Foheenix update

We're here. It's been absolutely insane, what with husband moving, moving out of apartment, finding/buying/moving into a new house, and starting a new job. But we lived through it and have relatively few scars. The animals are all fine, and overall we're settling into some semblance of normalcy. I have a few before photos of our house... well I shouldn't call them "before" photos since they're really "current" photos. But we have decoration plans. Mind you, we DO have plans. Just not the energy and money to do it all yet. Little by little, my young padawan.

Our new house was built in 1970 and is one of those ranch style homes. It's officially 1320 sq. ft. but that doesn't include the bonus room (as yet unfinished) as well as the large amount of storage in the garage. We have 3 bedrooms, and 1.75 baths... basically 2 bathrooms but one has a shower and one has a shower/tub combo. Living, dining, family rooms and kitchen round out our abode. Oh, and we have a HUGE yard for Lucy Dog to run around in. We are considering getting her a friend, but that won't be for a long time. Maybe after the holidays.

All crafting has been put temporarily on hold until we get unpacked. After that, I imagine there will be a lot of sewing of doll clothes and a lot of household decoration posts to come.

Fo-heenix

Well, the day has finally come. We're moving. I have mixed feelings. The bad part is we have to move to Phoenix (can you say hot?). The good is that we're moving because the hubs got a promotion, AND we can afford to buy a house or condo. We had no hope of home ownership here in Flagstaff, with the average price of a 3 bedroom house is in the $400k range (lame!). Even the manufactured homes are $260k+. Lame again.

So yeah, not that I've been very reliable in posting, but I think it is safe to say I won't be posting again until mid August, after the move. Hopefully, I'll have plenty of material after that. First, of course I will have photos of our new home. Then hopefully I will have done a major project monthly to make it look cute. So, yeah. I might be posting next week after we've bought the place. We're looking at some final places this weekend and we will make a decision.

Ok, not so triumphant

I have this real problem blogging when I don't have any new photos to post. I really should just put some random little blips up more often. Anyway, to recap the last month, we got a freak snowstorm/blizzard in May. It was insane, and everyone was like "what the hell?" The storm continued all day (we got about an inch of snow total). In the late afternoon the snow stopped, and the ground cover started melting. It was gone by the next day, but still, a late May snowstorm is just plain weird. Then, that same week, we got a wicked wind storm. As I was driving around looking for a parking spot, I noticed that someone was going to have a very bad day:
It turns out, the car belonged to someone who works in my office. The back windshield was totaled, and the trunk had some major dents and scratches. It was over $2000 in damages. Stupid wind.

On a cuter note, I finally uploaded photos from when I went to the Renaissance Faire with a friend and her little munchkin. Here's a photo:

The Triumphant Return

So you've probably wondered where I went. Truth is, I didn't really go anywhere but I was very busy. April was kind of a crazy month for me, and May isn't shaping up to be any better. I have been away so much, due to visiting family and funerals and work conferences. Most of the time, I just want to curl up with my kitties and take a long nap. Lucy would be happier running around at the dog park, but my kitties like to snuggle.

A few weeks ago, I went to visit mom and dad, for the first time in quite a few months. I took Lucy, of course, and a few of my dollies. Oh, and a mega-fuckton of laundry, mostly comforters that wouldn't fit in our washer/dryer at home. Mom has really done a lot of work in her backyard, and it is turning out to be a gorgeous little oasis. Lucy loves it, especially because it is fenced and she can run around off leash. We let her run around off leash outside of the yard too, but here it's much easier to keep tabs on her. She usually settles down on mom's big round lounger for an afternoon nap.

Then, I had to jet to Phoenix because my husband's grandmother passed away. It was a sad trip, but she had cancer and we were all expecting it. So I guess in a way, it was good because it wasn't a shock or a surprise. Still, she was a neat lady and I'm glad I got to know her for the short time I did.

Then, the week after returning from Phoenix, I had to go down AGAIN to attend a conference for work. The conference was really rather boring, but at least I got to stay in a swanky hotel with the worlds most comfortable bed ever! It was one of those individual spring mattresses where you can jump up and down and not disturb a glass of wine. On top of that, it had a feather mattress pad, and the covers were all down.

I brought my new Sooni Dal (who sadly is still nameless) to the conference with me, and she was so bored. I had told her to pack some books and puzzles to play with during mom's long boring seminars, but even then she ended up calling friends and chatting about how boring mom's job is.

So finally I am back home. I am looking forward to having a whole weekend where I don't have to travel somewhere. Seems like I've been out of town every weekend in the last month, and that is probably correct. Also, bonus, this weekend is a 3 day weekend. Hooray for Memorial Day. I intend to sleep, sew, and clean up my dirty-ass house. I also want to do more cooking. Last night I made some Shepherd's Pie for dinner, and it was scrumptious!

Who's up for a fabric cleanse?

Ok, so I have a lot of patchwork items rolling around in my head lately. Dresses, skirts, pillows, maybe even a quilt. I was looking through my fabric stash and, though I have a decent number of prints, I don't have near the variety I want. Anyone want to do some patchwork squares swap? Like, I cut out 5 4" squares from 5 different fabrics (25 squares), and you do the same? Or 2 4" squares from 10 different fabrics, or whatever. Oh, and yeah I realize no one really reads this thing, so I'm mostly just begging the universe for some fun fabric squares.

Dog for sale, $1.99/lb.

Sometimes I think I understand what it is like to have a small child. My dog (ok, she's a puppy still but I don't wanna give her any excuses) is like having a herd of 3 year olds running unsupervised through the house. Last night, we fell asleep with Lucy laying between our feet. We awoke with Lucy laying between our feet. I sauntered on downstairs to take the precious dog out for morning potty time, and I beheld this:

(caption reads: "Note the proximity of the untouched toy box to the center of destruction.")

My first instinct was to track down the dog and throttle her. Then I decided to take her out to potty instead, since it would mean less mess for me to pick up in the long run. Seriously though, I don't know how to keep this from happening. I'm guessing most people with dogs run into the same thing, based on the photos I've seen posted. I'll get over being angry, but it will probably take some caffeine and a few cigarettes.

Bonus shot:

Week 2

I had my first weigh-in today. The grand total for just one week? I lost 10.2 pounds! I've lost the equivalent to a large baby. Go me. Stay tuned next week for more progress. In the mean time, I have a new favorite dinner: tilapia fillet with Tony Cacherie's Creole Seasoning, sauteed in 1 T. olive oil, served with cous cous and a mushroom/squash medley.

Major Changes

It's been awhile since I've posted, and life has been quickly going by. The biggest development, I've joined Weight Watchers. I wanted the husband to join with me, but I guess he's just not ready to make the life commitment. Food still has too hard a hold on him and he doesn't want to break that yet. I can relate. But I finally decided that, in order for us to have a baby, ultimately it's me who has to get in shape. That and I'm tired of being uncomfortable. I want to sew and knit myself clothes, without having to spend 3 times as much on materials. A therapist once told me to make a list of reasons why a goal is important, and that will help you stay on track. So this blog post is my list of reasons. The list is in no other order than how the thoughts come to me.

• I want to have a baby by 30.
• I don't want to have my knees replaced.
• I want to have a more creative sex life.
• I want to take my dog on hikes and outdoor adventures.
• I want to sew clothes and knit garments for myself.
• I want to fly in an airplane without the anxiety I won't fit in the seat.
• I want to be able to buckle my seatbelt again.
• I want to shop at thrift stores for clothes.
• I want to attend my 10 year high school reunion looking better than I did at 18.
• I want to be able to help my husband lose weight, when he's ready.

Oh and one more thing, I'd like to say that I'm totally in love with chinese eggplant. It is the tasty!

Holy Snow!

I woke up this morning to go to work and glanced outside. Lots of snow, but figured no biggie, it's Flagstaff, we've dealt with snow before. Then I took Lucy out to pee and saw this:

Yeah, I could barely see my car. Then I discovered that the street plows and left a waist high snow drift behind all the cars in the lot. Lovely. No way I was getting to work this morning. I called my boss and she said a lot of people were calling in; they might shut down the office, we didn't know. I told her minimum time I could be in was 10:30am, after the apartment's plow came and freed us. She said no worries, and to keep her posted. So yay, bonus day off (or at least half a day, we don't know yet). I decided to grab the dog and let her romp about. The air temperature isn't that cold (considering), so from about 7am to 8:30 we hung out together. The neighbor's dog and Lucy's best friend, Marley, came out to play too.

Lucy weathered the storm well in her pretty pink sweater. The cold didn't seem to bother her at all. She kept sniffing and biting at the snow flakes.

Lucy and Marley were playing a lot, bounding through the drifts and burying each other. I was talking to Marley's mom, when I saw this:

"Mom, can we go inside now?" I guess Lucy finally got cold or tired or both. We're in the living room and she's passed out on the recliner. The snow is STILL coming down hard. I'll post updates if there is any news.

She works hard for the yummies

So hard for 'em honey! She works hard for the yummies, cuz she loves her dog-gy treats!

No photos today. I've been mostly keeping up with our pup who has decided to become a destroyer. And in true puppy style, unless there is a yummy involved, she won't listen to me. Right now she's chewing the stem from one of my old, dried Christmas roses. She'll start school on January 20th and I'm looking forward to it. We need to get some communication going. Otherwise, Lucy is the same sweet dog she's always been. She loves to romp in the snow and bites at the snowflakes.

The other fuzzies are doing well. They've been meowing to go outside ever since the snow started coming down Friday night. Right now, Mia has taken up residence on my thigh; her usual place. Tweek has wanted to cuddle lately, but he won't put his claws away. Frodo is still waking us up at night for petting, and Evie is still as skittery as ever.

100th Post

Wow, that couldn't have worked out better if I had planned it. 100th post, 1 hour left in the year. 2007 has been good to me, what with graduation, marriage, honeymoon in Alaska, and a new job. We have big plans for 2008, the first of which is starting a savings account for our future house (well the downpayment anyway). I am on an organization kick and I am determined to not only get the house cleaned, but also to get my decorating done.

The reason for the long pause in blogging is The 12 Days of Christmas Swap that I was working on. Oh my god, it was fantastic. Check out the gallery.

Our first married Christmas together was awesome. My dad came to visit, and we all got some nice stuff. The Hubs mostly got stuff for his Xbox and some movies. I got stuff for the house, and we got a spiffy new photo printer! The animals also had an awesome Christmas with lots of goodies.

And now, I leave you with a very strange sight: Tweek being cuddly!

Fishcat iz watchin u

This is a cat fish bed I got on day 12 of the 12 Days of Christmas Swap. Evie has claimed it.

Pay It Forward

I first saw this idea on The Bon's blog, but I was too late to sign up. Still, I think it is a fantastic idea so I am going to do it anyway.

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days. That is my promise. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

If you don't think you're crafty, still sign up. You'd be amazed at what you can think of. And besides, the gift doesn't have to be huge. It's just a way to brighten someone's day. When you comment to sign up, make sure you include your email address so that I can contact you for your address and whatnot.

This is going to be great!

My baby loves the camera

Not a whole helluva lot

As of late, the usual winter sickness has descended upon our house. My husband is only mildly affected, but I'm just a big bundle of head cold. I'm taking the morning off today to try to get my head dried out. Ugh.

In crafting news, I have a lot of news.... but I can't really talk about it. I've been doing a TON of crafting for The 12 Days of Christmas Swap on craftster.org. But, since my partner won't have opened all her presents until Christmas, I'm afraid I can't talk about her gifts until then.

On the dog front, Lucy is a destroyer. She's been really frustrating lately with all her chewing and ripping. She's also not really getting the whole housetraining thing, which is really upsetting. Still, we love her little goofy face and we will keep trying to train her. She is just a pup, after all.

Cats are doing well. Tweek keeps escaping but we're learning to deal with it. The girls are cuddly as ever, and of course Frodo does what Frodos do. Really no news with them. The kitties are just loveable and healthy.

The Tub Incident

Tweek had an unfortunate incident while inspecting my bubble bath. Here is an artist's rendering.

Howl-A-Ween

This Saturday I took Lucy Dog down to the bark park for the Howlaween party. She, of course, went dressed as a Princess with her little pink princess hat. She also was dressed as a spoiled brat in her "Will beg for treats" t-shirt. When we got there, I think there were about 20 dogs. By the time of the costume contest, there must have been near 50 dogs there. And Lucy's little friend Maddy (a french bulldog) was there, so the two girls played and wrassled while the contest took place. Lucy wouldn't sit still enough for me to want to stand in line with her. Besides, it was a holiday and I thought she should play. There were a lot of ridiculously cute costumes, like the Pekingese dressed as a bee, the Bloodhound dragon, and the Boxer batman. I think the best costume of the day was the chicken... not a dog in a chicken costume. No. A chicken in a dog costume. OMG it was hilarious. The chicken actually won an honorable mention in the contest, not being able to take home a prize since technically it wasn't a dog. Overall, it was a good day. No plans here for the actual Halloween, except to scare myself silly with ghost shows and pass out candy.

Random Asshattery

I'm walking in downtown Flagstaff, back to my office. See, I had forgotten to pack a lunch, so I walked 2 blocks over to the local Pita Pit (tasty place, I must say). I usually bring my food back to the office because I have no one to eat with... and I usually don't like sitting alone in a place. It's not so much a needy thing. I'm perfectly capable of going places independently. But it's more that I tend to stare at people, usually contemplating odd thoughts such as how much their head weighs, are those Mick Jagger's lips, etc. I get dirty looks. So I am heading back to the office with my soda and chips in purse, pita in hand. A strapping young man opens the garbage can in front of me. Then he sees me and asks me for money for lunch. I think, probably a college student. Guy doesn't look homeless or underfed. But I have no money on me. "No, sorry" I answer politely. Then the guy looks at my pita and asks "Do you want that?" ..... uh...... what? Do I want that? Apparently I would leave my desk and walk 2 blocks and pay some money for something I didn't want... something that I might throw in the very trash can he was looking in? WTF? I kind of gave him a weird look and walked onward, mumbling to myself about what kind of bullshit question was that?

Home, Home on the Peaks

So lately I have been on a mission to declutter, reorganize, and generally turn my apartment into a cozy home. Winter is coming on, the nights are getting cold, and I've had this major house-to-home nesting instinct. I think it has something to do with being newly married and having started a new job. I feel I finally have the time and (almost) the money to actually do something with this place. We got a lovely bedroom set for a wedding gift, and I want to make the rest of the house not feel so college-y.

My first move was to get my dad to put up some wall shelves in the office. It fills up the blank, boring wall and gives each of us a place to put stuff. We haven't organized the shelves yet, but as soon as they're done I'll post a photo. I'm also organizing my craft supplies due to two swaps I've got coming up. The bedroom is doing well, if you don't count the laundry on the floor. Otherwise it's fairly uncluttered.

My kitchen scares me. I am thinking of ditching all the old tupperware I have for these FlatOut! ones:
Until then, I'm going to measure my cabinets and buy plastic bins to control the deluge of containers. I also have a lot of unused space in the corner under the countertop, as well as the cabinet over the fridge. Mom's coming in a week, so maybe she'll help me. I also want to organize my pantry. I know I could be using that space more efficiently (or possibly get rid of the pantry and use the cabinet for crafts??).

The living room needs the most work, I think. I am tempted to get rid of the coffee table since it is a receptacle for all our crap. The DVD's in shelves is annoying me, and I think I'd rather have bins or baskets for them. The bookshelves are a disaster, as is the coat rack and shoe rack. Oh, and the rat cage is in here. I don't like that, but currently we have no other place for it.

So yeah, wish me luck. I'll probably be swearing a lot by the end of this project. But it will be SOOOOOOOO worth it.

Say Hello to Lucy

The husband and I adopted a puppy a week or so ago. Her name is Lucy, and she's about 5 months old and 23 pounds. The vet doesn't expect her to get too much bigger. We think she's a Basenji mix of some sort. She's very very sweet, and loves to get petted and give kisses. She gets along with the cats pretty well, although the cats don't seem to like her (figures). We're working on housebreaking and "sit" at the moment. She's got "sit" down pretty well, and she consistently does her potty business on the puppy pads. I think things are going well. She cuddles with us at night, and is my buddy whenever I'm home. She loves her daddy too. Her favorite treats thus far have been cow chew hooves, beef knuckles, and pup-peroni. Also, she's tolerant of clothing. I found a t-shirt on sale at Target for $3 so I grabbed it for her. She also has a pink winter coat. The shirt was frivolous, but the coat is practical (and cute). She's very short haired and her belly is practically bald. The mornings have been in the upper 30s/low 40s when I take her out, and she shivers and is oh so happy to get back inside.

Welcome Home Lucy!