gated community living

meet the real house pugs of snorts-a-lot...in their new gated community.

sadly, for them the gate thing isn't as glamorous as it sounds. 

but, trust me there's just as much drama as the show.

we had a baby gate originally propped up against that entrance and pug never messed with it, but we found baby bro's one negative and that's that he's was smart enough to figure out an escape route and taught it to his partner in crime.

 (poor landry you can't even see him...he just blends right on into the floors)

i figured if i have to invest in another baby gate i'm getting one i don't have to hike over all day.  so, with my toilet paper delivery i got to use my coupon for wag.com.  on this gate; the internet is so handy these days.

now we're just counting down the days till they figure out where the pedal is to open it and take over the house.

oh, and i recently did another ruffle curtain.  this time in a queen sized sheet set and instead of a drapery i did a headboard.  if i can get my act together, i'll hopefully have an updated tutorial for you.

night y'all.

say cheese

Well, good news folks, we successfully survived our family photo shoot this weekend.

And when I mean successfully, I mean that a few certain pugs didn't act all a fool, that the wardrobe issue was resolved, that my stressing out the day of didn't cause anyone to pull out their eyebrows (please tell me you've seen that "Raising Hope" episode), that boy didn't protest the idea for him to carry a gorgeous vintage chair down a rather dangerous rocky trail for the lighting, that the giant red zit on my face was easily cured thanks to a google search and some ice and lemon juice (go figure) and most importantly it cooled down enough so I didn't have to stick tissues up my arm pits. 

It's the small things folks.

These have been our first really formal pictures since our wedding six years ago.  And have I told y'all about how our wedding album has a huge gap of events missing from it because our photographer misinterpreted "feel free to grab a bite to eat" to "feel free to put your camera away and grab seat at the cousin's table"?  Yeah that was a fun surprise.

Although the pictures we did get turned out fine, I've just always really wanted to get some updated ones with the pug (now 2 pugs) and the hubby and have a really fun outdoor session.  I really wish I would have made the time before.

Can't wait to see them, because I know it's probably going to be another 6 years before I can convince the gang to do it again.

strolling along

it's so surreal around here having two pugs now...twice the fun and definitely twice the snoring!!  pug's adjusting i think...he's got such a big personality and he definitely likes to make sure everyone knows whose in charge and he's not a fan of sharing either.  sweet landry is the complete opposite personality wise.  he's my people pleaser that comes when you call for him and stays when you tell him too.  boy and i were like "what... that actually works on dogs?".  landry's coat is looking so much better each day and i think he's trusting us more and more. 

thankfully we got some rain last week and have had some cooler evenings so the boys and i have been going on lots of walks.  pug spends the walk body bumping landry off the sidewalk and landry just lovingly puts up with his craziness :-)   love to hear from y'all on how your doggies adjusted when you added a new one to the mix.

bloggy book swap.a.roo

Hey y'all welcome to the Bloggy Book Swap.a.roo!  I'm thrilled you stopped by.  This came about when I thought instead of just sharing book recommendations, why not just swap books with my blog friends.  We get to save a few bucks and clear off some shelf space.  I did my best brainstorming and getting other's opinions on the best way to work this, so bare with me if we come across a few hiccups.  Also, if you have any suggestions along the way I'm all ears.  Please take a quick look at the guidelines and then browse about the linky's below.  Happy book swapping!!

1. You must have an active blog to participate.

2. Please write a post including the books you have for trade. 1 book or 20 books doesn't matter feel free to join in.  If you could include the author or even a picture of the book that'd be great.

3. Include in your post a few books you may be hoping to trade for and if you'd prefer people to comment or e-mail for a trade.

4. Link up to this post below using your blog name.

5. Browse through the linky's below and do some shopping.  Hopefully come across some new blog friends too!  Linky will be up until Tuesday.

6. Once you make a trade with a blogger, please make note on your post that the book has been traded.

7. Ship off your traded books right away.  I recommend requesting Media Mail at the post office.  It's very economical, especially for hardbacks.

8.  Sit by your mail box and wait anxiously for the mail man to bring you your new reads (i kid).

Thanks everyone...again have fun!

bloggy book swap.a.roo

my books for trade:

"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

"One Day" by David Nicholls

"Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin

"Hope in a Jar" by Beth Harbison

"Baby Proof" by Emily Giffin

"Twenties Girl" by Sophie Kinsella

"The Girl Who Played With Fire" by Stieg Larsson

"The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs

a few i'm looking for:

"Room" by Emily Donoghue

"Something Blue" by Emily Giffin

"Winter Garden" by Kristin Hannah

"Distant Shores" by Kristin Hannah

please e-mail me at aboyagirlandapug {at} gmail {dot} com or leave a comment if you'd like to make a trade.

tivo heads back to work

It's bittersweet in the TiVo department...our beloved Big Brother comes to an end tonight, but over the next few weeks lots of new shows return and begin.  Y'all know I love me some fall tv, so here's some that I've missed, new shows I'm excited for and the ones I'm going to pass on.  Which one's strike your fancy this season?

I've missed...

"Raising Hope"  this is hands down one of our favorites!!  maw maw cracks me up...definitely go rent   this if you missed last season.

"Parenthood"  tivo let me down and didn't record this last night...so bummed out.  hopefully, i can catch it online later.

"Modern Family"

"The Middle"  this show is so true in so many ways.

"How I Met Your Mother"

"Parks & Rec" it's so weird i was so disappointed on the first season of this show, but we gave it a second chance and so glad we did.  it's hysterical.

"Private Practice" I'm addicted to the craziness.

"The Office" not going to lie, a little nervous how it's going to work without Michael Scott.

"Dexter"

Looking forward to...

"Up All Night" such a good cast this has to be good!

"2 Broke Girls"

"Pan Am" so bummed this is taking over "Brothers & Sisters"

Passing on:

"Charlie's Angels"  hasn't it been remade enough?

"Free Agents"

"Person of Interest"

Also, don't forget the bloggy book swap.a.roo begins this Friday the 16th.  Hope you'll grab your old books and join in!!

the one where we get another pug

yes...we caved.  big time. 

we adopted our sweet little foster landry this past week.

his sweetness just overwhelmed us and there was no way this dog was going anywhere.

boy and i started praying about it really hard after only a few days of fostering him and one day boy said "i just can't imagine our family without him". 

i couldn't agree more.

so there you have it...were foster failures!!

never will we forget

I can't seem to wrap my head around the fact that it's been 10 years.  In some ways it's seems like it was just yesterday as the memories of that horrific day remain fresh, and then in other ways it seems so long ago as you see how far the nation has come.

I remember the day so clearly, as I sat in first period during my senior year of high school, but I still wanted to make sure that I never forgot.  Months after the attacks I scoured through the magazines and newspapers from that week and headed to kinko's and had them copied and shrunken down.  Then using my mom's Creative Memories addiction at the time, I started putting them in a protective album and journaling not just my memories of the day, but our families as well.  There are also tons of pictures from a trip to New York shortly months after the devastation.  One picture always seems to stand out in my mind from that trip and that is of a building near ground center that had "triage" spray painted on it.  Standing there looking at that in the eery silence of the streets humbled me to my core. 

10 years later, I'm really glad I took the time to put this together.  I even need to update it as well.  Not so much for me but for my family and future family.  I hope they will look through it and see the hero's, God's sovereignty and the strength of our great country despite these horrific and unimaginable event.

Praying for those that lost loved ones!

bloggy book swap.a.roo

I've come to the conclusion that I can no longer hang on to every.single.book that I read.  For some reason, I've always loved to have them on my shelves, a sort of trophy if you will.  But with all the reading I love to do and all the books I've purchased my shelves are looking a little crowded.

So, I thought since we swap book recommendations so often, why not swap actual books?

On Friday, September 16th I'll be hosting on the blog a {bloggy book swap.a.roo}!!  I'm very excited and hope you will join in.

How it will work:

1. Create a blog post on your blog listing the books you have for trade.  Feel free to include a picture, your own review, or even a link to amazon.com or bn.com for us to read a description on the book.  You can even add on your post a few titles of books that you're hoping to trade in return for.

2. I'll have a linky up on Friday allowing you to post a link to your book swap.a.roo blog post.  You can then browse around each link and hopefully make a trade with a fellow blogger and maybe even find a few new blog friends. 

3. Ship off your books to their new homes.  I highly recommend that you send your books USPS media mail.  It usually takes 2-8 business days, but way more economical.  I've sent hardbacks for under $3 before.  So, please remember to request this option at your post office or if you ship from home.

A few other things to cover my hiney...my thought in this is that we can find some new reads, clear off our shelves, and save a few bucks that we'd spend on new books.  Please only make trades with those that have blogs and please use the honor system in doing this.  Thanks!

Hope you'll join in and link up on Friday, September 16th!  I'd be ever so grateful if you shared this with your tweeters and fellow bloggers.  If you have any questions or suggestions give me a shout!

girl's guide to hunting part 2

Y'all, it's hunting season time again!!  I know this because 1. my husband has reminded me every day for the last month that it's the 1st weekend of September, 2. because my husband has asked me multiple times if I was as excited as he was about dove season beginning the 1st weekend of September, 3. because my dad has called to discuss the wonder and excitement of the 2011 hunting season as well.

Only if the Gap came knocking on my front door with a truck full of free loot could I get as excited as those two.

I'm thrilled to report back that it was a great weekend, despite the drought, and most importantly that I can update my "girl's guide to hunting" so here we go.  Here's a link to the first volume if you want to catch up.

You know you're married to a hunter when...

1. you can zone out and still pretend to look interested at stories about dove meat, deer blinds and how you got a feeder working.

2. you get so tired of hearing about your husband and dad talk about a sale on tripods that you run out and pick them up yourself from Cabela's when their swamped.

3. you haul out said tripods to the front of the store by yourself all while taking a picture to use later to remind them how much they owe you.

4. you've organized the hunting gear into bins using your label maker.

5. and you no longer gag when doing his laundry from the long hunting weekend.

Here's where all the hunting fun happens.  These were all taken in the spring when it's nice and pretty on the land.

Happy hunting season to my fellow hunter's wives!