hi! i'm alive, sorry i haven't posted for a few days, life has been crazy!

susie is really enjoying her time in her new home. she's made enemies with jimi and oliver has learned to ignore her antics. it's like a real family! last night i gave her a bath, as she had not had one in god knows how long. the girl was insane. tried to escape the tub a few times and did not like getting dried off. however, she smells and feels clean which is a big improvement.

through the whole susie adoption process, i made a new friend. we have so much in common. not only is she relatively new to the area, she's also jewish, loves beagles(obviously), works in employee benefits and so on. we've been hanging out a lot lately which has been great. it's nice to finally have a real friend here that's not a family member, future family member or coworker. the only down side is that her husband is currently interviewing for positions in tampa and they might be relocating, soon. ugh!

what else...the holidays are rapidly approaching. we've mutually decided that we won't be purchasing gifts for our sibblings (with the exception of michael and cody) which takes a huge financial burdon off of us. it also leaves extra money for john to by me a great gift for my birthday this year. yeah, it's the big one so i really think i deserve something wonderful! don't you agree?