it's a boy

God works in mysterious ways and after seeing at least a dozen news segments about how overpopulated animal shelters are, Daniel and I became the proud parents of a boxer puppy. We have been talking about getting another dog...a bigger one...once we had moved into a house. Obviously we couldn't wait that long because we fell in love with a (around) 4 month old boxer mix. Here's the story...

Jackson had a grooming appointment at PetSmart on Saturday. Daniel dropped him off and caught a glimpse of the Humane Society pups on the way out. He wasted no time telling me that the dog that he wanted was at PetSmart. He wanted to go look at him (mistake number one). I told him that we could NOT get a dog until after we bought a house. Once we got there and opened the cage (mistake number two), Jacob (the boxer pup's name at the time) crawled up into my lap and snuggled his head into my jacket. I immediately fell in love with him and couldn't imagine putting him back in the cage and leaving him. Our next step was to see how Jackson would react to him. I didn't want Jackson to hate him, because there would be no point in even adopting the little guy. Once Jackson had finished getting groomed, he met his future little brother. he didn't seem to care either way and was ready to get the **** out of there and go home. (He tends to get stressed out in those situations.) Since Jackson didn't seem to care either way, we decided this was something that we needed to do.

Granted it seems ridiculous having 2 dogs in an apartment for the time being, but it really hasn't been that bad. We decided to name him Tyson after Mike Tyson, the boxer. It seems to fit him well, and I think he likes it. He snuggles up to me at night while Jackson snuggles with Daniel. I think all in all it will work out well. I am excited to see what his personality will be. He is already precious. I am glad that Jackson has a little (big) brother that he can play with.

Could you resist this face?

Tyson and Jackon in his HUGE box.

Tyson loves his big brother, Jackson.

in like a lion

I think I say this every time I blog, but not too much has been happening. The snow a couple of weekends ago was a nice break of the everyday apartment living. We were able to go outside for a few minutes with Jackson who frankly was a little scared of it at first. Then he LOVED being in the snow and peeing and pooping every chance he could. This might have been his first "big" snow! I think he was glad to see it leave though. He doesn't like being wet.

Jackson in the snow

Leslie and Jackson 3/1/09

Daniel and Jackson 3/1/09

take the good over the bad

Many events have been happening with the Todds since the last update. I am thankful to report that more good things rather than bad.

A couple of weeks ago, Daniel talked his step-brother into selling us his Wii for $100. You know we had to snatch that deal up; it's unheard of! The next day Daniel bought the Wii Fit. And let me tell you...it is quite depressing to hear how overweight you are and how bad your balance is. I have caught myself walking and focusing on my center of balance. This might be the first stages of becoming a Wii Fit geek.

Right after our great purchase of the Wii, Daniel took the Explorer to the shop to have it checked out since there were horrible noises coming from it. Well, let's just say we couldn't afford to repair it completely without selling both of our arms and legs. It's outrageous just how much money we have put into that beautiful "P.O.S.". After getting the news, the real fun came....searching for a new vehicle. After many stressed filled days, we bought a 2008 F-150 on Saturday. (Needless to say we didn't have a very romantic Valentine's Day.) It wasn't my first choice, but Daniel really wanted a truck and they were bascially the only cars with a big enough rebate to eat up what we owed on the Explorer. We learned some valuable (and expensive) lessons while repairing and selling the Explorer and they will not be forgotten.

Last week I went home at lunch and guess who greeted me at the door: Jackson. He had chewed and clawed his way through the thick plastic box. He made a hole big enough to crawl out and escape. Daniel calls him Convict Number .... Thanks to the sewing machine that Daniel gave me for Christmas that is still in its box, we have been able to keep Jackson from making anymore escapes. I guess he needs a metal box now.

living each day...a minute at a time

Nothing too much is happening in the Todd household. Daniel is working and schooling. Jackson is sleeping, pooping, eating, playing, and being sweet. And I am working and sleeping. Yep, the good ol' married life has kicked in and it's quite pleasant. There's no more talk and drama about when we will see each other or who will go to who's house on what day. It's nice being about to walk into a room and poof, there he is. Anyway, enough with that.

Daniel and I have discovered that we are ready for our next "big thing": buying our first house. We found one that we both really like in Alabaster. It's older...kinda reminds me of the beach house in a way (I know MOM! don't even start.) and my grandparents' house, next door to the Brewster Road house. Of course we have only driven to it at 10 o'clock at night and it was dark and scary....because I am afraid of the dark. I think it will be a good home to look at. We haven't agreed on too many others so far. I am surprised that we even agree on one. All of that may change once we see it live and in person.

For the past day, Jackson has been really done and sick with an upset stomach. It's really not that unusual for him to throw up or have an upset stomach since it happens quite often. Usually we can pinpoint what the problem is and learn to correct it in the future. This time it was different. He was acting really funny besides his tummy hurting. He seemed lost and was sniffing everyone. It got me paranoid thinking we might have a mouse or something else that he was smelling. He would start sniffing the air and then run into a room and go to a corner and start sniffing like crazy. It was freaking me out! Daniel said something tonight that made was strange, but made sense. "Do you think he is acting this way because we took his turkey away from him?" The turkey was taken away from Jackson a day or 2 ago since he was needing surgery and I didn't feel like sewing him up right away. The place wasn't bad but I wanted to make sure that he would last longer by being in the best condition he could. We decided that the turkey wasn't a hazard to Jackson and let me tell you...you have never seen a happier dog! He is running and jumping while carrying the turkey. He loves that thing. It might just be his best friend.

is it all just a dream?

As you may or may not know, this past week has been life-changing for us...not to be selfish, but mainly me. The biggest news right now is about Josh's orders to go to Germany in the next couple of months for 2 years. Sis is still in the process of weighing the pros and cons of staying versus going. There's not a whole lot to say about this since it truly isn't my decision. All I can do it wish her the best and hopes she makes the right decision for her and Josh.

The secondary situation is that one of my co-workers is leaving. I know life is about growing up and moving on and doing what is right for yourself, but it is also a sad time. I will miss you, Lisa. Thanks for all of the laughs and tears. I know I will have a friend for life.

Other than those two drama filled situations, nothing else is really happening. Daniel and I are gearing up to on house hunting. We aren't too serious right now, but we are serious about wanting to move out of the apartment when our lease is up in July. It's exciting to think that in 6 months or so we will be true adults in owning our own house. I have waited my whole life to feel like a grown up and I have made it. The best part is that I am able to spend it with the most amazing man I have known. My life wouldn't be complete without Daniel. He basically keeps me sane and stress-free. There's never a dull moment in the Todd household. Sometimes I think we should have our own reality show. Only a few people would watch it, but it would always be entertaining.

a new year

Daniel and I survived the our first married holidays together! It got rough there for a few days, but once we got used to seeing lots and lots of people every day we were fine.

We kicked off the Christmas festivites by going to my grandparents' house on Saturday, the 20th. We only stayed for a few hours and then it was on to Mentone to spend Christmas with the Todd's (Daniel's dad's side). Jackson was able to come with us which was really nice. He was such a good boy! He played with all of the little kids...the ones at my grandparents' and at the cabin in Mentone. It made me feel good to know that Jackson can behave when taken to a "strange" house and stay with people he doesn't know.

After coming home from Mentone on Sunday, the 21st, we literally unpacked to wash clothes and repacked for Christmas at the beach. In the midst of unpacking and repacking, we had Christmas with the Cochrans and Stricklands (Daniel's mom's side) on Tuesday, the 23rd. Wednesday, the 24th we loaded the car up and headed to the beach. We stayed there until Sunday, the 28th. Trust me. It was GOOD to finally get home and sleep in our new sleep number bed.

Santa was really good to all of us this year....including Jackson. Santa brought him a lamb, duck, and a new chewy. I am pretty sure the duck is his favorite (too bad Daniel picked out the duck and not me.) Sometimes at night you can hear a duck quacking or a lamb baa-ing. so hilarious!

So with the new year came new resolutions. I have decided not to try to commit to lose weight or get in shape. Whenever I make that resolution, it never stays. If anything, I should commit to become a fattie and then watch the punds fall off. ha! Like that would EVER happen! Seriously I have made 2 resolutions: read and cook more. I am sure Daniel will (or maybe he won't) appreciate the latter. I feel bad because Daniel cooks all the time and he is a great cook too but I feel like it is my wifely duty to at least learn to cook a couple of meals....especially meals that don't come in a box. My other resolution is one that is time-consuming but something I have enjoyed a few years past. I really love reading Nicholas Sparks's books. He is definitely my favorite author. I have read 6 of his books thus far, and I bought his newest one this weekend, The Lucky One. I haven't started it yet. I want to make sure I have plenty of time to start it. Typically once I start reading it is really hard for me to stop. I think these resolutions will be beneficial ones and actually something that I can keep.

thankfully!

Now that a few weeks have gone by, I will update about the Thanksgiving holidays. I promise I didn't wait this long on purpose. A lot has been going on. Daniel had to study for finals; money had to be spent for Christmas presents; and basically every day life happened.
Along with buying each other gifts for Christmas, Daniel and I decided that we are in desperate need of a new mattress. Of course, I like an extremely firm mattress and Daniel says he doesn't like sleeping on a brick. So we compromised as best we could. We ordered a sleep number mattress. We will see if this helps. I hate feeling like I am sleeping in a bowl and I wake up with back pains. I am 24! This shouldn't be happening!
Daniel and I are almost done Christmas shopping. We have 4 more people to buy for. I think that is pretty good. We have stayed within our budget for each person so y'know that makes me happy.
Something else that makes me happy is that we got our wedding cd in the mail with ALL of our wedding photos plus engagement photos. Look for copies soon.