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I am finally getting around to doing the summer chores I set for myself at the beginning of the summer. The list was something like: clean grout, clean garage, clean shutters, read for fun, finish my masters project. I’m sure I added and deleted a few items, but you get the idea. This week I have had some of my more accomplished days. This week I:
– cleaned the grout (ran out of Soft Scrub half way through, so let’s hope I get a second wind some time soon!)
– Got back into the Twilight series that I started reading (for fun) in December. I am on book 2 of the 4 in the series and it looks like I will finish it this week! I read two chapters a day- which usually results in a cat nap too because I am reading on the bean bags
– I washed the pugs- after a few days of doggy B.O. I could handle it no more!
– I vacuumed, which isn’t something I usually do because I let the house cleaner do it. I put special make-it-smell-good stuff on the carpet because wet pugs have been running all about!
– I vacuumed the couches- personal goal= vacuum couch once per week
– I finished the rough draft of chapter 4 of my master’s project- there are five chapters. I work on this for a few hours every day- I try to spend as much time on it as I would if I were teaching summer school. Makes me feel better, but not sure why!
– And finally, I have been taking good care of my husband! I wake with him to go work out. I then make him breakfast (with coffee, YUK). I also make him lunch, which he seems to really like. I am also more on top of laundry than I have ever been. Yes, there are only two of us (well, actually 4 because I do pug bedding twice a week), and now Scotty can wear two outfits per day (one to work and one to relax) and not run out of clothes! Finally, I greet him with a kiss and happy hour on the table- crackers, cheese, salami, and a wine cooler (me)/beer (him). He seems to be enjoying his stay-at-home wife!!

Until tomorrow,
Tiff
P.S. Click on the pic- it’s a cute video of the kids post-bath time fun! Hope it works!!

How does everyone like the new blog? With the new background is coming a few issues- I am on top of it! The pics are coming out stretched or too big, I am working on that! OK, so today’s blog is about my laptop issues. I swear, I think she is either dying or she is allergic to speed. In the past few days the computer has been getting slower and slower. I told Scotty I am going to throw it away and go back to pen and paper- the nerve! Anyway, so I almost told him he can get a new computer because I am so sick of the twirling ball (equivalent to the flipping hour glass). After coming to my senses, I took it all back! No new computer for Scotty just yet, but he is working on me day by day. Scotty must have been sick of hearing my whines because he worked on it this morning making himself late for work. :o) What a good husband! Apparently it’s this blog thing that has been slowing down my machine. I had thought I was closing the program when in fact I was essentially just minimizing it. The Macs aren’t as obvious when a program is completely closed. Anyway, she is back up and running and things are moving quickly again!

Stay tuned for more improvements in our website, and please everyone- patience with my learning curve!! :o)

-Tiff

I think I cooked the pugs!! Now that it is summer the house gets a little warmer and the windows get opened and fans turned on. As we all know, the pugs sleep in their kennels in the walk-in closet because 1. Their snoring is unbearable, 2. They like small, dark areas to sleep, and 3. Any and all noise results in frantic barking. We been through summers with the dogs in the closet, so it’s no wonder I didn’t think anything of stuffing them in their kennels this summer. I went to take the pugs out of their kennel Sunday morning and nearly fell over to the stench coming from the closet. I know that it has been a while since I bathed my beauties, but they have definitely gone longer. So with that said, I knew it couldn’t just be bad dog smell. I pulled their bedding out and stuck in the laundry room to be washed later in the day. I strategically aerosoled the closet- careful not to get it on my delicate clothes- and went on my way. An hour later, no change. The closet still reeked!! A few more hours go by and Scotty gets home. I share with him the dog sheets and after a quick gag he says it smells like sweaty dog. What the heck, dogs sweat?! He asked if it has been warm in the house and if I could hear the dogs panting in the closet the night before. Well, of course I could not hear them pant- I was sleeping like an angel in the middle of the bed! Anyway, so the sheets have been cleaned and the dogs now have new sleeping arrangements. They sleep in the hallway between the bedroom and the office with the kiddie gate blocking them from being able to get downstairs. Today I noticed that Kooper still has the aroma of dog sweat on him. Unfortunately, I noticed this after my shower, so bath time will be tomorrow- which will surely result in a blog entry!
**Moral of the blog- dogs can have B.O.!!

-Tiff

I really love having fresh flowers in the home. Unfortunately, I have to take blame for the reason my doting husband does not buy me flowers as often as he once did. When we were first dating Scotty would always buy me flowers for no reason. Talk about spoiling a girl!! He always bought me these flowers from Trader Joe’s- I don’t know the kind, which I know I should know being a girl but that’s besides the point! Anyway they were really pretty pink flowers that had these brown things in the center that if you touch them (or they touch you) it stained! Well one day I was bringing my flowers home and I was getting out of my awesome green civic (loved that car!) and I touched the flowers to the ceiling of my car. A few curse words later and the roof was stained from that day on. The car met a more fatal fait a few months later, but let’s stay on topic! So I called Scotty in a huff and said I love when he buys me flowers, but let’s not get these kind any more. Little did I know what those few words would result in… flowers for Valentine’s Day only! Not true really, but my less-than-loving words did result in far less flowers being given. I have forever regretted those words because I do love flowers and of course the thought behind the giving. Now, flowers still do come and at random times- which means the most to me, honestly. But what it also means is that if I want flowers in the home consistently, I need to buy them. I absolutely LOVE sunflowers, so when I saw these beauties on sale at Ralph’s, I made sure to get some. In fact, when I was at Target I also bough a sunflower scented candle to accent my new flowers. I love flowers and I love candles… what more does a girl need??

Tiff

I have been on strict order to take all precautions in order to be at the house at the time of delivery of the new iPhone. Today it was released in the stores and my technologically advanced husband not only pre-ordered his phone but managed to get it delivered on the date of release. Scotty and I are iPhone fanatics and have spent this day the past two years standing for hours in line for the latest gadget. Well this year he outsmarted the system to have it delivered so naturally I knew I needed to be here. Nevermind that he is on a cruise with all of his best buds, but I am here house-bound until UPS comes. UPS usually comes around noon and then again around 5pm. In the event that I needed to take a shower or take the dogs out or use the restroom, Scotty so kindly printed out a UPS form to be placed on the door. The form basically relieves UPS of any reliability if they leave the package on the door step. I really had no reason to leave the house today other than to put a book in the mail that we sold on Amazon. Here is another stress- we sold the book yesterday and we have to put the book in the mail either the same day as the sale or the day after. Scotty didn’t have time between getting home from the business trip and mentally preparing for a bachelor party to mail it yesterday. I decided that I would wake up early, go on a run, take a shower, and go to the Post Office when it opens (which I assumed was 9:00). I get up at 7:00 and finish my run and shower at about 9:30- all the while the note is on the door, just in case I don’t hear it ring three flights up! I am cleaning up the bathroom and hear the UPS man approaching- yes I know the sound of his truck! I hear a rapid knock, knock, knock on the door. I throw the towel on the floor, jump over the dog, skip down every other step, and yell to the door that I am coming!!!!! At this point I am thinking that he will see the note, laugh, and drive off with the phone (I know I stress too easily). I fly down the last flight of stairs collect the box. I try to make a joke about how coveted this item is- a joke to which he sympathetically chuckles. I grasp the box to my chest, shed a quick tear, and do the happy dance with the pugs. So the UPS man apparently changes up his schedule just to mess with me! We have the much anticipated iPhone, which is wrapped in white paper and decorated with my vast array of colored pens. I am not proud enough to post the picture on here, so you’ll just have to imagine!! Now it is proudly displayed on the counter so that it will be the first thing he sees. I sent a text this morning because I just KNOW he will turn his phone on at least once (and risk roaming!!!) to see if the package came. Ahhh… the many reasons I love this man!

Cheers!