Happy Birthday Ruby Girl!

If you don't like dogs or think dog lovers are weird or wrong, then don't read on...

Our puppy Ruby [aka Rubes, Ruby Dooby, Rubilicious Dog], turned 2 today! No matter how old she is, I will still refer to her as a 'puppy.'

We got Ruby on June 11, 2010.  It's hard to believe we've had her for almost 2 years! She is beyond adorable and has the sweetest temperament. She makes it so fun to come home after a long day because I know without a doubt I will be greeted with exuberant tail wagging, hugs, and kisses.

Although she is just a dog, she has been therapeutic for me in many ways. She comforted me and softened the pain I would repeatedly feel during all the months we tried to get pregnant. She was also by my side comforting me at my parents' house the night my granny passed away. She is very intuitive and knows when I am crying and upset because she'll crawl up in my lap and put her sweet face right up by mine. She's the ultimate cuddle bug and has to be by me or Tom at all times. She definitely fulfills her roll as a lap dog perfectly.

I am so glad I wore Tom down on the idea of getting a dog for our family. I love it when he mentions out of the blue how glad he is that we got her. Ruby has worked her way into his heart and converted him from his non-dog person ways. ;) That'a girl Rubes!

I got out my iPhone to take a picture of her this morning and she laid down with this pose.  What a lady. :)

Poor thing will soon have 4 little hands pulling and tugging her ears and tail. But I know by watching how calm and docile she is around the children of our family and friends that she will be sweet with our babies, which makes my heart happy.

We love you Rubes!  We are glad you chose us as your family!

Lately

It's time to update what's been going on lately...

1. Tom started a new job working for a company that is the 2nd largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. This company is also #32 on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For. Monday, June, 6th, was Tom's first day as a Title Landman at Chesapeake Energy Corporation. I'm so proud of him and excited that he received this opportunity!

2. Ruby got a summer 'do because her thick coat caused her to get so overheated on walks and such. Poor thing looks a bit ridiculous but she'll feel better in the hot summer heat.

3. My total weight loss is now up to 14lbs. Amazingly, after eating lots of desserts, hush puppies, fries, fried shrimp, and lots of yummy seafood - I did NOT gain any weight while we were on vacation. I attribute this to all the swimming in the ocean, walking on the beach, and walking/shopping at the outlet mall. :) I have slowly been incorporating some running into my workout routine. I'm proud to say that 3 days ago I pushed myself to run 1 whole mile straight...and I did it! Then the next day I pushed myself more and ran 1.5 miles straight - no stopping!! The pic below is my happy self right after running 1.5 miles.

4. We took a vacation to Destin, FL from May 28, 2011 to June 3, 2011. It was so much fun to spend a week at the beach with friends. I will post more vacation pics later.

Happy Heart Day!

Valentine's Day art courtesy of http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/.

I just had to borrow it because it's so stinkin' cute.

As tradition would have it, for the past 5 years, my FIL has sent a bouquet of flowers to my office for Valentine's Day. Thanks Steve, they're beautiful! :)

For the record, I told Tom NOT to get me a bouquet of flowers this year - and I really did mean it. We decided not to spend any money on each other and just have an evening at home since it fell on a Monday night. I made meatloaf, mashed sweet potatoes, broiled asparagus, and bananas foster. It was yum.my! I'll share the recipes in the posts to come.

I'll leave you with a pic of Ruby posing with a Valentine from my Aunt.

Dog Days of Summer

Man it has been super hot this week! I'm not sure what the thermometer actually read, but I know the heat index was in the 100's. Gross! All I have to say is I am so thankful for A/C.

Three words describe this past summer weekend: fun, busy, & HOT! Our weekend fun technically started on Thursday with our friends Daniel and Lindsay's wedding rehearsal and dinner. We were so excited to celebrate this exciting time with them, and Tom was honored to be able to stand up with Daniel as a groomsman. Their wedding was on Friday night at the Old Trinity of Paseo. (Click the link to read about the history of this building, it was originally from Canada.) Everything was beautiful and charming, and Old Trinity is such a wonderful place to get married.

The happy couple.

Saturday our nephew Michael on my side wanted to come stay with his Aunt Sara and Uncle Tom, so we picked him up and we had all kinds of fun playing on the Wii, eating pizza, watching movies, coloring, going to the park, eating fro yo at Pink Swirl with Grammy and Granddad (my mom and dad), and playing with Ruby. Ruby and Michael are best buds now.

Playing in the park was H-O-T, Hot! After we got back from the park it didn't take Ruby long to figure out how to cool down.

After we got Michael all settled in and ready for bed Saturday night, Ruby hopped up to snuggle with him and they fell asleep together. It was so darn cute!

We all got up Sunday morning and went to church. Michael went to a Pre-K Sunday school class. Then we took him into big church with us because I was helping lead worship, so we thought he would think it was neat to see me sing. Tom said about 3 minutes into the worship service Michael said, "Can I go back into my class now?" Ha! Guess worship with Aunt Sara wasn't as fun as playing in the sandbox.

Here's Ruby!

Introducing for the first time...Ruby!

Tom & I went to Noble tonight to meet two Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppies. After playing with them and meeting their mom & dad, we decided we were definitely going to take one home with us. We just didn't know if we wanted the boy or the girl.

We had to leave for a bit to run to an ATM because the breeder didn't accept personal checks. At this time we were still torn between the girl and the boy. We were walking toward our car and the breeder had the parents and the boy puppy with him by his truck and the girl puppy perked her ears up and ran towards our car as if to say, "Where are you going? Take me!" That's when she had us and the decision was made, we were going to take HER. And as you read above, we named her Ruby. She is so stinkin' sweet! Now onto life with a puppy.

I'm pretty sure she already has Tom wrapped around her little paw.

Boy vs. Girl

I am going to meet this little boy and this little girl TONIGHT! More details to come! :)

Meet Ruby

Ruby is our almost 1-year-old puppy furbaby and also happens to be the cutest little red-headed Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that there ever was! Just look at that face!