Miller Broyles

You guys know Miller right?  I mean he has his own myspace account.  Oh you don't use myspace anymore?  Oh.  Well, he's a little out of touch I guess.  Either that, or he's too good for facebook and wants to support Justin Timberlake.

Rodney and I hang out with Miller a lot.  My parents go out of town and we are his next favorite place to be.  Awhile back, my parents came to pick him up (thank goodness, because his farts have been absolutely eye wateringly gross) and we were shooting around good Miller memories.

"Remember when Miller jumped through hula hoops?"

"Remember when Miller peed our bed?" 

"Remember when Miller had a myspace account?"

We got a good chuckle out of that one.

So I decided to see if I still remembered his username and password.  I did. It took me a few tries, but I did.  Here are the pictures from his account. Along with the captions he chose :) (now looking back, I admit I was a little cheesy with some of those)

Harley Broyles, my sister

I get a lot of attention, don't worry

Hi everybody!

I'm not lazy, I just don't have much to do.

I love the car, but I wish I could drive it.

I have allergies....and look like a stud

I'm an itch addict, and he's my bitch. 

My family and my sister dog Harley

I have a constant pillow. Aren't my owners nice?

Here's my sis Tipper. She's fun until you get too close

You need somethin?

my lil buddy

This may not look comfy, but trust me IT IS

That's ME!

Here are some more recent pictures of him. He's just reeks with personality. 

He's the reason I'm not afraid of dogs anymore.  He's the reason we have Lola.  He's a big lover and a great friend.  Happy 13th Birthday Miller!  aka Muggers, Miller Man, Mills, Miller Biller, Mills Badills, Smiley Boy

9 Years

Today marks 9 years married to my hottie hubs.

Did you know that marriage is super awesome and fun and exciting but also really hard at times?  It is.

We've been together long enough now that we've watched friends get married and unfortunately divorced, and it always brings us back to what works for us.  And the only thing that holds us together in trying times?  Our friendship.  Our bestfriendship. I'm sure I've blogged this before, but it remains true.  At the very core, at the very bottom, at the very top, is the undenying fact that we are best friends.

I met Rodney when I was about 11 or 12?  He came over with his cousins to my house (because his cousin was one of my blvd friends) and he was wearing this oversized Charlotte Hornets coat.

Not this exact jacket, but visuals always help, right?

I didn't think much of it, don't even recall thinking he was cute or a possibly suitor.  Probably bc I already had a bf, because duh, I always had a bf. 

Fast forward to my freshman year of high school at band camp.  Yes. I'll give you time to re-read that and let it sink in.  

The Harrington brothers were called Bones and Bones Jr. and I'm assuming if you're reading this, you probably know me, and them, and need no explanation as to where or why those nicknames came to fruition.  (they were a tad skinny)

Those guys were always full of life, energy and laughs.  They loved having fun and obviously were fun to be around.  Thats when our friendship started. 

It continued this way for another year.  During the summer, we hung out a lot and even discussed our current relationships like best friends would.  I got the juicy details and so did he.  Who doesn't like having a guy they can talk to and get their perspective on things?!?!  

Well, that winter, while we were still busy being best friends that sometimes made out, (now out of both our relationships) we went to Winter Ball together and while standing in line to get in, a girl in his class asked him to Prom. IN FRONT OF ME.  And what do you think he said?  If my memory serves me correctly, he didn't say No. Or yes.  He just kind of stood there.  Pshhh.  Awkward!

Now fast forward to shortly before Prom.  By this time, we were officially dating and planning our prom night.  Well, this girl took his strange answer as a yes and was telling people she was going with my boyfriend to the prom.  Ummmm, really?  (btw, this girl had been absent from school for about 3 months, at rehab I'm guessing? yea she was a real winner) So I did what any good girlfriend would do, and demand that he set her straight, no matter how awkward that was going to be.  

A few days later I was on a band trip (nerd alert) and came back late to find a paper puzzle piece on my car seat, but the car was locked.  I saw it was in Rodney's handwriting so I knew something was up.  When I got home, on my bed, was a dozen roses with the rest of the puzzle waiting for me that when I put it together was a note asking me to prom.  And in little type, it said, and I'm paraphrasing, "I told that bitch I wasn't going with her" (Name changed to protect the crazy)

                               

How sweet is that?  

My camera ready Prom date

Awhile ago, I posted on FB that "marriage is like one big sleepover with your best friend" and it really does sum up how I feel about my HH.  He's my slumberparty partner in crime.  Thanks for everything you do for me and with me.  I love love love love love you and always will. 

My neck has gotten really strong kissing this tall drink of water

My baby

While plans for a human baby are still being worked out, I've had some moments with my furry baby that make me feel like a mom already.

For example, last night's thunder and lightning scared poor lil Lola Rae. So she did what any other child would do.  She came over to my side of the bed, nudged me awake and let me know she wanted on Mom and Dad's bed.  Before I could finish asking her if thats what she wanted, she jumped right up and snuggled me the rest of the night.

Its honestly times like those that makes me ok with my parental situation.  I know I'm gonna be a mom to a human someday.   I know that with all my heart.  But obviously its not happening right this second, week, or month. So instead of dwelling on that fact and spending all my time figuring out how we're going to make this all work, I'm gonna hang out with a 3 yr old that loves loves loves her mama.  She would sit in my lap, hang on my hip, and snuggle all day if she could.  I just have to look at her and she wags her tail.  When I scream or get hurt, she's right there trying to figure out how to comfort me.  

Its been documented (I say documented, because I'm still a skeptic) that when people have human babies, their furry babies take a backseat.  So for now, I'm going to let Lola sit in the front seat and be my co-pilot and mug on her day, because I can't imagine loving someone even more than I do my Lola Rae.   She really is the best. 

happy girl

*have you seen these glasses?  They were in my possession for all of 24 hours.

Robyn Michelle Broyles

Ever met my sister?  No, not that one.  The other one. The other sister. pfff

Her name's Robyn and she's pretty freakin cool.

She was 12 when I was born, making her practically out of my generation.  Lucky for me, she didn't see it that way.    I was 6 when she flew the coop and moved away for college.  That basically means that my memories of us sharing a house are limited, but thats ok, because she made sure we made even better memories.

Memories like taking me to the New Kids on the Block concert in Pullman.  ( I've mentioned this before, but lets revisit that memory.  I honestly thought she spent thousands of dollars to take me to this concert, as it was my absolute favorite band.in.the.world.ever.ever.ever. )

Memories like flying me down to Arizona every single year for my birthday.

Memories like taking me to Mexico for my 19th bday. ( we won't revisit that memory for the sake of my mother)

Memories of moving back to Clarkston *gasp* and having a baby *choking on gasp*.

We've been through a lot as sisters, and I can honestly say living apart for 80% of ours lives has not affected our relationship one bit.

Today's her birthday.  And I've already started out by posting a pic on FB of her when she was probably 18-19,  and she probably got the exact same look on her face when she saw it on her timeline this morning.

Happy Birthday to one of my most favorite human beings that has and will ever roam the Earth.

Things I'm Diggin

Wow. A lot has happened in the last couple weeks.  For one, the Hottie Hubs and I both turned another year older.  yay.  I'm just thrilled to be in the beginning stages of my thirties.  Is that excitement or sarcasm you're reading??

I went on an almost week long vaca for the first time in YEARS.  It was nice.  I spent it at my parents cabin on Coeur d'Alene lake and although the weather wasn't the greatest, I still achieved the relax I was going for.

Its my birthday and I'll lick every straw if I want to. 

Smily and Ducky

What.A.Blast

My Lola Rae has finally learned how to catch a frisbee mid-air.  Funny how I thought every border collie was born knowing this skill. Now if we can teach her not to destroy the frisbee's edge with her toofies. 

Speaking of amazing border collies, have you seen this video of Nana?  She's basically my Lola's hero. If I had more time and patience, I'd totally teach Lola more tricks.  That was my thought when we initially got Lola, but it just seemed like a lot of work (for me). 




OMG. I just ran across this video this last week.  I could totally see myself prancercising on my morning walks with Kelly Riddle.  Minus the cameltoe.  Well, maybe with.  It does add a little pizzazz.




I love a good youtube video.  In fact, we took turns this weekend picking videos to watch.  We watched a colorguard video (for Michele), a couple Squirrel Suit videos, including adding "fail" to the end, and the Bri-Wi (as Jimmy Fallon calls him) video.

But THIS video came to me Monday and I cannot get over how funny it is.  First off, we had a German foreign exchange student live with us for 9 months back in 1999 and I remember how often she would ask us to explain different english sayings that made NO SENSE to her.  I also remember her educating us on a few terms that translated funny.  Example: For a song that gets stuck in your head, she says, is "an ear worm" which is a really creepy visual.  Now, I know my mother does not appreciate when I mention poop in my blog, so I'm sorry Mom.  But c'mon. This is funny.  Real funny.




There's not many pages I "like" on Facebook, mainly because I'm bothered by the crazy # posts I could give two you know whats about. But if there's one page (besides Blake's Beanies of course) that I could only "like" it would be the Tosh.0 page.  They link to different blog posts on his website, and its not so much the post as it is the comments that I enjoy.  For example: He had this picture of someone's McChicken posted, and the first person's comment was very punny. 

And the top commenter wrote: "You will have to lettuce know when the wedding is. You better not chicken out! We can ketchup on everything. Is there a bun in the oven? Nevermind I don't really karat all."

***Disclaimer*** (for my mother really) THIS SITE IS NOT APPROPRIATE MOST OF THE TIME. ITS FUNNY, BUT NOT APPROPRIATE TO SHOW YOUR PARENTS/BOSSES. 

As far as TV shows, we've really had to get creative since the end of Survivor and The Following.  (holy crap. The Following's finale was cray cray)

Soooo,  we've been searching around our Roku and have found a couple pretty amazing shows.

1. Nathan For You

Think Sasha Baron Cohen with a side of Tom Green.  Basically he goes to businesses offering advice.  Really bad advice.  They take him 100% seriously, and he manages to keep a complete straight face the entire time.  I think we watched every single episode in one night.  And then watched them over just because they are that good.

2. Inside Amy Schumer.  Its another one on Comedy Central and she's pretty funny.  I think she's funniest when she's interviewing people, because then she's not trying too hard. But her sketch show has had some pretty funny skits.  One was about a school you send your older generation relatives to so they can learn how to be politically correct when they talk.  It hits home to me because my grandpa was born in 1915 (nuf said). 

3. The Ben Show with Ben Hoffman.  Something about a TV show about pretending to be completely serious but really majorly messing with people is and always will be hilarious to me. 

Basically I'm limited to what my Roku decides to store on it, so sometimes I have to fall back on the always dependable Law & Order: SVU or Lockdown.  

Movies:

Well, I finally saw The Mighty Ducks and Look Who's Talking.  Lets just say they were better in my mind, but I wasn't too disappointed. I mean, I had watched both before a few times, it'd just been awhile.  I guess what made me most sad was that Hottie Hubs wasn't as excited as me, and therefore didn't quite make it through either one.  Oh well.  Pick your battles.

-The Impossible.  It was great.  I cried a few times.

-Django Unchained.  It was amazing.  Even my own mother (who HATES the F word) liked it.  She liked it so much she watched it again with her friends.  Now thats a movie. 

-You've Been Trumped.  Can't remember if I finished it, but he's pretty much an asshat and only cares about himself.  Funniest part = one of the town folk describing what his hair looked like when the wind hit him just right. 

-Shelter Me. "Aiming to boost the adoption of shelter pets, this uplifting documentary focuses on the sucess stories, including dogs trained as service animals for the disabled and others who are helping returning war veterans with PTSD".  Pretty much amazing and a real boost for the facial tissue companies.

Food:

Not my steak pic, but this guy's who cooked his too long apparently.

Costco knows whats up when choosing which products to "sample".  We were there without a cart, specifically to get Rodney a new camera and I just HAD to snack on whatever they were sampling.  It was soo good, I immediately grabbed one and when the Sample Lady saw me, she offered us another sample.  She was nice. 

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS.  Since slappin this beast onto the BBQ, I've been eating it for every meal.  Just this morning I put a couple thin slices onto my egg sammy.  Since I've got less than 4oz left, I'm going to be heading back to get another one. Or two. Or eight. 

Farm Fresh Eggs.

I've heard they're the cats pjs, but I don't really know anyone willing to share their loot with me, so I've just stuck to the Kirkland Organic Browns.  Which were quickly pushed to the back of the fridge when our good ol' buddy Luke Jackson stopped by with these.  I didn't share ONE EGG WITH the hubs.  Oops.  They were just.that.good.  Not kidding, once you go farm fresh, you never go bock.  Get it?  haha. i'm funny.

Hey Luke. We need more. Thanks.

What are you guys diggin?  I'm always in need of some new shows, movies, food, youtube videos.  ALWAYS. 

thats SEW blake???

Dontcha just love that my blog is called Thats Sew Blake, yet there's but a couple sewing related posts?  Thats sew not cool.

Sew, I'm now going to post some sewing/craft projects that I've been up to.

Lets begin with the most recent project I completed.  Ok, so its the only project I've completed in quite some time. Thats the ambitious procrastinator in me.

It was Mother's Day as we all know this last weekend, and my mother is the best. She really is. I saw all these posts on FB saying their mother was the best, but they haven't either met mine, or are just trying to make their own mother feel really good.

My mom keeps Mother's Day cards, as I'm sure any mother of young children do.  She goes through them each year and reminisces about all the mother's days celebrated and then she cries. Good cries I hope.   I remembered this from last year, so I decided I better step up my game if I wanted my card to be added to the stack of home made cards.

Sew, when I saw this blog, I knew I had to do this for my mom.  How hard could it be?  You poke holes in a card, then take thread and embroider between the holes!!! Plus, she said it would only take 30-45 minutes. She also said if you start it on Saturday night at 10:30 you'd be good to go by the next morning.  Good thing I didn't listen to that part of the advice, because it took me a good 20 minutes to poke all the holes.  Then it took me another 20 minutes to stitch it, then it took me a good 30 minutes to just do the french knots.  Probably because I make my own way of french knotting up. 

Here's the finished product:

I'm the favorite.

Moves Like Jagger

Anyone that has a best friend (and I'm pretty sure that covers everyone?) can remember those moments in time where you're in the car and that song comes on the radio and you both turn into giddy 13yr olds and dance from the waist up.

A few months ago, back when Moves Like Jagger just started to get overplayed, my best friend and I found ourselves pulling into the driveway.  We sat there and moved like Jagger until the song was over.  Then we got out of the car, went inside and resumed our sweet little married lives.

Reason #542901 to marry your best friend.

Long Distance Relationships - B.C

B.C. = Before Cellphones

The day was 4/4/02.  11 years and 1 day ago. 

Rodney (before he was my Hottie Hubs) was living in California.  I was living in Spokane.  We had gotten back together and was having to make our long distance relationship work.  It was hard.  I knew I loved him and wanted to marry him.  We didn't have cell phones yet, so we were talking when I was in my dorm room, which wasn't that often, and I had to track him down by calling one of his friend's phones or houses.  It wasn't easy. But we had email.  Here's a couple emails I received.

i miss you every second of the day it's not right us being apart but it's only for a little bit longer. I Love You Very Much, You're Gonna Be With Me For A Very Long Time.

LoVe,
RoDnEy



How stinkin cute is that?!?!? 


That summer, he drove back to the valley to live.  He got a job at Northwest Children's Home, where he STILL works!  How awesome is that?!?!  Here's another message from  5/21/02:




I miss you soooo much and it feels awesome to know i'm gonna get to see you in a couple days. I have a lot of time to think about you on the road, everyone I pass probably wonders why I'm smiling so big. I love you. I love you.

I LOVE YOU!
RoDnEy





Zach, Katie, me and my love, and Josh

#flashbackfriday

REMIXED

Last night the HH and I were having a discussion about life and he said something to the effect of, "everyone's different".  Which sparked his brain to this video.  Its amazing.  I've already watched it 4 times, and probably will watch it 40 more times before I memorize it and sing along and possibly make my own remix.  Well, on second thought, I'll leave that to the experts, and in this case, the experts are PBS.  They've just created this series of remixes that will make you laugh, cry, smile, and feel completely warm inside.   I suggest you start with this one.






And then watch this one.





And then watch this one. 







Am I right, or am I right? 

You're welcome.

Two Beiber Brushes and a NKOTB pillowcase

Am I the only one who received 2 Justin Beiber singing toothbrushes for my (30th) birthday?

Pretty sure I was. Lucky for Rodney me they were different, which means different colors and 4 different two-minute songs. Lucky for Rodney me I haven't used them yet because I'm still using the one my dentist gave me.  

I'm also pretty sure I'm the only one (if not, please fess up) with the rest of this list.

-Driven off with the drive thru banking cylinder.
-Uses the windshield wiper fluid level as a gauge for changing the oil (not the best idea, I realize this)
-Gets called Brooke or Blair or Blaze or Blaine once a day (possibly more)
-Calls leggings "leggins"
-Carries the family dog around like the family toddler
-Sleeps on a NKOTB pillowcase (well sometimes Hottie Hubs does, so I guess I'm not the only one)
-Knows the Royal Ranger code and was never a Royal Ranger
-Has an arsenal of over 100 beanies/beardies/fingerless gloves
-Could eat an entire smorgasbord of breakfast items the millisecond my eyes open each morning. (except biscuits and gravy as explained in next bullet)
-HATES gravy. Especially country gravy.  Chunky, peppery, sausage-y substance??? NAST-TAY. 
-Watches "Hey Dude" on my lunch breaks. C'mon little doggie
-Falls up the stairs wearing a Snuggie (however I'm sure I'm not the only one)
-Uses the Snuggie sleeve as an eye mask at night. 
-Dropped a cell phone in a port-o-potty hole 
-Used a rest stop bathroom barefoot. Oh wait. That wasn't me. That was Britney Spears.  
-Impulse purchased a Spongebob Squarepants Sno-Cone Maker.
-Still own Moon Shoes. As seen in the super awesome picture from this post.
-Believes in a right-handed world conspiracy. 
-Thought the Knitting Factory was just as the title says.  And I did remember thinking it was weird but cool that G Love and Special Sauce was playing there. But we went, and it was amazing. Minus all the knitters I thought would be there sitting on couches enjoying the show. Boy did I look strange crocheting in the mosh pit. 
-Stretched my earholes to now regret that decision. <insert my mother's voice saying "I told you so"> They grew back, well for the most part. The left one is still a little big, but nothing the elderly women can't compete with after decades of wearing heavy dangly earrings. 

Going back to the NKOTB fetish I still got goin on....I recently ran into a long sleeve NKOTB shirt at Forever 31 21 and it got me goin on my childhood love.  So I bought some plastic NKOTB earrings off of ebay and have added a NKOTB pandora station to my mix.  So funny how I remember the words to all of the songs, not just the famous ones. 

"Listen up everybody if you wanna take a chance, Just get on the floor and do the new kids dance!" 

A stark reminder

Seeing all this snow in the valley reminds me of a night I will never forget. 

I'm writing this not only to tell those who have not yet heard this story, but to have it documented so I will never forget the details of this night. Also, to be able to tell my grandchildren, and to use as a lifelong reminder so it won't happen again.

It all began one snowy night in Lewiston, Idaho. Huge, beautiful snowflakes were coming down and the sky was being lit up by the white ground making the night one to remember....

Snowy nights are rare in these parts, so Hottie Hubs and I decided to make the most of it. No, we didn't make naked snow angels, but close. We decided to go skinny dipping in my parents' hot tub. They were somewhere on the Kona Coast enjoying the opposite climate and we were plant watering/showering Miller on that fateful Sunday. It was a spur of the moment decision and we didn't have our swimsuits. But we're married yo! (thank goodness, because this story would have had a drastically different ending)

You see, the hot tub sits on its own balcony about 15 feet or so up (at the time I would have sworn it was 30 feet high), with no stairs leading down. And of course, there's just the one door off of the master bedroom leading to the balcony. I grabbed a towel right before we opened the door so our feet wouldn't freeze to the ground after we got stepped out of the tub. And immediately after shutting the door behind me, I knew. I knew that the door I just shut behind me was locked. And that every other door to my parents house was locked as well. And that we were standing there naked as jay birds about to get into a very hot relaxing tub. Exit romance, enter comedy.  So as fast as two bareskinned people can think in freezing, snowing weather, my hubs dangled my bare buns over the balcony railing and dropped me into the snow. Then threw the one towel over.  I distinctly remember as I landed (on my two feet thank God) seeing deer tracks in the snow right next to where I landed. 

Where am I going at 10pm with no clothes on?  And what is Rodney doing while I'm out being naked in the streets? Both great questions with equally great answers.

Thank thee dear Lord I knew the neighbors (of course, its Lewiston for cryin out loud). So when they heard a knock and saw me standing there with only a towel on, they let me in. Coincidentally they've been in a similar predicament.  And by similar I mean they have a deck with the same dumb locking door.  I'm pretty sure their story didn't involve winter or nudity (but I didn't ask for details).  MEANWHILE......Rodney's relaxing in the hot tub, because what else was he to do?!?!?

I needed the house key. My 95 year old grandpa and my (out of town at the time) sister were the only ones in this town with one. Awesome.  I called my uncle hoping he had a key, but he didn't. But he DID ask why I needed one right this instant and why it couldn't wait until the morning to get Papa's copy. I'm pretty sure I left some private parts out of the story.

For some reason my sister wasn't answering her phone.  I think she may have just been getting back into town.  So I called my mom, told her the situation briefly, and said I needed to get to a key asap.  I will never forget her response.  "Are you naked?????" 

Was I getting punk'd?  Was this some sort of sick joke? Did someone see my naked ass dangling from the balcony and got to my mom before I had a chance to???? Would Batman and Robin get the joker?

No, she's just a mom and has crazy mom intuition. I said, "Well, as a matter of fact I am, how did you know?"  I must of had a sense of naked urgency to my voice. 

So she suggested that I either drive to my sisters house unannounced (because she figured she just wasn't answering her phone at this time of night) or go wake up Papa.  Since now I was wearing a fancy bath robe courtesy of Ms. Neighbor, I decided to try my sisters rather than waltz into an old folks home after hours.  I remember the akward drive to my sisters house with the Mr. Neighbor, just praying that she was going to be home. She opened the door laughing at my robe. What are sisters for?  I quickly told her the story, knowing I would go into more fascinating details in the morning. Off with the key and off to get that (even more now) needed soak in the hot tub!!

BUUUT when I got back to the house and out to the hot tub balcony of shame, Hottie Hubs was now a prune and was more than ready to get out and said something to the effect of "I've seen this on '1001 Ways to Die', I gotta get OUT!" 

(Can I ask why a doornob would "feel" unlocked from the inside but truly be locked from the outside? And why the doorknob needed to be locked in the first place? That's what deadbolts are for!)

 I love to think about the "what ifs" of that story.  What if I didn't know any neighbors?  What if we had no towel? What if we had no key? What if the hot tub was cold? What if I didn't land on two feet? 

Dog Lady

I realized last week that I'm "that guy girl".  I've turned into this person rather quickly and I'm not ashamed.  I'm the canine version of the cat lady.  Not because I have a million dogs hanging out on my front porch and in my laundry shoot, but because I'm utterly and completely obsessed with my dog.

The realization came when pictures were posted of me on facebook. All of them shown here.  Can you see the common theme?

I'm holding my child dog in all of them.  Not because the photographer shouted, "Pick her up!" But because I'm obsessed with my dog.

If you've ever met my dog, you will know she's amazing.  I've had multiple people tell me that she is literally the best dog they've ever known, and I assure you they weren't just telling me this to get on Lola's my good side.

First off, I want to say I may have become obsessed because my biological clock is ticking extremely loud right now and my motherly instincts are in full swing. That and the fact that I was DEATHLY afraid of dogs from age 6-18.  My fear of dogs has come back, but in a completely different way.  Now instead of being afraid that the dog is going to bite/attack me, I'm afraid that the dog is going to attack/kill Lola.   I have nightmares about this scenario.  I have actually stopped walking Lola around my neighborhood because of this fear. (I actually did have a german shepherd sprint from her yard to across the street and tried to attack Lola. But Lola used her best juke moves and avoided her neck being eaten up. That and the fact that she jumped in my arms. See, the constant holding has come in handy for us.)   And if I walk her on the beautiful levee bypass, I'm constantly looking around for dogs to make sure they're on a leach and that their owner has a firm hold. (which surprisingly a lot of people think their dogs are too good for leashes. me included)

People with human children know their child's every noise, body language and personality better than anyone.  Dogs are no different.  I can read my dog's face and body language to a tee. I know the look she gives me when she has to pee. I know the look when she wants a biscuit.  I know her "I love you so much Mom" face.  I know that after she takes a drink of water within 30 seconds, she'll cough...twice.  I know that when she wakes up, she goes to my side of the bed and rests her head on the bed and as soon as I open my eyes, she'll start wagging her tail in delight that I'm awake.  What I didn't know, is that a dog could turn me into a mothering worry wart.  I guess I know how I'll be someday when I have a human child.

I worry that she's going to choke on rawhides.
I now worry that she needs her anal glands squeezed because she's been chasing her tail a little more than normal.  (which we found out did need to happen, gross as it is.)

See, I told you I'm THAT GUY.

But Lola has to take some responsibility in this too, because if she wasn't the way she was I wouldn't have to be such a worry wart.   If she wasn't so darn human like, I wouldn't be in this frame of mind.

As all dogs do, she has her way of communicating to us.  In the morning, she wakes us up by shaking off and flapping her ears back and forth.  If we don't wake up right after she does it the first time, she'll do it again to let us know she's ready to go out and empty the blad.
She is a major nudger. She will rest her head on your lap for a few minutes just waiting for you to acknowledge her.  She is super sweet.  She loves being right next to me. So much so, that when she lays down, she prefers to be touching me with either her head or her paw.  I swear its because she likes to feel my heartbeat.  See, told you.

I know I'm not alone, because I know plenty of dog obsessed people.  They baby talk their dogs, just as I do.  They give them birthday and Christmas gifts.  They let them lick their faces.  They let them sleep with them in their bed (we don't normally do this, but it occassionaly does happen).  They give them human food.  They leave the TV on when they leave, or in my parents' case, the Christian radio station on. Because you know Miller loves the calming voices. :)  

Speaking of Miller, he's the reason for me morphing from a cat person to a dog person.  Like I revealed earlier, I was deathly afraid of dogs when I was 6.  I was attacked by a neighbor's black lab.  He was a mean ol dog, and I was an innocent girl holding a jump rope.  I was forever changed.  That is until we rescued Miller from the free box at Albertson's.  I was 18 and home for Thanksgiving break from college.  My brother and I were going to the store to get beer I think, or so the story goes.  We were headed back to the car and I turn around and Zach is holding the cutest fur ball I've ever seen.  He barfed on me twice on the way home, and his breath smelled sooo bad.  After going through "beer" names, we decided Miller was the perfect name for this "champagne of dogs".   My mom immediately said we needed to take him back because Zach lived in a tiny apartment in Pullman that didn't allow dogs.  My dad tried to convince my mom that Miller wasn't going to get very big, but anyone that saw his giant paws knew differently.  Zach soon realized he couldn't take care of Miller as much as Miller deserved, so he went on a short "stay" with my parents.  That stay has now lasted 12 years.  You thought I was the youngest Broyles child?  Nope.  Miller has officially taken over that title.  He has a lot of "issues" including being allergic to....wait for it.....GRASS. He also has a little OCD/Anxiety, so he wears a T-shirt whenever we leave him in the house (because we can't stick him in the yard because of his allergies).  But through all the medicine, special food and special attention this guy needs, he has healed me of my debilitating fear.  I can now trust dogs again and not climb up the nearest tall person whenever I see one. (not joking)  He has also made me realize that border collies are the way to go.  They are loyal, sweet, and very smart breeds. 

Miller Boy in his T-shirt.  Soooo stinkin cute.

Chillin

They really do love being around each other. 

Best buds

Hilarious. She loves to lay like this. 

But this was right after we got this bed. 

There you have it.  The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.  So I guess I'm not quite in recovery yet. I want to be "that girl".  And Lola certainly loves that girl. 

8 years and counting

Today I celebrate the 8th anniversary of being married to my best friend.

I read something in the Readers Digest this morning (I won't tell you where I was, but maybe I just did) that was advice from mothers to their children, and one of them was how to stay married.  It said just one thing: marry someone that makes you laugh.  To me, that is a best friend.  They are there with/for you through all the good and the bad, but they are the ones you have fun with, laugh with, and enjoy the most out of life with.

I'm not saying our relationship has been perfect. We, just as all married couples, have fought, cried, and mean mugged.  But those times really have been overshadowed by all of the times we've laughed.  And loved.  And snowboarded, fished, camped, Seahawk knuckled, snuggled, etc etc.

Remember this post about the 14 page love letter I found, written for my college freshman boyfriend?   When reading it, I felt those old feelings of missing him while he was away and thinking of the future when I got to spend every day and night with him. It seemed like such a far off event.  Being married, being one.  That was 13 years ago.  Crazytown.  I really did feel such strong feelings for this man and I knew they were for reals. But to say that out loud as a 17 year old sounds kinda silly because how can you know at that age that your choice in "the one" is really going to turn out to be "the one"???  Sometimes it just works out that way.

 

Us @ Prom 2000

He asked my parents for my hand in marriage in May of 2004.  I was a couple months from graduating and I knew I wanted to get married that summer.  However, he hadn't asked me yet and the summer was in full swing. (I was thisclose to asking him myself)  On July 9th we went camping on a beach up river and the next morning as the sun came up he asked me.  He got down on one knee and professed his love for me and said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He cried, I cried.  And of course I said yes.  Three months later, we were married :) We had a fabulous wedding.  It was on my parents front lawn of their Coeur d'Alene lakefront cabin.  The reception was aboard the resort's cruise ship,  The Mish-an-Nock.  It was October 2, 2004. We were crazy, crazy young, and crazy young in love.

 

 Thanks Lyndee for the pics I stole from your FB page :)

We did not live together before we got married.  So even though we'd already been together for about 5 years, there was still something very exciting to look forward to.  I knew most of his habits, and he mine, but there was a sense of newness to the relationship that made it all that more exciting.  It was the beginning of the longest slumber party I've ever had. I remember not being able to sleep very well with someone RIGHT THERE.  (We had a queen bed and if you don't know, Hottie Hubs is 6'7").  Now when he's not there I can't sleep very well.

We still hide behind corners and scare each other.  We have been known to dump a cup of cold water over the shower curtain, and most recently he got me with the ol' rubber band around the kitchen sprayer.  We are each others best audiences, laughing at our duuuumb jokes. (Most recent: his impression of playing a giant violin during opening credits of Walking Dead)

Thanks to you my love, for finding my jokes still funny, my face still beautiful, and for keeping my heart fluttering.