How Much is the Doggy in the Window?

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I have a few things going on this afternoon, but I wanted to get a blog posted before I started running around like a mad woman. First of all, the apartment is a disaster. Thanks to our three pooches, there are dog toys and paper all over the place. I cannot figure out where they're getting the paper. When they find one, they tear it to shreds and leave the pieces all over the carpet. The other day they found a dryer sheet and destroyed it.

Right now the dogs are being quite mellow. They've been out of bed for a couple of hours now. After they did their morning business, they came inside and started running around like wild animals. Even though they were crazy, it warmed my heart to see Re-Pete finally playing with Wally. Until now, he has made it clear that he does not care for the pup.

Anyway, after all of the running around and playing, the dogs are finally well... dog tired. We have the patio blinds open and they are laying in the sun. It looks like they're recharging. I am sure that after their vitamin D boost they'll drive me crazy once again.

In the meantime, I'd like to share a couple of photos of our youngest dog-son in a rare, calm moment. He sat there like a tiny, hairy gentleman while I snapped a dozen or so shots. Here are two of my favorites:

Isn't he precious? I love him the most when he acts this way. Otherwise I hide in the back corner of our closet, behind the luggage, and under an old bathrobe where I rock back and forth, hum, and pretend that I am somewhere else.

Eek! The dogs are awake and starting to move at the speed of light. I'd better go and hide!

The Girls

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I thought I would continue the wedding day saga for a second day in a row. By doing so, I feel as though I'm actually keeping good on my promise to chronicle the day I became a wife. There aren't as many photos today -- sorry!

We decided to take individual photos before the ceremony so that we could get to the reception faster. The boys went first while we got dressed downstairs. No, we did not see each other before the wedding. It was a looooooong day for me while I waited to see my groom.

This is me. Obviously. I think I pulled off that 'bride' look pretty well. Aren't the flowers gorgeous? I spent a lot of time thinking about my bouquet. I knew I wanted red roses. I called around for prices and was unhappy with everything I heard. Eventually, I decided to take matters into my own hands. The day before the wedding, my mother and I drove to the next town to Wal-Mart, where we purchased three dozen red roses for my bouquet for $30. I carried 35 of them and Michael wore the 36th on his lapel.

Me and Chantel, my matron-of-honor, whom I have known since junior high.

Me and Sarah, who has been my friend since the 7th grade, when we were in junior high band together.

Me and Kara! I met her through Sarah in junior high.

Me and my lovely bridesmaids!

Getting Ready

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I decided late in the summer to blog about our wedding day. I had ideas. Ideas involving photos. Ideas involving many, many posts. Then I began working full-time. Those ideas? Out the window.

But now they're back! I've had the last two days off and I'm feeling refreshed. I also don't want to do the dishes right now, but that is another story.

My alarm went off at 6AM on my wedding day. I had fallen asleep easily (with the help of Tylenol PM) by 11PM the night before and woke up refreshed. Instead of showering as I normally do, I decided to take a nice, relaxing bath before meeting the girls. While I ran my bath water, I caught part of an episode of Clifford the Big Red Dog on PBS.

Yes, I am admitting to watching cartoons on my wedding day. I later discovered that Michael watched Dora the Explorer with Adrian that morning as well.

Anyway. After a quick breakfast, I met the girls uptown to get our hair done. Heather A., who is married to a good friend of Michael's family, did our hair. She did a phenomenal job! We had allotted more time than necessary for each bridesmaid and we ended up being done an hour early.

After getting our hair fixed, we stopped by my grandparents house for a while. We were bored and still had a lot of time to kill before we could get in the church.

We also stopped for lunch at one of my favorite places -- Bob's Drive In! Oh, my goodness. I could go for one of Bob's cheeseburgers right now. Yum, yum, yum!

Okay, I'm distracted. In the above photo are Sarah and Kara, two of my lovely bridesmaids!

We ended up eating outside on the picnic tables in the shade. This is Chantel and myself waiting for our burgers.

After lunch, we headed off to the church where my pampering continued. Once there, I put on the appropriate undergarments and sat down for makeup. Barb, a friend of my mother's, did an incredible job. With the hair and makeup, I have never felt more beautiful than I did on my wedding day.

After my cheeks were bronzed and my lashes curled, I took one last trip to the ladies' room (this would be my last until after the reception) and began getting dressed. First, note the amazing footwear. I love Father of the Bride and have always liked the idea of wearing tennis shoes at one's wedding. I also wore a Mizzou garter in honor of our Alma Mater, the University of Missouri.

Next, it was time for the gown. I loved my gown. It took Chantel and Kara to help me get dressed, all the while I was panicked that my hair would be messed up. We took it nice and slow and my hair remained in place.

Next came the accessories. My sash repeatedly came untied throughout the day. It was cute, though, and I loved it. Here, my mother is helping me find a way to keep it from coming undone.

With the addition of the veil, my ensemble was complete! We still had a lot of time before the ceremony, so the girls and I played (the name of which I cannot remember) a game.

Kisses from my mom!

The back of my gown.

Updates

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I was at the house for almost three hours on Friday. We had our inspection. A couple of big things came up that we weren't expecting. We're hopeful that the seller will come through and repair them. This is a great starter home for us and we'd both be really sad if we didn't get it.

I took tons of photos while I was there. Since I had lots of time, I looked around at all of the random things the seller has left in the house. In the laundry room down in the basement, there are two large pieces of furniture. It took me a while to realize what exactly they were because I hadn't looked at them closely before. While the inspector checked out the sump pump, I took the time to investigate. It turns out they're the old kitchen cabinets! At some point in the recent past, the cabinets and countertops upstairs were replaced. I guess they didn't want to take the time to throw them out, so they somehow got them into the basement. What's strange is that the bottom seems to be in one large piece because the countertop is still attached!

I also discovered something incredibly exciting in the kitchen. While at Lowe's last week, Michael and I were checking out the refrigerators. We made the comment about wishing the fridge in the new house had an ice maker. We like ice. A lot. We dislike filling ice trays. A lot. We're both so awful at filling the trays and sticking them back in the freezer. It's frustrating. While at the house, I decided to peek in the freezer for no real reason, but was elated to see an ice maker! So long as the water line is hooked up, we'll always have plenty at our disposal!

Nothing incredibly exciting has been going on this weekend. I've been a bit down about the inspection and wondering if we're really going to be moving into the West End or if we'll be here until the end of eternity. I've been doing a lot of thinking this week -- not just about the house, but about a lot of other things. Perhaps it's just a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Where Are You?

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I am interested in knowing not only how many people read my blog, but where you're from! So if you read my blog, please, add your location to my map!

"I Pity the Fool"

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Ever since finding out our offer was accepted, we have been talking about what to do with each room -- what furniture will where, how to decorate. It didn't take us long to figure out just how empty our house is going to look. We currently have 700 square feet. Our new house will have almost 2200 square feet! We are certainly going to have some empty space to fill.

Because of this, we decided on Sunday to see if there were any decent antique malls in the area. We found an okay one north of the city. Let me just say that you can find some interesting things at antique malls. In one booth, we discovered a Mr. T doll. We could not resist taking a photo.

I love this man!

Inauguration Day

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Today is a monumental day in the history pages of our great nation.

Not only because we have elected our first African-American president, but also simply because we are once again celebrating our freedom. We as a nation are blessed to have the right to go to the polls and cast our votes in order to choose our leader.

How exciting must it be to be in our nation's capitol today? I'm watching the coverage on television this morning and seeing all of the people who are there to witness the swearing-in ceremony. Everyone is smiling and laughing, all happy to be part of this historic event. There are also tears. It is a very important day for so many people.

God bless America!

BIG News!

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Michael and I have some very big news to share!

WE'RE BUYING A HOUSE!!!

That's right! Soon we will say good-bye to apartment life and hello to being homeowners! We are so excited to be taking this huge step at this time. I remember seeing the house online five months ago when we first entertained the idea of buying a house. It was priced higher than we wanted to spend, so we passed it up.

A few weeks ago, we came upon the listing again. This time, the price was significantly lower -- right in our price range. So on January 5 we made an appointment to see the house. We both really liked the house and saw its potential.

We saw the house again on January 12. It was after this walk-through that we really started talking about what kinds of updates it needed and whether it was the house for us. Over the several days and much soul-searching, we decided to make an offer. We met with our realtor at 11AM on Saturday to make our offer. Several anxious hours later, we heard that our offer had been accepted!

Our closing date is March 6, but we have the option to move it up (which we'd both really like to do). The house is currently vacant, so I'm sure the seller wouldn't have a problem letting go of the property a little earlier.

This is our house! We're going to be living in a more historical area west of the university. You know what this means? We shouldn't smell the soybean processing plants from the other side of town!

This is a view from near the back of the kitchen where the backdoor is. It's a galley-style kitchen. Two important things to note -- One, look at all of the cabinets! There are more not pictured, but still, so many! and two, a dishwasher. That's all I have to say about that. Oh, and that's the dining room through the door.

This is the view from the front doorway in the kitchen. In the back on the right, I think it is set up to be a desk area. I'm not really sure. There aren't any cabinets under the counter and there's a stool. Through the door on the left you can access the door to the backyard!

This is the dining room looking from the living room. To the left is the kitchen. Through the window on the left you can see the front porch/yard and through the two windows you have a lovely view of the driveway/privacy fence (we'll get to the fence in a minute or two).

This photo shows the front half of the living room. We have a fireplace! A wood fireplace. Oh, yeah! After the sub-zero temperatures this week and fearing the power would go off and the puppies would freeze to death, looking at this photo gives me hope for the frigid winters to come. Oh, and check out that awesome front window. I wanted a house with plenty of natural light and I do believe we found one. That's nine windows, by the way.

This photo was taken from the fireplace/front corner of the living room. It's our lovely red front door (which is blocking a view of a boring coat closet) and our dining room. Hmm.. what else can I say? Good-bye, dining room light fixture? Good-bye icky paint color? It's kind of peachy-yellow in person.

This is the bedroom in the basement. This could very well become a home gym. Of course, the only things we currently have for it are an exercise ball and two 5lb weights. We have to start somewhere! Oh! Let me talk about that great closet. First this closet is rather large. Apparently it used to be the laundry closet. Second, there is a hole in the ceiling of the closet. It is an important hole. Why? Because there's a matching hole in the linen closet upstairs. Hello, laundry chute! I love convenience!

This is the third bedroom. This room is a little... odd. The door pictured goes to the backyard. There are two other doors on this wall. One is a tiny closet. The other obviously once house a toilet. But barely. I'm not sure what will go in here. It's quite possibly going to be a home office/pooch abode or something non-bedroom-like.

This is the second bedroom and the one in which we'll sleep. Of the three upstairs bedrooms, it has the best closet. Also, take note of the floors. Hello, hardwood! It's under all of the carpet. I'm looking forward to ripping it all out. No, the light fixture will not be staying.

This is the first bedroom. There's not much to say. If you come to visit us, this is where you'll sleep. We want visitors. Lots of visitors. When can we expect you?

Here's another view of the kitchen. The fridge is new. The stove is gas. it needs a backsplash.

This is a small space in the basement next to the stairs. The previous owners used it as an office area. I have no idea what will go here. A craft area would be awesome. Ooh... I'll have to file that idea away!

This is the large rec room in the basement. It also answers to the name Michael's Man Cave. I've already had nightmares about the floor. It also appears in the bathroom (which is not pictured). Off to the left is a large utility room and to the right is the laundry room. Hopefully this room will one day be nice to look at.

This is our back porch! I love it. I'd love to sit out there and eat breakfast. If anyone is interested, there's an adorable set of patio furniture at Lowe's I love. My birthday is coming up. Hint. Hint.

It's a jungle out there! There is a lot of foliage in the backyard. If it looks like this come April, I imagine I will be spending a couple of days cleaning it up. An important observation, though, is the fence (I told you we'd come back to it). The backyard is fenced in, which is great for our dogs. For the last year, we've had to take them out on leashes whenever we go outside. These pups like to run, which they will do plenty of in their new yard.

Ugh, so many plants! Someone did this on purpose and then just let it go wild. It needs some love. There's a pond in the middle of the yard. I'm not sure what we'll do with it. With all the lawn work I have planned, at least I'll be able to get a tan!

So that's it, there's our new home! We cannot wait to pack up and move across town. We would love it if all of our family and friends up to visit us!

Penelope Goes to the Doctor

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A couple of days ago, Michael called me during my lunch hour to tell me that Penelope had broken a nail and was having a cow. Anyone who knows my dog knows that she is a touch dramatic. We decided that I would look at the nail when I got home.

When I got home, I noticed that her nail had not broken, it had split. She wouldn't let me close enough to really look at it or cut the broken part off. She was walking around as though she only had three legs.

Michael got her into the vet yesterday afternoon. The nail had continued to split and they were going to have to cut it out. This is apparently very painful for dogs. Michael decided to wait in the waiting room. Being the dramatic pooch that she is, Penelope had an absolute fit while they were checking out her fit. They had bring her to the waiting room to see Michael before she would calm down.

They gave her plenty of pain medicine and sedated her for the procedure. They aren't sure whether or not the nail will grow back. She came home and lounged around all evening. When I got home from work, she was quietly laying in the dog bed. I walked up to pet her and she was very 'woe-is-me' and ate up the attention. We then went to grab something to eat. When we returned home, she was perfectly fine. She was her old self again.

Here she is after returning home from the vet. This morning she is feeling much better and loves her antibiotics! Bravo to the person who decided to make animal medicine taste yummy!

Flashback Friday

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Who's that cutie?

Okay, so yes, it is me. Circa... I'm not sure. I'd guess sometime in the late 80's. You know, last century.

But anyway, in honor of the current sub-zero temperatures, I wanted to post a photo from a warmer time. Just look at that tan! This was clearly before I became chubby, which happened sometime in second grade. That was the year I started reading books with chapters, starting with Mr. Popper's Penguins. Oh my gosh, was literacy the cause of my being overweight? Surely not...

Anyway, as with the rest of America, I'm trying to eat healthier in 2009. I would give many things to be in shape. It is very difficult to rewire my brain to make healthy choices when I've been making the wrong ones for so many years. I'm working on it, though!


Anyway, I don't even want to talk about how bitterly cold it has been over the last couple of days. I will say, though, that we have four, heavy blankets on our bed, the heat up, and we're still chilly.


TGIF!

Let it Snow!

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We finally received a measurable snowfall last night! Okay, so there was snow a little over a month ago, but it was on top of ice, so it didn't really count. But anyway. I woke up a few minutes before Michael left for work. He let me know that we'd received more snow than expected.

Great.


There's nothing I enjoy more than standing out in the cold to scrape my windows. My car isn't exactly new (1996 Mercury), so it doesn't heat up as quickly as it used to.


After taking the dogs outside this morning, I decided to head out with my camera. Unfortunately, my apartment complex isn't the prettiest place, even when covered in snow. Too bad I don't live out in the country where there are lots of things in nature to photograph....


Anyway, here are a few of the photos I snapped in the short ten minutes I was outside.

There was a little bird hopping around in this shrub. Of course, when I went to take his photograph, he hopped back into the branches. Reminds me of a few other animals I know... I walked up to the hole he hopped in and was going to attempt to take his photo, but the thought of him popping out made me nervous.

I ventured across the treacherous parking lot to take this photo, thus putting my life in danger! I'm not sure how much danger I was actually in, but the people in this neighborhood don't strike me as the most cautious drivers. Judging by the erratic tire marks in the snow, being plowed down seemed like a very real threat.

Okay, so this picture is just a little boring. It's just snow. And trees. And buildings. And green electrical boxes that my dog must think are fire hydrants. It sometimes worries me that he's going to be electrocuted.

Okay, this post has clearly gone off-topic. I have a project that I'm working on that I cannot wait to post photos of. However, I will have to wait. It's not done. It's not even close. With that, I have to go. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tasty Tuesday -- Hamburger Noodle Casserole

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Ingredients:

5 cups uncooked yolk-free noodles
1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans (8oz each) tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 package (8oz) reduced-fat cream cheese
1 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
3 green onions, thinly sliced, divided
2/3 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

- Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, brown beef and garlic in skillet, drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper; heat through. Drain noodles; stir into beef mixture.

- In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, ricotta cheese and sour cream until blended. Stir in half of the onions.


- Spoon half of the noodle mixture into a 13X9 baking dish. Top with cheese mixture and remaining noodle mixture.


- Cover and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with remaining onions.


Yields 10 servings.

Congratulations!

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Congratulations are in order!

Just before Thanksgiving, my cousin, Willie, asked his beautiful girlfriend, Jamie, to marry him!


Also, congratulations to my cousin, TJ, who asked his wonderful girlfriend, Sarah, to be his wife!

Spicy Seasoned Chicken

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Last night was Michael's night to cook. I love those nights, especially when it means he is in the kitchen rather than taking us out somewhere. It's so nice when there is someone cooking in the kitchen and it isn't me.

This year, we've decided to try to eat healthier meals and try to lose a few pounds. Because of this, I'm always on the lookout for healthy, tasty recipes for us to try. I came across this one the other day in a healthy comfort food magazine. We really enjoyed this meal, so I thought I would share it with others who are on a quest to eat healthier.


Spicy Seasoned Chicken


- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 flour tortillas, warmed


In a large skillet, saute the chicken, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder and salt in vegetable oil until chicken is no longer pink. Serve with flour tortillas and other toppings.


Yields 4 servings


1 serving = 305 calories

Christmas

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Unfortunately, I was a bad holiday photographer. I didn't take nearly as many photos as I wanted to. I was more concerned with spending quality time with our family. That's what happens when you live out of state! Here are a few of the photos I did take, though.

My mom and Aunt Nancy

My mother-in-law with my adorable husband

Part of my husband's family on his mom's side

My nephew, Mason!

My other nephew, Adrian!