Finally Back

Hellllllloooooo Everyone! I am glad to be back and in a space that I can write and let everyone know what I have been up to. Thanks Lyn for the swift kick in the a** to get me going.

First off, it was a very good vacation. We did a lot of traveling. Typically this would be a good thing, and in the past we have always booked on Midwest as we thought they had the larger and more comfortable seats around--oh, and you get a free chocolate chip cookie. Who can beat that. Well, seems as if Midwest has done some downsizing and now are only flying their smaller planes to WI--meaning smaller seats. This sucks people because I have a fat bottom. In fact, so does DP-->two fat bottoms in a small seat does not for a good flight make. We have come to accept this, and are working on reducing the largeness of our bottoms . . .but alas I digress. We get on the plane and find ourselves very, VERY close. Smushed to the point that we weren't going ANYWHERE should that plane have gone down. It was quite embarrassing really, and I am so glad I was traveling with DP and could be close to her. We vowed to not feel that way the next time we fly.

We were delayed getting out of Philly by about 3 hours, though we did get to see Santa at the airport and had our picture taken with him. We made it to Green Bay around 6pm which wasn't too bad. It was -5 degrees when we got there--COLD, but there was a ton of snow on the ground, and it snowed almost every other day while there.

While there we enjoyed the company of DP's family, including her sister and her boyfriend who came over from MN. We had a good time on Christmas day, and watched a few movies while there-including my new favorite-Mama Mia! How fun is that movie. I voted to watch the sing along version, but was vehemently shot down.

The day after we celebrated my birthday by going shopping. Not my first choice of birthday activities, but it was tolerable and I even managed to find some goodies.

I got the best Birthmas present this year. I got an iPhone which I am in love with. I am struggling right now with finding that balance between wanting to be connected, and feeling TOO connected. It was lovely to be able to look something up the other day while DP was driving, and be able to click on a phone number from a website and have the phone call it. I have been slightly distressed about not having the calendar application I need, since a majority of the reason I got this thing was to reduce the amount of gadgets I carry. I am looking at how I can get Outlook. It is very expensive, and I thought I would see if maybe someone had it that I could use. We will see. Once that little bug is figured out I will feel settled with it. For now I will maintain my Palm. DP was very jealous of my phone and ended up buying one of her own last night with her Christmas earnings.

I received a lot of other great things, and I am continually amazed at how well DP's family knows me and gets me. Their gifts are generally spot on!

It was good to just hang out and lay low. We had to board the dogs, and we were missing them a lot. Luckily we had Riley's sister Molly to keep us company. She was a riot in the snow, and made us wonder how Riley would be in the snow--not that we will ever know because apparently it doesn't snow in PA anymore.

As for the pups . . .we boarded them at this place that looks great, and the people seemed really nice. We visited twice and made the decision to board there even though it was pricey and about 40 minutes away. We signed them up for three half days of daycare each, and gave them the appropriate number of toys allowed. They would be boarded together, which we were happy about. We called once and checked on them and they said they were doing well. We picked them up and checked out. We realized we weren't charged for daycare, but just assumed they forgot to charge us. When we got home, we realized that none of their toys had been taken out of the bag, and I was really mad about this. Could it have been that they didn't go to daycare and also didn't have their toys? This was NOT a cheap place to board the dogs, and I am really upset thinking that they were in the kennel for 10 days with no toys and no opportunity to get out. Also, when we picked them up we were told that Addie had pooped in the kennel that morning and they needed to bathe them . . .we got there around 1pm and they were still pretty wet, and it was COLD. I don't know. I am really upset and want to call and ask them, but what do I say . . .I am SO not confrontational! I think we will look for another place to try the next time.

Riley starts training this week, and due to Addie's behavior and the fact that the class is not full, they are going to let us bring Addie back through as well for a refresher. Since the kennel, Addie has been acting out and growling and snapping at Riley for coming near her, or near any of the toys. They seem to be better today, but they weren't really like this before. We have to be better at walking them daily, and have decided that we will each be responsible for a pup a day to walk.

What else--more about my visit with my parents in another post. We went up there after we returned on 1/31 and spent new Years with them. As always it was a dramatic event . . .

Hope you all had a great holiday and Happy New Year.