Moving to Wordpress

I have decided to move my blog to Wordpress. I just think it will be easier to manage. I hope you all will follow me over there! I even bought my own url, so head over to:

http://familyandfur.com

And don't forget to update your subscriptions and bookmarks!

P.S. I'm starting all the wedding recaps on the new platform to help entice you over. :)

Christmas Card

I love sending out Christmas cards during the holidays. It's such a fun way to connect with people and show them what you've been up to during the year. And since Joe and I got married this year, this year's card was even more meaningful.

While I didn't want to focus the entire card on the wedding (I mean, that isn't ALL we did this year!) I did have to include one of my favorite pictures from the big day. I also included a picture of Joe and me at Fenway Park, and of course a picture of each of the dogs - our family.


I thought it turned out great. And with Shutterfly's promotion, we got 50 of these lovelies for the cost of shipping. Can't beat that!

Five Favorites for Friday

1. Ada the Terminata
So, they don't allow you to copy any pictures off of The Biggest Loser site, but I'm sure you all know who I'm talking about. Ada won third place in The Biggest Loser competition. She was amazing. She had a lot of issues with her parents, but ended up being the most giving, considerate, selfless person AND the most hard-working and dedicated person. She was a machine, it was awesome to watch. And while she didn't win (Patrick won and I was so happy about that!), she definitely became America's sweetheart.

2. Large Dog Breeds
Meet Tovan (below). He is a Saint Bernard mix available for foster or adoption in Seattle. I *love* him and sent his picture and story to Joe with the subject line: "Can we foster (then adopt) this guy?" I am just obsessed right now with adding a big dog to the family. I think we should have one of each size - wouldn't that be adorable? It's good that I have a level-headed husband who reminds me that we have a tiny apartment, no yard, and no extra time to dedicate to a new dog. But someday.... (If you want to foster or adopt him, though, visit his Petfinder site!)


3. Pink
I'm not a big music person. I'm not the type of girl who loves going to concerts or freaks out about musicians. I like listening to music, I like dancing, but music usually doesn't make a huge impact in my life. But I *love* Pink. She has helped me through many a bad break-up and now that I'm happliy married and in love, I still love her crank-the-volume, dance-in-your-car, scream-out-the-lyrics songs. She rocks.

4. Flash Mobs

They are popping up everywhere! There was even one recently in Seattle that made Yahoo's front page. I have yet to see one in person, but I love the whole idea of it all. You're standing there minding your own business, and all of a sudden all these strangers around you break into song or dance. How cool would that be to experience?

5. Unconventional Christmas Songs

Oh wait, this was on last week's list as well! But I heard a few others this week and had to share.

First, The Maine's "Santa Stole My Girlfriend". It's this nice, slow, pretty song and then all of a sudden, they call Santa a bitch. Hilarious.

Next, did you know Gaga released a Christmas song? Yep!


So, do we share any favorites this week?

Clever Flow Chart for Dog Owners

Joe and I always say that those dog owners who don't pick up after their dogs are the people who give all dog owners a bad name. We hate it. So, I thought this flow chart was pretty awesome. It should be posted at every dog park, street corner, and trail.

(You should be able to click on it to see it bigger. If not, click over to http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2010/12/14/its-winter-your-dog-has-pooped-what-now#wide-screen-content)


My favorite bubble: "Are You a Jerk?" heehee

Five Favorites For Friday

Okay, so it turns out that all my five things this week are related to Christmas. Go figure.

1. Kitty & Canine Holiday Blogger Gift Exchange
Joe and Ava signed up for this a few weeks ago, and they got paired with two sweet dogs in Indianapolis, Indiana! They sent their matches their gifts a couple days ago, and look forward to seeing what comes in the mail in the next week or so.

2. Snowflake Lane
You read about my first trip to Snowflake Lane with my parents. Joe and I plan to go a couple more times before it ends. It's just so much fun and such good energy. Everyone is so happy and singing along with the Christmas songs... and it's so fun watching the kids, who are just in awe of everything. We love it!

3. Christmas Tree on Top of the Space Needle
They put it up the day after Thanksgiving and it looks so cool. Every night when I drive home in the dark, it lights up the city skyline as I drive past and always makes me smile.

4. Traditional Christmas Songs

I have the "All I Want For Christmas is You" station set up on Pandora and I love listening to all the songs and thinking how 99% of people in the world know the lyrics to them. They are classic and just make Christmas. My favorites are It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Sleigh Ride.... okay, I love them all!

5. Unconventional Christmas Songs

You know, like Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah", The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping", and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Raindeer". I always find myself cranking the volume and signing at the top of my lungs when these come on. Below is a new one I just discovered by Simple Plan called "Christmas List."

Here are some the lyrics, because I think they are hilarious:

"Santa is coming tonight and I want a car, and I want a life, and I want a first class trip to Hawaii. I want a lifetime supply of skittles & slurpees and Eskimo pies. I want a DVD, a big screen TV."
"I want a girl in my bed who knows what to do, and a PlayStation 2. I want a shopping spree in New York City!"

haha, too funny.

What are your favorite things this week?

The One Where I Dedicate an Entire Post to a TV

My parents drove up on Friday for our Christmas weekend, since we will be going to Joe's family for actual Christmas this year. And they brought with them the big-ass TV that Joe bought on Black Friday. Joe was a happy man.

We set it up as soon as Joe got off work Friday night.

It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? We don't have cable still, but we did set up the DVD player and watched The Hangover that night. It's a big TV, for sure, but it's not as obnoxiously big as I thought it would be in our tiny apartment.

AND I set up the Wii, so I can play Tennis and Bowling with a practically lifesize avatar. haha.

Definitely a worthwhile purchase, don't you think?

SNOvember

I have no idea how December will shape up, but boy, was November cold and snowy! There was a snow storm in Seattle that led to the scariest and most trecherous commute home ever. Then a snow day home with the dogs. Then a snowy drive to Wenatchee for Thanksgiving and an even snowier and colder drive back home.

While a lot of it was a little scary, we all ended up safe and warm, so really, looking back I can say it was all pretty exciting too!

Snowy walk with Jack.

It was very cold, but you wouldn't know it by Jack's reaction. He couldn't have loved it more and refused to take time away from his SNOploration to look at the camera.

Snowy roads.

Ice waterfalls on the way to Wenatchee - I have always loved these!

More ice waterfalls - ice falls?

Beautiful snow covered woods at the top of the pass.

Five Favorites for Friday

I've decided to start a little weekly blog thing called "Five Favorites for Friday". Every Friday I'll post five of my favorite things. I figure it'll be a good way for you all to get to know me a little better. Let's see if I can remember to actually do this every Friday! (Get-to-know-Heather Fact #1 - I'm forgetful.)

1. The Starbucks Red Cup
I don't know what I love more - Starbucks coffee or the red cup it comes in this time of year. I get very excited for Christmas and the red cup is just one of the many things that reminds me that the holidays are upon us. It just makes me happy. I also love the fact that Starbucks brings out their peppermint flavoring this time of year. A peppermint soy latte just tastes like Christmas.

2. Sparkling Water
I have always thought that sparkling water was for those uppity people that thought they were too good for regular water. I remember going to Europe for the first time and the waiters always asked if we wanted water 'with or without bubbles' and my family and I would laugh and request it without. But when I was on my honeymoon, I drank a lot one night and was sick of alcohol after that. I ordered sparkling water on a whim and loved it. I've been buying it ever since.

3. Gold Class Cinemas at Redmond Town Center
Joe and I discovered this gem one day when we were trying to find a place to take his nephew to see a movie. We weren't allowed in because it was for 21+ only. So we made a point to go back ourselves a couple weeks ago and oh.my.god it has changed the movie watching experience forever. You sit it huge comfy recliners and waiters serve you alcohol and real food. I honestly can't think of a better way to watch a movie, unless you actually had a theater in your own home.

4. Christmas Lights

I usually hate the fact that it gets dark so early in the Winter. But during the Christmas season, it's actually kind of cool because as I'm driving home in the dark I get to see all the beautiful lights on people's houses. They make the street glow and no matter what kind of day I've had, they always make me smile. I can't wait to get lights for our own deck!

5. Wedding Photos
I know, I promise to post some wedding photos soon. It's just that I'm being selfish and exploring them slowly and repeatedly on my own before picking the ones to share on here. But I will say that I absolutely adore the photos I received from our photographer. They turned out beautifully, even though she didn't have a whole lot to work with (we were forced to take most of our photos in the lobby of our hotel). I'm seriously so thankful to her, and for my cousin (a bridesmaid) for recommending her and getting her to give us a deal. :)

What are your favorite things this week?

First Seattle Snow

This morning there were a lot of angry, stressed-out, scared, and otherwise unhappy people in Seattle. Joe and I were not two of those people. We love this stuff!


Sure, it took me two hours to get to work this morning. I was 30 minutes late. Joe had to walk farther up the street to catch the bus that was on a 'snow route'. It was incredibly cold and a little slick.

But it was beautiful! It just started snowing as we walked the dogs this morning and it was dark and quiet and it was so peaceful. Then the snow got heavier as I headed off to work and I have to say - sitting at a standstill in a traffic jam is so much better if you have some snow to look at. (It didn't hurt that the radio station played a couple Christmas songs to try to calm the more stressed-out people down.)

I say bring it on! If it's going to be cold, it might as well be snowing. It's the only redeeming factor of cold weather! And much better than the typical Seattle rain. Plus, it's the holidays! White Thanksgivings and especially White Christmases are all the more merry!

What do you think about the snow?

I Heart the Daily Show

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Big Red Dogs
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

The Wordpress Bandwagon

I'm thinking about switching to Wordpress. It seems like the thing to do right now, and as I got to thinking about it, I realized that all these ship-jumpers have a point. Blogger is limiting. The upload format is frustrating. Spacing and other elements always seem to go haywire. And it's starting to really bug me.

Plus, I help my mom with her Wordpress blog and so I've already become used to what it has to offer. And I'm jealous. And I don't want to be jealous of my mom anymore. :)

My only concerns: Should I try to transfer all posts to the new blog? Or should I just start fresh on the new platform and build from there?

Anyone done this recently? Advice? Thoughts?

Holiday Blogger Gift Exchange

I just signed up for the Kitty & Canine Holiday Blogger Gift Exchange, put on by KJ and her adorable pugs! I'm so excited because Christmas is, like, the best holiday ever and this will let me get my fur babies involved in a big way. Basically, you sign your pets up via their form and then get matched up with other bloggers who have pets. You send your pet match a gift and your pets get gifts as well. So much fun! I know Jackson and Ava will love getting their gifts in the mail. And I'm excited to find out where they will come from. Could be anywhere!

If you want to participate, visit KJ's site here:
http://kjpugs.com/2010/11/kitty-canine-holiday-blogger-gift-exchange/

Weekend

Not really a lot to report lately. It's been pretty quiet here, which is pretty remarkable considering... wait for it.... we're getting married this week!! *woot!*

We had a pretty relaxed weekend, and I think we both needed that. Well, I know I did. Saturday Joe went to work and when I woke up I realized that it was 11:30! I haven't slept that late in years, so I'm guessing I needed the rest. Maybe I've been more stressed than I think? I took the dogs for a long walk, and then crawled back into bed and watched TV on the computer until Joe came home from work. It was awesome.

Stuart flew into town on Thursday, so Joe and I took a drive out to Port Orchard (where his family lives) to visit him Saturday night. We had a great time catching up, and I was happy to have a relaxing visit before all the craziness of the wedding festivities begin.

Sunday we ordered some more last-minute things for the wedding and went to the library to pick out some books for the honeymoon. Then we came home, packed for the honeymoon, and spent the rest of the night dancing around to our reception playlist, making some last-minute tweaks. (Okay, maybe I was the one dancing...)

So that was basically our weekend. Now it's back to work for four days, after which starts the biggest event so far in my life. Can't wait!

Not Much to Report

Joe and I have really been focusing on checking off some of the items on our 'wedding to-do list', so we haven't really been out and about as much. So I haven't really felt like I had anything to blog about, but I figured I would just throw up a quick update.

Last night we were able to go out to dinner with another couple - a chiro friend of Joe's and his girlfriend. We went out to a sushi place in Bellevue and while I really don't like sushi (man, I wish I did, everyone does and I'm always left out!) it was a really nice night.

Ava has been going to work with me more often than not, and she's starting to actually get excited when I start getting ready to head out the door. She is still a little anxious when she is there, but I think it's really good for her. Right now my mom is staying with us, so Jackson has company while everyone else is at work. When my mom leaves, I'm not sure if I'll continue taking Ava. Hopefully at some point we can get Jackson in daycare, and then I can keep taking her.

When I was in Wenatchee, my dad gave me this ear of corn that you put in the microwave and it makes popcorn. We finally tried it out and I know I'm a complete nerd, but it was so much fun! It just made regular popcorn, but it was on an EAR! So cool. Observe:

The ear... before.

The ear.... after!

Joe and I have been going to the gym almost every day. We go at 6 a.m., and you know I must be dedicated to getting fit if I'm doing that. It's so hard every.single.day. to get up and go. I hate waking up and I hate working out, so it's not my favorite part of the day. And I'm not really seeing any results, which makes it even harder. But, we still go. Today I found a rack of trashy magazines hidden behind the stair stepper machines, so I think that will help me with the whole thing. At least I can catch up on Ali and Roberto, Jennifer Anniston's new movie, the new cast of DWTS, and those annoying Jersey Shore brats while I'm working out.

September is national pet health insurance month. If you want to sign your pet up with Trupanion, now's the time to do it.

Um... I think that is about it. I can't really think of anything else. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I think Connecticut is said that my mom left because as soon as we hit the CT border after dropping her off at the airport, it started raining and it. hasn't. stopped.

Now, I know I'm supposed to be used to the rain, coming from Seattle, but I've quickly got un-used to it, and it can stop ANY minute now.

Although, on the bright side, we have our own little swimming pool in the back yard. Maybe when it warms up we'll add some sand and some lounge chairs, start practicing for our honeymoon. What do you think?

This or That Tuesday

My blogger friend over at The Winey Mommy has put together a weekly post called "This or That Tuesday" and because I like her so much, I thought I'd play along.

This week's question is pretty funny for anyone who knows me. It is:

Do you buy your makeup at a discount/drugstore or some type of specialty makeup store?

Yeah, I don't really buy makeup. I think the last two little jars I've used are hand-me-downs from my mother. I REALLY want to go someplace and have them tell me exactly what I should wear to make me look my best. I hate my skin and I never use makeup correctly to cover up all the badness... I've never really learned to apply makeup properly and I think we can all agree that I am in need of a professional. I'm hoping that at some point I can save some money to replace and replenish my makeup selection, as recommended by someone who knows what they are doing.

Random Updates

So, there hasn't been any one big thing that has happened in the last few days, so I thought I'd just update you on the little things that are going on in our lives.

• We went to a wine night on Saturday and had a lot of fun. It was a party thrown by a new friend of ours. We connected because she lived in Seattle for 14 years and is obsessed with Starbucks. So, of course we became friends!
• On Sunday we went and saw the movie "Shutter Island". I had read the book on my flights to Seattle the other weekend, so I knew what was coming. Made it easier, since it's kind of a freaky movie. We both liked it. We also rented "The Hurt Locker" the other day because of all the Oscar attention. It wasn't as good as I would have expected. But then again, I'm not a huge fan of war movies.
• For those of you who don't know, we took Ava back to the vet last week and he said the ulcers on her eyes were rapidly decreasing in size. Tomorrow will be her last day of medication, and then she should be all better. What a relief!
• We paid off a credit card this week! We have been working really hard to get some debt paid off (all while saving for a wedding), and our first major credit card victory was this weekend. It's HUGE for us, and re-motivated us in our goals. Love this feeling!
• My cousin and mom are flying into Boston on Friday to take me wedding gown shopping. I'm really hoping to find my dress this weekend! So excited!

Well, I guess that's about it. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

P.S. It's my future father-in-law's birthday today. Happy Birthday Joe!

Things I Love Thursday

Recently I started following a blog called "The Diaper Diaries". Ever since I worked at Birthday in a Box, I've been a huge fan of these 'mom blogs'. I used to follow them to keep up-to-date on what moms out there thought about birthday parties and such (for research)... and I guess I got hooked. I still follow a lot of them and I learn a lot from them. Plus, most of them post about coupons and money savers, and some even offer giveaways, and you know I'm always up for saving money.

Anyway, this new 'mom blog' I found has a weekly post called "Things I Love Thursday". She posts about something she loves and then asks her readers to do the same and link back to her blog.

I thought that sounded like fun, so here we go.

7 Random Things I Love:

1. Starbucks!!

I'm a true Seattle girl, I guess, because I really love Starbucks. Although, a lot of that could be because I have no access to a Starbucks where I live (well, there is one - but it's FOREVER away) and don't we always want what we can't have? Currently, I am digging Americanos. Joe and I don't allow ourselves too many trips to Sbux, but when we do, we savor it. (Yes, I got him hooked, so sue me!).

2. Modern Family
Have you seen this show?? OMG, it is the FUNNIEST half hour of my week, seriously. Joe and I love it. Every single episode makes us laugh. Especially the characters of Mitch & Cameron. Too awesome!

3. Wine
There is nothing better than starting the day off with an awesome cup of coffee, and ending the day with an awesome glass of wine. Joe and I found a super cheap bottle that we love at our local wine shop, so whenever we have an extra few dollars, we treat ourselves to a bottle of wine.

4. Loungewear

I really wish I was the type of girl who got all dressed up to go to the grocery store and had the perfect makeup on all the time. But I'm not. I'm a hop-into-my-sweats-as-soon-as-I-get-home type of girl. I love nothing more than my loungewear. Sorry, Tim Gunn.

5. Naps
I tell everyone that sleeping is my favorite hobby. I CANNOT stay awake if I'm tired. I can sleep anywhere and anytime. I just love the feeling of curling up and letting that blanket of sleep come over me. Which is the number one reason you should never let me drive longer than about an hour on road trips.

6. Books
I have always been a bookworm. I was the girl in school who read during recess and missed her bus stop because she was in the middle of a chapter and didn't look up. And I continue to be a bookworm. My favorite books are written by Stephen King, but I do dabble in other books as well. Someday I'll have my own library in my home, and I can't wait. I have tons of old books from my gramma (who I inherited my bookworm-ness from) and someday they will all be displayed as they were meant to be.

7. Woot
I just found out about this site from a friend of mine in the Italian Greyhound world. And although I haven't allowed myself to buy from it yet (saving for a wedding after all) I look each day to see what they feature. It's SUCH a cool site!

So there you have it. A few things on my 'love' list. Tell me a few things on yours!