Partying With One Year Olds...Not 20 Somethings

I guess when you get older your party invites turn from kegs and body shots to blue birthday cakes and Little Mermaid decorations. Yesterday Andy and I went to a one year olds birthday party. I will have to say this was my first invite to a friend’s child’s birthday party. I guess that’s what happens as you get older. The invitations to friend’s birthdays that end with a two day hangover turn to attending your friends kids birthday parties that are decked out in Little Mermaid and don’t include tequila shots. Andy and I had no idea what to get a one year old for her birthday. Whenever my niece or nephew has a birthday I just buy whatever my sister tells me to buy. It’s easy and I never have to stress out in a store because I am not up on the latest thing for children. Andy also had no idea because whenever he buys for his god kids he goes off the suggestions of their parents or his mom’s suggestions. This time Andy and I were on our own and it was scary. I wanted to make sure we got the little girl a great gift, even though she is only one and has no idea what’s going on. I decided to ask someone at work who is totally into babies and she gave the best suggestion of all…or so Andy and I thought. She said to go to Target and go to the one year old aisle and pick something out. Well, that sounds easy, but Andy and I got to Target and found out there are so many things in the one year old category that we just didn’t know what to do. The look on our faces was probably priceless and could probably say a lot about how much experience we have with this. After some time we settled on this stuffed dog that played music, flashed lights and was suppose to be some kind of a teaching tool. We showed up at the party with our thoughtful gift and we were ready to celebrate. I am looking around thinking…is this what happens when you turn 29…partying with one year olds and not 20 something year olds?

It's A Girl!

So, on Sunday I found a Boxer breeder in the area that has some puppies ready for an October 1st sale. They were so cute online that Andy and I decided to contact them. I know when we started this doggie journey we wanted a one year old rescue dog, but when I came across this website I just had to inquire about the puppies and go see them. We went to the breeder’s house tonight and as soon as we walked in I saw the puppies in the backyard and just melted like butter. We went to the back and met the puppies’ parents, which by the way are absolutely beautiful Boxer adult dogs. I immediately pet the mother and then bent down to meet her babies. I immediately was swarmed by six or seven puppies wanting attention. They were just so cute that I didn’t even know what to do. After watching the puppies for a while Andy and I picked out the puppy that was sleeping the whole time we were there. We picked the sleepy head over the cute rambunctious little girl. We stuck around for a little bit to hang out with our new baby girl. I then put down a deposit for her and we were on our way home. Of course we took a couple pictures before we left. Now, we are starting all over with puppy training and I am ok with that. Andy and I will start stocking up on puppy supplies as we think of a name for our new addition.

Madison Never Had A Chance

We have had Madison for a year now and we have thought she is a purebred Boxer, or at least I thought that since that is what Andy told me. Many people who have seen Madison would comment that she couldn’t be a full Boxer because of her snout, but I would always say she was. This past week while I was online a lot looking at all the different kind of dogs to see all my options for a second dog I noticed that Madison really didn’t look a lot like all the other purebred Boxer’s online. Sure, she resembled them, but her nose was different. Last week is when I came to the realization that there is no way she is a purebred and that is when I told Andy what I thought. He agreed, but we were unsure of the other breed she is mixed with. Of course I wanted to know what my dog is mixed with, so I was looking at a lot of pictures of mixed Boxers online and still didn’t know. Then, this past Saturday when we were in Petsmart a stranger commented to Andy on Madison’s good looks. She also mentioned that Madison is probably mixed with a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Interesting, since I knew nothing about this breed. Of course I looked this dog up online and saw a picture which resembled Madison almost to a tee. Yay, we found the other half that makes up Madison. I then looked up the temperament and anything else I could find on this breed. Let’s just say that I feel a Boxer mixed with a Rhodesian Ridgeback might not be the best idea as this mixture has no chance of ever being a well behaved dog. First, Boxers are known to be naughty and mischievous, plus their profile says that once Boxers get bored they will get into everything and become naughty. The profile also says that this breed is not for a first time dog owner. Then when I read about the Ridgeback I found out that when this breed is bored it becomes destructive. Yes, the profile actually called the Ridgeback to be destructive when it is left alone and becomes bored. I know about destructive as it can be defined by the site of our kitchen over this past year. The destructive mess Madison has made in there could tell many stories. The profile also says that Ridgebacks are also not for a first time dog owner either. Ok, since both breeds are generally naughty and troublesome why combine them? It’s like not even giving a dog a chance of even being remotely good. It’s like stripping all hope from this dog of ever becoming the “Harvard Grad” of all dogs! Nonetheless I feel that I figured out where my dog came from…a Boxer and a Ridgeback…and this explains all of her antics and bad behaviors over the past year. I can’t blame the dog now…she never had a chance! It's in her blood to be naughty.

Bubbles Just Isn't The One

We went to visit Bubbles today and unfortunately it did not work out. Bubbles is just too much for us. He makes Madison look like a saint. He was a very cute dog and there were other families there that were interested in him, so I am sure he will go to a great home. I just couldn’t say yes because he seemed too aggressive for me and for Madison too. I just didn’t want to have a dog like that in our small house. That’s ok though because that is what meetings are for. You meet the dog to see if it’s a good fit before you decide to make a commitment and take it home. Once we got home I was back online filling out an adoption application for our runner up choice at the AZ Boxer Rescue. I am confident we will find Madison a playmate, but it will just take time to find the right fit.

Bubbles Update

The adoption agency is working with Bubbles foster family to setup a time to meet us and Madison on Saturday. I am really looking forward to meeting Bubbles because he is so cute. I am sure that he and Madison will get along great, but I am concerned about two things that I learned today. One thing is that Shar Pei’s drool a lot and I am not a big fan of doggy drool. I am hoping that Bubbles has more Lab in him than Shar Pei to offset some of this disturbing doggy drool that I read about. Another thing is that I saw the Shar Pei Lab’s can get a little bigger than I thought. Bubbles description said he will be about 50 pounds, but I just want to see how big he is right now at 9 months. I just don’t want a humungous dog in the house. Madison is about 45 pounds so 50 won’t be bad, but that would be my maximum at doggy weight. If Bubbles doesn’t work out like I hope we did find a second choice on Petfinder. Her name is Punky and she is a Boxer who is about one year old. Seems to be the same age as Madison and absolutely adorable. It didn’t mention how she is around cats or much about her personality, so there would be a lot of questions there too. We will just start by meeting Bubbles sometime this weekend and go from there.

Let's Be Crazy and Add Bubbles

It’s a little scary to have two animal lovers be together as a couple and live in a house together. I say this because Andy and I both absolutely love all animals that I am afraid one day we will have our own zoo in our house. I do have a friend back in WI who has warned me of this zoo since Andy and I began dating. This love of animals drove me to do something crazy tonight. I was on http://www.petfinder.com/ looking at all the dogs around one year old in the Phoenix metro area that is in need of a home. I wonder why I did this knowing I have crazy Madison in the house that is out of control most of the time. I feel I did this because Madison needs a playmate and plus I want a normal dog. Not only did I peruse through http://www.petfinder.com/, but I also filled out an application tonight for Bubbles. He, yes Bubbles is a male, is a Shar Pei Lab mix, nine months old and absolutely adorable. Of course I did not pull an “Andy” when wanting to get this dog because I asked him how he felt about it. Of course Mr. Animal lover himself thinks this is a great idea. That comment then pushed me further to fill out the application and email into the animal rescue. About an hour later I was on Yahoo checking my email as if the rescue would actually email me back within the hour. Of course they did not, but I am sure I will be waiting patiently, or rather impatiently, tomorrow for an email or a phone call. I also feel that my recent change of only positive thoughts and vibes has had something to do with this insane doggie adoption. Even though my experiment has only been three days I do have to say my positive attitude has made a big difference in me and in Madison. Or, I could just be telling myself that. Anyway, below are pictures of Bubbles. Of course if he is the one who gets to become a part of the Czarnezki family then he will have a new name as I am not a fan of Bubbles. I couldn't see Andy calling a dog by the name of Bubbles either.

Day One of Testing Positive Vibes

Fall Sundays are booked for 4+ hours of Andy watching the Packer game at the Tilted Kilt (a bar in Scottsdale) with our friend Tom. I have always used this time as my “Jaimi time” which usually consists of working out, relaxing or just catching up on Lifetime movies. During the fall of 2007 it was never relaxing nor was it ever considered “Jaimi time” because I was always babysitting Madison as she was super naughty last Fall. Today was the first football Sunday that Andy was going to leave me with Madison and let’s say I was a little worried as I was looking forward to “Jaimi time” and I didn’t think I would get it while babysitting crazy. I will have to say she was much better than last year. I only cleaned up one pee mess in the kitchen and she only was wildly out-of-control for about 20 minutes. I did get to watch a full movie on Lifetime without any interruptions from crazy. I was pretty happy about this. Once Andy got home I decided to watch one of the many episodes of the Dog Whisperer that is on our Tivo. May of our friends have suggested we watch this show as it’s supposed to be really good at getting rid of dog’s bad behavior’s. We have been Tivo-ing this show for many months now, but neither of us has gotten around to watching a single episode. Today is the day I sat down to see what everyone has been talking about and to see if this show could even possibly help with our crazy dog Madison. I was very impressed with Caesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, and I feel that I learned something from it that could help with crazy. Caesar says that dogs can sense your feelings of anger, frustration, anxiety, etc. and they will react to them. I decided that maybe Madison has been able to sense my frustration (and possible hatred) towards her and it’s probably not helping her behavior. I am going to try my hardest to not be frustrated or angry with her so that way she will not be able to sense these feelings and only sense positive vibes. Apparently, dogs react to their owners and in order to change dogs you typically need to change something in the owners…so, I am going to change my negativity and only give off positive vibes. I will try this for a while and see if this helps with Madison’s behavior. I will keep everyone posted.

Remembering 9 11

Today is a day to remember the victims of 9/11 and their families. To remember the heroes who risked their lives going into the towers to rescue innocent victims and to remember the heroes who took over the plane that crashed into a field in Pennsylvania instead of another building. Many people will never forget that day rather they were close to one of the crash sites or they were far from it but watched every moment on television as they replayed the images of the planes crashing into the twin towers over and over again. I remember that sad day like it was yesterday. I was living back at my parent’s house at the time and I was getting ready for work when my dad yelled that a plane crashed into the world trade center. I ran to the TV to see what he was talking about. At that moment I thought it had to of been a mistake or something happened to the pilot for something like this to happen. Then, when the second plane hit that’s when I realized there was no mistake or accident, but it had to be intentional. As the nation was up in a frenzy I had to go to work. I was a teller at the credit union at this time and I spent most of my day watching the news in the break room. The break room of the credit union is where I learned about the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania crash too. It was a day I will never forget and I certainly hope nobody ever forgets that day in which America was under attack!

No Sanwich Talk For Me

My neighbor at work has been married for more than ten years and for the past many months he has been making me think that being married is unbelievably lame and just downright boring. He calls his wife at least twice a day and each phone call is on speaker phone blaring up and down the hallway. I don’t get why his wife has conversations with him while he is on speakerphone so that everyone can hear how lame their marriage is. Anyway, here is an example of their daily conversation.

Husband: “Hey, what are you doing?”
Wifey: “Nothing.”
Husband: “What did you eat for lunch?”
Wifey: “A sandwich.”
Husband: “What was on your sandwich?”
Wifey: “Turkey, lettuce and some mayo.”
Husband: “I had a sandwich too.”
Wifey: “What was on your sandwich?”
Husband: “Turkey and mayo.”
Wifey: “So, we both had a sandwich.”
Husband: “Now what are you doing?”
Wifey: “Nothing.”

I swear this is their daily conversation; however, you need to say it at a snail’s pace and then it will be more like what I hear every day. I just laugh my butt off throughout the five minute conversation. It did get me thinking though that this is what marriage is like. Is this really what marriage is like? If so I don’t know if I want to sign up for marriage, but I guess marriage is what you make of it. I don’t know if I could allow myself to get so boring as to reduce myself to sandwich talk. I don’t even ask Andy now about his lunch. I have no idea what he eats for lunch and I am ok with not knowing. I guess when I do get married I swear I will not raise the white flag to sandwich talk.

Happy 50th Birthday

So, it’s my mother’s birthday today and she turns 50, which is crazy because my mom can’t be 50 already. Where does the time go? I still remember living at home and attending high school like it was yesterday. Where have the years gone? I remember the days when 50 seemed unreachable and so old, but now that I am older 50 is just a number and it doesn’t seem so old anymore. Well, Happy Birthday mom and I hope you spend your young birthday doing something fun and special!

For her birthday I looked up the meaning of September 9th for her and this is what I came up with. This is to you mom…hitting 50 isn’t so bad…you can swap your heels for a pair of Velcro shoes now! :)

Your Birthdate: September 9

You are a born idealist, with more pet causes than you can count. You prefer be around others, both when working and while relaxing. Generous and giving, you believe you can change the world one person at a time. You're open minded and tolerant. People feel like they can tell you anything. Your strength: Your go-with-the-flow flexibility Your weakness: Your flair for the over dramatic Your power color: Pine green Your power symbol: Circle Your power month: September

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Another Reason I Like Living in AZ

Last night we went to our friend’s house for a Packer party. Granted I am not a football fan, nor can I keep the attention span long enough to watch a full game, but I do like a party. Our friend Tom just installed a flat screen TV outside on his patio. What better place to watch television? This is something you cannot do in WI because your TV would be ruined in 2.5 seconds due to the weather. A television could not last outside in the winters or the storms in the summer, but here in AZ you can watch TV outside all year round. I know this has been putting ideas in Andy’s head as he said he would love to mount a flat screen outside that way he can float in the pool with a beer while he watches some game on TV. He has been mentioning this quite a bit lately. I like the idea of other people doing it; however, I don’t think we have a big enough porch for this. This is just another reason to live in Arizona…watch television outside while you enjoy the beautiful weather!

Sideshow Freaks and Drunk Drivers

Well let’s just say Andy and I had quite the night filled with bad servers, sideshow freaks and drunk drivers. Quite the combination huh? Well, we started out the night having dinner with a couple we are friends with at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant and we had one of the worst servers I have ever had. I could go into a long list of reasons why she is bad, but I won’t because I know you will just trust me on this one. We then left the restaurant and ventured down to First Friday’s; which is an art walk in downtown Phoenix and it is suppose to be a place to enjoy art and purchase artwork from starving artists. Our friends who haven’t been there in a couple years told us how nice it is to do the art walk and check out all the local starving artists; however, a lot has changed in the last two years since they have been there. Let’s just say First Fridays is not for the local artists of Phoenix anymore, but instead it’s for all the sideshow circus freaks to come out and display what it’s like tripping on acid. Yes, you get the picture. From there we went to a bar called Cocomo Joe’s to watch a cover band. We each hand one drink and hung out for a while. We were tired and headed out about 11pm when we were sitting behind a motorcycle at a stop light on our way home. There was a Toyota Tacoma next to the motorcycle and the next thing I saw was a black Chevy truck coming full speed ahead at the Tacoma and rear ended him. There wasn’t much damage to the Tacoma, but the Chevy was completely mangled and was dripping a lot of liquid. The driver pours out of his truck and that is when I realized this guy is completely drunk. The driver was stumbling everywhere and mumbling obscenities to himself. The Tacoma driver was a young kid around 20 years old so I felt bad for him. While the drivers stayed in the street we pulled over into a parking lot while we waited for the cops to come so we can give a statement. Plus I wanted to see the drunk driver get hauled away for his stupidity. Next thing we saw the drunk driver got back into his truck and slammed the door shut and sped away fast. We hung out with the kid until the cops arrived. All I kept thinking is that it could have been us who got rear ended because Andy was behind the Tacoma and decided to change lanes just as he was approaching the light and sat behind the motorcycle. It’s pretty crazy and just reminds you not to drink and drive!

I hope You Find This As Funny As I Do

I feel the need to share this absolutely hilarious and ridiculous email with everyone. First, most everyone knows that I have a crazy ex-boyfriend who pops up now and again with random text messages and emails. This ex-boyfriend has some serious issues as he is the one who was physically and emotionally abusive. Well, let’s just say that yesterday was my day to receive a very random email from him. Usually I just delete these or ignore them because they are so random as they are about once a year. However, this one had me laughing so hard that I shared the email with everyone around me and now I am sharing it with you. First off, who would write such an email? Second off, who would write such an email and then send it to an ex-girlfriend who can't stand you? Ok, I am laughing as I am typing so I will stop the anticipation and just paste the email for everyone to read, laugh and say “what?”

Hi! I hope you are doing well.

I had to send you this picture. 9-10 years ago you said something to me that I have never forgotten. You said Brian, you workout everything on your body except your abs. You need to work them too!

And you were right. So every morning I get up and do at least 200-300 crunches and other abs exercises. For 31, I feel great!

So thank you :)



So, now I say “Where are the abs? I see no abs? I only see ribs!”

Theme Parties with Chatty Carl

In Arizona people have parties all the time; however, they are never just your basic party with food and beverages, but they always have to have a theme of some sort. When I lived in WI I never went to a themed party unless I was 8 and the theme was Barbie where images of Barbie were on the paper plates, cups and napkins. Since we lived here we have been invited to themed parties such as Trailer Trash, 80’s and even your worst sweater party. Andy hates themed parties because he thinks we should just be able to go to a party without dressing up or making a big deal out of it. I for one am all for themed parties, so Andy is a pretty good sport about them, especially when he dresses up for Halloween. Our latest was last night when we went to a Japanese themed birthday party for a good friend of ours who turned 35. The positive thing for Andy is that we didn’t have to dress up. Our friend’s wife is a corporate event planner so she knows how to throw themed parties and has all kinds of cute details. She had a Japanese paper in the bathroom next to the toilet and all the food was Japanese like sushi, pot stickers and spring rolls. Besides a full bar they also had saki bombers and pear saki shots. I wasn’t feeling good all weekend so I decided to be the designated driver while Andy had his fair share of saki bombers and shots. He turned into Chatty Carl that I spoke of in an earlier post. Again, I was very amused by this. He cracks me up when he drinks. About midnight when I was the last sober person at the party it was time to go since I could not hold a conversation with a single person at the party anymore. It was pretty funny to watch everyone turn into mush, but I was getting bored since I had no one to talk to since all the guests were making no sense. Our friend lives about 25 minutes from our house so it was a long (and comical) drive home with Chatty Carl in the passenger seat.