Friday, October 28, 2011

Our 24 Hour Adventure With a Dog

So if you know me at all you know I've been sweetly asking begging for a dog for a while FOREVER.
If I come to your house, and you have a dog, watch out. I will instantly fall in love with it and try to put it in my trunk and take it home. It's a pretty well known fact that I love alllll kinds of dogs. Big ones. Little ones. Fluffy ones. Stinky ones. Ya know... all kinds of dogs. 
Josh loves dogs too but we all know that he is the responsible one. So whenever I talked about getting a dog for our teeny tiny apartment with a HUGE pet deposit fee... he kindly declined. Until last weekend, for an unknown reason, Josh out of the blue decided he wanted a dog! YIPPIE! So I was checking Craigslist every 5 seconds looking for puppies for a low cost when low and behold a FREE listing popped up on my screen! Attached was this photo:
This 10 month old pup is a Husky/Border Collie mix! And she was potty trained and FREE.
I showed Josh and he agreed that she could possibly be our dog! I emailed back and forth with the girl and agreed to meet up about 20 minutes away. We met at a gas station and this dog jumps out of a big ole pick up. Holding her leash is a full blown Texas sweetheart. Wranglers, boots, rodeo shirt with rhinestones. She tells us about this dog and we make small talk for a little bit, (including the part where I embarrassed Josh by saying something along the lines of the dog curing baby fever) and then she says, "So do you want to take her home today or did you just want to meet her?"
Me and Josh looked at each other and agreed that she wasn't attacking us or barking or anything so, why not?! Sure! We'll take this dog home! So that was that! We drove away parents of a beautiful pup who fell asleep on the way home. 




We went to Petco and spent our life savings on dog food, a leash, toys, bones, treats, a crate, etc. As soon as we got home she laid down on the floor and didn't move. We figured that we were going to have it easy with such a chill pup but also realized she was probably a little depressed. 

Then came bedtime. 
We put her in her crate, which took approximately half an hour, and she proceeded to bark her head off. We decided this would not go over well with our surrounding neighbors so we let her sleep on our bedroom floor. About this time, I began to get really stressed out. Like really stressed. Sweating. Rambling. I thought of every worst case scenario. Josh was a gem. He said it was fine if I didn't want to keep her. That it was okay and not to feel bad. I sent a text to the girl we got her from just telling her that we were having problems with her barking and I was worried about leaving her when we went to work. She was so awesome and told me it was not a big deal if we couldn't keep her and that she would take her back. I told her I would text her the next day and let her know how it was going.  

The dog did fine all night and slept like a baby. So did Josh. But I did not. I was up every hour. On the hour. Freaking out. Thinking about going to work and leaving the dog barking. What if she had to go to bathroom? What if she barked so loud and long that she threw up? And then she was trapped in her crate with throw up? And what about when we want to go out to dinner? And then we have to go home and check on the dog and let it outside to go to the bathroom. And what about the middle of the night bathroom breaks? We live in an apartment complex. That means we would have to get fully dressed and put on shoes and put her on a leash and walk outside and find a patch of grass where she can do her business. In the middle of the night. In the dark. In the rain? In the snow? And then money popped in my head. Vet bills?!?!?!? Oh gosh. She wasn't fixed yet so we would need to do that. But what if something went wrong and it turned out to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. And when I wasn't awake thinking about it I was dreaming about it. Dreaming about having to leave work on my lunch break to check on the dog. I couldn't do it. 

Josh got up at 6 and I said, I'm texting her. I can't do it. Are you mad?? Oh my gosh are you mad? I'm so sorry!!!!!!!!!!
Of course he wasn't because he's amazing. 
So I send this poor girl a text at 6:30 in the morning and say we can't keep her. She was super awesome and agreed to meet up again. 


PS: I forgot to mention that this dog did not go to the bathroom or eat the entire time we had her. Weird. Depressed, I tell ya. 
 So that's that. 
I may or may not have cried multiple times in that (less than) 24 span. But I did come home to a clean house and I got back my $90 for the crate. However I do still have a bag of dog food and accessories.. if you're interested.


Oh and for your information this dog cured my baby fever AND puppy fever. For now. 

Happy Halloweeeeeeeeen!

I love Halloween. 
And no, I'm not a Satan worshiper. 
I remember loving Halloween as a kid, too! Dressing up, the cool weather, and uh, hello?! CANDY!! I've dressed up for Halloween as many different things over the years: pumpkin (at least 3+ years), dog, bird (?), scarecrow, Marsha Brady (I'm pretty sure I wore a dress from a thrift store and a sticker that said, 'Hello! My name is Marsha Brady'), and old lady, GI Joe, a cat, and some others that I can't think of right now. I thought I'd take a moment and share some of these photos with you!
Me as a Dalmatian 
Me as a bird....?


 This was the year I was an old lady. Definitely a last minute costume.. but oh so good.
Mom took pictures of me with Hunter as my grandson.. hilarious.
 (This was also the Halloween that Hunter busted his face open.. that took place a few hours after this picture was taken.)


My mom was the QUEEN of putting together Halloween costumes ON Halloween. AFTER I got home from school. An HOUR before my friends showed up to go trick-or-treating. I seriously remember like 5 years in a row where I didn't know what I was going to be until late that afternoon. My mom and I would stand in her closet and pull stuff out and piece it together. 








Also I'm pretty sure I was a pumpkin from about ages 1-7. Different variations but still.. a pumpkin. See pictures below as proof..


Pumpkin costume exhibit B.



Pumpkin costume exhibit A.
And Pumpkin costume exhibit C.
Oh wait a second... exhibit B & C appear to be the same costume...  but clearly not the same year.. could it be?!
Mama Lamb RECYCLED Halloween costumes?! Never! Oh the horror!!!!! (get it? horror? for Halloween.)




HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!!! 
Have fun dressing up silly and getting free candy!


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Life Update. (Sorry if this is boring, it's for family & friends in CA, & nosey people.)

What we've been up to...

The end of August marked a year of us moving to Texas! It seems pretty crazy and normal all at the same time. We really love it here! The weather can get annoying with it's ever changing tendencies, (expect for this summer when it was in the triple digits everyday) but overall being this close to family is amazing.


About work....

I am still LOVING my job at the salon! All of the girls there have become my friends, plus I get to work with Nicole (my sister-in-law) and Lisa (my aunt)! I work at the front desk Monday through Friday, answering phones and booking appointments, and I'm getting right at 30 hours a week. I also have my Shampoo Apprentice License, which basically means I am allowed to shampoo.. and that's pretty much it. I can't blow-dry or even TOUCH a pair of scissors. :) Another added plus is that it literally takes me 5, okay 7, minutes to get there from our apartment. I know that is something I'll miss once we buy a house.

Josh is working for a amazing couple that have their own online business selling jewelry through eBay. Josh takes pictures of the product, lists them online, and helps ship them out. Strangely enough, it's a perfect fit for him. And he comes home often with jewelry for me! (That they allow him to take.. he's not stealing, people.) He really loves it and it cracks me up to hear him naming off jewelry brands and whatnot when we are out places. Hey, I think jewelry knowledge is a good quality for a man to have! :) His drive is about 20 minutes... well I just spent 20 minutes trying to figure out which direction to tell you but I still can't figure it out! I think it's south. So let's just say, his drive is about 29 minutes south. :)


About life....

Josh and I are super blessed to have the same schedule, which allows us to have the entire weekend together. Now I won't lie, sometimes we stock up on frozen pizzas and we won't LEAVE OUR HOUSE for the entire weekend. Lately we've been making our way through the show Chuck. This consists of me changing into my pajamas as soon as I walk in the door on Friday from work, putting my hair on top of my head, and getting under a blanket on the couch. We stay up way too late and sleep most of Saturday away. And we. don't. care. We love spending time together. Even when neither of us brush our teeth and I don't put on make-up. Seriously. It's kind of disgusting when I type it out. Oh well, that's us! Josh is still drinking Monsters and I'm still drinking Diet Coke. He loves learning about computer programming, killing zombies on XBOX, playing guitar and writing music, and trying every hamburger in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. My hobbies as of late include reading too many books at one time, taking pictures, and garage sale-ing!

About the Lamb family....

My parents live one intersection down the street, which is nice because they feed us and let us do our laundry there. (We don't have a washer or dryer.) But for real, it's been amazing. (They're amazing. another blog.. another time...) They also have a pool.. which is where we spent our entire summer. Okay our entire year. It's hot here, remember? My dad is working now as Kari Jobe's manager. If you haven't heard of her, look her up. She's amazing. Her voice is flawless.. seriously. It gives me chills. He is traveling a little bit but not too much. Also, at his office he has to dress 'professionally' and can only wear jeans on specific 'jean day'. HILARIOUS. I'm just kidding, he looks great. But it is funny to see him dressed like that. Mom is working a little bit doing some office-type work from home. She decorated her new 'Texas' house beautifully. (I'm not surprised.) She is still messing up movie lines, quotes, lines from songs, and bible verses. Just kidding about the last one. They continue to amaze me in their relationship with each other, with us kids, and with the Lord.



Hayden found his lobster and married her on Good Friday of this year. She is so great and fits into our family perfectly. She quickly became one of my best friends. They moved into our apartment complex and we love that they live just across the parking lot from us! As I said earlier, Nicole and I work together at DV8, which is why I think we were able to get so close because right off the bat we had to build a relationship without Hayden around. The two of them make such an awesome pair. It was so great to watch the Lord move in both their lives separately and then pull them together at the most opportune moment. Hayden is also working with Kari Jobe as her tour manager. He is gone pretty often, which is another reason why living across the parking lot is nice.. helps Nicole not feel so lonely!



Hunter and Heather are the only one's missing here in Texas! They are living in Tennessee. We are all praying that they will move here!! The sooner the better, too, because they are HAVING A BABY!! We are all thrilled beyond thrilled. The first baby! They find out this Friday what they are having and all of us are driving ourselves silly waiting to hear the news. Hunter is working for RED, and I'm not sure what his official title is.. but I know he is traveling a lot so my sweet little prego sister-in-law is alone most of the time. Well not completely alone.. she's got a little white cat and a little white pup! Even though it's sad for her, it's been nice for us because Hunter has come through Texas quite a bit and we've got to spend some time with him. (Although we wish Heather was here, too.)



I guess that's pretty much it. How'd you like that for an update? Sorry it got kinda long and Christmas card like.




Sunday, October 23, 2011

At the beginning of September, Josh & I took a road trip to visit the Tilley's in North Carolina and then Tennessee for some family and friends!

This is Josh's childhood home in North Carolina. 









Well, it's been a while! I figured I'd play catch up and fill everybody in about what's been going on. Not like it's anything too exciting! :)

Here's the last half of our summer...

We celebrated Hayden's birthday..

Mom made a wonderful southern meal that included fried chicken and fried okra! 



We also went to New Mexico to visit Josh's Grandma. His mom and sister and her kids met us there. It was a fast weekend and we enjoyed seeing family.. even though we got a speeding ticket AND a flat tire. 
This is a man that owned a little rock shop. I asked to take his picture and he willingly agreed and it just made me giggle because all I could picture was Josh in 50 years.
This was also a funny moment.. the kids begged to ride this silly little ride at Walmart, so I offered up a quarter and they climbed on up. As soon as the ride started they both got this somber look on their face and sat completely still and straight faced the whole time. Josh, Sarah, and I stood there dying laughing!!