Ava's Latest...

Ok Daddy... I will wear this passy that says Daddy's girl but only if you promise to give me everything I want.


You see, here in this house... I rule things.


Get out of town, if I just push up like this I can roll over. Puh Lease... too easy.


I love to laugh for my Papa on his birthday!

The Diagnosis...

Well, Eugene took Sam to the vet this morning as he continued to be just "sick as a dog." (Sorry... couldn't resist) Anyway, apparently he has Gastroenteritis. This is basically caused by something he ate. I was being a very good mommy last night and searching his vomit (I know how gross) each time. I wanted to see if he had eaten something. Trust me when I say I gagged the whole time! Well, one time I found some strange "people food." Eugene and I DO NOT feed him anything but dog food. But, he threw up a hot dog, pretty much whole, and onions and bell peppers. Sorry for those of you with weak stomachs. According to my dad and the Spence Files (this is what we kindly refer to my dad's case of knowing the answer to everything and about everything) onions are one of the most terrible things to feed a dog. Apparently they can cause all kinds of gastrointestinal issues. So, there you go. Richard says it... Spence files under dog see also gastrointestinal ailments.


Sam is now on more medicine that both Eugene and I combined. Don't forget his antibiotic eye cream we have to use twice a day for his "doggie pink eye."

Now, who's feeding him? We think my sweet little old German neighbor, Senta, is feeding him during the day. She comes over every afternoon while we are at work and visits with him. So this should be fun. Any tips on telling a German war bride (whose husband has been dead 25 years and her alcoholic 40 something year old son, who she refers to as a lazy butt hole, still lives at home) how not to feed your dog. I don't want to hurt her feelings. As you can see, she doesn't have just the rosiest life. Oh well... all in a days work of being a dog's mom.

Here are some pictures of Sam feeling just a little bit better today! :)





I think it looks like he is smiling in this picture!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!!


Today is my sweet Dad's birthday.


I love you with ALL of my heart. I wish I could see you today to tell you in person just how much I love you and how thankful I am for you! Of all the Dad's in the world, God gave me the best. Happy Birthday to you!

Sick Baby

My sweet little Sam is sick yet again. Last week we battled two eye infections, vomiting, and non expelling anal glands (trust me, you don't want to know). Tonight the little man has what I can only refer to as a "a double ended problem!" He just threw up on our jute rug and I am not really sure I am going to get it all up. I think we will may just have to get a new one. Don't say I didn't warn you Eugene.

We are going to take him into the vet tomorrow to see what is up. He is just pitiful though. He is literally lying on the floor moaning and whimpering. I'll keep you posted.

In the words of Whitney Houston...

Aww Heyl No!




I am very upset and must vent. Last night I was thoroughly enjoying my Sunday night routine of watching Desperate Housewives. As the show came to an end, Eugene and I were discuss what we have seen and anxiously awaiting the previews for next week… when, bam. Tarantula. Apparently there is going to be a tarantula featured in next week’s episode. Thanks, but I will NOT be tuning in. I will have you know that I had nightmares about tarantula spiders all night long. It was awful. Don’t the creators of this show know that spiders are the most horrible and scary thing IN THE WORLD! Especially ones that are hairy and poisonous! I have chills just writing this. Someone will have to fill me in on what happens.

Hold On To Your Rat Tails

My pictures of the day.

Not all at once ladies... Apparently there is some stud muffin' that drives this fine hunk of machinery here at the bank. I will be happy to pass along phone numbers of any and all people that would like to go for spin.

P.S. I didn't check for a personalized license plate, but I am willing to bet there is one.

100 things

Well, I really liked Laura's list of 100 "random facts about herself. I started to wonder if I could come up with 100 random facts about myself. So, the challenge was on...

1. I have one brother who is three years older than me, and he is my best friend.
2. My parents started dating when my mom was 14 and my dad 15, and they are still madly in love…. My inspiration!
3. I am Catholic (which in this part of the country is few and far between.)
4. I have a gigantic sweet tooth and several fillings to prove it.
5. I love salty foods much as I do sweet foods. (I’m doomed)
6. I love to cook and clean. There is a certain instant gratification with both that really makes me feel good!
7. If I could visit any place in the world it would be Italy.
8. I was stung by a hornet on my eye at my 4th birthday party.
9. I tend to panic easily and sometimes over react in situations that others may not find scary at all. (i.e. bad weather!)
10. Spiders are the scariest thing in the entire world.
11. I love to hear my husbands laugh… it is the most contagious thing!
12. I can get my feelings hurt very easily.
13. My brother married a girl named Katie, so she now has my old name (Katie Spence).
14. I hate to deal with money and financials. It stresses me out way too much.
15. My name is not Katherine, just Katie.
16. I love the taste of beer...Amber is as dark as I can go though.
17. My great grandmother Columbia Verucchi Stallone was born on a boat on the way over from Italy.
18. I hate to order fajitas at a Mexican restaurant because they are so noisy.
19. I consider myself to have a vivid imagination.
20. I think family is one of, if not, the most wonderful gifts we are given in this lifetime.
21. I have an addiction to expensive blue jeans.
22. I am a creature of habit… I eat the same thing for lunch almost every day.
23. I am not a late night party owl. I love to party, but I tend to turn into a pumpkin at midnight.
24. Having a dog has been such a rewarding experience. I would recommend it to anyone.
25. I went to Catholic school from the time I was 3 until I graduated high school.
26. My first word was monkey.
27. I slept with my stuffed animal Mr. Monkey for 23 years, until I got married. I still sleep with him if Eugene goes out of town.
28. I twirl my hair incessantly.
29. I love to eat spoonfuls of peanut butter.
30. When I was 12, I sent out letters to all the people in my neighborhood telling them I would baby-sit their children. I got a few jobs as a result.
31. I love to drink coffee in the morning.
32. I fear dying for reasons that I shouldn’t. I don’t want to miss out on life and I hate the thought of being buried underground.
33. Marrying Eugene was the best decision I have ever made.
34. I carved my brother’s name into a wooden table with a screwdriver when I was little and lied about doing it. I finally came clean to my parents when I was in college.
35. I wish my eyes were the color of my dad’s.
36. I would have a nose job and think nothing of it.
37. I want to be an organ donor.
38. I hated to watch Andy Griffith shows when I was little. My parents loved them… so I would have to watch them. I really hated the ones in color. Opie wasn’t cute anymore.
39. I can’t stand when people speak using incorrect grammar or email using incorrect grammar. It makes them look unintelligent.
40. I hated my sales job at Cintas more than anything I’ve ever done to date!
41. One day I hope to have a pool in my yard.
42. I make out a supper menu for 2 weeks and grocery shop accordingly.
43. I love to organize things and am the proud owner of a label maker. Thanks Adam and Katie.
44. If someone makes me mad or hurts my feelings I like for them to know about it.
45. I sometimes work too hard at pleasing others.
46. I am a perfectionist.
47. I try to do most of my Christmas shopping online.
48. My next door neighbor is a German immigrant.
49. I live 3 houses down from my in-laws.
50. I had an 11:30 curfew until my second semester of my senior year of high school when, after much begging, it was moved to midnight.
51. My first car was a 1989 Toyota Corolla that had no power steering. It was as good as a corvette to me. I loved it so much!
52. I can parallel park like a pro.
53. I love the smell of freshly cut grass. It reminds me of my childhood.
54. I have a scar on my right shoulder from a bicycle accident when I was nine. (Word to the wise, never simultaneously ride without hands and flip you mother the bird. God will most always throw you off your bike to remind you “who’s the boss.”)
55. Adam and I loved to sing any song by Huey Lewis & The News at the top of our lungs when we were kids. Our favorite was The Heart of Rock and Roll.
56. I had an imitation Cabbage Patch doll and just found this out 2 years ago. I’m still crushed.
57. I was rather “famous” for my toe touch in high school.
58. I love the way babies smell. (most of the time)
59. My feet are the most ticklish part of my body.
60. I snort when I laugh. (Thanks Dad)
61. I wish I lived in the same town as my parents.
62. I had 12 bridesmaids and am still close to every one of them.
63. I am addicted to technology. I go nowhere without my blackberry.
64. My dad is the most giving and thoughtful person I know.
65. Fudge Rounds are my favorite Little Debbie cakes.
66. I am a worry wart.
67. My name is Katie because my mother loved Gone With the Wind.
68. I hate that I look young. It makes being in the business field more difficult.
69. If I could repeat college I would have become a teacher.
70. I love to watch the history channel, discovery channel, and the learning channel. Eugene and I are obsessed with Deadliest Catch and we also like Modern Marvels.
71. I wet my pants in the first grade in Sister Rose’s class. It is still the most embarrassing moment of my life.
72. I sleepwalk.
73. I love to get cards in the mail.
74. I make a concerted effort to write good thank you notes. I think short impersonal thank you notes are better left unwritten.
75. I love to give and receive hugs.
76. I have been to Mexico five times. 3 times for mission trips; 1 Spanish Emersion class (lived there for 1 ½ months); my honeymoon
77. I get the Sunday Night Blues often.
78. I get scared if I have to sleep alone in my house.
79. I cannot go to sleep if the covers are messed up.
80. I sometimes iron sheets, especially if I have company coming to stay.
81. My mother and I have an amazing relationship and I would be lost without her.
82. The first concert I ever went to was for New Kids on the Block in Jackson, MS. I was nine. I wore a fanny pack and my hat sideways… enough said!
83. I can still sing the theme song to my favorite Saturday morning cartoon, Gummi Bears.
84. I was elected as the “Queen of Cotillion” for the ballroom dancing class when I was in the 6th grade. I got a crown and a sash!
85. Both of my parents come from big families. In my mom’s family there were 4 children and in my dad’s there were 7.
86. As a child, my dad and I would watch the Miss America pageant. We would pop popcorn and make a pallet. My mom would stay in the back. Now, I know why… I don’t want to see those skinny young thangs in bikinis!
87. My first crush was on Holden from As The World Turns.
88. Adam and I got allergy shots every Monday for years.
89. I moved in October and my address only changed by direction. I went from 614 East Tigrett to 614 West Tigrett.
90. I will more than likely never move again.
91. When my mom was little, she strongly resembled Ann Frank.
92. I danced as a Cancan dancer in the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage Confederate Pageant for 4 years.
93. I pulled my groin when I was dancing Cancan in high school. (See #92)
94. I forgot to give my dad a hug and kiss when he handed me off to Eugene at our wedding. I will never forgive myself, and I have to close my eyes during that part of the video.
95. I regret not playing with our cocker spaniel fluffy more often. I think she was a lonely dog.
96. I hear I am very opinionated.
97. I find myself wishing money was not an object far too much.
98. The décor in my office looks like a scene from a 1980’s wedding. It is all pink and teal… not my choice, I promise!
99. I love the way gas smells when you first start pumping it.
100. When the time is right, I can’t wait to have children.
     

Easter... better late than never

After a brief hiatus from blogging, I'm back.

I figured I would post some of pictures I had from Easter. I know I am a little bit late, but oh well. They are still great pictures.


Sam had a wonderful time on the ride down to Natchez. He hung his head out the window and snoozed a good bit. Oh to be a dog....


Sam LOVED Aunt Kathy. She spent lots of special time snuggling with him all weekend. Look how big he looks!


"I've got this knuckle sandwich waitin' right here for you..."


Here is Ava with my Aunt JoAnne. (Some of you bloggers out there may remember her as Mrs. Cunningham the Speech and English teacher from JA.)


Ava seemed to be more interested in watching tv than having her picture made with Aunt Kathy! Focus Ava... focus.


Adam, Katie, and Ava on Easter morning...


"It's not easy being this cute..."


Smilin' and Swingin'

Tribute

The Sun Herald (the Newspaper in Gulfport) published the most wonderful obituary about my Uncle Jim.

Thank you for the sweet comments and words of support from my last post.

My Apologies

To all avid blog checkers, I apologize for not posting anything this week. It has been a rather sad week, to say the least, for my family. We found out Tuesday that my dad’s brother, Jim, passed away. We will be going to Gulfport this weekend for funeral, which is Monday. Please keep him, my cousins, and my dad’s entire family in your prayers as they journey through this valley of grief.

I do have wonderful pictures from our Easter weekend in Natchez that I will try to get up tonight when I get home from work today.

Having a cravin’

I am so excited about this weekend! Eugene and I are going home to see my family in Natchez. I haven’t been in since February. Now, I did see my parents, brother, sister in law, and niece three weeks ago, but still! I was feeling crummy with mono and wasn’t much fun. Needless to say, I am ready to go home! My Aunt Kathy is coming in and I haven’t seen her since Christmas. Woo Hoo! Can’t wait to catch up and visit with everyone and gets lots of TLC from my parents. Sometimes you just need a hug. :)

These are my sweet grandparents (Maw Maw & Paw Paw) that I can't wait to visit with this weekend!

I am so sad that my bestest friend Kate Foley will not be there. She is such a talented interior designer that she has customers all the way in Kazakhstan. She leaves this weekend for her trip to decorate the 11,000 sq ft home of the President of Chevron over Europe & Asia! (He is from Natchez originally) Watch out Borat… here she comes. I’ll miss seeing you sweet girl!

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Here is little miss Ava with the Easter Bunny. She has on the cutest Easter dress that Papa and Cheri (my parents) bought for her.

MMMM, Good!

Two funny stories… in college my roommate Gracie and I decided that we were going to cook dinner. So, after much time on the phone with both of our mothers, we thought we could handle baking chicken. Well, much to our dismay, the Pyrex dish that the chicken was in exploded in the oven. I think, if my memory serves me correct, we still ate the chicken until Gracie’s mom called mid way through dinner to ask how it turned out. When Gracie explained to her what happened but that were still eating the chicken, I thought her mother was going to come through the phone and do the Heimlich maneuver on both of us. She was quite concerned we had eaten glass. Why we didn’t think of that… I’m not sure. Anyway, to this day, I have no idea why that dish exploded.

Then, my parents were up visiting me in Jackson, TN a few months before Eugene and I got married. We decided to go to dinner at Outback. As we are sitting there waiting on our food no doubt munching on a blooming onion the discussion of me having to cook soon came up. I quickly declared to my dad who seemed to doubt my Julia Child abilities, that I could make great spaghetti. All you did was dump the Prego can in a dish and heat it in the microwave, add to noodles and vwa la. Spaghetti. He just sat across the table from me with this smirk on his face. When I questioned his smirk, he said, “what about the meat?’ I replied, what meat? So, the moral of this story, WHO KNEW THAT THERE WAS HAMBURGER MEAT IN SPAGHETTI? I had a long way to go.

I am proud to say that I now make some fabulous homemade spaghetti thanks to my sweet Maw Maw’s recipe and have made drastic improvements in the cooking department since those days. I thought I would share this recipe with my blogging viewers. It is seriously the BEST chocolate pie ever. This is the same pie that is served at Paula Deen’s restaurant Lady and Sons. It takes about 10 minutes to make (not counting cooking time.) The top is like that flakey consistency like the top of a brownie. mmmm, good!


Old-Fashioned Fudge Pie

2 squares (2-ounces) semisweet chocolate 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs, beaten 1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar, then the eggs; beat well. Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 25 minutes or until just set. Serve warm or cold, with ice cream or whipped cream.

3 Month Checkup

I took Sam in for his 3 month checkup yesterday. He had to get shots and more heartworm and flea medicine. I just about fell out of my chair when the nurse told me how much he weighs. 27.5 lbs!!!!!!!!!! I knew he was getting heavy. Not really sure if you can tell, but check out the size of his feet. I think we are going to have a biggun'!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday today to my brother Adam and Eugene's sister Elizabeth!! We love you both and thank God for each of you.





I really don't know what is on Elizabeth's lip. I think it was my scanner. I tried to get it off, but I couldn't.