Love at first sight

Rhett Butler has been home for 2 weeks now. It's been a long, tiring and fun 2 weeks. Every day gets easier and easier. RB is the best little puppy ever. I never knew I would love a dog like this.

You can tell by the pictures that I am NOT biased when I say he really is the cutest pup ever. Peter has learned that RB is real chick magnet. 15 women at the vet told him how cute his puppy was. I told him it was too bad he isn't single!

RB meeting James and Ally for the first time. He loves them too.

I bought RB a shirt from the $ bin at Target. It says "Santa's little yelper." He hates it so it didn't last long. Peter wasn't too fond of it either.

This is RB during his first bath we gave him. He wasn't really a fan of bath time, especially the blow dryer.

RB is adjusting well and learning the ropes. Potty training is definitely a process but he is getting better each day. He doesn't like it when it is raining outside and he will stand on our feet so he doesn't have to stand on the wet grass. He also only likes to pee on the Pottery Barn rug. He has never peed on the Ikea rug?! I guess he has good taste!

He has met the entire family over Christmas. He was a hit for sure. Everyone loved him. He received more gift than Peter and I did.

RB has been a great addition to our little family!

Two down, tons more to come

Happy Anniversary to the best husband in the world!

And this last one is my favorite:

The most wonderful time of the year

We are ready for Christmas in the Healey House. Peter knows I don't hold back starting the morning after Thanksgiving. He is really great about it. He lets me turn on the Christmas music and doesn't complain when it is the first thing I want to do when I wake up. Don't worry, I give him coffee. When I was little we always put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving at Granny and Poppy's house. Why stop that tradition now?

Rhett has a stocking! Isn't it so cute? We don't have a bed, food, toys or a collar but we have a stocking. Priorities? Granny said she is getting Rhett something for Christmas. I can't wait to see what she picks out. Should be interesting.

Pottery Barn was having a great sale so I was able to get all of us new stockings. Free monogramming, free shipping and they were on sale. It was basically a steal. I think they look great. We don't have a fireplace (sad) so they will just have to hang from the TV cabinet.

Meet Carlos, the bird. David stole him from the Christmas tree during our wedding at The City Club. He later confessed when I kept seeing Carlos appear in several of our wedding photos. David took Carlos home with him. Because the crime had already been committed and I couldn't do anything about it, I thought it made more sense for Peter and I to have Carlos. He has been on our tree the past two years and hopefully he will be every year. It's a fun wedding memory.

Here is a full view of the finished product. Sorry about all the bad iPhone pictures. It's just so easy to take them with the iPhone.

The day after Thanksgiving Stef and I attempted our first Pinterest project: a ruffled tree skirt. It was fun and successful. I am impressed that I actually made that from 4 yards of linen.

Tomorrow Rhett is 6 weeks old. Only 2 more weeks until he comes home. Here are the most recent pictures of Rhett. He's a cutie!

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"

It's official. Here is Rhett Butler, the newest member of our family.

Please excuse the Parker County nails. Rhett Butler was born in Aledo.

Anyway, this was right after he was born. He still looks like a squirrel/alien puppy to me. He is kinda cute at the same time though. His white tummy and white feet are the best. In just a few weeks it will be time for him to come home. Bobbie, the breeder, said she would send updated photos in the mean time.

Y'all, I'm scared! I have visions of Rhett Butler peeing on my Pottery Barn rug. I don't know the first thing about training a dog. I guess I better start studying. I am afraid this is going to be more difficult than I imagine.

So throughout this whole process there have been some let downs. Initially Peter and I wanted a girl dog, Scarlett, but it didn't work out. But out of everything, the most disappointing thing has been people not knowing who Rhett Butler is! Come on people, have you not read Gone with the Wind?! If not, you HAVE to.

For those of you who don't know who Rhett Butler is, let me fill you in.

"Despite being thrown out of West Point, the Rhett of the novel is obviously very well-educated, referencing everything from Shakespeare to classical history to German philosophy. He has an understanding of human nature that the obtuse Scarlett never does, and at several points provides insightful perspectives on other characters. He also has an extensive knowledge of women, both physically and psychologically, which Scarlett does not consider to be "decent" (but nonetheless considers fascinating). Rhett has tremendous respect and (gradually) affection for Melanie as a friend, but very little for Ashley. Rhett's understanding of human nature extends to children as well, and he is a much better parent to Scarlett's children from her previous marriages than she is herself"

So basically Rhett is a little rough around the edges but very mysterious, handsome and has a good heart. He is like the bad boy you had a crush on in high school. Rhett spends most of the book trying to win Scarlett over. Scarlett spends most of the book trying to win Ashley over. Finally, at the end of the book, Scarlett realizes she does love Rhett. Scarlett dramatically professes her love to Rhett. However, it is a little too late and Rhett has had enough. Cue the number one movie line of all time....."Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

And I will leave you with a visual. Isn't Clark Gable handsome and Vivien Leigh gorgeous?

Scarlett or Rhett

We are getting a dog.

No, I can't believe it either. Everyone that knows me is completely shocked, rightfully so. There are so many reason why people would be shocked: I can't breathe around animals, I think they smell and the list goes on.....

We can all thank Stetson and Bentley for helping me realize that Miniature Schnauzers are the only breed of dog that I can be around and still successfully breathe, HUGE!

Poor Peter has wanted a dog since the day I met him. I've just been depriving him this whole time. I think in the back of my mind I knew this day would come eventually but I didn't like to think about it, mostly because I like to breathe.

Well now things have changed. I think this is a great point in my life to try this dog/pet thing that most people enjoy. It will be a distraction from everyday life. Stay tuned to find out if it's a good or bad distraction.

We found a breeder in Aledo that Laura got Bentley from. We paid our deposit and are waiting for the puppies to grow until Christmas break. The puppies were born Oct. 16.

Currently the female, chocolate parti is our favorite. If we get her, Scarlett will be her name. Ya know, from Gone with the Wind: the best book ever. If we end up getting a boy, Rhett will be his name. Sorry Curtis, I know you like that name for your unborn child.

So now we wait until Christmas for Scarlett or Rhett to come home. Right now they look like squirrel/alien puppies. Not so cute if you ask me.

I would be lying if I said I haven't had second thoughts lately. However, Peter is so darn excited that there is no going back now. We are committed. Which is probably a good thing.

I would also be lying if I said I wasn't excited. I have to admit that I actually went down the pet aisle at the store yesterday....voluntarily....alone!

Slam Dunk?

Megan, another young teacher, and I were asked to be the new proud sponsors of "Hoops" Club. The purpose of the club is to allow students to play basketball during club time on Friday. Don't ask me why the school picked two of the youngest teachers to sponsor a large group of 16-year-old boys. Being the team players that we are, we accepted.

Fast forward to Club Fair day. The whole school attends the Club Fair and gets to learn about all the clubs offered at the school. "Hoops" club had one student manning the table with a black and white flyer and a sign up sheet. Please keep in mind most other clubs had many members present, music, colorful posters, costumes and much more to lure students to sign up for their club.

Well guess what, our black and white flyer must have been persuasive. We had over 200 kids sign up for "Hoops" club. Really?! How are Megan and I going to control over 200 16-year-old boys? And no, we don't get paid extra to do this.

So now we have a problem. How are we going to cut the list down? We had to be realistic. We could handle maybe 50. We decided to charge a $5 club fee and hoped that only the serious kids would want to join, the ones who would actually play basketball during club time.

Now fast forward to the first club day when the club meets. Our plan worked, thank goodness. We had about 40 boys sign up for the club......and one pregnant girl! Oh geez. This was one problem we didn't think of. How are we going to allow this pregnant girl to play basketball with 40 high school boys?!

At first I just stared at her and asked, "Do you really want to play basketball with all these boys?" She nodded her head "yes." I am not sure what the rules are on what pregnant students can and can't do. This is not in the teacher handbook! After a quick conversation we came to an agreement. She acknowledged being 6 months pregnant that she couldn't play basketball. We decided she would be the "Hoops" club manager and she would be in charge of making sure the equipment was put away at the end of club time. Problem #2 solved, phew!

So now every club time on Friday you can find me, Megan, the pregnant girl and about 40 high school boys in the gym for "Hoops" club. Just another day in the life of a high school teacher.

Mad Men and Randoms

I have become obsessed with Mad Men. Mad Men and Friday Night Lights have been the only shows we have watched since the start of summer. Usually the summer makes for bad TV but this by far has been the best TV summer ever.

Mad Men is such a great show. I am so intrigued by it. It seems like it would have been a fun era to be part of......minus the smoking, drinking, cheating, and male dominating aspects. It's fun and scary to think that Peter's dad, Granny and Poppy were all part of this time. I can already picture Granny sporting all the 60's fashion. I now understand why her handbag and cigarette case always matched.

Better Draper (January Jones) is one of the main characters in Mad Men. I want to be Betty Draper....again, minus the whole divorce, bitchiness and cheating aspects. I think she is just so beautiful. I love all her clothes and how classy they are. Side note: I have heard that in real life January Jones isn't pleasant to be around. This makes me feel a little better, ha.

I know I will never be Betty Draper or even look like her. But I can still dream and attempt to dress like her every now and then. I just bought a new dress from the Mad Men collection at Banana Republic. I am going to wear it to one of the upcoming weddings we are going to. I think it will look great with black patent shoes and clutch. Sorry about the bad iPhone picture of the dress.

Now moving on to random things.......

My really sweet, genuine, creative and fun friend, Jess, made me this cute TCU wreath for football season. I was so excited to put it on our door. Maybe they will start winning now! Side note: Jess is a Baylor grad but I won't hold that against her. :-) Don't you just love it?! Thanks again Jess. Go Frogs!

Let's Art Party Masterpiece

About 10 girls and I purchased a Living Social coupon for Let's Art Party, a BYOB art class. Last week we finally found a date that worked for everyone. It was really fun but I won't be quitting my day job for an art career! I'll leave the painting to Stef.

There was an instructor who led the class and took us step by step through the process of this flower painting. We learned how to mix colors, use different brush sizes and strokes and how to "commit" (quoted from the instructor) once we started painting.

Step 1 was to blend the background color, darker on the edges. Step 2 was to paint the center of the flowers.

Step 3 was the hardest: "committing" to your flower petal placement and shape. I personally think my petals look like a 2nd grader painted them.

I take that back. Step 4 was probably the most difficult, as you can see above. We were suppose to make the centers look different and give each flower a little variety. Apparently I must have a fear of "commitment" because my flowers look a little sad.

This was the finished product. Step 5 was to add the "whimsical" stems. Not too impressive but it was a fun time with great friends. Please take time to admire my monogram in the right bottom corner. Oh, and did I mention that I came home from work Friday and Peter had hung my masterpiece in the study?

Wine, crepes and Swiss chocolate!

I had never been to Europe and was super excited about this trip. We flew to Paris and then took the train to Switzerland to Zurich and Zug. It was amazing to see all the history and architecture. The weather was an added bonus, a high of 70! We didn't miss the 107 temps back home. Peter and I had a wonderful trip and we can't wait to go back to Europe. This trip definitely made me want to travel more.

Here are some pictures of Switzerland:

Here are some pictures of Paris: