Throw Me a Bone

When our friend Tyler stopped by on Saturday to watch the game with us, he brought Franklin a new bone. Instant best friends.

Franklin has been gnawing on that thing for days now. He really loves it, and I do too because it keeps him entertained for hours at a time. However, today, he seems to have decided it's not safe in the house and really wants to go outside to hide it. He is acting just like the dog from the Traveler's Insurance commercial. I just won't let him take his bone outside though because last time he did that, it was left out for days and days. It was rained on and soggy, and Franklin ate the entire thing at once and gave himself diarhhea. Not making that mistake again!

So, after whining at the back door for half an hour he decided to hide his bone inside the house instead. I could hear him walking from room to room for a while and then nothing. All of a sudden, Franklin is barking from our guest room.

I find him on the bed without his bone. Turns out he tried to hide it under the pillows, but it dropped to the floor behind the headboard. And, Franklin won't jump down from anything higher than a step for some reason so he was in quite the predicament.

He is not supposed to be on that bed (hello, white comforter), but how can I say no to this face?

Finished!

Well, we did not get my shoe closet done in one weekend. There were just too many distractions. We got a great start on Friday evening - went to Lowe's for supplies, and I even got the first coat of paint on the walls before I went to bed. But, then Saturday rolled around, we cleaned house, gave Frank a bath, watched the KSU/OSU game (no comment there), etc. So little progress. And, I always underestimate the amount of time it takes for paint to dry.

However, after days of nagging, Andrew and I finally closed the door on this one, pun intended.

Here's the step by step process.

#1 - Remove current shelving
#2 - Paint walls (Safari Beige from Valspar)
#3 - Paint supporting boards
Step #4 - Add in painted shelves...starting to come together...
Step #5 - Add in shoe organizers and shoes! So pretty now. :)
A closer view...
And, Andrew even got his very own shelf. :)

Let's review where we were at before...
So much better now!
We also finished up a couple of other lingering projects. I hinted at a new piggy bank last week. I saw this done on Better Homes and Gardens and thought it was so cute. Mason jars are really charming and have so many great uses. I had Andrew make a slot in the metal seal on top of the jar, and woila! Instant piggy bank. Much more fun than the random glass we were putting our loose change in before.
I also received engagement pictures of my Aunt Jan and Uncle Tommy, plus my Mama and Papa (mom's parents) to add to our family wall of wedded bliss.
I love a happy ending. Or just a ending. I don't deal well with unfinished business!

Break's Over

Andrew and I have taken a major break from home improvement since we completed our to-do list before Thanksgiving. However, now I'm getting a major DIY itch again. The thing is, we did all of our easy, less expensive projects last year. So 2010 is going to require a bit more planning and moolah. Which is fine because I'm so excited to get started, and these projects are going to make a major difference in our home. We're going to ease back into DIY home improvement this weekend and then really jump in next week when our pantry cabinets arrive!

We technically started last weekend when we finally got our garage cleaned out and organized. At least as organized as it can be because it's technically part of Andrew's man territory and therefore he gets final say. Maybe you don't know the extent of Andrew's organization skills.

Let me illustrate - his senior year of college when he lived in a house with five other guys, Andrew didn't use a dresser to keep his clothes organized. Not because he didn't have one...because he doesn't like drawers. Instead he created two piles on a futon - one for dirty clothes and one for clean. When the dirty clothes pile got bigger than the clean clothes pile, he did laundry. And by doing laundry I mean putting as many items of clothing into the washer at once (no need for color separation!), move them to the drier and then thrww them back into his clean clothes pile. No folding necessary. Right. So, getting Andrew to put things in cabinets, on hooks, etc in his garage was a major win. Someday we'll work towards organizing the cabinets. Slow down, Ali...

So, this weekend's list:

1. Clean house
2. Give Franklin a bath
3. Watch K-State beat OSU
4. Complete cute piggy bank project
5. Finesse shoe closet

Yep, I have my very own shoe closet. I feel like such a grown up.

And, it currently looks like this:



Messy and blah.

We haven't really discussed official plans for the small makeover, but I'd like to paint the walls and shelves. Andrew is going to add dowels so my shoes set nicer. I think I'd also like to add a shoe organizer for the back of the door to hold my sandals/flip flops. We'll see how ambitious we actually get. Andrew has asked if he can maybe have a shelf in the shoe closet once we're done...we'll see. The verdict is still out.

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend to everyone!

Neighborhood Watch

We had some major police action in our neighborhood this afternoon.

I had the day off and had just gotten done with running several errands - new jeans, Target, groceries - and was sitting down to catch Oprah when a cop car pulls up in front of our house. And then another. And another and another and another. Seriously. At least six cop cars in front of our house. At first I am running through my head trying to think if I have done anything wrong...then I realize they are running over to my neighbor's house directly next door to us on the right.

Of course my interest is peaked so I run to the right side of our house and peek out the windows in time to see several policemen pull out guns and run inside...several others have guns out and are perched around the property. Mind you we live in a very quiet neighborhood and particularly, the house next to us is home to a middle-aged, single woman so this is big news.

The police are inside for a couple of minutes and then come out...walk around the backyard, guns still pulled, etc. I am hiding behind the headboard of our bedroom so they don't see me being the creepy neighbor that I am.

By this time, I've called Andrew to give him the scoop...no answer, but a few seconds later he pulls in the driveway and as I come out the front door one of the cops gives us the scoop.

They chased someone from the mall into our neighborhood, and they think he tried to hide in the house next to us, but when he pushed the front door in, the alarm went off and scared him away.

Crazy!

And, the not so fun part is that we don't know if they ever caught him or not...

So, just a friendly reminder to keep your doors locked when you're not home...alarms set and ready. And, I will be watching...like an old woman who can't mind her own business.

Later this evening, Andrew tells me he just had a daydream that when he pulled into our driveway this afternoon, the cops asked him, "Citizen! Do you own a gun? If so, you can help us." And, Andrew told them, "Really? But, only if you promise it's okay...I will only clip him and you can finish him off."

Wow.

Thoughts of Today

1. I am really excited American Idol is back on.
2. I am also slightly embarrassed to admit this. I watched the very first season with Kelly Clarkson and didn't watch it again until last season. I am all of a sudden a twelve-year-old girl and addicted.
3. I made sloppy joes on Monday night. So yummy. I LOVE sloppy joes. Andrew hates them. He swears the first meal I made him as a wifey was sloppy joes, and he thought he was in for a long ride.
4. Franklin has destroyed the wooden cross bar on the bottom front of my desk. He just won't stop chewing on it no matter what I do. Finally, I figured out he doesn't like the smell of TABASCO so if I just wave the bottle in his face he runs away. Today, that wasn't doing the trick so I poured a little on the wood, he licked it and then freaked out.
5. Now Franklin is sleeping by the back door and doesn't want back into my office.
6. I hope TABASCO isn't bad for dogs.
7. I won a $100 from my agency on Monday and my Master Card arrived via FedEx yesterday. Should I buy jeans or boots?
8. I need to send Christmas thank you cards still. Does anyone else do this?
9. Andrew and I are back at the gym with all of the other New Year's resolutioners. We are also going to yoga together tomorrow night. Andrew has never been to yoga and is the least flexible person I know. He has never been able to touch his toes. I feel like I will have a good follow up post from this class.
10. Is it Friday yet?

Random

Franklin is so entertaining. People keep asking us when Andrew and I are going to have kids, and I think it will be a while because we have too much fun with our dog. When I'm working at home and he gets really wound up I like to make him watch videos on YouTube because he can't figure out the movements or noises. So, this past week I made him watch videos of puppies.


Proof that I do not spend all of my time on Facebook during the day. :)

Happy New Year!

I am obviously ten days behind wishing you all a happy new year, but regardless I'm still going to do it! Hope everyone is off to a great 2010. :)

Since we didn't make it up to Iowa to spend Christmas with my family because of the inconvenient blizzard, my family spent New Year's together instead. We had such a great time even though it was dangerously cold. -15 degrees when we left on Saturday. Yikes. Frank, Gracie (my parents' lab) and Isabelle (my brother's family's lab) had the best time frolicking in the snow which was great so we could just let them out and have them run for hours and hours.
On Friday morning when the temperature was warmer (maybe 10 degrees?) we took Quinn sledding for a short bit and then dropped her off outside to go find some bigger hills to conquer. We found a great snow-packed country road a few miles from my parents house that was a lot of fun to sled down, but it was so painful walking back up. Reminded me how out of shape I am. Yuck.
We had a great time spoiling Quinn.

We played with bubbles...


played with the magnets on the fridge...
and then got to open presents!
We also had the funniest time watching Quinn dance along with the cast of Glee to Beyonce's Singe Ladies.


However, enough taping, let's get to dancing!



Can't wait for this spring when we have two more little one's to spoil!

So Over Winter

Along with everyone else in the Midwest, I am so over winter. Wichita hasn't gotten a ton of snow like our northern friends have in Kansas City and Iowa, but it has still just been so miserably cold out. Which means Franklin is pyschotic inside. He is blissfully ignorant to the low temps since he has the thickest coat of fur ever, but I just don't know how much more I can take.
Thankfully, I believe we are supposed to have nicer weather this coming week - 40s - hello heatwave!

Hopefully, we won't have to continue to take turns bundling up and playing with Franklin in the backyard to wear him out for 10 minutes at a time. Andrew just did this earlier today, and I'm up next.
Come on warmer weather.

The Dog House, UPDATE!

Okay, so Frank ate my Blackberry last week. I was not a happy camper, but knew I had insurance on my phone so I was hoping for an easy (not expensive) transition to a new phone.
I get to my nearest AT&T store explain the incident to one of the sales clerks and long story short...I am the new proud owner of my very own iPhone!
I know I am like three years late compared to all of the cool kids that got them when they first came out. But, I do feel kind of cool since mine was only $100. Turns out with an insurance claim you have to mail in your phone and meet a $50 deductible in order to get a replacement. Since my original two year contract with AT&T had lapsed, I could renew for another two years and only pay $100 for an iPhone. Obviously, the choice is clear. I am loving it. I don't know why I wasted over a year talking on a Blackberry.

Franklin is allowed to come out of the dog house now as clearly he had my best interest at heart all along. What a guy. :)

The Dog House

My dog ate my homework. Not really, but he did eat my phone last night.
And afterwards, Franklin definitely knew he was in trouble. If we had a dog house, he'd be in it. Instead, he's lounging on his luxurious puppy bed he got for Christmas. Rough life.