My New Foster!!!

So as some of my lovely readers know, I've been involved in animal rescue for the past couple of years. It all started when Hurricane Katrina left such devastation to not only families, but furbabies throughout the Gulf Coast. There was a HUGE makeshift shelter set up on the LSU campus and I used to go two or three days a week after class to help with the little dogs-feeding, walking, changing water, cleaning kennels, moving dog food-whatever needed done. It was there that I fell in love with a beautiful little Pomeranian named "Peaches." No one was really sure how Peaches got to LSU but she did. She turned into my favorite little kiddo to visit everytime I went and she always smiled and kissed my hand through the kennel whenever she saw me. I even filled out an adoption application to give Peaches a home in the unfortunate event that her owner was not able to find her. Luckily, on one of the last days that the shelter was open, I happened to be there when Peaches' mom came to get her. They were both SO happy to see each other and it made me all warm and fuzzy inside to know that they were back together.

It was at this point, that I decided I wanted to be able to foster. I lived in an apartment so could only have small dogs. No problem, Payton probably wouldn't have been too keen about a huge golden retriever in her home anyway =) So I filled out an application with a Pomeranian rescue and before I knew it, I had my first foster-Toby the pomeranian. Later on I started fostering for a wonderful local (to Baton Rouge) rescue group. The lady who was head of the rescue is one of the most organized, caring, animal loving, people I have ever met. I began to foster for her the last year I was in Baton Rouge and absolutely loved it. Payton and I were blessed to get to know five beautiful little furbabies who now have wonderful homes thanks mainly to our rescue lady and a little TLC from me and Pay.

Once I moved back to the boonies I was quite bummed at the prospect I would no longer be able to foster with the group I had previously. I really liked working with them and the way the organization was set up, but being so far away, it made it pretty much impractical for us to try and set up a foster home back in north LA. So I had resigned myself that I wouldn't foster for awhile and wait until the right group/dog came along. Then out of the blue yesterday, the rescue lady from south LA emailed me to say there was a little long-haired chihuahua in north LA that she wanted me to foster if possible. Of course I jumped at the chance (even though my hubby isn't wild about "another" animal in the house).

Well today I got to pick up the beautiful Bella. She's only about 6 months old but has lived a really rough life for such an innocent little thing. She was basically kept in a closet for most of her life and is therefore pretty much blind. When a wonderful lady up in north LA rescued her, she was covered in fleas and pitifully skinny. She can see a little out of one eye but is far from being 100%. That being said, she is one of the sweetest and cutest little pups I've had the pleasure of being around. Bella's not quite sure what to think about Payton yet so we're slowing warming her up to the idea. Hopefully she'll start making some progress and be in tip top shape soon! Anyway, here is the sweet little trooper sniffing around out back yard. And I'm crossing my fingers that she will find the absolute perfect home in the very near future!

Happy Halloween!

So today is supposed to be full of ghosts, goblins, witches, and lots of cute little kids (and furbabies!) running around looking for treats. It's also the first (of many) holidays that my husband and I will spend in our new home. As most people do, I went out and bought a couple of bags of candy hoping that for the first time, we'd finally have some trick or treaters. My parents always lived out in the boonies and we never were graced with any cute little characters looking for treats while I was growing up. However I have hopes that even though my husband and I are living in the boonies now, we might luck up and get a few this year since we actually have people that live down the road from us! I did my best to decorate (AKA put a pumpkin out by our house) so we shall see. Of the two bags of candy I originally bought, I think it's been whittled down to a little less than one so I do hope we get SOME trick or treaters, but just not a lot. ;) In any event, I'll report back tomorrow. Happy Halloween!!!

A foursome? Hmmm....

So I've been tagged by my fabulous friend Rhonda. Since I haven't had anything exciting (or anything I feel blog worthy) to discuss lately, I'll break my silence by playing along =) Oh, and I think all my other bloggers have been tagged so I'll let this tag die silently......


Four Jobs I've Had in My Life
1. Law Clerk
2. Management Accounting Intern
3. Law School Student Worker
4. Secretary of State Student Worker

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over
1. Pure Country
2. The Sweetest Thing
3. Waterboy
4. Old School

Four Shows I Like to Watch
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Private Practice
3. Desperate Housewives
4. SUrvivor

Four Places I Have Vacationed
1. The Bahamas
2. Italy
3. France
4. Switzerland

Four of My Favorite Dishes
1. Deer Meat, Rice & Gravy
2. Sushi
3. Bacon
4. French Fries

Four Websites I Visit DailyUsually.....but I've been so busy lately
1. The Nest
2. Gmail
3. Perez Hilton
4. TMZ

Four Places I Would Rather Be
1. Greece
2. Italy
3. A beautiful beach
4. Pat O's in NOLA

The Cousins come to play.....

Much to (I'm sure) my mom and dad's dismay, they have not been graced with the presence of any "human" grandbabies at this time. Therefore, they're stuck with lots of furry grandkids. Today, my brother's Weimaraners, Diesel and Steiger, came to visit their cousins Abby and Payton. While Abby LOVES playing with her new found family, Payton isn't quite as excited when these particular cousins come to visit. Pay is more fond of her cousin Layla (my brother and his wife's Yorkie) since she's a lot calmer and not near as rough and tumble as the Grey Guys are. Anyway, just wanted to snap a few pics of the kiddies playing (and of course, Payton trying to avoid them).

Meet Steiger:

Steiger hanging out with my brother:

And Diesel hanging out with Abby:

A game of who's gonna get the dingo bone first:


Payton tired from all the excitement:

Abby trying to figure out what the heck that her mom is holding in front of her face:


And just for good measure, one of lovely little Layla enjoying a glass of Merlot one night last week:

The Joys of the Interview Process......

So as most of you know, I'm still on the search for the perfect job. Today I had an interview for a position that I wasn't exactly "excited" about but hey, at this point, I can't exactly be too picky. Therefore, I got up this morning, put on my black interview suit, and made the one hour trek to the building where the interview was to take place. I was really early so I ran a few errands and pulled into the parking lot approximately 30 minutes before the interview. Enough time to brush my hair, redo my makeup and slip on my pumps (since purple crocs don't exactly go well with the proper interview attire).

When I pulled into my parking spot, I noticed that in the two spots to my left, there were some huge metal poles that were bundled up and lying (laying, leaning? Sorry I didn't do well in grade school English) on the ground. They were close enough to the front of the actual parking spot that a small vehicle could still pull in there but would just have to be careful as not to run over it. As I am applying some lipstick before I go in, a orange car abruptly pulls up and backs into the space immediately to my left. Apparently, this gentleman did not see the poles and proceeded to ram over them and a lovely screeching/scratching noise eluding to the damage done to the underside of his car, subsequently occurred. He thus pulled up a tad (more screeching) and flings his door open-right into MY car door. Obviously it wasn't of worry to him that he could have potentially scratched/damaged someone else's car because he pays no attention to the fact he hit another person's car door, briefly checks the back of his car, and then proceeds to walk towards the building entrance. Apparently he didn't see that the owner of the little silver bullet he hit was SITTING in her car when he did that.

Anyway, I grab my purse and hop out of my car to inspect the damage. Turns out that thankfully there were no scratches/dents (or orange paint) on the silver bullet. But seriously, who hits someone's car and doesn't even LOOK to see if they caused any damage? What if I had a HUGE dent in my car? Whatever, I didn't and all is good so I'll just forget about this jerk-off. With it being just a few minutes before my interview, I get my resume binder, lock my car doors and head into the building. As I walk in I am searching for the office to meet at when a gentleman asks "Are you here to meet Todd Smith?" Since that is the person I am interviewing with, I turn around while simultaneously answering yes. It is then that I become face to face with Mr. Smith who in fact turns out to be.....yes....... the "lovely" gentlemen who parked his orange vehicle right beside me. =) What a great way to start an interview......let's just say this is a job I definitely WON'T be taking.

Abby's Halloween Costume

I apologize for not posting below but I was quite uncertain with what to do about little Abaco's Halloween outfit. Randomly, I had to take a trip to the big city yesterday and made a quick drive by to PetCo to pick up an ID tag for the new girl in our life. Of course, they put those darn Halloween costumes right where you can't miss them I had to look again to make sure there wasn't another super cute one I should have gotten for Pay. I hadn't intended on getting Abby one just for the fact that I wasn't sure what size she would be come the end of Oct and didn't want to buy one that was a) too small and she would grow out of b) too big for her this Oct and risk that it would be too small come NEXT Oct. Anyway, I found a cute little alternative-a bat collar. So here's my little Abby-cakes in HER OWN OFFICIAL Halloween costume:

Halloween Costumes!

While I've never been one of those super gung-ho Halloween peeps, I've always enjoyed finding something fun to dress up as and go out on one ghoulish weekend a year. Well, last October, I decided that Payton needed to get in the Halloween spirit too. During a quick trip to Petsmart, I found just the costume for her-a cute little chicken. And so the tradition has begun. Here's some pics of her in the costume-can you tell how absolutely thrilled she was to be wearing that chicken head?


Of course when I went in PetCo the other day to pick up some stuff for our new bundle of joy, Abby, they already had the Halloween costumes out-seriously perfect timing as it's a good hour to the nearest pet store and I wasn't sure if I was gonna make it back that direction again before October would be over. It was a tough choice, it came down to an elephant, a peacock, and the winner-Payton as a horsie with a little cowboy riding her. Now don't let her fool you, she LOVES getting dressed up (mainly because it usually precedes the event of going for a ride-one of her most favorite things.) But I think the head gear is just a little too much for her. All in all, I think Pay will be able to suck it up and hopefully she'll be a little happier next time she puts the costume on.

The Animals in my Life

Well I'm sure most of you are already well aware of one of the loves of my life: my darling, beautiful, smart, sassy Pomeranian Payton. I adopted Payton a little over 3 years ago (right before I started law school) and she has been the most wonderful daughter I could ever ask for =)


She is such a people person and LOVES to go with her family everywhere they go:

Tailgating-GEAUX TIGERS!!!!


The Bahamas


Or just about anywhere:


Our newest addition to the family is a little cutie pie named Abaco (named after one of the islands in the Bahamas) or for short, Abby. She's a fun-loving, hyper, and energetic little fuzz ball who just joined her sister Pay one week ago.




A few other animals that have decided to take up residence at our house are Midnight and Pumpkin (I'll leave it up to your imagination as to what name goes with which cat ;)). Both of these were stray cats that lived out in our barn for awhile but have now decided that life lounging around our deck is much better. I honestly am NOT a cat person AT ALL (neither is my husband) but I'm okay with these two. They are far from tame but I have no problem with feeding them and allowing them to stick around-as long as they take care of those pesky mice that like to run around in the country!




Besides, Payton has decided that letting them know she is boss is her favorite new pasttime. Here she is rounding up the troops:





And last but not least, a couple of hummingbirds that have been gracing us with their presence lately. I know they're kinda hard to see from the pics but those things move fast when you whip out a camera!

Of course, I have to end with a pic of my beautiful little daughters all snuggled up for a nap =)

In need of a healthy lifestyle.....

Like lots of brides, I spent hours and hours the months leading up to our wedding to get in shape...I wanted to lose weight, get fit, be tan and overall just look good in my wedding dress (as well as a bikini!) With a wedding as motivation, I was able to pull off a 20 pound weight loss from the time I got serious about losing weight, until the wedding. It honestly felt GREAT to run an hour/hour and a half 5 days a week and I loved eating healthy meats, veggies and fruits. I could see and feel a difference and was proud of what I accomplished. That is until the honeymoon came around......

We stayed at the Sandals Resort in the Bahamas and for those who don't know, the price you pay to stay there includes all of the food and drink you can intake. It was great not worry about how much each drink cost and the bar tab you normally would be racking up, but it also made me not think twice about that slice of carrot cake each night after dinner! Once we got back from the honeymoon, I promised myself I would get back in shape. However the next two weekends were filled with an awesome bachelorette party for my wonderful friend Rebecca and followed by her gorgeous wedding! I told myself that it was no sense in starting a diet until after Rebec's wedding because I knew I was gonna cheat on those weekends. So I waited and then had all intentions of starting after that.

After Rebecca's wedding, I moved some of my stuff back to "the island" where I live now. My husband was here and we were living in a small house waiting for the air to be put in our soon to be permanent home. I was mentally ready to start back eating healthy...that was until I started to cook one day and realized the oven did not work....and one of the stove burners had no low button (only high)....and another one of those burners was not functioning. So with that as an excuse, I said I'd wait til we moved in our real house-it wouldn't be much longer and everything worked great in there and I'd be all set. Well, the move kept taking a little bit longer than we expected (doesn't it always?) We finally got the okay at the end of June and packed up all of my husband's stuff, and some of mine, and moved in.

By that time, July had rolled around, and a little thing called panic over the bar exam started to set in. The thought of spending an hour working out or 30 minutes-to an hour cooking did nothing but stress me out. That hour or two could be spent studying-no need wasting that time by doing otherwise! So a month of Totino's pizzas, bacon cheeseburgers and fries from our local burger joint, and just a general bad month of eating followed. It seemed the closer I got to the bar, the more Cokes I consumed and the quicker any good eating habit I once had, deteriorated.

Well, now the bar is over. And I have officially moved out of Baton Rouge and into our home outside of our tiny little town. I'm trying to settle into life in the country and the prospect of actually not having to go to classes this fall. So I decided what better time than to get the motivation to ACTUALLY start a diet and exercise routine this time? And I have.

Yesterday marks the beginning of my 30-day challenge. I've decided that for 30 days straight, I will do SOME form of exercise EVERYDAY-running, lifting weights, elliptical machines-whatever it takes to get a workout in. My wonderful husband has been great too and promised that he would try and keep up with me. So far we're two for two in the workout department and Payton even got to get in on the workout this morning! At the end, when I'm successful (see, I'm already thinking positive!), I'll reward myself with something fabulous. I haven't decided what they may be yet but I'd really love a hot little pair of red pumps. I've been wanting some for awhile and have had no excuse to buy them-this may just be that excuse I was looking for =) So here's to the new start on a healthy lifestyle-and hoping it stays that way!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!

(Pictures courtesy of LSUsports.com)

I just needed to have a shout of for my boys in purple and gold. The pre-season rankings came out and LSU has earned a spot VERY near the top of the poll at # freaking 2!!!!!! Now I've always been a fan of LSU growing up. Since practically my whole entire family (mom, dad, brother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, and the list goes on and on) graduated from a really small school in north LA, there was obviously much opposition when I told the family that I decided to go to undergrad at LSU. There's only been one person in our fam (my great Aunt Sue) who ever attempted to break the small college cycle and go to a REAL school AKA-LSU. Looking back on it, I will write that down as probably THE best life decision I ever made. Not only did I get to spend my freshman year, and a few of my sorority years, living with one of my best friends, I met some of the greatest girls on the planet who to this day remain my friends, and of course my equally amazing husband.

Even though I was a cheerleader for part of high school, I was never a big football fan. My brother always played baseball and basketball throughout his entire life and I could easily say I've sat through hundreds and hundreds of those games. Coming to LSU, I knew football was a "big deal" but I didn't realize how big until I actually went to game. There is nothing on this planet that compares to a Saturday night SEC game in Death Valley. Standing up the student section, Tiger dogs, the smell of whiskey being smuggled in and put in drinks, getting those drinks dumped on you during touchdowns, and being hoarse from screaming every Tiger cheer you can possibly thing of, is nothing short of a true life experience. For 7 of the 8 years I was a student at LSU, I was a season ticket holder (minus that first year of law school when the student body cheated us out of tickets but I won't go there in this post.) While I didn't go to every game, it can be assured that I was at many and if I didn't make it physically, I was definitely watching or listening on the radio.

Getting up at 5 am to try and make it to ESPN gameday, 6 o-clock tailgates for noon games, eating jambalaya and drinking ice-cold Bud Lights on hot game days and a big glass of Crown and coke to keep you warm on those very last few home games when it's actually chilly in South Louisiana. That's just a few of the many aspects of gameday at LSU. With this being the first in eight years of not living in Baton Rouge, it's definitely going to be an adjustment. Cliff and I have already decided to come down for a great SEC battle: the LSU v. Auburn game, and I KNOW we'll be down for more besides that. And hopefully, a little road trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where we can watch Nick Saban get is freaking ass whipped! But back to my post-a congrats to the LSU Tigers and best wishes for a SEC West, SEC Championship, and National Championship season!!! I'll leave you with Payton pics during one of her many tailgating days! GEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAUX TIGERS!!!!!!

Early morning Pre-gameLate afternoon, almost post-game

The Job Search is in Full Effect!

So after a few firmly worded threats from some friends, I've decided it would be in my best interests to update the blog. Nothing really exciting has been going on, hence my lack of posts. I did finish up the bar (thank goodness!) and am hopeful that I will never have to go through that horror again (although I feel certain come score time in October, I'll find out it's time to crack those books open once again.) But for now, I'm enjoying a few days at home with my hubby and Payton, and just taking a breather.

On my few days off, I've joined the ranks of the unemployed who are diligently searching for a way back into the workforce. I will honestly say that it's a weird experience. I've never had a "real" job so to say. Of course I worked throughout college and some during law school but these were all part-time while at school or on the summers off. It's really weird to actually be looking for a job that I plan to hold for LONG-TERM. No more 5 weeks off for Christmas , summer breaks before school starts back, Mardi Gras holidays, school or sorority sponsored parties, Friday night get togethers at the local bar, and most of all, no more Baton Rouge. From now on it will be billable hours, vacation time, 401K's, health insurance, and paid time off. Not that it's a bad thing, but certainly a change.

I'm definitely realizing the "grass is always greener on the other side" mantra. The last year of school I couldn't freaking WAIT to be finished with going to class and studying for finals. Now that the time has come, getting an 8-5 job and commuting 1-2 hours a day to get there has me kinda worried. However, I can't help but kinda be excited to get my butt out there and use the freaking 4 degrees that it took me 8 years to get. So, once again, the job hunt has begun. While it may be different, I'm actually looking forward to it and as stupid as it sounds, I'm really ready to put to use what I spent so long learning-no matter where that may be. BUT, first, someone please hire me?!?! =)

Just.Two.More.Days.......

Until one of the most painful experiences in my life-AKA the Louisiana bar exam- is over with. The past two testing days have been nothing short of ugly but I'm honestly ready for this to just be over! Pass, Fail, Condition-whatever-just let me get back to my normal life! Which would also include looking for a job =) Yep, I'm unemployed (or maybe that isn't the right term since I've never actually been employed full-time.....at least at a job that wasn't just for the summer that is.) For some strange reason I'm not *too* stressed about it. I have two interviews lined up next week so hopefully one of those (or something even MORE fabulous) will pan out. Ahh, nothing like getting an expensive degree and not being able to even find a job to use it ;) Hopefully next time I report back I'll have some good news on the job front!

The Beginning.....

So, I broke down and joined the trend-I am an official blogger. I know all of my friends probably think I'm insane. I can hear then, "What, Brandi started a blog? No way that computer illiterate girl knows how to do anything like that!" But thanks to the super friendly blogger, any technologically lacking individual (AKA -Me) can get 'er done. That's about all I have for now, but I'm sure I'll be boring all of you soon with job-search stories, pictures of my Pay-Pay, stories of the country life and just generally what's going on in a little town in northern Louisiana. For now, I'll just leave you a pic of the love of my life (and don't worry, my husband already knows).