Sunday, August 31st

Well, the day started out pretty well. We actually slept in today. The pooch wasn't bugging me to get up early and we just stayed in bed until about 10:30 or so! It felt good. The weather was perfect outside. We went out back and I swept the deck for the 659th time, and within the hour it looked exactly the same. Woo hoo!

Then, and you know this story, on one of her jaunts in and out the back door, Lucy came back in and planted herself on your chair. She was laying with her head on the pillow and when I looked over at her it seemed like her face was squished against the pillow. But then she lifted her head and her face was still squished! I thought I was seeing things. Was our babies face really swollen? I went over to touch it and look at it and it made me a little nervous but I didn't think too, too much about it. Then I called the emergency hospital and they scared the bajeezus out of me. They told me to come in immediately, that this was an allergic reaction to something and could potentially spread to the rest of her face or head. I called you, I changed into some normal clothing, I got the pooch together and we took off. I was a little freaked out daddy!

I took a few pictures of our Lucy before we took off, here they are:









The swelling thankfully went down a little by the time we got to the hospital but it was still there and they still wanted to check her out. 4 hours and $150 later we left. Lucy "may" have been stung by a bee or something. They gave her a shot of Benadryl and I went home with a steroid spray for her cut. I was exhausted, so sad I had to spend the whole day without her, and tired of sitting!

I got home around 5:15pm or so and Andrea's soccer game was scheduled for 6pm. There was no way I was going to be there early or on time for that matter. I chilled with pooch for a little bit then I sprayed her cut and covered her up with a sock wrapped with, of all things, duct tape! But it worked. I ended up getting to Andrea's game at about 6:15 or so. The majority of our family was there, which was nice, and about 3 minutes after I sat down, Andrea was warming up to go into the game! How awesome is that? Here are a couple of shots (she's # 12):

MD played really well, they were very aggressive. BUT Elon really held them defensively and luckily for them, scored the only goal beating Maryland 1 - 0. I was rooting for Andrea but I couldn't bring myself to root for Elon over MD. I'm a terp for life daddy, I can't be a traitor to my alma mater! After the game I headed home to hang with pooch for a little while. She was really messing with her sock so I decided she had to put the collar back on when I went out. Steve came over for a few then we headed to Bethesda to see Pineapple Express. It was pretty damn funny, but not over the top. The first half of the movie got lots of out loud laughs, but it was a damn long movie. It was 2 hours long! That's a lot of weed humor and unbelievable plot lines, but we got through it.

Anyway, afterward I was happy to just get home to pooch. I didn't even bother turning the tv on in the living room. I gave her a bone and a treat, then we came into the room. I am currently updating the blog on our bed and the pooch has finished her bone and is OUT! Snores and all...And now daddy, I will be hitting the hay.

Lucy and I are sad that you've had a shitty day but guess what? We love you and we're thinking of you and we're your biggest fans. You are our rock star and your strength inspires us every day. We can't do life without you and we need you to continue to be strong and keep showing what an asset you are to your office. Get it done daddy, keep your head up and then get your buns home to us! Before we all know it, you'll be home. We can't WAIT. Other than the L.P. party next Saturday, we have no plans and I intend to keep it that way. When you get home next weekend we're doing lots of poopie/pooch time. Just the three of us, 24/7 babe!

WE LOVE YOU! more tomorrow...

Saturday, August 30th

So last night I tried my hand at the Loco Moco and it turned out lovely, but I think it needs some work. I will tweak it and then make it again for us! (A not that appealing picture is below). Lucy and I basically just chilled last night but didn't go to be until about 1am.

At 8:30am Lucy decided she was ready to go out. Ugghh, I did not want to get out of bed, but somehow I heard her and took her out. Well, opened the back door for her then fell right back into bed. As you know, I called Dr. Krishna's office to check in. Well, when she called me back she told me that I needed to come in to have Lucy fitted for an Elizabethan Collar because the cut can not stay covered up. It needs air to heal and she can not keep licking it.

So, I got in the car with the pooch and we headed on down to the animal hospital. Once there, they put the collar on her and off we went. We also noticed that her leash was literally on it's last thread. How it happened, I have no idea, but it's a good thing we caught it b/c if it snapped on a walk I would have been screwed! Anyway, Dad and Pokes had called while I was on my way there to see if I wanted to meet at Red Dog Cafe, and of course I said yes, so that's where we headed.

Poor little pooch chilled for a while in her collar but she was panting a lot and I was so sad for her that I took it off. I am such a push over! Dad and Mom and Pokes showed up, then Rita and Nay came. As I was sitting there, Steve texted me that we should go to Parkway Deli and then Costco today and so I sent him a note back telling him to meet us as Red Dog so he did.

I got the amazing french toast, along with almost everyone else. I also ordered a side order of bacon for the pooch. She was so happy. And she was pretty good. Even though it did get very, very hot. It was overcast and a tad muggy when we had left the house, but by now it was sunny and muggy and HOT!

After brunch Steve and I headed back to our house to drop off pooch, put her collar on and head to Costco.

I ended up spending $225 and I went to get gas! I ended up buying some books a few things for us when it's time to pack up, ravioli and some tailgating supplies for us and then I got some Christmas gifts. It was great. I got something for you and for my dad. I also got gas for $3.39 a gallon! You know how mama likes to save a penny on her gas. We stopped at PetCo on the way home so I could get a new leash. I got one that kind of looks like a climbing rope. It's cool, I think you'll like it, and I think it will last. If it doesn't, we're on to a leather leash next. That may be the only thing that lasts a lifetime.

When I got home from Costco I decided our pooch needed some quality walking time, even though it was ungodly hot. I got myself together, got us some water for the walk and we set out. It was a steamer but it was good for both of us to get a nice, long walk in. Lucy was POOPED when we got home. While on our walk, Jenna called to ask if I wanted to come over for dinner, and I accepted. And I forgot that earlier today I had a nice chat with Carole and Ron and Carole was saying that she wanted to invite me over for dinner and asked how much longer it was until you returned. We got good neighbors babe! I know we know it, but it's nice gestures like this that mean so much! They are all so thoughtful and they really care about us. Everyone is always looking out for one another and it feels good.

I put Lucy's e-collar back on - I don't know why, but she's been so good for me. She basically let me put it on her!! Dinner was really nice. I brought over a bottle of white and we all drank it. Everyone asked about you and dinner conversation was very nice. Patty and Dale even told me some HILARIOUS story about the male dog sitter (I'll tell you over the phone) and told me how they kept an eye on him and her for us ;O)

It was Dale, Patty, Nicole, Vince, Justin and Annie who sat down to dinner - Jenna was babysitting. Patty made sausage and peppers that we put over noodles, broccoli and then buttered bread. It was very yummy, and so homey. I'm glad I went because for a split second I considered declining.

I didn't stay too terribly long. We ate then chatted for a while, then I came on back to pooch. I took the collar off of Lucy and decided it was time for a more humane approach. I grabbed one of your thicker dress socks, I pulled it over her leg, I taped it and then I got one of those zip ties and zip tied it to her leg like a lint trap on the hose from the washing machine and that is that! She looks like a pimp dog or something but too bad. She seems so much more comfortable and I feel so much better for her.

AND, this new set up will keep the cut from being covered up, it will get some good air, but she can't get to it to lick it. I consider this a win - win Daddy!

Anyway, we're chillin. We're home and now we plan to stay here. I think Steve and I may go catch Pineapple Express tomorrow. I'll let you know what we decide. I hope to talk to you some time tonight daddy. I miss you so much. XOXO

Friday, August 29th

Well, last night I headed to the game with Shaun, Lena, Njeven, Alyssa and Lorenzo. All the kids were very excited and so cute. After it rained pretty much all day, the weather broke and we actually got a really nice night for football! Despite the actual game...




When I got home, pooch and I watched Obama's speech, the quite entertaining and action packed Double Elimination Night on Big Brother, then hit the hay! We were exhausted!

I set the alarm for 7am to get up and take Lucy out for a walk and when it went off, as much as I preferred to stay in bed, I got up and started to get ready to take her out when I looked outside and realized that it was actually pouring down rain! So, I decided against it. Lucy went in and out between the front and back doors until she was significantly soaked and then it was time for me to head out.

We were told that we could leave the office by 1pm today, and of course Dave told me that I could take off any time I wanted, which I thought was nice. I kept myself busy and didn't leave work until just about 1. I don't want to be "that person", ya know?

When I first got home I noticed that Lucy's cut was doing a lot worse. When she jumped up on the white comforter in the back room I could see spots of blood everywhere and decided that I had to either run to CVS to get supplies or do something here right away. Well, I tried my hand at being a pet EMT here and so far so good.





I decided to just bite the bullet and make her sit down for me to start the operation. I soaked a cotton ball in peroxide, got the neosporine, a cotton pad and the athletic/medical tape out. I made Lucy sit down. I let her sniff and lick the cotton ball, then I grabbed her paw and went to work. She put up a little bit of a fight but mama won!

She limped around looking for another DogCademy Award but I told her to give it up. And once she limped around for a while getting used to her wound dressing, she got over it and is now walking around just fine. She did try to bite it off a little bit for a while, even getting to some of the cotton but then I just wrapped more tape around it, so she was screwed! HA...I hope this does the trick because this thing need to heal! I can even see blood coming through the cotton pad so I know it need to be closed up for a little bit. I might still give Dr. K a call or make a drive by tomorrow to make sure I'm doing the right thing, but I'm pretty confident.


I had planned to take pooch out for a walk when I got home from work but it's about 5:30pm and it has just stopped pouring. Even pooch didn't want to go out in the rain for some time there. I have had the back door propped open since I got home and she got over it at some point and decided to just chance it and has been out exploring all afternoon. In and out, in and out.

I went out just a little while ago to take the trash out and pick the newest ripe tomatoes and noticed a little friend hanging out in the garden. Say hello to Froggy:

Let's just hope Lucy doesn't meet her or she may meet an untimely death, or at best, she may get a very large playmate that she doesn't want! I can see Lucy tossing her around the yard on her nose. Oh lordy!

Anyway, tonight we plan to just chill, watch tv and kind of enjoy the rainy night in. I am even planning to make Loco Moco for dinner! If I'm successful, I'll make it again for us when you come home.

That's all for now Daddy. We love you. MUWAAHH!

More of Thursday, August 28th...

So this morning the pooch and I got up and headed out for a rainy walk. She was SO all about the squirrels today. I let her get her chase on here and there, especially when one squirrel decided to run half way up a tree then poke it's head around and stare just to taunt her. I decided he needed a scare for messing with our pooch so I let her at em. Now, by the time she got to the tree he was probably 3 blocks away, but at least it made her feel a little better.

I noticed Lucy hasn't really been eating her food and I can't understand why. I've narrowed it down to about three reasons, A.) She ate too much while competing with Blue for food at my dad's, B.) She's sad and depressed because her daddy isn't home, or C.) It's the copious amounts of acorns she has been consuming, thereby confirming my suspicions that our pooch is indeed part squirrel as I've thought all along. Yes, the pooch has been eating acorns. If you recall, another certain black lab we had used to munch on the things too. I don't get the appeal. You know they can't taste good. But they must just be appealing dropping from the sky like that all over the place. Hey, they're plentiful in our back yard and if she wants to clean up a little, then by all means, go for it!

I don't know what her deal is, but I guess when she's hungry, she'll eat. The cut on her paw is also not healing. I think it's silly to go to the vet, knowing I can handle this, so, I'm going to try a new approach. When you look at the cut it doesn't look horrible. It's just raw from her constantly licking it. SO, I am going to go get some of that bandage tape that she can't chew off and when she's nice and sleepy next I will pounce!

Right before I was leaving for work Steve text messaged to say that he had just left the doc's and lost another 21lb's. Go Steve Go! So I told him to stop by to get some curry in a hurry, he he, and he did. Lucy was very excited to have a house guest, even for just a few minutes. He was talking about getting in touch with Pat and I told him that I wasn't sure the deal and that maybe you can put a bug in his ear for the week you're back. So annoying, but the nature of the beast I suppose.

Also, Steve bought the three of us tickets to see "Slightly Stoopid" at the 9:30 Club in October. They are kind of a mix between Sublime and 311 but more on the chill Sublime side. I think you'll dig them! I'm kind of excited.

Leah told me last night that one of their pooches has another tumor that has to be removed. This will be the 4th between both dogs. I hate to say this because I don't mean it in a bad way, but this is one reason that I really appreciate having a rescued mutt. Most full breed dogs are the one's that tend to have tons of medical problems. It's the mutts that hold up best medically. I guess we're just lucky.

So when it was time to leave the house, Steve and I were walking out at the same time and that ninny let our pooch get out. Well, first of all it decided it was going to POOR DOWN RAIN right as we walked out, typical. Then, the cutest and saddest thing ever...our pooch ran straight to my car and just sat by the door waiting to get in with me. I wanted to laugh and cry at that little bitch! So, I walked to the car, let her get in as I put my bags in the car then I went back into the house to get her leash so I could walk her back in. I wish I could let her sit in my car all day at work. I bet she'd love it but umm, I'd probably go to jail for pooch abuse :O( So, needless to say I was soaked and I look like a wet mop now. So fun!

I'm probably going home around 3:30/4pm today to get ready to go to the game. I'll call you later poopaliciouspoopiepants!

XO!

Thursday, August 28th

So after the morning from hell on Wednesday, the day got better. I got some things done at work and then I decided to go check out the new cupcake joint down in Dupont that Reets will soon be working at.

When I got there, there was a line out the door. HA! I was kind of excited though. I was hoping to order some mini cup cakes for the Skins game tailgate but they're not taking orders this week. Waaaa waaa waaaaaa. And they had a limit of 4 per customer for the first week. So, I was only going to get one, maybe two cupcakes but the girl behind the counter talked me into a 4 pack. It was really hard for her and she twisted my arm until I caved. It's actually good because they are not those ginormous cupcakes that some people make. They are actually "cupcake" size. Here's a shot of the cakes I ended up with:




Not a very good picture, but a picture none the less. I'll tell you what the flavors are starting from the top left and moving clockwise. First one is Triple Coconut - very yummy and not too coconutty tasting, just right. Next is 24 Carrot - now you know how I love me some carrot cake and some cream cheese icing but the icing was better than the actual cake. It was full of nuts and carrot and not my style, not moist enough, I liked the icing better. The next one is You Tart - lemon cake and lemon cream cheese icing. Oh Daddy you would have LOVED this one. It was so good. And lastly is the vegan selection of the day, I think it was a gluten free chocolate cupcake with some type of peanut butter frosting...ummm, YUM! I don't know what was cut from it or whatever but it tasted freakin DEELISH! I cut each one in four pieces and took a bite of each of them and they were all SO SO GOOD. And even Lucy got a little of the cream cheese icing, as if that surprises you. I will fo shiz be going back, especially because Rita will be working there. Check out their web site to see some of the other flavors that we will most definitely be going back for, they look so tasty, if you scroll over them they even have pictures. And guess what? They have a cupcake called LUCY! and according to Rita they are going to be coming out with cupcakes for dogs called, are you ready for this? "pup-cakes"...OH. MY. GUD! So cue! Anyway, CLICK ME for some cupcakie action!

Dinner with the ladies was great. The food was awesome and as I told you before, we HAVE to check it out together. Maybe we'll go there with Scott and Jen since that still hasn't happened. I don't care what we do as long as we go back for some yummy grub. Here are some shots of all the ladies in attendance:

Now it's about 11:30pm our time (on Wednesday when I'm typing this) and I am exhausted. I can't imagine that it has anything to do with the fact that I was up at 5am with pooch and never really went back to sleep. So, now I must retire. Looking to get up and walk pooch in the morning since it's been so mild here the last few days then head into work. I am going to the Skins game even though I wasn't really planning on it but Shaun, Lena and the kids are coming so it should be good, and we're driving in so we can leave whenever we want. That's all for now my love...Updates coming later!

WE LOVE YOU!! KISS! KISS! HUG.

Wednesday, August 27th

Lucy and I got up bright and early on Tuesday morning and it was unseasonably cool outside. Must have had something to do with the fact that today the brats in MoCo went back to school! It was a jinx on my day really because it went downhill from there.

All I have to say, number one, is how quickly the mind forgets. Holy lord, we must have mosquito's the size of horses at this point. I have literally gone outside for seconds and come back in one huge welt. I killed one in the house last night and it was like a blood bath, which also makes me want to puke knowing that the gross thing has been living off mine and Lucy's blood.

Another thing I must have forgotten? Lucy's strength and my ability to bruise when the wind blows. I swear, there's no way anyone could blame these on you, seeing as you're not even in the same state. Unless of course you are magic and can beat me long distance!





So, anyway, I get to work, all is well and then my mom calls to tell me that she is going to drop off your poker set and the beer and she's gonna leave it in the back yard because you know how she feels about coming in with Lucy here (the big chicken), so I said, oh hell, i'll come home to meet you. I hear this clickity clack and look at the size of the freakin BOLT that is in my tire:



How on earth does something that size end up in your tire? That is like sticking a freakin garden hose in my arm just for shits and giggles with no clue that it's happened! I don't get it. How does this happen? So, I'm off to Radial in the morning (which should be today when you're reading this - IF blogger gets their shit together and "unlocks" this blog!). You know what this makes me feel like? When someone does something illegal on the road and you're like, "where are the cops when you need them?" but they're off eating donuts at 7-11, harassing kids. I mean, 7 out of 10 times those little brats are probably up to something but let's face it, there are criminals walking right under their noses but they're too "busy" to notice. It's like, dude, why don't you police people/things that really need it. OHhhhhh, that's right, a blog about a dog and a lame wife should be checked out. You never know what we're up to babe. I need to get going now so I can go make the pipe bombs and smuggle the heroine across the border in Lucy's bum! Well, that wouldn't work because we know things tend to come out of Lucy's bum on a regular basis, not go in!

Okay, enough of this silliness. I need to go to sleepy time. We love you daddy. More to come....

UPDATE:
So this morning I was seriously ready to kill our pooch. Let me start from the beginning. So the cut on her paw is not getting any better. It’s actually looking worse to me. I think she keeps re-injuring it when she goes outside running through the bushes like a banshee and then she continuously licks it when inside. So last night when we were snuggled up on the couch and she was out, snoring and all, I decided I was going to take care of her wound.

I snuck to the bathroom and got a cotton ball soaked in peroxide, the neosporine, a flat cotton pad and the ace bandage they gave me at the hospital when I sprained my fingers. As she slept, I squeezed the peroxide onto her wound where it fizzed and bubbled to my delight. I knew it was cleaning out all of the yucky stuff. Well, Lucy jumped up. She was not pleased. But, I was determined. I held her still on the couch, squeezed some neosporine onto it, put the cotton pad and the ace bandage on – you should have seen us, it was a ridiculous sight, I’m sure.

Once the bandage was on Lucy switched into full Hollywood actress! She was PUH-THETIC! She limped around like gimpy McGee and hobbled like a freakin pirate with a peg leg. I swear if there was a producer within 100 yards they would have hired her on the spot. Check out these pictures I took of her:








So, I felt bad for a second but I know it’s for the best. Anyway, she was really tired so we got into bed and all was good. She slept, noticing her bandaged paw just barely.

Well, at about 5am she decides she’s gonna start growling and barking. At first I thought maybe someone was outside so I looked out front and nothing…I kept trying to go back to sleep knowing that I had to get up by about 6:45 today to miss the “rush” at Radial (as if that’s even possible – I have a sneaking suspicion that people sleep here over night to be first in line, but I digress…). Well, I hush her and we lay back down and then I hear her gnawing and pulling at the bandage. I wanted to strangle her with it. So, I take it off of her so maybe she’ll calm down and possibly not destroy it. No such luck. Then she decides she’s gonna lick it CONSTANTLY. At one point I screamed, “LUCY! ENOUGH! LAY DOWN, STOP IT!” and to my surprise that worked…for about 4 minutes, then she was back to licking. I kicked her a few times through the covers and she decided to go to the living room to lick in peace. Finally, some sleep for me. Yeah right.

Lucy then decides she “needs” to go outside. She hits the shot glass. I ignore her. She hits it again. I ignore her. She hits it again, I say, “really? REALLY?”. She hits it again. It’s now about 5:50am. I take her out. She runs like she’s freakin shot out of a cannon out of the back door to begin her barking routine at the house next door. I go between feeling bad and not caring. Then she does her business and I get her back inside. It’s now about 6:10am or so. I try to go back to sleep and decided that it’s just pointless. That’s when Lucy decides she’s shweepsies and she’s ready to go back to sleep, the little bitch! And mama is up and starting her day as the pooch drifts off into nap number 1 of probably 500 for today.

I leave the house and for a moment forget that school has started back up until I almost run over a toddler at the end of our street, Marina’s friend’s toddler to be exact, because apparently the mom doesn’t think it’s important to pay attention to where her little brat is. She is walking back to her house with the other mom’s (Susan, our next door neighbor and a couple of others). Clearly it is way more important to socialize with the girls in the hood than to watch your kid. Whatevs.

So, that was minor. I continue on my way and I’m headed up Crestmoor when low and behold there is a MOB of parents and children walking toward me. Now, you and I both know how it is in the hood. There are no sidewalks and I am beyond sympathetic when it comes to that. Walking Lucy, having cars speed by, etc. I am not one to raise a fist and tell people to get out of the road. Today was a different story. If you were with me you would have blown a gasket! I swear to god, I was driving about 5 miles per hour toward these people as they watched me and continued to walk DIRECTLY IN THE FUCKING MIDDLE OF THE STREET! I looked at them in astonishment, like, REALLY? Are you serious? Are you unaware of the fact that I am in a MOTOR VEHICLE and can RUN YOU THE FUCK OVER? Oh my god, I was so pissed. These are the assholes that make me want to be a total bitch. I mean, what gives you the right to just saunter in the middle of the street? I know you see me, I’m not in a mini cooper and last I checked I can’t make myself invisible. This is how the day began.

It is now 10:27am. I have been at Radial Tire since 8:30am waiting for my car that is having a hole plugged and the tires rotated. I am praying that the day gets better and that my mood changes before the much anticipated dinner with the girls tonight to “celebrate” Kristin’s second pregnancy. If it doesn’t, you better believe mama will be drunk before the appetizers arrive.

It’s got to get better from here…right?

Tuesday, August 26th

So, where to begin? Well, I had planned to sleep in yesterday but at about 9am Lucy and I were up and about. So sad, but true. While Lucy chilled on her bed I got myself dressed and ready for our morning walk.

We headed out and ran into Annie, her mom, little one and another friend of theirs and their child coming back from a walk. Amazingly, Annie was allowed to have a little play with Lucy. They ran laps around the two yards, played great and then Lucy took a nice little poop in their neighbor's yard! Yayyy Lucy. That's our girl! And, of course, Annie's goofy mom didn't let them play long. But, it was fine. I wanted Lucy to have a nice long walk and there was no chance of that if they continued to play. Here's our baby doing her thing in the hood:

Lucy was pooped when we got home. I did some more stuff around the house, got through some work emails and watered the tomato plants. Then I worked on your mom's birthday presents. This is the final product. We gave her this along with the bottle of Chandon and the beautiful flowers below:

Your mom seemed to really like her gifts and we had a great visit with Griggs and the fam. Lucy and Griggs did so well together. Lucy would sniff away, lick Griggs' pigs (yes, that rhymes) and then I caught her french kissing him here and there. They both loved it!! Check out some of the shots from our visit:

After our visit with the Rupert's we headed home to drop off the pooch. I went to meet the other fam out at Mongolian BBQ in Bethesda. We had a nice time and I gave Rita the book, the box from Cali and a $25 Visa gift card. She of course liked it all.

AND...the best thing about the dinner is the little gift I left with just for you! I won't tell you how I got them, but I did...Aren't they cute??? They are even smaller than Coronita's! I don't even know what you'd call these. Coronita-eeta's? Look Daddy, Look!

Anyway, we came home around 9:15 or so and I decided I would make dinner for tomorrow night's book club so that I don't have to rush tomorrow. The theme is Thai so I made yellow chicken curry with potatoes, a thai cucumber salad and when i was at Trader Joe's I came across some veggie samosas and some thai spring rolls that I'll make tomorrow before our guests arrive. If there are left overs I am going to freeze them for you so you can have some when you get home. Anyway, we love you daddy. We'll leave you with these shots of our baby, the biggest, most spoiledest pooch on earth. But damn she's cute!!!

SMOOCHES FROM YOUR POOCHES! XOXOXOXO

Monday, August 25th

So last night, after Lucy decided she was done with her 15th nap of the day and mama was about 20 minutes into her first, Lucy decided to come lick mama's face off and then proceeded to take a flying leap onto my back and legs. I wanted to be mad but seriously, how could I? Welcome back to the real world and a body full of bruises.

So I thought, hmmm, what should we do for dinner? And that's when Lucy suggested getting crabs and KFC - you know, to continue with the health kick I've been on all week! I promise, it's back to the diet tomorrow!

So, we jumped in the car and headed out. We hit KFC first, where the guys and gals in the drive through got a serious kick out of the pooch hanging out of the sun roof. Next we decided to cut through my aunt Mariana's neighborhood to reach Seafood in and Out from the back way. Well, who do we run into walking their dogs, Queenie and Miele? that's right, Mariana, Roger and Tony.

We were about half a block from their house and Lucy was about to loose her you-know-what, so we went to their house and the pooches had a little play out back. They all got along really well. Especially Lucy and the puppy, she's only about 5 months old, but they played really well together and wore each other out properly!

When we got home from our outing there was a message on the home phone from dog sitter Chris. He left his work shoes here and asked that I leave them on the porch for him. I called him back to let him know that I also found a key in the back yard last night - it had a paper key chain on it with a name. He assumed that Marla lost it back there so I told him I'd put that in his shoes and leave them in the door. I thanked him for taking care of our baby and told him that I hoped she didn't drive him nuts and he said one of the nicest things. He said, "no way, we had a great time. I love that dog"! Isn't that sweet? I was so happy to hear it and he sounded like he genuinely had a blast with our Lucy. God that makes me happy!!! Because you know she had so much fun with them too.

So, of course Lucy and I shared a piece of chicken because, well...she's spoiled, in case you forgot. Then I was able to eat 3 crabs before I was stuffed to the gills. They were jumbo's and let me tell you, they didn't skimp. Check out the size of this claw:




And here is the piece I would have fed you if you were sitting next to me.




Lucy and I sat on the couch and watched the rest of our Big Brother episodes until we were all caught up. Then we decided to start watching The Hills. Lucy and I seriously wanted to throw up all over ourselves just admitting that we were actually watching this shite! Really, I don't know why. We just can't help ourselves sometimes. At least we know all of these people are just pathetic. We just hope that watching them doesn't make us pathetic too!

I spoke to Claire earlier and told her that Lucy and I would stop by some time tomorrow to give her big, wet, birthday kisses and she was happy to hear it. I also got a call from Cindy asking if we would be able to come over for a birthday dinner for your mom. Unfortunately, we are going to Mongolian BBQ in Bethesda for Rita's birthday dinner (make sure you call me later so I can tell you some sista drama over the phone!).

So, I told Cindy that I planned to head to your parent's house early with the pooch and she said that she planned to be there early with Griggs as well. So, we plan to see them at your parent's house around 4 tomorrow for the early celebration.

Here's what Lucy and I plan to do:

1.) I painted a picture frame and I am printing that champagne quote that I loved from Corridor 44 in Denver - don't worry, I'm gonna make myself one too once we have somewhere to put it - and I will attach a cool ribbon to hang it from.

2.) We plan to get some beautiful flowers and a card tomorrow

3.) Either a bottle of bubbly or a basket of goodies or...do you have any other suggestions? Is there anything that your mom really loves that we could get her? Should I go to World Market and make her a basket like we did for Father's Day?

Anyway, that's all for now Daddy. We hope you had safe travels to Minneapolis, if you're there, and if not we hope you have a safe trip. Please call us once you're there. We love you, love you, love you and we'll update more later.

Lucy says "Woof" and "babadaboobadabeebada"

XOXO

Saturday, August 23rd:

Well hello there Daddy. So the Pooch and I were discussing how best we could keep you abreast of our activities while you're away from us and Lucy came up with the best idea...a BLOG!

Oh I know, those damn bloggers. They're so annoying. Well, Lucy-Fer is brand new to blogging so we'll give her a pass. So, we'll start at the beginning and tell you all the tedious things that you may or may not want to know about what's going on in our world here at home.

So, as you know, grandpa picked me up with our Lucy and Blue in the car. I got some great welcome home licks and gave Lucy some good rubs. We took the pooches home and then headed to uncle Freddy's house for Rosa's Surprise 50th Birthday.

Once I decided that Adams Morgan was not going to be graced with my presence, I headed to get the pooch and returned to the party. I took some pictures while at the party and here they are:














The food was just okay. It was catered from Hogs on the Hill on Route 1 in Beltsville. I wish I would have taken pictures of the food for you. I think you would have been amused! The ribs and the collard greens were pretty good and they made us sad because we knew you'd like them if you were there. The "mac n' cheese" was a fluorescent yellow/orange color and watery. It was very strange. I don't think there was actual cheese in it. The "red beans and rice" was just plan bleh! There was this pink color strewn about the white rice and I think I saw about 6 total red beans in it. Everyone of course asked about you and where you were and I told them all the story more than I would have liked about where you were and how long you'd be away from us.

We got home probably around 10:45/11pm or so. Pooch and I were both exhausted. The first thing I noticed was how sad and droopy all of the tomato and basil plants were. I guess it hasn't really rained since we've been away and I didn't even think to ask anyone to water for us. I watered the plants on the stoop before closing up for the night and it paid off because the basil was not droopy anymore in the morning. I was grateful for that.

The alarm was not on, much to my dad's confusion. He thought he had set it but he must not have - at least that's what I'm going to hope because I'd prefer that someone hasn't come back for any reason, you know? The stereo was on in the living room, the light and fan were on in our bedroom and the lights out back and in the basement were on. I wasn't surprised by any of that really.

It was very sad to come home without you. Pooch and I laid on the couch and snuggled up while we caught up on some of our Big Brother's from last week. Lucy is totally rooting for Renny to win it all but I'm still not sure if I can get behind any of the contestants yet.

As you know, we took some snuggly pictures last night. If you've forgotten, here they are again:








Sunday, August 24th:

So after snuggling up last night and getting a good night's sleep - other than the fact that at one point I woke up so close to the edge of the bed I thought I was sure to fall off, that was one thing I didn't miss about sleeping in the hotel room for a week! - we woke up at about 9:15am ready to get the day started and work on all of the chores that were ahead of us!

We headed to the back yard for Lucy's first outing of the day. Much to my surprise, I learned that Fall had descended on Woodmoor, or at least onto our deck! There were more acorn than an Alvin and the Chipmunks convention!

So, as I embraced my welcome back to the neighborhood, I let Lucy roam among the deer, and yes there were some behind the fence this morning, bark to her heart's desire, and I swept the deck for what will only prove to be the first of many, many times to come I'm sure!

There have been a slew of humming birds feeding off the yummy nectar that you hooked up for them and we've been admiring them and their visits all day! We stripped the beds, gave Lucy the much needed bath, I cleaned the bathroom and washed all of the linens and then we headed to Gallatin to meet the potential buyers.

They were a nice couple who currently lives in Dupont and they are looking for more space. They seemed happy with what they saw and I'm hoping and praying that I "sold" it enough for them to want to put in an offer! We'll see. And hey, Lucy didn't scare them off so that's a good sign.

We came home and watered the dreadful looking tomato plants. Lucy enjoyed barking her head off at the neighbor that was outside washing his stupid truck and I re-made the beds and started unpacking and doing more laundry...Lucy has been napping almost since we got home from the DC house. She has such a tough life!

I just got done doing my nails and I am very sleepy. I'm going to switch the laundry and try to take a nap myself. We miss you terribly Daddy but we hope this daily blog will help you feel closer to us.

Smooches!
L & B