We've had Patton for over two years now and boy have our rules changed in that time! I can only hope that it is harder to bend the rules with kids than it is with our pup. I saw this and immediately related.

Dog Rules

1. The dog is not allowed in the house!

2. Okay, the dog is allowed in the house, but only in certain rooms.

3. The dog is allowed in all rooms, but has to stay off the furniture.

4. The dog can get on the OLD furniture only.

5. Fine, the dog is allowed on all the furniture, but is not allowed to sleep with the humans on the bed.

6. All right, the dog is allowed on the bed, but ONLY by invitation.

7. The dog can sleep on the bed whenever he wants, but NOT under the covers.

8. The dog can sleep under the covers by invitation ONLY.

9. The dog can sleep under the covers every night.

10. Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the dog.

And yes, this is a picture of him on our couch. He was never allowed on furniture until we moved to PA. But now, that is the only way he can see out the window. When we're not home, he likes to watch everything going on outside, and of course, be a ferocious guard dog!

Christmas Recap

Christmas seemed like it took forever to get here, and now it's gone! I plan to relish in the remaining days of vacation though with some long walks, leftovers and maybe even some snow.

My parents came on Thursday and left this morning, at the threat of snow for tonight. With all of these hills and winding roads, it can be intimidating at first. I showed them the way out of town, but not before a pit stop in the Strip District for them to load up on real northern Italian meats. That is stuff you just can't get down south.

It was a fun few days! Mom and I did a tour in the Cathedral of Learning at Pitt, we went to the Strip, watched a Steelers game, Billy showed Dad some rigs, did some shopping, checked out PPG place and the big tree, walked to Grandview Ave and took Patton for a hike on the trails. The only thing we didn't do was ride the incline down to Station Square! I'm sure there will be a next time. I think Pittsburgh exceeded their expectations. I think a lot of people(including myself) picture Pittsburgh as a run down old steel town, and some parts are, but there really is a lot to do here and some parts of the city are new and pretty.

Christmas was awesome! Check out the mess:

The biggest surprise and most awesome gift was a sewing machine. I sewed a bit when I was younger, and some of it came back to me when I took it out for a trial run. I wish I had it last week so I didn't sew our curtains by hand! I have no idea what my first project will be, but I'm sure through YouTube and Pinterest, I'll find something to start with.

We all know Patton is happy Christmas is over so he doesn't have to listen to those Christmas bells for another 11 months!

On a slow day last week, I was perusing Pinterest for Christmas cookies and was all excited until I got home and got realistic. My kitchen is probably smaller than your bathroom, and I don't have a dishwasher. Thus, dreams of cookies crumbled. Turns out, that all is well because at work, there is seemingly a never ending pile of cookies. Yesterday I had four...okay, 5, but only admitted to four and my coworker said, "FOUR, really?" Luckily, when I got home, the stars had aligned and Patton was walked and Billy was already cooking dinner, so the shame got me to run. Bonus - I saw a reindeer/giant deer with antlers! So weird, because we live 1/2 mile from the city, surrounded by a river. I thought about getting close and taking a picture, but chickened out.

Two more wonderful things are that Mom is coming with cookies AND Billy received a smoker for Christmas, which takes the cooking load off of me and it means less dishes! Yes, I now think about what I'm making in terms of how many pots/pans I will need to use.

It's going to be almost 60 degrees today. What the heck, Pittsburgh? Where is my white Christmas? Me thinks that won't be happening, which is fine because four people, plus a dog the size of a person in our less than large living space without being able to get out would not be good.

Tomorrow is the last day of work until January 3rd and this break will be glorious!

I tried to sleep in this morning, but Patton will not let that happen! I took him out and then went back to bed, but he just sat there and stared at me. So needy!

I have a lot to do anyway, like clean the house, go to the post office, buy some more makeup bc someone or some DOG knocked it off the counter yesterday and broke my eyeshadow. Things between now and next week will go by so fast, especially at work. Which is why I asked Billy for the house cleaning service I saw on Groupon yesterday but he said no. Ugh!

I keep laughing at the very funny gift I found for my FIL at Urban Outfitters last night. I guarantee he will think it is hilarious and keep sending us pictures of the sentences he makes. He has a mustache and apparently no one has seen his upper lip since 1980.

Mid Week Musings...

I read an article in the newspaper about how Duquesne is doing their students a disservice by not supporting a student atheist group. Perhaps the author did not get the memo that this is a Catholic institution and harboring a group of atheists doesn’t not really jive with the mission.

I saw the Lowe’s pulled their advertising from the new TLC show, All American Muslim. This was supported by Glenn Beck…who has a new reality show about a father training his family to live off the grid in case of economic/natural disaster. This led me to connect the dots about how this also crossed Billy’s mind and told me over dinner this weekend about his “off the grid” plan as well. After I spit out my food I was laughing so hard.

A student emailed me to ask if I knew if Penn State used the same chemistry book as we do. How on earth would I know that?

Another student stumbled over saying Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to me and then explained the stutter by saying he was so used to saying Happy Hanukah. To who? Again, with the Catholic university…

So far I have received only 4! Christmas cards. C’mon people!

I don’t think this is as good as the Jimmy Kimmel prank on kids and Halloween candy, but this is pretty good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4a9CKgLprQ

6 more work days!!

This morning....

I had to cut a knot out of my hair...

I somehow got my hair elastic around my ankle, and UNDER my tights...

It was 18 degrees...

But there are only 8 more working days until my 11 day break!!!

I'm not late to The Help party, because I read the book last year, but I did just watch the movie and I highly recommend it. The book actually helped me follow the movie a little better because some of the character's names are similar and could be a little confusing. It was about 2.5 hours, but it didn't seem that long. Even Billy really liked it!

I asked him to pick up the movie from Redbox on his way home last night as restitution for me having to walk Patton twice in the cold rain yesterday. And it was COLD. I even wore tights under my pants yesterday...and didn't change out of them when I put my sweatpants on to walk the dog. No one cares what you look like here, as long as you're warm. Reason #486 why I love Pittsburgh.

So after the movie, we called my MIL since she is the once who gave me The Help. She had just bought a 10foot Christmas tree and hasn't put it up yet. The image of this is so funny to me, because she lives by herself right now...how on earth is she going to get a 10 foot Christmas tree up? I don't know if I could have gotten our 6 footer up on my own! Ohh she makes me laugh sometimes.

Today is a Catholic holiday, so I don't have to work...and I plan on finishing/putting a big dent in my Christmas shopping! We're in full swing now...yesterday I received my first Christmas cards in the mail and mine are on their way!

It finally feels like Christmas! In Florida, it never quite felt like Christmas because it was so warm. But now...with our tree(a real one!), decorations and a chill in the air, it feels like it should! We drove around forever looking for a tree, and finally gave up. Just as we were about to head home, we found them right at the bottom of our road. Duhhhh.

Patton officially hates Christmas though. He howls at almost all Christmas songs, so I had to change the station and he keep stealing out ornaments off the tree. So far, we have only had one casualty. He was also crying when we were trying to put lights up outside today. That was a complete fail, btw. No lights outside for us.

Billy asked me for my Christmas list and I really had a hard time thinking of things. A couple of years when I gave him a list, he bought everything on it! I gave him specific instructions not to buy everything on it this year though! I was hesitant to put these on, because $48 seems expensive for mittens. But I would wear them for several months...and they are very pretty!

I saw this yesterday and it made me want to run home and give Patton a hug! Every time I get home, I see his big head in the window, just waiting for one of us to walk up the steps....and when we get inside, it's like he hasn't seen us all week!
Since Billy was gone, and he usually wrestles with Patton...I gave him an extra fun walk and we watched Water for Elephants. He seriously watches TV and always gets excited when there are animals on the screen. He wasn't too sure about the lions though! Very good movie...it made me like Rob Patt. since I loathe the whole Twilight thing.

So give you pup a great big hug today!

And the debate begins....colored lights or white lights? I like both, but I am NOT a colored light hater, like many people. If I were going for a certain theme with my Christmas lights, I would probably stick with white. But I don't have one...I have a lot of hand-me-downs and a lot from when I was a kid, so for me, I like to decorate with colored lights. Billy does not. But too bad -because I have already wrapped them all the way up the stairs. Muhahaha.

Thanksgiving was over and I think we can all agree that it was probably one of the best Thanksgivings we have ever had. We made the short trek to DC/Maryland on Thursday morning. We got to meet our new nephew and he was an angel! The weather was beautiful, the wine and beer was seemingly bottomless and we got to participate in the fun tradition of bowling between dinner and dessert!

We only stayed overnight, which was perfect, because then we got to enjoy the rest of our long weekend at home, relaxing. I went to Zumba with Lisamarie on Saturday and it was awesome. I'm going to check to see if they offer classes at my gym. Since it gets dark at 5pm and has been raining nearly every day, it is hard to find time to walk/run outdoors!

We also tried another church on Mt. Washington this weekend...and this one only had 10 people, as opposed to the 20 the last time we tried to go! I have no idea what that is about or how these churches can sustain themselves with attendance like that. Perhaps that is why they tried to collect offering twice in the hour long service???

Tomorrow is back to the grind...with freshmen registration....no doubt I will have my phone ringing off the hook all day long! There will be no easing back into it for me! But the end is in sight...just 18 more working days until Christmas vacation!

Since only about 3 people read this blog, I'm ok with releasing our Christmas card photo...which is a semi-fail. I agreed to Billy's tacky sweater idea, but now the picture is made, I'm thinking they were not nearly tacky enough and that most people will think they are normal sweaters. At least Patton is looking rather goofy....lucky for us though, we got this picture in one take. As soon as the camera took the shot, the battery died. I can't believe everyone is looking in the same general direction!

Also I was feeling a little crafty on Saturday and made a wreath for our door. For me, this is about as creative as it gets. Keep your standards low, people.

To cap off the weekend, we had Melissa & Corey over and Patton continued his strike against poor baby Teagan. I think overall, he is just confused about what she is. It's like she's the size of a small animal, but doesn't smell like one??? Not totally sure what the root of his behavior is, but he had to be sent upstairs while we had fun without him....and Billy forced his Godiva liquor on our guests.

Cheers to a 3 day week....and only having to work two more 5 day work weeks from now until January!

5 Thing Friday

1- Today is the first day I wore gloves and earmuffs on our morning walk! It is currently 28 degrees, people!
2- Billy tried to get me a concealed carry permit this morning. Why would I ever need a gun in public when I'm by myself? I'm not a PA resident yet, so that easily roadblocked him.
3- I walked by a group of 20 of my freshmen yesterday and they all stopped talking and just stared at me. Awkwarrrd.
4- This weekend we will be taking our Christmas card photo. After 3 years of putting my foot down, I may cave to Billy's dream of wearing tacky Christmas sweaters for the picture.
5 - Two giant deer ran in front of us during our walk last night and Patton didn't even flinch. Some labrador he is!

HAPPY FRIDAYYYY!

More on PGH

Oh yes, I am adjusting. When it was in the 70's in August, I thought the 60's were cold. In September, I thought if it were in the 50's, it would be chilly. Now the 40's don't even seem to bother me that much! I will even go outside without a jacket in the morning with Patton sometimes. It is supposed to be in the 20s tomorrow night though...and that...may be unpleasant. We really need a new comforter and probably some flannel sheets real soon!

Also, whilst in the Burgh, I have noticed bumper stickers that say N@....I didn't have a clue what they were referring to until last week, and now I hear it ALL. THE. TIME. At first I thought maybe these people were Washington Nationals fans. Wrong. It's like saying, "I'm going to the grocery store to get eggs, milk AND STUFF LIKE THAT." Instead, they said, "N'at" in place of "things like that". Example:
For Thanksgiving, I'm in charge of bringing a dessert, and I think I'm going to try to make gobs, which are pretty popular up in these parts. And delicious, I might add. Billy's aunt assured me since I work full time, that I can just pick something up from the grocery store...but I think I may give these the ol' college try.

Black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow. The Steelers had a good win against the Bungals and the Ravens lost...which wrapped up a good weekend for us!
Billy's parents arrived on Friday evening and we went to dinner at Shiloh Grill on Mt. Washington. This is B's new favorite place because he found out about Bacon Tuesdays. Yes. This is where you can get all you can eat bacon. Just for ordering water. Sick. I'll sit this one out. And I love bacon as much as the next person...but no, I will not be participating in this.

On Saturday, we went down to the Strip District to stock up on Steelers geat and then went to the Heinz History museum. Five floors of museum! To my dismay, we made it to 2.5 floors. It was really awesome - but very random also. The first floor was an American Flag exibit(Go USA!), the 2nd floor was about Western PA sports, the 3rd floor was about Kethup...and I wouldn't know about the top 2! I love walking. Billy HATES walking. So for the rest of the day, we took a ride to the "hollowed" ground at Heniz Field...obv. that is Billy's word, not mine and watched college football.

We saw them off yesterday and agreed that it was a pleasant, drama free weekend! And we'll see them in just 10 more days for Thanksgiving in Maryland! I got my bowling shirt this weekend for the bowling that happens between dinner and dessert? This will be a new tradition for me...and sad for the team that gets me as their free agent!

Guess who is coming to visit for the weekend?

My MIL and FIL! Sans Kelly. Lucky for them, the chance of snow is gone! Since we still haven't had a chance to explore parts of Pittsburgh, hopefully we'll all get a chance to do that this weekend! Billy never wants to 'just walk around'. He needs a goal...so unless I have an objective other than 'looking around', I'm on my own!

One of my BFs and I have a style called "effortlessly mixing black and brown". I'm pretty sure we've had it since high school, but I don't think I can trace it back to an exact year. When we do it, we usually text or email each other about it. In terms of style, I am rarely bold, so doing this is about as on the edge as I will dare to live on. But lately, I see it being done more and more, especially with brown boots. So today, I did it with black tights and a dress that mixed it up for me, to give me some added confidence in my choice. The tights, are doing double - no, TRIPLE duty today! Style, warmth, AND making me look thinner! I could have never worn tights in FL, but I am liking that they are pretty much a necessity up here!!!
What do you think? Do black and brown go together?

Edit: For you northerners and soon to be Alaskans, here are some fleece lined tights for only $7.99. I just ordered mine! http://hip2save.com/2011/11/fleece-lined-leggings-only-7-99-shipped.html

Yesterday's post made me think of this other ridiculous bridesmaid picture of me:
Yes, that is me staring up into the ceiling. This was also my favorite BM dress! It was from White House/Black Market and she bought the jackets at Ann Taylor and gave them to us as gifts. It was great for a fall wedding!

What I liked about this past weekend's bridesmsaid dresses was that not everyone was wearing the same thing. I know it's tradition and all, and even I did it, but I still think it's a little dumb to have several women all wearing the same thing. If I were to do it over again, I would have had a color scheme and had them each wear something different. No plans to do it over, though! ;)

We had a fantastico time at Jimbo and Courtney's wedding. The problem with being in a wedding, though, is that you don't get a chance to take many pictures! And with both of us being in the wedding, we didn't get any pictures of the ceremony. It was fun for us both to be involved...and to not have to walk with a stranger down the aisle.
It was chillier in SC than PA I think, but we didn't let that get us down! A little alcohol and a wrap, and I was good to go. I even got Billy to dance! We got to the rehearsal by the skin of our teeth, but after that pretty much everything was smooth sailing. Except the groom's cake...but that is a story for another day. Or another decade.

For a gift, Courtney got her BMs a big box of embossed stationery. It was a perfect gift! I had to leave mine with my mom bc Spirit Air we didn't have space in our bags, but I can'w wait to start using it after they bring it up in December. For the groomsmen gifts, they got collapsible chair with a built in cooler. Perfect for tailgating and much better than the standard flask as a gift. All the groomsmen and bridesmaids were so much fun, which added to the weekend!
On the way home, we wore our Steelers jerseys(and dressed Jim's dog up) and had an ON TIME direct flight! We caught a little hell from the occasional Ravens fans, but we won't get into that. We did have the most strange cab ride home though. And before I realized it, he had my address, name and birthyear, so I made us stop to get cash so he wouldn't have my credit card number too. It was very bizarre.

So that ends my flight travels to the Carolinas for this year. Three times down and back in two months. Time to get ready for my FIL to visit this weekend and Thanksgiving in 2.5 weeks!!!

Since today was my day off, I decided to go shopping and take advantage of no traffic and no crowds. Bliss. Until I was trying on a dress and the sales lady asked if I wanted to try on some spanks with the dress. Ummm...no. Rude.

I don't know why I spent so much time wondering what Billy and I could dress up as for Halloween. Clearly, we need to bring back the pirate costumes from 1994! Obviously, my brother and I were rocking the pirate theme before it was cool.

Only 5 days before the little broski's wedding! Our flight down to SC was canceled! But we picked up another one out of Latrobe for $60 less! Booya, DirectAir! We have to go to Latrobe anyway to drop Patton off. The only complication will be flying back into Pitt on Sunday, but I think we have the logistics worked out!

It was a chilly, but relaxing weekend. We had plans to go to a Halloween party, but bailed because of the weather. It was supposed to snow/ice again on Saturday night, but I'm not sure if it actually did. On Sunday we woke up and drove to one of Billy's rigs. It felts like an hour long roller coaster - going up and down hills and so many turns and unpaved roads! It was worth it though because he got the job! Woooo!

Annnd to top it off, the Pirates and the Steelers WON! Looking forward to this 3 day week! One of the perks of working for a Catholic school = tomorrow is All Saints Day = no work!

It won't officially be winter for 2 more months, but Pittsburgh did not get the memo! Wooo!

What a great weekend! And it didn't end until the lsat possible minute! I didn't fly out until 8pm on Sunday. It started out a little rough with a delayed flight out of Charlotte, but I was able to make it home in time for dinner made by Mom. (side-note: it's her 56th bday today!)

Saturday morning I woke up bright & early to head to Greenville for Morgan's Bridal Brunch. I was so happy to be invited and it was nice to see everyone before the wedding craziness began!

The wedding was perfect and I wouldn't expect anything less from Morgan. She's one of the most thoughtful people I know. From the giftbags, to the decor, she's always on point! I haven't seen her in three years, but it felt like no time had passed at all! Except for when we went to 519 after...it definetly did feel like I was an old married lady who was ready for bed around 1am!
On Sunday, I dragged my aching head out of bed and made the drive back to my parents. After a healthy dose of Motrin, I was back in action and went for a long walk on the beach with my mom. I'll see them again in less than 2 weeks! DirectAir called us yesterday and cancelled our flight to SC, but I was able to find another one out of Latrobe. Luckily, we need to go there to drop Patton off anyway! We'll miss the rehearsal, but I'm pretty sure Billy and I will be able to find out way down the aisle!

I can't wait to get to North Carolina! I'll spend tonight with my parents, then head to my beloved Greenville for my dear friend Morgan's wedding! I can't believe this picture was five years ago - before any of us were even engaged! Very much looking forward to being together!!

It's not going to be hard to leave Pittsburgh this weekend, because it's not getting out of the 40's today!! I hope Billy and Patton can survive on perogies and sausage, because that is all that is in the fridge!

Happy birthday to my husband!

You make me laugh all the time!

You are the opposite of me - and you are the reason we have fun!

Even though I tell you that you are annoying almost daily - I'm so glad you're my husband!

I'm looking forward to many more years of birthdays with you - even if you eat your cake before your birthday, when I'm not home.

I think these next couple weeks are going to fly! 18 days until the broski's wedding! This weekend I'm heading to NC for Morgan's wedding - it's a good and bad thing there is no home game that weekend. Good because I could find a hotel room...bad because if I'm making the trip to Greenville, I would at least lke to see the Pirates play! It will be so nice to have a little reunion though. There is enough football in Pittsburgh to go around!

This past weekend was fun. I had to go to work for a bit for freshmen parent weekend...then got contained downtown by those Occupy Pittsburgh bums...but finally made it out to Ligonier with Lisamarie. It was fun to walk around the Ligonier Days festival. In true LM/Jackie fashion, we had dessert for lunch! One of her student's moms asked if we were sisters...and then after seeing some pics, my mom asked if anyone ever asks us if we are sisters. Sadly, no. But we are both Swedish!

I also came home with a jalepeno cookie for him, which he did not like. I told him it was Made In America, which did not help this case. He wants us to only buy American made products for Christmas gifts this year. That will certainly be a challenge! No electronics for him, I guess!

On Sunday after the game, we went for a hike near our house. As seen below, Patton was a crazy dog. He just loves the cool weather and the trails and runs the entire time. He did not want to even sit still for the picture!

Guess who's 32nd birthday is TOMORROW??? He already got his gift....and iPad! Lucky!

Just when I thought I was safe...

I have learned to keep MOST of my shoes in my car. All my work shoes are in my back seat, because I have learned that even if they are in my work bag, Patton will sniff them out, and then go hide and chew on them. I knew that if I don't hear him...he's doing something BAD!

Well, apparently, he now knows how to open doors. Or, that is what Billy says - since he swears he closed the closet door. Mmmm hmmm. So I came home to this today!

I wore these shoes in Melissa's wedding three years ago(this week!) and need to wear them again next month as a bridesmaid in my brother's wedding. FAIL. That will not be happening! I get angry at Patton, but it really doesn't matter. And he only eats my shoes...he doesn't even go near Billy's. It's like he loves me so much he wants to ingest me? I'm so confused. But there is good news with all of this!!..My mom comes to the rescue within the hour I tell her this and finds these Aldo shoes for only $14.99 with free shipping on Amazon!

The bridesmaids gods must be looking out for me today!

I hope you did not miss these cute girls singing...and then again on the Ellen Show. I just died watching this! I'm not sure I would let my 5yr old listen to Niki Minaj, but I'm glad her mom did!

Last weekend it was almost snowing and this weekend it was 80 degrees. Pittsburgh, stop messing with me! It really was a great weekend though. Friday, Billy decided to stay in Morgantown after work and relive his college days with some of his buddies. He made it back by 9:30am on Saturday and slept most of Saturday while I went shopping to try to find a shower curtain to go with our pink tile bathroom. Dear, sweet Billy…never seems to remember how much it is going to hurt the next day when he does that.

We had friends coming to stay with us over the weekend, so I was forced to finally put everything away/hide it under the bed. The guest room finally looks presentable! What we did realize though, was the bathroom door doesn’t shut all the way! With just the 2 of us, we never shut it…so it wasn’t until Saturday that we realized that this was a problem! Especially when Patton likes to nudge the doors open and join you in the commode or shower. We sort of fixed the issue with a latch hook.

So Steve & Tiffany got engaged on Grandview Ave on Saturday evening and went to the game on Sunday. For the game, we went to one of Billy’s college friend’s grandmothers house in Sewickley , where he proceeded to trade them our vegetables for cookies on the way out. We went out to dinner on Sunday and then Billy forced ice cream on everyone because his stomach is a bottomless pit. Of course, I got zero pictures as usual. I need to really start taking some because I never have any to submit to my cousin’s family calendar that she has made every year. Such a disappointment!

Less than 2 weeks until North Carolina – one month until my broski’s wedding and then my FIL comes to visit and then Thanksgiving! Lots to look forward to!

Even though I own a few iPods, I never caught on to the Mac craze. In light of the passing away of Steve Jobs, here is a quote from him and the top 5 reasons I am loving my work today, "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."


1. Student organizations and emails like this: The brothers of Phi XX XX will be hosting a Sausage Fest on Friday Oct. 7th from 11am to 3pm, on A-walk, outside of Mellon. Come enjoy a hot dog, a hot sausage or to just to "meat" the brothers. Seriously, did no staff proof this? Or did they think it was too funny just like me?

2. Free gym membership.

3. Free tuition.

4. Green space like this in the middle of the concrete jungle of downtown. I enjoyed this view, sunshine and a book yesterday during lunch.

5. Library/Starbucks/Bank/Post Office/Pharmacy all at my place of employment. The only other thing I could ask for is a dry cleaner.