Meet the Family: C

This week, we are meeting C! Ok, ok, her name is actually Charity. And here she is!

Charity will be 10 on the 25th of this month. She is a fireball. She has been hitting the "tween" years pretty hard lately. (Check back a few earlier posts to witness some of the  mayhem!)

She is in karate but also likes playing softball. In the summer, she becomes a fish. Her favorite color is pink. And she loves Hello Kitty. In the summer, she becomes a little fish. Her freckles or "angel kisses" as she likes to call them, have truly come out since our move to Texas. We love them and so does she!

I hope you enjoyed meeting Charity, for obvious reasons, I am not divulging too much information about her. She is the light of our life and I don't know what I would do without her spunk in my life. She is very smart, just needs to really apply herself.

Meet the family: Lucky

Slowly I am coming out of anonymity. Starting small, baby steps people!

Lucky just turned a year and a half. I am always asked what breed he is, he is a bagle hound. A bagle hound is half bassett hound and half beagle (he has other stuff but he is mostly this).

Since he is mostly a hunter, if you don't pay attention while you are taking him for a walk, he will see a squirrel or rabbit and try to take your arm off. Thankfully, I have learned if it's a squirrel, just let go. He will tree it and wait at the tree for you.

He has a great personality. He loves people and likes meeting new people. Just don't make him think you are trying to sneak up on me in the dark, he will growl, but not bite. He also loves meeting other dogs. He doesn't understand why other dogs don't want to meet him. He will cry if he can't meet your dog.

He doesn't know many tricks, sit, up, and speak are pretty much all he knows, I have tried getting him to lay but it's been slow. He does know: kisses (or make a kissing noise and he gives them up, usually). He knows what bedtime is and prefers to sleep with his head on a pillow and sometimes a blanket, as long as it doesn't cover his face.

He loves to chew, especially when he is anxious. We try to keep bones handy if we know he will go through a phase. However, he likes to murder stuffed animals, he dismembers them first, littlest to biggest. Then, the stuffing. Then the squeakers, he will play catch with himself until he loses these. He has the carcasses of many stuffed animals in his box.

Things he regularly plays with or chews: erasers, socks (usually B's), underwear, pens, pencils, straws, and cups. He hasn't chewed a pair of shoes since last summer and they were a pair of flip flops.

I can't think of much else, except if you come to my house and we eat chips, expect to share. He also likes green beans.

Lucky is also terrified of random items. Such as: 

• tape measure. We think this has to do with when he was a puppy, we lived on my father in-laws property and he was constantly using tape measure, then some sort of drill or saw. We think the loud noise of the drill scared him.
• vacuum. You can catch him running wildly from it whenever it is on.
• lighters/lit candles. I think he may have gotten to close to one before.
• rain/water. He is a giant sissy!
• thunder. He is not a fan of thunderstorms. He will cuddle up with you just to keep him safe.

All in all, we are lucky to have him around. He freely gives his affection, even when he doesn't want to go for a walk just to sniff or you have some food he would like a taste of.

Any quirks your dog has?

XOXO

Jes

The List!

The other night, we sat down and made a master list of things we want/need for our apartment. I actually started the list and showed it to B. We then circled our "must haves". So here is the list!

C's Room

-bed frame (found one at ikea we like)*

-dresser (hopefully can find this secondhand)*

-accessories (wall decor, etc. I will be making some of this) 

-desk chair (possibly ikea, or a folding chair if B had his way)*

-lamp 

-nightstand (maybe secondhand) 

-desk (ikea)*

-TV

-bed skirt (I want to make it)

Found here

-fan*

-wall (since her room is open to the living room, we want to use a drop cloth to create a wall for privacy for everyone)*

-gate (to help keep Lucky out)*

-Bookselves*

-under the bed storage

-sheets*

-comforter (I want to make her a rag quilt)

Found here

-mirror (she is getting older and we need to support her on wanting to look good. We hope to create a vanity zone for her to keep the bathroom open)*

Bathroom 

-shower curtain (yea, we don't even have one! I found this one I like)*

-shower curtain liner (we just need a new one)*

-rug 

-towels

-fan*

-dog bed* (or a pillow, he likes pillows)

Kitchen 

-built-ins (there is an open space meant to be used as a table, we don't use it like that so I will build shelves for both sides for added storage)*

-towels

-rug

Living Room

-TV

-coffee table (Possibly this one from Ikea)

-wall shelf (to display my camera collection)

-TV stand (we like one we found at Ikea, but we are thinking of getting a dresser secondhand to use for the storage possibilities it offers, down the line, we might get a regular one)*

-rug (I have been looking all over for one that I like...no luck yet)

-lamp (I have found a few I like at target and Ikea)

-shelving unit (We really like all the storage with this one)*

-chair (possibly secondhand or at ikea)

-surround sound

-couch (we saw this one on display and LOVE it, it will be replacing our current couch down the line)

Office

-chair*

Office Chair I picked up at a Thrift Store

-lamp

Other

-carpet shampooer

* -Items we are going to work on first.

Thats it in a nutshell, we have lots of things we want to work on and I hope that some of this stuff can be knocked out. I will share projects and ideas as they come along. For now, I have no idea what I am going to do to the chair. I am thinking of decoupaging it and adding a pillow. Thoughts?

XOXO

Jes

Family Time!

Since B has to work Father's Day, we spent a good portion of today all together. B and C did get up for a little father/daughter time by having breakfast together. I try to encourage them to do something without me because they hardly spend time just the two of them.

They picked me up after breakfast and we were off! We did hit up Michaels Arts and Crafts at B's request. His only wish for Father's Day was to get his two reviews framed and a couple menus with pictures in them. I was happy to oblige. I felt a little weird because his step mom frames for a living.

Thankfully, due to 40% off frames and piling on an additional 25% off the frames, we came in under $35 for 3 frames and tape.

Then, we hit up Walmart. C got spoiled with some new dresses and cheap summer clothes. We were able to get some good deals. I got a water bottle (I have a tendency to not drink enough of the stuff). And we finally got an alarm clock (pictured below).

We actually have needed an alarm clock for almost a year and a half. We had 2 at one point and have one to C and the other... disappeared? We found a new one that we both agreed on. I love it. Is it weird that I love an alarm clock? It might go up there with my owl bank (from mother's day). I get a grin anytime I can feed the hungry little owl. Oh? Alarm clock! I love looking at it. It's retro design is just too cute!

After Walmart, we hit up Chicken Express. Really good! I recommend the chicken strips. They remind me a lot of Cheddar's, which I love.

Then, homeward bound. I got started on the framing. The first one I did was the first review, I had 16 copies of it so I figured if I messed it up, I had others. I love how it turned out.

I was able to put together the second. I didn't use the tape because it turned out we only had ONE copy out of 3 that B brought home! Ack! Thankfully, I was able to frame it perfectly.

The task of framing the largest one was daunting. I am not usually one to do anything more than buy a frame and stick a picture in it. Unless I am painting a frame or I buy one of those precut mats and put pictures in it. I put everything out, and the frame was too big for everything. Lovely.

I came up with the idea of using some pictures of food to fill around. Except, I cut the picture out of one of the papers we had and... Still had plenty of space. Ugh.Back to the drawing board.

Then, I loaded my phone with pictures, thinking I could send them through the Walgreens app to print them. After it crashed twice, I was ready to throw my phone/scream. Off to walgreens we went with a cord to plug in my phone.

Wouldn't you know... The computer wouldn't recognize my phone? So I took my SD card out and printed some pictures from that. Talk about a long process! We were able to get enough pictures to fill the frame, some of our family pictures and enough to start on a scrapbook of sorts for B. Yay!

We did get a pizza and I have a review for you! Look for it soon! I have family coming into town this week so it might be delayed.

I must say, I look at the big frame/collage and I am in love with it. I can't believe I made something so amazing! Maybe I will post a picture after I edit names and faces. Until then, enjoy your Monday!

XOXO
Jes

Memory Issues and Concussions

I think people think I am weird. I can't remember certain things, like names or if I have met people before. I always thought I just had a bad time remembering names. Nope.

About a year and a half ago after living with this problem my entire life, my husband clued me in: the females on my dad's side of the family have short term memory problems. It's genetic. And I lived to adulthood without being told. My dad actually told B one day.

It has sucked that I didn't know this to be able to try and help myself sooner. I forget all kinds of things: coupons at home, what I need to buy for groceries (it results in multiple unnecessary trips to the store), what bills need paid when, to mail things off, call people, appointments, etc. Yup, I forget anything and everything. I thought for the longest time B's name was Chris, before we started dating anyways. He forgot my name so I don't feel as bad.

So, maybe you wonder how I remember some things like how we met or our first date or the birth of my daughter (almost 10 years ago!)..  Bigger events, like those have a greater impact. I couldn't tell you the name of the nurses who were at the hospital. For the longest time, I had a hard time remembering the name of the restaurant we had dinner at on our first date, or maybe it was forgettable because I do remember the food wasn't that great (it was Twisted Fork). Bigger life events are easier to remember because they have a bigger impact than the fact that we are out of milk.

How do I try and help myself? If I remember, I try to use my phone for a lot of things, like: scheduling, grocery lists, alarms, etc. It's pretty nice having a smartphone. Also, I try to make a list of "what's for dinner" on paper, then make a grocery list from that at home so I can see if I have something on hand. I started writing what is for dinner on the calendar. It's helpful, if I remember to do it.

B also helps. If there is something he needs done like a bill paid or is running out of work clothes, he tries to text me to remind me, that day. Or he tells me in the mornings, but it still leads to forgetting, sometimes.

It's frustrating, but I have to try because the more times I remember something, the less I get mad at myself. We see signs of it in C also. It's so hard to watch someone else struggle with the same thing you do.

A year and half ago, I had a severe concussion. It happened at work. It was terrifying. For weeks, my memory was worse than it had ever been. I think in some ways it got better, but I don't know if it's what it was before the accident. You would have to ask B.

I hate having a fuzzy memory all the time. I wish I could remember things like a "normal" person.

Any other tips?

XOXO
Jes