My only morning to sleep in....

5am: bark and whimper because we realllly have to potty

5:05: don’t mind if we sleep in the human bed with you do you?

5:06 to 5:40: grooming, hey don’t complain, there are cheap motels with machines you’d have to put a quarter into to get this much bed shaking and you're getting this for FREE

5:45: clinging to the edge of the bed while the bed hog dogs take up the rest of the bed

6:00: synchronized snoring provided by Ken and Sadie

6:58: finally drift off to sleep again

7:00: face licks and ear sniffs, is it breakfast time yet?

The Sky Is Falling

The warming temperatures in May causes an act of nature known around my house as “the sky is falling”

Sadie and Max take guarding the house very seriously. Max knows that he isn’t supposed to bark at cats that walk through the yard or at dogs and humans walking down the block, he even knows that the random leaf blowing through the yard is not a threat, yes there was a time when all of these required excessive warning barks; he still can't resist acknowledging them but for the sake of being "a good boy" a low barely audible growl is all he permits himself now. Max was smacked in the nose by an evil cat at the tender age of 5 weeks old and clearly he still holds a grudge. Cats are not welcome here and strangers most certainly aren’t welcomed. This is why when they hear a noise in their yard, they must investigate. They are guard dogs and are very good at their job.

This morning I was sitting on the patio drinking coffee after Ken left for work and I heard the noise and so did they. Our back yard is quite small but with the shrubs and bushes, there are plenty of places for an intruder such as a cat or squirrel to hide. I knew the noise wasn’t that of an intruder. I knew exactly what had caused that loud THUD.

INTRUDER! Max’s little claws tore into the cement of the patio as he sprung from his spot and charged forward to investigate growling and barking along the way with complete disregard for his own safety. Sadie put on her “big dog bark” and let out little huffs and puffs of air, while scanning the yard for any signs of an intruder. And then came another loud THUD.

They both barked like crazy at the noise but were confused and mystified as to its origin. They jumped and spun around, looking for the intruder, all the while keeping a close and watchful eye over her who must be protected…yeah that would be me. Despite my reassurances they felt the need to protect me from this unseen threat.

Just then it happened again, they saw movement in the bushes and pounced on the predator. They looked shocked and disillusioned when despite their immediate response, the intruder was gone.

By the end of the week they will have learned there is no threat but by next year they will forget and we will repeat the process all over again. How does one reassure loyal companions and protectors that there is no threat and the THUD is nothing more than grapefruit falling from the tree?

Random bits of nothingness all pulled together into this thing called life

I was walking through Target yesterday, bombarded by visual reminders that not only am I reproductively challenged, I’m also an orphan. Really, I’m not upset about not being a Mom, despite a quote by a sales rep in Cleveland in a recent Newsweek article, I know there is more to look forward to later in life than wrinkles. A childfree life can be quite fulfilling and you get to spend that college tuition money on a cute little sports car. I do have my two fur children Sadie and Max and they got a preapproved Visa card offer in the mail the other day so maybe they’ll surprise me with a new chew toy from Petsmart.

One thing I’m very grateful for today is that, my Mother-in-law lives an ocean away in England. However, they don’t celebrate Mother’s Day in May like we do and yes I found that out the hard way when I neglected to wish her a happy “Mothering Sunday” in March that first year we were married. Oh sure Ken brought flowers to her house that day but I thought he was just being nice but of course he didn’t bother to clue me into the reason. He just assumed I knew and I just assumed that all of those card shops were really excited about Mothers Day and wanted to get those cards out super duper early.

One of the first things Ken learned about men in America when we moved here was that its their duty to barbecue. Oh sure they BBQ in the UK but only on the two Saturday’s of the summer when the country isn’t soaked in rain, here in Florida, the land of sunshine, a BBQ could happen any time and he’d need to be prepared, he quickly realized he lacked BBQ experience. He consulted with a friend of ours who taught him that real men don’t just walk into the kitchen to cook; they go outdoors and use charcoal and flames, the more flames and smoke the better. The danger of smoke and fire puts the MAN back in the caveman. They Barbecue!

Ken takes his role as husband quite seriously and wanted to be the best husband in the world to me and when he heard that the green card applicants in Florida had a special interview section on BBQing he knew it was something he had to master because there was no way in hell he was giving up living in the land of sunshine and going back to that cold rain soaked city called London.

On Saturday he flexed his caveman BBQ skills and smoked a piece of beef that was simply cooked to perfection, grilled corn on the cob and I made fruit salad for dessert. My sister joined us for dinner and I got a little Mother’s Day gift from Sadie and Max that my sister helped them pick out, a ped egg. It was a nice evening.

Sunday we have a trip to the park planned so the guppers can play and later he’ll fill up the foot spa so I can pamper my cavewoman feet and try out the new ped egg. I’m a little scared of it, it sort of looks like a cheese grater for feet. I know several people who have them and they have all raved about it, none of them have complained of cheese grated feet so I’ll be brave and try it. Hopefully it won’t be like the Epilady I bought in the late 80’s; the infomercial that made hair removal look so easy and painless. It hurt so bad I had to drink half a bottle of wine just to use the damn thing, my eyes still water and I feel slightly hung-over just thinking about it.

Aside from the commercialism of the holiday, I really believe that Mom’s are very special and should have more than one special day in the year. So for all of you mothers out there, be it of two legged children or four legged children, Happy Mother’s Day!

And for all of you in the UK who celebrated Mothering Sunday in March….sorry I missed it again, but can you do me a favour? (not a favor but a favour) Can you go leave some flowers on my mother-in-laws front gate? Just sign the card: Happy Mother’s day from your son and the Yankee bitch. Thanks so much!

All is forgiven

The vets office called at around noon today and the nurse told me how good they were and they should be ready for pick up at around 2pm.

I said to her "you said they were good? You're talking about Sadie and Max right?" She assured me they settled down right after we left and they were well behaved for their exam.

When we got up there to pick them up they just kept raving about how exceptional their fur is. The vet came out and said he had never seen such exceptional coats in all of his years in practice. They said we are going a great job of taking care of them...and then came the bombshell I was waiting for and I let Ken take it!

YES my dogs are overweight!! Sadie weighs 60 pounds and should weigh in the lower 50's, Max weighs 50 and should weigh in the mid 40's. YES Ken heard it first hand from the nurse and the vet! He has accepted that the dogs need to lose a few pounds and has agreed to cut back on their treats and people food. He wanted to cut them off cold turkey but I suggested we cut back to half of what we give them now and then ease back from there. I don't want them to think they've done something wrong. I want to encourage giving them praise and love when they do something good instead of treats.

This afternoon Sadie took up residence in her usual spot, under my computer with her head resting on my foot but I couldn't find Max. He was laying in our bed with his head on my pillow. He saw me come into the room and his little tail just started wagging like crazy. All is forgiven.

Fat Dogs

In a few minutes we are leaving to take Sadie and Max to their spring comprehensive examination where they will get a thorough check up and any necessary vaccinations and I will get a lecture from the vet. It won’t happen until this afternoon at pick up time but I’m already dreading it. You see, my children are fat. Yes, that’s right, my doggie kids are FAT!

I’ve tried to encourage Ken to feed them less and give them less treats, I’ve asked my sister to give them attention and love when she arrives and not a treat. Of course neither of them listen to me. Believe it or not, I very rarely give them treats. I understand what it’s like to carry too much weight. I don’t want to put any unnecessary stress on their joints or age them before their time. They don’t love me any less for not giving them treats. They love the attention I give them just as much.

On their last visit the vet told me to watch their weight. I came home and shared the news and of course I was ignored. Now I have to face the vet again and hear the lecture again, if there is any good news about Ken being laid off once again it’s that he gets to go to the vet with me to hear it first hand.

Last night Sadie weighed in at 59 pounds, she should weigh about 52 pounds. Max weighed in at 50 pounds, he should weigh about 45 pounds. I've seen previews for that show on TLC, Honey We're Killing The Kids, well I'm thinking we need our own reality series with me and the dogs on a diet with skinny Ken trying to tell us what to eat and what to do and the dog or human who goes the longest without biting him in the butt wins the prize! No? I wouldn't watch that either.

In other news, an email arrived this morning informing me that there is good news, my lucky email has won the sum of $420,000.00 in the South African National Lottery…I can’t tell you what the rest of the email said, I deleted it without opening it and with it went my lucky South African Lottery win, DARN!!. Do people actually fall for this scam?

I think I need a cuppa coffee or seven to face this day. Wish me luck!

Finding new pastimes

Yesterday was one of those days when it started raining early in the morning and it still hadn’t stopped when we went to bed. The perfect weather for a lazy Sunday. I had planned a hike in the park to get in a bit of exercise and fresh air but even the best of plans can change due to Mother Nature. Yesterday was supposed to be a carefree lazy day and really, it ended up being just that and more.

Needless to say, the puppers hated yesterday. Rain means no dog park, no hiking and certainly no evening walk. Sadie was quite vocal about her dissatisfaction with the day’s events. Max looked up at me with puppy dog eyes as if I could magically make the rain stop and salvage their walk time.

I noticed something later in the day. I had felt hungrier than normal. I had pretty much grazed all day. Thankfully I had grazed on fruits and vegetables and not junk food but still, I felt like I ate all day. It wasn’t until around 2:00pm that I realized, they weren’t feelings of hunger, they were feelings of boredom.

Eating was a favorite pastime for so many years. It served as a diversion to the lonely and boring times. I’m no longer lonely and my life is anything but boring but still I found myself resorting to grazing as a means of passing the time. Of course as soon as I realized what I was doing, I went to my list of projects and decided that packing away winter clothes was the good use of my time and it would keep me from snacking.

As I packed away the winter clothes I smiled and looked them over knowing that in the fall they wouldn’t be gracing my body. In the fall they will literally fall off of my body. A lot of my 30/32’s are already big and I just want to say with complete certainty, I’ve worn them for the last time. Goodbye 30/32 winter clothes!

Into The Wild - The Beach Edition

Here I am! Hair pulled back with my sun visor on trying to avoid a sunburn. Unfortunately I didn't realize just how big this old 5X shirt was on me, see how it gapes on my shoulder...lets just say that part of my shoulder got as red from sunburn as the shirt! OUCH!! I'm calling this my "official" 360 lb. photo. Thats a very wet Max beside me, he had just jumped all over me and I'm quite covered in sandy dog paw prints.



Here is Ken with Sadie springing into the air to try and get the flip flop. We have been using flip flops as water toys for them since they were puppies. I told Ken we need to get a bright orange flip flop so it photos better against their black fur. Just pretend that there isn't a cigarette hanging from his mouth....

Another shot of Ken

Max making quite a splash

Here they are!! Our little swim team! Max on the left, Sadie on the right both of them have the flip flop in their mouth after swimming in the water to retrieve it, the both want credit!!


When Sadie or Max get wet we say "give it a shake" meaning, shake off the excess water. I told Sadie to give it a shake and ended up with this photo...next week I'll post the whole shaking series on The Daily Dogs so you can see the funny faces she makes while shaking.

Thanks for joining us at the beach! I'll post more photos next week on The Daily Dogs and a few more photos here tomorrow.

If you missed yesterdays Wild Life Edition with Jurassic Park Noises be sure to check it out and you can always check out the first walk in this park, Take A Walk With Me!

Into the Wild with Jurassic Park Noises and Other Creatures

We had just started off on our adventure through the woods when I heard a startling noise that sounded like. It sounded prehistoric. It sounded like something from Jurassic Park!

Of course I had to investigate so with camera at the ready, I went off down the trail alone in search of the origin of the noise.

When I came to the clearing I saw it standing there in all of its glory...just waiting for me and my camera to show up for his photo session.


Then he turned to the front for a better view, clearly he has done this before. Aren't his colors simply amazing!!

Disappointed that I wasn't a peahen, this peacock is taking his feathers and going home!




I left the peacock and went off to catch up with Ken, Sadie and Max who had headed to the beach without me! When I got there I came across this creature in the tower!!! I think the creature is WAVING to me.....



One of the things I've tried to do over the past few weeks is slow down and enjoy the world around me. As I was walking through the woods, there were several of these flowers thriving on the bits of sunlight that managed to filter through the canopy of trees above



This pretty butterfly was gracious enough to pose a fraction of a second for me....



Max made a new friend too! We see these little guys in this park all of the time and Sadie and Max's reaction is the same every time....What is that thing? Sniff Sniff Where did it go? Then it moves and they jump 3 feet in the air

When Max moved I put the camera down on the ground and just pushed the button hoping for shot of this shy guy's face... You can clearly see his nose and if you look closely you can see his eyes too!


Thanks for joining me on part 1 of my walk through the woods...the April edition!

Over the weekend I'll post more photos of Sadie and Max enjoying the beach and a few of me and Ken too!! If you can't wait to see more of Sadie and Max, you can check out their blog The Daily Dogs for the photos I've posted there yesterday and today! If you missed our last walk through the park, its not too late to Take A Walk With Me!

Whatever your weekend holds, be sure to slow down and enjoy the life...if only for a few moments.

Note: you can click on any of the photos for a larger view.

Its not easy being Sadie

I wanted to mix up my walking routine a little bit so I planned a new route. We’ve been walking the same base route around the block since we found Sadie and Max over two years ago. When I wanted to walk for fitness we expanded the route to make it 1 mile, then 1.5 mile. We have a 2 mile route that we walk occasionally but every walk has the familiar. The same houses, the same trees, the same dogs barking from us from their window or back yard.

My body needed a change so I found a route that wasn’t flat as a pancake, I found a route with a small grade, I can’t really call it a hill, it was a grade incline but it was enough.

Our new route involved leaving our house and turning right, we always turn left, walking down the block and around the corner…around the corner into new territory. My glutes and hammy’s LOVED the new route, Sadie did not.

When we came back to the corner I said to Ken, I think she missed getting her pine cone tonight. Since we had already walked 2 miles on a new route with inclines and grades to make my legs work harder we might as well walk down the block and around the corner and down to the pine cone tree. I didn’t calculate it until this morning but my 2 mile walk turned into a 2.5 mile walk. That half mile walk to get the pine cone was worth it to see Sadie back to her bouncy self!

I never thought that taking a new route would evoke such strong emotion from Sadie. Max trotted along sniffing the new things and checking out the new people. Sadie hated it! Where was her favorite place to roll? Where was the man down the block who (in Sadie’s mind) looks forward to her slobbery kisses? Where was the most favorite tree with pine cones? Sadie is a creature of habit. Every day when we walk past this tree she takes a pine cone and carries it for a while and will drop it in a random yard. Or she’ll give it to me or Ken and expect us to throw it or kick it so she can chase after it.

We ran into the man who told us the story of the pine cones again and how proud he was that he solved the big mystery on the block. For the past year puzzled people down the block have been wondering, they’ve been speculating, they asked…how did a pine cone from that tree WAY DOWN THERE end up in my yard….the answer? Sadie!

Sadie is a creature of habit, she is the alpha dog, she likes the familiar and she likes the safe and she thinks the world revolves around her, Queen Sadie Great Empress of the Universe. Max enjoyed exploring the new areas and sniffing new scents.

I think Max has the right idea. You need to mix things up once in a while to keep them interesting. Today after walking the new route with the hills, my legs are feeling like they had a workout yesterday! Mixing things up every once in a while is good for my body…now if we can only find a way to keep Queen Sadie Great Empress of the Universe happy with the new routes…

Take A Walk With Me

You're invited to go on a walk with me, Ken, Sadie and Max! Its in the low 80's (28 celsius) and there is a strong breeze, be sure to wear your sunscreen, bring along some water, put on your comfortable shoes and lets get going

We're headed to the park 2 miles from my house to go walking on the trails. Its really not safe to walk to the park because of the narrow roads through the marshes. So we drove.

Max couldn't resist putting his head out the window and since we were going slow and we were on a back road, we let him for a few seconds......

Welcome to the park! There are two trails, we parked and headed down the sleepy lagoon trail , now its time for Rocky Creek Loop.

Sadie and Max could smell the sea air and wanted to run ahead with Ken while I stopped to take a few pictures.

Time to take a rest and have a drink!

Down the trail and just through the clearing is the Gulf of Mexico...

Its high tide so there really isn't a beachy area today. Max really wanted to go swimming and walked down for a closer look.

Here is the creek we walked past on Rocky Creek loop to get there, we passed a few fishermen and people in kayaks who didn't dare head to the island in the high winds.

Here is the observation tower. I have never been to the top of it because when we get this far I'm exhausted and can't possibly climb steps...

Today I RAN to the top!!!

View to the north. There is a people beach at the furthest park but this is our secret beach where we can bring the dogs for a swim. The water isn't deep and at low tide, a nice dog friendly beach is revealed. They LOVE to swim in the water but we didn't let them swim today.

View to the south...just behind that tree is the pier at the dog park we go to. We are very lucky and have three nature parks along this stretch of coast, all within 1.5 miles of each other.

Even Sadie and Max went up to the top! This was their very first time on stairs! Sadie went up and down them like an old pro and even Max with his little legs figured out how to hop up and down them. I ran up and down them THREE TIMES!!!

Wow that was exhausting! I'm so thirsty my tongue is hanging out!

Max is thirsty too!

Its a good thing we brought the puppy water bowl.

Look at the bird up in the tree.

Its an osprey eagle!

WOW, wasn't that fun? Congratulations you just walked 1.5 miles!

Thanks for joining us on our walk today! Doesn't it feel good to get out and enjoy the fresh sea air and sunshine? Maybe next time we'll see the peacocks and a few more birds, turtles, crabs, jumping fish and maybe even a few dolphins or manatee. You never know what you'll see when you head out for a walk! So until next time...

Friday Favorites January 4, 2008 Happy Found Day

If you've been reading my blog for a while you know that Friday is typically a day when I feature a few favorite things. Well today is going to be a bit different. Next Friday I'll be back to Friday Favorites. If you aren't a fan of Sadie and Max, I'll just warn you to stop reading here and come back on Monday when I'll be talking about my new workout routine and whatever exciting happens this weekend. But for now, I'm going to indulge myself a bit and dedicate this post to Sadie and Max, their Found Day, their new blog and why they give me great exercise motivation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two years ago today, they came into my life. I know some people with pets celebrate their pets birthday but we don't know their birthday but we know their Found Day. It may seem silly to some of you, especially if you don't have pets but we celebrate the day their life with us began because had it not, it would have surely ended. We celebrate Found Day.

I posted yesterday that I exercise every day. Mostly this consists of walking/jogging 1 to 2 miles per day through our neighborhood. I do this for me but I also do it for another reason. Sadie and Max. They enjoy our daily walks as much as or more than I do. They know that walk time is after dinner and from the moment dinner ends, their show begins. Like children in anticipation of a day at an amusement park. They wait. They will sit on my lap, sit on my feet, look at me with loving eyes and wait for those magic words "Walk time!" If Sadie doesn't hear those magic words, she will express her disappointment vocally with pitiful little whimpers until she does. As soon as I get up, they follow me to the bedroom and encourage me to hurry up. As soon as we pick up their leads, Max (the quite one) can no longer contain his excitement and he starts barking. They LOVE their walk. While some may think dogs don't have a place in a weight loss blog, these two are my walking partners, they are my walking cheerleaders. They motivate and inspire me with their demands for a daily walk, they have been a contributing factor to my success.

Ken had started a blog for them but he has been so busy he hasn't had time to maintain it so I've decided to take over and create a whole new blog (read,it was just easier to start over) for them because they are such an important part of our lives and I like to share pictures of them.

So today I wish Sadie and Max a very happy found day. Yes, there will be Frosty Paws ice cream for them later along with a new toy or two. At least I wont' be tempted to sneak a taste of their ice cream LOL

Now if you'd like to learn more about my two motivational walking partners you can read their story below or you can head over to their blog that will feature daily photos of Sadie and Max! If you have a pet blog and you'd like to link to us, just let me know.

Now, I proudly present to you....The Daily Dog



You may have read this story on their other blog but if you don't have time to visit their blog, at least read their story and you'll know why these two dogs are so precious to us.

Hi we are Sadie and Max and this is our story. Our story begins on the day our lives nearly ended. Someone put us in a black garbage bag and left us in a dumpster with some newspapers and other trash...we were just about four weeks old. They say when one window closes another window opens and on that day, we had a wonderful window open. We don't know how long we were in the dumpster or why we were left there. Someone started throwing garbage on top of us, it hurt and it was getting harder to breath, Sadie used the last of her energy and strength to whimper. Suddenly there was a rumbling noise and then light...a very bright light. Then a very kind face looked down at us and reached into the bag and scooped us up and gave us a little cuddle. He took us to a car and put us in a box with one of his shirts. We had a long ride ahead of us. He was working that day...three hours away from the place that would be our new home. He still had work to do when he found us. We heard him telling his wife on the phone that he was having a bad day, a flat tire, a speeding ticket but he had a good surprise for her. He sounded happy when he mentioned the surprise.

The kind man gave us water to drink and cheese crackers, he shared his lunch with us...it was the best he had and we were grateful. One of his clients gave us a musical teddy bear. We really liked cuddling up to that but we were happiest when he was holding us. We felt safe with him.

Finally we arrived at the place that we would call home. He put us in the box and told us not to make a sound and carried us into the house, he wanted to surprise her. We could smell food cooking and we heard her voice for the first time. She was so happy to see him and as he placed the box on the counter we heard her say "Whats in the box" He told her to look in side and when she opened the box Sadie had to peek her head out and see. We heard the woman gasp. Then she looked in the corner of the box and saw Max. He was curled up in a ball, very sick and very scared. We heard her exclaim:
"OH MY GOSH THERE'S TWO OF THEM!!!"

She reached in the box and pulled us both out and cuddled us close just like he did. We really liked it. We were in a new house with new smells.We really liked it here. We heard them say we were very sick and that we would need to go to the vets in the morning, they also said they wanted to keep us. They nursed us back to health and took care of us and gave us a loving home. We were happy. Brother and sister through thick and thin. It was there and then that the adventures of Sadie and Max begin...

Hearing Voices or Why I Shouldn't Take Sinus Medication During The Day

Yesterday I was home alone and I had a terrible sinus headache. I knew if I went went into the bedroom, Max and Sadie would sit on the sofa and bark at anyone who might dare to walk past our house. So I decided it was best to lay on the sofa and rest my pounding head on the sofa.

I must have drifted off to sleep for a minute or 20 when all of the sudden I heard someone calling my name, it was a mans voice but it wasn't Ken....
Diana.... Diana...

I barely opened my eyes and I looked down and I saw Max with his happy little face looking up at me and my groggy sinus medicated head thought....Max, you can talk...I always thought you'd call me Mommy not Diana....

Diana.... Hellllllllllllllllllooooo.......Dianaaaaaaa

Now Max is talking but his lips aren't moving....

My eyes jolted all the way open and I sat up quickly thinking I was losing my mind....

I know you are home....pick up the phone....hello Diana

I turned the ringers off on the phone but forgot to turn off the answering machine volume! LOL

But wouldn't it be nice if Max really could talk, I'm pretty sure his first words would be GIVE ME A TREAT NOW!

What all the fashionable dogs are wearing this season

Thus answering that age old question:
What do you do with that one piece of long gift wrap that is just too narrow to wrap a gift?

Friday Favorites 12.21.07 - The Doggie Edition!

It’s Friday and it’s time for another round of Friday Favorites!

Christmas is just around the corner and I’ve been out there shopping and fighting the crowds looking for a few gifts for Ken and of course Sadie and Max. Being the good puppy Mommy that I am, I wanted to get a few things for Sadie and Max’s Christmas stocking. Yes, they are good Doggies and they have their own Christmas stockings. Here is a photo of their stockings. They have one each and their photos have since been added to the little white circle. Cute aren’t they? Well, let me tell you something that just might shock you…I wasn’t the one who bought these! Last year was Sadie and Max’s first Christmas with us, as some of you have read on their blog the story of how they came to live with us, you may know that it was the month of January. Last year Ken and I had been out running errands all day and he wanted to make ONE more stop at the local home improvement store and I was just exhausted. He wanted to run in for one little thing to fix a drip in our bathtub. He said “just wait right here and I’ll be right out” So I did….30 minutes later he came out of Lowes with these Top Doggie Stockings!

So what does one put in a stocking for a TOP DOGGIE...Why Cuz's of course!

We’ve had an assortment of toys over the last 23 months but one toy has held up to stand the test of time and Sadie and Max and that has been The Cuz! These toys come in a variety of colors and shapes but the most common are the Good Cuz and the Bad Cuz (note the horns).

The GOOD CUZ

THE BAD CUZ

These are by far Sadie and Max’s favorite toy. They have an awesome squeak and while I’ll admit some of them no longer squeak, they still love them. In this picture of Max you can see just a bit of green from his precious Cuz sticking out. While I realize the pet stores are filled with toys for Top Doggies. My Top Doggies will get what they love the most, a new Cuz each!

The next few days are going to be very busy for me so my postings will be limited. Ken wants to see several movies this weekend and we need to shop for my sister’s Christmas gift as well as shop for the veggies for Christmas dinner. Normally going to the grocery story for veggies isn't worth mentioning, however the weekend before Christmas, the stores are sure to be CRAZY! As I might have mentioned a few times, Ken’s birthday is the 24^th so we will be doing something special on that day. I'm preparing the Christmas feast so I'm sure to be very busy on Christmas morning as well! I'll try and pop in with a few photos and updates when I can.

Sadie

Max

Merry Christmas Sadie and Max, you really are TOP DOGGIES!!

If you haven't read the story of how Sadie and Max came to live with us, you can click HERE to read it on their blog.

Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Sadie

Maxx
Sadie on the left, Maxx on the right

Its like crack for dogs

I think they would do a back flip for this stuff. We haven't bought any in a while but they had the giant bag at Sams yesterday so we picked one up. They saw the bag and Sadie began JUMPING....dare I say SPRINGING into the air. Maxx began barking...

We gave them each one....

INHALE and GONE!!

Sadie spent 20 minutes sniffing the floor just in case she missed a tiny bit

Maxx is staring at the table where the bag is sitting and making cute little longing noises

2008 Challenge Update, a Meme and more about my Saturday than you wanted to know

Challenge Update:

So many people have been stopping by the thread I posted about the challenge. All I can say is that I’m working on the website and as soon as its ready, I’ll make it public for everyone to see. I’m doing the best I can with limited resources so please bear with me and again if you have any ideas or suggestions email them to me at scalejunkie at gmail dot com

A little Meme:

I’ve been double tagged by wonderful Kriss at Zookins and by Swizzlepop the gorgeous size 6, plank rocking, workout machine blogging wonder! You can thank the two of them for subjecting all of you to this…The rules say I’m supposed to in turn tag 7 people but the rebel in me says “don’t do it” So I’m not naming names, consider yourself tagged, yeah, you know who you are…this means you, your turn to get busy and tell me seven random little known facts about Y-O-U!!

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1. I’ve collected rocks my whole life. When I was a little girl, I had a shoebox full of rocks in my closet. I still collect rocks but now I put them in with my potted plants and garden as decorations. Of course I like the precious and semi-precious rocks too :-) I probably should have studied geology and if I could go back and do it all over again, I would.
   
   
2. When I was in the 3^rd grade, I allowed my brother to talk me into riding down a really steep hill on the handles of his bicycle. It really wasn't a hill but a 50 foot deep ditch (for a man made lake) on a neighbors property, it was more than a hill, it was a 30 degree angle. I didn't really want to do it but my brother, 7 years old than me who I trusted completely until that day, talked me into it. I slipped off and my heel got tangled in the spokes resulting in part of my heel getting cut off. The whole way home he kept saying “Let’s not tell Dad” Yeah RIGHT, like we were going to hide a bloody foot missing a heel. It was a long and painful summer for both my heel and my brothers ass. My heel grew back, by the way :-)
   
   
3. I like going to community sales and church sales, sometimes I find stuff and sell it on ebay, and sometimes I find stuff I need or want (see below)
   
   
4. I hate the smell of fresh cut grass
   
   
5. I like peace and quiet and I’m married to a man who likes lots of background noise
   
   
6. Clutter makes me nervous and I’m married to a man who loves clutter
   
   
7. I made the little meme graphic above because…well because I thought it needed one, yeah I’m that neurotic.

And finally:

We had a great day yesterday. The weather was perfect, low 70’s, blue skies and sunshine so we decided to head out early for an adventure and we took Max and Sadie with us. Of course I forgot the camera! We went to a few community sales, let me just start by saying, it wasn’t until I met Ken that we started going to these things, I thought it was all nasty used junk, its not, its a competition among neighbors to see who can put out the nicest stuff, they would never put out junk out of fear their neighbor would stop by LOL. We looked for them a few times a year and always come away feeling like millionaires with a SUV full of stuff for very little cash spent! The best part, people kept giving us free stuff that we actually needed, a Craftsman lawn mower, a dog kennel, a Sony VCR and remote, not that we use VCR often but I have a few workout VCR tapes so I can use those again too. But those were all FREE. We did buy $11.00 worth of stuff we actually needed. The best deal for me was a Tanita scale that measures body fat as well as weight for only $2.50, yes that’s two dollars and fifty cents… but it only has a 300 pound capacity so using it will have to wait a few months for me. Max and Sadie of course were the Rock Stars of the day. Honestly, you wouldn’t believe the sensation they cause unless you saw it for yourself. I think because there are two of them and they are since they are smaller people think they’re puppies. Not to mention Sadie and Max just adore people and wag their tails and give out kisses in appreciation to the people who have finally come to realize that the world does indeed revolve around them. Did I mention that I walked about five miles yesterday!

Back Seat Driver

I need cigarettes

No, you need to quit smoking

I’ll make you a deal, When you’ve lost 100 pounds, I’ll quit smoking

Don’t even think of sabotaging me...

Tsk, come on puppies, you can ride up to 7-11 with me since Mommy is grouchy, (mumbles) as if I’d sabotage her…

Two minutes later, he is home again…

WOW, that was quick!

I realized I had a pack of cigarettes in the car

Well in that case, what took you so long?

They wouldn’t get out of the car because they wanted to go for a ride so I had to drive them around the block

They wouldn’t get out of the car? So you HAD to drive them around the block

Yeah, I tried to make them get out of the car but they wouldn’t get out

Hmmm, who’s in charge here?

The Importance Of A Good Support System

Every night after dinner hubby and I walk our dogs, Maxx and Sadie. They are the sweetest and happiest almost two year black lab mix puppies. Just don't mess with their walk time! They love to walk...they DEMAND to go out for a walk. They know that we go after dinner and Sadie will look at the table where their leash and harnesses are and cry until we go. She will throw her body in a dramatic HUFF onto the floor and just let out the longest drawn out sigh...drama queens have nothing on her!

I tried to be sneaky and get dressed early for our walk. I always change into my sports bra and when they see me change they KNOW walking comes next and they want their harnesses on IMMEDIATELY.

I've come to the conclusion that they think my sports bra is my harness LOL and I guess they are kinda right.

I have a great support system, not only in my "harness" but in my two sweet dogs!

PAY ATTENTION!

I swear Sadie said "PAY ATTENTION!" as I was snapping this photo, clearly its just not fair when Max takes the toy SHE wanted to play with. She was saying PAY ATTENTION and get my toy back from Max!

For the Tales From The Scales Challenge Group, see my results on Tuesdays post...up 3.8 pounds but down over 11 inches.

I’m feeling so much stronger physically and that is leading to feeling stronger mentally! I am paying attention to my body and what its telling me. I really wanted to thank everyone for their kind comments on yesterday’s blog; I really think it shows how far I’ve come. When I looked at the scale and saw the numbers going up so early into this, I really think you can imagine the thoughts going through my head. Since Ken is acting as my “personal trainer/coach/drill sergeant”, I turned to him and said “what do I do?” and he said “Don't look at the negative, look at the positive” so while my dear me letter was written by me, it was inspired by my wonderful husband Ken.

This is Ken with Max and Sadie at an outdoor outlet mall here in Florida. Yes they really wanted to jump in the fountain and if you see the devilish grin on his face, he is considering letting them jump in...it wouldn't be the first time he let them jump into a fountain.

I've posted his photo because I’ve been telling him he needs to put on a few pounds and this morning he came out of the bathroom and said 155. I thought that 155 would be underweight for his 5'11" frame but after checking every height weight, bmi chart I could find, they all agreed his weight was normal, not underweight. A few years ago I was concerned about his weight and our doctor at the time said with her heavy Russian accent “NO, he has perfect stomach, verrrrry niccce” I really thought she felt his stomach for a bit too long if you know what I mean ;-) but she isn’t our doctor anymore since we moved so her hands won't be lingering on my husbands stomach again any time soon. I think that honestly, because I’ve been around bigger men all of my life and I just didn’t know what normal was. My Dad was a big man, my brother is a big guy, and most of my male relatives were bigger too. Ken is normal. I hope he doesn’t read this, I’d hate for him to know I called him normal for once LOL

He would like add muscle and we’ve talked about getting a bowflex when we move next year, I have to admit, I see the commercials and think I would like to be as fit as those women. Watching biggest loser last night and seeing Jillian, wow, she is so fit! I don’t want to be one of those muscle head women but yes, I want to be strong, fit and healthy.

So yes, my weight was up another pound this morning but it doesn’t matter. I’m feeling strong and I’m eating a healthy diet. I’m paying attention to the little things that add up to the big thing that matter….health!

And finally, I wanted to share this photo comparison. I haven't taken full body pictures of current but when I do, I'll post them. In the mean time, here is a side by side shot from May of this year and October of this year. I realize my chin is angled down slightly in the second shot but I still think you can see a difference in my face.