Animal Lovers

Ok, I've already gone on and on about our dog, Smudge, and our new kitty and how much we love them. BUT...today we were at the mall and saw such a GORGEOUS dog called a Bernese Mountain dog that we fell in love with. This is Jake's "dream dog," and he wants her sooo badly, and heck, I wouldn't mind either because she is a sweetheart! The only deal is that we already have a dog and a cat, and this new dog is only 4 months old and already 40 lbs! That's right, folks, she's going to be HUGE, about 100 lbs!! Is that worth it for puppy love?! We both love animals so much, but my question is...are we insane??? :)

New Addition

We have a new addition to our family...a kitten! We got it last Sunday, so we've officially had the little guy for a week now. As you know, I'm a sucker for animals, especially ones that need homes. If I could, I'd take them all in and love them like their big, human mama! So another teacher at my work came into the lunch room last Thursday asking if anyone wanted a kitten because his daughter's best friend's family was foreclosing in their house and needed to find it a home. Without hesitation, I raised my hand and shouted, "I do!" So I came home and told Jake, who loves animals just as much as me (good thing because any man who married me HAS to LOVE animals since I do so much), and he was thrilled too! At first, the kitty wasn't too fond of Smudge, our puppy, and he would hiss his heart out, which scared me to death because I thought kitty was going to claw out my eyes and any other exposed flesh, and Smudge just wanted to play her little heart out, so I was horrified that my 2 pets would be arch enemies forever. HOWEVER...after 3 days of hissing and barking, they are now best friends and play the day away rolling around on the ground and licking each other to death. Our kitty is adorable too; he's orange and white striped with BLUE eyes! We are still debating on a name, so feel free to help us, here are our choices... Oliver (like the cat in Disney's "Oliver & Company"), Raja (like the tiger in "Aladdin" and my favorite Suns player, Raja Bell, which is our last name too!), OR Meowzer (which is my particular favorite because it's funny!

What do you think???

More House Pics

Nuestra Casa

Here are a few pictures...

Today's Headine:

HOUSEWARMING PARTY A SUCCESS!!-- Our housewarming party was perfect yesterday! Thank you to everyone who was able to come and enjoy in the fun! (p.s. the food turned out great too, and there was plenty of it!) We had an awesome turn out of about 50-60 people, and I regret to say I only got one picture of the food table, and even though I wanted to take lots of pictures of all the guests and the house, I was too busy talking, giving tours, and entertaining to even remember! It turned out wonderfully, though, and I'm glad we could have so many of our friends and family come to see our home! You're always welcome anytime!

You Know You're From the HOOD When...

I'm a teacher at a juvenile jail. That should speak volumes to what my days are like. However, I love it. A lot. I've never been one for conformity, so I definitely understand my students, except the whole law breaking part. But their mentality is completely in my realm of comprehension. Good thing I had amazing parents growing up and a support system in the church and friends.

Anyhow, I teach 6 periods a day: 4 classes of language arts, and 2 classes of ELL, for the kids who don't speak English. Call me horrible, but I definitely have a favorite class, and I tell them that all of the time. They are my 3rd period language arts class of 16 and 17 year old boys. Not only are they smart and fun, but they crack me up so much, and they are responsible enough in class so that we can have a ball while still learning it up! Though they are straight from the hood, they tell me I'm the toughest white girl they know, and we get along great and have an amazing amount of mutual respect. The point of this is that this class, my favorite group, is the reason I am going to make it big and become a millionaire. They gave me the idea for my up and coming book!

Today in class, as they told me stories of how many of them had been chased by dogs in their neighborhoods, I replied that in all of my life, I have never once been chased by a dog. To that, they responded that this was an obvious indication that I didn't grow up in the hood. From there, as a class, we came up with countless indications of how to know when someone grew up in the hood. It was not only fun and entertaining, but it was actually a very healthy bonding experience for others so they could see their similarities and later discuss how they didn't want this same lifestyle for their future family and children. So much good actually came of this discussion. Here are some other hysterical anecdotes...

YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM THE HOOD WHEN...
--You're mom waking you up in the middle of night isn't to tuck you in but to push you under the bed to protect you from oncoming bullets.
--You turn on the light on the kitchen, wait for the floor to scatter, and then walk in to do your thing.
--You use a t-shirt to dry off with after a shower because towels are a luxury you don't have.
--You drink kool-aid with every meal, and when there isn't any left, you resort to just plain sugar water.
--You sleep in a bed with 6 other people all in your grandma's room.
--You call it a whoopin' and not spanking.
--Every other type of bread is just nasty, foreign food unless its bleached, starchy, fake, white bread.
--You know the homeless guy on the corner by name.
--You wash your favorite shirt in the sink or tub so you can wear it Friday night, and wearing it out wet is completely acceptable.
--You brush the roach off your food first, and then proceed to eat it.
--Hot cheetos are your favorite food.
--Your idea of a water park is playing with the hose or swimming in the canal.
--Wearing the wrong color could be signing your death warrant.
--There are more liquor stores than schools.
--Somehow, everyone you know is a cousin or relative.

Haha, these are only a few that I can remember, but I plan on having them write down as many as they can and compiling a complete book of these crazy, comical realities! Listening to these kids makes me realize how middle class that I really am and only confirms the viable separation and class system evident within the U.S. But only through understanding these differences and the gap between us, can we truly accomplish change and bridge the gap to equality. Thank you, jail kids, for opening my mind and eyes to a new world and for giving me a good laugh and making me happy everyday!

Much love, MEK (AKA Mrs. R&B)

Survey Time!

(**This is Mekell, btw)**
1. What time did you get up this morning? Anytime is too early for me, I hate waking up no matter the hour, especially when I'm cozy and warm, but today it was about 9am. Hey man, it's the weekend!
2. Diamonds or pearls? I wear both, although most of mine are fake except my wedding ring, but I prefer sparkly things, so I'd have to go with diamonds.
3. What was the last film you saw @ the cinema? House Bunny. Stupid but funny.
4. What do you usually have for breakfast? Cold Cereal. I love it, the more sugary the better.
5. What is your favorite TV show?? The Office
6. What is your middle name? Emelie (It was my Nana's name, and I want it to be my future daugher's middle name, as well.)
7. What foods do you dislike? Pig, ugh, nast fest. There are many others, but that first came to mind.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? When I love a cd, I listen to it repeatedly for years. Those 2 cds are Colbie Calliat and Kelly Clarkson, and I sing my guts out to them.
9. What kind of car do you drive? White Toyota Corolla Sport baby!!
10. Favorite Sandwich? As of late, some good, whole wheat bread with turkey, miracle whip, and mustard.
11. What characteristic do you despise? Two-facedness. I may have just created a new word.
12. Favorite item of clothing? This is hard for me becuase my fetish in life is clothing and accessories. But everyday when I get home from work, I always change into flannel pajama pants, so probably those. And uggs. So comfy!
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation: Where would you go ? Everywhere. But right now, Mediterranean cruise, esp Spain. One day I will go everywhere, though.
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Banana R. and Target. For me it doesn't matter as much where I got the clothes but how they look.
15. What was the last thing you bought? Fuel (I like calling it that more than gas.)
16. What was your most recent memorable day? Everyday is memorable with my lover, Jake, but this Thursday was the best because we both played hookie and called in sick and spent the day together. Crap, I hope my boss isn't reading this!
17. Favorite sports to watch? In person-volleyball and basketball. On tv-swimming.
18. Your birthday? 1-11-83
19. Are you a morning or evening person? Like I said, not a fan of the mornings, so evenings for sure.
20 What is your shoe size? 10. You know what they say, the bigger the shoe size, the bigger the brain.
21. Pets? Smudge, our sassy puppy who I love like my baby daughter, but one day, my dream is to have a huge yard with tons of pets because I loooove them!
22. What did you want to be when you were little? Dolphin trainer at Sea World. Yep, I still have that dream.
23. Any new and exciting news you would like to share with everyone? We just bought a beautiful home!
24. How do you feel today? This morning and afternoon-fancy (because I was in swanky Scottsdale dressed up eating and shopping with the girls). Right now-comfy (because I'm at home in my pj's making dinner and snuggling with Jake and Smudge!)
25. What is your favorite candy? How does one choose?? I love it all. I'm the girl who puts marshmallows in her oatmeal and eats red vines for breakfast! But I LOVE fudge the most. (Does that count as candy??)
26. What is your favorite flower? Bright, big gerber daisies!
27. What is the day on the calendar you're looking forward to? Christmas because it will be our first one as a married couple in our new house (and because it means 2 weeks off of work for school!)
28. What is your full name? Mekell Emelie Reuter-Bell
29. What are you listening to right now? Jake installing our celing fan.
30. What was the last thing you ate? Diet Dr. Pepper!!
31. Do you wish on stars? Of course!
32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Something neon, probably yellow, orange, or hot pink. But definitely neon, and definitely a warm color.
33. How is the weather right now? Perfecto! 75 degrees and lovely. This is why we live in PHX!!
34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Mom
35. favorite soft drink ? Diet Pepsi
36. favorite Restaurant? Pita Jungle
37. Hair Color? Brunette and proud!
38. What was your favorite toy as a child? A spoon, a cup of water, and my dad's hat because I was a famous archeologist digging for dinosaur bones!
39. Summer or Winter? Summer, I love the sun and warm weather and despise being cold. I could sit in my car with the windows rolled up with no a/c and love it.
40. Hugs or kisses? Both, please. Simultaneously. From Jake. Mmmmm.
41. Chocolate or Vanilla? DARK chocolate - has to be dark. I second that motion, Keisa, any other kind isn't worth my time.
42. Coffee or Tea? Coffee, if I drank either, but the sugary, delicious, chocolately kind.
43. When was the last time you cried? At the Phx Children's Hospital Memorial for all the children who have passed away. I went for my neice, Eden, and it was amazingly uplifting, but so emotional.
44. What is under your bed? Nothing that I know of, unless Smudge hid a toy or bone there.
45. Salty or Sweet? Sweet, duh.
46. How many keys on your key ring? Bazillions.
47. How many years @ your current job? 2 and 1/2 years almost.
49. How many towns have you lived in? 3, Tempe, Flagstaff, and Phoenix (not counting my mission. 6 counting my mission.
50. Do you make friends easily? Yep, I love people and talking.

Smudge.

It just dawned on me that we need to put pictures up of our baby!!! Smudge is our adorable, feisty, and loving pomeranian puppy that I bought last year on December 7th. She is, by all counts, my baby, and for awhile, I called myself a single mom before Jake and I got married! She is the apple of our eye, and for now, she is satisfying our need for a baby. In fact, I think puppies are great training for babies. You love them so much, but you have to clean up their poop, and they wake you up 3 times a night with their crying.

Our little girl, although sweet, is also sometimes a holy terror, running with the end of the toilet paper all throughout the house, stealing any sock she can find, and sometimes getting that naughty look in her eyes as she does things just because she knows they make me mad. However, she is the best dog ever because she is so playful, and she would play fetch all day long if possible, she loves anything alive, kissing to death any human that will let her and playing her heart out with any other animal she meets, and the best part is when she nuzzles her little head into your neck and sleeps, just like right now how she's laying on my cold feet, warming them up.

You may think I'm one of those crazies who loves animals more than people and treats her pets like a person, which may be true, especially since I call her my baby and have like 6 outfits I dress her in, but I love my puppy so much; she makes our little family complete!

Election.

So I'm lucky because the guy I wanted to win, won. However, I think it's horrible how many people are still bad mouthing our president elect. Though he may not have been their choice, and they may not even like him, grow up, people, we are all Americans, and in that, we all share a common ground, one that should bring us together and keep us hopeful for the coming months and years. Let us not forget the mantra that lives in courtrooms all across the country, innocent until proven guilty. Give our president elect the chance to prove himself, please, before already counting the next 4 years as a bust without even having lived them yet. I think this is unconscionable and pure ignorance where it happens, and we as Americans shouldn't stand for it, no matter whom we voted for.

Foodies Wanted:

Hi, I have a question. I know there are a lot of foodies out there, so maybe you can help me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE food, but the whole cooking and creating thing is something I'm still trying to develop. So we're having a house warming party in 3 weeks (that you're all invited too, btw), but I need some good ideas for some munchies and appetizers to make and what kind of menu would be good. Any ideas????

HaLlOwEeN!!

Here are some pictures we have from our fun Halloween last night! I was a gangsta girl (or one of my students:) and Jake was the Joker (it was so fun putting makeup on him:)!

African Baby

We thought we'd try something fun today...making a baby! (Not what you're thinking:) So we put pictures of our faces into this website program that took our features and showed us what our children would look like. The funny thing was, the boys looked hideous, and the girls looked Mexican, which is odd, seeing how we're both white. Anyhow, the option came up to make our babies appear African with our features, and it turns out that we make much better looking black babies than white babies! This is perfect for me because I've always wanted an African baby. I'll cross my fingers when the real one comes!

Baby Bell!

What do you think about my little new baby Baby Bell?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?