MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

So, Jamie's birthday was this past Thursday! Unfortunetly, I had a networking obligation and had to ditch him to attend the event. However, before you start thinking that I'm a super horrible wife I made it up to him this past Sunday! Despite, it being NEARLY impossible to keep a secret from my hisband I managed to rent a 30 ft. catamarran for a day on Lake Minnetonka ( the second largest lake in the state of Minnesota).

Jo, Jamie's Mum looking right at home on the water.

It's Tough to enjoy yourself THIS MUCH!


Oh, and this is our house...with our lovely LAKE VIEW...YEAH RIGHT...in our dreams....one day (SIGH)


And the birthday boy....popping in for a cool swim!


All the gals enjoying themselves


Paul, our trusted el'capitain!

And whats a birthday without a birthday cake?? (thanks Trish) The boat club was really cool, they kept this in their own freezer and then when we came back to dock they met us out with it...very awesome!

So, all-in-all I hope I made up for wigging out on Jamie for his birthday and working instead. And in case you didn't notice, his other gift was a new digital camera. Happy 30th birthday honey! Lets just hope he doesn't expect to get this spoiled every year!

Are these the faces of a trouble maker?!

You better believe they are!!



This is a question that I seem to ask our two kiddo's (kiddo=dog for us) often. Every once in awhile I'll come home and they will have pillow's on the floor that use to be on the bed or couch or other odd things. They never destroy anything, but just seem to be prone to make themselves EVEN MORE at home, while I'm away. Which is saying something!

Well, yesterday was NO exception. Jamie has been gone on business, so it's just been me and the kiddo's. Now, when Jamie is in town we are able to, between the two of us, make sure that the Kiddo's get two 1/2 walks a day. Except, lately I've been SOO busy with work and with Jamie out of town AND it's been really yuck weather (tornado season...nuff ssaid) we haven't been getting out as much as usual. So the other night, I come home from dealing with goofy dogs all day and come upstairs to get ready for bed....and in our bedroom there is a wall with no furniture near it that NOW has a VERY big dent in it. Looks like Brandi threw Bailey up against the wall off of our bed. Absolutly nothing around or near the wall that would give me a hint as to what they were up to...COMPLETE MYSTERY!

SO...nothing to do but blog about it and laugh. Oh...and hand Jamie the spackle. Luckily, he's a bit of a magician with that sort of thing!:) My conclusion is: it was a good day...enjoyment had by all. Except maybe Bailey.

Birthday Blues...

SO, Jamie's birthday is coming up...and it's a BIG one! On June 26th Jamie will be turning 30! But lately, I've been frusterated....for those of you who don't know I LOVE to plan suprises. SO...with it being a new chapter for Jamie I was really excited.

First his Mum contacted me because she wanted to fly in and suprise him for his birthday...AWESOME~! Except, then with his busy work scheldule and him always traveling we (his mum and I) decided that it was probably best to let him in on the suprise so he could plan accordingly. So that's one sizzeled suprise.

Then I thought...okay...suprise party. Except...knowing Jamie he's not one to like a big fuss to be made over him...so thats two sizzeled suprises.

THEN...I started to think about birthday gifts...it came down to a great idea of new golf clubs! Whoray!! Great Idea! He's getting out to the green more and more often, back to enjoying the game. And his were given to him by his grandfather and are basically antiques....then I realized....I don't know a THING about golf! I went into a store, they asked if he played left or right..."well, he's left handed" Their response " Yes, but how does he play golf?". My brilliant rebuttle " I don't know...he takes the club and hits the ball real hard". So, I'm three for three...I had to tell Jamie:( He's excited...but still....

SO....I guess all the pressure is on the cake. Every year I make a birthday cake all from scratch and surpise Jamie..I won't even let him in the kitchen. To be honest, it makes my day with how excited he gets about something that I can do for him...it's adorable! But, OH the PRESSURE!!!!

So, if any of you have any ideas for either super awesome cakes...or other ways that I can build in more suprises to relieve some of this pressure...PLEASE let me know!

So....what a week!

So, I was doing SO well with posting....and then I got busy! ARG! Basically, it's Heel's fault. For those of you that don't know, I have started up my own company called "Heel Dog Walking & Pet Sitting" so, occassionally I get a little sidetracked with work.

This is what happens when you hire on a new person and they don't quite work out. The good news is that I'm getting "managing experience"...which I'm hoping one day I will get better at. The bad news is that now I'm doing about 10 walks a day (each walk I average about 1.5 miles...so, you do the math). The thing is that when I'm interviewing people everyone thinks...dog walking-easy gig. But it's really not...espically if you're not use to walking at least 10 miles a day. It's exhausting, plus you're dealing with dogs that at least at the begining aren't use to you...so, they test you. We walk in all weather-snow, sleet, rain, and sun (unless it's dangerous). So, it's a lot tougher than you might think. I try to press this onto people all of this...but I don't think you really "get it" until your doing it.

All-in-all though I'm still LOVING what I do. I've made lots of contacts and the business is growing SO quickly! I've brought on three walkers (not including the last gal, that is the reason for my busy week) and now looking for my fourth. This position will be a "full-time walker". Basically out doing what I'm doing mon-fri. This is REALLY exciting because I haden't planned on hiring anyone until the end of the year.

Other interesting news: we're getting office space!! Starting July 1st I will be moving into office space with a couple other businesses. Scoopy Poo (they come clean up people's backyards) and Just Paw Puppy Training will be in the space with me, but it's going to be SO AWESOME! Sonja, from scoopy poo, found this converted garage (very hip) and asked us to come into it with her. It's such a great opportunity and it's in one of our newer markets: Edina!
We've also got a bunch of other things lining up that I shouldn't post about until they are launched....but more to come soon! And on that note, I've got to run...yet another new client meeting. :)