NaBloPoMo - we broke up

Clearly, NaBloPoMo is not for me. Such is life.

the holidays are upon us. How did that happen so fast? Mr & I are going to his grandparents' for Thanksgiving and having Christmas at home. Our home. We don't have to go anywhere or see anyone, and it really makes me happy. I love having my own tree, and waking up in my house and opening presents with Mr.

This year was supposed to be Christmas at my parents' house. I haven't been for two years because we were trying to get on the same schedule as my brother and sister-in-law, who is on a schedule with her married siblings. Finally, we were on-track. But, they're not going for a myriad of reasons, and when I politely asked if it was ok to bring Hank with us, my mom said that she and dad had discussed it and decided that dogs are for "short, quiet visits."

Hank is banned.

So, because we sent him to Mr's parents during the honeymoon and recently boarded him for a weekend we said we can't do that to him again. So, we're staying home. I was upset, because I don't understand her issue with dogs in the house, but I respect her decision. If I don't want someone/something in my house, I expect others to abide by my rules, so I have to do the same for her. We handled it well, I think. No major drama, but both of us stood firm and didn't want to hurt the other's feelings. Once it was clear that we were both ok with it, there was a noticeable drop in tension.

I blame it on my brother and my sister, really. He would show up at their house with his two large dogs (I would guess about 80lbs), one of whom often peed on the houseplants. My sister has a reasonably well-behaved (at least in comparison) jack-rat who weighs about 5lbs. So, you can understand why my mom associates big dogs with bad dogs. It's no use trying to change her mind. But, seriously, how could you not love this guy?

New Look, Again

Ok. I think I'll stick with this layout for a while. I'm digging the green and purple combo. It reminds me, strangely, of seventh grade, when this was my favorite color combo on the planet. Except it was more crayola-shades.

I just couldn't stand the other layout. It was too all-over-the-place. I need my posts centered and contained. I don't know why.

And, for your viewing pleasure, more pictures of Hank. Because I'm sick and he amuses me.
*****
This is Hank in our old condo. I was sitting on the couch next to him, undoubtedly delaying writing a paper for school. I think this is how he spends most of the day when we're not home.
The only think I really miss about that condo is the kitchen. Everything was brand-new, so the stove and oven were awesome, the microwave above the stove has a fan for sucking up smoke and whatnot and the fridge never froze the food on the refrigerator side and kept all the food frozen on the freezer side. Our new refrigerator is not so reliable, and the oven likes to burn stuff and makes the house smell like gas. I had my current appliances but, as they work (sort of), they are on the bottom of the "things to buy for the house" list.

This is Hank in my new office. I promise I will post before and after shots soon. I'm still waiting on Mr to hang the curtain rod on that back window.

Mr hates that old green velvet (!) couch in the background. I got it from my grandparents when they moved. I love the size and shape of it. It's very small - more of a loveseat, really - it's low to the ground and it is sort of oval shaped. It also has some weird bleach-like stains on the front. I'm sure one of my grandmother's eight children spilled something on it and someone tried to clean it. I promised Mr that I would recover it or at least slipcover it. That I didn't love the color, just the shape. But. It matches my office so well. It picks up lots of lovely shades in my fancy Home Depot area rug. Besides, it's my office.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I'm now in the worst stage of being sick: almost better. Almost better blows. You're no longer completely sick, so the awfulness of daytime tv is readily apparent and sitting on the couch is just boring. But, if you get up and try to be productive, you get dizzy and a little nauseous and have to go back to the couch.

I've found a couple of daytime tv shows that are ok. I'm really getting into "How Clean is Your House" on BBC America. These two British ladies go around to astoundingly dirty houses, tell people they're living in filth and then force them to clean. After everything is spotless, the people are happy, and the ladies leave. They come back two weeks later to check up on people, but come on. Are you going to let your house get messy in the two weeks? I don't think so. Go back in three months and then see where they're at!

This has, of course, made me wonder about the cleanliness of our home. We're pretty clean, compared to the people on the show. Mr is very clean, which means I have to be clean, which is good. However, we've never cleaned our couch. They cleaned a couch on the show today and it was sort of gross. But their couch was some sort of pleather so it was easy to clean. Ours is ... um ... fabric. I don't know how to clean it. I want to take the cases off the pillows and toss them in the washing machine, but what if they fade and then don't match the rest of the couch? How do I clean the rest of it? I vacuum it sometimes, because it is Hank's favorite hangout. See?He's got white hair which, though it is short, still gets EVERYWHERE. So, I vacuum the couch every once in a while - though not as often as I should - in the hopes that the couch will remain blue and not turn white. The vacuum does not work very well. We have a hose, but none of the attachments have a spinning brush thingy, so it only sucks up so much. Lots of hair stays on the couch. Sometimes I use a lint brush, but the couch is big and even that doesn't help all that much. Anyway. Hank is clean, we bath him fairly regularly. However, he is a dog and doesn't shower everyday like Mr & I do. I don't think our house stinks but I remember going to friends' houses when I was younger who had dogs and their whole house smelled like dog. I don't want that to happen. I worry that maybe I just don't notice because I live there and am used to it. I don't think that's the case... but it could be.

So. Any tips on couch-cleaning?

And, by the way, please don't be afraid to come and visit. I promise, we'll vacuum the couch before you get here. Maybe I should get a special lint brush, just for the guest room....

Bits 'n Pieces

1. We booked a photographer for the wedding. Yes! I got to book the guy I wanted, who is definitely on the expensive end of things, but I know that I love his work. Once the day itself is over, the photography will be all we have, so I think it is totally worth it to "splurge" on the photography. Not that we couldn't have found a more expensive photographer, because they're out there. This guy is expensive for wedding photographers, but by no means is he at the top of the price range. Plus, I really like him and I think that's important, too.

2. We ordered my desk! We are turning one of the spare rooms in our house into my office, so that I have a place to go to study. Mr has done nearly all of the actual work, save for a little sanding, and I helped apply the skim coat to the walls. But he has done the majority of the sanding, all of the priming, ceiling and trim painting and he's going to paint it tomorrow night. Because of school (why I need the office) I can't help much. He's really handy to have around. To top it all off, for Christmas, he said I could order the desk I really want from Pottery Barn, even though it is pricey as hell. Thankfully, I found a chair that matches at Target for considerably less, so I was able to save him a little cash there. I'll post pictures soon.

3. Speaking of pictures, I realized that I didn't take any pictures of the awful, blood-red walls that used to be in our bedroom. I took a little tour of the room after we skim-coated, but I don't know how to post video. We'll see if I can figure that out later.

4. I can't find one of my old friends. I realized that I haven't spoken to her in a while and made a note to email her today. Oops, I don't have her email. Her cell phone number now belongs to a guy with a Spanish accent, and she no longer works at the job that I had for her. According to the guy I talked to, she moved to New Orleans about six months ago. I spent a good part of the morning looking for her online, to no avail. I'll have to look up her parents' and call them. Is it weird that I still feel it is important to invite her to my wedding? We don't keep in touch anymore but when we do we have a lovely time. We'll see if I can get a hold of her.

5. Hank's sick. He woke us up at 3am last night to go ... well, he needed to go out. I used to be annoyed that it was always my job to walk him in the mornings. Now that we've moved, I have to get up by 5:30 to walk him, or I'll be late for work. Mr's commute has shrank since we moved, yet I still walk Hank. This morning at 3am though? I remembered why I don't complain about walking him. Because sick in the middle of the night is Mr's job. Poor puppy apparently puked this morning, too. Hopefully whatever strange thing he ate has gotten out and he's ok. If he's still sick tonight, I'll have to take him to the vet. Again.

Pictures of Hank

This is Hank when we first brought him home; he's about 4 m onths old. I love his giant paws and floppy ears. People used to always ask about the spot on his nose. "What happened to his nose?" Nothing happened. Hank has no pigment in some places. The whiskers on one side of his face are black, the other side white. His nose spot is filling in now.












Hank just a few days ago, about 10 month old.

I did't really realize how much bigger he'd gotten until I saw these two pictures side-by-side.

We never figured out what breed he is. His butt muscles are super-huge and chiseled, and he's very fast when he wants to be. We think he's a lab / greyhound mix. I call him a North American Tan Head.

The Digital Age and Hank

I have officially entered the digital age. My wonderful boyfriend bought me a digital camera for Christmas. This is a big deal for many reasons. A). I have never really used a digital camera. 2). Though I love taking pictures, I have a hard time keeping track of my camera. I lost it (my old Olympus, not the new one), found it again, lost it again and now I have the case, but no idea where the camera is. How is that even possible? D). I'm a klutz and I have a tendency to break anything that I really like and really don't want to break. Then I cry and beat myself up. It isn't pretty.

But I am determined to break these bad habits with my New Fancy Digital Camera. Mostly though, I've just taken pictures of my dog, Hank. I'm going to try and post some. We'll see what happens. Hank is a wonderful mutt. I found him at the Anti-Cruelty Society here in Chicago. My office is nearby and I used to wander over sometimes on my lunch break and look at the doggies. Then, one day, there was Hank. He was so cute and little - about 4 months old - that I had to have him. So, I called Boyfriend and told him to meet me there after work. Then, I raced over as soon as the end of the day came and I took Hank out to play so that no one else could take him home. Puppies don't last long at shelters. Every one wants a puppy. It's the poor dogs over a year old that sit there forever.

But I digress. Boyfriend finally shows up, and we play with Hank (who, at this point was not Hank - they were calling him "Flip" - but I had decided after lunch that his name was Hank. It is never a good idea to name a dog before you adopt him. It just makes it harder if you decide you can't have him). We played too long to adopt him that day, so we went home. We discuss the merits of dogs in apartments. How much exercise he'll need, what will happen to him during the day. What breed he might be. Boyfriend thought he might be an English Pointer - which need a ton of exercise and can become "destructive" if they don't get enough exercise. We decide Hank would not be happy here and we can't have him. But, now the dog-fever is in and we want one. We decide to go to some adoption events that weekend. The dogs we see suck. They're aggressive or abused or too big. Generally, they are not Hank. "Maybe we should check the Anti-Cruelty Society" I say. "Maybe they have some new dogs in. I'm sure Hank is gone." Hank is not gone. He is there. He wants to say hello. We play with him. We talk to the volunteers who tell us that any home - no matter how small - is better than a shelter. We adopt Hank. Yay! My first Dog! Now Hank is almost a year old. He is wonderful. At the moment, he is sleeping next to me, as he does most days when I am home and supposed to be writing a paper or doing research.

He isn't perfect though - he does need a lot of exercise. At the moment, I'm trying to find a good daycare place - he had a good place, but it isn't really convenient anymore. He needs to run around with other doggies and get tired. Unfortunately, most places charge an arm and a leg to let your dog play with other city dogs and I don't have an arm and a leg to spare. I need mine.