So hard to say good-bye

Yesterday was a very bittersweet day. We were celebrating Father's Day which was a lot of fun, especially since it was Mike's first. But it was also a very sad day because we had to say goodbye to our Pudgey Bear. Pudge has been a part of our lives for the past 16 years and he has given us a million & one wonderful memories and smiles. He is the BEST dog in the world & he will NEVER be forgotten; no other dog could ever replace Pudge since he is one of a kind. Pudge will be going to Heaven today where he will again be a young puppy, able to run around and tear up paper like he has always loved to do. I know he'll be watching down on our family, knowing that he will always be in our hearts and memories. It was so heartbreaking to say goodbye for the last time, but we all knew that this was the right thing to do. We know that he'll be making many people happy in Heaven & he'll be sitting beside my grandpa like he always used to. I love you so much Pudge!

I know Cameron won't remember you but we will all share your stories and pictures with him. Our hearts are broken right now, but we are happy that you will be in a better place with no pain or discomfort. Tears stream down my face as I write this, but my heart is at peace knowing that we gave you the best life you could have been given & you gave us so much happiness and love in return. Goodbye for now, Pudge, we love you with all our hearts.


Last chance to cuddle


We will miss you SO much


The brothers & sisters


Love you, Pudgey Bear!

Life on the couch!

As I walked the halls at work on Tuesday, my throat began to feel a little scratchy. By Wednesday, I felt like I was in a fog & BAM! by Thursday, I felt like I was living underwater. I could barely hear anything & the pressure in my head made it feel as if I had far too much to drink the night before. It was the worse hangover I have experienced with no alcohol involved! It was difficult to get through work yesterday, so I left early & told my boss there was no way I would be able to come in today. I flopped onto the couch as soon as I got home & didn't move until I went to bed, only to sleep for 12 hours.

No one wants to be sick, but it seems to be especially difficult for me since I cannot stand to slow down & let things go. If the house isn't in perfect order, neither is my brain! However, yesterday was so bad that I could have cared less if the walls were falling down around me. Thankfully I'm feeling a bit better today. Not great, but tolerable. I have planted myself, once again, on the couch where I am surrounded by pillows, my book, the remote, laptop, pets, tissues, vapo rub, & my blanket. Pretty soon, I'm bound to develop a pressure ulcer!

I'm just hoping that I do NOT pass this sickness to Mike or Cam! Granted, I'm quite positive I got it from Cam & his sick hole of a day care, but I do not want to pass it back to him. Let the cycle stop here!!!!


My nose is going to fall off soon!


Book? Check! Tea? Check! Blanket? Check! Cat? Uh, check?

Relationships + baby = challenge!

It's my opinion that a marriage always needs TLC in order to stay successful. It's very easy to fall into a monotonous routine where you slowly begin to drift apart before you even noticed a problem. Put a baby into the mix & it's that much easier to fall apart. Some people may be fooled into thinking that a baby will bring an already troubled relationship together when it will actually do the opposite. I feel lucky knowing that our relationship was strong when Cam entered this world. Having a baby instantly spins your life in a whole new direction & sleepless night, after sleepless night causes your priorities to shift. I personally went into survival mode when Cameron came along; taking a shower & getting dressed would equate to a successful day. Sexy is the LAST thought that came to mind after Cam was born; swollen, leaky boobs anyone? Ripped up who-ha after pushing out a baby whose head circumference happens to be in the 98th percentile? Stay far, far away, hubby!

Now that I'm back to work full-time, it's definitely a challenge to live up to my almost impossible standards. By the time Mike & I get home, it's a mad rush to get Cam fed, bathed, spend time playing, etc, etc, etc. By the time the dust settles, it leaves very little downtime for the two of us to connect. Not to mention that we both like to do separate things to wind down; I'm a reader or I watch my own shows, Mike likes the internet, X-box & shows I'm just not into. Before I know it, Thursday rolls around when I realize that we haven't spend any quality time together.

One of the many baby books I have read is Babywise & I completely agree with their philosophy that "great marriages create great parents." Not only marriages, but also other relationships; the fact that I'm now a mom doesn't mean I'm no longer a friend, daughter, career-woman, etc! I have always vowed to keep my own identity after having children & so far I think I'm doing a decent job of it. Not to say that I don't struggle with guilt or question myself on a daily basis; am I ever doing enough?? Will I ever be completely satisfied?

Way too fast!

These days it seems that time is slipping by too quickly & Cameron is growing up too fast. I remember the first couple months of his life, wishing he would be a bit older so we could interact with him more & he would sleep better. Happily, I can report that he is sleeping like a champ; 10-12 hours per night vs. 2-3 hour stretches. And as far as interacting? The kid is freakin hilarious! Who ever knew someone so small could make me laugh so hard. It literally amazes me that a baby so young could have SUCH a personality.

It seems that each day Cam comes home from day care, he looks bigger & seems to be able to do that much more. His 2 bottom teeth are fully in & his top two are really coming along. He's able to move from one end of the room to the other in no time at all & anything that is NOT a toy is his favorite thing. As soon as Grammy Pernecky comes in, we can fully focus on getting the house baby-proofed.

I'm trying my best to savor each moment I spend with Cam & enjoy each stage of his development. Being Cam's mom is the most incredible blessing I could have been given in the entire world & I thank God for him everyday.

Poker night at the NEW Green house!

Saturday, 6/6, we spend the evening at the Green's beautiful new house playing poker. I asked Mike to take some pictures since my chair was blocked in. Here's the extent of the pictures he decided to take. This is why I'm in charge of the camera. Zero pictures of the new house!


Me & Cakey Kelly; isn't she so cute?!


Clearly Mike was fascinated with the mini hot dogs Lauren served!


My point exactly!


It's the Cakies! How sweet!


Some bubbly? Yes, please!

Please, please, please, just take my money!

I started my lunch break today by deciding it was time to order my bridesmaid's dress for my sister's wedding this October. I figured that it would take all of five minutes to do, leaving me with 40 minutes to spend of the rest of my break doing something that didn't frustrate the crap out of me. Wrong. I should never assume good service.

My sister purchased her wedding dress from David's Bridal & has chosen the bridesmaids to also order dresses from there. One would assume that the sales girl would type in my sister's name & would have all the necessary info in front of her eyes, needing only my size & credit card number. Nope. First I get put on hold for ten minutes & proceed to hang up and call back 5 more times only to hear an automated message say, "no one is here to take your call, please try back later." Uh, hello?! How many customers could possibly be in a bridal shop on a Tuesday at 2pm?

FINALLY I get through only to be told that, "like, I'm so sorry, but there were like so many customers in line & I'm like the only one at the register!" I give her my sister's name, she tells me she has no record of her in their system. Big surprise. After spelling the last name 3 more times, poof, there it is. "No, we have no information here regarding which bridesmaid's dresses were chosen." Later I come to find that 3 previous bridesmaids called, had the same issues & asked them to please save the dress info for future use. So, I double check the details of the dress with my sister who is on vacation in Asheville, NC & call David's Bridal back, only to be told that there are no available computers & she needs to call me back.

To make a long story somewhat shorter, I spent my ENTIRE lunch break trying to get a dress ordered. Something that literally should not have taken more than two minutes total.

My point being, you would think in tough economic times, there would be a greater emphasis on customer service, but in many cases, I haven't seen that. My question to you is, have you noticed that places are or are not putting added effort into satisfying you as a customer?

Oh, the agony of it all!

I have had issues with back pain since I was probably ten years old, if not longer. Well, lately my sciatica has been flaring up like a mo-fo & it's really making me crazy! The pain starts in my buttocks (yes, I just used the word buttocks) & radiates all the way down my hamstring & around my shin. Right now it's in my right leg but it likes to flip flop back and forth.

I've been taking Advil like it's candy, so I'll be expecting a stomach ulcer sooner rather than later. Good times, good times! Lugging 20+ pound Cameron around has certainly not helped. And the kid isn't even old enough to give his old mom a back rub! Speaking of, if he doesn't start pulling his weight around here, we're going to have some words. I mean, give me a break, he's almost 9 months old & he hasn't lifted a finger around the house. Oh well, I guess we'll keep him!

So, I'm just lounging on the couch after a rather hellish day at work, thinking about the 4 days I still have ahead of me & wanting to shove a knife into my butt cheek. Pleasant thought, no?! Ha! Well, here's to hoping I make it through the week & hoping you are all having a fabulous week yourselves! Cheers!

Stop calling my name!!

I like to think that I have a decent amount of willpower in resisting foods that I know I shouldn't be consuming. BUT, there is one item that should NEVER be in my refrigerator & that would be cookie dough that is stored in a tub. We recently finished baking chocolate chip cookies in a tub for my birthday party, but I probably ate a quarter of the tub first! Once it was finished off, I thought I was in the clear. Well, I thought wrong! My wonderful husband decided to buy peanut butter cookie dough from a girl selling it door-to-door! Nooooo! I told myself, "stay cool, Allison, you're a strong person. You can fight through this!"

Wrong again. There I would sit on the couch, reading or surfing the internet, when BAM, I would remember the cookie dough in the fridge. And so my mental battle would begin! "Seriously, you do not need to be eating cookie dough." "You want to lose a few pounds and that will not help." "You'll only feel bad about yourself & regret it afterward." And what would I do? I would flick the little angel that was perched on my right shoulder straight to the floor & walk to the fridge with the devil on my left shoulder celebrating his victory! So, Mike, if you're reading this, NEVER AGAIN BUY COOKIE DOUGH! Unless you're cool with having a 200 pound wife, that is.

My question is? Do any of you have a particular food that you know you should never purchase because you can't resist?


Innocent looking, huh? Don't be fooled!


And so I lose the mental battle again!

Technology. To love it or hate it?

In being a dietitian, it has always been my philosophy that everything in moderation is fine. That being said, I personally feel the same way about technology. I feel that technology is a fantastic, necessary thing that has helped our society progress in a million positive ways. Working in the health care industry shows me that every day. It also allows us to stay connected with those who live distances from us by e-mailing, posting pictures, reading blogs, etc, etc, etc.

However, at the same time, there are days when I want to smash technology into a million pieces. I want to take a baseball bat, pull Mike's cellphone out of his hand & take every single aggression I have out on that innocent looking phone. Sometimes I feel that his cellphone has been surgically attached to his hands, his eyes have been glued to the screen & his brain has been sucked into the device. In December of 2006, we took a trip to Asheville, NC & it was probably the best long weekend I have ever spent. Reason being, we were in the mountains with NO TECHNOLOGY! It was fantastic! I would look at Mike & he was actually looking at me! I would speak to Mike & he was actually listening to me! It was wondrous!

The purpose of this post is not to give Mike the title of "Neglectful Husband Of The Year" award; it's simply to vent my frustrations & make a point that technology in excess basically sucks! It distracts us from the people we're in the presence of & puts the focus on people or things that really don't even matter. There are times that I'm online & Mike is talking to me & I know in my heart that I'm not giving him the attention he deserves; I'm not perfect either.

Think about it, if you're giving your computer or cellphone more attention than a loved one you're spending time with, it is time to scale back. Let's get back to simplicity, to the days when there was no such thing as television or computers. I'm not saying we should revert back to the dark ages, but we should take some time to TURN OFF ALL THE NOISE, talk or play a board game & focus on one another. Really listen. Nothing is worse than trying to get a load off your shoulders & receiving an "uh huh" in response.

To all those out there, technology; love it or hate it?


Of course I have time for your call!


What, Allison? Were you saying something? Ha, ha, ha, just got the funniest text about blah, blah, freakin blah!

"Going Green." Just do it & shut up already!

In watching an episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8, it reminded me of just how overused the term "going green" is. Being environmentally friendly is our duty as people living on this Earth, yet somehow it's become more of a trendy thing. In this particular episode, Jon & Kate happened to be getting solar panels installed on their roof & I swear, if I heard Kate utter those 2 words one more time, I was going to regurgitate my dinner. Yes, if I was paid oodles of money to have my life filmed & things were given to me for free, I could be much more "green" (gag) than I am now. It also seems that the people on tv & in magazines who talk about being green are the ones getting on their private jets for a date night in another city or hopping from plane to plane to promote a book. Being good to our environment is not something we should be bragging about, it should be something we just do. I recycle, keep my water use to a minimum, turn off unnecessary lights, use energy efficient light bulbs, etc, etc & I do not expect a pat on the back for it.

In subscribing to Domino magazine, I often read about "green" homes. It takes a whole lotta cash to really make your home environmentally friendly. I personally do not have the funds to replace my fully functioning appliances with energy efficient versions. Nor can I trade in my car for a hybrid. But, I can do the things within my means to treat Mother Earth with respect. We are given one planet to live on & we should treat it well, gosh darn it! No one thanks us for washing our hands after using the facilities, do they?! Nope. That's because it's expected of us, just as keeping our Earth clean should be.

So to all of you out there, try & find something in your life that you can do to make a difference. Even if it's just turning the water off while brushing your teeth. Our goal, in the Perno household is to seal any gaps in the doors/windows to prevent cool air from escaping. We also plan on having the energy company assess our house which will benefit our wallets & our Earth. My personal goal is to stop using Styrofoam cups for water at work.

I would love to hear less talk & see more action so please be nice to our planet & then shut the hell up about it! Peace out, homies!