Hot Dog, It's Hot!

We have been panting up a storm over here in this heat.

Even when I let the pups out to go outside to the bathroom, they go do their thing and are back at the door wanting in within no time, it is so hot. But with the heat, also comes as summer fun. And for the doggies that is running around the yard chasing golf balls. They absolutely love, love, love this.

Of course it helps when you have the future Tiger Woods [minus all the women ;) ] hitting balls to you. Only thing is I doubt that the real Tiger melts down whenever the dogs don't give back the golf balls. But in this heat, it isn't very soon before even Brutus, the fearless, never resting dog has to sit down and cool off.

At that point, you know it is really time to cool off! Time for Oscar's favorite thing! Swimming!!

Oscar adores swimming. He will stay in the water all day if you let him. Just have a few balls that you can throw in the water to let him chase and he is happy as a clam. This year was the babies first time in the water. I was a little nervous at first if they would like it, but it turns out that they LOVE it as well!

JR didn't want Oscar too far from him and for a while Brutus was just content to watch from the shore.

But he finally decided to give it a go and jumped in and decided that he could get used to this swimming thing.

There you have it, how these Dapper Dachshunds stay cool all summer long!

I Heart the Summer

I love the summer not because the sun is shining and it is the time of the year for beachin it up and spending time out on the water. I am loving it because I have so many excuses to stay inside. The heat is number one and number two is that many of my favorite shows are back! And two of my movie favorites are also coming out soon. Yes, I do realize that I have no life!

Season Three of True Blood started a couple of weeks ago. I have waited and waited for this to come back!! Love it! Joseph always complains when I am watching it. He calls it that "vampire mess." But who doesn't love Sookie and Tara and Lafayette? And not to mention the hotness that is Eric. Yum.

If you get HBO, I recommend you watch it. It is a little graphic and definately rated r (sorry kiddos) but it is WAAAAAY better than Twilight. Hands down.

Ahhh, Mad Men. This show is awesome. It just makes me so mad that it takes FOREVER between seasons. It seems like ages ago that the last season ended. This comes on AMC, so check it out. I think the new season starts in July. Yay!!

Nothing like a much of ad men running around in the 1960s. Joseph loves this show, so I get no complaints from him when I watch it.

Thirdly, I have become hooked on this season of the Bachelorette. I know, I know. But I can't help myself.

Ali is so cute and she has had the craziest men this season. From The Weatherman to Crazy Kasey. Not to mention that guy Craig that looks like Lord Farquaad from Shrek. 

And of course, what summer would be complete without blockbuster movies? Have you heard that Twilight is coming out? Because I haven't. It's not like some crazy mania going on around that movie! Ha ha!

Are you team Edward or team Jacob?

And last but not least, the tried and true, Harry Potter.

I really heart these movies (the books even more). So those are my guilty pleasures for the summer. What are yours? Any bad tv that you love to hate? Movies that you can't wait to come out? I would love to hear that I am not alone in loserville.

It's the Simple Things

Little things make me happy. Curling up with a good book. Sleeping in and spending the morning with Joseph cooking breakfast and drinking coffee. Lazy summer days at the beach. Laughing with my best friend. Having a child give you a kiss and tell you that they love you. Baking with my grandmother. Doing something kind for a stranger. Floating down the river. Going to church. A nice piece of chocolate. The fact that my hydrangea bush actually bloomed and I can bring the blooms inside to enjoy.

Watching my babies sleeping.

Playing rock band with family and friends.

Pulling my baby and nephew around the yard enjoying a beautiful spring day.

Watching my dad be a wonderful grandfather.

Staying in your pajamas all day. Getting an "I love you" text from Joseph during the day. Spending time with family and friends. Playing with my puppies. Having a movie marathon with Joseph on a Sunday afternoon. Sitting around drinking coffee with my mom, aunt, and Stacey. Usually it is the simple things that make me happy. Although I do love jewelry, clothes, shoes, and other stuff; I find that it is the free stuff in life that is the best gift. So always take time to thank God for the gifts that He gives you. It may have no monetary value, but it is the simple things that are the most valuable.

Sir Bentley "Jacques" Ward

Bentley is finally here!! All it took was a road trip up to South Carolina to get him. Yes, homeboy was rescued from the depths of hell. But he is now happy and safe (somewhat) with his new mom Stacey.

He has taken his place in this house of dachshunds. He pretty much runs the show! He may only be 4.5 pounds, but he can make those pups run faster than anything! Brutus is absolutely obsessed with this dog. And I mean, OBSESSED! He watches him constantly. He tackles him and holds him down. (maybe those are just hugs...) JR on the other hand likes him fine, as long as he stays away from him. Bentley has been know to chase JR round and round the kitchen island. Oscar could care less, as long as he goes home with Stacey every day. Take a look at Brutus and his infatuation.

Full stare down mode from his perch.

A sniff to make sure he smells just right.

"Um, where do you think you are going with my toy?"

I will protect my mommy from you.

Brutus really does love him. Bentley is the only one that will actually "play" with him for a while. JR is too much like Oscar, he would rather eat or sleep.

Welcome to the family Bentley!!

When Life Gives You Lemons....

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's been too long since I last blogged. I haven't really felt like blogging, and don't have much to blog about, so please forgive me. And throughout the tragic loss of our baby, I realize that I have the best family and friends any gal could ask for. So, I decided to show just a few pictures of what helped get me through and made me smile while I was still recovering.

Brutus smelling the flowers. He was so funny. He would sit there on the couch and just sniff and sniff. Plus he is super cute, even if I am biased!

The day after I was released from the hospital, Joseph had to leave on a business trip, so my mom stayed with me. I also have the most awesome mother-in-law in the world, because she came down and stayed for a few days, and was such a blessing to us! My dad, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew also came up for a day. I love this because Barrett found Joseph's chap stick and was pretty much licking it. It was replaced to its original place, but I still laugh everytime Joseph puts on a nice coat of it. He is still none the wiser that this happened or Mr. Nice Nasty would flip!

Nothing like having Barrett snuggle with you makes you feel better!

I even got Stacey to FINALLY come snuggle with me too! But I'm sure that had more to do with Barrett than me.

So these are my sweet things that help make the lemon juice a little more tolerable!

Head Case

I got a hair-brained idea one day. And it all started because I was bored and went shopping downtown. Of course, I had to go in the fabulous fabric store to see if they had anything new. I was actually looking for fabric to make some pillows for the couch or curtains for the kitchen. Instead, I found this.

A beautiful silk plaid and a nice floral. (yes, I am grandma-y. Love me some plaid and florals. Get over it.) If you notice it is the pink version from this previous post. There is a method to my madness.

So my attention turned to my upholstered headboard.

This is the before. It has seen its better days after Joseph and I have been leaning up against it for two years. I don't think that I ever shared how I made this. Really simple. I simply went and got a piece of OSB from Lowes. Just plain old 7/16", Georgia-Pacific, Hosford, Florida made OSB. (I used to work at the plant were it is made, so I always look for our product, and I had to make sure it came from that plant before I bought it. I told you I was weird.) I think it might have set me back 3 or 4 bucks. Good for me, not good for GP's bottom line. Then I got some 2" foam from my local craft store, along with some batting. I cut the OSB to the width that I wanted and got to work. I took spray adhesive and glued the foam onto the board. Next, I wrapped it with batting and secured that in place with a staple gun. Then came the fabric. The damask in the picture above is really showing up against the camera flash, but it is much more subtle in normal light. After the fabric was stapled in place, I nailed on some cheap boards that I also picked up at Lowes that I cut to the correct height. Wah-lah. Instant headboard.

But I was ready for a change, so I got to work on changing things up. At first, I was going to make a slipcover for the headboard, since the legs were nailed into place and I didn't want to take the time to take them off. But I decided against that simply because I was too lazy to get my sewing machine out. So I just decided to work around the legs.

First, I laid the fabric out on the floor.

Then I placed the headboard on top and got to stapling.

That's it. All done. Pretty simple, yeah. And its great because you can instanty change your look with just a couple yards of fabric!

Here it is all finished.

My plan was to pick up a duvet in either white or a soft green or tan, but like most best laid plans, they change. Not long after I recovered this headboard, my husband and I decided to go get my king size mattress from my parents house. We hadn't done it before because my bedroom furniture that is still at my parents is extremely massive and our little room now just won't hold the bed, but it will hold the mattresses. I do believe that our new bed has saved our marriage. Really. We now have room to get away from each other while we sleep. The three dogs (I know) now have room to spread out on their blanket away from us. So I am no longer kicking my precious babies all night, waking me from a deep sleep. It is awesome. So there you have it, a little headboard change and bed hopping!

As Conway Twitty would say.....

....."Happy Birthday, Darlin". Stacey thought that since my internet was down, that she would get away without a birthday post. It may be late, but it is here nonetheless. Wednesday, my bestest cousin in the whole wide world, celebrated her 27th birthday. It was a fun evening of cake, shrimp & grits, and music courtesy of the ipod. So, happy birthday, darlin! You are one special lady!!

Now a little look at the party.

With a few decorations here and there:

And a few of Stacey's favorite things to eat (not):

And we were ready to party!!

Even the puppies joined in on the festivities!

It's always great to have a reason to celebrate, especially when that reason is a person who you couldn't imagine life without!! Happy Birthday, Stacey Suzanne!