Our Complex!

It's been rather cold this week. So cold that late Tuesday afternoon I was out shopping for duraflame logs. I know how the boys love a cozy fire in the fireplace. It appears that today will be a little warmer than it has been! My complex has been having major water issues. For the last 3 weeks they've been slowly working on the issue. They've taken up sidewalks and made large holes in numerous places. Yesterday the parking lot was flooded. That was odd! All water in our apartments had been shut off but yet the parking lot had no water shortage. The boys and I waded through ankle deep water. Simon loved it! He thought he was a duck! Cody didn't share in Simon's delight! I'll bet that water was sure cold for the boys to go through. The cold temps outside didn't help. Our complex put in some new plants that now line the walkway leading to our stairs. The boys are super fascinated with those new plants. It's very muddy from them just planting them so keeping the boys out of there isn't easy. They can hardly wait to have the opportunity to get up close and personal with those plants...if you know what I mean. Tinkle-tinkle! Last weekend our wasp problem reappeared. We had a wasp problem back in October and November. Our complex has a major wasp population. And a good number of them have taken up residency in my chimney. I love how when I get the flyswatter out to go after the wasps Simon stands back a reasonable distance and gives off a short bark every 10-15 seconds. I have no idea what he thinks he's accomplishing with the short barks or why he feels it's necessary. He can clearly see what's going on. If there's any noise from the flyswatter he can see me making that noise. Cody's more brave about it he stays close to me despite the fact that I'm viciously swinging a flyswatter so close to him. The best part is when I get the wasp dazed and he falls to the ground the look Cody gives that wasp is so hilarious to me. A look that says, "So you're the one causing all the problems...anybody ever tell you that you're ugly?" Gotta love Cody and all his many facial expressions! Well I'm sure that by the end of this coming weekend our wasp issue will be back hopefully I can get some logs before then. Smoking them out is the only thing that worked last time.

My Bracket!....A done deal!

So Arizona's run has ended. They sure made things exciting though. I rooted for them even though it was wrecking havoc on my bracket! My bracket is a done deal! My teams I had chosen for the championship game didn't make it to the Final Four. My boyfriend and I have tied with the amount of correctly guessed games from our individual brackets. By the end of Saturday's games our brackets were done. No hope for getting anymore games correct for either of us. We certainly have quite the history of tying when it comes to game predicting! Lol!

Various Thoughts!

Well the last 2 days I was brave enough to wear some capris and short-sleeve shirts even sandals. Then boom!....It's frigid again! I like it though. There's going to be plenty of months ahead with warm temps it's good to have a little break in the warming trend. I'm hoping the overcast skies will result in some significant rain! We have a new Petco going in right in our area. Simon was absolutely thrilled with this news! Best news he's heard in a long time. Back in AZ the Petco's were great here in big D it's not the same. I've tried a few different Petco locations in the Dallas area and none are very impressive establishments. So I'm hoping that the one in our area will be different. Hopefully the standards for our community will remain high. One thing I've always liked about Petco is that they seem to cater to small dogs a tiny bit more than Petsmart. Soon I might be able to go get the boys their fave treats that are Petco exclusives, no longer have to ask Grammie in Phx to send doggie bagels. Along with the news of something new opening is the news that the Blockbuster we frequent is closing. Rats! It very clearly states on the signs it's just that particular location. Blockbuster is not completely going out of business. We went yesterday to get in on the great movie deals as they are selling everything! I was a little disappointed though that it appears they sent the brand new release movies to other stores instead of selling them. I was hoping to get some brand new release movies for cheap. Darn it! We both came away with some movies still. There's a Blockbuster machine(exactly like Redbox) inside a local grocery store in our area so maybe we'll start renting from it. Either way I'm going to miss Blockbuster. It's nice to go browse the movies from time to time.

Bath Time!

The boys love to get clean! Okay maybe Cody doesn't love it at the time he's being doused with water but he does enjoy the outcome of being squeaky clean! He can be a little dramatic in the tub. I'm sure he's thought he was going to drowned numerous times. Simon's great about it while the water is going!! It was bath time earlier today. I have a decent system in place for the boys bath, it typically goes fairly well each time.

The worst part is after the bath is over. Simon wants out right away. He has no time for getting his ears cleaned out. It's always a struggle to keep him in the tub once the water is no longer running. Today I wasn't as organized as I should have been when bath time began. As I turned to get tissues to clean out Simon's ears he was out of the tub in the blink of an eye. Off he ran from one side of the bathroom to the other trying with all his might to get some traction going under those four wet paws. Meanwhile I'm scurry along behind him. I was eager to throw a towel on him and get him somewhat dry. I finally wrangled the slippery little pug. Well I no more than got Simon wrangled when I turned around to see my more patient pug jumping out of the confining tub and getting himself to freedom. Now I'm juggling Simon in my arms while Cody makes a break for it. Cody has a much heavier/water absorbent coat so it was necessary to get a towel around him fast! It was quite the scene as one pug dangled from one arm as I attempted to use the other arm to capture the other escaped pug. It wasn't long before I had my hands full with two pugs...one on each side. Oh how exciting as well as chaotic two pugs can make things!

My Bracket Picks! (part 2)

So Arizona beat Texas this past Sunday. I picked Texas! I must admit I was disappointed that Texas didn't move on. Nowadays, it's extra exciting for me when an Arizona team plays a Texas team. At least it was a good game to watch.

Now that Texas is out...I'm completely for Arizona! I've got a shirt that is very appropriately colored so I will be wearing my AZ colors tomorrow night when the game comes on. Cody has a red collar so he's styled in the right color as well. Simon on the otherhand doesn't have red or navy blue in his collar. But at least he isn't sporting a "Duke" blue collar! I suppose he's neutral! That might not be good enough though I might have to wrap him in a red blanket or a navy blue towel. Either way we're all ready to cheer for AZ!

My Bracket Picks!

March Madness has begun. I always fill out a bracket, mostly for fun. Although there have been times I've participated in group competition with my NCAA bracket.

As I was filling out my bracket last night I started at the top left side(East Region). I was carefully making my way down the left side of the page meaning that the West Region was next up to pick. What did my eyes quickly spot? Arizona vs. Memphis...no biggie it's clear who I'm picking. Next game down the page, Texas vs. Oakland...once again clear who I'm picking. But hold up that means if Arizona wins and Texas wins they face each other on Sunday. Geez, how does the NCAA expect me to pick such a game and so soon in the tourney? What a pickle! When I explained all this to my boyfriend he responded by telling me he wasn't going to have any problem picking an Arizona vs. Texas game. Lol! We all know who he's pickin'! I'm going to leave you all hanging as to whom I chose. Where does my loyalty lie? With the state I was born in or with the state I love living in? Hmm!

What's with the Region names? West, East, Southwest, and Southeast. No love for the North! I also noticed some cities are hosting games that are part of different regions. The state of Texas and it's neighboring states will host plenty of games. With of course all teams hoping to get a ticket to Houston! One thing that is quite possible is when Texas takes the court tomorrow up in Tulsa it could be like a home game. Lots of fans likely made their way to Tulsa.

I hope my bracket picks are good ones. A few years ago I did awesome. Since then I've had some mediocre bracket success and last year's bracket could possibly be considered an extreme mess. It's about time I do well.

Happy Birthday Simon!

Simon celebrated his 9th birthday in grand style. Grand style in his opinion must include cake and some yummy treats! He got both plus a toy. His brother benefited as well! As I type this the boys are fast asleep. After all they've had a big day...a day that included some opening of minor gifts and consuming cake. Cody ate his politely and Simon used somewhat of a vacuum technique. Lol!

I got the cake done later in the day than I planned but that simply meant the boys had somewhat warm and very fresh from the oven cake for Simon's b-day. The odd shaped green toy seemed to be a crowd pleaser while the bright blue duck narrowly escaped the evening without losing a wing to Simon's toy torture tactics. I fear the blue duck will have another chance at losing a wing or his head tomorrow once Simon gets a hold of him. The duck's only hope is if Cody saves him! Cody knows Simon's common practice of destroying toys so he regularly takes them away from him. Especially if it's a new toy and if the toy was given to him first.

Tomorrow will seem like part 2 of his birthday because I have some peanut butter jars that are empty I couldn't find a good time today to give them to the boys. I plan on surprising them with peanut butter jars tomorrow. Lucky boys! All in all I think the little guy had a pretty decent b-day!

Time Change!

To match with the change of season it was time to change the look of the blog! Spring has sprung in Big D! All around there's lovely trees, plenty of tulips being planted, and lots of green grass. Dallas is so pretty in the Springtime!

Over the weekend it was time to spring forward with our clocks. I knew time change was occurring but it still snuck up on us a bit. There were some early morning moments on Sunday when I was in disbelief as to what time it was. As of this present moment I still don't have all my clocks in my house changed. It's a bit of a trip too when you are sitting at your computer realizing it's 7:00 pm...it should be dark already. Then you remember time changed so it won't be getting dark for awhile yet.

One thing about time change in the Spring is that Simon doesn't get off schedule as much as he does with time change in the Fall. I have learned it's beneficial to take a few days to slowly adjust the times the boys are fed. This eliminates being stared at by Simon for a lengthy amount of time as he wonders why he hasn't been fed yet. By the end of the week the boys will be right on schedule and feeling no frustrations from the time change. Hopefully I will be used to the differences by then too!

Recipe Corner

This is the 200th post!

And with the 200th post I will start something new....my recipe corner. I generally hate to share my recipes but I have decided that from time to time I'm going to share via my blog. The recipe this time is a chicken recipe. It's reminiscent of barbecue chicken. Don't expect a true authentic barbecue flavor instead expect a sweet and tangy glaze for chicken.

I came across a recipe similar to this back when the arctic blasts hit us. I needed to make dinner and I couldn't go to the store for a long list of small ingredients. I searched and searched until I found a recipe I could make with ingredients I had on hand. Now understand with most of my recipes I change them up and I rarely measure unless I'm baking. I'll list the measurements I use. FYI, the amount of brown sugar is very much dependant on how sweet you want your glaze.


Ingredients:
1/2 Cup of ketchup

1 Tbsp. mustard

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 Cup of brown sugar(original recipe calls for 1/2 cup depends on your desired sweetness)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 Cup water



Process:
Bake fresh chicken pieces in a 350° oven for 45 minutes. While chicken is baking combine all ingredients for the glaze in a saucepan. Bring to a low boil then switch to low while the chicken continues to bake. I typically make my glaze when the chicken has about 20 minutes left to bake. Once chicken is done cover it with the glaze and return to oven for 15 minutes. Enjoy!



Side Note: When I first came across this process for baking chicken in the oven it seemed rather weird to me to put the chicken in the oven for 45 minutes without any seasoning, marinade, or anything on it. Be brave it really does work!

Side Note 2: I've used various baking dishes when doing this recipe. I most commonly use a square 8x8 baking dish. But I've also used a 9x13 when we had lots of chicken we needed to cook before it spoiled and I've used a 7x11 baking dish as well.

Movie Time!

Yesterday afternoon we went to see Rango. I've been waiting for awhile for this movie to come out. It was definitely funny. Worth seeing! We also recently saw Megamind. I was a little annoyed at Megamind. I thought the plot was going to be different. About halfway thru the movie both of us we're chatting about how we thought it was about a retired superhero. The storyline was a tiny bit misrepresented in the previews. It was still funny and it ends up coming together. I liked that it was a different take on animated superhero type movies.

I was given the movie "Life As We Know It" by my boyfriend. A chick-flick but one that my boyfriend was able to sit through without enduring too much pain....I think at least! Another movie we saw recently which is certainly worth renting is "Red". I liked it so much that I purchased it a few days later. There is a lot of gun scenes but it's not gross hide your eyes type of scenes. Trust me if I can handle it just about anyone can!

And would you believe my boyfriend has gotten me into the X-men series? We watched X-Men 3 last week. I must say so far X-Men 3 is my fave. Never imagined myself getting into X-Men but I'm glad I'm willing to give things a chance. They also have good actors/actresses in them.

My boyfriend and I give movies a fair chance to get us into them but if it's not that great we don't hesitate to turn it off and do something else. No point wasting a good portion of an evening watching a horrible movie. So all movies I have mentioned didn't get the axe. We watched from beginning to end. Of the recent movies we've viewed it's hard for me to pick a fave. When Rango does come out on blu-ray it will be added to my growing collection. We've had long streaks of bad movies, times where we just can't seem to find a good movie. Currently though I think we're on a bit of a good(or at least) decent movie streak. The good movies we've watched of late outweigh the so-so ones.

A Cody Post! (part 1)

I finally did it...I convinced my mommie to allow me to make a post. It is I, Cody W. Peterson at the helm of the computer typing this one. Yay for me!

Now what do I want to talk about...lets begin with my disgruntlement! My mommie describes me as a happy-go-lucky pug, for the most part I am. But bad weather and my little brother sure know how to ruffle my fur.

There I was this morning sleeping in real late. Can't fault a little guy like myself for sleeping in late on a Saturday or any other day for that matter! I wake up in my nice cozy bed in the warmth of our home. I'm excited to be up. I'm excited to get food! And I'm also excited to take my walk. I get my leash on with the help of my mommie and off we go out the door. At first feel of the air outside I didn't think much of it. By the time we got to the bottom of the stairs I couldn't believe the frigid temps that greeted me. Not a polite greeting might I add! Mommie instantly said, "Yeah it's cold today Code but you'll warm up as we go." To this sentence I had no comment for her. Deciding to keep my mouth shut and shiver my way up the hill just outside our building. The blast of cold air nearly knocked my ears off. We've had nice weather lately. I thought Spring had sprung. I've had visions of bunnies jumping around and birds excitedly chirping. What the chicken feathers is going on? What month have we suddenly been transported back to? What's a guy to do when he can't feel any of his four feet as he walks along the very long morning route? I'm struggling to breath with all the wind and leaves blowing at me, meanwhile Simon's doing his normal Simon thing. Walking around as if it was a normal day. Don't worry I got my revenge...I peed on him during the walk!

Back when we were dealing with the arctic blasts mommie was at least nice enough to take us for abbreviated walks. Did I get that lucky this morning? Nope! All along the route this morning mommie pointed out all the pretty plants and trees that are starting to bloom again. I really didn't take time to look at the so-called blooms I had other things to worry about like whether or not I was going to lose a limb to frost bite. Okay so now I'm being dramatic but you can't give a little guy nice warm spring-like temps for 6 days then blast him with cold wind. It's just not nice! According to mommie the cold temps are not sticking around. What a relief!

Alright catch y'all later! Yes, I say y'all now I'm a Texas pug! See ya, Cody out!

Isn't It Ironic!

I was recently stopped outside while walking my dogs by the mail lady. She was considering renting an apartment here and had a few questions for a current resident. She told me the things that annoy her the most in a complex and wondered if things like that occur here. At first I kind of drew a blank as to what annoys me about my complex but I soon thought of a few things. However the things that annoy me the most are dog related issues. Since she isn't a dog owner none of my complaints mattered to her. My number one thing that bugs me about living here is the amount of people that don't leash their dogs when taking them outside.

For the mail lady her number one complaint about apartment living is neighbors that play loud music in their bedrooms. I was somewhat puzzled when she mentioned this. Because I instantly thought to myself. Don't people typically play loud music in their living room area as opposed to rockin' out in the bedroom? She also happened to mention to me that the complex gave her a list of vacant units she could choose from if she decided to move in here. Before I moved in they gave me a similar type of list as well. So I was familiar with this practice of the complex. She however thought it raised a red flag as to why so many vacant units. It is a little strange that they give long lists of vacant units to consider choosing to move into but it's a very large complex. The amount of vacant units is likely rather average considering the large property.

Back to my point of this post. The irony! At the time I had this conversation with the mail lady the unit under mine was vacant. New neighbors moved in about 2 weeks ago. They have a wiener dog named Sapphire. Yeah, Sapphire is it's name, poor thing wasn't blessed with a great name like Cody or Simon. Wink-wink! LOL! How do I know the dog's name already? Because they never leash her!!! I frequently hear them calling for Sapphire when they take it outside and she decides to ignore them as she continues being a dog that doesn't want to go back inside quite yet. And the real kicker is they love to play loud music in their bedrooms. Yep, that's right...in their bedrooms!

So after having a conversation with the mail lady about our top things that bug us about apartment living I get new neighbors that don't leash their dog(my top complaint) and play loud music in their bedroom(the mail lady's top complaint). Oh the irony!