birthday flower

here is miss bella on her birthday. it was quite a challenge for her to hold still, look at me and let me take pictures of her with her flower headband on. the better pics are on my real camera, but this will have to do. so, happy birthday my sweet! i love you!! :D

happy birthday

to my sweet, furry, four-legged best friend...BELLA BEAN. today we will celebrate her 3rd birthday! i got her a new bed (for her inside lounging), some extra-sweet cookies, her spa day last week, and a pink flower headband...i love my furry Bean so much. :) enjoy these photos of my pretty girl!

easter 2011

fall 2010

summer 2009

4 mos - sept 2008

wordless wednesday

wordless wednesday

before the day gets away from me, here are a couple photos of bella. she's such a ham and always sits when i turn on the camera; she seems to like the scarf alright but seems to be giving me the evil eye once i put on the ear warmer. ;)

can't help but share

when i picked bella up from suite paws (for the wedding), i also picked up this super cute bandana. it's pink (so she won't be mistaken for a boy!) with hearts and skulls (for the pirate in her!) & so cute. isn't she pretty?!

my parents just e-mailed me photos from our christmas card photo shoot from thanksgiving weekend (my batteries are dead, so i have yet to pull the ones off my camera). i'm not sure which one will win, since i haven't seen them all, but here are a few that i think are particularly cute (of bella..). :)

getting set up...she really only poses if no one is in the picture with her.
her grandma (my mom) bought her the harlequin collar at ps. :)

Really, Mom? Another picture? I just want to play!

I love when she smiles. :)
This one might be the winner...

I have decided, however, that I won't be making my cards this year. My parents are coming this weekend (Sat-Sun), I'm in Raleigh/Greenville the following weekend (Thurs-Sun), and then it's Christmas. Poof! Just like that! The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas just seems to get shorter and shorter every year!

When good girls go bad...

they attack their cousin!

Just kidding...Ramses and Bella had a great play date on Sunday but man! Does she looks scary or what?!

wordless wednesday

:)

It all began on 8-8-08.

In anticipation of our one year anniversary next Saturday, I have some cellphone pics of my best friend to share with you. I love her and just can't imagine my life without her. :)

Watching tv.

Geez. I know I'm cute!
You're interrupting my show, mom!

She's not always the most obedient (but I let her be a carefree spirit) and it's a little awkward when she sniffs the butts and crotches of strangers, but she is just as adorable as the day I brought her home and a lot more cuddly. She's pretty much the perfect dog for me. We will definitely be at the dog park next weekend for some doggy fun!

My Birthday Will Be Memorable

...But not for reasons you may think. After work, I went to Northlake. This would've been okay on any other day, but this was not any other day. I opened the door and nearly passed out! Poor Bella had gotten sick in her crate (diarrhea) and was standing up (thank goodness she didn't lay down in it!). I will spare you the details, but essentially, I spent my birthday taking care of/cleaning up after Bella. We stuck her outside while we cleaned the inside, and once darkness came, she threw up outside. Poor baby. We left her out on the balcony while we went out for a little bit and came home to a damp dog (it had poured right before we were going to leave--oops!). She felt a bit better I could tell, so I let her sleep inside, in her crate.

Yesterday morning, I took her to the vet and had to wait for 2 hours. I ended up leaving her at the vet for x-rays. I picked her up and she was so excited to see me! It was so cute. So, pretty much she just had an upset stomach and was dehydrated. So, she's on prescription food and has a camel hump and goes back in a week. ...She better be feeling better $350 later. ...

I may be hurting now but financial wealth seems unimportant whenever I look at this face! She is absolutely the sweetest ever without (hardly) a mean bone in her body..except when she hogs the bed. Even at ~70lbs., she still melts my heart. I love her. :)

what really happened...

This is a perfect example of why it sucks to have the planner's mentality...To have the whole weekend planned out only to have the rug pulled from beneath your feet when your best friend calls to bail on a weekend that's been planned for nearly a month. Here's a real recap of what went down this weekend. Even without Adina, it still turned out to be pretty kick-ass.

Friday night, Matt (the one on the left; we met at the dog park) & I went to Stooly's. So, I still got my Blue Moon. :D

Saturday, I didn't take Bella to PetSmart nor did I go to the pool. It had rained pretty much all day Friday, so it was still soggy and cloudy Saturday; so, I laid around, watched baseball and took a nap. Later, Brent came and we went to Verizon to see these guys:

We missed The Sounds, which is okay. Paramore was pretty good but man! No Doubt was AWESOME!! Of all the concerts I've been too, I rank last summer's Tom Petty show as #1. No Doubt is a very close 2nd. It was awesome.

Sunday, I watched the ECU/UNC game. Darn Tarholes. We'll get 'em next year! After the game, I cleaned the kitchen and both bathrooms and showered. Then, I took Bella down to the Davie Dog Park to meet Matt and his dogs, Diesel and Bruce:

Bella had a great time of course..She laid in the mud and even got her nails clipped (Matt did it for me). She's such a sweetheart. Needless to say, she was pooped when we finally got home. Matt was sweet and brought me a lily (Easter lily) stem. He works for a landscaping company and I had told him my thumb is green; that usually I can keep bouquets alive for at least 2 weeks..So he's daring me to keep it alive for 2 weeks. We'll see. I had to put it in the trunk while we were at the park so one bloom has already wilted a little bit...

Oh yeah, my cyst behind my ear came back. It showed up Saturday morning in all its glory and hurt like hell. But, Sunday night/Monday morning, somewhere between 2 and 4:30, it started to drain. YUCK. So, my lobe is still swollen and tender to the touch but my ear looks more "normal". I do have band-aids on it just in case it should decide to drain while I am at work. My dad's upset it came back and wants me to find a different doctor to go to...I agree but this time is also the fastest it's shown and and drained too........

This week, I need to wash my car. The Phantom has been getting pelted by the birds and really needs a bath. I think I'm going to do it tonight after work. Laundry...and packing for Raleigh on Thursday night..This week will be punctuated with a trip home on Friday. :D

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week!

Photo Updates...

This is how Paige proposed...I be her MOH. :)

Bella loves to hang out under the futon.
She'll have to give it up when I get a "grown up" sofa.

A sweet treat for the birthday girl. :)

Easter Weekend

Bella has been at Brent's house since Friday. I miss her! He took her with him so that on Saturday I would be able to drive straight from Charlotte to Fuquay to go wedding dress shopping with my mom and sister at Enchanting Moments. It would have been completely out of my way...especially with my punctuality issues. It ended up working out and I ended up beating my mom and Paige to the shop and arriving on time, precisely at 2pm. So, I started out my MOH duties on a good note. :) She didn't buy her dress because she was in love with two; and, since it was the first day actually trying on dresses. She wants to look at a couple other places before she makes up her mind. She looked absolutely gorgeous in both. They are two completely different styles so I'm sure that makes the decision tough. The second one is a more traditional gown. When the woman put her veil on, I started to lose it. Then, when she tried it on again with the veil, she gave Paige a bouquet. I really lost it and had to leave the room. My sister is getting married!! (& in less than 8 months!)

We were at EM for 3 hours! Paige rode back with me to Briar Creek so we could get some grub. We ate at Red Robin. I do love me a chocolate malt shake, especially with some whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. :) Then, Paige left and I followed Mom to Triangle Town because she'd seen a dress that she thought I'd like at Macy's. I was tired of driving and just plain driving but I know my mother has missed her shopping buddy so I appeased her. The dress turned out to be much cuter than what she was describing and it fit! It's linen, just above the knee. The body is ivory with a chocolate band at the bottom and a scooped collar (it's sleeveless), with brown flowers/green centers with a few green beads sewn into the centers. It was on sale and my mom had a $10 off coupon so it ended up an even better deal! And, the green cardigan I already own (from my last shopping adventure at Ann Taylor Loft) is practically the same color as the green centers. :) I love it when that happens. After that, we came home & watched The Ten Commandments (or whatever it was) and I passed out on the couch.

Sunday was Easter, of course. I met my folks + Paige & Paul at church. We came back and had a nice lunch and a small Easter egg hunt for Paige and I (the Easter Bunny is definitely getting slack on his clues!). P&P left to go to some CF get-together and I packed up my spring wardrobe and headed back to Charlotte.

I am planning to pick Bella up from Brent's tonight, but he may have to go to a game in Raleigh (they are recruiting a guy from Cardinal Gibbons -ack! ack!) so he wouldn't be home til 8 at the earliest...We'll see. She may have to miss me for one more day................

I told myself this one wasn't going to be another LONG entry..Next time, I'll keep it short! :) Hope everyone had a blessed Easter weekend and a good start to the new week.

9 Months...

Sunday was Bella's 9 month birthday (our 6 months' anniversary).

Here's a picture of her with the squeaky cheeseburger Brent's mom bought for her.
She did not want to sit still! She wanted to PLAY!

Remarkably, it has been almost 2 weeks and it is still in one piece!

Snow Dog

When Brent and I arrived in Charlotte from our whirlwind weekend trip to Illinois/Indiana, we found a snow-covered wonderland and a very excited puppy! Originally, I was just going to chance it and have Bella tough it out (a tad cruel, I know) but with our cancelled flight, I am REALLY glad I got her a sitter. I used Meow & Fetch, and had a husband-wife team that just adored Bella (It's hard not to, I know). So, while I knew that she'd been cared for while we were gone...I could tell she missed me.

So, while Brent crawled under the blankets, I took Bella out to play in her first snow (I don't count the first one--it didn't stick around for longer than a day). She had a great time...I dug her two tennis balls out of the bush (that she dropped off the balcony weeks ago) and even found her old Mr. Wiggles. He was hard as a rock! That's him in the photo below, where it looks like she has thumbs! :)

Busy Week

This week is certainly a busy week. On the work side of life: myself and another co-worker (who started the same day I did) are part of the county's efforts to save money and avoid layoffs and as a result are being redistributed downstairs?. We start Monday, yet we have no idea where, what, for whom and how. So, I'm using this week to tie up any loose ends (make sure files are closed in the system and filed away; organized my open files & in general, cleaning & organizing my desk/office) so that everything is in order come Monday.

On the personal side of life: I finally get my cyst removed tomorrow (on my lunch hour no less!). The doctor better not waste my time tomorrow (last time I had to wait 20 minutes just for him to come in, I could've had it out last time)...Can you feel my frustration?! Poo on specialists!
Bella goes to the vet Friday to find out if her mange has healed or if we have to continue with the needle/suringe routine. My hope is that it hasn't gotten worse....

This weekend = Chicago with Brent. Our flight leaves at 6am Saturday morning for Chicago. We take a turbo plane from Chicago to Champaign (Did you know the University of Illinois has its own airport?!). There's a reception and a basketball game where the school will recognize the players at halftime and then apparently, the party begins! I am really excited, and happy to be apart of this aspect of Brent's life...but I'm NERVOUS! For one thing, I'm the world's worst packer--even for overnight visits + we're flying and there are rules involved. Like, I thought, 'I can pack it all in one suitcase and then I can just take it with me and not have to check it.' Then Brent tells me that the type of plane we take from Chicago, they don't allow luggage in the plane, you only get your purse and coat. Yikes! AND the other thing...I'm meeting his family (parents, brother, sister-in-law, etc.)...I'm nervous! Wish me luck!! :)

P.S. Props to the ECU Baseball team for sweeping Monmouth last weekend on the opening weekend of NCAA Division I play. :) YAY PIRATES!

Valentine's Day

This year was different than others in recent years past because I had a valentine. Brent sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers (white daisy mums and pink roses--see above) at work. I was the only one to get flowers. :) Bella and I drove up to Hickory Friday night. Brent made a fire and we sat outside, sipping some mixed beverages while Bella had a hayday (haynight?) with the number of logs/sticks/twigs at her disposal; which, also provided us with nonstop laughter. Side story: Bella loves big sticks (ones that are much longer than she is). At one point, she tried to bring her "stick" (really a tree limb) into the house. She was coming in, but had the stick in her mouth so she rammed into the house with the stick. Priceless.

Saturday night, Brent came back from his game around 6:30 and surprised me with 8:30 reservations at Table 220, downtown. He was sneaky...He picked up flowers and took them to the restaurant to be put on the table before we arrived. Very sweet! :) After dinner, we stepped next door to the Tap Room for a couple brews before heading back to the house. Sunday, he had a game & I cleaned up the house a bit (since Bella's shedding like a beast!) before we ate lunch. Unfortunately, I didn't feel too great afterwards. He was very sweet and ran out for ginger ale and 7up. I stayed Sunday night too and got up in the wee hours Monday to drive back to Charlotte for work.

It was a great Valentine's Weekend up until Sunday night...even though Sunday night was still great since I got to spend more time with him. :) Sounds like everyone else had great Vday weekends too!

Next up: Cyst Removal (FINALLY!!) on Wednesday 2/25; NCISAA Basketball Championships @ Charlotte Country Day (Ravenscroft reunion?) 2/26; Bella to Banfield 2/27 to find out if she still has mange (even though she sure does love her drugs!)..& Chicago on Saturday 2/28! :)

Vacation

Happy 66th Birthday to dear old Dad!

Today/tonight, Brent is coming to Charlotte to hang out with me since his class was cancelled and I won't be around this weekend. I'm thinking of asking Brent to be my valentine. How cheesy but fun! <3

Apparently we both have things to share/ask/say to each other. I'm trying to be patient, but I want to know! ;)

I am taking Friday and Monday off from work for a much needed break. I feel like I'm a short fuse lately at the office and need to get away and relax. So, Bella and I are headed to Raleigh! I'm getting my eyebrows waxed Saturday morning and making a much needed visit to the dentist on Monday. The intent of the visit is also to help my mom with the house and to purge in my room too...and there will probably be some mother-daughter shopping time squeezed in there too. :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend! See you next week!

p.s. Bella graduated from her intermediate class last night! Whoop-whoop! :)

Weekend Update

Friday afternoon, I drove to Hickory to eat lunch with Brent. He gave me a quick tour of the LR campus before we hit Panera. That was the extent of the visit. I was there about an hour (I had planned to leave Charlotte earlier..but the morning got away from me). It was short, but definitely sweet. I don't want to jinx myself, but I think there might be some potential with this one.

While I was gone, I think Bella figured out where I was and acted out her jealousy. She pulled my cushion off the keyboard and ripped off the 8 covered buttons (it was a tufted cushion from Anthropologie). I was okay with that..but while I was cleaning (my sister was coming!), I turned around to find she had gnawed on one of my dining chairs. To say she was lucky to already be in her crate, is an understatement because that is most certainly where she would have been..with no toys! It was decided that whenever I went to see Brent, she'd be with me or in her crate.

My sister came into town that night. We got Chinese and watched...? I don't remember. We were both pretty tired and conked out around midnight. Saturday, we went to the Mint Museum to see the Warhol and Couture exhibitions; dinner with Leah at Bourdeaux's in NoDa and then to a theatre on Park to see Slumdog Millionaire. That's the first movie I've gone to see in over a year. But it was a good pick. It was definitely a dramatic comedy..I'd highly recommend it. Paige left about 1:30 on Sunday.

For the rest of my Sunday, I drove back to Hickory because it was their season opener double-header. We didn't get up there til just after the second game began. I took B and she loved it...although she would've loved it more if I'd have let her off her leash. ;) We waited for Brent after the game and then went back to his house to drop off B before going to dinner. I left around 9:45. I woke up to the remains of the baseball Brent had given Bella. While I was sleeping, she was dismantling the ball on the bed, on the floor, under the bed.... ;)

All in all, a pretty great weekend. Hope everyone had a great one too.

3 hours...

For 3 hours on Saturday, I anxiously watched and waited (and yelled) until the final seconds ticked off the clock before I threw up my hands and said, "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" ECU beat Tulsa to claim the title of Conference USA Champs! The Pirates will be headed to Memphis, TN (hmm...roadtrip?!) to play Kentucky in the Liberty Bowl on January 2nd. I am so PROUD to be a PIRATE!

Saturday morning, I took Bella to the Reedy Creek dog park for her first time. She was so cute. She was petrified for the first 5-10 minutes, hovering in the corner with her tail between her legs while the other dogs came up and sniffed her. After awhile, the fear went away and she found her legs. We stayed for an hour or so (had to get back for the game!), came home and I put her immediately in the tub for a much needed bath. I promised her if it doesn't rain this week, we can go back next weekend. :)

I am anxiously awaiting PAY DAY so I can get our picture printed and buy/make our cards and get them mailed. That'll be the project for this weekend...I'll let you know how they turn out.

Post-Thanksgiving

We had a pretty nice Thanksgiving this year. Bella and I got to my folks' early enough to help make a couple dishes (total shocker for my mom!). Joe arrived around 1:15, followed by Paige and Paul around 1:30. We munched and talked while Mom and Dad were fiddling with the turkey, that came out too soon and had to be put back in. We had a great spread, the usual, but still yummy: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, yams, green beans oriental, yummy fruit salad, cranberry sauce (at Joe's request). Later, pumpkin pie and carrot cake. It was delicious! :) Paige, Paul and Mom had fun making music in the living room while I watched football with my dad and Joe. My mom said Paul got extra points for bringing his new guitar with him! I wish I would've taken a picture!
Friday, I spent the day with my mom and Bella spent the day with my dad. My dad raked the entire yard and let Bella hang out. He said she had a great time running through his piles of leaves and at one point, even stole his rake that he'd left on the ground! :) Needless to say, when she came inside, she couldn't stay on her feet she was so exhausted. She'd sit up in her crate and basically slide down in exhaustion. It was really funny and super cute! :) Saturday, I went to the fabric outlet off Capitol with my mom and got a couple swatches. I intend to recover the blue chair (again...since Bella went to town on my incomplete upholstery project a couple months ago!). So, we'll see. That will be my January project perhaps. And that's where the "great" parts of the holiday end.

P.S. The Conference USA East Division Champs, the East Carolina Pirates will be playing Tulsa on Saturday in the conference championship game, 12pm on ESPN2! AARRGGHH!! :)