Teaching an old dog new tricks

After several years of having Sugar. I finally decided it would be nice for him to know a few tricks. While Christy was out of town for work a few weeks ago, I decided to suprise her when she came back. She laughed at first when she thought I was trying to get him to do stuff. Then she was shocked when she realized he was actually listening to me. I taught him to sit, lay down, and most recently, to stay. I felt bad about him chasing us up two flights of stairs if we were just running up to grab something. Then he would chase us back down the stairs again. Now we can tell him to stay and then go up and get what we need and he'll be waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. I think he's a big fan of this most recent trick also. I don't think anyone likes stairs. This is a picture of Sugar staying. Christy would like the next trick I teach him to be "roll over." I don't know how well I'll do with that one...especially since I'm working more now. - TONY

Twice as good as Fiji or Aquafina

This McDonald's I stopped at must have charged extra for this stuff. It's not just water. It's "water-water." In case you didn't know what was in this dispenser the first time you read W-A-T-E-R, they decided to write it for you a little bigger a second time. I hear the R&D dept. is working on an improved version for release in 2010. It will be water-water-water. - TONY

Nelly

Yesterday, Jean and I visited The Galleria for a little retail time. We walked in through Dillard's and couldn't figure out what the crowds were for and why a Nelly CD was playing. Well, Nelly is originally from St. Louis and he was doing an appearance there. You had to pay to stand in a VERY long line to get his autograph and possibly a photograph with him. It was entertaining to see, that's for sure! And I'd love to know how much it cost!

The New Car Stereo

Well, for those that have not heard, we had our car broken into a week ago. Let me assure you that we were not very happy about this! They popped the lock on our car and the lock fell into the door. They also ripped out the car stereo and damaged our dash board in the process as well as breaking our glove box. They were also able to steal our GPS and Tony's cell phone which were both in the center console. Tony was only inside the store for five minutes!!! So, until we finish working things out with State Farm (which has been fantastic so far) and get the car fixed, this is the only radio available in the car. Or you could just use ear buds or portable speakers for the iPod, but not Tony...

Sponge Bob + Kitten = ?

Tony and Jean have been dying to visit this junk store that we pass daily since the day that it opened a few months ago. They finally forced me into this place. Aside from the $12.99 prescription contact lenses, the strangest thing that we saw was this trash can. They have shelves upon shelves with random colors and completely random combinations. This was the strangest to me! I mean, honestly, what does Sponge Bob have to do with a kitten head?

Branson

So, for the first week of August, I spent in visiting several cities for Summer Sendoffs. For the second week of August, we spent it in Branson, MO on a family vacation with Tony's family. We had a great time and really enjoyed seeing everyone. Especially our three nieces and our nephew! Most of our pictures from the trip are on the camera, so I'll post more pictures as soon as Tony uploads them to the computer.

While there, we visited this awesome ice cream shop named Delectable Delights. It's so adorable! I love the pink and white stripes! Plus, they served Blue Bell ice cream which is something that we can't get here in St. Louis!!!!

Flying the Friendly Skies

By the time Monday morning rolled around, I was very much ready to get back to St. Louis! It had been a long week filled with very early mornings and late nights and lots of airport meals. I also learned something new on this trip - Chili's in the airports has a pretty decent breakfast! Also, whoever does the scheduling for Southwest does an outstanding job. I flew them for all of my flights and the most empty seats that I saw on any flight was three. They definitely maximize their profit!

The plane that brought me home to Tony!

Sight out the window mid-flight between Omaha and St. Louis.