Brought to you by the letter "B"

Tonight's blog has a theme. Everything starts with the letter B.

Fun, huh?

Yeah, I agree.

1. BATH

I gave Finley a bath today. It's been so hot lately and she smelled a bit, well, like a dog. So, in she went. Normally, she tolerates it okay. But, she wasn't a fan tonight. Poor little girl was squirming and crying and pawing to get out of the sink. I felt kind of bad. Oh, and she went ballistic when I tried to blow dry her hair. We do that every time and she usually doesn't care. Not tonight. Oh well... maybe next time.

Pretty pitiful, huh?

2. BEETHOVEN AND BACH

So, Finley's been a little whiny in her crate the last two nights. The first night we were in Franklin and she was in her travel crate and she was NOT HAPPY. So, I chalk that one up to me getting her off her routine. Not a big deal. But, because I'm a researcher, I started googling what to do if your puppy is crying in its crate at night. And, I kept seeing people posting about playing classical music for their pups. I know, I know. Sounds stupid. Last night, she woke up at 4 a.m. and I took her out. Instead of going right back to sleep like she normally does, she started the whining again. So, I got my school iPod and played my school playlist. Ya'll? She stopped IMMEDIATELY. Like, didn't make a peep. And, she slept until 9:30! Needless to say, we've been listening to a lot of classical music over hear today.

The docking station now has a permament home on my dresser. I guess I'll have to buy a new one for my classroom?

3. BASEBALL CARD

Matt got his baseball card last week! So exciting! And, in case you're wondering, he's making his "I'm a great pitcher, fear me!" face.

Um, I can't flip iPhone pictures on my computer. Sorry...

4. BRUISES

You know what the bruises mean! I've been working in my new classroom :) It's finally starting to come together a little bit. I think I have most everything out of the boxes and I've arranged the furniture. Now for the fun stuff!!! I don't have any pictures, but I'll be sure and show you the room before school starts.

5. BOTTLES

I found a new drink this summer that I'm obsessed with. They are Welch's Sparkling Juice and they are soooo good! I've tried Cherry Limeade and Strawberry Lemonade. The lemonade is definitely the better of the two. They're carbonated juices and so yummy on a hot night. Try them!

6. BOWS

I've been trying to keep a bow in Finley's hair since the day I brought her home. Why? Because they're cute and she's cute and I just want her to wear one. Not all the time, obviously, but when we go places. She kind of hates them. But, she hates everything I put on her including leashes, collars, hair brushing so I just figure she has to learn to tolerate it, right? Haha. Anyways, I finally got a bow to stay in her hair for about 40 minutes tonight until I finally freed her from the torment and she was mighty adorable.

7. BLANKET

A very special THANK YOU to my roomie Claire's mom for getting Finley a sweet little blanket! It's the cutest thing and it's already come in handy a bunch. Plus, the animal print is perfect for a puppy :)

She even got her name monogrammed on it!

Again, Finley = spoiled. (And, not just by me!)

Okay, that's all I've got.

I'll "B" seeing you!

Hi, remember me?

Well, hello friends!

I'm sorry I've been MIA lately. It's been a mixture of craziness and laziness over here at my house and I was just not in a very bloggy kind of mood, ya know what I mean? But, I am now. And, you know I love a good list... so, here's what I've been up to the last few weeks.

1. This little thing has obviously been taking up the majority of my time. She sure is cute... and, in the grand scheme of things, she's doing really well. She hasn't had a potty accident in the house in a loongg time and she still adores her crate, which is great for me. But, ya'll? Not gonna lie: she's a handful. She's fiesty and she loves to bite. I know that's normal... we're just working on it every day. Oh, and she loves to eat grass. I can't stop her! She thinks that every time I take her outside to potty is an all-you-can-eat buffet. She literally NOSEDIVES into the grass... which is all dead because of the heat. I've had to stick my finger into her mouth more times than I can count to pull handfuls of grass out. But, all the inconvenience is worth it because she really is a doll. I kind of love her :)

My favorite picture of her :)

She thinks this is her personal balance beam.

Sweet, sweet.

2. We've been visiting with a bunch of people lately:

I took Finley over to my friend Laura's house to play. We took a million pictures, but this one with Katie is my favorite. I've been taking pics with this girl for two years and she keeps getting bigger! And, sadly, so do I...

My cousin Elizabeth and Aunt Connie stopped by my parent's house one day last week and JP and Isaac got to play with the pup. Cute little Isaac kept saying "She's yickin' my arm!"

Our favorite visit was with Matt, Blakely and Hampton! We were SOO EXCITED to see Matt and he got to come home because....

3. He moved up! Matt got moved from Low A to High A! He now plays for the Wilmington Blue Rocks in Delaware! We're so proud of him. He's already thrown three times and has two wins! He's doing great :) Way to go, kiddo!

4. Have ya'll been watching the Olympic Trials? Ohmyword. I can't stop. I can't wait for the Olymics in a few weeks. I especially love gymnastics and swimming. I'm gonna be rooting for:

Ryan Lochte

Michael Phelps

Gabby Douglas

Jordyn Weiber

Can. Not. Wait.

5. I somehow got sucked into a new tv show.

Disclaimer: I'm going to go ahead and say that if cuss words bother you, this show is not for you. If HBO bothers you, this show is not for you. If you can't stomach any violence, this show is not for you. But, I'm totally engrossed in The Wire.

In the span of about two weeks, I ran across a bunch of comments on the internet about how this was one of the best shows ever. And, my curiosity got the best of me. So, I downloaded it off iTunes. It's sooo good. It takes a few episodes to get into it. But, once things start clicking, it's so good!

It's basically a cop show about the city of Baltimore. The first season is about this group of cops trying to bring down a drug seller in the projects. The acting is amazing, the writing is great and it's really funny, too! But, it has heartbreaking moments, too. And, you have to think. The show is really ambitious and introduces new characters all the time and you really have to pay attention. But, it. is. good.

Seriously, if you like cop shows (and, really, even if you don't b/c I HATE them) you have to watch this show.

6. My puppy is totally and completely ADDICTED to this thing:

It's a Kong. And, you fill it with food and then give it to the puppy. Finley is obsessed. She licks this thing and it keeps her entertained for a LONG time. I'm sure everybody knows about these things... but, this is my first puppy. So, just in case anybody out there doesn't have one of these for their dogs, get one. You won't regret it.

7. I'm going to tell you about two books that I've read this summer that I could not put down. I LOVED them! But, read that disclaimer above again. If any of that stuff bothers you, steer clear of these books.

We all know I'm obsessed with Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins). And, he's in a movie that is coming out on Friday. I'm sure you've seen the trailer for it. It's called Savages. Well, when I saw the trailer, I thought it looked like such a cool story. So, I bought the book and I read it in two days. It was SO GOOD!

Then, when I finished it, I realized that the prequel for Savages was coming out June 19th. It's called Kings of Cool. So, I ordered it and when it came in, I read it in two days, too! And, it might be even better than Savages!!!

It's basically all about Ben and Chon, two friends in Laguna Beach. Ben is a hippie who grows the best weed in the world, and he sells it violence-free. His friend and business partner, Chon, is an ex Navy SEAL who is quite the opposite. They have a shared girlfriend, O. And, the Mexican drug cartel tries to buy their business but the boys don't want to sell it to them. So, the cartel  steals their girlfriend. And, as the trailer says, they'll do ANYTHING to get her back.

The books are different from the stuff I normally read. And, again, they are not squeaky clean. But, they're fun summer reading that I couldn't put down.

Alright, I think that's all for tonight.

Thanks for reading!

I think I'll keep her...

  I'm so annoyed. My blog is apparently full. I have to buy more space. So, no pictures tonight. I'll try to get it fixed soon so you can see more pictures of the cutest, sweetest dog there ever was :)

Let me preface all this by saying: KNOCK. ON. WOOD.

I do NOT want to jinx anything. I fully realize that Finley could turn into a non-sleeping, non-eating menace at any time.

But...ya'll?

 She is an angel.

She is doing so well! I took her to the vet on Monday and they pretty much went ballistic. The nurses and vets were fighting over who got to hold her. I think they were doing stuff to her just so they could hold her longer :) She weighed 1.5 pounds... so tiny! She got two shots and then took a 4 hour nap... big day!

She's on a great routine right now. I'm not gonna lie: I've been hard-core crate training her. Since the first hour I brought her home, she's had the following routine: nap in crate, bathroom, eat, play, nap in crate. Over and over again. Oh, and these naps? They're 2-4 hours long! She's a sleepy girl :) She plays for 20-30 minutes (sometimes up to an hour if we're out socializing) and then she's pooped. The best part is that she ADORES her crate. She doesn't cry or whine at all. When she needs to go outside, she'll whine a couple times to let me know and I take her out. If I put her right back in there (in the middle of the night), she goes right back to sleep. She hasn't had one accident in her crate and she's only had a few potty accidents in the house... not too shabby!

(Seriously, I'm knocking on wood again just to be safe.)

I know crate training is a little controversial. But, it's really working for us. She doesn't get any free time to roam around the house by herself. While she's out, I'm sitting in the floor and playing with her so I can see if she starts sniffing around. And, she's got to get used to being in there because when school starts back... she'll be in there all day, probably. As she gets older and I can trust her not to have accidents in the house, she won't have to go in the crate unless I leave the house. But, right now, she loves having her own space and she's so comfy in there. I know her days of endless naps won't last long... so I'm taking full advantage right now :)

Every day she gets more and more confident and fun to be around. Her little personality is adorable and she's really playful. She's met several of my friends and their kids and tonight I took her out to Franklin to surprise my parents. They haven't seen her yet because they've been out of town visiting my brother since the day I got her. To say they were completely smitten would be an understatement.  They kind of like her.

And, I do too.

I think I'll keep her...

Finley's First Day

Well, it's official... she's all mine!

And, I'm absolutely positive I'm biased but... she's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever laid my eyes on.

Oh, and she's TINY! A lot smaller than I was expecting.

She's pretty much slept since I got her... which is NOT a problem! I took her out twice to go to the bathroom...

and, she fell asleep.

Oh well.

 When she finally did go to the bathroom, I gave her a treat and she spit it out. Fail.

She loves her crate so far... knock on wood! I'm kind of surprised because she's never been in one before. But, she's napped in there three times already! In fact, she and I took a two hour nap this afternoon :) Don't judge, I had to get up early!

She wasn't too into her food... but, she ate a TON the last time I tried. And, she's actually in her crate right now lapping up her water. I'm glad she's feeling less nervous.

Looks pretty cozy, huh?

I'm still just trying to figure everything out. I've never had a puppy before, much less a teeny tiny one! But, I love her already. The breeder said she's just the sweetest thing and has the cutest personality... and, so far I agree!

Welcome home, Finley!

4 Days!!!

Want to see Finley one more time before I get her on Saturday?

 Sure you do...

She's such a big girl!

Well, not really. She's actually TINY.

 But, compared to the first time I saw her, she's a completely different dog!

 I can't wait to see her in 4 days!!!

Here is the video:

Miss Finley, you better get used to wearing that bow. It's going to happen.

Slow Clap

A few quick things:

1. A SUPER huge slow clap to my little brother Matt for making the Midwest Minor League All Star team! He's had a great season so far... and I'm so proud of him!

Lane, Matt and Jorge (and that cougar thing that comes to all the games) made the team. They'll play on June 17th, which leads me to...

2. That's the SAME weekend that I'm supposed to get Finley. You know, for good. One week... so excited! I initally thought that I would just get Finley and not go on the trip. So, I emailed the breeder and said we were good to go on Saturday. Then... I had second thoughts. I really wanted to go with my family to see Matt play! So, I emailed the breeder and asked if she could just hang on to her until Thursday when we get back. And then... I changed my mind again. I want the puppy. I'm honestly a very decisive person. I don't know what's the matter with me today... but, I'm sure the breeder thinks I'm a raving lunatic. I probably am. So: final decision. I'm gonna skip the trip and get the dog. Slow clap for it only taking me 5 hours to decide. I think it will be a good few days for me to spend at home with her and get her used to everything and get used to her. I'll sure miss seeing my brother, though.

I can't wait to meet this little lovebug!

3. Does anybody watch Gossip Girl? Slow clap for you, if so. Holy moly. Why am I just now discovering it? It's so good. Netflix has changed my life... and probably not for the better. I fear I will become a hermit.

We love Penn Badgley. Yes, we do.

4. Did you know that it's a HUGE pain to find dog gates that fit extra-wide door openings? Like, the biggest pain. I've had a lot of trouble. Because, most of the extra-wide gates are also extra-tall. They're generally for massive dogs... like Pitbulls and Great Danes and Clifford, the Big Red Dog apparently. I found one at Petsmart... but it was awful! It seemed dumb to have Fort Knox security for a 2 pound puppy. Oh, and if you even touched the gate, it fell off the wall... not good. So, I sent it back and found another one from Walmart.com. I'll let you know how it turns out. It's a lot smaller and it just nails right into the wall... so hopefully it will be sturdier. Fingers crossed for a slow clap on this one. Otherwise, I might cry.

You better be careful, Kitty, or that gate is gonna kill you.

5. I still love Tim Riggins/Taylor Kitsch. Only, now, he has short hair. Which makes him EVEN CUTER!!!


Slow clap for this dude's parents. Nice job, guys.

For the Finley Fans...

  Guys, I got nothing.

There is literally NOTHING going on over here at my house. Except a lot of sleeping and watching tv and eating junk food like it's my job. I went swimming with some friends one day this week and went to see Battleship (which was pretty dang good, I have to say) with a friend one other day. And.... that's it. And, actually, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm the world's best at being lazy. Just ask my mom.

But, I did get some new puppy pictures. And, like, 4 people in the last five days have told me to update my blog :) So, for your entertainment...

Her first bow!

Her little nose STILL hasn't turned black! I'm starting to think this might just be her look, which is fine with me :)

She's just a precious little baby ball of fluff.

Oh, and here's a video too.

I'll just say it: I hate the dress. You will NOT see Finley wearing clothing once she's living with me :)

Well, kids. That's all I got.