The Great Debate: K9

Top 10 reasons to have a K9 vs. a kid:

10. Dogs don't grow out of clothes.

9. No stretch marks.. or labor.

8. You can lock your dog in a kennel when he gets unruly!

7. No diapers!

6. Dogs don't talk back!

5. No need to save for college.

4. With kids, people are always willing to tell you what your doing wrong. With dogs, you don't get all that unwanted advice!

3.Dogs will always love you! No need to worry about those "I hate you" teen years!

2. With dogs, you can hire a trainer! With kids, it's up to you to train them!

1. You don't have people looking up your "you who who" before a dog is delivered!



** Check out Jen's blog for the other side of the story!

Silly Kara, IPhones Are For Kids

How much is an IPhone worth? If you ask my two year old nephew it's this:

Which I thought was hilarious. He came up and asked me for my phone, and when I failed to hand it over his mind must have started to race. He ran off and returned with his little toy. Set it in my one hand and in the same swift motion swiped my IPhone from my other. Clever.

It wasn't until this last Sunday night that I realized how much he was willing to sacrifice to get my phone. The whole night he had been carrying around this itty bitty binder clip that he had found in the yard, it was covered in dirt and rust. You could not get this piece of crap away from him for ANYTHING. He would show it to you, babble on about it, and if you started reaching for it he was out of there faster than superman. Well, after a few hours of being there he saw me using my phone. He promptly ran across the yard, threw the binder clip at me and yanked my phone right from underneath my nose. It's all about priorities.

Random Summer Pictures

This is Emily and Brandon swinging on the swing at my parents house. Poor Emily is getting to know how it is when a little kid is around the house, he wants her to do EVERYTHING with him. Brandon loves her so much and calls her Emmy and it's just about the cutest thing ever.
My brother David got a dog a few weeks before I got Scrappy. He bought them matching camo bandannas. Thanks Dave!

Brandon is just over 2 years old now. Isn't that the cutest smile ever? He makes me laugh.

Jeff, Emily and Brandon. Jeff and Em had just finished swimming (their favorite summer activity) and I had to take the chance to catch a photo with all 3 of them.

Chad and Jen on the 4th of July. They are giving me another nephew in the fall, Woo-hoo!

David and Brandon jumping on the trampoline. Brandon wasn't too keen on the idea, but warmed up with daddy by his side.

And With That in Mind

This is what happened when we tried to leave him alone the first time:

Sad for him, he hit concrete before he could dig himself out. Sad for us, there went our apartment deposit.

Do You Believe in Love at First Sight?

Yes...yes I do!

Did I two weeks ago? Maybe, maybe not. But when I looked into those chocolate brown eyes, I knew my life was not going to be the same. I didn't wake up that morning thinking I was going to find a soul mate. I thought I had a rational mind. I was wrong.

On July 18th I met a fun-loving, caring, free-willed soul. There was no turning back, he had me hooked. Head over heels in love, and there was nothing I could do to turn back time. He had to come home and be with me forever.

Meet Scrappy! My scruffy, mutt of a dog that I saved from the Humane Society

So This Is Why Cleaning Is A Good Idea

Do you know what is even better then finding money in your pants pocket? Finding Mary Kay moisturizer while cleaning under your sink!
Score one for Kara!

To Whom This May Concern

Dear Consumer,
I don’t know where you originally shopped... but no, all my smalls are not in one spot... unless it’s in my Sale section. We both know a cheapo like you will end up back there anyway, so in that case it’s under the big red sign that says “Small”! Novel idea, I know.

Secondly, you just got an as-is pair of pants for $2, do not ask me to search over to make sure it’s not actually damaged. We already established it’s on the as-is rack to begin with. No, I will not discount it further because we find a tiny hole. Let’s just count your lucky stars that for $2 I’m not selling you a piece of fabric that somewhat resembles your grandmother's couch cushions.

Thirdly, don’t ask me where Vegas is in comparison to where you are at this very moment. You sure are lost and anything I tell you will not be understood by the pea sized brain you were blessed. Just drive west (that’s this way) until you hit nothing but desert with no civilization within at least 50 miles, dig a hole in the sand and stick your head it in. Now ponder on the moronic wonder you are. If you are able to find your way back maybe you actually can be among other people. If not, well, we haven’t lost anything.

Dear Bank Manager,
Thank you for your interest in managing this fine institution. I have a few ideas for you; however I could not find your comment box. First, I need a real quick re cap on fractions... Two tellers on front end for 14 clients, and four tellers in the window for two cars is not equal… especially on a Monday. But maybe you were too busy "greeting" new patrons to realize this.

Secondly (now I hope I’m not stepping on any toes by saying this), I think that the number one qualification when hiring a new teller should be that they are able to count to at least 100. Now I realize this might eliminate some otherwise perfect candidates. However, me as a patron would much rather that warty face kid who sat in the back of Biology than someone who cannot count, or maybe you can hold some sort of 6 week training course. You can call it "Two Comes after One and Other Basic Skills Most People Learned in Kindergarten".

Thirdly, I know the Swine Flu is scary, however I do not think your tellers time is best used disinfecting his entire area between each client. If you failed to realize, there are 14 of us who are ready to take you out back and show you what’s really important. If all of this is an action plan to discourage robbers to come here, I understand, however if this is to happen again I may be bringing my own gun because then I might be able to get on with my day. Thank you very much for your concern.

Dear Corporate Offices,
I am not sure what calendar system your company is on but June 14 and May 20 are not even close to the same day. It’s no wonder your company is having to take cut backs because with theories like that I am surprised your open at all. Enclosed you will find a calendar complete with sticky notes; I’m sure that if you use this new world system we might actually get somewhere. Thanks very much for your time.

Jenny Jenny Bo Benny

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!!!

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To!

Though the title of this post may imply otherwise, my birthday was pretty awesome(I only cried a little, and hey it's me were talking about here, what do you expect?) I am one lucky 25 year old! My birthday kicked any other birthday in the butt! I pretty much was spoiled rotten. But I just wanted to say THANKS to everyone! (And to whom it may concern: this is your public warning that pay back is a b*****)

Easter Eggs

Today my family dyed Easter eggs! Woo-hoo! So much fun!
These are the good sports that posed with their favorite egg:

Emily

Jeff

Chad

Cutie Patutie Nephew

David(my bro) and Brandon(my nephew) stopped by to say hi a few weeks ago. I love them SO much and was grateful for a visit! I just wanted to share a few pictures.

To Be or Not to Be...

That truly is the question... For the last few weeks I have been debating:

BROWN HAIR?

Or BLONDE HAIR

So I am putting it out there for the masses. Which should I do? HELP!!!

(disclaimer: I apologize for the poor picture choices, I came unprepared and am stuck with crap!)

New Mexico A-Z

A- Airplane. My name is Kara, and I was an airplane virgin. You got it, I flew for the first time in my life last week. I even comforted Suzanne when she got air sick on our first flight (well I did my best). Minus the lap dance and concussion, I think I flew like a pro!

B- Bravo. Best Italian Restaurant ever! Like, really! We went to it three days in a row, and trying to be gutsy, I decided to try three different meals. Bad idea, should have stuck with day one choice of pesto tortellini... now I want it like something FIERCE! Ugh!

C- Cowboys. Okay really only one cowboy. Like Suz said, I'm a hussy.

D- Dunkin' Donuts. Mmm.. I'm pretty sure that I ate a dozen of these all by myself. I'm also pretty sure I came back looking like a doughnut too, but no biggie! Did you know that you may start in New Mexico, but have to travel through Louisiana and Pennsylvania and finally end up in Wyoming to get to one of these babies? Good thing they are worth it!

E- Erika. I would hope that she would make it on my list, she was the main reason that we went to New Mexico after all. Minus her lack of direction she was a BLAST! And her family was pretty cool too!

F- Friends. Food. Fun. That's what a vacation needs!

G- Gorgeous temple. We only got there at night... but look how pretty!

H- Hot Air Balloons. Those New Mexicans REALLY like them. We however didn't take one for a whirl.

I- Ice cream. Apparently New Mexico has fake ice cream. If you get Spumoni and it has pistachio pieces and cherry bits in it, it's not real. We didn't try the chocolate, but Suzanne was sure that it would have had "chocolate beans" in it. Who knew?

J- Jana. Good ol' go with the flow Jana. She's like the energizer bunny, she keeps going and keeping the mood light all day long. Without her we wouldn't have any of the scenery pictures. Oh! And she was our mini van interior decorator!

K- Kara. What kind of a vacation would it have been if I didn't bring myself along?

L- Laughing. I haven't laughed so hard and so much in a very long time. You have no idea how funny we all are! I'm serious.

M- Malls. Aww... our mother ships. In total we went to 3 malls, 1 outlet, and 2 historic shopping districts. Obsessive? I think not.

N- Nativo Lodge. This was our lovely living quarters for our trip. Very authentic. And they didn't mind when we took "sexy" pictures in the lobby. Maid service left a bit to be desired, but that's okay!

O- Out of the way. We sure went out of our way everywhere we were going. Whether this was due to Map Quest directions, our tour guides theory to go right, right, and then one more right (which I only have myself to blame), or just because we were loose to follow our own instincts, it took us forever to get anywhere!

P- People. They sure are classy down there (no offense)!

Q- Quick wit. Apparently I have great one-liners and I'm not funny the rest of the time. That's what they all claim anyway.

R- Ravioli. It's bilingual there. Well...maybe only one-lingual (I know, not a word), it never clarified if it could speak English.

S- Suzanne. This woman can plan things, New Mexico happened because of all her preparation. She is a mini van driver extraordinaire. She tends to get testy if her ice cream is fake. Oh and apparently she has a hairy David... just act normal if it ever comes up, she doesn't like you to make a big fuss about it.

T- Tram. We went on the longest Tram in the world (that's what they claim... I'm taking their word for it). It's 2.7 miles up a 10,000+ ft peak. And when you get to the top you can go to the "High Finance Restaurant" (who do you think we talk to about the tacky name?). And, well...that's about it. Our tram guide Kelly was the bomb though!

U- Umbrella. Apparently even a few drops of rain can warrant busting this baby out.

V- Van. Our rental was a mini van. Random? Yes. Awesome? Totally! We had the choice of any car between parking spots 71-92. When we got out to the parking lot every spot was empty except for our gold sparkling mini van. So we were soccer moms for a week. Jana's husband has a drinking problem by the way.

W- Wake up. We all had ROUGH nights trying to sleep. Luckily for us we could always wake up to Jana's wide-eyed "I see you do, you see me?" face. If you ever get a chance to witness this, pass... its scary as!

X- Xanax. What Suzanne needed to survive the wind.

Y- Yodeling. Okay so we didn't really yodel. But there are not very many words that start with a Y. Jana did break out in song quite a bit though.

Z- Zamboni. If you mix a Zamboni with a calzone what do you get? It's a calzoni! Ask Mario's Pizza, they'll tell you!

A Good Laugh

This is SO fun! You really must try it! I dare you!

1. Type in "[your name] needs" in Google search
Result: "Kara needs to hook up with a regular guy to help ground her character."
* Where can I find one of these "regular" guys?
2. Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search
Result: "Kara looks like she'd be more comfortable dancing around a pole than flying through the air."
* Um...?
3. Type in "[your name] says" in Google search
Result: "Kara says you don't have a shot, but thank you!"
* Maybe this is the reason I can't find me a regular guy!
4. Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search
Result: "Kara wants a mani-pedi and a party."
* Throw in a massage and I would be good to go!
5. Type in "[your name] does" in Google search
Result: "Kara does not dance she leans wit it and rocks wit it ."
* I think I'm too white to do anything "wit" it, plus it sounds like it would hurt.
6. Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search
Result: "Kara hates it when Amanda stares at her while she’s sleeping."
* I personally hate it when anyone stares at me while I'm sleeping.
7. Type in "[your name] asks" in Google search
Result: "Kara asks her if she has ants in her pants."
* It's an important thing to know!
8. Type in "[your name] goes" in Google search
Result: "Kara goes RAAAR!"
* Heck yes I do!
9. Type in "[your name] likes " in Google search.
Result: "Kara likes to boss people around."
* Only a little...
10. Type in "[your name] eats " in Google search
Result: "Kara eats her cake her way."
* Naturally!
11. Type in "[your name] wears " in Google search
Result: "Kara wears it because she feels she's entitled."
* I don't just feel entitled, I AM entitled!
12. Type in "[your name] was arrested for" in Google Search
Result: "Kara was arrested for public intoxication."
* Story of my life! ;)

Good Times, Good Times

And i don't have any pictures of the cutest nephew of all time, he just didn't want to have his picture taken!

Happy Wedding Day Chad and Jen

On January 22, 2009 my little sister got married.

Welcome to the family Chad!

Hidden "Talents"

These past few weeks I have come to find out that I am more talented then I ever gave myself credit for (so humble, I know!)

Case in Point #1- I can scrapbook. Really, truly, I never knew this. It was nothing I ever enjoyed and definitely not something I do on a regular basis. However, I decided to take on the project of making a guest book for Jen's wedding (I'll give Jana credit too, she helped out a lot). But it looked great! Seriously, I am so proud of how it turned out. I have to take it to Jen and Chad today, and I am a little afraid that I am going to suffer from separation anxiety.

Case in Point #2- I can make a wedding cake! It may not be top of the line, or the most intricate piece of craftsmanship you have ever seen, but it sure is awesome if you ask me!

Case in Point #3- This one is something I have always LOVED. Photography is the closest thing I have to a passion. I seriously enjoy it, and I am very excited that I got to do so much of it for Jen and Chads big day!