Short Stories...

**Picture time!!! All random events, none worth blogging about alone**

Short Story #1: Our landlord let us know he was sending someone over to trim up the yard... so I am home in my office, when this truck pulls up. He didn't think anyone was at the house, so I watched him walk to our backyard and pee outside on the fence.... pure greatness. He has not only 1 or 2 American flags in his truck bed, but 4!!! God Bless America!

Short Story #2: This is my favorite non-human friend. His name is Tyson. He is the first dog I have owned that will let me pick them up like a baby and carry them around. I am practicing for motherhood. Also, I make him lay on top of me too. So sweet :) Sad thing is, it is getting harder by the day to pick him up!

Short Story #3: After dropping Allison Day off at the airport a few weekends ago, I saw the most magnificent rainbow ever!!!! It was HUGE!!!! I was driving and these pics were taken through the window, so they don't do it justice. It went clear to the ground on both sides! Amazing! I tried to get the left, center and right side of it.

Short Story#4: As you all know, Adam is a little strange. I caught him doing this today... He was playing with Tyson and put Tyson's bone in him mouth.... disgusting. Tyson had been chewing on it all morning too. Yuck!

Colorful Colorado!

This weekend was the first of many annual fall foliage tours. This is been something Adam has been talking about since we moved here. He absolutely LOVES fall and our new camera (and pumpkin spice lattes) so Sunday was pretty much the perfect day for him. I have to admit, I was not too excited... i just didn't see how driving around for hours looking at trees was going to be fun, but much to my surprise- it was!!! Phil Mann came with us also and I am so glad he did because he knew the perfect routes to take to get some great views and he is always fun to hang out with.

Here is a piece of information that I learned... Aspens (these are the trees with the white trunks) only turn for 1-2 weeks before the leaves fall off. So you have to plan accordingly because you have a limited amount of time to see these gorgeous trees in color. First stop from Denver was Idaho Springs for a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks and then we were off on our travels!

Here are some pictures taken by Adam this weekend. He really is becoming an amazing photographer! I was very impressed... to see the full album of photos, please visit his facebook page! PS- the yellow trees are the Aspens, which are usually green (duh)

Me and Phil... breath taking background. Look at the snow on the mountains!

Days like yesterday make me realize how blessed Adam and I truly are to live in such a beautiful place. God's creation never ceases to amaze me!

A day in the life

So just like the title of our blog "A day in the life..." I want to give you all a true snapshot of what a day in the life is like at our house. For some reason, I just think our morning routine is fairly funny, thanks to Tyson. So here it goes...

It starts somewhere in the sixes when Tyson starts crying in his kennel (which is in our room). The next 20 minutes or so are filled with puppy wimpers and Adam yelling "no" or "shhhh" at him to make him stop. The alarm goes off at 7am. Adam gets up first, so he takes Tyson outside... but on the way out (without fail) Tyson first has to run to my side of the bed, put his paws up and tries to wake me up/jump on the bed. So Adam walks back into the room to pick him up to make him go outside.... a few minutes pass. They come back inside, Adam puts Tyson into bed with me and jumps in the shower. Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Tyson sleeps for about 5 minutes- but is trying to eat my hair. He finally stops, lays there about 1 more minute, then decides he is bored. So he sits at the end of our bed and starts crying again/OR barking at himself in the mirror. Finally when I can't take it, I open the door for him and he runs out and I close it and go back to bed. I am not sure what happens after this, but I have a feeling that Adam gets out of the shower, feeds him and tries to get dressed as quick as possible so Tyson can't attack the clothes he is trying to put on (will explain more of this soon). Not sure if Adam takes him out again (I think so) but Tyson gets put back into bed with me at some point. Since Tyson has just eaten and is full, he is the sweetest little cuddeler at this time in the morning. While we snuggle up, Adam makes his breakfast - which consists of a smoothie and something else. I literally get so excited when I hear the blender, because Adam makes awesome smoothies and makes enough for both of us. He drinks his, and mine goes in the fridge. He eats, reads and makes his tea... then he is off for the day. At this point in the morning (typically 7:40-7:50ish) he comes in the bedroom, gives us both kisses and is off to work. My wake-up call, is him saying goodbye. So he leaves, Tyson stays in the bed asleep- I get up and start coffee, jump in the shower, etc. I get out of the shower and go into my room. Now this is the most difficult part of the morning.... EVERYTHING I pull out of my drawers or closet, Tyson thinks should be his. So, I pull out a bra, underwear, shirt and pants and it is literally a game to see if I can put on the clothes fast enough before Tyson grabs them off the bed (he is getting so big!) and drags them into the living room. We play tug of war with my undies as I am trying to get them on and socks are especially hard to keep on. As soon as I have one on, Tyson, likes to try and pull it off my foot. Typically, i am laughing so hard/annoyed but I really think if you all saw a video, it would be hilarious.
I am dressed, pour myself some coffee, grab my smoothie out of the fridge and get to work. We are FINALLY settled in the office and this is when the puppy indecision comes into play. NOTE: the door to outside is in my office, I thought this would be convenient, but not so sure. Tyson will sit at the door and cry until I open it. I get up and open the door and he stands right in the door frame, like he is deciding if he would like to be in or out. He finally goes outside for about 2 mins. until he runs back to the door and cries until I open it. He comes in, plays with toys for about 2 mins, then goes back to the door and cries to go outside. THis is a vicious cycle for about 30 minutes until about 9am, when he passes out for the morning and I get some good work in until he wakes up.

Welp, that is the Griffin routine we have developed. I am hoping one day I can get my butt out of bed and get a walk in BEFORE work starts, but for now- that happens over lunch. We are going on a "fall foliage" tour this weekend and Adam is soooo excited... I think we are going to Estes Park, but he is the master mind behind this adventure. So an update should happen on Sunday!

Love you! XOXO

Hats... not optional

This weekend was the Jason Mraz concert at Red Rocks... A-MAZING, seriously. It is practically impossible to get good pics inside the venue because of the lighting but it is so beautiful/unique, you just can't get the feeling from a picture. Anyways, on the way to the concert, we stopped in this cute mountain town called Morrison to grab some drinks... we found a boutique and went a little hat crazy. I bought 2, Adam bought 1 and Allison bought 1 (but had bought another hat earlier that day from a different place). Anyways, we felt pretty awesome and the additions to our wardrobes helped us fit in with the J Mraz crowd just perfectly!!!!

Doggie Drama

Today is one of the those days... it is cool outside, over cast and Tyson got to go to the vet today. He was due for he third round of shots and on top of that, he has been scratching a lot lately, always has goop in his eyes, stuffed up, etc. So, I told the vet that I am sure he has allergies (like his mother).

This is the first time to this vet. They are close to the house and so I figured we would try them out. Welp, $207.00 later we will not be going back. He had 2 shots, plus the cost of the office visit. The Vet insisted on doing all these tests on him (for his allergies), making me buy this special food, etc. I felt VERY mislead by her and on top of that- his nail trim was an extra $16!!! Isn't that a load of crap? I thought so. To make matters worse, Tyson was OUT OF CONTROL at the vet. He would not stop jumping/running around everywhere..... he personally loved every minute of it. He did not understand the concept of sitting on the examination table. The whole time we was trying to eat everything (including the supplies, needles, etc.) He would not listen to me and pretty much had a panic attack when his nails were trimmed. So much so, that he peed a little in the table. My arms are literally dead from restraining my devil dog. I am mad at him right now.

Anyways, the one thing I have learned from this experience is to get recommendations (hard to do when you don't know hardly anyone is this city!) and ASK HOW MUCH things cost. The vet literally never asked me if it was ok to do what she was doing... she just worked away and when I got the bill almost had a heart attack.

Also, if you read my post on what to feed your dog, I spoke of a brand of food called Innova that is supposed to be amazing. The food that the vet made me buy is hypo-allergenic food. I didn't even read it before purchasing. When I got home, literally the ingredients consists of Starch (first ingredient), canola oil, vegetable oil and whole bunch of chemicals I can't pronounce. So seriously, I just wasted $36.00 on food I will not feed him. There isn't even any sort of "real" food in there. I was shocked.... so I FINALLY am off to a store this afternoon to buy Innova for Tyson to see if that helps his food allergies. The vet did say since he is young, then it is a food allergy.

PS- Tyson is older than we thought! B Day was on 5/31/09 just found out from the microchip place, so that makes him 16.5 weeks today :) He also is almost 30 lbs already and becoming more of a brat everyday. But we love him.... most of the time.

People Never Cease to Amaze Me

Please read this article:
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20090917/UPDATES01/90917004/-1/UPDATES/Ohio-man-charged-with-stealing-underwear

This reminded me of Sophomore year rush as KSU... does anyone remember when guys broke into the Pi Phi house and stole the Junior's bras and underwear?? Remember how they were freaking out about it? I personally thought it was hilarious (and secretly was thanking the Lord that I was on the third floor of the house, which the boys only made it up to the second floor). Oh memories...

On a side note, Allison Day is in town for the weekend! We have an action-packed few days planned that I am very excited about. We had some friends over to the house last night and Tyson chewed up our friend, Ryan's pack of cigarettes! It was pretty funny- don't think he swallowed any... but what can we say? Tyson is pro-health and totally against smoking. Ryan should have known, his cigarettes were going to upset Tyson.

Q: What to do when your dog eats allergy medicine?

A: Depends on breed/weight, but if they didn't get too much. Burn a piece of toast and scrap the char into some food they will eat. When in the stomach this charcoal acts as an absorber to the toxins. What the dog closely the rest of the day.

I found this out this morning after Adam had left for work and I got out of the shower. I open the shower door and see white pills scattered along the floor. I immedialetly know Tyson has gotten into my Zyrtec. I quickly get all the pills I can and count the amount of days since i bought this bottle (45 pills) I take one per day... ok, so I am counting a total of 16 pills that I have taken and 20 pills here on the floor. Great! That leaves 9 pills that are unaccounted for.... this is where I approach freak out mode. I am on the phone with Adam, so I let him go so I can call the vet. I do one last check around the house and voila, I find some more pills. So total accounted pills were 44, so he maybe ate one. It was a scary moment this morning. I started envisioning him having to get his stomach pumped and then, what if he died and it was all my fault, cause I left the bottle next to the bed on the floor. Anyways, I went ahead and did the toast thing and he has been acting normal (maybe sleeping a little more than usual- drowsy from the allergy medicine maybe? LOL).

Another quick Tyson story: This morning after the allergy medicine fiasco, he was in my office just sitting there, looking out the window. All the sudden I hear him fart (sidenote: I have never heard him do this, yet... not out loud). Anyways, Tyson jumps at the sound and quickly turns around to see what made that noise and if something was behind him. He sniffs around, can't find anything so gives up and sits back down to continue looking out the window. A few seconds later he toots again!!! And does the exact same thing- turns around to see what made that noise. It was pretty funny and I think today was the first time (to my knowledge) he has tooted out loud.

Have a great day!
XOXO

Mrs. America 2009

Happy Monday! I hate Mondays... but that is not the point of this post. I wanted to dedicate this post to my cousin, Andrea Robertson who is the NEW Mrs. America! Yes, she won the Mrs. America title last week in Tucson, AZ. Not only is she the most gorgeous woman ever, she is an amazing mother of 2 (Kylee was my flower girl), does triatholons, is a strong believer in God and is very grounded. As the news cast put it... she is "super mom", you may have seen her at our wedding. Adam said "no mother of two could have a body that good..." seriously, maybe I should start working out! Here are a few clips of her from youtube.com. Congrats Andrea!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gywYPDQiWy0 (this is her on the news after she won Mrs. Missouri)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgDbNkObZxk (this is the actual Mrs. America pageant)

Here is a snapshot of who I live with everyday for the rest of my life....

G Chat Convo:

me: i just made cookies
Sent at 5:30 PM on Wednesday
Adam: ARF ARF ARF ARF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Long Pine- 2009

The Crew. Minus me.

The Creek: Pronounced "crick"

Our Baby

A surprise from Brittany and Erica's trip to Alco (to get Britt some underwear)

Creek
Poison Ivy on my calf (I think)
Itchy Monster

Adam, Tyson and I can't wait to go back!

"The Bliss List"

I was taking a quick break from work to look at some blogs and a stubbled across this!

http://blisslistkc.blogspot.com/2009/08/epagafoto-beautiful-outdoor-wedding-in.html

http://www.blisslistkc.com/index.html

"The Bliss List" is a guide to the areas most qualified, creative, amazing and diverse vendors in the KC area.... and guess who's wedding is up on the page-thanks to Jessica Roark's amazing photography?!

Yeeee haaaw!

Hello Ya'll- Pauline here with a weekend update. This Labor Day weekend me and my hubby, Tex, went to Long Pine, Nebraska for a shin-dig with our good pals Garth (Andrew), Shirley (Erica), Mirl (Jimmy) and Georgina (Brittany). It was a slappin good time. Floating that Crick there was quite a trip if you know what I mean.... but I would really like to talk about my new fling. As you all know, Tex and I have been married for 2 months and counting. Well, I love him dearly, but I met a dashing 12 yr. old cowboy this weekend (Justin) that is the wind in my sails. Nothin more attractive, then some boots and a cowboy hat, tight jeans and an accent to make a girl feel numb in the knees.

It all started when Shirley and Garth insisted on taking us to the Brown County Fair Dance. Well, I was reluctant, but thought "hell, when in Rome (Long Pine)". Anyways, the music started and out of the crowd comes this little cowboy pimp dancing with all sorts of gals. I couldn't help myself and so finally got my liquid courage up and asked him to teach me that darn pretzel move that everyone was talkin about. Me and Justin danced about 3 different songs. I really think he liked me best, but I had a lot of competition for this fella, since I was the eighth girl he had two-stepped with that evening. He told me he was goin to be there next year, so I am plannin on attendin (next time without the ball and chain). I never thought I was a cougar, but I am 12 yrs his senior, so we will have to see what happens next year.

Pictures from this weekend to be posted tomorrow. Later Partners! And a big thanks to old Garth and Shirley for a spankin good time! Ye haw!

Summary of my week: ATS Sales Conference 2009 Scottsdale, AZ

Flight to Phoenix- check
Meeting up with a sales guy I have never met at the airport with the description "white shirt, blue blazer" (AKA: every other man that walked past me) - check
Awkward First Conversations- check
Only girl on the sales team- check
Youngest person on the sales team (by far) - check
Feeling slightly out of my league- check
Leaving my computer in a girl's car (the night before my presentation) and driving an hour, round trip, the pick it up- check
Having to give a presentation to the sales team, marketing, CEO- check
Eating a 7 course meal at a 5 star restaurant with all men and CEO - check
Gained 5 pounds from all the food- check
Flying home- Completed in about 2 hours

Thank the lord for the 3 day weekend :)
XOXO