Friday, yay

I'm a mess. I've been sick for over a week and now I have a tooth ache, what the heck? So I've been a little miserable for the last couple days and quite negative, I didn't want to subject my blog to that. Although, I think I just did.

Well, we did it. We took on a car payment, ugh. I feel like a hypocrite, here I talk about how we are paying off debt and living by Dave Ramsey, then we go buy a car, which is the worst thing you can do. The funny thing is I don't feel that guilty about it. We bought a 2007 Murano and it came with a 100,000 mile warranty. The warranty is huge for us, we're tired of having car problems and forking over a million dollars to fix it. Well, not quite a million, but close.
Anyway, she's very pretty. The color was my first choice and I'm thrilled about it, it's called Merlot and it's a deep burgundy color. Very pretty :-)

I haven't taken a picture, but this is what she looks like:

Well, Lance moved out :( I'm not sure if it was because MJ kept going number 2 in front of his door or if it was my constant nagging, "Turn off the lights!" Just kidding, he moved in with my dad to save money which I totally understand. I am really glad he stayed with us for a few months, it was fun to hang out with him again, just like when we were growing up.

So since I've been sick I haven't been able to cuddle and kiss Austin which is just killing me. They came over on Monday night to BBQ and after we ate, our entertainment was Austin. He laid on the couch and had us totally enamored with all his stories and smiles. We took about 407 pictures, which I would post some of but I'm at work. Brandi caught a cute one of Austin smiling up at me while we talked, it was pretty much the cutest thing ever. I have no idea what I'm going to do and blog about when they move to New York in a month.

Oh, I finished The Host by Stephenie Meyer and loved it. It was different than Twilight, but still very good. Speaking of Twilight, I got some of my neighbors to read it for our new book club. Last Friday we went over to our neighbors house that we just met, there were 4 couples including us. One of the girls mentioned she wanted to start a book club and would we be interested? I was like, "Heck yes! And I have a book you guys HAVE to read." So Twilight is our first book we're reading and I'm so excited. I'm going to read it again to freshen up and because I miss Edward and Bella. One of the gals said when she went to purchase the book the gal at the register said, "I'll see you in a few days when you buy the rest of the series." Haha, I love it, it's so true. Only 2 months until Breaking Dawn comes out, yessss.

Well that about sums things up for me, I've gotta go blow my nose :-)

Happy Birthday Mom!

I love you mom, because you....

love me unconditionally
are always willing to go out of your way to help
support me in everything I do
"get" me
let me vent anytime I need to
taught me responsibility
instilled values in me
are a perfectionst
always go the extra mile
let me shop in your closet
believe in me
ARE YOU!

Happy Birthday Mom!

MJ-Everyone's Best Friend

Brian and I got MJ over 3 years ago, when she was 10 weeks old. Growing up I had no animals, not even a gold fish, so I was thrilled to be getting my very own dog. I heard how much work they can be, but was blindsided by her overwhelming cuteness. Brian and his friend Shane went to pick her up while I was at work. We discussed names and Shane actually brought up Maxine Jr. Brian's Dad had a dog named Max who had just passed away. So it seemed fitting, MJ for short. When I first saw that little white puff ball I was totally in love, she was the cutest dog there ever was. She licked me right away which I took as a sign she knew I was her mother and loved me unconditionally-I now realize MJ licks anything, anyone, anywhere, at anytime.
Potty training was hard-for me. Brian is incredibly patient and knew it would take time, I on the other hand didn't understand why she wasn't potty trained in the first 24 hours. It was simple, go to the door and I will let you out. What's so hard about that? Oh boy did I have a lot to learn. She gradually learned although it would be a good year before she stopped having regular accidents.
Right away MJ was a good sleeper. She slept through the night without whining or barking-I consider myself very lucky as I've heard horror stories.
MJ was quiet from the very beginning, instead of barking MJ licked. I always imagine what MJ would do if we had an intruder: wag her tail furiously and lick them to death. For the most part she is still not a barker, she does bark when she sees other dogs and right before she goes to the bathroom. We like to think she's annoucning to the neighborhood that she's about to go the bathroom so please give her some privacy, unfortunately it does quite the opposite.
MJ loves people. I mean loves people. She truly thinks she is one of the grandkids when we go to my parents house, and is treated so. She would rather be with people than other dogs, which ends up looking very snobby on her part. Although, she loves Brandi and Chris' dog, Malise, most likely because she spends so much time with her. It warms my heart to walk in the door from work and be greeted with such excitement, she comes running over and wags her tail so much I fear it will fall off. Then she gives as many kisses as she can get in-which is usually quite a bit, sneaky little thing.
Brian and I love this dog more than anything, she is truly our first little baby and completes our little family.....for now.

Can you just hear MJ saying: "Really mom, candy canes?"

MJ definitely has her spots in the house where she lays, usually it's on a blanket or a shirt of ours that we leave on the floor (which never happens). She always has to be on the highest point or on a pillow-such a princess.
MJ loves our neighbor Chris, I think because he constantly pets her and lets her lick him. She will be so sad when they move this summer.
One of the things I love about MJ is her easy-going nature. She is so good with kids and that is very reassuring.
Again, MJ thinks she is a person and has no problem taking my seat or my side of the bed :)
I can't help but dress up this adorable dog in costumes, she was the cutest bumble bee ever. I'm not sure she agrees though...

MJ loves to help Brian with his homework, or maybe it's the fact she gets to look out the window at Brandi and Chris' house in hopes for a glimpse of Malise. Either way, it's adorable.
When MJ plays with her toys she has to have a blanket, again she's a princess. But it's pretty funny to watch because most the time she uses the blanket to bury and hide her toy and then backs up and dives at it. I love it.
Again, she is treated like a grandchild, hence the reason she is looking longingly at my Dad in this picture:

Our little family

Plans change

I'm definitely a planner. Brian and I both like to plan and talk about the future, map things out, that kind of thing. When things don't go as planned I am trying to be better about rolling with the punches, Brian is already pretty good at this. Well, yesterday morning we had a curve ball thrown at our plans and I handled it better than I thought I would.
I went to start the BMW, ugh. It barely started and when it did the whole car was shaking and did not sound good. When I called Brian he was 99% sure he knew what the problem was, it is of course a $3000 problem, or somewhere around there. We have spent quite a bit of money on this car already and I don't think throwing more money into it is financially the best thing to do. So where does that leave us? I'm not really sure.
Brian is currently driving the Bug to work, then we have our beloved Black Widow-a little pick-up truck from the 80's. So, we could sell the BMW and I could just drive the Black Widow [our nickname, that's not the actual make and model, because I know you thought that ;)] to the park and ride lot in town since I do the vanpool. That actually sounds doable to me and I don't mind at all. However, we planned on getting an SUV as our next car in the future and are wondering if we should roll with the punches and get it now. Then sell the Black Widow because we're not even sure why we have it in the first place, and trade in the BMW. I don't think Dave Ramsey would like that option. I'm pretty sure he would tell us to drive the Black Widow. Who wants to go from no car payments to a car payment anyway? We've worked so hard to pay off debt and it feels discouraging tacking on another car payment. On the other hand, the Bug and Black Widow don't really cut it, especially when it comes time to start a family. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to put a baby in the Black Widow, and the Bug, well it's a cute car but is not car seat friendly. So eventually we are going to have to get another car and it seems more efficient to do it now since it is needed.
We researched a bunch of options yesterday online and will be going car shopping on Saturday. It seems crazy to think we could have a different car in a few days, that part is exciting. The part that makes me want to hurl is thinking of a car payment. Ick.

Pictures

I am so grateful the sun is out today and is suppose to be this whole weekend. I am thrilled, Brian and I plan on taking full advantage by spending as much time outside as possible doing yard work, riding our bikes, or playing tennis. The last item would require that we get some rackets and balls.

Brian's mom sent me a card with her sympathies about my grandmother passing away, it was so sweet of her. When I opened the card there was money in there and I looked at Brian wondering why their family sends money when someone passes. But then I read the card and almost started crying. When her loved ones had passed away she purchased a plant or outside decoration to put in her yard that reminded her of them. So she wanted me to go purchase something that reminded me of my grandma and put it in our yard. I just thought it was the sweetest thing and I am looking forward to finding that special item.

I wanted to post some pictures from Porter's birthday party, which was almost 3 months ago, but better late than never right?

Here is Porter opening his presents, Cassidy is smiling at the camera right beside him :)

All the girls being adorable, Schuyler's brother's kids were there along with Jaime and Schuyler's neighbors kids. They all had a blast. Randy (stepdad) showed them how to make hats out of tissue paper, who knew kids didn't require toys?!
Cassidy was on "TV"
Porter devouring his cupcake, he gets in a zone when he eats that cracks me up! He's such a good eater and is in no hurry to finish, he's always the last one at the table.

Well, have a wonderful weekend, Happy Friday!

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Have you seen the Twilight trailer? I'm assuming everyone has read the Twilight series because it is the best series EVER. If you haven't seen the trailer head over to youtube.com and search: Twilight Official Trailer. The movei going to be sooooo good. I heart Robert Pattinson.
I bought Stephanie Meyer's new book, The Host. I haven't really started it yet, but I will this week, it's a good size book.

Lance bought the second season of The Office (he has the 1st and 3rd, both of which we watched in 2 days) so we watched a lot of that this weekend. We'll finish it up tonight, that show absolutely cracks me up. I never thought I could find something to replace Friends, but The Office is doing a spectacular job!

This week looks like the sun is going to grace us with it's presence and I could not be more excited. I would really like to spend more time outside and lately the weather has not been friendly to that.

Work is work. Brian's commute is not horrible and fortunately he doesn't get home too much later than I do. He is still busy with homework and doing a great job, I'm just so proud.

I spend my time figuring out how I can make enough money by just blogging. I figured out it's possible, I just need to win the lottery. I hear it's pretty good odds to win the lottery, right?

This Saturday Brian is hosting a poker tournament in our garage, I know he is very excited about it. I'm thinking I might head over to Brandi's to visit with her and hold Austin, the testosterone at my house might be too much to handle. But I'm close enough that if the house catches on fire I will see it right away :)

Alright, I'm just rambling so I think I'll stop while I'm ahead! Happy Monday.

Delsa A Robison

My grandmother passed away April 26th, 2008. We drove over to Boise (about an 8 hour drive) for her funeral on Sunday and stayed until Wednesday.
It was so wonderful to be with supportive and loving family members while we said our goodbyes to a beautiful woman. My grandma had the sweetest disposition about her and I am going to miss her so much. A few weeks ago I received a letter in the mail from her with a picture of my cousin and I when we were little. She just wrote a quick note and wanted me to have the picture. I wrote her back and told her all about Brian and I and what we were up to, which consisted of work and yard work! I am so happy I wrote her that letter to tell her how we were doing and that I loved her. I had no idea it would be the last letter I sent.
My grandma was always thoughtful and concerned with how everyone was doing. She never missed a birthday and I looked forward to receiving her birthday cards as they always had the sweetest messages in them.
As sad as I am to lose my grandma, it helps to think she is finally reunited with my grandpa after 11 years. She missed him terribly and I know she must be so happy to be with him again. She lost her daughter (my aunt) a few years ago and I know that was so hard for her, it must be a glorious reunion for them.
Thank you for your constant love and support grandma, I love you to the moon and back!