Sasha Sugarlips

This cute puppy...

is coming to stay with us from Sunday to Monday night.  :)

I promised to post some pictures of Sasha Sugarlips a while back. Our favorite puppy from Maggie's most recent (and last!) litter.

Emily will make this face again...

She'll kill us with her cutenesss...

and there will be more of this...

Puppy plotting.

The Friend Files

Emily Taylor

Yes, I know she's my sister, but we also like to say we are best friends.  What can I say about Emily?  There is too much, let me sum up.

Emily is funny, godly, sassy, colorful, caring, cool girl.  ;)  Those are the adjectives that came to mind first.  She is also daring.  Yeah, I'll throw that in there.

She is a good one to have around.  ;)

So learn a bit more about her!

(We both love the picture above because I told her that her eyes look like Curtis Stone's, the Take Home Chef, in that pic.)

  What is your full name?  Is there any significance behind it?  Any funny stories in connection with it?

Emily Lee Taylor – It took awhile for my dad to accept the name, Emily. He didn’t want me to be called Auntie Em as an aunt. But he met a cute little baby girl named Emily and he changed his mind J My middle name is the same as my uncle’s middle name and my mom thinks that “Emily Lee” sounds lyrical. So now people call me “Lee Lee” or “Emileeleelee” and some people… want me to wind up with the last name “lee” which isn’t very nice.

What is your favorite book?  Why?

I think based on simply the amount of times I’ve read it, The Lord of the Rings would have to be my favorite. What’s not to like, it’s epic, fantasy, good vs. evil, action, tragedy, comical, fantastic characters. I will admit, I’m an LOTR nerd.

Where is your favorite place to eat in the greater L.A. area?  Why?

Well, I’ve only been here once, but the place where I can remember my mouth being its happiest was at The Melting Pot. It’s really, really mouthwateringly good.

Have you ever left the country?  Where did you go?  What did you do?

Yes. I’ve been to Mexico City, Spain, France, Switzerland, and South Africa all for mission trips.

What is your dream job?  Are you doing your dream job right now?  If so, what do you do?

Becoming a vet tech. Right now I’m working at GCC for student ministries and it’s really amazing also. If I was allowed to have my dog at work it would probably be my dream job J

Who do you look up to?  Why?

Lots of people. My mom, my sister, Erin, my bosses (also pastors) Andrew Gutierrez, Kelly Wright, Austin Duncan. Lauren Brown, Brenda Frields, Lisa Martin. I look up to them because they are examples of Christ and they excel in how they serve others. There are way more than these too…

What is the craziest thing you have ever done?  Details!

Performed a very embarrassing song and dance at a high school talent show at church during my senior year.

What is the first concert you ever went to?

The Eagles with my parents. I drove all the way from Palm Springs to see it and then back again to go back to Bible study retreat. It was so worth it.

What are you thankful for?

God’s grace – guess everything else I’m thankful for flows from that.

If you had a baby elephant, what would you name it?

Bob if it was a boy and Ellie if it was a girl. Not too unique I know…

Love you, Em!

Sweet Maggie Moo

Tacy just gets all the attention these days.  She younger, more hyper and seemingly more affectionate.  But I still love my Mags.  She gives great big lopping kisses.  With much prodding and begging she will still come when she's called.  And I'll just never forget the day I met my parents at a home in Glendale to pick her up.  She was so precious and she sat on my lap on the drive home.  I fell in love at first sight.  ;)

I took these pics the day that Maggie's baby, Sasha Sugarlips (formerly Fattie or June Summer Rose) came to visit.  I'm actually not 100% sure that that's Maggie in the pic below.  It looks like her, but I remember thinking it was Tacy at the time.  I"ll post some pics of Sasha later.  ;)  She's a cutie.

I have some more fun friend interviews lined up.  And I'll show you the little prizes I'm giving them for their participation.  Have a fun Thursday!

Christmas 2011

It was a pretty simple Christmas this year.  Just the three of us at home after church in the morning.  I always love when Christmas is on Sunday.  We opened presents and then met up with my Aunt and Uncle to go see War Horse.  A tad more serious of a movie than I expected.  It was kind of weird seeing a movie on Christmas, but we had our main Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve since Jeremy was at Karli's on Christmas Day.  Our friend, Jenn, came too so that was fun.  

Emily's mysterious present to me turned out to be a poster that I had pinned on Pinterest!  "Yooooouuuuu sneeeaaakky moooommm!"

Just an attempt at being artsy with the Christmas tree.

And a cute dog that would be an excellent Christmas gift.  Actually, this one already has an owner but there is one more available.  :)

Puppies! The Second and Final Round

Well, I tried and tried and failed to post more pictures. I don't know what's up with either this blog or my computer or both, but here are the ones that made it through.

Poor, tired momma:


The Outcast:


The outcast gets in close:


Belly!


The definition of sweet:


Don't you want one?


Come on, you know you do....we have seven still waiting for owners...it could be you!

Maggie Moo

When I first wrote about Maggie on here I had only known her for about a day and I liked her a lot. Now it's been about two months and now that I know her better I don't just like her, I love her! She is a hilarious, fun-loving, cuddly, sweet, fast-growing dog.

The primary characteristic that sticks out though, is her quirkiness. So here is a list:

Top Nine Maggie Quirks

1. Her irrational fear of dark-colored sewage covers. - Every time we come near one on a walk she plants her feet into the ground and won't budge. We have to pull her with her little bum sliding on the pavement. Either that or she runs far around it. She's fine with the light colored ones though..those that blend in with the rest of the sidewalk.

2. Her fear of trash bags. - This one is a little more rational because the noise scares her when my mom or dad takes one out and shakes it open. Nevertheless, it is funny to watch her run in fear.

3. The way she sleeps with her head in her food dish. - Very subtle indeed.

4. Her love for the metal part of Higgin's old leash. - I think it's mainly that it feels good as she's teething.

5. Her affinity for squeak toys. - She takes one and jumps on to the couch near one of us and starts squeaking and squeaking and squeaking and squeaking until you feel you're going to go crazy! Once I took it and threw it behind the couch and she gave her cute little howl/bark. :0)

6. She steals our shoes and takes them outside through her dog door. - Actually, she'll take anything she can fit through her dog door outside. It's really funny to watch her carry something really large..she moves so quickly with it.

7. She loves to play with Nalgene bottles. - Unfortunately, my mom gave her my nice one from Starbucks without asking.

8. She loves sleeping on her back. - Her paws just go everywhere. What makes it especially funny looking is that her legs are so stinkin' long!

9. If I sit in a chair and lean back she barks at the bottom of the chair leg as it moves back and forth. - She basically freaks out...she lunges for it then backs up and growls. It's so funny!

Chocolatine, Friends, and Maggie!

At the beginning of this weekend, I was a little bummed, because I wasn't going on the camping trip to the Sequoia's with a group from Bible study. And while I am still a bit sad that I missed it, God still blessed me with a great weekend! On Friday night I went to Mariejtie's with Megan and Rebekah and we saw one of my all time favorite movies (musicals for sure), Singin' in the Rain. Classic. We had In-n-Out, had a great time chatting, and watched the movie. My favorite part was watching Mariejtie laugh over the "microphone" scene. It might have appeared that I was laughing at the movie...but I was cracking up over how much Mariejtie was cracking up. I'm talking knee slapping, hold your stomach laughter. :0) I greatly appreciate the fact that she enjoyed it as much as I did. I wound up spending the night too, so that if an intruder came in, I would be the first person to be shot and it would warn Mariejtie. Her words, not mine. (As you may have guessed, Anton wasn't there, but he was on the camping trip.) The funny thing is...I really did have a dream that night that I got shot. But that's another story in itself.
The next great thing about this weekend is that my family got a new dog, Maggie. She is a Wheaten Terrier and let me just tell you, it was love at first sight! Some of you may know that our dog we owned for 14 years, Higgins, is gone. We had to have him put to sleep. I wasn't sure if I would want another dog so soon, but we really all did. It just felt like something was missing from our house. I also wasn't sure how I would feel about having a girl dog. But I just adore Maggie! She is so sweet and friendly and funny. She loves to have you pick her up...she is in her nibbling stage, but she loves to lick your face. She pounces and bounces around everywhere...and she's already pretty obedient. I mean...how could you not love her little, cute face? Here is my first picture with her the day we picked her up. :0)

Checking out her new home.

She is just precious!
The other fun part of the weekend was going to Chocolatine with Haley and Mariejtie on Sunday after church! Haley had told us about this place, a very "pakish" French cafe owned by a true French couple named Hugo and Sabrina. Their friend from France, who is here for an internship, served us. The food was soooo good! We ordered different things and tried out each other's meals and they were all delicious! We also ordered a few desserts....that are all made right there....and they were scrumptious as well! Thanks again Haley!

I knew this place was the real deal because I found a tea towel there that I bought for my mom in Marseilles! I was way excited!

I just thank God for wonderful friends and conversation and for blessing us with fun times together!