A Late Christmas

                I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.  This is a little glimpse into what our Christmas looked like.  It was very low key with just JM, JD, P, and I.  This was the first Christmas I spent away from my parents and brothers, but the first one I spent with just my little family of fur kids and JM.  As simple as it was, it was a memorable one.  Best wishes to all of you out there (if you're out there).

Five Words Friday

I stumbled across this blog called Five Words and absolutely loved it.  

{The rules}:

The game’s name is short.
It’s not even Five Words.
Yet, Five Words it is!
Some wonder, “What’s it about?”
Your goal is quite simple.
Express yourself in Five Words.
Don’t use more, or less.
So, give it a try.
Five Words can express it.
Five Words and you’re done.

So I thought I would start something new, {Five Words Friday}.  It’ll be a cute, short, and simple way to end the week, and I would love to see what everyone else comes up with.  So here it goes, my first Five Words Friday….well sort of.

Time to go tree shopping!

Subway Art

                I have officially jumped onto the subway art fanatic train.  So much that I have been planning on creating my own version of a conversation starter when people enter our home, kind of like a coffee book.  After much web searching, Etsy window shopping, Pinterest inspiration, and tutorials, I finally mustard my inner creativity to put together my own subway art for the first time (EEK!).

My inspiration I found on both Etsy and Pinterest

My attempt on my home town (or as close to a home town a military brat can get)

and it wouldn't be complete if I didn't make one for JD.  However I'm thinking about tinkering around some more with this one.

                Eventually I want it to end up looking like this, (but with my layout) which is where I found a super easy and unique tutorial for those who don't have a Cricut, which I don't.

Turkey Day Glance Back

                Thanksgiving came and went just as fast as Halloween did.  Since it was just JM and I, and of course the furry ones, we decided to indulge the puppies with some tasty Turkey Day food.  I think seeing them so happy was worth a minor case of the poo-poos.

JD snatching a pie (wink wink)

P enjoying leftover taters.

Bobbing For Bits

                I don’t know about other pugs, but when it’s feeding time Mr. P acts as if we never feed him.  He has to make sure he gets every last kibble; even those that may have accidently gone overboard into the water bowl.

The kibble won this round.

Halloween

                Halloween came and went, and I’m a bit bummed.  I didn’t get to do any of the things that make the holiday special.  No pumpkin carving, no decorating, and no dressing up to go out.  Definitely insert a SAD FACE here!  I tried to dress the wee ones up, and even bought them matching costumes (because in my world they have to go together like peas and carrots).  I was going to make P a monkey and JD a banana, but JM didn’t like them very much so I had to return them.  Originally I wanted these costumes

but there were two minor snafus.

1. The raptor didn’t come in JD’s size, and
2. They were sold out everywhere, even though they were a bit on the pricey end.  (Pricey = over $35 for one)

Since it didn’t come in JD’s size I found this,

that way they could still match, but even the triceratops hat was sold out for her size.  Oh well.  However I did try to make P a mummy pup, but he ended up looking more like a severely injured chug (chihuahua pug), so I unraveled him and let him off the hook…..this year.

Since I didn’t do a whole lot of adventuring on Halloween, here are some pictures of the pumpkins my brother and his wife carved that I just can’t get enough of.

isn't Mac D adorable in her monster costume???

P.S.  Comments make me HAPPY!

Recreation at the Lake

                First and for most, I just want to announce that I finally got the long awaited dryer last night around 7:30 or 8:00 PM, and I absolutely love it.  In fact I did 3 loads of laundry while the 4^th waited for the morning to roll around.  Now that the dryer debacle is over with and everything seems to be in tip top shape, I can finally tell you about this past weekend.  WHEW!  I never thought I would be able to get to it.

                Friday, JM had a family day at one of the many lake recreational centers here.  And the plus side was the puppies got to go!  

For some reason, this area is very strict on dogs (there isn’t even a dog park in this town), so we tend to leave them behind or get yelled at whenever/where ever because I am not one to follow the rules.  I don’t think I am better than the rules or anything, but it’s a bit hard to play fetch while attached to a 7 or 8 foot leash.  Where’s the fun in that? 

                Anyways, we arrived to the lake and to my wonderment; a lot of people brought their fur companions too!  This is when I learned a few important things:

                1.  JD is amazing at making new friends.
                2.  JD is so good at making friends she is willing to share her toys.
                3.  JD is willing to share any toys with her new friends, but not her bee (at least not on this particular day).

                4.  P is terrible at making friends.
                5.  In fact P is a bit of a bully.

                After the better half of the morning and slightly into the afternoon, the family day came to an end.  P and JD partook in everything that they could possibly have wanted.  JD played with her bee, P chased her and tried to steal it from her, P barked in the faces of many different dogs, the two got to go swimming, they got to eat people food, played with the kids there, got tons of belly rubs and head scratches, swam  some more, and then fell asleep on the ride home.  Some other significant things I learned were:

                1.  P will try his hardest to keep up with his sister (bless his little heart and legs).

                2.  Because P tries so hard to keep up with his sister, expect puppy blisters the very next day on all of his feet.

the blisters on ALL of his feet close up

                3.  JM will be terrified of P’s limping from his injuries the next day, and will wake you up to express his alarm of wanting to take P to the vet (his love and concern for P melted my heart, even if I was still sleepy).

                4.  P will be babied because of his self induced injuries.

Tucked in and ready to sleep off his pain.  (JM even carried him around all day to help ease P's pain)

Comments make me HAPPY!

Dryer Overload: Part Deux

                I know I had promised to tell you about all the joyous things we did this past weekend, and I swear I will, but I have to get this dryer fiasco off my chest.  As I said in yesterdays post, JM and I had ordered a dryer from Lowe’s, and it was suppose to come in on Saturday, but never did, yada yada yada, and then it was suppose to arrive after 3:00 PM yesterday.  Well 3:00 came and went, along with 4:00, and most of 5:00.  Close to 6:00, the delivery guy showed up, and since I sat around waiting all day waiting for him, I had an errand I needed to run, so I gave him a taste of his own medicine and made HIM wait!  That right!  The delivery guy sat outside my house waiting for me to return home.  I guess management got the hint I was more than overly annoyed with their subpar delivery services.  The guy brought the dryer off the truck and into my house, and as he was setting up to take my old one away, I spotted it.  A.  HUGE.  DENT. in the side.  Trying to contain my annoyance, I politely asked about it, and he said I could return it and get a new one, or, if I choose to keep it, the best he could do is give me 10% off.  I opted for a whole new dryer.  I paid big bucks for a brand new dryer, not one that already has character; nonetheless character that I myself didn’t give to it.  So now here I am…again, playing the waiting game, hoping that the delivery man will be here soon; especially since I have a heap of laundry that needs washing before this weekend. 

                On the bright side, my kitchen is no longer as crowded since they took away my old dryer.

Dryer Overload

                Happy Tuesday, sorry I missed Monday, but I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, as for mine, I had a great time, except for one minor snafu.  I’ll tell you about the wonderfulness in different post, today is dedicated to the minor snafu.

                About a week ago, maybe longer (EEK!) our dryer decided to die on us, no, on me since JM is forbidden to do laundry.  JM tends to leave things in his pockets like gum, pens, and so forth that can just ruin an entire load of laundry, not to mention folding does not exist in his world, or perhaps in any guys’ world.  Anyways, I was doing a typicallaundry day when I noticed the dryer didn’t shut off when it was suppose to.  After further investigation, I found that the timing dial hadn’t even moved from the time I set.  I opened the door to find all of the clothes still damp, and now cold.  I immediately called my go to guy when I have any house hold problems, my Dad.  We chatted for a bit, and he told me more than likely I needed a new heating element and to search for them online.  I found that the price ranged from $25.00-$99.00 depending on if the coils needed to be replaced or the entire element.  I also discovered that replacing it looked like a major pain in the butt, so with a little sweet talking on my behalf we opted to just get a new dryer all together.  Not to mention the one we have is probably pushing 10 years old.

                Once we did our homework and found the Whirlpool that was suitable (it’s not my dream dryer in the least, but any dryer will do at this point since I do not like the Laundromats), we headed down to our local Lowe’s and ordered it.

my dream laundry room found on Pinterest

On a side note, I also got two new fans that will need to be installed, hopefully this weekend!!!  The lady who helped us told us it would be delivered Saturday after 5:00 PM.  We disconnected our broken dryer, moved it out of the laundry room into the adjacent kitchen and waited anxiously for our new and improved machine.  Saturday finally rolled around, and we watched the time fly by with no delivery guy.  When 7:45 rolled around, I decided to call the store.  I pushed all the necessary numbers that the automotive voice indicated, and listened to a phone ring….and ring……..…..and ring.  After probably the 40^th ring a lady picked up and asked who I was holding for, and then transferred me.  I listened again to constant ringing before the lady picked up again and got a manager for me.  The manager told me he didn’t have the information in front of him, but he would return my call within a few minutes with an answer.  About 15 minutes later we received the call, and were informed that Lowes never received the dryer, which is why we didn’t get a delivery as promised.  A lot a bit annoyed that I sat around on my Saturday evening waiting for a dryer that was nowhere near its destination, and even more so that Lowe’s didn’t bother giving us a call to tell us.  So now, my kitchen looks like this,

and I am still awaiting for a delivery man just like on Saturday (they called and said that the delivery guy will be here after 3:00 PM today, I'm keeping my fingers crossed).  I hope he gets here soon, because I hate skirting around the kitchen and currently temporary laundry room. 

                

Tis the Season

                It’s almost October!!!  And you know what that means???  Halloween is just around the corner!!!  I can’t wait, but I’m sure JD and P (and perhaps JM) are definitely not looking forward to it.  I am absolutely GAGA for Halloween, and that is probably an understatement.  I love everything about spooky holiday, well alllllllllmost everything.  I’m not one to love the creepy, eerie, or scary feeling when watching all the scary movies that come on around this time (they give me nightmares for weeks on end), but other than that, I LOVE EVERYTHING!; pumpkin carving, fake cob webs that just gets stuck on any and everything, black kitty decorations, the colors of black, orange and purple, costumes, the list goes on and on.  I get so festive around this time that I even dress up the fur kids.  Yes, I am one of those moms.  My poor pooches probably hate it (I hope they are used to it by now), but I just can’t help myself.  

P last Halloween dressed as a lobster.

I have already started my search for what they will be this year.  Typically JD and P’s costume coordinate with mine, but since we won’t be chaperoning any human wee ones while trick or treating, I figure matching doesn’t really matter so much this year.  I have my eye on two particular costumes (which I’m sure they will hate me for).  Stay tuned to see what they are!!!  

Project Dining Room

                The evolution of the dining room.  Slowly but surely it is coming together.

Taping off where the chair rail will be installed.

Painting the top half.

Finishing the bottom half.

The chair rails that will be installed as soon as I get them cut on a miter saw and paint them.

Close up of the colors.

The colors I chose to use:

• Top: Urban Putty (SW 7532)
• Bottom:  Sandy Ridge (SW 7535)
• Chair rail and trim:  Westinghland White (SW 7566)

{NOTE:  the colors appear differently in person than they do online}

- All paint is a semi-gloss and was purchased at Sherwin Williams.

Color Splash

                For a long while I have been in a home décor slump, mainly because it seems like everything, and I do mean everything is white in this house; from the walls, to the doors, to the trim, to my accents like vases, plant pots, and even my shower curtain.  I have desperately wanted to add a splash of color without having to replace anything, no, everything; and about a few weeks ago I got the okay.  I got approval to paint the walls!  Picking out colors was the hardest part, especially since our neighborhood Sherwin Williams gave me a free color wheel.  Just what I needed, MORE options.  After a week of mulling over colors and debating whether to go with warm colors (tans and browns) or cool (light grays), I picked out what I feel is the perfect neutral hues for this house (I wanted to keep it neutral because it is a rental). 

                I haven’t completed any of the rooms, but I did get started on a few of the walls.  So far the dining room is painted, but I still need to install the chair rail, the hallway is completed (with a few minor touch ups here and there), the nook by the front door and the accent wall in the living room.  Pictures coming soon....

Blood Sucker

                Since yesterday was all about JD, P got a little jealous, even though he appeared in two of the pictures.  So to make it fair, I would like to tell you a small story about something that had happened to P during my month hiatus.  

P acting innocent.

                Our yard, both front and back is a little lacking in the luster department, but since it is a rental house, I am not willing to shell out the dollars to make it beauteous (although I secretly wish Yard Crashers would find me at one of the home improvement stores to help out this situation).  Not to mention it is absent of a much wanted and would be appreciated fence.  Well, that’s not completely true.  There is a lone barb wire, yes; I said barb wire fence lining the back “wall” with wild weed overgrowth indicating where the backyard ends, and one of the neighbors did put up a chain link fence around their yard, so I happen to have a partial fence on one side.  

The yard.

I know you’re probably wondering, “If this blog is supposed to be about P, why is she enlightening us on this dreadful backyard?”  Well it is important background information. 

P and JD do their, ahem, in the corner of the yard, right next to that unpleasant barb wire fence and wild overgrowth.  I never think to check them before they come in, mainly because before my big move, I lived in a very dry desert climate.  One night after using Mother Nature as their toilet, the fur babies came in, ate, and then cuddled in bed (my bed to be exact), basically their typical routine.  JM was petting P, when his hand came across something rough and prickly; he absent mindedly pulled out what he concluded was a bur.  After inspecting this dried up plant seed, he in fact noticed that it wasn’t a plant at all.  What he was holding had little legs that were furiously moving in a meager attempt to escape.  JM threw the creature down out of shock (and a little fear, but shhhh, don't tell him I told you that), and I rushed P to the kitchen to inspect his, now bleeding profusely back.  It turns out what JM had in between his fingers was a tick.  I never had to deal with ticks before; they weren’t a common thing you saw in the southwest desert, at least not to me.  So now I am trying to stop the bleeding, at least as much as I can because I know ticks have an anti-clotting enzyme, to make sure the head is not stuck in the wound, JM is frantically looking for the tick he threw, and JD, well JD is wondering what all the wild commotion is about.  JM finds the tick, and holy cow!  This sucker (pun intended) was huge!  It must have been feasting on P for at least 15-30 minutes.  We ended up flushing the tick down the toilet and tried to go to sleep, but after finding a creepy crawler on one of my pups, it was a hard thing to do.  

P trying to sleep after the creepy crawler "took his juices."

In the morning I called my veterinarian office to see how prone Lyme disease is in this area (especially since JD’s bf caught it) and if I should bring P to get checked out.  

JD's boyfriend, isn't he the most handsome white GSD you've ever laid eyes on?!?!  JD has excellent taste in pups, and so does Rugie's human.

The lady on the phone probably thought I was an over bearing doggie mom, because she kind of chuckled at my unnecessary and probably in her eyes excessive worry.  After much reassurance, I decided to keep P home, but under a watchful eye.  Now my puppies are on Frontline flea and tick control, and the backyard and weeds get sprayed once a month with bug killer, just to ensure that neither of them have to worry about a blood sucker again.  

Sleep Tight

                I just realized, I SUCK at writing blogs; alright, maybe not at the actual writing part, but at the writing them consistently (it's been a whole month since my last one EEK!).  I am going to try to change that, but I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.  I have a pretty busy next couple of months, especially since I decided to go back to school full time.

                Since I last wrote a lot has happened, so where to begin, where to begin?  Today, I have decided to devote my blog to my precious JD and her new and improved sleeping arrangement. 

My precious JD, just in case you forgot how beautiful she is {wink wink}

JM has insisted that JD needed a new doggie bed, “one that she can fully lay out on and NOT have her head hanging off of.”  He said watching her sleep on it made him feel uncomfortable.

P is a bit of a bed hog.

So the hunt began to find the largest of large doggie beds.  I searched the internet high and low, near and far, and found out that the largest of large dog beds weren’t exactly large (they were no bigger than the bed she already had) and not to mention, they cost a pretty penny (almost $200 and up).  At one point I even contemplated on just buying a twin sized mattress with a few sheet sets for her, but then I remembered The Crafty Nest had a giveaway awhile back and introduced me to Greener Pup Dog Beds.  I knew this is the bed I wanted, not only because the XL dog bed was 48' x 54' (a whole foot larger than most of the beds I saw), and that I had many different fabric options to choose from, as well as they’re a green product, but mainly because  100% of their proceeds go to helping out Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue, and as you all know, I am all about saving the puppies and kitties; however convincing JM was going to be hard.  Luckily after weeks of promoting Greener Pup Dog Beds to him and telling him all the pros and what very little cons they had (the con to JM was the green part), he gave in and said I could order any bed I wanted, and I wanted Greener Pup. 

                About a week and half to two weeks later we finally got the long awaited for package and MAN-OH-MAN!  this bed was HUGE!  

New -vs- Old

It was so big that P could barely see over it!  

P's as tall as the bed!

JD trying out her bed for the first time.

Needless to say, JD loves her new bed, and even though she loves her new bed, she still can’t help/resist sleeping in mine.  

Sleeping Beauty!

Like Greener Pup Dog Beds on Facebook here.

Become Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue friend on Facebook here.

Adieu

                It has been too long since I have written a blog.  Life has been a little hectic, and of course it was all self induced; not on purpose though.  I’m just a tad accident prone, and saying a tad is being modest.  The newest adventure was an unwanted one, but being the klutz that I am, I manage to delete all of my photos that I had taken this year while I was trying to move them to my external hard drive.  Of course I had to clear some things off of my external hard drive before I could move them over, so I deleted away.  Once my recycling bin was full, I emptied it, confident I didn’t have to double check through it.  Well, turns out I probably should have, because all the pictures I wanted to move over were now gone.  I downloaded an application that promised to retrieve recently deleted files, but sadly it only recovered the ones I wanted to delete purposefully.  There were only a few folders from this past year I truly cared about, and most of them were trips that JM and I have taken, but I have to bid them adieu.  Lesson learned:  ALWAYS double check.  

On Wards and Up Wards

                Saying goodbye is always hard, but I like to think of it as a see you later; and unfortunately it always seems like a must.  No matter how many times I say “see you later,” I can never help getting teary eyed, at least when it’s dealing with my loved ones. 

Saying by to my Uncle

Unfortunately I had to say bye to my family because JD and I had to continue onwards and upwards on our trip.  Of course we had to make a small pit stop to have a quick lunch with another one of my Uncles and his family.  As short as this visit was, it is always great to see them, and catch up.  It just seems like there is never enough time on a trip.

Lunch with my cousin.

                After our quick lunch we kept on with our journey until we reached JD’s parents’ house.  There we had to deal with the introduction of P to the two Pomeranians, who I shall call The King and Tripod.  I was a bit worried about P meeting The King because The King is very aggressive.  Luckily there weren’t any scuffles that a shout of “NO!” couldn’t stop. 

                Following the dogs meeting we were able to catch up with his parents.  JD and his father went off doing father-son things, where I was stuck with his step-mother to basically do whatever she had in mind; and what she had in mind was marriage talk, not just talk, but for me to try on her wedding dress.  She expressed that she would like me to wear it if the day ever comes for traditions sake.  I was taken aback at this.  I was always under the impression if I was to wear a dress out of tradition; it would be my mother’s.  Also, I am not too keen on her dress.  I’m sure every little girl dreams of her big day, and has a vision of what she is going to wear, but frankly, his step mother’s dress style has never entered my fantasies.  Don’t get me wrong, her dress is beautiful, but it is just not me.  Similarly, I felt odd trying it on; since it is the first wedding dress I have ever tried on.  His step mother is shorter than I am, so I had reservations that it would not fit, and sure enough it was a tight fit.  I felt like a sausage stuffed in casing, and couldn’t wait for her to help me out of it.

A wedding dress I saw while ordering a brides maid dress for a friends wedding.  Isn't it beautiful???  (not sure why it's posting sideways)

                Besides the talk of wedding dresses we also visited the church his parents attended for 25+ years.  They had recently added onto it, and oh my, it is beautiful.  

JD's step-mom, JD, and I posing in front of the church.

Their church felt like a mini United Nations.  There were people from all sorts of cultures there, even cultures that historically have been known to dislike one another.  It’s amazing how faith can bring people together.

A small portion of the many different cultures that attend the church.

                Well I’ll conclude this leg of the trip here.  So consider this as a “to be continued….”

Feeding Time

                It’s always great when I get to spend time at my grandma’s, you know, the cute, little, quaint farm house that I am oh so found of. 

Every time I go to visit, it seems like I have a routine of things I absolutely have to do, or else my trip just doesn’t feel complete.  I of course have to go to the lake, and hang out on the “beach,” as well as help out in the garden, go for a walk through the woods and fields, as well as go up to another lake to “feed the damn fish” as my uncle puts it.  

I know it sounds so silly.  Feeding fish?  How in the world can that be fun?  But for me, it is. 

 

I could probably spend an entire day feeding the carp and watching them jump on top of one another trying to eat the little bits of bread I throw down to them.  There’s something mesmerizing about the hundreds of fish splashing around, fighting for food, and my precious P would agree. 

Starring and pulling to get to the carp

I know it may not be everyone’s cup of tea per say, but I’ll let you judge the lake off of the photos and videos.   

If you watch the lower left hand corner you can see P trying to get to the fish.

The carp in the spill way.  This is only a small portion of how many there are in this massive lake.

Home Sweet Home

                Sorry about my long hiatus, and I do mean loooooooooong.  JM, P, and I were out visiting family while JD got to spend time at her friends and her boyfriend’s houses.  I know, it doesn’t seem fair, but since we were visiting our grandmothers it only seemed like a safe choice.  We wouldn’t want JD accidently knocking anyone over and injuring them, not that she would, but better safe than sorry.  And now that we are home, I am exhausted from the extensive amount of driving we did.  I officially feel drained.  What is it about a trip that makes it hard to get back into the swing of things?  Also, why is it when you visit your family it never seems you get to spend enough time there, but when you visit someone else’s family, you are just counting down the minutes till you return home?

                Well back to the trip, or at least the leg where we visited my grandmother.  

My grandma and I

JM was taken aback when he laid eyes on my grandma’s house, which is an old farm house (that I unquestionably love) and heard that the small town she lives in is also inhabited with the Amish.  JM grew up in the city, so country life was all new to him, and I'm not sure that this was a life style he would be willing to do for an extended period of time.

Isn’t it quaint? 

The farm house is so old that there’s even an outhouse out front.  You can barely make it out in the right hand side of the above picture. 

Of course it is no longer used, and no, it does not smell.  We just don’t want to tear a piece of history out.  

                So you may be wondering if it's an old farm house, where's the farm?  Well, there are no animals on this farm anymore, other than cats.  Having animals is just too much work for my grandma.  But here are a few pictures of the once was farm.

Above:  The barn  Below Left:  the old chicken coop  Bottom Right:  planted field

Cabin in the sky, or the deer hunting perch.

AHHH!!!  HOME SWEET HOME!