UNEXPECTED IMPRESSION.

Jim sent this to me a few weeks ago and it caught me truly off-guard. It reminds me that there are moments in life that still can leave us speechless.

NEWS FROM NEW PUPPY LAND.

Jim is a far less neurotic parent that I am. Far less. I'm on "high alert" so much that I think I'm adding tension to our household. She wines horribly when we leave her alone. Easton growls when she goes near his rawhide, his food bowl, him. I read that it's NORMAL and I'm sure it is. He feels displaced and it's making me a sad sack.
She is however cute...extremely cute.
Rambunctious too.
Easton is so amazing that he's trying. We took him for a special ride to Sonic tonight and got him a hot-dog.
She's teething too which means, move everything out of her way.
We did this weekend (which is a good thing), get to eat yummy dinner with Jon, Alison, Pete and Tia and then today went to see 1408 (see Musings of a Muse for my review).
Mostly, things are good in the midst of a big transition.
Jim is the best doggie daddy ever.
Btw...we've named her Ulika "Uli" Bear Rogers.

THE BEATLES & ZOMBIES - PERFECT TOGETHER.

Our good friend April (who saw this from our other friend Matthew), posted this on her blog today and it made me laugh. It's kind of a perfect for our group in a way or at least Jim and I.

OUR POSSIBILITIES - AND HOPES!

Well, the dog we were wanting to adopt from the rescue already has an adoption contract on her. So the woman asked if we'd be interested in "fostering-to-adopt" a puppy she's named Panda. Panda is a mixed-breed with AED/Spitz as her primary breed (which is what we were looking for). Jim and I talked about it and agreed to foster her and as long as everything goes well with integrating her into our 2 cat, 1 handsome dog family we're planning to adopt her! Easton has really enjoyed playing with Trixie and Ginny since they've moved in and I think he misses Lady-Bear like we do. We agreed to give this the big try, and did this without even seeing her...so they sent us a picture tonight.


OMG - Could She Be Cuter? We're excited and spending the next 10 days puppy-proofing the house as much as possible! Wish us luck - I hope this goes well!

ACCOUNTABILITY UPDATE - HA!

The Weekend is sadly over - here's what we said we'll do:

HOUSE NEEDS
1) Move all "Anna's Office Furniture" into that room - MOSTLY DONE!
2) Move all "Sunroom Furniture" into that room - MOSTLY DONE!
3) Take TV out of our bedroom and put in sunroom - YEAH, NOT DONE AT ALL.
4) Move all "Garage Sale" crap into the...wait for it....Garage - HA!
5) Do an overall "straighten up" routine - NOPE!

SOCIAL LIFE NEEDS
1) Reset the start date of the Movie Lover's Club, and make sure everyone we want to invite is invited - STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS!
2) Let people know that the start that was supposed to be next week has been postponed until next month - THAT'S ON JIM NOW.
3) Go see Oceans 13 - DONE - GO SEE IT!
4) Go see Knocked Up (I'll be shocked if we actually get 2 movies in this weekend) - NOT YET, BUT I KNOW WE'LL GET TO IT.

WE did do grocery shopping for the next week +, I did stick to my diet, and Jim and Chris did get our remodel garbage to the dump so YEAH FOR US! It was also good to see part of our circle of friends at The Creamery on Friday too...we have so much fun with everyone. Here's to a good week ahead!

NEW FAMILY MEMBER? POSSIBLY.

No, no, no - sadly I'm not pregnant yet! Hey, since I'm finally working hard-core on my weight loss effort, I'd like to lose the weight before I gain the baby-belly.

Anyway...since Chris and the puppies have moved in, we've fallen in love with the Trixie-dog breed = Alaskan Eskimo Dog / Spitz. So, since we have been considering inviting a new canine girlie into our lives since we lost our beloved Lady-Bear almost a year ago...we've decided to look at the AED/Spitz breed. We've found a possible dog from the AED/S Rescue in TN and we found a possible new baby-girl addition to our family.

She's 1 year old, good with cats, good with other dogs and good with children (even little ones - so the hopeful baby will be okay). We've gone the distance by contacting the rescue and filling out the adoption form. We'll probably have to have a home-visit done, which is fine with us! Based on her foster-parent's profile of her, she seems like a perfect fit with our family. I don't want to give a whole lot of information on her yet because I'm hoping that she'll join our family (i.e. I don't want to jinx it). She's cute as can be.

If we do get her we're toying with 2 different names "ELKE" or "AVA". That would make us a 2x2x2 household: 2 Adult Humans, 2 Kitties, and 2 Pups! Who knows - we're hopeful! Wish us well in whatever is supposed to happen for all of us!

AN EXPERIMENT IN ACCOUNTABILITY.

Poor Jim is riding along on my new "hold myself accountable kick", so let's see what happens when we set plans and aim to follow through. We have discussed getting some projects done in the house since we've backed up our trip to the mecca that is IKEA for next saturday...here's what we said we'll do:

HOUSE NEEDS
1) Move all "Anna's Office Furniture" into that room.
2) Move all "Sunroom Furniture" into that room.
3) Take TV out of our bedroom and put in sunroom.
4) Move all "Garage Sale" crap into the...wait for it....Garage.
5) Do an overall "straighten up" routine.

SOCIAL LIFE NEEDS
1) Reset the start date of the Movie Lover's Club, and make sure everyone we want to invite is invited.
2) Let people know that the start that was supposed to be next week has been postponed until next month.
3) Go see Oceans 13.
4) Go see Knocked Up (I'll be shocked if we actually get 2 movies in this weekend).

All right...let's see what we're capable of!

THE READER'S DIGEST CONDENSED VERSION

Okay, it occurs to me that if anyone is actually going to read our blog, we need to be UPDATING it more often. Otherwise, it's normal to grow tiresome of a page that doesn't change and evolve. Wow, that sounds self important. Anyway - here's the 2 minute recap of life from December till NOW.


DECECMBER
Christmas was fun!
Easton likes to stay at the Lowes Vanderbilt Hotel.
Jim's Mom got us a Wii and Wii LOVE IT (and have no idea how she scored one for us)
New Years was Fun with Dave, Paula, Pete, John, Alison and the rest of the crew at D & P's House.


JANUARY
I get promoted to Project Director/Manager at my Job - Whoohoo!
I cope with another year of missing my Mom - it's been 8, my god.
Jim's job still going strong and he's happy!
Jim and I start working out at the GYM.
Jim realizes he misses playing Racquetball and dives right back in.


FEBRUARY
We go to VEGAS BABY as we celebrate 5 years of love!
We don't win money :(
We do see 2 amazing shows: Zumanity and KA (both by Cirque du Soleil).
We learn that Kevin James is a Breakfast snob.
We are reminded that French Cuisine ROCKS, and eating at even a fake Eifel Tower is decadent.
We realize that Fairmont Street, even with a canopy, is SAD.
We learn that it is possible to sleep in an airport on a 5 hour unexpected layover in Chi-Town.
We are reminded that the NORTH is cold -
Chicago was 5 below zero and we had to walk outside to get to the plane (I did not have a jacket).
We realize if it ever happened, we'd consider living in VEGAS.


MARCH
It's a blur, I'm sure things happened.


APRIL
I get older (friggin 33).
I get to go to her annual decadence that is The Melting Pot for my birthday.
(Thanks hun, I know it doesn't make you feel good.)
Jim does really sweet things for my birthday (flowers, itunes credit, dinner, extra good attention).
I begin "Do-It-Yourself Communion" and consider eating more Christ-Chex daily.
Jim still rockin on his job.


MAY
Jim, Easton and I go camping with the "inner circle" of friends up here and spend an AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL and restful weekend at Elkmont in the Smokies. We cannot wait to go again!
A good friend of ours moves-in because he's in transition and needs some time to figure out his next steps; it's fun having a guest who can take care of himself!
Jim and I considered potentially taking in a teenager at our church who needed a home. After a lot of hard thought, Jim and I realized we probably can't make a successful leap from "NOT PARENTS" to "PARENTS OF A TEEN" so easily since we both (kinda) live like college students. We realize that adopting a teen may be in our future but after we have our own child because frankly, it allows you to adjust to parenting a bit more (i.e. it takes time before the kid can understand rules/boundaries, etc...which gives us time to figure out how to set those and maintain them).
We agree to be respite providers for said TEEN above - he's a really cool kid.
I legally change my name (it's time).
Jim and his friend Darrin finally get tix to see the Police Tour.
We learn that the Millertown Carmike theatre is somewhere NOT TO GO EVER AGAIN.
We see Hot Fuzz (****), twice; and Shrek 3 (**).
Jim get's an amazing performance review and reminds me how PROUD I am of him - he's one talented man.
We go to an AMAZING cookout at D & P's house with the "inner circle" and realize that Dave can cook the hell outta' some chicken, hamburgers, hotdogs and are sad because we missed out on the ribs. I'll eat there ANYTIME!


Which brings us up to JUNE -and we'll update this more often as I'm sure there's plenty I've missed along the way.
I have got to encourage Jim to post too - we'll see if that happens!

We Have Been Neglectful - Not For Long.

It occurs to me that we've been neglecting our blog. We will update it this week. A lot has happened - most good, some phenomenal, some hard - mostly FAB. Stay tuned.

A November Full of Thanks!

Wow...well, it was a really good November!
My job is still going well and I am still (and forever) learning how to do it well/if not better. Jim's job is still rockin' and rollin' and is all good!
Here are the highlights:

1) Dog Parks Lead To Dog Happiness - okay, as our friend put it, yes...we are "THOSE" people when it comes to our dog Easton. There is an amazing place here in Knoxville called Petsafe Village, and they have an off-leash dog park that just rocks! We started taking Easton on Sundays to run and socialize with the other pups and then found out that they have a "doggie day camp" experience - where a dog can have a full day of socialization and furry fun. It's like day-care for your dog. So, since we're a pretty busy family, I said - let's give it a try 1x a week and see if he really likes it. Well...HE LOVES IT! Ever since he had to say goodbye to our beloved Lady Bear Harmon, he misses having a 4-legged play pal. The funniest thing is that all dogs have to go through a day-long "socialization evaluation" to make sure he "plays well with others". He passed with flying colors and gets to go 1x a week to frolic and play. I cannot believe that we're so in love with our dog - but you know, when you still don't have 2 legged kids of your own, you really learn to look at your pets as your kids. It's silly, I admit, but hey - we're all happy with it!

2) Thanksgiving Fabulousness - First off, the BEST thing about thanksgiving was that I got to have a little slice of my home here in Knoxville. My Dad made the trip down to Knoxville and spent the holiday with us! I think he was really impressed with our house, which made me happy and we both spent a lot of time in the kitchen together...he made me my FAVORITE - GERMAN POTATO salad, which was divine. I made an old recipe my Mom and I used to make together when I was young - chocolate "wacky" cake. It was like being transported back in time with each bite. I miss her a lot, but having him here made me feel more connected and centered in a lot of ways. We brine our turkey which turned out AMAZINGLY (see the Alton Brown recipe for your own deliciousness - at Food Network); AND my high school EASTON gave our 100 year old rivalry with Phillipsburg High School, the shine it needed - beating them in football on ESPN2. It was awesome getting to watch my high school football tradition on national television - my shrieks of joy where LOUD LOUD LOUD. I'm as crazy about EASTON Football as the Knoxvillians are about their VOLS.

3) DO NOT go to Dollywood on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Oh my God. That's all I'm going to say. TOO many humans. TOO MANY.

Well that's the wrap for now...Christmas is looking bright and amazing! Now, can we actually get a Wii before December 25th? HA!

October...Things Still Pretty Darn Good!

Hello everyone...well October has come and gone already, and the mood and mindset drifts to the upcoming holiday season. Things are still going pretty well in the ville of Knox so here's an update.

THE JIM JOURNALS
Jim's still doing well at his main gig for HGTV and seems pretty content with everything. He's still active in other pursuits and interests which keep him very busy. He did some minor audio help for The Haunted Cave here in the greater Knoxville Area, but with scheudules being what they are he wasn't able to help out in a larger capacity. He's starting to settle into his new home studio - which I call "The Boiler-Room Tikki Room", and he's patient with my ever-changing ideas about interior housepaint.

ANNA ANNOUNCEMENTS
I have finally found my path back to faith...my spirituality had never left me, but since the passing of my Mother in 1999, I found myself completely shattered, especially faith-wise. I have pretty much attempted to run far away from anything having to do with organized spiritual life, but the calling to return to my center kept gnawing at me. I have tried out a few congregations in the Knoxville area since we've moved here and on 1o/15/06, I signed the register and became a member of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church here in Knoxville (www.tvuuc.com). It's a place I have felt very comfortable with, and Jim seems to be comfortable with as well. I'm working on "building my own theology", as we say...because ever since my master's program, I have found that there is some beauty we can all take from the major religions and even-though, at heart, I'm probably a "Lutheran Unitarian Universalist", I find that my search for a deeper faith allows me to understand the common threads we all share as we look for meaning. I also may start attending St. John's Lutheran Church here in town as well, so my sundays may have a WHOLE lotta church soon! :) I am on the art gallery committee now, and am pretty active within the church so far so I'm pretty happy and feeling very connected in many ways.
I've also started dancing again, with Dance Dimensions in Knoxville - but progress is slow, and I'm just starting to get myself energized again when my heart is so often torn between wanting to get back into my social scene and wanting to keep unpacking boxes and setting up my house. Needless to say, my house wins quite a bit - I just like feeling settled.

FAMILY FILLER
Lastly, we finally sold our house in Nashville at the end of September! Yea!!!! It was a great house, but we are glad we have moved onward and forward. The coolest thing is that with some of Jim's extra work, we were to pay for our own vacation to VEGAS which we plan to take in February 2007 - it's booked and if you ask me, I'd pack my bags tomorrow! :)

Easton (our Lab-Pointer doggie), is doing well; and our two cats are "getting along better" - with Iris finally seeming to become regulated with her diabetes (who knew cats could get diabetes), and Kira getting a bit chubby from the high-protein food that Iris has to eat. Sadly, however we had to put our other beautiful doggie "Lady-Bear Harmon" to sleep...I never thought I'd grieve like that for an animal, but it was her time and we definitely didn't want her to suffer anymore. Animals so become parts of our lives and families...it is that which makes us richer.

Anyway...I'm still afraid of plaster walls (afraid of damaging them), but my Dad is coming down for Thanksgiving which makes me happy. It's good to have a slice of home for the holidays. Plus, with the Easton/Phillipsburg Football game being broadcast on ESPN2 this Thanksgiving , I'll be WAAAY happy.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, as you are often in ours...we continue our efforts to start a family hope that your good wishes will bring a good "announcement" in the near future. Much peace, love and hope to you all...talk to you next month!

New Beginnings and New Adventures!

Hello everyone...my dear friends and family. I know, it's been quite a while since you've heard from/or about Jim and me, but things are starting to settle down and we're beginning the NEXT chapter of our lives.
Wow.
Jim and I have moved back to Knoxville after 2 years of struggle and growth in Nashville. We learned a lot about life, friendship and our love for each other. In the final analysis, we are so stronger for all the experiences we had there...the good, the bad and the ugly.
Anyway...that's all I'm saying about the recent "past" for now.
Now, this little-big house you see is where life is for us and we COULDN'T BE HAPPIER!
We bought a historic home in the Fairmont-Emoriland section of Knoxville, Tennessee and aside from the fact that I'm working on learning how to live with plaster walls, the house is amazing! It's big but cosy. It's very well laid out, and has a great vibe/karmic-cosmic feel to it. Good news is the house was owned by a couple who lived here for 40 years, and were married for 47 years - so definitely good karma in that department.
This is where we will start a family - hopefully.
It feels like it's where we're supposed to be.
Knoxville...look out...here we are!
Here's to life and keeping you all posted.