Pug Tales: Can I Trust Simon?

Whether or not to trust Simon all depends on what you are talking about.  Do I trust that he'll tear into anyone that dares to come too close to the 3 of us outside our home.  Yes, absolutely!  Simon recently stared down a worker here at our apartment complex while we were riding the elevator. The guy riding along with us got so nervous that he commented on Simon's stance and decided to get off a floor early.  Do I trust he'll be a good boy when we aren't home to watch his every move.  Yes, he'll just lay down and sleep.  Or worst case scenario I'll find him in sitting in his toy box when I return.  Do I trust him around my tomato plant?  NO! 

The tomato plant is very much in bloom.  Lots and lots of tomatoes are on their way.  I normally brush the boys coats out on the balcony.  Early this morning when we were out on the balcony Simon looked up at the plant.  He now has to look up at it since it's been raised up to the table because he proved himself untrustworthy once before. 

Skip ahead to late afternoon...just a few minutes ago he was anxiously asking to go out on the balcony.  That is common for Cody but a bit uncommon for Simon.  Cody loves laying on the balcony, just to chill from his incredibly stressful life! LOL! ;) Well I fell for Simon's ploy and let him outside.  I then opened the blinds to watch him.  He noticed right away I was watching him from the window. He looked a bit dejected.  A few minutes later I got up to survey the side dish items for tonight's dinner.  As I turn around to look back towards the window I see Simon craning his neck while balancing on his back little legs as he stretched as far up as he could in his attempt to snag a green tomato.  I instantly ran to the window to reprimand him.  He quickly gave me his sad puppy eyes!  Those don't work on me!  However, I didn't make him come inside right away.  I sat down to watch him instead.  It wasn't long though before he decided he was ready to come in.  He doesn't have much patience and likely wasn't willing to wait for me to turn my back again so he could try a second attempt.  Plus he likely knows I wasn't about to turn my back on him again.

Oh my! Simon and his desire to eat the world!  The great outdoors is his buffet! 

MNF and Experimental Dinner!

Is anyone excited about this Monday Night Football game tonight?  I enjoy seeing the Broncos play but come on give them a worthy opponent, not a pop warner team.  Oh man, that was mean!  One of my biggest complaints each NFL season is team's being featured in showcase games that do not deserve to be featured.  This should be an easy 57-0 victory for Broncos.  Unless of course they go in super overconfident.  Doubt that will happen.  Brad seems to think it's being featured on Monday Night because it's a rivalry, like the Cowboys and Redskins.  So we'll see maybe the Raiders will surprise us all. Just for the record I don't believe the Cardinals should be featured on a Sunday or a Monday night game either....unfortunately they are not good enough in my opinion.  The better teams along with tough match-ups are what I want to see on Sunday and Monday night. 

Another experimental meal tonight.  The last 2 Monday night's have featured experimental meals in our household. My poor husband...he has to be my guinea pig! Lol! Last week was quite unique, I tried copying a fave dish of mine at Olive Garden.  The flavors were similar but I had my own ideas on the type of pasta and the process I chose for my mock version.  It was good, we ate it plus the leftovers within a couple nights.  Yet, I will need to go to Olive Garden again soon for further research! ;)

I was feeling a little uninspired earlier today to make dinner.  Couldn't decide what to make.  I finally decided on roasting a chicken.  The spices and the process however, are different than anything I've tried before.  Fingers-crossed it all tastes good!  It smells good so far.  Dinner on Monday night and nearly all other weeknights is set to be ready at game time!  Therefore, I'll wrap this up so I can get the rest of dinner ready.     

September Rain, Gamestop, and Pancakes!

Ah, yes I enjoy September mainly for the start of the weather change and the excitement it presents for Autumn.  I like the changes in seasons.  Since moving to Dallas I can certainly feel the change from season to season more readily.  The weather here has been great.  We got plenty of rain this past week.  Perhaps if you were to ask Cody he would not agree.  He would likely believe we've  had too much rain.  The other day it rained all day and all evening.  Each of the walks featured rainfall resulting in soggy puggies!  Cody was not a happy camper but he rolled with it!  It's definitely cooler. I forgot my jacket on the morning walk, I missed it for sure. 

We currently have our nephew staying with us for the rest of the weekend.  We picked him up on Saturday afternoon, we'll take him home tomorrow late in the afternoon.  We took him to Gamestop shortly after picking him up, we told  him to pick out anything he wanted.  Believe it or not he didn't find anything he wanted.  Later in the early evening hours we went to the mall with plans of wasting some time before taking in a movie Brad and Dylan wanted to see.  We once again found a Gamestop inside the mall.  This Gamestop is bigger and had a better overall selection.  We teased Dylan that we were not leaving the mall until he picked something out.  He finally decided on a game.  After going to the movie and now returning home he has promptly opened up the new game to play it.  

I plan on making a nice selection of pancakes tomorrow.  I got extra ingredients so Dylan would have a selection of things to choose from for me to mix into the pancakes.  I'll most likely make at least 2 types.  I love making chocolate chip and peanut butter chip pancakes.  I often make 2 kinds when I make pancakes.  I haven't made pancakes in awhile...hard to believe, I know.  So I'm looking forward to it!

Cody is completely impressed with Dylan.  He likes him a lot!  They both like each other a lot.  It's very cute to see how Cody reacts around certain people.  He lets it be known just how much he likes someone. His body language says it all.  As Dylan sits on the floor Cody hangs out in close proximity. At times Cody inches closer and closer hoping to get a pat a two.  Sometimes we have to intercede because Dylan is playing a game and can't be too bothered.

I have a feeling 3 of the 4 boys in this household will be up quite late.  Therefore, we'll likely be having pancakes while watching the start of the Cowboys game.  It'll be more of a brunch!  Which is fine by me!  Simon and I will go to bed in the not so distant future.  I actually think Simon already put himself to bed, as I look around I don't see my little Simmie! Cody loves to stay up late if Brad's staying up late!  He's not about to let me put him to bed.  Fingers-crossed for a Cowboys victory tomorrow.  I'm about to make my picks for the week. 

Two Weeks Into The Season

Once again we're competing against each other with our NFL picks.  After the first 2 weeks of football picks we have each won a week. We'll see what happens next week.

This past week I was one game up.  Brad had to wait to see which team I would choose for Monday night, he then had to pick opposite of me plus we had to guess points in case there was a tie.  As I pondered which team to choose I could not bring myself to spend Monday evening hoping Pittsburgh would win.  I'm a Cardinals fan and I have yet to get over the fact that the Steelers beat my beloved Cardinals in the Super Bowl a few years ago.  I'm still holding a grudge.  And for many more years I'll hold that grudge! 

Brad was not exactly thrilled he had to cheer for the Steelers either.  The Steelers beat the Cowboys in a Super Bowl many, many years ago....and yes Brad is still holding a grudge too!  But in an effort to force a tie with me he had to go for them.  Obviously we all know the Steelers lost last night. Yay!

While out on the road driving home we were discussing this past Sunday's match-ups.  I even made temporary pick sheets while rolling down the road.  Lol!  Yes, we are true football fans!  Even being out of town and on the road didn't prevent us from making our football picks. For week one, Brad won dessert of his choice.  For week two, I won dinner of my choice.  Together we could have quite the evening out! Unless Brad chooses a dessert I make that is!

Back At Home!

It's good to be home!  We returned home early this afternoon.  We tried hard to make it home by the time the Cowboy's game started but we were a little late.  We arrived at my in-laws place to watch the game with them with about 2:00 minutes to go in the 1st quarter. We made decent timing!

We drove a significant amount for 4 days in a row!  We drove part way to Illinois on Thursday, drove the rest of the way on Friday.  We arrived in very good timing on Friday.  Which was nice.  We attended the funeral of Brad's best friend on Saturday then spent time with his friend's family. His friend's family showed us amazing hospitality while we were there.  It was a super small town.  With only 2 hotels to choose from.  They did have a Subway, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Sonic and a Walmart but not much else.  Brad definitely expressed that he couldn't imagine living in a place that tiny. I agree!  Those food places I mentioned plus Walmart are the most frequently seen "big" business we have noticed during our road trips. 

After spending time with his friend's family on Saturday afternoon we ended up leaving a bit later than we planned.  Which was no biggie, it just meant we had to do some night driving, which is something we typically try to limit. We drove from about 5:45 pm until around 11:30 pm.  After checking into a hotel and grabbing some fast food for dinner it was midnight.  We then stayed up to watch the rest of the ASU game.  What a crazy ending of that game!  Never seen anything like that before.

We woke up at the crack of dawn in my opinion.  We did make sure we took time for breakfast then started out for Dallas.  We didn't stop once today!  Drove from just outside Little Rock to Dallas without stopping.  My in-laws had a great meal ready for us when we arrived at their place.  The boys were of course happy to see us!  Soon after the Cowboy's game we brought the boys home and we've stayed in since then. 

Today is the anniversary of our first date.  We've officially been together for 4 years now!  Yay!  We will do our traditional dinner out to the restaurant we went to on our first date, however, we've postponed that evening out until next weekend.  Right now we're passing the time as we wait for the rain delay to end in Seattle.  We're watching the Sunday Night football game live from Seattle.  Go Seahawks!  Most importantly we're enjoying kicking back on our couch and relaxing after such a journey filled four days!

An Unexpected Trip

On Saturday while I was at home alone and Brad was off to his tennis tournament I received a phone call. I was completely shocked when I was told of the very unexpected passing of Brad's best friend. It was the kind of the news that makes you instantly weak in the knees the second it's spoken to you.

Since Saturday I think both of us have been dealing with the shock of it all.  I feel awful for my husband and also for his friend's family.  Helping my husband get through this has been main focus, of course.

His friend was originally from Illinois and his family has decided to have his funeral there.  We leave tomorrow for Illinois.  We will be driving instead of flying.  The funeral is in a small town far away from any airport.  If we had decided to fly we'd have to fly into St. Louis then rent a car and drive to the small town in Illinois.  All of that, plus factoring in the cost of plane tickets and renting a car didn't sound as appealing to us as driving from Dallas to Illinois. Money-wise....I think we'll spend only half of what we would have spent if we decided to fly then rent a car. 

So this afternoon I am busy getting as much done as possible to get ready to go.  Plus getting the boys ready to go to grandma and grandpa Vaughn's for a few days.  We'll take the boys over to Brad's parent's house tomorrow morning before heading out.  We'll return on Sunday.

Tennis and Monday Night Football!

I'm currently watching the men's final of the U.S. Open.  I'm actually recording it too for Brad.  So I likely should turn it off. So far it doesn't look like Djokovic has shown up to play.  Nadal's in charge.  Ah yes, this is my fave Monday of the whole year!  Double header Monday Night Football....how can one go wrong?

We are back to battling each other with our football picks.  I am 2 games down.  I must pick opposite of Brad and both of those teams must win for me to tie him.  Upon a tie it would be decided by a guess of the combined total of points scored in the last game tonight.  We will have to put a guess in on those two scores before kick-off. So how many point do I think the Texans and the Chargers can muster tonight?  Hmm!

My Cardinal's losing that game was tough.  I thought they had it.  Then again they were away.  A loss in St. Louis is easier to take then at home.  Not a lot easier to take but a bit easier.  I'm glad the Cowboy's won!  Sunday night's with Brad are quite a bit better when the Cowboy's win!  Guess what?  The pugs now have Cowboy's shirts!  I thought Simon might stay a Cardinal's fan but nope he jumped ship!  Yesterday both boys sported their new Cowboy's shirts, while Brad mentioned he needs a new one to go with the new season!  Possibly his wife needs to head to the mall! 

Our Weekend: Drenched and Lots of Tennis!

Woo-hoo September has arrived!  I'm kind of fond of this particular month!  I get excited for a few things that occur during September.  The anniversary of our first date which we will celebrate but not exactly in the same way as before since we now have a wedding anniversary to celebrate too.  I also look forward to Autumn.  I'm ready to see even a slight change in the temps!  Plus the beginning of September means my bday is approaching. 

As for our holiday weekend....after waking up at the time Simon deemed appropriate on Labor day.  Which is coincidentally the same time he deems appropriate all other days!  Apparently he doesn't believe in sleeping in on a holiday.  After getting the boys fed I went to look out the window, since it had started raining during the night.  I don't  have a problem with light sprinkles but heavy rain and lightning means we must stay home.  It looked to be a light rain.  Light enough to get at least a portion of the walk in if not all of the long walk, down the stairs we went.  Once outside it wasn't bad at all, sparse sprinkles.  I was sure it would stop.  Sure enough it stopped within the first 10 minutes of the walk. We soon approached the turn around spot, which is the halfway point, and that's when the skies let loose with a large amount of rain.  We were getting absolutely drenched.  There was nothing to do except keep going.  I could tell the boys were completely annoyed it was raining so hard on them.  I quickly noticed both of them had their heads hanging down.  That's the sure sign of their irritation with the weather.  The boys were super soaked upon our arrival home.  There wasn't a dry spot on them.  We were all three looking like drowned rats.  

Both Sunday and Monday we stayed in all day! Just call us homebodies! The only time we went outside was to walk the boys.  It was nice to stay home so much.  I am a little surprised that we did though.  I think Brad especially enjoyed it since he feels he doesn't get enough time overall to simply relax at home.  Now staying in so much this past weekend was easy since the U.S. Open was on.  This is how crazy we are about watching tennis....last night we had tennis on the TV and on my laptop. At the U.S. Open's web site you can choose which match you watch.  They have cameras on all courts.  There we were switching from match to match online.  It's the last Grand Slam of the year, we're set on watching as much as we can of it. 

Brad starts on a team tennis league tonight.  He had to leave from work to get to practice in time.  It's a little odd not seeing him all day then all evening.  Normally when he has tennis nights with friends he comes home for a little while before leaving again, therefore we can catch up with one another's day. He will play his first match this coming Saturday. 

Brad's Night at the Cowboys Game!

Well Brad had a great time at the game this past Thursday night.  Yes the outcome wasn't what he would have preferred but still the experience was one of a kind!  I'm so glad he was able to go!  They were in a suite on the field level as I mentioned before.  The suite was located in the end zone which is one of Brad's fave spots for games.  Everything was free...even beer!  He came home proudly saying he didn't spend a dollar during the course of the night! :)   

When Brad arrived home he had a few souvenirs from the night in his hands.  An awesome Game Day guide, complete with the team schedules for the entire league. Sweet!  Plus he was carrying something in his hand especially for me...a pom-pom!  Now folks I know I live in Texas.  After all I chose to move here.  I know I fell in love with a DIEHARD Cowboys fan!  And I'll gladly cheer for the Cowboys along with my sweet husband as long as they aren't playing my Cardinals! LOL! I completely and 100% accept the Cowboys as my home team now! That being said there was something about that pom-pom touching my Cardinal's loving hands.  I couldn't help it but my first immediate thought in my head was....'I'm a Cardinal's fan, I can't touch a Cowboys pom-pom.'  My next thought was, 'Hmm, this is weird, never held one of these that wasn't red and white or maroon and gold!' 

Prior to Thursday night I had only seen Cardinals and Sun Devil pom-poms.  I was raised with a maroon and gold pom-pom in my hand, just ask my mom!  Apparently I've traded in my red and white pom-pom along with my maroon and gold pom-pom for a navy and silver one!  From now on picture me during each Cowboys game waving my new Cowboys pom-pom! And loving every minute of it!

Here are some of the pics from his big night out! He took some good ones!