1. As some of you may already know, my daughter and I got the bright idea to foster puppies for the humane society. If you'd like the details of this, please read about them in Puppy Tails, Part I right here. I am still not a dog person, but the experience has been pretty good, and I'm glad we gave it a try (fyi - it's not over yet). By the way, when you endlessly stand outside in the grass, trying to convince two puppies to evacuate their bladders and bowels, you get eaten alive by mosquitoes and chiggers, including a big, itchy bite right on my ass. How did that happen? I WAS NEVER NAKED OUT THERE, I SWEAR!
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| Audrey |
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| Olivia |
2. My cats are being pretty good sports about the whole puppy fostering thing. They aren't happy, but they aren't off sulking all the time either.
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| Bathtubs are fun, unless the water is running. |
3. Volleyball try-outs were this week, and my daughter made the junior varsity team. She was a nervous wreck the morning of try-outs, although I really do not believe she had anything to worry about. And I was right! Their first game is the second day of school.
4. And speaking of school, the superintendent has promised not only will the high school be ready for students on the first day, but the gym will be ready for the home opener volleyball game that second day of school. How awesome that they will get to be the first sport to play in the new school! (In case you didn't know, our high school was destroyed three years ago in an EF-5 tornado.)
5. I accidentally hit "delete" instead of "publish" when approving a blog comment, and I FIXED IT and didn't have to contact Marisa to say I totally screwed up and would she mind resubmitting her comment. Take that, technology!
6. It's time for Marian Days in the neighboring town of Carthage! This is the 37th year for the event, during which approximately 60,000 Vietnamese American Roman Catholics pilgrimage here to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary. We attended last year for the first time and loved it! In fact, I devoted my entire TToT entry that week to Marian Days. This year, we took my son with us one day. He was brave enough to try frog legs and said he enjoyed them, but a few bites were kind of "pondy". Yay for him for trying something new, as he is a pickier eater than I am! Even better was the teenaged Vietnamese girls who were following him around, giggling and taking pictures of the tall, good looking ginger.
7. We also discovered a delicious drink at Marian Days this year - the boba smoothie! While not brave enough to try some of the flavors offered (unidentifiable fruits, avocado, taro root), they did have strawberry and it was yummy!
8. I love pho! I have decided beef is my favorite, as it is very lean, and there are no mysterious pieces of uh, stuff, as there is the chicken pho. There are no Vietnamese restaurants anywhere in the area to get this bowl of deliciousness, so we have to get our fill once a year. Isn't that odd, since there is a Vietnamese monastery on the grounds of the church where Marian Days is held?
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| Pho. Yum. |
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| I suck at using chopsticks. |
9. My husband and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary this week. Well, we didn't exactly celebrate it; we were on our way to have lunch at Marian Days and realized it was our anniversary. We're pretty low-key about that kind of stuff.
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| August 7, 1993 |
10. I've taken the puppies outside to potty about a thousand times today, given them baths, picked up puppy poo from the yard, changed my hair color, took a couple of short cat naps with an actual cat, and have plans to go out to dinner with the College Boy this evening as we count down the days (four) until he goes back to school. Life is pretty good. That's a lot of thankful right there.
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| New hair color. Auburn, if you can't tell. |
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God bless you that you have puppies plural, because the one has worn me down in the last two months. Don't get me wrong, I adore and love her, but you are right the constant outdoors to help evacuate bladder and bowels has left me exhausted and yes to all the lovely mosquito bites, as well. I swear my legs look like I have had the chicken pox! Crazy, but still this too I suppose shall pass!! :)
ReplyDeleteI think sextuplets would be easier than two puppies! At least they've been going from about 10 or 11 at night until 7 in the morning without going potty in their crate!
DeleteA very lot of thankfulness. I've only eaten a bit of Vietnamese food - I liked the spring rolls the best.The bean drink for dessert - not so much. Love your hair.
ReplyDeleteI had Vietnamese food one time about 17 years ago, and I didn't like it a bit! Very proud of myself for coming out of my safe place and trying it. We had spring rolls, too (forgot to mention that). I have to keep myself from thinking the rice paper wrapper feels like skin (because it does), and then I love them. They had a fantastic peanut dipping sauce!
DeleteThey had bean popsicle things that we didn't try. There's also some kind of jelly drink that is a dessert and we didn't try that, either. Baby steps!
PS. Audrey and Olivia are adorable.
ReplyDeleteAren't they darling?! We'll miss them when they go, but NOT ENOUGH TO KEEP THEM.
Deleteyou know, you should probably keep the doggies
ReplyDelete(just a thought.)
NOT. KEEPING. THE PUPPIES.
DeleteBut how can you send them away now...mommy?! LOL
DeleteSome moments will make it easier to send them away than others!
Deleteawwww c'mon...you know you want to keep em, and Ruby wants baby twin sisters ( albeit fraternal).
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary ... arent you two cute? Pho...food of the goddesses...congrats to daughter for volleyball... and boy are you gonna miss college boy! Maybe you should keep the puppies to fill the void.
NOT KEEPING THEM! But they're cute and sweet. And a lot of trouble.
DeleteThanks! He was getting a little annoyed because I kept laughing - can you tell?
Pho is goooooood!
It would have been the end of the world if she hadn't made it.
Oh, I'll miss college boy! Glad he's only an hour away.
NOT. KEEPING. THE PUPPIEEEEEEEES!!!
YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!!!
DeleteI REALLY DON'T!!!
Deleteoh yeah.... great hair!!!!!
ReplyDeleteShanksh!
DeleteOh my goodness! Your son's response that the frog legs tasted pondy was so funny. Too funny that those girls were following him. It's so crazy that you are busier now than you are in the school year. Those puppies are so adorable! I had no idea you all had an EF5 tornado that took out the high school! So sorry to hear that!
ReplyDeleteDid I mention that my son was completely oblivious to the girls following him?! My daughter's summer pre-season volleyball has kept me running her everywhere. Then add two puppies on top of that! And the tornado took out about a third of the town three years ago, including destroying four schools. The high school is the last school to get rebuilt, and it's going to be awesome!
DeletePuppies are a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too. I've definitely heard of foster "fails"--those foster puppies that end up staying permanently. Are you sure you are not keeping the puppies? :-)
ReplyDeleteVietnamese food is one of my favorite cuisines.
Happy anniversary!
Dyanne
Deletesee? see?!? it's not just me, everyone knows what you should do and besides! you know that puppies (and dogs) are 'Nature's Tornado Protection and Early Warning Lifeforms'!!
(no, I am not making that up…ask anyone!)
I hear they also predict seziures, earthquakes and fiscal irresponsibility!
DeleteKEEP EM!
NOT KEEPING THEM! Although I love the story of Dexter coming back to you, Kristi.
DeleteI don't consider Drexel a foster failure, because he always had a specific purpose in his future. Of course, at the point that Guide Dogs for the Blind realized that Drexel wasn't going to become a guide dog, I was happy to take him back.
DeleteThere is definitely a need for foster homes (for 4-legged creatures as well as human-folk), so kudos to you! (I won't be surprised if at some point in your journey, though, you decide to adopt.)
Rats, I called him Dexter. DREXEL! He's no foster failure! He's a foster success! He got to stay with you. WAIT, WHAT AM I SAYING? NOT KEEPING THE PUPPIES!
DeleteThere's a blue mama kitty and her babies that need fostering right now. You should have seen the look on my husband's face when I told him!
Audrey and Olivia -- they are so cute, lovely, and adorable!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about Marian Days.
I like your new hair color.
Thank you, Romi! They are fun!
DeleteMarian Days is really interesting! They also ordain new priests and have lots of different masses throughout the festival.
I kind of wanted a little more red in my hair, but I can add more later.
I'm still liking your new "doo". New color? Fab! Really:)
ReplyDeleteSad boy is off to college, but excellent girl made the jv team!
I remember when you posted about the EF-5 Dyanne. How quickly another's devastation disappears from the radar. The town must be very excited. Especially the kids.
There's a Pho restaurant within walking distance of where I live. I've stopped in for a take out menu 2x. They don't have any. Bad. I need to research first before trying. Not courageous like you! I'm not into anything unidentifiable passing between my lips.
Audrey and Olivia. Sweet names for sweet puppies. Who will be sweet dogs. Who will be so grateful.....but hey, no pressure here. Ya know. To keep the dogs.
In reality, they are a huge responsibility. We've always had 2. But then that's 2x the blessing!!
I get bored sometimes. Change the hair - wheeeeee!
DeleteBoy is very ready to get back to school. That keeps it from being so sad. Last year, he was very apprehensive. Making the JV team prevented the world from ending....
The kids are so excited to go to that new school! The 9th and 10th grade has been in a nearly 100 year old surplus school building and the 11th and 12th grad has been at a renovated space in the mall that was once a large box store. Worked great in a pinch, but not a real school.
My daughter's friend thinks it's funny that we named them after her and her sister! They will go to loving homes with people who have time for dogs. BIG dogs.
NOT KEEPING THEM!
I hear you on the boredom!
DeleteNo doubt because he is not....so much a boy anymore:( for you.
JV is where you start. Then it's varsity!!
I can't begin to imagine my school being totally decimated. I bet they are very excited to move into modern digs.
What they didn't know then...shouldn't bother them now? LOL
May they go to very loving homes. With time for BIG dogs:)
They are cutie pies. You sure? LOL
Sending him off freshman year was really tough! I feel much better about letting him go this time. HE'S ready, too.
DeleteBoys sports, especially football, get all the attention. It's a good thing for the girls.
VERY big dogs.
POSITIVE!
I like the new hair color, looks really good! Funny you mention chop sticks. Last night hubby and I decided to try a Japanese restaurant. The table was set with chop sticks and neither one of us had the guts to ask for a fork as the only drink they served was tea .... so ..... I struggled at first stabbing my food and then followed the instructions that came on the wood chopstick package. It got easier and easier.
ReplyDeleteThe puppies are adorable. If I ever fostered puppies I'd want to keep all of them :)
Trying to match my ginger son's hair color :)
DeleteIf you scroll really quickly down this post, it looks like the noodles are hanging out of my nose. Try it!
We fostered puppies because I knew I couldn't give away kittens!
So glad technology worked...your hair and color look amazing the puppies are so cute they really are - you are dong a great thing - happy anniversary - we celebrate 30 years in septemberr i was an infant when we married. good luck to your daughter and the volley ball game... :)
ReplyDeleteThe second I realized I'd hit "delete," I knew it was too late. Thank you, Google!
DeleteOne of the puppies pooped on the rug a few minutes ago, so they are less cute about right now....
You must have been an infant when you got married! I was an old lady when I got married.
I LOVE pho!!! One of the things I miss most about leaving the States is the pho. My daughter and I had our favorite place we went together for lunch. I'd always get the seafood pho. And when you're coming out of an illness, pho is the best first meal ever.
ReplyDeleteWe are not very ethnic around here, so finding pho isn't easy! It would be good after an illness, maybe without the jalapenos :)
DeleteDyanne, Dyanne, Dyanne, I'm going to steal those puppies!! Audrey is a darling!
ReplyDeleteWhat a bummer that you will have to steal em, Michelle... cuz I heard she is keeping them!
DeleteThey are sweeties! Audrey is very soft and fluffy. Olivia is the cuddler.
DeleteAND I'M NOT KEEPING THEM!!!!!!!
DeleteThat's not what I heard. Ruby sent out a note saying she is looking forward to them staying...
DeleteRuby must have been smoking meth at the time....
DeleteHe is already heading back to school?! At least I have my kids for another week or so and still I have started the mental count down.
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary! What a happy photo!
Your hair looks fabulous. Love the color.~May
Classes start the 18th for him, and he moves in on Wednesday because he has to spend Thursday and Friday in training for his job as a tutor.
DeleteMy wedding day was SO FUN!
And thanks! Next time, it just might get a little redder....
The hair may get redder before all is said and done.
ReplyDeleteThere are recipes, but they are so complicated to get a good broth that I read them as fiction. Makes it more special when I get a chance to eat it for real.
Licky. Good word. I don't like licky. And grubby. And doggy smelling. But sweet. And cute. And those eyes!
That is a great photo of you. Almost as good as the wedding one. Nothing can top that one.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the volleyball player!! That is so exciting to be starting in the new school, AND BEING THE FIRST TEAM TO PLAY IN THE GYM! Awesome.
Those puppies are still the cutest things ever. Don't keep them. Puppies turn into dogs, and dogs aren't nearly as cute. Except for Skip and Una, of course. :)
I've never had Vietnamese food before, but if you can eat it, being as picky as you are, I should really like it! :)
Enjoy these last few days before the college boy heads back to school!
I loved my wedding! Can you tell?
DeleteThe football boys may get the first game of the year (and the stadium is close to a hundred years old and on the other side of town and completely unaffected by the tornado), but the GIRLS GET TO OPEN THE GYM!
Exactly!
I can't eat EVERYTHING. No goat. No dried fish. But I have found something delicious, so if I'm ever somewhere that has a Vietnamese restaurant and someone suggests we go, I won't panic!
Enjoying the mountain of laundry on the day before he goes :)
Wow! Your post made ME tired!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to your daughter for making the team. Nikki has club tryouts on Saturday and for the school team next Monday. She's a little nervous but I think she'll do great. Send good thoughts!
Your son is very handsome and I can imagine the girls follow him quite a bit.
The pups are so cute. I'd have a hard time fostering... I would want to keep them all!
I LOVE your new color. I'm a big fan of auburn. You look beautiful!
It's good to be a little nervous, but I bet she'll do just fine! Sending positive volleyball thoughts Nikki's way!
DeleteGirls follow, he's mostly oblivious. The Vietnamese girls were so funny! They're so small and he's so tall!
You clean up so much poop and pee and administer medicine and give baths and try to keep them out of the cat food, and you're okay with giving them up :)
And thank you! I kind of wish I'd gotten it a little redder. Next time....
These are my fav series of posts written by U !
ReplyDeletefrog legs - umm err. I can never taste them :) and U r so pretty in the last pic . Straight hair is cool too
Have a grt week
Thank you, Afshan! I didn't try his, but I've eaten them before. Taste like chicken with the consistency a cross between chicken and fish. Okay, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat them (obviously, since it's been probably 30 years since I ate them last!).
DeleteThe straight hair is hard to pull off in the heat and humidity!
Love your hair! Can't say I'm much of a fan of boba, but my mouth has been watering for pho all week because of your photos. I LOVE pho. There's a place around here called Pho Real. Isn't that the best name ever?
ReplyDeleteI had boba at Orange Leaf (frozen yogurt) and thought they were too much like salmon eggs. But the ones in the smoothie were the size and color of blueberries and were lots of fun to suck up in the big straw provided!
DeletePHO REAL?! Perfect name! Take me there when I come to visit you!
You know, I think I remember that Marian Days post from last year. I SO want to go to that!
ReplyDeleteLove your new hair. Love pho. (I have a homemade one I do that is awesome and so easy which is why it's awesome.) Those puppies are pretty cute, sweet little girl names and all. But having to take them out to do their business? No thanks. Cats are awesome because they do their business in a box.
Oh, wait. No they don't. Mine do it ON MY STAIRWAY LANDING. Never mind.
Sorry I'm all buried down here at the bottom on MONDAY NIGHT for TToT, but there is a VERY good reason, I promise. Stay tuned, read my blog this week, and all shall be revealed. And no, I am not pregnant. :D
Come visit me next year, the first weekend in August! Pho and boba smoothies every day!
DeleteI need your pho recipe! Is it on Pinterest?
I had to take the puppies outside IN A BREWING THUNDERSTORM over the weekend.
To the best of my knowledge, my three kitties have not had any "accidents" (which are really "on purposes") since the puppies came. Thought we might have some behavior problems, but so far, so good.
I will be watching. Really not pregnant?
Puppies grow up to be dogs. Do not keep the puppies! Happy Anniversary,
ReplyDeleteYou completely understand me! Thank you!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete