Oliver

I have neglected to shine the spotlight on our amazing furball Oliver (aka Ollie).

Background: we have had Oliver for 3.5 years. He was a birthday present from Brandon...3 months early. Then do you know that when my actual birthday came that joker didnt even get me a card??? I got you the dog! Thats one rookie mistake he'll never make again. Anywho, Oliver was born on a farm in the pottery capital of NC. When I spoke to the breeder, I had visions of rolling hills and shih tzu puppies running free with a plethera of biscuits and love. Yeah, no.

Oliver day 1

We arrived at the farm. It was indeed a farm. It had a barn, a house, animals...Only they werent roaming free as the wind blows living the good life. The lady with no teeth took us to the barn and in there were a ton of puppies in cages. One stacked on top of the other. Not just shih tzus either. Pugs, poodles, puggles, chihuahas, all types. Don't get me wrong they werent like the puppy mills on TV or anything. They had tons of food and she kept the cages clean and around back was a free roam area for the mamas and daddys. It was just really really overwhelming. In a cage right on top at eye level there he was. My sweet little 3lb Oliver in a cage with his brother. His brother was a growler and picking on my baby.



Brandon eventually got rid of his bows

Brandon scooped him up payed the woman and we were outta there. On the way home we noticed some things about Ollie that were a little different. Different in an incredibly adorable way that is. #1 his tongue was too big to fit all the way in his mouth. #2 he was missing a few teeth (aka all of them) #3 he was panting pretty hard and had a croupy bark. We got him home and I immediately started treating him like a baby with the croup lol. I stuck his teenie little noggin in the freezer, called his new doctor to get an appt asap & of course snuggled.

The bestest vet ever saw Ollie a good 12 hours later and had some news for us. First thing was he had kennel cough and needed meds asap and no doggie contact for quite some time. Then he mentioned that if we were planning on breeding (never crossed my mind) he wasnt exactly stud material. Turns out that Ollies family tree is probably missing a few branches. Still, that dogs light shines bright and he is the most loyal little fella we could have asked for.

WW: family pic

photo courtesy of Jennie & Kristi (more on them later)

My Littles

“Sister. She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child.” 
― Barbara Alpert

I have three little sisters. All of which are much younger than me.
Anu is 17, Emi is 16 and Hailey is 8.
According to all of them I am an old lady at 25 who knows nothing of the modern teenage world.
I. Am. Lame. But, they are beautiful so I figured I would share.




“In a way, I was incredibly proud of my sister (not that I had any intention of letting it show while I was beating the crap out of her)” 
― Meg Cabot

being productive

Talent Corner-Jenny

Today were going to shine a light on a local aspiring artist known only to acrylic enthusiasts as Jenny. She spends her days working at the zoo, but her nights are dedicated to the canvas.

Take a look at some of my personal favorites

 

The Humpy Owl
Genius! How worldly to create a Quasimodo esque owl . "Oh why could I not be made of stone like thee?"

The Flying Fish
This one is such a whirlwind of color it almost makes me feel drunk with happiness. I wonder if Jenny was feeling the same way when she looked at her finished masterpiece...

The Big Fin That Could
Just look at the painful expression on this majestic creatures face. Jenny surely needs to spend majority of her time at the beach in order to fulfill her lifes dream of saving the sea turtle...and getting a really good tan.


As you can see this budding artist is full of wonderful imaginings and pinot grigio

sidenote: Jenny is my aunt and in no way a budding artistic genious who is passionate about French novels or the sea turtle.

children learn to smile from their parents

I realized while speaking to my dad the other day that I have yet to write about members of our extended family. Since I've already mentioned him, lets talk about my daddy.
My dad is happily divorced. Twice. He is younger than all my friends dads, by about 20 years. We look alike. While at his favorite karaoke bar he got shanked (seriously). Hes addicted to sweet tea and Chus Express orange chicken. The majority of his 20's were spent on a cruise (provided by the US Navy of course). His pet hamster is named Houdini. My dad drives a motorcycle. As a teenager I remember getting cited by the city for having too many inoperable vehicles in our driveway/front yard..so he built a privacy fence in the backyard and moved them in there. 

True story:
Birds were nesting in the siding of his house, so my dad took residence on his front lawn in a folding chair while holding a very realistic looking bb gun. A police officer cruised by. Stopped. Turned around. Then proceeded to ask him wth he was doing? (after he put down the weapon of course) When he explained the bird issue he was told that hunting within city limits is illegal.




My dad no longer has birds nesting in his siding...