Fall isn't fall without Ben and Jen!

I'm feeling a little out of whack this fall. We didn't have our yearly week long visit from Ben and Jen, we were out of town for Halloween festivities, and we haven't been canoeing or camping! The only way I can tell it's fall is by the AWSOME weather and the fact that I went to Mutt Strutt. What gives?

I got a little more Christmas shopping done. I'm trying to get it done early, since we have a lot going on the next 2 months and I like to avoid when the people start getting crazy in the stores. And I picked up a cd for myself, the "Across the Universe" soundtrack, it's goood!

Update: I got an update on the Golden that I met at the Mutt Strutt (and wanted to adopt). He found a new home! Yeah!

Girl Trip

B left for his "guys weekend" on Friday and then I left for my "girls weekend" on Sunday. The four of us started with Austin to visit my cousin, and then a few days in Salado, Texas. In Salado, we stayed in a bed a breakfast right on Main St. and we walked around checking out the shops and scenery. Salado is home to the Stagecoach Inn, the oldest continuously running hotel in Texas. We ate dinner at the Stagecoach Inn Restaurant. It was a nice little town to stay in, we had a great time.

Our B & B

We stayed in the cabin behind the main house. The cabin is over 100 yrs. old.
We walked up to this shop and I see this Golden on the porch. So, right away I know I'm not gettin' past the front door cause I'm gonna be on the porch petting the dog......
Imagine my surprise when I'm pettting the one dog and 3 more Goldens file out to greet me. As you can see, I was in my glory! There were pups everywhere!

Struttin' My Mutt

I had to miss out on the big Woodlands Garage Sale today (boo), because Harley and I already had big plans for this morning. This was our 3rd year walking in the "Mutt Strutt", which is a one mile benefit walk for our local Humaine Society. Then after the walk there's events, contests, and booths to see. Last year we came in 1st place in the walk. I've learned, over the years, through participating in this event, that my dog, apparently, has a burning need to be at the front of the pack. He pretty much drags me along for the entire mile trying to be in front of everyone, including the leaders that we are supposed to follow. I had to keep holding him back so he wouldn't pass them. Anyway, today, we were in first place again for the entire mile and then just as we're about to cross the finish, these two teenage girls, take off running so they could cross first. Harley and his mother were unamused! Oh, well, we know we were the real winners. hehe I'm thinking maybe we should sign up to be the ones that lead the walk next year, so Harley can fulfill his pack leader needs. hehe After the walk, we made the rounds to the booths, so Harley could flirt with the ladies for free treats. He was wearing his polo shirt, looking especially sharp, and he sat up in his begging pose for them. It worked. There was an agility demonstration and, after, people could bring their dogs through the track. Harley did pretty well weaving through the poles and jumping through the hoops, but he didn't much care for the thing that looked like a see saw. And neither did most of the others. So, we had a good time, and Mutt Strutt always seems to fall on a day with really nice weather. As usual, I had my camera going, so, here's some pics from the day....

This is a dog that I reeeeally wanted to adopt. As soon as he saw me walk up, he hurried over to me, sat beside me, and just stayed there leaning against my leg. Now, that's not playing fair! Who can resist that?
Harley checkin' out the big guys.

Is this a tired face, or what? He slept the whole way home.

Caution! Sarcasm to Follow!

Yesterday (Wed.), Lisa and I volunteered to work at the Tour of Homes for Carlton Woods Creekside. We worked at the tent where people payed to get into the tour. It was fun and we even did a little work. After our shift, we did the tour ourselves. It was a toss up on which house we liked the best, so we decided not to purchase anything at this time. (haha) Plus the gate and security guard at the entrance really makes it inconvenient to have visitors over. The houses on the tour ranged from a mere 5,472 to 7,402 sq. ft and prices from $1,475,000 to $2,795,000. We decided our favorite features were the wine cellar/pub in one house and, of course, the theater rooms! The pools weren't bad either. And then we decided that these houses had too many stairs and that, if we lived there, we'd probably never leave the 1st floor. That's why we especially liked the house that had the theater room on the 1st floor. (hehe) Oh, and that one with the master bathroom that 's bigger than my old apartment, was way too much! I mean, come on, that's just showing off! Here's a link, encase you're interested in purchasing a new home. There's some higher priced one's on the link encase you need even more breathing room. http://www.woodlandsnewhomes.com/dyncat.cfm?catid=54

On a similar, but different note, our next door neighbors have put their house up for sale. Whoever moves in, will be the third to live in that house in the 4 years I've lived here. Everyone who has lived there, so far, have been really nice, so here's hoping the next ones follow the trend. I am worried, though, about how I am going to go about getting my yearly tub of cookie dough. Maybe the new folks will have kids in school, as well. But, the real problem comes in if the new neighbors have a daughter in Girl Scouts! We are just not strong enough to defend ourselves against the powers of the "Girl Scout Cookie"! We're weak, I tell ya, weak!

Tour of Homes Photos
My favorite of the pools:

The Wine Cellar/Pub

Some of the houses:

I went to the movies again today (Sunday). I rarely ever go to the movies and I've been twice this weekend. I was seriously considering seeing "Across the Universe" again, because I did some reading up on the movie and realized a lot of stuff I missed. There's a lot of references that I didn't catch the 1st time. Anyway, today I saw "Things We Lost in the Fire". I really liked it. Though, don't go see it thinking it's gonna be a happy go lucky flick. Benicio Del Toro was really good, that's one ugly dude (sorry), but he's good! It made me want to watch The Usual Suspects again, which I love! I thought the most interesting thing about the movie was how it showed recovering from grief and recovering from addiction can be very simular processes. I'd never thought about that before.

Moving on.....after the movie, I had to walk over to one of my favorite stores, Pottery Barn. I discovered a new piece of furniture to add to my "PB Wish List". After PB, I walked on to discover the addition of Banana Republic to the circle. I went in to see if my usual opinion would differ, which it didn't, this store still annoys me. Then, though I tried really hard, I just couldn't manage to avoid going into Barnes & Noble. What can I say, I have a weakness for bookstores. Upon entering B & N, I was pleased to find that I was not bombarded by the face of Joel Osteen like I was in Borders yesterday. Here, his latest book was positioned off to the side, allowing one to freely enter without being overwhelmed.

This evening.....I'm driving along, heading back home, and a deer nearly runs out in front of my car! I stopped short, she stoppped short, then she turned around, and ran the other way. Of course, I had to pause and watch her run back into the woods. What is it about watching deer run that's so fascinating? Then, I'm driving along on the 45 feeder and I see a racoon running along. Then, I turn into my neighborhood, and I have to stop to let a dog cross the street. And then, right before I turn onto my street I see a cat with it's leg in the air licking itself. I'm not making this stuff up, animals were everywhere. After all that, when I drove into my driveway, I was expecting to see Buck, our neighbor's dog that likes to come visit me, but he wasn't there.

Today I went to see Across The Universe, which I enjoyed. It's a movie musical based on the songs of the Beatles. It was definately a good one to see in the theater because it is very visually stimulating. Then, I did some shopping at Market Street. I spent a good bit of time in Borders. I got a few books: "The Jane Austen Book Club", "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour" by J.D. Salinger (Really long title, huh? I decided to read another Salinger since I enjoyed Catcher in the Rye so much. - see previous post ), and a book for B for Christmas (so I won't say what it is). I also checked out the discount CD's and I got "The Offspring - Greatest Hits" for me (like I had to specify that) and "Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown" for B (which I may save for Christmas even though he knows about it - I had to ask him if he had it - boo). I went into the Bombay store and found that they are going out of business and are having a big sale. I got a Christmas present for B's parents and ran into some friends. That's one of the things I love about Market Street. You feel like you are going into "town square" and you're bound to run into someone you know, which gives you the illusion of small town living. The reality is, it's one of the few things to do around here, so chances are, someone you know is also doing it. But that's o.k. because I enjoy the illusion.

A Helping Hand

The following facts are based upon events as I see them:

So last night B was attempting to get a yummy piece of chocolate pie from the refrigerator and dropped it on the floor (boo, we only got 2 pieces out of it). And after the pie hit the floor, I looked over at Harley and I saw little hearts float from his eyes and dance around his head. And he was just about to do a little dance of glee, when he was informed that he would not be assisting in the clean up of said pie. That's when his ears dropped, his head drooped, and all the little hearts bursted and disapeared. Poor Harley, no pie for you. Though, after it was cleaned up, he did still insist upon devoting a good bit of time to licking the scene of "the accident", just incase we missed some. He's so thoughtful. Always trying to lend a helping hand, or in this case, tongue.