Bou's Forever Home

When you adopt a dog from a shelter or rescue organization, they call it the animals "forever home." We are Boudreaux's forever home. It's been almost 4 months since we got Bou - I can't believe it. It seems as though it should be longer than that. He's gotten to be such a great dog. When we first got him we had A LOT of kinks to work out. We questioned ourselves a few times as to what we got ourselves into, but it has really turned out to be totally worth it.

So here's a recap of what we've been through...At the beginning, he was having trouble not pottying in the house. He would let us know sometimes, but then other times he would just go to the back of the house and pee. He was also really bad about chewing shoes!! I lost a pair of shoes twice to the little stinker. He chewed them, I replaced them, and he chewed them again! I did not replace them again. He ate some flip flops too. Then we got him a crate - to crate him like most dogs. We got the Jumbo wire crate that most every pet owner has. The $120 crate. So we put him in there during the day while we were gone. He was reluctant but would go in. The first day we came home he had eaten the plastic slide in tray that goes in the bottom. Fantastic! So you know ok that's not so bad...he's bored. So the next day we laid down some towels so he wouldn't have to laay on the wire and put his toys in there. We came home to a shredded mess of towels. Awesome! Towels will not work. So now he has no towels. Toys and rawhides only. Well he started trying to chew through the wire which made his gums bleed which bled onto my new cream carpet. So we went to Home Depot and bought some industrial carpet. We placed it under his crate so 1. he wouldn't bleed on the carpet and 2. so he wasn't laying on the carpet. We came home and the industrial carpet was in a chewed ball int he corner of his crate. Wow. The next few weeks went by fine. So then one week we come home, come through the door and HI Boudreaux. He greeted me at the door. This isn't good. There were a few casualties. SO we figured out that he bumped the slide closure until it loosened and he pushed the door open. So we make sure it's securely locked the next day. Well apparently that day Tony had closed the door to his room...so when he got out of the crate he freaked. Tony came home and the office was torn apart. Everything was scattered across the room, the blinds had been chewed and he was in a panic. We began to worry a bit that he was so determined to get out. So we secured the doors with tie-wraps. Next day...he greets us again at the door. Grrr. He was busting through the tie-wraps. Houdini dog. Alright doggie. You need to stay in your crate. So we tie wrapped all the doors. SOoooo the next day we come home....the doors are bowed the bottom is pulled up, welds are popped and in the process of all that he had rocked his grey metal crate up and down my new walls. I had gashes and scrapes all down the wall!!! Seriously! What the hell is wrong with you dog! In all his escape attempts, he bloddied his gums and had a huge swollen nose. So we started wondering if he had separation anxiety or associated the crate with being at the shelter and it terrified him - apparently something was setting him off and he was doing anything within his power to GET OUT of that crate. So for our dogs sound mind, health issues and our office we decided OK maybe we can leave him out during the day...

As you can imagine that did NOT turn out well either. Leaving a 14 month old dog alone in a brand new house. We came home to a lot of different things....blinds chewed (the nice 2 in. kind) - yea, wii game cases chewed (we lost one game :( ), shoes chewed, potty messes, a hole in the sofa, the back half-way torn off the recliner, newspapers shredded. He had a GRAND time while we were gone. So this went on for about 2 months with good days and bad days. Some days he was perfect and others not so much. Well we were becoming very tired of coming home to a mess and getting onto him EVERY DAY and we had decided that we were going to get new furniture. We were NOT going to leave him out with that. So we had to think....we called people and asked advice. Almost all said new crate and a few said the backyard - well that wouldn't work because ding-a-ling digs. So we started researching crates, but not the same crate as before. We found a mammoth, airplane-style crate that had only one door that locked in 6 different places and to open it you have to press a lever on the outside and hold it down while you turn the lock. We decided it was the best alternative option and now a must with the new furniture coming in a few weeks. Another reason was that we were making it very difficult on ourselves if we ever needed someone to watch him - I could not expect someone to leave my devil dog alone in their house nor did I want to start replacing things in my friend's homes. So we found this mammoth crate at Petco....$260~~OMG seriously? So I went home determined to find it online for cheaper...I did! At Petco.com they had it with free shipping and I had a 20% off coupon. So we ended up getting it for $170. It arrived after the hurricane.

New Crate=SUCCESS!! He didn't seem to excited at the idea at first - back to being caged but he was way more receptive to this crate. We mistakenly put it together in the kitchen not realizing that because of it's ridiculously large size we could not fit it through the entryways or doorways in out house. It sat in the hallway for a few days until I decided OK we have to move this somewhere. We put it in the guest room - we had to take it apart first to get it in there. It's been great having this crate. He goes right in no problem and stay all day long. He's very excited when we get home...you can hear his tail thwomping the plastic sides. It was the best $200 I ever spent for sure.

**note: we leave him out at night and he does great with that! No problems.

So as you can see we have definitely, definitely had our trials with him and not all days have been good, but to come home to his cheerful face everyday makes it all worth it. I remember bringing him home from Austin and how excited we were. I was so happy we were adopting and giving a puppy a home, one that really, really needed one. There are so many dogs out there that need homes. And really, these are the dogs who will appreciate the love, care and roof over their heads more than any other. He has really done a 180 and come around to be a really enjoyable, well mannered and well behaved dog. He's so funt o be around and Tony and I get so much pleasure in having him around. We take him for walks everyday and he loves it. He always go to get the mail with us and Oh man does he love bye bye. He loves, loves, loves car rides. He has so many facial expressions and his ears! I love his ears. They are so huge and stand straight up! When we get another dog we will adopt again.

I have no idea how anyone, how ANYONE could give this precious baby up. All he needed was a little TLC, guidance and some structure. He started out in a shelter and was adopted at 12 weeks (oct 07), then those people brought him back in June of this year. How do you bring a puppy back? How would you bring this sweet, loving boy back to a shelter? His loving eyes and sweet kisses. He is one of the best things that have happened to us. I'm so glad someone was selfish and cruel because we were able to rescue this beautiful baby boy. I look into his sweet sweet eyes and wonder how anyone could do it, but like I said I'm glad they did. I so look forward to coming home, hearing the thumping and watch him shoot out of the crate like a rocket headed straight for the back door. We go outside and he runs and play and is just so excited that I am home. He gives kisses, high fives, he shakes, sits and lays down. He's such a smart cookie. He's actually in obedience class right now and is doing really well. Hot dogs make the class! :) He's very well behaved and well mannered. I can take him out front without the leash and he will listen. When we're at our friend's house I can say No, or Boudreaux and he'll come to me. He has come such a long long way. He wakes us up or lets us know when he has to potty. I love waking up to him staring me because he knows my alarm is about to go off or how he sits in the doorway to the bathroom and watches me get ready.

I love my dog and joy he brings to mine and my husband's life. He is a gift to us and I plan to cherrish him forever!

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It's almost Thanksgiving!

Good afternoon! It's been an interesting few weeks. 2 weeks ago my grandfather passed away as well as Tony's aunt that we were close to. We got the calls within 24 hours. The 9th we drove to Lubbock for the service. It was a beautiful service and despite the circumstances it was a nice trip and always good to see family. My grandfather's memorial is this Saturday. Tony has to work all weekend with football though, so he won't be able to attend. I guess it's just my little brother an I. I'm not sure who will be there. My family on that side is complicated.

Tony's football is keeping him pretty busy. He's gone every third weekend (this weekend is one of them) and he has football games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so he's home late. Then he is also gone Friday nights. It's a bummer and I miss my husband, but it's also nice to have the alone time to do what I want and get one-on-one time with Bou. This weekend should be his last full weekend as long as Dawson High School doesn't make the playoffs. So we'll see. He's liking it though so that's all that matters!! :)

I can't believe Halloween is next weekend. I get to brave all the kiddos on my own since it falls on a Friday. I want to see if I can dress Bou up! Haha. Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away as well. This year is just flying by!! Our wedding was already 4 months ago! I miss Disney by the way! We finally ordered our wedding album this month so I'm excited to see how that turns out. Like I said my wedding was perfect. It was everything I had imagined and wanted it to be.

Christmas is fast approaching as well. I made my gift list a few weeks ago and have started jotting down ideas and buying gifts early. I'm crazy like that and usually have all my gifts done by Thanksgiving. Then I figure I can enjoy the holidays at home and not fighting the crazies at the stores. Also, then all I have to do is wrap the gifts. It will be another low key Christmas for us this year. I'm going to make most of the gifts and hope everyone likes my homemade treasures. Being that we had the house, wedding, honeymoon and all that we're trying to get on our feet. That and we've planned a trip to Mexico with our friends for next year so we are saving for that. But then again Christmas is all about family and when it comes to gifts it's the thought that counts - not the quantity. I love Christmas. I've starting getting little things for my friends so that their small things are done. I've got most of my ideas together so that makes me feel productive. I bought Tony some things online today and I already have one gift so that makes him done!!! I'm so thrilled about his gifts! I hope he really likes them. I may go a bit over budget though shhh...he deserves it though. He's been so good to me, I want him to have all the best I can give him. So yes, a small Christmas. We set a budget for ourselves so we generally stick with that. Oh and we want to get an entertainment center and new tv at Christmas as our next addition to the house so we're saving for that as well. I wonder if it's bad that we're saving our money for us and not spending it on others at a time of giving. Our home is all about home improvements and we're steadily working on getting it the way we want it. Eh again it's the thought that counts. Plus I really love the holidays for getting to spend time with family and friends and eating good food!!!

We're having a cold front blow through this afternoon. I'm soooo looking forward to some cool air. I don't know that I'm ready to fold up my shorts for the season but I'm excited to wear some sweaters and long sleeve shirts. I need some new jeans this year - I've had these since my junior year of college. I'd like to get 2 new pairs. I also just got a grey cable knit sweater I'm dying to wear. Old Navy had some great sales on fall attire. I'm in the process of vamping up my wardrobe so every little sale helps :)

Bou is doing well and is in obedience school. We have class every Sunday. He's walking better on the leash and is sitting much better. His listening skills are improving. He's turned in to such a wonderful dog. At first we were a little worried as to what we got ourselves into, but he's really grown up a bit and adjusted to the rules we have for him. Our initial problem was that no one had ever worked with him or given him expectations. So we had a 1 year old with no training and no manners, but we rescued him and have given him what I think is a great life. He is such a joy. We have so much fun with him. He loves walks and bye-bye! He's doing so well and ah I just love him so much.

Tony and I are doing well and are looking to paint some walls over the holidays. We got a $200 visa gift card when we bought our furniture so once that comes in we are going to go get some paint and do some accent walls to start. I've planned out the curtains as well as a big mirror to go in the dining room. I would like to get it with some Christmas money or after Christmas. It's a big square mirror with a rought-iron type metal, thick border with these small flower designs. I love it. I actually found it at walmart. I have all these great ideas for our house, I just hope I can do a good job of incorporating them all.

Well I think that's about it for now. Oh I don't know that I ever posted a picture of us at the beach on labor day with Bou. It was his first time at the beach. He did so good!

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Back in the day...

I was driving into work today and listening to the Rod Ryan Show on 94.5 the buzz (as I always do) and one of the topics of discussion was: What is a good age to let your kids go trick-or-treating alone? This made me think back to when I was a kid. I first remember trick-or-treating alone when we lived in West Virginia. I moved there in 4th grade. I can't remember if they went with us the first year or not, but I do know the majority of the time I was there we went trick-or-treating alone/with our group of friends. We lived in a small community in Buckhannon. I don't know that my parents thought twice about it. I remember riding my bike around the neighborhood or roller blading. We rode all over the neighborhood, to the park, to friend's houses. I also remember when we got a Dollar General we could roller blad to the main street, change into tennis shoes, walk across the street, then put our skates back on and head over to the store. We would buy so much candy it was ridiculous. There was also a convenient store on the same side of the street as our house and we would go there too. Icees, candy, soda, the works. But back to my story...the guy was saying something about that his 3rd & 4th graders wanted to go alone with friends. That's like 9 & 10. The consensus was it was too young and for this day and age I have to agree. It's crazy that 13 or so years later that the world is such a different place. If I had a 3rd or 4th grader I would not let them go out alone - there are all kinds of crazies out there. No matter how responsible my child was. Now granted I don't have children at the moment, but I think I would worry. However, I do feel comfortable in my neighborhood. I go running alone no problem. I would say 6th grade would be ok...I guess. Maybe that's something I'll decide when I have children that age, but you just don't know what could happen and children at that age (I would think) don't have great judgment skills - granted most of them at that age have cell phones so they could call, but that's besides the point. Point is I agree and would not let my young child go alone, I would instead hang back so I was less noticeable and they could have fun without the parental hovering.

I just can't believe how times have changed. When I was a kid, we never thought about that stuff and we roamed the neighborhood, played in the streets and in the dark. At night we had to be coaxed inside. We were constantly outside - always playing with the neighbor kids. We would have all the neighborhood kids involved in flashlight tag or a game of some sort. When we got home it was a snack and homework and then outside until dinner. We didn't watch tv until dinner or play video games. After dinner we could maybe watch some tv, but it was usually showering, laying out the next day's clothes and getting ready for bed. Dinner time was a nig time for us - it was a time to sit, eat and talk as a family. We shared our experiences from that day or remembered funny family moments. Weekends it was how fast can I get outside to play with all the kids...don't want to oversleep!! I loved being a kid and I loved my childhood. I know times will be different when I have childern anywhere near that age (considering we're waiting like 4 yrs for kids), but I would like for them to have a similar childhood full of playing outside and having family time instead of glued to the tv or game system.

I have so many hope for my unborn children. Tony and I both do. I just hope when that time comes we can implement all the things we want our children to do, know and learn and we won't be too old fashioned. I hope....

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It Feels Like Home To Me

I had a lot of time to think this past weekend as Tony wasn't home due to coaching obligations. I feel as though I sometimes take for granted the time he is home, because I really miss him when he is away. I'm very selfish with our time. I always want to be with him and if he's home I want to be with him. I sometimes have trouble going to do things when I know that he is home. You would figure after 8 years together things would change and they would not be that way. I don't know what it is. I know that it has to get better. I just feel so happy and comfortable with him. He is truely my best friend. I can tell him anything, I can act anyway around him and totally be myself. He makes me laugh often. I love it when we just lay around together and watch tv or even running errands. I cannot believe how lucky I got with Tony. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. He makes me so unbelievably happy. Who would have though 8 years ago that we would be married, with our own house and our own dog. I was actually thinking about the day Tony asked me out in High School yesterday - we were laughing about it and how it seems like that was ages ago. We went through our own rough times and we overcame everything. Going to separate schools wasn't a breeze, but we made it through. It was always sad to leave him during our weekend visits. It also felt as though we would never be where we are today. I always dreamed of what it would be like to just have him all week long or for on a Sunday afternoon - to not be finishing up laundry and heading back to school. Now our Sundays usually consist of sleeping in, making breakfast, making a grocery list, going to the grocery store, running a few errands, mowing the yard, cleaning the house, cooking dinner and relaxing in front of the tv together.

I love where our lives have taken us. We have found some great friends that we love spending time with. We have a beautiful, brand new house that we are making our own and we have a wonderful 14 month old german shepherd that we adopted in July. We have plans to travel the next few years and are actually taking a trip to Mexico next summer with our friends. We just got new living room and bedroom furniture and we're probably going to paint this fall. We're looking to get an entertainment center and tv this Christmas. Our weekend generally consist of us spending time together and with our friends and family. Boudreaux just started obedience classes this past Sunday. I just never would have imagined that my life would be going so perfectly right now. I am in love and married to the best guy in the world and everything I have ever wanted is falling into place.

All of this makes me grateful for all the wonderful things I have in my life. A great husband. Great family. Great friends. Great job. Great dog. Great house. So many things....

I also feel that everyday I fall more in love with Tony. It's small things. The way he'll look and smile at me or when he's done something wrong the pouty lip he has and the brightness in his eyes. The way he gives me a full embrace hug and I feel completely content and safe in his arms. The way he smells. The way he wakes me up if I've fallen asleep on the couch. The way he'll grab my hand as we walk through the store. The way we play fight or goof off around the house. The way we'll argue about pointless things then end up laughing hysterically because it's just that stupid. How stubborn he is. The way he laughs makes me melt. When he gets excited about something. They way he acts with Boudreaux. How he helps me cook and clean so I don't have to do it alone. I think back to all the things he did for me in high school and college and all that he put up with. I think I sometimes took everything for granted. He really did a lot for me and I hope he knows how appreciative I was of everything. I love him more and more every day and I hope I can be just as good a wife as he is a husband. I am married to the best guy ever!

I've been feeling down lately and wanted to feel better about the good things I have in my life and how just thinking about them makes me happy and puts a smile on my face. So this is my rant on happy memories, how much I love my husband and all the great things in my life that I am thankful for. My life is on a good and positive path.

So on that note...things to work on:
1. don't over analyze everything
2. don't feel bad for things that are out of your control
3. you are not fat (Tony will like this one)
4. exercise makes you feel happy - so make time for it
5. work on reducing anxiety
6. only worry about things in the present - not the future
7. control frustrations
8. avoid too much procrastination
9. don't worry about the small things (most didn't think that far anyway)
10. have more confidence in yourself

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