We're going to be dog owners!!

Can words express the joy in my heart? Scarcely... I had given up the thought of getting a dog, since my grandparents/landlords are so against it. But when a friend of theirs decided to get a puppy she found in Texas, Po was the first one to say "do you think Manda would like one, too?" This was the shocking thing, because he's always been the one who is so anti-pets. (mainly for allergy reasons I think). So, you can imagine how quickly I said, "of course I want one!" Woohoo!

I'm so excited. One reason I think that this was meant to be by the Lord is that, a) I've been wanting a dog for over 3 years. b) It's the only one that Po has said I can get. c) I have read a lot about both of the breeds who parented my new puppy: The King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, and the Coton. Both are exceptional breeds, and ones I would have loved to have, but they cost way more than I could ethically and in good conscience ever pay for a dog. :) The mix of both of these has provided a beautiful and healthier dog than the Cavalier on it's own (that's the story at least). They're called Cavatons. Doesn't that sound snooty? Oh well.

So my next problem is finding a name. I will open it up to anyone who reads this: What should I name my adorable new pet? If you're nominated name is chosen, I will send you something cool in the mail (because most people who read this do not live in TN). I'll have to think about what that may be, but please send me your name ideas. I have less than 2 weeks to decide (that's when the plane comes). Thanks!

I put the FUN in Financial Education

Financial education is fun, I must admit. I had the privilege of visiting a group of K-4 kids at a school 45 minutes away from here on Monday to talk to them about saving money and the like. Kids are so interesting to me, because they’re so spontaneous in the things that they say. I asked them what types of things they were saving for, and I was very surprised when a few kids said they were saving for college, and another girl said she was saving for her first car. The most realistic, or I should say, short-term goal-setter, was a girl who said she was saving for a pony. Impressive! I mean, besides my car, the most expensive thing I have ever purchased was my wedding dress. I was never a good saver. All of my money went to Southern anyway, so why save for other stuff?

Later I asked them if they had any questions, and boy did they. They wanted to know all about robbery, and if we had had one before, and what we would do if someone took all of our money and then customers came the next day and they wanted to withdraw money from their account. One kid asked me: “You know that thing where you put in your card, and type something with the numbers, and you get money out?” “Yes,” I answered, wondered what was coming next. “Is there someone standing behind there putting the money through, or what?” I smiled and told him it was run by computers, but people have to fill it up with money from time to time. I think they enjoyed meeting me, and visiting them was way better than what I do on a daily basis.

Making Winter Worth-While

Last night we made the most wonderful hot chocolate ever. You must try Abuelita's hot chocolate mix sometime--it's in the Mexican food section of many grocery stores. I have had it several times before, but have never made it the way it's suppose to be made. Instead of being a powder, there are little chocolate triangles that you melt in hot milk. You're suppose to blend it all together in a blender, adding some sugar, but I always figured it wasn't worth the hassle to drag the blender out (I was sorely mistaken). When you try to make it without the blender, what results is small clumps of chocolate floating in warm milk--not so tasty. I usually make it with soy-milk too, much to Charles' disappointment, but last night we decided to use the real stuff. We took to blending up the hot milk with the chocolate and brown sugar until it had a layer of frothy foam on the top. Needless to say it was so tasty it made me sing (Charles too). Unfortunately, I drank so much of it that I almost lost it all while watching Grays Anatomy (this time it wasn't the blood and stuff that made me queasy). Needless to say, it was a nice evening, and fun was had by all.

An update on life.. with illustrations!

Hello all.. I wanted to take a moment and tell you that we have added our first pets to our little family..lol. We're bird-parents now! I want a dog really badly, but alas, can't have one until we live somewhere more permanent (that will hopefully allow us to have a dog). So, then.. the parakeets will have to suffice for the time being. Granted, I would get more love and affection from a goldfish, but nonetheless, we have pets now. I'm happy.

Also, we had snow last week, which, if you live in Tennessee, is quite a big deal. I am going to post some fun pictures I took before I went in late to work. It was a bummer to have to go to work on the only snow-day of the year (so far), but I guess that's life in the adult world for you.

My pretty car in the snow...

Self-portrait, after just waking up... (scary I know)
I was so excited about the snowfall that I woke up at 5:00 in the morning to see what it looked like (it's been too long for us Tennesseans). I looked out my back patio, and guess what I saw? A raccoon eating some oatmeal we threw out the night before (composting project). He was so cute! Too bad I couldn't get a picture.. by the time it was light outside, all that remained was this...

Finally, me and Samantha. Is there anything cuter than a new-born baby? Well, a 70+ year old grandfather taking care of his great-grandaughter ranks pretty close. Po is going to be keeping Samatha on Tuesdays and Thursdays (guess where I'll be during my lunchbreak.. hee hee). She's so sweet...

That's all for now, but check back soon because I will post more pictures as fun things happen in our lives. :)