Happy Birthday, Gus!

Today is Gus's 45th birthday, so that's my cue to say something nice about him. He says he only likes reading my blog when I talk about him or when I post something funny. Everyone's a critic right?

Gus is the best man I know. He loves his family & he works hard to make sure we have everything we need. I know that there is nothing that he wouldn't do for us. Without a doubt, he always puts us first. He's my best friend & my hero. He has a great sense of humor & well, he's pretty hot.

To be fair, he also leaves his shoes all over the house (I can see a pair from here) - and he leaves dishes in the sink instead of putting them in the dishwasher that is a foot away. He can also fall asleep in the middle of a conversation - usually just as I'm getting to the good part. But he does squeegee the shower after using it about 90% of the time, so I'm cutting him some slack.

Happy Birthday, honey - I love you!!!

Happy Birthday, Gracie!

When Buddy & Lulu were little, we had kitties as pets. Of course, like all kids, they wanted a puppy. But like all parents, Gus & I knew that no matter how many times they insisted that they would take care of the puppy, we would be the ones doing most of the work.

Then in 1999, one of our cats died. The kids were devastated. Buddy was 9 and Lulu was 8 - so we decided it was time to get a puppy. The very next day we fell in love with Gracie, a 3-week-old St. Bernard. It was really hard to wait 3 more weeks to bring her home, but somehow we managed, and she came to live with us just before Christmas. A 6-week-old 15 lb. ball of fluff.

Gracie was the best dog ever. Once she was out of the puppy stage, she never chewed on anything or raided the garbage. We did crate-train her, but once she was about 6 months old, we never had to crate her while we were gone - she would just sleep on the couch. However, she did think that any food at head level was obviously hers. (I call that "The Case of the Missing Grilled Cheese Sandwich".)

Even though she weighed 150 lbs., she had no concept of her size. She would try to sit in our laps and then look befuddled as to why it didn't work. When there was a thunderstorm, she would try to wedge herself under my desk or behind the couch. Sometimes, she would just get in the bathtub.

She really hated to have her ears cleaned. She would run through the house trying to escape when she would hear us get the stuff ready. Then she'd come when I'd call her - but she did it very reluctantly, LOL. Gus would have to lay on top of her to hold her down. One time, she was determined to get away, and she dragged Gus through the house - while he was laying on top of her! LOL!

Just before Gracie's 7th birthday, Lulu noticed that Gracie was limping. We took her to the vet, and he put her on medication, hoping that it was either a sprain or arthritis. After a couple of weeks, it was obvious she wasn't getting any better. We took her to an orthopedic surgeon, and the x-rays confirmed that she had bone cancer. After reviewing the options, we made the almost-impossible decision to have her euthanized. I honestly think that it was the hardest thing I've ever done. But we loved her and didn't want her to suffer any longer. We all went to the vet with her, and I stayed with her until it was over.

She's been gone for 4 years now - and today would have been her 11th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Graciebelle - we love you!!

Happy Birthday, Gus!

Today Gus turns 44. That's right - he's 5 years younger than me. Yes, I robbed the cradle, blah, blah, blah - I've heard it all.  :-P

When I asked Gus what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he said that he wanted yellow cupcakes - from a box - with vanilla frosting - from a can. I like to make cupcakes and frosting from scratch. But since it's his birthday, he gets to choose - so a box and a can it is...oh - and did I mention that the only thing I'm allowed to use for decoration is multi-colored non-pareils?

This was the end result:

Not the prettiest cupcakes I've ever made, but apparently they were tasty. Gus ate five right after dinner and everyone else seemed to be enjoying them as well, LOL.

We went out with some friends this past weekend and had a great time. Sort of a belated anniversary/early birthday celebration. A mini pub crawl - because we're too old to do a real pub crawl - we get tired too early in the evening, LOL. Here we are at one of the bars (I think this was the dueling piano bar) - it was hot & humid and we had already been partying for about 6 hours. I look like I was partying for 6 hours in the heat & humidity, while Gus looks just like he did earlier in the evening. Must be the 5 year age difference. Because it's his birthday, I'll just say "not fair".

I'm taking him out to eat tonight at our favorite Chinese restaurant. The people he works with took him out to lunch today. And his aunt gave him a gift card to Outback, so we'll be going there soon. And we still have to do the family birthday dinner (the four of us always go out to eat for each of our birthdays - although this year, I think it will be the five of us because Lulu's boyfriend, CW, will probably go, too)...so lots of dining out this week. Yay!

Happy Birthday, Gus - may you have at least 44 more. Love you!