Do Dogs have Taste buds?

This is a conversation Mitch and I had the other night. Do Dogs have Taste buds? We both believe they do however other's out there state that dogs don't taste.

This conversation lead to a little test on my dogs. I have the routine in the morning of grabbing a bowl of cereal and once I'm done I will give the dogs the rest of the milk. I've been doing this for years. So we thought it would be perfect opportunity to set my dogs up.

I grabbed two bowls this morning. One was my normally cereal and the other was water. After I got with my bowl I grabbed the bowl of water and placed it in front of them as normal.

Ladybug took one drink and looked up at me like I was crazy, then she walked away. It took Chaunzie a little longer. She took two quick drinks and then she took two slower drink and then walked away.

Does this crazy little test prove dogs, as a general population taste...no. But I think it's a pretty good case with the possibility to prove that dogs may taste. They just may not have the full range of taste as humans, which is why you see them eating each others poo...LOL.

Name Change?

I'm really thinking about doing it. I'm thinking about having my name changed back to the maiden name. The thought has been burning in my mind for a while and I know it will mess everyone up, even me.

I find it twisted because I used to hate my maiden name and wanted anything to have a different name. Now that I have a different name I want my old name back. There is many things I have to consider when doing this.

First what is the cost? I've spoken to father and he said it would cost a total of about 250 just for the name change. So, there is 250. Then I looked into all my passport..another $110. Then there is the gun permit that I haven't received yet...$20. This is starting to cost some money!

Then there is the tracking of all my credit card, bank accounts, retirement funds, savings bonds and facebook. I have to track down and request my name to be changed for all of these. Ugh! I've already started a list and have added the cost, if any, to all of them. I figure I will go ahead and run a credit report, which is the easiest way to find all my accounts.

But even with the confusion and question from everyone, the amount of work to track down all accounts and financial investment to do this I think I'm going to. I think I will ask father to help me with it (aka get the forms) and start the process in December. It will be my Christmas gift to myself!

New House

I've been looking for about a year for a house I would want to purchase. I've looked at my finances and I know how much I can afford (if I sold my current house and broke even). So I've narrowed my search to that price range and I've come up with nothing.

Then I tryed a different approach. I decided to look through all the houses and find a couple of houses I had an interested in and see what that price range was. To my disappointment the houses I like are out of my price range by about 75,000.

I have some different option.

Option 1
Stay in the house I am in and save for many many years with the hope that I will get some pay increases to help me pay for my dream house.

Option 2
Suck it up and continue on the path I'm on and try to find something in my price range.

Option 3
Start playing the lottery and hope I when $150,000 (remember 50% goes to taxes!) so I can have that 75,000 to fill the gap.

With a purchase this big I really want to make sure I pick the right house at the right price and will be happy with my choice for years to come.

I want my next house to be my "forever" home.

Future Trips

I love to travel and recently I've gone broke planning little getaways. I probably have to many trips planned, at least my pocket book thinks so.

Not in any order, because I have to keep everyone guessing

1)Utah trip to visit my friend
2)Multiple ski trips (ski season is approaching)
3)South Dakota
4)Bahamas
5) Florida

Don't worry I will take some pictures of  the trips and share:)

Friday the 13th

If you are superstition you would think Friday the 13th is a cursed day. But in reality it's what you make it.

Friday was a great day, crazy almost. It started as a team building even at noon.It was your standard team building with dorky games to test your knowledge of the company. It was extremely hot out so the games we had planned were a no go. So we brought out the board game. Then after hours hit and the beer and adult beverages came out.

Then after a short time the team building turned party went to Rick's Boatyard. The drinking and conversation continued and for the first time I started to feel part of the team. Even though this our TM's last day. From there I joined another group at a Mexican Restaurant for more drinks and conversation.

After dinner was over and the daiquiri's were gone a few of us decided to go down to Howl at the Moon and join a few other friends. There was a party going on and we were told that if we just mention this lady's name we would get in free. By the time we get down there the party had ended and there was a cover charge.

The three of us almost left when this lady, whom none of us have every seen before, busted out the door and said "why are you standing out here? the party is inside". We told her what was going on and she said "of forget them and come on". Some how we got in free.

I was a little buzzed but nothing to bad however my friend was drunk and she is a crazy drunk. While we were there, the whole 2 hr, here is what she proceeded to do.

1) steal a strangers phone and drunk dial some people on his phone
2) crazy dance, and while she was doing that she was yanking people from their chairs
3) Some how made it up on stage and proceeded to dry hump some strange from behind
4) while some stranger was sitting in his chair she lifted one leg and acted like she was humping him
5) while some girl had bent over in the bathroom she grabbed her thong and yanked it up.

I'm sure there are some other things I missed but I guess the funny thing was everyone loved her. No matter how crazy she was people chatted up a storm with her. Complete strangers seemed like her best friend.

Anyway the night came to an end and everyone went home. I just wish I had my camera for some of these moments.

Finally got the coffee table

I have to admit I haven't blogged like I normally do. Live just got busy and to be honest after I leave work I don't normally feel like jumping back on the computer after staring at it for 8-9 hours.

Anyway, I finally got my coffee table. It took about 5 weeks to get my table. Once again I will never again order anything from Ashley Furniture again. I will stick with having Mitch build it or shopping at Value City Furniture or Kittles. Value City Furniture had a good stock of items so if you purchase most of the time you can walk out same day and Kittles has killer quality at a good deal.

Ashley's stuff is lower end especially for the price you pay.

Here is my old table. Now before you pass judgement let me tell you the story behind the poor beat up table.

So about 10 or so years ago, back when I had a crappy job with crappy pay I was in desperate need of a coffee table. I searched everywhere, even at garage sales but i couldn't find anything. Anyway, my mom knew this lady who had children and was getting rid of this coffee table set because she couldn't keep the finger smudges off the glass from her kids.

So with $50 in hand me and my mom went to her house and purchased the coffee table, two end table and a sofa table.

Of course after years of abuse, water and food the poor table was looking pretty bad. So about 4 years ago I decided I was going to purchase a new set...well at least until I noticed the price of coffee tables. Then one day I was running around the house trying to get the house ready for a party that night and also trying to leave for work and noticed the legs on the table were loose. So, in a rush I lift the table to tighten the bolts and before I even thought about it two of the pieces of glass tumbled out and shattered on my hardwood floors.

Being the make shift person I am, I grabbed a self from out of my garage and throw it on the table to cover the holes. I have to say it was a big talking point at the party that night. But what could I do? About a year ago I cut the shelf down to fit into the holes.

Here is a picture of the new coffee table and end table. The coffee table has a drawer that I decided was going to face the couch so I could put the remotes in them and any extra paper.

Here is a side by side shot of the end tables. Notice the height difference! The coffee table increased in height also which is really nice when I'm working on my computer.

The positives about the tables

1) easier to clean under

2) less dust to clean off (notice all the curves on the old table)

3) Looks much much better in my living room!

Now the only thing I need to upgrade is my entertainment center. Which I've requested Mitch to create something for me. I've given him some idea's now he just needs to create it:)