2010 in Review

Can you believe today is the last day of 2010?

This year flew by.

Here are some highlights of this awesome year!

January

We were in Boston to ring in the New Year!

February

I was living in Cary, NC with Danny's family.

We bought a car. Celebrated Valentines Day at CiCi's Pizza (classy!)

And I went back to Boston to finish planning our wedding!

March

I had an awesome Bridal Shower and Bachellorete Party!

    

We were married on March 13, 2010!

You can read all the wedding posts here! 

After living with Katie for a little bit we were finally able to move into our first apartment!

April

We celebrated our first Easter together.

I got another (hippie) tattoo.

We brought a super cute puppy home!

May

We discovered our favorite restaurant, The Chelsea.

I took some tests for Danny. 

Miley went to the beach for the first time!

 

 Lindsey came to visit! And we saw a comedy show in Wilmington with Breanna.

Miley was spayed....and we went to Ohio!

June

Kaleb visited for two weeks!

We went to Boston for my Uncle's wedding!

And I complained about Call of Duty.

  July

 I complained about my neighbors.

We watched an airshow on the 4th of July in New Bern.

Miley discovered the bathtub.

I hungout with bloggy loves Reina and Jordan!

And the best part of July? My sister came to visit and we saw Paul McCartney in concert! We got tattoos. And we went to Myrtle Beach!

  August

I met three bloggy loves...Amber, Carmen and Allie!

 I bitched about homecomings. 

Me and Danny went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg.

We went to Myrtle Beach..AKA The Vacation from Hell.

 September

 Danny turned 28...and I made him lobster.

I cut all my hair off and trashed my wedding dress!

My Mom and Nana visited while Danny went to Pennsylvania to "work."

 

And we went to the Wine Festival!

October

I had a couple Girls Night Outs and met bloggy loves Rachel, Jacque and Jennifer!

My parents came down for a visit!

We went to Beerfest with Carmen and Mike!

We had Katie's Bridal Shower!

  And we went to a Halloween party at Jennifer and Dustin's!

 

November

 An Xbox fell on my head.

We went to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Myrtle Beach!

Danny was on TV!

I went to Boston for my Grandparent's 50th Wedding Anniversary!

We went to Ohio for Thanksgiving.

December

I turned the big 2-5!

And we spent 10 awesome days in Massachusetts for the holiday!

 

That was a little longer than I intended...

but I loved looking at all the pictures!

And I'm crossing my fingers that 2011 is as amazing as 2010 was!

Santa's Helpers

These two spoiled pups are ready for Santa to be here!

I have...

been awake for way over 24 hours.

But I get to look at these two faces, so I'm okay with that!

 The cousins had a morning filled with stealing toys, drinking the Christmas tree water,

and running around like mad women!

And now they are passed out!

Wait...it's only 9AM?

This is going to be a long day!

I think it's time for a nap.

Fed Up.

I'm seriously done with this dog. I'm sick of being barked at because I'm trying to make a grocery list. I'm sick of listening to whining because I can't always be rubbing her belly. I can't turn my back because Christmas presents have been destroyed. I'm done.

I'm sick of my things being destroyed. Never Danny's. Phone charger, two phones, computer charger. My favorite pair of shoes. My favorite pair of jeans and shorts. Not to mention my favorite autumn decorations. I've rearranged my living room three times to make living easier. I can't have her on the back of the chair near the window because she sees/barks/whines at everything.

I've tried every-single-one of your recommendations. Crate training, clicker training, the Kong, backpack for walks, spray collar, daily walks, and many more things. The only thing I haven't tried is a professional trainer. And honestly, I can't see spending the money when she hasn't proved to me that she can learn anything. She knows her name when it's convenient for her, she never comes when she is called.

My neighbors probably thing I beat her. I've given up on the "calm" commands...I've resorted to yelling. She doesn't care, her tail still wags. She doesn't get it. I've tried the "hit with the newspaper not your hand" approach. Yea...put the newspaper down and she will attack it.

I understand that she needs attention. But I wanted a dog not a child. I'm home all day, everyday...and apparently that's still not enough. When Danny was working days I was "relieved" at 5:30. She behaves when he is here. But with this new schedule...I never get a break. Ever. And it's getting worse. Is there a such thing as "Bring Your Dog to Work Day?" If not, I'm starting it. I need a break!

I'm calling the vet tomorrow. Maybe she can get some meds. If not, maybe I can get some. I'm losing my mind. And at the top of Miley's Christmas list is "calming treats."

It's been recommended that we "find her a new home." Has anyone ever done that before? I don't think I have it in my heart to give her away. You can't just give an animal away that you have has become a member of your family.

I've heard that some dogs are puppies until they are 18 months old. That means I have 6 more months of this!

What would you do? HELP!

An Actual Update...

I haven't given an actual life update..I have mostly been complaining about my dog. So, this is what has been going on in my life.

It started raining Monday morning, it's now monsooning out. There is a flood warning until tomorrow morning at 6AM..it will probably be extended.

Tuesday night starting around 8:30 a creditor called Danny's cell phone. It seems sketchy to me, we have money to pay off what he owes but they wanted our bank account number to accept the payment. No, thank you. The good news is, I didn't freak out. I had a plan...until the creditor decided to pull this on us...We asked for them to send a letter and we would mail a money order or something. They said they couldn't do that. See why it seems sketchy?

Wednesday I went to the dentist, I need my wisdom teeth out. Wednesday night while watching Survivor something hit our window, it looks like a bullet. Danny said no, it's a rock. Whatever, either way...I had to contact the landlord and now I'm waiting for maintenance to come look at it. Also Wednesday night, we got into a stupid fight about things we can't control. It's our biggest stressor, I lose my cool, he just shuts down and doesn't answer at all. It's frustrating and this is the reason why I want to do the Love Dare. If anyone has a book I could borrow, I would love you forever!

This morning while it was down pouring Miley ate 7 birth control pills. So, not only did I have to worry about how it would effect my dog...I had to worry about me not having birth control (that I just bought....lovely.) I called the ASPCA poison hotline, they wanted to charge me $65 just to find out what was wrong. I hung up and called Mom in tears. I think she called human poison control, they said Miley would be fine. As for me, since I didn't have birth control anymore, I figured that might be a good idea to make my first doctors appointment using TriCare. Okay, except I call the Naval Hospital and they tell me that even though I have registered for TriCare, I have to register in the administrative offices before I can get an appointment. Um, hello...didn't I basically do that when I signed up for TriCare? So, now I need to do that...ASAP. Lucky for me, Miley saved me pills for the next 3 days, then I'm effed for five days...arg. (I get my pills from Planned Parenthood in Raleigh a little far away to just go pick them up...especially when its monsooning.)

Around 11:30 this morning, I decided that I understand why people drink heavily. I so badly wanted to break into a bottle of wine. For the record, I didn't. But I considered it seriously.

So...now does it make sense why I haven't updated anything? The good news is, the week can only get better...unless of course the creditor calls back, my house floods, they tell me its my fault the window is cracked, or my dog gets sick.

Okay, now that the rant is done..I promise only positive posts!

Stess: All Time High

Thanks to my dog. Miley might look cute and innocent but she is awful. Absolutely awful.

We have had Miley for a little over five months. I believe she will be 1 in November, atleast that's what the vet is estimating. So, I know she is still a puppy. I know she is going to have puppy habits. But seriously, this girl is going backwards instead of forward.

I should have known she was going to be hard to break her bad habits. From the very first weekend we had her she broke out of Danny's mom's fenced in backyard and ran through someones house....twice.

Next, she likes to dig. I can't even let her out in the backyard alone...because it would look like this if I did.

She refuses to sleep past 7AM. This morning I was dumb enough to think I could "play dead" to trick her. Except she probably thought I was really dead because she decided to get into everything in the bedroom. I can't leave our bedroom door open at night because she will a) eat the blinds if she knows a cat is outside b) not sleep at all and stare out the back window...and bark...constantly. 

Even the day we had Miley spayed she was getting into trouble! The girl just doesn't stop! She jumps when she is excited, she apparently can climb into my sink and get forks (and she broke a wine glass this weekend.) and one time she got on my kitchen table. 

Miley doesn't understand "no," "stop," "don't do that," or anything like that. She constantly needs someone touching her. She will bark for hours on end...not wanting to play, pee or eat. In the past two weeks she ate 2 of my bras. She ate some of the flowers my Mom sent me, five minutes after they were delivered. She seems to get angry when I rearrange, putting dishes in different spots, she has attacked my table centerpiece twice since I completed it less than a week ago. She has chewed my computer adapter, two phones, cell phone charger and an electric razor charger!

The best part? She doesn't do this when Danny is home. She is "Daddy's little princess" when he is around. She is the devil when it is just the two of us. I am sick of not getting anything done during the day because I have to cater to her every need (don't tell me to ignore it, you haven't witnessed her barking. And I don't want to get thrown out of my apartment because my dog is disturbing people.) I am fed up.

Every suggestion you guys have made, I've tried. We have a crate (I tried not to use it as a punishment, however..sometimes I have no other option), clicker training (she thinks its a toy), a laser pointer (she's not dumb, she knows we have it in our hand), backpack (that might be the only thing that works), puppy daycare (she has been a few times, I think it's made her stronger and awful to walk on a leash with), I could go on and on. You suggested it..I've tried it.

My final thought? Separation anxiety. I think this dog needs medication. And if she doesn't...I might. I'm losing my friggin mind!

Worst Day Ever.

I had great plans for today. I even made a to-do list...watch a movie, take Miley for a few short walks, clean, redecorate, bake...all sorts of great stuff.

Instead...this happened.

Miley was staring at the door, lovely..a cockroach. We chased it together and killed it. Then, five minutes later she was sniffing around in the kitchen. Miley being Miley. Or so I thought. There were maggots in my kitchen. Seriously? I have the cleanest house ever, where the fuck where they coming from. There were like ten of them, I killed them. Cleaned the floor, brought trash outside. Freaked out. Mom told me to move all trash away from the apartment...they were coming in from outside! They were gone within ten minutes, but I'm still freaking out, walking with my head down, napkin in hand...ready to attack.

I was all worked up, so I brought Miley for a walk...hoping it would help me unwind. Instead, whoever brought their dog for a walk within the past 24 hours hasn't cleaned the shit out of the yards. Seriously, it looks like a herd of cows were in the neighborhood. I've never seen such large piles of shit in my entire life.

Miley has been in one of those moods today. She is a very acrobatic dog. She somehow jumped into the sink and took the drainer stopper out. I thought that was the beginning and the end of her pain-in-the-ass-antics for the day. Yea....wishful thinking.

A few hours passed before the next major catastrophe. Miley ate dinner and started whining at the backdoor. I open the door to get her leash and something falls on my head. A friggin cockroach. It jumped off my  head, ran, me and Miley tried killing it...and then it disappeared. INTO THIN AIR. I have no idea where it went!

Keep in mind...these last few things happened while I was typing the subject to this post. Miley decided she needed to make a phone call, stole my Blackberry off the table...and chewed the back of it. I got it back, she jumped on the table..knocked over water, ran around with scissors, and is being a major pain in my ass.

 Oh, I'm so excited that it's not even 5PM yet. I have the rest of the night to go insane and find more bugs. I'm currently thanking God that Mom and Nana left behind so many alcohol drinks.

Day 4: Beaufort

Even up until this morning I had no idea what we were going to do today. I was thinking maybe Swansboro, Morehead City or Emerald Isle..but really, I've seen all that stuff. I wanted to do something new for all of us!

So where did we end up?

The beautiful town of Beaufort! And it was such a beautiful day on the coast, breezy and sunny! We walked around the town, did a little shopping...and then went on the Water Bug! I was so excited for this..it advertised that you would see dolphins and wild ponies!

If you have read any of Nicholas Sparks books you know that there are wild ponies in the Outerbanks of North Carolina. If you know anything about history you have heard stories about sunken Spanish pirate ships and the horses swimming to shore.

Our boat took us to Carrot Island, where there are 45 wild ponies. They eat the grass, dig holes to collect rainwater and live completely off of mother nature. The only human interaction is when they are given a dose of birth control to help control their population.

Carrot Island is tiny. As we passed by I was starting to get nervous that we wouldn't see any horses. But then I started thinking..if the island is so small and there are only 45 of them..where the heck do they hide!? The water was beautiful, we saw lots of sailboats, birds, nice houses...and finally THE HORSES!

After our tour we went to the Maritime Museum. There were lots of cool Blackbeard things, whaling information and other interesting displayed! Of course we took advantage of the photo op!

We had some lunch, did a little more browsing and then headed back to Jacksonville. Nana wanted to rest, so me and Mom dropped her off and picked up my wedding dress. We finally brought it to the dry cleaner! If it can be saved from the Trash the Dress session I'm going to be giving it away on here (and only charge shipping...which is about $60!) We got some lattes, headed to the mall...and picked up my sleepy puppy! Three straight days of puppy camp has wiped her out! She has been in this position for over an hour!

We are going to order some pizza soon and maybe crack open one of our bottles of wines. We are all so tired from our adventures!

Christmas in July!

This weekend was so awesome. Friday I hungout with some of my favorite bloggers. Saturday me and Danny did some school shopping for Kaleb and had a picnic on the beach. I didn't think it could get much better, but boy was I surprised!

We had Danny's mom and step-dad over for lunch yesterday. Like my Mom, I made way too much food. We had sweet and sour kielbasa, pesto pasta salad, hamburgers and hot dogs. Danny's mom surprised us with a big bottle of Olive Garden wine, one to have with lunch and one for us to keep! Seriously, best wine ever! We chatted and had a good time. Miley was such a good girl, she gets excited when people first walk in..but then she calms down.

THEN, the best part of the weekend happened. My sister and her boyfriend, Keith, finally got here! I am so so so excited that they are here. One of the first things they said to us was "Mom thinks its Christmas." Then they told us all about gift bags that Mom filled up.

To properly explain how awesome my Mom is, I need to do it with pictures.

Mom made gift bags for their road trip. Lots of goodies and suntan lotions!

They also had a huge cooler full of food, snacks and drinks.

Then, there were HUGE black bags. The tag said "Have a great night at Paul McCartney!"

So, I think this will be my outfit for the concert!

AND! An awesome bag and wristlet. LOVE LOVE LOVE these!

Danny got two new shirts and Miley got some bones. Mom never forgets the puppy! Mom also made reservations at a hotel for after the concert, dinner at a sushi place AND breakfast the following morning. Remember: We are not spoiled...we are very well taken care of.

I got this shirt too....things that crack me up about it: drinking, on a motorcycle, in an apron...made by the company "Tits"...interesting!

I'm not sure who's more excited about Michelle and Keith being here. Miley loooooves Michelle already. They were cuddling on the couch and giving each other kisses. My dog is such a traitor! But look how cute they are!

Vote for Miley

Look at that face! Go vote for Miley over at Head over Heels into Dog Handling. We could win a dog training kit. You have all heard the Miley stories (jumped on my table, whining, barking, eating poop to avoid trouble, peeing ON MY BED, jumping...the list goes on!) so you KNOW we need this training click!

Edit: It took me way too long to write this entry...I'm not lying when I tell you this: I just chased her around the house with frozen chicken in her mouth. Seriously, Miley?

I Love a Good Miley Story!

I have a silly, silly puppy on my hands.

We have had the same routine for the past few weeks. Eat, Lost, sleep...repeat. I'm sure it's very boring for the puppy, but once you get addicted to Lost (again) there's no turning back!

Miley wanted to mix things up a little bit last night. And we all got a good laugh out of it! She likes to run...fast. She did her usual laps around the house, but then she grabbed her water bowl. I yelled "If you break that you're not...." CRASH! "....getting another one." I walked into the kitchen and the bowl was in three pieces. So until we get to the store...she only has one bowl!

We were in the middle of an intense episode of Lost. Miley was whining outside of the bathroom door. Why? No idea. I opened the door and forgot about it. A few minutes later I hear another crash. I walk into the kitchen...nothing. I look in the bathroom..nothing. But wait, where's Miley? I pull back the shower curtain and there she is giving me the biggest puppy eyes. She is too cute!

So finally, it was time for bed. I say "Miley, let's go to bed." And she usually follows me in. Last night? She did more laps around the house..Danny came out of the bathroom and she snuck by him and jumped right back in the tub! We finally get her out and she settled under our bed for the night.

The silly puppy has been napping all day. She is probably plotting how she is going to terrorize us tonight!

A Message From Miley

Dear Mommy's Blogging Friends,
My Mom is the best, even though she doesn't always let  me bite her hands. And she never seems too happy when I pee in the house. But for some reason, she spoils me. And now one of her friends is spoiling me too!

A few weeks ago, Mommy signed up to play a game with Dexter and Nora and their Mommy, Tiffany. It's called Paw it Forward. I'm not too good with words, so here is a picture showing how it works.

Today my favorite person, the mailman, knocked on our door. I barked a little (gotta protect my Mom!) and then he gave me my package. Mom read the card while I opened the box.

WOW! Look at all this great stuff! I don't even know where to start! Thank you Dexter and Nora! I can't wait to send my friends and my cousin Roxy a package!

Love,

Miley

PS. Dexter and Nora, those peanut butter treats go great with my Kong!

Miley and A Giveaway

You all know and love Little Miss Miley. But lets face it..the girl needs a little bit of training! Head over Heels into Dog Handling has the perfect cure for this! She is giving away a dog training kit. Danny would be so excited if we won, he's been wanting to try out clicker training!

And even better..it's a photo contest! And my puppy is cuuuuute! The first part of the contest is to enter your puppy picture and later, everyone will be voting!

Here's the photo I submitted..it's my favorite one of her!

If you have a pup that needs some training..head over and enter the contest! And in two weeks (don't worry, I'll remind you!) vote for my girl!

Typical Conversations

Some of these conversations are full of TMI...consider yourself warned.

Two days after eating corn on the cob:
Danny: how was the corn...?
Me: I never realized I didn't chew corn...

After I looked in the mirror and saw a little pimple:
Me: My face is breaking out so bad 
Danny: Yea, I noticed! 

While at Petsmart, in line, with the money in my pocket...holding a huge bag of dog food and a bone. Danny had Miley...who was sniffing a dog.
Me: Crap, she's peeing...
Danny: Can you clean it up?
Me: (looks at my extremely full hands)
Danny: Fine, hold the leash.
Me: (plops down the food and shoves the bone at him) I'll just do it myself.
(I was extremely frustrated that I had to do everything on that trip...)

Walking through Walmart, I noticed Danny staring at some guy:
Me: Stop staring!
Danny: But he looks just like Jack!
Me: Who the eff is Jack?!
Danny: (giving me the 'duh' look) FROM LOST! 

On another Walmart trip...
Loudspeaker: Would customers Daniel and Nicole please report to customer service, your party is waiting for you.
Danny: Did they catch onto our scam?!
Me: Oh my God. We need to leave.
(turns out they were actually calling Dana and Nicole) Not sure what scam I'm talking about...click here!

Wordless Wednesday: Miley Edition