A not so relaxing time of year

As most of you are probably experiencing, this time of year is not very relaxing. I have so many things to do that I simply ignore them all and pretend they don't exist. Because somehow they will magically accomplish themselves, right?

For now, let's just reminisce about those lazy summer days, shall we. (Summer in Texas is October, so these pictures aren't too old)

Fountain of Youth

I have found the fountain of youth! Although, it is not actually a fountain, it's our new house. And, it probably won't keep you young forever, just while you visit. Plus, I'm not actually sure it works on humans, just dogs. You want proof you say?

When we first got Leia she never got tired. She could run circles around all of the other dogs at the dog park for hours, after an hour run/walk to the park. As she got older she slowed down considerably. Before the fountain of youth (our new house) she would run around the house with the hubby once before she got tired, stopped for a drink of water, and then went to bed. She could always be found in her bed, on our bed (usually our bed), or on the couch.  Now...

Last week she raced me back and forth up the driveway, then I got tired. Yesterday I called her into the house after she had been outside for almost an hour in the dark. She didn't come when I called. I got worried and walked around the house to find her. As soon as she saw me she charged passed me and ran all the way around the house, through the house, upstairs and jumped excitedly onto the bed. She would have kept going, but I made her go to bed (it was a long rapture day).

I don't think it has anything to do with the 3 acres she has here compared to the 0.17 acres she had at the old place. This house is definitely the fountain of youth. If you want to regain your youth I am charging $1,000 for a one night stay, free if I like you. Now that is a deal!

**All claims of youthfulness have not been fully tested. Stay at your own risk. If youthfulness does not occur we claim no responsibility. No money back, no guarantees. Offer not valid to those we don't know.**

Puppy Fix

I haven't posted pictures of Leia in a very long time. Actually, I haven't posted pictures of any of our animals lately. So, over the next couple of days I will be forcing you to look at baby pictures. Well, my version of baby pictures.

Leia is as lazy as ever. Actually, she is sleeping under a blanket right next to me. Her favorite thing to do is curl up under a blanket close to someone. That sounds like my favorite thing to do as well. Like mother like daughter.

I can rarely get a picture of her in a position other than sleeping or laying down. It is funny actually, I'm pretty sure she hates having her picture taken. Whenever I get out the camera she mysteriously relocates to a different room. When the camera is in her face she refuses to make eye contact. Like father like daughter.

We couldn't have picked a better dog for us.

Old Soul

My baby is getting older.  She is only about 5 or 6 years old, although we really have no idea since she is a rescue.  That makes her about 35 or 42 in dog years, and yes I did use a calculator, don't judge.  When I look at this picture I don't just see a stubborn dog who refuses to look directly at the camera.  I see an old soul.  There is white around her face now that wasn't there when we got her.  The eyes look as if she has seen a lot in her years, as if there is sadness there.  It makes me wonder what a dog that sleeps on the couch all day has been through.  Do we not love her enough?  Does she not get enough plates to lick after dinner?  Are we not good parents?

There is a WNYC Radio Lab out there that talks about whether or not animals have feelings.  Can they love?  Do they feel happiness, sadness, appreciation?  Do they ever get jealous?  Can they plot, or take revenge?  With a cat that likes to pee on my things when she gets mad at me I have to say yes to the last one.  When I was a kid I remember my dad telling me that animals can't think.  Everything they do is instinct.  Growing up with animals I have to disagree.  I see the jealousy in my animals when I am petting the other one.  I feel the love from them when we cuddle on the couch.  I think there is a lot going on in those heads that we don't know about, what do you think?

Caught Her Eye

Under the Covers

Leia's favorite place to be is under the covers. There are days when we can't find her anywhere. We see a lump on the bed and find her buried under the covers. She get's so excited when you lift up the blankets to let her go under them. I'm pretty sure she spends the majority of the days curled up in her dark little cocoon of a blanket.

Feet

If you are curious about the excess amount of animal photos on this here blog over the last couple of weeks please note the excess amount of snow and freezing cold weather. This body does not like cold and will not go outside to take pictures unless the body is already outside and boogers have not frozen to the inside of the nostrils. Plus, the husband is not a big fan of having his picture taken for more than 2 minutes. Therefore, dogs and cats you will get until the weather changes or the husband stops being a booger.

I am channeling spring with my blog. I thought I could handle winter a bit longer this year. I prepared myself. I was still feeling pretty ok about winter in the beginning of February, but then mother nature had to go and play games with my head. She thought it was a fabulous idea to have spring-like weather in the middle of February. Then she remembered it was February and brought on the cold and snow again. Now I want my spring back, and I want it now.

Love

My very late Happy Valentine's Day to you all :)

ABC Wednesday: D

She is pretty much saying, "Leave me alone. I'm trying to sleep." I can't get enough of those lips.

For more ABC Wednedsay head on over here.

I Heart Faces: Pet Edition!

Be sure to click on the I ♥ Faces button to go see what this neat website is all about.

Monday Smile

Because everyone needs a good laugh on Monday.

Sweet Dreams

Christmas Crazy

Welcome to our brand of Christmas Crazy. It isn't that crazy this year because what is not pictured are the boxes of decorations in the living room that I didn't have time to put up. Since we are heading to Ohio Monday, it looks like they will never be put up.

Welcome to the home of Derek and Kim.

My favorite decorations are my pink reindeer. My grandma painted them for me, and I think they are so cute, if a little crazy.

Grandma also painted my ceramic Christmas tree. I think I get my artistic streak from her and my Dad.

And now, the creepy dolls. I got these when I was little. Pretty much the only dolls I ever got. I will never forget the American Girl doll I asked for that one year. Every box I opened I knew she would be in it. She never appeared. Instead, my sister got one. I never let my mom forget that Christmas and how she scarred me for life :) (Love you mom). I do actually, really love these dolls, and they play music!

I Hope this holiday season brings you so much Joy.

Let's go outside and play! So, there should be more lights, but we blew a fuse and had to stop. I don't think we will win the Christmas lights contest for our neighborhood now :(

See you next year!!! Merry Christmas!!!

To participate, or check out some more Christmas crazy, head on over to the Burgh Baby.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Her Man

Leia loves her man. Yeah, she loves me more, but you can't beat the relationship between a man and his dog. Now getting Leia to sit still long enough to let me take a picture took some coaxing. Don't let that cute little face fool you. Actually, the face is the problem. That nose wants to keep on going.

I lost all of my paintbrushes. I opened up Photoshop and they were all gone. So I am experimenting with new watermarks. What do you think? I know I am not a real photographer, but I can pretend, right? I'm not sure how I feel about the black background.

Love Thursday

The hubby and I found a lake near our home, and no I don't mean Lake Michigan (I knew about that one), so we took the dog for a walk around it. It was probably the last beautiful day of the year. The sun was setting, the air was warm, and there was not a cloud in the sky. As we walked around the lake we saw a dog collar hanging from a tree (someone must have lost it and someone else found it). Hanging from the collar was a little red heart tag. It was a perfect moment, my husband, my dog, and me together. I could feel the love.

My Baby

Contemplation, originally uploaded by nmsu_chica.

No matter how much I want to have a baby right now, I know we need to wait until we are a little closer to being done with school. My biological clock seems to be hitting me over the head recently. Every single day I think about having a baby. I guess it doesn't help that I read more mommy blogs than photographer blogs, and they are just so darn cute.

For now I will just have to settle for my animal babies. This particular one is everyones favorite. We got lucky with her when we picked her out from our local shelter. You never know what underlying problems you are going to bring home with you when you get an animal with no known history.

This little girl wasn't even my first choice. There was this big, white, fuzzy faced dog that caught my eye, but the husband was set on getting a beagle. Whenever I think about that day I can't help but feel sad about all the dogs that I didn't choose. The twins that had been there for seven years, the other beagle named Peanut, the big, white fluffy faced dog. They all hold a special place in my heart, but this little girl has stolen it away. She is my baby.

It has been almost three years since we picked Leia out at the shelter. My husband didn't even want a dog at the time, but I couldn't get the thought of having a dog out of my head (now it seems I am the same way about babies.) I dragged him to several different shelters, telling him I just wanted to look. Then we were robbed. After a couple days back home in Ohio for Thanksgiving we came home to find the back door wide open and everything that was worth anything inside was gone.

We need a guard dog, was my next excuse for getting a dog. Finally, my husband agreed. He thought a beagle would be perfect. They have a deep bark that will keep potential robbers away, yet they are sweet and friendly. Anything other than a beagle would not due for the husband. I would do anything for a dog, at the time, so I went with it.

Then we found this cute, shy, little dog at Orphan's of the Storm. Her information said absolutely nothing about her, but they thought she would get along well with cats and children, so we took her.

She gets along with cat's and children (the cat's bite her ears while she just lays there), but that guard dog we were looking for? Ha, she would probably just stare at a robber and then go back to sleep. That deep beagle howl/bark? We had to pick the only beagle in the world that doesn't bark (unless it is an inanimate object like a black bag). But those are all things that I love about her. I wouldn't change it for the world.

I didn't always feel this way about her. When we first brought her home I wasn't in love. She was alright, but she had separation anxiety and tore up my house (she doesn't anymore). She wasn't the fluffy faced dog I had hoped for. She chased my cat. She threw up in the car (still does). I just didn't feel that deep love that I had hoped to feel. The same love I had for Midnight. I feared we had chosen the wrong dog. Maybe she wasn't the one we were supposed to pick.

She soon proved me wrong. She got over her separation anxiety. With very little training she was sitting, shaking, playing in the yard without a leash, listening to us, and giving me this deep "I love you" stare that I just couldn't resist. We got lucky with her, and I just couldn't imagine not loving her.

If you have a dog in your future, please consider adopting from your local shelter. If you have a specific dog in mind consider adopting from a breed specific rescue. There is a good chance you will get lucky just like us. All these dogs want is some love, and as soon as they get it they will do whatever you ask (almost) to keep it. If you have any questions about adopting an animal please feel free to ask me or head over to Petfinder for more information and to find a dog in need of love near you.

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More from the Cottage

Leia loves the cottage. She gets to play with her friend Luke (get it? Luke and Leia?). She gets to run around without a leash, sometimes. People feed her, which they shouldn't. There are plenty of smells to sniff and roll around in, goose poop, bunnies etc. The only thing she is not very fond of is the boat and water, which is what we love about it.





Someone decided that she didn't want her picture taken anymore. I thought you might not appreciate a view of a dog's butt, perhaps you like blue stars better.



Oh, I got her to turn around for a split second. Look at that expression, you would have thought I asked her to jump in the lake.

A Weekend at the Cottage

We went up to the in-laws cottage on Lake Erie this weekend. It was so nice to relax and not have to worry about anything. I took a nap two afternoons in a row, and there are some unfortunate pictures to prove it.

It is funny how things can change over 9 years of going to the cottage. The first time I went up there kids were everywhere. There was a baby, some toddlers, and some teenagers (me being one of them). It was fun shooting marshmallows at the little buggers and playing in the lake. Now, it is a completely different story. There was not a child in site. A couple marshmallows were shot, but overall the day was filled with sitting around, eating food, taking walks and riding bikes. Someone needs to start popping out some kids so we can feel young again (hint hint hubby).

Here are some of my favorite shots of the cottage.

The back dock out onto the bay.



We used to jump off of this dock into thick, black, muck. It was so much fun and disgusting all at the same time. Now the grasses have grown up and the water has dropped so there is no more muck to play in, which is probably a good thing.



My sister-in-law and I built this swing with grandpa. He passed away a couple years later, but we have the memories and this place to remember him by.



Me and my puppy. She was such a good girl and followed my everywhere, some of the times without a leash. Our little girl is growing up so fast.



I have lots more to show you so stay tuned.

Hilarious Floors

I thought I would give you a sneak peak at our brand new floors. We spent two weekends laying these babies. They are so beautiful. If I was a polygamist I would marry them. Every time I look down at the floors they make me all warm inside. All that is left to do is cut the underlayment and put up the quarter round. Another weekend should finish them off.

This is the hallway that makes a great slip and slide (minus the water).


This is the guest room. It needs some art on the wall, but it is almost there. Do you see Leia sneaking up on Little Miss, crazy animals. I'm not sure how to hide the bed risers, but we need them for the extra storage, any ideas?


The hilarious part is watching the animals slip and slide all over them. We got Leia all round up the other day just so we could see her slide across the floor. Which lead to us sliding across the floor, and fun was had by all. The most fun is when one of them jumps off the bed, their feet slide out from under them, and they fall flat on their face. I know, I am a terrible parent, but it is hilarious.

A full before and after showcase will be posted when we are done with everything. For anyone who is interested, the floors are Swiftlock (kronotek) laminate in Acacia from Lowes.