Twenty-Six To Life

I've Decided

2012-01-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

...that I want my fireplace to look like this:

I know that this probably seems a little random with all of the dog talk lately, but I've been thinking about my fireplace for awhile. I love this picture of this natural stone with a white mantle (although my mantle would be lower than the "mantle" in the above photo).

The problem is that my fireplace currently looks like this:

Try to see beyond the table and chairs. It's just white brick back there.

My other problems include: I have no idea how to apply a stone surround. Or where to buy it. Or if I can even afford it. Plus there's all those other half-finished projects around the house that I should probably complete before I start something new.

Realistically, I'll probably just paint the ugly paneling, but I can dream that someday I'll have a beautiful fireplace too.

Anyone else dreaming of the things you would love to do in your home?

Working Like A Dog, Part II

2012-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

I've already shared that Heidi's been on the lookout for more job opportunities. As a member of the household, it's only fair that she pull her own weight. This weekend she found another way she can help out: personal shopper!

First she made a quick pit stop at Home Depot for some household supplies.

Then it was time to do a little grocery shopping. Heidi dutifully looked over all the merchandise to find the best deals.

She sniffed the treats to make sure they were fresh.

And read the labels to make sure the food was healthy and nutritious.

Eventually she made her choice and picked the best kibble of the bunch.

After doing such a thorough job, I might have to let Heidi do all of our grocery shopping.

To see Heidi at work in her other job click here. To see even more photos of the dogs, like Twenty-Six to Life on facebook.

Fat, but Happy: An Update on Nemo

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Awhile ago I shared a scary event we had with Nemo when he had a seizure in the middle of the night. After rushing him to the vet and having some tests done, we were told that Nemo has pancreatic insulinoma - or small insulin producing tumors on his pancreas. These tumors, and the resulting insulin, cause Nemo's blood sugar to be abnormally low which is what caused the initial seizure. His diagnosis is troubling because there's not much we can do about it. Although pills and surgeries could potentially treat the condition in the future, they aren't a cure. The life expectancy for dogs with pancreatic insulinoma is only about two years after diagnosis (if we're lucky) which is pretty grim.

All that said, we're certainly not the type to sit around wait for bad things to happen, so we've been taking all the steps we can to keep Nemo as healthy as possible. Luckily for now, managing his condition isn't too difficult. It's primarily revolved around three central things: less exercise, frequent feedings, and monitoring his blood sugar.

Reducing Nemo's activity level. Gone are the days when we play fetch for over an hour at a time. Exercise increases insulin production, which lowers blood sugar, and since Nemo already has low blood sugar we have to prevent it from dipping further. This one is tough because Nemo loves playing ball sooooooo much. Playing ball is almost his favorite thing in the world, so it's tough to not be able to do it much anymore (and to only throw the ball a few times before stopping). That doesn't mean he never gets out though. We still walk Nemo and throw the ball a little bit (although never to the point where he's winded) and he always gets a little extra food after he's active.

Feeding him frequently. The same day that we talked to the vet we went out and bought an automatic feeder. After looking at what was available, we bought this one and have been really happy with it (although Melanie broke the first one we had, so if you have a crazy pig-dog like I do who will chew through plastic to get to food this may not work for you).

Mel is such a pig-dog that she'll even try to steal food right out of Nemo's mouth.

So far the automatic feeder has worked out really well. When we're out, we set up the feeder and it rotates at certain times throughout the day so Nemo can eat. We leave him in the guest bedroom while we're out so the other dogs can't eat the food that's meant for him. The only obstacle we've encountered is that sometimes Nemo doesn't eat a meal when it comes around. I'm not sure if he misses meals because he's sleeping during the day (so he doesn't hear the feeder rotate) or if he's just bored with eating sometimes because we're feeding him 6+ times a day now. I've started "hiding" treats in the feeder to get him more eager to eat out of it though.

Monitoring His Blood Sugar. This is the one that's going to seem really crazy to people. On the advice from our vet we bought an AlphaTRAK Blood Glucose Monitoring Meter Kit. It's just like a blood monitoring kit a diabetic would have. At first, the idea of drawing Nemo's blood was really daunting. I hate the idea of hurting him, even it's just a tiny little needle. With a little practice though, T and I have become experts. It's really not hard at all and Nemo doesn't seem to mind (he is more annoyed with us fussing over him than he is with us actually sticking him with the lancet).

For the first week-ish we took his blood several times a day to create a curve of what his blood glucose levels do over time, but since then we only do it once a day. We test his blood first thing in the morning (literally it's the very first thing - he doesn't even get out of bed for it) and record his blood glucose levels in a diary before we feed him. So far we've been lucky that his levels have been relatively normal, but there's no telling how long that will keep up.

Having his blood drawn is no big deal, but Nemo gets annoyed when you interrupt his beauty sleep.

The possibility of medications and surgery is out there. So far we don't have him on any meds on the advice of our vet. When we start to notice that his blood glucose levels aren't in the normal range anymore, that will be the first next step. Surgery to remove the tumors is an option, but it's risky and not a cure. If we did have the surgery the tumors would invariably come back and the pancreas is very tricky to work around. Given all that, plus the stress involved with surgery and subsequent recovery, T and I (and our vet) aren't sure that it's something we'd do, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

The important thing is that now Nemo is happy and feeling good. He gets more snuggles than he knows what to do with some days and, even more than his ball, snuggling is his favorite thing in the world. Thanks to all the extra food and lack of exercise he's gained a few pounds, but as long as he's happy, he can get as fat as he wants.

Weekend Volunteering Report

2012-01-23T09:30:00.000-05:00

Lately I've realized that I'm not giving you guys the full scoop. I've been doing a lot more volunteering lately and I've been neglecting to talk about it on the blog. That's pretty dumb considering I take tons of photos while volunteering and there's certainly no shortage of things to talk about.

So here's a recap of what I did this weekend.

This weekend was a pretty typical event weekend. We have regular adoption events throughout the month at various locations where we can show of the dogs and get them some exposure. Even though we don't have a foster dog right now, I always make sure to volunteer for local events whenever I can. Since I don't have a foster dog I can transport another person's foster to the event if they can't make it, talk to people about our rescue, and just generally act as another set of free hands which is always helpful.

Oh, and can I take a lot of photos :)

This weekend I got to do a little bit of everything: transporter, puppy wrangler, public liaison, and phodographer (see that little pun? hehe).

First, I went to pick up this cutie. He's currently being boarded at a local "pet resort" (seriously the place is awesome - I want to live there) until a foster home opens up for him.

Love.Him.To.Pieces.

I didn't spend too much time holding him (I spent a lot of time answering questions and taking photos), but I still spent plenty of time smooshing his little face and giving him lots of treats for being so awesome.

And then there were the puppies. Puppies always get a lot of attention, and for good reason. They are adorable.

One of the puppies even found his forever home this weekend. His family was so excited to bring him home, it was heart-warming to see him with his new family. They are going to be awesome together.

As the event started to wind down, the dogs who stayed until the very end started having a hard time staying awake. Eventually they climbed into a nearby dog bed and rested until it was time to go home.

He May Be The Smallest Dog Of The Pack, But Moe's The Best Guard Dog We Have

2012-01-18T09:30:00.000-05:00

I Went Downstairs And This Is What I Saw

2012-01-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

Nemo's face squished behind the sofa cushion, with his little paws curled up under him.

I love how dogs can be both weird and adorable at the same time.

Wordless Wenesday

2012-01-11T09:45:00.000-05:00

About That Rug

2012-01-10T10:15:00.000-05:00

Over on my facebook page a few of you have asked me to finally post about my new rug. Well, here's that post!

You've already gotten little teasers of the rug, thanks to the dogs and my incessant need to photograph them whenever possible, so you probably have a pretty good idea of what it looks like.

You also saw the rug when I got my Secret Santa gift and Nemo helped me open the package.

I promise that these little glimpses were not part of some master blogging strategy to drum up interest in the rug. I am not nearly that smart.

The truth is that I'm both lazy and busy (a horrible combination) so I've been busy finishing the floors in the rest of the house (they're done!!!) and tiling the front entry (you didn't know about that one! ha!) and then I got lazy and decided that I didn't really feel like taking pictures of a boring unfinished room.

Consequently these pictures aren't great, but they are how things really look right now so... c'est la vie.

Without further ado, here's the rug as it looks right now in our basement family room:

Bold right? Everyone who sees it says that...

It should go without saying (writing?) that a lot still needs to happen in here. I'll get to that in a second.

The details of the rug are:

-- It's from Rugs USA. I ordered it online.
-- I paid $150 for it (a steal!). Rugs USA has great sales and I was happy with how quickly I got my order.
-- It's about 8x10
-- I added a gripper rug pad underneath of it. The rug itself is a little thin, but the extra cushion makes it work. (I still need to trim off the edge of the rug pad because the pad is a little bigger than the actual rug.)
-- It hides smudges from dirty paws really well.

It wouldn't be a photo of a room in my house without the dogs in it...

Now that you've seen the rug, it's time to explain the rest of the crazy stuff that needs to happen in this room...

One of my many unfinished projects around the house is the fauxdenza under the TV. I hit a roadblock when I originally only bought three cabinets and decided I needed four to span the wall. As you can see, I finally made it out to Ikea for a fourth cabinet and it's now up on the wall - yay!! Not-so-yay is the fact that I still need to get a top on it, drill holes for all the wires (so they're hidden) and put in the last couple of shelves (they're those long white things on the floor under the TV). It'll all happen.

Eventually.

Other things that need to happen in here:

-- Get rid of the old sofa! Argh! I've been wanting that thing out of the house for ages now. Originally I was going to freecycle/craigslist it. Then my parents were going to move so they said they wanted it, so I didn't sell it. Then they didn't move. So I was going to freecycle/craigslist it again. But now my brother wants it and the plan is to get it to him by the end of the month. That better happen or I'm just putting the sofa on the curb and waiting for someone to take it. It's time for it to leave my house.

-- Move the anthropologie inspired dresser somewhere else. We only moved it in here for extra storage because the fauxdenza wasn't finished.

-- New curtains! I'm thinking something with color. Contrary to how is seems now, I don't want this to be a black and white space.

-- Replace the old sofa with new seating. Chairs. Two of them.

-- Buy/Build a coffee table and/or ottoman.

-- Paint? I'm on the fence with this one (which is why it hasn't happened yet). This room is open to the whole house so I'm not eager to paint, but it could still work.

-- Come up with a better solution for the laptop. You can see it over there in the corner to the left of the sofa. It's actually not all bad now, but the little table isn't on wheels so it's not the easiest to move.

-- Figure out the area behind the sofa. You can't see it in these pics, but behind the sofa is the treadmill (still trying to get rid of that too), the old entertainment stand that the TV used to be on, and an old dog bed. The plan is put up a couple shelves on the back wall and a narrow table behind the sofa.

All of that seems like a ton of work, but when you consider that this has been the progression of the room so far...

...I feel like I've already come pretty far...

Excuse Me While I Geek Out a Little

2012-01-09T09:30:00.000-05:00

Just in case you haven't heard, the Mr. and I have been together for quite awhile now.

To celebrate, we took a little trip out of town to Staunton, VA. It's a small town just a few hours away from Northern VA (where we live), but it's not a typical "go to" location for a weekend trip. The town's secret though is this place:

Blackfriar's Playhouse

It is an amazing theatre with an amazing company. We bought tickets to see A Christmas Carol and it was one of the best performances I've ever seen. It was uplifting and unique and funny and charming. The theatre is very interactive with the audience; there are seats on the stage and the actors walk through the audience as part of the performance throughout the show. It's just an all around incredible experience. For anyone living in the area, I highly recommend taking an overnight trip to Staunton to see a play here. Also, stay at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel. It's close to everything - right next door to the theatre, and just a block away from historic downtown - so you won't have to drive anywhere and it's very charming.

One of the things I enjoyed about the trip was walking around the downtown area. It's all small businesses and shops which I love (there aren't many places like this in my area).

While we walking around town I found a camera store and museum that I had to check out. It had tons of old cameras and lenses that I got such a kick out of. I wandered around this little store for a long time. There were so many cool cameras there, and for once the owner didn't give me a weird look when I started taking photos inside his store.

My favorite camera though was this one:

It was ridiculously large. And heavy. Definitely don't drop this thing on your foot.

I was talking to the store owner and apparently this camera was made in the 1920s to photograph baseball games. They only made eight of them (one camera for each major league team at the time). Looking at it made me realize how far camera technology has come... This was the telephoto lens of the day! Can you imagine hauling that thing around!?

The lens was the size of my face. It was so huge I couldn't resist snapping a photo of our reflection in it.

We only stayed for one night, but the town has already become a favorite to me. I can't wait to go back.

An Update About Boo

2012-01-05T10:01:00.000-05:00

I got a great update from Boo's forever home last week.

After we fostered her for about a month, Boo was adopted at the end of October. I've gotten one or two small updates about how she's been doing since then, but getting this one was a great way to end 2011 and start 2012 out strong.

From Boo's Person:

Hi,

I just wanted you to know that I have made a contribution to your rescue group in honor of your great volunteers for their efforts in facilitating my adoption of Kalee, aka Boo, in October of this year.

Kalee is doing great - she's very loving and sweet, and has captured my heart, which I thought might never happen after I lost my beloved dog in June. She's a bundle of energy and very happy. Loves to eat, walk and ride in the car, in that order. Although she still lacks manners sometimes, I am starting training lessons for her (AND ME!) in January.

Thank you sincerely for your efforts to save Kalee-Boo and other endangered pit bulls/mixes.

Updates like that are why I love volunteering so much. To think that Boo was in a shelter just a few months ago, with an uncertain future, and that now she's being spoiled rotten by someone who loves her dearly is incredibly uplifting.

Even though right now we aren't in a position to foster - between constantly monitoring Nemo's blood glucose levels and having Moe in the house it just isn't feasible - I've been doing more behind the scenes work, like fundraising and marketing, and I've really been enjoying it so far.

When I started volunteering, I had no idea what an important role it would play in my life. I knew that I wanted to help others, but I didn't realize how much it would help me in return. I've gained skills and friends and knowledge that I never would have had otherwise. Hopefully we'll be able to foster again in the summer, but either way it's great to know that I'm helping dogs like Boo find their own Person.

Not Your Average Christmas Recap

2012-01-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

Like a lot of people, our Christmas was full of presents, and family, and food, and all kinds of other fun stuff.

Unlike a lot of people, our Christmas also included one very large horse.

My little grandmother next to the big horse.

This horse belongs to my parents' and he's very big.

I have a weird history with horses. On the one hand, I really like them. I think they're cool, and in general they're very docile and friendly. Growing up, I had the opportunity to ride horses a bit and while I was never an expert at it, I have a general basic idea of what to do. Plus, I sort of think of them as really large dogs and since I love dogs so much I have a real affinity for horses too.

On the other hand, horses make me really nervous. Being around horses when I was younger put me in close proximity to a few "horses behaving badly" situations that really rattled me. However, since my parents own a few horses, my mother is on a quest to eliminate my anxiety around them, so she's constantly encouraging me to go to the barn and be around the horses more often.

Even though I'm not really ready to ride again, I do enjoy feeding them. And petting them. Those things are fun. So on Christmas day I threw some peppermint patties in my pocket (special holiday treat for the horses!) and hopped in the car with my family to go out to the barn.

My parents' horse has a quirky treat preference: he likes Lipton Green Tea! As soon as he saw the bottle you could tell he was excited. He drank the entire bottle and loved it.

He was rolling around in the dirt earlier that morning, hence all the dirt on his face.

See why I think horses are just big dogs?

Yum...

And even though I am kind of scared of horses, I love how big he is! I think pit bulls are small dogs (I love BIG dogs like mastiffs, danes, newfies, bernese mountain dogs, and st. bernards) so seeing such a huge horse was... well... it was like Christmas for me! Which was fitting since it was Christmas...

It was great too because Christmas day here was really beautiful. It was very warm for the season, I think it was in the 60s, and the sun was out so it was really nice.

These two are best buds.

I was pretty proud of myself for getting out there. I'm still gun shy about riding again, but I had a really good time feeding the horses treats and giving them a little extra love. I might even do it again when I get the chance.

I'm patting myself on the back for overcoming my fears a little with this one.

Anyone else do anything unusual for the holiday?

Project 366

2012-01-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

Everyone have a good holiday? Ready to start the new year?

I had a great holiday (update to come), but I'm slow to adapt to writing a new year on everything. Sometimes I still want to write "2010" on things so jumping right to "2012" is a real mind-bender for me. I think it's because I can't handle handle the idea that I'm getting older...

Since it's a brand new year, I thought I would re-visit a project I first did in 2010. Project 365. Or in this case, since 2012 is a leap year, Project 366. The goal is to take a photo every day for the entire year. When I first did the project I only had my point and shoot camera, so I'm looking forward to re-doing the project with my DSLR.

This time around I'm going to post the photos to my facebook page. My hope is that I'll get each week's photos up sometime during the weekend (so I have time to look through all the photos and edit them, etc.). Make sure you like my page on facebook to see the photos as I post them.

Just like with everything else, I like to play fast and loose with the rules (I'm such a rebel). The project calls for one photo a day, but I'm posting two photos for January 2, 2012.

January 1, 2012

January 2, 2012

Just like in 2010, I get the feeling that most of my photos will be of the dogs...

Top 11 Photos (of My Pets ) of 2011

2011-12-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Click it Up a Notch, Click Pray Love, and Nap Time Momtog are hosting a Top 11 of '11 party to show off your favorite photos of your kids or pets. Naturally, I'm sharing some of my favorite photos of my dogs. To see even more great photos click over to the link up to see what other people are sharing.

Here are my favorite 11 photos of my pets from 2011:

1. I love this photos of Nemo. If he had his own facebook account, I think this would be his profile picture.

2. Melanie and Heidi laying in the sun together.

3. Moe chilling on the arm of the chair. He's not really my pet, but he is living with us for now so I consider him part of the pack :)

4. Nemo with his ball. It's his favorite thing in the world.

5. Melanie checking me out while laying in bed.

6. Me and Nemo together. His face cracks me up. I swear he's not as grumpy as he looks.

7. Molly out on the deck. I got my DSLR right before she passed away and this is one of the last photos I got of her. I'm so happy I pulled my camera out and started playing with it right away.

8. Heidi looking very sophisticated. I took this in my kitchen right after I got my nifty fifty.

9. Heidi and Mr. T cuddling one Sunday morning.

10. Heidi playing fetch on a trip of out of town. The ears. The tongue. You know she's happy!

11. Heidi, Nemo, and Melanie all sleeping together. I think this photo actually says a lot about their different personalities.

And I'm adding one more photo just for fun. On Christmas I went to visit one of my parents' horses to give him some special holiday treats. He may not be my pet, but since he's my parents' he's sort of like my pet by proxy. I caught this shot after he enjoyed a particularly yummy treat, licking his lips to make sure he didn't miss anything. Horses are basically really big dogs, right?

10 Years Together

2011-12-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

Ten years ago today, Mr. T and I had our very first date. We went to Olive Garden. And bowling. It was truly a magical evening.

It still surprises me today that we ended up together. When we first met we were both home on breaks from college. A mutual friend just happened to introduce us to each other. We went to different schools, over four hours apart, so we never thought we'd end up seriously dating. We had about ten days to get to know each other while we were in the same town - neither one of us expected the other to stick it out when we were going to be apart again so soon.

But we did.

Now ten years later we're still bumbling through life together, and I gotta say, it's been a pretty darn good ride.

I love ya T, and I can't wait to see what we'll do in the next ten years.

Want to read how we got married three times? Click here.

Secret Santas Revealed!

2011-12-23T07:30:00.000-05:00

So last week I shared that Emily from Our Waldo Bungie (check out her blog, she rocks) had the awesome idea of doing a Secret Santa with a few pittie ~~obsessed~~ focused bloggers, dubbed the Pittie Posse.

The participants for the Pittie Posse Secret Santa are:

Two Pitties in the City

Two Grad Students and a Pittie

That Touch of Pit

Pittieful Love

Love and a Six-Foot Leash

Our Waldo Bungie

And now it's time to reveal who my Secret Santa was!! Drum roll please....

rolling.........

rolling.........

rolling.........

My Secret Santa was Aleksandra from Love and a Six-Foot Leash!

It was so fun to see a package in the mail from her. She actually used to live really close to me, but has since moved to ~~Mars~~ Austin, TX so her gift had a little farther to travel.

When it came in, Nemo gave it a good once-over to make sure it was safe for me. He's such a gentleman that way.

After he gave it the all-clear, I opened everything up.

A+ wrapping job!

On the inside was a card, two photos - one of Dora the Explorer, one of Sir Chick - a card, and a poster (wrapped in that awesome paw-print tissue paper).

First, I have to highlight the photos. Aleks is a real pro so you know they're good. How cute are Chick and Dora?

I have a real soft spot for Chick...

And the great card...

The real gift du jour though is the awesome custom poster she included:

Aleks told me that Dora insisted on using her signature raspberry pink and Dora gray color combination for it.

When I opened the gift up I was super psyched because I've had a picture with that saying pinned on pinterest for a really long time. It's a nice thick poster too, so it'll really hold up well.

Thanks so much Aleks! I can't wait to get it hung up somewhere!

And since it's reveal day, I can share that I was Pittieful Love's Secret Santa. Make sure you head over there to see what I got for them! (I hear that Knox was pretty happy with it!)

Happy Holidays everyone! No matter what you celebrate - Christmas, Hanukkah, or Festivus - I hope you have a great one filled with love, laughter, and good cheer!

p.s. If you have a sharp eye, you'll notice my new rug in those photos. Those details later (probably sometime in the new year!).

Meet Moe

2011-12-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

This little guy isn't a foster dog, but he is staying with us for awhile.

My brother-in-law hit a rough patch and needed a place to stay for a little while, so we invited him to stay with us. Little Moe came along too.

He's a pug mix and has taken the transition to to our house really well. In the beginning we were concerned that Nemo wouldn't appreciate having another gentleman in the house (he doesn't usually like other males dogs), but after lots of short, supervised positive interactions over a couple weeks, he takes Moe in stride now.

Heidi and Moe play like crazy, which is a lot of fun to watch, but I get the biggest laugh out of seeing how Moe, a little dog, acts like a cat when it comes to furniture.

He loves to perch himself in the oddest places - like the arm of a chair - and hang out like it's the most comfortable place on earth.

He's just weird enough to fit right in with our quirky little pack.

Want to know how we introduced Moe to our pack? Click here.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

2011 Recap

2011-12-20T09:30:00.000-05:00

It's the end of the year, and that means it's recap time! Can you believe that there are only 11 days left in 2011??

One neat thing about blogging is that it really is an online journal of what's going on in my life. Ironically, I've never been able to keep a "real" diary or journal, but somehow blogging has stuck. Being able to look back and read about what was going on in my life is a semi-surreal experience. When I was going through these old posts I had honestly forgotten about some of the things I posted about and it was wonderful to remember all that had happened.

This year was definitely full of ups and downs. Here are some of the highlights:

-- The year started with a bang - literally - when we were rear ended. I don't recommend starting your year off in the same way. While the car wasn't totaled (thanks to some fancy math by the insurance company), it was quite the dramatic start to 2011. Thankfully everyone walked away without any serious injuries.

-- I posted the honest truth about pit bulls for all the world to see. Read it, it's eye-opening stuff.

-- We fostered, and subsequently adopted, Heidi. She soon went on to become a Canine Good Citizen and covergirl. I also shared some tips about how to choose a foster dog and introduce them into your house.

-- I mostly completed the master bedroom. Things in there are pretty much still the same, although the room does have Heidi's crate in there now too. We're looking to "graduate" Heidi from being in the crate in the future so hopefully that won't last too much longer.

-- After bringing Heidi home, we lived in a four dog household for awhile. I shared that it's really not as crazy as it sounds.

-- Unfortunately our four dog status didn't last very long. Molly passed away just shy of her 14th birthday and I shared about how great she was to us. I still think of her and miss her, but I know her time had come. RIP sweet Molly.

-- I posted about my very special dog and how she changed my mind about pit bulls.

-- I shared a very serious photo of me as a child and let you guys ask me anything and I answered in two parts. I had a lot of fun with the ask me anything posts and I may do it again in 2012.

-- I raced for a cure and got to meet some other bloggers in real life (fun!!) (and I can't wait to do it again next year even though I've slacked off on running... again...)

-- I finally paid off our second car, a huge moment for me (and I captured it on film).

-- We got a heart-breaking diagnosis after Nemo had a seizure in the middle of the night and we've been managing his health ever since. No matter what happens, that little guy is getting the best life possible.

-- After a year of saving, I finally bought a DSLR camera and fell in love with it. I bought a bunch of accessories and a great lens to go along with it and completed a 12 week online course to learn how to use it better. I like to think my photos have stepped it up a notch or two on the quality scale since then.

-- We fostered another dog and I shared how it felt when she found her forever home. I started volunteering a lot more in 2011 and it feels great to be part of such an awesome community.

-- On the house front, we bought a new huge sofa that I love and I managed to complete a couple craft projects including a new light, wall art, a mirror, and end table.

-- We also ripped up the carpets in our house and laid laminate floors throughout on our own (I owe you an update on our progress! We're 99% done!)

Of course none of that captures all the great comments you've made and the awesome conversations and interactions I've had with fellow bloggers and readers. I feel like my little slice of the world wide web started to find its voice in 2011 and I can't wait to see what happens next in 2012.

Half Finished Project #3: Light It Up

2011-12-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

Continuing on with the parade of half-finished projects in my house, next up we have a light!

A few months ago I shared that I had a hankering to make this light (as seen on Secrets from a Stylist):

Dubbed the "Orb-Lando," the light was named after Orlando Soria, who created it. It's completely DIYable and the full (and hilariously informative) instructions for it can be found here.

Following that tutorial, I started working on one of my own and have it mostly completed. Here's a sneak peek of what I have done so far:

I thought I'd hang it over my dining room table, but after the wire frame was finished I started struggling with what color to spray paint it. Orlando (we're on a first name basis) recommends spraying it because the color of the wire will change over time. I could go the safe route and choose black (or maybe white?) or I could go nuts and be bold and choose a fun color. I like the idea of a fun color, but heck if I know what to choose.

Here's my dining room right now. Remember, that icky colored paneling over the fireplace will not stay that way forever. Ignore that.

Also, and I think this is pertinent, this is the light that I got to go inside the wire pendant. I went to Home Depot and searched high and low for a big, pretty, clear bulb, but this is the best thing that they had. I think it'll still work, but it's making me lean towards painting everything white.

What do you think? Should I paint it black? White? Orange? Another color?? Feedback would definitely be appreciated.

Once I get the color sorted out, I'll just need to hang the darn thing. Scary, because I hate ladders.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-14T09:30:00.000-05:00

Secret Santa!

2011-12-12T09:30:00.000-05:00

This year my awesome friend Emily from Our Waldo Bungie came up with the great idea to do a Secret Santa among a few of us pittie bloggers.

I thought it was a fantastic idea so as soon as she asked me about it I was like YES! and hopped on board the gift giving train. Of course right after that I immediately started thinking about how I've never actually done a Secret Santa and have no idea what gift to give, and whatever I do give will be blasted over the world wide web so.it.had.better.be.good!

Thank goodness for Google and pinterest. Whew. At least now I think I have a good idea of what I'm going to do. :-)

Here's the list of the fantabulous bloggers who are participating this year. If you're looking for a few good reads definitely check them out.

Two Pitties in the City

Two Grad Students and a Pittie

That Touch of Pit

Pittieful Love

Love and a Six-Foot Leash

Our Waldo Bungie

I already know who my gift is going to and I'm SO EXCITED I can't even tell you.

No really, I can't tell you who it is. That's why it's called a Secret Santa.

We open presents December 23rd. It's going to be great.

Anyone else doing a Secret Santa for the holidays this year? Or anyone else like me and you still haven't started your holiday shopping yet?? Please say yes to make me feel better...

p.s. To see more photos of my dogs make sure you like Twenty-Six to Life on facebook. You'll see photos there that never make it to the blog!

Half Finished Project #2: The (Shower) Curtain Calls

2011-12-08T11:00:00.000-05:00

Remember ages ago when I was complaining about how long West Elm was taking to ship a shower curtain to me? Well it turns out I shouldn't have been such a whiner, because even though I have the shower curtain now (and have for awhile) I still haven't gotten it up.

The shower curtain that's going to change my life. Or maybe just my bathroom.

So what's the hold up? It's simple really. My horrible bathroom is completely to blame.

To be fair, it's not the entire bathroom's fault (although it can definitely use some work, it's at least functional). I blame the shower doors.

The horrible, awful, broken, old, not-reliably-functional shower doors. The door situation is so bad that we haven't actually showered in here in months even though it's the bathroom that's connected to our bedroom. It's just easier to shower in the guest bathroom and not have to deal with these things.

Here are the doors I'm talking about:

Our master bathroom is itty bitty teeny tiny small.

And the issues I have with them:

Removing the shower doors was a definite must. It turns out though that new shower doors aren't cheap, so my West Elm shower curtain (while not cheap by shower curtain standards) is a bargain.

So I got to it.

Removing the doors was really easy. They were just hanging from the top rail so all I had to do was gently lift them out and they were outta there.

Heidi had no idea what was going on.

Then I had to remove the surrounding rails that were holding everything in place.

The top rail lifted out easily, but the side rails were held in place by screws. Again, I made quick work of those by simply unscrewing them. I actually used a regular old phillips head screwdriver to take them out since my drill battery was charging.

Once the screws were out though there was still plenty of caulk holding the rails in place. Using my trusty exacto knife, I sliced through it to remove the rails from the wall.

After using the exacto knife though I only have nine fingers. Just kidding! I still have ten, but that would have made quite an interesting blog post...

Once that was finally accomplished, and the rails were removed from the walls, I was left with this.

Two lines of caulk on each wall (and at the shower base too) where the rails used to be connected and a few anchors where the screws used to be. And that's where things stand right now.

Next comes the fun part. And by "fun" I actually mean the biggest pain in the butt ever. I have to scrape all that caulk off the wall (and after doing a little bit already I can tell it's going to take a while -- which is why this project is only half finished...), remove the anchors, and fill the holes with grout. After googling around it seems that's the best way to fill them.

Once all of that is taken care of and the new shower curtain is in place, I might take a stab at upgrading the rest of the space. Like that lovely wood toilet seat for example (I know you noticed that).

Of course when I say I "might" take a stab at it, I actually mean that nothing in the world could stop me from repainting those walls, doing something about that oak vanity and matching toilet seat, and replacing those crazy brass+silver towel bars.

It's going to be the grandest, smallest bathroom ever.

The Smartest Dog of the Pack

2011-12-06T09:15:00.000-05:00

I talk a lot about Heidi and Nemo. So much that sometimes that I worry that I'm not giving Melanie her due. It's not that I love Mel any less or that she doesn't mean as much as to me as the other dogs do (because I love Mel and she's very special to me), but the fact of the matter is: she's too darn smart for her own good. She's independent and knows how to get what she wants without my help.

Nemo and Heidi are definitely more obedient than Melanie, but I have no doubt that if dogs could play chess Melanie would be a grand master before Nemo and Heidi figured out checkers. Melanie can figure out what she wants, plan the steps necessary to get it, and then execute. I emphasize that she can plan out the steps to get it because I feel like that distinguishes her abilities from other dogs'. If it takes three or four separate actions to reach her goal, she will systematically execute each one until she gets what she wants.

Often what she wants is the most comfortable place to sleep.

Here are some examples of Melanie's brilliance:

Mel loves a particular spot on the sofa. Being on the sofa isn't always enough, if she wants the left corner spot nothing else will do. I have seen her get on the sofa (not in "her" spot), then hop off (step one) and run to the back door (step two). At the door, she will start doing her "I gotta go!" bark incessantly (step three) until we finally decide that she must have to go potty, so we get up off the sofa to let her out. As soon as we reach her, she runs back downstairs to the now empty sofa and claims "her" space (step four). It's a humbling experience to be outsmarted by your dog...

Every now and then Mel will decide that a particular toy is the coolest thing ever. Unfortunately, as soon as Mel shows that kind of interest in a play-thing, Heidi decides that she wants the same toy too, so a mini-playful-war of sorts breaks out. Since Mel is all brains and no brawn, they never fight, Mel just outwits Heidi. I have seen Melanie go play enthusiastically with a toy I know she doesn't like (step one) to get Heidi interested in it (step two) and then go take the toy she really wants (step three) and go into another room with it so Heidi doesn't notice that it's the real "favored toy" (step four). Mel actually knows how to pull a bait and switch on someone...

We have an automatic feeder for Nemo so that he gets fed regularly during the day. The first hour that we had it, Mel figured out how to manipulate the feeder to get access to the rest of the food. Nemo's alone with the feeder all day and he still hasn't figured out how to do that.

It's possible that her genius is a product of her seniority. She's an elderbull now and it would make sense that she's just learned a lot over the years and slowly learned how to do those things.

But I tend to think that she's really just an adorable not-so-evil genius and I'm thankful that she's on my side...

Anyone else have a ridiculously clever dog?

Half Finished Project #1: Well Hung

2011-12-05T09:15:00.000-05:00

Remember when I used to DIY stuff all the time? I was a drill wielding, paint brush handling, hammer hammering... (what? I have no idea what I'm talking about...) DIYing guru and if you only read this blog (which you do) you'd think all of that had stopped. But au contraire mes amis! I actually have a few things in the works! The only trouble is that they are taking longer than anticipated to complete so I haven't blogged about them yet.

In the interest of full disclosure (and having something to blog about...) I'm sharing the half-completed things I've got going on around the house. Here's project number one...

If you follow me on pinterest you may have noticed that I've pinned a few fauxdenzas. If you don't follow me on pinterest (you should! tsk tsk...) and you have no idea what a fauxdenza is, a fauxdenza is a fake credenza. They look like this:

via

All you need to make a fauxdenza are a few Ikea kitchen cabinets and some plywood, then, Wally!, awesome fauzdenza-y goodness.

For our house, I thought that a fauxdenza would be a perfect replacement for our TV stand. I think it's clear from the old photo below that it was never a contender to stay. The old stand was too small for the TV, it's ugly, and you can't tell from the photo, but it's not standing the test of time very well either. It's starting to fall apart.

In order to use a fauxdenza in place of the entertainment unit, we had to mount that giant TV to the wall because the TV base is actually deeper than the Ikea cabinets that I bought. The Ikea cabinets are 12" deep and the base that the TV sits on is a few inches wider, which would never work.

So, the first step was to hang the TV to the wall.

...Actually, the first step was to decide to move the TV to the other end of the room, so the real first step was to buy a super long cable cord to go around the room (don't worry, it'll be hidden once I get base molding on the walls). Then we bought this mountfrom Amazon (thank you Amazon Prime!) and then we mounted the TV to the wall.

It takes a lot of steps to actually get to the first step.

The idea of mounting the TV to the wall was scary. It's not easy to let something you've spent so much money on just hang in the air... but it worked! We did it all by ourselves and the TV feels really secure. I may have even knocked the TV once by accident - which may have almost given me a heart attack for fear that it would plummet to the ground - but the TV didn't budge a bit. It's there to stay.

Then came time to install the fauxdenza. Oh happy day.

After going to Ikea - and getting a stern look from the Ikea guy about how "they don't recommend these cabinets for anything except the kitchen" (to which I say pssssssssht! those Ikea guys are so by the book...) - I bought three AKURUM cabinets, and doors for each. And handles. And hinges. And those little things that keep the doors from slamming closed. And rails to hang the cabinets from on the wall. It's amazing how this stuff adds up when you're buying it...

Anyway, I toted my haul home and was happy until I realized that three cabinets would really be one too few for this wall. It's a big wall and a big TV, and three cabinets would look small and weird. Four cabinets is the number I need.

Don't stress about the wires, they'll be hidden when the fauxdenza is complete.

In the end, I've hung what I can for now, leaving a space for the final cabinet once I can make it out to Ikea again to buy another one.

And that's how this project remains half finished for now.

Anyone else have a half-finished project they have to wait to complete?

Just For Fun: Name This Blog

2011-12-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the great comments about possibly renaming this internet space. I had no idea so many of you liked the name as-is!

After hearing how many of you like the blog name, it's really made me reconsider my feelings on the whole thing... maybe my blog name is cooler than I give it credit for? ...although I definitely don't like the idea that some of you think of a jail sentence because of my blog title! That's not good... lots to think about!

I've been doing some Googling, and I think I'm getting closer to figuring out how to change a blog name. I'm not 100% sure if the information I've found is reliable/correct though, so don't expect any changes anytime soon... or maybe ever since I might keep the name! (If I do find out though, I'll be sure to pass along the information since it seems like some of you have also been wondering how to do the same thing.)

Still, even though everything is up in the air, I thought it'd be fun to get some ideas about a possible name for the blog. If you were naming my blog right now, what would you call it?

Right now the best name I can think of is "Kate's World Of Crazy."

I know we can do better than that...