Wordless Wednesday!

How cute are these? Many, many, many thanks to Jamie at Snapbug Photography for her beautiful work!

Doesn't she look comfy in that last photo? Who doesn't want to be able to sleep that soundly?!?!

Doggy Manners...

Ever since I was little, I've had dogs. Big dogs! But my parents also always established rules to go along with our dogs - rules like:

1. Always walk your dog on a leash.
2. Only allow dogs off-leash in fenced-in areas.
3. Ask someone for permission before petting their (leashed) animal.
4. If someone wants to pet your dog, make your dog sit first.

There were lots of other rules, but the main ones had to do with safety.

Anyhow, yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL day in Raleigh. Mr. Business and I did some chores around the house and then decided to take Small Biz, TC and DT for a walk. Since I'm with Small Biz Monday-Friday, I try to let Mr. Biz have as much time with her as possible on weekends, so he pushed her stroller, and I walked DT and TC.

Our neighborhood is super small. I think there are only like 150 townhouses and mostly couples or young singles live here. A few of the folks have dogs, and we know most of them - we always stop and talk; it's a nice little group!

So - back to my super long story - Mr. Biz and I are walking, and just ahead I see 2 dogs. I take a few more steps and realize their owner is laying in his driveway playing on his computer and sunbathing, and his dogs' leashes are RESTING in the tree branches!

All of a sudden, his Australian Shepherd takes off and attacks poor DT (who is part Australian Shepherd). She took off trying to get away from this guys terror of a dog - and pulled me a few feet because her leash was wrapped (several times) around my wrist. Mr. Business put the parking brake on the stroller, and raced towards the two dogs - ours who was "screaming" (can dogs do that?) and the mean one who was growling and biting my sweet girl. 

Luckily, the sunbather got to the dogs first and pulled his off of mine - there's no telling what Mr. Business would have done to that dog had he gotten there first. DT ran straight to me with her tail between her legs. I felt horrible for her.

How could anyone be mean to those sweet spots?

So as we checked our precious puppy out, Mr. Sunbather scolded his dog. But he never apologized, asked if DT was okay or asked if I was okay (my arm is so bruised from the leash issue, I can't even put my hair tie around my wrist!).

Now I'm scared to walk our dogs by myself! What if I had been walking them alone with Small Biz in the Baby Bjorn? Or what if that guy's dog had really hurt DT? Should I have said anything to him once we got the dogs separated?

I'm just really upset that others don't follow basic pet etiquette. And I'm upset that it's going to change where I'm willing to walk in my own neighborhood.

Would you have said anything to the owner? What would you do in the future? Should I just stay away from that guys house?

Twenty Questions!

Katie at Oui, Bien Sur! tagged me in this super fun twenty questions post. And since this is the first time I've been tagged, I'm definitely taking part! (Let's be honest, it makes me feel like the cool kid who got picked first in a game of dodgeball in 7th grade PE class!)

• Rule #1: The tagged person must write their answers on their blog and replace any question they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

• Rule #2: Tag 4 people to do this quiz. The tag-ee must state who tagged them.

1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals or are they members of your family?
TC and DT??? Hahaha, of course they're members of our family. We bought an SUV just so they could ride safely from place to place. We're about to buy a house just so they can have a yard! They get to eat lamb every night for supper. Their lives are great!!!

2. If you could have a dream come true, what would it be?
Wow, that's tough. Probably for us to have a better realization that even with our stressed, we are so very blessed! Mr. Biz is stressed from work, I'm stressed because Small Biz is about to start daycare. We're both stressed because we want to buy a house in the next month or so. And we just need to sit back and realize how lucky we are that we can buy a house. And that we have a child to send to daycare. And that we have jobs to go back to. I know so many people who are struggling in all of those areas right now, and I need to be grateful that my stressors are really blessings.

3. What would you do with a billion dollars?
That's really a lot of money! Buy a house with an office so I didn't have to look at my husband's paperwork? Finance a political campaign for a candidate I believe in? Buy a dress or two from Boden? Go back to Africa. Adopt a sick baby from an orphanage in South Africa (like Apelele) and give him a fighting chance. Invest most of it and run a philanthropic group that gave grants to needy groups, families, schools, etc.


4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?
hahah, I never get in bad moods!!! Shopping alone. A long walk with the dogs. Seeing Small Biz smile.

5. What is your bedtime routine?
I cannot sleep without shaving my legs. The ONLY  time I can remember doing this, is the night I had Small Biz. Had I been allowed to get out of bed (and had I been able to feel my legs), I would have shaved that night. So anyhow, I shower. Brush my teeth, take singulair. It's obviously a very time consuming routine. I'm high maintenance like that...

6. What activities did you do in High School? If you could go back, would you do the same stuff or something different?
 I was involved in a lot of high school activities! I was on the yearbook staff, mock trial, varsity golf team, french club, SGA. I played rec soccer and basketball and took tennis lessons. I was really involved in church - both at my church and on the diocesan level. I feel like I did other things, but that was such a long time ago!

7. What kind of books do you read?
I love fiction books! I normally read books others have recommended. To be honest, it's been a while since I read anything that wasn't a blog or baby related!

8. How do you see yourself in 10 years?
Oh my goodness, 10 years is a long time! In 10 years, I'll have a 10 year old...and hopefully a few other children. I hope to be better traveled, and to be raising children that are very aware and knowledgeable of the world. And honestly, I hope we'll be living at the beach again. I miss the coast.

9. What’s your fear?
Moths in my house. I can't stand them - they're all flighty, and they want to be near you. Totally creeps me out. I can't go to sleep with one in my house. I'm afraid it'll land on my mouth in the middle of the night and I'll swallow it.

10. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to see outer space?
No! Why would anyone do that! Do you have any idea how much I'd miss places like The Skinny Dip, The Cupcake Shoppe or Gigi's?


11. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
Try to go back to sleep? Cuddle with Mr. Business and check on Small Biz.

12. If you could change one thing about your significant other, what would it be?
That he wouldn't be so stressed! He didn't get the nickname Mr. Business from being a business owner - he got it because he is all business, all the time. I just want him to relax!

13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?
Grimes!!! Everyone says it's weird, but it was my grandfather's middle name, and I think it's unique!

14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months of rain, what would you choose?
Is that a trick question? Sun, obviously.

15. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?
Not to copy Katie, but pepperoni (and mushroom) pizza!

16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most?
Again, not to copy Katie, but...

meeting new people with like interests. I also like that it gives me the opportunity to write again. I don't publish a lot of posts, but I really enjoy saving them. And one day they may be relevant, and I can publish them on here!

17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods?
Sweet!! Remember question 10?

18. What items are in your purse right now?
Haha, diapers, wipes, an extra pacifier. My wallet and some aquaphor are the only "me" items.

20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn’t?
The Bachelor! How have I missed out on this amazingness for the past upteen seasons? It's ridiculously delightful! And probably medical shows like Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice - they probably make me a bigger hypochondriac than I already am!

Om, so I don't really know who to tag! If you're like me, and you've been having trouble coming up with blog content lately, please consider yourself tagged! And in the comments, let us know you've answered these questions on your blog!

Three week catch-up!

Yikes, the last three weeks have flown by, so let's do a quick recap, shall we?

• I made Mr. Business cupcakes for Valentine's Day. The cake was great, the icing was awesome, the filling was HORRID. The filling also took hours to make, and he ended up having to help me. I also started out my Valentine's Day post by saying we weren't big on the holiday...then he showed up with an awesome present, and I felt like an ass for making cupcakes. Oh well!
• About two weeks ago a blogger in my reader posted about another blogger who had just lost her 4-month old baby to (most likely) SIDS. I'm not going to link to the blog because I don't want to stress anyone out. I WISH I had never read the story. It's totally heartbreaking, and I cannot possibly imagine anything worse than losing a child. (If you're curious, email me at mrs.business84 (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll send it to you.)
• Since I read that, I've been doing a LOT of holding Small Biz. Poor thing! I read the post on a Friday night, and immediately got her out of her bassinet (where she was soundly sleeping) to hold her. I also held her during most of her naps throughout the weekend! I keep waking up at night to make sure she's breathing. I've been getting up so much, I think I'm driving Mr. Business crazy, so he's agreed that we need an AngelCare monitor. I'll probably order one tonight.
• I go back to work three weeks from today. I'm so nervous about it. Apparently my boss is also. She's been calling once a week to make sure I have childcare set up and that I'm "ready to return." (I've had the same childcare plans in place since September, and she knows it; she's just worried I'm going to stay home.)
• Small Biz starts daycare part-time next Wednesday. She'll go for eight days before I start back at work so I can get used to it. We aren't discussing it at home because I cry super ugly face cry every time it's mentioned.
• I've decided I hate being "anonymous." I feel so stupid saying "Mr. Business" and "Small Biz." Like, why not just use our real names? Om, because of work. Everyone there is SUPER nosey. And I work for a member-run association, and I don't want members finding this and knowing everything about me. They already try to friend me on Facebook, and that's just weird. Plus, if I ever want to complain, I need to have a place to do it.
• Kim is on her way to Raleigh to visit for the night, and I am extremely excited!

So anyhow, that's been the last three weeks for me! What have y'all been up to?

Being Your Best Friends' Best Friend...

Does that title even make sense?  Hummm... This is a total diary entry...

All my life I've been blessed with having great friends.  Amazingly blessed.  And not just a great friend, but lots of them.  I grew up with a big family, and my sister and I have always been super tight, but there have always been loads of friends at our houses too. Girls who had keys to my parents house and a bed in my study. Girls who knew my closet better than I did, and who knew where I kept all my huge sunglasses. Girls who had guys drop them off at my house on Sunday morning after a night out and did the walk of shame across my front porch and into my parents' living room. Where my parents applauded them.  (True story.)

We'd stay up late and talk. We'd have nights with themes like "High heels, low morals." We had summer make out contests (I always lost). Sometimes we'd just buy an ice cream cake, a bottle of wine and sit on a dock on Banks Channel. We'd sleep three across on a futon or two in a twin bed in dorm rooms.

We called ourselves the Usuals, because we were all usually together.  (You can laugh, it's cool.) But the Usuals were my first loves.

In fact, I loved all my high school friends so incredibly much, I didn't focus much on making college friends - I would much rather spend my weekends and summers with the girls from Wilmington.

But then college ended, and within a year I met Mr. Business. And life changed. Definitely for the better, but it changed. Quickly, he became my best friend. And I still loved (and do love) my best friends, but nights of "high heels and low morals" ended. And so did spending most of my free time in Wilmington.

So while my relationship with Mr. Business strengthened, my best friends' relationships with each other did too. And my relationships with them got pushed to the back burner.

I know that's what is supposed to happen. I'm so fortunate to have the great little family we've created over the last year. I wouldn't change what I have for anything.

But my best friends are all still best friends with each other, and I feel like an afterthought. I miss being my best friends' best friend. I miss the phone calls when something important or not important happens in their lives. And I miss feeling like I have someone to call when something big - or trivial - happens in my life.

I don't know what all this means...I feel like this is normal to go through. What do y'all think? In order to grow up, do we have to grow apart? Even a little? And what have you done to keep old relationships strong?

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

We're not big on Valentine's Day here at the Business household. We don't really do presents - instead we try to do sweet things for one another. So Small Biz, TC, DT and I have a busy day planned.  Small Biz will probably hopefully (!!!) sleep a lot, I will clean and TC and DT will follow me around suspiciously. Mr. Business probably won't notice that the house has been cleaned - that's more of a present for myself!

So, to do something sweet for Mr. Business, I'm going to try to bake. Ha! My baking disaster task last week was less than perfect. I tried to make sweet potato muffins, and while they looked beautiful (which is really the important part, right Katie?), they tasted horrible.

Anyhow, Mr. Biz and I watched Cupcake Wars a week or two ago, and we both loved the beautiful cupcakes they made. Which gave me the idea to try to make yummy cupcakes! Like this...

 Except there's no way I can make anything as pretty as those (obviously the Cookie Monster cupcake is the one I'd try first). So, I'm going to try a basic cupcake, but I'm going to spruce it up with a filling! Like this:

 

Yikes!

I'm pretty nervous. I haven't broken out our Kitchenaid yet, but I think I'll try with these! 

Have y'all made cool cupcakes before? What fillings should I try? And what special things do you do for your spouse, boyfriend, friends and family for Valentine's Day?

Spicy Mustard - Who Knew???

Y'all - all my life I have hated HATED mustard. Like, can't even describe the disdain it to you. I could smell it on food from a distance. When I turned 16, I wouldn't let anyone eat fast food in my car because I didn't want to risk my Blazer smelling like mustard. True story.

But I loved ketchup. I won't say I put it on everything, but I sure put it on a lot of stuff. Roast beef sandwiches, grilled cheese, hot dogs, did I mention grilled cheese?

One day last year I was starving, and Mr. Business had made a sandwich.  He gave me a bite, and before I even noticed, I had eaten mustard.  But this wasn't ordinary nasty yellow mustard.  This was SPICY mustard.

And ohmygoodness it was delicious. Well, I had forgotten about the gloriousness that is spicy mustard...until last week when we went on a lunchtime sandwich diet. Mr. Biz was coming home for a quick lunch, and I was trying to be all wife-y, so I made his sandwich before he got here (BIG points for me!).

Anyhow, the point of all this -- I was putting away the spicy mustard, and happened to look at the nutritional facts. Did you know spicy mustard has no fat AND no calories??? What? Seriously, who knew? Oh, everyone? Hum. Anyhow, this $hit is the nectar of the Gods.

I hate to disappoint Ronald Reagan and his "ketchup should be a vegetable" motto, but I'm on the spicy mustard train now!