Lamest. Wife. Ever.

Yep, that's me today: the lamest wife ever (LWE for short)... Why, you ask? Read on, my friend and you'll soon see.

Meet Sugar, an 8-month old, rescued dachshund. Sugar was our dog for the 27 hours between noon yesterday and 3:00 pm today. However, she is no longer ours...

You see, ever since we bought our house, Shane has been asking if we could get a dog. Having grown up without any pets, it was hard for me to even imagine owning a dog, so it was hard to decide if I'd enjoy living with one. Luckily, everyone around us has a dog: Shane's parents have a yorkie, Amy and Change have a yorkie, Tom and Ashley have a puggle, the Guthries have frenchton puppies...so I've learned to love them all. We even babysat two dogs for a week at our house. Despite their many accidents and crying through the night, I was still warming up to the idea of having our own dog.

Shane eventually convinced me that the dog wouldn't feel neglected during the day while we were at work and sent me pictures of cute dogs whenever he found one on the internet. We even figured out a way that the dog would be able to go outside at it's leisure without letting it roam free in our house during the day. So we were all set and Shane started his search... Growing up, he had Brown Dog, who (in Shane's mind) was a dachshund, so that's what he wanted. After searching for a while, he finally posted a want ad on craig's list indicating he was interested in buying a dachshund and was directed to the Doxie Rescue website, where he filled out an adoption form. The lady called within a day saying she had Sugar, who she thought would be perfect for us.

So, Sugar came to visit... She was so cute and loveable. The lady from the rescue said our yard was perfect for her and was so excited that it might work out. However, the reason for her visit was so my skin could see if it was compatible with the dog...

You see, I have very fickle skin. It wasn't until the most recent warm spell that I really discovered how fickle it was. After holding the Guthrie's puppies in short sleeves, my arms would burn and itch and I'd end up with little bumps all over my forearms. They'd go away once I stopped touching the puppies and washed my arms off. That's not a big deal when I only see them once or twice a week, but we were worried that I'd have a similar reaction to Sugar, which would make me miserable (because enough arm itching eventually leads to nose itching, which leads to a stuffy nose, which leads to grumpy Jessica).

Well, within 10 minutes of holding Sugar, I had little prickles all over my arms and neck (she's a very snuggly dog). But the lady from the rescue saw how much we liked her and suggested we keep her overnight and try out some anti-allergy shampoo. We got the shampoo and washed her twice. Throughout the day on Saturday I interacted with 3 cats, 4 dogs, and Sugar, so I wasn't exactly sure which was causing all my itching. So this morning, I showered, put on clothes that hadn't been touched by any animal, put lotion on my arms (so my skin could recover from the day of itchy bumpiness) and went to church.

After church, Sugar and I sat down on the couch together. I hoped and hoped that my arms would be fine, but after about 20 minutes, the prickles began. By the end of lunch I had bumps all over... So, we had to call the lady from the rescue and have her take Sugar away...

Minus the itchy arms, it was really fun having a dog around. She got to meet almost all the dogs we know, found her new favorite toy, and played in grass for the first time in her life. She even slept in our bed last night (on Shane's side) because she wouldn't stop crying from her kennel...

We're hoping to do a few tests with the other dogs we know to see if I react this way to all dogs or if there's a pattern. Once we have a better idea, we'll try and find a dog that will work in our home. Until then, Shane will have to fill the void by playing with everyone else's dogs...

Life Lessons

So this isn't the update on life that I promised, and it isn't really about valuable life lessons, but it was quite an adventure. I wanted to blog about it when it happened last week, but time flies and here I am a week and a half later hoping I can to it justice...

Last week (on Wednesday) in Oakland, I learned that it is possible to spend 30 minutes putting 2 gallons of gas into a car. Not possible, you say? That's what I thought...

I made a quick trip to Oakland for one of our clients. On Wednesday, I was kind of out of work and getting a little anxious to leave, so I left the office at 2:30--almost 2.5 hours before my flight--for the airport (I was working 3 miles from the rental car return, I was already checked in, and I wasn't checking a bag--this was ridiculously early). I figured I'd fill up the rental car (we don't get reimbursed if we let the rental car place fill it up...lame), return the car, and get through security early enough to sit down to a decent lunch and still have time to do some sudoku before I boarded the plane.

At the gas station, I hesitate before pulling up to the pump because I realize I have no idea which side the tank is on. I generally pick the driver's side first (this has always worked for me in the past). So, I pull up to the pump, get out, realize I was wrong, get back in, and make a nice, wide (embarrassing) u-turn to the other side of the pump (+1 minute).

In the midst of my turn, I almost run over the teenage salesman who had decided to stand in front of the pump. I smile, trying to apologize for almost hitting him, but he takes it as an invitation to begin his sales pitch... After letting him begin to tell me about their "special, free promotion," I let him know that I'm in a rental car and I can't take what he's selling on the plane with me (+3 minutes). I probably should've let him finish, but I was really looking forward to my lunch and sudoku...

So I'm all set to get my gas (it must be noted here that the machine accepts my credit card/zip code without a problem), I've selected the fuel grade and everything. All I need to do is pump the gas, but when I hold down the handle, nothing happens... There's no resistance to the lever, and when I hold it down all the way, no gas comes out. After trying a few times, the disappointed salesman walks over and says, "Oh yeah, I think that pump has been having problems. People keep trying to pump gas and end up going inside to talk to the guy..." Awesome. Maybe if I had been nice to him, he would've warned me earlier (4 minutes).

I take the salesman's advice and go inside. I wait for two people to pay for their hot dog and gas. When it's my turn, I tell the man behind the counter about my problem. He looks at the register and says "Everything's okay on pump 5. It's ready." I explain that I've been trying. And then he amazes me with his response, "Well, you have to push the handle for the gas to come out..." Really??? Is that how gas pumps work? (+6 minutes -- this guy was in no hurry)

Realizing that the clerk is going to be no help, I decide to switch pumps. The little salesman laughs as I cancel my transaction on pump 5 and move the car forward to pump 6 (+2 minutes).

I get everything set up for a second time: open the gas tank, swipe my credit card, enter my zip code... But this time, the machine beeps at me and tells me to see the clerk. So back inside I go. I wait as someone buys a soda, and tell the clerk that it says I need to come inside. He says, "It won't let you use this card out there, you have do to it in here..." Instead of arguing that it worked earlier, I decide to just comply. Then he asks, "How much?" I tell him I want to fill it up. He holds on to my credit card and sends me back outside. I walk away, a little wary of what he might do with it while I'm gone (+6 minutes).

I pump the gas (FINALLY!!), which amounts to a whopping $4, and go back inside. I wait as the clerk returns to the counter and swipes my card. I sign the receipt, get in my car, and finally leave the gas station (+5 minutes). I took one glance back and I swear I saw the salesman laughing...

I still ended up being early to the airport, but not early enough to eat in a sit-down restaurant. Instead, I opted for a CPK pizza while I did my sudoku :).

Moral(s) of the story: Be nice to the little people (salesmen?); you may need them.... And, my favorite lesson of all: You have to squeeze the handle to make the gas flow!

(Sorry this was so long... I've been thinking about it since I left the gas station and decided it might amuse someone else too.)

...and we're back!!

I know, the title makes it sound like we went somewhere. I guess we technically did for Thanksgiving, but really I have no excuse for not updating my blog (except, in my defense, I did warn everyone that I would be slacking with the post I made here). I did have a lot of vacation time and work has slowed down (somewhat) so I really have no excuse now.

That being said, I don't really have access to my pictures (I'm on my work computer) and I don't have time to write anything just yet (I'm at work). But since Shane's in the Young Men's presidency now, I'll have plenty of time while he's gone on Wednesday night and all of this weekend! Stay tuned folks...I'll be back soon (hopefully).

Prisoner

So, I need to vent... I'm currently working on a client I worked on last year (no names will be named here folks). Last year, I was given an access badge and the ability to work in my own cube and walk to and from meetings at my leisure. Sure, I may have gotten lost once but I never deliberately wandered anywhere I shouldn't have gone. Everything worked nicely and the client even requested that I come back this year because it went so smoothly.

So, here I am. I was given the same badge on Monday and everything was fine. But for some reason, yesterday they decided to revoke my independence!! I now wear a pretend badge that doesn't give me access to anything and must be escorted everywhere. Also, I have to work in the same room as my client contacts, which is definitely an inconvenience to both of us. But really, the worst of the entire situation follows:

1. I can't be left alone in the room. So, today when the only other person in the room needed to go to the bathroom, I had to walk with him to the breezeway (between two locked doors which I can't open) and wait there while he used the restroom.
2. I can't go to the bathroom by myself! To get to the bathroom, kitchen, microwave, etc., I have to pass through a door that I have no access to open. Thus, if I need to use any of the above mentioned items, I have to ask for someone to come with me (and wait, where necessary). And if you know me, I hate asking for things like that...

I seriously feel like a prisoner... Needless to say, I'm ready for this week to be over!!! (Rant is over...sorry for those who don't care, I just needed to get this out.)

Your Vote Counts!!!

In the spirit of election day, I would like to ask everyone's input on a very important matter... You see, last January Shane and I bought a Christmas tree. I think it's a 7-foot tree or something. Anyway, we decided we needed ornaments to decorate our new tree since the mini decorations we used for the 3-foot tree we inherited (stole?) from my parents will seem funny on the big tree. So, we went to Ikea last weekend and bought some decorations. We were really excited about them until we showed them to Tom... He mentioned that our blue/silver color scheme (which makes me think of winter, snow, ice...) made him think we were celebrating Hannukah instead of Christmas.

So, I want some input... If you saw these decorations on someone's tree, what would you think?

First, these in silver and dark blue: Then, these in silver:
These in white and dark blue:
The white ones of these:
The blue ones of these:
Your comments are appreciated! Remember...every vote counts.

Como Los Peruanos...

We have some Halloween pictures to post, but as I am in a hotel in middle-of-nowhere Colorado, I can't access them right now so instead you get a random update!

On Sunday, Shane and I made Peruvian food for Tom, Ashley, Jenny, and the Guthries. To break them into the Peruvian way of life, we made Lomo Saltado (Translation: Tossed Beef; i.e., the dish I ate pretty much everywhere while we were there). I wish I took a picture of the final creation, but it disappeared pretty fast so I don't think there was time to take one. Instead, I found one on the internet. Mine wasn't served with lettuce, the french fries weren't mixed in with the sauce (we had a few complaints about soggy fries...), and we didn't have an Inca Kola to drink it with (you can see it in the background). Despite these differences, I think it turned out okay because I made WAY more than I thought we'd need and there was barely any left. Next time...Aji de Gallina (Translation: Pepper Chicken)! Before they know it, they'll be regular Peruvians.

In other news, I am currently in Black Hawk, CO. It's a little mountain town about 40 miles outside to Denver. I'd compare the town to Park City, but it's lacking a few of Park City's draws: the view, the shops, the food... Pretty much, it's a very narrow town in a really narrow canyon that's made up of 5 casinos/hotels. Sounds fun, huh? I'm up here until I can get my work done. Then I'm catching a bus back down to Denver, where I'll catch a cab to the airport. Until then, I'll just brave the threats of snow...

That's all for now... Halloween pictures to come!

Attack of the killer...

...Bamboo?? So, Shane planted a new bamboo plant in our front yard. It's in a little patch of dirt between our driveway and sidewalk. Anyway, it's definitely thriving.

Last weekend, we noticed two new shoots coming up out of the ground. Yesterday, Shane noticed that the shoots had grown quite a bit so he got out his tape measure (yes, we lead very boring lives when we have to measure our bamboo shoots...). We are now tracking the growth, just for fun. Here are the measurements so far:

Day 1 (10/09, 6:00 pm): 34 inches
Day 2 (10/10, 7:30 am): 38 inches

That's right, it grew 4 inches in just over 12 hours! I don't have any pictures to document this phenomenon, but I'll have to add some once I take them. Until then, we'll keep documenting the measurements and keep you all posted... I'm sure you're just dying to see how fast it grows!