A Free Friday Afternoon

There is nothing like a Friday afternoon when you can go home early. I happened to work through lunch today and decided that I'd just leave when I made my 40 hours. When I checked my time, I had one minute left! I was so excited! I got to leave work at just before 2 p.m. today and made it home by 3 p.m. The puppies and kitty and I have been enjoying the warmer weather and played outside.


Tonight it's game night! Every other Friday night we go to one of our friend's houses and they host our group game night. I can't wait to play Apples to Apples and eat dinner with everyone. It's such a nice way to spend a Friday night.

Eventually it will be our turn in March to host the game night. I still haven't decided which games I think we should play. I'm thinking that I might invest in Hilarium, as it comes highly recommended from a friend of mine.



All in all, it should prove to be a wonderful evening, and a great start to the weekend. I'm hoping that I can be as productive this weekend as I was last weekend, but there are no guarantees.

Quiet Night

I'm sitting on the couch, and I was reading, but now I'm looking at my wonderful little family. Zach is leaning up against me, asleep, with Charlie curled up in his lap. Omie is curled up on the other side of me, also asleep, and Penny and Owen are curled up in the crate asleep together. It's a wonderfully peaceful moment. The people I love (yes, my furry kids are people!) are all curled up and sleeping around me. This is happiness.

Kale Soup!

I made Kale Soup yesterday evening so that we could eat healthy and well for a week, and to entertain my father-in-law this evening. Kale Soup is a recipe that I inherited from my Aunt Kim who lives in Washington state. The original recipe calls for a few basic veggies and kale, but over the years I've expanded the variety of veggies I put in it.

This soup never fails to please. People who haven't even heard of the green, or who are generally opposed to foods that are green in nature, love this soup. I have decided that I would like to share my recipe, although there are no exact ingredients. Here is my best attempt at getting them down.

Kale Soup

Ingredients:

1 onion, finely chopped
2 small/medium zucchinis (courgettes), chopped
2 small/medium yellow squash, chopped
2 medium turnips, peeled and chopped
3 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
4 or 5 medium red potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large (or 2 small) rutabagas, peeled and chopped
7 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 sticks of celery, finely chopped
16-20 stalks of kale, rinsed and greenery pulled from stems
3 quarts (2.8 litres) of prepared chicken broth, low sodium if possible
1 lb (16 oz, 454 g) turkey kielbasa, cut in medium thick, half wheels
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place chopped veggies and kielbasa in at least a 4 quart (3.8 litre) pot - the bigger the better. Pour chicken broth over the veggies and then add water if needed to fill the pot to 1.5 inches (6.25 cm) below the edge. Add as much salt and pepper as you wish.
2. Bring to a rolling boil.
3. Add kale to pot, pushing down as you add it, and cover pot with a lid.
4. Cook for 5 minutes and stir kale down into soup.
5. Repeat twice.
6. Reduce heat to medium and allow to cook, stirring occasionally for 25-30 minutes. Kale should be well cooked but not falling apart.

Serve hot with warm bread for a delicious meal!

This soup freezes very well, and can last for as long as a week in the fridge if stored and covered properly.

Enjoy!

Pedipaws....

So, I stopped by PetSmart on the way home to get the dogs some new food. Owen has been having problems with making it outside since he constantly seems to have diarrhea. We decided to go with Nutro brand foods - Sensitive Stomach for Owen, and High Energy for Omie and Penny.

While I was there, they were advertising the newest nail trimmer, Pedipaws.

Pedipaws is an electronic rotating filing gadget that sands down the dog's or cat's nails. It comes with an instructional video that shows you how to introduce the product to your pets and then use it. I did not watch this video, my husband did - I was cooking. When I heard him fussing at the dogs for not holding still, I went out to see what was going on. Penny was cowering in the corner, and Zach had Omie penned down and was trying to keep her from running away from the buzzing Pedipaw. Owen wasn't staying in one place, just roaming around the room.

I decided that I would give Zach a hand, and held onto Omie while he tried to work on her nails. She didn't want any part in this plan. When I moved on to Penny, she was trembling and kept trying to get away. Finally, I thought I'd try it on Charlie, and he didn't have much of a problem with it. We got one paw almost completely done before he decided he didn't want to lay around anymore.

When I asked Zach what the video had shown in regards to getting the dogs used to the Pedipaw, this is what he said, "They show the product to the pet, turn it on, and everyone laughs." This is one instance where I love his sense of humor. He then summed up the video as, "they show it to the pet, the pet likes it, they praise the pet, they trim the pet's nails, they praise the pet, the pet loves it. Being able to trim one nail for 2 seconds is a good start."

I'm guessing that it's going to take a while to be able to use this thing properly. Sigh, no miracle.

Monday

Yes, it was a Monday today. It was a hard day to get up and go to work. I was still so tired this morning, but I made it to work on time and I was proud of myself. My husband and I had a tiff early this morning. The puppies started barking before five because someone needed to go out and potty. It is Zach's job to get up and take them out in the middle of the night because I have to get up in time to drive an hour to work. Well, I'm always the one that hears the puppies bark, and it is my job to tell Zach to get up. It irritates me to no end that he won't just get up and get it over with. If the puppies are barking because they need to potty, his delays may cause the newest pup, Owen, to have an accident.

This morning I had to nag him to get up and let them out. He was not happy about it, and decided that he would bring his dog, Penny, upstairs with him when he came back up. We had discussed this that night when he suggested bringing just her upstairs. I said that we had already decided that no dogs would be allowed in the bedroom after all the accidents, and that it wouldn't be fair to Omie and Owen. He brought her upstairs anyway. I got up and took her back downstairs and put her in the crate with the others.

When my phone alarm started to go off at 5:30, I decided that I would give him a taste of his own medicine in response to his bringing Penny upstairs. I let it go off without getting up to get it. Zach will often get up and get it for me, but he didn't feel like being nice this morning, and I was going to make a point. He asked me if I was going to get it. I gave him his classic response whenever I tell him to get up, "I'm getting up." And of course I didn't move. The phone alarm went off and started again five minutes later. The same thing happened - "Are you going to get that?" I moved around and turned over and said "I'm getting it." He couldn't stand it. He got up and told me he was going downstairs to sleep on the couch with his dog.

When I came downstairs before heading out to work, I saw him asleep on the couch with Penny curled up at his feet. They looked adorable, but I was still making a point. I kissed him goodbye and headed out the door.

I'm not good at holding a grudge, and I was over it by the time I had gotten a few miles down the road. I called him to see what he might want me to make for dinner to make amends.

I guess we'll both work through these irritations and find a happy medium for the both of us, but it's going to be painful until we do.

Ok, so Monday posts are supposed to be happy and cheerful, but I think I needed to get this out there, that Zach and I are like any normal couple - we can be petty.

I'm glad that we don't hold grudges though, and that while we may get angry at each other during the day, we never go to bed angry. I love Zach, he loves me, and I love a happy home. It takes work to get everything you want, and it takes patience and more hard work to keep it. Happiness is an earned reward for taking the bad with the good. We all have our faults, and we all need second chances...or one millionth chances.

Sunday, the end of my week

Zach and I had a conversation about something that happened on Thursday before last. To me, that means it happened last week as my weeks run from Monday to Sunday. I know that the calendar week runs from Sunday to Saturday, but that doesn't make any sense to me. If it is the "weekend", doesn't that mean it is the end of the week? We don't start doing anything on Sunday, we are winding down our weekend, so why is that the start of the week? Monday is always the first day of the week in most things, so I'm not sure why our calendar doesn't reflect that.

Today was an interesting day. We went to church with my father, and while the message was good, the mode of delivery was not exactly my style. I have been to some great Pentecostal Holiness churches, and though I have nothing to say against the actual message - which is the most important thing by far - I'm not into unnecessary acting out. I understand being moved by the spirit. I do not understand putting on a show as if the congregation was a theatrical audience. The only other thing that I have to say is that the Bible is very clear about speaking in tongues in church.

1 Corinthians 14:26-28 (NIV)

²⁶What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. ²⁷If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. ²⁸If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

It is my personal opinion, and I know that other people feel differently and have every right to, that when someone speaks out in tongues in church and there is no one there to interpret, then they are purposefully (though they may have deluded themselves) speaking gibberish to call attention to themselves before others to prove the depth of their faith. I believe that God does not feel praised from, nor care about, our silly concerns with what other people might think about us. He knows us through and through. Our outward actions are to be used to witness to others by sharing His love and displaying His presence in our lives. Our actions must be a testimony, not a stumbling block.

1 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV) addresses this well -

⁹Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

We must be careful of what our actions communicate to others if we are always striving to have others see Jesus through us. If we act out in church before an unbeliever and they have cause to think that we are "crazy", does that not sound like a stumbling block has been placed before them on their path to salvation? I think so.

I am by no means a perfect example of Christ's love - my outward actions leave much to be desired as a witness of my belief. I am not "quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry," (James 1:19 -NIV) as I should be. Nor do I always "trust in the LORD with all [my] heart and lean not on [my] own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5-NIV) I trust too much in my own understanding by far. However, I think my opinions in these matters are valid. I only hope that I can in the future be a better witness of my faith - at the moment I am pitifully weak in my dedication to "walk the walk". Lately I am more talk than anything, and that results in nothing these days. Pray that I will work towards putting as much time and energy into my relationship with Christ as I do with the ultimately meaningless things in my life.

Thank goodness for Bible Gateway, by the way. I know what the scriptures say in general, but I have not made myself learn them by heart as I should. The scriptures used above were found through using Bible Gateway to provide me with the exact scriptures where I only knew the basic information they conveyed.

I honestly never meant for this post to be a religious rant of sorts, but that just sort of happened. I feel strongly about my spiritual beliefs. May God forgive me for my shortcomings in this area.

If I struck a cord with you, let me know. Feel free to disagree with me and let me know what you think.

Clean house

There is something so wonderful about having a clean house. My friend Bethany came over for lunch, which necessitated that Zach and I clean up. We straightened, dusted, cleaned and organized the den, kitchen, garage, downstairs bathrooms, dining room, living room, and both guest bedrooms. We got a lot done in only four hours. While I was working inside cleaning, Zach used the chainsaw to cut up the tree that fell down last month. We were so productive! And now we get to relax in the fruits of our labor, a clean house.

Our visit with Bethany went well with a clean house to tour and show off. We enjoyed a simple lunch of sandwiches and salad, and finished off with a fat free cherry brownie topped with cherry vanilla ice cream. We all enjoyed ourselves, even the puppies all snuggled up in their crate.

Having something to do also helped me with not thinking about Bosley. It will get easier I'm sure.

Laid to rest

We buried Bosley under a smallish tree near the stream that marks the boundary of our yard. I wanted him to be somewhere serene and beautiful. Charlie walked out with us as we carried Bosley to his final bed. I ran my fingers through his fur one last time, told him I loved him, and then Zach laid him to rest. I covered him with dirt by myself, not wanting any help. Zach then helped me cover the freshly scarred earth with fallen leaves, and Bosley's little grave became one with the landscape. I will be looking for a good field stone this weekend to mark his resting spot. I miss him so desperately. He wasn't just a cat, he was my baby, my favorite little boy.

I can't write this without crying. Bosley is gone. All I have left are his collar, some fur on the floor, and a cast of his paw print. The last was a gift from Zach and the vet. I breaks my heart to run my fingers over it and know that I will never feel his little paws again, but it is a good way to remember him.

Oh, Mr. Bosley! Mommy misses you!

Bosley

My cat Bosley died in my arms last night. He had a seizure and died. I tried to hold his tongue like you would for a person, but I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do! I wish I had known what to do. He was only 4 years old, and he was perfectly healthy. I keep crying. I can't seem to stop. He screamed. I couldn't save him. I couldn't save him. He's gone.

My Bosley, sleeping with the girls.

Argh.

I sent my husband an email yesterday telling him that I wanted to talk to him last night, but not telling him the proposed topic of conversation. It never occurred to me that he would think there was something wrong. I get so focused on what I'm thinking that other perspectives never touch my line of thought. He asked me to tell him what I wanted to talk about because he was nervous. This is what I told him in my email reply -

The talk will be mostly about me, hahaha. Kelley and I talked about me - how I feel, think, what I want, ect.- and as she knows me better than anyone, when she told me she was surprised to learn something about me, I felt like I should talk to you about it too since I couldn't tell her that you really knew this stuff any better than she did. I'm sure it won't be anything new, really, but as it keeps coming up lately with myself, and as Kelley didn't understand the depth of it, I don't want you to be uninformed. We talked about how I had never really talked to you in depth about it, and how that might later affect our marriage if I left it all inside. Does that make sense? We also discussed some good options to deal with it. I'm not getting specific because I don't want to cover the topic in email, but with you. It is important to me, but nothing bad, just me.

I think I waylaid his fears that something bad was going to be covered, but I can't be sure. The thing is that we never got to have the conversation last night. We did our grocery shopping, we played with the puppies, and then I went to bed while he stayed up to put my work clothes in the dryer so I'd have something to wear today. I lamented with him this morning that we didn't get to talk and he said that perhaps we could have managed it if he hadn't waited up for my clothes.

Sometimes, Zach is my hero. I knew he was also tired last night, but he stayed up anyway so that I could go to bed. He puts up with a lot from me. I give him a hard time - sometimes deservedly so, and sometimes not - but he still does these little things for me that make a huge difference.

No conversation - that was the end result. He didn't appear to be nervous any longer, and I hope he isn't, but it is going to be a difficult subject to discuss. Who wants to hear that their wife likes to imagine running off at a moments notice to somewhere new? Now granted, some people would encourage and enjoy that, but my husband was born in our hometown hospital and has lived at home all but the one year he went off to school. He's not big on change.

We'll see what happens tonight.

Escapism

I'm going to talk to my husband about this problem tonight. Hopefully he will help me figure out how to deal with it, work through it, and not have it ruin anything.

I'll post about how the conversation went tomorrow.

Missing Boston

I really miss Boston, and not just the city either, but my friend Kelley who gives me a physical tie to the city. I had a wonderful time there this weekend - walking through my old haunts, eating at restaurants I love, and spending time with Kelley and her awesome roommates.

Kelley and I talked in depth about my desire to move back to Boston, and my need for change. I love change. I don't know why exactly, but I need it. I need changes in my geography and social network, as well as changes in my routine. I pride myself on being a good adapter to new and different atmospheres, but I did not know that I have come to depend on their being a new need for those abilities always on the horizon.

I believe that I have an issue with escapism. I crave the opportunity to escape from the common make-up of my life, even though I love the things that are apart of my life. New things, new people, and new places call to me; and I am just beginning to understand the strength of this call and the affect that it has on me.

When I was in Boston with Kelley, all I could think about was moving back. I thought about where I could work, what I could do, where I could live, how I would manage it all, and what Zach would have to do. That last part, unfortunately, always came last on the thought list. What is wrong with me? I love my husband, I love my home, and I love our furry babies - why do I want to pick up and change it all at a moments notice?

That is what I'm working through. I want to escape. I want something to change. It doesn't matter that my life changed drastically with getting married, buying a home, and adopting three dogs - no - those are too far in the past (only 4 months though!) with the way my mind works. I want something drastically new today - not a month ago, not a week ago, and not even a day ago, but today.

My poor husband. Hopefully, I can figure this all out.

Back home...

I am back at home, well mostly. I am back in NC and back at work, but I have not actually made it home yet. The grief of leaving the city (and regret for leaving it in the past) have saturated my mood, even as I'm anxious to get home to my husband and furry kids. I feel unbalanced.

I'll talk more about my trip during my lunchtime blog post, but I wanted to at least say that I was back.

Boston!

I'm heading to Boston this weekend to visit my friend, Kelley! I might not have the chance to post this weekend, or on Monday, but I will try.

I can't wait to walk around in my favorite city...I haven't been there in three years and I miss it. It will always be my home, my city. I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to live there again, but if I could afford it, I'd move there in a heart beat.

However, for now I'll just have to visit, get nostalgic, and cry when I leave again.

Ah, Boston....

We thrive with five!

We have added a new member to our family, and his name is Owen. Last night my husband and I drove to Greensboro to the Guilford County Animal Shelter and met Jordan. There were so many other dogs at this shelter, but he stood out from all the others.

Jordan was taken in by the shelter in July of 2008, but he is only 11 months old. He spent 8.5 months at the shelter, almost his entire life! The people that worked and volunteered at the shelter were so excited that he was going home with us. They had wonderful things to say about him, and we could not believe that he had not been adopted sooner.

We saw Jordan online this past weekend. We loved his look (he reminds us of Omie) and the way the shelter described his personality. The only reason he was not adopted is because he is shy and wary of new people. This did not bother us in the least as we could understand why the little guy might be afraid of new people after such a life.

So, we fell in love with him at first sight and brought him home. We both knew that he was not going to be "Jordan". The name just didn't fit him, but it took us over an hour to come up with the right name. I came up with Ripley, and really liked it, though it didn't seem perfect. We were tentatively calling him Riply and still trying to brainstorm for new names when Zach suggested Owen. I told him that I liked it, but that I wanted to think about it. It only took me about five minutes to realize that our new pup was completely Owen. There could not be a more perfect name. My husband pulled the name up from when we had to read A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving in an English class we shared. Owen Meany was a small, odd character, and it fit.

Owen's cute little profile.

The deer in the headlights look, and those ears! :)

He has stolen my heart.

Owen's ears are huge, and we love them. He is only 20 lbs, less than half of Omie's weight. When Omie went to the vet yesterday, she weighed in at 41 lbs. She was only 33 lbs when we adopted her. Somehow Penny has lost a pound since we adopted her, and is now 32.5 lbs. Owen is our new little peanut, but we plan to put some meat on his bones, he's just too skinny. He is almost Omie's personal "Mini Me".

Omie had never looked fat until now.

Our family count is now at seven - we two, and five furry kids!

Puppy problem - Solved.

We took Omie to the vet yesterday and found out that she had a slight urinary tract infection. She is now on antibiotics and is being let out in the middle of the night to relieve herself during this recovery period.

I am so glad that she is ok!

Puppy problem update

Thank goodness for coworkers that listen to your problems and offer suggestions!

I was talking about Omie's recent peeing problems with a group of coworkers that also have dogs, and they suggested that she might have a urinary tract infection. I would never have thought of that! We are off to the vet this afternoon.

I feel like such a bad mommy....

Puppy problems....

We are having issues with our pups. We generally have problems with Penny trying to escape and get away, and that has become second nature. We have started taking her on long walks each night so that she gets the chance to explore new things, an effort expended to curb her wanderlust. She has been a very good girl since her last escape event this past weekend. She got out an open window in the house (we had it open because it was so nice out), and was gone over night before someone called us in the morning to tell use where she ended up.

The problems of late have been with Omie. Omie is generally a very good dog. She doesn't try to get away, she has very good table manners - even when we eat in front of her, she does like to chase the kitties, but it's not that big of a problem. However, she has been peeing inside of the house every day for the last 5-6 days. We understand some of the accidents, because we know that she has a small bladder. We try to let her out twice as often for bathroom breaks as you would a normal dog her size, but very early this morning she completely astounded me - she peed in the middle of our bed.

Omie slept with us all night, curled up in the middle of bed at our feet. My alarm went off at 5:30, I got up to press snooze, and when I turn around, Omie was in my spot. I thought she was trying to snuggle with me, but when I tried to move her back to her spot, she wouldn't budge. She is never that hard to move. When I tried to physically pick her up and put her back, that's when I found out she had peed in the bed. I don't know why she would do that, in the exact place where she had slept all night. There was no clue that she even had to go. She didn't get excited about getting up, she simply stood up, peed, and then moved to my spot in the bed.

Sadly for us, and for Omie I'm sure, she has lost her bed privileges until we can trust her. I don't know what we're going to do about these peeing problems, but we need to figure it out. She's been so good until recently, why would she all of a sudden take giant leaps backward?

Busy day

It's a busy day at work, and I decided to veg out during lunch and just surf the net instead of doing my usual blog entry. I'm not sure if anyone reads this enough to miss a decent entry, but I like to imagine someone does.

If I could be somewhere else at the moment to wind down with my husband, I'd go back to our honeymoon destination, Harker's Island. Back to the moments pictured below.

Sunset through the sea grass.

Sunset with the octagon stilt cabins in the foreground.

I'm glad that I'm going on vacation this weekend. It will be a girls weekend as my husband has to work, but he doesn't mind, thank goodness. I love how much he tolerates my silly whims. He is a good man.

Proposal letter

I am a silly romantic. Since the day Zach proposed and put my beautiful ring on my finger, I have carried around the letter he used to propose to me in the box that he held out while on one knee. I don't know what he'll think about me sharing it, but I can't resist. I haven't told him about my blog, but I'm sure he's seen me working on it, though I try to keep it low key and hidden much of the time. I like thinking that I can write whatever I want to here without worrying who my audience will be.

Anyway, here is my proposal letter.

Courtney,

I love you. You are the most amazing woman that I know. Smart, caring, beautiful, loving, gracious, tender, selfless, fun, endearing and enduring. At one point I never thought the day would come when you would say I love you to me. It has come, and it is one of the highlights of my life. I wish I could go back and pinpoint the moment I fell in love with you. Although I don't know exactly, the feeling is so large I think I'm going to explode. Combining our lives is the next step. I am so excited and I have to ask....

(This is where he got down on one knee while I was sitting in the rocking chair on the front porch of his family home.)

Love,
Zach

My husband has always been a letter writer, well, at least to me. I really treasure that part of him, and love all the little notes and letters he has give me. He could not have chosen a better way to propose to me. It was essentially "him", and that is one of the reasons I love our engagement story so.

Still searching

I went and saw Lucky on Friday, and we talked about having him come to visit the girls. However, once we thought about how large he was (about 30 lbs heavier than the girls) and that he too is a bit of an escape artist, we decided to keep looking for our third canine family member.

There are so many adorable dogs when cruising through Petfinder.com, that it is hard to chose just one to focus on. We inquired by email about 4 different dogs, and even went to the Wake County Animal Shelter to look at a Border Collie mix puppy, but he was already adopted! We were very happy for him (he was absolutely adorable) but now we are having to decide who to go and visit next. We are currently looking at a Min Pin named Beau, a Rat Terrier name Sophie, a Border Collie mix named Jordan, and a Lab mix named Craig. We hope that one of them will be the perfect addition to our family.

Beau

Sophie

Jordan

Craig

We just have to be patient and see....

Beautiful day

It's a beautiful day out, the doggies are going in and out of the house, running in the yard and playing. The kitties are joining them too, when they feel like it. I love having the doors open and the sun shining. There are buds on the tree outback, which I think is a dogwood. I think that our cedar trees look amazing in the snow, but they are so richly green and lush in the sun.


Penny is out with her daddy for a ride in the truck. He went to his dad's house to get the chain saw to take care of a tree that fell down in our lot across the street. It's the perfect weather for outdoor activities, and I think he's going to enjoy himself.

Cousin Baron has come to visit for the weekend, and he and Omie are having a great time just laying in the sun.


Bosley thinks being outside is a good idea too, but Charlie is trying to find an adventure to get into on this glorious day.

Bosley on the hill.

Charlie considering his way out of the gate.

We slept in until 11 today, but the day is so nice, that I'm feeling productive. I wonder what I shall accomplish today? I guess we'll see....

New addition to the family?

Zach and I are contemplating another new addition to the family.

::Pause for effect::

No, we aren't trying to have a kid, but we are looking to adopt one. The furry, four legged kind, that is. Right after Zach and I got married we adopted two dogs from the local kill shelter. We also have two cats that I adopted three years ago, and so we are currently a family of six. I love having lots of furry kids, and I love rescuing deserving animals who need a happy home. They are all like real kids - demanding in their own way, they each have their special quirks, and someone is always picking on someone else.

Today, I am going to meet a new dog that is up for adoption with one of my favorite rescue groups, Independent Animal Rescue. I adopted both of my boys - Charlie and Bosley, the kitties - from IAR, and they are a network of wonderful foster families.

The Story Behind One More...

Additions to our family started well before Zach and I were even together. I adopted the boys the summer of 2006 when I got my first apartment on my own without a roommate. Needless to say, I was lonely, and so I opted to create a small little family.

Bosley was originally named Bobby. I was not a fan of the name Bobby, but he responded so well to his name, that I was forced to come up with something very similar. Finding such a name that I liked was difficult. I love interesting names, and having the right name means a lot to me. When I found the name, Bosley, I knew that was who he (Bobby, the cat) was going to be from the moment he moved in with me.

The picture of Bosley I was from his adoption website...three years ago now!

Bosley being evil to the doggies...his favorite pastime.

Bosley is a very handsome mackerel tabby. When he first got to my apartment I was amazed at how completely unafraid and adventuresome he was. I was excited that I had chosen so wisely. Not only was he friendly and outgoing, but he loved to snuggle with me. The first night we spent together, however, I knew that something (or rather someone) was missing. Bosley cried all night long, trying to get me up to rub him or play with him. After being rescued from a house with 60 indoor cats, and coming from a foster home with at least 15 cats, he was lonely during the night when he was left to his own devices. The search for Charlie was begun....

Charlie is also a handsome tabby with leopard like spots. I met him at a PetSmart in Durham. He was playing around on the floor outside of the little viewing cells that they use to show off the cats for adoption. He was extremely personable and outgoing. When I talked to the volunteer who was in charge of him, I found out that he had been adopted but then returned when he cried all night long and disturbed the family's children. He came from the same house that Bosley had been rescued from, was loving and adventurous, and he had the same night time loneliness - what more could I ask for? Oh, and he had the perfect name already.

Charlie on the floor.

From the first night that Charlie came home with me, I never again heard a peep out of my two boys. They weren't friends at first sight, but it only took a weekend of time spent with me and each other until they were truly brothers

The kitties out in the snow in January 2009.

Charlie and Omie, the best of friends.

Our girls were rescued from the local kill shelter. We had talked about adopting a dog or two when we were engaged, and I just couldn't wait to see what was at the shelter after we got married. The first week of being married, and before we went on a weekend long honeymoon to the beach, Zach and I visited the shelter to see what dogs were there. When we got to the shelter I was horrified by the smell and the cages the dogs were in. I know the shelter was doing the best it could with the resources it had, but I was shocked. There were many good dogs waiting to be adopted, but Omie and Penny stood out from the rest.

Omie was the first dog that I didn't think I could live without. Her happy little face was just too adorable, and it was love at first sight. Penny was a quiet, shy little girl and had such a sweet spirit that we knew we had to get both of them. We went to the shelter just to get an idea of the dogs they might have, and we came away knowing we had to adopt the two little girls we had seen. We had the shelter hold the girls until we got back from our honeymoon, and then they finally came home with us.

Omie resting on my ankles.

Omie sleeping on her bed.

Omie has practically been the model dog. She's playful, fun-loving, good natured, very intelligent, a quick learner, and eager to please. Within an hour of getting her home, she was already sitting on command.

Penny is a very sweet tempered but stubborn little girl. She likes to do things her way and isn't big on listening the 50 times around. It took her a solid month and a half for her to learn her name, and after we had only had her two weeks, she ran away for almost 5 days.

Penny curled up in her bed.

Penny looking like the perfect dog. ;)

When Penny ran away, we learned a lot of things as a family - 1. Omie loves her sister and doesn't like to be without her, 2. Penny can travel a long way really quickly as someone reported seeing her 5 miles from home, 3. I'm a wreck when one of my babies goes missing, and 4. Zach is my solid rock when I need emotional support. That first time was unfortunately not the last time that Penny ran away. Penny has since escaped twice. The second time she was gone for only the morning and was home by lunch time, but the third time she was gone for the whole night when it had snowed 6 inches (something that rarely happens to our area of NC) and was supposed to be below 20 degrees. Penny seems to think that it is her job to find every whole in a fence, or any way over a fence so that she can escape. We can not figure out why she wants to run away from us when we love her so much, but we hope that she will get used to being with us and out grow it.

Finding a third dog to adopt came up every time that we went to our friend Crystal's house. Crystal has an adorable chihuahua that makes me want a tiny lap dog. Zach said that when the girls were trained that I could find a little dog to adopt. The promise of such a thing made it so in my head and I started looking online immediately. That is when I found Lucky. Lucky is not the little dog that I was looking for, instead he is rather like our Omie. However, he is white instead of black. They have the same adorable face. I showed his adoption page to Zach and he fell in love with him, too.

Lucky's cute little face.

Lucky in his foster mom's yard.

Today I am going to meet Lucky at his foster mom's house. If I think he will make a great addition to our family, then we will introduce him to the girls and see how they get along. I have a hunch that I'm going to love him instantly, but I'm trying to be practical. We'll see what happens.

Working from home

I am a Type 1 diabetic who is insulin dependent. This morning my blood sugar was extremely low and I had a tough time getting up and thinking straight. I'm so glad that Zach was there this morning to take care of me.

As a result of my low blood sugar, the start of my day was greatly delayed and I didn't feel well. I decided to start my work day at home, and then go to work after lunch. Now I know what it is liked to be spoiled, and I wish that I could do that every morning. There is nothing better than sitting on the couch wrapped up in blankets with a kitty on one side, a doggy on the other, my laptop in my lap, and being very productive in the comfort of my home. Not only was it nice to be able to work from my couch, but I was at home when Zach came home for lunch. That was the highlight of the experience. I wish I could work from home full-time, or just be a homemaker so that I could be there with a meal ready when he gets home from work.

One day, perhaps....

His sense of humor

Zach's sense of humor is hit or miss with me. Sometimes I find him endlessly hilarious, and other times I wonder what the heck he's talking about. I hope that one day I get all of his jokes. Of course, there are only three ways for that to happen - 1. Zach will have to improve his sense of humor and be as funny as he likes to think he is, 2. I'll have to lower my standards and lessen my moral faculties, or 3. I will eventually know him inside and out so that I will completely understand his sense of humor, and finally see him as he sees himself - hilarious. If you can't guess, I'm hoping for number one or three, but mostly three I suppose.

In looking through pictures to post yesterday, I found three among our engagement photos that I had forgotten about. They made me laugh out loud, and I thought that I would share them with you.

Here is a photograph to give you some insight into the part of Zach's sense of humor that I love. He had our friend, Adam Casey, take this picture during our engagement photo session. Zach said that this would be the story of his life - he's lost, and he's holding my purse.


This is Zach's impression of Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, when Ricky was being interviewed for the first time. He didn't know what to do with his hands.

This is me walking away and laughing at Zach for being hilariously stupid, hahaha. I'm so glad that Adam got this last moment on film. It is one of my favorite short little photo stories of Zach and myself. Thank you, Adam, for your photojournalistic savvy!

Our Story Finale...almost

Zach and I started dating again in July. We were immediately having serious conversations whenever we were together or on the phone about what we wanted in life, where the other person fit in our life plans, how we felt about each other, and what our next move was to be.

Zach had started looking for houses to buy several months before we were back together, and I had appointed myself as his real estate helper. I helped him search the web for listing and went with him to look at the houses so that I could ask the questions he wouldn't know to ask. I learned my house hunting skills from my mother. We used to move every two or three years when I was growing up. Looking for and finding a new house was so ingrained in me growing up, that when we had been in the same house for five years, I started asking when we were going to be moving because we had been there too long.

In looking at the houses, Zach always wanted to know what I thought, if I could see myself living there, that sort of thing. It was amazing how little time it took for my perspective to change (and imagine living in the houses) and for him to start suggesting that if he bought a house that needed some work, perhaps he could let me live there in exchange for helping him fix things and decorating. From there, my imagination started picturing actually living there with Zach, and it didn't seem strange, but oddly normal and right.

Zach was very smooth in his transition from talking about me living in the house he bought to me just living with him in general. I was then forced to tell him that I would never live with someone again (I did that once before and it didn't work out) before I married them. I should have known that he thought that was the perfect solution, that I should marry him. So, when we started dating again in July, we were already talking about spending our lives together, I just had no idea how short the timeline would become.

Zach found the house of his dreams shortly after we started dating again. Actually, I found the house online and fell in love with the pictures of it from the outside (that was the only thing available). I sent him the link to the house twice without realizing it. As it turned out, his friend and real estate agent Donna Lane with Carolina Realty, was the listing agent for the house. He had decided that the house was out of his budget and that he wasn't going to go look at it. She finally convinced him to go, and that was it, he fell in love.


Once Zach made an offer on the house and it was accepted, we started talking about getting engaged. I sent him links to rings that I liked online, and told him that I'd love to have an Ascher cut diamond, but also liked Emerald cuts. I also told him about my love of sapphires and my preference for platinum. Zach took these details and ran with them. He found the perfect Ascher cut diamond through Jolly's Jewelers, and asked our hometown jeweler, Daniel Evans, to make the setting. The end result was absolutely amazing. I can honestly say that I think my engagement ring is the most beautiful one that I have ever seen. I will never be jealous of anyone elses, nor can I imagine seeing something that I would like better. Zach had the perfect ring made just for me, and there isn't another like it.

My gorgeous ring.

Zach asked me to marry him the day he got the ring from Mr. Evans. That happened to be the same day that our fourth friend wedding of the year occured. Zach was one of the groomsmen, and I helped out where I could.

"Cake" topper at the fourth friend wedding of the year.

After the wedding and reception were over, we went back to Zach's father's house. He asked me to marry him on the front porch of his family home on August 2, 2008, with the help of a letter he had written. It was the most romantic thing he could have done. Zach has always been a letter writer when it came to me. He has written me many times over the years, and I have kept every one of them. This one will one day be framed, even though his handwriting is attrocious, hahaha.

We went out that night with our newly married friends to celebrate their union, and announce the impending status of our own!


After we were engaged, we talked about the date of the wedding. Because of the house, Zach didn't want to wait that long to be married. He wanted to get married and then move into the house. I have always wanted a fall wedding. It was the only kind of wedding I ever pictured having. Zach's desire for a short engagement left me with a difficult choice - have a wedding in two or three months, or get married in the spring. My mom convinced me that I could get it done in time for a fall wedding, and so we chose October 18, 2008. We became the sixth and final wedding among our friend's wedding calendar.

These are my favorites of the engagement photos.

This was the best picture I'd seen of myself in years before the wedding. And the one below was the best one I had ever seen of Zach up to that point in time.

Pictures taken by our friend Adam Casey at the Reynolda Gardens in Winston Salem, NC.

We had a beautiful ceremony and reception on a friend's farm land. It was simple, but beautiful in my opinion. It was better than I had ever imagined. I'll make a separate post about the ceremony to show off pictures.

The after wedding events are an entire story unto themselves that I will tell you about them in another post as well.

Home makeover

My sister came to visit this weekend with two things on her agenda, to help me clean my house and to throw away the majority of my clothing in her version of the popular show "What Not To Wear". As it turns out, the first task on her list was a more daunting task than she had assumed. We spent one and a half days working on cleaning up my house (which meant organizing, creating storage space, rearranging furniture, and actual cleaning) and were able to accomplish making over three and a half rooms of the house.

The following pictures illustrate the before and after of these three and a half rooms.

THE DEN - BEFORE

These are before pictures of my husbands den, or the man cave. This room is a place where his tastes are reflected in the decor. My husband loves the idea of decorating with roosters everywhere in the house. I generally do not like roosters as art or in themed decor, although I couldn't tell you why. For Christmas, I found an artist's work that I loved, and created a rooster wall in my husband's room that you will see below. The artist's name is Roz, a member of Etsy (an online artist forum with wonderful artists - I shop there all the time), and you can find her work in a shop called RozArt. You'll see Roz's prints in the after or makeover pictures below.

THE DEN- AFTER

The red solid wood baskets on the coffee table cubes are antiques bought in Selma, NC, an antique focused town. They came from an awesome shop called Visual Pleasure Antiques. It is one of my favorite shops in downtown Selma. Omie, our black Border Collie mix loves that there is now space to sit on the couch.

The green box on the mantle is also an antique from downtown Selma. It is from a biscuit company, and opens up like a shadow box frame. We are going to add little hooks inside and hang our keys in it. I am always loosing mine. It came from another of my favorite antique shops, Railroad Street Antiques.

The hat, scarf, and glove holders hanging above my antique church pew chairs were flower planters purchase at Big Lots and repurposed. My sister is brilliant with these sorts of details. Penny loves how clean the floor is, and Charlie (the cat) just wants to be in the picture.

THE KITCHEN - BEFORE

There is only one picture of the kitchen before we worked on it. I wasn't very good at covering all the angles in there. However, much of the work that was done on the kitchen can't be seen from the pictures. We reorganized everything in the cabinets and pantry, and cleaned everything as well. It was a huge project to say the least. Now it just needs to be painted and should be done!

THE KITCHEN - AFTER

The kitchen can seem like a small enclosed space, but my sister hung a mirror over the sink and really opened up the room. I was skeptical at first, but I love it now.

Before we moved our dining room table into the dining room (which you'll see next) Zach and I ate at the coffee table cubes in his den, sitting on the couch. This table was used as a side table to the couch, but is much more useful as a breakfast table. We love eating at this table.

THE DINING ROOM - BEFORE

Once again I covered a room poorly for the before pictures. This one also only has one picture, but that's mostly because the room was empty except for the few random things shown in the picture above. This is also the "half" room that was done, as it isn't completely done but had enough improvement to warrant mentioning.

THE DINING ROOM - AFTER

I purchased the two pictures above from our local Salvation Army for five bucks each. They are Williamsburg prints, and must have been quite a purchase the first time they were sold.

Our dining room table was a Craigslist purchase. We bought it with money we got from our wedding showers. It is a great table with a cabinet beneath it that I will use to store centerpieces for the table.

THE YELLOW BATH - BEFORE

Yes, the yellow bathroom was disgusting. It is the wash the doggy bathroom and the cut my husband's hair bathroom (and apparently the kitty watering hole - at least while I was taking this picture, which made me shudder after I chased Bosley off). It would get dirty fast and stay that way. Before my sister arrived I gave it a thorough cleaning because it is also the guest bathroom, gasp! It looks wonderful now though, and just needs to be painted and decorated a little to finish it off.

THE YELLOW BATH - AFTER

And that is what my sister and I did this weekend. She says that we are not done yet, but will accomplish making over at least two rooms each weekend we have free until everything is done. I love my sister!

While my sister and I were cleaning and organizing, my wonderful husband was hanging light fixtures inside and out around the house. I'll have to take pictures of his work and post that as well. His contribution shouldn't be overlooked, it makes a huge difference in how the house looks.