Happy 2nd Birthday Winnie!!!

When we adopted Winnie one month ago today, her records stated that she was 1 year, 11 months old. So we decided we'd celebrate her birthday on today, January 27th! It's a day of multiple reasons to celebrate because it's also one month in her forever home! Joe left work early to take her for a special birthday lunch of chicken nuggets before we go to the vet later this afternoon (which is also a birthday treat because Winnie LOVES the vet!). See, we've spent the last month trying to fatten her up because the vet said that there were bones visible that she "should NOT be able to see." hopefully the nuggets give her an extra fat boost before she's weighed later!

But for goodness sakes! It's Winnie's birthday! These nuggets shouldn't be about ulterior weight gain motives! They should be about our Winnie baby being spoiled on her special day! So what did the birthday girl think about her bday nuggets?:

Thoughts On Love And Football

The love of football is a funny thing. A strange caricature of interpersonal love; different, yet the same in so many ways. The heartache that a fan feels over a loss is as deep and painful as a sudden and unexplained breakup.

Unable to hear others belittle our beloved, we close our ears to their criticisms, yet we long to hear their name spoken.

We cannot bear to see others blissfully in love. It rubs acid into our fresh and excruciating wounds.

We feel loathing and jealousy towards football's new lover, those vile Patriots. Rationally they are worthy, a better match than even we are, but jealousy consumes us, and our shameful thoughts and words are more vile than the new mistress herself.

We promise ourselves that someday soon, our lost love will return to us, with proclamations of regret and devotion, even if these promises are not only unlikely, but irrational, obsessive, and masochistic.

As a literal and metaphorical fog envelopes Baltimore on this cruel and dreary Monday, I cannot help but still feel love and devotion to my Ravens. I am not only proud of them for the season that they've shared with me, but I cling to the hopes, however unlikely they may be, that next year is OUR YEAR, and I will not hesitate to forgive them for their errors, and welcome them back into desperate, albeit loving, arms.

GO RAVENS!!!

AFC Championship Game

This game means everything to me & everything to Baltimore!!!! Go Ravens!!!! Sizzle me some Patriot ass!!! BALL SO HARD!!!

Winnie Luurrves the Vacuum

Shortly upon arriving home with our precious pup Winnie, we made an important discovery: Winnie luurrves the vacuum. 

Check her out in action:

OK. Maybe it's hate, and not love, that she feels for the mysterious electrical beast.

It's still a strange departure from the reaction I'm used to seeing in my dogs. Namely fear. A cold, shivering, mind-numbingly irrational fear, that makes them bolt desperately away, hide under a desk in the basement, and quiver violently for a good 20 minutes after you put the thing away.

Oh, Winnie! You fearless wolf, you! I'm incredulous at your bravery and swagger!

Faves

I just returned from my daily hour long walk with Miss Winnie (that resolution makes more sense now, eh? It was all about Winnie girl). The sun was out, and the weather was just beautiful. Walking Winnie is one of my favorite parts of the day, even when it's not nearly 50 degrees in January. This walking resolution has been great. It forces me to get outside, exercise, and spend some serious quality time with my husband each evening. Not the kind of quality time where you are doing work, like preparing dinner; or the kind of quality time where your zoning out on the couch together watching New Girl. But a more genuine and interactive kind of quality time where you zone out on everything else except for each other. It's very nice. Of course, at 2:30 pm on a Tuesday, I did not get to experience that aforementioned quality time. Alas, Joe was at work, and I had to go at it alone (I had today off in exchange for working this Saturday).

But in speaking of favorite things, I'm gonna go all Mary Poppins on you throw out some more of my favorite things.

• French Vanilla non-dairy creamer
• Tinted Moisturizer (for mornings I am like, "F*#$ MAKEUP")
• Blush (for my devoid of any rosiness olive skin)
• Having olive skin (Looking tan in Jan- WHAT WHAAA?)
• Bare minerals (because it is the only makeup I've ever used that color matches to my olive skin)
• Dried fruit and nut mixes (to counteract the high fructose corn syrup in that creamer, obviously)
• Diet soda (to undo the balance attained with the fruit and nut mix)
• Pajama jeans
• Sunshine in January
• NFL PLAYOFFS
• Chicken wings
• Veggie sausage (um... it's delicious and ready in 45 secs.)
• Sheepskin boots (which require no socks!)
• THE BALTIMORE RAVENS! (OBV)
• My Winnie
• Joe
• Other loved ones (etc.)
• Banana peppers
• Audible (It's worth the money. I swear.)

And now, I will leave you with a few pictures that will place this random, jumbled blog post into a pretty little box, tie a ribbon around it, and make you all collectively say "awwwwww" with confused adoration, and forget that I did not bother to properly organize and end this

Announcing Baby Winnie Poop!!!

On December 27, 2011, we welcomed to our family the sweetest most adorbs baby Winnie Poop.

Winnie is a 2-year-old Jack Russell Terrier/ Rat Terrier mix. At 17 lbs, she is the teeniest, tiniest doggy I've ever had the pleasure of calling my babe-ums.

But don't let her size fool you! She is a frisky, sassy, dominant little shredder, and neither squeaker nor ball nor giant male dog with balls stand a chance around Miss Winnie. 

Winnie plans to contribute to my blog semi-regularly with her guest column, in which she will display her plethora of talents, hilarity, and verbosity.

 Hold in to your knickerbockers, and raise your mother fuckin glass, cause WINNIE IS IN THE HIZ-OUSE!!!!!!!!

Nine January 9, 2012 Resolutions

New Years Day has come and gone, and I may be a wee late, but i still do have a resolution or nine in the ole noggin.

 

Early New Years Morning, 2012

Better late than never, right? I know that writing your goals down keeps you accountable and telling others makes you even more likely to follow through. Without any further and completely unnecessary ado, here are my nine resolutions of January 9, 2012:

1. Quit the "snooze" button. Setting your alarm for an hour and a half before you actually plan on getting up so that you can hit your nine-minute snooze 10 times in a row is a terrible habit, and one that I plan on breaking in the next 356 days. I actually got a head start on this re-zzz-olution, starting a week before Christmas, and I'm proud to state that I've hit snooze only once since then. Unfortunately, breaking this habit has been unexpectedly stressful, and has led me to toss and turn from 3am on, worrying about not being fully ready to rise and shine the first time my alarm goes on. Hopefully the anxiousness ebbs over time.

2. Lose 15 pounds. I went on birth control 2 years ago to control my adult acne, and promptly gained 15lbs. The acne is virtually gone, but now I would love get rid of the extra weight. Stupid hormones.

3. Buy a house. We're aiming for Spring or early Summer. I want this so bad. 'Nuff said.

4. Read 52 books. That's a book a week. I had this same goal last year, but I didn't quite make it. Here's to hoping I do this year. I'm already down one, and halfway through my second.

5. Run a half-marathon. I know I can do this, I just have to commit.

6. Walk 1 hour every day. I'll tell you why later this week. I promise!

7. Blog once per week. I suck at consistency. Word.

8. Try one new recipe per week. Hahahaha! I'm dreaming big here. I love tacos, pizza, and chicken tenders way too much (see no. 2). Maybe a new spin on and old fav will help me out here?

9. Get a new job. I'm overqualified, underpaid, overworked, and unsatisfied. Do I need any other reasons? This is going to be the hardest resolution, but also the most important. I really hope putting it out there will really help me follow through with this one!

Those are my nine of this beautiful ninth.Words of encouragement are greatly appreciated~