Goodbye Friend

We said goodbye to one of the "Pups" today.
He was just a year old and full size, but we still called his sister and him "the Pups" to distinguish from his parents.

He was the biggest of the small dogs on our road, but I could still hold him under one arm. . .

He was 75% Wiener and 25% Beagle. . .
I always loved to sing "Wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener" to him. . .
I always thought that his name should be Eddie (see the hair line - reminds me of the Munsters). . .

He thought that he could protect us better than the big dogs could. . .
And would lead the charge against all of the cars on the lane that he did not recognize.
Unfortunately today, the car won in the charge battle and we had to say goodbye.

Goodbye Oscar - you will be missed!

Namaste.

Making Us Happy!

I have realized how much an ugly piece in our house makes me VERY happy!

"What is it?" you ask.

The wood burning stove in our basement!

Previously, we barely used the stove. . .
Mainly because the wood from the two trees we cut down in the summer of 2009 needed to season. And to be honest, I didn't think that we got much heat from it.
This year, though, I wanted to use it more in an attempt to keep our electric bill down. I DO NOT want $400 electric bills this winter!!! Yes, that is the frugal side of me. . .

After a night of being cold despite burning wood (and some smoky moments in our basement), MBB started investigating whether we had a bird's nest blocking our chimney or if there was anything else deciding that the smoke was our guest and needed to stick around.

What he found was a huge need for us to replace the fireplace's piping (safety is pretty important when it comes to fire!) and clean out as much of the fireplace / chimney as possible.
It was an all day affair and you wouldn't believe some of the stuff that we found when we pulled the stove out of the chimney.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of OB or MBB inside the chimney. . . :(

MBB did figure out during his search for bird's nests that our chimney was built in thirds. . .
We have one wood burning stove and one fireplace in the living room that does not have a stove.


Threeeeeeeeee???

He also found a hole in the chimney in my craft room (not in a fireplace area!!!) that was letting in LOTS of cold air.
Yep, we are burning wood to warm the house and there is a hole letting cold air in!
A cap on the hole stopped the cold air, the pipes were replaced and suddenly, there was smoke coming out of our chimney. . .Success!

I'm realizing that this post is getting really long, so I'll shorten the story very quickly to say that later that night, I found another hole inside the living room chimney (remember the THREE chimney sections???). We quickly got that one covered to and you wouldn't believe how WARM our house has become from using the wood burning stove!


You might have noticed that the title of this post was "Making US Happy", but I was talking about our stove making ME happy.


Well, there is a new toy in our house that has made MBB happy as he doesn't have to get as many blisters on his hands while chopping big logs into small logs.
This is the non-frugal side of us coming out. . .We bought it brand new, BUT with a coupon!! lol

Introducing our log splitter.
The only bad thing. . .The logs have to be pretty short to fit in it. :(
Namaste.

Baby Cake

You are probably expecting a cake that I "tried" to make or paid to have baked. . .

Nope! :)

Some friends of MBB's had a baby very soon after our wedding and we wanted to get them something. I don't like doing "what everyone else does", so I searched for something different that was quick and easy (no time to make a baby quilt right now!).

I saw this great idea of making a baby cake out of diapers and using some baby stuff as decoration.
I think it turned out okay for my first try, though I will admit that using small diapers was a bit much for only two hands!

Namaste.

Changes. . .

Everything changes...

Buildings, People, Organizations
Personalities, Circumstances, Ages,
Addresses, Signatures, Families
Even Landscapes (Old Man on the Mountain!)

Every situation is different and unique.

My life has truly changed over the last few years. . .
It has become obvious that some of the things/people from my past are also changing. . .
Some things still fit.
Some don't.
In retrospect, some things that didn't fit a few years ago are now working again.

Every situation is different and unique.

I am finding that it is now time to release and let go. . .
Some goodbyes are difficult as the memories are so sweet.
So, I need to concentrate on the memories and continue on my journey.

Namaste.

Cincinnati Wedding Photographer

I must say that we hit the jackpot with our photographer!

Christie had wonderful picture ideas and takes gorgeous photos!
By the time the wedding got here, it truly felt like we had a friend taking the photos.
We were blessed that Christie's husband was there as the second photographer and I must say that both were wonderful to work with!

She does have wedding packages (gotta love the "something old", "something new" theme), but is very willing to customize the packages to fit within your budget / wedding (at least she did with us!).

If you are looking for a Wedding Photographer - Please head over to Gardner Photography and give their galleries a look and see what you think!

Namaste.

We're Married!

Yep, we did it!

10/9/10 is now a date that NEITHER of us should forget. :)

Here are some shots from our big day:

The vase that was our alter and then became the centerpiece for our "spiral stair" cakes.

Our "table cards". . .When the small plastic piece got pulled out, they lit up with a white light.

The candles on the wedding party table with my bouquet.

The centerpieces, quotes and favor boxes on the guest tables.

The bottom cake. Three of the tiers had this swirl design and the other two just had the edible white and black pearls.

Lots of cake! Spice w/ Apple, Red Velvet, Chocolate w/ Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry, Cheesecake, and Yellow. . .With mini cheesecake squares.

I'll try to share more later as people send me pics.
Nope - I didn't take one picture that day!!

Namaste.

Interesting

Things got so hectic around our house that I created a family calendar.
It was for August, September and October and each day had four lines - one for each member of the family.

In August and September:
There were days that had so much written on it that I still couldn't keep track of what was going on.
There may have been a stray Sunday here and there that was open, but for the most part, every day was full.

Then, we get to October:
The first two rows (the last week of September was included in the first row) were JAMMED packed.
Did I mention how JAMMED packed they are?

Then. . .

NOTHING.

I think there are three days with something on them, but very few words.

I'm thinking it may be a little eery.

Namaste.

Charles J. Sykes

I didn't write this - Charles J. Sykes did. I may not agree with everything he wrote, but it made me smile at points and laugh at others.

Some rules kids won't learn in school
By Charles J. Sykes

Printed by San Diego Union Tribune
September 19, 1996
Unfortunately, there are some things that children should be learning in school, but don't. Not all of them have to do with academics. As a modest back-to-school offering, here are some basic rules that may not have found their way into the standard curriculum.

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teen-ager uses the phrase, "It's not fair" 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized Rule No. 1.

Rule No. 2: The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as much as your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, kids complain it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule No. 3: Sorry, you won't make $40,000 a year right out of high school.And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.

Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you feel about it.

Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grand-parents had a different word of burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend.

Rule No. 6: It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your bedroom.

Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. In some schools, they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and class valedictorians scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life. (See Rule No. 1, Rule No. 2 and Rule No. 4)

Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. Not even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on.While we're at it, very few jobs are interesting in fostering yourself-expression or helping you find yourself. Fewer still lead to self-realization. (See Rule No. 1 and Rule No. 2.)

Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people
actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs. Your friends will not be
as perky or pliable as Jennifer Aniston.

Rule No. 11: Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We all could.

Rule No. 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.

Rule No. 13: You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperature lately.

Rule No. 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now.

You're welcome.

Things that make me go "Hmmmm..."

Namaste.

Sometimes Silence is Golden

As I have gotten older, I have realized that there are some situations that will not always be "rainbows and roses".
I have also learned a hard lesson that others will only impact my self esteem if I let them. My self worth is my responsibility. . .No one else's.

If I was in a situation where I was failing, it was up to me to improve. It is not my teacher's / coach's / parent's fault.
If I was in a situation where I was being talked down to, it was up to me to remove myself from the situation. It is no one else's fault if I continue to openly receive.

Unfortunately, I didn't always improve - just ask my family about my athletic skills.
Unfortunately, removing myself from situations sometimes caused me to loose contact with additional people not involved.

Fortunately, I now know my limitations and am okay with that.
Fortunately, I am much happier without negative situations.
And to prevent myself from becoming one of those "situations", I have learned that "sometimes silence is golden".

Too bad I can't implement this in my work life where the paycheck is a bit more important. . .
Luckily, my skin has gotten a bit thicker over the years.

So, today I am working on not being that "situation" as I have found myself struggling.
I am letting go of my attachment to people I have had to say goodbye to in order to be healthy and happy.
I am enjoying my memories of the past without letting them impact my present.

Namaste.

Blog Silence

Lately, there has been a lot of silence here.

A few reasons:
- Four visitations in under two months. I'm tired of goodbyes.
- The happy stress of planning a wedding. I love MBB and our wedding. . .Stress, not so much.
- Volleyball Season in full swing. Boosters, Fund-raising, Senior Night, AUGH! Thank God for carpools!
- Football Season in full swing.
- Major construction on our property. I'll be so happy this winter not having to scrap!
- Lack of sleep. WARNING: Parts of this post may not make sense.
- An attempt to not use the blog for my negative vomiting. . .
- A game called " How many emails / voice mails / having others call will it take to get a RSVP?"

Yep, life is fun and interesting right now.
And that's okay!

Namaste.