Back After Another Hiatus

I just realized it has been an incredibly long time since I have posted anything! Again!

 So, to update, the adoption stuff is on hold. We still want to, but we decided to take few months and see if we can have a baby naturally. In the meantime, Trinket is getting plenty of cuddles.

Also, we decided to move forward in finding Zenzi a new home. We knew we would have to do it eventually, since she never met a child she didn't want to test her teeth on. It's been one month since we said goodbye, and I have gotten several updates from her foster mommy that she is doing really, really well. She loves having other Keeshonds to play with, and her sleeping arrangement has been upgraded to being in bed all night with her beloved peoples.

Another major change around here is that I had weight loss surgery last December. I have lost about 60 pounds so far! This is another reason why we wanted to give pregnancy a shot. Of course, we don't believe in doing anything to prevent a pregnancy, I just use that language to signify our using fertility meds. Today was the beginning of my second round of Clomid. I am also going in less than a week for a hysterosalpingogram, which is a test to make sure that my Fallopian tubes are clear, and don't have some kind of blockage preventing pregnancy. We are praying that everything is clear and that this round is successful. They checked out my ovaries yesterday to make sure everything looked good before starting this round of Clomid, and it all looked great. This is the first time in two years that I am completely cyst-free!

The biggest thing lately has just been an onslaught of illness- David came home Monday with a violent stomach bug, and promptly shared it with me. It has been a little miserable around here the last three days. This is also the week that our church is doing VBS, and I am supposed to be helping. I made it Monday and today, but I'm not sure if I will be going back. Puking on the kids would be a bad thing, I think.

We also just got back in town from Louisiana- we were there over the weekend for an Above Rubies retreat/ family camp. We met several new friends, and were so encouraged gathering together with like-minded believers.

That's about all I can come up with at the moment. Prayers for wellness and a bouncing bundle are appreciated always!

Happenings

I took Mackenzie for a walk today.  Most mornings I wake up thinking, "Wow, what a beautiful day! I should go for a walk!" Then I don't.  Then later I moan to David about how "we need to make time to go for a walk together each day", when what I really mean is "I need to make myself take a walk every day." LOL.

So, today when my lovely hub woke me up for prayer and Bible reading, he read 2 Peter and then prayed for God to give us energy to do what we needed to do today.  Guess what that meant? God woke me up. Then He reminded me to go for my walk. And take Mackenzie. Because she is a wiggles and she would like it. So I did.

I have gotten out of the habit of exercising the last couple of months.  For the first 5 months of this year, I did really well at keeping in the habit of exercising at the gym almost every day. Then, we started the adoption process, and it got reeeeeeeaaaallly hot outside.  And I stopped caring about losing weight and getting pregnant because it was HOT. So I stopped working out.  Hopefully my walk today was not just a one-time unusual occurrence, and I will actually get back in the habit of being more active. I think I might even take Zenzi for a walk in a little while.

An Exciting Week!

This week has just been full of things to be excited about!  I have lost about 2 pounds in the last week, and got my glasses prescription updated (with a snazzy new pair of specs...).  I have been to work out almost every day in the last two weeks, and I am almost down into my smaller jeans! Yay!

The most exciting thing, though, is that I am preparing to go out of town with the hubs to marriage/ family retreat.  It's an Above Rubies retreat, which might just be my favorite magazine that I get. I am so so so so so excited to go! Last night we got a doo-hickey that will let me play my ipod through the tape player in the car, so I have been working on compiling my trip playlist.  The trip to the campground will take about 3 hours, so I think that my three days worth of listening material should suffice... Can you tell that I am just a little bit excited?!?  Lol.

Also, I woke up so happy and refreshed this morning.  Last night David finally gave me the go-ahead to get no-bark collars for our little bark-happy furries, and last night was the first full night of peace and quiet that we've had in a long, long time. They had gotten into the habit of barking like little maniacs constantly starting at around 12:30pm.  Every night we would eventually end up kenneling them, but it was just perpetuating the cycle because that little bit of attention was rewarding their bad behavior. And, I didn't want to just leave them out there to bark out of pity for my neighbors, and because I kept getting these visions of an angry neighbor slipping some rat poison in under the fence....  So, now the problem is solved, and I feel extremely delighted.  We took the collars off of them first thing this morning (the directions say not to leave it on them more than 12 hours straight) and yet the environment of my house is blissfully quiet.  *sigh of satisfaction*

I'm about to head out to the gym, now. And enjoy the quiet!

Attention

Attention, kind readers: the dogs have been returned to the state of happy puffs.

I was informed by one of my good friends a few days ago that Mackenzie especially needed to be walked every day.  You see, this is an upgrade from our regular schedule of once a week, maybe once every other week.  So, I have increased the frequency of our walks to once every other day.  I will hopefully work up to walking every day. Maybe.

Today I just got back from walking them for 25 minutes around our quiet neighborhood.  They both had a great time, and we got some good obedience/ dominance training in.  I was also told by the aforementioned friend that I needed to seriously consider letting them know who is top dog around here.  So, we've been working on that.  Mackenzie still struggles with not going into hyper-blur speed every time she's in my presence, so it is definitely a work in progress with her.  Zenzi totally gets it, and is fine with it- most of the time.  Unless Mackenzie starts getting a little uppity.

Plus, I brushed and cuddled each of them for awhile after we got back, and they were both very appreciative.  Mackenzie was actually calm in my lap after our walk.  I was amazed.  So now they are both happy puffs.

As far as other happenings, this past week and a half has been very eventful and fun. The weekend before last we went down to central Texas to visit the Br--- side of the family (David's family).  We spent just shy of 24 hours there, but it was a good visit nonetheless.  I went with my wonderful sister Amie and mother-in-law Nancy to a craft fair the local town was having, and we saw lots of cute crafts.  I got several ideas for making Christmas gifts. 

Then we had a wonderful lunch, and stuffed ourselves (preceded by a delicious roast beef dinner the night before). Then, we drove home and headed straight to my friend DeAnne's house for our church ministry group, and to celebrate the baptism of their two daughters.

We missed getting to see the actual baptism of the girls, but I got to see pictures afterwards, and I was so impressed at the way they did it.  They had their daughters write personal testimonies (about a  paragraph each), then at the meeting they read it in front of everyone, then their father baptized them in their swimming pool.  I love that the girls got to share their testimony, and that it was such a personalized thing for them.

The next day we went to church and I did the art project with the 2-3 year old class, then taught the kindergarten Sunday school, then taught the bible lesson for the older kids in children's church.  We covered the Ten Commandments in the Sunday school class, and the jury is still out on whether or not my sweet little four and five year olds in my class absorbed the point of the lesson.  But, they enjoyed playing the game that went along with it, and I promised them that if they memorized the commandments and told them to me the next week they would get a prize.  They really liked that part.

After church we went out to lunch with some more good friends and their three little kids to Ali Baba's.  If you are ever in the Dallas metroplex, you need need need to look up one of their locations and try it.  It's the very best Mediterranean restaurant chain in the Dallas area, at least that I've been to so far.  Their gyro meat and tzatziki are the real deal- just like the stuff they make in Greece.

Monday I slept in, worked on the house, and cooked.  Tuesday I woke up with a sore throat so I slept in again. Wednesday I got up a little earlier, worked on the house, and cooked.  Then, late that night David and I went to the store to get some last minute items for Thanksgiving.  Thursday we got up early, cooked some broccoli cheese casserole, and then headed over to DeAnne's and had lunch with her and her family.  Then we visited a little while and had dessert.  Then, we headed over to my sister's house for a little while to see my side of the family.  It's nice that we only live about 5 minutes away from Melanie's house now.

After finishing at Melanie's house we went to Toys 'R' Us  for their Black Friday sale.  The doors opened at 10pm, and we got there at around 10:30.  We stood in line outside in the cold until just before midnight, then we finally got in the door at just before midnight.  We finished shopping in just less than 30 minutes, and then stood in line to check out for 2 hours.  The line wound its way all around through the store, up and down the aisles.  I don't know how anybody managed to navigate to shop.  But, the good part is that we saved a lot of money. We got a bunch of stuff for just less than 80 dollars.  And, we made friends while in line! One of them shared a coupon with us for 6 dollars off, and another one shared her cart with us so that David didn't have to stand for two hours holding a tower of items.  And, while we were in line we got to wind our way through the baby section and ogle all the cute little things!

Friday we slept in, and then I went and looked at puppies with my good friend Summer.  She had a puppy in mind at the city shelter nearby (which I totally love- they are a no-kill shelter), but we went and looked at Petland anyhow just for fun.  And it was a lot of fun.  They let you hold their puppies, no strings attached.  I held a little shih-poo that was cuddly and adorable.  I wasn't too tempted to take it home.

After the puppy-holding, we went to half-price books and shopped the clearance section.  It is seriously addictive.  It's way too easy to walk out of there with 15 dollars of books that were "only a dollar or two apiece!"  When we were done at Half-price books, we went to Golden Corral with David and had dinner.  I got to have turkey and stuffing again!  I have to admit, it's one of my favorite meals.

Saturday totally felt like Sunday to me.  I kept losing track of what day it was.  I can't really remember what we did, so we must not have done much.  Sunday I taught my little kindergartners in Sunday school again, and 3 of them were able to say all of the ten commandments! I was impressed.  And then another one was able to say the memory verse as well!

Monday I slept in a little, then worked on the house and worked on one of the Christmas gifts I'm making.  Yesterday I went to BSF, then picked David up so he could drop me off at home and have the car the rest of the day.  We ended up talking for an hour or so before he left to go back to work.  I am so thankful for what a wonderful husband I have, who does little things like that to let me know just how much he cares about me! After he left to go back to work, I worked on organizing the garage, then I walked around the house picking things up and putting them away, then I watched some TV and had a snack, and then worked on my crocheting, and then I started cooking dinner. 

I saw a dinner idea on TV and tried it a couple of weeks ago, and it has become one of our go-to options for dinner when we don't really have anything else planned.  It's where you make mashed potatoes, then heat a can of Campbell's "Beef with Country Vegetables" chunky soup, and then serve the soup on top of the potatoes.  It is Super Yum! So, that's what I made for dinner last night, along with a loaf of  chocolate chip banana bread.  It was filling and delicious, and cheap! The entire dinner cost me less than 4 dollars.

This morning I got a call from my OB/GYN, and they were checking in on me to see how everything is going.  They asked me a few questions, and determined that they needed to see me asap to do another blood test and ultrasound  and see what is going on with me.  They are probably going to be switching medications around and going to the next step to get my PCOS under control.  The friendly nurse said that from what I was telling her it didn't sound like the medicine I'm on now is working.  So I made an appointment to go in first thing tomorrow morning, and I'm nervous because I absolutely hate having my blood drawn, and I hate being weighed, and other things and so on.  Plus, we are leaving tomorrow to go out of town to visit Aaron and Amie.  So, the good balances out the bad.  I am just praying that the outcome of the doctor visit tomorrow will be good.

Pup Update

Today was soooooooooo HOT!!! We were gone a lot of today- we went down to Lancaster to show someone the house, and then we went to my brother Steve's for his and Rita's birthday party.  Then we went shopping and got groceries, plus another shelving unit for the guest room.

The puppies were so excited to see us when we got home.  They were both very hot today, so I decided to give them a break from the heat, and I let them into the kitchen.  Here are some pics:

Guess who is losing the last of her black fur?! Boo!!!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today I went out for my first walk around the neighborhood.  I took Mackenzie with me, because I didn't want to feel weird- "Who's outside, honey? I don't know, just some strange lady walking along...." 

Mackenzie made a great, and very cute, walking buddy. She just so happy to meet everyone we came across, and just so HAPPY to chase a couple squirrels, at least to the end of her leash.  I also learned that Zenzi's bark of indignation penetrates the human ear up to a mile away.  I didn't want the first time I met the neighbors to include a suspicious little grey puff giving them the evil eye.  She really loves her people, but in her mind the jury is still out on the rest of the world, aside from small children- the jury has decided those are guilty of all crimes and must be avoided at all costs.

Also, yesterday was my first ever well-woman check up.  I was diagnosed with PCOD, which is why there are no littles to talk about still- aside from my beautiful and brilliant little neices.  I would so appreciate everyone who reads this to pray for me.  And, if you are related to me and are female, then you might want to get checked since it has genetic links....

Speaking of my neices, I might get to see Shayce and Kylie today- my mom was talking about bringing them over to visit later today, and I am uber-excited to see them.  Speaking of which, I must go work on organizing some more of the toys that are still sitting around in boxes....

The look of suspicion...

She's just So Happy!!!

Continuing House Renovation

Well, it's time for an update on everything going on at El Casa.  We have finally finished putting the kitchen back together, including painting the new wall, scrubbing the floor, and then putting the stove back in.  It looks really pretty now.  The beginning of this week was not so productive because I came down with the stomach ick on Monday evening and only began feeling back to normal yesterday.  The good thing is that I finally got to catch up on my rest, and I lost 6 pounds in 3 days.  Plus, David was able to focus only on his work, which helped him to get a lot done on his job without the added stress of doing house repairs after getting home in the evening.  Note to self: it's okay to take a night off every now and then.  Our marriage has gotten a lot of benefits from taking it easy for a couple of days.  And, I gained some new insight and learned some things about being a partner and helpmeet without torturing those I'm working with.  Thank you God for teaching me.

Anyway, I was feeling better yesterday, so Mom and Dad came back down and helped us get back on track with our home improvements.  Who knew that selling a house could be so much work?  Certainly not I, apparently.  Last night we finished touching up the kitchen, including nailing the trim back onto the edge of the cabinets along the floor, putting down new contact paper in all the drawers and cabinets, installing a new door on the back of the garage (it needed one since we had some very bored little furbabies in the backyard who believe that shredding a wooden door is soooooo much fun), and power-washing the outside of the house.  Plus, I cooked a very nice dinner for every one, served on the finest paper plates (sort of- more like the cheapest possible that would withstand dinner).  We had chicken lasagna, fresh fruit- oranges, bananas, nectarines, and pineapple, cajun mixed vegetables, and dinner rolls.  Plus chocolate chip cookies and hot mochas for dessert.  I feed my helpers well.  Then, while Mom and David finished putting the final touches on the cabinets, I helped get Dad up-to-date on the awesomeness of "Big Bang Theory" (the TV show- I know, the name is unfortunate, but the show is hilarious) thanks to my wonderful TiVo, and kept everyone current on their hot drink, dessert, and medicinal ointment needs (there were several boo-boos).

The yard is looking pretty fantastic now, since our new yard guys came last weekend and took care of fallen branches, leaves, trimming, and edging.  It was sooooooo worth it.  Our house is looking almost brand new on the outside now.  I absolutely love using the power-washer.  That thing is just so cool and fun to use.  I love being able to blast away dirt and grime that have been there for ages, and seeing how pretty things look afterwards.  I wish I could just use it on the inside of my house too.  I could clean the whole thing in a few hours that way.  Hmmmmmmmm. Too bad.

Today Dad came back down and is helping put new floor down in the bathroom.  I am so, so excited about that.  I have been waiting for four and a half years- ever since Gizmo was a kitten and chipped several of the bathroom tiles sharpening her claws in protest of being locked in the bathroom- to put down new floor.  I feel so lucky and blessed that we are finally getting all these repairs done.  The difference after just having the bathroom sink fixed is amazing.  It is ridiculous how much bigger the house feels now that we have two working sinks.

Anyway, Dad and David are putting the new floor down in the bathroom today.  It's ending up being a fairly complicated process, since the wood floor underneath the tile had a lot of water damage from the leaky sink.  Dad and David are gone to Home Depot right now buying more wood to put down, and then once that is done the new flooring is a fairly simple process- just peel and stick.  It will probably be more complicated than I am anticipating, but isn't it always? ;) 

We are also planning on painting the new door on the garage tonight, so that project will be completely finished after that.  Then, if we have time, we might do a little more painting on the inside of the house.

Here are some pictures of our projects so far:

Mom, Dad and David

Dad and David putting in the sheetrock

Mom holding the trim for the bottom of the cabinets, and a view of what our living room looked like with stuff in the process of being sorted, packed, and loaded into the car.  Plus, the kitchen drawers on the coffe table waiting to be lined with our new contact paper.

The culprits of the destroyed back door.

Mom putting the new contact paper into the drawers.

The kitchen cabinets with new contact paper in them.

The kitchen wall now that the stove cabinets, and counter are back in place.

Our living room now that we are finished (sort of).

More of the living room and kitchen

Our kitchen table, all clean and happy.

The "Before" picture of the bathroom.

Dad, after putting the toilet into the tub and removing the tile.

Just in case you wondered if they had any fun....

David, gleeful after getting to play with tools and accomplish some demolition.  He's holding a piece of water-damaged flooring.  That's right- he did it all with his bare hands.  What a man!

Dad, with his plethora of tools.

Hard at work.

Prying the last bits of warped flooring out.

The destructed floor under the sink.

They are both having a blast.  Really.

I'll post more pics later when the status changes.  I'm looking forward to my beautiful new floor!

It's Snowing!

Hooray, it's snowing for the second time this winter in our little nook of Texas!  The first time it only spit a little snow at us, and we didn't really get the full experience.  This time around (and with the help of antibiotics, since my cold is not quite finished yet) we got to really enjoy it and play in it!  We decided to build a snowman:

No, Don't hug him, he'll fall over!!

Pretty, huh?

I so wish I could get the video of Zenzi and Mackenzie (checking out the snow, acclimating to the snow, playing in the snow, then freaking out for five minutes straight when their daddy tried to play with them in the snow) to load.  Mackenzie was much more accepting of David after a few seconds, but Zenzi just couldn't get past the parachute pants.  She was offended by his early-nineties fashion statement, I think.  :)

Zenzi the Keeshond

"But Mommy I don't want to lay on your cold cold feet!"

"I'd rather lay over here instead!"

"Aren't I cute?"



"Oh no, Mommy's about to get my belly!"

Zenzi Playing

I decided to share a little gem that I taped last night of my dog and husband duking it out- one of her favorite pastimes. Enjoy!

A New Joy

Okay, so I have been reminded more than once by my dear sister that I need to update my website. I have been told that it is too morbid. All right, I admit it. I have been a little lax in my attention to my reader.

I now have a new puppy. She is the most wonderful thing on four legs since Trinket. Mer name is Zenzi, and she is a purebred Keeshond. She loves to run around with other dogs in her backyard. She loves her kitty sisters, but they will only sort of tolerate her.

She loves everything living except for people under the age of 10 or so. Babies especially freak her out.

She is full of life and joy. She definitely lives up to her name, which means "to spring up, grow, thrive". She is one of the happiest dogs I have ever met. She has a great sense of humor too. She has about 50 dog toys around the house, but still prefers to make her own toys out of things she is not supposed to have. One of her favorite things to do is to sneak into our room, find the dirty clothes, and then grab a sock or undergarment and run.

This has led to several embarrassing events. My pest control guy now knows exactly what my underwear looks like because she took it upon herself to lead me on a high speed chase the

day he came over, waving them from her mouth like a victory banner.

She loves all foods that are eaten by humans. She will do anything for the all-powerful draw of a honey nut Cheerio.

She is the most beautiful dog I have ever owned, and is one of the best snuggle buddies you could ask for.

She is the only dog I have ever owned who didn't make me break out in hives from her spit and dander. She has become my best friend, aside from my husband, of course. Here's to Zenzi, my 'silly-pants':

My New Dog

Ok, so Sadie never came back. Very very sad. I still look for her every time I hear a big dog bark.

But, the upside is that I now have a new dog! Her name is Ginger. She is a red Australian Shepherd (actually she is more of a honeyed brown color, but officially that is called "red"). She is the cutest, fluffiest thing. I think I will only have Australian Shepherds as dogs from now on. She is such a good, sweet dog. I love her!



This morning I had a very novel experience. David bought me a bike recently. I love it, too. We had a deal that if I kept the food budget below 600 dollars in January, then at the beginning of February he would be a bike that I have been asking for for over a year now. So, I actually kept the food budget down to about 450 dollars in January, and now I have my bike. I haven't taken pictures of it yet, but when I do, I will post them.



So, this morning, I was about to take a little ride on my beautiful new bike, and Ginger was in the backyard having a fit. Apparently she is under the impression that every time the garage door opens she is supposed to get to come out and see us. She loves to do that, and a lot of times, if she is insistent enough, we let her. So, she was barking and barking, and I felt guilty, so I decided to see if she and the bike would mesh well. They did. She had the best time! It's the first time that she has gotten to run on an outing around the neighborhood. She didn't really have any fear of the bicycle, so it worked quite well. Now, when I take her out, I can spend some time coasting. That is very nice.

Ok, so in the other areas of my life there have been some changes as well. I now have an Associate's degree in Early Childhood Development. Hooray! Unfortunately, that does not mean that I am done at the Junior colleges. I have started at UNT this semester, but I still have 6 classes to take at the junior colleges, boo. At least the classes I am taking this semester are interesting. I am really liking my Linguistics class. I was told by several people beforehand that it was a super-hard class to take, but I have found the material very interesting so far.

Ok, so enjoy the pics of my sweet dog! Later!