i'm a bear.. hear me GaaarrRRR!!

We have plans to go camping/backpacking this Memorial Day weekend. Joe is an avid camper... being from Idaho and all :-)

Or should I say was, since we have only been camping together two times in as many years?

The first time we went with another couple overlooking this algae-infested pond beautiful lake and it rained the whole time.

Oh, and the chick we were with went and took a dump in the woods and came back and put her used TP in the fire. Let's just say no one wanted to cook smores! It was a 'shitty' experience.

Our second backpacking/camping trip - just the two of us - went much better, but it's been almost a year now since we've been.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not that i don't like camping trips.

It's just hard to find the time... But we're going this weekend with a group of friends for 3 nights! With 3 dogs (yes, 3 - I'm dog sitting for friend and don't ask how i thought that would be a good idea, but I digress).

One of my friends, a transplant from Cincinnati, is coming along and she has never been camping before, so she is basically making the stockholders of REI very happy "getting ready" for this trip. Yesterday she sent me over her list, which REI conveniently supplied, of everything she "needs" for camping. I tried to assure her that she did not, in fact, need an headnet or flares, but I think she just wants to be prepared :-)

Yesterday was a long day. I was tired,but it was Tuesday so off my lil bro Gabe and I trekked to Sarvey Wildlife like we do every week. I didn't get home until well after 11:00pm and Joe was already dozing off on the couch with a glass of wine. I was too exhausted to be jealous. We got in the shower and I started to tell him about my day. I was laughing about the thought of my friend showing up with a star identification map, an ice-axe and head lamp in tow.

Joe was laughing with me, until I got to the part about the head lamp.

"Uhh... you'll probably gonna be the only one without a head lamp."
"Why would I need a head lamp? I have a flash light!"
"They're just super convenient, you know... for night hikes."

Okay, first of all I DON'T believe I will be the only one without a headlamp. Just saying. But more importantly, why the HELL would we go on a "night hike"? Isn't the whole point of hiking to enjoy your surroundings?

And I don't know about you but I like my ankles - I've liked them for a long time. The way the are, ya know. Not broken.

The only way I'm going to be doing any hiking at night is very quickly if I'm.. ya know.. running from a rapist or a bear or something..

So I told Joe all of the above. I was tired and cranky so I pretty much said it just like that. And then I threw in, ya know... just for good measure:

"YOU can go hiking at night with your precious headlamp. I will be drinking whiskey by the fire. And Homie's staying with me, because Homie doesn't go night hiking EITHER!!!"

Did I mention I love camping?

Anyway, I went to bed for some much needed rest and I slept. Until 6:30am when Joe's iHome awoke me from the most amazing dream ever (so annoying) and Joe barks "Hit the snooze".

See, Joe gets up (and goes to bed) before me, and I like... no I NEED... my morning sleep. It's my best sleep. It's my - if I don't get it you don't want to be around me - sleep.

Now, usually I don't even wake up to Joe's alarm. Usually I'm a pretty heavy sleeper and Joe just reaches over me and presses the damn snooze button himself.

Probably since I was having such an amazing dream God awoke me to punish me for making fun of that girl who pooped her pants in my second grade class.

Anyway, so I pressed the snooze button... and tried to get back to the part where Bondi and I were running off into the sunset to frolic with sparkle unicorns and rainbow butterflies....

*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP* 6:37AM

I rolled over and looked at Joe, waiting for him to, oh I dunno, shut the goddamn alarm off.

Mother-pooper's still asleep!!!

Well this morning, Joe snoozed his alarm from 6:30AM until the time he actually got out of bed at some point over an hour later!! And by Joe I mean me because I am the one who actually had to reach over every time and press the damn snooze button. Because Joe was ignoring me!!! Despite the fact that I was screaming and bitching and carrying on (no I'm not proud, just honest) every time the alarm woke me up. 14 times.

I am one of those people who, when upset, needs to be Heard. Validated. Acknowledged. Pacified. All I got was a few annoyed grumbles and that WOULD.NOT.DO.

So I did what any crazed, sleep-deprived, PMSing normal girl would do. I unplugged the alarm and chucked it across the bed at Joe. Oh yes I did. And I said that alarm would be on his side of the bed from now on. "GaarrRRR!!"

So what did Joe do? He calmly plugged the iHome back in... got out of bed and said "You are out of control."

Finally... victory!!! Joe is up and getting ready and I get to go back to bed!!!!

And then do you know what happened? 7 minutes later, like clockwork, the piece of shit went off again.

Tell me is this iHome like super human? I unplugged it!!! Don't you have to reset it or something?

So from bed I gave my best... "GaaarrrRRRRRRR!!!"

Yes, I ROARED.


Speaking of, I am thinking I need to beware of Bears this weekend... something Brick said in Anchorman.

Wishful Wednesday - Dream Room (i'm biased)

It's time for Wishful Wednesday, courtesy of my IRL lovely friend Miss Kelsey.

'I wish' I could come home to...

this bedroom each and every night!

I LOVE the bamboo construction and funky low profiles. Just my style :-) I would want it with different (maybe Bamboo?) floors and a shaggy white carpet...

I'd have to throw in this "Chiffonier" ... I just learned this word a few months ago and basically refers to really tall dressers like the one above. It would be PERFECT for all my little clothes.. not like pre-college weight, but you know.. socks in top drawer, then undies, then bras, then bikinis, etc. etc.

Okay, okay. Full disclosure: I'm a little biased.

I helped design this furniture!!! 

Yup, our family company makes this bedroom collection and we sell it on Costco.com here.

Plus, I helped develop the flash product demo for it... check it out, but just warning the music get's really annoying. I take responsibility for ensuring the inclusion of a MUTE button :-)

It's my most favorite bedroom collection we sell, and I would totally have it in our little house, if our bedroom was just a teensy bit bigger. Because of the low profile overhangs (which I love) the bed takes up quite a bit of space... maybe in our next house!

Of course, to complete the dream bedroom, the window in the picture would need to look out upon this view, and not the fake skyline we painted for our furniture showroom :-)

 image source.

To play along with Wishful Wednesday next week, head over to Miss Kelsey's blog The Seattle Smith's!

homies where the heart is!

I know, I know... you have all been wondering if I was run over a truck. I did spend a week in Las Vegas, which is a close equivalent, but alas, I AM ALIVE!

The real reason I have been so MIA is....

.................. I'm a new mommy!

Not THAT kind of mommy, but a mommy to this little guy:

 Friends, meet HOMIE.

I apologize in advance, all these pictures are gonna kinda suck because I can't find my camera at the moment. That's another story (which incidentally has nothing to do with Vegas, shocker!)

Anywhoodles, we weren't exactly looking for a new puppy, but we had talked about it. Remember, that's why we moved! From Feb 18:

Background Info: Our apartment lease is up in a couple weeks, so Joe and I have been looking for a house to move to... with a yard... so we can get Mr. Bondi a little brother/sister that Joe will insist on naming "Homie"... which I think is the worst name for a dog ever, but I digress. 

Well, we waited a good 2 months so I say that's responsible.

What happened is about two weeks ago  I insisted we decided to go to Tuxes and Tails, a big charity auction put on by the Seattle Humane Society.

I wore a snazzy dress and Joe looked quite handsome and we mingled with a bunch of well-to-do Seattleites. There was delicious food and champagne.. and wine.. you get the idea.

Then once they get you all good and liquored, they start parading around with all the adoptable dogs. Ingenious. (The thing about this event is you can put a "hold" on any one dog you see and you have until noon the next day to adopt him/her. This is a huge factor in why I finagled us into going, because it is almost impossible to get a puppy from the pound otherwise.) Anyway, at some point in the evening we saw "Thunder":

I was in love!

We put a hold on him and drug our asses to the shelter bright and early Sunday morning and adopted little "Thunder" who Joe lovingly renamed "Homie" ... Now I do not take credit for this name (though I do have to admit it's grown on me) and I let Joe go with it because:

(a) He's always wanted a "Homie"
(b) He's paying the vet bills
(c) I get dibs on naming our first non-furry child

Bondi did not take to Homie very well. Bondi is a VERY only child and the first couple days were rough for him. More rough than the time he hid in the bathtub, aka Bondi's Terrible Tuesday. The sad part is little H wants nothing more than to follow B around, nuzzle up with him, and be just like him.

Riding in the car goes like this: Bondi sits in the front, as usual. Homie whines to come sit in the front. I help him up. Bondi abandons co-pilot seat with an audible groan and goes to the back. Homie whines to go sit in the back with Bondi. REPEAT.

You can see Bondi's totally annoyed in these pictures:

In the past few days, things have notably improved (probably now that Bondi realizes he's not being replaced). Here are some of Bondi's more tolerant moments:

Anyway, I know this is excessive sharing, but here are some of my favorite shots of Mister Homie (who, not to brag, but has only had 4 accidents in over 2 weeks and already knows SIT and COME)...

Besides the fact that we're totally in love with him, we love how perfect a fit he's going to be for our furry family. Can't you tell how much Homie looks up to Bondi?

Someday, Homie. Someday!