Meet Isabella

Last night was our first night with Bella and she did a lot better than I thought she would. I got about 4 hours of sleep total and some of the lost hours were because I kept worrying she would do something she wasn't supposed to and I wouldn't be awake to catch it. DH and Lani slept out in the living room on the couch since he had to work this morning and the incessant whining wouldn't help at all.

She slept in her crate all night and woke up once at 2am to go to the bathroom, which, I'm proud to say she did on the paper she was supposed to in the kitchen.

Potty training has been going well so far with minor accidents (she's a pretty smart little pooch) and we're keeping a good eye on her to make sure she learns where she's supposed to go and catching her "in the act."



What I really love about her being so small is her puppy hair and the fact that I can hold her in my arms or in my lap. Before I know it she'll be shedding the thick and coarse hair rotties have and be way too big to sit in my lap.

Some pictures of me and my baby girl, Lani. My brother took these on his cell phone...not too bad, eh? I thought we were just messing around and was surprised that they turned out decent!

I can't believe how much gray and white hair she has now. I've also noticed that she doesn't try to jump the fence at my parent's house near as often as she used to. I think she's getting old and realizing that it's just too much work and not worth it.

I am thrilled and excited about bringing Bella home but I am a little sad at the same time. It's like we're opening up a new chapter in our little family and it will never be just the three of us again. Lani has been with us since a week after we got married so it's always just been just us. It sounds corny and silly, I know.

An addition in July!

<---This isn't her specifically. But believe me, I'll be posting pics of her asap!

Last week Ben and I put down a deposit for a purebred, female, rottweiler, puppy. We found a reputable breeder here in Northern CA who has a litter of 5 females right now that will be able to go home with their new owners in July. I am so excited! I grew up with a female rottie for 12 years until hip displaysia got the best of her and the most humane thing to do was put her down. It was the hardest thing I've had to do, yet. Her name was Abbey and every time I see a rottweiler I think of her and what a truly amazing dog she was. She's the reason my family and I fell in love with the breed; my parents have a mix rottie and my brother has a purebred.

So we pick her up in July but before that time, Ben and I are going to go meet the breeder and his pups. I am 99% sure he's legit but I want to be 100% sure and the only way to do that is to go and check it out. While part of me is really happy and excited the other part of me feels guilty for not going to a shelter. Ask anyone who knows me- I'm the first one to want to adopt and save a dog's life, no doubt about it. We rescued Lani and while she is a great dog, she has some issues that we can't seem to fully get past. One of those issues being other (certain) adult dogs. Puppies and really old dogs are no problem whatsoever. Same with kids...actually, better with kids. I trust her around small children more than I can with other animals. Anyway, that's the reason we aren't going to a shelter-- bringing another adult into the family won't go well.

Having Lani and dealing with her attitude/personality issues has made me so adamant about doing things the right way with this puppy. Lani was 3/4 years old when he got her (she's now about 6/7) and so we never had the chance to do things the right way from the time she was a pup. It limits the things we can do with her and places we can go (though we do a good job of making up for it) and it's really frustrating for all of us. So, it's my goal to have this dog be well adjusted and well socialized.

We've thought of some names and pretty much agreed on one (more like, Ben gave in- ha ha). I won't say it's for sure until I see her but I really like the one we picked! =)

Has it really been 3 months?!

I hadn't realized that I'd been away that long! A lot has been going on during the last few months. Well, since the beginning of the year really; 2009 is a big one around here.

Ben and I are in the process of buying our first home about 20 minutes from the beautiful Santa Cruz we're in now. We're sad to have to move but the housing market in this city (and this area, really) is just outrageous. On the flip side of that we are VERY excited at the thought of owning our own home. It's nothing big or amazing or even close to our 'dream home' but it's what we can do right now in this area so we'll take it! Once the economy turns around we plan on selling and buying something closer to family down south. Anyway, we close in a little over 2 weeks and the list of things that need to be done before Escrow is dwindling down!

Ben's medical problems finally seem to be on the mend as well. After numerous doctors poking and prodding him for the last 8 months I believe that the end of it all is in sight. Last week he started acupuncture and already, after one session, he notices a difference in the level of pain. =) While this makes me SO happy I'm a little bummed at the thought of him going back on the streets at night. Seems that there are always 2 feelings to one situation these days...

My youngest brother graduated from High School last week. That was a bittersweet time. I am so extremely proud of him and all the hard work he's put into everything he's done thus far. I mean, we're talking scholar athlete (amazing quarterback), member of the National Honors Society, 4.0 in practically all honors classes, and in the midst of it all (and most importantly) he is a fine young man. He goes off to a 4 year in September and I know he's pretty stoked about that. I keep thinking how weird it's going to be when Ben and I go to visit mom and dad's and he's not there.

I'm sort of looking for a job. I've come so close to being hired a few times and for one reason or another it hasn't happened. It's really frustrating and I'm to the point now where I'm just done. I'm done looking. I probably shouldn't be but I am so sick of it! I'm hoping that Ben and I will start trying for a baby by the end of the year anyway and we've both agreed that I'll be a stay at home mom, so we'll see what happens.

There's more but I'll leave it at this for now. I'm not feeling very well today so I'm going to go plop on the couch for a while once I finish my smoothie. . .

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring.

Yep, it's stormy outside again. I do love this weather but I think I'm ready for the warm sunshine.

I applied for another job today and it sounds like a pretty good deal. I really hope I get an interview. Like I've said before, I'm very grateful that I don't have to work but we're trying to buy a house by the end of the year. If we had that extra income it would help pay off our debt to get that house. Then I think about all of these people out there with families that lost their jobs. It's more important for them to be employed than it is for me and I think I might feel a little greedy taking it when someone else who actually needs it, didn't get it. At the same time, I would be pretty ecstatic at having a full time job again.

Lets see, other than trying to find a job not much has been going on. Same 'ol stuff I suppose. In an effort to seriously start saving money I've committed to making meals at home everyday (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and not buying things we don't need. I even got Ben to agree to not eating out at work and taking things from home instead. Including coffee. I set it to brew for him about 10 minutes before he leaves and he takes it in his thermos instead of buying it everyday at a coffee shop. Simple stuff, I know. But I have a bad habit of eating out and wasting money on things at the grocery store that don't get used/eaten. Not anymore! This wifey wants to be debt free and own a house.

Last night I made cherry cobbler. It was so yummy! The cobbler (which I think is the stuff on top- not the cherries) was a little thicker than I'd hoped. I felt like it should have had more cherries. Anyway, it was delicious. This week I plan on making some banana bread once the bananas are ready. I figure a slice for breakfast or something would be good.

Well, that's that. The wind outside is crazy. I'm not looking forward to taking Lani out to use the restroom...

She's improving, that's all I can ask for right now.

Today has been a good day. About an hour after I woke up Lani and I took a nice long walk- we were gone for an hour and 20 minutes. At one point we stopped at the beach and just sat on the sand for a while. I've been dying to go down to the beach by our place so it was great to be able to do that today. There were 2 other dogs there and Lani was very well behaved; it's so much easier to walk her now that we've found the right collar and have her wearing a doggie backpack. I can tell she's getting something out of it too.

She kinda lost it a little bit when we got close to our apartment and she saw an older gentleman walking his little dog on the opposite side of us. Of course Lani and I were looked at with disgust and amazement when they heard the sounds that came out of my dog. I hate when she goes nuts like that and I don't know what triggers it. I tugged on her collar, told her "no" and to "leave it," but it's like I'm not even there when she gets into that mode of hers. What mode that is I have no idea because I am 99% sure that she would never intentionally injure another dog. She has an aggressive side toward some dogs off the leash but it seems like that aggressiveness comes out to all dogs when she's on the leash. Unless of course it's a puppy or a really old dog- she loves puppies and is gentle with them and the seniors (hehe).
I'm just waiting for Cesar Milan to start accepting applications from northern california citizens so we can send in a tape and hopefully have him come and train my husband and I. Because remember, he "rehabilitates dogs and trains owners."

This is the Lani people see when we're out walking. The intimidating, focused, pitbull (she's really only part pitbull):

And this is the sweet, cuddly, cute, gray muzzled Lani my husband and I see every day:

02/14/09

Ben surprised me by taking me out to a very upscale restaurant in a town not too far away. Apparently the chef had appeared on Top Chef at one point! I thought that was pretty cool. I had the best filet mignon I have ever had- way better than the Outback Steakhouse! I also tried a few new things that evening, being that it was a 4 course menu of food I wasn't familiar with.

Our table had a rose, hearts, rose petals, and a candle on it. The entire restaurant was set up with dim lighting, pink and red balloons, and just very cozy and romantic.

We started off with complimentary champagne and slices of bread with a garlic butter spread. The bread was so fresh!

We were given hors d'oeuvres that included raw fish- something I'd never tried (and I didn't like it either).

Then we had an appetizer of our choice. I had the lobster bisque and Ben had a salad of some sort. I can't remember what exactly but it must have been good because he ate all of it. haha

For our main course we both had the filet mignon with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. It was to die for. Definitely not something I could do at home. I had dinner with a glass of cabernet savignon from a vineyard in the Santa Cruz mountains. Absolutely delicious.

Desert was chocolate mousse with a raspberry sauce served in a chocolate tea cup! Again, it was amazing. I couldn't finish the chocolate tea cup though.

And because my oh-so-loving husband booked our reservations under the Valentines Day package I took home 2 long stem roses and a little gift bag with some goodies inside.

All in all it was a great evening. We've never spent so much on a meal but it was worth it, I think. My hubby really stepped it up this year and it made me very happy.