A Storm the Cat Story

Storm has become more and more accustom to the boys. Which is great! I'm not sure she's completely sold on them but she's certainly tolerate of them. Most importantly she trusts them. She doesn't show fear or concern that they might eat her.

I often wonder which one is her preferred choice...Cody or Simon? Maybe she has no preference. For some reason though I can see her and Cody becoming friends. They commonly suntan in close proximity to one another.

Now here's a big detail about Storm....she loves water! She likes it straight from the faucet if someone is willing to turn it on fer her. She's not opposed to drinking it out of the toilet and she definitely likes a full bowl of it. With the dogs comes a large water bowl. Larger than any water bowl Storm has had. She has become very intrigued by the boy's water bowl. Lately she goes over to it and sticks her paws in to swish the water around. She does this in a careful manner she's not splashing it all over the place. She will even stand with one or two feet in the bowl while taking a drink. It's a funny sight to see!

I suppose the best part of her attraction to the boys water bowl is the fact she is obviously not too repulsed by the boys. If she was she would not go near their water bowl and drink after them. Apparently she's okay with the risk of dog cooties! LOL!!!

Here's some pics of Storm and the boy's water bowl along with a pic of her and Cody enjoying the sun together!

Spring is Coming!

Today featured the threat of rain however, it was just a threat. The wind is quite gusty out. My boyfriend is supposed to play tennis tonight, the wind might pose to be a problem. Things are getting greener and greener. Especially since the last couple of weeks has produced a decent amount of rain. So I'm thinking Spring has sprung in Big D! I love the way Dallas looks in the Spring! It's very pretty! The trees feature many lovely blossoms. I love the white blossoms on the tree right outside our living room window.


I'm sure Cody is thankful for a mild winter after the record breaking coldest winter of the previous year. But even better in Cody's opinion is a change in seasons! He likes to make friend's with butterflies!

I've noticed some resorts in the area have planted some tulips which are popping up. My fave flower is tulips. I guess I get excited at the beginning of each new season. I think the start of Autumn and then the start of Spring excite me the most! I really hope this Spring I can go to the Dallas Arboretum. I've never been to it in the Spring, mainly because it's packed! Maybe this year!





Side Note: I've been meaning to post this pic for a week or so now. Here it is. The championship banner hanging in the rafters of the American Airlines Center(aka Home of the Championship winning Mavericks!). Woo-hoo!!!!

Wild Goose Chase!

Where I come from there are no geese or large birds that I can't identify freely walking about. There's little to no wildlife walking about in Phx. Here in big D, I've driven down my steet approaching my complex and on more than one occasion I've had to come to a complete stop to allow for some geese or large birds to cross the street. There's a creek next to my complex and it runs back behind my complex and through the neighborhood, that's what attracts certain birds.

Today I was walking the boys as usual every morning. I saw some geese up ahead as we've seen before. Typically they see us and start to distance themselves from the 3 of us. Today they were maybe a little distracted by a baby in a stroller nearby. Maybe hoping the baby had some food! Anyway, they didn't get out of the way by the time we approached. I thought they would just chill and let us pass by. Wrong! They started chasing us. When geese chase they hiss as they pursue you. Cody responded with fear! Of course, it's Cody! Simon's first response was as if he was saying, "Really? You want to pick a fight with me? I'm big and bad!". He then quickly switched into protector mode. That's when I gave the boys the command to "run". I had to get some distance between us and the geese. The entire time rolling around in my head was images of Simon attacking one goose and then the pack of geese comes after him. I was imagining fur and feathers flying! Simon can always count on his mom to come to his defense but his big brother would have been breaking speed limits as he ran away in the opposite direction. LOL!

Luckily I was able to keep Simon from snapping at a goose and running key. In the future I will wait up a little to allow them to cross and get back to their pond before we get too close. It was definitely somewhat tense moments on the morning walk. It's kind of funny to me now though!

The Difficulties of Lent!

Last year for Lent I decided to give up soda. It was hard I remember the difficulty I had at times with it. But after a few weeks I kind of liked not having soda. It seemed that not only was I participating with Lent but I was also doing something that would benefit me since we all know soda isn't the healthiest drink option out there.

Recently I made somewhat of an interesting observation of myself. I fixed some chicken for dinner and what did I go grab from the fridge as a dipping sauce for my chicken? Ketchup! I wasn't having french fries or wedge potatoes there really was no need to have ketchup I just wanted it for my chicken. At that point I thought about how into ketchup I am. It's certainly my fave condiment! As a result of this observation I decided to give up ketchup for Lent. Oh and to compound things further I'm also giving up soda. Two things! This past weekend was a little difficult for me. No ketchup on my burger on Sunday and no soda at all during the weekend. What have I done to myself?

Here's the kicker about soda for me. As a result of last year's Lent I decided I don't need to have soda everyday. Soda for me is a weekend treat. Some people want to kick back on a Friday or Saturday night with a Margarita or maybe wine I just simply want some Sunkist soda. Oh it's going to be a long 6 weeks! Easter needs to hurry!

My boyfriend gave up alcohol just as he did last year so he's suffering some too. He convinced his dad to do it with him. So far so good for both of them! My boyfriend is good about avoiding a certain drink or food item once he puts his mind to it.

I think I'll do a lot better in the days and weeks to come once I go get some items that are great substitutes for soda. Right now plain water is getting a little boring. I think ketchup will be harder than I imagined it to be. Burgers and fries just aren't going to taste right for 6 whole weeks. Barbecue won't be the same either. I love the fries at a barbecue restaurant called Red, Hot, and Blue, which I've been in the mood to go to lately. Yep, this is shaping up to be harder than I ever thought it would be!

TV Watching!

My biggest complaint lately is the fact that my DVR box keeps having issues. I wish they would just give me a new one. Instead it works for a week or two then goes on the fritz again. I then make a call to my cable company and they walk me through the re-set process. Here's the weird part though. My cable company must be doing something on their end to fix my issue because I've tried doing the re-set process by myself and it doesn't work. Oh and yesterday when the box went out and I called the lady told me I might have to leave it unplugged for a day or two. When I questioned what she was saying she responded back that she would recommend unplugging it for 30 seconds. Yeah, 30 seconds is more like it. Keeping things unplugged for a day or two is maddening when I'm paying for cable services and can't use it.

One good thing about my cable company is that they offer great OnDemand options. I rarely have to set my DVR to record a show because that show is most likely offered on OnDemand. Mind you, I don't watch a lot of TV so I have few shows I keep up with. I love syndicated sitcoms. I can easily spend an entire evening watching re-runs of Friends or King of Queens or The Big Bang Theory. Those are my 3 faves! As you can see current TV is not that important to me.

Anyway back to my OnDemand frustration....in as little as a year or so they have quickly started to change the advertisement options. It used to be without any ads at all. It was nice...oh the good ol' days! Now over the last 6 months or so they are finding ways to slip in an ad for other TV shows on their network. And within the last month they have added a ridiculous public service announcement within the show. The public service announcement is so creepy sometimes I sit there and wonder if it's for real until it gets to the end. Some networks have also fixed their shows so you can't fast forward at any point. NBC is big on that! The most interesting thing for me is that in my entire time of having my current cable options which is nearly 3 years I've never ordered a movie or anything that costs. I stick to the free TV shows they offer and somewhat gladly watch their limited commercial interruptions. :)

Now if I miss a show and my OnDemand doesn't have it then I go to the internet. I've noticed that they too are increasing their ads. It used to be only a brief 30 second ad at about 3 different times during a 30 minute program now it's about 90 seconds of advertising 3 different times during a 30 minute show. Obviously, they are realizing there's a lot of people like me that are busy, don't want their life revolving around TV, and are seeking other options to watch fave shows when they have the chance. Therefore advertisers are seeking out ways to capitalize on new ad options too! Well, I knew it would happen at some point. Especially after things like that get popular.

I must admit though sometimes I just prefer watching it online or OnDemand. There's many times I think to myself to record something then I don't as I quickly decide to watch it on OnDemand or online. That might sound weird but that's me! I think it's the convenience aspect. I can snuggle up on the couch while using my boyfriend's laptop and catch up on an episode of Amazing Race I missed last week. No complaint there! TV watching sure has come a long way!

Friday Night has Arrived!

Glad the weekend is here! As always! It was a nice week weather-wise. A little colder today than previous days but still nothing major. February has featured some cold days but they've been few and far between. That's been somewhat the theme of winter for us though. Very mild!

I have no clue what kind of bugs are currently all over the place here. They come out in the late afternoon and completely blend into the grass. As you step through grassy areas there's about 5 or 6 bugs that fly up as they do their best to avoid being squashed by all of our footsteps. The other day we were walking as one of these flying bugs landed right on Simon's nose. He looked down the short bridge of his nose to see this thing. He stopped and stepped backwards as if stepping backwards was going to shake the bug. About 10 seconds later out comes his tongue as he scooped the bug into his mouth. That bug was history! Taught that bug a lesson! Don't land on Sime's nose! I've never noticed these particular bugs until this year. And so far I'm only seeing them at my place not at my boyfriend's place. Maybe the bugs are attracted to the creek that runs through our area.

For dinner tonight I tried something new. I got some ground chicken to use as the meat in our tacos. My seasoning mix didn't say you could use chicken but hey I was up for an experiment! It worked out well. We both liked it. Biggest difference we noticed is that substituting chicken for the beef made the taco meat spicier. It wasn't too spicy for us, however it definitely had a little extra pizazz! Using chicken is so much leaner overall, I didn't have to drain the meat as much. I think it turned out spicier because the flavor of beef is more dense. Chicken has a lighter texture and taste all around. Anyway if anyone is up for an experiment any time soon try substituting ground chicken for the beef next time you make tacos. I have used turkey meat many times before. I've noticed that's not too popular of a choice with my Texas boyfriend though. I do believe we both liked the chicken substitution enough that I would do it again.

Long Weekend!

We have been enjoying a nice long weekend! We thought about going to a movie today but nothing was jumping out at us to go see. Instead we rented a movie that we'll watch a little later.

Last night we went to a hockey game. I got my boyfriend tickets to the Dallas Stars for Valentine's day. We had lots of fun at the game. Hockey is a really fun sport to go see! I still don't understand all the rules of hockey but it doesn't matter to me. I enjoy myself anyway and I understand enough to know what is going on.

An extra special treat for going to the Stars game was being in the arena. The first time in the arena since the Mavs won the NBA championship so it was our first time to see the Championship banner hanging. I took a pic of it. I can't post pics right now so I'll add it to this post tomorrow or sometime soon. On the banner they put the players names around it as the border. I thought that was a nice touch! I doubt my pic got that detail in it but I did my best capturing the image of the banner hanging from the ceiling.

So today is President's day! I know it's mostly to honor the past presidents. Like Washington and Lincoln! However, I've always wondered if the current president takes the day off?

Catching Up.....

Back online! We had a round of some serious rain producing storms and internet service was affected in our area. I didn't have internet service nor did my boyfriend's place. So lets see...time to catch up.

First off, we had a lovely Valentine's day. We went out to a casual dinner at one of our fave places to go to. They have awesome fries and great queso. Plus they feature a quesadilla which they call the texadilla that I love to order. We then had a quiet evening and kicked back watching a movie. The movie was good lots of laughs. We didn't realize Nicole Kidman was in the movie when it started, when her character popped up we both took a few minutes recognizing her. At first we thought maybe it was a Nicole Kidman look-a-like. We soon realized it was really her but she's had some work done that's for sure! Yikes!

My boyfriend scored extra brownie points because he got me not one but two boxes of candy. Yum! I made him some treats due to the fact that he requested no candy. Although I did get him some M&M's because the treats I made for him had M&M's in them.

To my Valentine...thank you for a wonderful Valentine's day evening! I feel super lucky to have found you! I'm so happy we are each other's Valentine! XOXO's!

Fog and Valentine's Day!

It's still quite cold but the wind isn't smacking you in the face the moment you walk outside. Cold I have no issue with it's the windchill that I have a harder time dealing with. I noticed while I was out earlier fog is setting in. I kind of like fog! It's interesting! Just a couple months back I was walking with the boys in some serious fog, the boys reaction to not being able to see a tree up ahead is funny to watch. I remember Cody really looking around to see where things were. He was probably thinking, 'yesterday there were trees and bushes, where did everything go?'

I'm officially ready for Valentine's day! Okay, so I've been ready for Valentine's day. I had to put the finishing touches on something for my boyfriend earlier this evening. I seemed to be running so short on time last year when preparing for Valentine's day. Maybe because it was on Monday, which are quite busy for me.

I'm excited about what I got for my boyfriend. I don't want to say too much since he might read this before tomorrow night. I will simply say I've had this idea for many months...it's going to be fun! Emphasis is definitely on fun!

Cold Snap!

Brrrrr! It's freezing! I mean freeeeeeezing! No other way to put it! The wind chill is making the temp outside feel like it's 16 degrees. Yep, you read that right....16 degrees. I need earmuffs, that wind blasting my ears hurts quite bad when you're out in it for awhile.

Cody is not having it! When we reached the bottom of the stairs to head out on the long walk he clearly scoffed at the weather. He's funny. He's so aware! Simon on the other hand is aware but doesn't care quite as much unless you are trying to take him through snow. During the 1 mile walk today the boys both drug their feet. I was clearly out in front of them a few steps. I made them wear their sweaters all day even during the walks.

Snow flurries are in the forecast for tomorrow. Doesn't look like it will be anything major, a little snow might be nice. Although I will be spending as much time indoors as possible! It will be even colder tomorrow than today so I'm thinking the boys will get the day off from walks. I could barely stand taking them out in it today I can't imagine trying to do a long walk in even colder temps tomorrow. So short trips outside is likely all the boys will get....I doubt they'll complain!

Busy Week!

Okay so it's been some days since my last post. I've been rather busy this week. I baked quite a bit. I've planned out my Valentine for my Valentine. And I've been keeping up with all my other daily tasks. As for the baking I did, one thing I made was a lemon cake. My first lemon cake. I think it turned out rather well. It's weird how there's some cakes that are such a chore to make. Then there's others that are different, fun, and they make me want to be creative.

A few weeks back my boyfriend got the boys each a rather BIG Dingo bone. Bigger than any other bones the boys have devoured. I decided to save their super big bones for the Super Bowl. The boys started the bones last Sunday. They have steadily worked on them as the week progressed. I must say I'm impressed with the politeness they showed one another. They chose to take turns and eat each bone one at a time. The 2nd bone was just finished up tonight by Simon. I think Cody sat around waiting and hoping Simon would give it up one last time to let him have a few more chomps on it but no such luck. It is interesting though that they chose to share each bone. There wasn't a single fight during the last few days of bone eating bliss. The best part is that it's taken them days to work on them. I have a feeling those bones will be purchased again soon. Maybe a monthly treat! Sime's bday is next month and I'm betting a new BIG bone is at the top of his bday list! Oh this is funny....due to the all the bone chomping that's gone on during the daytime hours the boys have been dog-tired at night! Serious puggie snooring has been heard within our walls!

Colder weather has returned to Big D. It's not super cold but it's definitely colder than it was last week. Last week felt like Spring. This week at least feels like February. So far since moving here I would say each February has been the coldest month to deal with. It's a little early to tell if that will be true this February...we'll see!

Super Sunday and PB!

So we're ready for the big game! I had a brilliant idea last night to make a giant cookie for a simple something sweet after we have downed pizza, chips and dip. I thought it was appropriate especially if you are secretly or not so secretly in my case more in favor of the Giants come Super Sunday. Do you get it?....a "giant" cookie! Play on words! Dumb I know! I would decorate it neutral of course. Although both teams have the same colors so I can't go wrong. I've heard Patriots will be in blue and the Giants will be wearing their white jerseys. So the decoration can be in red!

Last night I went to the pantry to get some peanut butter to stuff the boys kongs with. Getting a stuffed kong for an evening snack makes my two pugs over the moon excited! I already had their full attention as I shopped in the pantry for peanut butter. I'm embarrassed to admit this but we were completely out! Nothing but an empty jar in there. I know, I know....what a sin! Believe me Simon's eyes scolded me enough when I came away with no pb. Oh but never fear little Sime you have a decently smart mommie. I quickly noticed I had 2 bananas that were past their prime! The boys do not get table scrapes...never have, never will! However, I do allow them once in awhile to enjoy peanut butter and fresh fruit that they've been introduced to through their specially made dog-friendly birthday cakes. List of foods the boys can have reads like this: peanut butter, no-salt peanuts, apples, bananas and pecans. Last night since there was no peanut butter I mashed up one of the bananas and stuffed it in their kongs. Let me tell you I got absolutely no complaints! They loved it! So I now have a new way to get rid of older bananas!

As I was at the store today buying peanut butter! Sime's so proud! I debated over which one to get! Now my debate had nothing to do with cost or brand. Nope, my debate was all about the opening of the jar! Yes, you read that right, the opening of the jar! That's how you know you are a seriously addicted pug mommie...when you stand in the grocery store debating if the opening of the jar is big enough for your little smashed face pug to get his head into when the jar is near empty and he gets the honor of licking it clean! Yep, proud puggie mommie for sure! In case anyone was wondering I came away with Jif!