Operation Christmas is underway!

I have decided that in the spirit of Christmas I should give gifts to my friends and co-workers. Actually, the ladies at work have decided that we should exchange gifts. sigh I'm not entirely sure why really, since none of us are really in the financial situation where we should be splurging on silly gifts.
So as a result of my broke-ass-ness I plan to actually make my work-friends their gifts this year. And as if it was sent by a higher power, one of the magazines I subscribe to actually had an article about making homemade gifts. (score one for the good guys!) And some of them were remarkably easy and so cute!! I'm not all that crafty (see: Liz's blog) so I'm resorting to trying some simple things that are in my realm of capability. I'm so excited! It's been a long time since I've even had the ambition to attempt anything like this. And I'm planning to try a new homemade venture-beer brewing. (somewhere Erik is shaking his head!) So hopefully this winter we can share some homebrews with our buds (hehe get it!?)
stay tuned for me destorying the kitchen.....craft style!

Welcome Fall!

Where have we been?

Well, since you asked...we've been very busy! Somehow life always gets in the way of my attempts at blogging...

we've been traveling!
We've been enjoying time with family and friends!!

We've been working! (ok so this doesn't look like work...but it was!!)

We've been chasing (and loving) Morgan the SuperPuppy!

and we've been working on the house!!

the hideous chandelier in the dining room has gone to the magical light place in the sky and now we have a new beautiful one! Erik has also put in a few of the new windows; and I've been working on organizing the whole house. (see now I have an excuse!) we promise to be better! hahaha

Happy Halloween!!

Our kitty is ready for trick-or-treat candy!!

The pumpkins at the Roger Williams Jack-o-lantern Spectacular!

They were fantastic!!Over 5,000 pumpkins!

My not so fancy pumpkins....

Happy (and safe) Halloween!!

bonus color!!!

Since I've been such a bad blogger (I get it from Morgan!) I thought I'd throw in some bonus colors not included in our little challenge!

A full rainbow of color in the backyard after a recent rain

Hot Pink is for the bra stealing dog...

...and the husband that thought it would be funny to put the bra on the dog.

No one else thought it was funny...clearly.hehe

Colour project

OK. So as usual life got in the way of my posting. I've been taking pics along the way, but here's contribution to some color everywhere!!

RED day!!!

The B.A.R.T....of course

Our wedding kayaks, which we finally took out wednesday!

Orange Day!!!

Orange is for doggie poo bags that make us responsible doggie moms and dads!

(and keep us away from the $100 fine on the bike path...

does anyone ever wonder who enforces that?

and what happens to that lady that lets her 2 ton horse poop on the path?

does she get a bigger fine for bigger poo?)

Yellow Day!!!

Yellow is for gorgeous flowers flourishing in the garden!

Yellow is also for bad puppies peeing on the floor while Mom blogs...sigh...

Colors Everywhere!!

Liz,
I am totally in for a color a day! Now to get the camera to cooperate for a change.....

I wouldn't have believed it myself....

On a recent Saturday morning Landon came over to hang out with Erik, Morgan, and I. I wasn't so sure how everything would go since Morgan and Landon are the same size and she tends to knock him around quite a bit. They were bounding around the living room with Erik, and I figured I could take shower since we were going out to do some errands. I was however, a little terrified that I would come hear a great deal of barking and crying and probably some noise from Landon and Morgan too!

After chasing the three of them around for a while, I decided I would try and get ready. I crossed my fingers and hoped that Erik would be in one piece when I came back out of the shower. A few moments later I finished drying my hair and noticed that the house was substantially quieter than when I had gone into the shower. I peeked out the window since I assumed they were in the yard playing. But they were no where to be found....I walked into the living room only to find...they were all asleep on the couch! who would have thunk?!??

SOOO CUTE!!!!

Happy Memorial Day!

Just wanted to post all the pictures from our wonderful Memorial Day Celebrations! Thanks to all that serve!!

M.I.A.

whew! where have we been? Our lives have been so involved lately that I haven't had time to post anything! I have lots of pics of Morgan to add soon! (as soon as I can figure out how to upload the pics off of my cell phone) we're all doing well with lots of plans for lots of things in the future.
Morgan had her first obedience class monday night and is doing fairly well for a slightly ocd lab/spaniel mix. she wasn't all that sure about the whole puppy play group thing after class. she spent more time snuggling up to each and every person that was at the group rather than playing with the other puppies. she needs like old lady doggie play group! :o) it was really fun though and we're looking forward to our next class!
we've also commited ourselves to helping the local economy (and ourselves) by joining a CSA in Dartmouth for the duration of the summer. we get a bag of fresh local veggies and fruits every wednesday until October. And as long as I can get there before Liz claims our share we'll have local produce each week! yay!
we're also growing our own veggies and blueberries this year (unless Morgan literally just devoured them as I was typing...crappers) and we're looking forward to picking our own food off of our plants!
I promise to post more often! hanginthere.

what the.....

Last night I was in our kitchen washing dishes when I heard a commotion coming from the hallway. I turned around just in time to see Morgan dashing toward her puppy bed with something in her mouth. Erik was close behind with nothing but boxers and a tee on. Apparently he was changing out of his clothes when she nabbed one of his socks. He gave chase and I turned in time to see the chase ensue. It was hysterical. I tried not to laugh since that's not behavior we want to continue. (bras-0 Morgan-1) but it looked like a scene from jackass with the little man and diapered fat guy. (not that E is a fat guy in a diaper, but that was the first thing that flashed into my head!) hehehehe puppy learning continues....

Meet the newest Johnson!

Meet Morgan!! She's our not-so-little rescue puppy! She is 17 weeks old and at last week's vet visit was weighing in at a wonderful 26 pounds. She's going to be a beast! Morgan is half Lab and half King Charles Spaniel. Apparently that little spot on her head is the King Charles thumbprint. It was considered his sign of doggie approval, and people pay obscene money to get a spaniel that has it. Apparently one of her parents was a purebread spaniel! We just thought it was a cute mark. But I love that she looks like a lab but is stark white with her black mask. She even has black spots on her belly (which appeases Erik's fire dog fix without having a dalmation). She has been a great addition to our little family. She cuddles on the couch with Erik and bounds around the house chasing her toys. Saturday was our first time on the bike path, and after lengthy walks with Mom, Auntie Liss, Uncle Shawn, and Landon she was all tuckered out. She was even better with the other dogs by the end of the afternoon. She stopped cowering and did a little sniffing of her own. I think the path is going to be a great source of doggie exposure for her! Stay tuned for her continued adventures!!

Economic Stimulus!

Even though the economy is in the poopah, life must still move along. Yesterday I had a vast amount of errands to run around the area. So I made an attempt to not only stimulate the economy, but stimulate our local economy! I have yet to find a local store that sells jeans that I can afford, so I folded and went to Marshalls-where I not only found affordable jeans, but jeans that fit!!!! They are $100+ jeans that I bought for $29.99!!! Boo-yah! However, I also found wonderful eyeshadow at Blush; steaks, asparagus, vermouth, and lemons at Lloyd's in Rochester; and fresh scallops at Kyler's! I made a fabulous dinner all while stimulating our local economoy!! I also bought our first round of seeds for our veggie garden. Hopefully Ali and I can keep the plants alive long enough to eat our own (very) local harvest! :o)

Kisses for a Cause

A local beauty/make-up shoppe is holding a fundraiser for the NB School music program. All of the funds raised will be used to guy instruments for the schools. For only $3.00 you can give a kiss and enter to win $200 worth of beauty swag! And you can stop in any time in February! How can you beat that?! A chance to support a local business, win some great makeup, and help out the Whalers all at the same time!!http://www.blushbb.com/index.html for directions and hours!

Zoo days

So while Azzy and Connor are up visiting we've been enjoying the local zoo and their events. We rocked out with their kiddie band (The Toe Jam Puppet Band-could I make that up?) which turned out to be quite fun for them. Unfortunately, I fogot the camera for Pirate Week, which is certainly the funniest thing I have ever seen! The kids all dress up as pirates and mermaids; and it's an absolute blast! The week these pictures were taken the weather was gorgeous and we took a little walk to see the animals. We saw elephants (pooping), turtles, the cougar (not that kind...but we certainly realized how easy that cat could've devoured us in the forest!), some chickens, pigs, horses, and a deer that wandered across the frozen pond and was hanging out only feet away! All in all I had a great time with my nephews and sister-in-law playing at the zoo!!

Are those wires? hmmmmm....

Front and center for the show-just like his Mom :o)

It's Ok, Aunty!! I'm with the band!!!

Not so sure about the bubbles....

Oh Deer! The closest I've ever been to a deer-other than Clyde of course!
It's nicer when half of him isn't in the wall...

What's better than glitter and wine?!

Any time Liz asks that question you know there is fun to be had! I was so excited to take part in my first valentine card-making extravaganza over at Liz's house!! (despite that lingering cough) So with wine in hand, we made some wicked fab cards - if I do say so myself.

I am a genius...

If there was any doubt over the fact that I am not always the brightest crayon in the box I certainly proved it this week! I happened to peek at our oil tank sunday and think "hmm...where's the little marker? maybe it's stuck?" so hubby checked it monday and noted a similar problem...except he was smart enough to know the tank was nearly empty. We called for an oil delivery from some friends from A town and waited til Friday. Or so we thought. we awoke this morning to find that we were out of oil! Which also meant out of heat....in New England...in January...with snow on the way! Thankfully, I called our friends in A town who were kind enough to come and drop some oil and restart the burner. (after some begging) I bundled up and made some tea and watched the temp drop. By the time Mr. K arrived the house was at a balmy 50 degrees! BRRRRRR!!!!! I was never so happy to "the burnout". But I'm sure as I leave here to go pay and have a beer with them that I will be enduring never ending repercussions for this one. As my sis so wisely put it this morning: "Learning life's lessons sucks doesn't it?".

why I am a Pats fan....

I was reading D-listed.com today and happened upon this horrible display of loserness. Seriously...this kid sobs for 4 minutes because the Giants lost. Are you kidding? Eli Manning could barely tie his own shoes the last 2 weeks of the post season. (I think he was preparing for his debut in the oreo dunking league with his stupid brother) Did you really think your team had a chance when Burress shot himself in the leg? dumbass. I'm glad the Giants lost so you could cry your silly eyes out. And I'm glad that Pats fans aren't pussies like this winner. I also would like to give kudos to the guy at the end who finally tells this guy to shut the F up. Newsflash!! The Giants are not the best team in the NFL! better hope for the yankees to play well in the spring....oh wait....they're terrible too....

Hello, President Obama!

Congratulations on your inauguration, President Obama. We hope to see great things from you in the future! God Bless America.

BFD LODD

It's a sad day in Boston today after a 110 foot E-One ladder careened out of control and slammed through the brick wall of a Mission Hill apartment complex. Three firefighters were injured and Lt. Kevin Kelley was killed instantly. Kelley was a 30 year BFD veteran and a married father of three girls. The early investigations believe that the brakes on the ladder failed, causing it to speed down the steep hill. The ladder was literally blocks from their fire house.
To say this a stark reminder of the dangers of "the job" is an understatement. I think we are all well aware that firefighting is an inherently dangerous job. However, I think that we generally forget that when the fire is out and we're simply driving back to the house, we could potentially be in just as much danger. There aren't a lot of fire apparatus MVCs but a recent class we attended showed the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt while operating or driving the BART. Let's just say it was a wake up call for all of us. (Admitted or not we are all guilty) I refuse to speculate as to whether Lt. Kelley was wearing his belt. That's not the point. However, after seeing that training crash tape, I have no doubt that this had to be a horrifying experience for all of them. I can not even begin to imagine such a thing.
I never met Lt. Kelley. However, for better or worse his life was captured by camera crews for the Discovery Channel series "Firehouse USA" which chronicled the goingson of the "Huntington Ave Express". E and I watched the show since I had a EMS paramedic partner/friend working for BFD (we never actually saw D). Lt. Kelley was a fixture on the show, and always a favourite of mine. He reminds me a great deal of an officer (attitude, work ethic, even the number of daughters were the same) on my own department, and I always thought it was funny how two people could be so alike, and yet have never met. My friend at the BFD once told me that the show was looked down upon greatly by the highups in the department and that they scattered a lot of the guys into various houses after viewing the show. (I never saw anything that was that out of bounds for what is expected in a firehouse) Apparently they were not happy about the portrayal of some of the downtime. Either way, I think that the show may have been a blessing. Not only did the rest of the firefighting community have this way to know such a great man; but his wife, children, and any grandchildren that will never meet him will be able to see what he was like...and what a truly great jake he had become.

Happy New Year!

Au Revoir 2008! It was a wild year in our little home. We tied the knot, became an aunt and uncle (twice!), each left a job for a new opportunity, graduated, took exams (and passed them all!), and took our furthest vacation yet. I almost feel like compressing the whole year into a single sentence takes away from the immense change that the past year was. We are already diving headfirst into 2009. I had hoped that the one thing that we would avoid in '09 was major change however, we're setting ourselves up for another wild year.
Erik officially began the fire academy yesterday. He's already counting the days until the end. I think he'll be appreciative of what he learns. Everyone we know that completed the academy is always proud of the accomplishment. And I think if he wasn't getting sore doing sit-ups and pull-ups he'd be OK with it.
I'm still on the hunt for a job that does not involve beers or a shaker. While I'm enjoying being a bartender, I'm ready to work in therapy. (Especially since I just spent two years of my life - and my life savings - to earn a degree so I could work in therapy) Hopefully it will be soon.
We're also planning on - perhaps - trying to start a family this year. We'll see how the job search goes. I know that everyone says you're never really prepared for kids, but I'd really like to have some money in the bank before we have to recycle diapers. (holy moses that would be absolutely disgusting....)
Overall we're heading into '09 with great deal of hopes and dreams; and we can't wait to see what it brings!