clean floors, dirty paws

Abner usually wears a harness because of his sensitive bulldog trachea but because Ryan thinks he looks like a dork, we got him a "big boy" collar for camping. He was PUMPED on wearing it at first but soon had to stop every 20 seconds to itch his neck. Finally Ryan gave him a good scratch and... He went back to wearing the dorky harness

This past Friday night, in a champagne induced coma, I agreed to go camping; in fact, I may have even suggested it. We did a quick Google search for campgrounds in Big Sur that were both dog friendly and close to the river and came across Fernwood resort. Ryan called to make a reservation and we got the last available site for the following night. The next morning I woke up with cotton mouth and a vague recollection that we were going camping, the enormous grin on Ryan’s face confirmed it. Ryan began to gather his camping gear from the shed and I packed up some snacks blankets and clothes. With the car neatly packed (my husband is an exceptional packer) and one stop for hot dogs, s’more supplies and cheap beer, we were on our way. It had been years since I had driven down Highway 1 and I had forgotten how absolutely beautiful it is. Sometimes with things as amazing as Big Sur right in your backyard you forget to actually GO. We arrived at our campground, checked in and soon dis...

This past weekend we took a little impromptu camping trip to Big Sur. Here is a quick shot of us by the creek. Note, the camera was sitting on a rock in the middle of the creek and set to timer. I think it came out quite nice but this next picture is more "us." don't ya think?

While going through some picture files I noticed that we don't have many pictures of Georgia. Ryan decided we should have a few good ones just in case she gets lost and we need to post fliers around the neighborhood. We are always thinking positively over here! Anyway, here is one I particularly like.

We recently started doing some serious yard work and by we I mean Ryan...and I bring him beer. Abner obviously likes to help

You can’t make it through a day without hearing about a million different things you need. You need this new television, this new phone, a new video game, perhaps a new car. More fruit and fewer cookies, more whole grains and fewer potato chips. It seems like every single day there is MORE of everything in this world except for what we need most; not love or world peace, this isn’t a Miss America pageant, I think we need more RESPECT. Imagine a world where there was more respect; and I’m not just talking between a man and a woman. What if we respected each other, our bodies, the earth, ANIMALS, boundaries, laws, responsibilities? What if parents started respecting their children more and children their parents? If we as humans started giving animals the respect they deserve? If we stopped wanting all the time at the expense of the planet and looked at what we really need? I’m certainly not saying you have to like everyone and everything or even agree with different opinions, b...

This past weekend, my cousin, her BFF and her BFF’s two cousins went to Tahoe for a little girl’s trip. Now before you comment on my use of BFF, you should know that I HATE internet abbreviations but that is what Jenny calls her so in this case, and ONLY this case, it is a proper name, not an abbreviation and I will allow it. Moving on. We left Friday morning and we were all so excited to get away. It was like we were all 5 years old and we were going to Disneyland for the first time. I think we all needed it. Some of us more than others, but I digress. I went into this trip almost completely blind; on purpose of course. I wanted to go and have absolutely no control over what we did, where we stayed, who else was coming, where we were eating, etc. I knew if I knew all the details I would worry about it and be stressed out before we even left. Knowing nothing was actually kind of fun. I won’t get used to it of course, I am most definitely a DETAIL NEED TO KNOWER/PLANNER, but i...