Demolition Derby!

Whew! A minute to sit down and blog!! It's been pure chaos around here this week. Organized chaos, but chaos nonetheless! Last week, the landlord said he wasn't going to sell the house anymore (market slow, etc.) did we want to stay here another year? Screeeeeeching halt to househunting, and Peace-Treaty-type discussions followed. In the end, I caved we waved the white flag and agreed to stay as long as we could re-do the kitchen and lay down the hardwood floors we just happened to have waiting, and he would drop the rent by a big ol' chunk.... El landlord agreed! (The only reason this made sense to us is that we would be interested in buying this house next year, so we would benefit from having the kitchen redone already, etc.)

So, Saturday night around 5pm, Hubby and several friends/co-workers started DEMO-ing the kitchen and tore everything out! They had it all ripped apart and the new cabinets in place by around 10pm. Yes, that's a crazy time to be starting a project, but y'all should know by now that we operate a little out of the norm... (Don't worry, the kids were all in bed and snoring through the hammering! They're more than used to their crazy parents.) Hubby did some more work on it yesterday afternoon, and now all that's left is placing the sink and a new backsplash. In the meantime, I am washing dishes in the bathroom and cooking microwaving in there as well. Small price to pay for getting rid of the disgusting kitchen we had!

OH! Hubby also had a plumber friend here doing a project as well. He moved the washer/dryer from the dungeon garage into the small room off the kitchen! No more standing out there trying to keep the clean clothes from falling onto the dirty garage floor! No more shivering b/c it's freezing, or running the dryer on low b/c it's burning up out in the garage! Hurray! I am so glad to have a handy Hubby!

And wouldn't you know, the day before all this craziness starts, I went and ordered our new computer, taking the old one along to transfer all the data! So, I can't post any pics right now, as I'm using Hubby's laptop. Blogger's remorse. But soon, my friends! You too can share in the excitement of getting rid of the yucky kitchen and replacing it with a new one! I know you can't wait. :-)

Work Day....hopefully.

Well, today is the day we are supposed to be making our fence into an electric one. We are attempting to keep this:









inside the yard! I was a little hesitant to turn the fence into a "live" one. I mean, we do live in a neighborhood, with kids all over the place, for goodness sake. But, we found out that people all over our said neighborhood have horses, chickens, etc.

To back that up, in just the past week, our neighbors directly beside us have brought home a slew of animals! The one to the left brought in two pygmy goats and a chihuahua. (Interesting combo, I know.) The ones to the right have THREE new puppies, in addition to the dog they already had outside. That's right, THREE lab puppies.

Yap, yap, yap. yap, yap, yap. all. day. long.

Anyway, they both made lots of fence/containment modifications this week to keep their new animals in. We're doing the same. I am tired of chasing the dog all over the place when she climbs over the fence! So, in an effort to contain our giant almost-one-year-old pup, we are going to string a live wire across the fence, on our side, using extenders, to keep it away from the opposite sides of the fence. It looks pretty safe to me. I also bought these neon yellow signs to warn anyone trying to lean over and pet her that they might feel a strong little zap from now on. :-)

This all depends on when Hubby makes it back from the little bit of work he had left this morning. Meanwhile, I should really be cleaning the house, because we have a sitter coming tonight! (Not that it isn't always in sparking, guest-ready condition!) She's coming so that we can go to Sam's Club have a date night! Talk to ya later!

Skirts and more skirts!

Okay, here's the second skirt I've finished! (Please excuse the fact that it severely needs to be ironed!) I was in a hurry to show y'all. This one was a little tougher to pin. Originally, I wanted to insert a fabric panel only on the front, but I couldn't figure out how to get the back seam to lay flat when I was pinning. Finally, I gave up and put in a fabric piece on the backside as well. I'm glad I did, because it fits perfectly, it would have been way too snug the other way!

I used another type of blue denim for this one. I can wear it with the same shirts I would have worn with these jeans. This one will probably be mostly casual, but I have one more to do that I plan to use for church. I'll show you that one next time!


Oh, and just so you know, these were Hubby's favorites from my jean collection. He was a little hesitant when I said I was going to cut 'em up. But he was very pleased with the finished product!


What? By "model it" did you mean show the post-baby waistline?! Haha. No.

I did it!

Well, I did it! Hubby kind of issued a challenge Sunday night, to see if I could get one of my skirts done by Wednesday night (to wear to church). I don't know why he thinks my projects seem to take a while, or something?! I was a little irked, but decided to try and take him up on it. Sure enough, I finished one tonight!

I ripped the seams from a pair of capris and man, it was a mess! The little strings were everywhere when I finally finished undoing the jeans. I ironed them flat and measured out the fabric I wanted to place in the "gaps". The biggest challenge was just getting the whole thing pinned. It seemed like every time I got one side pinned, someone needed Mommy :-).

Finally, I had it ready and started sewing it together. (It didn't bother me too much that the hum of my sewing machine was drowning out the President's address....) I left the old seams out on this one, to let it get all "fringy." I will probably have to trim the edges after the first few washes, until it gets to the new seam I made.

Well, here are the pictures! I still have two more to do, so I hope you won't get too bored if I share those as well.

Feeling crafty?

This week, I am attempting to do this. I have ripped apart 3 pairs of jeans and we will see what the outcome is! I will post some pictures once I get this project going!

What I have learned from Cesar so far...

Ok, a few days ago, I promised to tell you all about the book I am reading right now. I will try and relate this as well as I can, I am sure I won't use the right jargon, like he does!

Some of the main pointers I have gotten out of this book are:

**Dogs are NOT humans! (Isn't it pathetic funny that he even has to address this?)

They do not feel the same way we do; they do not hold on to memories about their mothers, brothers, sisters; they don't blame their fathers for running off after the "bi'ness" was over.... They live in the moment and don't worry about what's going to happen tomorrow. What's the point in acknowledging this? Mainly, a lot of owners tend to sympathize with their dogs, or feel sorry for them because THEY - the humans - would feel bad about the situation.

Example? Say you brought home a pound puppy, gave him a good home, and 6 years later, you are still compensating for his bad behavior b/c once-upon-a-time he was living in an animal shelter? That would be YOU - the human - projecting feelings onto the dog that he doesn't have. He does mention animals who were abused and hurt by previous owners having skittish tendencies with their new families. He helped these families to realize THEY needed to quit pampering the dog, and show him what BALANCE was. Dogs don't need pampering, they need emotionally stable owners!


** Three-part Formula: Exercise, Discipline, then Affection.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Dogs are "pack" animals, they want to have a leader, or else they will have to become the leader. If you establish, through exercise and discipline, that you are in charge, then you can give affection, knowing the animal will obey in an instant. A dog who is bored, or has lots of pent-up energy doesn't really want to listen to you. You haven't proven that you are leading the pack effectively.

**Some Issues that people should be paying attention to!!

-Aggression: Aggression is not cute, it's not a laughing matter. Your dog should be able to politely greet family and friends, not go charging at the door. They shouldn't be growling over food - your kids should be able to stick their hand in the food bowl and the dog remain calm. Some people have dogs specifically for their "fear factor," wanting to know they will be protected by a guard dog. If you have given a command for the dog to attack an intruder, that's not the issue. We're talking about everyday, "I bark at everyone I don't like," aggression. When Aunt Tilda can't get out of her car because your dog is aggressive, that IS a problem. (Unless you told him to bite Aunt Tilda, and then YOU have the problem :-) ....) As the owner, you are actually letting your dog be stressed out. It's up to you to stop bad behavior!

-Hyperactive Energy: Jumping on people, over-excitement, constant licking, digging, chewing.
- Anxiety/Separation Anxiety: Barking, whining, scratching, etc. Destroying things while you're away.
- Obsessions/Fixations: "Addictions" or preoccupations with anything from a cat to tennis balls. Oblivious to owners commands, even when food is offered, etc.
- Phobias: Fear or traumatic incident that the dog has not been able to move beyond. Thunder, trash truck noise, etc. (This is not the same thing as having an emotional feeling or always thinking about the fear. It's more like a "Flight or Fight" response when it happens. The owner can help the animal move beyond this by staying calm and assertive and stopping the behavior.)

So, these are a few examples of unhealthy behavior, and we can all see them displayed in just about every other dog around the neighborhood.

He also goes into detail, explaining how breed can influence a dog's behavior, the different classifications for dogs, and what types of activity level they need to have to remain calm and attentive. For us, Banner is a purebred working/herding dog. She doesn't have the energy of a Shetland Sheepdog or a Border Collie, but she has the ingrained sense of herding animals together in her blood. She's been trying, unsuccessfully, to herd the boys into a calm group since we got her. Ha, good luck, pup! She also has the need to be "working" and does a daily tour of the yard, going all around the fence line, looking for who knows what? The other night, she spotted some unknown critter in the yard, and was very diligent in defending her yard - all night long..... If we are not able to direct her energy into a productive outlet, she will become bored, and start venting her frustrations by chewing, digging, you name it.

Thankfully, he mentions several great ideas for "working class" dogs, and I have already started looking into some of them!! Here's a hint at what we're thinking about...

Blah, blah, blah

I am sooo bored with the way this blog looks!! I am going to seek some "professional" help soon. The last time I tried to do any graphic design on my own, I deleted the header picture and have yet to successfully get it back on here. Maybe this time I will manage to change the font to Gaelic and we'll all enjoy trying to read my silly posts!!?!? Stay tuned.....

Family Secrets!

Yesterday and today were very productive around here! It's a well-known fact around this household that Mommy doesn't do a whole lot of cookie and cake baking. Breads, birthday cakes, holiday pies - I can handle those. But the everyday "Just Because Cakes" I don't tend to do many of. In fact, the fam is lucky to get one a year from me, ha. I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but my sweet Hubby has some special "skills" that he keeps under wraps.

See, he says that because he was a "geek" in high school, he took Home Ec. to meet girls. That's right, people, my studly-HeMan took Home Economics. He learned how to cook his own food and even learned how to sew! I don't think he ever got a date for his efforts, but that's okay with me, I get to reap the rewards!

So, when I have big sewing projects like making Black-Out curtains for the boys' room, I feel confident asking Hubby for his help. In fact, when I leave my ego in the other room, I have to admit that Hubby sews a straighter line than I do.... He usually takes over the project and insists on finishing the actual sewing for me. I imagine it's because all my hurried-impatient-pedal-stomping gets on his nerves, ha. But, I am ever so glad to have a Hubby that doesn't mind helping me get projects done around here!! The curtains look great!

The kids are glad to have a Daddy who can whip up a fluffy, smooth-as-butter

"Just Because Cake!"

Oh, and the real reason I don't mind Hubby's previous Home Ec. experience? Because I took Shop in 6th grade and got an A+ and an award for Most Outstanding Student....

"THE PROJECT"

Here's the detailed version of our Bookshelf Project! I know you were dying to hear more about it, weren't you? Did you lose some sleep last night over it? Poor thing!

Hubby had an old bookshelf that his grandfather made for him about 16 years ago. We loaded into the UHaul when we moved to NC and it's transformed quite a bit over the years!

First, we had to add support to it because of the weight of all my books. (You'll see what I mean in a minute.) About two years ago, we painted it white and took off the bottom doors. We added more beadboard to the back and painted that white as well. Then, we needed a new hole for a lamp cord to pass thru. When we moved to TX, we turned the thing on its side and added more shelves to it. Finally, I came home from last fall's visit to NC, and Hubby and Sister-in-law had turned it back upright and rearranged my books on it. Did I mention they had rearranged my books on it? Bless Their Hearts.

***We briefly interrupt this blogging experience for a public service announcement! ATTENTION HUSBANDS! If your wife is a Bibliophile and has OCD tendencies, do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT rearrange her books haphazardly while she is away from home. If you feel you must, please, PLEASE do not enlist the help of any other woman (family member or not) to also rearrange her furniture and pictures. This is for your own good, gentlemen. That is all. We now return you to the sub-par entertainment you were enjoying.****

So, anywhoo... We finally had had enough of the plain white bookshelf and the overwhelming upright-ness of it. That's when Hubby decided he wanted to cut it in half and make it into TWO bookshelves! Since, we also wanted to make some dvd/cd shelves, so why not do it all at the same time? Why not, indeed!

Here's the mound o' books that I had to get off the original shelf.

Here are the shelves, mid-project.

Voila! Final Outcome! We love our new shelves! I think Hubby's grandfather would be proud that he shares his love of wood-working.

I finally got everything put back up this morning. It all looks great!

Oh, and when it was all said and done, Hubby says, "I like all the matching paint colors!"

I quipped, "Yep, the only things out of place now are the couches! Haha."

He very seriously replied, "Well, they do make a fabric paint...."

Lord, Help Us! Please no!!!! Make it stop!!!

(Oh, and should you feel the need to zoom in and look at all my books... First of all, you're as weird as I am; Secondly, go ahead. I Ain't Skeered!)