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So, its a Friday night and I’m just now sitting down after approximately 90 minutes of puppy cleaning up after.  How in the world can it take 90 minutes to clean up after a tiny puppy you ask?  Well, that would be because we now have 2 tiny puppies.  Yes, I am insane.

About 3 weeks after Shelby arrived, we realized she needed a full time playmate.  She had so much energy and we just couldn’t play with her enough.  So we contacted our breeder, and one of Shelby’s littermates was still available.  So 2 weeks later, Tucker arrived via Delta airlines.  He’s a cutie and loves to cuddle, and is a bit bigger than Shelby.  We love him and its great to see them play together - they have a great time and seem very happy to be reunited.

However, the downfall of having a boy puppy quickly appeared.  In the form of small puddles all over our apartment.  Tucker has no bladder control, and apparently no concept of needing to go outside, and not on my floor.  So we started the “ring your bell” routine each time we went out.  Shelby took 4 days to get the hang of this.  We are on day 7 with Tucker - and he still has no idea what is going on.  He goes whenever and wherever he wants - with very little or no advanced warning.  Both Blake and I have been pee’d on during the last week.

So Blake leaves for a weekend trip to Austin around 6:30 this evening, so I’m on puppy duty.  And things are going pretty well, until about 9:45.  This is when the puppies apparently forget that going outside is part of the potty routine.  So they potty by the front door.  And under the table, and on the carpet near the front door.  And in the hallway.  All in the course of 45 minutes.  We even went outside once during this time.  Of course by then, no one needed to potty anymore.

So I gave up at 10:30 and put them to bed, and started mopping the floors.  I’m on round 2 now - I think I’m giving up after round 3.  I know the floors will get “marked” first thing in the morning anyway!

I do love these puppies, but I sure wish they would learn to go outside.  I also wish I had a first floor apartment, the stairs are killing me with all the trips outside we make.  Blake doesn’t come home until Sunday night.  I think he is going to be on puppy duty the moment he walks in the door!

So last Sunday I went to my first bridal show.  Although I had a good time, I can honestly say I never want to go to another one again!  Let me give you the run down.

First, you walk in and pay for admission and they give you a tiny ticket.  Then you have your purse searched and check your cameras (another tiny ticket).  Then you walk to go and get in to the actual show - but no, you have to stop and register for something.  Some giveaway or prize, I honestly do not remember.  THEN you keep going - and are immediately stopped by a woman selling labels.  Seeing the confused looks on our faces, she explained we would be filling out lots of registrations for prizes today, and that for $10 they could print our name, address and telephone number on 3 sheets of labels to save us some time.  We politely declined, but this was my first clue that I was in for an entertaining afternoon.

Finally we got to the actual entrance, where I had to hunt down the first tiny ticket I was given for admission.  Then we wandered in.  I was immediately overwhelmed by the extent of the show.  Over 350 wedding industry vendors were waiting to tackle me if I wandered within 15 feet of their booth.  Bridal veils, wedding cakes (yum!), DJs, bridal stores, jewelry stores, hairdressers, makeup artists, transportation companies, dentists, AFLAC (I know, why in the world was AFLAC there), florists and even actual chefs were there to convince you that you needed their services.  I was fortunate enough to have several parts of the wedding puzzle already assembled, so I could bypass some of the vendors with no trouble.  However, the bride I went with hasn’t been engaged as long, so she still has a bunch to get squared away.  So down each aisle we went, grabbing flyer after flyer, sampling cakes and chocolate fountains, trying not to fumble when we heard the pricing of some things.  My favorite vendor was a tuxedo store, who tried to get us to put down a fully refundable $20 deposit to secure a great deal on tuxedo rental.  A deal that was only available by registering at the show.  The same deal that was pitched to me just one day earlier at the actual store right after I purchased my gown.  Amazing how dumb they think we are, huh?  I don’t think we will be taking our tuxedo business to that place.

After wandering the aisles for a bit, we sat down to watch a fashion show featuring gowns and bridesmaids dresses, as well as tuxedos.  It was a custom bridal store - and their taste was definitely not in line with my own!  Oh well, to each their own.  But I must say, I do not think I am interested in the renaissance theme wedding.  Maybe for Halloween.

After all of that, it was a productive day.  I did pick up some information about a good florist, pricing info for chocolate fountains, and some DJ and string quartet info.  I also enjoyed spending some time with Lauren and her mom, who invited me to tag along on their day at the show.  But in the end, the bridal shows really do feel like a madhouse full of brides and mothers hyped up on wedding cake samples waiting for the next door prize drawing.  I’m glad I only have to do that once!