Rutherford B Hayes...my new Puppy!

I had been waiting for this moment my whole life...I became a Mom to this little nugget just a few weeks ago.  I met him when he was five weeks old and while I wasn't sure if he wanted me to be his Mom at first, he proved it by the time I left an hour later, that he was mine, and I was his.

The day I met Rutherford <3

The name Rutherford, sounded so cute to me but I also remembered there was a President, Rutherford B Hayes, and I needed to make sure he was cool enough so that my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy could take on his name and wear it with pride.  RBH was the 19th President (I was born on the 19th), from Ohio, and he brought moderate social reform, was loyal and honest.  In fact, he fought in the Civil War and refused to leave his fellow man behind.  That decided it!  Trust me, I had a list of 30 different names but Rutherford was always the one that stuck out and my little nugget answers to it, seems to enjoy it, and in fact, when he was laying in my lap at five weeks old, I had said a couple things to him, and he only turned and looked at me when I called him Rutherford.  I guess he actually chose his own name; it's just so regal and fitting for him!

Nicole & Rutherford :)

I brought Rutherford (Rutherford Be-Have) home on the 31st of May and thankfully my cousin, Nicole, was with me, because she became the best personal assistant I could have asked for!  RBH was on his best behavior the first couple of days, exploring the apartment, not wandering too far from me, and sleeping peacefully.  I only had to wake up one time in the middle of the night (each night) to take him out (mind you, I do keep late hours so I'm not going to bed until 2 or 3 and wake up between 9 and 10).  We had no accidents until a few days in; then he got more wild and rambunctious and found out that his cute little face could make me melt.  How could I ever be mad or upset when he looked at me with his beautiful eyes and happy little mischievous smile!

There's no true comparison when it comes to raising children and having a dog but it does feel similar at times.  The constant supervision, the fact that Rutherford has completely taken over my life and attention, and me getting any work done takes five times as long, and certain things just get pushed to the wayside and are no longer a priority because he has taken over.  I knew he'd be expensive and time-consuming and he is, we'll just leave it at that.  But when he sleeps on my foot as I'm getting ready in the morning, or snuggles next to me to take a nap, or puts his head on my shoulder when I'm sitting on the floor and he's up on the couch, or follows a command I give him, there is no better feeling in the world than knowing he loves his Mommy, and I sure as heck love him more than I thought was imaginable.

Taking my happy boy to his forever home with me!

So here's to my little boy, Rutherford B (short for Bubba, one of my Mom's nicknames) Hayes, thanks for making me a Mom...I hope I'm making my own Mom proud <3

*You can find me on Instagram at: Lyndsey on Insta or Rutherford's Instagram: Rutherford B Hayes Wegner on Insta.  He also has his own Facebook page because he's such a cutie and wants to share his adventures with the world!  Find him here: Rutherford's Facebook  

**If anyone is looking for a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, I got him through Victoria at Woodland Cavaliers and I would recommend her to anyone!  Feel free to message me or comment with any questions :)

Monica's Bachelorette Party!

We had my future cousin-in-law, Monica's Bachelorette Party in Huntington Beach over Memorial Day weekend!  My cousin, Nicole, was in town from Wisconsin and all the Bridesmaids and I met up at Monica's family's home and drove to the Pasea Hotel & Spa where we were staying for the evening, which had just opened that weekend!

After checking in, popping some Champagne and exploring around the Hotel and checking out the shopping (also getting the Red Miso Short Rib at Lemonade) we went back to the room to get ready for Dinner.  We went to Sushi on Fire in downtown Huntington Beach and Mama took special care of us!  The food was amazing, the girls were adventurous, and we even drank some sake!  Of course, we had a checklist of Bachelorette Party things that needed to get done before the night was over and there was plenty of success on that!

Monica's Bachelorette Party!

We walked back to the Hotel, drank our complimentary Wine from the Hotel, had some girl talk and got ready for our night on the town!  We ended up going to Hurricane's Bar & Grill, took some shots, got our groove on while out on the dance floor, and had a great time!

Before heading out for the evening in Huntington Beach!

The next day we re-lived the night, shared photos and while searching for a place for breakfast ended up doing IHOP since it was Memorial Day weekend and everything was packed with a waiting list.  I had to get back up to LA since I was going to pick up my new puppy that afternoon!  Nicki was also staying with me in LA for the next couple of days until she flew back to Wisconsin on Wednesday.

The Bachelorette Party was so much fun and it was the first Bachelorette Party I had ever been to which means that any other one is going to have a lot to live up to!  I'm looking forward to hanging with the girls again next week when everyone comes back to California (including all of our family from back in Wisconsin) for the Wedding over the 4th of July weekend.  Congrats to Monica & Tyler...can't wait to celebrate your Wedding soon :)

My Wonderful Grandpa

When I was back in Wisconsin last month we had found out my Grandpa had Cancer.  He never complained in all the years I knew him, but in the past few months he said his back was really bothering him and when they finally did an MRI they found Cancer.  I had come home on Wednesday and had gone to meet my Dad and him at the Hospital on Friday since they said his Kidneys were failing and he needed to be admitted immediately.  I had gone with my Dad to see him on Sunday and that afternoon he was put into Hospice.  Dad and I had gone to visit him again on Monday morning before we went Wine Tasting with my Aunts & Uncles (something we had planned for the past month) and as soon as we got done we went straight back to the Hospice.  Dad and I told stories about Grandpa, my Aunt & Uncle showed up, Bobby had called to say goodbye since he was on tour with his band and in the middle of nowhere and wouldn't have been able to make it home in time, and Grandpa's Priest had come and given the final blessing.  We had told Grandpa that it was ok to go home to to his wife and my Grandma, Isabel, his daughter, Nadene, and my Mom.  We held his hand and he peacefully left us.  It couldn't have been a more gentlemanly way for him to go, and my Dad noticed he had 'stick grip.'  My Grandpa loved airplanes and was always flying so this was completely normal for him as he flew up to Heaven to all of his loved ones that had already passed on.

My wonderful Grandpa, Edward!

Grandma & Grandpa - Milwaukee, WI (1940's)

I wrote this post after he died that evening and parts of it were also used for his Obituary.  'My Grandpa, Edward Wegner, achieved so much in his life and was an inspiration to many.  He passed at 7 pm tonight with family around and holding his hand.  We told stories at his bedside and I found out some wonderful memories he had shared with my Dad just recently.  He was a WWII Veteran, a Pilot that the Air Force tried to weed out because he was a Wisconsin farm boy that couldn't possibly be a good enough Pilot.  Yet, he had learned to fly from a neighbor who had an airplane and did his first solo trip at 16 years old.  A little bit of a rebel, owning a motorcycle his Father didn't know about, he hated cleaning the chicken coop, and bought an Auto Body Shop in Plymouth which became Wegner's Auto Body, that my Dad currently runs.  He got married to my Grandma, Isabel in 1947, had my Aunt Nadene and Dad, and loved taking the family on Summer trips all over the US.  One of his favorite trips with my Grandma was to Ireland.  Grandpa was inducted into the EAA Hall of Fame in 1999 and flew his airplane just this last year at 90 years old!  In fact, he was the first person that I flew in an airplaine with (and usually his open cockpit 1929 C3 Spartan) and if he wasn't working in his woodshop, he was taking walks and talking with everyone.'  I couldn't be more proud to be his Granddaughter.

So many friends and relatives showed up for the funeral to share stories about Grandpa; mostly people he knew from the airport and had only even interacted with just a handful of times.  He clearly made an impression on everyone!  They had Military Rites for him which brought me to tears, it was a wonderful memorial to him!  I never doubt that I hit the family jackpot in all aspects, my Grandparents, my Mom & Dad, and all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and more.  I'm so thankful to have the family that I do and we all have some pretty amazing Angels looking out for all of us <3

The 'Supernatural' Season Finale with Lisa Berry & Alaina Huffman

This season of 'Supernatural' has been incredible and really hooked me as a viewer.  I've been Hosting the 'Supernatural' Aftershow at Afterbuzz for the last three seasons with some awesome co-hosts but this season really takes the cake with excitement, twists and turns, and major plot points.  Not to mention all the wonderful guests that came in to discuss the show this season.  What made this finale even better was that Katie and I joined some of the cast and crew of 'Supernatural' to watch the show and live-tweet with all of them!

Katie and I with Lisa Berry & Alaina Huffman at Afterbuzz TV for the 'Supernatural' Season 11 Finale!

Live-tweeting is really difficult although I'm sure it's a little easier when you're working on the show and actually know what's coming next.  Seeing Lisa, Alaina, Emily (who plays The Darkness), Kathryn, Phil Sgriccia (whom directed the episode), Jim Michaels (produces the show), with Ruth skyping with all of us, was awesome.  I don't know how they keep up with all of it, including retweeting, commenting, and responding.  They'd go from 10 retweets to 357 in a matter of a minute; it's actually kind of mind-blowing!  It was a blast to do and so glad that we were able to be involved!  Thanks to Lisa for inviting us!

On Thursday we had our Finale episode of our Aftershow with Lisa and Alaina joining us in the studio.  We had a great show discussing the episode and what's to come for the series since they're already locked into Season 12.  With the way the show keeps going, I don't think it's ending any time soon!  We had so many predictions and thoughts, there was just so much to talk about.  Although, I felt a little underwhelmed with the ending; this entire time I thought someone was going to die and leave all of us hanging, but that didn't happen.  Granted, The Darkness and God are off together, working on their relationship but we don't know how they'll feel when we come back next season.  I still want to know what happened to Lucifer and how Rowena will come back in to play (plus I want to see a backstory on The Grand Coven) so I guess that keeps things exciting and not underwhelming!  Lisa and Alaina always bring such great insight and thought as to what's going on and with the Women of Letters storyline, I feel like Alaina could come back at any time!  Lisa is certainly waiting to reap Sam & Dean and will when the occasion arises.  These women are fans of the show and to hear their excitement is really entertaining!

To check out the episode click on the video above.  I love hearing from everyone while we're waiting for the new season so find me on Instagram at Lyndsey on Insta or tweet me on Twitter at Lyndsey Tweets.  Use the hashtag: abtvsupernatural and we can discuss anything about the show!  I hope you all enjoyed this season as much as I did :)

May Karaoke!

May was fairly busy at Karaoke including a Creating Arts Company take-over that happened half-way through the month as we had Giana's Going Away Karaoke Party!  It was an Underwater/Sailor Theme so there was even a "Little Mermaid" super-set!  Overall, it was a fun month!

Bush - 'Comedown'

Adele - 'Make You Feel My Love'

Miley Cyrus - 'Wrecking Ball'

Jewel - 'You Were Meant For Me' 

The Little Mermaid - 'Under The Sea'

The Toadies - 'Possum Kingdom'

Concrete Blonde - 'Joey'

Jann Arden - 'Insensitive'

Bryan Adams - 'Everything I Do, I Do It For You'

The Righteous Brothers 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling'

Shania Twain - 'Any Man Of Mine'

Dishwalla - 'Counting Blue Cars'

The first weekend of the month was really busy so I only sang a few times including my new song 'Wrecking Ball' by Miley Cyrus.  Thankfully I had some friends in and everyone joined in for the chorus which made it really fun!  I was in Wisconsin over for the second week of Karaoke but came back in time the following week for Giana's Belated Birthday Bash/Going Away Party!  Lots of our friends showed up and sang nautical/sea songs and we did a "Little Mermaid" super-set so I did my new song, 'Under The Sea' for it!  I also sang 'Joey' by Concrete Blonde which I hadn't sang in forever and miss singing it so much.  It's definitely coming back in my rotation.  That last week of Karaoke I came late because I had to Live-Tweet with the cast of "Supernatural" for the Finale Episode (which was a blast and I'll post a blog about that as well) but it was a really slow night anyway.  We all sang quite a bit and I did The Righteous Brothers 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling' as my new song since I had seen "Top Gun" on TV the week before.  That scene with Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis is one of my favorites!

This may not be from Karaoke but we all had a blast at Giana's Going Away Party!  Miss you Girlfriend!

June starts my Birthday month and I can't believe we're already almost half-way through the year.  It's flown by so quickly and I honestly hope it slows down a little.  I love being busy but I want to make sure to spend time with all of my friends and make memories and that's just what I've been doing :)