Puppy Dish?

Should we add this little puppy dish to our family?

Reasons for:

Love
Companionship
Cuteness Factor
Memories
(Responsibility)Preparation for a Child
Safety
Exercise
Very little pet odor (a perk with this breed)

Reasons against:
Poop and Pee
Loss of Freedom (Can't go where we want, when we want)
Cost
Responsibility (Let's face it, that's a pro and a con)
Possible Collateral Damage
SHEDDING

We just can't decide. Met her today, probably need to make a choice in a couple of days before someone else buys her. She's a pure bred Pembroke Welsh Corgi. She will be completely red and white when her coat fully comes in. Vote in the sidebar and help us with this decision!

What it Means to be a Dish

For a while now I have recognized that someone who hears my husband and I talking to each other in a grocery store might be slightly confused, and, in fact, will probably find us somewhat odd. A note we received from my sister, Lauren, solidified that what I thought was only a slightly odd thing about us has now escalated into a much bigger level of strange. Allow me to enlighten you, dear readers. This is how my sister's note to us began:

Dear Dishes,

Thanks so much for your thoughtful gift.

She then goes on to very sweetly thank us for the graduation gift we sent her way and closes with . . .

Love,
Lauren

To me, her salutation seems perfectly normal. To you, a feeling of befuddled puzzlement has probably come over you.

You may be feeling the same thing that my mom did when she recently visited. After a few days, she asked me, "Why do you all call each other dishes?"

Answer? I don't know why.

We just. Do.

Chad and I call one another "Bebe Dish," which I know is not your average term of endearment. It doesn't sound very romantic, and its origins stem from the documentary The March of the Penguins and a scripture in The Book of Mormon that describes a sailing vessel as "tight, like unto a dish." (It's a long story. Don't ask.)

"Bebe Dish" has evolved into a slew of other terms that mean nothing to the outside world, but do mean a great deal indeed to the Reese clan.

For example, it is now also acceptable to say "Bebe Fish Dish" due to a hasty text message in which Chad forgot to change the letter "f" to a "d." In fact, my homemade Valentine's Day card for Chad this year had a construction paper goldfish leaping from a purple dish, with the words "Bebe Fish Dish" announcing that the card was his. (I can't find it anywhere, or I would post a picture.)

Similarly, while a "Bebe Dish" is a term meant to address the one you have pledged to love for all eternity, a "Dish" can be anyone, or anything, doing something cute, or whom you love.

For example, on a spring evening, if I happen to drive up my in-laws driveway to find them romantically sitting together on their porch swing, I might exclaim, "Look at those cute, little Dishes!" A translation would be, "How cute that my in-laws have been married for 30 years and still sit together like crushing teenagers!"

Or, if I see Lauren, who I love to death, coming out of her house to meet me, I might say, "Hey there, little Dish!" A translation of this would be, "Hey, you're cool, I'm happy to see you, and I'm glad we're friends!"

What if we happen across a bunch of baby deer, frolicking in a meadow? Why, the remark, "Look at all the little dishes!" might be in order.

What I love about my family is the fact that our random dialect has leaked into our everyday language. I love how silly and fun we are. We are a family of nicknames. From Bear, to Duddins, to Puddins, to Booba, to Geeze, to Juuuuuuuuuu, to adding "wick" after everyone's name (due to the fact that my husband's first name really IS Chadwick . . . I'm not joking), unique and strange terminology is nothing new. A lot of families would probably look at a couple calling each other "Bebe Dish" and wish they didn't have the same last name. Ours has embraced us.

I know you are now shaking your head, wondering how you can possibly be friends with someone who is so random, and I don't blame you. But, try saying "Bebe Dish" aloud a few times, and I promise, you can't help but smile.

And then it was Spring . . .

OK- Better late than never. Here is the Spring Break blog I started forever ago that wouldn't let me post pictures. . .

Alas, today, while I was at work, I realized an entire month has passed with no blogging. Shameful. In case you're wondering, we are now living in our house. (The stove might still be in the middle of the kitchen floor, and we may only be able to shower in one bathroom, but living in our house we are.) We managed to get in just before my parents arrived for a spring break extravaganza. (2 days before, in fact. Wow. Talk about cutting it close.) Here are the details of the spring break festivities (most of which involve the creation of new words):

There was aquarium-ing. We went to the aquarium at Atlantic Beach and had a great time. I hate zoos, but I love aquariums. There's something so soothing about the dark, cool exhibits. My favorite were the otters--I fell in love.

Like father . . .

like son . . .

Charleston-ing, which included plantation-ing. We went to Boone Plantation. Life would be pretty hard if this was your house,


this was your driveway,

and this was your yard.

The grounds were beautiful and we had a great time. It was also fun to watch The Notebook again and see all of the places we recognized from our trip.

Jared and me on the ride around the plantation.

Of course, Charleston-ing wouldn't have been complete without some longing to live there because of houses like this:


And gardens like this:

Of course, I've always loved old houses, so a town like Charleston feels like the perfect fit for me. I called Chad the day we got there and informed him that we will be living there some day. It feels old and quaint, but still has this trendy, hip feel about the entire city. I think I could grow old there. Sigh . . .

Of course, a trip to Charleston wouldn't have been complete without a bit of ghost-touring:

I'm quite sad that mom didn't get a shot of our tour guide's face, so this one of his hands will have to suffice. I was petrified by the idea of a ghost tour. I don't do well with scary movies (picture me scared to walk across a room in the dark for at least a week after viewing), and one of my main causes for rejoicing about getting married was the realization that I would never again have to go to one of those stupid haunted houses/corn mazes on a date. My imagination is WAY too active to endure those kinds of things, so the thought of a ghost tour--not so appealing. They dragged me along, and the minute I saw our tour guide, I wanted to back out. He was one of the strangest looking ducks I've ever seen. Luckily, it turned out not to be so bad. It was mostly just interesting history about the "ghosts" who haunt the city. I kept waiting for someone to jump out at us, like they do in those corn mazes (that cause me to question--how do I KNOW this is an employee of this establishment, and not some loony who wandered in here with a REAL chainsaw?) but no one did. Phew!


After enjoying the city of Charleston (complete with some of the BEST Italian cuisine I've ever tasted), it was time to do some Cypress-Gardens Touring:



These beautiful gardens were the site where Noah takes Ally for a rowboat cruise through swan-filled waters in The Notebook. Warning: If you are an animal right's activist, I would not suggest going here. You'll find yourself realizing the probability of no swans being killed during filming in these alligator-infested waters is pretty much zero to none. That's probably why there wasn't a swan in sight. Reality is never as grand as the movies. We did spot a white egret, which was a bit of a treat:

You had two options: a self-guided, free boat tour, or a paid for tour guide to row you around. We opted for the free one. Dad and Jared agreed to row us. This proved to be hysterical, and I'm pretty sure mom and I should have been doing the rowing, as we were very bad back-seat rowers. "You're not doing it right! Jared, move your oar this way! No, Dad, THAT way!" I couldn't stop laughing, and the look on the face of the other boaters as we turned in circles and attempted not to run into trees was priceless. Once they got the hang of things, it was a peaceful ride.



This creepy critter was one of the ones we spotted on our cruise:

There were also beautiful walking trails, swings where you could sit and enjoy the scenery, and lots of wild life.



After a few days in the Charleston area we were able to meet Chad for the weekend at Myrtle Beach. There's nothing like some beach time. If only it'd been warm enough to play in the water. Oh well, maybe next time.



After a great week with Dad and Jared, they had to head home. We were lucky enough to have Mom stay for an extra week. Festivities while she was here, included lots of shopping. First thing on the list: rugs. With all the hardwood in this house, our footsies are going to get pretty cold without something more plush to walk on. We managed to find some great steals at a place my sister, Lauren, found called Ollie's. The only problem, the rug I wanted was at the VERY BOTTOM of a huge pile. My sister, Meredith, was with us at the store and the employees had us in stitches. They were hilarious. Here's a photo of them retrieving my rug.


I love how Meredith is helping them roll it up while I stand there and watch. Sorry, Geeze!

Mom and I also went to do a historical house and gardens tour in New Bern with Lauren and her mom, Beth. My favorite house, which wasn't actually part of the tour, was this one:



After renovating our house for the last seven months, I swore to Chad I had moved on from my fantasy of buying an old house and fixing it up. New Bern changed my mind. I've decided I could still do it. As long as we paid someone else to do all the work! I just love the charm of old houses. Either we're going to live in an old house, or we're going to have to build a new house that looks like an old one. It's just a given.

We also took Mom, along with Chad's family, to a Kinston Indians Game, courtesy of the little bank. It was a great night for baseball and there were even some killer fireworks at the end of the night.

Even in the midst of all of the two weeks of excitement, we still had time to do fun mother-daughter stuff like rent pointless movies and watch them. It was great having my family here for a while, even though it was very hard to say goodbye.

All this reminiscing about spring break is making me long for a longer vacation. In case you were wondering, Monday is now over. 17 days until summer!!!

Unsent Letters

Dear Piggly Wiggly,

While I was angry at you for not carrying fresh basil in your produce department (because really, you're a GROCERY STORE), I have decided to forgive you. Now my husband and I have our own herb garden. At first I was depressed, and wallowed in self-pity for a bit about living in a small town that doesn't believe we need fresh basil, but now I realize this is so much better anyway. I'm sorry for getting so upset, and I still like saying your name.

Sincerely,
A Forgiving Shopper


Dear Students,

I realize that summer vacation is calling your name. What I don't think you realize is that it is also calling mine. Let's hang in there together. Only 18 school days left!

Love,
Your Tired Teacher


Dear Joycious and Brucious,

Thank you for watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with me. While it was long, and slightly (OK, severely) depressing, I still enjoyed spending the evening with you. Thanks for being my family.

Love,
Katiewick (your daughter-in-law)


Dear Stove,

Wow. You are still in the middle of my kitchen. What's up with that?

Sincerely,
Disgruntled Cook


Dear Handyman,

I don't understand why you won't return my phone calls. Where did I go wrong? I always paid you on time. I know I asked you not to smoke in my house, but you seemed OK with that. Also, I loved your country accent, your friendly demeanor, and you are great at what you do. Who am I going to get to fix my counter top so I can move the stove out of the middle of my kitchen?

Yours Truly,
Out on a Limb


Dear Mom,

I miss you. Wish you could come visit again, or that I could come party with you, Arianne, and Anya. Don't go into too many shoe stores without me!

Love,
Your Daughter

Dear Sunshine,

You made my day delightful today. I wish I would have had more time to bask in your divinity, but I was teaching adolescents for most of the day. Only 18 more days, and I think we might be spending some more quality time together. =-)

Yours Truly,
An Albino who Longs for a Tan

Dear Krispy Kreme,

Can you ever forgive me? All those times I said I wasn't a doughnut lover, that I didn't like you, that the "hot" sign was not a temptation for me. Lies. All of it was lies. One American Cancer Society fundraiser at my high school convinced me that I could quite easily devour half a box of your glazed goodness. Stepping on the scale today has convinced me that it's time to hit the treadmill as a penance, but I think it was worth it.

Sincerely,
A Repentant Taster

Dear 17 Research Papers Waiting to be Graded,

I hope you're not crap. I really, really hope you are not crap. Not that I'm expecting the worst.

Sincerely,
A Reluctant Reader

Dear 12:49 a.m.,

What am I doing up?!?! It is most definitely time to go to bed!

Love,
Someone Who Has Too Much to Do to Sleep in Tomorrow!