Not in MY house!!!

Brandon and I don't have caller I.D., so sometimes we take our chances and answer the phone; other times we let the answering machine get it. This time I took my chances.

Brandon gets a lot of telemarketing calls. My pet peeve is when the call, not having practiced our last name, or even looking at it before they call us, and they ask for "Brandon White" or "Brandon Willet." I respond by telling them they have the wrong number. Well, they do. This is the WILHITE residence. (I even answer the phone by saying, "Hello, Wilhites."!!!)

If the telemarketer does, per chance, get our name right and ask for Brandon, I always say, "He is unavailable at this time. Could I take a message?" (This is not a lie. He is NOT available to talk to telemarketers...I have thought about this response. I don't want to lie and say "he is not here." One of these days we will have kids in this house and I don't want them to hear me say that their daddy is not here, when clearly he is sitting in his favorite chair, reading them a story!!) Most of the time there is no message, or they say they will call back. (Oh goody!!)

Well, yesterday was the most surprising call yet.

The phone rang and I decided to take my chances. Here is the conversation:

SW: Hello, Wilhites'.

Telemarketer (TM): Yes, uhh... could I speak with.. uhm Mr. Brandon. (What the heck? MR. BRANDON?? I thought...)

SW: I am sorry; he is unavailable right now. Could I take a message?

TM: Is this Mrs. Wilhite? (OK, so SHE, yes, SHE got it right... Wilhite. Good for her. You'll see why SHE is important... Read on...)

SW: This is Stacey. How can I help you?

TM: Yes, this is Kari (or some such girlie name, I don't remember due to my shock with her next line...) from GIRLS GONE WILD. We have a survey and sample video that we would like to send you...(WHAT THE HELL???)

Immediately I interrupted her.

SW: Excuse me! We want NOTHING to do with GIRLS GONE WILD!! Thank you very much!!!

TM: (in a sheepish, almost embarrassed tone) Oh, I am so sorry. Thank you for your time.

We both hung up.

THE NERVE!!! I stomped around the house and kept saying, "NOT IN MY HOUSE!! SATAN WILL NOT BRING THAT TRASH IN HERE!!" I turned to Brandon and explained that I had just fought for my man and for our marriage!!!

I later joked that the economy is bad, and we must be in a recession. Girls Gone Wild has to do cold, telemarketing calling!! Oh my!!



.

Houston, we have a problem...

Well, it was short lived.

We are taking Ziva back to her foster family today. This whole decision of sending her back would be much easier if she were a bad dog, but she is not; she is just not interested in us, and is very distant and stand-offish. She's skittish, a bit fearful and doesn't seem to want to hang around us. We expected her to be more engaging and stay close to us. We've been told (only after the fact) that it can take some Greys weeks or months to bond with their new owners. (Huh? Nobody told me that... Everything I have read says that they can have separation anxiety and that they want to be close to you and with their owners) Now I am learning that they are more cat-like in their personalities, some are engaging while others could care less and would rather be left alone, the list goes on. I think that several factors have come together to bring us to this decision. The fact that she is so distant and has no interest in us except to accommodate her basic needs; she is nervous and a bit high maintenance; maybe we are not ready for a dog... and maybe we always THOUGHT we wanted a greyhound, but in reality it's not the breed for us... This has been one of the hardest decisions we've made in quite a while. A hard lesson to learn, the hard way.........

Ziva Came Home!

Tilly had no idea that her world was getting ready to crash down around her!!

This is Ziva Dora Rhenn. Ziva means radiant and beautiful (And we are fans of Ziva David on NCIS...we love that show!!); Dora is an Elven name from somewhere in the Tolkein worlds; and Rhenn is from the Elven Valley of Rhenn from the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. Ziva now lives with us! We live with a dog!

Here is Ziva (zee-vah) lounging.
Greyhounds really are 45 mile per hour couch potatoes!

At first we were keeping Ziva in the front of the house, so the cats would feel safe. Mareth has done great with the whole change; infact, she could care less. Tilly, on the other hand, was a bit explosive at first, and scared Ziva! Tilly has done better, but there is still a major adjustment period going on... for all of us!!

This is now her spot! We think that she is a bit sad and missing her foster sisters and family... and is still not sure who we are ... But, I think she will come out of it as we walk her and travel with her. She really is beautiful, and I will try to get more pics up of her face... She has been wonderful about going outside to potty!.. and overall... she is doing well!!

Me on the other hand... Well, I did not sleep at all last night. With this new animal in the house, then sounds, the concerns (Is she going to potty in her crate?... which she did NOT!) So, I tossed and turned and checked on her. I asked myself, "Stacey, if you are this anxious about a new dog in your house... what are you going to be like when you have new babies lying in a crib??" I realized that my nights of complete, fully restful, undisturbed nights of sleep are slowly coming to an end... ha! Anyway, I am adjusting too. Brandon and Mareth are even keels!! =]

Ziva is a swetie. I am so glad that she has now found her "forever home." She was a good racer, then bounced around from home to home. We will make this work because she needs family, stability and consistency.

Welcome home Ziva Dora!!!

For Margo.

Margo!!
What a sweet friend! I received these gorgeous
prints and a card from you during my birthday week!
Thank you soooo much for thinking about me
and being my friend!!
Love you much!!
Stacey

Hound Happy!! Dog-gone-it!!

We plan to go to another Meet & Greet in Knoxville on Saturday the 12th... and if all goes well, we should have our new greyhound by that evening. We are planning to adopt "Sassy", a black and white greyhound. I am very very very excited and have been busy with details, buying food, crate, etc. She is a former racer and has been in domestic life for a year. She is cat, kid and small dog friendly. She is only about 50 lbs or a little more and considered a small greyhound. We have wanted a greyhound for about 4 or 5 years and are looking forward to bringing her home!! I'll keep everyone posted!!

January 2008

January 2008 already. Hard to believe that we moved down here in May of 2007. Time has flown!!

For us, our new year begins on June 9th, which is our anniversary. We have both lived and worked in the education world where the academic calendar goes from August to May or June... (Yes, July doesn't count...ha!). Perhaps that is why it is more natural for us to feel like our year ends in June and begins there after. Therefore, January does not really feel like the new year to me... perhaps, also, because our life together began in June, and by celebrating our anniversary, we are also celebrating a new year together. Yes, I know. Rather odd. But, this is coming from the third shift house wife who makes lunch at 4 a.m. and is enjoying being a total recluse! So, odd is relevant, I suppose. And, starting a new year in June is par for us!

We received our first snow last night. About an inch. And it's January!! No snow until January here! Ahhh... yes, I love it!! I forgot how mild the winters are here. I've been up north for 6 years, and have grown accustomed to the cold, snow, and frigid winds... Not so much here..
It's suppose to be 61 degrees on Tuesday (Jan 8, my birthday!!) next week!! Sounds good to me. I was planning on going out today and getting a few items... but, since it's cold... I'll wait 'til it warms up! ha!

I am still very much enjoying being home. I am enjoying being the Domestic Engineer and Quarter Master of the Wilhite Household!! AND, I really enjoy cooking!! I've watched the Food Network over the holidays and can't seem to get enough of it. I like variety in what we eat, although we have favorites that I fix often, like boneless hot wings or variations of that. (This week I'll be working on a buffalo chicken bake served on French bread. Yummo!)

I appreciate all of you who browse my blog to keep up with us! I have heard from some of you!! Keep that fan mail coming! ha!