Mr. Tubby Tubs and the Green Tin-Can on Wheels

Once upon a time...Life got extremely busy for me!  I apologize for the lack of blogging the past month and a half, but I will be making a conscious effort to blog lots and lots this December.

My job has really become time consuming lately. We had a woman in our department leave very suddenly for a new opportunity and in turn, it has made those of us left to become very thinly stretched. BUT HEY! Lots of people don’t even have good jobs, so I am thankful for even the busiest of days (and the paycheck that follows).

Speaking of being thankful, I have a very serious question for you all. Is it even possible for you to be angry before 6:30 AM? Now of course, there are those extreme cases where, for example, your car got broken into, or something similar, where anyone would be angry. But I am talking about just waking up on your daily routine and being pissed off! Me personally, not possible, I’m hardly awake at that hour, much less able to conjure up any sort of real emotion. This morning, however, that was not the case for the gentleman behind me on my morning drive.

I pulled out of my neighborhood to, what is a very busy street in the mornings ready for the day. Actually, more than ready because for a Monday, I knew this one would be great. (More on that later) As I head towards to toll-way that I take every morning, I noticed that the driver behind me driving a hunter green (ew) Pontiac Grand-AM was awfully close to my bumper.

Now, mind you, the road I am traveling on is very busy on weekday mornings and cars usually don’t go past 45 MPH and the road also lots of lights.  The truck I was traveling behind was a little bit slower driver than normal but again, who gets angry before 6:30 AM? I didn’t care if he was following the car in front of him a little bit more back that I normally would. His chosen driving speed wasn’t going to make me get to my destination any slower because of the lights we have to stop at every few miles anyways.  Clearly though, the grand-am gentleman thought that I was driving way to slow and that following right behind me would be a really good idea. I tapped my breaks a few times to kindly suggest for him to back off my bumper. He did not get the message I guess because he only continued to follow closer and then he decides that he is going to turn his brights on at me! At this point, I’m getting a little irritated because I truly have no idea why this guy is so angry at me! Lucky for me, his piece of crap car didn’t have very bright brights and I also drive and SUV and he was so close I couldn’t see his headlights anyways…idiot. I manage to finally switch into the left lane to get away from him and when he passes me he flicks me off with his fat finger! (Just for visualization purposes he looked like weight about 300 pounds)  Color me shocked. I was truly flabbergasted with his behavior. As he passed me and got behind the slower moving truck, and I moved onward to the freeway, I giggled. His impatience and rudeness was getting him nowhere, and I hope he realized that. Now I don’t know if he was just late and frustrated and decided I was the traffic angel screwing him over, or if he was a bitter longhorn fan that didn’t like my Texas A&M Century Club Member/blinged out aTm, but he seriously needs some Jesus in his life. I will never understand why some people lose their minds when they get behind the wheel. Moral of the story, don’t be that guy on your drive home today.

As for me and the rest of my morning, Mr. Tubby Tubs in the green tin can on wheels did not ruin it for me. Oh no! Tonight some of my wonderful girlfriends and I are having a Girl’s Christmas Movie night and I am hosting it at my home. Every girl is bringing some sort of treat in the form of dessert or wine, and we are going to watch the holiday classic, “The Holiday”. (Which just happens to be my favorite movie of all time) This week is definitely starting off right; Christmas movie, pizza,  girl talk, wine, and sugar. J I hope that everyone is having a better morning that Mr. Tubby Tubs and remember to drive like a sane person today.

Happy Monday Dolls!

Random Thoughts of a Houstonian.

Good Morning Blogging world. Sorry for the leave of absence. Since getting back from our fabulous river trip I have been busy, alas, neglecting the blog once again.

The 3^rd Annual River Trip was amazing. We had the biggest group yet and stayed in the nicest place we have ever stayed in also. From Schlitterbaun rides that made us ride in circles for 30 minutes before getting on the ride (THE BEST CONVEYOR BELT EVER!), to Floating the river twice, rope swings & kayaks, to the always fun “Loaded Questions” game, it was a fabulous trip. Although I do not think that I will ever eat Cheese Puffs again or take Rachel Ray serious. ;-)

 As of today, it has rained 12 straight days in Houston. T-W-E-L-V-E!!! This week has been particularity annoying because driving to work is a gorgeous clear sky and then around 3:30, right on cue, here comes the rain! Monday it took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to get home. It was quite possibly the second worst drive home I have ever had since I moved to Houston 2 years ago. I do have to say though, people who don’t live in Houston complain about the traffic every time they drive through but honestly for a city of 4 million people it’s truly not that bad.

Since we moved and had to leave our old gym (L) and joined the 24 Hour Fitness by our house, they actually have Zumba classes that happen during the time we go to the gym. I really enjoy the classes because it’s just dancing for like an hour. I mean it’s not just step left, step right, kind of thing, it's a lot more intense so you’re getting a hearty workout. And I do understand that not everyone has good rhythm or can move as quickly as others but let me tell you…40 year old MEN have no business being in Zumba class. Now, you may say I am being mean and that everyone deserves a chance but allow me to explain.  You typically try and get to the class at least 10 minutes early so you can get a good spot and stretch. I arrive about 8 minutes before class and find a nice spot. As the class is starting this guy walks in…

Okay so that may not have been him exactly but he was tall, lanky, and Asian. He proceeded to step the wrong way and swing his tree branch arms around for the first song. Luckily the lady next to me noticed his sporadic dancing (if you can even call it that) and made some room for me to move over. About halfway through class, the dude had proceeded to move back a lot causing the girl next to me to be in a really tight spot. She, (very politely I might add) asked him to move forward just a bit. The guy proceeded to say “NO, no room”, and point awkwardly at the space in front of him. About 30 seconds later, he turns around and says (in a very Asian accent) “If you want more room you can go to the back.” DUDE, SERIOUSLY??? It took all my strength to not tell this Yao Ming wanna be to –BLEEP- OFF! The lady was pretty much in shock and said “No, I don’t want to go to the back I just want to see the instructor”, which of course, she couldn’t over the towering awkward Asian. Next time I plan to move myself if he is even in a 10 food vicinity of me. Some people have no respect.

In other news, Trevor is it Pittsburg this week for work. He left Sunday morning and will finally be home tomorrow morning.  And thank the LORD because this girl is not doing so well sleeping alone at the house. Yes I know I am a grown adult and yes I lived in my own apartment for a year and a half but now I live in a big house. And you know what makes you scared when you live in a big house? When your dogs freak out and start barking at 12:45 in the morning. Let me lay out the scenario for you…I had already stayed up later than I usually do reading because I was having trouble falling asleep. Did I mention that the book I was reading was about a man’s wife coming up missing? Yeah smart one Danni…. Anyways, so I finally put the book down and toss and turn for the next hour and a half (never actually going to sleep), when I wake up again to Shep barking very loudly and Chanel jumping off the bed and barking also. My heart pretty much stopped and my mind created the worst scenarios that could rival any modern day horror movie writer. For example, the dude from “The Strangers” that breathes really loud has just landed on your last step and is making his way to the bedroom to chop me up into a Danni salad…

Notice the creepy masked figure in the back, that's the guy I was thinking of.


 Yes, really those are the things that were going through my mind. As I sit in my bed clutching my shot gun wondering if I should go downstairs when I realize that both of the dogs have resumed their position sleeping on either side of my legs. I put the gun down and try again to find my dear friend sleep. I believe it was around 2:38 that I finally fell asleep. Which means 3 hours later my alarm was going off, which ultimately means Danni, the “I don’t drink coffee” chick is about to become the “I need a large java chip Frappuccino lite STAT!” girl because I am STRUGGLING this morning. And to top it off I have a proposal going out today along with production of another…Please LORD let this day fly by.



With that, I am off to Starbucks to try and make myself not look like a blonde zombie today. I hope that y’alls day is starting off better than mine.

Happy Thursday dolls.

Saving Puppies and Expanding Families.

T.G.I.F. Dolls!

This week was a TID BIT exhausting for me so I am so glad to see Friday once again.

With this terribly exhausting week though, something wonderful did happen to me.

Wednesday evening around 6:20, Trevor and I were on our way home from the gym and had just crossed over I-10 onto T.C. Jester on our way back to my apartment. Trevor went to pass a car and right there in front of us was what appeared to be small yellow lab mix sort of wobbling down the road. You could tell it did not realize that it was in harms way since it wasn't moving to quick. I immediately tell Trevor to stop the car (Yes, in the middle of T.C. Jester at 6 o'clock); I jump out of the car stopping incoming traffic and call the dog over to the edge of the road. After some observation I realize she is a girl, doesn't seem to be dirty, just dusty, and has a sort of limp to her back legs. I am guessing at this point that maybe she is an older dog. Trevor moves the car to a side street why we take a look around and ask a couple of neighbors if they have ever seen her. No one knows anything about her. I am not about to leave a sweet dog on the side of a busy road to get hit, so after a quick discussion we decide we are going to bring her to my apartment and then during the day on Thursday Trevor would bring her to a no-kill shelter that works with the pet organization we volunteer with. She was a little hesitant to get in the car but we finally got her in there and made our way home.

At my apartment, we realize she is not familiar with stairs, so we carry her up inside. Chanel is very confused at this point, and CLEARLY not happy with us. If she could talk then I am thinking she would have said something similar to this, "Umm WTF MOM AND DAD!?!?! Who is this dirty tramp that you’re bringing into our HOME?!?! OMG, she just touched my toy, and my bone..OMG NOT MY BALL YOU TROLLOP!" Poor Miss Honeybrowne (as me and Trevor temporarily named her, yellow dog just wasn't working) did not understand why this pretty dog was being so angry. So after about...20 minutes Chanel finally let up enough for us to get Miss Honeybrowne into the bathtub. She didn't appear to be really dirty, just dusty. After a bath we decided we better try and feed her, and we concluded she hadn't eaten in days. She proceeded to eat 4 bowls of Chanel's food. Again, another tough moment for Chanel but she handled it....barely. So after a week's portion of food and nearly 2 gallons of water she started to pep up. Chanel decided since she had been bathed she would now play with her.

45 minutes of playing, wrestling, and a couple of "freak outs" by Chanel later both their tongues were dragging the ground and it was time to relax. Chanel proceeded to get her bone and go lay on Trevor, her typical behavior in the evenings. All was good in the world until Miss Honeybrown decided she would grab a bone too....you can guess how well that went. Chanel leapt of the couch with lightening speed, ripped the bone out of Honeybrowns mouth and growled her very mean growl as she jumped back onto Trevor's lap. After a stern talking and me giving Honeybrowne her own bone we had a fairly relaxing remainder of the evening. We decided that they should probably be separated when it came to sleeping, so Trevor took Miss Honeybrown back to his apartment for the night. After all of Chanel's very "diva-like" moments when Miss Honeybrown poked her head out the window of the car, Chanel put her paws up on the car and gave her a kiss. This is when I started actually contemplating how I could keep her, but deep down I know that just isn't possible for us right now, especially living in an apartment with one very high maintence dog already. Sad day.

This was Miss Honeybrown at my apartment.

The next day as soon as I woke up all I could think about was this dog does not belong in a shelter, she is way too good of a dog. She didn't bark once, she's friendly to everyone, (even Chanel with her severe case of only child syndrome) and is very well behaved. Trevor and I went to work, sending out e-mails at work, posting posts on facebook about her, and working with the Houston Howdy Club to try and find her a home so she wouldn't have to go to the shelter. Around 11:30, something amazing happened; a woman I work with e-mailed me and said that her family would like to take her in. My heart soared, especially since Trevor was getting ready to leave work to take her to shelter. Trevor immediately made a route change and headed up to my work to give Miss Honeybrowne to her new owner. When they arrived she already looked so much better than the day before. She had more energy and her eyes weren't red anymore, it was wonderful.

Miss Honeybrowne's new owner left work early and brought her to the vet to get checked out before bringing her home. Turns out she is a 2 year old mostly lab mix with some golden retriever in her. She weighs 40 pounds, she is fixed, and doesn't have any fleas. She also tested negative for all diseases and heartworms. She did not have a microchip. Only negative thing that we found out was her limp she had actually came from getting hit at a slow speed by a car...bless her heart. But by God's grace she didn't break any bones when it happened and was just badly bruised. The Vet told her new owner that she should heal fine. I swear on my own precious puppy that if I knew who hit poor Miss Honeybrowne I would hit them with MY car and leave them on the side of the road, see how they like that. I will never understand how cruel some worthless human beings are to animals and I seriously hope they all drink arsenic.

Okay back to the happy moment...besides being a little bruised up she is a perfectly healthy dog who is doing great in her new home where she has half an acre backyard to play in with her new sister Brownie, who is also a lab, two twin 4 year olds who spend every afternoon playing with the "doggies" and a loving family that lets them sleep inside every night.



Cupcake with her new sister Brownie



Cupcake with her new family. :)



It seriously makes Trevor and I the happiest people to know that we helped this wonderful dog (recently named Cupcake) find a new family where she will live a full and happy life. It makes us smile to know that those kids will grow up with that dog and will be part of family memories for a lifetime. Helping her was one of the most rewarding things I have done all year. Dogs deserve to have a family that loves them as much as they love you. The incredible thing about dogs is that love unconditionally, selflessly and with their whole hearts, no matter what. I am so glad that we found her and changed her stars.

I hope that everyone has an awesome weekend, not just a good one, but one of the best of the year.

Happy Friday Dolls!

Puppy, Paintings, and Traffic Annoyances

Good Friday Morning!

I don't know about you guys but dragging myself out of bed waking up on Friday morning is always a little bit easier than other days of the week. A plus for me that I have is a very rare black and white girl-fox-bear-puppy that the moment I open my eyes, (she can always tell) creates instant cuteness right in my arms. Chanel proceeds to shove her nose under my arm and work her way into my chest nuzzling up to my neck. It's seriously the cutest dang thing I have ever seen. But she has strategy I tell ya...because the moment I get up she jumps down and pretends like she is going to continue accompanying me as I get ready but then runs back to the bed and lays directly in my spot with this very pleased look on her face.


She is about 6 inches from my face

 

She has been caught.



So on Wednesday I went to the class called "Painting with a Twist" with 4 of my girlfriends. I know I already explained what it is in my last blog BUT in case you haven't read it or do not care to read the blog before this I will elaborate again. An instructor shows you step by step how to create the paining that you signed up for. (It's different everyday) Now the "twist" is that you have snacks and more importantly wine while you are painting. I am pretty sure the wine definitely made my picture MUCH better. It was a ton of fun and probably one of the best weeknight girl's nights that you can do. They have a lot of locations not only in Houston but in other big cities in Texas. Check out their website-Painting With A Twist



Myself, Ashley, Marina, Katie, and Heather with our paintings.



Moonlit Cherry Blossoms



Now I have greatly enjoyed this whole blogging thing. I like to think of it as free therapy some times. So I hope my venting some days can at least make you smile

Every day I drive 26 miles both ways which ends up being about 35 minute drive to work and a 40/45 minute drive home. I know what your thinking..."In Houston traffic, SHE IS NUTS". Well before your judgement commences let me explain that I actually drive against traffic. Since I live in the Heights (for you non-Houstonians it's an area nestled in between Downtown and the Galleria) and I drive to Spring I actually do NOT sit it traffic moving no faster than 15 miles an hour. HOW-EV-ER...I do encounter some less than pleasing happenings on my drive in. I won't go into to much detail but for the information of everyone on the Houston highways 290, 249 and 610 North....THE FAST LANE IS MEANT TO BE DRIVEN FAST!!! If you are NOT going ABOVE 70 MILES AN HOUR-MOVE THE "bleep" OVER!@$#%!#$Q!$! This morning on my way in some "Canadian" gentleman was driving in his Cadillac Seville with 24 inch wheels(I'm going to bet he wasn't on his way to work either) in the fast line moving along at about 64 miles and hour...NOT OKAY! In turn he not only was blocking me but started a nice little traffic back up because no one could pass the other slow pokes in the other 2 lanes of 290 outbound. Monday through Friday 6AM-10AM Sunday drivers need to stay OFF the roads. Traffic should always look just like this when I am driving to work at 6:30 AM.



Trevor, I think the grey ones taller...





Lastly, I am so ready for 3 o'clock to roll on around. A big thumbs up to my great boss who is letting me leave early so that the boyfriend and I can beat most of that horrible south Houston traffic and get to Bridge City before dark. We're having dinner with my Dad tonight and he is not a guy you really want to make wait.



This the night that his ONLY CHILD and little girl got her Aggie ring...this is his super happy face. Dead Serious.

Have a fabulous Friday dolls.

p.s. This cup brings more joy to me that it probably should, my Aggie cup that is filled to the brim with diet coke every single morning. Thanks and Gig'Em to Trevor's mom for giving it to me last Christmas.