Stubborn and Crazy

Go ahead and go look up the word stubborn in the dictionary. I'll wait while you do that! Okay, I see your back, did you notice a picture of my Cody-man beside the word stubborn in your dictionary? Pugs are known to have a stubborn streak. As for Simon, the stubborn gene completely skipped him. Completely! I could get him to do ANYTHING. Then at the exact opposite end of the spectrum stands a little pug at 11 inches high named Cody. He defines stubborn. He defines control-freak too. As he's aged his stubborn streak has grown. Today Cody decided to put on a show as he was the world's most stubborn pug during the morning walk. There were movers outside moving some other residents and they enjoyed seeing the show Cody put on. At one point he dug his little heels in reminiscent of a mule, then started backing up. Continuing to back up and back up some more until I decided to drop the leash then reach out to physically stop him. It's like his back up gear was stuck and he couldn't get it back in neutral. Oh man, it was a sight. Slightly embarrassing for me. With each passing day he's more and more like walking a mule not a pug!

The other day Cody flipped out about the new toothpaste I got him. I don't know what it is about that particular brand but Cody is not having it! He'll raise quite the ruckus over toothpaste these days. Therefore we decided we definitely need to go get Cody something different. Later that day we return home with a more pleasing brand of toothpaste for Prince Cody. Upon arriving home I took the toothpaste out of it's packaging then set it on the counter. Next thing I know I look over and my husband has the lid off the toothpaste and is tasting it. I quickly exclaim, "Are you doing what I think you are doing?". His response, "I've seen the boys get their teeth brushed for years, I wanted to finally see what the toothpaste tasted like." My, oh my! Crazy husband! Still grosses me out to think about. Well if Brad starts developing canine fangs...I know why!

To my sweet Piper girl, you and I live with one crazy boy and one extremely stubborn one. We clearly have to stick together. You and I might not exactly be fully "normal" either as you have lots of quirks(wink-wink) but we aren't as stubborn and crazy as the boys in the house. LOL!

Hillsboro Day Trip!

Yesterday we took a mid-day trip out to Hillsboro, Texas. Which is about an hour outside of town from where we now live. The big draw of Hillsboro are the outlet stores. There's a Nike Outlet store that beckons Brad every 6 months or so. There's a Nike Outlet store in Grapevine too. But according to my husband the one in Hillsboro is better. This was my first trip out to Hillsboro with him, in previous times he's gone with his dad or tennis buddies. Finally I would get to see the Hillsboro outlets that my husband raves about.

On our way to Hillsboro, Brad asks if I want to stop and eat anywhere or wait until we arrive in Hillsboro. I was good with waiting. As we're nearing the Hillsboro area Brad starts pointing out restaurants. Which were mostly fast food type, which is fine with me but I was thinking there would be stuff like that at the outlet mall too. I happen to mention why not just eat at something at the outlet mall? To which Brad informs me there's no food places at the outlets. Huh, no food places in a large area of outlet stores? Since the beginning of time restaurants and shopping have gone together, right? Like peanut butter and jelly go together. Cue my confusion! Needless to say we stop to get something to eat just down the road from the outlet mall. We stopped at an IHOP. Oh dear, where to begin with IHOP? Sorry folks not a fan of IHOP for lunch. If it's passed breakfast time then no thanks...can we go to McDonald's or Wendy's? Seriously, it would be cheaper and quicker.

Here's the thing...I like food places that stay in their lane, dance with the one that brought you type of thing. Do you get my drift? IHOP does breakfast, that's their claim to fame. I get nervous when going there not in search of breakfast food. It's my own weirdness. Kind of like going to Red Lobster and ordering a chicken cobb salad, not Red Lobster's forte. Or going to Bennigan's and getting a quesadilla...been there, done that, it wasn't good. Never again will I trust an Irish pub-style restaurant to make a proper quesadilla, honestly what was I thinking?

Anyway, after lunch we head down the street to the outlet mall. We drive into the parking lot, I quickly glance around with my eyes big and bright as I'm excited to finally get to the outlet stores. I scan the stores and then zero in on the Nike store that Brad is already heading for. Brad says, "Nike store first, okay?" I'm thinking to myself, "what else is there?". I then say, "this is it?" Brad responds, "There's more on the other side of that section over there(as he points)". Well that's good news since this is not impressive. I was expecting something more "thriving". This is like a dead zone with a few stores barely hanging on. We found nothing at the Nike store and then went on to the Levi outlet and Under Armour. No luck at either place. We went to a couple other stores that were less than impressive too. We ended our afternoon in the Hillsboro area at the Ralph Lauren outlet. I came across a shirt that was perfect for Brad. It was a steal of a deal because Ralph Lauren polo's that Brad loves to wear to work are not cheap. The one I came across was a third of the regular price, like I said, steal of a deal. That was the one and only thing we got after spending so much time on the road to get to Hillsboro.

On the way home Brad mentions that I'm right, that it's not that exciting of an outlet mall. LOL!  Oh man, boys! I honestly believe he is gone to the outlet mall for one, maybe two reasons: Nike and Under Armour stores. Beyond those two attractions he's never looked around much. Never realized there isn't much beyond those two stores. But wifey goes along and can't help but point out, this is not worth it. Driving an hour outside of town for this is not worth it! In the future I will gladly stay home from the Hillsboro outlets. It's not a googly-eyed attraction for me!

Below is Piper's souvenir from our trip to Hillsboro! Husband got a shirt and Piper got a new bag so I can call her "Bag-Pipe"...so it wasn't a total waste! She curled up in this bag late last night in such a precious manner I didn't have the heart to move her to her bed. She slept in the bag.

Tiny Thief

I eluded to Piper stealing Cody's bed in the previous post. Actually truth is, it's not "really" Cody's bed. He just believes it is.

You know how pets are and people too, each of them has their unique spots they prefer in the house. Cody's a little more shall I say, "loyal" to a certain bed. He has one golden spot he likes. You could say it's been "marked" by him. As for Piper, she isn't picky. She has numerous areas she likes to curl up in. She constantly changes her preferences too. For a few weeks she can always be found under the table. Then for a few weeks her spot is in front of the TV. She keeps her life interesting by switching allegiance. However, she very much realizes Cody has one particular bed he prefers. So at least a couple of times a day she steals it. I believe she knows she's stealing his preferred bed and relishes it.

Most evenings in our household go like this...Piper finishes her meal first then goes over to Cody's bed. Cody then wanders over and is rather shocked/disappointed to find his kid sister in his bed. He then laps the living room. Casually walking around and around waiting for her to get up. If she doesn't seem to get the hint that he's waiting for her to move he'll walk over and give her a pug snort. Now to me, that's when things get funny. Her response to his pug snort is the same every time. She looks up at him with a look on her face that reads, "Dude, I was raised with you and Simon, totally used to a pug snort. Going to have to do better than that to get me to move".

I'm glad they get along so well. They love each other for sure. Well, you might have to convince Cody that the warm fuzzy feeling down deep inside him is indeed love but trust me, he loves her. As for Piper though, she's seen him as her big brother since day one and she's loved him since day one too. She first bonded I believe with him. But switched her preference to Simon. Simon wanted to make sure she was really staying before he took the time to let her get to know him. LOL! Nonetheless we are lucky a pug and a cat can coexist so well, plus provide us with extra entertainment!

Quick Snap Sunday

Even Piper is on vacation this week. Oh wait she's on vacay every day. She wakes up each day on vacation! Not a care in the world as she relaxes next to her human daddy in the pic above.

Perhaps, that's not exactly true, she has a few cares in the world. Is breakfast going to be fed to her promptly after Cody's walk? Is someone going to remember to pull the shades up so she can sit in the windowsill to suntan? And the biggest concern of all...how many times during the course of the day can she get away with stealing Cody's bed? Clearly she has lots to worry about. LOL!

Yesterday while out and about we came across pet adoptions at Petsmart, much to our surprise there was a cat that appeared to be about 6 weeks old and looked so similar to Piper. Even had the ballet slippers on the front feet and the "knee-high" socks on the back feet. She was cute but Brad quickly pointed out Piper has a cuter face. Not sure but I think he's biased!

Day 1

Ah yes, we have arrived at the start of vacay-staycay. It's day one and I already got in trouble for working out this morning. LOL! Soon after my workout my husband said, "I got up early to go out to breakfast but you were working out". I said we could still go but he then made the point that by the time we both got ready it would've been a late brunch time versus true "breakfast" time. Can you say postponed? In my small defense, we were randomly chatting for a little while after my workout yet before he mentioned going out to breakfast. My small point is...he could have mentioned going out sooner. Good point, huh? LOL!

We continue to discuss whether or not we will take a short trip during the week or next weekend. Brad mentioned Houston or San Antonio. Which would I choose? Tough choice! I just have one question, can Cody come too? I'm sorry but at his advanced age it makes me nervous to leave him for even a couple days. I know he'd be well cared for. But still, I can't help being nervous in these times. He is a little more high maintenance these days. He's a crack up though too. He has so many noises he makes. He doesn't let you forget dinnertime. In the evening hours he's more vocal than Piper. And she was named Piper because of little noises she makes.   

Anyway, we do have a day trip planned out to Hillsboro. I've never been there before. I look forward to finally seeing the Hillsboro area. Last time Brad went out there, he went with his dad and I stayed home. I can't remember what I was doing but I had something going on.

Hope all are enjoying a good weekend!

A Pug's Bucket List

A little humor from a super cute puggie to start the weekend off with...

Quick Snap Sunday

As I walked out of our bedroom into our living room, I immediately heard, "hey, come check this out." I looked over to see Brad sitting on the arm of our sofa with his camera phone cued up and ready in one hand while he waved me over with the other hand. Instantly, I looked down at the double stacked pet beds. From my vantage point it was simply 2 pet beds stacked on top of each other, I saw nothing else. I promptly replied, "What...what am I looking at?" Brad tells me to come closer and look through the donut hole of the donut bed. I quickly spot a furry something. Brad is now cracking up as he explains how Cody managed to crawl between the beds. From many angles he was nearly hidden from sight. A few minutes later he poked his head out, like a turtle, which is when I snapped the pic of half his face sticking out from under the donut bed. I still had to crouch down to fully see half of his face, otherwise he remained quite hidden.

Cody's always full of surprises! Pugs are considered a "clownish breed" as they seem to do funny little things that other breeds likely don't do. Yep, Cody continues to entertain!

Brad was so funny, primed with his camera phone, watching every move his pug-son made. Not sure which one was more funny to me. Brad so excitedly watching Cody crawl under the donut bed or the fact Cody tunneled under the donut bed. Tough choice!

 

 

 

Side note: I've made a few posts today so be sure to scroll through so as not to miss anything! :)

Movie Nights

We've watched some movies this weekend. The past two nights we spent watching movies. Therefore, I thought I'd share a few quick reviews/recommendations.

We started out with Rush which we own and have seen before but we like watching them again once in awhile. Rush is based on a true story about 2 rival race car drivers, Formula One drivers. There are a couple shall I say, "love scenes" but they weren't too much for me to handle. I have zero problems admitting I'm very conservative. So if I can get through it, anyone can get through it. There's also some bad language but duh, it's based on race car drivers. How many people do you know that compete in competitive sports at a high level and never use a few bad words? All in all it's a well done movie. The fact that it's based on a true story is exactly what appealed to me. Plus the fact it's directed by Opie, it is a Ron Howard movie. Can you go wrong with a Ron Howard movie?...I don't think so.

Let's see what else did we watch this weekend?...Netflix! We watched two movies back to back on Netflix and both we can recommend. First one was called Code Name: The Cleaner, starring Cedric the Entertainer, Nicolette Sheridan, and Lucy Liu. Cedric's character has amnesia and can't remember who he is. He's got to try to figure out what his real life is and why he's having to dodge the FBI. It's not super serious, it's done in a bit of a comical manner. Hence, Cedric the Entertainer!

The second movie we watched was called Matchbreaker. Rather young actors in the movie, likely just starting out their careers in the business, decent acting nonetheless. If you've seen the movie Hitch with Will Smith and Kevin James, then this is the opposite. Will Smith's character in Hitch was trying to help match people together. Whereas this movie's main character is being hired by parents that don't like their daughter's boyfriend and want the main character Ethan to help break their daughter and the boyfriend they don't approve of up. He soon meets the girl of his dreams and let the twisted tale of things ensue. It was a very CLEAN movie. Nothing raunchy that I can recall and the word "dagnabbit" is used instead of any cursing.

Since it's summertime I think we enjoy a few extra movies here and there. We like movies year-round of course. But I'm willing to bet most people are relaxing at home during the dog days of summer and watching a few extra movies here and there, same as us. So there's some options should anyone out there in cyber land need a couple recommendations...:)

Vacay Is Insight

Look at the blog...I like circles, dots and bubble themes! It's been my thing since...um...my life thus far! Woo-hoo! This theme on the blog makes me extra delighted! Okay enough about that. Everyone having a good weekend? We have been enjoying a good weekend. They all go too fast though right? However, come Monday let the countdown begin. Countdown until what you ask?...vacation! Monday shouldn't be as hard to face knowing it means 5 days until a "vacay-staycay" begins. Yes, I just made up a couple words. Everyone else does it! :)

Oh it seems we just had a vacay? Well we had a mini vacay that started on Brad's birthday and went thru that particular weekend, 4 days total. But now it's time for the "real" vacation. Our real vacation will be a total of 9 days! We have a few little things planned like having friends over as well as the possibility of at least 1 day trip. Since one of us can't face the thought of leaving Cody overnight somewhere, a day trip it is! An added benefit of living on property here, we can have someone easily check in on the fur baby duo during the day until we return in the early evening. Hmm, I wonder which of us doesn't have an interest in being away from Cody-man for too long? Take a guess! If he wasn't at his advanced age and we didn't just lose his brother it would be a different story.

There was a thought of a weekend trip to San Antonio but like I stated, someone can't entertain the thought of leaving Cody for too long. Plus we seem to already have other things coming into play for the week off. Should be fun! I'm kind of a homebody, I don't need a big vacation to a lush location. Don't get me wrong those kind of exciting trips are great but I'm just as happy relaxing around our area of town and having a break from the regular routine. Only challenge for me with a staycation is making sure I take a break from certain things so vacation week isn't too much like a normal week. If you know what I mean? It will be somewhat like the weekend occurring every day for 9 days straight. Wink-wink! 

Count On It

Things I can always count on from Cody...first and foremost a MESS when it comes time for a meal. Next, a tongue lashing given to his sister creeping up on him while he slowly proceeds thru dinnertime. Cody says in one growl accompanied by a tongue lashing, "Take that little sis! This is my food, you better recognize!"

 

Clearly she's not quite as afraid of him as she once was. She's gotten used to him! A couple of years ago this scene would have never happened. To Cody, do you think the fear you thought you instilled in her is leaving? LOL!

 

Quick Snap Sunday

Brad's wife couldn't resist having this shirt done up for him. It arrived a little late for his birthday but he didn't mind. It's a brand new "Eat, Sleep, Tennis" shirt, with as you can see little logos representing each word. I think the new shirt was a success! It's in his fave color too! I got to pick the color which is always fun to do on specialty shirts. It was tough not getting it in red! LOL!

Brad has taken off a lot of time from tennis after getting injured. But plans on getting back to it late in the summer or first week of September. He's currently waiting for the majority of summer to be done before getting back on the tennis court. His team tennis season typically begins the last weekend in September so he'd like to get in a solid 4 weeks of re-conditioning before the season begins.

Brad's mother-in-law got him some new sunshades for his birthday. Perhaps yours truly helped plant that seed, by telling her all about his special brand he uses for tennis! Wink-wink! Although he wears them for everything not just tennis. But he was originally introduced to the brand based on the functionality for tennis(or any sport, because they have non slip-sweat proof grip on ear pieces). Anyway, my point is the sunshades she got him have accents of this same shade of blue in this new t-shirt. Do we know what Brad likes or what?

Happy Birthday Brad

Someone is celebrating a birthday today in our household! Woo-hoo! Big time happy birthday to the sweetest man I know!

 

To my husband: My greatest honor in life is being married to you! So glad I was the lucky woman you chose! To be honest I'm still wondering how I got so lucky to find you? I'm not completely sure I deserve such a wonderful man to be standing next to me. You are caring, loving, super funny, considerate to all, you have patience for days(except when the Cowboys lose, lol), you are loyal without question...the type of guy no one can say a bad thing about. See what I mean, how did I get so lucky? Without a doubt you make me a better person. Trying to improve on myself and become an even better wife to you is a daily task I take on with joyful determination. With tremendous pride and joy I watch our love grow through the years as we stand by one another. Through the happy moments as well as somewhat recent moments that have been littered with tears we remain hand in hand facing each new day. You light up my days and are my one true love. I love you more than words can express! Hope your birthday is as amazing as you deserve! 

 

Without further adieu, let's take a look at the past year of "the Brad"! LOL!...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curled Up

We looked over to see this sight and it caused us both to be tripping over one another to get to our phones and our regular camera to capture this moment. Yes, we're crazy. Crazy about our furries! As a matter of fact my first pic of this scene has Brad's head in it at the bottom of the picture. Aww, so cute! Seeing these two curled up together is still a somewhat new sight to us. It's happened a couple of times over the span of Piper's life but definitely rare until recently.

Quick Snap Sunday

Sunday Goals!

 

Look closely...this is Philippe the squirrel. Yes, we named him. The name was courtesy of Brad. He chills out regularly on a branch right outside one of our living room windows. I admit the first time Brad tried to point out this squirrel to me it took me forever to finally notice him. I kept looking too low or too high in the tree. There were a lot of, "he's right there" comments with finger pointing before I finally noticed this dude. Here's the funniest part of the first time Brad pointed out the squirrel laying on the branch to me. He told me to look for his one beady little eye staring at us. LOL! What? How is his little beady eye going to be the most noticeable thing? Clearly you can understand why I had trouble seeing him. He kind of blends in. According to Brad he blends in except for that beady little eye staring at our window! 

 

Philippe is demonstrating my goal for today. After staying up to 4:30 AM then getting up to walk Cody 2 hours later, I need to lounge a bit. I was quite busy the last couple days. As for tomorrow I must go finish up birthday shopping for Brad. So far only the fur-babies have presented him with a gift. I typically wait until his birthday to give him a gift from me. But the fur-babies always seem to get a plan together and get their human daddy a gift in time for it to be opened at his birthday party. I believe since we started dating I've always hosted his birthday party the weekend before his actual birthday, other than the couple years his birthday was on the weekend. :)

Let's Get Patriotic!

Welcome to July! Cody is already in the spirit of the 4th as you can see. He believes only the coolest pugs in the land wear their hats tilted to the side...so absorb his patriotic coolness! Thanks for being such a good sport Code-man!

The patriotic hats and patriotic decorations came out on Friday as I decorated our place for Brad's birthday party which I hosted yesterday evening. An All-American theme always seems to be my top choice given the time of year. It's been awhile since I've hosted a "party". Surprising, I know. But in 2016 with Piper's health scare in May that continued into June as well as Simon's failing health during the majority of last year, hosting parties wasn't at the forefront. It's also a little hard to talk my husband into parties in recent times. We do specialize in mini get-togethers. We actually had a little mini get-together just this past February. But since last July, I haven't hosted an actual "party". So I think I was a little out of practice. Definitely a few decisions I made, I wish I could take back. Definitely a few incidents I wish I could erase too.

Cody peeing in the kitchen did not present a party atmosphere! Oh Cody-man! What can I say?...he's old folks! Bladder control at this stage of his life is not certain. Anyway, I got the mop out and dealt with it. At least it wasn't on the carpet.

One huge error I made was serving the spinach queso dip and tortilla chips on the appetizer bar. BIG MISTAKE...on my part! By the time all the guests arrived the most coveted dip was more than halfway devoured. It should have been reserved for the main food line not placed on the bar with the appetizers. That way people could have had some nachos on the side with the sandwich fare I was serving. Like I said, I'm out of practice with parties.;)

On another note, those that know me well, know I'm...kind...sweet...loving...show a lot of appreciation for others through food. However, I'll also admit I'm a bit like a drill sergeant too. Yes, I can admit it! What I mean is, I don't play! No time for unnecessary funny business. I like order and good manners. Not that I claim to have perfect etiquette, because I don't but I know the temperature of the room when it comes to appropriateness. So I was not pleased when there was a rush on me from party guests to serve the cake. Umm yeah! I'm kind, sweet, loving, and all that jazz, but I don't take kindly to certain things. Guests banging on the tables and chanting "we want cake" even in an attempted playful manner....simply go ahead and guess how well that went over with me?  I'm a clone of my Peterson grandmother, she didn't play either! Believe me! That type of so-called funny business was never welcome in her presence, same goes for her granddaughter! In my humble opinion take that inappropriateness and go next door to see if they have cake and ice cream, don't show such displays in my household. Nope, not cute, not funny...borderline rude!

I don't mean to paint the picture of a bad party, it certainly wasn't. I believe a nice time was had by all. All parties have little incidents you wish you could change, this is likely the first time on this blog I'm verbalizing any of the small incidents. Let me reiterate "small", these were small incidents wrapped up in a rather long enjoyable evening. Last two guests didn't leave until 4 AM, so definitely a rather long and let me proclaim again ENJOYABLE evening. Things go down, it's just the way it is. I certainly want people to have fun when they come over, and I believe everyone did have a good time. I had a good time too celebrating my husband. Next time Cody...try harder not to dampen things! No pun intended!