Another year . . . another post?

Obviously I do not update this blog . . . ever . . . but I know my loyal followers are probably wondering if I put my wedding dress on this year.  Well, the answer is yes.  Without further ado (adieu?), here you are.

This year's theme was "Then & Now"

With my pretty flowers my hubby gave me

 

With our cute pups who wouldn't stay still. Yes, Daniel is wearing his suit jacket.  Too bad you can't see his flannel PJ bottoms.  This spring's next trend.

 And the most convincing remake picture . . .don't look too closely -- the back of my dress is half-laced :) . . . and you might get grossed out by Daniel

 Wish we could remake this photo but it is cold, windy, and rainy here in Germany. 

It's been a great year, with a new (naughty little stinker) dog, moving to Germany, and getting to explore Europe.  Can't wait to see what 2012 brings us.

Christmas Cards for Shery K CCB's Craft Challenge

Some xmas cards I designed using the two papers provided by Shery K CCB's Craft Challenge Blog.

pictures i won't post on facebook

but i'm sure you guys will enjoy ;)

Always...Sometimes...Never

I always:

love waking up to puppy kisses.
think before I speak...which often results in very little speaking.
get places early.
want something sweet.
wish the secret to being thin was eating whatever you want and never working out.

I sometimes:

overthink things.
prefer the couch over most other options.
wonder if I'll ever be the boss.
pick my nose.
think mean things in my head.

I never:

park illegally.
ride in a car without a seatbelt.
get tired of Dirty Dancing and Good Will Hunting.
miss an episode of my favorite reality shows.
enjoy folding socks.

Come on down!

We originally had tickets for the noon show on Monday. So, we got up at 3am, drove up to LA, parked the car at a mall, and walked over to the CBS studio.  On the way over, a security guard in the mall told us he thought the taping was canceled because he has seen other people walking back to their cars.  We were disappointed but decided to walk over just to make sure.  Got over to the gate and the security guard told us they had canceled the taping at the last minute.  NOOOOO!  So, it’s 5 am and nothing is open, so we drive back to Scott’s place.  Scott goes to work and we went mini-golfing.  (I won one game and tied the 2^nd…in case you are wondering).

We got online to see if there were tickets left for Tuesday’s show…the noon show wasn’t available but we got tickets for the 4pm show.  The bad thing is that you still have to show up before 6am to get “order of arrival” passes if you want to be sure to get seats for the later taping.  So, we got up at 3 again and got in line at about 5am.  There were probably 150 or 200 people in line when we got there.  Some people had clearly slept on the sidewalk overnight.  Crazies!

When we got up to the front of the line around 6:30, they asked if we wanted to get a number for the earlier show or be guaranteed great seats for the 4pm show.  We decided to stick with the later show and we got numbers 8, 9 and 10.  Front row seats!

We didn’t have to be back to the studio until 12:15, so we drove around until a breakfast place opened at 7:30.  Then, we wasted 4 hours driving around LA, trying to stay awake.  We drove around Beverly Hills, saw the gate to the Playboy mansion, saw Rodeo Drive.

When we got back to the studio at 12:15, they started calling numbers and had everyone line up in rows (there were about 300 people).  Then we filled out notecards with “interesting facts” about ourselves, got our price tag name tags, and waited to be moved to another area.  They moved us to another area where we sat for about 45 minutes until one of the producers came out to greet and meet everyone.  The producer went down the line in groups of 10 and talked to each person, screening for contestants.  Daniel talked about how he’s a band dork; I told him I’m a proposal writer.  The producer said “Well, good luck.” and moved on quickly to Scott, who talked about being a dorky librarian.  I don’t think our life stories made a big impact.  I should have lied.  I thought our AMAZING t-shirts would get us a shoe-in, but they didn’t seem to care.  Clearly, the person next to us with a “Pick Me!” t-shirt was more interesting.

After the interviews, we were herded off to go through security and then sit for another 2 hours in another waiting area.  Then, around 3:45, we were finally ushered up into the studio and into the FRONT ROW right by the cameras.  A woman behind us said she had our seats last time she came to a taping and she was in a lot of the shots of contestant row.  So, we should be on TV a lot!  I had read online that it’s a lot smaller than it looks on TV and I agree.  They played loud music and people danced around while we waited for Drew to come out.  We knew at that point that they had already selected the contestants, so we just watched the crazies act crazy.

The show started…they had a guest announcer that day – the guy that hosts (or maybe hosted?) Supermarket Sweep.  Not the guy I remember from when I used to watch that show but some other guy.

They have interns that hold up cards with the name of the contestant on it when the announcer calls the next person…it is really loud and you can’t hear what the announcer is saying.  You also can’t really hear him describe the item up for bid and it’s hard to actually see the prizes through the camera men and production assistants.

We got to high-five the contestants as they came down to the front podiums and that was pretty cool.  Drew would come out to the edge of the stage while they set up the next segment and he was probably 10 feet from us.  Drew has lost a ton of weight – he is probably half the size he used to be!

The taping lasted about an hour and a half…one guy won a car and the girl who won the showcase showdown won a boat and 2 dune buggies.  We overheard as we were walking out that the guy has to pay the tax on the car before he can claim the prize…so that sucks.

It was a cool experience…I kinda wish Bob Barker was still hosting.  Woulda been cool to see an icon like that and Drew Carey has never been my favorite comedian.  Regardless, definitely a fun time!

A poem for my fur babies

I'm participating in Mama Kat's writing assignment this week --


Ode to the Dogs

Oh Ziggy and Norton,

Your puppy dog looks make me smile.

I can’t be mad when I see your faces,

Even when you poop in inappropriate places.

Your slobbery wet kisses,

And your cuddle bug ways,

Oh, they make me very happy,

Even when my day at work is very, very crappy.

Please don’t ever run away,

Or chew my laptop cord (again).

When you do that you make my heart race,

And also it makes me want to punch you, right in the cute little puppy dog face.

So be good little boys,

Zigster and Monkey.

I can’t imagine my life without you two,

Actually, I can…there’d be a lot less poo.

Sidenote: both pups got haircuts on Saturday...different groomers...both places gave them girly accessories.

They really do grow up so fast...

Remember these guys?

Well, they grew a lil' bit.

Pretty crazy. I mean, not as crazy as you ladies who grow PEOPLE inside your belly...but still pretty cool.