The Kona of Shame

We recently had our precious little girl, Kona, spayed so as not to produce more pugly (hah! get it?) pups. She returned home in the cone of shame, or as we like to refer to it, the Kona of shame.

I do not like the cone of shame.

Because it makes me look like this when I eat and drink:

Nah, I'm just kiddin'. It's fine as long as I can still have treats
**Shhh** She doesn't know her lady parts are gone.

:)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad is the big 6-0 now. What a swell looking "Birthday Princess"! We hosted his party, but everyone else made it fun! Thanks to Aunt B for bringing ladder golf and to Roger for the adult beverages :)

Bryan may have slaved away over the grill with his fingers crossed that he didn't burn our house down, but I slaved away (ok, not really slaved because I enjoyed every minute of it) over the desserts! In keeping with our "hula" theme, here's our son-of-a-beach cake:

I tried to combine dad's 3 favorite activities: fishing, notice the candy fish in the water, the fishing pole with a dental floss line - the only inedible part of the cake I might add, unless you count the foil wrappers on the coins - shelling, and metal detecting. There are little bits of "metal" all in the sand (silver sprinkles, silver sixlets candy, and coins buried), the rocks in the water are candy, and the shells are chocolate (I made them!). I know the coins vs. metal detector ratio is off, but it doesn't matter because dad loved the cake!

I love cupcakes, so I had to make a few:

And last but not least, our fruit tart:
Mmmm healthy dessert. Sort of. Ok, not. But at least it's pretty :)

All in all, a fun party! Sad day for this june bug though. He got stuck in the wax for out citronella candle and it hardened around him. I feel bad that he had such a slow demise, however I think june bugs are extra gross so I don't feel as bad for it as I would if it were, say, a puppy.

Speaking of puppies, look how cute Bear looks in his strawberry:

:)

Also, don't forget to vote for my cupcake in the Duncan Hines contest! You can vote daily, and I need the extra support! http://wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/42530/voteable_entries/6051421?order=recency

Love!

Vote for My Cupcake!

Hello all! It has been a busy couple of months, that's for sure. The most recent news is that I entered a cupcake recipe contest! I need votes to win, so please vote! Here's the link: http://wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/42530/voteable_entries/6051421?order=recency

I entered the contest kind of late - it started on June something - so I need all the votes I can get to make in into the top 10. From there, judges will choose a winner based on things like taste, presentation, ease of preparation, etc. You can vote every day until July 28, so keep voting and tell all your friends! :) If I win, who knows? Perhaps there is a big cupcake party in your future.

Choco-Coco Dream Cupcakes by Meg

You can have the recipe - it's in the link you click to vote. Thanks a bunch!

In other news, I joined the leagues of people who make cliche flag fruit tarts for the 4th of July this year:
I love a tasty treat. Plus, it's healthy. You know, because it has fruit on it. Nevermind the sugary glaze, cream cheese, and white chocolate.

We've also added a new mural to the house - Super Mario themed. I'll post pics later, as I am working on a new site to post my artwork. Or you can check facebook. :)

P.S. Don't forget to vote! Thanks!

Our Very Own Stan Sitwell

I should be better about updating this thing... but what can I say, I'm a busy girl. Since our last post Kona has at least tripled in size and we discovered that she really really really likes orange juice. She also hasn't gotten any smarter.
Notice how she manages to hold the bone, AND have her tongue sticking out.

So we wanted to save some money on grooming for Bear, Bear-cuts if you will, so we purchased a pet hair trimmer from Walmart. I have a lot more respect for groomers now.


Whoops! We had the clippers on the "too short" setting. It's okay, we said (after laughing so hard we were crying at how ridiculous this looks), it will even out as we keep going. Rookie mistake. No big deal! It's a dog, right? Who cares. We move on. After trimming him all over, we decide that it's not that much of a difference, and that it should really be shorter since summer is upon us. Here's how that conversation went:

Bryan: Should we try to cut it shorter?
Meg: Probs. What are our options?
Bryan: I dunno, let's just go for it.

Welp, can't hide that. Might as well shave him completely then.

Aw, man. Now ALL the other dogs are gonna make fun of me. (Notice how there is still a divot on top of his head.)

And so goes the story of why we wasted $34 on a pet hair trimmer because we're gonna have to have a professional fix it anyway, or at least get him a doggie wig to cover the uneven patches.

Moral of the story: Don't let your parents cut your hair.

Oprah Kona Mia

It sounds sort of like onomatopoeia, right? We're still deciding on her name. First it was "Oprah", then we decided she doesn't look like an "Oprah", so we moved on to "Kona", but we were still thinking. Then we decided on "Mia" (get it? like "Mia Pug"), and we were set on "Mia", but now we're back to "Kona". She's Bryan's baby, so he gets the final say in naming her.I am perfectly content with my toy.

WHAT IS THAT DEVICE?! I WILL ATTACK IT WITH ALL MY MIGHT!

I want this toy! No, I want THIS toy! NO, I want THIS TOY!

At the time of the video, we had decided on "Oprah".

Just to be clear, we haven't forgotten about Bear. And to prove it, here is one of my favorite pictures of him OF ALL TIME.

He's still getting used to Oprah Kona Mia... maybe when she calms down they can be friends. For now, Bear likes to keep his distance.

UPDATE - Bryan says that her name is Kona, FINAL ANSWER! So there you have it.

Ya Heard?

Wow, I didn't realize how much time had passed since my last post! To fill in the gap: Bryan finished student teaching, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Bryan started to record his first cd (unless you count his high school band's cd, which I don't), Troy passed away rest his soul, Bryan got a part time job at World Market selling mass made authentic looking things, Bryan and I built a kick ass fort in our living room (what are we, 10?), I started to bake and sell decorated cookies at work, Happy Valentine's Day, Bryan got another part time job substitute teaching, we won $2 on Albertson's Monopoly (but we're holding out for $50,000), and that brings us to today!

Today is a big day in my dad's life. Let it be known that on March 10, 2010 at 9:00am, Rudy got hearing aids. Praise Jesus!

This is dad without hearing aids - being left out of jokes, people whispering behind his back, having to have things repeated over and over and over:
And this is dad with his new hearing aids - the life of every party! Plus, you can't even tell they're there - bonus!
What a momentous occasion! :)

Now we've got Brianna's (Bryan's sister) and Brit's (my bestie) weddings to look forward to!

God is Good

When I think about the seemingly negative things happening in my life and all around me during this time, my chest constricts and it becomes hard to breathe. My heart feels like it's going to explode with love, sadness, compassion, guilt, and sympathy. At the same time I feel completely helpless and I can hardly bear it. I suppose this is normal. I constantly have to remind myself that God is good, one of the things I learned at The Village. God speaks through Matt Chandler, the head pastor, in a way that young people can relate to and understand, which brings me to my first request. Matt is having surgery today to remove a brain tumor they found last week after he was taken to the ER when he collapsed from a seizure. Please pray for him and his family, for comfort and ease through this process, and for wisdom and steady hands in the surgeon.

Please keep Hope, Peyton, Evelyn, and Hadley in your prayers during this time too. My brother-in-law passed away in mid-November, and it's a difficult time for the family as a whole.

Grandpa Troy is not doing well and is being tested for bone cancer today. Up one day, down another, as GG says. Please pray for healing and comfort.

There are a lot of negatives that one could focus on, I think. I get dragged down sometimes by these thoughts, as one understandably might. I am comforted in the thought that I have Bryan, who is my best friend, to go through these times with. Don't get me wrong, I'm not Debbie Downer all the time, just on occasion when I think about all of this happening simultaneously, and especially during the season of joy and giving. I am thankful for the life that I have and the people I get to share it with. I am thankful that God gave me something I can get lost in and forget about the rest of the world, and that's my drawing and painting. I appreciate the little things, like when I get a call from Brit about a story that only I will think is funny. God is good for providing all of these comforts, and He always has a plan.