Happy Birthday Bearette!

My baby girl is 14 today! I remember the day she was born, to our little stray Sweetie. I was not going to take one of the seven puppies, right up until the weekend that I took her home at 7 weeks. We've had our share of rocky times, behavior issues, health issues, having to leave her behind when I moved to England, thinking I might never see her again. Even with all that, I wouldn't trade a moment with her.

Love Hearts - Say Yes

So, I do have a special love for Love Hearts.

It started, of course, because Nid used to send them to me when we were courting. And yes, his proposal did include a Say Yes Love Heart. But they are truly lovely sweets!  The Swizzles Matlow company are great. Nid had been looking for an I Surrender sweet, and after dozens of packets, we never got one. I wrote to them in secret, asking if they sold them by the phrase, as I would like to buy some, and explained I wanted it as a wedding gift. They replied right away, and offered to mail them to our house in Leicester, even agreeing to use a plain envelope, as I was still in the US, and I didn't want to give away what it was. They sent about 40, all saying I Surrender, FOR FREE! I wish it was easier to get them here in the US (or at least, I wish it was cheaper). I still have some at home, maybe Briony and I will have to write some poems this evening :)

The Swizzles Matlow company posted this video that a fan made on their Facebook page last week, and it is awesome. Even Briony enjoyed it.

Picnic

We went for a picnic at Washington Park today, because it was beautiful and warm again.

Briony packed my lunch :)

Bearette loves getting out and smelling all the smells. And she's gotten so good about not barking at people, so we can all enjoy the day.

Football...

I dragged Briony to see the University of Wyoming spring football game today. It was warmer than yesterday, and sunny again. It wasn't a real game, it was their 15th practice, but open to the public. It was good to get out of the house, and see the stadium that I pass all the time. It is a little itty bitty stadium compared to others I've been in, but it was pretty nice. I did get sunburned, because I forgot that altitude affects how quickly you get sunburned. Oops! Lesson learned, and we got aloe and sunscreen on the way home.

Interesting facts:

• Altitude. It is easy to get sunburned at higher altitudes, because there is less of the earth's atmosphere to block the sunlight. UV exposure increases about 4% for every 1000 ft (305 m) gain in elevation.

It's about 7000 feet higher here than Virginia, that's not insignificant :)

To round out the day, we hit the Dollar Tree, where we always find fun things to make fun of. I did NOT purchase either the hat or the feather boa!

We rented two movies, and I made Briony watch What's Eating Gilbert Grape. She did NOT want to watch it, but at the end she said it wasn't bad. I am gradually trying to expose her to movies that I enjoyed growing up. I wouldn't have expected that to be in the Redbox, but there it was!

Soccer!

I got off early today to see Cale's soccer game. It was the first game I'd gotten a chance to go to (never trust a 15 year old boy to bring home his schedule... it will never happen). Thanks to the school emailing me the schedule, I was able to take off work and it was a beautiful day to do so! Cale said that last time they played a game in Laramie, it was snowing. Today it was in the upper 50s, hardly a breeze, and gorgeous! They won 5-0, which made it even better. And I finally got to see Cale in the cool orange cleats I'd gotten him for his Birthday.

After the game, we went home and fixed dinner and watched our weekly dose of American Idol. It had been two weeks since Briony had seen Cale, and she swears he's gotten taller.

Officially Certified

I got my certificate in the mail today, I am officially a Certified Veterinary Technician in the state of Wyoming (and also still in Virginia). I am not working as a Tech now, and you don't have to be Certified to work as a Tech, but I wanted to have it official. I didn't go to school for nothing.

Birthday Dinner & First To Find!

Everyone at the office (minus one) went out to dinner tonight, which was Katie's 21st Birthday. Dinner was excellent, as were the two Mango Margaritas that I had.

Katie, Amanda, Sarah

Christa and Tia

Briony and I

Christa and Cambria

Briony

After I was home and getting into bed, I got an email about a new geocache that I had been posted. I got dressed, and dragged Bearette and Briony out with me. It was on a bridge over the interstate, so they stayed in the car and I made the short hike with my flashlight. I got the First To Find! It was my first, and I was very excited about it.

My girl

And my other girl, Briony, is getting better at taking non-blurry photos. :)

Silly Dog.

I had just gone to bed, and Briony took this photo of Bearette actually laying on me to go to sleep.

What I Will Do...

for the internet! The wifi at the library wasn't working today, so I went to one of my back-up locations. Sitting outside the Chinese restaurant. They have super fast internet, even with me all the way out in my car.

Bring Bearette To Work Day

Bearette hasn't been feeling well, again. I brought her in this afternoon and we rechecked her bloodwork. Her kidneys have finally gotten worse, to the point of no longer borderline kidney failure, and her liver values are up as well. She hung out with me at my desk for the afternoon. We've started her on a few new things, and we'll see how she does on them.

More Snow

Sunday Brunch

Cale couldn't come to dinner last night, so he came to breakfast.

Yum!

The new California Turkey Reubin from McAlisters. With sweet tea, of course.

Beer Night...

At the library? What kind of crazy place is this? My kind of place! Books and booze :-)

Chip Buttys.

Left over chips from last night made great chip buttys for dinner tonight.

Playing with Bearette on her dog bed.

Burgers... Two Burgers?

We never eat two burgers when we're out, I don't know why I fixed two for when we're home. Oh yeah, because I asked Briony how many and she said two. So I fixed two for me to. Never again.

Best Dog Bed Ever.

Bought this Sealy Posturepedic futon mattress at a yard sale for $10. With a $10 fitted sheet, it still costs less than crappy little dog beds. Score for us! And also, now we have a bed for when Cale stays over.

American Keith... I mean, Idol.

Fuzzy slippers, thanks to Briony (and Carissa's mom), Bearette, and Keith Urban. Great night with the kids.

Stinkbug Survivor

I found him when I unpacked some clothes. He was still alive, so I took him outside and set him free. I probably shouldn't advertise this in case the government comes after me, but I don't THINK it's against the law to not kill bugs.

I think he might live, because it was so warm outside today.

 

Chocolate Gravy

Katie at work made chocolate gravy and homemade biscuits and we had it for breakfast two days in a row. Yum Yum Yum!

Why Yes, I Did Peg My Jeans...

.... to get them in my boots. Or rather, Briony's boots. It was just like 1989!