phoebe, and fell in love with her at first sight.

How could you not fall in love with that face?

We've had each other for four wonderful years now, and not a day goes by that I don't think about how happy she makes me.  I love how she lightly scratches the door in excitement when she knows I'm coming home, the way she lies on her belly with her back legs straight behind her, how she nuzzles her head next to mine every morning when I wake up, and the fact that she's such a momma's girl. :)

She's so prissy sometimes that it makes us laugh- she will stick her nose in the air and refuse to look you in the eye if she's not happy about something.

Her favorite things to do are let her hair blow in the wind, and to run circles around people and couches.

The people at the vet nicknamed her "Ferocious Phoebe" because she tries to talk a big game when other dogs come around....

The thing is, she's all talk, no bark.

She may try to act tough at times, but she can really be a bit of a baby...

Phoebe is perfect in my eyes, and the best part is she's the most loving and affectionate dog ever (If you've ever met her, the tongue up your nose is her idea of affection. See below for examples).

She's everything I ever wanted, and I can't imagine my life without her. Again, I know most people aren't quite as passionate about their pets, but she is literally my childhood dream come true. Thanks goodness Brandon loves her almost as much as I do, and she loves me WAY more than she loves him. (Kidding! But I am her favorite most of the time. :) )

Welcome to our new home!

We are so happy we decided to move, I can't even count how many things are so much nicer in this house. I worked really really hard painting, bargain shopping, and decorating for this place. I want to document all this hard work, so I'm gonna take you through a little tour of our house, one room at a time!

So here we go.....

HA! I WISH!

Pulling up in our driveway, you'll see Phoebe to your left, peeking out the window to see who is coming. Then you'll see her freak out at the window when she realizes she has a visitor. There will be lots of tail-wagging, jumping, and if she really likes you, maybe even a bit of tinkle.

When you walk into the house, you'll see Phoebe's bench. Purchased especially for her, it's just the perfect height for her to monitor and give her disapproval of every dog that dares to walk by her house. 

(Anyone know how to get wrinkles out of silk curtains? I started to steam them then I got scared!)

Straight ahead, you'll see my bright blue desk! Yes, it's really THAT blue! I painted it myself. :)

I love the luxury of having somewhere to keep my Mac when I'm not using it (besides the coffee table). I hung a few clipboards covered in scrapbooking paper to display cards, bills, mail, etc. If I ever get around to the bajillion scrapbooking projects I have on my list, this is where it'll happen. 

So, that's the "entryway" of our house. I'll continue with the rest of the living room soon. 

Hope you guys will enjoy seeing our new home, but if you don't, we are enjoying the house enough for everyone. :)

Super Bowl and Snow!

(Obviously written right after the super bowl, but I forgot to post.)

I can NOT BELIEVE it's already February. Which means, Super Bowl time! We weren't huge fans of the Steelers or the Packers, but we thought it'd be fun to have a few people over and show them our new house! I've been working all month to paint, decorate, and fix up our new house. Finally, the house is almost like I want it!

My first "real party" went pretty well! I fixed lots of food which everyone seemed to enjoy, and the game was entertaining, right down to the botched national anthem.

 More pics of the house to come soon!

Sometimes I Ramble

It's been a long time since I've posted! So what's my excuse, you are asking? I don't really have a good one, but I'll update you on what we've been doing the past two months.

In November I had a pretty hectic rotation, and my spare time was taken up with running and working. Brandon and I trained hard for our St. Jude race the whole month, and it payed off!

Brandon finished the half marathon in 1:54, which was six minutes faster than his goal of 2 hours!

Kelly and I finished in about 33 minutes, which was quite a bit faster than we had ever run before. It seemed so easy, too.  (Except for the part when I almost blew chunks after smelling the Wonder Bread Bakery at mile 3. Luckily almost doesn't count.) We had heard that race day adrenaline helps your time, and that was definitely true for us!

December is always a crazy month for everyone, and it was no different for us. Brandon finished up his finals, and I am proud to report he made straight A's! I finally got a Macbook thanks to my awesome family for giving me my graduation present early! Brandon and I both worked most of the month, and then visited everyone for Christmas.

It was a difficult Christmas after the losses our family has suffered this year, and those loved ones were definitely on our minds. But I also thought a lot about how fortunate we all are to have each other. We couldn't have made it through all the hard times without each other. Kelly and I have always known what an awesome family we have, but this year proved how lucky we are to have each other, and to have such amazing Brandons. Er, I mean husbands. I'm so thankful for my sister and my Brandon.

After Christmas, we started getting ready to move. 17 houses down the street, to a much bigger house. I'll update soon on all the decorating, organizing, and DIY projects I'm working on.