Tuesday Adventures

Wow! I meant to get this post up last night but didn't find the time!

Tuesday was quite the day for us. In the late afternoon the entire town was out of electricity. We both sat around at work thinking maybe it will come back on, but after awhile we were both told to go home. And that we did.

Upon pulling into our driveway (no electricity, no garage door opener), we see a couple pups roaming around with no owner's to be found. So we did what we would hope anyone would do if Penny got out and was roaming the streets. We went up to them, let them give us a good sniff (they were sooooo friendly), and looked for tags on their collars. Alas, no tags. We took them to our backyard to give them water while we called our vet to see what to do.

During this time, I snapped a few photos of the little guys.

We got them in the car and took them to our vet to be scanned in hopes they had chips inserted in them. Again, none were found so we were sent off to the animal shelter. Upon arriving, we found out they were closed! But their sign said that an animal control officer would be on call at 6pm. We left a message and went home to wait....for a couple of hours.

These two guys were shedding quite a bit, so we decided we didn't want to get their hair all over. Then we thought to sit out front in our yard in hopes that the owner's would drive by looking for them. So, we sat out under our tree, brought Penny out to meet them, and waited.

No owner's came by and we were getting hungry! I happened to have a hankerin' for Applebee's, so we ordered carside-to-go and I went to pick it up. I expected the animal control would have the dogs picked up by the time I left, so I said goodbye to these precious pups. The whole time we had them, they were so well behaved.

As I was pulling away from Applebee's I spied some extra dumpsters out back and a few doors sitting by them! I tucked that memory in my brain for later and headed home.

Jesse and the three dogs were still outside when I got home, but not too long after, the owner's arrived! They were lucky too, because animal control pulled up right behind them! It turns out they just moved into the house a few doors down. They let the dogs out and didn't realize they could get through a spot in the fence and had been out looking for them. What a way to meet your new neighbors!

Back inside, now, eating supper, I told Jesse of the aforementioned treasures by a dumpster. He knew what I had in mind (Rescue them!) and with a bit of convincing he agreed that he would allow me to use his muscles to bring the doors home. ;)

Off to Applebee's we went. I decided it might be best to ask to make sure they were in fact garbage for the taking so went in to ask the manager. It took a bit for the realization that someone wanted old doors to sink into his head. I was told that he needed to talk with the foreman (the restaurant is being remodeled) and he would call me back. But that wouldn't be until after midnight!

The saga continued. I waited patiently (okay, I went to bed and turned the phone on loud) for his call. And it came at 12:30. I grabbed Jesse and headed over there.

Holy cow! Those doors and windows were heavy! And big!! It took a lot of work (and Jesse probably wishing he wouldn't have agreed to be the muscle while wishing that I had more muscle) to get them into our car, all the while trying to be very careful since the car is not even a month old! We got them in, with a fairly generous amount hanging out the back end. I sat in the back to keep them from bouncing out (though if they decided to slide out, there was no way I could stop them) and slowly made our way back home to unload them.

Come 2:00am, we were finally unloaded and in bed. Jesse, having not going to bed before picking up the doors, only got 4 hours of sleep. I'm so grateful that he was willing to pick these babies up for me! But, now the pressure is on to find something great to do with them!

Fun Weekend!

What a great weekend to end my two week challenge. But let's start from the beginning.

I feel like quite a bit was accomplished the past two weeks while I've been limiting my TV and internet usage. I completed the 'remodeling' our nightstand project that I have been wanting to tackle ever since I spied it sitting beside a dumpster about a year ago.  Jesse and a took a couple long walks (one involving a walk to buy gelato!). Of course some house cleaning and a wee bit of yard work was done. I crocheted quite a bit, researched some freezer cooking meals, made a menu plan for the next 5 weeks, and spent some time with Jesse's coworkers.

Is it cheating if I changed the reward in the last few days of the challenge? There weren't any movies I was dying to see this weekend (okay, I may not have even looked to see what was out), but there was a store that I was told about that I was suddenly dying to go to. So, changed up my reward to go get to go check it out.

So, back to the perfectly full weekend. Friday night Jesse and I ate some leftovers and settled in with a rented movie (from time I had accumulated during the week!) .

Saturday is where it got fun. We met Chad and Heidi for an early lunch at Zombie Burger and had some spectacular food!

Next up the four of us headed over to West End Architectural Salvage to check out the store I was suddenly dying to see!! It has a coffee/smoothie/bar area when you first walk in and then 4 glorious floors of old goodies. I'm not sure what my favorite was. The top floor was filled with old doors and doorknobs but I also loved about ever old ceiling tin decoration that was scattered throughout the entire place.

The only picture I have of the whole adventure is of Chad and Jesse patiently awaiting our drinks.

When we got home Saturday afternoon I spent the time making a rough menu plan for the next 5 weeks. Things always change so we'll see how much we stick to it. But I know it will be really helpful to already have the ideas written down and ready for me.

For Father's Day, we all met in Boone for some grub and then headed to a park to hang out. And hang out we did...

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Here's to another week of doing things rather than sitting and watching a screen!

Where have I been?!

As usual, it has been quite some time since my last post.  Pretty much since that time, I've done a few exciting things and a lot of bumming around (also as usual). So, what exciting things have happened?

We visited Tyler and Sarah in Vegas

The only picture I have of the four of us is when we did a bit of hiking on Earth Day.

Mmmm Serendipity 3! :)

And spending some time with my brother's family.

Hanging out with Leah

We've gone home a couple of times as well, plus gone to a cousin's graduation. Tyler and Sarah have made their journey make to Iowa (for a limited time), so we've celebrated Tyler's graduation and been able to hang out while they are back.

Other than that, life has pretty much been going to work, coming home, eating, maybe a bit of cleaning, and flopping down on the couch, vegging out in front of the TV and computer. And, just like with anything else, I've decided it's time to break that habit. I go through these phases of removing Mt. Dew from my diet, developing a weekly cleaning schedule, waking up earlier, and limiting TV & computer time. They typically don't last very long, and I later I try to pick it up again. But, none the less, here I am back again to limiting TV and computer time (which is a good thing to do!).

This time, I've set a goal and reward for making it through.
The Goal
     Limit TV and aimlessly browsing the internet to half an hour each day (preferably spent at the same time) for 2 weeks.

The Reward
     A night at the movies with popcorn and all!

Plan of Action
I have plenty of things that need to be done (there is always cleaning and organizing to do!). I also have an over abundance of things that I want to do.  Luck would have it that I have a bajillion lists that I have been compiling (most likely duplicating myself many times over). So, this is where I'll start. At my normal time of flopping down in front of the TV and computer, I will work on an item from one of my many lists!

Fine Print
Okay, ya got me, I wrote in a loop hole or two.
1) I'm going to allow myself to accrue TV/Internet time. So, tonight I don't watch TV or browse the internet at all. That means tomorrow night, I will allow myself to watch a show that is an hour long episode. I will not allow myself to use time from future dates (I can't watch 2 hours tomorrow, planning to not watch anything for the next two days to cover myself).
2) Time spent online researching a project that I am working on from my to do list, spending time on our Mint account to re-work our budget, or researching freezer cooking meals I plan to make, does not count towards my half hour of allotted internet time.

My Motto (to remind me to keep up with this goal)
Less bummin' more doin'.

Am I a bit crazy? Yes, but you guys already knew that! Throw some moral support my way to help me kick my bumming around habit.  What is that statistic? It takes 30 days to create or break a habit? Well, here's to the first 2 weeks and a movie to reward myself! :)

It's Been Awhile, Folks!

Well, I've been gone a few weeks months. I'm sorry for my lack of posts, but I hope to pick it up 'round these parts as I expect to have quite a few projects going on...though they may all take a bit for me to get through.

December was a big month for us. On the December 5th we purchased our very first house (happy dance!)

Note to self: put away the garbage can before taking pictures!

We quickly followed that up with a week long trip to London, leaving on December 9th. Jesse was asked to travel across the pond to meet and work with a client. I was able to tag along (paying for my own expenses of course). I actually worked from the hotel a few days while Jesse was away as I was a bit too timid to venture out by myself.  We really only had one full day to sight-see on our own, and it was a cold rainy day. We parked our butts on a classic red double decker bus and got to see all the classics of London. 

We finally got fully settled into our home in January and have already started many projects, mainly concerning paint. That being said there are even more projects being added to my craft wish list now that we have a house to decorate and have our way with! 

I plan to be posting before, during, and finished for now pictures of our house! Like the title of the blog says: In Progress, and our house definitely will always be in progress.

Stay tuned for all the fun to come!

MIA

Wow. It's been awhile, eh? Well, where have I been and what have I been up to?

Oh you know, it's summertime and I've been playing. One of my best buddies moved back to town and I've spent quite a bit of time with her. I've hooked her on this crafty thing I've got going on, so we've been doing plenty of craft shopping and pillow making among the grilling out and bummin' around.

Here are a few pictures I've what I've made recently and will be posting about [hopefully] soon.

Other items on my to do list:

My first serious sewing project, making a romper from a pattern.

An old tank top elastic band dress.

A clutch.

Upcycling an end table I rescued from [beside] the dumpster.

Harry Potter themed snacks