December!

I last left you with a troubling story of how Ebo had bit me and I was soooooo over him and I did not want a puppy.  Well, let’s just say things have gotten better and I am understanding Ebo’s personality a lot better, he is becoming part of the family, he really is THE SHERIFF”S sweet dog and thankfully he is has not peed in the house in the last couple weeks and does not eat his poop as often. 

  I spent the majority of December signing my life away throughout the 30 day escrow process of selling the condo, thankfully everything went really smooth for the most part except when the new owner thought I should replace a perfectly good water heater and furnace (ya, she must have been high, especially after I had to drop the sale price $10,000 to meet the appraisal amount).  The final countdown to closing day was a bit emotional, but thankfully I had a lot to do and the prospect of a new house keeping me busy and my mind off of leaving MY quiet place, it was hard leaving the keys on the kitchen counter and walking away.  The Super Parents and I have put so much blood, sweat and tears into that place, I feel like I am leaving a huge part of me behind.  

Just a few things left to pack up before the close of escrow!

We celebrated Mr. Pies birthday on December 10^th with his annual birthday dinner at King’s Fish House, we all had a really good dinner and topped it off with a little ice cream to celebrate him turning 11.  December 10^th was also my Grammy’s birthday, she would have been 92 years old, she has been gone for 22 years but I always remember her birthday.  The following Friday we had Mr. Pies birthday party with his friends and because we like to make things crazy busy we had a couple house showings just hours before the party.  The party went great but there were a few hiccups along the way!  The Sheriff took Ebo with him to pick Mr. Pie up from school, while Ebo was waiting in his crate he pooped, so you can imagine the smell and the mess that the Sheriff had to deal with (thank God I was not involved, I would of sent Ebo back to where he came from), the Sheriff forgot to pick up the cake, all of the kids met at the house before heading to the trampoline place, when we left the Sheriff left the front gate wide open with his keys in it (hello burglars, please help yourself to our stuff), the Sheriff lost his wallet at the trampoline place, but only realized it when he went to get the cake, Baskin Robbins would not take my credit card over the phone so he had to come back home to get cash from me, thankfully he forgot the cake earlier in the day otherwise he might not of noticed that he lost his wallet and if any good came out of this his wallet was found with all of the cash in it.  

King Crab for the birthday boy!

The kid can do tricks!

On December 16th we got to join the Sheriff out on the water for the first night of the boat parade, it was cold but the lights were pretty and it was nice to get to hang with the Sheriff at work.  He has worked so much overtime this month we have hardly seen him.

It was hard to get a good picture of the boat, but those are dolphins on the side.

On December 19th we celebrated Mari & Mr. Pies birthday's at G&G's, it was crazy loud but everyone seemed to have a good time and those two went home with some great gifts.

Anne came to visit, it was so great to see her!

The loving Grandma's, they could not love or be more proud of their grandchildren!

Christmas came and went quickly!  The Sheriff made a fantastic prime rib dinner for the two of us with all the fixings, I was stuffed afterwards but it was sooo worth it.

The Sheriff and I had his parents over for brunch Christmas morning, but they ended up bringing sooo much food that I only made the bread boat that I had been wanting to try.  Due to the Sheriff's house being up for sale, him working so much and us wanting the house to feel as big as possible when people came to view it we did not end up decorating, so instead of a Christmas tree we had a Christmas crate on Christmas morning!

G&G hosted Christmas dinner at their house, I did not really take any pictures, I'm not sure why not. The Super Parents were ridiculously generous this year and I am still in shock from this year's gifts.  The Sheriff's parents joined us for Christmas this year, they were a nice addition to our family traditions.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and now that life has sort of calmed down blogging should return to normal!

Oh Ebo!

Oh Ebo!  Friday the Sheriff and I brought home a fifty pound four legged bundle of fur AKA a German Shepard puppy named Ebo (or as of right now known as the little terrorist).  Yes, we are crazy!  We met Steve the breeder down in Fallbrook after a three hour drive due to an overturned semi-truck, met the little terrorist who was super sweet at the time but oh so SMELLY and brought him home after a quick do it yourself bath at a local feed barn.  Ebo got along with Gracie, let Mr. Pie walk him and was an all-around god dog until we were all under the same roof where he and Gracie exchanged a few words. We put Ebo in a crate to kind of help him get used to the new sounds, smells, and surroundings, he was a PERFECT dog, he never barked, was chill and I was thinking “we got this”.  Saturday we took everyone to the park after a quick trip to the pet store to buy a new crate for Gracie in Ken’s truck and a quick breakfast.  Everyone was doing great!  We spent three hours at the park working on basic commands, walking in a pack, playing ball and not eating our poop (Ebo) and everything was great.  Gracie and Ebo exchanged a few words and Gracie clearly dominated the conversation and basically told Ebo to shape up or ship out.  We took the two tired pups and the three tired humans to Costco, I whipped up a roast for dinner (a first for me) and we all settled in for a quiet night in front of the TV watching “Home Alone” (Mr. Pie had never seen it, can you believe that?).  Sunday rolled around, I decided Ebo and I needed some alone time so I took him for a walk, he did really good and seemed to pick up corrections fairly quickly. Ebo met some of the neighbors and learned how to jump into my car (we start puppy classes tomorrow, he and I).  We took him to get microchipped and some vaccinations and again he was great.  After a quick trip to the doughnut shop for Mr. Pie we headed home and I left the boys so I could go home and start packing up my garage because that’s right I SOLD my condo and I have to be out in a couple weeks.  The Sheriff and Mr. Pie played with the pups until it was time for the Sheriff to head to work (midnight shift, boo) and Mr. Pie to head to his Mom’s house. I showed up about an hour after they left, took care of the dogs and then went back to my house to sell a few items I had posted online from yesterday’s garage clean out.  After I sold the items, I headed back to the Sheriff’s house and as I opened the front door I looked into the crate and I could not see Ebo (panic set in), seconds later both he and Gracie greeted me at the door.  WTH.  I quickly surveyed the scene, checked the bedrooms and I was pleasantly surprised that everything looked good until I walked into the kitchen and there was PEE everywhere, that damn dog peed all over the kitchen.  I called the Sheriff to let him know what his dog had done and then went to wrangle the pups.  Ebo was starting to get a little rowdy and Gracie was starting to get pissed and as I was standing there telling Ebo “NO” the little terrorist bit my leg hard.  I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and told him in a forceful way “NO” and marched him out to the garage crate, I was not going to mess with him anymore, I was done.  Ebo spent the night outside (he has a nice fur coat to keep him warm) I mopped the floor, showered and ate ice cream until it was bedtime.  This morning the Sheriff asked me to find a large wire crate online for cheap, I logged on to Facebook, found one for $50 that was located close to my office and at 1pm today I will purchasing it, no negotiations, nada, it will be ours soon!  

Milo had chewed the crate initially and we fixed it.  Ebo found the weak spot and destroyed it along with squeezing through the small opening.  And the towel inside the crate was on the outside when I left him.

I laughed when I saw " I am surprised "THEY"did not tear anything up", Gracie is perfect it is more like "EBO" that he should be worried about.

I know he will get better, he has had ZERO training so it will just take time.  Pray for me and send wine!! 

I'm Dreaming of....

I am starting to dream about the holidays!   I have had some Christmas tunes playing in the car a bit, found a cute little project for the Sheriff  or Super Dad me to complete and I am dreaming of all of the food that will be cooked/served and enjoyed with others.  

I am not sure how Christmas is going to go down this year, the Sheriff has it off which is nice, there is Mr. Pie to consider (not sure how much we are going to have to share him this year), then there is the Sheriff’s parents (I invited them to over via the Sheriff, but…..) and then there is my family who of course I want to be with, so things are complicated.  So instead of dealing with logistics I am dreaming of comfort food for the holidays.  I saw this pass by my Facebook feed a few weeks ago and I am thinking that I will be making it on Christmas morning for whoever wants to enjoy it with me. 

The Sheriff does not eat bread, so more for me!!

1 Baguette

5 large eggs

1/3 cup heavy cream or whole milk

4 oz cooked bacon bits

4 oz cheese

2 green onions thinly sliced

In a medium bowl, mix eggs, cream, bacon, cheese, and onions.

Cut a long rectangle through the top of the baguette and partially unstuff the baguette. Spoon the mixture into the baguette.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350 F.  Cut and serve while still warm.

Then there is the Christmas tree, I love the smell of a fresh tree from Home Depot (LOL, the private Christmas Tree lots are EXPENSIVE!) but the thought of shelling out $60 + dollars, watching it die a slow death and throwing it away kills me.  I am not sure I can do the traditional fake Christmas tree, so I have found one made out of recycled materials that is a bit different and will fit the small space we have and it won’t die or cost a lot of my hard earned $$$. All I need is Super Dad’s amazing skills, tools and expertise to get er done! I am thinking of modifying the design so it can be taken apart and stored somewhat easily in the off season.   

I am thinking or replacing the bow with a start and OF course colored lights will be used because white lights are LAME-O!

Oh and Happy Thanksgiving, as always we have so much to be thankful for!  #cantforgettheturkey

Remember This?

So you remember this post and this one?  The second was quite heated, very emotional and probably more info than you all needed to know.  I had and still have strong feelings about getting a puppy.  I miss Milo, he was a rad dog but I am not gonna lie, things regarding selling the Sheriff’s house have been a lot easier with one dog, not to mention the dog hair has been cut in half. The Sheriff and I have talked about getting a puppy and we agreed to wait for a litter that won’t be ready until the end of August if all goes to plan. Well the puppy gods are laughing in my face and on Friday we are headed to Fallbrook to check out a one year old male German Shepard and wouldn’t you know he is from that litter that we visited almost a year ago, yes, the same litter that I said “NO NO NO!” to.  I don’t know how things will go and if and that is a BIG if we get this pup it is going to take some work to make it work for all of us.  Time for me to reread all of the reasons I do not want a puppy again!  

THREEEEEEEE YEARS!!!

Today marks three years that the Sheriff and I have been dating!  I keep looking at the Sheriff and saying “THREE YEARS, THREEEEEEEE Years” and then I add my famous line “this is all your fault”, said when things get a little hairy and he starts shaking his head,  I am always quick to remind him that he pursued me, so therefore this is all his fault and if you want to read more juicy details click here, here, here and here.  Ha, who am I kidding, there are no juicy details, just life!  Happy THREEEEE years to my main squeeze. 

Too Cute!!

I just can't help it, they way are too cute not to share!  I totally stole this photo from my SIL Shannon's facebook page, so all the photo and cuteness credit goes to her.  

Attempting to take a Christmas card worthy photo!

Happy Birthday 70th Grampy!

Saturday afternoon we celebrated Grampy’s 70^th birthday!  I cannot believe he is 70 years old, that is really starting to get up there.  Thankfully he does not act like an old man and seems to have some young blood still running through him.  My parents also wanted to take some family photos since it has been awhile and we have two new sweet additions to the family.  My Mom was not picky on what everyone showed up wearing and with so many people it can be challenging to coordinate everyone’s outfits, but believe it or not we all showed up color coordinated for the most part, it was pretty funny.  Everyone cooperated and it did not take long to get all of the shots they wanted.  We also enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner since we are all pretty much going separate directions this Thanksgiving.  Super Mom made an amazing turkey breast (way better than a whole turkey in my opinion), mashed potatoes, the spinach casserole, brussel sprouts, rolls and cranberry sauce all made it to the table as well via the siblings.  The kids (Mr. Pie & Cole) behaved a million times better than the last time we got together (thank goodness), I have come to the conclusion that it is best to keep them plugged in at all times.   The babies are officially on the move, oh my goodness, they are the cutest things ever and I seriously could sit and stare at them all day long.  

Mari is freaked out that Grampy is 70!

Caroline is helping Grampy figure out his math problem, Mari and Grampy are shocked he is that OLD, Grampy needs a little help with his candles and Mari is late to the party!!

Girlfriend is over the selfies!