I met my husband in 1999, we worked together at a department store. We started “going out” in 2001. I broke up with him two days later – on his birthday. That didn’t go over so well and before the sun even set we were back together. I decided it didn’t count as a breakup, but Jeff still uses it against me from time to time. Five years later we got married (the funny part is that before we ever started dating? I told him we’d be married in five years. I’m not even making that up – you can go ahead and ask Jeff).

Our dog, Dale, was born January 5th, 2002. Jeff’s father’s dog Sammie had a litter of eight puppies, and Dale was literally the pick of the litter. We chose one of the larger male puppies, and decided on Dale because he had the longest fur (and was therefore the softest and cutest of the bunch). We had been talking about what we’d name our puppy weeks before they were born, and at one point I suggested the name Dale. I was thinking of both Dale Earnhardt and Dale the hillbilly from King of the Hill. It was a hit! Dale is the sweetest and most lovable dog on the planet. Sometimes maybe a touch too much. (He can be a bit needy.)

Dale

We adopted our cat Chewy in November 2006. Friends of ours adopted him right before choosing to move out of state, and realized they wouldn’t be able to take him with them. We did a “trial run” to see whether we thought Dale and the kitty (who was called LeRoy back then) could live together – and though neither were too happy about it, we determined that they could handle it. Chewy was 8 weeks old at the time, so I counted back and decided that his birthday was September 17th. He’s a spunky little kitty that doesn’t take any crap (though he sure does dish it out). We decided to name him Chewy, as in “Dale’s Chew toy”, and it has seriously backfired – he chews on me a lot. But he’s cute and sweet in his own way, and we love him very much.

Chewy

Baby Pictures!