Newfs Rule (and Drool)

Can you believe it? A 7-foot Newfoundland?!?!?

The Perfect Fall Home Accessory

Fall is here, and our house is officially 'falled up'. Notice the freshly mowed grass? That would be MY lawn mowing masterpiece. I mowed our entire front AND back yards, which I had never done until today. That wasn't particularly part of my fall home decorating, but I had to brag. I did find some interestingly shaped gourds and pumpkins at our local farmer's market and some beautifully vibrant violet mums to decorate our front porch with. But the best fall home accessory of all is our 125 lb Newfie, Rosie, who is probably the most thankful for the coming of fall. "Good riddance 100 degree highs!"

Everyone needs a big black Newf to match the orange pumpkins for Halloween

The Hague, Netherlands

During my business trip, my coworkers and I took a daytrip to The Hague, Netherlands, mostly to support a short work meeting with some other work colleagues. Before and after the meeting, we were able to enjoy most of the [rare] sunny day outdoors as we walked around town. Although The Hague is not the capital of the Netherlands, it's actually where the country is governed from. The various Ministry offices are just a few blocks from each other. And there is, of course, a big square in which you'll find protesters gathering their voices for the attention of Parliament.

In the few hours we spent in The Hague, I could sense quite a difference between The Hague and Amsterdam... one being the lesser number of 'coffee shops' (which are technically illegal in the country, but seems to be mostly tolerated by the government). The Hague wasn't as hectic or congested as Amsterdam, but I suppose that's to be expected. But I have to say that The Hague would be my preference over Amsterdam... mostly for the reason that The Hague is where I spotted the Rosie look-alike. Did you know there are Dutch Newfs????

Clockwise from top left: Paleis Noordeinde where the queen has her offices, a church tower, the Parliament building along the Hofvijver, and the Dutch Newf!

Amsterdam, Netherlands

September and October have been a whirlwind of activity... and Brian and I are really hoping for a breather. I never thought I'd be hoping for a weekend of errands and chores, but at least we'd be hanging out at home instead of being on the road.

I actually just returned from a [once-in-a-blue-moon] business trip. And the destination was an interesting one to boot. I went to the Netherlands. The last business trip I went on was in 2005, to Washington DC, just a month after Brian and I got married. And I have to admit that, although it was tough to be apart then, it's even tougher now. It was my first time in the Netherlands, so sure, the novelty of a new city to explore was fun (at least for the first couple days). But being apart and not having Brian be just a quick phone call away was a huge bummer. Plus we've always shared our European adventures together, so touring the city alone just wasn't as fun.

On my first day in Amsterdam, with only a couple hours of sleep on the airplane behind me, I forced myself to stay awake. Walking through unfamiliar canal roads was enough to keep me up for most of the day, as I tried to stay alert enough to remember exactly which 'straat' and which 'weg' I needed to take to retrace my steps back to the hotel. Some words of caution for those who might find themselves in Amsterdam in the future:

  1. 'Coffee shops' don't really serve coffee (go to a cafe because there IS a difference!).
  2. If you treasure your life, stay off the bicycle lanes.
  3. If the pedestrian light says don't walk, don't walk! Cars, scooters, and bikes come from EVERY direction.
  4. Beware of the city trams. According to the locals, they're known to be killers of unexpecting, unaware tourists.
Despite these cautionary advisements, please do still go to Amsterdam. It's a great city to explore, with some world-famous museums, amazing historic architecture, beautiful canals, and did I mention the yummy cheese?!?

The floating Bloemenmarkt had such beautiful flowers and the historic buildings and canals were such a sight.

The business trip was a great success and experiencing a new country was certainly fascinating, but it sure feels good to be home.

Rosie Rocks Houston

We took a family road trip to Houston over the week and had a few cheesy-goodness moments, all involving our silly Newf.

Firstly, 4 paws up for Aloft Hotel for welcoming us AND our sweet Rosie to their hotel. If you're a big dog owner, you know how hard it is to find dog-friendly accommodations. But Aloft Hotel (thanks to assistant general manager Neil) was really understanding of our circumstances and allowed our Rosie to stay with us. How much damage can a dog sawing logs 23 hours a day really make?

Rosie gets called a bear a LOT! We're asked "Is that a bear?" on any given day, whether it's by a neighbor that's never seen us around before or by someone driving on Camp Bowie who stops in the middle of the busy road to check out the bear on a leash. So we had to take a picture of Rosie next to these stuffed decorative bears (I assume it's the equivalent of flamingo yard-art in Texas).

Bear cub twins

Rosie was definitely bigger than the cub but not quite as big as the mama bear

We had a few chill occasions in Houston. This was one of them, at the Cafe Express patio, where Rosie enjoyed some cold, shaded cement to lay on while we tapped into the free Cafe Express WiFi.

"My mom is a total paparazzo!"

During one of our slow days, we checked out the coastal town of Kemah, 20 minutes from downtown Houston. We hoped to walk Rosie on the Kemah Boardwalk, but they turned out to be anti-dog (boooooo!), so we found the next closest water access area for Rosie's first encounter with the Gulf of Mexico.


Photo Title: Man and His Dog

Rosie hanging ten (i.e. walking on the boat ramp)

"Those were some mean waves, they messed up my 'do!"

The Simple Things

Now, more than ever, I treasure just being able to enjoy a slow, uneventful evening with Brian. It's the simple things that are always the best. Just being able to do them together, with Rosie on our tail, is what makes every moment special. From our evening walks around the block, our trips to the dog park and the lake, our competitive Blockus and Bananagrams games, our travels and adventures together, even to our low key lounging around the house, I treasure them all.



Rosie's Favorite Kind of Pie (At Least this Week)

It was our '3 year anniversary' with Rosie last Sunday. To celebrate, we treated her with her own personal seared steak dinner. Despite our good intentions, it (literally) backfired 5-fold (and I do mean 5-fold). Rosie has thanked us back nicely with not one, not two, not three, not four, but five offensively disgusting cowpies. And you guessed it, big dogs make BIG cowpies. Needless to say, despite multiple cleaning sessions, our carpet is in a disgusting state and our home smells like it's been sprayed with Eau de Poop room spray. Ugh, I can't live like this.


So, guess what I'm doing this weekend. Sterilizing, sanitizing, deep-cleaning fun!