30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 11 - a photo of you recently

This photo of me was taken on our honeymoon in Playa Del Carmen Mexico in August of 2010. Our honeymoon needs a separate post....(stay tuned for that.)

30 Day Blog Challenge-Day 10- A photo taken over 10 years ago of me

This photo was taken on my first day of kindergarten at my previous home in New Bedford (circa 1990). I remember being very nervous for my first day so much so that all I had for breakfast that morning was milk. I recall meeting many new friends one of which I'm still very good friends with today.

30 Day Blog Challenge-Day 9 -A Photo I took

I haven't been very consistent with this blog challenge. I guess it's just not that exciting for me. However, I have decided to continue with it.

This is a picture that I took of Colt with my new Nikon D3000 camera. Isn't he such a doll? 

Day in the life of a Resturant Manager's Wife

I know I have complained about this numerous times on Facebook, but I haven't actually spilled about it on my blog.  It's extremely difficult to "watch" (via facebook) everybody always having plans and traveling with their spouses while I sit home alone and my husband is off working like a dog. I was particularly bothered this past weekend for some reason. Don't get me wrong I'm so grateful that he has a great job in this tough economy. I guess I'm just being selfish. I don't know. After a long week of work (which has been especially stressful this year) I want to relax my mind and forget about work for the 2 short days that I have off. Weekends are the busiest time for restaurants and it just so happens that I work Monday-Friday. It is extremely rare for Cory to have a weekend off, but it does happen every so often. Dealing with long work days, opposite schedules and varying hours has always been an issue ever since Cory became a manager. Sometimes I'm okay with it, but most of the time I just wish I had more time with him. I try to be supportive of him and I'm so proud that he is doing so well at such a young age. I know that in order to support us and move up in the company he has to give 110 percent at all times. I'm just scared that when we have children in the future that they will resent him for always working and not being there for them.. I don't resent him I just wish I had more of a "life" instead of  just working, cooking, and cleaning. I guess as a newlywed I'm at a crossroads. I need a hobby!

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 8 - A photo that makes me angry/sad

This picture was taken on my first holy communion back in 1992, I believe. Both my grandparents are present in this picture, and they have been gone now for about 10 years. I was incredibly close to both of them. They essentially raised me from the time I was an infant until I was about 4 due to the fact that my parents work schedules were so demanding. I miss them so much, and I wish they were both here to experience all the important events and milestones that my Brother and I have experienced since they have been gone. It's very hard to look at this picture and not feel empty.

30 Day Blog Challenge -Day 7 - A photo that makes me happy

This is one of my favorite pictures of Cory and I. This was taken at a wedding that we attended back in July 2009. We had such a great time, and this picture makes me smile.
I love the picture so much that I have it framed and displayed on the side table in our living room.

30 Day Blog Challenge - Day 6 - 20 of my favorite things

My favorite things (in no particular order)

1.) My new husband (of course!)

2.) My dogs (Colt & Tucker)

3.) My family

4.) shopping

5.) warm summer days

6.) the beach

7.) flip flops

8.) Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccinos

9.) My beautiful Ford Focus :)

10.) My ipod

11.) My home

12.) My friends

13.) weddings (ever since I started planning mine I'm infatuated with them now!)

14.) My laptop

15.) Cinnamon crunch bagels (just bagels period!)

16.) Panera Bread (Our favorite place to eat!)

17.) hooded sweatshirts

18.) HGTV

19.) The color blue

20.) my bed

I have to say I throughoughly enjoyed coming up with this list!

Our New Addition

In the weeks leading up to the wedding Cory and I were seriously contemplating getting a puppy next year for something excited to look forward to as newlyweds. Cory had always been raised with dogs, and I myself was around dogs my entire life I also owned one since I was 18. Realistically, neither of us have the time to train a little puppy. One night Cory and I stumbled upon petfinder.com and instantly we were hooked. They were so many adorable dogs on this website, and it just broke our hearts to know that some of these dogs would never find suitable loving homes. After a long discussion, we decided that adopting a dog would be the best option for us at this time in our lives. Also, it gave us the satisfaction that we were giving a dog that essentially had nothing, a loving caring home. There were over 300 dogs to choose from on the labs for rescue website and they were a few dogs that caught our eye, but one in particular, Colt, really caught our attention. We submitted an application and paid the $365.00 adoption fee via paypal. We heard back from the woman who was fostering Colt within 12 hours of submitting the application. The whole adoption process took about a week to complete, and after a few quick phone calls and one home visit we were all set to pick up our new family member!

We were scheduled to pick up Colt on Saturday-September 4, 2010. We arrived at a park & ride off a major highway in Connecticut feeling beside ourselves. Cory was very excited, and I of course was nervous. They assured us the trailer would be arriving at 12 noon, however they didn't arrive with him until 1:30. The anticipation of that trailer pulling up at any minute was unbearable because we were not aware that they would be over an hour and a half late. When the trailer finally arrived the dozens of other people waiting scurried to greet their new additions. Colt was the third petrified dog to come off the roaring truck. As soon as we got Colt off the truck he was shaking uncontrollably. Cory started walking to the car and Colt pooped right there in the middle of the parking lot. How embarrassing! He was so scared and had no idea who the heck we were so in turn he tried to hide behind a guard rail in the parking lot and wouldn't come out. This is when my tears started coming. I felt so bad taking him from the only home that he ever knew. I cried for the first 30 minutes of the ride back home. It truly was one of the most emotionally traumatizing experiences for me. I'm a huge animal lover, and I just felt so terrible knowing that he was on a trailer for 2 days with minimal food and water just to get to us. I felt so selfish doing this, but Cory kept reassuring me that we were giving him a loving home and that it was okay.

The trailer that Colt came on



First picture of Mr. Colt scared as can be



Hiding from Daddy


Colt did a little better when we got home, but he was still very unsure of us. The first day/night all Colt did was hide in his crate. We finally figured out that he felt as though the crate was his "safe place" due to the fact that was all he really knew back in GA. The first 4 days were the most difficult ones, because he was still so scared of Cory and I we couldn't get him to do anything all he did was lie down with this depressing "lost puppy" look on his face. A quick little back story on Colt: His foster mother found him and his siblings abandoned at 9 weeks old. This particular woman rescues labs and has over 40 dogs on her small farm in Georgia. He was not exposed to any real life situations while living with her. He was basically left in a crate, and was let outside to run and do his business a few times a day. This woman very rarely had visitors at her home so in turn Colt didn't meet people. Also, he had never been for a walk on a leash before. This is just a touch of the little things that we spoil our dogs with that Colt didn't receive in his foster home.

The first three weeks that we had him he got progressively better, but he was still petrified of being outside. He would do his business and run straight for the door immediately. He had no idea how to go for a walk, and he would pull us in every direction. We bought him toys, but he had no idea what they were because he had never had them where he came from. We essentially had to teach him to be a puppy. As the weeks went on, Colt got better and better each day. He began to slowly come out of his shell. He was running around the house and playing like a puppy should, he was giving kisses to us every chance he got. The fourth week he was with us I introduced basic commands (Sit, Paw, Come). He is a very quick learner and picked up on these incredibly quickly. Now each week I'm trying to add another trick/command to his repertoire. Currently, we have had Colt for 5 1/2 weeks, and I can't even begin to tell you how much he has grown and improved since that very emotional day that we picked him up in CT. We are so blessed to have such a sweet, lovable dog, and even in the short time that we have had him we can't imagine what our lives would be like without him. We are very proud pet parents. Finally, we are very excited to grow in our marriage and expand our family with Colt by our side.

Week 4 Colt Pictures

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 5- My Favorite Quote

To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world.

Anonymous


Random Photo of Cory and I at a beach in Weymouth.

30 Day Blog Challenge -Day 4 - My favorite book

For a book worm such as myself it's diffcult to choose just one favorite, but for the sake of being decisive for once I have to say my favorite of 2010 so far is "Handle with Care" by Jodi Picoult.

30 day Blog Challege-Day 3- My favorite television program

Continuing with this blog challenge confirms that I'm a completely indecisive person. I was aware of this trait before writing this blog, but now I'm sure of it.:)

I can't chose just one "favorite" movie, song, or TV show! I enjoy watching many TV shows. But, the one that I have been stuck on lately is "Teen Mom". Please don't poke fun at my choice of trashy reality television. I really thoroughly enjoy this show from beginning to end. My favorite character on the show is Maci. I think despite the amount of support from her parents she is a great Mom. She really loves her son and tries to do what is best for him. Although, I do disagree with her choice to move to Nashville just to be closer to her boyfriend. In my opinion, it was a selfish move on her part.

And, as for the other teen moms on the show I think Farrah needs more than just one therapy session a week. She is so bitter and angry towards her Mother, and it's not a healthy way to be acting in front of your child. Amber seems to have gotten progressively worse as far as the violence against Gary. In the first season, I thought it was Gary causing the issues due to his laziness, but now I see that Amber is the one who has issues. In my opinion, She needs to seek counseling and anger management. Lastly, Caitlin and Tyler are truly two of the bravest and most mature teenagers I've seen. I think giving Carly up for adoption was the best decision that they could have made. They wanted a better life for her than what they had growing up. They had to endure Tyler's Dad coming in and out of a jail cell and Caitlin's Mom drinking all the time. I'm sorry that trashy household is not a fit place for a child to grow up.

Okay, I have said my peace about this show. I always look forward to watching this every Wednesday on my DVR. Next week is the last episode of the season, and if this show doesn't come back I honestly don't know what I will do!

30 Day Blog Challenge- Day 2- My Favorite Movie

Just like my favorite song it's very difficult to choose just ONE favorite movie of mine. However, one movie that came to mind almost instantly was "Happy Gilmore" starring Adam Sandler. Arguably, "Happy Gilmore" is one of the funniest movies ever made. Also, This movie reminds me of when My brother Keith and I were younger, and used to be very close. We would watch this movie very often, and we knew ALL of the lines by heart. No matter how many times I watch this movie it still makes me crack up laughing!

Finally, As I am writing this blog post my husband is clicking through the channels and Happy Gilmore is on ABC family. What a coincidence!