A very happy birthday (4/29)

This birthday could have easily been a bad one. Times have been tough financially with us. Brand's job that laid him off at the end of March has not been able to pay him a cent that he is owed. He's worked very hard to find another job but the fact is..we barely have enough money for bills let alone a birthday present for me or a nice evening out. I didn't expect anything for my birthday. Actually, for awhile I tend to try not to have high expectations for my birthday. It makes things easier when things don't go the way you'd like.
So all I expected were things to be picked up around the house. When I came home I could hear the laundry going, the house was definitely cleaner, and my expectations were met. Then I go in my room to charge my cell phone and see one single rose with a note by it. The note showed more about how Brand cared about me than a present could ever do. Definitely a tearjerker. Not only did he give me a beautiful note stating that the flower represents the love he has for me, but there was a dollar bill with "I love you" written on it to remind me that even thought times were tough we stayed true to each other and true to God. That definitely beats anything else he could have bought me :)
We decided to take a little picture especially because Brand looked so nice (he just got done meeting with my friend Dani's boss to get a job delivering sandwiches...yay! good birthday present!)

So it was a great birthday :) Brand made me chicken and mashed potatoes and we scrounged our dollar bills together (not the gift one though..I'll keep that forever) and each got a small chocolate frosty from Wendy's.
It was a pretty dang good birthday :)
Today the party will continue with a Harry Potter themed birthday party with my friends put on by one of my best friends, Mollie :) She also happens to be making me an ice cream cake..MAKING it..she's pretty great :)
So most likely the next picture you see will be all of us dressed up as HP characters...and my Snape costume will be awesome!

Sweet little Henry (4/28)

One of the advantages of having a good friend work at the Humane Society is to see all the cute animals. She frequently fosters some animals. She foster a Catahoula Leopard dog once named Jasmine..she was very sweet. She's fostered a litter of kittens and one time she just brought home a big sweet dog that looked like a lion..just for fun.
Now she's fostering another litter of kittens. Just two right now. Little Monroe passed away (named her after Marilyn Monroe because like her the kitten had extra toes). So now it leaves little Harlow and Henry. Henry is so funny and has such a great personality. And he's a little chunky.
During Bible Study on Wednesday he was crawling all over the place and was attempting to get into a decorative vase...he missed and fell and though I was trying to get a pic of him in the vase I just got him trying to recover from the fall...

Pretty cute huh? Such a little fluff ball. I'm excited because my great friend Dani is most likely going to adopt him so I'll get to see him a lot when we hang out. It'll be neat to see him grow up..and there's rumor that Harlow may get to come home with Henry too...happy ending :)

What I would rather do in the morning..(4/27)

This is Brand sleeping. It's hard to go to work everyday when he is all cuddled up under his blankets. So inviting to just go back to bed and call in sick..

Error 404

So blogger.com has changed their picture uploading and it is just not working for me. So while you would be seeing a picture of Brand sleeping (I know you're all upset you're missing this...calm the riots), you don't get to today.
So hopefully we can get it working and then post it tomorrow....

Tame thyself!

There's a little part of all of us that still needs taming. We may be older and "wiser" now but there's still that gnawing, whiney part in our heads that yearns to get out! The part that seems to have a mind of its own sometimes that takes over and there's nothing you can do to stop it! Maybe it's a past that won't go away and rears its ugly head at the wrong possible time. Maybe it's a bad habit that no matter how hard you try you just keep going back to it. Maybe it is a very literal wildside. A night when you turn away from your stories on the telly and daydream about loud clubs, late nights, adventures that begin in a friend's living room, and end up in the Bellagio in Vegas.
For some creatures, like humans, it's complicated, frustrating, and written deep into our hearts. For others, like animals, it is just ...well...something else...
like a tail...

While it may take years for humans to tame our wild sides, for animals it just takes a different placement of the paw. Some humans may resort to delving deep into study, devote themselves to raising children, surround themselves with tasks, or attend places of worship for solace and humility. Humans live everyday to keep that wild side at bay, to keep it tamed. However, I believe animals have it easy. Any true wild side they have is pure instinct. It is what helps them survive. A lion's wild side gives him the adrenaline rush to take down a gazelle, a bird of prey has the wild side to swoop down and kill their prey, and a buck's wild side drives him to crash his antlers against another's for approval and dominance. Those sides cannot be tamed, it helps them survive. But some animals simply actually have a part of them that needs to be tamed. Not because it will ruin their life...but because even they can irritate themselves. For domestic animals (mainly cats) it seems their wild sides have taken residence in their tail. I know that is true of Bugg. He flaps it around and sometimes he even gets sick of it. He simply looks at his untamed appendage and STOMPS ON THEM! He says to his inscrutable tail "damn you! you must stop you terrible thing! why must you wag? why must you flap at such an indecent time? if you insist on doing that irritating movement...I shall stomp on you!"
And that's exactly what Bugg did. And he tamed it. He tamed it real good. The dang tail suffocated under his death grip and soon learned its lesson...for now...
And when Bugg spazzes out and runs around the house...I think that is when his tail has gotten the best of him. All that energy that has been contained in his skinny little appendage...has been let go....

My little ray of sunshine

Dexter is a lap dog. He may not be small...but he is a lap dog.
He's my lap dog. I love having him on my lap all cuddled up and snoring
I know a lot of my posts are about Dexter but he truly is a little ray of sunshine. I love my cat Bugg, but he's a bit temperamental and it's all on his terms so I love him for different reasons than Dexter. And believe me..he can be really cute too. But it's usually when we're going to bed (he LOVES to cuddle as close as he can with me) so I can't really capture his cuteness.
But you can't help but smile, despite what's going on, when that big black face looks at you. We are his world.
I truly love my dog :)

I miss having my own dog. Duke was the best dog you could ask for. And I miss him. Duke was so sweet and full of personality. It's good to have a dog who is pretty close to measuring up to him. Dogs can be expensive but they're so worth it.

A helping hand

It was cleaning day at the Adams house. Even though I did most of it yesterday...we had grand plans for today. Mainly vacuuming.That is the most laborious task..but also the one that makes everything look cleaner. Simply because we have another layer of carpet made of Dexter's fur. While I was cleaning Brand was supposed to being mowing our lawn (and kill those dang dandelions) but the lawn mower wasn't working so he decided to help...

Yes he's vacuuming the couch. If you're like myself, you probably would use the attachments for this. Brand says SCREW THAT! No he just vacuums it. Well it worked quite nicely so I guess I appreciate his help.

Lookin' pretty good with a tie around your neck :)

Brand got all fancy for an interview today. He said the interview went pretty good but we know it's out of our hands so if he gets it GREAT! If not..then he won't have to drive to Coeur d'Alene everyday which is cool. I just wanted to get a little photo of Brand all dressed up. But, apparently, it was casual Friday at the office so his interviewer was wearing Wranglers and a flannel shirt (ahhh North Idaho). He did get a free Olive Garden meal out of it..pretty fancy I think :)

Hopefully we'll be posting a celebratory picture in a week or so. If not..we'll keep trekkin' on...

Welcome Wagon part deux

Ask and you shall receive....

Brand read my post yesterday and decided to make me smile extra today. I took the picture as fast as I could but you can see that Dexter is bursting to come see me.
Thanks Brand!

The welcome wagon

Everyday..I am greeted by the most precious pooch in the world when I come home from work. According to Brand, Dexter sits at the top of the stairs around the time I'm supposed to come home. Then when he hears the car door he perks up. He twists his head to the different sounds and I'm sure it's adorable. But it's pretty great seeing his happy face looking at me when I come in the door. I have been wanting to capture this for awhile and today I got it..sorta..

Before I could get his well-behaved face into a picture...he decided to come after me and shower me with love.
I LOVE coming home to him. He is my baby and he is the cutest thing to greet me. Now the day Brand sits on the steps with Dexter...I may hurt myself smiling so much.

Happy 25th anniversary Blizzard! part 2!

Oh yeah a part two! I celebrated the birth of the Blizzard two days in a row! Booya! Though really...it was to celebrate the lovely Marisa's birthday and an excuse to hang out with some pretty rockin' girls. We probably annoyed everyone there by our loud laughter but it was really fun. And this time I got a chocolate covered strawberry..which is strawberry ice cream with chocolate chunks. Has anyone noticed that the Blizzards are not as thick as they used to be? And they don't turn them upside down anymore? Hm...lazy Queeners.
Anyway, here's a pic of us ladies enjoying our ice cream :)

And yes that is me and Dani chowing down on our Blizzards...yum!

Happy 25th anniversary Blizzard!

Things that are older than the Blizzard:
my sister
my brother
my sister in law
almost me! I thought the Blizzard was a lot older than it is...Brand thought it was younger. meh oh well.
We celebrated the Blizzard's anniversary for our date night and enjoyed some choco. chip cookie dough Blizzard in our 77 degree weather :)

A Desktor

A Desktor!!! What is a Desktor you ask? Well it's when you turn a curled up Dextor into your laptop desk.
Here is an example:

He doesn't seem to mind. He just sits there. I would be typing this on him as we speak but he is currently dreaming something very active.
Another little Dexter moment..he has become a bit jealous or at least feels a bit left out when Brand and I are hanging out..he whines and insists on butting in. I think it's adorable..Brand finds it annoying haha.
Oh here is a bonus picture of Brand and me at Riverside State Park. :)

A very Darry day!

A wonderful day! (Except for the a-hole park rangers that treated our parking misunderstanding like we just killed the Queen...Who knew you were supposed to do the OPPOSITE of what the park signs says!?)
Spent a day at Riverside State Park (douche park rangers) with some of the sweetest people I know. Jessie Darr was in town to celebrate her adorable niece's 5th birthday. So I got to spend time with the Darrs. I love the Darrs. They are so close to how my family is. Inside jokes, hilarious dad, silly sense of humor, and the tendency to break out in song. And the Darr parents are so loving they treat me like their own. It's a shame it's been so long since I've seen them. We had a great day of steak (Brand ate 3), french fries, macaroni salad, beans, and ice cream cake. We got to see Dexter play in the water and run around like he finally found his niche. He loved it. We roasted smores and sang happy birthday to the cutest, funniest 5 year old ever. This little girl is the daughter I hope I have. Apparently, she loves death and blood and is totally morbid. And she had quite the personality from when I first met her when she was like 2. Just hilariously weird. I didn't get a picture of the birthday girl but I did get a picture of the lovely Jessie singing with her adorable 2 year old niece Andie.
They were singing Tomorrow from Annie...and it was pretty sweet.

It was a good day..despite the crappy $45 ending...it was a good day.

A beautiful day in CDA!

Brand and I continued our enjoyment of sunshine and outside-ness today with a little trip to Coeur d'Alene. Dani's idea and a fabulous one at that! We were just going to go to the park and hopefully watch the LARPers (Live Action Role Players...think Role Models). But Dani conveniently texted me with the great idea to hit up good ole' CDA. And we did just that! We brought books but mainly ate our picnic, watched all the dogs, watched some terrible basketball players, and some Playboy bunny wannabes run around taking pictures. It was pretty great! Then we went to Dockside at the resort and I had my first Gooey's sundae. These things are huge...and delicious.
Brand and I had The Big Bash. It has a mound of whipped cream, a couple of brownies, cake batter ice cream, chocolate syrup, strawberries, and a cherry. It was fantastic!!!
Here's a picture in case you are having a hard time picturing it (and that's the point of the blog)

No we did not finish it..we felt like living today and a heart attack wasn't on the schedule. But yes it was delicious and I will be back for more...

Our own little Taco Bell

This was yesterday's picture of the day...slacked a little bit oh well...on with the show!
Who says you can't go out to eat when you're on a budget?!? Well we made some yummy tacos, had some chips and salsa, and hawaiian punch. yum! We then went out to our little patio furniture and tiny table and ate outside!  Brand and I get guilty when we sit around inside when it's so nice outside so we thought we'd venture out to our patio and enjoy the sunshine.

And it was delicious! :)

Not so photogenic

Sometimes...there's just not a whole lot of things to photograph...

My Stories

Just spent some time watching TV on my little netbook today. Had to catch up on my shows that come 2nd to other shows I watch.
I used to watch A LOT of TV. The result of being desperately shy in the formative years. When your priorities are family, school, and gymnastics friends take a back seat. So I made friends with any show on TGIF, Home Improvement, Friends, etc.
Then somewhere between college (yay a social life!) and getting married...I narrowed my shows to a minimum. Brand hardly watched TV but just like Coke...I got him addicted. He doesn't watch as much as me but his show list includes The Office, Lost, and V at the moment. That's about 2 more than he used to watch. But he also watches Rescue Me, occasionally Big Love (he won't admit it), Dexter, Bones, and Arrested Development. He likes instant gratification with shows...likes to see them right after another...none of this waiting a week crap!
But Brand's not the only one that gets interested in my shows, Bugg takes a fascination with them too...but only if they're on my computer....

A call from Grandma

I love getting calls from family. Especially when they're just a little "howdy do!" as my mom says.
My mama called me today and it was nice talking to her. She has a way of helping out and making me feel at ease when time's are a little tough.
She wanted to talk to her newest grandpuppy, Dexter. Now what the picture doesn't show is how he first reacted when she said "Hi Dexter!!!" It was pretty dang cute. Ears perked up, eyes all puppy like. But alas...the camera doesn't always capture the moment you'd like...

Be impressed...nah not really

Ahhh a slow weekend. Brand are stuck at home as we try to conserve money. You say..well go to a park! Well we are also trying to conserve gas. And consider I drive an average of 20 miles a day for work....going to a park is like going out to eat! Might as well eat our paychecks.
So we're stuck inside. Well sure we'll go outside to get the mail...we take Dex along...but other than that we've been watching Rescue Me on netflix...greatest invention of the decade...seriously.
Anywho...that has nothing to do with the picture but more of an explanation of the dullness of it. Also, had I not been driving...I would have gotten a great shot of about a man in his 50's wearing a bright red baseball cap, black shirt, and short black flippy mini-skirt. But no..all the good things happen when I'm driving.
Well here's the money shot folks.
Dexter was playing catch with the neighbor next door. Pretty nice guy, loves Dexter. And his little toy got stuck in the tree. It was funnier when we thought Dexter was playing catch with himself and got it stuck. But nope just the neighbor.  Soon we'll have better pics. Probably a lot of me eating...that's all I seem to do these days...

Courtesy of Brand

Brand's a very supportive husband. He always supports my hobbies, decisions, and even outfit choices (though I'm pretty sure he knows nothing about fashion and says that everything looks good).
So today as I go to take a picture for my picture of the day...I am greeted by his beautiful face.

So there ya go...the handsome man I wake up to everyday. Don't get jealous ladies...there are other large mouthed fish in the sea.

Soon they'll be best friends..

All together now..AWWWW! The animals are just chillin' all curled up on the couch. They may not be cuddling together...but I'll take this. A little shout out to the furry guys that brighten my day :) Love you Bugg and Dexter!

Harry Potter post..with special guest blogger..Bugg

Harry Potter! Ooooh soo excited to re-read the 7th book. It'll be even better this time because last time I read it in one day in fear that I would go to work the next day and hear all the spoilers. Then I found out all the so-called "Harry Potheads" hadn't even started it yet. Pssssh...so I'll be reading it nice and slow in preparation for November's release of part 1...
so\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ (excuse the backslashes..Bugg stepped on the keyboard)
here I am...geeking out..

A good reminder

I love my job. It can be stressful at times. I hear some pretty bad stuff being a social worker. I see families struggle to hold it together as they see their elderly mother or father deteriorate, I see people living in horrible conditions and there's nothing you can do about it. I see people in serious pain, financial turmoil, and just plain lonely.
But then there are good days. I hear about wonderful family and friends who will go to the ends of the Earth to take care of their loved ones...but do not think they're doing anything extra special. I see neighbors, at once strangers but now friends, family, and doctors really care about their elderly friend and know that they deserve to be taken care of.
And then there are days like these, where I get mail from one of my seniors that moved away. She calls me every day. Despite the things she goes through in her life (it's been a lot) she still is always laughing, smiling, and wears her beads and red hair with pride. When she lived in Spokane, she came to our senior center and just wanted friends. She drew me pictures, always of my house and today I got a new picture.
It wasn't a house and today it was colored better because she's recently had eye surgery.

It says "Happy Easter to Allison and Brand". She calls me her angel. She tells her friends in Texas that I'm her angel because I took her to the doctor when I decided the sore she's had on her lip for over 3 years needed to be looked at. It turned out to be skin cancer. I'm not her angel, she's mine. She reminds me every morning why I do my job. I do my job to touch lives, to make a difference in the lives of those that have worked hard for our country, raised children, fought for our freedom, and lived through some difficult times. All I did was walk with her to the doctor's office. All she did was walk through those doors.
Sometimes it only takes a little bit to touch someone's life..for the good and the bad. I hope I can do more good than bad in my lifetime.

Post-a-rama Part 3: Day after Muse

Ahh...the day after an amazing concert consists of sleeping in until 11 after arriving into Boise at 4 am. Then leaving around 1ish back home to Spokane. It was a pretty good drive home..I drove so I didn't get any cute pictures of Dexter sleeping. But I did get a picture of Bugg cuddling up to Brand while we were home. He was left alone this weekend and it was good to see him all curled up and happy to see us.

He was pretty happy to have us all to himself as we let Dexter run around outside after being cooped up in a car all day.
It's good to be back at my second home..
Now back to reality :(

Post-a-rama Part 2: MUSE!

On April 5th I was able to see my ultimate favorite band of all time live in concert. It was mind blowing and life changing. I do not have a lot of things written down as part of my bucket list...but Muse has always been on there. Seeing them was like how some people felt about the Beatles...I really did have to try hard not to cry..and I didn't...I didn't want to look stupid. But it was fantastic.
They opened with their 1st single of their The Resistance album, Uprising. On stage were three skyscraper things and music started playing and things were playing on the skyscraper screens and then they dropped and revealed three stages where Matthew Bellamy (lead singer, guitarist, pianist), Dominic Howard (drummer), and Christopher Wolstenhome (bassist and simultaneous smoker haha) each had their own stages.

It was absolutely amazing. They played all my favorite songs and totally teased us at the end during their encore..will they play Knights of Cydonia or not...will they...or not...AND THEY DID! Oh man did we rock out! They are fantastic! I will now try to see Muse every time they are on tour. It was hard listening to music after seeing them. Everyone could not compare. I can't imagine seeing anyone else in concert because Muse puts on a show, a performance, they are true musicians and performers. This concert made me fall in love with them even more. They really do inspire me and I am so happy I got to see them :)
Even if it meant a 5 hour trip there and then a 6 hour trip back the same day (The extra hour is for the insane crappy snowstorm...eff you SLC!)
"Love is the resistance!"

Post-a-rama Part 1: Easter Sunday

So I've been busy the past few days...just drove over 25 hours in two days so the internet has not been in reach. So you'll be getting my pic picks of the day in a three party post-a-rama event! Holy cow...who knew you were so lucky.
So without further adieu here is the photo of the day from Easter Sunday

My family :)

We had a family Easter dinner and it was great. Grandma couldn't make it because she was in pain, which was sad...I miss her :( But most the rest of the gang could and even Rheanne's daddy, Mike, got to come! You can't see Julie and Stephen in this picture but they're there :) Josh obviously saw I was taking a picture...thanks for that haha.I took a lot of pictures that day including Ollie Easter egg hunting and also poo-ing on his toilet but I thought this meant more. Easter is a very important holiday and celebrating the risen Christ with my family makes it even better :)

There's a ninja hiding in this title..

Ninjas...we are very quiet. Very sneaky...and very dangerous!
Do not mess with the ninjas!
Saturday night was Ninja night at the Draper residence..but sssh..don't tell them :)
As we sneak, and lurk in the shadows we hide in dryers, creepy closets, under desks, in weird laundry things, and other unspeakable places....while we try to outhide the seeker. But alas! Base! That illustrious table! The safe zone. For those fortunate to make it there before the seeker proclaims their name...they are safe...for another round.
Others...bide their time, hide cramped up, limbs twisted...all for the sake of..Hide-and-go-seek.
So watch out! For a ninja may be lurking behind you....

GOTCHA!

Hello Karma!

Today we drove from Spokane to Boise. Today also chose to be gross weather the whole way down. Rain, then snow, ice, then rain, then snow. Blech. Horrible.
We also saw some notable jerks on the road. Mainly this guy driving a silver corvette. He was driving along not using his blinkers, he was speeding, cutting in and out...all while on the phone. One of those people you just hope gets pulled over. Well we lose him...or rather he us... because he passed everyone..until here...

Not so hot now Mr. Jerkhead :)

Stuck behind semis, couldn't pass because he was still on the phone and it was bumper to bumper.

Then we passed him...and lost him.

Good times :)

Uncle Dylan!

DYLAN!! Yay! Dylan visited us today! Had some pizza, watched some Jeopardy and Wheel, and then some Office...it was like the old days :)
Haven't seen Dylan much since we got married. First time we saw him after the wedding was on his birthday Feb. 13th. That is unacceptable!
So today was joyous :) And even better...Dylan's been missing Bugg...and Bugg obviously missed him :)
Bugg usually hides when we have company...but Dylan's not company to Bugg...Dylan's family. His Uncle Dylan.
So he was out in full force excited to see his Uncle Dylan.
We had to get a picture, even if it was forced on Bugg since we didn't snap him earlier genuinely chilling out on Dylan.

Bugg really loves his Dylan. They were BFFs when Dylan and I lived together. So it was good to see the reunion :)
Hopefully more Dylan filled days ahead!
But for now..
cue Sanford and Son theme music....inside joke :)