Meet the Pooches

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Re-Pete has been feeling a bit neglected, so we had a mini-photo shoot this afternoon.

He definitely has that pouty model look down!

Aren't they tiny? From left to right, meet Hazel, Al, & Wally. Perhaps tomorrow I'll take a photo and they'll be facing the camera.

They're Here!

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I believe this is Puppy 3 (male)

Puppy 1 (male) & Puppy 2 (female)

All right, it has been a long night. I will post more photos and the story at some point tomorrow.

They're Coming!

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Penelope is in doggie labor! Puppy #1 was born 15 minutes ago. I'll update with photos after they're all here.

Back to my midwife duties. Or, as my dad put it, 'midwoof' duties. :)

She's Ready

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Here's Penelope, a million weeks pregnant and ready to pop.

She's taking a few moments to relax in the sunlight before her human goes to work.

Yikes! Are you having puppies or did you eat the other family dog?

How do you carry all of that around?

"I can't get on the couch..."

Decisions

Pin It Now! Don't let me make decisions:

-- when I'm in a bad mood
-- when I'm unhappy about my job
-- when I'm down in the dumps about my serious lack of friends in the area
-- when I've forgotten to floss

I'm not happy with the short hair. I miss my long hair. I need a new hair straightener. It's cold here.

Excuse me, I have to take some folic acid so my hair will grow back.

Dresses I Didn't Wear

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I was planning on buying one of these dresses before I found the one I wore on my wedding day. Can you guess which one?

Flashback Friday

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Hello, April 2004! This is a picture from my senior prom. Aren't we adorable? I totally rocked those polka-dots. I wonder if I'll look back at this picture in another 20 years and be horrified by how I look?

It's Official!

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Penelope is definitely having puppies! Not only is she having puppies, but she's having THREE puppies! This is an exciting time at the C Family house. We went to the vet this morning and had an x-ray to confirm the number of puppies and to make sure everything is going accordingly. The vet was very nice and answered my seemingly endless supply of questions. She also gave me a bunch of reading to do in order to prepare myself for the impending birth. Starting tonight, our little lady will be sleeping in the crate next to our bed so that hopefully I will wake up when the blessed event happens.

X-ray! Three dome-shaped heads and three skinny spines. Poor Penelope's intestines are all squished, so I am sure that she is ready to have these pint-sized pooches out of her uterus!

4 Months!

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Visit from the Laundry Fairy

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The laundry fairy has finally paid a visit to our humble little apartment. L.F. should have been here two and one-half weeks ago when the order was placed, but I'm willing to forgive and forget. I arrived home from work this afternoon, opened the door, and was greeted by two lovely Kenmore appliances! They're portable machines, which is fine by me. I was so excited about doing laundry in the comfort and convenience of my own apartment that I have been home less than twenty minutes and my first load is in. It's great. The washer is hooked up to the faucet in our tiny kitchen, but I was able to leave room in front of the fridge and stove to cook dinner at the same time!

My excitement about this is abounding. I know that the hubs will come home and be equally excited. Because of having to do our laundry in a communal room, we haven't had our laundry completely done for some time now.

I would type a longer post, but I want to go and stare at my amazing new machines!

Cheeseburger Casserole

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A friend told me about this really simple, tasty recipe and I finally tried it tonight. It's one of those great five-ingredients-or-less recipes that is inexpensive to make. Here it is:

Cheeseburger Casserole

-- In a skillet, brown 1lb ground beef

-- Stir in 1/4 cup of ketchup, 2Tbsp mustard

-- Place meat mixture in bottom of a 9X9 baking dish

-- Cover with shredded cheese

-- Cover entire thing with (uncooked) biscuits

-- Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes

-- Enjoy!

Optional ingredients for this recipe are endless! Anything you like on your burger, toss it in. I cooked the meat with spices that I put into my burgers. It was really easy to make and is quite yummy!

Our Pet Whale

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This is Penelope at 7 weeks! The puppies are due in two, short weeks! Her behavior has definitely changed over the last two weeks. She doesn't want to play very often, which is unusual. She always wants to be held and cuddled. She's going to make a great mommy! She weighs a whopping 7lbs today, which means she's put on just over 2lbs since becoming pregnant. She loves to eat. Earlier today she had 1/3 can of Alpo mixed with dry food. This evening we put dry food in their bowl and she sat there for at least five minutes eating!

Busy Times!

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I've been a bad blogger lately. Ever since I started my new job, I haven't blogged as much as I was previously. I'm working more hours (hooray!) that start earlier than when I was a cashier. It's taken some getting used to. I also get to do so much more while I'm at work, so when I get home in the evenings I am exhausted. I promise that I'll post more in the future!

Fire!

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There was a fire in one of the buildings in our apartment complex on Wednesday. Four apartments were destroyed and the tenants in the other eight units have had to vacate as well. No one was injured and they were able to get all of the pets out as well. Luckily, it wasn't our building, but it made us realize just how glad we are that we purchased renter's insurance just after moving in here.

Michael and I were both at work when the fire happened. I got home around 3:30PM and saw that there was a firetruck on the side of the road, but didn't think anything of it because its lights weren't flashing or anything. When I took the dogs out a few minutes later, I remember thinking that someone must be getting ready to grill because I smelled charcoal. Later that evening, we were watching the local news. The first thing they reported on was a fire at a local apartment complex. Before they even said the name, we saw the building and realized it was our complex they were talking about!

This makes me want to move. Immediately. I can be responsible for myself -- make sure things are unplugged, turned off, candles out, etc., but I can't be responsible for the other tenants. It's a little frightening.

I wish the radio of the people living above me had somehow been in the fire in the other building...

New Job!

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I have been anxious to post about this for the last week and now I finally can.

I GOT A NEW JOB!!!

Okay, so I'm still working at Lowe's, but I've been offered a promotion. I was hired on August 22 as a cashier. The cashiers are managed by Head Cashiers. One of the HC's transferred to a store that is opening soon in Missouri. They had already hired someone to fill her position, but I had heard rumors that they were hiring an additional HC (which they desperately needed). I didn't really think anything of it because I'd only been working there a month or so.

Last week, I was talking to the HR manager about still needing another HC. I joked that they should hire me for the job. I added that I probably hadn't been there long enough. The HRM told me to fill out the paperwork to put my name in for consideration. I filled out the paperwork on Friday and didn't think much more of it.

A few days later, Carol, the front end boss, made a passing comment about my having put my name in. Monday night she was doing paperwork and said that she should teach me how to do it (it's something a head cashier would do). Then on Wednesday, the store manager came up to me and made a comment about my wanting to be an HC. The little comments got me anxious. I finally had an informal interview with the admin. manager on Wednesday, at the end of which he offered me the position!

So now I will be working full-time. Since it is a position with some management responsibilities, I also received a generous raise. I went in this morning to do some training for the position. I had a lengthy discussion with the HRM about possible problems I may encounter. Until last week, I was the newest cashier. There were other cashiers who were interested in the position.

They offered me the job on Wednesday and put up an announcement this morning. I did a good job of keeping the good news to myself, but I couldn't wait any longer!

I was tagged!

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So I have been tagged yet again. I've decided to defy the rules, though. I will post a few, random facts about myself, but I will not tag other bloggers. If you want to play along, that's fine, but I won't make you!

1. I like things made of tomato (pasta sauce, soup, etc.), but I do not care for raw tomatoes. It's weird, I know. The insides are too mushy, I can't take it. I want to grow a vegetable garden next year and tomatoes are a garden staple. However, they shall have no place in mine. Who needs a bunch of tomatoes if you don't eat them???

2. I love the television show, Friends. We have all 10 seasons on dvd. Over winter break last year, I watched every season from beginning to end. It helped that I was sick and wanted to be in bed all the time.

3. At the end of my sophomore year of high school, I had mono for three months. I contracted it sometime soon after my 16th birthday and slowly got worse until I finally missed school for a week at the end of April/beginning of May. During MAP testing in early April, after I would finish a section of the exam, I would lay my head down and immediately fall asleep. At work, the president of Westlake ACE Hardware came to visit our store and lectured me on eating right and being healthy, all the while my pasty self was yawning in his face! All I did for 10 days was watch movies/Nick JR., drink water, eat the occasional bowl of spaghetti o's and sleep. When I came back to school I had lost 15 pounds. It was amazing. I never really felt sick until I stopped by the school one day to get more homework. I was only allowed in because I didn't have a fever. Our school isn't huge, but walking down the hall and back wore me out!

4. I have two nephews -- Adrian, who is almost three, and Mason, who just turned one. Adrian was the ring bearer at our wedding and looked SO cute in his little tuxedo. :)

5. I have been married for 103 days. Wait, is that really random? Oh well, I don't think I actually care if it is or not.

6. When we were toddlers, my husband and I lived next door to each other. We even have a picture of the two of us together. It's ridiculously cute. And now, here we are, twenty years later, married and still taking ridiculously cute pictures!