I'd Like to Thank...

So it's official. I won the PCD Pumpking Carving Contest! It was a close race, but in the end I beat out my office manager and her princess palace by three votes. Yay for me! Of course I couldn't have done it without the "Peanut" organization (consisting of Kevin and Keith) who came in yesterday and committed voter fraud. Thanks guys! It feels great to have my talent finally recognized. Kidding.

Side note, I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that the most exciting part of my week was a pumpkin carving contest. Just a thought.

PCD Pumpkin Carving Contest

So here are the official entries to the PCD Pumpkin Carving Contest. Yes, sadly, out of 18 employees, only 5 were hard core enough to make pumpkins. I'm not partial or anything, but I think mine is the best. I was definitely proud of everyone who actually carved real pumpkins and didn't use templates or foam craft ones, no comments on those who did. The entries are definitely a step up from last year.

LawandaTasha's Pumpkin Man (he had really cute hair, but it's starting to wilt)

Lorena's very cute entry.

Tracy's scary mini face

Tamara's Cinderella Castle

Happy Halloween!

So it's time again for PCD's annual pumpkin carving contest.  Last year, I was very proud of my pumpkin (above).  It was my first time carving one, and it was very cute, if I do say so myself.  But I felt a little slighted at the contest, as other participants painted their pumpkins, and/or carved foam pumpkins purchased at craft stores.  So sadly, my pumpkin did not even place, but I took pride in knowing that mine was still very good, and one of only two that were actually good old-fashoined jack-o-lanterns.  

This year I spoke very plainly about my feeling on fake and painted pumpkins.  I know I inspired at least one person to carve a real pumpkin.  So I thought it necessary to step up my game.  I think it turned out pretty well for someone who's not exactly an artist.  I'll let you know how the contest turns out.  (We let patients vote all week long, so results will be either Thursday or Monday).  

Look, Ma, no Leash!

Dakota did great yesterday!  Well, if I'm being honest she was scared out of her mind.  But we took her out a few more times with the shock collar and the leash, and she did her business and then wanted to go inside.  This morning she got a little more brave, and ventured out to where the white flags were.  But as soon as she started beeping, she high-tailed it back into the safe zone.  When we got home from church, she did the same thing.  So based on her favorable response, and her obvious fear of getting shocked again, Kevin and I decided that we would try taking her off of the leash.  And it worked!  Granted, we'll have to be really careful for the first couple weeks while she's learning the boundaries and testing her limits, but she did great!  She definitely understands what the beep means.  I'm so proud of her!  Here are some pics of her first day as a free woman.  

Not sure what to do with her new freedom

Standing tall 

I'm a proud momma!

Her first poop without a leash (sorry, Kevin took the picture, and I thought it was funny!)

Poor Dakota

If you've known Kevin and I for long, you are proably aware of the countless hours we have spent chasing Dakota around the neighborhood because she doesn't exactly understand the "stay" concept.  She is a beautiful, sweet dog who we love very much, but having to take her out on a leash every time she needs to potty (which is often) can be pretty frustrating.  So today we decided to do something about it.  We purchased a wireless pet fence with a shocking collar for her.  So we went through the steps, found the right distance, set up our perimeter of white flags, and went to work training.  Well we had the collar on the first setting, and she didn't seem to be feeling anything.  Kevin was walking Dakota around the flags, giving her treats, and trying to teach her "no" and "stay" but she didn't seem to be responding to the beeping.  So we turned the collar up.  Well watching her get shocked for the first (and only) time was one of the worst things I have witnessed in awhile.  She cried like a puppy, and started writhing in pain, flipping and spinning and doing whatever she could to get away from the pain.   It was so sad.  But the good news is that from that point on, she definitely listened to the beeps.  It was cute.  So I'd say day one of training was pretty successful. Here are a few pics, and I'll keep you posted on her progress.  

Happy Halloween!

Kevin got these cute bandanas for me today at Loganfest, so I thought I'd share some festive pics of my girls.  They are really getting into the Holiday Spirit.   Can't wait till Christmas!

Update

So I've been posting a lot lately about feeling "off." I think I may have found the culprit. An influx of Fox News, Talk Radio, and ranting by my husband may be slowly driving me off the deep end. Want just a small sample of my life over the past several weeks? Check out Kevin's blog. Seriously, I am dying for some 90210, Survivor, or even Heroes, which has been greatly lacking lately. Help!

Ouch!

So I've talked about being "off" before, but this week was another kind of off. I have been so moody, and nothing has been working right. I've been dropping things and slamming doors and making way more noise than necessary ... and all on accident. Well yesterday was the final straw. After fixing my hair I was wrapping the cord of my curling iron around the barrel, and I did this...
That is the worst curling iron burn I have had since high school! Thank God it doesn't hurt that much!

Corn is Cool

This weekend, we went to a corn maze with Keith and my co-worker, Lorena. I have never been to one, and it was so much fun! It ended up being "flashlight night," which made the whole thing a lot more fun. I'm pretty scared of the dark, and I only screamed a few times. We made it out in record time (at least that's what we think), although I did get pretty dizzy running through the narrow alleys of corn (which smells like onions, by the way). So I think we're going to spend the next few weeks visiting all the closest corn mazes. Good times. Here are some pictures (along with a much better written account of the night.) I forgot my favorite part...at the entrance by the road there were two huge rolled bales of hay. One was decorated as a spider, and one as a turkey. Well we stopped to take pictures with them. They were pretty tall, and I wanted to get up on the turkey. Well the only way to do that was to get a running start. So I ran...and didn't quite jump the way I needed to. I slammed right into the side of the hay bale and the turkey's giant wooden head fell off onto the ground. So we all ran to get back in the car and sped off. How embarrassing!

One thing about the whole experience did give me a little rant though. During our last five minutes or so in the maze, we encountered another group of people. There were about six of them, and they were clearly frustrated and wanted out of there. So we gave them what we thought were the quickest directions out. (We accidentally sent them the long way...oops). Well in passing, one of the girls got a major attitude and mentioned that someone was pregnant and in need of water. Now my question is how stupid can you be? You are going to a maze! Did you take a few minutes to stop and think you might be in there for awhile? You couldn't bring a bottle of water? Later we encountered that same group outside the "vortex." It was one of those things where you walk through a cylinder that is spinning around you, and it distorts your mind and makes it extremely difficult to walk through. And that same pregnant girl (still no water) was going through it like it was nothing. Now I'm no expert, but this thing made me nauseated, and trust me I'm not pregnant. It was full of black lights and strobe lights, and I'm pretty sure you're supposed to stay away from at least strobe lights if you're pregnant. The whole encounter just disgusted me. I am constantly amazed at the way women ignore their pregnancies and don't take care of themselves properly. They clearly have no respect for themselves or their unborn children. Sorry about the rant, this was supposed to be a fun post! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Desparate WorkingWives

Kevin has always teased me that my job highly resembles a soap opera. And I don't exactly deny it. Today we had a priceless moment that defines exactly what I'm talking about. Ayonna, Lorena and I were in the car driving to lunch, and our conversation went something like this.

Ayonna: I am so mad at Archie, I am just leaving. I am moving out of my house! (She wasn't serious, by the way.)
Me: Well if Kevin doesn't pay his ticket or show up to court, I am not going to bail his butt out of jail!

We are joking back and forth about our husbands when Lorena, who has been minding her own business in the backseat, suddenly bursts out with "I am getting uglier!" We all three stopped what we were doing and busted out laughing!

It was possibly the funniest moment I've had at work in weeks. I just had to share.

The Biggest Winner

I like TV. A lot. My husband will attest to this (and he probably won't be smiling). One of my current shows is "The Biggest Loser." This season, the theme is families. There are teams of husbands and wives, and teams of parents and children. Well on last night's episode, and father and daughter fell "below the yellow line" and had to choose which one of them would return home. This became such an emotional experience for me, and I wanted to share my story with you.

For as long as I can remember, my dad has been overweight. It has been no secret that he loves to eat. Growing up, the whole family knew that while we were sleeping, dad was up snacking. I know my mom has always worried about his health, but she wasn't too overbearing, at least not in front of us kids. Think of "The Cosby Show" when Phylicia Rashad would kindly tease Bill Cosby of his love for hoagies (yes, I realize how old of a reference that is!). It wasn't until I was old enough to realize the seriousness of obesity that his weight became a concern for me as well.

Both of our favorite Pastime

But in recent years, I really started to worry about him. Any time I received a call from my mom that was at an unusual time of day, my heart would sink to the pit of my stomach as I thought "Oh no, it's dad." Even though it was fabricated fear, it was such a terrible feeling...I would never wish that on anyone!

Well I am ecstatic to say that this past winter, my dad finally took his life into his own hands. He went on the Subway diet for 90 days, and has slimmed down tremendously. I believe he has lost 50-60 pounds, and he looks better than I've ever seen! I know it's kind of ironic for a child to say that they're proud of their parent, but I could not be more proud of my father. Now I don't have to worry that he'll be around to support my mom, to see me have kids, and maybe one day see my brothers get married and have kids too. Watching the show last night, and seeing the turmoil on that daughter's face allowed me to relive all of those emotions, and remind me just how grateful I am that I have a father who cares enough to do something about his situation. I love you dad!