What would YOU do??

I have a dilemma. One that involves animals and angry neighbors.

The animal is not mine.

The angry neighbor? Well, that would be me.

We live in house where our backyard backs up to several other backyards, and many of the residents in our neighborhood own dogs. That's fine, so do we. However, over the last few weeks one of these backyard neighbors has chosen to let their dog out at all hours of the night. Still, this is not the problem.

The problem arrives when I am awakened from a dead sleep because of this barking dog. This has been happening nearly EVERY NIGHT for the past THREE WEEKS!!! Now, I understand that a dog barks, and it's cold outside so this dog probably isn't thrilled at being thrown out in the cold. But, is it necessary to let your dog out for 10-15 minutes, while they are BARKING THE WHOLE TIME???? And at 3:00 IN THE FREAKING MORNING???? Does it not occur to you that this might DISTURB THE NEIGHBORS??? (The ALL CAPS are necessary to accurately convey my thoughts as I lay in bed, having been awakened ONCE AGAIN by the incessant barking).

So, last night as I lay awake at 4:30, I came up with these options:

1. Send Mike out in the cold to yell at the dog. I'll take my turn in the summer. (Mike didn't take too kindly to this idea.)

2. Open my window and yell at the dog, and hope the neighbors will hear. (I nearly did this last night, and I may go that route tonight....it just makes me feel like a scene out of a movie.)

3. Call animal control.

4. Talk to the neighbors. This would seem like the most adult way to handle things, but we don't actually know these people, and their backyard is actually several down from ours, so we're not directly connected to them. Besides, at 3:00 in the morning, all reasonable, sensible, mature options seem to fly right out the window.

5. Stand out in the backyard and start barking too.

Alright, my friends. Thoughts and opinions are not only very much appreciated, they are needed. The battle of Hoss v. Dog has begun!

The year so far, in point by point fashion...

*I'm cold and sick of winter already. I just read this morning that we are about to have the coldest weather since 2004, and I'm ready to move to someplace sunny. We haven't had our usual Omaha winter thaw, and I've missed it.

*However, as a matter of perspective, I read a few mornings ago that there was snow in Baghdad for the first time in decades. People were smiling, laughing, gleeful at the sight of snow. They called each other and woke friends and family up to see this thing they had only heard about. In a war zone, a moment of joy, brought on by snow.

*But I'm still sick of winter.

*We cleaned Leah's toy room on Saturday. I have before pics, but I won't post them until I can post beautiful after pics as well. I'm still working on it. But the toy fairy had thrown up in our house and something needed to be done. 2 1/2 garbage bags later we still have a lot of toys, but they are much more accessible and organized. Now I just have to teach Leah to keep it that way!

*We realized last night that pre-registration for area preschools begins now or soon. So I put a call in to our neighborhood church's preschool to visit it. Leah is very excited at the thought. Me, not so much.

*Our wine club met again for the month of January, and we had a lot of fun. Our theme this month was funky labels, and there were some doozies. It's a fun group, and over time I think friendships will develop. We host in March, with the theme "wines that go well with chocolate". I suppose I'm going to have to buy and sample all sorts of chocolate between now and then. *Sigh* the things I do for this group!

*Many of you sent us Christmas letters. Thank you. I apologize that none were sent out from the Hostetler house this year. However, I'm still kicking around the idea of sending Valentine cards out instead, so don't give up on me yet!

*We have discovered something new: Skype!. We are using it to talk with family over the computer, complete with video. And it's free if both parties are using skype! If you have a webcam and high speed internet, and are interested in talking with me or Leah over the computer this way, let me know! I'll send you my contact info. It's really fun.

*That's all I think. Now I have laundry to do, so this is officially:

*The end.

Happy New Year!

We've had a great time celebrating the ushering in of the new year today. Last night we went to our friends' Pastor Dan and Rachel to play games and eat yummy food. We didn't make it until midnight, but I enjoyed waking up early this morning and having some quiet in the house before the fun began. My sister and her husband came over for some Rose Parade watching, complete with mimosas and sausage wonton appetizers (thanks, Adia!). Mike also made real egg nog and it was awesome. Trust me. We spent the afternoon at the mall...Leah played, and we did a little shopping. Tonight we're just taking it easy, and enjoying one last night of holiday fun.

So...in the spirit of the changing of years, I'm ripping off Adia's idea and listing my five favorite discoveries of 2007. I'm also going to list my five favorite Leah quotes of 2007, just for a little added bonus.

First: MY TOP FIVE FAVORITE DISCOVERIES

1. Rubbing Vick's on the feet to stop a cough! Seriously, the best thing ever, and it has helped all of us get through this miserable cold season.

2. Freecycle I have been able to get rid of so many things that we don't need, and take on a few things that we do, all at no cost! In the spirit of free exchange, I have thoroughly enjoyed using freecycle.

3. My new Flip video camera. I love the size and ease of use!

4. The planning ahead for the holidays that I did... I started budgeting for and buying Christmas gifts many months ago, and it just made this time of year so much more fun. I was able to find or make something very special for each person on our list, and I didn't feel like all I did was exchange gift cards. I really enjoyed the holidays this year, due in part to this.

5. My new favorite recipe website: Razzle Dazzle Recipes. Aside from having a really fun name to say, I found a lot of really great recipes to try over the Christmas season, and they were all hits.


Secondly, my TOP FIVE FAVORITE LEAH QUOTES:

1. "Mommy, I see a cow!" This was said on our way home from the hospital after having tubes put in Leah's ears. Given that we were in the middle of Omaha, and there was no cow to be seen, I think the anesthesia was talking here....

2. "Is this California?" We were not fifteen feet off the ground in Omaha, flying to LA, when Leah asked this. At this point we had a feeling it could be a long flight!

3. "Lucas, you need to stop crying now! I can't hear my movie!" This came at the end of a long car ride to Denver with my sister Annette and Leah's new cousin Lucas. Leah had been so patient for the whole ride, helping out with his pacifier and blanket. But, we knew she was done being helpful when he was screaming, and she just looked at him and said this, hands over her ears. We had a good laugh. :)

4. "But Mommy, Today is Tomorrow!" I'm famous for telling Leah that we might do something tomorrow, or later, or sometime. This fall she got frustrated with me and told me like it is. It was a good lesson in procrastination, and needless to say, we got the task done...today!

5. "I feel my heart! I feel Jesus in my heart!" This one needs no further explanation.

Happy New Year, Everyone!